Thankfulness

"Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16

Many times the days are long when parenting, but I am reminded to be thankful for the little people God has entrusted to our family.

A little bit of thankfulness: We have started to play a new game at our house--it's not really a game but the kids think it is. We role play different situations and then ask them (mainly David) to give us the proper response. Tonight the scenario was this, Mommy is talking on the phone and you need a drink of water. Do you scream, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy I need some water or do you wait patiently until Mommy is off the phone to ask for some water. As we were "playing" this game I kept laughing at how funny David and Sugar thought it was. It was so awesome to be able to "parent" them in a time of non-conflict rather than waiting for them to misbehave. It made me thankful to just be able to watch them and to see that they really wanted to make the right choice. Now the challenge is to see if they actually do it the next time I am on the phone. :-)

Bath Time

Random

Another reason as to why Elijah just goes with the flow.

First Tooth

The little man is sporting his first tooth!

Sledding

Having Fun

David and I were the drivers.

I was shocked that she wanted to go by herself. I thought for sure that she would be scared.

This must be the new way to sled--hahaha.

I think he wore every one of my dad's 50 hats.

David

David loved playing in the snow while we were in Michigan. He would go outside for hours and just "shovel" the snow. The bonus was that the cold air made him tired--he slept really well!

Just Another Night

Happy E

Christmas Morning

Checking out some of his new toys.

For weeks all Annabelle told everyone was that she wanted two baby dolls. Her dream came true. Now we can add those to the 15 baby dolls we already have.

Christmas 2010

It is rather difficult to get a good picture with the three kiddies so this is the best we can do!

Pa and Mam

There are so many things I love about this simple picture. I love how Sugar is looking at Pa and you can see his joy. I love how Keira is just staring at Annabelle and I love how Nick looks so relaxed in Mam's lap.

They love Pa and Mam.

Pa and Mam with all the great grandkids.

Family Neighbors

I love that we got to spend Christmas with these crazy folks! Love them to pieces.

Christmas 2010

I love how she is watching Elijah.

Cheese

I just love it!

I can't seem to get enough of this little guy.

LOVE that boy!

7 months

Hard to believe that I am typing 7 months already--slow down! Here are the monthly stats.

• You are starting to crawl. You get to whatever you want one way or another--sometimes it is rather funny to watch.
• You are now eating some food. You love it. Right now your favorite is squash.
• If someone takes something from you they better watch out--you let them know that you are not happy!
• You smile every time you see Mommy, Daddy, David or Sugar--as a matter of fact you smile at most people if they talk to you.
• You flew for the second time and slept almost the entirety of both flights--yay.
• You are eating about every 4 hours now.
• You chew on everything--still like your feet. If you have shoes on you take them off and put them in your mouth.
• Still a super content little guy--you totally go with the flow.
• You celebrated your first Christmas unaware of the fact that Annabelle opened all your gifts. I don't think she will get away with that next year.
• Wearing 6-9 month clothes and a size 3 diaper.
• A true joy and blessing to our family! We love you little man!

David's Birthday Letter

(This post will most likely be of no interest to anyone but me. :-) )

Dear D,

You came to us 4 years ago on Christmas Eve and instantly brought joy to our lives. Each and every day we thank the Lord for the gift of your life--and you have a lot of life in that body! You have made us smile, crack up and just enjoy things so much more. When you were a toddler you would run around--all the time you would run--and just laugh. Daddy and I said that you were just so happy to be alive. That is how I feel about you today--you just love life.

This year started out rough for you with your food allergies but you were a "super trooper" (that's what you always say). You had so many dr. appointments-some very long-but you always had a smile to give. You had blood drawn for the first time and you still talk about it--you always tell the story about how the dr. wanted your blood and you screamed. I feel that the Lord made you so special and that you have a special task for Him--follow the Lord, D.

You changed in how you interact with our family. We now have conversations about things in life. You want to know about Heaven, God, homeless people, everything. We do our best to satisfy your curiosity. You are an awesome big brother. You show so much kindness and love to your little brother. You and Sugar love to play together and it is so cute when you show her how to do things. When we bring you to school you always come over and give your brother and sister a kiss good-bye. You have a special job of being the first-born and I know that you will be great!

You love to pray. You now pray specific things for the people you care about. I love hearing you ask God to help your friends believe in Jesus. It melts my heart. In the morning we will sometimes read some verses from the Bible and then I try to explain them to you--you listen so intently and often bring up the application throughout the day. The Lord is opening your heart to believe in Jesus and I pray that one day you give your whole life to Him.

You try to be tough but you are very affectionate. When you wake up in the morning you always want me to snuggle you. You will look at me and tell me that you love me a whole bunch. Whenever I ask for a kiss or hug you usually say yes. I know this won't last forever so I will enjoy it while it lasts. I want to remember the days of sitting on the couch all snuggled up and reading a book--I don't ever want to forget.

There are so many more things I could say as you turn 4 but I just want you to know that we love you so much and are so thankful to have you as a part of our family. Happy Birthday!!

Love you buddy!