birthdays

Unfortunately, blogger is not cooperating with me, and I had more cute pictures to post.  But, it won't let me for some reason.  Oh well.

We have celebrated a couple of birthdays in the past 2 months, and we had a great time doing it.

The first birthday was my sister's {LeeLee} birthday on March 22.  We were thrilled that she decided to take the day off and drive up from Houston to spend the day with us!  We love us some LeeLee time.

My mom treated us to mani/pedis which was sooo nice!  We loved being pampered and relaxing.

Then, we came home to a yummy dinner of grilled chicken, sausage, and veggies.  It was delicious.

We finished the night with some cake and time to just catch up.

We love you so much, LeeLee!  We are so thankful for the blessing you are to us, and we loved getting to celebrate your special day with you!

Then, I turned 27 on April 2, and to say that my husband spoiled me probably doesn't do it justice.  He seriously planned the perfect day for me.  Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself.

We started the day off early because we were going somewhere, but I didn't know where that was.  He got us Shipley's to eat on the road, and it was so yummy.

After an hour and a half of driving, we pulled into the Houston ZOO!!!  I was beyond excited.  I had been talking about taking Micah to the zoo for a little while, and he totally surprised me with it.  It was the perfect day for the zoo, and we got there right as it opened which meant that we didn't have to fight the crowds.

It was a complete joy to watch Micah experience the zoo.  She LOVED it.  She made all her animal noises, waved, and blew kisses to all the animals.  Absolutely precious.  

I love this excited face.

The day could have ended there, and it would have been amazing.

But, Chris still had tricks up his sleeve.  He arranged for us to have a light lunch at my sister's house {she lives in Houston} and to take a little rest time there.  I loved that!  

It was perfect to see Lindsey and to rest my pregnant self :)

After we put Micah down for a nap, Chris said we were leaving and would be back after dinner. 

 {Shout out to LeeLee for keeping Micah for us!}

I had no idea what was next, but I was excited.  Chris surprised me with a mini shopping spree.  To say I was thrilled would be an understatement.  I definitely needed some clothes to fit this growing belly of mine, so it was just right.  We had lots of fun strolling through Rice Village together.

After shopping, we drove to the Galleria and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  It was the most delicious dinner to top off an amazing day!  

They even wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate syrup on my cheesecake.

We then picked Micah up and headed back home.  It was seriously such a wonderful day, and I am so blessed by my sweet husband.

The next day, we celebrated with my parents with delicious fish tacos and a yummy cookie cake.

Micah helped me open my presents.

And, she definitely enjoyed that cake!

I had the best birthday ever!

easter 2011

We had such a great Easter this year!  Since Micah was only 4 months old last Easter, this felt like her first "real" experience with the holiday.  It's such a joy to go through days like this with a child, and I love seeing it through her eyes.  It's definitely much more fun!

Micah woke up to some goodies on Easter morning.

She spotted that basket on the table and immediately wanted to get at all of the fun stuff inside.

I will be honest that Chris and I have {and will continue to} really struggled with the commercialism of Easter.  We want our children to know what Easter is really about and not to get so caught up in the bunny and eggs part of it that they don't understand the significance of the Resurrection.  So, I guess it's a tension we are living in and hope that we can find an appropriate balance.  I know it's super early for Micah to understand either one of those things, but we just want to be really intentional in our family about the real reason for celebrating this day.  Okay, rant over :)

Micah LOVED the bubbles.  Oh my word.  As soon as we blew some, she exclaimed "bubble" and wanted them over and over and over.

After we played for a while, we got ready for Sunday morning church with my parents and Chris's sister and her family.  My mom made Micah the most beautiful dress.  Thanks, Mimi!

family picture

Check out that cheesy grin!  I love it!

My two favorites!

After church, we had family and our good friends over for a lunch of roast, potatoes, carrots, salad, rolls, and dessert.  It was yummy!  After lunch, we had a little egg hunt for the kids in the backyard.  It was a lot of fun, and the kiddos had a blast.

Micah actually understood getting the eggs.  But, she wanted to sit down after every egg, open it, and check out what was inside before putting it in her basket.

And, she would make a precious face every time she spotted an egg.  I am really sad that I don't have a good picture of it, but I hope someone else got one.  This is the best I have.

Here are the kiddos after the egg hunt.

We had such a wonderful time with friends and family!  We ended the day with our worship service at church, and it was such a blessing.  I loved being reminded of ways that the resurrection of Jesus is STILL bringing new life to people today.  

He is still proclaiming victory over physical and spiritual death.  Praise God!

"He has risen!" Luke 24:6

Happy Easter!

i'm back

My apologies for the extended absence.  I have a pretty good excuse though, I think.  Chris and I got back yesterday from a much needed vacation to France.  We were gone for about 8 days and had a fantastic time.  I didn't mention it on the blog because I don't like to announce to the world wide web that we are going to be gone.

But, now we are back.  And, I have lots of updating to do on our trip and pictures to share.  I also have lots of catching up to do on other things that have happened.  As always, there will be lots of pictures. 

So, stay tuned.

praying God's word for week 15

As I prayed through 1 Samuel 2:2 this week, I was reminded of who God is, and that His holiness and strength are unchanging.  I find that a hard concept to grasp because, even when we have great intentions, we let each other down and often back out on our word.  But, in this verse, Hannah declares that there is NO ONE like our God, and that He is completely faithful, strong, mighty, and holy.  It was a great encouragement this week of the kind of amazing God that we serve.

For the next two weeks, I will be spending my time on this verse:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

I am hopeful that the next week or so will bring a lot of rest and renewal to my spirit and to our little family.  We've had some crazy busyness taking place around here {all for good}, and I think we need a little rest.  Not just physical rest but deep, spiritual rest.  That is my prayer for the next 2 weeks.

chit chat

Micah's vocabulary has really taken off in the past month or two, and she is saying new words almost every day.  I want to record her words here so I will always remember what she was saying and how she said it.

mama - Momma

dada - Daddy

mimi - Mimi {my mom}

popf - Pops {Chris's dad}

jojo - Jojo {Chris's sister, Joanna}.  She says this occasionally.  It's a hard one for her.

yee yee - Lee Lee {my sister}

bubba - Wrigley {we call him "Bubba"}

hi - hi.  This one is super cute, and she almost always smiles and waves as she says it.

ish - ice

buh buh - bye bye.  It sounds really similar to "bubba" but is usually accompanied by a wave.

nana - banana
bah - ball {she says this every single time she sees a ball, no matter where it is}
ha - hat
yayee - yay!  She says this while she claps when we are cheering for something.
bow - bow

bee bee - baby {she even knows where "momma's baby" is}

nigh nigh - night night

bibuh - Bible

gog - God

uh oh - uh oh {she almost always uses this one appropriately too.}

no no - no no.  I have a feeling I will be hearing this one more and more.  She tells the dogs "no no" when they are playing too much, and she also repeats it after I've told her no.  But, she has begun to tell me no more and more.

baf - bath

ninee - hiney {said while pointing at her hiney :)}

waa waa- water {this is a relatively new one}

*She can also make the appropriate noises for: cow, cat, dog, pig, elephant, monkey, and duck.

I'm certain I have left some out.  I love that she can communicate so much more now, and she is definitely not shy about it.  She is our little social butterfly.

Love that little girl and hearing her sweet, sometimes loud, voice.

baby update

Everything is still going great with this pregnancy.  Time is totally flying by, and I cannot believe that it is past the halfway point already.  With Micah, the weeks crept by sometimes, but with this sweet baby love, I feel like every Monday sneaks up on me.  As time goes by, we get more and more excited to meet this sweet little one.

I have been feeling lots more little kicks and rolls.  That is definitely my absolute favorite part of being pregnant, and I honestly can remember missing that feeling when Micah was born.  So, I am going to really try to soak up every last kick, punch, and roll.  I can barely feel them on the outside of my belly, and I cannot wait for Chris to feel it too.  I will never forget his reaction the first time he felt Micah move.  It was pure sweetness.  I have a feeling that this time will be no different.

I will be 21 weeks on Monday, but we do not know what baby love is yet.  Dr. S likes to wait until 23-24 weeks to do the "big" ultrasound because he gets a better look at what he wants to see {the important stuff like the baby's organ development, etc.}, so we have our appointment scheduled for that on April 28.  I am not all that anxious about finding out.  I am definitely ready to be able to call this baby "he" or "she", but I am content to wait.  Maybe God is helping me with my patience :)  We just want our little bitty love to be healthy!  That is most important.

There have been parts of this pregnancy where I honestly have grieved Micah not being the only child.  Let me be clear that we NEVER considered only having 1 child, and I want Micah to grow up with brothers and sisters.  But, our world has revolved around her for 16 months, and I know there are going to be a lot of changes for her.  I have really prayed about this, and God is slowly giving me peace about it.  Micah loves babies {both baby dolls and real babies}, and it is just too precious to watch her be so sweet to them and smile so big when she sees them.  I know she is going to be a great big sister.  So, I am continuing to pray for God to release some of those fears I have, which I hear are completely normal.

My belly is growing, growing.  I feel like I am definitely getting into the pregnant phase and not just a little chubbier around the middle phase.  I have started pulling out my maternity pants because they are just more comfortable, even if they are still a tad too big!  I love when people just see me and ask about the baby.  It's fun to carry that visible reminder around.  Micah even knows where "momma's baby" is.  Too cute.  

Here are the latest belly pictures.  I missed a week in there again.  Oops.

We pray for our baby love every night.  We are beyond thankful that God is blessing us with another sweet child to love.  We are looking forward to being a family of 4 in just 19 weeks or so!

praying God's word week 14

Last week's verse:

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17

This was such an encouraging verse to pray and meditate on this past week.  I find it easy to forget just how much the Lord cherishes me and loves me, so it was a great reminder of how deeply He cares for me and desires good for my life.  I also found myself praying this and specifically thinking of certain people.  I really enjoyed spending time in prayer over people in my life and claiming this verse for them.

Week 14's verse:

"There is no one holy like the Lord.  There is no one besides you.  There is no rock like our God." 

I Samuel 2:2

Be blessed this week!