Ten Months

{written at more like 10 1/2 months. Sorry, son, maybe next month I'll be on time :)}


Beckett,

You, my sweet boy, are a gift. I knew from experience that I would love you deeply, but I had no idea just how easily it would come to me. My heart bursts with love for you each day, and you add such a sweet richness and joy to our family. We all will do anything to make you smile and laugh, and you make each day a thousand times more fun! I just cannot believe that you are 10 months old already. I wish I could stop time and just love on you a little longer exactly where you are, but I know that every phase you go through will bring just as much joy as this one.



This month brought speed crawling. My goodness, Beckett, you are Fast!!! You get all the way across the playroom and into the open bucket of crayons in the blink of an eye, and then you just flash that sweet smile with those precious dimples and melt my heart. You are always moving when you are on the ground, but I definitely have to keep a close eye on you because you love getting into things that you aren't supposed to. And you get there so quickly it's unbelievable.



You also have started pulling up more and more and can stand on your own for several seconds. We were so excited for you the first time you did it, and I think it made you pretty proud of yourself too. You have no fear when it comes to pulling up, and one day I found that you had crawled completely off the floor and onto your big sister's tricycle. I think you are going to be our little daredevil.



Because of all this moving, you are a long and lean little man. You weigh 18lbs. 9 oz. (20%) and are 29" long (50-75%). You just moved into size 3 diapers, but you wear 12mo and some 18mo clothes because you are just a little too long for some of the 12mo stuff. You eat plenty, so I guess you just have a good metabolism! It's crazy to see how much less round your face has become in just the last few months.



You started getting your first tooth at the very end of this month! I could barely catch a glimpse of it the day you turned 10 months old, and I cannot wait to see your precious smile with little baby teeth. You have handled it like a champ with very little fussing. I could only tell you might be getting one because of how much more you were putting things in your mouth and really munching on them. You are too sweet and super tough!



Pretty much, Beckett, we are all head over heels in love with you. The way you light up when you see your daddy, Micah, or me gives me enough joy to last a whole day. I love spending my days playing with you and seeing you discover new and exciting things. I pray that you always keep your joy and contentment in life. We are so thankful for your easy-going nature and your precious smiles and laughs. I cannot think of anything I'd rather do in this world than be your mommy. I thank God every day for the gift of you. You will do amazing things in your life, but don't grow up too fast! Happy 10 months, Beckett Lucas.

I love you, to the moon and back!
Your Momma

Two and A Half

Micah,

You are two and a half years old, and you have blessed your daddy and me every single day for those two and a half years.  You made us parents, and we are so thankful that God gave you to us. You are so full of life, and you bring us an insane amount of joy.  We laugh every day because of you, and so many of our smiles are a result of you.  Your life is such an incredible gift.

The Lord has gifted you with amazing passion.  You are intensely passionate about pretty much everything in your little life, and I love seeing that in you already.  We are excited to see the ways that this manifests itself as you continue to grow.  Sometimes your passion means that you are a little bit stubborn, but you are learning to listen and obey so much better. Your love for life inspires me to enjoy mine a little more, too!

You almost never stop talking.  I love, love, love our conversations.  You have converted your momma to a person who pretty much never has the radio on in the car, all because we just talk the whole time.  You love to ask questions and are so curious about the world around you.  You really want to know about and understand things, and it's fun to watch as you begin to make connections.  You communicate so well, and I know your daddy and I are spoiled by this.  You love to sing too and have even been known to make up words to your own songs.  I need to write some of these down!

You have more energy than I could ever dream of having!  You go nonstop, and a lot of times you run wherever you are going.  You play all day long and will only stop for food or the occasional episode of Dora, Diego, Bubble Guppies, or Kai Lan.  Even then, you usually watch standing up in the middle of the living room.  I love watching your imagination come alive and seeing you pretend with your babies.  It is seriously one of my favorite things to catch you in the middle of your own little world--precious.  It makes me melt.  You are just beginning to get into princesses and princess movies, and you call daddy your prince.  You will never know how that makes him feel, but he adores you.

You are a lover of people.  You light up when you see familiar faces, and you love remembering people's names.  You love your little brother, and I love watching that relationship grow.  You love food, make no mistake about that!  You love to go places and to be outside.  You love to have people at our house.  You love going on runs with daddy in the morning and especially love running the last stretch down our street.

My sweet girl, you amaze me and remind me of God's goodness each time I see your precious face or hear your voice.  One of my favorite moments in your life has been hearing you recite your life verse from memory.  We have prayed those words over you since the moment we found out you were a little girl, and we continue to pray that your life would be one of justice, mercy, and close relationship with the Lord.  You are beautiful, and you are going to change the world.

I love you, Micah--to the moon and back!
Your Mommy

Celebrating Fathers

My kids are so blessed, amazingly blessed, to have a daddy that adores them.  

He loves them so deeply.  He plays hard with them.  He makes them laugh like no one else can.

I love to watch their eyes light up when they see him and vice versa.

I love the way Beckett stands at his office door and just giggles and giggles at his daddy.

I love the way Micah always asks him to stay and play with her.

 

I love the tenderness he has for his children and the ways he pours into them.

They will never, for one second, doubt that their daddy loves them.  What a gift.

Probably the best thing about Chris as a daddy is his dedication to and passion for teaching his children to be people of meaning and deep love for God and others.

My kids also have incredible grandfathers.  Their Pops and Pappy love them so much and have spent countless hours playing, holding, rocking, and meeting every want these two kids have.  They also love the Lord and have left a legacy for Chris and me that we are able to pass on to our kids.

We were able to celebrate all of these great men on Father's Day, and it was great to be able to honor them and spend a little extra time making sure they each knew how much we loved them and are thankful for them.

For everyone that had to struggle through Father's Day for one reason or another, please know that you were remembered in our home.  We prayed for your peace and your heart.  I hope one day you have a reason to celebrate this day.

Mercy Project Monday

We had our second annual Art Auction and Benefit Dinner on Saturday evening, and it was a great success. We had over 160 guests attend, raised about $20,000, and most importantly, were able to share the story of the children in Ghana. It was a fun evening full of good food, rich conversation, and generous giving. I'm pretty sure a little piece of the Kingdom came at Briarcrest Country Club in Bryan, Texas on a hot, summer Saturday evening.














Gretchen did an amazing job pulling it all together. She has been such a gift for Chris and me in the past 6 months, and it was really exciting for me to just be able to show up and enjoy the event.
Josh Marion created this beauty.






Isn't it awesome?!? People are just gifted.
Speaking of being gifted, check out some of the pieces that were auctioned off on Saturday.








I can only dream of being able to do something like that...as soon as my pencil hits the paper, I'm reminded that it's just a dream :)
This piece is super meaningful to us.


Those handprints are each of the children that will be in our first group of rescued kids. It makes me teary just thinking about it. Because of amazing generosity, that piece now hangs in our living room as a terrific reminder to us and all who enter our home of why we are doing this.

We also debuted an incredible documentary that Brandon Jones put together for us. I cannot wait to post a link to it here. It will be worth every second of the 10 minutes you spend watching it. Be on the lookout for that in the coming weeks.

What an amazing night! Chris and I are always blown away by the people that rally behind us and declare to us that this thing we are doing is good and right. In those tough moments, we cling to these reminders. We are blessed, and we want to use our blessings and resources to help the children in Ghana. Praise God that we can and that we have so many people willing to journey with us!

potty training

After we got back from our cruise, I decided it was time to get busy with potty training Micah.  We bought her a little potty months and months before, and she would use it every once in a while.  She was definitely interested, but I had never pushed it with her because I just wasn't quite ready.

However, I decided not to delay the process any longer, so the afternoon that we got home, Micah and I headed to Target to pick some big girl panties, and the winners were Dora and princess panties.  She was so excited about them, wanted to wear them immediately, and even slept in a pair over her diaper.

I will admit that I wasn't super pumped about the whole idea, but I knew that Micah was ready and able.  We just planned to stay home for the first few days of the week.  I pulled Micah's potty chair into the living room, and we spent lots of time watching Dora, Diego, and Bubble Guppies while trying to potty every 15-20 minutes.  She got one M&M or gummy bear for every time she went tee-tee in the potty and a big treat for going poo-poo {The poo was rough, people.  I am not cut out for cleaning poo out of panties.  Enough said.}

We had a few accidents, but once it clicked, she never looked back.

Seriously, Micah was a total rockstar.

She is still in diapers at nap and nighttime, but I have a feeling she will be ready to be done with that very soon.  I just love my alone time and sleep too much to let that go just yet :)  Like I said, she was way more ready than I was/am!

She is just getting bigger by the day.  I sure love seeing her cute hiney in those panties.

Our Week in iPhone Pictures

We started last weekend with a certain little girl's half birthday {post on that coming later}, so we made some cupcakes to celebrate.

We also made a family trip to the park, and Micah hung on the monkey bars all by herself for the first time.  She was so proud.

Beckett was pretty proud to be down and playing like a big kid, too.

Sunday was a wedding in Waco for Chris, Beckett, and me.  Micah got to stay behind and play with Mimi and Pappy.  Beckett enjoyed the grass.

Monday morning brought a yummy breakfast along with some grocery list making, and a boy's first ride in the big part of the shopping cart.

We made our first ever batch of cloud dough.

 

Ate some popsicles after fantastic naps while sporting even more fantastic hair.

 

The kids played in the swimming pool in the backyard, always a hit.

Micah gave scissors a try, and she was a fan.

 

We got Micah all signed up at the library for her very first summer reading program.  

Anyone else have fond memories of those?  Personal pan pizza coupons were legit.

 

We spent yesterday at the high school state championship baseball game where our alma mater was playing.  It was a great game, even though we lost.  The kids loved it.  Micah cheered.  Beckett smiled.  They both slept at least half the way home.

  

I'd say we had a fabulous week!  Here's to another one!

Cruisin'

Back in April {yes, I'm still catching up...almost there!}, the hubs and I were able to sneak away for a little vacation.  We went on a cruise for a whole week without kids.  We certainly missed them, but it was much needed during a busy season in our lives.

 

Chris's sister, Angela, and her husband, Chris, went with us.  We had a blast!

 

Chris sang karoake.

 

Our ship was awesome.

  

 We saw lots of beautiful beaches and clear, blue water...thank you, Lord!

  

We got all dressed up each night.

We enjoyed a relaxing day on the beach in Cozumel.

  

We snorkeled and swam with stingrays in Grand Cayman.

  

 

We did a zipline tour in Jamaica.

 

 We watched some parades on the ship.

 

We ate and ate and ate and were served by incredible waitstaff.

  

We enjoyed every moment of our vacation.

 

We were more than ready to see these sweet faces and give them huge hugs after 7 days away.