15 Months

My boy,

You are fifteen months old, and your personality is really starting to shine.  Your daddy and I are constantly looking at each other in awe as we discover new things about who you are.  One thing I know for sure is that you are a true gift to us.  You never fail to make me smile, even when I'm having a bad day and even when you are throwing a fit (yes, it's true...you have started to do this!). I am so thankful for you, Beckett Lucas, and I am trying to store up all these memories of you in my heart.

I think it would be nearly impossible to describe all of the ways that you have changed in the last three months, so I will try to hit the big ones and include a few of the little ones too.  One big difference is that you are walking and have been almost since your birthday.  You had the most precious Frankenstein-as-an-old-man walk ever.  It was seriously the cutest thing. Watching you learn to balance and become more steady on your feet was so fun, and you are now a speed demon.  I couldn't keep up with you when you were crawling, and I certainly can't keep up with you now that you are walking and running!

Your vocabulary has taken off in the past month.  I could always tell you were intently taking in what we were saying, but you just hadn't quite been ready to try it out for yourself. All of a sudden, you started babbling more, and for a while, it felt like you were trying out a new word every day. Your very favorite word to say is "bubba," and you say it every single time you see Wrigley or hear his collar jingling.  You also say: momma, dada, Micah (more like caca), water (wawa), baby, Mimi, LeeLee, ball, bird, banana (nana), no no, night night, bye bye, and more (meeeee). You can also make noises for a puppy, cow, pig, and duck, and that is how you refer to animals. I love hearing your sweet voice and listening to you discover how to make new sounds and words.

Your sleeping is still great.  You go to bed at 7:00pm and wake up between 6:30am-7:00am. I love how dependable your sleep is, and I am so thankful. Your naps have become a little more tricky in the past month or so.  You have started dropping your afternoon nap every once in a while, which makes you super sleepy by bedtime.  When I've tried to drop your morning nap, you do not like it and get very cranky just to make sure I know about it.  We are still trying to figure out what will be best for you, sweet little man. You always sleep with one of your muslin blankets.  If I replace it with another one, made of another fabric, you will throw it out of your crib immediately.

You eat really well, but you love to feed Wrigley and throw food from your highchair.  Sometimes it is really hard to get frustrated with you about this because you have the sweetest smile on your face while you hurl food across the table.  We are working on it :) You do not love plain milk, and getting you to drink enough dairy has been a challenge. You love your kefir in the mornings, though! You are a fruit kid just like your big sister, and you love most kinds of meat. I think Chick-Fil-A may be your favorite place to eat. You are a smart kiddo!

I want to remember the things that you most love right now.  You still love balls of all kind and can throw scarily well.  You have also developed a love for cars and trucks. You have a newfound love for books as well, and this makes me so happy.  One of the sweetest things you do is get a book, bring it to someone who is sitting on the floor or a chair, and back into a lap so you can be read to. Melt me to a puddle of mush.  At any time during the day, I can find you sitting in one of the little chairs in the playroom with a book or in a big pile of books "reading." You also go into Micah's room, climb onto her bed, and read books there sometimes. You cannot get enough of being outside. I think you would stay out there all day if I would let you.  We love spending our afternoons outside, but I have to watch you...you are not afraid of much of anything! You still love to cuddle and give hugs with the best of them.

 At 15 months, you weigh 23 lbs, 2 oz. (30%), are 31 inches tall (50%), and wear 12-18 month clothes and size 4-5 shoes. Beckett Lucas, you have my heart, and I fall in love with you more every day.  You have brought so much joy and purpose to my life that I had no idea I was missing.  Your life teaches me something new about the Lord every day.  I am so thankful to be your momma and to be on your journey with you.  I pray that the Lord will capture your heart and that you will faithfully and recklessly serve Him each day of your life. I love you deeply, sweet boy. Proud to call you my son.

I love you to the moon and back!
Your Momma

Captured

A couple of months ago, we had some family pictures and Beckett's one year pictures taken.

Our sweet friend and fabulous photographer, Jenny of jml photography, did such a wonderful job of capturing moments with our family and some precious ones of both kids.

I love pictures because it's like freezing a moment in time.  Capturing days that go by too quickly, but having a photo makes it feel like you can hang on to those days forever. 

Just one look at a picture brings back a flood of memories, and I am so grateful that we got some wonderful pictures of this time in our lives.

Enjoy some of my favorites :)

{and contact Jenny if you live in BCS...she's awesome!}

I love, love, love all the faces she captured.

I know I will just treasure these pictures more and more as time passes.

I am so thankful for my little family.

Twenty Four

24.

24 children that were trafficked are now free. 

24 children that we had the privilege of holding hands with as they walked from their old lives of captivity and fear into new life full of hope and opportunity.

24 children are living today in a shelter that looks and feels like a haven, surrounded by beautiful trees and lush vegetation, and they are safe.

24 children are currently running, laughing, playing soccer, eating 3 meals a day, and learning.

24 children have their very own beds to sleep in every night.

24 children are learning what it means to be children.

24 children have changed my life.

They have been changing my life for 2 years, but seeing their faces made all the difference.
These 24 children have individual identities and unique gifts given to them by their Creator.
My prayer is that they will begin to dream about who they can become and who God created them to be and that they will recklessly pursue those dreams.

 To God be the glory for each one of these precious faces!

Pumpkins and A Happy Halloween

I am a sucker for almost all holiday traditions.  I love all the cheesy stuff, and I especially love it now that we have kids.  As soon as fall rolls around, I start getting excited about football, yummy fall candles, soups, cooler (supposedly) weather, and pumpkins.

We have a small pumpkin patch near our house that benefits the Aggie Habitat for Humanity, and we like to support them.  We also discovered an awesome pumpkin patch at a local produce market.  It was so great that the kids and I wanted to go twice to make sure that daddy and LeeLee could experience it with us.  So, that makes 3 total trips to pumpkin patches this season, and I loved every minute of it! That also means I got lots of fun pictures for you to enjoy :)

I pretty much love these pictures where the kids aren't looking and smiling, and Beckett decided to try to climb the hay bales.  They perfectly capture where we are in life!


The only thing that makes all of this better for me is that Micah shares my love for all things holiday.  She was so excited about going to the pumpkin patch and picking out special pumpkins for us.

 Be still my heart.

 She was beside herself over the animals they had.

 Hay maze!

 Love these two and their precious relationship.

 She got to feed the goats some hay.  It was so fun.

We carved pumpkins for the first time as a family this year.  I actually don't think Chris and I have ever carved pumpkins together.  Crazy, I know!  Micah was into it until she realized how much work it takes.  She also wasn't a big fan of the icky, sticky goo as she called it.  She much preferred to sing and dance while Chris and I did all the work :)

And, if I thought she was excited before, I had no idea until we got to Halloween.  She wanted to be Snow White and talked about it for weeks.  Her excitement was palpable.  She literally squealed while she was getting dressed.  Love it!

And, I think Snow White and Dopey were pretty precious.
 

We had a great October, and we are looking forward to centering ourselves on this season of Thanksgiving.