My Strong Young'n!! =D

Hunter started pulling up to his feet when we pull him into the sitting position!!!

(4 days shy of his 7 month birthday)

Mommy Is so proud of you sweet baby!!

He was so exited and giggly!!

I can't believe how fast he is catching on! What a smarty pants!

We have just being trying to see what he will do when we pull him up with his arms from the laying position to the sitting position and to our surprise the other day he popped up to his feet and has been doing it ever since! His little legs are getting so strong!!

GO HUNTER GO!!

(I'll try to get a video of it soon!! We have to have daddy here for this one.)

Encouraged....

What a blessing it is to be encouraged by someone you haven't ever met, but have read about and feel as if you know them. Tonight I read a beautiful blog entry from another sister in Christ speaking on her first encounter with the "I'm Sorry" response to her beautiful and perfect little baby that just so happens to have an extra chromosome. She is able to respond so lovingly with the help of the Lord to carry her through each step and is such an advocate for her baby. What a Blessing!! She posted a scripture in this blog entry and it has just stuck in my mind, so I would love to share it for you!

My Sweet Blessing

1 Samuel 16:7

“... For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

I would like to encourage you to go and read through this verse. Read from 1 Samuel 16:1-13.(13 verses isn't asking to much, is it?) If you have a study bible read the footnotes after you are done. I encourage you to dig in and and get the meat of the word!

In Christ's Love,

We have a sitter!!

Hunter is Prop sitting!!

He has gotten SOOO good at it this last week!

My Big Boy!!!

What a JOY you are to us, Sweet baby boy!!

Just wanted to share my joy with all of you!

Easter Encouragement!!

I was just reading a sweet post from a dear friend about keeping the true meaning of holidays as our first priority!! Jesus Christ that is! What a blessing it was to have this reminder!!

Jarrod and I have started (we sure do try to) little traditions since we have gotten married that put christ in his rightful spot: FIRST!

any who,

What I'm trying to get at is our upcoming Holiday: Easter aka Resurrection Day!!

My sweet friend posted a tradition that her family did when she was just a child and It really was something that I thought to be something soooo awesome!! They would bake cookies and the recipe would actually teach the story of the resurrection. Every ingredient has a purpose and a meaning.

I was very blessed by this And I hope you will be too!!

Praise the Lord we serve a risen Savior!!

Here is the Recipe:

Begin this recipe on Saturday, the day before Easter.

1 cup whole pecans

1 teaspoon vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon or a wooden meat hammer

duct tape or packing tape

Bible

Preheat oven to 300*F.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon or hammer to break them into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life.

Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste. Then put your pinch of salt in the bowl.

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus's followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing! Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheets.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus's body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape to seal the oven door.

Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Leave the kitchen. If you've been making these cookies just before bedtime, GO TO BED!

Acknowledge that the kids are probably sad that they've worked hard to make these cookies, and now have to leave them in the oven overnight. Explain that Jesus' followers were in sad when Jesus died and the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Ask the kids to notice the cracked surface. Have them bite into the cookies. The cookies are hollow!

Explain that on the first Easter morning, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

This is just amazing!!

This song brought tears to my eyes and is so beautiful. What a wonderful heart behind it! Its about a husband, father and man desiring to lead his family in the ways of Christ, He pours himself out and asks the Lord to help him lead his family in there Spiritual and physical needs and be his strength when he is weak!!

PRAISE THE LORD

lyrics:

Lead Me By Sanctus Reel

I look around and see my wonderful life

Almost perfect from the outside

In picture frames I see my beautiful wife

Always smiling

But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes

They're just children from the outside

I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine

They're in independent

But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength

To be everything I'm called to be

Oh, Father, show me the way

To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love,

Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this our home

Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

What A Wonderful First Day of Spring!

What better way to start off the First day of Spring than a birthday party at the park with GREAT friends!!

Woke up from a nap and ready to "hang" with his friends! =D

My little stud muffin

Swinging for the First time!!!

He liked it!! =D

Mommy and Hunter on a BEAUTIFUL day!!

Oh How I love spring!!

We are so blessed!!!!

We're almost HOME OWNERS!

The Front Of Our Sweet Little House

The Kitchen

Stainless steel appliances come with the house. That was a sweet blessing!!

Our cute living room. I Love the big windows!!

Part of the bathroom! it also has this really cute "bowl sink" its very modern!

Our backyard! Its actually bigger than this picture makes it look.

I feel so blessed that we found this sweet house for such an amazing deal!! The Lord was so sweet to us!!

I am sooo excited to announce that we are going to be Homeowners, Lord willing in 30 days!! WOW, I can't believe I can say that out loud now!!

We have been working with a realtor now for the past few weeks and we have been searching for a home to call our own! Our Realtor has been such a blessing! She is on top of everything! She's been such a joy to work with!! It has been such a crazy & fun experience! I didn't realize just how anxious I really was until this all started! Waiting on the phone call to say "I found you guys a few homes to check out", Lets go see these homes,placing a bid and then waiting for: yes they approved or there counter offering has been tough. But Praise The Lord that he has made our wait very short! I am sooo thrilled that we got the "YES" yesterday and are now in a binding contract on a home!!

We still have more stages to go through but I'm so thankful we have gotten this far!! =D

Our Next steps are the Binder being put down, appraisal, inspections, then signing tons of paperwork and then FINALLY the keys to our FIRST HOME! woohooo....

Please Continue to lift us up in prayer the next few weeks as all these tasks are being fulfilled.

Thank you Sweet Savior for this wonderful & beautiful new home you are placing us in.

Tuesday's Photo-Op day!

Oh, How I enjoy photographing my sweet little guy!

I can't get enough of his sweetness!!

Such a sweet boy.

Silliness!!

Yummy, Blanket Mommy!!

These blocks are so much fun!!

Philippians 3:8-10

"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith;that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."

Romans 12:2

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

My prayer for you is that you seek God's word and will for your life!!

Praying for you my sweet baby boy!!

The Two I Love Dearly....

My Dearest Sweet Love, You are such an amazing Husband and Daddy! Thank you for being a godly example for our family! I pray that we can always lift each other up and for our number 1 priority to be that Jesus Christ is our center! You work so hard for me to be able to stay home with our sweet little boy! You have given up so much so for that to be possible! I know that the stresses that come along with being the provider of our home aren't always easy. I see that you have to sacrifice things and you are so willing and joyful to do that for us. Keep seeking Christ in the tough times. && like you said, "if your not going through a trial, you must not be doing something right" Trials and Challenges are the way that the Lord refines us. Its amazing to see that the trials are actually such a sweet blessing underneath all the toughness. They have grown us so much stronger and closer together! Our marriage has grown deeper and richer in so many ways! THANK YOU, for all that you do! I don't tell you enough that I am so grateful! The Lord has provided me the desire of my heart, when he gave me the amazing godly man, you are!!

The Lord has granted me the one whom my soul loves!!

Song of Solomon 3:4

My Sweet Little "honey bunny", You have only been on this earth for 6 short months and have changed me in so many ways. When I first saw you, I loved instantly and knew that a little piece of my heart now lived on the outside of my body. You have brought so much joy to your daddy and I's life. We have prayed since the moment you were conceived that you would be a strong warrior for the Lord. Precious baby, please don't fear what others say when you share the sweet love and truth of Jesus Christ. I am sure that you will hear people ridicule you for sharing your Savior, but sweet baby just know that this world is a wretched and wicked place.

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I have been so tremendously blessed by you, Hunter. I will strive and try my hardest to make all the best decisions for you. You have touched so many lives and have strengthened me so much. The Lord was so sweet and knew what I needed PERFECTLY. Each new day of getting to know you and see that precious personality gets better and better. We are praying so endlessly for you. Mommy loves you sweet baby!!!

Lord,keep us strong and reliant on you

Thank you precious Savior for these sweet blessings. Thank you for giving me the desires of my heart!

.

..Speechless Saturday..

Strolling like a big boy!!

My Big 6 MONTH old boy!!

That Smirk is the BEST!

Telling Momma about it...

My happy camper!

"Is this hat really necessary mom?

Big Boy strolling without his car seat attached!!

Checking it all out!!

SO EXCITED

After that stroll he sure did pass out!!

My baby boy is growing up so fast! It was so much fun putting him in his stroller without the carrier for the first time! woohoo.. we gotta do some practicing before the big trip to DISNEY in just 3 short weeks!! Hunter is going to be in such amazement. I feel like a little kid again when I think about going. I can't wait!! Counting down the days!! woooooooooo

6 Months Old

I can't believe that 6 months ago today I gave Birth to my PRECIOUS baby boy!! Hunter has been such a blessing and a joy! The Lord is so sweet to have blessed my womb!

Thank You sweet Savior for this little miracle you have granted Jarrod and I!!

Mommy and Daddy Love you very much sweet boy!!!

First SOLID Food!!

Hunter's First Food.

Organic Squash

I am starting to make his food now... =D

Mommy and Hunter

Daddy and Hunter

Taking A bite

This was staged, I wanted the sweet "messy" face. He was such a neat little eater!!

I am pleased to say that Hunter did such a fantastic job eating his first solid baby food! He did make one weird face in the beginning but then he did great! He is still figuring out the whole eating thing. Hunter really seemed to like squash! I was thrilled! Our Next food will be Avocado. That was actually my first choice and let me tell you I was SET on that. I went out and got the Avocado and prepared it and everything, but much to my dismay it wasn't ripe enough so it tasted Horrible!! Very, very bitter. (yep, I'm the momma that tastes all the foods before giving it to her kiddo.) I am planning on getting another avocado and letting it sit out for a few days and then making it again for our little man.

I am SO SO SO excited to start making Hunter's baby food. Please, pray that I keep the joyful spirit when a food doesn't turn out right. (because I'm sure that I will mess up another one)

Oh, how I love each new stage Hunter starts!!! The Joys of being a mommy are just amazing!

Thank you sweet Savior for blessing Jarrod and I with our precious boy!!