4/23/13

God is Good.

I grew up in a house full of faith.  We talked about God, we prayed, we went to church, but we were never part of a church.  I have gone to many churches, but never really found my place.  I now realize that was always the problem.  Finding my place.  We grew up Baptist, and always attended Baptist churches.  I always felt like I walked away with a message, but I also felt bad about myself.  By no means am I saying anything bad about being Baptist, or the churches I went to, it just wasn't my place.  I always wanted to be involved in church. and I knew I wanted my kids to go to church.  Before Luke and I got married we set out to find a church.  He grew up Catholic, but wasn't opposed to trying other religions.  After trying out several places we found ourselves at Hermitage United Methodist Church, and we loved it.  It had the message I was used to, and the rituals that Luke was used to.  We went to church often, and agreed we wanted the Pastor to marry us.  Pastor Allen Black was wonderful, we loved meeting with him for our pre marital counseling, and never once felt judgement.  We loved going to church, but never got involved the way I knew I wanted to.  Eventually we stopped going on a regular basis.  We heard about a more contemporary service HUMC was offering, and decided to try their first service on Easter of 2012.  We really enjoyed the service, but never went back.  Fast forward to December 2012.  My Papa passed away.  That is when things changed for my whole family.  His funeral was on a Saturday, the next Sunday we went to The Foundry, and my life was forever changed. I found my place. We have rarely missed a service since that Sunday.  Not only do we attend church on Sundays, we are involved.  We know, or recognize everyone we go to church with.  We know our pastor on a personal basis.  I am moved by Pastor Chris every single Sunday.  He can deliver a message unlike any pastor I have ever seen.  He is real.  He has made mistakes.  I am pretty sure he doesn't have a judgmental bone in his body.  I leave church feeling so incredibly blessed, instead of bad about myself. I look forward to church, instead of going because I know I should. I am involved in two small groups, one for couples, and one for women.  They are both wonderful, and completely different.  Sunday April 21st will go down as one of the best days in my life.  I was Baptized.  My sisters entire family was Baptized.  Mia was Baptized.  8 other adults and children were Baptized.  It is an experience I will never forget.







How sweet is this picture with Macy Kate watching her mommy.


It made it so much more special that Pastor Allen was there too.




















We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.






These ladies have my heart.  They have had a hand in changing my life, and I look forward to our women's group meetings every other week.  I have learned so much from each of them, and I thank God everyday for putting them in my life. 



I am so blessed to have The Foundry, and I know that God put all of these people in my life when I needed them the most.  They have helped me more than they will ever know, and I am so thankful to have finally found my place.















4/10/13

Going to the Chapel.

One of my very best friends Megan is getting married in less than three weeks!  Megan and I have been friends since high school, and I am so blessed to have her in my life.  Against her will we had a couples shower for her at the end of February.  She told us she did not want to have showers (yes, not your typical bride.)  However, we insisted.  She agreed to have a couples shower.  We had such a good time, and it was so good to get everyone together in the midst of the drab winter weather.




















We went to Seaside, FL for her bachelorette party at the end of March, I will be posting about it next!

4/8/13

18 Months

I am a little, OK a lot late on this post.  I feel like life has been such a whirlwind lately, and I am ready to get off the merry go round.  I am also ready for my baby to stop growing up. 


Hudson, you are such a little boy these days.  When I say boy, I mean ALL boy.  You are into anything and everything you can get your grubby little hands on.  You stepped on moms scale this morning, and it said 27.8 lbs.  We have been to the Dr several times in the past month, and you stay between 25-28 lbs.  I am unsure about your height.  I could not get you in to see the Dr until April 24th.  I think you and I both are OK with that, we are tired of the doctor.  You had a terrible stomach virus a few weeks ago, and you were so pitiful.  You NEVER fall asleep while I am holding you, so I didn't mind the snuggles.





You are still such a good eater.  You will eat pretty much anything I give you.  There are some things you like better than others.  Right now you are currently loving: eggs, cheese, blueberries, strawberries, rotisserie chicken, salmon, and any kind of vegetable.  You also love any sort of bread, cracker, rice, pasta.  You are still a messy eater, which why I often take your clothes off when you eat.


I don't even know where to get started with your sleeping.  Lord help us.  That is all I can think when it comes to your sleeping habits.  You are still up at night.  Several times.  Sometimes you will go right back to sleep.  Sometimes you like to party for an hour.  You used to ALWAYS go to bed in your crib, and end up in bed with us at some point in the night.  Now when I say its bedtime, you grab your favorite blanket, and go to mom and dads room.  Then look at us like we are crazy when we suggest going to your room.  If you are REALLY tired we can put you down in your bed.  The other night I told your daddy "Hudson is going to sleep in his bed tonight, I don't care how hard he cries.  I cannot handle being kicked all night," daddy replies "I know.  We are going to stand our ground."  Less than an hour of you screaming, daddy caves, you are in our bed, upside down, and sideways.  Thank goodness for our king size bed.  You demand over half of it.  I get so frustrated with your sleeping habits, but I secretly love getting you out of your crib, and putting you in bed with us.  You are such a cuddlier   Just like mom.  I tell daddy he should love having you in bed, because you cuddle with me, and he doesn't have to.  Nothing melts my heart more than when you wake up in the morning, grab my face, and give me a big kiss.  It is worth the beatings I take at night.





You still LOVE Barney.  You are such a busy body, and always looking for the next thing to get into.  If we turn Barney on it will stop you dead in your tracks.  Dr. LaLonde says you should not watch TV, and it should always be off, because it slows down brain waves.  Obviously her child is nothing like you.  Without 30 minutes of Barney in the afternoons mom would completely lose her mind, and dinner would never be served.

We are all so happy it is starting to feel like spring, and we can play outside.  One, because we love playing outside.  Two, I am hoping to wear your little butt out so you will sleep through the night.  A mom can dream right?

You are not talking too much yet.  You have a few words you can say.  Your favorite being "what's that?"  We always tell you whatever it is you are pointing to, in hopes of you repeating it one day.  Even though you don't say too much,  you are understanding so much more.  If you are thirsty you will go to the fridge.  Hungry, the high chair.  Bed, you stand at our bed.  We can say its bath time and you will go stand by the tub.  When you do something you are not supposed to be doing and we catch you, you put your hand out to be smacked.  Clearly we have this parenting thing mastered.   You can point to your body parts when we ask what they are, and we are working on colors and numbers.  We think you are a smart little cookie :).

I have no idea how many teeth you have, because you bite me every time I get near your mouth.  I will say, they are sharp.  I did notice when you were laughing the other day that you have some "big"
teeth coming in the back. 

You would still rather be into anything you are not supposed to be, rather than playing with any of your toys. You love your cars, and will make a "vroom" sound as you are playing with them, or throwing them down the steps.

You are a climber.  It's bad.  We cannot leave the room, or you will be on the table.  You will move a chair to wherever you want to be, and climb on it.  You have already had so many bumps, and bruises because of this.





Bath time is finally getting to be more enjoyable.  I used to fight with you the whole time to keep you from turning the water on, and off.  In the past week you have started actually playing with your toys, and I don't have to worry about you busting your head on the faucet.



We went to Dollywood last weekend, and it was the first time you were big enough to ride the rides.  I will do a whole post on it later, but here are a few pictures.  Of course you wanted to stand up, and we had to tighten your seat belt to the point of cutting off circulation to keep you in the seat.






You are so attached to me right now.  Sometimes you will cry when I drop you off in the morning, and it breaks my heart.  You would think the church nursery is a torture chamber.  You are starting to get a little better, but you still have a meltdown when I leave you.

You are so go go go all the time that I have been bad about taking pictures.  I am trying really hard to get better. You are going up so fast I don't want to miss a minute of it.

Hudson,
You are the sweetest, toughest, most ornery, impatient, loving little boy.  You can make me so mad I could scream, then you give me your sweet smile, and I melt.  You are so headstrong, and know exactly what you want.  I have no idea where that comes from ;).  Everyday is an adventure, and you keep us on our toes.  It is so interesting to compare you to other kids your age.  Nine times out of ten, you are way more wild than other kids.  I love every single minute of it.  It is what makes you who you are.  You are the light of our lives, and have taught us so much about each other, and what is important in life.  We are so blessed to me your  mommy and daddy.


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