A Month Away

Our little Noah J. is 11 months this week...so close to his first birthday! It blows my mind how fast these years keep flying (please SLOW DOWN).

 He is still sleeping great...in fact, since the holidays, his wake-up time has been between 9-10am. We must have worn him out!
He has also been doing great on the "basketball schedule" which can call for some late nights (or maybe that's why he sleeps so late???). He pretty much takes one long nap a day now. If he happens to wake up earlier than 9:00 (per say, on Sundays), the 2 naps is necessary for this booger.

 He got his first haircut last week. I'm not a huge fan of it (even though it was my idea) and am already for those long curls to grow back...even if it was taking mullet-form.

 Noah has added some new little bits to his personality: he loves to dance (though his moves are far from stardom - still adorable), he now can wave "bye-bye" and say it simultaneously if you're lucky, he can give you a "high-5", and he signs "more" like a champ now.

 Thanks to his rough and tumble big brother, he's getting tougher - he can get tackled off the couch or jumped on and sometimes (note - sometimes) will just keep on his way playing.
He is still not walking and honestly not showing interest. I joked I was hoping he'd wait until after basketball season to walk (much easier to have only one child that can run away from you), and I thought there was no way that would come true...now I'm thinking it might actually happen! As long as he can walk by the time we go to the beach this summer, I don't really care. I'm enjoying this phase with him!

 Like Lincoln, this little guy also has the gift of expressiveness. I think my two boys might be a bit dramatic (which my family would say came directly from ME).
This little guy still has NO TEETH! But don't be fooled...there have been quite a few nights where he has out eaten ALL of us. Seriously.
Speaking of eating, he likes EVERYTHING. And I feel like he has basically tried everything. We've been done with baby food for months now because he will eat just about anything I cook. Fantastic.

Pretty hard to believe his next update will be his birthday party - CRAZY!

Happy First Snow!

This is where he's been spending most of the morning...when daddy gets home, it's all play outside!! :)

Pay it Forward

Last night we went out to eat with 2 other couples and our mass of kids (all infants/toddlers) which called for quite the chaotic evening (in a fun, crazy, mayhem sort of way).
Needless to say, we had a very large table.

In fact, we were the largest group in a place that was packed with a line of people waiting to be seated.

And when the time came to pay, our waitress kindly said:
"Oh - don't worry about. Another table picked up your tab."

We all looked at her puzzled as if we were waiting for the "Ha - just kidding. That will $120 please."
But it never came.
Then we started grilling her for who it was that was so kind and she told us they wanted it to be anonymous and plus they had already left.

Now let me explain why I found this extremely humbling, blessing, and why it swirled in my mind when I tried to go to sleep that night...

The place was packed. Line out the door, packed. If someone wanted to show an act of kindness, they could have easily chose ANY table...one with only a couple...one with only one family eating...but they chose the largest table (not to mention probably the most obnoxious!) in the whole place.

They went BIG. They went all in.

Furthermore, we're pretty confident it was a complete stranger since none of us had ever recognized anyone we knew since being there.

The local Christian radio station has had a big "pay it forward" movement going on this past year where they are really urging all listeners to do random acts of kindness. The push is so great that if you listen, you can't help but be mindful of ways you can show extra kindness.

I'll admit when I was in line at McDonald's the other day, I felt the urge to buy the meal of the car behind me. However at the moment, there was no car behind me. So I told myself when a car does pull in behind me, I'll ask the cashier what they ordered (since I was currently stuck at the window) and then decide if it was "too much" or something I could do.

They paid for our whole table...the largest table. They went big.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of our experience last night was seeing someone who truly, with all their heart, believe that money had no power over them - that God was bigger; that God was Provider. It's easy to say, but not so easy to live out.

I know I'm guilty.
But I also know that God has been working in our lives regarding money in powerful ways over the past year, and I am confident that He used this last night as a reminder to me to keep striving and stop swaying from what I know as truth...

And that truth is that God is Provider. God is Huge. God is Present. And greater things are yet to be done when we fully trust Him.

My lame McDonald's story where I considered paying for someone behind me if they happened to pull up? Thank the Lord they never did. My focus was pitiful.
But now I'm ready. Whatever it may look like, I don't want to fear going Big. And by going "big" I mean with no conditions - just acting when the Holy Spirit leads.

So pay it forward this week, my friends. It had an amazing impact in my life when someone did it for me, and I know the Lord as my personal Savior. Unexplainable kindness could urge lost people to search for answers only explained in the realm of a loving, sovereign Savior. Let's get to work! :)

New Reads

Just ordered these 2 books (by which I'm giddy excited to read):

Last night I went to a global missions banquet with my friend Beth (at our church, Fellowship). It was inspiring, igniting, and impactful to listen to what God is doing around the world with ordinary people from NWA. I'm excited to partnership in prayer for the next few years, and in the near future (kids have to be a tad bit older) re-join in the global Great Commission. It's a core passion of mine that God has instilled in my heart and I get crazy excited thinking about the near future when Jason and I can involve our kids in cross/culture missions!

As someone who is used to "going", I have had to learn what my current role is (as a mother of infants) here in my own community. I'll admit it has been a struggle at times to be intentional, but I continue to seeks God's will and purpose for me here. Mine and Jason's prayer this past year has been to have Kingdom Perspective. And this is a daily pursuit because we both fail miserably time after time. 

"God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose."

— John Piper

The Sugar Bowl - High School Style

Most of you know I love my husband's job. I love season where we get to go to games 2 nights/week (really - I'm not being sarcastic here) and I get super giddy the day of a game waiting for the evening to arrive. Since kids, this love of watching basketball games has arrived at new challenges, however I'm lucky so far to have one kid who might just adore these games more than me, and another who, well, is just happy to be here (or anywhere for that matter). Both are good travelers, and both can sleep like no other, therefore, late nights have not intruded yet on moods or schedules (thank goodness).

Another thing I love about his job is the chance to interact with high school kids. Albeit, if he were a girl's coach, this part would be more than over-the-top-FUN for me, but I have really enjoyed getting to know his players (sometimes just all their names is a huge victory!) and strive to make it a point to get to through each season (I scored an "F" in this department last season).

So a few weeks ago I posed the notion to Jason that we should have the team over sometime soon and he pitched the Sugar Bowl as "the night".

It was a blast. The Tigers have a great group of guys on their team and it was fun getting to know them more. Lincoln LOVED it, to say the least. The poor soul went to bed at midnight with a smile on his face still talking about the Tigers. Precious. He, too now knows them by name!

I busted out my camera to take some shots (which didn't really turn out great for some reason), and I'll have you know - in a room full of high school boys (2011 high school boys, clarified), at any given moment, at least 94.3% of them will be looking down at their cell phone. :)

Thanks Tigers for a fun night!

***I just now got Lincoln out of bed; first thing he said..."Tigers???"***

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Go Hogs!

 Lincoln is SOO excited about the game tonight. It's pretty stinkin hilarious. There's 3 possible reasons why he's so giddy with joy: (1) duh - the Razorbacks are just AWESOME, (2) the Tigers are all coming over tonight and there's quite a few boys on Jason's team that he just adores, (3) he's been eyeing the 2 Razorback cookie cakes sitting on the counter.
I'm with ya - no doubt it's #3.

 He wore this goofy hat through wal-mart today while simultaneously calling the Hogs. Yes. He's a goof ball.

And as I'm writing this, my funny little man just yelled (loudly): "I wuv you Mama!!!!!"
It's going to be a good day. :)

Playtime

Christmas Break is officially over...and it's playtime.

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Happy New Year!!!!!!