Wrapping Up the Holidays

Soooooo Happy New Year!!!!!!! We rung in 2012 in true wild style: dinner out with the kids at 3:30 to beat the crowds, a little shopping, a wild playnight with us and the boys, then bed right after the ball drop - crazy, let me tell you. But perfect all the same. :)
I haven't really posted about Christmas but it was a blast. I can't decide if I like my new camera lens or all the fun games Lincoln got (like Hungry Hippos) - loving playing games with my old boy. And this year we decided to use our Christmas money on a King bed!!!!! It hasn't arrived yet but I am SO excited for this one. Even had a bit extra to buy me some new running shoes today that will go perfectly with that new gym membership I'm signing up for in the morning. Let the fun begin.
but obviously it's not all about gifts and I'm so grateful for the family time, extra hours with Jason at home, numerous date nights, and the handful of sermons Jason and I were able to listen to together while driving over the break that were super enriching. Thankful for my Savior and His amazing Gift to us.

I've never been big on New Year's resolutions, but in the next year I am definitely excited about becoming a family of 5 and welcoming our baby girl into the world!
I'm also super excited about the new Bible study on David starting in a few weeks, conference games beginning Friday, new neighbors (hopefully Bethany and Chris that will soon include you as well!), and many fun days spent out on the boy's new toy:

 This was the exhausted picture after much jumping and playing. :)

Adelynn Faith (the story)

Okay. So how/why we chose our baby girl's name:

Oh and for those that did not see my facebook post, we've decided on
Adelynn Faith McMahan.

First, I always had a hunch it was a girl from day one and thus, I had various names swirling in my brain since we first found out we were pregnant (okay - maybe since we first decided to start trying!). The 3 were Finlee, Tatum, and Adelynn.

I had mentioned these to Jason but not in all seriousness. And honestly, I always thought it would be Finlee. And then the middle names...these were my favorite and I had a list of about 10 that I loved. In my spare time, I'd match them up with these names and just stare at it trying to imagine our baby girl.

And "Faith" was never one of the 10...ever.

When we found out it was a girl, I automatically switched from Finlee and just knew she was going to be Adelynn (though I had not mentioned this to Jason). In my own thoughts, that was already here name, but I truly was open to Jason having a different opinion. Names are huge to us and really is something we both have felt a leading from God on with our boys...so if God should lead differently, I was open to that.

But Jason was in full support! The only hiccup we had was that he knows I don't like the names to be shortened and he asked if I would get upset if he called her "Addie" some percent of the time. I will admit I asked, "Like how much percent are we talking?" Ha. I told him I will probably always call her Adelynn, but he's her daddy and call her whatever he wants to!

Meaning. Adelynn means "noble kind" which noble, as defined in dictionary means "possessing outstanding qualities". I just absolutely adored that meaning for our baby girl! Over the course of the next few months (and the rest of her life) we are going to pray about those qualities which God desires to be outstanding in her life...to be of "higher ranking" and then holistically for her most outstanding quality to be her love and fervor for the Lord.
The spelling is perfect, too, because "Lynn" is my mother's name and my sister's middle name. Love that.

And then, "Faith". The middle name that was never even on the list.

Jason and I have experienced a handful of matters involving faith like we've never experienced this past year. Some I've blogged about, others I have not...some have been personal and others have been coming alongside with friends through hard times, watching and learning from their massive leaps of faith in God's timing, will, and presence. It's been overwhelming and I think the area I have grown most in my spiritual journey with Lord this year.
And one of our biggest areas of faith was with this baby girl early on when we saw dysfunctional development on her 2nd ultrasound. God chose to heal that for us which we consider a massive blessing! And then a few weeks later when we saw it was a girl, fully healed, on the ultrasound, I knew her middle name would be "Faith".

This is Jason's absolute favorite part of her name.

So our prayer for Adelynn Faith at this point in her tiny little life, is that she grow in favor of God, possessing outstanding qualities that come only from the Holy Spirit, and that her faith in Christ is a noble faith - one esteemed and of high ranking - that will carry her through whatever trials and triumphs await for her in life.

(And then of course an even massive prayer for Jason and I that we can guide her on this path - pressure!).

So there you have it. If you made it through reading that whole thing, bless you. Ha. If not, that's okay because I love having these for my personal records. :)

Updates!

Hey friends!!! Though this has been a somber week, we are super pumped to celebrate the birth of our Savior with friends and family in the coming days!
I realized I haven't done a pregnancy update in a while and thought I'd do it now since I just had an appointment a few days ago. I found these cute little "survey" things from friends' blogs that I'll use.

How Far Along: 4.5 Months

Gender: A GIRL!!! And we have a name!!! But I'm still waiting for Jason to give the "okay"...(even though he gets Lincoln to say her name all the time!). A lot of you know it already, but I'll fill the rest in soon. :)

Maternity Clothes: Some...I still have a pair of jeans I can wear fine...I definitely have a bump in my normal tighter sweaters and such though!

Weight gain: 3 pounds

Movement: I felt her for the first time this past week when I laid down to take a nap - loving the flutters!

Sleep: Sleeping has been okay for the most part. If I eat dinner after 6:00, my stomach will usually hurt all night long (those are bad nights). Don't know if it is pregnancy related, but my dreams have been absurd!

Symptoms: Very upset stomach most nights and still pretty tired. But since I've been working out a lot this trimester, the tiredness has gotten better.

Cravings: Subway. Weird, I know. But I think I could have a turkey sub on wheat with mustard, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and olives EVERY DAY if I let myself.

Best moment this week: Getting the reiteration that it's still a girl!! And the sweet things Lincoln says to her on a daily basis. :)

And here's the Santa pics from this year! Notice Noah is missing on his lap - he wanted none of it and I didn't wanna force him to sit there crying. Next year. :) Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy your family this season!!

It is Finished

I know I've mentioned these sermons a lot and have made some recommendations, so this might be redundant, but it's worth repeating.

If you've never listened to Mark Driscoll's 4-part series on Spiritual Warfare, I highly recommend it. I'm sure there are other sermons/books/discussions out there that would have the same impact, but speaking from one I've personally listened to, this was the best, clearest, simplest picture of how spiritual warfare works in our world..in our lives.

What I personally found helpful about this series was how black and white it makes Jesus' work and the work of satan.

Because it's not gray. Jesus said you either belong to me, or you don't (Mt. 12:30). Yet somehow we, I've, made it gray.

We wake up in our cozy homes with our precious families everyday on a battle field in the midst of the greatest war humanity has ever been a part of...and yet we take it lightly...we somehow forget (me, included)???

Yesterday (if you're local. you've seen the news) an amazing young man of God was senselessly murdered in his own home, in broad daylight, while he was home from college for the holidays. It does not to appear to have been a robbery, but yet a troubled, older man simply had planned to commit suicide and thought he would randomly murder this boy before taking his own life.

If you didn't know this kid, Dustin, I wish you did. He was outstanding. Jason had the privilege of coaching him for many years at Siloam and used to come home telling me how he could only hope our kids grew up with Dustin's character and fire for the Lord. He was unwavering. He was also a 4.0 pre-med student at Baylor University.

And yesterday afternoon, he was the product of pure evil. Yes, God knew this was going to happen (becuase He is all-knowing). No, God's plan was never for any of us to die at the hands of evil. But God knew the battle that raged...so He sent His Son to die in our place...to be the ultimate victory.

The worst day in human history happened the day Jesus was crucified. Yet, three days later, God raised Him to glory; He took the worst day in history and three days later made the most GLORIOUS day in human history.

What Satan intends for evil, God uses for good...(gen. 50:20).

Yesterday was a black and white picture of the battle we're in the midst of everyday...even our children. We are all subject.  Evil is lurking, but Jesus reminds us to take heart because He has overcome the world. Praise the Lord He sent Jesus on Christmas Day into our world to save us in this battle....CHOOSE HIM. Everyday, choose Him. Pray for his armor. Pray it over your children. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be fully activated. Pray without ceasing.

This is the real deal.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, EPH 6:12.

I've heard some comments about how Christmas will forever be ruined for this family and how the holidays will always be a painful reminder.
Yes. I'm sure for years/lifetime to come the sadness will run deeper than you or I can even fathom.
However, I told Jason last night what a sole, perfect HOPE to cling to every Christmas...that this was the DAY God decided to place His own Son in the midst of this battle to save us. To save Dustin when he's be the victim of pure evil. To save me. To save you if you've made Him Lord of your life. At the end of all the parties and festivities, Christmas is about one thing:
"For God so loved the World that He gave His son...".

Kid-less

The Tiger have been playing in a tournament in Conway this past week, and between the last 2 games, Jason's parents came up and took the kids home with them for a few days (we take them back this afternoon after the last Conway game).

Therefore, for the past 2 nights, we've been kid-less!!! Lincoln is always chomping at the bit to go stay with Jason's parents - he LOVES it - but Noah has in the past been unsure of staying with basically anyone other than us.

But not this time. When we got to the game, he sat in Gran-Gran's lap the WHOLE time, and when it was time to go, ran over to me and goes "bye-bye!! High five!" and held out his cute little hand. He was super excited. I am so glad they enjoy this time with them and that his parents are always so gracious and eager to take them!

THEN......last night we got to spend 8 un-interrupted glorious hours together with just the 2 of us! I really think it was one of the best date nights we've ever had. And we didn't do anything extraordinary, but incredible time well spent, loved our conversations, loved the late late movie we ended it with, love him.

Over the next three weeks we actually have 2 more date nights already planned and I'm so excited we're able to make time in this crazy basketball/holiday season. I cherish it. For Christmas last year, Jason requested his gift from my family been a lot (it really was a huge amount - it was funny) of gift cards to our favorite restaurants, and movie coupon books so that we can use them throughout the year for dates. He wants to do it again this year (yeah for me!). Blessing.

And side note: I don't typically find these kind of movies "good" (except for the rare ones that turn out absolutely hilarious), but loved loved "New Year's Eve" last night. Most of you will probably think it's too cheesy and it got terrible reviews, but for some reason it was perfect for my mood and was a great ending to our time out. Loved it.

A Taste of Biola

So today I got this massive box (that was super heavy) from one of my closest friends ever (Adri - one of my college roommates), and I was like "seriously what in the WORLD could be in this thing?!".

Oh how she knows me. And how she knows how to make my birthday unexpectedly special.

Friends, she took the time to go buy all of my favorites and some of hers (for me to try) from my favorite store EVER when I lived in Cali: Trader Joe's.

She called it my Trader Joe's care package to remind me of Cali. And she put a little note on each thing. Super thoughtful and what an amazing idea! Because, yes - I miss that store like crazy sometimes!! There was one right down the street from Biola.
I'm excited to try the new things and have already ripped open a few. (Adri you KNOW what I ripped open first!). Love my sweet friend and her gift of encouragement and making people feel special.

And since I've moved here to Arkansas, I've been blessed to make a few super close friends (that I've talked about on here before). Two of these bought me my first little package of girlie stuff for our new baby girl over the weekend!! This was officially the FIRST girl things I have so it was even more special.

Love my friends (and not just because they bought me super fun gifts!).

December

Minus the on-coming sinus infection, good start to this awesome month! The Tigers play in the championship game tonight for their first tournament (against SHS - my AM) and we've spent all morning making Christmas candy  - PB balls up first - and playing, wearing the kids out to take a long late afternoon nap before heading to the game.
My birthday was great! Bethany came down and spent all day with the kids and I, going to the new museum, eating a little lunch, and hanging out with the kids. Love her.

Then last night Jason and I (with, yes - the kids!) went out to eat. The kids are staying with Jason's parents a few nights next week and that's when our real date will be. Then the next week, we're doing a joint birthday celebration with Brandon and Bethany. Excited for the upcoming weeks!

And excited for the upcoming forcasted SNOW! My best Cyber Monday find was some Land's End snow boots for Lincoln. They were originally right under $50, and with 3 extra discounts and savings, I got them for $17 - awesomeness.

And here are some pics of the kids I took the other day just for fun. :)

Enjoy the weekend!!