Reunion

First off, our trip to Memphis was amazing. I have a post coming up dedicated more to that, but for now,  just a quick post about my babies.

Adelynn
This was the first time me and little princess have been apart and it was for an entire week! People have asked if I was going crazy the whole week and I honestly wasn't. Of course I missed her sweet chubby cheeks and looked at her little pics often on my phone while away, but God just truly blessed us this week with Jason's parents. I was able to relax and be with my cell group girls in the fullest sense because I knew she was having a blast and creating bonds with her grandparents - something I desire for all of my kids! The only think I was worried about was her sleeping in a new place, but she did perfect!
But little cherry cupcake has grown up in a week! My goodness! She pulls up on everything, can cruise around the living room pushing things (whether it be a big plastic tub or a push toy), and perfected some tricks. My favorite is how she can "kiss" on command. Love.

Noah
Ha. HE had a blast. He got tons of attention since Lincoln wasn't there and even coerced his GP's into throwing him a "birthday party", complete with a cake, presents, and guests. Spoiled rascal. The most awesome thing? He is 100% potty trained!!! As in, I don't even know all of the times he goes, because he does everything completely independently which is awesome.

Lincoln
This week was hilarious, frustrating, amazing, blessed, and tiring with this guy. And I wouldn't trade it - the good with the bad. The bad, it was long days...but the only difficult part was timing up his naps between work projects and going to the gyms in the afternoon. We only messed up with it once. And then Jason missed out some evenings because Lincoln would need to go to bed before the services were over (and Jason took that duty). The bummer part for Jason was missing out on some INCREDIBLE teaching, but he in turn got some extra sleep with Lincoln. Another area of "work" that emerged is being nice to girls. :) He has pretty much always been around boys and this week was with me a lot and my girls. I think he started liking them by the end of the trip, but we have some work to do. Ha.
The "good" was just watching his independent self in action! He built relationships with little Memphis boys in the gyms and would ask them questions getting to know them, then play games with them. He LOVED being one of he big boys, getting to ride the charters and vans with his JH buds. He slept great and took naps which was a blessing, and even found jobs he could do to be useful on work projects. It was great for him to be emerged in a different culture and teach him some things that just don't really exist here in Bentonville (unfortunately).

Here's a funny Lincoln story that happened right away on our first day in Memphis. It sums up my little guys personality and why we felt so comfortable taking him:

Our first morning, the entire 200 group of us loaded the buses to go to church at Fellowship Memphis. The 2 main pastors that started this church are a white guy and a black guy, with the goal of easing the racial tensions in a very racially divided area. So the church was obviously new, as well as he culture to our little guy. Not to mention, it was day one being in a new city. We let Lincoln ride the charter bus over there with KK & Lauren (while we drove our car), and when we got there, he had a skip in his step all the way to the front door with the "big kids." The church was rather large and we thought FOR SURE he would just sit with us and the kids.
But when we got inside, he INSISTED he go to church with all the little kids he was seeing. We kept telling him he could stay with us since it was a new big place, but that little social bug insisted otherwise.
So we chuckled and checked him in. We took him down the hall and he galloped in his little classroom with new buddies, never looking back.
We shrugged and laughed and went on to the service (which was AMAZING).
After the service, we went with some of my girls to pick him up and his teachers said he did awesome! They said all of the children's section pooled together for "big worship" and in front of the entire children's church, they asked who wanted to play "Jesus" for the children church production that morning.
Guess who volunteered.
Lincoln. They said he played "Jesus" in the production, and that Mary even washed his feet. He later told us she washed it with her hair and that it tickled. Hilarious.
And we were thinking he would want to stay with us.
He also skipped out of class and thus started his signature "hop in his step" he seemed to have everywhere he went on this trip, he was so excited. Love that guy. I love how he can be thrown into strange situations and go with it.

Lincoln told me the other night that he really missed Whyatt, Riley, Tyler, Tyrik, and Bowen. Precious.

More on my experience with my girls and what all we did later!!!!!! :)
(and some pics - Bedfords is having to recover my SD card because it got damaged)

Season's Over

The "busy season" of our year has officially ended (aka: basketball is over), so I thought I'd do a little catch-up and preview while the kids are sleeping.

I'll start with Tiger Basketball.

Most people make comments like "Man, I'll bet you'll be excited when season's over!" or "It's all over! Now you can just relax and have more free time!"
But honestly, I go through a mild state of depression every time season ends! Yall I was meant to be a basketball coaches wife. God knew what He was doing because I love it...every second (well, almost). I love the intensity, the excitement, the crazy schedules and hours, the kids, their families, even the message boards...and more than that, I truly love the game. So yeah, I'm sad when it's all over every year, and especially this year. I'm truly going to miss this team. It was a joy and privilege watching them play, grow in the Lord, and love on my kids. Oh and icing on the cake watching them make it to the Final Four - a school record (like, in the entire history of Bentonville). They actually broke a lot of school records this year...so proud of them!

Then there's Lincoln...
Watching him become a part of the team this year was just hysterical. By the end of season, that 4-year-old was doing everything except actually playing the game. He knows every single players first and last name and their corresponding number. I'm not exaggerating. By the end of season, he even knew a handful of players and numbers on the opposing teams. CRAZY. He can use all the basketball coaching jargon I don't even understand, Jason has taught him a handful of post moves and how to have a good defensive stance, and he has learned about 50% of the "Star-Spangled Banner". He did warm-ups with the Tigers before every game (which was my favorite), got to stand on the floors for starting line-ups, go in the locker room for post-game speeches, and ride the bus home with the team. Jason said he thinks next year he will be able to be a full-on "water boy" for them and sit at the end of the bench. STOP GROWING UP LINCOLN!!
The boy loves loves loves basketball. I'll ask him at home if he wants to watch a show and he'll say "What basketball game is on?" He's got the motor (as they call it), now I hope he at least has a little bit of talent! Ha.

**In the past month, we have signed Lincoln up for pre-school (for August) and t-ball (for the spring) - both big firsts!!! Can't believe how quickly everything is going!
**Noah has been doing great at potty training! And he has started, here in past 4 months or so, to become so much more social with strangers! He'll seek out people to play with and he has taken a huge interest in Adelynn (which is heart warming). He has been super fun and playful lately...I am looking forward to some time with just him next year as Lincoln starts pre-school.
**Adelynn is just big. She's slowly creeping out of the baby stage which makes me sad. She says all kinds of things now ("Mama, Dada, Bubba, More"), can give you kisses, wave, dance, clap, and sign "more". She crawls all over the place and today I found her standing in her crib. She is a sweet little mess.

MEMPHIS
We have been crazy blessed with an awesome opportunity coming up next weekend!! I can hardly wait! Our junior high youth are going on an inner city mission trip to Memphis for a week. Jason and I are both going as leaders and we are taking Lincoln with us. When we first started leading cell groups, we were excited about the opportunities we would have to take our kids on some of these trips, and let them experience what it's like to serve God outside of our city. After this year, they become overseas trips. This one seemed perfect to take Lincoln on because we are partnering with an organization that seeks troubled youth in inner-city Memphis, and the main avenue is through basketball. I've been praying about this trip for a while and for God to show up in a mighty way. I am so excited to see what He has in store!
It's so crazy, but about 18 years ago, I went on my first inner-city mission trip and it rocked my world. It was then that God put this fervor and passion in my heart for that population, something I would continue to do well through college. I'm excited for Lincoln to start getting this experience early! (And crazy to think I'm now old enough to lead these things...and drive the vans...seriously??)

Can't wait!!!!

Great is His Faithfulness

"I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

 

Lamentation 3:20-24

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.

 

 

 

 

 

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

 

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Snow Day

Remembering Tucker

This picture will forever be rested tightly against my soul.

It was the last image I captured of my sweet nephew Tucker before he went to be with Jesus. It was the last time I hugged and kissed him; the last time his cousins chased him through the hallways, laughed and squealed together, hugged, tugged, shoved, and wrestled in good cousin fashion.
You see this picture - in all its poor quality - perfectly captures the joy of these little boys' relationship. A relationship that had just begun to become vivacious and exciting. One year ago today, as Jason and I sat in Amy and Nate's living room until the late hours right before midnight, we laughed and relaxed in peace, watching these boys continue to develop a rich relationship. We joked about how crazy things would be with them as they continued to grow...how chaoic and fun family gatherings would become and so forth.
But as most of you know, the Lord had a different plan and Tucker went to his heavenly home 3 days after this picture was taken.
We'll never know the complete answers this side of Heaven but we are still confident in God's faithfulness...that He is alive and active in our lives...something we've seen demonstrated in many ways throughout this journey but more particularly in the birth of Amy and Nate's twins, Max & Gideon.

So today, as I look at this picture, I remember Tucker that night one year ago. I remember him and Noah chasing each other through the house with that walker-thing...I remember them playing with trains together...I remember Lincoln teaching Tucker how to put things together..I remember hugging and kissing his sweet little cheeks...I remember how much God loves us - even in the midst of unthinkable tragedy.

There are a few songs that remind me of those times a year ago. Some I can't listen to, and others I love to listen too, even if I'm an emotional mess by the last word. One such has been the following lyrics:

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

(This was taken the last time he was at our house...another cherished one. They were in the bath because Tucker had just discovered his love for blueberries that night when I gave him a TON and made a mess..he kept signing and saying "MORE! MORE!". I also gave him turkey because Amy said he loved turkey. But when I have it to him, he took a bite and spit it out with disgust. I text Amy and asked why he was refusing it, that I thought he loved it??! She text back "is it from the deli? He only likes it if it's from the deli." HILARIOUS. that little stinker!)

9 Month Pics

I did another little impromptu photo shoot with my baby girl. I can't get enough of her little cheeks!! Girls are so much more fun to photograph with all of their accessories. :)

Kid's Stats

we had some well-checks. So for my record-keeping, here it is.

Adelynn: 9 months
Height - 28.5in. (74%)
Weight - 19.6lbs (58%)

Noah: 3 years/0 months
Height - 38in (71%)
Weight - 28lbs (21%)

Lincoln: 4 years/4 months
Height - 43.75 (95%)
Weight - 43lbs (85%)

Verdict? Lincoln is a beast. He has been a beast from 4 months. In fact, his height percentiles have continued to just go UP the older he gets. I should start saving money for shoes.
I also think it is very possible that at Noah's 4 year check up, him and Adelynn will weigh the same.

The doc asked all sorts of questions about the kids yesterday, and then after having some insightful conversation with Jason about the kids last night, the conclusion at their current stage of life is:

Lincoln and Adelynn are pretty much twinsies. They even speak their own language together. I'm really not joking. I will be shocked if she is not a people person like he is, but then again, maybe she will only just be extroverted around the person she adores the most - Lincoln. We shall see.

Then our wild card is Noah Jackson. :) He is both wild and a card. And I love everything about him and how unique and creative God designed him. He is hilarious, amazes us with his language (he completely talks in descriptive sentences full of adjectives and words that continue to amaze me) and his ability to navigate any electronic device, and honestly, could really care a less what people think about him. This is different than Lincoln who already is a HUGE people pleaser. FYI, people pleasers are easier to parent. :)
But it hit me last night talking to Jason that we prayed Noah would be stubborn and stand for the Lord when no one else would and wouldn't be swayed by public opinion.
And here we are - 3 years later, trying to figure out the balance of how to instill compassion and empathy/sympathy in a child who can just do his own thing regardless of what others think, and sometimes, without thinking of others. It's not easy!
But I'm thankful the Lord made him so hilarious because his comic relief really is hysterical.

Anyway, I know I did a little update the other day, but just some more after their appt. since I seriously do go back and read these (I really do).