noah and his first crayon

we decided to go (well, i did because it's my birthday weekend. hah) and have lunch at cowboy chow. this seems to be noah's favorite restaurant.. he got a little antsy waiting for the food so decided to give it a shot and give him crayons. we thought he would end up eating the crayons but instead he picked it up and started to color.. although he colored with the crayon upside down. haha. and then, when he had enough, he decided to eat the paper. that's our boy.

such a ham...

my everything <3

our little water bug

we started swim classes 4 weeks ago.. the first one didn't go over so well with noah.. poor guy cried half of the class. but we tried again and over the past few weeks, he absolutely loves it. he is such a ham.. he sees his daddy through the window and kept waving or pointing at him every minute or so and everyone was laughing at him because it was so darn cute!

he even likes to blow bubbles in the bathtub.. and the dog water bowl.. NOAH!! we have 7 more weeks to go and then would love to graduate him into the toddler class if he wants. we will have lots of fun times swimming this summer :) can't wait!!

forks and spoons

noah has gotten pretty proficient at using his fork and spoon.. and thankfully he is eating a little better now that he has a sense of independence. he is getting to big waaay too fast!

doing his new favorite thing... acting like a little indian

and peek-a-boo

a year ago today. . .

when my heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. -psalm 61:2

a year ago today, we got news that turned our lives upside down.  i still remember where we were and what we did when we got that dreaded phone call. i can remember my heart sinking into my chest... i remember the fear i had.. the panic. i remember calling out to God. and although a year ago today, it felt like my world was crumbling right before my eyes. but today... one year later, it is amazing to see how God used this to shape and grow us and made us all stronger... and learned and experienced firsthand at how good He is.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. - Genesis 50:20

like i have said before, God knew about the actions that were made way before we were even born... and could have prevented them.. but He didn't. God truly intended this for good.. and i have been humbled to see a glimpse of the purpose here on earth.. and i may never see His full intentions until i see Him face to face.

around december, God put it on my heart to start sharing His word with noah's birthmom.. it started with a text every day with a scripture that i found meaningful. last week, i received news that made me more than overjoyed at God's goodness and faithfulness. she told me that these verses helped her get closer to God and how she now looks to Him for everything and trusts Him wholeheartedly. and even further exciting (and not expected) news was the birthdad also has also found God. this made my entire year! when i got this note, i thanked God for answering these prayers that i had been praying all last year. God not only changed my heart.. and jim's heart... He changed theirs as well. please note that i am not boasting. any one can choose to do this. you just have to step outside your comfort zone. i could have thought, you hurt me, so i choose to never speak to you again. but how does God see that? Jesus didn't say being a Christian is easy. it is hard. but man, is it worth it. if the suffering was just for this purpose alone for them to know Him, it was worth it.

God used this to shape me into the person i now am. i still have a long way to go.. but know i wouldn't be where i am today without it. i learned that you have to trust Him... you don't need to try to understand. we always said "why" and now looking back, we had it all wrong. i wish i had of known that. when many people say "why' it can also make them drift and say that God doesn't love them and care for them if He is allowing bad to happen. they have got it all wrong. God is good- all.the.time. Christians are called to suffer. at the time, nothing makes sense.. but maybe if you are lucky, you will get to see part of the purpose He intended. i've learned you are nothing without Him. if you try to do things on your own, you don't get very far. life isn't complete without Him. it just isn't.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55: 8-9

thank you God for allowing this trial. life could be very different tomorrow.. make sure He is your everything.


the best year of my life.. so thankful for the path He led us to.. and got us through.

toddlerhood

i can't believe that the tiny little baby i held in my arms last year is now fun, hilarious, sweet, affectionate.. and opinionated toddler :o)

some fun things you have been doing..

can get from point a to point b in a milisecond.. a very fast walk/run.

love your cow.. you love that baby einstein cow.. and talk about him all the time!

love, love, love, ELMO! you light up when elmo's world comes on..

you can (well, 8/10) identify your eyes, ears, head, mouth, nose and feet

loves when we say "i'm gunna get you!" you start running and squealing :P

love bear/piggy back rides. all we do is say the words and you get soo excited!

love to play chase and love to play hide from daddy- your favorite!

become a very messy eater as you can use your spoon all by yourself!

becoming clingy! and i love it.. you are like a koala bear and wrap on tight.

got your first palet by your mamaw... she used to make mommy one when she was little! you love rolling around on it and playing with your toys

climb onto everything - such a monkey!

love helping unload the dishwasher

loves pepperjack cheese

loves (and not allergic!!) peanut butter (thank goodness!)

speaking in your own noah language... so animated!

been for lots of walks and love the park!! you love going down the slide with mommy.

will pick up random objects in the house... pillow, toliet paper, lotion, etc. and just start walking around and will walk up and give it to us and act so proud!

started swim classes.. first class, didn't like it too much.. but now you LOVE it!

loves the 'cheese poofs'.. the other day you found them and opened them up and stuffed about 5 in your mouth!

not so fun . . . giving mommy and daddy a run for the money with your eating... payback for me.. and mommy is still so picky.. pretty soon, i will have to eat everything i make you eat :O but you just love to throw your food off your tray.. without even trying it.

and got a bad cold in the nursery last week and spread the love with mommy and daddy :(

noah, we love watching you grow and love to teach you new things and love you so incredibly much. you are such a wonderful boy <3

~*~ our lucky charm ~*~

we are beyond lucky to have this little guy in our lives.. we are blessed.

my favorite boys <3

wordless wednesday

indoor safari park

 
today we went to the indoor safari park for a gladney event. we all had so much fun! most of the kids were scared of the animal rides but noah loved it! although he was too small for most of the things there.. he did manage to crawl up the stairs to try go down the slide.. mommy had to improvise and had to climb up to get him..he was already in line to go down! he thinks he is a little bigger than he actually is. noah loved to play with all the other kids and was hilarious running up them .. trying to grab and knock them down :O 
think daddy needs to tone his wrestling down a notch.. may not be so good with other kids. haha. 

 

 

our happy family

a sweet friend, angela, took these pictures a few weeks ago. she just posted these on her blog.. these are so great and i can't wait to see all the other ones! and you know i will post more! noah did a pretty good job.. he did get fussy in between shots and we had elmo on hand to try to get him to perk up. now that he's toddling all over the place.. he won't sit still. after we were done.. we went to our favorite spot, cowboy chow :)

i LOVE this last one.. what a happy guy!

our funny valentine

Well, daddy was sick as a dog for valentines day but we managed to have a fun little night. noah got his little valentines from the family.. elmo book, pj's, love monster, balloon, books, cookies, and a cow sippy cup. we had a fun little night.. took a walk in his wagon for the first time in a while.. ate some dinner, and watched one of his favorite shows, the backyardagins. he is such a big boy.. he can now get on and off his rcoking zebra (or as he calls it, his cow). what a perfect valentines day <3

             

            

snowed in

yup. we got snowed (more like iced) in the past few weeks. we had a good four days week before last and one day last week. we enjoyed being locked in so much... just us three. thankfully i loaded up on his favorite cookie monster cookies and we had lots of sesame street shows stored up for him. it was simply amazing to spend time with him.. and to see him grow and learn before our eyes.

he did so many new things...
~got to really see snow for the first time..but he was recovering from being sick the previous week so didn't get to enjoy:( but i did manage to bundle him up on friday in a way too small snow outfit and got one pic!
~watched mommy make a snowman that resembled yoda and a gargoyle.. see for yourself!
~we literally clocked about 2 miles a day (it seemed) in car rides around the house. i had a cookie station set up for him and once we made a few trips, we stopped, got milk and cookies
~new favorite thing is.. ELMO! i kind of pushed it on him.. but now he LOVES him.. oh, and Cookie Monster.. he is another fav
~learned how to say brrrr, cold, cow, and finally.. no! i knew this time was coming..
~and we officially have a TODDLER! he is officially a walker! he has been taking steps for the past 2ish months but could never manage to get his balance down. now he is all.over.the.place! we had better watch out. it is the cutest thing ever to see him walking.. and is he proud..

 

 

we love you noah.. you are getting to be such a big boy!

Cheeeeeeese

Noah’s new thing over the past month or so is his 'cheese' smile. Every time he sees a camera, he flash his new silly smile. And, when you just say cheese, he will scrunch his little face so hard and give this smile! love it. you can really see his (now six) little teeth. it was funny because the other night jim and I were talking about making dinner and said something about cheese, and we looked down and n was so still just sitting there with his smile! he is so hilarious. but not so funny when he decides he is finished with his food and smiles like this.. so you can't stop laughing.
smart kid. he has the spunkiest, quirkest, cutest personality.. i think our dorky selfs add to it, poor kid ;) but he is so happy.
Here are a few shots of his, cheesy smile.  

our little ham!

it's a beautiful day.

 

after the freezing weather over the past few weeks.. it was so nice to get out and play today. we took a few walks and went to our neighborhood park. we had a blast. noah knows the route and when he sees the soccer posts, he will try to peek around the corner and then starts squealing.. a pic of that is below.