faces of jude

when i don't have anything of interest to say, at least i can post pics of my cute baby...

Country Living

Living in the farmhouse has been a whole new adventure for us...I'm not a wimp about bugs and such, or all things nature for that matter. I do hate snakes. And as you will see in the post below, there are no pictures of snakes. This is because seeing a slithering line move gracefully through the pond while I sit safely on our front porch is closer than I'd like to get to one. But rumor has it there was one in the bushes next to our steps. Thankfully I never saw it. More on this later...

Here is one of the perks of country life - watching little baby birds peek their heads out and go from this:

to this:

then, there's the unexpected surprise of a huge bull showing up in your front yard. he lived with us for about a week until his owner finally decided to track him down. lily and my sister named him simon. we grew kind of attached to good ole'simon. oh, and simon's owner graciously told us he saw a snake next to our front steps when he came to retrieve his wayward bull. (shudder)

the following, however are visitors that i do not appreciate. the pictures will be self explanatory. especially the pile of bees that we fly swatted out of the window in our bedroom. yes, you read that correctly. prepare to be amazed.

this makes me sad.

i realize that i don't know this family. i simply watch their life on tv. and i haven't followed this season's show while they're living in their MONSTROSITY of a house. but i have watched in the past and i have found them to be incredibly endearing. okay, so kate barks at john a lot...they have 8 kids, people, and she is about the most type-a person i've ever seen! i have always been impressed by the time they spend together as a family...constantly trying to expose their kids to new experiences, the amount of planning that goes into their outings, their organic meals, their parenting, etc. i teared up when i watched the episode where they renewed their vows in hawaii - kate said to her husband "thank you for marrying me again" and i felt like there was so much behind that statement.

so what's up with all this drama? i don't know what's true and what isn't...i pretty much don't pay attention until it's in people magazine - but i can't even bring myself to read it because it makes my stomach hurt. if john did cheat - it breaks my heart. if he didn't - all the exposure and gossip makes me so sad for their family. i realize that people in the spotlight often get caught up in all the exterior perks and begin to stray from what's important...and i don't really react when hollywood couples don't make it, simply because that's so common...but this one gets me because they were just normal people. i hope they're able to make it work and be a picture of reconciliation to all the viewers that follow their story.

enough writing about the lives of a family that i don't even know. but i have to admit that i'm still sad.

a few words about lovie...

this is a post to praise my mom - she keeps me grounded when i feel overwhelmed. she speaks with wisdom from a combination of scripture and life experience. she doesn't worry or freak out like i do. she walks confidently and with grace through even the most difficult of circumstances. she is incredibly generous with her time and her resources. she is a servant in every sense of the word. she works hard and fills her time with meaningful things. she loves the lord. she deeply loves her family and friends and demonstrates her love well. she honors and respects my dad. she showers my children with lots of affection. she has spent lots of hours doing bubbles, reading books and chasing after lily. (and shopping at target for cute clothes for lily and jude too!) she has been at the hospital when my babies were born, and cried as she kissed their little cheeks. she is always willing to help when i need it - even during the week that jude was born and she lost her own mother all at once. she drove all the way to brenham to bring lily's beloved giraffe - and then had to drive all the way back again with jude's carseat base that we left in her car and she didn't complain. she has made countless meals for us...and cleaned up countless meals as well! she is thoughtful. she is encouraging. she is exactly how i want to be with my husband and children. i love you mom. thank you so much for all you do. i'm sorry i don't tell you more often how lost i'd be without you.

around our house...

i think we're all healthy again - well, really it was just lily but it felt like we were all sick because we had to stay home! lily somehow got hand, foot and mouth disease. oh yeah. its a virus that is pretty common in children that causes little blisters on hands, feet, and you guessed it - in her mouth. ouch! she was such a trooper, and in need of reward - that will explain the ice cream in this picture:

jude is still just the sweetest thing ever. he is now officially a thumb sucker. see evidence below:

happy tuesday to you!

my little loves

saturday morning snuggles


my smiley baby boy

This was written for me. I know it.

30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Matthew 6:30-34 (The Message translation)

Help me Rhonda.

Okay fellow mothers. Help me. My 2 year old has a sleeping issue. We try to have her in bed every night by 8:00 because she takes sometimes as long as an hour to go to sleep - likes to get up, gather her toys, play with things, ask for water, etc. etc. etc. Then, you might think to yourself, oh, well she probably sleeps till 8:00 the next morning then! Oh, no maam. She wakes up at 6. or 6:30. Unacceptable. This morning it was 4:50. I put her back in bed. She comes back in at 5:36. I put her back in bed. She begins to wail. I finally (with much frustration, I'll admit) go lay down with her and she falls asleep till 7.

Meanwhile, my chubby little son feels its necessary to still wake up every 3-4 hours in the night to eat. I read on facebook an acquaintance of mine was excited that her baby (2 weeks older than mine) is sleeping for 9 hours at night. WHAT??? So my night last night looked like this: 10:15, in bed. 1:15, feed Jude. 4:20, feed Jude. 4:50, up with Lily. 5:36, up with Lily. 7:00 up for the day. I'm tired. Suggestions, friends??