Can't forget the little guy!

After posting about Ethan I had to share this pictures of Hudson. These were taken when he was 2 months old. Compared to Ethan who was all legs, Hudson is all chub! It is so much fun to have a chubby rolly-polly little guy who now loves to laugh and "talk." These pictures were taken by a friend of ours in Virginia as we were ministering at their church.

Life from the eyes of a two year old

Smile. That is all I can do when I hear my two year old's take on life. It also is a reality check for me because obviously he is mimicking the things I say or do. I kick myself often for not writing his observations and funny sayings down right away. But here are some that stick out...

While telling me when he is going to do something "Momma, I'm going to play outside after later." (can't count how many times I've told him that we will do something "later.")

While driving around town Ethan often tells me to go faster and faster. After telling him I can't, he promptly asks why. I told him I would be breaking the law. Then he says, "Where's the log mommy?" I guess "log" is what his mind pictures when I say law. I told him the policeman had it (what would you say??). After observing him thinking for a minute, he says, "If you break the policeman's log will he give you a ticket and put you in the cage?" It took me a little while to figure out that "cage" means jail.

Jonathan got a droid within the past few months and is able to speak out loud to his phone to verbally record a text message. He always speaks very loudly and clearly. The other day, I saw Ethan holding his play phone in front of his mouth and very loudly and clearly talking into it. 

Often, Ethan will get his little Bible out and sit on the couch and say, "Mommy, I have to preach to the basketball teams." He wants to be like his Daddy who does this every Saturday.

I may have already shared this, but on Easter Sunday, Ethan asked, "Mommy, are you a princess?" I didn't know where that came from, so I asked him why he thought I was a princess. He said, "You have on your princess clothes!" I was wearing a dress that I hadn't worn for a long while.

Just this week, I offered to clean his boo-boo so it wouldn't look so bad. He said, "No mommy. I like it this way!"

 Often after watching a cartoon he will say, "That was a good show, Mommy!" After meals he makes us laugh when he says, "That was scrumptious delicious, Mommy!" Theses are things he started saying by himself without being prompted.

I'm writing these down now for my own sake so I can look back on them when he is older and remember my precious little boy. Hope you enjoy reading them!

April Adventures

Lots has happened this month! I'm not so good at always taking pictures of things though :-( I don't have enough hands to do it all!! We had a fun week at home in the beginning of April. In between the 10 loads of laundry, unpacking and repacking, I was able to plant a garden. (thanks to the help of our great neighbors for tilling and our other neighbors for keeping an eye on it while we are gone.) I planted our first garden 2 years ago, but let it go last summer because I was pregnant. The weeds loved taking over the nice square garden bed for a whole year. Someone even came over and asked me what I was growing last year. Too bad I had to say, "Weeds." Weeds that were almost as tall as me. But hopefully this year we will have some beautiful beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, and flowers. We shall see. I let Ethan help me plant the flower seeds, or should I say, dump a whole bunch of seeds in one whole. Wish he could see the whole gardening process.

Our next highlight of the month was visiting Ocean City, NJ. I grew up going to this beach so it was fun to take my husband there for the first time. It was a cool windy day, but thankfully the sun was out. Ethan had fun learning how to run away from the waves. I soaked in the peaceful sounds of the water coming up on the shore.

Our next stop...Grandma & Papa's house! Too bad Daddy couldn't be with us. We have been having lots of fun here and getting lots of rest. Somehow it seems like everytime we come to visit someone is sick. We have still been enjoying our time spent with family. I hadn't been home for Easter since high school! Since we have been here Hudson has turned 3 months old. He has also learned how to turn from tummy to back, although I'm not quite sure he knows what he is doing. He is also starting to laugh which makes me smile. Ethan has been going full force in the potty training department. While here, his incentive to go is getting a piece of the Easter candy Grandma has all over the house. I think he would do much better with potty training if I remembered to take him more often. He comes to me and tells me that he needs to go potty. It's awesome...and probably candy-induced. And, oh the things that Ethan says! I need to write more of them down. He keeps telling me that his hands are big and that he wants to be 5. Here are a few pics to highlight our time with Grandma and Papa.

The boys with Grandma

Papa is always lots of fun!

The best we could do in Sunday morning

Easter Sunday

Hudson with my Pop-pop

This is the Day

Have you ever had the thought..."I'll be a happier, less edgy person when this day is over" or "I can't wait till this stage of life is past." Admit it, we have all longed for summer in the midst of a cold winter, more sleep when we haven't had much, or something to do when we are completely bored. The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it?

That's exactly what I was thinking the other day. I'm still adjusting to having 2 children in my care. And it's been 3 months. I guess I like to get a handle on things immediately, but this has been a challenge for me. No better way to remind me of my need for constant dependence on God. As I was in the midst of my "woe is me" thoughts, the Lord brought this verse back to my mind

"No GOOD thing will He withhold from them who walk uprightly."
Psalm 84:11
Guess it's a good theme for a blog :-) This time in my life, difficult though it may be to get a "handle" of things, is exactly what God planned for me as good right now. If I keep waiting for "better days" to serve Him with a joyful heart, I will miss the days at hand that He has given me to glorify Him in.

So though I may be stuck in the house for a few days with sick kids or both kids may be crying at once and I feel like I might go crazy, "this is the day" that God has given me to serve Him.


"This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24


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Image: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Traveling Tots

If I ever write a book that's what I'm going to call it...Traveling Tots or maybe Traveling with Tots. It will be a survival guide on how to entertain and take care of your children wherever you may find yourself. I know many who have paved the road of traveling with children throughout most of the year. I just wish they would have written a book for me! We have been on the road with my husband now for the past 3 weeks. He has been on the road now for 6 weeks. All minus our fifth wheel trailer. Hence the advanced training I've recieved in the afore mentioned topic. The tots at hand are 2.5 years and 2 months. Boys no less. (I guess I figure they have more energy than girls, but I wouldn't know.) Thanks to watching PBS's Cat in the Hat, we just tell Ethan that we are "Go, go, going on an adventure" (this will only make sense to those of you who have the privilege of watching this show every morning :-) The first 2 weeks we stayed in one bedroom apartments/prophet's chambers that had a bedroom, kitchen and living room. This week we are all in the same room in a hotel. The longest drive time we have had has been 7 hours. I think Hudson went through 7 diapers in those 7 hours. Made for a smelly truck :-) Well here are the things I've learned from my tots... -For some reason Ethan thinks my diaper bag is full of "something special." I'm still trying to convince him that there are only diapers in there. He must think it is filled with gum or in Ethan's words "gun" (this is thanks to my mom who got him hooked on gum while visiting. unfortunately, Ethan chews the gum for 2 minutes and then swallows it and asks for more. I've limited the gum intake to once a day in order to preserve his digestive system.) -Marshmallows make a long trip manageable. From the toddler to the driver to the mommy, good times were had all around. -Ethan really doesn't know where he lives any more. The first week he said we were staying at the neighbor's house. The 2nd week he called the church his house. This week he does have the word "hotel" down pat. He's just fascinated that we get to take the elevator to our room every day and that there is a "swim" in the lobby ("swim" meaning pool). -It really is possible to make wherever we find ourselves a "home" for the week. My biggest lifesaver has been our crate of toys and an inflateable "buzz lightyear" bed we found. That way Ethan sleeps on the same thing every week and no matter where we are he always has something to play with. I don't worry too much about Hudson b/c he doesn't care about too much except sleeping, eating and...you know...don't want to gross you out. -Ethan is very quickly becoming a people person. He now talks to anyone he sees and if he doesn't know their name he says "hey you" or "hey man, kid, or lady"...trying to teach him to ask them their name. Oh well!

Learning to Lean

"Learning to lean, learning to lean;

I'm learning to lean on Jesus."

John Stallings

This hymn is the first thing that came to my mind as I was trying to figure out how to sum up the last several weeks. Aren't you glad that God changes your life circumstances about through joys or trials in order to teach you more about leaning hard on Him? What would your Christian life be like if nothing about your life circumstances ever changed? I know my Christian life wouldn't change much. To be honest with you, when my life is "smooth sailing" I get in a "rut" of taking all the treasures I have in Christ for granted.

What causes you to lean hard on Christ? I could list so many circumstances in my life that do, but I think right now the greatest "things" that do are these two cute little fellows...

(insert cute pic of Ethan and Hudson, but my internet connection won't let me right now...so just imagine :0)

I don't even know how to describe all the ways my children teach me to depend on my God...where do I begin? When baby number 2 came along, my organized world and home were thrown out of whack! I realized then that one child had been a piece of cake. When Ethan was a newborn, if he slept I slept. Now with Hudson thrown in the mix, I'm still trying to figure out when I'll get to sleep. (well at this point in his life, he is sleeping more at night, hence the reason I have a chance to blog again) The biggest struggle for me is everyday CONSISTENT godly living and responses. I have 2 kids watching me right now, one wanting to copy my every action and word right now. What accountability! Ethan can see if mommy has a wrong response to a bad situation. Ethan can see if I have a quick temper or am impatient. His attitude to unexpected or different situtations from the norm are a mirror of my initial response to the change in our life style. Wow!

I love to act. I have taken many acting classes in high school and college. I have learned how to be happy when sad and joyful when I'm really angry. Sometimes it is easy for me to put on an act for my family...to make my words sound good when on the inside I am fuming or to make my facial expressions look pleasant when I am really dissappointed. Acting in real life in front of my family is obviously superficial and will only last for so long until I get tired or am taken off guard. The only way to live as a CONSISTENT godly testimony to my family is by learning to lean on Jesus.

Everday I must remember that I am weak. Circumstances will come my way that are out of my control. I will have to crying boys both needing my attention when all I want to do myself is cry. But I have a Shepherd who knows my needs and will supply!
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:3-4

Added Blessings

So sorry for the long blogging break. I've missed having an outlet to share my thoughts. Let me introduce my #1 reason for my blogging absence...

Hudson David born January 25th. He was 8.1 lbs and 20 1/2 inches long. For the most part, he has been very laid back and quiet...but now that he's 2 months old, his personality is coming out a little more. He is a good night time sleeper too, which I am thankful for.

His name is very special to us because it took so long for us to figure out what we would call him! Hudson comes from the missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, whose life of faith and determined, diligent service for Christ we pray our Hudson will be challenged by. David is my father's first name. So now both our boys will have a part of each of their "grandpa's" as they grow up.

Ethan loves Hudson and Hudson is immediately drawn to Ethan whenever he is around. The first few weeks, Ethan wanted to do everything that his baby brother was doing. He asked us to burp him and then we found him burping his curious George stuffed animal. He even wanted his own paci (which he never ever cared for).

What a joy it is to be a family of four now! It's amazing how quickly you forget how to take care of a little baby and it has been funny to remember our first few attempts to go somewhere as a family of four. We thank the Lord for the new gift He has loaned to us for as long as He sees fit.