Thomas is Two!

On Friday, my sweet boy celebrated his second birthday. These two years have flown by for me and sometimes I just want to stop time because it passes so quickly. I feel like we just celebrated his first birthday! We decided to take him to Chuck E Cheese on his birthday, since his party wasn't until Saturday.

Thomas is shy around people and places that are unfamiliar and that proved to be true at Chuck E Cheese. He liked the Bob the Builder toy, but would have nothing to do another ride that had Barney on it (we have never introduced him to Barney and I don't plan on it!). Josh and I ended up playing more games than Thomas did, but we won enough tickets for Thomas to get two balls. One funny story... Chuck E Cheese came out and threw out free tickets to the kids standing around. Thomas immediately started picking up the tickets and handing them BACK to him! He must have thought he dropped them and he was helping clean up. Isn't he such a sweet boy?!

Saturday, we had our family (minus my dad and step-mom) and one little boy from church here for his party. We had a great time eating hot dogs and the train cake that I made. Since I took the cake decorating class earlier this year, I really wanted to make his cake. It was a LOT of work making the train cake (and Josh was a big help), but definitely worth it. Just about the time we were singing happy birthday and he was blowing out the candle, we heard a choo-choo! We live near a railroad track and it was perfect timing for our boy who LOVES trains.

Thomas is such a joy to us and we are so thankful the Lord blessed us with such a sweet boy early in our marriage. He was a big surprise to us, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Our prayer for him continues to be that he would trust in Christ and turn away from his sin at an early age. May the Lord use him mightily for the Kingdom!

2 Months & Growing!

Josiah is now two months old and growing like a little weed. When Josh came home from his mission trip he was surprised at how big Josiah is now. I remember how quickly the time passed with Thomas, and I am trying to enjoy and capture these precious moments.

Yesterday, he had his 2 month well check and he is now 13lbs 2oz and 23 1/4". The pediatrician said he looked great and he was very happy for most of the visit. We both cried when he had his shots. I know the vaccinations are good for him (yes, some of you may disagree with me), but to watch him cry in pain makes me cry too. He slept more yesterday and today because of the shots, but seems to feel okay. Thomas never had an adverse reaction to vaccines, and I'm hoping the same for Josiah.

What I have noticed most about Josiah's personality is how active he is. Even now at two months, I have to keep him completely swaddled to sleep. Last week, I tried letting him nap without the swaddle and it was an awful nap; he only slept 15 minutes. He still doesn't have great control over his arms and legs. However, even though he is completely swaddled he will move from the top of his bed in a vertical position to the bottom of his bed in a horizontal position by the end of the night (about 6.5 hours). I usually find him stuck in the corner of his bed and he is upset because he can't wiggle anymore! He was very active in the womb and that hasn't changed one bit. I think I better enjoy this time while he is immobile, because he is going to keep me busy once he starts crawling!

Here are some recent pictures of our baby boy:

This picture needs some explanation: My great-grandmother, who died 3 weeks after Thomas was born, made this bonnet and sweater for Thomas and any baby boys I had (I already have one for a girl...hopefully!). It is now tradition that our babies have a picture taken wearing the outfit. Thomas was only a couple of days old when we took his picture, but Josiah took a little longer. He wasn't too happy about it, and this was the best picture I had!

Remembering

Today, I remember the life of an extraordinary woman. Two years ago today, my precious grandmother went home to be with the Lord. I still remember so vividly receiving the phone call from my dad around 9am that she had died a few minutes before. I'm so thankful that Josh was right there with me and just held me while I wept. My tears were not only for losing her, but also knowing that she would never meet my baby boy and her first great-grandchild. There are times I look at him playing or laughing and I wish with all my heart that she could have met him and held him.

A couple of weeks ago while visiting my parents, I went through cards and letters from high school and college that I didn't even know existed. I'm not one to keep anything (I hate clutter) and I was surprised to find an entire shoe box of old cards and letters. As I was reading through those notes, I realized that most of the cards and letters were from Grandy. When I was in college, she sent me letters frequently. I think she knew how much a college student wants mail from home, but more than that, she wanted me to know that she loved me and she was praying for me.

And that is what I miss about her most - her prayers. My Grandy was a woman of the Word and of prayer. She faithfully prayed for her family everyday. When she was close to death, I remember telling her how much I loved her and would miss her. She told me she loved me too and she also said that she would pray for me to end. My prayer now is that I would be as faithful as she was to know the Word and to pray for my family. She has given me such a wonderful example to follow.

As much as I miss her and remember her today, I know she is with her Jesus. She used to talk a lot about how much she wanted to go to heaven so that she would be free from physical aches and pains, but most of all to be free of sin. Praise the Lord for two years she has been free from sin's very presence! May we all long for that day!

"It Is Well with My Soul" was sung at her funeral and the last verse is especially meaningful as I think about her departing and one day my own.

And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
"Even so," it is well with my soul.

*I wrote a tribute to my grandmother for girltalk for Mother's Day 2008. If you didn't read it then, you can find it here: http://www.girltalkhome.com/blog/A_Tribute_to_Margie_Powell_Lusk

Daddy's Home!

Josh arrived home safe and sound on Sunday evening. I decided to surprise him by meeting him at the airport in Charlotte while Josh's parents kept the boys for me. He was surprised and happy to see me and on the bus ride home, I was able to hear many funny stories from the entire team. The team shared with at least 75 to 100 people and three people are now believers! Praise The Lord for answering their prayer from Psalm 67!

One unique story that Josh shared was meeting two of the guys that I shared with four years ago. Both of those guys are now believers and went out with Josh's team everyday. One of the guys, Jeremy, brought pictures of me and another girl (Anna) when we were there. He also brought the bible I gave him four years ago before he was a believer. It is very worn now and Josh said he was so proud to show it off. The other guy, Jason, is considering a call to full-time ministry - God is so good!

Thomas was very happy to see his daddy. I wasn't sure how he would respond, but his face lit up and he said, "Daddy! Daddy!" Yes, I think that made Josh's month! It was way past Thomas' bed time, but he stayed up for a little while to talk to Josh and then Josh tucked him into bed.

Here is a picture of Thomas with the gift Josh gave him. Doesn't he look so cute?!

This is the picture of what I wrote in Jeremy's bible four years ago (the date is 7/28/05).

God answered that prayer and now Jeremy is a believer and sharing the good news with others! Praise God!

Picnic Fun

A couple of weeks ago before Josh left for his trip, he decided we needed to have a picnic. He wanted to spend extra time with us since he was going to be gone for two weeks. I have to admit that I was not thrilled with the idea of a picnic. Why? Because I'm selfish and sometimes lazy and didn't want to go through all the work of getting the food together and the kids ready (remember Josiah is just a newborn). However, Josh insisted we have the picnic and I grudgingly went along.

It didn't start off so well, because as soon as we got the blanket down and the food out guess who woke up? I think that babies have some sort of alarm that goes off right when mom is about to eat! Anyone else had that experience? Eventually, I began to enjoy myself and most importantly to enjoy the time with my family. Not many dads are able to come home at lunch and even fewer want to go outside dressed up and have a picnic. I repented to the Lord and to Josh for my bad attitude and a fun time was had by all!

Here are some pictures from our fun time!

Playing Is Tiring...

This is how I found Thomas this morning when I went to get him for lunch:

He was having independent play time and I guess he decided he needed some rest. Notice the two cars beside him. Grandma & Poppy gave him the cars when we got home yesterday and they have yet to leave his side. Moments like these are priceless!