Happy Birthday Josh!

Today, tax day, is my husband's birthday! Yep, it is one of those days you can't forget. He is creeping up on 30, but still has 3 years to go! Since it is Wednesday and he has to teach tonight we went out to lunch and I'm cooking one of his favorites for dinner - fettuccine alfredo. I've also baked him a cake and tried out my newly acquired decorating skills too. Pictures will come later because even he hasn't seen the finished product.

In honor of his birthday, I will post a couple of pictures of the aftermath of he and Thomas eating chocolate cupcakes yesterday. Josh loves chocolate (I think almost as much as he loves me!) and it seems that Thomas is following in his daddy's footsteps!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you!

Easter 2009

We have had a busy week, but I did want to post a few pictures from this past weekend. On Saturday morning, Thomas went to the Easter Egg Hunt at church. I thought he would "get it" this year, but he is so easily distracted that he didn't seem too interested in picking up the eggs. At first, he tried to put the eggs in another child's basket and then he wanted to play with the toys since we were hunting inside due to the ground being wet. He did pick up a few eggs after much coaxing and praising from us.

Resurrection Sunday was a wonderful day. We had a sunrise service at 7:30am and the regular worship service at 10:30am. It was a great day of worship and I always enjoy hearing Josh preach the Word passionately and boldly! I fixed Easter lunch for us and Josh's parents and then we relaxed and napped in the afternoon.

Below are some pictures from our weekend.

Josh reading the Easter story to the kids.

Reflecting on The Cross

This week as we look forward to Resurrection Sunday, I'm taking time every day just to reflect on the cross. One of the books that is really helping me to meditate on the cross is Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross edited by Nancy Guthrie. The past two days I have been overwhelmed by the thought of Jesus, who knew no sin, becoming sin for me and drinking the cup of God's wrath so that I could drink the cup of salvation. I find that it is so easy to just think, "Oh yeah, Jesus died on the cross for my sins," and not to ponder what I'm saying. There is SO much that Jesus did on the cross and we will spend all eternity praising Him for it!

I would highly recommend this book, even if you can't purchase it before Easter. We need to think of the cross all the time, because only when we reflect on the cross do we see ourselves for who we truly are - wretched sinners.

One of my favorite songs is especially fitting this week. It is The Power of The Cross by the Getty's. Here is a video of Kristyn Getty singing it along with a choir in San Diego, CA. I pray that all who read this blog this week grow to love our Savior more as you glory in the cross of Christ!

Preparing & Planning

Right now I'm trying to mentally prepare and plan for Josiah's birth. I can't believe my due date is only 10 weeks away. I reminded Josh the other evening that we only had 10 weeks left and he just looked at me and said, "Are we ready for another baby?" Well, it is a little too late to reconsider!

One of the things I'm doing to prepare is trying to drink more water. I rarely ever drink a whole class of water or tea at dinner and so it is difficult to try to drink 64 ounces a day, but I'm trying. This should have been a habit since the beginning of the pregnancy, but now I'm starting to think about what my body needs when Josiah arrives. I know that I need more water to help my milk supply and since I want to breastfeed, I'm trying to start the habit now. Thomas and I really struggled with breastfeeding and ended up switching to formula. Hopefully, I am better prepared and have more realistic expectations this time around.

Next month, we are planning on buying a new pack-n-play/bassinet. The one we used with Thomas was cheap and within a month the bassinet was sinking! Some good friends of ours have the Chicco brand and they have been very pleased with it. Plus, Josh's parents have the pack-n-play now for Thomas to sleep in when he spends the night with them. It is comfortable for him as long as there is a blanket to pad the cardboard - oh, I mean mattress.

I still need to get out all of Thomas' baby clothes, but we have to move Thomas into his new room before I have the closet and dresser space I need. Hopefully his toddler bedding will be here soon and we will transition him into his big boy bed!

My body is preparing for Josiah's birth as he is growing and I am more uncomfortable. As of last night, I'm also up several times a night going to the bathroom. Thus far I have had only had to get up once a night and I was hoping that would last a few more weeks - maybe last night was a fluke - but it seems my uninterrupted sleep is gone for the next few months! Speaking of sleep, I think I'll take a nap!

Reunion

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of having a short reunion lunch with some friends from high school. Everyone couldn't make it, but most did and it made for a fun time of catching up and laughing together. It has been eight years (2001) since all of us had been together. We still have a couple of years until our 10 year class reunion (I can't believe time has gone by so quickly), but after one of our friends posted some old high school pictures on Facebook, we started planning a get together.

Out of the 10 of us present:

2 are full-time teachers

1 is a part-time teacher

2 are nurses

1 is in ministry with her husband

1 works in business

2 are stay-at-home moms

1 is graduating from medical school!

Eight of us are married and one is getting married in June! Between the ten of us, we have six children and two on the way! It really was fun to see the dynamics of the group and trying to learn every one's married names - we still call each other by the maiden name!

My friend Ashley, who has the blog The Sweetest Work on Earth, was there and it was so good to see her again! I feel connected to her through our blogs, but it is so much more fun to talk to her in person. Since we were the two pregnant ladies, we got a picture together.

I still have 10 weeks ago, but Ashley only has 4 weeks left! She & I like to have babies around the same time - her son is just one month and one day older than Thomas. If the due dates are right, these babies will be about 6 weeks apart - how fun!

Here is the picture of the whole group:

Dating in the 21st Century?

On Friday, Josh and I went to dinner and then to the mall. We decided it would do us good to walk after our meal at Olive Garden and we could window shop. One of the first places we stopped was the Discount Christian Bookstore. Those aren't my favorite places to visit because the books tend to be "fluffy" and certainly not geared toward theology (or at least good theology). While we didn't buy anything, we did learn about the new trend in dating.

There was a teenage guy (probably 19) working and he was checking out a girl about the same age. They were chit-chatting about where she was from, where she worked, etc. Then the conversation went like this:

Guy: So, are you on Facebook?

Girl: (laughing) Yea, what about you?

Guy: Yeah. What's your name?

Girl: Gives her name.

Guy: Is it okay if I look you up on Facebook? My name is ____.

Girl: Sure, if you want to.

Guy: Great, I'll look you up soon.

I was trying not to laugh out loud! People have said that Facebook should be Nosybook (or maybe Hook-Up-Book) and I completely agree now. Instead of asking the girl if she would like to have coffee on his break or after he got off, he wants her name so he can look her up on Facebook?! I guess I'm just completely out of the loop. Thankfully, Josh and I started dating three years ago when you still got to know someone by spending time with them!

So, I have a question for all my single readers: Has this ever happened to you? And would you tell a complete stranger your name so they could look you up on Facebook?

Spring Pictures

Happy Spring! This is one of my favorite seasons. I love to see and smell the flowers blooming and to feel the cool breeze outside. I'm really appreciating the warmer weather now that I have an active toddler who loves to go outside.

We had Thomas' 18 month/Easter pictures taken a couple of weeks ago. He did okay, but after 40 shots, he was pretty much done with the camera. We tried to get pictures with the rabbit, but Thomas wouldn't go near her, except to poke her in the eye once! We thought he would like the bunny, because he loves the cat, but he wouldn't come within 10 feet of her. It seems 18 months is not an easy age to get a good smile or at least a smile without his hands being in the air too! Josh isn't thrilled with his hair in these pictures, but Thomas has the exact same cow licks and shape of hair that Josh did when he was little. I think he looks great and I love the little outfit (I got it for $8 at a consignment store!).

Here is our little boy:

Just for fun: Here is his 6 month spring picture from last year. I miss those chubby cheeks!