7 Months Old

Teague is 7 months old today. He now has 4 teeth, is getting the hang of crawling and is starting to pull up on things. His hair is continually getting lighter and he is growing into such a sweet boy. Troy is pretty rough with him, but he never seems to mind and never crys so I bet he will be one tough little brother.

Here are his two bottom teeth

My little tiger

Troy and Eilonwy

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I have been watching a little girl the past few weeks and she and Troy have become close friends. It is neat to see the difference in girls and boys and also how they both just fall into male and female roles. Eilonwy asks for help from Troy on things throughout the day and Troy, usually while playing outside, always lets me and Eilonwy know that he will protect us, either from cars driving by or airplanes flying over. With all the drama going on around here it is nice to be able to provide stability for the kids and also an occupation to keep my mind busy.

Choices

Life is all about choices. Your choices will always effect others and their choices will effect you. This especially holds true to those closest to you.

Unfortunately, through a series of choices Daniel has chosen, he has decided to no longer participate in this family. My entire world came crashing down as his choice was imparted on me. As I wade through this process, I start to think back to the past and play the "what if" game and to the present thinking about how I will manage to get out of bed in the morning, and then to the future on how the boys will grow up. I wonder where God is in all of this, why isn't He saving this marriage, why am I being punished? But the bottom line is this...We live in a fallen world full of sin, and God is NOT punishing me, He is carrying me. Every morning that I open my eyes I feel His strength helping me get out of bed and make my boys breakfast. Not a day goes by that I am not in disbelief for what I am dealing with and wonder how I will get through the day, and then night time comes and I did, in fact, make it through, but not without the help of God. And here is where MY choice comes into play. I will choose to follow Him through this valley, and keep my eyes so focused on His plan for me that I will not even entertain the shadows of lies that the devil tries to flash before me. I have found a song that I love listening to and wanted to share the lyrics, it's by Mike's Chair...

Don’t know where to begin
It's like my worlds caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here

Sometimes it's so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
but I am willing to go where You want me to
God I Trust You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees

So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will always choose to follow God! So as I continue into this unknown territory I will bury my head into Him who gives me strength and hang on tightly to see what is on the other side of this valley.

A birthday and a wedding

This weekend was jam packed with Troy's birthday celebration along with Aunt Audrey's wedding. Troy was one of the ring bearers so after the rehearsal we went to the rehearsal dinner/Troy's birthday party. We ate BBQ and had birthday cake for dessert. Everyone sang happy birthday to Troy! Saturday was spent just relaxing until we had to be at the museum for pictures. Troy was a real trooper taking a million pictures and saying cheese and holding still. The his big moment came and he had a brief meltdown. He did make it down the isle with a little help but didn't want to stand up front with everyone. After it was all said and done, he was in his tennis shoes with his shirt untuked having fun and never thought another thing about it. He was so cute in his tux and we had a lot of fun at the wedding. It was a fun filled weekend!!

More birthday gifts...the bike from Nana and Grandpa and the helmet and pads from Aunt Audrey


Nana made Troy a GO DIEGO cake and he LOVED it!!!


Troy with Nana and Grandpa as everyone sang happy birthday to him

SO HANDSOME!!

Troy and Michael, the other ring bearer

Troy and Bride Aunt Audrey


Such a cute couple...and he kept calling me princess all night. I felt special but obviously he plays with girls a little too much. I think his friend Aby might have taught him about princesses!

The only picture of Teague this weekend! He was such a good baby with all the festivities!

Happy 3rd Birthday Troy

Troy is 3 today!! We enjoyed sprinkle donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast and he wore his annual blue crown that he has worn since his first birthday! He is so articulate when he talks and is starting to say the cutest and funniest things. He is so special to our family and to me! Lots more party pictures to come...

Troy's Birthday Party at school

At Troy's school I was able to bring the snack for the day in honor of Troy's birthday on Friday. First, the kids prayed and washed their hands. Then, Troy set out all the napkins and cups. I made mini brownie cupcakes and a goodie bag for each kid. He got to wear the birthday crown and also the teacher played the Happy Birthday Song in the background. It was neat to see Troy follow directions and interact with the other kids in his class. I also got to put faces with the names that I keep hearing about as he tells stories about his day. It was a special day!

The prayer


He doesn't look too happy here.




Enjoying the brownies!

And the birthday celebration begins...

Troy will be 3 in a week but the gifts have already started to roll in. Oma and Opa got Troy a Thomas the Train set. It takes alot of thinking on my part to get the track together but he loves it! We have quite a few birthday celebrations throughout next week so there will be many more pictures to come!

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6 months old

Teague is now 6 months old and has changed so much from when he was born. His hair is continuing to fall out and it is getting lighter and lighter. He is getting a tooth so he has been a little fussier than usual, but a little Tylenol and Orajel and he's a happy camper. He is such a happy baby and loves Troy so much. Every morning when Troy, my early riser, and I hear Teague wake up we run in his room and Troy climbs into his crib and Teague just laughs and smiles and the two of them roll around and play for a few minutes. What a great way to start the day. They truly are a blessing to me and I am so lucky to have them as my sons!
Troy and Teague playing on the floor

Teague practicing crawling

Teague jumping

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You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice

Over the last three months God has really been working on me in alot of different areas. Although my blog tends to be the happy, fun events in my life, this post will be different, and I hope God will get the glory from my honesty.

In James it says that you learn to endure when you have your faith tested. And for those that don't give up, He will reward them with a glorious life. Daniel and I are currently having our faith tested and our family is in need of prayer. During this time I am seeking God like I have never done before and growing and maturing in a way that I hope is pleasing my Lord, but it still isn't easy, and He never said it would be. He only said He would be there through it all. So daily I am asking for His strength and His joy, and the following verse has really helped me with that.
Psalm 27:13 "I would have despaired unless I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let you heart take courage." I know we will see God's goodness and faithfulness in this situation and I am excited to see how He will work in our lives.

Tanna came down to visit this week and told me of an idea she had from a lady in her small group. Of course, we had to copy the idea and I love that we did. It basically is a box that you put prayer requests or things that you worry about inside. All the things that are out of your control and you need to let go of. It reminds me of Phillipians 4:6-7 "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel."
So here we are creating our boxes

And the finished product

It says "I can't, but He can!"
As I drop this particular prayer request with our family and many more requests for others going through difficult times, I know I am physically letting go of any control I think I have over the situation and letting God work in the way that only He can. My hope comes only from God and He has always been faithful and will continue to be faithful. Thank you for your prayers