Sweet Things and a Beach Trip

We took our first little trip to the beach with Aunt AA, Nana, Nomie, and Jim's mom, earlier this month, here are some pictures. It was a COLD day, so Aaron spent most of the time in the van! Though I did take him out for a few pictures of course!

Aaron's little toes curled up off the cold sand...

Nathan lounging...

Naomi drawing...

Nathan driving...

I can't believe how fast Aaron is growing! He is holding his head up so well and he loves standing up when you hold him. He sleeps 7 and a half hours consistently, he is such a good baby! He started sleeping this long a week ago and hasn't skipped a single night! We put him to bed at 10 or so when we go to bed and he wakes up around 5:30. I feed him and he goes right back to sleep till around 8 or 9! Especially nice on the weekends. Couldn't ask for a better child. He smiles so much now, still hasn't really laughed much since he first did it a few weeks ago. That seems to be how he rolls. He does something new one time, then takes some time off, then starts doing 24/7 out of nowhere. I did not think we would still have him in our room at this point, but we feel like we're just not ready. I'll give him till 5 months I think. That's what our friend Kreshelle has done with her 6 children and they are just fine in their own rooms now. I was thrilled when Joey said that he would miss Aaron if he weren't in our room any more. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

We just got a jogging stroller as a Mother's Day gift from my mom and I am excited to take it for a spin. Tonight we are going to feed the homeless. Aaron is such a little missionary already! He's been to all kinds of Holy Spirit led events and he's only 11 weeks old!



He is starting to get a little bored at work I think, hopefully I can come up with something for him to do! Any suggestions are welcome, space there is very limited!

Sometimes it's hard...

Sometimes it's hard to remember who you are in Christ. To remember that you were made with a purpose and that you should not be dependent on or hold anything else about Him who created you. Sometimes you find your identity in who others say you are. Sometimes you are a mom, or a friend, or a co-worker. Ultimately I am a Christian. I am a Christ follower. I am loved by the King and He has good plans for me.

It is amazing to me that I continue to lack faith and trust in the Lord. I sometimes even go so far as to believe lies about Him. Believing at times that whatever I pray for will let Him know where I am most vulnerable and that He may test my faith by taking that thing from me. A friend shared that she was feeling that way too and it hit me: I realized that in holding on to things (my child, my husband, my life) I am not free. Christ wants me to trust Him with these things because even if I choose not to trust Him with them He is still in control of them. So in that case it does no good anyway to think I can hold them. I can't keep things from God, they are His weather I surrender them or not. But also on the other hand, if I can willingly give it all to Him then I can be free from the bondage of feeling responsible for them.

In letting go I can be a mother because I realize that Aaron is not completely mine. I can be a wife because I know that if anything were to happen to him I lived the last day I had with him in FREEDOM and not in WORRY that he would be gone. And please understand that I do not feel I would be glad to release either of those things to the Lord if He decided it was best to take them. But I NEED to be at a place where I could draw near to Him in that time and believe the TRUTH. That He is still loving me in that.

I need to find my identity in Jesus. Even when I feel unwanted by loved ones I need to know that I am wanted by God. That HAS to be enough. People are not going to be able to provide for my needs. They are valuable, but not as valuable as Jesus. Sometimes it's hard to put people in their place in my life... a place that does not determine my worth. Sometimes it's hard, but I am hanging on the promise that Jesus is always here with me.

Update and Our First Day of Work

Today was Aaron and my first day of work together. It went very well. There is plenty for me to contemplate and worry about, of course.
Aaron is so little and will be continuously changing in need, schedule, and personality, BUT I have decided that I will take one day at a time, enjoy work and Aaron both, and if a problem arises with the ability to do both, Aaron will win battle of course. I am going to do my best at work to balance things out and we will just have to see how it goes.
Today at work was a good day, Aaron was wonderful, but his schedule is a little off. He eats, gets a new diaper, stays awake a little, sleeps, wakes up, then eats a little later (not quite the eat, wake, sleep goal, but good enough. Especially since he seems to sleep more and wake less from 7am through around 3pm and is awake A LOT more from 3pm-10pm. He has slept a maximum of 6 hours strait, but that only happened one night.
Our friends Monica and David had their baby last week. exactly 6 weeks after Aaron was born. He is the same size Aaron was, and now Aaron seems so big! It makes me a little sad. Aaron is about 11.5 pounds this week! He will be 7 weeks old on Thursday (today is Tuesday). Time is flying and he is growing so fast! He was very tiny for only such a short while! I miss my tiny, tiny baby, but I love that he is stronger and that means I have less fear for him.

We had a great time at Disney, by the way, exhausting as it was! We went to the Magic Kingdom and to Epcot and stayed two nights in a hotel. Aaron did wonderfully. Dakota ran away while we were gone, but was found by a neighbor. Carlos got to take a nice little nap with Aaron before we left.

Family life is going well. Will update more another time. Now to, once again, attempt a nap!

5 Weeks Old & My First Blog

I can't believe we have a son! Arguably the best baby ever, but I admit to my bias position. At this point he is sleeping up to 6 hour stretches at night, and 5 hours straight sleep never felt so good! It's challenging and amazing being a mommy. It is one of the few things that have lived up to the expectation and excitement that I held for it growing up, that and my marriage. I can't believe how easily I feel in love with someone I knew for 9 months without ever seeing them. The instant I saw this baby I loved him more than words could describe. A friend gave me the idea for a blog over a scrap book, it might be somewhat of a journal as well? I'm not really sure yet. I had no idea you could have your blog printed, gives new meaning to the idea for me. North Florida Regional, where he was born, has luncheons every Tuesday. I have really enjoyed getting to meet other moms and their babies that are right around Aaron's age. I go back to work next week and get to bring Aaron with me, I am excited and nervous about the idea of it all, but before work comes play: we're going to DISNEY this weekend with Nini, Poppy Warren, Nicole, Jeff and the kids! I can't wait!

Since posting this I have decided to come back and add in some more pictures and memories. So here are some pictures to catch you up on the year so far...

From day one we were so in love with this
little miracle!

Aunt AA, along with MANY others, came to meet this little one at the hospital. We felt so loved and so much support from our family in Christ as well as our blood relatives. We are so blessed!

This is one of my favorite pictures. I feel like I can see the peace of the Lord in this photo. It felt so good to be a family and meet our little boy. Thank you Jesus!

MeeMee (my mom) was an immeasurably helpful house guest when Aaron was born. She cleaned, cooked, and took care of everything so that we could sleep a little and just enjoy our son. I could never thank her enough. I could not ask for a better mom. She showed me what it means to love a child like the Lord does.

Daddy gave Aaron his very first bottle. I can see how tired Joey is in the picture. Thank you baby for all your help! You are wonderful!

Papa Steve LOVES his little grandson. We are so thankful for him. He comes to visit and cooks and is always willing to babysit ;)

This is Aaron's cheerio face. One of our most favorite!

Here is Aaron at our very first (of many) lunch dates with our good friends Danielle and Cori Belle (pictured here beside Aaron).

Well... that's all for now! This year is looking GOOD!