Month of thanks: day 22

Today I'm thankful that we made it safely to Rocky Mount tonight to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. I'm looking forward to turkey, family, football, and shopping.

Owen Being Owen

Owen is at such a fun age. Every day I amazed at the things he does and says.  For my sake, I wanted to document a few.

Recently he has become obsessed with Toy Story.  Last Christmas my aunt and uncle gave him 2 Toy Story (TS) figurines along with a TS suitcase.  At the time, he had never really even seen TS before but loved having a suitcase his size.  One day at the library he found the DVDs and wanted to take them, so I obliged. Ever since then he has been obsessed. The cutest thing is does is wears Woody around on his shoulders like Andy does in the movie.  He also flys Buzz around and the strangest thing, he makes Woody and Buzz kiss.  (My thought is that he sees kissing as a sign of affection and he knows the two characters are friends.)   My parents even bought him Woody pajamas that he LOVES to wear. He told me for Christmas he wants a pair of cowboy boots like Woody.  I think we might finally have to invest in our copies of the movies and stop borrowing from the library. :)

Speaking of pjs,  they also bought him a pair of Superman pajamas at the same time.  He loves wearing them as well and flying around the house.  He can't quite say Superman so it's more like uperman, but he's so super cute.  One night he put on his football helmet with the pajamas and told us Superman play football for the Tar Heels. Oh buddy, we definitely could use him on our team this year!

He also tells us the funniest things.  Last week he was talking about wanting a big soccer ball and I told him we didn't have one.  He turned and looked at me and said, "Papa buy it for me." Evidently he's learned early that he has Papa wrapped around his finger. It could be that he picked up on this because Papa and Owen can't leave Target without Papa buying him something. :)

Lately I've realized just how much Owen picks up on his surroundings.  He can identify many of the places we go by the logo.  He can find you any Harris Teeter or Target around Charlotte. He loves telling you that that is his library and church when we go by. I do believe his favorite place to visit is Harris Teeter; he gets so excited to go.  He loves riding in the double cart shaped like a car with Oliver, but I think his favorite is when Daddy stops by the cookie dragon on the way out.

Owen is finally starting to get the hang of this own potty training thing.  He still won't tell you when he has to go but he will always go when you put him on there.  This past weekend he only had one accident and even pooped.  I think the positive reinforcement as really worked with him, but his face lights up and he gets so excited when he uses the bathroom. Sadly though, he still is not going to the bathroom at the Y. They take him numerous times a morning but he still hasn't gone.

Month of Thanks: Day 21

Today I am thankful that all the little boys in my house are happy and healthy. I am also thankful that Oliver finally slept all the way through the night for the first time in a while. :)

Month of Thanks: Day 20

Today I am thankful to finish yet another item on my long to-do list! I am glad to finally have finished our new tree skirt, therefore replacing our cheap ugly one we've had since our first Christmas. I am thankful for sweet friends who worked along side me to make making this even more fun. :)

Month of Thanks: 17,18, and 19

Whoa sickness in our house has put me way behind...

Day 17: I am thankful for a husband who unselfishly gave up his ability to get a new phone to give me one for my birthday.  After the unfortunate drop in the toilet months ago, my phone began to have some major cliches instead a touch screen that wouldn't work.  It's kind of hard to have a phone when you can't dial out or answer.  Luckily we still had our old phones so I was just going to use that until our contracts ran out in March.  When we went to the Verizon store last week to get it switched over, Jeremy found out that his phone was already up and he could get a new one. He sacrificed his own desires for a new phone to let me have one and a great one at that. :)

Day 18: I am thankful for my brother Brandon, who came to babysit Oliver, so I could go to my preschool feast.  Sadly Oliver had hand, foot, and mouth all week long and could not go back to the Y.  My brother, who owns his own business, had some flexibility in his day that he could come watch him for the morning.  Thanks BP!

Day 19:  I am thankful that I have so many thoughtful and caring friends. I thrive off of relationships, the whole being known and knowing others.  I am thankful for all the friends the Lord has blessed me with in all my different life stages. I am thankful for sweet reminders of how God cares for through His people. :)

Month of Thanks: Day 16

Today I'm thankful for girls' night! Right now at our house I have one kid with hand, foot, and mouth and husband with vertigo symptoms. The Lord knew I would need a night out of the house after dealing with a cranky baby all day. Thank you Lord for girlfriends and a loving husband who encourages me to get out of the house. :)

Month of Thanks: Day 14 and 15

Whoops..forgot yesterday's post so today you get 2 for the price of 1. :)

 Day 14: I am thankful for my Bible study fellowship study. I started in this study last year with the book of Acts and have continued this year into the book of Acts. I am thankful how much this study has taught me.  It has provided connections from the Old and New Testament that I never seen before.  It has taught me so much more about the character of Jesus and has left me in awe of our Savior. I am thankful for the growth I have seen in my own Biblical knowledge and in my appreciation for His Word.

Day 15: I am thankful for a kind, caring, and knowledgeable pediatrician.  Luck would have it that we kind of just got fell under Dr. Ankrah's care. When we first moved here we had to find a doctor quickly when we found out Owen still had fluid in his ears.  After calling all my local friends (all 3 at the time), we called Elizabeth Pediatrics to see one of their older and highly recommended doctors.  Because he was so highly recommended he was not taking new patients anymore and they suggested their new doctor.  I said, "What the heck! We'll try her." I'm so glad that we did because she has been nothing but amazing.  She is kind but doesn't just tell you what you want to hear.  She is geniuely concerned for my boys and truthfully read every thing that comes across her desk about them.  I was so impressed when she called me one night on her way home because she wasn't able to call me back in the office.  Now that we moved further south in the city, her office is a good 30 mins. away but we still drive over to see her because she is just that good.

Month of Thanks: Day 13

Last week I was at my friend Caron's house and she made us all go around and say something we were thankful. Her first answer challenged me to think outside of the box and not just say my family (which was going to be my first go-to answer).

As I thought about this year, I thought about how much we have been through especially when it comes to our health.  So today the thing I am most thankful for is that through all these tests they have all come back with positive results.  From the beginning of the year, we had the scare with Oliver's tumor and we praise the Lord that it was benign and it is now shrinking on it's own. I am thankful that through all of Owen's testing, we found that everything is fine with his brain.  What could have been a really scary situation, is now something easy that we can just monitor.  We are so thankful for clean reports and healthy children.

Month of Thanks: Day 12

Today I am thankful for weekends.  The Lord told us to take a Sabbath for reason...we need a day of rest.  I love weekends because it means time we get to spend as a family.  With the days getting shorter, Jeremy getting home later, and the boys going to bed early, there is very little time between dinner and bedtime.  Weekends give us more time to play, run errands, and just be together. I love my little family!

Month of Thanks: Day 11

Today on Veteran's Day I am thankful for the men and women past and present who serve our country. I'm thankful for their bravery, strength, and self-sacrifice so that I can feel safe. I have so much respect for our servicemen and could never thank them enough for all that they do.

Month of Thanks: Day 10

Are you bored with this yet? If so I'm sorry..I promise to interlace some cute pics of the boys to keep you interested.

Today the thing I thankful for might seem silly but I'm thankful for Facebook.  I'm thankful that it allows me to stay connected to friends from all stages of my life. When we moved to Nashville, Facebook kept me from getting depressed when I felt so isolated as a new mom. I love also that if you have a question about anything, you can get quick fast answers from hundreds of friends.

I confess though that it a time waster and I spend way too much on it.  So what is a blessing can also be a curse, uh?
 

Oliver @ 11 Months

11 months...such a fun age.

This month, Oliver is:

• 22  lbs (by our scale)
• wearing 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers
• still nursing 3x a day and has one cup of formula in the morning at preschool (ok and let's be honest, lately he's been waking up once during the early early morning and we'll only go back to sleep if I nurse him)
• taking one short nap at the Y and one longer nap here in the afternoon
• has 6 teeth..2 on the top and 4 on the bottom
• cruising along all the furniture and loves to pull up on any and every thing
• can crawl up the stairs
• no more bottles..he's moved onto sippy cups
• still a good eater but a little bit picker than the rest of the family
• wants anything Owen has and will fight him for it
• waves to everyone wherever we go
• loves to clap his hands
• a super fast crawler and walking holding onto our hands
• like most kids, loves to throw things off his high chair tray

In a few short weeks, we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday! It's so crazy how much faster the first year went with him than his brother's. We love you little man!

Month of Thanks: Day 9

This 9th of November I'm thankful for our jobs. I'm thankful that Jeremy enjoys his job and that they value him for his skills.  I am thankful for my job at the Y and especially thankful that they have a FREE staff childcare program.

Month of Thanks: Day 8

Today I am thankful for my brother and sibling-in-laws. I am thankful that my brother and I have remained close over the years and we have been there for one another through all of life's milestones. I also love my in-laws and am glad to have sisters now. :)

 (Thanks family for letting me steal your Facebook pics...it was the easiest way to get a recent picture of you.) 

Month of Thanks: Day 7

Today I am thankful for our grandmothers. Jeremy and I are lucky to have all of grandmothers still living. All 4 women are a blessing in our lives and we are so glad for the relationship we share with them. I am especially for my Granny (Piner) as today is her 89th birthday!

 

Halloween 2011

It's no secret that Halloween is my least favorite "holiday", but we participate because we candy and dressing up.  I have to say, that my kids were super cute in their costumes.

Introducing our little giraffe Oliver.

 Owen the lion (who I later called the Cowardly Lion, but he was afraid of everything.)

Owen's 1st house..our next door neighbor Kaley who loves playing with the boys.

Oliver's ride through the neighborhood

Owen only walked to about 6 houses.  Around house 3 a dog greeted him at the door barking and totally freaked him out.  After that, he made Jeremy carry him to the door. 

After we made it half way down the street, Owen was tired so we came back home.  I greeted the tricker-treaters like this.  I wore this costume to preschool that morning and thought it would be fun to put it back on. *Thanks to my mother in law for the great (and easy) costume.*

Even though we live in a neighborhood with lots of kids, we had very little trick or treaters.  Therefore, we were left with lots of candy. Jeremy ended up taking a bag to work and we still had a 3/4 of this bowl left.  While I love candy, it has not been good to have this much candy left in our house!

Overall it was a fun night...maybe Halloween is redeeming itself a little. ;)

Month of Thanks: Day 6

Today I am thankful for our living situation. When we first moved to Charlotte, we had to find a place to live rather quickly as Jeremy was to start his job in 2 weeks. After looking around with a realtor for a place to rent, we settled on a townhouse not far from Jeremy's work. We were there for only a few short weeks before we realized it wasn't in the greatest part of town.  Sadly we were stuck in a year lease so we made it work.

As our lease was running out, my friend Brigetta bought a house and her current house was going up again for rent.  Her current house was owned by her in-laws and they wanted to have tenants again.  We made started talking to them through email and made a visit over to the house.  After our visit, we quickly said we would take it.  The rent is cheaper, the area is super nice, it's close to our friends, and our landlords are an awesome Christian couple.  We love that we have the joys of living in a home, but not have to do all the upkeep. :)

We are also thankful how the Lord provided the opportunity to move to Charlotte.  Jeremy and I realized while  living in Nashville that we aren't cut out for small town living. We love all the things a bigger town has to offer. We love the friends we have here, Jeremy enjoys his job, and we just feel like this place is a great fit for us.

Month of Thanks: Day 5

Today I'm thankful for our church. When we first moved to Charlotte, we began the tedious task of finding a new church home. Thankfully we had a few friends here already who were plugged into churches here and we had places to start looking. A few weeks in we visited the Church at Charlotte and really felt like it was a place that we could call home.  We are thankful for a church that not only brings people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but also disciples those are already believers.  Personally I am thankful for their HOME club (mom's group) ministry that helped me get plugged in when we were new here.  It is here that I have met some of my closest friends here in Charlotte.  Thank you CAC for spurring us on to be more like Christ!

Month of Thanks Day 4

Today I am thankful for our parents.  I am thankful that we have two sets of loving and involved parents. I am thankful for how the encourage, support, and love on us. Their wisdom and insight are always helpful and I am thankful they are always a phone call away (also thankful they both live in the same state).

I am also thankful for who they are as grandparents and how much they love our boys.  I am thankful that they are present in their lives and how much our boys love them. 

Month of Thanks: Day 3

Today I am thankful my two little turkeys, Owen and Oliver. I love being a mommy to these two precious boys.  I am thankful that they are both different, but yet share similar qualities.  I am thankful that they are snuggly babies, who love both their mommy and daddy.  I love their smiles and how the littlest things can make them laugh.  I am thankful that the Lord is stretching and growing me through parenting them.  I have learned more about grace and sacrificial love through them than I did in the 20 some years before I had them.  So thankful for all the Lord is teaching me through them...I am blessed!

Month of Thanks: Day 2

I am thankful for my wonderful husband and best friend. God has blessed me so richly with a Godly, funny, yet sometimes quirky man, who is not only a doting husband but a terrific father.  He loves us unconditionally and serves us in so many ways. I feel truly blessed to call him mine. :)

A Month of Thanks

For the month of November, I wanted to have our family reflect on all the blessings God has given us. Like many, I tend to think of all the things we don't have or wallow in my circumstances.  So this month, giving thanks for all that we do have.

Day 1: I'm thankful for Jesus and the cross.  "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.:  I am thankful that He was the perfect.  I am thankful that God was so selfless that He gave His ONE and ONLY son to die that I may have eternal life with Him in Heaven.   I am thankful for His grace and mercy, and that they are new each day.  I am thankful for His conditional love and that He keeps no record of right or wrongs.  I am thankful to be a child of God.