~five~

A certain little man in our house has been counting down the sleeps until this big day! 

It finally arrived!

He's a full hand now.

He used to be a hand full, but not anymore.

No more tricky finger-holding-down when someone asks him how old he is. Now all he has to do is hold up his entire hand. It's kind of a big deal.

He's kind of a big deal. This guy is my daily reminder that I really don't know what is best for my life. We had our plans all made and then God decided He had something else in mind for us. Someone else in mind....

2008

He was born big...and asleep. He was the biggest baby in the NICU. The nurses didn't quite know what to do with such a chunk. He had more rolls than the Golden Corral on a Sunday afternoon.

2009

Age 1: Still a chunk, but so much fun! He spends his days keeping up with big brother and keeping Mom on her toes. His favorite past time: dumping boxes of cereal on the kitchen floor. Then laying down in it to eat. He loves tractors and food and balls and food. And when he holds still long enough he likes to snuggle.

2010

Age 2: Speech therapy was a big part of our lives around this time. We did lots of sign language and lots of praying. Many nights I prayed that God would cause his mouth to work so that one day he would use his words to do great things for the Kingdom. I still remember the morning I walked into his room (after a night of tossing and turning feeling like God wasn't hearing my prayers over other matters) and he greeted me with a boisterous "Mama! Mama!" He reminded me that God definitely does hear our prayers and answers in His perfect timing.

2011

Age 3: Everyday our living room floor is turned into the Island of Sodor. 

Every. Single. Day. 

Ty loves Thomas the Train. And love may not be strong enough of a word. 

2012

Age 4: Can you say Mr. Personality? The boy who took forever to talk now takes forever to be quiet (not that I'm complaining). He's using words like "actually" and "apparently" often and correctly. He even taught himself to ride a bike without training wheels. He loves RescueBots and playing in his sandbox. He's the most affectionate out of all 3 kids and still isn't afraid to kiss me in public. 

2013

Age 5: He loves telling jokes and laughing at them too. He adores his Daddy and likes to mimic him whenever possible. All grown up and ready to go to Kindergarten. He doesn't understand why he has to wait until summer is over. All along everyone kept saying you can't go to Kindergarten until you're 5 years old. Well, now he's 5 and he's ready to go. Mom? She's not so sure if she's ready yet. 

Happy Birthday, Tyson Hunt!

I'm so glad God chose me to be your Mama. I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like without you. You have an enthusiasm and energy for life that I wish I could tap in to. Your laugh is contagious and your smile melts my heart. I love that you are not afraid to do your own thing. That shows me that you have great potential to be a strong leader. My prayer for you is that you would lead others in a compassionate way that takes them right to our Savior. 

I love you, Ty Guy!

~Mommy

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 46

(so much for posting twice a day)

A Gift in Losing, Finding, Making Something

1. A Gift in Losing
2.5 years ago when we were looking to by a house, we "lost" what I thought was the right house for us. We placed a bid and the bid was rejected. No counter offer. Just a big fat "NO".
Turns out, we didn't really lose it at all. It's just not where God wanted us.
I'm glad He always knows best.

2. A Gift in Finding
I found a new pair of running shoes (my favorite brand....Brooks) on sale. Regular price $95. My price $59.

3. A Gift in Making Something
It is a true gift when I make a new recipe at our house (or even an old one) that everyone like to eat. You know the ones -
"Wow, Mom. This is so good."
"Can we have this every night?"
"This is my favorite."
And all the plates are clean. And all the bellies are full.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 45

(My lack of posting has gotten way out of hand! It's time to get back on the joy horse. I will post at least twice a day until I can catch back up.
Okay, I will try and post at least twice a day until I can catch back up.)

3 Ways You Feel the Love of God

1. His pursuit of me. Even when I don't pursue Him or don't feel worthy of being pursued....He still pursues me.

2. My church. There is never a Sunday morning that I wake up wishing that I didn't have to go to church. Our church family, our pastor and the abilities that God has given me to serve my church family definitely are proof of God's love.

3. He answers my prayers. Not always when I want, not always the way that I want. But always when I need and how I need. He's so smart.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 44

3 Gifts Behind a Door

I kept things pretty generic and simple.
But generic and simple gifts shouldn't be overlooked because they're generic and simple, right?

1. The food we have behind our refrigerator door.
We are never hungry. Honestly we probably eat too much and throw away too many leftovers.

2. 2 working vehicles behind our garage door.
They may be old and have lots of miles, but they work and are paid off.
The garage door is a huge gift too! So thankful that we have a 2 car garage and I don't have to scrape my windows every morning in the winter!

3. The clothes and shoes behind our closet doors.
I don't think that needs any explanation.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 43

3 Hard Eucharisteos

I had a hard time coming up with 3 of these because our lives have by no means been hard. We haven't suffered great loss or heartbreak. We are healthy and provided for and happy. Our kids are cute and fun and smart and my husband loves his job. There are times we have struggled and wondered and cried about things. So from those moments I choose my 3 "Hard" Eucharisteos recognizing that by many other's standards these would not be considered "hard" at all.

1. The 3 year long wait to sell our house.
This could be a whole post in and of itself. But for right now I'll keep in short.
3 years is a wholeheckuva long time to wait. It was definitely hard. Feeling like God was silent, or ignoring, or indifferent was hard. But thankfully we know that He was none of those things. We might not have heard Him because our ears weren't tuned in to Him correctly.
But He was definitely working.
And molding.
And teaching.
And pruning.
And moving.
Thank God for the 3 year lesson.

2. Anna's bully incident
Yet another story that could be longer. And I promise to write about this one in length later because it is just too good of a blessing not to share.
Anna was recently bullied at school. And while in the moment it was hard, to see how God worked in her and through her was nothing less than amazing.
God is SO very good to us.

3. Ty's arrival
The week long stay in the hospital at 33.5 weeks followed by a week of bedrest at home only to have to schedule an induction 5 weeks later to encourage his birth.
The unexpected (short) stay in the NICU for our 9 lb. 11 oz. chunker because he was born asleep (dangerously low blood sugar).
The immediate signs of reflux at only a few hours old.
The Upper GI to officially diagnose the reflux (where the radiologist said he had never seen a baby reflux that quickly) and then the various combination of meds until we could find the right one that afforded the poor baby a restful nights sleep.
I was one tired and emotional Mama, but praising God for my sweet boy.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 42

3 Gifts in Working

Because I have 3 "jobs" I thought I'd pick one gift from each of them.

1. Using my college degree
Honestly, when I got my bachelor's degree I chose it because it was the fastest course for me to complete. I was working full time and had an idea that we were about to start a family. I didn't want to be in school for another 3-4 years (I had already done 2 years for my associates degree) so I chose the adult program degree completion program. I could put most of my credits toward a B.S. in Organizational Management and be done in 18 months. 6 months into the program I was glad I chose that option when I found out my first baby would arrive 3 months before I was done.
I always wondered what I would do with an Organizational Management degree.
Thankfully God knew and He had a plan all along.
Although I only work 5-10 hours per week, that degree prepared me for my job with The Crossing. It's exciting to use what I've learned and enjoy doing it.

2. Creativity that pays
About a year and a half ago I started dabbling in a little bit of graphic design. It was more for myself than anything. But as I created more, persistent family members encouraged me to open up a shop on etsy.com to try and sell what I made. It was simple enough to do so I did. And thankfully so as my little side job brings in some extra cash each month.

3. Lunch with my kids
Because I work from home and at home, I have the flexibility to go in and have lunch with my kids on occasion. I really enjoy getting to know my kids' friends and watching them interact. It is a gift to have the ability to do this.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 41

3 Times You Heard Laughter Today

1. In my Sunday School class
I teach the PreK/K class at church every Sunday. Typically my class is made up of 4 boys. What a joy. I love hearing their laughter as they play together!

2. During Church
Our church is blessed with a wonderful pastor/teacher. He teaches straight from the Word. Currently he is doing a series on the book of Romans. It never fails that he will make us laugh every Sunday morning. And always more than once.

3. In our Small Group
We started a new small group tonight. We host it in our home. I really enjoy having people over and especially this time since we have 4 new people in our group that I've never gotten a chance to hang out with. I knew our group was a good mix when there was plenty of laughter tonight. What a blessing.