Forgot to post pictures of Lindsey at 2 months…so here they are!
Lindsey continues to be a good baby. She is starting to take longer naps during the day, has an earlier bedtime (7!) and sometimes sleeps all night. She loves to smile at us and coo and talk. She loves looking at her sisters! She is now 10 weeks old and seems a regular part of our family. We feel very blessed for such a sweet girl.
Natalie turned six years on old on Friday, January 16. It is hard to believe that six years has gone by. It seems like just yesterday! She ended up not having school on her birthday because it was so cold. I thought she might be disappointed to not celebrate at school, but instead she loved being home with her sisters! We had a family party that night and then on Saturday she had her friend party. She really really wanted a roller skating party..so that is what we did. It was absolute chaos at the rink, but she had a great time and so did all her friends. Enjoy a few shots of our birthday girl.
Don’t these 2 look a lot alike??!!
Three girls definitely seems a little overwhelming sometimes…all the coming weddings, drama, and emotions. But we are so thankful God has blessed us with them. They are so much fun…and love to do so many different things. Play Barbies, dress-up, play legoes, wrestle with Daddy.
Also…what a gift to have sisters. Amy and Natalie are best buddies and love to play and spend time together. We look forward to how Lindsey relates to them as she gets older. Right now she is pretty good about tolerating the smothering from Amy!
Nate and I have prayed many things for our three daughters. At the top of the list is that they would love the Lord and trust Him as their Savior. It has been neat to hear them retell Bible stories from church or ask us questions about Jesus, Heaven, etc.
Yesterday Natalie and I were working on her memory verse for Awana. It was “Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.’” Natalie was interested in what this verse meant so we talked about how the only way we can get to heaven and be with God is if we truly believe that he died on the cross for our sins and we are forgiven.
Amy overheard us and said, “I want to go to heaven, I don’t want to go to that fire place.” Nate explained that Mommy and Daddy were going to go to heaven one day. Natalie wanted to know how we were sure. So we explained that we believe that Jesus is our Savior and that he died for our sins. She says, “I believe that!” Nate asked her if she had ever told God that she believed that about him. She said she didn’t and wanted to know how to tell him so Nate explained that when we pray we are talking with God.
Natalie bowed her sweet head and prayed (from my memory!), “God, thank you for sending Jesus as a baby. I believe that he died on the cross for my sins and I am forgiven. I love you. In Jesus name, Amen.”
What a blessing to hear our firstborn daughter profess her love for Jesus. We will continue to pray for her heart and that she would desire to know and love him more.
Okay, I confess that I don’t like to make New Year’s Resolutions…because I tend to fail them before the end of January. BUT…I do like the idea of a fresh start and a chance to make goals for myself. This year I have a very big goal…one that is a long time coming…and just happens to fall at the beginning of January. I want to reclaim my body in 2009.
In the past 6 years I have had three children and survived cancer. And I am tired of the toll it has taken on my body…I am tired of considering myself to be “heavy”. This is a very difficult thing for me to openly write about in a blog…but I have a long way to go in my plan to reclaim my body…and thought blogging about it might help me stay motivated.
What do I mean when I say I want to “reclaim my body”? I would like to lose 60 pounds. I know some of you are gasping and saying “you don’t need to lose that much”…but I do. I am still carrying a lot of pregnancy weight so that needs to go, but I also had a lot of weight to lose before getting pregnant. Most importantly, I would like to lose the weight in a healthy way and keep it off. I am good at “dieting” for a few months and then finding an excuse to stop and putting the weight back on.
Don’t worry…this won’t be a dieting journal or anything. I just thought it would be motivating to blog about this goal. I’ll let you know how I am doing…but I won’t bore you with the details!
So…here’s to a healthy, happy, thinner 2009.
Nate and I rang in the new year last night playing Mario Kart and Mario Galaxy on our new Wii we got for Christmas (thanks Dana and Walter!). Natalie and Amy were at a sleepover at Grammy and Papa’s and Lindsey was thankfully asleep in her bed. It was very nostalgic for us since we used to stay up late playing video games on our Nintendo 64 before we had children.
This morning I caught up on some TV shows while Nate continued playing Wii. Nate commented that it was so strange to have all this “free” time and that it was nice to have that before having children. I agreed. I DO miss those lazy Saturdays (I know today isn’t Saturday, but it felt like it) where we would sleep in, stay in our jammies all day, play video games, and watch movies. Sometimes, I’ll admit, I REALLY miss those days.
But as we went to my parents to spend the day with them and reconnect with Natalie and Amy, I realized how boring my life would be in comparison to what I have today. My children our such an incredible gift from the Lord. Even though there are many days where I am tired and emotionally maxed out, I wouldn’t trade them for just one Saturday to myself. Before children, our lives were all about us. Now our life is about our family. And one day our children won’t be home and we will have those lazy Saturdays…and miss the laughter and presence of our children.
In 2008, some dear friends of mine lost their 4 year old daughter and another dear friend of mine lost her 33 year old husband. I hope I can embrace the wonderful gifts God has given me…because we never know when God will call anyone of us home. And I hope to enjoy my chaotic Saturdays!
