Couldn't Sleep...

I went to bed early, but laid there thinking about who the next President of our country will be. Safe to say, any of the realistic options left to us scare me in some way or many ways. I keep praying for our country. What will happen in the coming 4 -8 years. What will be irreversible? I know God is Soveriegn, but I also know that He hands nations over to their evil desires when they reject Him. It makes me so sad to see our nation handed over to godless leadership, or worse yet, leadership by one who worships a false god, though he happens to be the most conservative. I prayed for salvation and a radical change of heart for the one who becomes President. I finally got out of bed because I couldn't ignore my hungry tummy anymore, and obviously my mind wouldn't stop. I sat down for a bowl of Cheerios with a banana and some precious quiet time with my Lord. I opened my Bible right up to Psalm 76. God is so kind to comfort me. Listen to this... vs. 4 "You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. (Sounds so beautiful...) Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. YOU ALONE ARE TO BE FEARED. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From Heaven you pronounced your judgement, and the land feared and was quiet- when you, O God, rose to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; He is feared by the kings of the earth." This is NIV, although I read it in NAS and Amplified. Nonetheless, the message was so clear. Our God is Almighty, Just and He Reigns on High above ALL. He is the only One to be feared. Our leadership can be broken or swayed like mere reeds in the power of His hand and there's nothing they can do. Of course, I am curious what judgement if any He has pronounced on OUR land. Lord, please be with us. I do remember there were a lot more prayer meetings called for our country when Clinton was president. Maybe that will happen again. I pray that God will bring good to our nation ultimately, either through or regardless of our leadership. But thanks be to God, HE REIGNS, and the final victory is HIS! Sweet dreams!

A Very Memorable Week...

This has been a difficult, but special week and a half. Our whole family came down with a HORRIBLE cold bug. This was not my usual annual cold, which I actually already had at Christmas. This was a MEAN one. Jeff even caught it and he doesn't catch anything. Soooo, we quaranteened ourselves in hopes of not spreading the good cheer! : ) Thankfully, Jeff, with his super immune system didn't lose any energy from the cold like Harrison and I, and has taken such amazing care of us. This has been the blessing... I have experienced such love and care from him like I could never have imagined. He's gone over and above and this is a huge show of love for him because he will even tell you, it's not exactly his thing. He basically took over Harrison's care and it's been so fun to watch him bond with Harrison on a whole new level through this experience. Harrison had a day where he was so miserable that all he wanted to do was be held and lay or sleep on his Daddy's chest (between naps). It was so precious...and sad. Jeff ate up the snuggle time, though. I can only imagine what he'll be like with a little girl if we have one. Jeff put him down for all of his naps, made most of his meals and mine, too, plus did the laundry, dishes, and everything that needed doing. I am grateful beyond words because I've had literally no strength. Finally, last Friday, it happened... He had gotten up early with Harrison and let me sleep as long as he could before he had to go into town for some appointments. He woke me up at 10:00am and said with such a confident, in-control expression, "Alright, the boy's been fed and changed. I changed a poopy diaper. (He always has to announce that. So cute.) If he needs to eat again, there is left over ham and eggs in the fridge or you can give him a banana... I should be back by...." I have no idea what my expression was as I sat up in bed listening in disbelief, except I know I began to smile. Am I really hearing this!!! What a role change!! I never saw it coming!! Needless to say, Jeff has a whole new confidence level in parenting after this week and I think we have a Daddy's boy all the way now. He loves me, but boy, does he love His Daddy. I love seeing it. And I really love seeing first hand that Jeff is as wonderful a partner in parenting as he is in life.

Other new things that happened during this week- Harrison has begun to talk! His favorite thing to say is "I love you." It comes out something like "I dub yo." He varies it. So precious! He says it back to you after you say it and often just comes up to you and says it. He also says, "Hello" but doesn't bother too much with the "H" at the beginning. He says a bunch of other things, none of which we understand yet, but I'm sure we'll catch on little by little!

He's such a snuggle bug!! He comes up and lays his head on you and sighs, and loves to run up and give you hugs if you're on the floor. We spend plenty of time there as a result. Even Jeff and Harrison's wrestling matches on the floor are frequented by hug breaks which I find pretty hilarious to watch.

Random cute things he did this week: Found a Q-tip I had set out to clean his ears and put it right up to his ear with a little twist like he knew just what to do with it; Loaded all of the laundry off of the couch into the laundry basket, pushed it around with an important aire and then unloaded again; Wrestled and rolled around on the floor with a big teddy bear making plenty of boyish grunts and a few squeals; Picked up the remote control and pointed it directly at the tv, punched a button, and then put it back down like he had done what he needed to, never taking his eye off the screen. We were watching a golfing movie and whenever people clapped, he clapped. He also got into our loud celebration over the Giants beating the Pats! He knows just what to do when we yell, "Touchdown!" By the way, that was the best Super Bowl Game ever!

I finally have a bit of energy today. I'm relishing it and praying it will only increase. We're all still working on getting over the last of the symptoms. I've been eating Kale salads (!) with olive oil and vinegar and actually liking it, (!!) plus hamburgers, chicken soup, carrots and lots of fruit, but I tell ya, this baby eats an aweful lot. I can't seem to go an hour or two without getting hungry again! I'm praising God that this week hasn't been combined with serious morning sickness. I've ony experienced some queeziness at times, nothing major. We're 7 weeks along as of yesterday. So I might make it through this pregnancy with just some indigestion and blahs here and there like last time. Thank you, Lord! My first appointment is next Tuesday.

Well, I'm afraid I let this get too long, but I'm just gonna post it anyway!! God has blessed us with a wonderful week, so thanks for letting me share it!! Time to go eat AGAIN!!! Love you all!

Di

I love my purpose in life...

I woke up this morning and the first things that rolled through my mind were the various things/tasks that this day held for me. A "To Do List" began to take shape, and then that momentary feeling of blah. But, I shrugged off the list for the moment and I breathed a prayer that took it back to the basics for me, "God, help me to glorify you today." Then I laid there for a minute absorbing the wonderful fact that THAT is truly why I live. It's my sole purpose for living, and God made it such an easy thing to do!!! I felt like He was just smiling at me as He watched me process the wonderful simplicity of thought that He intended to dictate my daily frame of mind and perspective. Yes, I've had this realization at times before, but somehow it gets crowded out eventually as I focus on the "To Do List." So I prayed again, "God, please make this truth be the foundation of my mind. Help it to become the way I think." I got up out of bed so energized for the day, it was funny. There's a phrase in an old worship song that says, "the reason I live is to worship You." I love that. It always comforts me. It takes all of the pressure to accomplish this or that or be good at whatever, completely off and lets me just love my Lord and be loved. I have so much to learn as a wife and mommy, and as a friend. So much. But maybe, just maybe if I just practice this, everything else will fall into place.... Lord, please let me glorify You today.

Another September Baby on the Way!!!!!

It's been a long time since I've posted. Primarily, because I was hoping this could be a virtual baby book of sorts to archive everything, and then I found out that I had no way of keeping it long-term, so I lost my incentive to put the time into it. : ) But, I decided I wanted to use it anyway, so out-of-town friends and loved ones that we just don't see often enough could see Harrison growing. He's a laugh a minute.


And NOW, as you saw in the title, we just found out last week that we're expecting another baby!!! We're so excited!!! So are the Grandparents, of course! I was
praying that our kiddos wouldn't be more than two years apart, but just trusting God's perfect timing, so I'm thrilled at His timing and so grateful!!!! This one is due September 22nd, just 11 days before Harrison's due date, Oct. 4th, and just 8 days before Harrison's birthday, September 30th. We may be celebrating birthday's together, at least for a while! : ) We can hardly wait to find out what the baby is. No, we're not big on waiting eight and half months for the surprise. Eighteen weeks is plenty long for us!!! : ) So, check back here in 10 to 15 weeks if you want to know!!! ; ) We're praying for Baby's health and strength and for a tender heart toward God, that God will be glorified in this life, and that His purposes will be accomplished!

Here's some more recent pics of our boy!! By the way, I just got an amazing camera,(late Christmas gift from my sweet husband! - I had to research my options!!) so as soon as I get some pictures going, I'll post them. SO EXCITED! I can already tell it's going to make a huge difference! Happy new year to everyone. Love and blessings too!

Di



Christmas Eve with cousin Cassidy!!!




The Pumpkin Patch...




These last two are from his first birthday...

Harrison's Highlights

Just thought I'd post a few of Harrison's earlier pictures...
Look who's here finally!
First night home...Jeff's parents holding Harrison, their 8th grandchild! (But only their 2nd grandson!)

Harrison wrapped up in his hooded towel.


Four Generations
Harrison was two months old here.
Two very happy grandparents!







Who's holding me? Oh, Hi.
This was an unplanned water event in which Harrison showed his true feelings about water and rocks. He crawled right in and quickly became a rock coneseur, tasting every one he could get his little hands on!


My new favorite toy...
Loved swimming with his friend Linda!