Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Sun, Rain, and a few of my favorite things








Yes, it has been quite some time since I have spent time writing. Don't get me wrong it's not like I don't have TONS of QUIET time, DOWN TIME if you will. I mean I've got it comin out my ears. I'm practically BORED around here. And in between watching Oprah, eating bon-bons, or sun bathing with a Margarita in hand, it's hard to find time to do a thing like BLOG.
You understand.
SO
Things I love:
Shepherd, OF COURSE, AND his new "Teething Bling." I know, I know it sounds funny. But it's great! They are jewelry that look like cool stone pendants or bracelets but they are really PVC and BPA free plastic, like a teething ring. Well, actually it is a teething ring.
2 things I love- my babies and my jewelry- finally able to peacefully coincide. That's what Seinfeld calls "worlds colliding."
And I like it.

The same place I found his teething bling (I'll be putting up a link on my sidebar today hopefully) I got this AMAZING sling. IN LOVE.
It's perfect for Shep's trach.
As you can see, he's in love, too.

Also LOVE

Big brothers, holding little brothers
Sooooooo Swweeeeeeeett

These boys could not love their Shepiddy Deputy (as we like to call him around our ranch) more.


And I lOVE the Love
happening in this pic
and I love the coral colored pillow to the left, cause I made it and it's the inspiration for my new room decoration project, which has so far included 2 new wall hangings, new pillows, new curtains ( all for less than $20)
That I LOVE
And just try and tell me who doesn't love


The influence of an older brother...
(I swear it's not the tattoo that makes him so wild, though I have to point out that it has been 3 weeks and the tattoo is still going strong. hmmmmm. Maybe it was permanent)
Little boys
wearing underwear hats and
goofy expressions
Cowboys at the park
Mic Jagger lips
Baby boys trying to be like their daddies

Funny 2 Year olds that insist on laying down in the middle of the walking path at the new AMAZING park in our area. I guess he just needed some down time.
Thankfully there weren't any cyclers that came along.

But then again, how would I know?
I was too busy taking his picture to get him out of harms way.




Our precious Shepherd is now 6 MONTHS OLD!
It's so weird though. Noah and I both feel like were in some sort of time warp. It's like the past year just sucked us up into a vacuum. The boys keep growing out of their clothes out of nowhere, friends who just got pregnant a week ago are having their babies. And the boy are wearing the Halloween costumes I JUST made for them... a year ago... and it's time to make new ones.
It's just all a little weird.

But byy the GREAT GRACE of God... we are taking each day.
I still go back and forth between immense gratefulness and temper tantrums. Hopefully I'll grow out of that by at least my menopausal years.
And I'm hopelessly in love with this little boy. Who is still QUITE little. Of course, the camera always adds ten pounds.
He hit a little stagnant phase in his weight gain and everyone was worried, but I think it was just because I started replacing more of his bottle feeds with nursing feeds. BUT the good news is that after 2 weeks, I think we've worked out the kinks and I'm still able to nurse him more. He started gaining again last week and the past two days he has gained 5 ounces! That's a lot for 2 days, which brings him to a grand total of 11 pounds and 15.5 ounces- that's right, almost 12 pounds! As his nurse last night declared, "He's gotten so BIG! He looks like a regular three month old!"

I just love how big he looks in this pic. We were just driving a long when I snapped this shot.
Kidding. He's clearly not buckled in and though I really care for Ms Spears, I try not to emulate her parenting choices when fleeing paparazzi.

And last but OH, NOT LEAST
I LOVE Anniversaries
and my husband of 5 years.
It was 5 years ago on Oct 2 that I stood at the window watching it pour down rain at the hour I was supposed to be getting married. We gathered around and prayed and by the time we were done, so was the rain.
With the rain gone and the air refreshed, we went on to commit the rest of our lives and every fiber of ourselves to each other.
That NO MATTER what comes- illness, dissapointment, delight, or pain. Wether we fail or succeed, I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine.
And it is when you find yourself in those rainy seasons like the one we are in now, filled with circumstances that, at times, seem far from the sun & beauty that eventually came. It is in these times that you see what a gift God really gave you on that day.
He gave me a companion, a best friend, a man that will love me when I don't even closely resemble this kind, gentle, light hearted bride. And even though life isn't all roses and I sometimes feel that the challenges of life have brought out the worst in me, I know there is one man who will still hold me close when I crawl into bed after a long day, often filled with taking my stresses out on him. And it's that kind of love, that kind of beauty that reminds me of the perfect man- Jesus- and after a long but probably difficult and probably wonderful life, I will be able to crawl into his arms and rest, despite all my failings- only then it will be forever.
And that will be the sweetest kind of sweet.
But until that day comes, Thank you Noah for reminding me that even at my worst I am dearly loved and affectionately cared for.
Your just the man for me.

Thank you for sharing yourself, your life, and oh yeah, your genetics, with me. You gave me some pretty cute kids.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Update

So far, everything has looked great in testing. Friday, we have another growth check. If, at this point the baby had plummeted in size, they would deliver the baby, but they really don't expect that. One doctor even thought that we should expect that the baby has jumped in size! I know I continue to jump in size, so hey, why not? Contrary to popular belief, small baby does not make for small mommy. But I'm lovin' it. I know there will be a day when I will have complete control over the size of my body and I will cherish the memories of carrying my sweet little ones an all the ways my body changed to care for them. 
And just as a side note, ( I really wasn't planning on spending this much time on my weight) ever since we moved into this apartment last year, we haven't had a full length mirror- and I must say- I'll never go back.  Now, I am as fashion savvy as the next gal, and as vain mind you. But I STILL love the ways not having a full length mirror has affected me. I am way less distracted/ concerned about my appearances/ flaws cause I can't see em. that is unless they are from the neck up. So my eyebrows are plucked but my shoes don't match. No, seriously, I dare any of you ladies to take yours down for a substantial amount of time and just see. It's a beautiful thing. I may be wearing a not-as-flattering shirt, but I don't know it so I don't care. Very freeing.
Anyways. Back to my precious child. So far, so good. We should be meeting this anonymous little one in about 2 weeks. So please pray for us. This is a prayer list I typed up to give to our small group. Please pray these things with us.

.....................        ........................        ........................      .....................       .......................       ....................

The Lord replied, “my Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?

And the Lord said to Moses, “ I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

- Ex 33:13-17


We are asking you to pray specifically with us for our new little one. We are confident that God’s will shall be done and that He is supremely sovereign. We are humbly aware that he has not promised us all of these things specifically. But as a way to battle anxiety and as a clear way to acknowledge that He is the only who can truly accomplish ANY of these things, we lay our concerns at his feet and trust the outcome to Him.

- Please pray that God will use our baby to glorify his name, even while in the womb.

- That we will testify of God’s goodness before medical personnel we interact with

- When medical decisions arise, pray that we will have unique wisdom and discernment as the parents of this child and because we know the one who made them

- Pray for the will to fight fear and anxiety when opportunities arise

- Pray for discipline on our parts during this busy season, so that we will be in the word consistently and giving God the opportunity to renew our minds and refresh our hearts

- Pray that in our attempts to prepare, we will not fall into the illusion that we are in control

- Please pray that Stephanie will go into labor on her own on or before her 39 week induction date- it would be safer for mother and baby to go through a natural labor then an induction

-Pray for the strength to achieve a natural labor without narcotics this is also much safer in general- but specifically for our situation

- Please pray against having a c-section

- Pray that God would provide a supportive staff and the doctor of his choice for the labor & delivery

- Pray that the labor & delivery would truly be a time of worship for all involved

- Please pray for a lack of fear and anxiety associated with the labor & delivery in specific. Pray that God’s peace and nearness will be the rock on which we set our experience

- Pray for no future problem’s with the baby’s kidneys and/or complete healing in regards to the pelvic kidney



Here are some fun pics of the family just being the Joyner's. They are going to be some of the last ones with only 2 kiddos!






This just cracks me up.. pretty quirky... I don't know what this says about his home life


This boy loves his daddy

The boys are dressed up like cowboys for Haddon's 2yr dinner at my mom's house (not like they need an ecxuse to dress up like cowboys. THAT is a daily affair)


So what's next folks? another little cowboy or shall we be adding some pink to the household? Take a vote
And again, thanks for praying with us for our new little one!! We'll keep you in touch!