Worth Reading

2-21-11


When we were at Moody, I met my friend Kelly. We often joke that she was my only friend at Moody. She's a pretty precious soul and we loved when we were living in the city at the same time she and Ray were.

She is a person of depth and wisdom. Shortly after Currey started Wheaton they moved to Portland and now live in Wisconsin. I got to spend several hours with her last spring when they were in town to shoot a wedding. (Ray is a phenomenal Photographer!) We picked right up where we left off. I think any friend you can do that with is a very special friend. We are facebook friends and she often has pearls of wisdom to share that she finds all sorts of places. (I still regularly make a granola bar recipe I got off her blog several years ago. They've become famous among the youth group kids!)

She posted a post from another blog on facebook and I thought this post was worth passing along. It takes 2 minutes to read. And if you are a mother, I promise it's worth 2 minutes of your time.

Happy Monday!

5:56 PM | Labels: | 1 Comments  

Valentines Day

2-14-11

I just wanted to share a picture of the 2 people that I love the most on this Valentines Day.


I know. They are absolutely precious!
Can you tell that she loves her Daddy?

To my two Lovies,
Happy Valentines Day!
I love you both like crazy!

9:13 PM | Labels: | 1 Comments  

11 Months

1-24-11

Although I'd been told countless times, I did not truly understand how fast time flies! There is NO WAY that in one short month my precious peanut will be 1!!! If I could stop time I would. You continue to keep up busy. Here's what we've been up to this month:


  • You eat like a champ. Your daddy and I joke that you are going to eat us out of house and home. You continue to eat whatever we put in front of you. At this point you are following in daddy's footsteps as you are quite the adventurous eater. You want whatever it is Daddy and I are eating so you've had chorizo (which you ate an ENTIRE bowl full of!), hamburger, and spicy salami.
  • My love of hot food has rubbed off on you as well. We had macaroni and cheese for Christmas that had cayenne pepper in it. Everyone was blown away as you ate an entire helping, never seeming to notice the heat.
  • You have started on whole milk as well. You are a BIG fan!
  • My new favorite is morning snuggles. After about 6 weeks you decided you were not acuddler but over the last month that has really changed. After you eat in the morning you like to snuggle for awhile. I'm assuming this phase will pass so I'm soaking up every last minute with you!
  • You continue to experience some separation anxiety. I think everyone we go to church with are most disappointed by this. You no longer allow just anyone to hold you if you can see me. I worked in the nursery a couple of weeks ago and held another baby. You made it incredibly clear that I'm your Mommy and it's not acceptable for me to hold anyone else in your presence.
  • Even though you prefer Daddy or I to hold you, you are still a people person. We've had lots of people at the house recently and you do not like going to sleep if you know people are here.
  • Although you still prefer 3 naps a day, you can get by with only 2. You sleep for incredibly long stretches at night, sometimes even 12-13 hours. Again, you are Daddy's girl and you LOVE your sleep.
  • You love to pull up on things and then let go to see what happens. You think it's hilariouswhen you fall down and sometimes do it repeatedly.
  • You "walk" around furniture and proudly smile at us the entire time.
  • You also love to stand. You can't stay up for very long and every time that you do you giggle uncontroably. It's pretty cute!
  • One of your new favorite activities is to feed Moose. You love to drop food for him from your high chair and you get really upset when I tell you not to do it. Moose is one of your favorite pals and you have gotten really good at petting him. I know he is really glad that you have gotten past the ear pulling phase!

Peanut,
It seems like you are growing and changing every day. You continue to be more and more fun as you become increasing interactive. I love our trips to the grocery store. You sit in the cart and "talk" to me the entire time that I shop. We are frequently stopped because you smile at everyone. One of my favorite things is to watch people smile at you as we walk by. I love that at only 11 months you already bring joy to those around you. It's a privilege to be your Mommy and I treasure all of my sweet memories with you in my heart.
We love you dearly!
Mommy and Daddy

9:09 PM | | 0 Comments  

10 Months!

12/24/10

It's hard for me to fathom that 10 months have already passed. Blythe has been outside the womb longer than she was inside. And that is strange to me. Strange because the time has flown and because I honestly don't remember what life was like before she came. She has grown and changed so much (which I know I say every post!) I love each stage and the newness it brings. Here's her current stats...

(It was Chirstmas Eve so yes, she had to wear a Santa Hat. The best part was that it was actually my dad's idea to have her wear it. So cute! And yes Dad, it was a great idea!)
  • You eat like a champ! It's absolutely amazing the amount of food that you can put away. Most recently you ate an entire hot dog for dinner, bun and all. You are still incredibly petite and we just aren't sure where all the food goes. You will eat anything we put in front of you which has brought your Daddy and I much entertainment.
  • You're love for your daddy is so strong! You light up every time you see him and are constantly saying Dada. You love to wave to him in the morning.
  • On that note, waving is your new favorite past time. You love to wave at everyone and make a high pitched sound that we are convinced is "Hi". It melts me every time.
  • You have started being more shy. You still love people but sometimes choose to bury your face in my neck when people talk to you.
  • You are pulling up on everything. You are more interested in toys but prefer to chew on them or wave them in the air.
  • You are snuggling! Your Daddy says that I'm indoctrinating you early which is probably true. Every morning after I feed you, you want to snuggle for awhile. It has become the highlight of my day. You haven't been much of a snuggler since you were around 6 weeks old so this is a very welcomed surprise! I treasure each morning because I'm sure you'll be out of this phase as soon as you entered it!
  • You have a big personality! You are still such a sweet, happy baby but it's becoming more and more apparent that you have an idea about how the world should work. We when do not act in the way you desire you scream. I'll be honest...it's hard not to laugh because you are very serious. This normally happens when we are feeding you at a rate you do not feel is fast enough. We are working on saying please instead of screaming but I think it's a long road ahead. :)
  • You have really found your voice. In general, you like to scream but it's not because you are upset. You appear very proud that you can make such a noise and once you've done it, you like to repeat it over and over. I love that you are such a confident little one!
Sweet Peanut,
Oh how we love you! We love your giggles and your screams. We love that your personality continues to develop. We await with great anticipation to see the kind of person you become. You are a precious gift and we continue to praise the Lord that he blessed us with you.
We love you like crazy! Mommy and Daddy








9:04 PM | | 0 Comments  

9 Months


11/24/10

Oh Peanut! What a month we've had. Life continues to be an adventure and you are getting to experience a lot of fun events with so many people that love you dearly.


  • You attended your first musical, Sound of Music. Emily, from youth group, was in this production and you really enjoyed it.
  • You then saw Maddie in Flowers for Algernon. This story was very dark and past your bed time. Even though Maddie is one of your favorites we decided to leave early as you were a little distracting during the show. :)
  • You are crawling like crazy! You have places to go and people to see. You move non-stop.
  • You said Momma but have not said it since. Your Daddy and I both heard it crystal clear. It was a very special treat!
  • We've had to move your bed down because you are a master of pulling up! You eagerly greet us each morning standing in your crib with a giant smile. Like everything you do, it's pretty cute!
  • Your transitioning to table food and you LOVE it. You are a fearless eater and literally eat whatever we put in front of you. You have a huge appetite and literally shovel your food into your mouth. I'll admit, it really makes me giggle!
Sweet Little One,
You are an absolute JOY! I can't tell you how you daily warm my heart and make me praise God that he blessed our lives with you. You have such a sweet spirit and I anxiously await seeing how the Lord uses that to grow his kingdom. You are amazing and we just can't get enough of you!
We love you all there is!
Momma and Daddy

8:56 PM | | 0 Comments  

Here we go....

2-14-11


Hello Blog Friends!

I've had some down time recently and have been blogging A LOT.

And I know what you are thinking, "JJ, you haven't posted anything in FOREVER! You aren't blogging!" But I've got a little secret. I blog often. It's just uploading pictures and putting them in that gets me behind. I can write all day but I'm thinking the pictures of Peanut are what keeps most of you reading!

So you are about to experience a blog overload this week. I'm working on pictures and finishing up some things that I've written. If I really want this blog to be a family journal of sorts then I need to be updating our life events more regularly.

We will be venturing back to November this week. I've been having so much fun looking through all of our old pictures and remembering sweet moments.

Hope you enjoy my random rambling!

8:22 PM | | 0 Comments  

Community

12/8/10

Hello Blogland!

I'll start this post with a disclaimer...It's not my normal randomness of a post but rather just what's on my heart. Just thoughts that need to get out of my head and on to paper.

I was blessed to be raised in a home where my parents took us to church, taught us about God and lead lives that pointed us to Christ. I was brought up in the church and always had friends that were believers. Many of the people I attended church with are still friends and it's safe to say that they were a huge part of my faith community.

At the time in my life (up until high school) I doubt that I appreciated the roles that all those people took on and how they shaped me as a person. Once I reached college, I had a desire to find a similar community and was blessed like crazy to attend Beltway Baptist the entire time I was at ACU. I also had chapel daily at school and met with an friends who held me accountable in my life. It was a season where I took my faith as my own and grew a lot as a person.

Once I moved to Illinois, finding community was more difficult. I lived alone, went to a commuter school and was working and completing an internship. When Currey and I got married we were still longing for community. We became a part of a huge church and a small group that we enjoyed but we still felt like we were missing something. (To be fair, we lived 45 minutes from our church and small group and it's next to impossible to be in community with people when there is such a great physical distance.)

And then we found Life Church. We were hooked from the very first worship song. The people were warm and genuine. But the biggest draw was the honesty of everyone we met. People really wanted to do life with us. The good, the bad and the ugly. Even the really ugly. I didn't realize it immediately but we'd found community. That thing that I believe all believers long for. We got plugged into a small group and we began sharing life with those that were a part of our group. I could list all the reasons that our church is amazing and trust me I could easily come up with 100. But that's not the point. The point is we found community. A place were we are loved unconditionally, supported entirely in our gifts and talents and a place where we are accepted just as we are.

I'm in a season of appreciation that we have such a place but also a place of grieving for those that don't. I watch others, even believers, stumble blindly through life because they refuse to become vulnerable with those around them. Pride gets in the way of truly becoming a part of a community or sometimes its a fear of really being known by others. But that my friends is not what God intended. I believe that he longs for us to spend time with others, being encouraged and sharpened. I also believe that this is a greater support than just your family. Parents, siblings and spouses can all be sharpeners of our faith. But there is an even bigger community to belong to. Friends that become family and choose to love you in spite of yourself. So during this season of advent I urge you to find community. It's a sweet season of anticipating the birth of our savior. What better time to join with other believers to celebrate! May you joyously celebrate during this season of advent.

5:49 PM | | 0 Comments  

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