Spending time together!!

I honestly do not have a lot of time to "blog" but I want to remember this lesson that we have learned recently so I will try to hurry and hope this all makes sense...

Sonny and I have gotten to spend some great time together lately- thanks to our wonderful family and the amazing Kaitlyn Burke offering to babysit and the Lord really has used that time to teach us so much. Here recently Sonny and I have had about 7 different times where he will say something and I will have JUST had that same thought. It has been so weird. The last time that it happened, Sonny said that it had to be some kind of illustration that the Lord was trying to teach us. It sure was. Sonny has been teaching our students through the book of Deuteronomy and telling them again and again that if they want to really KNOW the Lord they must spend time with Him (Deuteronomy 6) and learn His word. It all makes so much sense. In a marriage, the more time you spend with one another- the more you love one another (if you are both pursuing Christ together) and the more you know each other. You can get to the point where you almost finish each others' sentences. You also need to make sure that you get time with just the two of you- away from kids, jobs, and anything stressful! This is so important to have a healthy marriage- time alone with each other to continue to grow together as one and share struggles, joys, burdens, hopes, etc. This is so similar to our relationship with Christ. We should be delighting ourselves so much in Him that we know right away what He thinks about things. We need to make sure that we get alone time with Him where we really are able to love Him with an undivided heart. This is what Christ died for. He died so that we could be near to the Lord (1 Peter 3).

This has honestly been such a challenge for me lately. Our family has been fighting (and losing to) a cold/virus since Zoee was born. This has made it very hard for me to have great times with the Lord. When the kids are finally asleep and I get some time to myself- there are LOADS of laundry to do and a house that needs to be sterilized to kill all the germs!! I am trying to delight myself in Christ throughout the day- even when I am doing the small things like reading a book about trucks to my little man. Even if we feel swamped- we can still try to delight in Him and be in His presence throughout the day. I have to tell myself this often so that I do not try to do life without being near to the Lord (I have tried some days to do this mom thing on my own recently and I end up being such a mess!)

I hope this encourages you to be in the presence of Christ today!

Asher colors

This is our sweet little boy saying his colors! Notice that when Sonny asks his about the green cup, he ends up making up his own color- "ya-ba"- a great alternative to "green." =)

Never Sleeping...

From the title of the post, you might think that I was going to start talking about how little sleep we are getting with a newborn but thankfully that is not the case (so far =) ). I was getting to spend a little time with the Lord this morning reading Psalm 121 and something in it really stuck out to me and encouraged me so I thought I would share. As you may know, having a newborn means that you do not get as much sleep as before. Granted- you might get a baby that sleeps well, but you will still have to wake up to feed them during the night or just to check on them to make sure they are breathing (trust me- if you do not have kids yet, you WILL do this). Well, in Psalm 121, the psalmist writes about how the Lord, who is our Protector, never sleeps. This was so comforting to me. I think that we often forget that the Lord is not like us- He does not need to sleep at night to refuel for the next day. He is always watching, protecting, providing for, and loving us. I sure hope that the Lord will remind me of this when I am up at 4:30 feeding my sweet little girl. Even when we think that we are the only ones awake or when we feel all alone, the Lord is near. He wants us to spend time with Him and enjoy our relationship with Him. I know this isn't that earth shattering of a revelation but it sure helped me this morning. I love that we have a God that is near to us who loves to spend time with us and interact with us. I hope to remember this more.

"My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will never slumber."
Psalm 121:2-3

Needing help...

Alright, this picture is not exactly the picture that best represents what the Lord has been teaching me lately but it is so cute so I will try to make it work...

Since having Zoee, I have been trying so hard to still spend a good amount of time loving the Lord through reading His word and prayer. Sometimes He will just give me great times of prayer when I am rocking her and listening to music... it has been such a blessing because I know that I need time with Him if I am going to be a good wife and mom and daughter to the Lord.

I have been reading through the book of Acts lately and there is something that has really been popping out to me as I have read it. Just seeing how much the disciples strengthened and encouraged one another is amazing to me. Acts often says that the body of Christ met constantly together to hear the word taught, to sing praises, to help one another out, and even just to eat and have fellowship together. I really think this is something that the American church is lacking but one area where I feel so blessed by God in our community up here. I LOVE the fellowship that I have with the girls in our student ministry and the love that our congregation has for one another.

When a woman at our church has a new baby (or if anyone in the church has a major surgery) they are put on the meal list for about 2 weeks where their family receives home-cooked meals almost every day. This was such a blessing to our family. I just felt so shower with love from the body of Christ in this way. It was so neat to have my family provided for in a time where I really did not have the energy to make them a nice meal. I really feel like this is what the Lord meant by the body of Christ loving and serving one another. I am excited to be a part of the meals ministry when other ladies in our church start having their babies!!

Another way I feel so blessed is by the girls in our student ministry. I LOVE having them over every Sunday night. I had to miss a few weeks after Zoee was born and it was just so sad not to get to see them. We have been back on for the past two Sunday evenings and though it has been a little hectic with me having 2 kids in the house- it has been so wonderful to fellowship with these sisters of mine. I LOVE hearing how the girls are growing in the Lord. I am always encouraged and convicted by the things that the Lord is doing in their lives. I love that the girls get to come to our home and help me with the kids. They all love on Asher so much and are starting to do the same with Zoee. This is how the church should be- at least that's what I get from Acts. The people in Acts did not just go to church once a week and see each other for an hour- they did life together. That's what I feel like I have with the girls up here and I love it. I am so thankful to the Lord for our student ministry.

I am constantly amazed by the Lord as He continues to show our family and our church that the body of Christ is more than just a Sunday worship service.

So, how does this line up with this funny picture of Asher? As cute as he looks here, he eventually needed help getting out of the dryer- he could not do it alone!! I had to call Sonny to help him because when he was ready to get out (after lots of time playing in there), I was feeding little Zoee. The body of Christ needs to help one another- to strengthen each other when we are weak and be there for each other just as Sonny was there to help his little guy get out of the dryer!! I know that was a stretch but it was worth a shot... =)

Lessons from Zoee...

Wow!! Having 2 kids under the age of 2yrs old is CRAZY!! Life has been one big blur in the month of November. Sonny and I really wanted to make sure that we are documenting the lessons that we learn from our kids because they are just so precious to us and they teach us so much about our walk with the Lord

Last night before the cold medicine kicked in and knocked us out, Sonny felt like the Lord wanted to teach us something through our little, always-hungry newborn. Sonny told me that he saw a connection between Zoee and the newborn Christian. Just as Zoee has to constantly be eating to grow and become mature, so too should the new Christian (and all Christians for that matter) be feasting on God's word. It is also an interesting time of self sacrifice when you have a newborn. They really do not offer much- they just pretty much take. They require so much giving from their parents and they will really not start to "return" the love until a little later when they can start laughing and eventually saying those awesome words "i love you." This is how it seems to be with us and the Lord. When we first come to Him, all we really do is take. We are (or should be) soaking up His word and gaining nutrition from Him but we really do not start to give back to Him until we have become more mature (at least that is the goal). I can see this so much in my walk. Though in the beginning, though I was trying to give back to the Lord, there are so many things that I did as a new Christian that probably required so much of His patience and grace (just as Zoee at this season requires SO much patience and grace).

1 Peter 2:1-2 says, "Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."

This is the goal- that we should be longing for the word like little Zoee longs for her milk so that we can grow and become mature in the Lord- able to love Him and please Him as children do their parents. She literally feasts about every two hours- what would our lives look like if we feasted on God's word (even for just 15 minutes) every 2 hours or so?

Alright- the babies should be waking up soon. I am SO surprised that I was able to sit down and write this without either of them waking up!!

Zoee's arrival

I was so hoping and praying that our little girl would be here before her due date. I was honestly feeling pretty yucky as my stomach was HUGE and it was hard to do most normal things.

Well, here is how her arrival story went. I woke up on Wednesday, November 3rd and thought that my water might have broken. I had been feeling contractions for a few weeks but they were getting much stronger but still not consistent. We spent the day just trying to get things done and get ready in case we were going to be heading to the hospital. I had heard from the midwives that I needed to just do as many normal things as possible and not focus on trying to hurry her up- so that's what we did. By late afternoon we were pretty sure things were moving along well so we decided to go ahead and take Asher to my parent's house.

We went to the hospital about 7pm on Wednesday and I was only about 3 cm dilated. So.... we started walking.... and walking... all around St. Luke's hospital- hoping to get things moving. We had heard that the second labor would be easier than the first but unfortunately that did not happen in our case. Asher's labor and Zoee's were both very long and hard for me. I went into "active labor" at about 9pm and at 6:30 the next morning, I was at 9cm and out of energy. We decided to go ahead and get the epidural. Just like with Asher's birth, once the epidural set in, Sonny and I took a nap (yes- that's how powerful the epidural is) and at 7:30 we were woken up by the midwife that delivered Asher, Titi. It was so refreshing to see her (the other midwife that had been with us for most of the labor had to go with another girl to get a c-section). Titi gently said, "okay, nap time is over- let's have a baby!" I only had to push for a few minutes and Zoee was here- at 7:53 am, weighing 9 lbs 15 oz!

Life with 2 kids has been quite an adjustment. Thankfully, we have had TONS of help. Our wonderful friends, Bertha and Kaitlyn Burke, came and spent the night with us to help us with the kids one night and both Sonny's mom and my mom have spent days helping us to adjust to life with the two of them. So far, Zoee has been pretty easy. Asher was a very tough baby- he had reflux really bad and spit up a ton! I prayed often for 4 things regarding Zoee- that she would be peaceful, joyful, a good sleeper, and healthy. So far, the Lord has been kind enough to answer all of those requests. She is a great sleeper but does not like it quiet. For her to sleep we have to have on the TV or music- it's funny!

Asher is doing well adjusting to life with her. He has gotten so much time with Sonny that I do not think he has really noticed Zoee much. He is LOVING his time with Daddy. It has been precious to see how much their relationship has grown since Zoee came.

Sonny and I are doing our best to get rest and still spend time with one another and time with the Lord. It takes a lot more effort to make sure that our down time is well spent but we certainly are learning a lot through all of this.

So far, the main thing that the Lord has been teaching me is to cling fast to Him. I have been reading the Psalms a lot, especially Psalm 119 and I see how much the Lord needs to be my shield, my protector, my everything. When I am weak (and strong) I must still love and seek Him with all of my heart. Saying that I am too busy or tired to seek Him is not okay. Even though life is somewhat chaotic, my pursuit of Christ is worth more than anything. I am so thankful that the Lord is near when we call on Him. =)

We are so thankful for all of the prayers from friends and family. Zoee truly is a joy and blessing.

Moving past the sand...

Asher getting to build sandcastles with daddy and grandma...



Asher enjoying the beach to the fullest!!



Asher loving the waves and the water....



Sonny taking Asher from the trash-can sand to the beach...



Asher's first sand experience at the beach...


A few weekends ago our family got to go on a mini-vacation to Surfside beach with Sonny's parents for their 10th wedding anniversary. It was so beautiful (which is surprising for any beach in Texas) and we even learned another lesson about our relationship with the Lord and what He wants for us.

The beach house that we stayed at was right on the beach but you still had to walk a little to get to the water. We were so excited for Asher to see the beach for the first time and could not wait for his reaction. The funny thing was that right when we got to the start of the sand, which was a good distance away from the water, he did not want to leave. He was so enthralled with the sand that was right in front of him that it took him a little bit to trust Sonny as he wanted to take him to something better. We wanted to show him the whole ocean- with the waves and cool sand and seashells... we did not want him to just stay by the sand that was by the trash cans!! This was such a learning experience. How often are we like that with the Lord. He, as the perfect Father, wants to show us SO much- about Him, about what is really Good, and about what is really worth living for but often we are so stuck in the "sand by the trashcan" that we are not willing to follow Him to something better.

This experience really encouraged us to be more diligent to follow and trust the Lord and not be content with things that we think will satisfy. We need to really be seeking God and what He has for us and be willing to obey Him if He asks us to do something that is out of our comfort zone. It might be a little nerve racking or even frustrating to leave what we are currently being satisfied with to follow the Lord into unknown territory- but we have to know that it is worth it. Just like Israel when they left Egypt for the promised land. They had no actual idea of what the new land would be like.... they just knew that God was calling them to leave Egypt and trust Him for something better.

Asher ended up LOVING the waves and the sand that falls apart in your hand. He had a blast "building" sandcastles with his daddy and grandma. I was so glad that he got to experience that and I cannot even imagine how the Lord feels when we trust Him and He is able to let us experience wonderful things that only He can give.

The Lord told Moses as he was leading the new generation to the promised land:
Deuteronomy 2:2 "And the Lord spoke to me, saying: you have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward (to take the people to the promised land)..."

The pictures above the post show our beach experience except they are in reverse order and I could not figure out how to change them...