What the new camera has captured...

The Highlight of Wednesday...

Brotherly Love

Why did Satan have to be a snake?

A while back I believe I posted with the title "And so" referring to Wyatt's favorite new phrase that we weren't entirely sure about it's origins. Well, I think I found it. Last night while reading Wyatt his bible, I noticed that as a bit of a page turner this particular bible uses the phrase "and so" as it is about to lead into a new part of the story. It just so happens that this is every other page or so. Wyatt is always so interested in this bible that he must have picked up the phrase.

He has also picked up on another detail I am not really let's just say proud of. I guess proud isn't the right word. It's just that of all the things he could have been excited about in the bible, oh let's say, Christ's birth, death, and his resurrection, our place in this redemptive story...he has chosen to be most excited about Satan. What else would a two year old boy like but snakes of course! This particular bible has big illustrations, hence the title, "The Big Picture Story Bible." It tells of the actual big picture of God's redemptive plan rather than focusing on little short stories found in most children's bibles. The short stories are there but always pointing to the bigger story of redemption. It is really cool how it uses this "big picture" metaphor and includes dramatic and very large illustrations to go along with it.

So naturally the snake (Satan) is a huge snake. Wyatt loves it! He always wants to conclude the evening bible reading with a good long glance at the snake page. I suppose for now that is fine and my hopes for his love of say other more important parts of the bible, for example God redeeming His people, will come in due time.

Rainy Day Activities

Mom is trying out the new digital camera while Wyatt runs wild through the house! We are just having a lazy rainy day morning! The camera lady needs some improvement. I will hopefully get the hang of this more as I use it.

Boys' Fashion

So, if you read the previous post, you'll understand my desire to make an entire post on Wyatt's new kicks! Wyatt recently has grown out of almost every pair of shoes we own for him. So for the summer he just got a new pair of crocs and for next fall I decided to keep my eyes open for some tennies I could by a little large and save for later. I stumbled upon these just the other day and given that they were on sale and incredibly stylish, I decided to pick them up. I think they are a real improvement on your average white tennis shoe! Don't you? So, perhaps I need to change my previous position and give boys' fashion some credit where credit is due. Boys' fashion can be stylish and appealing as well!

Happy Easter!

So, for those who might be thinking I'm a horrible mother who only takes pictures of her daughter and not her son, I promise I am not. I admit that sometimes I prefer to take a picture of Addie because she has cute clothes on whereas I am less likely to take a picture of Wyatt because his outfit is "cute." I would, but boys clothes just aren't as cute most of the time.

However, this wasn't one of those moments. I woke up on Sunday with all good intentions of taking a picture of Wyatt and Addie together. I had been planning it for a week...well, the fact that they were going to match a little on Easter was a bit of a reason to plan ahead to see that it would happen. But, as you can see, it didn't. Again, not out of a lack of love for capturing my sweet little boy's smile, but as anyone who knows Wyatt understands that in his opinion clothes just aren't as necessary as one might think.

We actually made it into the Easter outfit for church with little struggle and Addie was dressed early too. But then, mom as usual is rushing to get clothes on in order to arrive in a timely fashion for church. Sure, we could have brought the camera to church considering Memorial would have made a wonderful backdrop for photos, but our camera is the size of an elephant so that didn't happen either. And it wouldn't have been a holiday celebration without a few colds and cranky kids. So to our dismay, we left church as soon as it was over to get the kids in bed for naps. Wyatt went down in his church clothes (shocker of all things since he loves those jammies!), but when he awoke he requested that he put jammies on. So daddy changed him to avoid the post groggy nap temper tantrum and there went my picture...down the tubes because of those blasted jammies!

So what is left is a sweet picture of Addie in her hand made outfit crafted by a little old lady in Italy that Grammo and Popee bought her with no brother to hold her. She looks sweet though. In an effort to conserve my energy and your time, I will spare you yet another picture of Wyatt in his long sleeved dinasour and truck pajamas.

P.S. If you must see one, just look at every other picture of him on this blog and you'll see which ones I am talking about.

We hope your Easter celebration was a wonderful rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord. For in Him we have great hope! Happy Easter.

The Promised Picture

Here is our little sweetie on the day of her baptism. This dress has been passed down through three generations! It's been around the block from Catholic baptism/christenings to protestant baby dedications and finally made it into a protestant baptism. Funny to think of the places it has been!

Addie will be five months tomorrow. She is up to regular five month old things, trying to sit up, eating cereal, rolling around, etc. Last night, save your applause, she slept for twelve hours with no waking. You heard me right...twelve hours without eating in the middle of the night! Now as excited as I am, I am trying not to have expectations for this to happen again! Maybe I will be unexpectedly surprised tonight!

Spring is Here

Well, it seems that spring has arrived and with it a very busy schedule. We had grammo in town for a few days, left for Tennessee shortly after, returned home and a day later we welcomed memaw and papa to town. Addie was baptized just this past weekend too. We have greatly enjoyed these refreshing visits from family and always look forward to more of them.

Some of our springtime activities have included trips to the zoo, a visit to the arch, and many days outdoors!

Addie's baptism went really well and waa a glorious day to celebrate her part in the covenant family! We ask you join with us in trusting God that both she and Wyatt will come to know their great need for Christ and his saving power!

We have only a few weeks left for the spring semester and then we enter the home stretch of our last year at Covenant Seminary. Praise God for his faithfulness in keeping us here and providing for our every need. Continue to pray for direction for both David and me as we start seriously considering what and where our call is! This is very exciting to think about and also very daunting. May God guide our every steps.

We should have some pictures of the above activities posted within a few days! Enjoy!

Much to Praise Him For and Much to Pray About

I think by now many of you have noticed that our dear friends at seminary, Steve and Jen Allen's little daughter Amelia, has a blog concerning her prognosis and daily updates on her condition. Amelia was born just days before Addie and several weeks ago was diagnosed with leukemia. She is finishing her last round of chemo and hopefully will be returning home this week. We give thanks to God for giving her lungs strength and clearing them so the ventalator could be removed. Amelia's cries are now heard and her strength gaining slowly. Praise God that she even will be able to come home soon. Jen and Steve have a very long road of treatment and recovery for Amelia so please keep them in your prayers. Some things to continue to pray for are listed below as well as the link to her website for more daily specific needs to pray about.

Amelia:
*tolerance with the side effets of chemo
*rest
*strength
*stay infection free (very important!!!)

Steve:
*rest, strength, and health (also very important so nothing is passed to Amelia!)
*wisdom with school. Steve is set to graduate this May and move to Tennessee to start a study center in Nashville. This is a very trying time to figure out how all of these things can be accomplished with Amelia's care being of top priority.

Jen:
*comfot, rest and strength!
*more and more opportunities to hold Amelia in her arms and care for her!
*health...Jen has a fever that has kept her away from Amelia for a day now.


Amelia's blog: www.ameliaallen.wordpress.com

Wanting God to Check Out the Room

So, the other day David was in the tent with Wyatt and of course being two Wyatt was acting selfish and not wanting Daddy to touch any toys. So, David told him that everything given to him is really God's stuff and he has given it to us to enjoy. Wyatt naturally responded, "No, it's mine!" And the conversation continued.

Shortly after our pastor came to visit us to discuss Addie's coming baptism. Wyatt knew we were talking about God and a few minutes later he was whispering to me that he wanted God to see his toys in his room. I told him God gave him his toys and that he sees him playing all the time, but he was very persistant that God come to his room.

Then it clicked. I said, "Do you mean Pastor George?" He said yes. So, Pastor George took a trip to the tent in Wyatt's room. Thanks Pastor George!

Please Pray

One of our friends here at Covenant has just learned that their daughter, Amelia, has been diagnosed with leukemia. She is four months old. Steve and Jen Allen are finishing their last semester at Covenant Seminary and preparing to move to Tennessee after graduation. Amelia was born just a few days before Addie and has recently been sick with a series of viruses and has just not seemed to recover from them. She had her blood tested last night where it was discovered that she had an abnormally high white blood cell count. She has had some treatments to exchange her blood in order to lower the white cell count and also has had chemotherapy this morning. Steve and Jen are waiting for the results of her bone marrow biopsy which will determine the type of leukemia Amelia has. There are several types and some of them have higher rates of being treatable even to the point of full recovery. Please be praying with us for their family and for healing in little Amelia. Steve and Jen need prayer for strength as they wait on the test results and wisdom as they work with doctors on the right course of treatment for her.

Our Spring Warm Up

Spring is slowly starting to appear and this week we have had several warm days. We have spent them outside of course trying to make the most of our outside toys while we can! Unfortunately, we were unable to get to the zoo this week. We're saving that for when Meemaw and Papa are here! Can't wait to see you.

Times are changing...

This title has many meanings for me today.

First, this is my late shot out at our spring forward time change. In my former days before children this was the most dreaded of days where in fact we lost sleep and spent the next two weeks recovering. I believe I may have posted something back in the fall about how I once loved the "fall back" time change and children completely changed that! While the adult population lost an hour of sleep this past weekend, we actually kept the status quo. Our children continued to sleep in to their normal hour which in fact was one hour later Sunday morning. While that day nothing changed, Monday and Tuesday have been different! We have actually been able to catch a few extra zzzz's in the morning while the kiddos are adjusting.

On a heavier note, both exciting and sad, our neigborhood is changing. And while I have anticipated this time for over a year now, I don't think I am prepared for it. One of my closest friends moves this semester in May. They have taken a call to Colorado at St. Patrick's Presbyterian Church. This is fabulous news, but also sad as we are still hear in St. Louis for yet another year. Our other close friends that live adjacent to our apartment have bought a house where they will probably be moving to before the semester is over. I know we only have one year remaining, but it is so sad for me to think of spending it here in a completely different manner than we have enjoyed so much over the last two years. I know God is faithful to provide us with what we need, so I pray he will protect me from loneliness and provide new meaningful relationships.

Finally, little Addie is changing...constantly! She is now four months old and a true delight to be around (except of course in the middle of the night!) She is rolling around, smiling and interacting with us, and showing huge interest in her newly discovered voice! She has experimented with rice cereal and seems to like it too. We are loving her new stages and look forward to her many more changes to come in the next year!

While Daddy was out...

My little thumb suckers!


Who doesn't love chocolate popscicles?



Daddy's old t-shirt...much loved!


More hair accessories!

David took a trip to Chicago this week for ministry purposes and I flew solo parenting our two youngsters for the week. We survived, even had a little fun while managing being apart from our daddy. Let me first just give a special kudos to single parents on how they manage because I frankly need the daddy of our house around and am not sure I would know how to survive without one! And for every household that has a baby, there is one sure thing about solo parenting...bedtime is a bitch! Just how does one bathe and clothe a two year old when the four month old is screaming unless she is held? I tried a number of ways but don't think I have it figured out yet. My only solution is to just let the poor four month old cry because it will only be for a short while but a two year old tantrum is much more difficult to recover from!

Addie Grace turns four months, and so...

Here is our little darling at four months. Dare I say there is a trace of her mother in the first picture??? She seems for the most part to have passed through the colic phase and seems to be overall enjoying life a lot. She loves Wyatt and any attention he is willing to give her. She is quite vocal (did anyone think she wouldn't be???) We are really enjoying and loving this precious gift of life!

And so, no we are not having another one right now. The "and so" is our funny new Wyattism. The other day while talking Wyatt started connecting ideas together with the words and so. It is quite funny to listen to. He will babble on and on and on and then take a long pause and say "and so" and then just continue in on another rant about any number of things!

For example, he told David on the phone tonight..." I play with Jack and Jeb. I make long train. Jeb took my train...and so, I got spanking." And so, mommy seems to think he left out the most important turn of events in the string where he through a fit when his friend messed up his train which led to the spanking, but it is quite funny to see him connect all these ideas together!

Gymnastics

So Wyatt liked gymnastics until the teacher asked him to do stuff. Then, he got very nervous and ran away! He stayed as far away from everyone as possible until the very end when the bubbles and stickers came out! He loved those! In the end Wyatt warmed up to Miss Angela and I think things will be even more excited next week. Or, so I hope!

Bowling

Thanks to Papa Rudy and Mama Flo, we've gone indoor bowling. We bought Wyatt this cute wooden bowling set with the money you sent. Wyatt loves to bowl down our hallway while Addie enjoys the entertainment. Thanks for giving us some good wintertime fun.

Playtime!

Well, the weather turned a bit cooler, so once again we are stuck inside. Addie decided she wanted to pretend she was a girrafe, and Wyatt wanted to pretend that "he was in a mess." Papa bought Wyatt a book called "James in a Mess" for Christmas, where James the red train got messy. So now, one of our favorite games to play is "something is in a mess." Thanks Papa!

We've Defrosted

So, it has been considerably cold over the last month keeping us all cooped up inside. We've managed to exhaust all of the exhilirating indoor activities that two year olds can do and mommies can supervise. Finally, as of yesterday our cold spell has taken a hike and been replaced by fifty degree weather. Thank you Jesus! We just spent three blessed hours outside running around. I can't wait for the Spring. I may not have survived this winter without a quick warm up. The rest of the week looks promising as well. Hopefully, we can get pictures up of our outdoor adventures later on.

A Fashion Show

So, it seems that Sunday's regular blog feature is Addie in her church outfits. Since I tend to be quite lazy during the week and I don't put her in clothes too often, Sunday has become our "dress Addie" day! Today she is sporting an outfit from Grammo in Ohio. She looked very sweet. Thanks Grammo.

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary, Papa Rudy and Mama Flo!

Hope you all have a wonderful celebration. You are a great example to all of us of how to love one another in our marriages! Since we can't be with you, here are a few photos of the family in St. Louis.

What does this say about me?

So, I never bought a baby swing for Wyatt. He survived without one, but for some reason I thought Addie might like it considering her obsession with any form of movement. So, I found a portable swing that I thought we could use and it looked so comfortable that I wanted to hop in too. We gave it a try and she seems to like it. She'll swing around for thirty or forty-five minutes which gives me a little rest. So, what does this say about me? Am I just a succer for a baby toy? If the swing craze turns into something else, then we'll know I'm an easy sell.

Cupid Struck

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Since we are still in baby jail, David and won't be going anywhere for Valentine's. The other night I told him maybe we could order P.F. Chang's to go and eat it at home after the kids go to sleep since he was talking about taking me out to eat. Well, he looked rather disappointed with me as he said that was his latest plan and once again I had thwarted his surprise. After much consideration, we both concluded that this is a huge compliment to him in that he really knows my desires well. I couldn't have come up with a better idea and he knows me so well that he wanted to surprise me with the very thing I was thinking of! Happy Valentine's Day to all and Happy Valentine's Day to you, David. I loved our first Valentine's, but our tenth will be even better, and I look forward to many more!