Funny sayings

Danny & Noah were reading the Bible on the couch and this is what I overheard...
Danny: Noah, do you remember who that is? (pointing to one of the characters)
Noah with full excitement: That's John the bagel!

Noah, you love your Bible and you love your bagels :)

my man & your dad

I know I blog about Daddy sometimes on birthdays, father's day & anniversaries, but I just want you to know that I don't scramble for words on those days, and my heart truly overflows with love for him on a daily basis.  I am always blessed on mornings such as today. Daddy traveled this week for work and sat in an airport yesterday evening waiting for a flight as they were being cancelled & delayed.  He arrived home at 2 in the morning.  Yet, this morning he woke up with you guys (so I could sleep), got you dressed, fed you & played with you for an hour before going to work.   It was so cute.  He played tag with Noah and then he had you both on him for a horse ride.  This selflessness & strength doesn't come from dad, it comes from the Lord.  He has poured out his grace on daddy's life, and we get to be the recipients of his selfless and sacrificial love. This wasn't a one time thing.  It seriously is every day that he puts mommy and you kiddos first. The only time he has asked for time to himself is when he's sick. 

Love,  I am so unbelievably grateful that I get to be your wife. You left me in awe this morning- that God would bless me with you as a husband, and us together as his children.  Thank you for the way you ended this crazy week, reminding me of the grace & love of Jesus.  I love you!

Life

We are doing well but I've definitely have had some sad days.  I've been distracted with the rounds of sicknesses in our family the past 2 week.  I am counting the days to the spring, but at the same time trying to make the most of the time we have with our 2 not-so little ones. Noah & Chloe have grown so much in the past few weeks.  We are just loving this fleeting time we have with them.

Noah, you've outgrown your fall wardrobe.  I was told you would be slowing down, but you continue to get taller! You started pre-school and you absolutely love it.  I love all the crafts you make and the conversations we have on the way home from school.  The other day you showed me what you made and said, "Daddy's gonna love it!" And today we drove past the diggers and you said, "Let's go check it out mom!" Of course we did :)

Chloe, you are becoming more and more adventurous.  You can climb up to the top bunk and you get into everything.  The other day I found you dipping your crackers in the toilet and eating them.  you are talking so much and I love to hear your sweet voice.  You're now saying, "Tayta, Gido, nigh-nigh, happy, no-no-no (while pointing her finger), all done", and you say "poo-poo" when I sniff your diaper.  You really make us laugh.

It's crazy how much has happened in a couple months.  I just want to clone them and box them up for later. My dear husband was trying to serve me and accidentally deleted all my pictures from iphoto.  I am still in the retrieval process. Hopefully I can post some soon.

glory baby

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

-2 Corinthians 4:16-18


Our glory baby,

My time with you will never be forgotten.  The silence of the sonogram was the most painful sound I had heard.  I didn't want that to be the last glance I had at you.  Never had I imagined how difficult it would be for us to part with you after having you for a short 12 weeks.  You had already become such a big part of our family.  We had a stocking hung for you, once your ears developed, Noah started talking to you.  You may have not heard him over your sister's loud voice :) We've been anxiously waiting to find out more about you, your gender, who you would look like, your personality, and we've been counting down the weeks for your arrival since day 1. We loved you more than we knew.
But you are a blessed child.  As much as we would have loved to have kept you, the Lord had something far better than we could have offered.  You have passed through the sin & suffering of this world into the eternal & joyful presence of your Maker. You make us long more for heaven and turn our eyes away from the temporary things of this world. In the days and months to come we will still be grieving, but our God has been so near to our broken hearts and our crushed spirits.  As you rejoice with the saints above, we rejoice with the saints down here below.  We have an amazing church body here on earth.  He has been faithful to give us peace and comfort, and we know that only comes through knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  This is the hope that we have and for this we are most grateful.  We don't need to worry or wonder, because the Truth has been revealed to us. We love you and we long to rejoice with you at our Father's throne soon!

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Noah & Chloe

"I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be continually in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed...

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack...

When the righteous cry for help,
the Lord hears and delivers them out of their troubles.
The Lord is near to the broken hearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

-Psalms 34

As I read this passage in the pre-op room, I couldn't help but rejoice that I truly felt this way.  My heart is so prone to anger and bitterness,  but my heart was guarded from that.  As Danny and I grieved together, we experienced much peace. We felt everyone's prayers and found comfort in the emails and scriptures that were sent to us as we waited in the pre-op room. We needed so much help within a short period and the Lord provided all that we needed through you. Hannah gladly took Chloe off our hands the morning of, the Winn's picked up Noah from his first day of school, my loving and supernatural mother came and took every load off my shoulder here at home, and the comfort of your emails and texts overflowed our inboxes. Thank you friends for displaying the love of Christ and his faithfulness to us! Thank you for your thoughts, your prayers, your presence and your friendship. We love you and are so grateful for you all!

Christmas

December was such a fun and enjoyable month and we were able to spend so much time with family & friends.  Danny had a lot of time off from work and we had a lot of fun just hanging out as a family.  Also, Chloe started walking and saying "me, daddy, and Wa-wa (Noah) " and Noah potty trained in 2 days! :) 

We did our usual activities.  We put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving.  We made treats for the neighbors, and we did our annual Christmas cookies at Mom-mom and Grandpa's house. We had Christmas Eve dinner with Danny's family and Christmas day with my family.   

the only picture I took on Christmas day :(

Noah turns 3

Noah,

Today you turned 3.  This past year has been so enjoyable as you've learned to do so much.  We love to hear you talk in complete sentences and carry actual conversations with you.  We always giggle in between because you are using new words and you sound so cute.  You love to sing and dance and just be silly especially if Chloe is watching you.  You love your guitar and now you can sing several more songs.  We went to the library this past weekend and picked out several books with guitars in them so we could read together.  I love to read to you and sometimes you read to me because you know what's coming next. You absolutely love anything that has to do with tractors.  (We don't know if the ornament we got you will make it to the tree). You are so affectionate and you melt our hearts when you initiate hugs & kisses towards us all.  You are a happy kid and you love being with your friends & family.  You love to help me me bake and cook.  You have become so helpful in the house helping me unload the dishwasher and care for Chloe.  You love to do EVERYTHING daddy and simply enjoy being with him and running errands with him especially to Home Depot.  We just absolutely love you and are so happy we get to be your mommy & daddy.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Happy weed wacking!

 best buddies

Cruising

Last week we took a cruise on Royal Caribbean to Mexico, Jamaica, & Haiti.   My parents have been wanting to go on a cruise, and we thought, why not now? So we did, and I think that will be our last cruise.  It was very difficult with the 2 kiddos, but the only people that would be willing to watch them for a week were on the cruise with us.  So with colds, mixed schedules, metro & airline delays, mom having an emergent food surgery the morning we left, and a room the size of my closet to house 4 people for the week.... it was fun? The ship was absolutely incredible, the shows were wonderful and the food was amazing, and the rest is history :)  Most importantly, the people we went for were blessed.  Here are pictures of the good times...

 no where to play in the room, but the closet

 The kids loved the pools with all the sprinklers

 Mom-mom &Grandpa at our favorite dining place

Danny surfing on the ship 

 our evening kidless 

 family picture before the Aqua show

my parents on their porch after arriving in Haiti

 :)

 Breakfast with the characters

 Chloe making friends

 Rock climbing (also on the ship)

And celebrating Daddy's birthday on the last day

Happy Birthday Danny!

I was planning to surprise Danny with Redskins tickets, but he beat me to it.  So here we are at my first Redskins game :)

Danny,

Thank you for always seeking to bless me even when it ruins my plans.  When I think of this past year, I think of how much you have enjoyed teaching and instructing Noah.  I love how he is excited about all the things you are excited about, from good landscaping to the Gospel. I loved watching him follow you with his little mower as you mowed the yard and how he holds the basketball like you do before he shoots.  He follows your every move.
Most importantly, I love how you patiently correct him and are teaching him that he needs Jesus to rescue him from his disobedience. I love how you are training him to read the Bible and trying to teach him about who Jesus is and why he needs him.  Thank you for planting these eternal seeds in our son's life.  I hope he grows into a man who loves his Savior, just like his Daddy.  We love you. Happy Birthday!

October Finale

October was a busy month and ended with lots of fun...

 all grown up now

Noah yells out one day, "Look mom! I stand like the trash man!"

 S'mores with good friends, the Kauflins

Saturday morning at Home Depot

Noah's first game of cornhole

We saw a fairy princess

v

Trick or Treat'n with Nathan

and Noah's Piston Prize, Makenna

and give it up for Chloe and her new trick...

 

Yeah Chloe! 

Noah,

I'm doing a poor job capturing all the things you are saying these day.  Ever since you started putting sentences together, you realized you love to talk.   I'll tell you something like, "Noah, we're going to church tomorrow," and you repeat to Daddy with much joy, "Dad, I going to church tomorrow!" -as if Daddy didn't hear me.  Tonight I gave you a hug an kiss goodnight and you ran off with Daddy to take you up.  And then you stopped and ran back to me saying, "Mommy, one more hug & kiss please!"  I love you so much.

Gaver Pumpkin Patch