3 Months

Here’s an update (a few days late!) on my favorite little man.  He’s pretty loved.

3 months

What we have learned…our little guy has quite the personality!  He is a happy little man who will smile often for us and even sometimes laugh.  We’ve learned he likes sitting and reading books with us.  We also learned that he likes being sung to before he goes down for naps.  We’ve also learned how to juggle everything on Sunday mornings now that I’ve been back to working with the kiddos.

What we are enjoying right now…the last of the warm days while we can!  Date nights and time together as a family.  I’m liking being able to spend time reading my Bible, doing some bible studies, and get things done with his more consistent naps now.

What our biggest struggles are…our night time sleep is pretty inconsistent, getting Boaz enough exercise with the colder weather, and all the hormones causing my hair to fall out (annoying!).

Asher’s most exciting milestones…we’ve heard little laughs, he’s smiling more and more, sitting up with help, and loves to “stand up” with our help!  We are still in size 2 diapers, but are mostly using cloth when we can.  We are almost out of 3 month clothes and into the 3-6 month clothes!  A consistent enough bedtime that meant we went out for half-priced appetizers while Asher got to have a babysitter!

What we are looking forward to…a trip to the cities to see friends and to see my brother.  This will be our first hotel stay with Asher!  We also are looking forward to going bowling on Halloween with church.

Asher’s likes and dislikes…eating (still!), smiling, being naked on the changing table, grabbing things, sitting up with help, standing up with help, having people sing to him (particularly head, shoulders, knees & toes and his nap time song), and playing on his kick n play. He dislikes waiting to eat, being left alone too long, and sometimes being swaddled works him up.

What sleep looks like…during the day he is pretty consistent!  He likes to eat about every two hours and has wake time for about 45 minutes.  At night, his first stretch of sleep is somewhere between 4 and a half to 8 and a half hours.  Typically, he goes to sleep around 9 and wakes up for the day around 8. His longest stretch now is 9 hours.

What we are eating…still lots of milk!  Though, Asher has gotten more distracted while he’s eating and has taken more notice in his surroundings.  The rest of us have been eating salads, pizza, ice cream, pasta, Doolittle’s, eggs, and yummy oatmeal bread.

Who we have seen…we had friends over for lunch, church family, and family.

At the last doctor’s appointment…we found out that he’s the “tall kid” right now at about 25 inches and weighing in at 14 pounds 2 oz. He’s doing great and now we’re waiting for him to roll over 🙂

Pouring Over The List Of Joy

Hi friends. I found myself talking out loud about joy this last week and…there’s a bit of wonder and a glimpse of God in expressing these little nothings in spoken, real words to someone else.  In the midst of my words, I found I got caught up all over again in the moments. literally lost as if all around me faded until I brought myself back to the conversation. That’s where I find myself when I share them here…pouring over my list, remembering, seeing afresh the ways that God shows up in all things and picking a few to share with you…

562. making happy spaces in nooks and corners

566. laughing at tomtom

572. buying my first pair of TOMS

582. smushing ice down while walking

591. getting teary eyed during UP

617. questions that make me ponder me

629. being a words girl that has to add words to the picture

641. mama buying me rain boots

643. seeing christmas lights on a drive

649. putting my feelings to songs

655. writing in new colors in my bible

678. walks…going on them, remembering them, looking forward to them

703. listening to others share and sharing about what makes each of our faces light up

What about you? I love hearing where you find joy…it adds to the wonder.

 

Repeatable

The last week or so, or maybe most of my life, I find a few songs that I keep on hitting that repeat button over and over. Especially because certain bits and pieces of the lyrics hit a chord in my heart and either make me bust out a dance move or throw back my head in worship.  To end off the weekend with a bang and bring a little joy right into next week, here you go, for your viewing and listening pleasure:

“You Won’t Relent” sung by Jesus Culture (Found at 1:50 in this version of the song)


*this is doing a number on my view of God…
*and reminds me of this song that I even bought and which is still on repeat
*and yes, that is a quote in Afrikaans in my journal 🙂

And here is song #2 “Hold Us Together” by Matt Maher


*yes, if you were a fly on the wall you could probably find me dancing around to this upbeat tune, thanks for sharing this gem of a song, Lisa-Jo!

Multitude Monday

I am really starting to look forward to this post every week! I find myself reflecting on the day with such joy in the simple, little things.  Seeking out the little and BIG ways that God shows up in my life helps me keep my eyes on Him rather than getting distracted or letting the day go by unnoticed.  Without further ado, here is a glimpse into last week:

280. Listening to a song on repeat

282. Comment love

290. Long-term sub position!!!

301. Tokbox chatting with interns 🙂

319. The feeling after I’ve cleaned out my inbox

326. Sentences that challenge

336. Learning to trust God more

How was your week? Any big or little moments of joy that caught your eye?

 

Sweet Forgiveness in the Hands of a Healer

broken in pieces i humbly bow before You shattered by the weight of sin desperate to feel your arms around me and hear you say these words again: sweet forgiveness.

~~

so beautiful. so beautiful. so beautiful the hands of God. so powerful. so powerful. so powerful the hands of God. glory to the King who gave His life. glory to the lamb of sacrifice. beautiful and broken. holiness and love. glorious the wounded hands of God.

Some Songs Just Make Me Happy

Fireflies are out tonight
Air is heavy and the moon is bright
I love this time of year
I talked to you this afternoon
You said you didn’t have very much to do
I said I’d be here
So come on over, come on in, come on by baby
Otis Redding makes me feel good
Dancin’ in the kitchen barefoot

All the windows up, just can’t get enough
Headlights on my front lawn
I guess it didn’t take you very long to decide
To come on over, come on in, come inside baby
Won’t you come on up, come on in, come inside baby
There’s just something ’bout the way

[Chorus]

The way you talk to me
You give just what I need
And when you come around my feet can’t find the ground
I’m losin’ myself like a drop in the rain
You twist me up like a hurricane
I can’t stand up for fallin’ down
So come on up, come on in, I like it when you come around
A minute ago there were a million stars
And now it’s soaking wet out in my backyard
Let’s take cover baby
But you just wanna run around in the rain
You make me laugh like a kid again
Loud and crazy baby
There’s just something ’bout the way

[Repeat Chorus]

Otis Redding by Sara Evans = Perfect lazy song

Take Away

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord Blessed be Your name

—-

For the longest time whenever I heard this song, I immediately thought that the “take away” part included things that I wanted to keep.  Like sacrificing in certain areas or having to give up certain things.  Yet, as I listened to the song a few weeks ago….it finally dawned on me that, no, the Lord can take away other things as well!  Things I WANT Him to take away including sickness, pain, feelings, desires, and so much more.  By taking away these things, He gives me so much more and replaces them with things even better than I can imagine.

Swazi in Bullets

  • Painted the Community Center
  • Cleared a man’s yard and created a garden area
  • Cleared yards on the Upper Houses (raked leaves, raked pine needles, collected rocks, dug drainage trenches)
  • Painted two Chacaranda (sp?) houses
  • visited ABC ministries (adorable little kids!!!)
  • Ate dinner and hung out at the Welcome Center (where the kids go before they are placed in a home) and at a Chacaranda house
  • Played card games (fill or bust, 13, phase 10, rummy, billionaire)
  • Made lots of fires in the fire place
  • Went to the Orion (Mongo’s for dinner, delicious pizza, milkshakes, swimming, sauna, car adventure to find some waterfalls…didn’t get to see  them, dessert!, Kelly’s birthday!)
  • Ate a ton of pb & honey since the jelly did not taste good
  • Songs: Where You Are by Marc Broussard, Airplane Song by Stephen Speaks, On a Night Like This by Dave Barnes
  • Played with ABC kids on an afternoon off
  • Making oatmeal in the morning and getting up early and soaking in time with Him
  • Swimming
  • Going to a nearby village and wearing traditional dress and dancing
  • Climbing the tallest mountain in Swazi
  • Taking fun jumping photos
  • Going on Safari
  • Camping outside
  • Seeing a creepy creepy creepy python…yuck!
  • Seeing rhinos, elephants, lions, and hippos!
  • Long car rides with happy, summery music

Everything There is To Know About You by Mark Wills

What stations are the buttons of your radio on?

94.5, NPR, 102.1, 101.3, and about 5 others.  But I like CDs and Ipods too.

Do you sleep late on Saturday or get up at dawn?

Both!

Do you prefer fiddles or violins?

Depends on what it’s for 🙂

Have you given any thought to how a lifetime of love begins?

Yes, but then again no.  I like surprises.

Do you like walking underneath the moonlight?

YES!

Is there some kind of magic that will make the mood right?

Yes…and have fun learning it!

How many kisses?

18?

How many stars?

A sky-filled–and none of this city junk.