Silly Little Baby Face

Crazy Hip Mamma Site is hosting Photo Friday, today's theme: Silly Baby Faces, I just couldn't pass up a chance to find more pics of Asher! Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

This week I have so much to be thankful for, but for the sake of blogging I am going to keep it simple and focus on one thing. But It may take a little explaining first. Sometimes I just get sick of the US, there is so much here, too much.

I didn't know this until I left the country with my hubby a couple years back and visited His brother and sister-in law in Papau New Guinea, Aaron and Lori Luse. They are missionaries through New Tribes Institute. Josh and I were considering becoming their partners and working with the tribal people. We didn't feel a peace about it though, but I find myself thinking about it often.

Although they live in the beautiful and biodiverse place on the earth (rainforest), things can be hard. Malaria is a constant threat, things break all the time (with no repair man), there is a lot of "black magic" and that sort of thing being used, there is always the risk of something, some kind of illness with no medical help, things not working right causing no water or no electricity, and the weather can sometimes be fierce with volcanoes, occasional light earthquakes and monsoon season with rough seas (which, they have to cross by boat to get grocery supplies).

So what am I thankful for? I am just thankful for Aaron, Lori, Avalon and Sierra. They are coming back to the states shortly so Lori can have their third child. We miss them greatly and they are true friends of ours!

But I am also thankful for the perspective that they bring. I sit her in my nice safe apartment, perfect temperature, with my internet that is very dependable, with friends and family just a phone call away and I search for houses to rent in the area. I worry about cleanliness, neighborhood, how many bedrooms it has, the size of the kitchen, the size of the yard, etc. And these people live in a hut. A hut only will last two years at the most before they must build another hut. Aaron and Lori have built more of a permanent home, but there is mold constantly and rusting and so many repairs.


All they have is God. That is who they depend on. But here in the US, there are so many other things to rely and depend upon. It is a constant struggle daily to keep my eyes on HIM. That is why I get sick of the US. Although, life in general may be easier, faith seems harder. But in the most remote areas of the earth where daily life is a struggle, faith is so easy, because all other things to depend upon have been stripped away. If you haven't had a chance to get out of the US, I challenge you to consider taking a missions trip out to see and experience what God is doing. Just a side note, we are all missionaries...you don't have to leave the US to have that perspective.

For more pics and stories please visit Aaron and Lori's link on the side of my page.

...and suddenly, the world just stops...

Today is Wordless Wednesday, but the last two days have been such a whirlwind, I must speak. My baby is sick. It started Monday night, we thought it was just teething. I must have jinxed myself when I blogged about how thankful I was for such a healthy boy, or maybe God is saying, you know I want you to find gratefulness in the worst times. So, he's miserable, coughs, sneezes, snot like crazy, the drooling is insane, his eyes are red/watery, his cheeks are red, kind of feverish! He wouldn't nurse for a period of close to 24 hours. He would eat solids however, so we plugged him full of vitamin C fruits and super greens. He's nursing now, but ugh, I just don't take it very well when Asher gets sick. I need to be thankful however that this is only is second time of getting this sick since he has been born. I want him to have lots of fluids, but he doesn't really like to drink anything but breastmilk. And ofcourse there is that added stress of feeling like you've left the world behind because you can't get anything done and you don't get enough sleep. But Josh was telling me last night that Asher is the most important thing right now, so if nothing gets done, then nothing gets done. Suddenly, the world just stops for our little one who needs more TLC than ever before. The thing that does scare me right now is the weird sounds he is making that I've never heard before. Seems as though his throat may be swollen and sore, ouch!

I am still going to be thankful...it was a beautiful 60 degrees out yesterday and I opened the windows to get some fresh air AND my baby is still smiling!

IF ANY OF YOU MOMS HAVE ANY ADVICE, I COULD REALLY FEEL ENCOURAGED BY IT!

Thanks for listening.

Photo Tag, MY BUMP!

This pic was taken last year on Valentine's Day, and we had Asher on March 29th!

Hey, I'm playing photo tag, it all started on Adventures in Babywearing's sight. Since Asher is almost a year old, Josh and I have been reminiscing about what our life was like a year ago. Very anxious to meet our little one. And just how much our life has changed from just being a married couple to being parents. During this "season" of life, I do miss some of the freedoms I used to have, but that hole in my life is filled with an even greater joy of experiencing the life of my amazing little Asher. One thing is though, it does depress me a bit because it's almost been a whole year and I still have not returned to pre-pregnancy shape and I desire to feel like I look good instead of frumpy!

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Thanks to Adventures in Babywearing and Flip Flop Mamma!

Thankful Thursday!

We're going to be moving soon, to another place to rent for another year or two. As I look around my dinky apartment and I think of all the things I would love to have in a house and other's who are blessed, I can easily loose sight of what is really important in life.

That's why I'm staring Thankful Thursdays. There is so much we are given daily that we don't take the time notice. God is good, and I don't want to miss it. So as a form of worship I am going to be thankful. If you'd like to join me for Thankful Thursday's drop me a comment. I will then add your blog under my Thankful blog on Thursday's so that other's can view your blessings!

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR......
#1
A husband who loves me and has made a comittment to me and to his purity and to his walk with God. I am grateful for a husband who studies the word and desires to grow in his walk with God because, how on earth can we grow in love for each other, if we aren't growing in love for the author of it?







#2 I am thankful for a husband who desires to be a good daddy, and that Asher's eyes light up everytime daddy walks through the door to come and wrestle with him and make him giggle.

#3 I'm so thankful for a healthy little boy. He loves to eat and breastfeed. He waves his arms in the air while eating solids, and during breastfeeding he always pulls away for a second to stare into my face with a thankful smile on his face (my heart melts). And I think because of his good eating, he's now 11 months old and he's only been sick one week of his whole life!

#4 I'm so thankful for a child who absolutely loves life. He smiles more than not, he plays contently, he looks forward to swimming, bathtime, eating, storytime, momtime and dadtime. I am convinced that if he could speak and you asked him "Asher, what do you love to do?" He would reply "I love this" and it would be whatever he is currently doing, that and his mommy (of course).



#5 For Role Models. Asher has so many. Their names are Kristopher, Josiah, Taylor, Zach and Aiden. He looks up to them and they have grown to accept him as a "big boy" lately, instead of a baby. I love that! You should see his face light up when these boys play with him like he is their peer, it means so much! Thanks boys! (Asher is on the end, around five months old)


#6 I'm thankful for where I'm going and where I've been. Grateful that God leads and when I follow, he blesses beyond what I could have ever imagined.




#7 Thank you God for friends. For people in my life that encourage me, make me feel worthy, pray for me and give me purpose.


#8 I am thankful that the beauty of God surrounds me. I see Him in everything. He paints a picture for me in the sky, He makes the crisp air brush over my face, just when I think I cannot handle life anymore, He brings the most beautiful things across my path, and I cannot deny that He is real and active in my life.

Wordless Wednesday!

"Mmmmm...tasty!" A mid-morning snack.

A Korean New Year's Party

Our neighbors invited us over for a Korean New Years Party. We were so excited because we have been wanting to get together with our new friends for a while. So we received an invitation and when we showed up, they had a sign welcoming us and our other neighbors to the night. They all love Asher dearly, so he got quite a bit of attention. Myung Hee had prepared a traditional feast for us, some sushi with tuna, japanese noodles, delicious Korean beef and a rice creation that was delicious.

Afterward's they showed us some of their home videos from their trip to Europe and we made plans to hang out again. It was so exciting to make new friends, and not only that but new friends from another culture. I am grateful to the Kim's for inviting us into their world.

A Valentine's Day Adventure

So after being wisked away in my black satin dress, my night and shining armor, looking debonair in his black suit and tie, surprised me with an exotic restaurant visit, where we ate all my favorite foods, sushi, lobster, shrimp, cheesecake and more. After a night of romantic dancing, a reading of sonnets and the most passionate kisses, my man was walking me to our luxury accomadations for the night, when out of the dark shadows came three men asking him to give me over. "Over my dead body" he cried with passion. And with that, they began to brawl, three to one. I shreked as I watched my love get hit from the right, and from the left, when suddenly the fight took a new turn. My Joshy began to pull out moves I have never seen before, not even on tv. And within a matter of minutes, the three evil men were lying on the pavement crying out for their mothers. My hero was hurt. And we had to get him checked out. The night ended with a red cast on this hand symbolizing his courageous moments and I, in love as ever, took my hero home to tend to his wounds.

Okay, so you probably have figured out already that this is a farce. I wish it were that romantic and believe me, so does he. But simply put, my man broke a bone in his hand playing basketball the night of Valentine's Day. And the cast is only red because the doctor messed up and didn't look at the color before opening the package of fiber glass. I think it looks cute, but don't tell him that, he just wants to hear manly!!! I love you Josh, this is just adventure #81 to go down in the books :).

"Embrace your weirdness" week!

I took this survey to see how normal I was on Michelle's sight and I came out 45% normal and they said...
While some of your behavior is quite normal...
Other things you do are downright strange
You've got a little of your freak going on
But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself
How Normal Are You?

I've always had a weirdness. I thought it was just a phase I would go through but I never could quite shake it. We all go through it, I'm sure. I wondered if I was normal, if I ever measured up, if anyone would ever like me, if anyone out there ever feels the same. We all have quirkiness, but I really do think it's a beautiful thing, don't you? I think we all need to embrace it.

EMBRACE YOUR WEIRDNESS WEEK: IN LIGHT OF VALENTINE'S DAY!

Being this week is Valentine's week, let us all be good to ourselves and embrace our wonderful weirdness. I am going to embrace it by telling you some wierd things about myself, I expect you to do the same, I wanna hear five weird things about you!

1. I enjoy picking my nose (with toilet paper, of course) when no one is looking
2. I sing the national anthem in the shower on a regular basis, I'm just warming up for my debut someday.
3. I am so embarrassed of my chubby toes
4. I make back-up plans for every kind of situation (used to be out of fear, now it's just habit)
5. One of my favorite things to do is to eat ice cold fudge bars in the hot steamy shower.