Thankful Thursday

I am sorry that I haven't posted until now, (I had some trouble with my computer). Check out Jenny's , Michelle's, and Kim's blog they are on the ball today for Thankful Thursday.
Okay here goes...

I'm Thankful for...
#1 Tough Times. Just recently Asher was pretty sick, it seemed like RSV or Bronchiolitus (Brochitis for babies). He was miserable. A couple days we didn't even do anything, I just held him tight! Now after that he feeling better, his attitude is amazing. He was a happy kid before, but it seems like he has a whole new lease on life or something. Thinking back to other tough times I've gone through, it always seems like that after you go through it. So I'm thankful for the tough times in life, for without them, my life wouldn't have perspective.

#2 for Dinosaur Land at the Mall. I just discovered this place and I love to watch Asher enjoy it and interact with other kids. The other day I said to my hubby, "When Asher get's over this sickness, lets have a celebration day." He said, "Yeah, like take him to Dinosaur Land at the Mall?" "I said, okay (smirking) so he can pick up the same sickness he just got over." Okay, so there may be lots of germs at Dinosaur Land, but I'll just take extra wipes next time :).

#3 The Food Network. I love to cook and the Food Network has helped me improve so much in my cooking. I don't get much opportunity to watch, but just the other day I caught a show and learned an awesome new recipe for Pot Roast and this Berry Soup with Gelato, yumm!

#4 Naptime. Can I get an AMEN? Naptime inspires me. Holy Cow, I cannot even express how grateful I am for naptime. I feel like a real person again, like I can actually do something all by myself. I love it. I also love to nap myself, so it's two dimensional.

#5 My husband's patience when I've lost my mind. I love being a mom, but sometimes I feel like giving up. My husband is always there to take over and pic up the pieces. He is so patient in those times, it makes me want to pinch him to see if he is real. I think that Asher notices as well.

don't forget about Thankful Thursday tomorrow!!

Hey all, please participate tomorrow in Thankful Thursday! It doesn't have be a long post and it doesn't have to have pictures. It would just be cool to see what everyone is thankful for! I will have a linky tomorrow you can all sign so we can see everyones. If no one does it, I'm gonna have to start making up names, he he :) ps. scroll down for examples of thankful thursday.
Julie :)

Wordless Wednesday!

I call it...personality!

Monday's Memories

Steph over at Adventures in Babywearing is doing a photo tag about possessions today. The pics I looked at trying to find certain possessions, the more I realized that I really cherish photos in general. The most cherishable photos are those from certain activities that won't happen again, oh the memories! So I've renamed the photo tag for today on my sight as Memory Monday. Please share your favorite possessions with a story, or share your favorite Memories!
My chosen memories for today are with the youth group. My hubby had been a youth pastor prior to moving to Colorado. And I developed a passion for those crazy kids too. They may not know how much I truly miss all of them. I am so proud of some of these kids, they have gone on to become great leaders, beautiful, outstanding people, and if any of them are reading this post, I cannot wait until you come out to visit or when I get to see some of you in the upcoming months for weddings, graduations, etc. (I've got many more pics of my favorite youth stuff, I'll share more in the future)

Tubing on the Niobrara river, this is at Smith Falls.

Ski trip to Snowy Range in Wyoming. The ice skating was always pretty fun! From the left, Nicole, Skyler, Me, Heidi and the boys.

awww, the Mud-Bowl, who could forget such a pleasant memory!

Josh took the soon to be seniors on a trip to visit colleges, it turned out to be one the greatest, many of them applied to the ones they visited, can't wait to see them at graduation this year!

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!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

This is really cool ya'all! Hey check out My Visual DNA! Go check out your visual DNA!

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.