Giving Thanks

Wow.  Been an interesting Winter with sickness.  I was battling what I thought was food poisoning for one solid day and lingered for days after.  Then Henry started vomiting today.  So who knows.  Hudson was teething and tired today but praying he doesn't get any digestive issues like Henry and I did.  I have quarantined him to the office all day.  And tried to vent the office with the windows open.  Thank God for a beautiful day.  Giving thanks that I can be home with my kids.  There is much for which to give thanks.

International Afternoon

One of my favorite things about our church here in Baltimore is the people with whom we get to fellowship who are from all over the world.  My friend Irynne (far right), who I met in the mother’s room her first night at church a week or so ago, is from London.  She came to church after meeting Faith who is from Uganda and now lives in Baltimore with her family.  Faith’s children are the two girls on the far left and the little boy in the green pants.  Faith is holding Irynne’s daughter who is the reason for Irynne being in the US.  Irynne traveled to visit her brother while pregnant and couldn’t return home because the doctors wouldn’t give her a release to fly.  She is now waiting for her daughter to be strong enough to fly the international flight.  Henry asked her if we could keep her baby.

Hanging with the Komorowskis

Check out this amazing double stroller my friend Karen gave us today.  KILLER.  KILLER.  KILLER.

We took a stroll around her neighborhood with her two little guys.

Can we say cute?  These kids are adorable!  And Karen is the best mother ever!  Seriously!

Henry and Hudson & Cameron and Christian.  Two sets of brothers.

my cutenesses.

My cutenesses.

Henry’s First Professional Haircut

Henry got his first professional haircut as one of his Valentine’s treats.  Professional is stretching it.  We were going to go to sports clips but they don’t have one at the mall we stopped at anymore.  So we stopped at the cartoon place.  The employees barely seemed alive at first.  Not a good sign.  But Henry really had a good time.  That made me happy.

Living Beyond Yourself

I am almost finished with the Living Beyond Yourself Exploring the Fruits of the Spirit Bible Study Workbook by Beth Moore.  I really loved how the study I did this morning finished.  Here are my thoughts to preface it before I type it out.  It's so easy for me for us to use the excuse that we just don't care about something or it's not in our nature or whatever excuse we have for staying in the same place when God wants us to grow in our likeness of Him.  And maybe we don't even realize that is what is happening.  That's why dry times, stressful times, going crazy times can be a blessing in disguise.  They remind me of my true nature. My depravity.  Who I am outside of God.  That my righteousness is filthy rags.  I am nothing without Him.  On and on.  Humbling.  Necessary.  Our enemies - the world, the flesh and the devil are good at reminding us who we are outside of God.  Telling us we missed the mark.  Telling us we are never going to change.  Telling us it's never going to get better.  Telling us we the bomb (outside of God).  Telling us we are better than others.  We are up.  We are down.  So goes the life in the flesh.  The last fruit of the Spirit is Self Control.  The practice of discipline is one that God has really been illuminating to me.  In discipline we find safety.  In discipline we find love.  It goes against our human nature but it's so true.  Here is how this day's study ended.  It's worth retyping.  At least for me.

Beth had the participant read two chapters in Judges about Samson and answer questions and then read Daniel 1 and Daniel 6 about Daniel.

Notice that Daniel did not panic, nor did he ignore the edict.  He simply got down on his knees and made his petition.  Let's draw several basic conclusions from Daniel's egkrateia or self-control.

• Physical discipline and spiritual discipline often go hand in hand.  Samson had neither; Daniel had both.
• Prior discipline prepares us for present dilemmas.  The time to prepare for a crisis is in advance and through the practice of prayer.  It requires discipline to form the habit of prayer and self-control to withstand the obstacles that compete for time.
• Self-control enhances effectiveness; self-indulgence limits effectiveness.  Many of us will never fully affect this planet in ways God planned because of our sheer lack of self-control and discipline.  Any effectiveness may seem random and accidental.
• Self-control for God's sake invites God's blessing.  Self-control prospers; self-indulgence perishes.

Consider this.  Two healthy, red-blooded boys (Samson & Daniel).

• One denied his call of consecration.  One chose it.
• One took more than he was offered.  One resisted what he was offered.
• One assumed the power of God and ultimately lost it.  One asked for the power of God and ultimately found it.
• One was overcome by his enemy.  One overcame his enemy.
• One was victorious in his death.  One was victorious in his life.  Both young men had everything going for them - with only one major difference: one was protected by the wall of self-discipline; one was not.  Ouch.

Wow, really loved that and the messages at church today.  Our church lost a missionary pastor in Haiti this past Thursday.  A wife lost a husband and a family lost a father and grandfather.  Please lift up his family in prayer and his congregation.  

My Melaleuca Check

So I have been asked to post my check for my fourth full month to Facebook by people on my team.  They basically have a gun to my head hahaha.  Kind of joking.  I want to preface the photo with the fact that I am extremely grateful to God for an amazing opportunity to earn money to help my family in such a short amount of time.  It did take work, but it's simple work.  I am so grateful to God, my team, my enroller, the company and my family for their short term sacrifice.  Nothing new can come into your life without something else going.  Growing through all of this.

Please pray for this.  And would be happy to help anyone build this business.

Now onto more important things... my babes is standing.  AND he fell off the bed and got a bruise on his face which devastated me for an entire day.

Henry Secretly Recorded

Hudson’s 8 Months Old Today!!

Oh where does the time go.  My baby is 8 months today.

Hudson Trying To Stand

Excuse the Coyote (me). hahaha

For Grandmother Charl

Zoo and More

Hudzy Budzy Almost 8 Months

Happy Valentine’s Day from Henry & Hudson

My Little Valentines…

Henry was high fiving Hudson in his pack and play.

Port Discovery

 

We went to Port Discovery yesterday thanks to my mom getting us a membership.  We had a lot of fun and didn’t even see half of it.

Hudson had his check up.  He has 4 teeth and a couple more on the way.  He is 29 inches and weighs over 21 pounds.  I think he might have lost weight from not eating for more than two weeks (nursing only).  I am pretty sure he is still in the very highest percentile!

Days Fly By

Our days seem to fly by lately. 

Hudson loves to play in Henry’s room.  He’s been so into toys lately.  I love watching his personality develop.  I would say so far what I can see is independence and determination.  He got his second tooth this week and I think his third broke through today or is just about to.  It’s hard to tell because the gum becomes so thin at the end it almost seems like they have broken through before they do.

Henry is always performing.  And always funny.  Today he told me I have udders to feed the baby.  Pretty classic.

 

I have been reading my Aunt Lynne’s book Noble Hill.  It’s so interesting and having a hard time putting it down.  It’s a historical fiction novel but based on my great grandfather’s siblings and parents and life on the farm.  So interesting.  I can see some strong family traits that still remain.

Henry's New Fav

Another Doctor Visit

Hudson and I have been up for most of the night the last 3 nights.  He has a pretty bad cough.  Henry does too but it’s a little easier to treat his.  Today I took them back to the doctor to make sure it wasn’t something serious.   The doctor said it’s a residual cough from the flu and reiterated the flu is a month long illness. 

I feel so lifted up in prayer.  I have had some really long nights but my days have been much smoother than I expected and I attribute that all to prayer.

Other than the cough, Hudson has been doing so much better.  He’s back to playing and being a normal baby which makes it so much easier to parent two small children.  I am so thankful they are doing better and thankful this coughing is just a residual thing.