11 Months old! WOW!

I can't believe our little girl is already 11 months old.  I know it is so cliche but it really does go by fast.  I just think about our 4 pound 8 ounce tiny baby we brought home and didn't know what to do with.  Now, she is crawling around, pulling up and yelling in the stairwell.  She is full of life and personality.  I am so thankful to have her and feel more complete with her in my life.  She teaches me how to love and how to be loved.  Even when I get frustrated with her, she stills wants me and smiles when I walk in the room.  She is curious, loud, and funny.  She will smile at strangers and blow kisses to her grandparents.  Wow, what did we do for fun before her?  We must have been very lazy :)

Today, we went to church with my mom.  During worship, she yelled in approval and clapped with delight.  I sang in her ear and she "hummed" along.  My prayer is that she would always respond to worship.  Not just because of the music but because in scripture it says that "in His presence is the fullness of joy." It also says in scripture that "the joy of the Lord is our strength."  So I am not just praying that she would be a "happy" person but I am praying that she would be strong.  So many times we see joy as happy-go-lucky, smile at everything, I'm just a door mat kind of person.  But obviously God sees joy as something to contended with.  He knowns that when we have joy, we have a hidden weapon.  No one can steal it, you can't manipulate it, others can't make it go away.

Wow, I didn't even realize the power of my own prayer for my daughter. :)    I pray that she does have that inner strength and she does hear the heart of the Lord every time she enters into a worship service.  That Havah would musically be able to express her heart to the Lord and He would whisper the depths of His heart to her.

So happy 11 months, Havah Joy!  We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

4 years, 10 months, and 25 weeks

Last week was a week of turning for us.

First, my husband and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary!  I can't believe it has been 4 years.  I love him more now than I ever have before.  I now understand what it means to allow your love to mature.  When we first started dating it really was just a superficial, "hey you're hot!" kind of relationship.  During our courting/engagement period we grew from superficial relationship to learning how to battle together.  We had to fight to maintain purity in our relationship but you know, it gave us something that drew us even closer, something to fight for.  Since we have been married we have grown in our love for one another and have come to understand not just what we say to each other but also what we really mean.  Believe me, there is a major difference.

We celebrated by going to Atlanta for the weekend.  First, stopping by my parents house to drop off the little girl.  She would not be making the trip with us this time because mommy and daddy needed some alone time.  We really enjoyed reconnecting with one another and were very thankful for the opportunity to go on our weekend get-a-way.

Speaking of the little girl, she turned 10 months old last week as well!  I can't believe my little princess is 10 months old.  I know it is cliche, but time really has flown by.  She has now discovered our stairs and it has brought on a whole new realm of adventure to her life.  She is crawling, pulling up, talking like crazy and using her daddy and I as a human jungle gym.  I know I say this all the time but she is so much fun!

And last but certainly not least, we are now 25 weeks pregnant!  So we are over halfway there and boy am I starting to feel it.  I feel like we have gone from little soft flutters of movement to Kung Fu kicks that would make Chuck Norris proud.  He is very active and I love it!  My favorite is when we are about to go to bed, Matt says good night to the baby and the baby will start wiggling.  It is so sweet.

So there is our last week in a nut shell.  Hope your week is truly blessed.