Nash-Vegas!

We spent a few days in Nashville last week...it's always so fun to spend time with our family!

Cuddles with Mimi are the very best...

Our new tradition is hiring a sitter so we can have an evening out and enjoy adt conversation!!

Cousin time...

Tuck sure loves his burly Uncle Matt...

We took Mimi shopping to find her a nice bench to use in her bathroom while getting ready!!

I had so much fun creating this special wreath for my mom..

And us girls ventures out for lunch & shopping...

Birthday celebrations for Mimi and cousin Micah...

Happy Birthday sweet Mom!

Cousins are the best :)

Easter!

We are welcoming spring with open arms and we are preparing our hearts for this Easter season!!  Each day leading up to Easter, we open one of our resurrection eggs, read the corresponding scripture and discuss the symbolic object inside the egg.  The kids are loving it and look forward to our time together each morning! 

8 months...

This precious bundle of sweetness is 8 months!! No no no...he can not grow up! He has to stay a baby forever and ever ;)

Look at all that pure sugar in the bathtub!!  He loves baths and especially now that he feels confident sitting up!  He splashes and splashes...and kicks and kicks!  

He loves to eat!!  Nursing is still his top preference but he sure is loving the independence of feeding himself too!  His favorite is still sweet potatoes, however, he tried cheese for the first time this week and I think it will be climbing up to a favorite also!  He enjoys peas, carrots, green beans, avocado, bananas, apples, pears, peaches, squash and yogurt!  

And you know with being the youngest of three, laundry seems to pile high!  SO, when mommy gets behind we have to pull out pink!! But, never fear...he was sporting his baseball jersey sleeper underneath his sleep sack. :)

He is definitely on the move...rolling and inching around.  He loves his jumper and enjoys sitting up playing with all his toys!  He especially loves nice, soft toys...since he is teething....look! His first tooth has broken through!!!

He babbles and babbles.....the only word that we understand is "dadda"...he seems to know what it means cause he looks at his daddy with a big ole grin. :) I'm sure "mama" is soon to follow!!  

This previous boy continue to bless us and his gentle laid back spirit continues to be a sweet addition to our family!  In fact, we can't even remember what life was like without our little Tucky. :)

You Make Me Brave...

Earlier today, I received a text from my mom...well, really my sisters and I received it in a group text. =)  We are constantly in an ongoing group text throughout our days...what would we do without each other commentating on the daily happenings of life...

so my mom sent us this text...

"Walked in to gym by myself, lady in passing looks at me says...that's determination, you inspire me...noticing brace and cane...Great time in pool!!!"

Just that one simple text got me thinking...I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and share my thoughts since hearing the doctor's diagnosis on my mom last month.  Well, I'm  not sure that I haven't had a chance to sit...or if it's just that I haven't been able to wrap my mind around all that is taking place within my sweet mamma's body as well as in our family.  Being a busy mom of three young children, I am constantly meeting their needs and caring for them...but as I shared with my mom last week...she is daily on on the forefront of all my thoughts and prayers.  There is nothing more important in my life right now or more of a priority than praying for healing and serving my sweet mom as our schedules allow for travel.  When I carve out quiet time for reflection and prayer...my mind is flooded with fears, thoughts and questions of the unknowns....but the Lord always...without fail brings me back to peace.  A peace that comes from the presence of His abiding Spirit in my soul, a peace that overflows from the scripture that I read, a peace that so gently dries away tears and drives away fears.  This peace gives faith, hope and courage...and this is the peace that not only I am experiencing but every member of our family is experiencing right now.  How does a person receive such a gut-wrenching diagnosis but live each day with an indescribable peace and joy?  How does a family watch the one they love so dearly, who is the life and energy giver of the family suffer and struggle with such debilitating physical circumstances?  I will tell you...it is by the grace and peace that Jesus Christ offers us each and every day.  Do we still wipe tears away daily...yes, do we still have fears...yes, do we still feel our hearts sink when we see our dear mother face new challenges...yes.   But, we are overwhelmed with peace and reminded that our sovereign Lord loves our sweet mom more than we can begin to love her.  He has beautiful plans for her life...He has plans to give her hope and a future.  We rest in these promises, we claim these promises...and we are asking, seeking and knocking as we pray fervently and with persistence  that the Great I AM will bring complete healing to her body. We are believing in a Red Sea miracle!  We are believing before we see and waiting with expectation that the Lord will heal her!  By the blood of Jesus Christ, we know she can be healed!  God is who He says He is and God can do what He says He can do!  Amen!

So as I re-read my mom's text, I was overwhelmed with how brave my dear mother has become over the past year.  Her left leg has become weak, but her spirit has been made stronger than ever.  The Lord has given her courage to face the future, strength for each day and hope for the plan God has for her life.  This journey ahead has many unknowns, but we know that we serve an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God and He is in control and we can rest in Him.

The Lord brought to mind a song that Jeremy has led our church in singing, "You Make Me Brave" by Amanda Cook.  And this picture my dad had texted us girls...of my mom at the beach in Jacksonville just a few days after receiving the diagnosis of ALS from the doctor at Mayo Clinic.  I see my mom looking at the beautiful creation...the ocean...hearing the waves crashing and being reminded that the God who created the big ocean...also created her fearfully and wonderfully, just the way He saw best.

Such powerful lyrics...

"No fear can hinder that love that made a way..."

"You make me Brave..."

"You call me out from the shore to the waves..."

"No fear can hinder the promises you've made..."

"You are for us, you are not against us..."

Our family claims these promises of our Holy God!

We know that He is for us, that He is not against us!  We know that no fear of ours can hinder the promises He's made!  We bow before our God daily, thanking Him for another day to serve Him, thanking Him for His love and goodness in our lives, and persistently making our requests known to Him as we pray for healing of our mom from ALS.    We've never been faced with a disesase like this in our family...we aren't quite sure the right or wrong way to handle it...but we do know that we want the Lord to be glorified in and through our sweet mom's life as well as in our family's life.  So, we take each day one moment at a time, humbly bowing at the throne of our Great Physician and touching the cloke of His garment with child-like faith.

The Lord used the sweet text from my mom earlier to remind me that she is brave and courageous through the blood of Jesus Christ!  She will continue to take care of the body the Lord has given her and with beautiful perseverance and will face each day with grace.  You would not believe the precious prayers that her sweet grandchildren pray over her...not a meal goes by where Mimi is not prayed for..."God heal mimi so she run again!"...."Lord thank you that you make Mimi's leg all better"...

Listen, worship and be encouraged...