Nineteen Months and New Nephews

Okay so after Jet turns 2 years I think I'm gonna retire this "monthly birthday blog post" cause I'm just not good at keeping up with it anymore! :) Especially when it falls the day after Christmas. But we did manage to snap a few pics of our 19month old at his Grandmother and Granddad's house over the holiday.

Here is Jet sitting in Grandmother's childhood rocking chair watching Curious George on TV.

Did I mention Jet likes Curious George?

Jet also had the opportunity to meet his new little cousin!

David's brother and his wife, Stacie, came all the way from Florida for the holidays with their little dog Chloe and 11 day old baby Daniel - brave souls.

And I'm so glad they did. :)

Jet wasn't too sure about Chloe...

He tended to head for higher ground when the puppy came running up to him.

And here he is showing his interest in his little cousin...

NOT!

Lol. Yes - there was snow outside that Jet had yet to discover and babies just can't compete with snow.

Unless your a first time Aunt who loves to take pictures...

In which case babies blow snow out of the water. :)

I adored taking pictures of my tiniest model to date! He was perfect.

And since Jet demanded his grandparents full attention while we were over there...

I got to hold my sweet nephew and keep him all to myself. :) He was pure snuggly sweetness.

I know the next time we see him he will have changed so much - as babies often do - so I'm so glad we got this special time and I was able to take a few precious photos to adorn our fridge and hallways until our next visit.

Welcome to the family baby Daniel.

It's a good one. :)

White Christmas

Guess what we had?

Yep. Georgia had a WHITE CHRISTMAS! Crazy! We never get snow - and while to northerners and onlookers from other parts of the world our snow is but a "dusting" - to us it was can't-leave-the-house-cancel-everything-do-we-have-enough-milk-and-bread weather. Being "snowed-in" just doesn't happen down here in the South - so it was surreal. And beautiful.

Jet couldn't wait to go out in it the next day.

Or so he thought...once we were out there he was pretty chilly and got all bunny-faced with the icy wind blowing.

But we had time to make a few footprints...

Snap a few photos...

And do the "now-what" pose with the child who has never played in the snow before.

Overall it was so fun to see Jet in the snow again.

We had some snow last winter and to have some again this year was extra lucky. Next year if it snows, there will be snow angels, snow ball fights, snowmen, snow cones (okay maybe not snow cones - but wouldn't that be fun?!) and everything that comes with it.

But for now, we'll just snuggle in our cozy house...

...and enjoy the magic that Christmas snow brings.

Merry Christmas

I can't figure out how to put our Christmas card up here.

But here are some of the pics we used. :)

The family photo is rare and hard to come by - I imagine it only gets more difficult as the years go by - whether it's more kids to juggle or busy schedules that make it hard to coordinate - I know the family picture is something to be celebrated - and I love these. :)

Taken by the talented Jason Pendley at Jet's 18 month session. Speaking of rare - I can't believe Jet's even looking at the camera. :)

So from our family to yours -

Spirit

It is almost Christmas.

The presents are wrapped (well, most of them) the house is decorated, extended family is arriving (squeal!) and unlike when I was a child, I can't believe how fast Christmas is arriving. Why is it that time crawls when you're 6 and races by when your 26?

It is almost Christmas.

I blinked and my chubby Christmas cherub from last year...

Is my impish Christmas elf this year...

It is almost Christmas!

Again!

I guess time flies when you're having a fabulous time living your life. :)

Jet has made each holiday happier, each blessing richer, each gathering livelier.

His joy reminds me to be joyful. His contentment brings me peace. His spirit renews my own.

It is almost Christmas.

And like any true Christmas Eve, I've already been visited by 3 spirits.

The first came to me weeks ago. As soon as our tree went up and the weather got colder and the music got cheerier - it was the Spirit of Joy. The merriment. The festivities. The holiday themed store-fronts. The outbreak of red sweaters. The excitement. The magic. The "may-your-days-be-merry-and-bright" pure essence of Christmas. People smile more. Give more. Laugh more. I've always loved this part of the holidays - it's the child-like wonderment part that I cling to every year, trying not to be disappointed that it's just not quite the same feeling as when you are younger...but it's pretty good. Hot chocolate, fuzzy socks and evergreen kind of good. But it's more than the physical. It's the mental, spiritual, emotional feeling of it all. Whatever it is, something about this time of year makes me happy. It gives me joy. It reminds me that beyond the holly, tinsel and cocoa - we have so much to be joyful about. Someone to rejoice in. And I want to pass it along to my own little elf - and I can't wait until he feels it to.

Because it's warm-your-heart wonderful stuff.

The second spirit came as somewhat of a surprise to me - though I'm not sure why it was such. Perhaps because I underestimated it. And you should never underestimate a Spirit. ;)

It was the Spirit of Giving. Beginning as a tiny hopeful glimmer in the form of a little boy named Shea and fueled by the hearts and generosity of others into a roaring fire of selfless giving. I was given a gift this weekend - a surprise donation from some wonderful people who worked together and gave with such generosity and charity that I found myself speechless. And it was their gift that brought me once again spiritually to my knees in gratitude.

Thank you all.

The spirit of those who have donated to his adoption grant has touched me deeply and awakened my soul in new and powerful ways. Every gift that has been given to this sweet boy in the way of bracelets, donations, and words of kindness has been two-fold as it has also been the greatest of gifts to me. Your desire to help and eagerness to give, both great and small, fill me with gratitude and humility. And over it all and in each of your gifts I see Him who has made it all possible. In every selfless act of giving is The One who gave it all. And I am reminded of the Blessed Assurance that we have in Him.

I am filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

The third spirit revealed itself to me slowly, spread out over this past year and in all honesty my entire life. I've never been without this spirit though there are times when I feel it's presence more strongly.

The day I asked to be baptized. The first time I felt my baby move inside me.

The first time David and I held our little boy.

It is the Spirit of Love.

And not just any love, God's Love. The unconditional, peace that passes all understanding, lift you up from the darkness, make you feel safe and eternally cherished Love. The Love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The Love that never fails.

It's not really a love you or I can give - only strive to emulate. But it is a Love that everyone can receive. And I have both received it and seen it emulated these past few weeks perhaps more than ever before. Second only to the Love we received when we feared the worst with our unborn baby and the days that have followed in his amazing life, has been the Love I have witnessed in regards to the only little boy I have ever loved as strongly - little Shea. Shea who has touched so many lives with his shy expression and beautiful eyes. Shea who had nothing when God brought him into our lives and said "Here. Love him. I do." Shea who has recieved over $11,000 towards his adoption grant in 3 weeks. Shea who as of now has a family waiting to adopt him.

That's the Love I'm talking about.

It is almost Christmas.

And I have been visited by 3 spirits.

The Spirit of Joy. The Spirit of Giving. And the Spirit of Love.

But the greatest of these...of course...is Love.

Love to you all. God bless you. And Merry Christmas.

Sippy Cup and Standing Up

If I could choose a noun and a verb to describe my little boy as of late - this title says it all.

He has become addicted to the sippy cup. We are working on the open cup of course at meal times - but I felt like he took so long to drink milk from a sippy cup that I can't make myself take it from him just yet. :)

And he's almost always standing up.

(Toes = Precious)

Two things that at 12 months I though he'd never do. Why do we worry so much?

( above: "look ma - no hands!")

He's doing very well with his walking too! :) Taking more an more independent steps away from the furniture and walls and holding one hand to walk around the house or the store.

He's a little energizer bunny!

That is when he's not being a lazy bones and catching up on his favorite furry friend, Curious George.

He is obsessed with the cute little monkey who makes a mess out of everything but is so lovable that each disaster just endears you more to him....

...like someone else I know.

Over Thanksgiving, David used our new favorite thing - the DVR - to record a little movie called Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas which is now more commonly known as "Jet's Source of Happiness." He has almost refused to have anything else on the TV - not that we 100% induldge him...but maybe 80% ;). It's so cute how his face lights up at the beginning of the movie and how he smiles and even fake laughs at some parts like he knows what they are saying! lol. Therefore you can see why I almost had a panic-attack when I accidently deleted it from our DVR this week! You don't know true desperation until you lose something your child is SO attached to! I mean - this kid will find the remote and point it to the TV and babble like crazy for me to turn it on - not just for TV - FOR GEORGE!

And with the weather so cold and 2 more teeth making our days restless and fussy - I knew we were in for some difficult days ahead of us without a 30 minute Monkey-break to fall back on. So I was on the computer right away - searching - laughing at how this was such a big deal to me - thankful Jet didn't know what I had done - and luckily I found it! Later that day A Very Monkey Christmas was safe and sound in our DVD collection.

Big sigh... :) The life of a mommy.

I love it.

Making Time for Merry

As you know, the past week has taken my life in a direction I wasn't expecting, down a path I've never gone down before. A week ago is when we found Shea, opened our hearts to his heartbreaking story, and started our mission to save him. When something big like this happens, it's hard to think about anything else. It's like when you have an important doctors appointment, or a big career opportunity that would bring about a lot of change, or when you first find out your baby is going to be born with spina bifida. That knowledge that something big is looming in front of you. Something that may be good, or scary, or sad. It invades even the most mundane of activities.

You think about it when you fold the laundry, go to the grocery store, clean the kitchen.

You think about it as you make your son chocolate milk for the 3rd time that day. :)

You think about it when you snuggle up to read a book with him.

You think about it when you tie his shoes.

And of course, perhaps the hardest time to think about it but most unavoidable - at night when you lay in bed.

And you pray about it alone. Every day. And you pray about it with your husband. Every night.

And you talk about it with family and you chat about it with friends and you write messages on facebook back in forth with those who are thinking about it with you.

And somewhere in all of that... you are living your life.

Life doesn't stop because your anxious, or worried, or even planning for the future. We learned this when we were pregnant with Jet. Just because we were worried about him and what the future held, it didn't mean we didn't have to go to work and interact with people. And I'm so thankful it also didn't keep us from enjoying things like going to get coffee, watching a funny movie, or delicious family dinners.

We still laughed, we still loved, we still lived.

We never stopped thinking about our unborn baby.

We never stopped loving him or wishing we could do more for him.

We never stopped praying that God would protect him and strengthen him.

But neither did we stop thanking God for being with us and trusting Him in everything.

And that is what I am reminding myself to do now.

To let God be in control - because as soon as I think I am in control that's when things truly fall apart.

To believe that God will grant me what I'm praying for when I pray for patience and guidance.

To enjoy the blessings we have - even while we're praying for someone who doesn't.

To play with our silly boy and holiday shop and mail Christmas cards!

To live each day with a happy heart.

To remember to drink hot cocoa...

...and gaze at the tree and all the holiday decorations.

To smile at the ornaments- as they only come out of the box for about 30 days of the year...

old and new....

his and hers :)...

I will be remember to be blissful in the knowledge of who these sweet little ornaments belong to...

...and how much joy he brings to our lives.

And I will not forget the comfort that an evergreen wreath and a hallway full of family photos can bring...

And I will make time for "merry" no matter what.

So Happy Holidays from our family!

And a very, heartfelt thank you to all who have donated, initiated fundraisers, and otherwise supported Shea so far. He deserves to be merry too - and we are working on that...with your help. :)

Sessions for Shea

Please read the newest post on Shea's blog (click on the red link) for our first local fundraiser idea! It's happening this Saturday and we are so excited so check it out now!