Blessings

Have you ever had an experience or situation in your life in which you could see or feel the Lord just working out every.last.detail in your favor?  That happened to Brad and I this past year.  We have been trying to come up with plans to move from our first home for about a year now.  We tried selling it on our own and using a realtor to no avail.  We saw lots of homes that we wanted to make offers on, but ours would NEVER sell.  We would spend hours getting it ready to show to possible buyers, but each person would find ONE thing that they didn’t like, and it was EXTREMELY discouraging.  Then, Wagner was born and it felt like the house became even smaller!  Our urgency to move was at an all time high.  One night as Brad and I were sitting on our couch and I was browsing some homes online I found a STEAL of a deal that was a short sale and I showed it to him.  He liked it and so did I so we decided to go check it out.  We were expecting to find some type of major foundation or water issue, but surprisingly it was in great condition structurally, and just needed cosmetic work.  We went back to see it again two days later, and made an offer on it.  Our offer turned out to be one of SIX!  We waited for 2 LONG months before getting the official approval of the offer from the bank that was allowing the sellers to short sale.  During those two months we were told that the type of loan we were going to be getting had fallen through, and we would have to get a different type of loan.  We thought at that point we would just give the house up and continue looking.  When our agent called the listing agent to tell her we were going to resend our offer, she recommended we call another lender (even though they had five other offers on the home…she said she just had a feeling about us…she also happened to be a Christian), and sure enough he made it work.  I can imagine the Lord looking down on us and chuckling as we were panicking because HE knew that it would all come together.  On the other side of things we began trying to rent our home our DURING THE HOLIDAYS…not an easy task!  Who wants to move in the winter around Christmas time?? No one.  Except the perfect renters!  After many applicants that didn’t work out, the Lord led the perfect renters to us, and they asked if we would consider a two year lease…What??? Heck yes we would!  So, on December 28th we closed on a bigger home than we could ever imagine, and in a neighborhood that we could never have imagined living in!  And as an added bonus this home will allow us to pay off some of our student debt, and our rental will allow us to save for our kids’ college education.  We could never have planned something so wonderful for ourselves…it can ONLY be orchestrated by the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine! If you are trusting him for something, KEEP ON TRUSTING.  He loves you more than you can imagine and he is working in your VERY BEST interest.  Nothing is impossible for him, absolutely NOTHING!!

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

First Snow 2013

Last year Emery wasn’t too crazy about the snow, and this year was really no different.  She was excited to see it, and she played outside for a little bit, but she was ready to come in after about 30 minutes because she was too cold…she is her Mama’s daughter!  It may have been helpful if I had waterproof gloves or snow boots, but I forget to buy those things and really they’re a waste of money around here because we really don’t get that much snow normally.

Excited to go out…

Her favorite part may have been eating the snow ha!

Happy to be warm and inside :)

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

This winter Brad signed Emery up for swimming lessons.  She LOVES them!  Last Saturday was her very first one, and she woke up and brought her bathing suit into our room and said “wake up guys, time for my swim lesson”.  The lessons mostly focus on safety and getting them comfortable with the water, but Emery has a BLAST! 

Daddy has gotten to get in with Emery the past two weeks, and I have hung out with this cutie pie!  I think next week will be Mommy’s turn to swim with Emery (if I can talk myself into putting on a bathing suit..yikes!)

Wagner 4 months

I cannot believe you are already four months old…where the heck has the time gone??? I do NOT like how fast it is going by! This month you experienced your first Christmas and a move from your first house, which is also when you transitioned into your own bed.  You continue to just have a contagiously happy smile and laugh.  At your appointment you were in the 50% for weight and the 90% for height.  The pediatrician was very impressed with your muscle tone.  Maybe that explains the fact that you can almost crawl, and that you can roll from one end of the room to the other in 2 seconds.  At Miss Joyce’s house you eat 8-10 ounce bottles twice a day and you nurse the other three feedings.  I can hardly keep up with how much you’re eating!! Hopefully its just a growth spurt.  You sleep on your belly no matter how many times I go into your room and roll you back onto your back.  This month you really started liking your paci, but don’t require it to be happy, although you are trying desperately to be a thumb sucker, and although its cute I’m trying to break you of that.  Emery frequently refers to you as her “little buddy”.  My favorite thing you do right now is watch me from anywhere in a room, your eyes are always on me making sure I’m close by.  You are quite the talker/squealer.  People are amazed with how vocal you are, and its so cute and funny!  You still have beautiful blue eyes, and your hair is growing really quickly and it sticks straight up…adorable!  Your eyelashes have really grown this month too, and I think they will be long like your sisters.  We all love you so much, and can’t wait to see how you grow and change this next month!!

Christmas 2012

This Christmas was the best yet!  Emery was INTO IT BIG TIME!! She was really starting to grasp that we celebrate Christmas because its Jesus’ birthday.  We do Santa at our house, and she was also really into Santa, but not so much into sitting on his lap…ha!  It was such a fun time spent with family!  The day before Christmas Eve we celebrated with Brad’s family, Christmas Eve we celebrated with Mom’s side of the family then went to church (which we were thirty minutes late to…my fault) and then went home to celebrate with just us (my very favorite part).  Christmas day we did breakfast with my family, lunch with Brad’s extended family, and then dinner with my Dad’s side of the family.  It was JAM PACKED, but I think we all still were able to enjoy ourselves!  Here are some pictures…

I LOVED the kids matching monogrammed outfits for Christmas Eve!!

Emery’s most favorite Christmas gift was her Dora umbrella from Wagner.  She said…oh Wagner loves me!

I think she was just a LITTLE excited!!

Uncle Ben and Wagner took a morning nap after a long morning of opening gifts…tough work!

 

Emery and her cousin Jacob, they have started to play so well together!

My precious precious babies!

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”  Luke 2:11-14

Wagner 3 Months

This has been a HUGE month for you and for Mommy!!  Around 2 1/2 months you started sleeping through the night, and rolling from your back to your belly.  You also started going four hours between your feedings.  Speaking of feedings, you definitely had this mama worried because you did not decide to take a bottle until exactly THREE DAYS before I returned to work.  We tried EVERY SINGLE BOTTLE, and every technique and trick we could find online.  Eventually you gave up and realized that if you wanted to eat you were going to have to take the bottle.  It took you long enough, but you finally cooperated!  At the beginning of this month (around 9 weeks) it was like a switch flipped and you became the happiest baby…maybe you had a touch of colic??  I don’t know what it was, but you are such a joy now!  You still take three naps (2 that are two hours and one short cat nap in the evenings).  You are unlike your sister in the fact that you do WHATEVER you want.  I try my best to keep you on a schedule, but sometimes you will do what I want and sometimes you won’t…you have been a gentle reminder that I’m not super mom :) You were dedicated this month!  Your big blue beautiful eyes are ABSOLUTELY CAPTIVATING!! You are still laughing out loud, and we have found your major ticklish spot which is under your chin. 

Wagner 2 months

Okay it’s rather ridiculous that I have not posted in FOREVER, and I’ve got a lot to catch up on, but we’ve been moving, renting out our old house and remodeling our  new house…CRAZY!!!!

Wagner at two months old you were taking three naps a day, two of your naps were two hours long and one cat nap in the evening anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours.  You wear a size 1 diaper.  At your check up you were in the 75% for weight and 98% for height!!!  You HATED riding in your carseat, and LOVE being held.  You laugh and giggle out loud ALL.THE.TIME.  And your favorite person is your sister.  You still look EXACTLY like your daddy!! We love you so much!