Sweetheart Pictures

My awesome brother Jonathan took these in December. Just wanted to share! I love them! I love my wonderful husband. These pictures are so sweet, just like our love.

"This is my beloved, and this is my friend." ~ Song of Solomon

Sweet Smiles

Jackson performs random acts of torture upon his small brother. This one backfired... Timothy liked it! It was so funny, four legs in two holes:

Timothy is getting so big! He is six months old today! It flies... I think faster every single day. He is sitting up pretty good now, with only the occasional bonk! His first tooth popped through this week, and he is rolling everywhere! Such fun is he, but my already-busy hands are about to become busier!

A Saturday Morning Crepe

... just about as fancy as my cooking gets...

With peach filling and a little powdered sugar... Yummy!

Ode to IKEA

It has been an entire week since I first saw the greatest home store in the world. My mind and dreams have since been occupied with rugs, curtains, sofas, dishes, duvets, lamps, mirrors, chairs, cabinets, shelving...well, you get the picture. It is an awesome store! I just cannot put into words how utterly amazing it really is!

I went with Alicia and we spent ALL day away. We started at the hospital where she goes for therapy twice a week. Next, we ate at a yummy Chinese restaurant. Then... we loaded up the babies in the double stoller (yet again) and went to IKEA!!

My trusty driver Alicia:

IKEA!! It's huge!

Sleeping soundly

The cool part about this store: There are many, many whole rooms set up. You can walk in and open every drawer, every shelf. There is clever storage everywhere! There are tags on everything so you can see how much it is. And you can write the item numbers down on clever little pieces of paper and pencils they provide you with all over the store. This is the room Briley loved when they went before:

Not sleeping soundly anymore, the babies had to be carried. :D

Not pictured: The pain that comes with toting a 18- or so pound baby around for over two hours.
I bought a few things at the store: a dish brush, a pot-lid organizer, and two twin duvets to make for the boys' new room when we move. I spent $20!! That is the best part about the store... it is affordable! We were in there 4 hours!! It is so fun, and you can get so many ideas. I had wanted to take a ton of pics to blog about it, but I got excited and forgot. :)

Friends and family, neighbors and strangers, if you have never been to an IKEA, well, you just have to go!!

...the mouths of babes...

Jackson is just now learning to pray. We have done a simple mealtime prayer with him for months now! The other day, he surprised me and took off after just the first line! So, here's his little prayer. He strayed a little... I'm not even sure what he's praying for. :)

By the way, he thinks lowering his eyebrows and sort of scowling means his head is bowed and eyes are closed. ;)

Sundays...

We love them! We need them! But...

They make little boys (and their mother) tired:

Put Your Quarter In

Jackson is starting to pretend things. It's so adorable! Tonight, he wanted to ride the "cowboy." He's a little confused, but Jamin gave him a ride. Then we reminded him to put a quarter in. He grinned and giggled and "put the quarter in." Then he asked for more money! The little nut! It was so cute to see the little brain wheels turning as he caught on!

My 2010 Resolutions

I have many resolutions this year, some cannot even be put into specific words. Some are private and will not be shared with the blog world. But some I will share:

• To walk closer to the Lord; I will read through the Bible this year. I fail every year but I am determined to do it! I want to pray more! I have a list, and I will stick to it! My family deserves for me to be the best mother and wife I can be, the one God made me to be. And even more than that, the Lord who saved me deserves for me to be my best. He didn't save me and put me into the ministry for me to give my second (or third) best.
• Encourage my husband; speak kind words to him daily. I want to buy or make a sweet card every week or two, and plan other little special things to show him I love him. Life is so short and relationships are the backbone of life. I want my husband to know I love him!
• To have family meals; we eat together, but more often than not, we're piled in front of a funny movie, or an Andy Griffith. I want to take the time to talk, laugh, and eat around the table with my family.
• Get healthy; this includes losing around 35 pounds (for me), and adding more fruits and vegetables for the whole family. It rests mostly on my shoulders to see that my husband and children are eating healthy. Also, eating in more often than out is on the agenda. This will help our health and our finances. In the past, I have fallen into the trap of thinking it's too expensive to eat healthy. But tracking our expenses for a few months has shown that eating out costs way more. We can afford to eat more healthy. Also, Jamin and I are both adding exercise!
• Budgeting; it is so hard to budget! We are determined to be better stewards of what God has given us. I guess there aren't many specifics for this category, with the exception of eating out only once or twice per week - it will save us lots!
• Journaling - on the blog! Since I have found that blogs can be printed, I am even more inspired to blog. I want to document even the smallest cute antics that come from my precious children, so they can be bound in a book and enjoyed for years to come.

I can't believe it's 2010!! Remember all the people who were convinced Christ would return in 2000? I mean, we are to be looking for His coming, but "no man knoweth" when. Sometimes I can't believe life still goes on. I am a married woman! I have two children! We have been in the ministry for four years!

Praise the Lord for His goodness in our lives! We have enjoyed great health, nice places to live, plenty of food (we read about this in my resolutions!), a wonderful church, awesome friends and family! Life is not perfect, but we are SO blessed! I hope I can always look at 2010 as a new year to serve the Lord!!