Friday, November 30, 2012

Thanksgiving

I wasn't going to post about Thanksgiving but then I realized it would be weird to look back and realize I didn't even mention Thanksgiving for 2012.  So, even though I am full emerged into Christmas, here goes our Thanksgiving.

2012 Thanksgiving Tour.
First stop: Dothan! Fun with Emory, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Eve, Papoo and Nunny. We even got some time with Julie and Blake and his family for Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was really fun.



Second Stop: Thanksgiving Lunch was with Nanna and Paw, Mella, Buzz and all of the Powell clan!  All I can say is DELICIOUSNESS was happening.





Third Stop: Compass Lake with the Korey clan.


 Ash (5), Collier (3) Hayden (2) Kenley (8mo)
To say it was hard to leave the lake is an understatement...it was really so quiet and peaceful and outright beautiful. God's glory and majesty is revealed.  We have so much to be thankful for but most of all our families that we love and appreciate so much!  We are blessed beyond words!
As soon as we got home on Sunday, unpacked the car and then picked out our Christmas Tree!   
Christmas Time is Here!!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Amen to that!

In conversation, if someone says something that I am in total agreement with I often respond with 'Amen to that' brother/sister [depending on who I am talking to].  It is a phrase I use often.  So much that Collier has even started saying it to me and to hear him say 'amen to dat siser' is really funny, I love it!

This song came on the radio this afternoon and that is all that I could say: AMEN TO THAT!  There is just so much comfort and peace in knowing who it is that goes before me and behind me at all time.  He is with me no matter what.  This morning in my devotional these were the verses:
 Isaiah 40:11 'He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms,holding them close to his heart.  He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.'
Isaiah 58:11 'The Lord will guide you continually,giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. '
These promises hit me like a ton of bricks... He provides all.  He takes care of everything.  He is the source of all things (sometimes even the bad - when he is wanting us to continue to praise Him so that we can draw closer to Him).  He is in every detail (good, bad, big, small, EVERY - not just some).  He is strength.  He is living. He is real.  He is my God!  The God of Angel Armies!  Really awesome.


Amen to that!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Total Confusion

In honor of the big week of the Iron Bowl I feel that I need to share this.  I am sorry to all of my fellow Auburn fans that he must wear all of the Alabama garb...but he does have more Bama shirts than Auburn, I am ashamed.  Maybe Santa will change that this Christmas.  But I am thrilled to share that he loves and knows the Auburn Fight Song!  I posted on Instagram the other day that Collier has been calling an orange and blue polo shirt his 'Roll Tide' shirt. I continue to try and correct him and will go back and forth with him that it is a War Eagle shirt because it is Auburn colors...NOT Alabama!  He will not agree and I continue to battle.  But here is the funny thing.  Justin got a hold of Collier early and anytime I would say War Eagle he would yell right back at me Roll Tide!  So, I sort of gave up and considered it my loss but that I would be sure to raise my little girl with Orange and Blue.  I am happy to report my little man has come around.  I started singing the fight song to him [mostly in the car]and he is loving it.  Honestly he is clueless what Auburn and Alabama are.  He is clueless about which is which and who is who.  He doesn't fully understand i all just yet and I would say that is because we are in a split household.  If we were full out one way or the other he wouldn't know the other side!
I am certain he may need therapy due to all of this maddening confusion
I just know that he is handsome in orange and blue...
Who am I kidding?  He is stink'n cute in anything...even crimson and white

Further proof that he will need therapy:

War Eagle and regardless of the beat-down that will probably occur Saturday I will always always be proud to be an Auburn Tiger. 

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Kenley update

Kenley is already almost 8 months and I am just holding tight to this sweet baby because it just is going by too fast.  Since she has been on the move for a while now, we expect she will be walking any day now.  She can stand herself up and has gotten brave enough to let go, a few times, if she has something in her hands.  She can keep balance for a few seconds before plooping back down to her hiney.  She likes to climb and is getting pretty good at climbing the stairs at Mom's...with no concept that rolling off the edge means a huge crash because she always has my mom as her safety net!  She can walk pushing something, usually Collier's stool or her music table, and she likes to try and climb on top of these as well.  Needless to say I can't really take my eyes off of her before she is into something she shouldn't be!

look mommy...no hands!
no worries, brink will catch you if you fall!!

She has 4 teeth.  Over all she has done well with these pushing through her sweet and tender gums, the last one (her top left) resulted in lots of crying and whining.  Who can blame her though, it has to hurt, they are razor sharp.

She is liking her solids.  apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots are her main meals.  She did not like peas or green beans (i don't blame her I am not a fan myself).  I made squash tuesday night and she gobbled it up last night.  I will probably start mixing and combining different variations for her in the next week or so.   She loves yogurt bites and puffs...can't get enough of them!

Sleep.  Well we are finally sleeping and sleeping good.  I did it, I stuck to my guns, it was hard, it is behind me and I am better for it...we all are actually!  Letting your baby cry it out is not for the faint at heart...I am proof because it took me about 4 tries to really stick to it and not give in. Here is what I typed the first two nights that she was crying (warning-this was typed at 2am while she was crying.. grammar and spelling are not corrected!):
   10.25.12. Back at it again. Why do I keep doing this to myself?  Justin is gone on his golf trip and I am determined to let her CIO and start sleeping through the night. She has been getting up twice every  night to eat. I am just very tired and ready for nightly sound sleep.  
Night 1:She ate at 8:30p and went to sleep after eating. Woke up around 1a crying. Was up and down several times. Rocking on knees. Standing. Etc. but crying the whole time. 2:05a went in to give motrin and put passy in.  She screams louder when I walk out. I give her 5min of hard screaming and go back in to sooth but No.Picking.Up. I lay her down, put passy in and rub her belly. Starts to relax and I walk out..not going back in, it makes it worse. Stands back up and crying. 2:28a and she is laying down and has put passy in and is playing with it and starting to relax. Hard to sleep and when I know she wants me and is crying so hard. Praying for God to be her comfort and rest. She is sitting up but not crying-rubbing in her lovey. 2:30a laying down and seems to be almost asleep, I can see her rubbing lovey and cant tell is passy is in or not. She sat back up and played with passy before laying down and going to sleep at 3:15a.  The crying was off and on from hard to just whining.   She slept and woke up again at 4:50am.  cried and was up and down for an hour and was back to sleep by 6am.   
Night two much better than the first. I put her in her bed around 9:30pm after feeding her(both sides) wanting to get her good and full. She woke up at 3:15a and cried for 15 minutes before she laid herself back down.  Was back to sleep by 3:40a.  Woke up at 5am and cried really hard for 15minutes. she kept putting lovey in her mouth and pulling it out.  She tried to lay down a few times and would sit up and scream.  I got up and gave her some motrin hoping to help if her teeth were hurting.  She slept until 8:30am!  Yahoo which meant that I got to sleep in too...because Collier didn't wake up until almost 7:45!  

It is hard because when your baby is crying for even just 5 minutes it seems like hours..so when it was hours the first night it felt like the entire night!  The next few nights she would get up and fussy 10-15 minutes before laying back down and going back to sleep.  I think that the following Tuesday night was her first all night sleep.  She still has a night here or there that she wakes up and does a little fussing.  But for the most part she is sleeping all night and doing so good.  So the good news is that now that she is all learned up on sleeping...she really likes to sleep and has even slept as late as 8:30am a few times.  I usually have to wake her up in the mornings to get fed and dressed before heading to work.  Depending on her afternoon/evening nap, if she goes to bed early, I try and wake her up around 9:30 or 10pm to feed her one last time before I go to bed so that she easily gets through the night.  It just feels good to get a solid nights sleep, or at least not be up feeding and changing diapers multiple times through the night.

One other note to make.  I have been putting Kenley in sleep sac's for the past month or so, at the advice of my SIL (Thanks Eve!) and I love these things.  I don't think that they have any impact on her sleep but I am so glad to have them and use them since she can't have a blanket to cover her and it is cold now...they are awesome to keep her nice and cozy through the night.  I don't worry about her toesy's getting cold!  I never used the sac's with Collier but really should have...I love them!  Thanks Emory for sharing with us!!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Results

There is some fear in the fact that President Obama has been re-elected and running our country for another 4 years. But as I sat quietly this morning in Gods word there is peace and confidence that it is He who is in control. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the great I Am. He is in control of ALL things. He has a purpose. I opened my Bible to read out of Colossians and looked over at some underlined verses in Philippians and this is what I read:
'Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God's peace,which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.' Phil 4:6-7
Peace and understanding only comes from God.  He is calling us to come to Him.  He is yearning for us to surrender and rely on Him.  Stop the worrying and the fear because our God is much greater than Obama will ever be.  I'm not being unrealistic in the fact that there will be harder times ahead because of him being re-elected, but maybe that is the point because isn't it in the hard times that we draw nearer and closer to God?  Don't get me wrong.  I am praying in a major way for our country - protection, revival, wisdom - and even for Obama.  That He will have the scales removed from his eyes and serve our Heavenly Father.  I pray that maybe the people around him will be believers and have influence on him and our country.  

Please go and read Acts 5:33-42 (even back up to v.17 to get the full picture)
We are studying Acts in CBS this year and these verses show how God can and will use anyone, even a  non believer, for His good and His glory. We must look at our presidential situation and pray that God will use Obama for His glory and His good even if Obama isn't seeking to please God. God has a will and purpose for our country and He is in control. God used Gamaliel to save the apostles [they were still beaten but still alive and praising God] and He can use Obama..we may take a beat'n too but it is up to us if we come out of it rejoicing.  That is where I will rest and find peace in all of this.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Marked as Christ Own Forever

Kenley was baptized this past Sunday.  It was a great and fun day and we have so much to be thankful for and to celebrate!  We had our amazing families and friends together to honor and bless Kenley on this special day.  My devotional on Sunday morning reminded me to walk peacefully with Him and not allow the expectations of my day take over my thoughts and focus from Him.  Here is what caught my attention 'Instead of mentally rehearsing how you will do this or that, keep your mind on My Presence and on taking the next step.  The more demanding your day, the more help you can expect from Me.'   It was just the perfect reminder of the day and walking with Him in mind and not all the other things!  God knew that was exactly what I needed on that very morning to get through the day and be filled with His joy!

Kenley did perfect during the service and for the baptism!  Kenley wore the very same dress that I was baptized in and made by my mom...we were both in shock that it fit her.  I was baptized at 4 weeks and she is already 7.5 months and I was much smaller than she is.  Mom made a few adjustments and it was just perfect. As I was getting dressed on Sunday I got a little teary just thinking about my baby girl wearing a dress that Mom made for me, it made the day all that more special and meaningful.  With all of the company we didn't get a chance to get pictures of just Kenley in her dress.  I am planning to do a mini photo session with her on Friday if the weather will cooperate...so more pictures to come!
 Brett and Lindsey are Kenley's godparents
Our preacher, Glenda.  Although, Anna Russel baptized Kenley!

Lord, Thank You for the precious gift that you have given Justin and I in Kenley.  Thank you that she is Yours and that You hold her in Your hands.  Thank you for your abundant blessings of our family.  Thank you for these amazing friends who will impact Kenley for the rest of her life all of your glory and honor.  Lord, please let there never be a day that Kenley doesn't know who You are. That she will grow up and know You and trust You in all that she does.  Help Justin and I to be a loving reflection of You as her parents, help us to be the parents that she needs us to be.  We love you.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Halloween

it was sort of a crazy Halloween this year.  Justin was out of town [just for the record, this is the 2nd Halloween in a row that he has been out of town..next year he will be fully in charge of the trick or treating rounds] and I had to be at the airport by 5:30 the following morning to fly out for a quick day trip for work.  A month or so ago, I invited myself and my family to trick or treat with our friends Deidre and George Robert.  She was kind enough to accept my self invite, it sure is nice to have the kinds of friends who always stand opened armed with love and acceptance!  Since I was flying solo, I decided to leave Kenley with mom and dad and just take Collier.  I knew Kenley wouldn't actually survive trick or treating.  and here is the worst part.  I didn't even put her costume on.  She was going to be a butterfly [it was a hand me down from Ash and Hayden].  I put the head piece on and she melted down and I didn't even bother with the rest of it, I felt like it was slight torture to put her in it for just a picture.  So, Batman and I headed out for our night and rounds of trick or treating with scooby do and Little Bo Peep.  He had a blast and got plenty of candy!







Kenley did at least wear a halloween shirt, thanks to Mella and Buzz