Morning cuddles

Brother sleeps in + daddy still at home = morning cuddles. 

This boy

Despite our efforts with LB to get him to take a pacifier, he was set early on on his right index finger.

Having said that, he found this "lego flower" the other day and is now determined to walk around pretending it's his paci.  We are not sure where he learned this since Big Sister has been paci-free for about a year and a half.  Maybe he's learned it in the nursery...

It just tickles me to watch him walk around with it like this.

Her 'quiet time'

I love watching our Emma Girl 'imitate' Mommy & Daddy.

The airport and "helicopters"

For about a month now, Emma has been 'informing' us about an upcoming trip to the airport to see helicopters.  We are not sure how it all got started, and it wasn't like she was asking us if we could take her, it was a fact!  She was going.

As we are tucking her in bed:

"Tomorrow we go to airport to see helicopters."

To the lady in the hair salon:

"Today we go see helicopters at airport."

At the dinner table:

"Other day we go to airport to see helicopters."

And so she went about her days and weeks talking to people about this.

Finally, Byron and I decided to make the trip happen.  We knew our chances were slim regarding helicopters, but we figured a trip to the airport would do the trick.

So last Saturday after nap time we loaded the kids in the van and headed to the Augusta's regional airport.  

We got to see some parked private jets, and one plane take off, which was a lot of fun.  We were hoping to see a plane land, but dinner time crept up on us too soon.

Ames comes to play

Our children are fortunate to have a sweet cousin between the two of them.  I keep wondering if as the children grow, if Ames will continue to be closest to Emma, closest to Byron, or if they'll just be a trio of Amigos.  

We've been having car troubles for the later part of this week, and on Friday I ended up being carless, which meant we were stuck at home all day.

If we couldn't be out in the 'world,' I was determined to bring the 'world' into our home.

Cousin Ames came over with his mama, and these crazies had the most fun ever.

"niiiighhttt, niiiigghhttt."

And "three little monkeys jumping on the crib."

2014 in review

2014... you were good to me.  

On December 31st, Byron and I laid in bed reflecting on the year, and I couldn't help but feel moisture in my eyes.  You were good to me, 2014.  

A few landmarks to our year--

* What began as an act of desperation, turned into the most revolutionary thing I'd ever done.  I began waking up at 6 AM (before my kids) every morning to read my Bible and spend time in the presence of the Lord.  I finally understood what people meant when they said God "spoke to them."  My year was filled with sweet conversations with the Him.  My time with the Lord was not so I could "then have a good day," it was simply the highlight of it.  As I tell people all the time: "after 7 AM, it is all downhill from there."

*  I also started, and finished, reading through the Bible in 2014.  What a journey that was!  (This is also a habit I plan on continuing for the rest of my life).

*  Sometime during the Spring, Byron (for the lack of a better word) 'lost' his job.  As the sole provider to our family, this was a very difficult journey for our little family.  Without going into too many details, I clearly remember the night, after about the nth argument over this situation, Byron told me:  "you need to trust me."  And that was that.  The Lord calls me to "submit to my husband" and to "submit to the Lord."  I submit to the Lord by submitting to my husband.  And what does He promise?  "To make our paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6).  I'll be clinging to that promise, if you don't mind.

* Fast forward a few months, and Byron is asked to join the family business.  BIG move for the hubby.  He leaves his career behind and goes into 'sales.'

* With the 'job situation' as a motivator, I finally took the plunge and began advertising myself as a private math tutor.  In June I had my first student, and since then I've had four others to worked with.  I've loved going back to my 'school-loving' roots, and brush up on my math skills.  I've also loved making 'good money' with it (which, of course, always comes as a perk).

*  The year also brought three 'deep wounds.'  One in the form of great distress and anxiety as I learned to adjust to life as a mother of two.  The second was a 'mild depression' that took place during the summer.  And the third came in the form of a 'hate event' that took place in the Fall.  It wasn't until I came across the song Blessings by Laura Story in December that I learned that all three of these 'wounds' were simply "mercies in disguise." 

*  I turned 30 years old and got my first smart phone.  All very mundane, but exciting none the less.

A sweet friend of mine (who is a professional wedding cake maker) gifted me with this (^) awesome cake to celebrate my special day.  I had a little party that I had long been anticipating, and was joined with about a dozen friend-couples, plus family.

*  I am not sure on the exact number, but I believe I read about 25 books this year.  My favorites:

Stepping Heavenward by Mrs. Prentiss

Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

Trend Breakers by Kelly Westerfield 

Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovich

* Sometime during the summer, I officially gave up leisure TV.  Nothing to get overly dramatic about, I simply decided that there were other things that were better worth my time (this is also how I probably got 25 books in).  I'll still watch some Downton Abbey, and a few TV shows or movies to spend some shoulder-to-shoulder time with the hubby, but that's about it.

*  We also began Bible verse memorization with Emma.  We used these cards.  We are now on the 'W verse,' and am blown away by the amount of Truth that we have stored not only in Emma's heart and mind, but in ours as well.

*  And finally, when the school year rolled around, I signed both kids up to their first Pre-K program, where they attend once a week for four hours in the morning.  This seems like such an obvious thing to do for most people, but for me it was a difficult decision to make, but one that I am so glad I did.  We've dearly enjoyed the school and their teachers.  I've enjoyed my mornings off where I refuse to do "anything that I have to," but instead use that time to do "anything that I want to."

Memory

Emma and Daddy's favorite thing to do together is play memory while baby Byron is getting ready for bed (or already in bed).  These two lay out all the cards and go head to head against each other.

Never mind that Daddy is incredibly smart...

His three year old almost always beats him in this game (and no, he is not letting her win).

Of course Emma has no concept of winning or losing yet, so it's funny for us to watch her help daddy get the right match (yes, she helps him also!), and get excited when he matches.