A few pics from our trip

My brother let me borrow his cord to his camera so I could download some pictures. We sent a little "love" to daddy via pictures and thought we would catch everyone up to date on what we have been up to.

Monday night after driving down we went fishing. Pop and Uncle Benjamin wanted to show Ryan a pond where fish bite hand over fist. Ryan wasn't too sure about the fish but he loved watching Uncle Benjamin's dog, Chloe, swim in the pond!

Tuesday and today we spent the afternoon after nap time at a friend of my mom and dad's house swimming. Ryan loved it after a few minutes of adjusting to the water temp. Pace screamed and so I sat by the side of the pool with him. He did a bit better today but wanted to be held in the water the entire time. I did try to put him in a float but he wanted nothing to do with that!

Enjoy the pictures from our time here .... we miss you daddy!

Long Trip

Today the boys and I went on a "long trip". We have 2 kinds of trips that we go on ... Long ones where they can watch a DVD and Short ones where they cannot watch a DVD. Today was a long trip to visit Gram, Pop, and Uncle Benjamin. It was a good drive. The boys did not go too crazy. I spent a lot of time looking in the back seat trying to keep Pace happy and putting in the pacifier over and over again.

Pictures will be on hiatus until we get back home and can download the camera. Hope everyone has a great week!

Family Pool ...

We bought a pool to use for Pace's 1st birthday party but it was too cold to get it out to play in. We broke it out yesterday for the boys to use. Pace absolutely hated it and Ryan loved it. We blew it up and filled with water at the start of their nap but the water had not warmed up very much and Pace didn't like the cold water. Ryan on the other hand had a ball. He was even man enough to wear dora the explorer swimmer diapers. Mom had picked up the wrong ones at the store. It was quite funny to see him ALL BOY with his green swim trunks and a PINK swimmer diaper! Way to go mom!

Video of the crawl!

Playing Ball

Finally!!!!

Pace has decided to Crawl ~ Watch out Mom your world is about to change.

Are you who you want to be?

I was pondering this question a few hours ago this morning and even last night as I struggled to go to sleep? Am I who I want to be? I have, at best, 100 years to live total. In the light of eternity...that's nothing..."a breath in the wind." One thing I have learned for sure, especially since being here: living to please me is a foolish mistake. God has set up the absolute perfect scenario in this life, namely, that i can lay my life down, deny myself, so that Christ might live through me and by doing this, I may gain true life. What a paradox? Give up your life in order to gain/experience true life. It is true though. The more I hang on to myself and my rights...the more that endless hunger grows in my spirit for something more, yet the more I let go of myself and surrender to the life of Christ...the more I experience that "abundant life" that the book of John talks about.

The determining factor is ALWAYS whether or not I will embrace the physical/temporal suffering. Choosing to deny self is painful! The heart is not quick to give up its toys! I fail every day. I don't always want to give money to people, or give out of sacrifice. There are days that I don't want to think about anyone else but myself...have you had those days?

The truth is though that i don't have a choice. You see, I've made a committment/ signed my name to this new covenant and I can't turn back. The Christian mandate is quite clear in the Bible - Jesus said, "You MUST deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me."

Why are so many people confused about Christianity? I believe it's because so many Christians are confused about Christianity! God is not a blessing machine, though He desires to bless us. The Bible doesn't say "come to Jesus and you won't experience another day of trial!" In fact it explicitly says, "as a Christian you will suffer." But that is the joy of it all! We are not suffering in vain, but we choose to suffer because we know it is revealing the face of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who came and demonstrated true "denial of self."

What I have begun to experience is that as I choose (out of voluntary love for Jesus) to deny myself, I am suddenly filled with an awareness of truth that satisfies everything. He came to show us the better way. I used to dream of being the girl who could make everyone happy, who everyone looked at and said, "what a gal!" Now I know who I want to be. I want to be a friend of Jesus. Jesus' friends are those who follow Him and to follow I must deny myself. There is trial. There is hardship. But there is joy and glory beyond any comprehension on this earth.

Are you who you want to be? Better yet, are you who God wants you to be? You don't have to go to a third world country to deny yourself. Oftentimes it's harder to do so in your own hometown. Join me in a prayer today...Lord help me to forget about myself and live to please you! I guarantee that if this becomes a prayer from your heart...you will find yourself on the road less chosen...the road of Jesus Christ. The important thing is this: Do it for love alone...love for the One Who rescued you because He delights in you! One of the purest forms of worship is servanthood...this makes the heart of God smile.

Pictures

For those of you that know me well ... you know I LOVE pictures. I am always taking pictures of the boys and our lives with them. I have tons of pictures ranging all the way back to college and even some from high school. Before getting married I was really good about getting them into a scrapbook. My mom is into creative memories and so she will give me books, stickers, etc. I began working on my engagement album with all the pictures from showers and writing our story, then I began working on our wedding album, then it seems like we had Ryan and since then all the photos seem to end up in a plastic box! I have GOT to get better about this. I have only done about 3 pages in Ryan's book and absolutely NONE in Pace's book. I have over a thousand pictures (not an exaggeration!) that I need to do something with. I'm not sure I will get to them anytime soon. These boys keep me going 110% of each day. Even when they take their afternoon 3 hour naps I still do not have the time (nor energy) to pull down all those pictures and start working. I did try one day ... but the time I got them down and started working ... it was time to get them up!!! I think I may have gotten a couple of pictures cut and ready to go on a page. When will I ever be able to work on this? I'm sure time will come but will I remember all the stories to go with the pictures or even what order they go in :) Thankfully, my computer will catalog them by date so I do have that to help me in the future.

Because I like photos so much, I've been encouraged to study up on photography and get a good SLR camera and maybe do something on the side. I am really contemplating this ... If any of you have any good advice on a good SLR camera let me know and any good books on learning more about light, etc. It has always been a passion of mine and who knows I could turn it into a side job in time and with a good bit of practice.

Continuing Dilemma

We are still struggling with Ryan's on again off again attitude towards his brother. There are moments when he is sweet as pie and then others when he will walk right up to him and hurt him for no reason. We are finding our efforts to discipline being looked at with a smirk or even a smile. Something has to give. We press on.

Pace is still not crawling or pulling up to his feet on things. He will roll wherever he wants to go and will then start a crying fit if you do not pick him up and put him where he wants to be. I've started to just let him cry with the hopes that he will try to figure some of this out on his own but that proves to be easier said than done. Watching your little one cry is one of the hardest things to watch ... especially when you can help and know exactly what they need/want. However, I know he will never learn as long as I (we) do for him over and over.

Crazy week!

What a week it has been this week! The week started with a bang on mothers day. It was a wonderful day but by the night time fell my allergies started to kick in. It has been a up and down week full of congestion, itchy eyes, ears and throat. Things are looking up as the meds are beginning to kick in.

Tuesday Pace had his 1 year check-up. He is 20 pounds and 28 1/2 inches tall. He had the "pleasure" of getting 5 shots. He took it well though. He is starting to try to crawl a bit more and I "think" all the teeth he had been teething are in. Last night he had a hard night so I'm wondering if he isn't trying to get more. We shall soon see! We turned his car seat around and he was so amazed to see the world in forward motion instead of reverse! :)

Ryan is doing great - learning and growing everyday. He loves being a big brother although it is obvious that he wants his alone time as well! He knows 3 Bible verses now and what a delight it is to ride down the road and hear him in the back seat singing along with the radio! What it must do to Gods heart to hear one of his little ones praising him so innocently!

Jeremy is enjoying his new gig! We are hoping that the contract will work itself into a permanant position at the end of the 90 period. It would be nice to have something consistent for a while! ;)

Thanks to all for the prayers and encouragment. You guys rock our worlds!

Jeremy's First Post!

Well, here's the scoop. I now work for an HR outsourcing firm. I am a Client Financial Analyst handling the financial scope of work (fee submission, revenue recognition, etc.) for a portfolio of clients. It's been a crazy few days; no computer yet so we're learning in a training room with training PCs. It's like knowing how to ride a mountain bike but being given a tricycle while you wait on your new mountain bike to be ready. But it's all good...one way or another, I'm learning the ropes. Friday and yesterday morning were REALLY hard trying to learn by watching over someone's shoulder as they worked on their computer and reading manuals on how to do the job. That only takes you so far. But the pace is picking up and I believe this is going to be a great opportunity to learn and grow professionally.

The most important thing is that God has provided for our family yet again. It took a couple of months but He obviously knew what he was doing because I have a great job that is close to home and has all the makings of a being a really great career for a long time to come. We had our ups and downs during the wait but it was worth it. I'm going to enjoy getting out of bed and going to work in the mornings.

And in case anyone reads this that doesn't already know, I have an absolutely amazing wife. She encouraged me as I gave my all to the job search (actually job searchES as I've really been looking for work for nearly 5 out of the last 7 months). She didn't let me get down on myself or angry at God or previous employers. We focused on ourselves and our family and trusted God and he came through. My wife is so precious to me. I've had times where I was tempted to fold up like a cheap tent but with God's help, she propped me up each time in the face of the storm. I could never have gone through (and would not WANT to have) any of this, good or bad, without you. I really do love you more than you could ever know.

Love to friends and family. Talk to you later.

Mothers Day

Yesterday was a great day! I have a wonderful husband and two awesome kids! My husband really out did himself yesterday. The day started with pancakes made by my husband, church where I got a rose from each child, lunch and a spa gift card! It was a great day ... Thanks Jeremy and Boys! I love you very much!

Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

Ryan is being funny these days. By funny I mean nice one minute and not nice the next. He loves "Pacer" to pieces but he also loves to hit, kick, throw things at his head and bite him! This form of "brotherly love" is short lived at times but he is still hurting his brother and at times leaving wounds on him. Any advice any of you moms have for how to deal with this so it ends please let me know. Pace is also VERY sensitive. Ryan can sometimes look at him wrong and he will cry so there are times if I am not watching him that I will not know whether Ryan actually did something or Pace is just crying because of a look Ryan gave.

Officially One!

Today Pace officially turned 1 year old! He is not crawling though he will walk by holding our hands. He will say a few words but only when he wants to! He's a joy and it's been a FAST year. It is crazy how fast time flies. Ryan is a great big brother and loves to care for his little brother. He also loves to be rough with him from time to time :) Enjoy the 1 year photos ...

Raceway Practice laps

Tonight we took the boys to the speedway to watch practice laps. Ryan absolutely LOVED it and Pace wasn't so sure. It was really LOUD so we didn't stay too long. However, I think I have a 2 year old who is going to be hooked on racing. As we were leaving he was asking to take him back to the race.

Ryan's Adventure

Last week Ryan and I (Heather) went to Atlanta for my grandmother's funeral. I just have to brag on him for a minute. He was such a wonderful child. He was with me for both the viewing and the funeral and was an AWESOME kid. He sat quietly or walked around a chair with his jeep - he never once threw a fit. I was expecting it ... put a child in an environment where he cannot play and well, you expect him to act like a child. Ryan was great. During the funeral itself he sat with some friends and you didn't hear a peep out of him! I was so proud of my pumpkin!

We had a great time on Friday before the funeral hanging out with Ann, Logan, Terri, Chris, MA, Zachary and Avery! It was great to re-connect with you guys and allow Ryan to play with his friends!! We missed Wendy, Grace and Norma though! You guys are the best encouragers around!

Thanks Lizzy and Kyle for letting me and "the wild beast" stay with you guys! He kept talking about Kyle and the Guitar! I enjoyed our conversations and felt encouraged by you both! Thanks again for letting us crash!

Pace's Party

I got the pictures from the Party put into a slide show ... beware there are a few! :)

Hope you enjoy~

Pace Turns 1 ... Soon

I have been working on the slide show you will see below for several weeks now. How do you pick and choose pictures for a whole year's worth of living? It was hard and fun at the same time. The show is a little long (8 mins) but I hope you will enjoy. We enjoyed celebrating Pace's first birthday with a few friends and family a few days early yesterday. We will post pictures of those soon! For now Enjoy the slide show of his first year!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com