Happy Birthday, Ben!

It's hard to believe that my sweet Ben is TWO years old already! We have been so incredibly blessed by this little guy and he fills our home with so much LOVE and laughter! 

 Every single day, I thank God for the chance to be his mom and for His perfect plan and provision for our family!

Joe's Sip and See

This summer, Rusty and I began attending a new church in our community. We very much felt like it was time to be at a smaller church, closer to home, where we could really get plugged in and serve. But leaving HFBC was incredibly difficult for us. We have built some amazing friendships over the years and were sad to not be attending church any more with the "family" that had helped shape our marriage and walk us through some really tough times.

Like a junior higher, I was so nervous and afraid that the girls at the new church wouldn't like me and that I wouldn't make any friends. But God has so richly fulfilled that desire and blessed me with some really incredible and sweet friends. They have embraced me and really loved me so well. I am so incredibly thankful for them!

Before we could even get Joe home, they told me that they were going to throw us a Sip 'n See. This was such a blessing to me and I loved getting the chance to celebrate Joe in the way that most moms get to in anticipation of a baby's arrival. It was fun to have the guest of honor being loved on and held by all the ladies!

All dressed and ready to party:

Everything was absolutely beautiful! They did such an amazing job with all of the details. It was just perfect!

The hostesses (minus one who was in Hawaii, but so thankful for Cindy too!)

This is Joe's buddy Brody and hie beautiful mom, Jessica. The boys are just a few weeks apart, so it will be fun to see them grow up in church together!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful shower to celebrate Joe. Thank you for loving us so generously and for being so happy for us! I am so thankful for all of the new friendships that I have made!

So much for catching up...

I realized that if I try to go in order and go back and do original posts for all that I missed, I just won't do it. It's too overwhelming. So I decided just to start back where we are and maybe someday I will be bored and catch up on all that I missed.

So here were are now:

Joe will be 3 months old this week! He is really starting to smile and respond more, which makes things a little more fun. He's a sweet baby that likes to cuddle and LOVES his swing. We have started meds for reflux and I am so hopeful that we can help the poor guy. He has had a rough time and has really been in a lot of pain.

And Ben will be TWO on Sunday? How did that happen? 

He is such a good big brother and I have been so proud of the way that he has accepted Joe into our family. I pray that they will be such good friends as they grow. 

He just got over a case of pneumonia. He was a champ and dealt with all the medicines and breathing treatments so well. But being cooped up in the house for several days really got to us. All this boy wants to do is go outside and golf!

But of course, he still played inside:

And praise the Lord for the iPad which offered some entertainment. He loves to watch Netflix movies and to play an Elmo alphabet game. 

Of course, the golf game is his favorite. 

I am so thankful for my two boys and for all that we have gotten to experience them. 

To be real, some days are really stinkin' hard and I question whether I am capable of doing this. There have been a lot of tears in the last three months. But, God has been so faithful to give me the encouragement and support that I have needed and I have desperately tried to remember how grateful I am for the opportunity to be their mom!