what we've been up to the last few days

Here is an entry of randomness! Let's see, last week was very busy with work and Mr. Noah! I helped one of my dearest friends, Jenn, make invitation pockets for her gorgeous wedding invitations, Noah and I had lunch with our beloved DOEdoe & Uncle Fun (Donya & John) of DesignEnvy, whom I freelance design for (they are like family to us!) He sat in a restaurant high chair for the FIRST time at that lunch!, and we have been trying to fight off a cold that Noah has developed!

Gramps AB (Alex) bought Noah the most precious outfit just because . . . it is Polo! He has already worn it. Thanks Gramps AB!

I am very inspired to start making lots of different cupcakes. Wish me luck. I will be posting my successes (and/or failures!) Oh yeah, and I got out by myself today, which was much needed and had fun finding a few bargains, my favorite being a gorgeous rug for my kitchen which was only $6.99!!!

OH YEAH, and I bought Noah his first baby food! I am going to try to make it, but I thought this 100% organic baby food would be just as sufficient for now, until we get a food processor.

Much love and many blessings.

"Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer." Psalm 63:3-4

the things i love about Noah . . .

• the way he gets so excited to see me when i get him out of his crib in the morning or from a nap! he gets the biggest smile on his precious face.

• how he plays with my index finger and fingernail to fall asleep as i rock him.

• how he gets so excited any time zoe comes around him, or even in the same room . . . they are connected somehow! it is amazing.

• his talking. he talks all the time, i LOVE it.

• how he smells and how he feels.

• picking him up from his crib and just holding him so close to me and loving on him.

• how his ear will leave a perfect indention on my arm after i feed him!

• his spitting sounds, he is hilarious.

• his expression when we sing "This Is The Day The Lord Has Made" every single morning.

• that he falls peacefully asleep as I pray out loud over him, if I don't he fights sleep badly!!

• that he has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 weeks old!! 8 hours or more!

• how he kicks his adorable chunky legs in the bath and splashes me and the entire kitchen!!

• when he spits up, how he just smiles so big like nothing happened!

• that he can't stand to not be in on the action, and the second you bring him where the party is, he is perfectly happy.

• that he LOVES other babies and children, and he now reaches to touch their hands.

• reading to him is a joy because he actually listens and looks at the pages with me!

• his SMILE will truly make anyone melt.

• his LAUGH will make you laugh so hard you cry! he has done it to several people!!!

• he doesn't really cry, just whines, and i love that!

• that he loves having the ABC's sung to him, and really it's the song that can calm him if he is hungry or fussy!

• that he is so easy going. he just hangs out and goes with the flow.

• that he lets me sleep in the morning after i bring him to bed with me! he will lay there and talk and look at the ceiling perfectly content.

Oh, goodness, there are a million more things, but I am so beyond blessed and honored that God created Noah for Nathan and me to be his mommy and daddy. He is a joy every second of every day. I can't wait to get him out of his crib in a few short hours!

anyone seen my comforter?

yes, it's true. i washed my big comforter at the laundry mat, put it in the dryer, go home to eat dinner, return to the laundry mat, and my comforter is gone. a guy in there said a young gal left with it in a little red car. well, lesson learned here: DON'T LEAVE ANYTHING UNATTENDED AT A LAUNDRY MAT. i guess we will just have to be cold tonight. [the comforter is in the background of this photo] hopefully they still have this comforter at stein mart. it was on clearance back in october!!!

Zoe is a hero . . . saved a house and lives.

I must tell you this awe-inspiring story of my precious Boxer, Zoe. On Sunday, I was doing laundry and other such things around the house while Noah was napping and Nathan was on call at work. Zoe was whining to go outside, and I was in the middle of changing out the laundry, so I told her to hang tight, I was almost done. Well, about a minute goes by, and she is not letting up and being much more persistent than usual. So, I said, "Ok, Zo, you can go out." Well, our back door has a half window on it, and I was looking down a Zoe to let her out, and as I opened the door, she backed away from it, hesitating to go outside. I said, "Zoe, you were begging me to go out, GO OUT SILLY GIRL." Now, keep in mind that there is no way for Zoe to see out back when she is inside because the door window is too high. So, I shut the door and looked up (outside) and the neighbor's yard that backs up to my backyard is literally billowing with smoke and flames. I mean BILLOWING. I grabbed my phone and called 911 to get the firemen out there. My call was the first call into them. So, I had everything ready to jet out of my front door with Noah and Zoe just in case the fire headed our way. I watched, and the firemen showed up 5 minutes later and ran into their backyard fighting the fire. They put it out and then were surveying the scene for a few hours. Shortly thereafter, the Fire Marshal showed up on our front step. I told him that Zoe truly told me about the fire, and you know what he said . . . "If we had gotten there 30 seconds later, there was a huge pile of leaves that was about to ignite next to their garage, and that would have caught their house on fire and done a lot of damage. One of the kids was sleeping in the room right by the garage also." SO, Zoe was so persistent because she literally smelled trouble. She is the most amazing dog in this universe.

This is truly hilarious . . .

It really is amazing what the sticker top to a baby wipes refill can do to entertain Mr. Noah!!

Noah's Baby Dedication

We were so honored on Sunday to dedicate Noah back to the Lord. Noah is God's to begin with, and this dedication ceremony at our church was a public proclamation that we completely trust God with our son and will seek Him out every step of the way in raising Noah.

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

This is our heart for Noah, that he would seek to know God and submit to His will each and every day of his life. It is my prayer that he would be a radiant light of God's love. That he would bring great change to this dark world for God's kingdom.

My mom, Alex, Nathan's Mom, Doug, and my Gramps all came in from out of town. I know that my dad would have been there in a heart beat, but he is over 2,000 miles away! Thanks for all of the prayers from our other family members also. It was truly a blessed day! Oh, and I had the most fabulous cake recipe from my friend Kayla (Dream Whip Cake with Buttercream Frosting), and the center collapsed and my frosting job was very rushed at 1am, so it ended up being quite ugly!!! But, it was made with love by my mom and me for Noah!

Let's all take a moment to pray for each of our children (in my case, 1). Pray whatever is on your heart and ask God for His direction for each of their lives. Also, that He would guide you in raising them and if they are already on their own, that He would guide them in every decision and that they would glorify His name! And, if you don't have children yet, pray for them! Or pray for the children that are in your life.
They are such a special gift, and we should take a moment to really soak that in!

God's Richest Blessings over you.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Blogging again!

I am back! To say the least, getting ready for Christmas and wrapping up work before the New Year was crazy! It seemed as though all of my jobs landed all at once with deadlines all before Christmas. So, many nights of staying up until 3 am consistently paid off because I somehow got it all done.

We had a marvelous Christmas in Albuquerque, and Noah had such a great time celebrating Jesus' birthday for the first time. He was the star of the town. We visited so many wonderful family members and friends, and we even had a mini high school reunion with about 15 of our closest high school friends. It was fabulous! My friend Gabby was there, who I hadn't seen or talked to since graduation 6 years ago, and she didn't know that Nathan and I were married or had a baby! It was quite the surprise.

We spent Christmas morning at my mom and Alex's. My Auntie Sheryl and Uncle Robert were there all the way from Cali! Noah met them for the first time, and it was very special. Christmas evening was with Nathan's mom and Doug, and we had a wonderful time with them. Christmas Eve was special because we went to Nathan's Dad and Grandpa's for Red Chile Enchiladas and Tamales. Yum yum. We also got to see Aunt Deana, Uncle Rick and Nannie (Nathan's fam). Well, that was that.

The New Year was rung in with yet again, Red Chile Enchiladas and Tamales accompanied by Lime Sherbet and Sprite to toast with - that is a tradition. Noah was of course, sleeping. I don't blame him!

Noah is nearly sitting up on his own, and he discovered his feet the other day. He now grabs them at any chance he gets. He loves to sing with us (he really does sing in his own way!), and he is mesmerized by Zoe, our Boxer. Zoe loves him too.

Well, that is enough for now, I will be posting regularly now. Love to all. Many blessings in His glorious name!