Our Answered Prayer...Another Masterpiece

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17





Dave and I are so excited to announce that our family is growing! God has answered a very special prayer request for us. Last week, we got to see our little miracle that God is knitting together on an ultrasound that once again confirmed that I am indeed going to have another baby in June! Once again, our Father has provided for us in His timing, perfect timing!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Happy 3rd Birthday, Little Guy!

It was about this time, 2:12 p.m., three years ago, that Dave and I welcomed our son into the world! It was an amazing experience and one filled with many sweet memories! After carrying my precious boy right up under my heart for nine months, watching in awe as he has grown and developed over three years, and just plain falling deeply in love with him, I still only have a glimpse of the love that our Lord has for each of us! Isn't it wonderful that He has designed us to experience such love? Dave and I are so proud of the little guy that J has become and are so very excited to be able to raise him...boy, he does keep us on our knees as we seek to make the right decisions for him! Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!










I hope you enjoyed our look back at J before we started blogging...three years of smiles!!

Our Friend, Miss Lori

This week is a busy but fun one for our family. Someone pretty special is having a birthday tomorrow and later on this week we will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holidays with all of our family! As we approach Thanksgiving, Dave and I always like to think about and share the things that we are most thankful. We always start with the obvious like our relationship with Christ, our health, family, friends, a city we love, a church filled with many people who love us & J, etc. This year, we are especially thankful for a few specific blessings. About a year ago, we realized that J's words just weren't coming like they should, and we sought help. God brought a very special person to our rescue. Her name is Miss Lori, and she has been working with J 1-2 times a week throughout the year. We didn't even know it at the time, but God chose her especially for our family. She is exactly who J needs and has helped him progress tremendously. She has high expectations for our little guy but is very patient & understanding. She has all kinds of neat tricks to help J, and he absolutely adores her! I can't think of anyone more knowledgeable about speech and language! Every now and then, I will even stick in a mommy question for her since she has four children of her own! Miss Lori has helped us put the pieces together to figure out J's needs and ultimately his speech diagnosis. Of course, we would rather not have J struggle with speaking, but we are probably better parents because of it. God has opened many doors to opportunities and people that we consider absolute blessings. Thankfully, we will have Miss Lori for awhile longer!


We LOVE Miss Lori at our house!

Arctic Plunge-J's THIRD Birthday

Many of our close friends and family spent their Saturday night with us celebrating J's third birthday at the local Y's indoor pool. We decided to make the theme Arctic friends since we were swimming in November. All of his little pals thought it was cool to be swimming in almost December! The pool water was plenty warm with snowman beach balls for everyone! My mom and I put our heads together to try to make the food and party favors coordinate with our theme. So, we came up with lots of white foods for the snowy look (white chocolate Oreos, white chocolate covered pretzels, marshmallows, powdered sugar key lime cookies, and sandwiches), blue foods to symbolize the water(blue jello, blue polar blast drinks)and different kinds of goldfish since many Arctic animals eat fish. It was so much fun! Each friend went home with a snowman beach ball, polar bear bubbles, penguin stickers, two little polar animals, polar bear animal cookies, and a polar bear lollipop. Did I also mention that J LOVES the book, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Here are a few pics from the party.

Thank Goodness for Aunts

J's Aunt Steph came over to play with him last night. They played and played and played! J had the best time having his aunt play with all of his toys and show him all sorts of silly games.

Halloween-Past and Present

Halloween Fun

This year, J only got to wear his cute Halloween costume once and that was on Halloween night to go trick-or-treating & Trunk-or-Treat at our church. It was a fun-fiiled night of treats, seeing teachers, and spending time with friends. J loved it all!



Waiting in line at Trunk-or-Treat



J with his buddy, Gav, from MMO and church

What is that brewing???

J trick-or-treating with his neighborhood buddy, N-man

J making sure it is alright for him to take that lollipop...where does he get his sweetness from?? Dave and I never questioned if it was alright to take the candy! ;)

Random neighborhood lady who liked our little Buzz