Lovin This Weather

The weather has been gorgeous since Saturday and we are just praying that it stays this way for a long time.  Summer for us is like winter for most people.  We stay inside in the air conditioning and only get out in the early mornings or evenings.  The bugs are so bad in the evenings sometimes we even stay in during that time too.  We have been in much need to get out and play.  We are not inside folks.  We are happiest when our bare feet are in the grass or sand and when we can breath some nice fresh air.  This time of year we have picnics outside, spend more time at the beach, and more time at the park and Children's Garden.  So glad the nice weather is here.  The boys are much happier when outside as well.  Now lets go out and play!

Baron is Walking

Baron is almost 14.5 months old and now walking more than he is crawling.  I can't believe my baby boy is walking!  He was not in a big hurry to walk it seemed, but you can tell that he is very happy and proud of himself when he does.  His world and our world are both about to change.  I was excited for him to start walking, but in my heart a little sad as well.  My baby boy Baron is getting so big! Tonight, he was taking a shower with Oakley and decided he was all finished and walked wet and naked to me in the living room.  It was so cute.  He is such a joy to us and we love him so much.  Here is some pictures of him lately taking his steps.

So happy to be walking now!

He walks like a monster.  It is so adorable.

Baron is a Big Boy!

Now that he is walking all he wants to do is play with Oakley and his big boy friends.  Here he is playing in the sand at the Children's Garden with Forrest, Oakley, and Oliver.

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Friends

Around ten years ago when I left home to go to college a few weeks before some of the most memorable years of my life were to begin I was with my new team mates in the Pisgah National Forest taking a dip into the French Broad River.  Our coach would take us up into the moutains to go swimming and hiking.  He felt strongly about us being close and having fun together off the field.  I remember wearing my favorite burgundy chaco sandals and noticing a girl on the team had an exact pair like them.  Seemed elementary of me to think this, but I thought she must be cool to have the same shoes as me. (lol).  As we swam in the chilled clean and clear water I pulled myself up on the rocks to take in all that was happening around me.  I felt alone and was homesick, but excited about the times to come.  Some of my new team mates were even farther away from home than me.  It made me feel grateful to live only 4.5 hours from home and if I had too I could drive down the mountain back home before season started.  As I'm sitting there a new transfer from VT on the team came up to me and starting talking with me.  She was full of life and energy.  From the small bit of observation you could tell she loved life and was a happy and fun gal.   I always gravitated to people like this in hopes that I could be more like them I guess.  She picks up a medium sized rock and says, "listen to this".  She throws the rock up into the air and then it falls heavily down into the river making a loud and funny sound.  She says, "thats an elephant fart".  We both laughed.  I was in need of some good laughter over something childish and silly like this.  I knew from right then on that we would be friends.  I know its silly, but sometimes you just know when you have a certain connection to someone.  Chacos and elephant farts were only the beginning.   The season turned into seasons that we got to play soccer together.  We went on our ways trying to follow the path that God had paved for us.  Meg accepted Christ into her heart during these precious years and her faith and love for Christ grew so much.  We both married our college sweethearts and in my heart deep down hoped and prayed that we would one day get to laugh like that again together.  Meg and Jeff lived in Kentucky for a while before they moved to Arcadia, FL.  John and I lived in Rockford, IL until I finished school.  We then moved to Bradenton, FL for me to attend an internship to receive my licensure and registration as a dietitian.  We were a hour from each other now.  We were very thankful and excited to be so close.  Busy lives with work and such made it challenging for our families to get together.  We were thankful to only be a hour from each other, but it was more than a tease than anything.  Then about seven months ago my husband told me that Meg and Jeff were moving to Sarasota.  I couldn't believe it.  Jeff had not yet told Meg in hopes to help her maintain composure while he figured out the details.  I couldn't believe it.  I was so excited and couldn't even talk to my best friend about it.  Once Meg knew they were moving we then talked about how great it would be and were counting down the days till the move.  I couldn't be more blessed to have one of my best friends from college back in my life.  She has not only motivated me to make time for myself and get back into the gym, but she has made being away from family (once again) a little easier by being such a genuine friend. Our friendship makes me stronger when that feeling of homesickness that is so familiar sets in.  She is a friend that I can pray with and study God's word with.  I am so blessed to have her back in my life.  Our children are laughing and playing together and it is a joy to our hearts to see this.  We sometimes doubted that our paths may never cross again, but thankfully my prayer was answered.  Thank you Lord for my friend Meg.   I'm so glad that I get to share these special moments with her.  I pray that I can be what she needs from me as a friend.  I pray that I will never take our friendship for granted.  Here are a few pictures of Sommer and Oakley playing together today. 

We Are Back

It has been a very long time since I have blogged.  I am sad looking at the past post and knowing I have a huge gap of time lost here.  It has been extremely hard for me to take the time to blog, but my goal is to get back to it and start up again.  The boys have changed so much since the last time I blogged.  I started to get teary eyed looking at the previous posts and realizing again how much they have grown so quickly.  This week my family is visiting and we have had a blast so far.  We are all staying out at Siesta Key and having so much fun.  The weather is beautiful and the ocean is perfect.  I can't believe we live here.  It is paradise.  Baron is starting to take a few steps here and there.  He also loves the water and is fearless of it.  Oakley is learning to boogie board and enjoying time with my mom (Mommaw Judy), my cousin Bruce, and my Aunt Linda.    We miss family so much and take in every minute to the fullest when they are here.  I have decided to do nothing in our normal rythym of our week and instead spend every minute with them. 

I could go on forever because I feel that I have so much to share, but in the meantime here are some pictures of the boys the last few days. 

Oakley 3.5 years old learning to boogie board

Oakley has turned into a big boy.  It amazes me how fast they grow up.

Baron loves the beach.  He is 14 months old here.

Oakley with his friend Sommer.

Oakley and Aunt Linda walking on the sand-bar together.

Crafting With Oakley

The other day I became inspired after reading Snip and Snail, a blog I read frequently by Laura Gilkey.  She has two boys and is always doing fun things with them.  After reading about her recent art project with her boys I wanted to do the same with Oakley.  We painted with watercolors outside and let the leaves dry made out of coffee filters on the clothesline.  The next day we cut out our tree and leaves then taped it to our living room window.  Every morning we lift up the blinds and see the tree we created then we talk about the fun things Autumn brings.  This was something we will definately be doing again!

We Welcome Autumn

The boys are feeling better so we are back into the grind of things.  We are very happy that Autumn is finally here and the weather has changed a bit for the better too.  With a bit of nip in the air we are enjoying being outside more and so we went to the Children's Garden twice this past week, to the beach Friday night, and this morning to Marina Jack's for a nice bike ride.  This is my favorite time of the year not only because of the great weather, but I love all the festivities that come with the season.  I'm really looking forward to taking the boys to the pumpkin and fall festivals.  We will also be able to take them to the apple orchard this year up in Illinois when we visit Grandpa and Grandma in a couple of weeks.  I am hoping Oakley will be able to pick some apples and also pick out a nice pumpkin. 

Oakley and Baron are getting so big.  The other day we were going to the garden and I went to put Oakley's tennis shoes on and I had the hardest time getting them on.  I was really shocked because I felt like we just bought him his shoes, but sure enough when I felt of his toes they were all the way at the end of his shoes.  We found a nice pair of Chuck Taylor's on clearance at the outlet mall for him and he just loves him.  He wanted the pink glitter shoes, but we compromised with the brown ones with neon green laces.  I've never seen a boy like shoes so much!  Check out the picture below of him trying on his heels at the playgroup.  He is so funny.  Baron is smiling more and more. He is such a happy baby.  He will just sit and play with his hands which he newly discovered.  It is fun watching them discover new things and go through each stage, but it is all happening way to fast. 

Pictures of us lately:

Eyes are still blue like mommies.

My new favorite picture of Baron.  He is so handsome.



Discovering his hands.



Trying on some blue heels at the Woodland Church Playgroup.

Taking a walk with the boys.



Mr. Serious about his riding.



Our sweet neighbor Kaleb and Oakley in the bull dozer.

Baron Smiling at almost 10 weeks old.

Riding his bike at Marina Jack's Park.

Sporting his new shoes.

Oakley playing on the pirate ship at the Children's Garden.

Carrying Oak on the front and Baron on my back.

Praying for our Boys

It has been a little while since I last wrote.  We haven't been that busy, but Oakley has recently been sick with a mild fever  and some congestion.  We have been treating him with lots of TLC and homeopathics.  We pray that he will be back to his very spirited self soon.  As we lay low in our home I've had more time to pray and read from God's word.  I receive a monthly newsletter from our former church in Illinois and the main topic this month was the "31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for your Kids".  I have really enjoyed reading the scriptures and praying specifically for these virtures for Oakley and Baron.  I thought I would begin praying specifically on one virtue per month and studying the scripture with it the entire month as well during my quite time with the Lord.  It can be hard just praying for one at a time because they all are desires of my heart for our boys, but I'm hoping if I focus on just one I can also work on teaching these virtues to our boys by leading by example in my own life.  I have cut and pasted these virtues to share with you.  I hope they bless you and your family. 

31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for your Kids:

1.Salvation. "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they mayb obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." (Isaiah 45:8, 2Timothy 2:10).
2.Growth in grace. "I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2Peter 3:18).
3.Love. "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them"(Galatians 5:25, Ephesians 5:2).
4. Honesty and integrity. "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21).
5. Self-control. "Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do" (1Thessalonians 5:6).
6.Love for God's Word. "May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb" (Psalm 19:10).
7.Justice. "God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do" (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).
8.Mercy. "May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36)
9.Respect (for self, others, authority). "Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands"(1Peter 2:17).
10.Biblical self-esteem. "Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:10).
11.Faithfulness. "Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Proverbs 3:3).
12.Courage. "May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions" (Deuternonomy 31:6).
13.Purity. "Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Psalm 51:10).
14.Kindness. "Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else" (1Thessalonians 5:15).
15.Generosity. "Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age" (1Timothy 6:28-29).
16.Peace-loving. "Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace" (Romans 14:19).
17.Joy. "May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" (1Thessalonians 1:6).
18.Perseverance. "Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them" (Hebrews 12:1).
19.Humility. "God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all" (Titus 3:2).
20.Compassion. "Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion" (Colossians 3:12).
21.Responsibility. "Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each should carry his own load" (Galatians 6:5).
22.Contentment. "Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength"(Philippians 4:12-13).
23.Faith. "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them"(Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40).
24.A servant's heart. "God, please help my children develop servants' hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men" (Ephesians 6:7).
25.Hope. "May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).
26.Willingness and ability to work. "Teach my children,Lord, to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23).
27.Passion for God. "Lord, please instill in my children a soul that 'followeth hard after thee'(Psalm 63:8, KJV), one that clings passionately to you."
28.Self-discipline. "Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair" (Proverbs 1:3).
29.Prayerfulness. "Grant, Lord, that y children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Ephesians 6:18).
30.Gratitude. "Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfullness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 2:7).
31.A heart for missions. "Lord, please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples" (Psalm 96:3).

By: Bob Hostetler
www.praymag.com