Yearly Verse

So I have gone back and forth over which verse to choose for 2013. But I finally landed on Genesis 16:13 which says, "She (Hagar) gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

If you aren't familiar with the story of Sarah and Hagar, then read the devotional below courtesy of thehighcalling.org.

Hagar is my unlikely daily-life heroine. Why? Because she encounters God in the midst of a terrible day. Probably the worst day of her life.
A little background: God promises Abram an heir; but as years tick by, no heir appears. Abram's wife Sarai takes matters into her own hands by offering her maidservant Hagar to him. She conceives, only to find Sarai horribly jealous. The Scripture says, "So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence" (Genesis 16:6).
Hagar embodies her name, which means flight. She flees.
In the wilderness, hopeless, Hagar, encounters the angel of the Lord. He encourages her, gives her direction. At the end of her conversation, she gives God a name—El Roi, the God Who Sees. Hagar is the only person in Scripture to name God.
It's this characteristic of God—His all-seeing ways—that we who work and play and parent must understand and believe.

• When we struggle to maintain a healthy work schedule despite numerous pressures, God sees.
• When we attempt to potty-train our three-year-old for the umpteenth time, having given up on M & Ms, begging, and tears, God sees.
• When we feel like Hagar, tempted to flee our circumstances, God sees.
• When we do the right thing, though everyone else rails against us, God sees.
• When our spouse injures us, yet we love and forgive, God sees.

There is no place God can't see. There is no situation He cannot discern. He sees it all. Scripture attests to this beautifully:

• He sees every workplace, every family. "For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens" (Job 28:24).
• He sees everyone's actions—even those who wrong us. "For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps" (Job 34:21).
• He sees every person's heart and even understands why we live the way we do. "The Lord looks from heaven; he sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He look out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works" (Psalm 33: 13-15).
• He sees what we've hidden and is especially fond of rewarding what we've done for Him secretly. "Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:4).
• He searches for us, giving us strength when we surrender every aspect of our lives to Him (family, job, friendships, recreation). "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His" (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Hagar may be an unlikely heroine—having fled difficult circumstances instead of facing them—but therein lies the serendipitous beauty of God. God sees our own frailty. He meets us as we flee. God gives us hope, encouragement, and his presence so we can meet the challenges and privileges of the workaday world.

Wow! What a great reminder!!!

Don't you need to be reminded every single day that God sees YOU? Do you ever feel lonely, exhausted, unappreciated, overlooked? Do you ever feel like your monotonous life isn't having eternal significance? Do you ever feel sad, anxious, or guilty? Of course you do. We all do. But the truth is, GOD SEES US! He sees everything we do...every diaper changed, every minute up in the middle of the night with a baby, every snack fixed, every work day worked, every countertop wiped, every bath given, every shirt ironed, every trip to Walmart, etc...

Nothing is overlooked. 

That's why we can do all things unto the Lord. Change those diapers unto the Lord. Go to Walmart unto the Lord. Fix those snacks unto the Lord. Bath those babies unto the Lord.

Knowing this year ahead holds lots of work and lots of busyness for me, a mother of three kiddos under four years old, I thought this verse would be a great one to cling to. God sees me. God loves me. God is with me. Going to cling to his PEACE and his PRESENCE. Excited for the year ahead!!!

Happy Happy New Year, dear friends! May this year be your best one yet!

 

First week home

We have been soaking up every minute with sweet baby Emerson this week. Joel and my mom waited on my hand and foot during my recovery, and Emerson is busy eating and sleeping and eating and sleeping. I am convinced Christmas is the absolute best time to have a baby!

Her first monthly picture next to the lamb. 

 

Big Bro had to jump in on the photo shoot.

Who doesn't love a paci faced baby? She turns me to mush.

Fed her her first bottle a couple of nights ago. Look at that hair of hers. Love it.

 

Her first Christmas morning. She snoozed the entire day away :)

All these babies are mine? Goodness gracias. What did I ever do without them? They are my heart split three ways. Absolute treasures. 

Christmas morning was filled with awesome presents, giggles, squeals, ripping wrapping paper, eating cinnamon rolls, and fun, fun, fun!

The most memorable, sweet Christmas morning in all my 28 years. I will treasure that morning forever.

 

Christmas chaos

More superhero costumes from BB and Pawpaw. Bahahaha! We are not for a lack of personality around here.

And the BIG present....a trampoline!!! Yes, it's in our garage because it rained Christmas morning and we didn't want the boys to miss out on jumping right away. They loooove it!

 

Captain America....hee hee.

 

Emerson all dressed and ready to go to Hernando. This was my first Christmas dress made by my Aunt Jane. Sweetness.

The Stork just keeps coming!

December 21, 2012...What a blessed day! After months of anticipation, Joel and I went in at 5:00am for my scheduled induction, and after an IV of pitocin, I was ready to have this sweet baby girl by lunch. At 11:38, I started pushing, and at 11:48, our sweet baby girl entered the world! Considering my epidural didn't take full effect, it was by far my most painful birth but has been my easiest recovery. We are home now and loving having all our birds in one nest.

 Our Christmas angel just minutes after birth. 8lbs. 15oz. 20 1/2 inches. Oh how we love her! Praise God for a healthy baby and a safe delivery.

My parents brought the boys up about 30 minutes after she was born, and of course Emerson had a present or two for them :) Special moment as we all climbed in the bed together as a family of five.

 

All cleaned up.

  

BB getting some love.

Charlie Emerson and Charlie Emerson. Proud Pawpaw.

Looks just like my boys at birth. Love those chubby cheeks.

 

And the happiest one of us all. He loves that baby girl...best Christmas present ever.

Heading home in the gown I wore home from the hospital 29 years ago. It was made by my Aunt Jane. 

Big Homecoming! Big brothers excited to welcome home Mama and Baby Emerson.

So much to be thankful for. To God be the glory for this indescribable gift!

Merry Merry Christmas!

Merry Merry!

Sweet cousins...couldn't you just take them all home with you? This was for my mom's Christmas card. Love it. Next year this picture will have seven kids in it! Now that is going to be a feat!

 

We decorated gingerbread houses this week. The final products were priceless. Lots of fun and lots of sugar consumption. Definitely going to be a yearly event.

 

This is soooo up Carter's ally. He loves craftiness.

 

Last belly pic! Baby Emerson will be here THIS week! I go in Thursday night at midnight for an induction. Eeeeeeee!!!! Last weekend as a family of four, and we are soaking up every minute of it. Can you believe how huge my belly is?! I mean it is freakishly big. You should see the stares I get out in public. Ha! Baby girl is gonna be a big just like my boys :) Five days til we meet her!

Early morning snuggles with my buddy.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the Christmas crafts the boys bring home. Look at his ornament...absolutely the cutest ornament I have ever received.  I will keep it forever.

Dada took us for a warm treat after our attempt at ice skating on the square. Ice skating was a failure, but the warm treats were a hit!

And of course there MUST be Christmas cookie baking! We made a huge mess of the kitchen and had a ball.

Look what my uncles gave my boys for Christmas. Merry Merry!!!! I am just as excited to give to them as they will be to receive them. Thanks, Uncle Scott and Uncle Hull!

 

Coop loves Santa. As soon as he spotted him on the square he lunged into his arms and proceeded to converse about giant candy canes and toys. Love this picture and love this season!

Anticipation and some thoughts

Hello out there! 

Are things crazy around your house too?

Crazy would be an understatement at this point in my life, and this sweet baby girl hasn't even made her appearance yet. Can you imagine what it will be like in 11 days after she gets here? Crazy on a whole new level!

Yes, that's right. Only 11 days left...or less if I go into labor before my induction. Cannot wait to meet sweet Emerson. 

Seems like we are participating in a Christmas activity daily which I love! And so do the boys. But Christmas on top of this gigantic belly and my children acting bizarre lately...phew...it's a lot.

I think they are sensing the baby's arrival and anticipating the change on top of just being brothers and bickering and whining and all the normal things kids do. 

I am just tired. Not complaining because I have such a blessed reason to be tired. I get to carry this precious baby. But the reality is by the time you reach 37 1/2 weeks, you are tired. Sleep is skimpy, reflux is in full force, and simply getting up off the couch is like running a marathon. 

Last weeks' ultrasound said she is measuring 7lbs. 5oz. which comes out to 39 weeks in size. We have a big one on our hands! The ultrasound tech said she has a full head of hair too. Dying to see for myself. 

I love all our Christmas decorations in our new house. And a good thing happened...three strands of lights went out on our prelit 7ft tree which means I get to chunk this joker and either get a new one that's 9 feet tall or start the tradition of picking out a real one each year with our children. Yay!

We have lots of fun presents under the tree, and Joel keeps telling me how much I am going to love my present from him...hmmm..I think I might know what it is. So much anticipation on so many levels around here.

Carter asks daily if it's Christmas morning, and has told me multiple times what he picked me out for Christmas...hee hee. Sweet boy cannot keep a secret. He also told Joel and my mom what he picked out for them. It's just too exciting to hold inside. 

So thankful for my crazy life. 

Come on, sweet baby girl! Make your appearance tonight! We shall see :)....

Tis the Season

 

I. Love. Christmas. Everything about it...the tree, the lights, the stockings, the baking, the parties, the worship, the advent devotionals, etc... Absolutely the most wonderful time of the year. I find myself having a little more pep in my step this time of year. And even more joyous this year is that Baby Girl will be here any day now! I am 37 weeks Friday...cannot believe it. We have been soaking up all the fun around Oxford, baking at home, listening to Christmas carols, watching Christmas cartoons, and simply soaking up every ounce of the season. It's fun to be so full of anticipation...anticipation for Christmas morning and anticipation for Emerson's arrival. We might just burst from all the excitement around here.

Superhero faces from these two. As long as I live, I will never forget how animated Coop has been as a two year old. His face says it all. He has a facial reaction to just about everything that happens to him. It's one of his best qualities. My little animated buddy.

BB entered the fort last night and told a story about two bunnies and a frog. Only BB would be such a sport! These boys are so blessed.

 

I can't handle the cuteness. 

I got Emerson a Christmasy gown. Can't wait to put her in front of the tree and snap a few of her on her first Christmas morning. Dying to meet this little girl!!! That's the understatement of the century!

 

This guy might possibly love Christmas more than his mama. He has been on cloud nine since the moment we brought down the tree. He is wide eyed and full of child-like wonder. Makes it all so special. I am soaking up these few Christmases I have with wide eyed, unashamedly excited kids. Priceless times and memories.

 

I have no idea what he's thinking here, but I didn't think they were supposed to look at you like this for years. "Mother, put that camera up, and get a life!" Haha!

I am so bummed this pic turned out blurry!!! Ugh. Joel and I had a little getaway last weekend. So much fun. Why don't we do that more often?? Oh yeah...because we have kids. Ha! BB and PawPaw came to our aid as usual and kept the boys for us to have a quick weekend getaway to Memphis where we ate, slept, and did some fun Christmas shopping. So thankful for my Hub and loved having him all to myself! Isn't he such a sport to sit on Santa's lap to appease his wife? A sweetheart.

Fly came back this year! And he is up to all sorts of craziness. Here he is reading the Bible to some friends. He's a mischievous one, I tell you! 

 

Sweet baby boy...He is asking Santa for candy canes for Christmas. (P.S. We got them a trampoline...I am about to burst having to wait until Dec. 25th to give it to them! Gonna be a Christmas morning for the history books.) I think he will be pleasantly surprised to see that Santa bypassed the candy canes for a trampoline!