Fun photos

Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came for a visit again this month to help out while Dave was on a week-long road trip. We love having them around, and they are such a big help. I don't think I took a single picture while they were here, so these are all courtesy of Dad.

One day we made it out to Bass Pro Shops, which if you haven't been, is great entertaiment for kids. Charlie loved the fish and all the stuffed animals.

Charlie seemed personally offended that someone else was looking at his fish, too. He even pushed the little boy out of the way, so I hope we don't have a bully on our hands.

Some thoughts on parenting

Wherever I go, I find myself looking at boys and men, and wondering if Charlie or Nate will be like them as they grow up. I see a high schooler with tattoos up his arm and hope my boys won’t do that. I see a college kid being respectful and calling everyone “Sir” and “Ma’am” and want to call his parents to find out what they did right. I read about a little boy suffering from a debilitating disease and think I would never be able to handle that if it were to happen to my boys.

None of these thoughts are bad, of course, but lately I’ve been feeling very convicted of my motivation behind my hopes and dreams for my sons. They mainly come out of pride and fear. I care too much about how people may judge me based on my sons’ actions. And I worry whether I can handle any bumps along this road called parenthood.

I have come to realize that my hope for my boys should be for their salvation and that their lives will glorify God. I should not worry about what other people think, and also not worry about my strength to handle challenges. God has blessed me with these two amazing boys, and he will equip me to do what’s needed. Throughout their lives, Charlie and Nathan will make mistakes and bad decisions (Lord knows I have), and we will face plenty of challenges as a family. But I choose to trust God’s ultimate plan for His glory. That He will protect my sons’ hearts for Himself, and He will give me the endurance and wisdom needed to raise them.

As we approach Easter season, we are reminded of a parent’s ultimate sacrifice, and how He did it because He loves us so much and desires closeness with all of us. Becoming a parent has opened my eyes to how much God really loves us. If I love Charlie and Nate this much, how much more does God love me.

More misc from Feb. & March

I told you I'd get caught up!


Blanket from Aunt Jane


Sip-n-see for Nathan


Charlie loves to "read" the paper and even shares it with his brother.



He climbed in all by himself and buckled himself.

Toddler Charlie

My dear, sweet, angelic Charlie. Man, is he a lot of fun these days. He gets so excited about everything and has the best smile in the world. He loves playing outside. He's starting to say so many words. Most of them sound very similar, but they are starting to differentiate more and more every day. He is finally over the flu which he had last week. Poor guy was in pretty bad shape for a couple days, but he is all about the snuggles when he's sick, so I loved all the extra cuddle time. We're thankful Nathan didn't catch it.

He loves his little brother more than anything. Sometimes a little too much. We often have to play referee to keep Charlie from laying on top of him or hitting him because Charlie just gets so excited about him. "BAY-bee! BAY-bee! BAY-bee!"

Charlie is such a joy, and a great big brother. I love hanging out with him. Except when there's this:




Welcome to the terrible twos. I've decided they started at 18 months.

Sue and Macy's visit

Misc. from February

Smiley

I am very, very behind on blogging, and hopefully I'll catch up soon. But in the meantime I had to make sure I shared Nathan's smile with you. He's been smiling maybe a couple weeks now, and is usually pretty generous with them. I think he has the best smile ever!