Protein Shake Part 2

So it was brought to my attention by one of my friends that the last post might have sounded a little unthankful? Not my intention. It was just a funny moment with my husband. We are def thankful for all the many conveniences the Lord has blessed us with. I have def thought of all the many people out there without refrigerators, etc... over the last couple of days and as I am home with Griffin each day enjoying my wonderful, cozy house I think of these people quite often and so many others who do not share in these luxuries. We are tremenddously thankful for what we have. Sometimes I am feeling so thankful for these earthly things that I am convicted about not being more thankful for what really matters-salvation through my belief in Christ and for God choosing me and changing my heart and enabling me to believe in Him. For grace.
Today I saw a homeless man riding his bike by my bank in the freezing cold. I thought to myself, after I prayed for him, would I be tough enough to live like that if that was the lot God gave me? Then the Lord gently said to my heart, "Haley I am sufficient for you. No matter what comes, you have all you truly need and I will not give you more than you can handle through me."Honestly, I also then thought, God has blessed Tyler and I with an amazing family and God gives me comfort in knowing they are there for us too. If we should ever become homeless, they will take us in, right? We will always have some place to go, right? My mind then came to the thought that, well no, maybe God wouldn't provide for us through them. Do I truly have this secure feeling that I am trying to tell myself I have? Nothing is set in stone. Who knows what God has planned and by what means we will be taken care of. It gives me great comfort, though, knowing that God knows what God has planned and it's perfect. And no matter whether I have a lovely home with running water and a nice fridge, I will always have the Lord. Always. YES!!!!! I praise Him for that and for that I am thankful.

Protein Shake

So our fridge went out while we were gone and so we are functioning without one for a few days while it gets fixed. We have a small cooler outside on the back porch containing milk, juice, and some of Griffin's leftover baby food. Then we are keeping other frozen food's such as ice cream in our deep freeze in the laundry room. All this to say, tonight Tyler decides he wants a snack. He then decides it will be a protein shake. He then realizes what a chore it's going to be to make this simple snack he loves. He decides to make fun of the situation so it won't seem so bad after a long, hard day of work. He jokes that first he must go into the cold laundry room to get the ice cream. He then must get the blender down. He then explains, "Now I will go open the back door and go out into the coldness of night to get the milk. I love going outside to get milk." He then must go back outside to put the milk back and back into the laundry room to return the ice cream. He then responded,"This shake better be good."

Shreveport, LA...home of a sweet baby girl named Eva

Enjoying their cool, hip house.
What a sweet Momma!
Griffin would have snatched that cute hair bow right off Court's head if I'd of let him.

While in east TX I had the pleasure of venturing off just a few more miles east over into the land of Louisiana to see my dear friend, Courtney, and her 2 1/2 month old baby girl, Eva. I got to see them in Oct. right after she was born and she has since grown so much. It was a treat to hold her and visit with her momma for a bit. Griffin loved Courtney's bow in her hair, as you can tell how he's staring at it and was just glad to see his friend, Eva. Thanks, Courtney and Eva for letting us come by for a visit! We wish we got to see y'all more!

Sneak Peek

cousins unite!! (Griffin & Landry)
She's 1 1/2 and was counting to five. No kidding.
Having fun with Uncle Blake..
My mom and dad...
Our nephew, Haddon, was playing with my dad...
Together again...cousins, sisters, whatever we are.....
Brothers....you can def tell they are brothers in this picture...

Making a birthday cake for Jesus.....Haddon was busy eating the sprinkles, Landry was trying to, Hudson was the lead decorator, and Griffin was the lead spectator....

Well we made it back from east Texas on Monday and I have to say that Griffin may be the best little traveler there is. He did so good on the plane rides to and from and also was quite the trooper in his car seat for the most part. We had such a fantastic time visiting my family and seeing old friends. Here are some quick pics for a sneak peek on our adventure east.

It is to be determined....

This is Griffin trying to grab the camera....preventing me from taking a decent picture of him while he watches tv....
This is the Griffin glare.
Mom, I'm trying watch tv....stop making me laugh...

He was really after that toy.....
Mom, why do I have this hat on right now? I'm not going outside...
Hmmm....what is this contraption?
I think I'll try to roll it...


So these are just some random pics of Griffin lately around and about. Our sweet friends Gary & D'Ann Wiley gave Griffin a little football for Christmas and so Tyler showed it to Griffin for the first time and he loved it. Will Griffin be a football player or MMA fighter? It is to be determined.....

I got Griffin a hat, finally, to keep his ears warm. I got it on clearance at JCPenney for $4! It is so cute on him. He likes it ok. Will Griffin enjoy wearing hats like his dad? It is to be determined......

Then one afternoon Griffin and I were just hanging out on the couch and so I turned on the tv. He likes to watch tv only when there is something that is very interesting to him on there. This day there was and it was so funny watching him glare at it. Will Griffin like to watch tv later? Hopefully not...but it is to be determined....

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! Rememeber to count your blessings this week. My dear friend, Karen, sent us the perfect Christmas card. It says "Simply Jesus" on it and then on the inside it reads "May your Christmas be a time to reflect on the simplicity of His birth and the magnitude of His purpose." I just loved that and it reminded me to cherish my Lord and Savior this season every day. I showed it to Tyler and he commented on how Jesus' birth was simple, yet magnificent as well. Merry Christmas, again, to all and to all a good day. :)

"......Call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

Avatar Movie Review

Over $200 million was spent on making the movie Avatar. It just came to the theater here in Clovis. There is even a 3D option. I love movies, but I haven’t seen this one yet. But, I just read a great review of the movie from a well-respected theologian, Russell Moore. Here’s the review:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2009/12/19/avatar-rambo-in-reverse/

If students or parents (or both) go to see this movie, I think it would be great to read this review and stir up some good family discussion or talk about it with your friends.

Teething, etc...

This week has been a different one. Griffin is so on again off again and unpredictable. He will get fussy real fast and then be totally happy the next minute. Tonight, everything was wrong. I could tell. He was so hungry at bed time, teething I'm pretty sure, and he had gas. So, he was not very happy about those things. I almost started crying because he was crying so hard. He never is like this and I am not used to him being this way, so I get upset right along with him because I just don't like him not feeling well. I gave him some gas medicine and feed him good and after that he played with Tyler for a little bit, happily, before we put him to bed.
We got through the day by the God's grace and he is now sleeping peacefully. The Lord is good.
Sometimes at the end of days like today, I feel such relief. Today was a day where I think to myself "Boy am I glad I just have one child right now". Then I saw on tv earlier today that the daughter of this couple who were murdered this summer is taking care of their nine adopted special needs children they left behind. NINE. I'll say it again, NINE. That's one more than Kate Goslin has and all nine have some kind of special needs. The Lord put this in my face for a reason today. He reminded me that He will not give me more than He will enable me to bear. I am thankful those nine children have someone to take care of them and if I were that sweet daughter I would hope I would be selfless enough to take that responsibilty on as well. She loves those kids. I pray that I will be a mother who selflessly takes care of her children, no matter how many, with great joy, because it's the occupation God has set before me, even on days, like today, where nothing is normal. Thank You Lord for sweet little Griffin. I pray he will feel better tomorrow and that even if it's the same as today that I will be the loving and tender mother you want me to be.

Guitar player, warmer weather, and play time with Ali

Wow! This is fun! Mom, can I play with Ali more often??


Daddy, are you really going to let me touch it????
OK, well then I will!




The other night Tyler decided it was time for Griffin to really experience the guitar for himself, so he let Griffin touch and play with it. Griffin loved it! It was so funny. He actually strung it once or twice! He got so excited. He loves anything new. But I think he's been wanting to get his little hands on it since the first time Tyler played for him.

Yesterday was a really nice day outside. It was about 55 or 60 degrees which may seem cold to some of you east Texans, but here in NM that is warm compared to our usual 20-40 degree weather we have in the winter. So we let Griffin sit outside for a bit and look at the our trees and the cars drive by. We also headed over to some friends for a college graduation party for our sweet friend, Lauren. I didn't get any pictures with Lauren, unfortunately, but Griffin had some play time with her sister, Ali.
Dear Ali,
Thanks for playing with me yesterday at your house. You have very pretty hair that was fun to grab and hold onto. I will play with you again sometime soon when Mommy takes me to see you.
Love, Griffin

Tortured For Christ

Tyler and I have been reading this book called "Tortured For Christ" together over the past several months. It has been so rewarding to do this together. Granted we don't always put the effort into going to bed earlier so we can read it together, and sometimes there have been weeks we have skipped altogether, but we are trying to make it a priority to do this. When we do do it, it is such a learning time and blessing from the Lord. Two things: 1) if you have never read a book with your spouse, I would recommend doing so. Even if it takes months to do, set time aside each night to read together. 2) I would recommend reading this book, "Tortured for Christ".

This book will really shake you up and open your eyes to many different things. It is about a man who, because of his faith in Christ, was imprisoned in a Romania prison for years and years and who was tortured all those years by the Communists party. They tortured him because they wanted him to denounce his faith. He never did. Read it to find out what happened to him. You can get it for FREE at this website:
http://www.torturedforchrist.com/

It has taught me a lot about Communism and the underground church in Communists nations. Believers in these countries suffer greatly and because of that have so much character, perseverance, hope, and faith in the one true, Almighty God. It is such an amazing story and has caused Tyler and I to appreciate the country we live in even more and to discuss what we can do to help these suffering believers all over the world. It has caused us to ask ourselves: would we be willing to suffer like this for the sake of the gospel? Would we give up all we have here in this materialistic culture to go to a world where you could die for just believing? We pray that God takes us wherever He will and that His perfect will will be done in our lives, whether that means suffering greatly or being comfortable and secure the rest of our lives.

Just having fun....

Took these yesterday because I just love Griffin in yellow. He had just finished breakfast and was in such a happy mood, which he usually always is anyways, but I think he is understanding now that when I have the camera in front of him that he is suppose to smile. I just love these because they capture his sweetness and happiness. I am so thankful that he is such a happy baby. He loves to smile and laugh. I pray God will use him to bring as much sunshine into other peoples lives someday as he already has into ours. He is my butterball. He is my best friend, besides Tyler of course, and I just love, love, love him!

ps. added the one of his toes because his feet are growing and he just had cute feet.

Reading already?

I have been reading to Griffin his whole existence. From the womb he heard all the novels I read to my students last year and now he hears me read all his books and even my own to him. Lately, after I read a book to him I will let him hold it and he will start talking as he stares at it. It's so funny. It's like he is trying to read and he's copying me. I love it. So the other day after I read him Toy Story I gave it to him and he played with it for forever. I am hoping this means he will have a love for books like his Daddy and me. Someday Griffin will read to us (Lord willing). That is so neat to think about.

Video from Matt Chandler

Please, please, please check out this video of Matt Chandler. He is the pastor of a church in Dallas called The Village Church. This is his response after finding out he has a tumor in his head.



Video from Matt

How Hard is it to Get to Heaven? (Mark 10:17-31)

How Hard is it to Get to Heaven? (Mark 10:17-31) from Tyler Hicks on Vimeo.

Questions for discussion for parents and teens:
1. Can you earn favor with God? Why can't you be good enough for God?
2. What are you trying to fill the God-sized emptiness in your soul with? (what are you building your identity on?)
3. What will it take for you to be free from being controlled by something other than God?

Snow & Bananas

Let Griffin sit on a raincoat out in the snow yesterday for a bit. We still have some snow that hasn't melted in our yard today. He also enjoyed practicing feeding himself some bananas yesterday morning. I think he got one piece in his mouth and the rest were all over him. We will keep practicing. :)

Covered in white

I knew it was suppose to snow the night before last, so yesterday morning before I went to get Griffin out of bed I peeked out our bedroom window to see if the prediction came about. Sure enough it did and boy was I excited about it. I love snow. The only person I know who doesn't is my mom and that's only because with snow comes really cold weather and she's not big on really cold weather. Anyways, it snowed all day long and is still snowing this morning! I bundled Griffin up so we could go stand in the open garage and look at the snow while we waved bye to Tyler as he left for work. Griffin didn't know what to think about all that white stuff. He just stared. We couldn't stay out there long before we got too cold and came back inside to our warm, cozy house.
I know it will all melt soon, because snow doesn't stay around too long in Clovis, unfortunately, so I'm going to try to enjoy it while it lasts. Thank You, Lord for washing me and making me white as snow and I thank You for Your love that lasts forever and is always constant. Help us to love you the way you love us and let us love others this Christmas season and consider them better than ourselves. Thank you for the gift of snowy days here in Clovis.

7 months

Happy 7 months Griffin!
Today Griffin is 7 months old. Some of his accomplishments include:
-sitting up unassisted
-doing rolls
-grasping anything and everything
-holding and sorta drinking from a sippy cup
-going to bed at 8:30 pm, waking up at 7:30 or 8:00 am
-practicing crawling
-I would say he weighs 17 lbs now, since he weighed 16 lbs a month ago, but not sure.
-wearing 6-9 month or 9-12 month clothes and a 3 diaper
-eating fruits, veggies, and rice cereal, and still nursing 4 times a day
-talking all the time (working on MaMa and DaDa)

Griffin, we love you so much! You are so much fun and a joy to watch grow. You are God's sweet gift to us and we look forward to every month ahead with you.
Love, Dad and Mom

The way to go

Tyler and I have come to realize this year that shopping online is the way to go! We have made all of our purchases online except one. As Tyler put it: "No parking, no walking around looking for hours, no lines...this is the way to go." We found that there is so much more available online too. So we say try it if you haven't. Happy shopping!