Griffin is my name, playing is my game...

Happy when I'm playing.....
He loves to stand up at this table that my mom and dad got him for Christmas.
He focuses real hard sometimes on what he's playing with.
Playing with my books!
This book is so interesting....I must grab it...

Nowadays Griffin's favorite thing to do is to just play. Now I know that for the most part, the next several years of his life will consist of playing all the time, which we are so excited about getting to play with him and teach him things. Here are just a few shots of some of his favorite things he presently likes to plat with.

Outside

After the walk....
Before the walk....




Well we have had a touch of cabin fever since not leaving the house at all yesterday so we decided it was best to get bundled up and venture outdoors into the snowy wonderland of our neighborhood. I'm pretty sure there are parts of our yard where the snow is so deep that I could possibly make a snow tunnel, but having an 8 month old hinders my capability of doing so.
We had such a sweet time walking down our street and even stopped by our friend, Anne's (a sweet lady in our church) house to say hello. Griffin was a little blinded by the fierce landscape of white as we first stepped out on the front porch but he soon found it wasn't so bad getting to be outside for a change. Next year he'll really get to get down and dirty in all the snow and help us build some snow tunnels and snowmen. He was already tired before we went because he didn't sleep much during his morning nap, so by the time we got back to the house he was out cold-no pun intended. We are thankful, as one of our friend's pointed out, that we are safe, have food and a warm house to go back into, and that it was just a snow storm yesterday and not an earthquake.

Snow & Thunder

Griffin experienced his first encounter with thunder this morning and I experienced my first encounter with thunder while it was snowing. It was so funny. Griffin launched his head around and looked at the window real fast. He didn't know what had just happened but knew it was something to be excited about. Not sure how many inches we've gotten so far but it's still snowing away....

Snow Snow Snow!

Snow storm coming here in Clovis....How many inches will it be?? We'll soon find out my friends....

Hmmm..do I look like my Dad did at this age?

Griffin 8 months old


Tyler I'm guessing around 9 months old

Kelsie, my first friend...

They both did not like the idea of sitting in my lap together. I, on the other hand, just loved having two sweet babies to hold all at once.
Is she really playing with MY TOY? (Griffin is actually crying because he wanted me to hold him)
Two cutie-pa-tooties...

Hmmm...I think I'll put my hand on your shoulder...

This is Kelsie Roberson. She is just two weeks older than Griffin and is Griffin's first friend. Her sweet mother, Julie, came over with Kelsey last week and I think we, the mothers, have more fun watching them play and interact than they do! It's such a treat and we had such a fun time with them. We actually just got back from their house earlier where we had another play date. Hopefully we can do this every week now that the weather has warmed up a bit.
Dear Kelsie,
You make me smile. I like to try to put your toes in my mouth. Hopefully I will start crawling soon so I can chase you better. I am trying my best to learn how, please be patient. :) I am glad that our moms are friends, because that means we get to be friends too! Thanks for being my friend.
Love,
Griffin

Standing

Griffin loves to stand now.

Nothing is impossible....

WITH GOD. Please go here and read the latest post on my sweet friend Emily's blog. You'll be blessed!

Sickness and motherhood

All you mothers out there, ever been sick while your husband is also sick? Man. That's all I can say right now. Man oh man. The last fews days I do not know how I have survived. Only the Lord knows. He has given me the strength and the help from dear friends that we so desperately needed. I am feeling somewhat better right now, but as I type, my hands feel weak, so I will make this short. Life is tough when you're sick and you have an 8 month old baby and a sick husband who needs your attention as well. We aren't sure how this pesty sickness sneaked into our household, but I am def going to do all I can to get it out and keep it away. Please pray for us as we recover and get better.

Help Haiti

Watch the news lately? I have. I feel like it's 911 all over again to some degree. It has been causing much sadness in my heart. I feel so helpless. Do you? Well, we can help! You can give using this website here (Thanks April and Jerod for directing us here from y'all's blog!)
or there are tons of other places you can give from internet sites. Most of all, pray for these people. Pray for the missionaries that are still possibly there. Pray for wisdom for the leaders of Haiti and that God would bless this country with, not only prosperity and freedom, but with an outbreak of freedom found in Jesus Christ. I saw a worship service on the news yesterday by a group of Haitians just standing around. It made me so happy that some of them can still have hope in the midst of suffering and be joyful in the Lord despite their afflictions. Praise God! I only pray that the people of Haiti will turn to Jesus in this horrible situation and will see that they can cast their burdens upon the Lord.

Big Truths for Young Hearts

I've been reading this book to Griffin while he plays sometimes- Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce A. Ware. I purchased this book after Tyler had showed it to me on Amazon awhile back and although it is suppose to be used to teach your children about the greatness of God, it has been teaching me so much as an adult about the greatness of God. What an amazing writer and thinker Bruce Ware is! He is strictly biblical and so easy to read as he explains big truths. This book began as Ware began to do what he loved most and what his two small daughters (who are grown now) needed most at their early ages- teaching them great and glorious truths of the Christian faith. He started doing this at their bed time each night and one of his daughters thought the name "Bedside Theology" would be a good name for this book, recalling all the many bedside theology talks she had with her dad growing up. He explains all of this in the intro to the book, which I found so encouraging as a new parent. Sometimes it's scary to think that you, as the parent, have this responsibility to teach your children about God and his word. Some people think that it's the churches responsibility, but I would disagree. It is first and foremost the parents responsibility. This can be overwhelming to me at times. This book has helped me realize how exciting it is, though, and how much fun it will be to have these talks with Griffin someday and even tell him biblical truths now. This book is so helpful. It has "questions for thought" and a memory verse at the end of each section. Anyways, if you are looking for a great book to help you think about and start teaching your children big truths about God and his greatness, I passionately recommend this one in particular. Happy teaching!

You can get it on amazon for $10.87 right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Truths-Young-Hearts-Greatness/dp/1433506017/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263365357&sr=1-1

For our families...

practicing his crawling...


Our friend, Janna, came for lunch Thurs. and Griffin loves her so much!
Tyler's brother, Mitch, got Griffin this Texas Tech outfit for Christmas...

Yes I am putting more pictures of Griffin on here. Why? Because I know our families love to see them. So here are just some random ones I've taken the last few days. Griffin is just in this really neat stage where I can't stop taking pictures of him. I love this 8 month stage! It has been so much fun!

The last few days....

I put him in the laundry basket just for fun today....he really didn't know what to think...
Mom, what am I doing in here?


Daddy time....
He loves to grab our noses and ears...
Will I walk before I crawl? Hopefully not....
I loved this little outfit on him...MeeMaw and Papa got it for him.
The last fews days have been so much fun! I forget how wonderful it is to just be at home and play with Griffin all day when we are traveling and gone for so long. I do love sharing him with family and friends, but getting him all to myself every day is so much fun! He is at this stage where all he wants to do it play, play, and play some more! He is loving all his new toys and loves to just sit with me and sing or be tickled, or lie down with me on the floor and roll around and be silly. He loves when I dance really silly for him and loves for Tyler to make animal noises, especially the monkey one. Anyways, all that to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last few days just enjoying this 8 month old stage he is in. I am going to try to enjoy every day to fullest with him cause I know he won't always be a sweet little baby.

Christmas in east Texas

Hanging out where he never gets to, on Naunie's bed.
Tyler and I got to go on our first date since Griffin was born. This is us right before we left. We were so excited! We went to see Sherlock Holmes and then ate at IHOP. We did miss Griffin though.
Story time with Naunie....
Our neice, Laundry. She is so much fun!
I think she was getting sleepy.
Playing with my cousin Ty.
My mom and dad got Tyler a Tapout hoodie and he loved it!!

Well, that's about it. We had so much fun. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us come stay with y'all. We enjoyed every minute of it!

Happy 8 Months!

Well we have made it to 8 months as being parents and Griffin has made it to 8 months being here. Happy 8 month birthday, Griffin! It is crazy to think that in just 4 more months he will be a year old! I am looking forward to planning that first birthday party! This picture was taken compliments of Tyler. My mom and dad got him this Tapout skull cap and had to try it out on his son for awhile.