Clovis House Sold!

Hello everyone. Our house in Clovis finally sold and we closed on it last Thursday. We are so thankful God made this happen and praise Him for his goodness in doing so. We are now looking for a house here in Georgetown. Please be praying with us for this special house God has for us. We know it is out there..maybe it's not on the market yet...maybe it is...We are not rushing into it. We are so thankful we aren't rushed to get out of the apartment, but we are excited to get into a house soon.
It just feels so good to be free from the Clovis house and able to start searching for one here. It is, as Tyler and I have said, a wonderful Christmas present!

We want to thank everyone that prayed for the Clovis house to sell and that kept praying and praying and praying for 9 months. We appreciate your prayers so, so very much!

Griffin and Piper have grown immensely over the past 6 months. Griffin is talking in complete sentences now and has such a funny personality. We laugh at things he says all the time. I love getting to have a conversation with him and listening to him describe things as he gets excited about something. HE LOVES CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, spiderman, insects, his baby sister, cookies, fruit, and music. He gets really excited when Tyler gets out his guitar to sings songs. His favorite songs are Christmas Lights by Coldplay, Wheels on the Bus, The B-I-B-L-E, and Old Macdonald. He enjoys reading to Piper and singing to her.

Piper watches Griffin ALL DAY LONG. She loves her brother! When Piper smiles at you with those big beautiful eyes all the problems in the world just fade away. She is truly a delightful baby and loves to be talked to. She is a chubby thing and enjoys eating her baby cereal and nursing 5 times a day. She likes to get up around 5 am to eat and then go back to sleep until 8am. I am looking forward to the day she drops that 5am feeding, but doesn't look like that'll happen until she gets her own room. I love putting bows in her hair and dressing her up. She also loves when Tyler gets his guitar to sing. She cannot keep her eyes off of him when he is playing it and singing. She is rolling over quite well, but won't stay on her tummy very long to try and crawl. We will keep trying though. She is almost sitting up. She likes the bumbo a lot and I think she'll be sitting before too long. She is just a joy to have. I sometimes can't believe she is ours.

We are so blessed to have her as our daughter and Griffin as our son.

 playing with the cousins

 getting some firewood

 I really love my son.

 wanting to climb the tree...

 with my MeeMaw

Uncle Blake shot a buck!

We got to travel to Snyder, TX over Thanksgiving to see Tyler's parents and had such a great time being out in nature for a week. Here are some pictures of our time there.

Time to bring out the jackets...

It's winter time! Griffin enjoyed putting his hands in his jacket pockets today and zipping the zipper a lot. So many of his winter clothes from last yr still fit! So thankful for this. We were rolling his jeans up last winter I remember and now they all fit perfect.
Piper, on the other hand, hasn't enjoy so much bundling up. She dosent know what to think of this pant and jacket thing. I forgot what a task it is to get a baby bundled up and ready to go outside. She is a trooper though.
We are anticipating the day we find a house here in Gtown. We are still looking. Please pray with us as we search, that we would have wisdom and discernement to know which one God wants us to buy.

Just a few sweet pics of our little family lately.....

We are loving life here in central Texas. God is so good.

Our house sold!!!

First of all, we give glory to God, who has so sovereignly with held our house from selling for the last 10 months, in order to teach us so many wonderful lessons that we treasure now. Not only to teach us, but to bless us with the opportunity to live next door to two amazing families that we have built close relationships with and will always have great memories of our time living so close to them.

Last thursday we received THE CALL. The call we had been waiting for so long. The call from our realtor with the news that someone had given an offer on our house in Clovis. We were so excited and thankful!! We accepted their offer Saturday morning and signed the contract. They signed on Monday and put earnest money in the mail. We will close on Nov. 15, which means there is a slight possibility we could be moved into a house here in Georgetown before Christmas Day. Please say a prayer that this would happen. It would be such a sweet Christmas gift! And would be very nice to spend Christmas in a home.

We have been looking online at homes and are meeting with a realtor here in Gtown tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you to every single person that said, even if it was just one prayer, for our house to sell! We are praising God and pray that we will make much of Him during this time and that He would give us grace to have the wisdom we need in purchasing a home here in gtown. We know He has it all planned out already and we are excited to see His plan unfold. :)

3 months old & Trip to east Texas

Piper turned 3 months old on Sept. 10. We went on vacation the end of Aug. and when we returned home I looked at her in the mirror and she had grown and changed so much! It's so funny how they can just change it seems instantly.
At 3 months old Piper...
-enjoys looking at her hands and sucking on them as well.
-will already talk to you and make the sweetest noises.
-loves being held by her daddy.
-knows when she isn't being held by her momma.
-is nursing every 3-3 1/2 hours, except at night.
-is sleeping through the night (yah!!!) she always sleeps to at least 5 am, I never know what time she'll wake up to nurse. This weekend she slept til 8:15 one morning, the latest she has ever gone, but the next morning she got up and ate at 5:45 then went back to sleep until 9:00. So she is very unpredictable with that. But I am just so very, very thankful she is sleeping all night.

I traveled to my hometown this weekend with the kids to stay with my parents while Tyler was gone to a conference, and we had such a great time! We always have such a great time when we visit my parents. Griffin enjoyed walking down the road to see the neighbors horses and feeding them carrots. He road the four wheeler, swang, and played with Max, their dog a lot. He loves "playing ball" with my dad, where they throw these balls back and forth to each other down the hallway. It was nice being in a big house with lots of space for the weekend. I love spending time with my parents and I'm just so thankful they are such amazing grandparents and love their grandchildren so much and enjoy spending so much time with them.

We got to see my grandmother and her fiance' today and spend a lot of time with my aunt, uncle, and their grandchildren. Griffin loved playing with Trevor and Aubrey, his cousins. I was also able to see my sweet friends, Brittany and Melissa. I love seeing old friends I never get to see anymore!

We are looking forward to seeing Tyler on Tuesday morning. We have missed him.

**I tried to upload some pics from my phone but couldnt.

2 months

can you believe I didn't do a 1 month blog post for Piper?!?!?!? Crazy huh? This is first time I've been on the computer since my last post. But nonetheless, Piper turned 2 months old on Aug. 10. and she is a such a darling 2 month old let me tell you. She has gotten a lot less fussy these days and has let momma sleep more at night (Praise God).

At 2 months:

-Piper is eating every 3 hrs, except at night.

-Sleeping til 4 am, eating, then sleeping til 7 or 8 am.

-smiling often

-playing under her play mat.

-loving all the attention she gets from her big brother, despite almost being smashed every time.

-loves being held by her daddy and listening to him play the guitar for her.

-enjoys going outside for small periods since its been so hot.

-has dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and pudgey cheeks and thighs.

-looks very similar to her big brother when he was two months old.

-does not like being in her car seat very much.

-takes about 5 naps a day

-loves sucking on her soothie paci.

-still likes being swaddled at nap time and bed time.

We have loved having her here. She will def steal your heart, as she has ours. :)

Is our blog done for?

I have two kids now. A two yr old and a 3 wk old. I have also always been a pretty good blog updater. Will I continue to be as two kiddos consume my time and energy? i'm thinking I will become that blogger I once was after Piper starts sleeping through the night...maybe. I am on facebook, which is easier to upload pictures on my phone, and both sets of grandparents are now on facebook, so my blogging days may be over. Plus, we no longer live in New Mexico, so far from my family. So this blog may be done for. Kind of sad. I started this blog when we moved to Clovis in 2007. It has been a great way to journal our lives in Clovis, but now that we are back in Texas, it may be time to say goodbye to it. I dont think that many people read it anyways, because most people are on facebook nowadays and keep up with us that way.

So, dear blog of ours, we may to put you to rest. I'll see how I feel after Piper starts sleeping through the night.

happy fathers day to the best dad in the world

Tyler is such a great dad. Here are some things we love about him:

-He loves to play with Griffin and Griffin loves that he loves to. :)

-He helps me so much.

-He works hard to provide for our family and loves doing what he does.

-He loves the Lord and Gods' word and enjoys talking about these two things.

-He always tells us he loves us and assures us we are his priority over work or going to the gym. haha..

-He tells me I'm beautiful, even when I feel very unpretty.

-He teaches Griffin new things and enjoys it, being patient with Griffin, and letting him learn in his own timing.

-He laughs real easy, and we love his laugh! Griffin especially enjoys a good daddy laugh and mimics it, which is hilarious!

-He is an awesome Youth Minister and is passionate about students spiritual well being and knowledge of the word.

-He is the best dad in the world and loves being a dad in general.

We love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day 2011.

Piper's birth

Where do I begin? I guess at the beginning. :)

Last Friday, June 10th, Griffin and I were suppose to go to Austin to see some friends. He ended up having slight fever Thursday so I decided not to go Friday and just stay home with him. So that morning I began nesting. Which basically means "cleaning, organizing, getting ready for baby" . Tyler had been gone all week doing a youth camp in town, called Youth Week, with the youth group. Praise God the camp was local! So Friday afternoon I was putting Griffin down for his nap when the contractions began. I thought they were just minor and would go away, thinking to myself that Piper couldn't come this early, not during Youth Week. Well....the contractions continued all afternoon, being about 10 minutes apart. I still didn't think anything of them, until my dear friend, Stephanie Cheatham, my neighbor and our pastors wife, came over randomly to check on me. I told her I was about to take Griffin up to FBC to see Tyler for a bit while he ate dinner with the kids, since we hadn't seen him in three days. I then told her I was having contractions but didnt think they were anything really. She told me I should go to the hospital just to get checked, just in case. So I decided she was probably right and it wouldnt hurt to just get checked. So I finished packing my hospital bag and diaper bag real quickly while Stephanie put Piper's carseat in the Tahoe for me. WE WERE NOT READY, obviously. I loaded up out stuff, loaded Griffin and Stephanie drove us to the church to see Tyler first. He was about to lead worship when we got there and so we told him we would call him if he needed to come up to the hospital. Stephanie, Griffin, and I left for the hospital and after being checked the nurse looked at me and said calmly, "You're a good 5 cm dilated." Stephanie and I just looked at each other. I could not believe it! I was half way to a 10! Woah Nelly! This was at 7:00 pm. So Stephanie called our associate pastor, Sean, who drove Tyler to the hospital. I labored for about an hour or two, without the epidural, pacing back and forth in the hospital room, praying and asking God to show me when to get the epidural. I did not want to get it too soon because I was afraid it would slow everything down, like I feel like it did with Griffin. I enjoyed laboring for awhile, the contractions not being so bad since my water hadn't broken yet. In the mean time, I knew my mom and dad were not going to make it for the birth probably so I asked my friend, Adrian Gould, our associate pastors wife, if she would mind staying for the birth and being on the other side of me where my mom would have been if she would have made it. Adrian said yes! And I was very thankful. She counted for me during the pushing, allowing Tyler to just have the job of comforting me and encouraging me. I then had a contraction that was pretty painful and decided then to get the epidural, not wanting to wait too long and end up at a 9 and not be able to get it before pushing began. The anesthesiologist came in and was great! This was at around 9 pm. After the epidural, the nurse checked me again and I was a 7! 3 more to go! I was at a 10 by 10:30 pm and began pushing. I did not feel any pain, only pressure and knew exactly when to push. The doctor later said that the epidural was perfect, not too much, not too little. Praise God for that. Pushing was a piece of cake! And Piper arrived 45 minutes later at 11:14 pm. :)

I wasn't tired at all afterward and felt great. Giving birth to Piper was one of the best experiences of my life thus far. Griffin's birth may have been one of the hardest experiences, so being blessed with Piper's being so easy and fast was so wonderful. I am extremely thankful! I got to be the first to hold her and was able to enjoyed the experience, rather than being so exhausted and in shock and not being able to enjoy it.

My doctor was amazing, btw, too and was so positive and encouraging, telling me when he got there that it was going to be a good night and this was all going to go smoothly. He was so reassuring and made me feel calm, yet excited.

We are so thankful for our sweet little Piper Addison. She is a doll and we love her so, so much! God is so good and gracious and we praise Him for blessing us richly with Piper's life. She is doing so well, eating great, sleeping great, hardly ever crying, and just being oh so pretty! She is 8 days old today and already growing and changing. Griffin has loved on her and gets so excited to just look at her and hold her. He is an amazing big brother, so loving. Our little family has grown and we are so grateful. :)

Favor

I love Sundays. Have I mentioned that lately? Sundays are amazing because God has used the new church we are at (Terranova) to minister to me in so many ways. The teaching at Terranova is so rich, convicting, challenging, and drenched in scripture that God has really encouraged me and is changing me through listening and letting His word fill my heart each week. We have started going through the book of Luke and it has been awesome! I love it! Today Kyle (our pastor) preached through Mary's prayer in chapter 1. I love her prayer. As I sat there and listened God spoke to my heart. See I have been praying lately that He would show us His favor in causing our house in Clovis to sell soon. He whispered to me this morning that He already has shown me favor and I need to remember and be thankful for that favor in all He has done for me. He has shown me favor by giving me Himself, His love for me, in saving me by His grace, by causing my heart to believe the gospel, and in blessing me with a godly husband and giving me children. SO MUCH FAVOR! I forget these things so often. I know He desires to give me the desires of my heart, but it doesn't always happen and if it does it doesn't always happen when I want it to, but I must remember the favor He has shown me thus far and praise Him no matter what.

I am eager to see what God will continue to do in my heart through this time in my life. I am thankful that He loves me enough to discipline me, change me, and not just let me get comfortable and stay the same. I desire to be more godly, to know His word better, and continue to grow spiritually throughout my life.

This is Griffin on our way home from the river Friday. I love how he looks when he's asleep. :)

2nd birthday

Today is Griffin's 2nd birthday. He still seems to be a baby sometimes in my eyes, but then other moments he's a little boy. I am so excited about this 3rd year with him! I know it will be full of challenges (potty training and terrible twos) but I know it will be full of learning and talking and laughing, and playing with baby sister too! We are so thankful for this little person God has given us to take care of. We know he will be the coolest and most loving big brother. :)

So Happy Birthday Griffin Scott. We love you!

ps. he will have a cowboy/western bday party this sat. We are super excited!

lessons learned

Is your house really YOUR house? Your land YOUR land? Your things YOUR things?

These are some questions I have been thinking about the last few weeks as we wait "to get our OWN house". See right now we live in a home that "isn't ours". Praise God for this house for sure! But it is quite different than living in your own home with your own things. God has used this time for me to check my heart, and then double check it constantly. Where is my heart most the time? Well as mother/wife who stays at home, my HOME is a very important part of my life. I confess that it can and has become too important to me, as I have learned about myself over the last month. I LOVE being at home! I love keeping my home the way I like it and cooking and cleaning and all that goes into it. (weird I guess that sounds) But I do. So, not having my own home the last month has been really strange and such a blessing for me all at once. God has reminded me in a BIG way that this world isn't our home, and that I should be living life over the sun. That my contentment and happiness in this life dosent stem from having a house and having it the way I want it, etc. The Lord is the One who fills me, who SHOULD BE my "home", my comfort, and the One that causes me great joy, not a house. Nothing we have here in this life is really ours anyways. It all belongs to the Lord.

My pastor growing up, Brother David Rice, once said in one of his sermons that he wanted this jeep. And that he would pass by this jeep for sale every day and ask the Lord to give it to him. Then one day God spoke to his heart and said, "David, when you want me as much as you want that jeep, then I'll give it to you."

I desire to desire Christ more than I desire anything else in life! I have found, however, deep in my heart that I have been wanting a house of our own more. This I must repent of! Praise God for showing me my sin and helping me see what needs to change! Sin is anything that replaces God, and how dare I replace Him, my Creator and all-satisfying Savior, with a measly ole house that will rust and rot and never fulfill me at all. He is everlasting and the joy and fullness He gives never ends.

I do ask that you continue to pray for us as we are about to have a new baby and do not know when our Clovis house will sell or if we'll be in a house of our own before she comes. PLease pray we will trust the Lord in whatever circumstance we face and be thankful. Pray that the Clovis house will sell soon according to God's perfect will. Pray He will continue to teach us great things during this time of uncertainty.

23 months

Griffin is 23 months old today. This is the last time I will ever say his age in months. After kids turn two, you just say they are two, two 1/2, etc. I think. It sounds weird saying 32 months or something. So, yes, he will soon turn the big T-W-O. 1 month to go. I am planning a cowboy/horse/western theme birthday party for him. I am eager to send out the invitations I got that are so, so adorable. I love kids birthday invitations, not sure why. You can just find such cute ones nowadays.

At 23 months Griffin is:

-saying all kinds of words and can repeat whatever word you say pretty much. We are looking forward to him putting more words together soon.

-running everywhere, or skipping, then throwing a clap in there somewhere. (his jolly jog)

-loves people. He is so social, and people love him back. :)

-sits down and reads his books out loud like the most scholarly gentlemen. He points at all the things in the book that he knows and says all the words he knows. Its very funny and sweet.

-loves animals, especially dogs. Our pastor and his family have a golden retriever, named Desmond (they are LOST fans) that G has bonded with since they live next door to us.

-loves water, to play in it that is. He already has a tan and its not even summer yet!

-loves both sets of his grandparents and says their names randomly quite often. I guess wondering where they are. I always tell him where they are and that they are coming to see him soon.

-still a great eater most the time. He loves frozen blueberries and any fruit, but always dosent mind it when I let him have a piece of candy or popsicle. He'll eat carrots and beans and is liking peanut butter more and more now. Drinks lots of whole milk.

Tyler just said, "FInally the day has come when I don't have to remember Griffin's age in months. I don't like that system."

Goodnight!

having a daughter, etc...

I just read a friend of a friend's blog that just had a baby girl March 1st. It caused me to really start thinking of this baby sister growing inside me and of the day she will come. Will she come on June 20th, her due date, like her big brother did? or will she come early or late? I often feel bad that I do not think about her more. I know she is in there, growing and developing, but I guess it just seems so surreal that she is, and that she is a precious baby GIRL. I also have really been treasuring all my days with Griffin, realizing that soon it won't just be me and him all day every day, which makes me sad in a way, not that I'm not excited to meet this new baby girl, though. I just have loved staying home with Griffin these last two years. TWO YEARS! that is so crazy to me! It seems like less time. I love him so much. He will always be my baby boy. He is my first baby, and will always be so, so special to me. These last two years spent with him have been the highlight of my life. They have been the sweetest times. I will hold them so close to my heart all my life. I will miss it just being me and him, and somehow I sense that he also knows that our special "me and him time" is almost over. This evening he grabbed my hand, looked into my eyes and said "wuv you." This was the first time he's told me he loves me on his own. I usually say it and ask him to repeat it to me. My heart melted needless to say. He is just so sweet and such a remarkable child that I definitely do not deserve as my child. I am so thankful for him.

I know I am going to love this baby girl just as much as Griffin and when the third one comes along, I'll be sad that it won't just be me, Griffin, and sister anymore. haha.. not that I won't be thankful and excited to have a third.

Anyways, I am treasuring and pondering all these things in my heart lately-being pregnant, knowing she is a girl, and these last 3 months with just Griffin.

Parks are FUN!

Griffin is loving all these fun parks they have here! We have been to two and can't wait to visit all the others. These pictures were taken at the Catholic school playground that is right behind our neighborhood that we walk to every now and again. We have also noticed that most the neighborhoods in Georgetown have their own playgrounds within the neighborhood, which is really nice. So maybe when we buy a house here we'll have our own little playground to go to. :)

Georgetown-first two weeks

We have been here in Georgetown for two weeks now and it has been so wonderful! We love being back in Texas (no offense New Mexicoers) and have enjoyed our church more than we ever dreamed would have. Someone told us recently that its good for born and raised Texans to leave Texas for awhile, live somewhere else and then come back. We agree. We loved living in New Mexico and came to love it as our own, but coming back to our home state has been very special and refreshing, allowing us to appreciate it even more after being gone for awhile. So Texas is good, Terranova (our church) is amazing and living here has been such a blessing. The best thing, though, would have to be our church. We are extremely grateful to God for bringing us to Terranova. It has been so encouraging and the people, preaching, singing, etc. has ministered to us in very powerful ways. God is so good.
There is also so much to do here! Round Rock is five minutes down the road and has everything! And georgetown is filled with all kinds of stuff to do. Yesterday we ventured out to the river and walked along side it (there are sidewalks) and then we took Griffin down to the water and let him throw rocks in the river for about thirty minutes and after that he still wanted to keep throwing them! We love how in Georgetown you are in a pretty big town but you feel like you can escape to nature. We cant wait to go swimming this summer and wade in the river. They have several public pools and even a mini kiddy water park at the rec center.

We have made several new friends and have had dinner with two different families each weekend we've been here. People have been so welcoming and kind for which we are so thankful.
The house we are living in is very nice and has been such a blessing. Please be praying our house in Clovis will sell. We are being taught a lot of patience through this time and trust in God's timing and plan, knowing it is good and perfect.

PS. Tyler is loving his new job and youth group. He is very thankful to be part of Terranova and get to minister to teenagers here. Please pray for him as he continues to get acquainted with all the kids, etc...

Here are some recent pictures of Griffin. OH! And baby girl is doing great! I went to my new doctor last week and really liked him and his nurse. I am excited to have her here in Georgetown. Just about three more months to go! (we still havent decided on her name yet. Suggestions are welcomed...)

Alone packing in your soon to not be house anymore....

So today was hard, I'm going to admit it. I cried several times. (pregnancy hormones were a factor I'm sure) I have just become so sentimental about our house. And not to mention I am missing Tyler like crazy! He is in Honduras with our new church staff on a missions scouting trip. He has never been out of the country w/ out me! He also isn't able to call me. It was so hard not getting to talk to him today. I am so spoiled! I am used to being able to reach him at all times, so it was very weird today.
My good friend, Jan, kept griffin for me today so I could pack some more without having interruptions and it was very nice but very strange being ALONE! Now my dad was encouraging me about all this alone time I'm getting to have and he told me to enjoy the solitude because soon I'll be so busy with a newborn and toddler that I'll be dreaming of some solitude. So why did I not enjoy my house being silent today? I love having griffin running around the house, dragging all his toys all over the place. I even love him interrupting me wanting me to play with him for a bit or read a book. I love hearing him and tyler wrestling in the living room. Isnt that what a home is for? And I cannot wait to have this sweet baby girl joining in the noise making and filling out home with more life and laughter.
I have had so much time to think today, and my mind could not be kept from thinking of my family and my heart was constantly full of thankfulness to God for blessing me with them. I realized how much I would miss them if they were not with me, and how much I enjoy them each day.

I also kept thinking about our house that will soon be someone elses. This is Tylers and mines first house that we purchased. It was where we brought griffin home from the hospital and where griffin and i played all summer in the backyard making mudpies and swinging. It is where we have shared so many fun memories as a family. It will always be our new Mexico house, our first street to live on, taking walks with griffin up and down it. I will miss so much about it. I miss griffins nursey, the tree in middle of the backyard, all the creeks and noises it makes as you walk down the hall or open a certain door.
I know all this sounds a tad bit silly, but its how I feel. I have loved this house since the first day we walked into it to look at it with our realitor. It has been our home for 3 1/2 years and it will always be special to me.
It is, however, just a house. And you would think it wouldnt be that big of a deal to just pack up and leave. I am just thanking God for providing us with such a sweet and perfect first house. And I know that it really isn't the house in of itself that I have loved so dearly, but the precious times we have had here together as a family with our first child. It has been the best 3 1/2 yrs of my life, and I will always treasure the time we had here.

Georgetown, tx

I'll keep this short, since I have tried to write a long blog post several times with a lot of details and then had to get up to do something, never to get back to it, therefore losing it all.
We are moving! God has called us to a church called Terranova, in Georgetown, Tx., just north of Austin. Tyler will be their student pastor. We will be moving march 4th. We are very excited about this church and place that God has led us to. We are also very sad to be leaving Clovis, the students in the youth group, our church family, and dear friends we have here. It has been hard to juggle so many mixed emotions lately, but we are trusting God and His plan for us and know that He is always good. We thank Him for bringing us to Clovis for 3 1/2 yrs. and for all the many ways He has blessed us by being here.

Please pray for us during this transition.
Pray our house here in Clovis will sell soon and that God would bring a family or person to see it and cause them to love it just as much as we have. (side note: a family that goes to Terrnova has gone to scotland for 6 months, and they are so graciously letting us live in their house until they return, rent free. We praise God for this gift! This will give us time for our house to sell and then hopefully buy another one in georgetown within six months.)
Pray for energy to get everything done we need to get done- packing, loading, driving the 8-9 hr drive to georgetown with griffin, etc.
Pray for griffin, that he will adjust well and continue to sleep well being in a new place.
Pray for safe travel on moving day.
Pray that God would provide central baptist-clovis with a new student pastor who is God-centered and who will teach the word powerfully to the students here.
Pray that God would use us in Georgetown for His names sake and His great purposes, keeping us near Him and worshiping Him always.

Thank you for any prayers prayed. We truly do appreciate them!

21 months and 4 years

Griffin is 21 months old today. Happy 21 months Griff Griff! He is currently at the stage of leaning something new every day and wanting our attention pretty much all the time. Some new words he has conquered are:
Milk
Hi- he must wave as he says this.
Delicious- ok not exactly but he tries really hard.
Stick
Cold
Hair
Nose
Mitch- his uncle
Pig
Pjs
Book
Read
Juice
Hop
Outside
Tree
Glasses

Many more too. We are so proud of him! He loves to point to my belly when asked where is baby brother/sister and then he must kiss my belly. I'll post some recent pics of him soon. Tomorrow I hope to get him out in the snow that is left and take some pics.

On another note, tomorrow is Tyler and mines wedding anniversary! We have been married 4 years! We have loved every single moment of our marriage and look forward to all the years to come. God has blessed us by giving us each other and we are so very thankful for His constant grace and nearness to us as a couple and family.
We are having a date night tomorrow night while our sweet friends, Isaac and Kristie have volunteered to keep griffin for us. We have been saving a gift card from Chritsmas to a local steakhouse here in Clovis and are going to go see a movie. We are extremely excited to get to go do something we used to do together all the time before Griffin. Thankful we have sweet friends who want to stay with g. :)

20 wks

today I am 20 weeks pregnant and feel GREAT! Praising God for the energy and enjoying this second trimester very much. We find out the gender of the baby on Friday! So 4 more days! Will def post a gender announcement then. :)

Apple Juice

I don't give Griffin apple juice very often, actually it's pretty much never, but I do have some apple juice boxes on hand and so I thought I'd give him one as a treat a few days ago. Each time he has had it he LOVES it of course, so this day was no different. He downed it in about a minute. After I got him out of his high chair he instantly started running around the living room mumbling something the whole time. He did this for awhile, and so you have the privilege of getting to watch him and see what apple juice does to him.


enjoy!!!

Griffin "Studmuffin" Hicks- 20 months old

Griffin is 20 months old. 20 months! In less than 4 months he'll be two! He is loving life and hating it at the same time I think. His "eye teeth" have been coming in the last week and a half and it has been an adventure to say the least. I am eager for them to pop on through and make their full appearance. They are almost there! I am hoping that his wining and crying will cease soon, and that it is just from teething and not a habit that has formed. He LOVES playing with all his new animals that my sister and mom got him for Christmas. He carries around the cow and horse all day practically. He is learning tons and tons of things lately. He surprises me by saying a word sometimes that is new and it is so exciting! He especially enjoys showing everyone he can what the horse, cow, and other animals say. He loves his dad and when they are having dad and son time, I'll peek my head in the room and ask what they are doing and he will come up to the door and shut it in my face, letting me know that I am not invited in on their "man time". He makes us laugh all the time and loves to mimic us, especially our laughs.
He is a joy to have around all the time and keeps us entertained. We love him so much and are enjoying this stage. :)

new years in the country

my favorite red door, if only they'd let me go in this barn!
walking with Meemaw and Dad

checking out the scenery
sunset pic with mom
cattle guard.
in front of the house


come on, Meemaw, lets go!
ready to go exploring

This New Years we joined Tyler's parents and grandpa out in Snyder, Tx. Have I ever blogged about our adventures in Snyder before??? haha.. if you read my blog then you should know about Snyder. We often go to get out of town and spend some time with Tyler's family and it is always so refreshing and nice. I do come home tired from traveling 3 1/2 hrs there and back, though, but it's worth it.
So we had a great New Years eating some good cookin from Peggy, with my little help, ate some black eye peas, and went on walks with Griffin, saw some animals, and Tyler did some hunting (and no he did not get a big buck, but his dad did! Way to go Mr. Steve!), and just enjoyed the warm, cozy fire that was constantly going in the fireplace while visiting around the table and watching movies. I watched this amazing movie that I had never seen before that Peggy thought I would like called Coalminers Daughter. It is the story of Loretta Lynn, the country singer. Peggy and I did not get why the guys did not want to watch it with us. haha. If you have not seen it, you should rent it or netflix it. Peggy and Steve, my inlaws, saw it in the theaters when it first came out way back when. Anyways, such a great story and it refreshed my long, lost like of country music. :)
Griffin loved wearing this gigantic bright orange toboggan when he was outside and he LOVES the small barn with the red door that is out behind the house. He is all about farm stuff and farm animals currently. He also loved spending time with his two Papa's and Meemaw, and loves getting to sleep in the same room with his Papa Tobe (Tyler's grandpa) which he did over Thanksgiving too. Tobe told us that he would look over where G was sleeping during the night and Griffin would be standing up, awake, looking at him. Then he'd just lay back down and go back to sleep. So funny!
So Happy late New Years from the Hicks.

Pregnancy post

People have asked me lately how far along I am with the pregnancy and I have had to tell them that I'm not really sure! I was joking with someone this week about how with your first baby you tell everyone and anyone how many weeks and days you are pregnant even if they don't ask! Haha. With this second one I am so preoccupied with being a momma to Griffin and other household duties that I have not kept up with the weeks as they have gone by. My friend reminded me today of the online prego calculators that can tell you how far along you are. So tonight I took advantage of this convenient helper and I will be 18 weeks along on Sunday.

I remember when pregnant with griffin how much I already loved him so much before he was born and with this new baby I find my heart loving him/her just as much as well. I used to think often after g was born about how would I love the next baby as much as I did griffin, and it is clear now. I love them both the same and equally. They are my sweet babies, my gifts from God. And it is my calling to be their mother and love them, teach them, nurture them, pray for them, and do my utmost best to lead them in the ways of the Lord, hoping they'll one day be godly, productive citizens. This is my occupation, my profession, my daily job. And I love it with all my heart.

Ok, off to eat my 100th meal of the day....