Thursday, August 8, 2013

Max turns ONE!


Look at my little munchkin!  This year went by so fast, blesssed day after blessed day.  Max is full of energy and curiosity and affection.  He crawls like a speed demon, cruises with ease, climbs the stairs, and once in a while stands alone.  He is rarely still!  He is fascinated by the dishwasher, the sweeper, the dog's bowls, lights and fans, and many other non-toys.  He has four teeth and the best smile!  He likes to be tickled and chased.  He loves all his siblings (Will can really get him laughing) and the dog, and has begun to enjoy books for more than just chewing on!  He enjoys plenty of table food and eats like a man some meals.  When he wants a drink he says "Ahh", like you or I would after taking a big gulp, so cute.   He says "DaDa" all the time and uses my name, "MaMa", mostly to mean food!  He also says "Doggie" which I think means animal of any kind.  He understands so much and is incredibly aware.  He waves at things he want or wants to know the name of.  He's still Mama's boy and I am loving it.  We are all so, so thankful for God's gracious gift of Max Henry in our lives!
 
 
 
 


 Max had his first party with cousin Audrey, who is just 9 days older than him.  It was a wonderful celebration in my brother's family's beautiful backyard, a big gathering with family and old friends.  My sister was even here from Canada!








 Celebration #2 was this past weekend with Todd's parents.  A sweet time!
















Posted by Picasa

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Happy Birthday, SuperJack!

 
 
 
 


I can't believe this guy is 4!
Jack has an easygoing personality, a generous heart, an active imagination, and a fantastic sense of humor.  He brings us joy truly every day.
From his larger-than-life stories of Big Fat Monsters and Hopper the Amazing Bunny, to his quirky Lego creations, to memorable phrases such as "I'll take Blankie with me as a safety precaution"...he keeps us laughing!
And he is sweet.  Sweet!  Recently he squatted down next to Max and said, "Max, here are three things I like about you: God made you, God created you, and God loves you!"

Jack loves to play outdoors, read, build Legos with Will, color with Eleanor, and wrestle with his Daddy.  He loves to play all sorts of pretend games and tell me exactly what my roles are, with lots of "pause the game!" inserted when I'm getting things wrong.  :D  He loves baby Max and always wants to give him some of whatever he's eating. 
Jack likes superheroes, diggers, batteries, screwdrivers, the pool; and takes a particular interest in the clothes he wears.  He wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.

God has blessed me - and all of us - with sweet, funny Jack.  I'm so glad he's ours!



Posted by Picasa

Friday, May 17, 2013

Faris Kid Photography


Jack found the big camera and the kids started snapping pictures...

 
 
 Jack took the above two...I think he's got a good eye!
 

 
 
 
Posted by Picasa

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Two years

  

O Heart Bereaved And Lonely

 O heart bereaved and lonely,
Whose brightest dreams have fled
Whose hopes like summer roses,
Are withered crushed and dead
Though link by link be broken,
And tears unseen may fall
Look up amid thy sorrow,
To Him who knows it all

  O cling to thy Redeemer,
Thy Savior, Brother, Friend
Believe and trust His promise,
To keep you till the end
O watch and wait with patience,
And question all you will
His arms of love and mercy,
Are round about thee still

  Look up, the clouds are breaking,
The storm will soon be o'er 
And thou shall reach the haven,
                      Where sorrows are no more
                        Look up, be not discouraged; 
                       Trust on, whate'er befall
                         Remember, O remember,
                        Thy Savior knows it all

                        © 2004 Christopher Miner Music.
                           Used by permission. All rights reserved.













This song ministered to me so much when our baby girl died, and it still does.
Lucy would have been two this past Sunday.  Mother's Day.  I wonder what she would have been like; I'm so sad I'll never know a two-year-old Lucy.  But I remind myself that my loss is her indescribable gain, and I find a sweet joy in knowing that she is with Jesus.  I think about the evil and sadness and sickness in this world, and I have a peace in knowing that she is HOME.
But I miss her.  Sometimes I look around the dinner table and feel like someone is missing.  We have "her" tiny tree in the backyard , a hibiscus of the variety Lucy, from friends when she was born.  I look out every day now hoping to see leaves, tiny buds, signs of life to remind me of the life she has now. 

On Sunday the kids and I stayed home from church.  We made cupcakes, read, played outside.  When Todd got home we all looked at our  photos.  They are so hard, but so precious.  I am so thankful we have them!!  We cried a little (Eleanor sweetly wiping away my tears) and talked about Lucy and about that day.  The kids were so little!  Jack wasn't even two.  They experienced so much and God guided them so gently.  We  visited Lucy's grave with my parents (so glad they were here), took flowers to leave and balloons to let go.  We went out to dinner and planted a hydrangea and ate our cupcakes.  Max added some humor by stealing Jack's cupcake and stuffing a little in his mouth as quick as he could!  It was an emotional day, but not a bad one.  A good day to remember not only Lucy, but also all the ways people loved us and ministered to us two years ago.  And what a blessing from God to have Max here with us this year, bringing such joy and comfort with his happy little self!







"God will grind sunlight out of your black nights. In the oven of affliction, grace will prepare the bread of delight. Someday you will thank God for all your sadness."
~Spurgeon









Posted by Picasa

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Max at 9 months


This is one happy boy! 

Max is crawling expertly, goes from crawling to sitting, and even pulled up to stand a few days ago.  Watch out, world!  I'm super thankful I've got three big helpers to make sure Legos don't get ingested, books don't get ripped, chairs don't get pulled over on top of the little guy, etc!  We sure are having fun together!  Max is trying to hard to say "Daddy" and "Doggy", which both sound a lot like "Ga-guy".
He is a great eater now and enjoys such tasty items as meatloaf, french fries, cottage cheese, and cheerios, in addition to the typical repertoire of fruits and vegestables.  Just this week he's started to pick up foods and actually get a fair amount into his mouth!  If I'm holding him on my hip and eating something he wants to try, he cranes his neck around to see my face, smiles, and sometimes opens his mouth...it is adorable!  Max enjoys baths, swinging at the park, playing pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo, and being with his siblings (and of course Daddy and Mommy). 

We are thankful to the Lord for our little Maxter!
Posted by Picasa

Friday, May 3, 2013

Sweet Seven

Eleanor turned seven at the end of March, and I'm just now getting around to the birthday blog post!

Eleanor is a truly sweet seven-year-old girl, one who I am so proud and thankful to call my daughter.  She is helpful, like when she offers to set the table or do housework or hold Max ("if he's too much for you, Mommy").  She most often does not complain when I say "no" to a request she has.  She is kind to her brothers and honestly loves to play with them.  Last week at the store she decided to buy Will and Jack a candy bar; she used her own money and took joy in giving them something.  She takes great care of baby Max, loves to play with him and schlep him around, and he absolutely loves her.  She enjoys playing with her dolls and still has a lot of affection for a couple of her stuffed animals.  Eleanor does very well in school and excels in reading and comprehension.  She devours chapter books.  She shows a love for Jesus and asks some very deep and thought-out spiritual questions.  Eleanor is compassionate.  On Valentines Day she made an extra special Valentine for a boy in her class who, she told me, often gets ignored by the other kids. 

What a blessing from the Lord our daughter is!

This year she finally got to celebrate with a very special birthday twin of hers - her Uncle Mike!  We had a big party for both of them with most of the extended family and a couple of friends as well.

One of my favorite moments at the party was when she opened the American Girl doll we bought her (huge splurge, I know!).  She looked shocked and like she might cry, and said, "I really really wanted this but I didn't think I would really get it!"  She was in awe.  It was just really precious to me.



 

I made Eleanor and Abby matching pillowcase dresses.



The big birthday weekend was also Easter weekend.  What a blessing to have so much of our family here to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ!  Eleanor especially enjoyed her time with sweet cousin Nora.  There were tears when she left!






 Bow ties from Aunt DiDi - aren't they super cute?!



 Meredith side

 Faris side



 The Papas!

 Max and Ethan are less than two months apart - fun!




I included this photo of Max and Todd just because I love it!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Max at 6 months


Max is 6.5 months old now!
Rolling to get places, "swimming" on his belly, sitting up pretty well, vocalising all sorts of sounds, mouthing everything!  He loves anything paper, loves to crumple it, rip it, try to eat it. 
Speaking of eating, he started solid food about a  month ago: sweet potato, squash, green beans (he really really REALLY despised the green beans), apples, yogurt.  Although every once in a while he will eat like he really wants it, most days he swallows about 4 bites and we call it good!
He enjoys being outdoors and absolutely loves time with his siblings!  He's also decided that his Daddy is pretty fantastic.  And he is definitely Mommy's baby.  :D
He does this super cute wiggle when he gets excited.  SO adorable.
While I would characterize Max as a good sleeper overall, the last week he's had some unusual wakeful times - like at 4:30 in the morning!  Agh!  But as I lay in bed a couple of (early early) mornings ago listening to him talk, sing, squawk, fuss, and cry in his crib, I thought about how fleeting these things are.  I look at my three older kids and I see how fast time slips by.  I look at my photos of Lucy and think about how some babies never reach this stage, about how much I would love to hear her fuss at some unholy hour and have to troubleshoot sleeping issues.  These things don't stress me out in the way that they used to.

6 month old Max - a complete JOY to all of us!

Coming soon: a little post about our other three blessings from God...Eleanor is sweet and smart and almost seven!  Will is an amazing Lego builder, a good leader, and mischievous.  Jack has such a generous heart and also is a natural comedian.  He is into doing very funny things with his clothes...
Posted by Picasa