9 months

{19.8 lbs 29.75 inches}

 

 

My computer is back!  And the pictures were saved!  So many things to be thankful for.  So I thought we would celebrate by writing a 9 month post.  Since Jake is already 10 months. 

 

 

However, before I move onto the updates I have to note that today is Good Friday.  Jake woke up with a really bad cough and cold and sadly I don't think we'll be able to go to the Good Friday service.  I have so appreciated having this day off at Trinity the past 4 years to contemplate the death of Christ so I can really appreciate the fact that our Savior has risen on Easter this upcoming Sunday.  Since the wages of sin is death, Christ was the only one who could pay for our debt because He could defeat death- something no human can do.  Giving us a restored relationship with God and a place in heaven.  It seriously blows my mind.  And how thankful I am that He did that because having a relationship with Him is the best thing that ever happened in my life.  I pray that today you have some time to contemplate what Christ's death means for you- I personally love Isaiah 53.

 

All right.  Onto the things that our crazy kid has been doing this past month :)

• You have 6 teeth!  They seriously all appeared in a week. And your two front teeth have a huge space in between them.  Thankfully you can pull it off well in your young age :)
• For officially the past two months you have been sleeping through the night and on a consistent twice a day nap schedule.  You have no idea how happy this makes me :)
• You got your first fever last week and it made me so sad :(
• You are becoming much more expressive- not sure if that's even possible.  You've learned what it means to clench your fist and you make the craziest face every time you do it.  We have it on video.. I hope that we can get a really good picture of it on our camera soon!
• Everything gets dropped on the floor.  Food. Toys. Phones. What's the best is watching you flinch before you drop something on the floor that is heavy and you know will make a loud sound.
• You love it when I chase after you.  Mom has decided that is her workout plan for the time being.. at least until it's warm out.
• You now know how to drink out of a straw- I found that out when you drank half of my jamba juice smoothie.
• We can see your personality definitely coming out- while you know how to do certain things (drinking from your sippy cup, high fives, waves) it totally depends on your mood as to if you will do those actual things.  Oh the moods a 9 month year old can get in :)
• We like to babble back and forth and it's so cute.   I'm starting you on intelligent conversation early.
• You are into pointing at things.  I think it's because I'm constantly pointing at things and telling you what they are!
• You officially understand the word "no."  Whether you choose to listen is another story :)  And there is usually crying that ensues when we tell you "No" to the following items: grabbing our cups. reaching for the coasters, climbing up on our unsteady bookshelf, reaching for Dad's (or my!) computer, and grabbing at cords.

 

This is part of that crazy face we were telling you about.

Jake came about an inch away from the lense and just stared into it like he was trying to see something lol

Thankful

Alas it has been almost 2 weeks and I still don't have my computer back :(  My hope is that they can save everything on it at this point.. we have a LOT of pictures on there.  Oh well.  Hopefully next week then I can share some of the pictures we've taken in the past couple months!

This weekend has been pretty chill- I had my last event of the 2012 -2013 school year last week which is why you didn't hear from me :)  And Jake battled his first fever on Thursday and Friday which was sad- especially since I had to be at work.  However, he definitely couldn't have been in better hands with my mom being here!  Thankfully it's gone now and he's back to his normal self.  Dan and I have both been feeling a little under the weather recently.  Not sure if we picked up something from Jake or what but there has been a lot of sleeping going on here :)

A while back I talked about how I finished the book One Thousand Gifts and I wanted to share with you a brief summary of my thoughts on it.  Since the new year I wanted to focus on thankfulness and have been doing just that for the past (almost 4 months).  It really has changed my perspective on how I view God and the many ways he does bless me throughout the day.  I thought I was a pretty thankful person in general but this book convicted me that I could improve in this area in many more ways!  Ann (the author) is VERY descriptive and at times that is great and at times I found myself skimming over a those details.  Other than that, what the Lord has taught her in regards to thankfulness was really enlightening to me.  Here are some main points/ quotes that I took away from the book:

• The fall (of man) was related to ingratitude.  Humanity was discontent with all that God had freely given them and wanted more. 
• Being thankful allows you to live a full life (reference to Luke 17:17 and the leper that returns to thank Jesus)
• Quote by Julian of Norwich:"For of all the things that our minds can think about God, it is thinking upon his goodness that pleases him most and brings the most profit to our soul."
• Giving thanks slows down time.  When we're busy and rushed throughout our day we miss seeing the blessings God has given us.  
• We wage war with Satan for joy every day.  He tries to keep our eyes off God's goodness.
• "The hard discipline is leaning into the ugly and whispering thanks to transfigure it into beauty."
• Quote by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain: "Every time you feel in God's creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: "O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Though Thyself, Creator of all!"
• "I pay tribute to God by paying attention to Him."
• "Giving thanks creates an appetite for seeking more of God and giving him glory."
• "We don't have to change what we see, only the way we see it."
• The more you count your blessings, the more you see God's goodness toward you and the more you trust in Him.
• "Thanksgiving shapes a theology of trust."
• "It's only when our lives are emptied that we're surprised by how full our life was."
• Pride slays thanksgiving.  A proud man is seldom a grateful man- for he never gets what he deserves.
• Being thankful opens our eyes to how much God loves us.  

I'll share some verses I found on Thanksgiving that I really like later this week :) Happy weekend!

A few of our favorite recipes

Currently my work computer isn't charging :(  So that means I'm using Dan's 10 year old Mac, which takes about 15 minutes to do anything, and that also means I can't upload any pictures.  It's probably a good thing- you guys were getting sick of me posting pictures of Jake anyway, right?   We tried to take his 9 months pictures yesterday and it was extremely unsuccessful. We'll try again this week lol

So, recently I have been compiling a list of our "go to recipes"and thought I'd post a couple of them here.  They have become staples in our home and we actually got a lot of these recipes from friends who brought us meals when Jake was born! (such a great way to get new ideas :)  So, here they are!

Better than take out chicken fried rice

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Chipotle Bowls

BBQ Quesadillas

Chicken Tortilla soup (crockpot :)

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Wildfire Salad

What we've been up to and some links :)

Since my last event Dan and I have had a couple low key weeks and have really enjoyed just spending time together as a family.  We watched Argo (thanks to my brother Doug who helped us decide between that and Skyfall).  We went on a little afternoon date thanks for our friends Andy and Becca who watched our little man.  We've made some additions to our entryway and have upgraded parts of our guest room.  And we've been doing a lot of thinking about how we can't WAIT until it's warm outside- especially since February has had the most snowfall the whole winter.  (Yes we are thankful for our home AND driveway, however we wouldn't mind not shoveling it until December :) Oh, and I finished my One Thousand Gifts book so I know I"ll be sharing a little "book review" about that soon!

So.  I wish I had more updates, but that's about all that's been going on over here in the Cinadr home.   We have some friends coming into town from Indy this weekend so we're looking forward to that- I'm sure I'll have some pictures to share next week!

Lastly, here are some links I have found over the past couple weeks that I like.  Enjoy! Happy Monday.

I bought this print to look at daily and really enjoyed this blog post about it.

 

Our church had a guest speaker and Bryan Lorrits gave an AWESOME sermon on finishing well.  You should listen to it if you have time :)

 

 

 



I love these bubble necklaces.  In fact I just got one here :)

 

I'm excited to get this book soon!

 

 

I really want to make this coconut hot chocolate asap.

 

I liked some of these date night ideas.

 

Friends.  If you shop at Target and haven't used their coupons please go to this website right now.

Back at home

As thankful as I am to be able to work part time, I really do get sad when I can't be with my little guy during my events.  As awful as this may sound, during the day my events are so busy that sometimes I don't get a lot of time to think about him until I get home and I see his sweet smile and I get to hold him.  And it doesn't really matter that he's fussy because he needs to go to bed soon, I just want to hold him (and go to bed at 7pm with him because I'm SO exhausted).  I tip my hat to you full time working moms. When I have weeks like this where I work 40+ hours, I get a *small* glimpse into your world and it's demanding and I feel pulled in a thousand directions. 

So, here's some pictures that I took a couple weeks ago (I can tell because he doesn't have his 2 front teeth :) when we had some down time and were playing in our "blue room" downstairs.  I know I've said it before, but I seriously could watch this little guy explore this great big world we live in all day long.  He cracks me up sometimes.

Checking out his hammer..

Practicing yoga..

And more..

and moooore lol

Can you please get that camera out of my face?

His cheesy little smile :)

He loves the dishwasher.  It's his favorite place to hang out. Just wait until you associate this with chores..

Building Cathedrals

A while back I wrote about how I felt comfort in the fact that God was a God of details.  He takes notice of the small things.  He sees everything. 

Then, the following week at my Shepherding a Child's Heart study, one of our leaders read this excerpt from a book called "The Invisible Mother."  Needless to say, it was such an encouragement to hear.  Being a mom, I have a new appreciation for my mom (and dad).  There were so many things my mom did that went unnoticed- cooking dinner, grocery shopping, cutting coupons, watching the budget, driving us to doctor's appointments... scheduling our doctors appointments, doing our laundry, etc etc. And she did it sacrificially, every week, without my brothers or I taking notice or thanking her for that matter!  It's one of those things you don't think about.  I didn't think about the phone call that my mom made to schedule that doctor's appointment.  Or the planning it took to make the grocery list.. I just remember complaining while I was at the grocery store because I was bored (I'm sure I was SUCH a joy to have around as a kid :)

In the expert I posted above Nicole says:

No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, no hockey/soccer/piano/Scout/school meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

I love that perspective as a mom.  We are building great cathedrals.  I know it's easy for moms to talk about the hard, repetitive parts of their job, and I don't want to always draw attention to those times in my life. However, what God's been teaching me is the importance of my job. As a mom I find it easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what I'm doing isn't important, but it is so so important.  Amidst the daily tasks I tend to forget that.  So I need to refocus and see the big picture from time to time.  And I'm thankful for godly women who point me back to that ultimate purpose.

So thankful for this little man and how God's using him to teach me SO much!

8 months

{ 19 lbs and 28.75 inches }

• We picked out a verse for you: 1 Samuel 12:24.  I can't wait for the print we ordered to arrive with your baby stats and Bible verse! "Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you."
• This really should have gone on last month's post, but every time I sing the song "One thing remains" you get a huge grin on your face
• I wonder if you are going to be musically talented.. every time music comes on from one of your toys you start rocking back and forth. So cute :)
• You're eating Cheerios! And very small pieces of bananas.  I'm terrified of you choking.. maybe we can stick with baby food until you get all your teeth.. you're ok with that, right?
• We have successfully put up gates everywhere.  Although I did learn the other day if I let you, you can climb the whole way up our flight of stairs.  It was great and terrifying at the same time.
• You have 2 teeth now.. top ones look like they will be here soon!
• You finally learned how to climb down things.  It was a beautiful day for you and me when you accomplished this task.
• For some reason this month you have hated getting your diaper changed.  It is a stretching time for both of us :)
• You currently don't really like to go in your jumper anymore.. however you will pull yourself up on it and play with your toys while standing.  Whatever makes you happy :)
• You love to hit things away from yourself and then crawl after them.. then hit them away.. then crawl after them. 
• You LOVE crawling inside the dishwasher and fridge.  I need to keep a close eye on you these days.
• You like to do laps walking around our kitchen and family room with your "push toy."
• You have hit your "I don't want to leave your side phase."  It's extremely cute and somewhat inconvenient when I need to get things done :)
• The confused look you give strangers is hilarious.  I can't tell you how many people in the grocery store look at you and say "so serious!" or "look at that furrowed brow!"  I spend most of my time trying to convince them you are a happy baby you are just very curious lol
 

Can chores really be fun?

Chores are a family affair around here. Since Jake has entered his "I don't want to leave your side phase" we pretty much do and go everywhere together- especially around the house.  As a side note- at times it can be hard to get much done when Jake just wants to be held, but I am trying to embrace the cuteness in this stage- he's cuddling more and wants to be held which really is fun (and unusual for our little mover).  So if chores and dinner have to wait, that's ok :)

Something that I discovered after we had guests over was that Jake loved it when I put clean sheets on the guest bed.  I would place him in the middle of the bed and shake the sheets over him and he would laugh and laugh.  It reminded me of that game you play in preschool where everyone held onto that rainbow colored parachute thing and you would move it up and down and then go under it.  Anyone know what I'm talking about?  I'm sure there's a more technical term for the game.  This friends, is why I'm not a teacher.

Anyway, I showed Dan and obviously the second we got the video camera out he stopped laughing and became disinterested.  Typical Jake.  So, the other day I snagged my camera and tried to get some shots of him reaching for the covers.  Seriously, I love seeing the world through a baby's eyes :)

Home Sweet Home

I've been doing a lot of thinking about our home lately.  After my last post declaring we had finally finished painting our entryway, I went to town searching for new ways to decorate it.  I searched Pinterest, Houzz.com, looked in magazines, searched through Overstock.  You name the website, I was on it.  I found myself cutting off my time in the Word in the morning so I could grab my ipad and start looking.  I tried to have Jake play by himself for just a little bit longer so I could check out that other house renovation blog.  I didn't realize that this decorating ordeal was becoming an obsession until my sweet Shepherding Bible Study leader sent all of us a blog post she recently read titled "What is the purpose of the home?" 

What can I say, God is so good at getting my attention.

This blog post reminded me that our home is a place of rest.  I should want to keep it decluttered and looking nice so my family can be at peace when they are in it.  It's a place where thankfulness dwells.  I should be thankful for the way my home looks currently and the fact that we are warm in the winter and we have a place to store our food and cook meals.  My home is a place where I welcome friends and strangers and those who are lonely.  Where I can be generous to others and where we can share meals and fellowship.  This is the true purpose for my home. 

I love it when she says "If we don’t cultivate a high and holy design for our homes, it is easy to slip into thoughts of frustration, comparison, or purposelessness."

Can we decorate and renovate our homes?  Of course.  But we need to do so with the true purpose of our homes in the forefront. I have lots of friends who decorate their home and do not do so for approval from others. They aren't obsessive about it. They purely enjoy decorating and take their time with it. They are thankful for what they have, and when they have the moment (and funds :), they enjoy changing things up or adding new pictures or a new chair to a specific room.

I, however, was so caught up in the small details of our home, and actually becoming stressed and anxious over *gasp* a rug in our entryway, that I was completely missing the big picture. You see, I was focusing on what the internet, magazines, and HGTV tell me that the purpose of my home is: a place to impress outsiders.  What was driving my hours of researching was a desire for approval from friends, family, and anyone who reads this blog and would see pictures of it to tell me that I'm so creative and that I'm a great decorator. 

Currently when people come into our home and we gave them "the tour" I find myself explaining how we want to change something in each room.  I will say " and this is our bedroom- but don't worry we're going to paint and add this and that's why I have these lemons because once we paint it... yada yada yada."  I assure them that our home is a work in progress.  There is no way we would live in our house in the current condition without changing the paint color, or doing this, or doing that.  I would say these things in hopes they wouldn't judge me for the way a specific unfinished room in our home looked.  The last thing I wanted to show people is that I was ungrateful for our home, and I sadly feel that they were left with that impression.

Sure I have walked into homes and felt impressed by their size, or their cleanliness, or how perfectly decorated it was.  But really, the homes that I loved the most were the ones where I was invited to make myself at home. Where I sat around with a blanket and a cup of coffee curled up on their couch.  (or let's be honest.. a glass of wine here or there ;)

So, I have still been working on decorating our home, but it's not as obsessive.  I'm keeping the big picture in focus, enjoying the process more, and growing in my spirit of thankfulness.  I am really looking forward to making our home into just that, our home.  Here are some things that are starting to make it feel like that.

For Jake's room!