Waiting

Gara Hill Photography

As a new mother, I am still trying to get in the "groove" of all that comes along with being a stay at home mommy and wife.  I think it is very difficult to find a happy medium between taking care of the house and spending time with Noah... both of which are very important to me.  I have found myself in this "go-go-go" mentality where I am always rushing... rushing to finish my lunch because Noah might wake up from his nap; rushing to get the bathroom cleaned so I can get dinner on the table; rushing getting Noah down to sleep so I can spend time with Micah... always in a hurry to get to the next thing.  I also catch myself constantly trying to do one more thing.  If Noah got a quarter every time I told him, "Hang on, sweet boy... let me just do this one last thing..." he would have a pretty awesome start on his college fund.  I try to squeeze every little thing into each moment.  Noah is still in a sleep funk, and I find myself wondering "How long is this going to last?!  God, come on... let's get on with it already!"  All this rushing and hustling and desires to move on to the next thing has left me pooped.

A few days ago my mom sent me a devotional that struck me to the core... below is an excerpt:

Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as Eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" -Isaiah 40:31

...I often think of this verse in terms of power. Mounting up! Taking the hill! Closing the deal! Yet, this day I was struck by how often we don't feel like we are soaring in life. We have worries. We have fears. We have anxieties. Yes, at times we all feel inadequate, but you don't have to! More than anything else, Isaiah 40:31 is a powerful reminder to trust in God. "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." Perhaps for many of us, therein lies the problem. We hate to wait. We find no peace in waiting. We find no renewed strength in waiting. More than any other time in history, we live in an instant society - fast food, fast cars, microwave dinners, shopping at the click of a mouse. We over-schedule our day, overburden our time, and rush even when there really is no reason to do so. So today, in this moment, take a deep breath! Sit back in your chair wherever you are and spend just a few minutes waiting on God. Turn all thoughts toward God who loves you and created you. "

Wow.  The Word promises us that if we just WAIT on the Lord, we will be renewed.  Why don't I trust that? Why don't I just enjoy the moment instead of trying to move to the next?  I was also reminded as I read through this devotional of a post Dr. Cindy (the chiropractor and assisting midwife I saw while pregnant/in labor with Noah) wrote a while back of a revelation she had to cherish the season, not despise it.  I went back to read it and again, BAM... it hit me.  I have not stopped to truly just cherish each moment.  I don't feel like I have really wished for a whole new season, but I have not stopped to live and love each moment.  Sure, I still have obligations to our home and to our family, but I dont need to be in such a dang rush.  I need to stop, breath, look around, enjoy, and wait on the Lord to bring to me whatever it is He has in store.

So here I am, promising to slow down...  Handing it over to the One who can give me peace in each moment and give me the strength and energy to enjoy them.

xoxo,

~The Grant Gang

 

"Camping"

Every year we like to go camping with our good friends, the Pierces.  We have gone in the fall in the past, but last fall we did not go because Baby G was expected to arrive at any time, and this fall we will not be able to go because they are expecting their #2.  So, we knew we needed to go this spring.  We picked a date, but as the weekend drew closer, Joyce and I decided that although it could be done, bringing an 11 month old and a 5 1/2 month old camping might not be the most relaxing thing to do.  So, we bribed with promises of good food convinced the boys to head out to the lake house instead.  The Man Upstairs must have known that N was going to be going through a major sleep funk because I can pretty much guarantee I would have been a hot mess if we camped this weekend!

 Noah helping Joyce conquer Catan!

Joyce and I headed out on Friday afternoon during the boys' nap time, and let me just tell you... the boys were angels!   We had a fun, relaxing ride out and got to enjoy some fun play time before cooking dinner and getting the boys to bed.  The 'big' boys drove out after work to join us.  Saturday morning the rest of the clan headed out... It was a full house!  Lolly and Popsie came, along with Tita Mandy and Uncle Jason. The little boys had PLENTY of attention, which gave the mommies plenty of time to cook some delicious meals and even sneak in a nap or two!

We headed out for a nice hike on Saturday afternoon and stopped for lunch at the top.  The boys, again ,were little angels!  Noah passed out right after eating lunch and slept the whole way back to the bottom.  All I got were iPhone pictures because with my coordiation (or lack there of), I didn't trust myself with the nice camera. 

The boys got to take a bath together after dinner (an AMAZING dinner, at that!) and then read a few books with Tita Joyce.  Can't you tell they are already besties?!

Friday night was a rough night of sleep having the little ones sleeping right next to us in the pack and plays, so we decided to forgo the luxury of having a personal bathroom attached to each bedroom and put the little ones to sleep in there.  Genious, I tell you.  :-)  However, this meant we had to brush our teeth and wash our faces in the kitchen sink!

We found a gorgeous patch of bluebonnets, so on Sunday morning we acted like any new parents act and shamelessly plopped our kiddos in the middle of them for a photo op. Noah was SO interested in the flowers he didn't have time to lift his head for a smile... curious, that boy! The safety office (otherwise known as Tita Mandy) is convinced that Noah is going to get arrested for picking a bluebonnet... I told him that I thought they would go easy on him because he is under age. :-)

It was such a nice weekend.  The lake house is such an incredibly special place for Micah and I, and it is so fun to be able to continue building memories there with our growing family and our close friends. Micah and I feel so blessed by our friendship with Aaron and Joyce..

...and we just know that our boys are going to be best buddies just like their daddies!! 

xoxo,

~The Grant Gang

Future Attorney?

Micah was working on the computer a few nights ago and this is what I stumbled upon...

Noah was SO content sitting with his daddy, working on the computer.  I guess he likes researching and emailing and writing Bills of Sales just as much as his daddy! (or maybe its just the bright computer screen and this fun little toy called a keyboard sitting in front of him....)

On another note, Noah has become sooooo busy.  Even when he is totally calm, his little feet are just kicking away.  He must burn some serious calories every day.  Needless to say, changing his diaper has become more and more difficult.  The whole "give him a toy" trick worked for oh, I'd say, two minutes.  If he is on his back, he wants to be on his belly.  If he is on his belly, he wants to be on his back.  Maybe if I laid him on his side we'd be good to go?  Because of his little busy body, I have started to change him on the floor where I can "pin him down" with my legs (ala the Christina Stringer method).  Last night, as I was getting him ready for his bath, he escaped.

Is that not the cutest naked baby you've ever seen?!

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

SwagStore

So, does anyone remember me mentioning SwagBucks a while back?  Well, I have been using it as my first option for a search engine (then go to google, if I dont have any luck...) for the last month or so, and have done a few of the free "offers", and finally collected enough to earn my first prize!  Today I just ordered $30 in Amazon.com e-gift certificates.  How fun is that?!  This is totally FREE money that I get to spend however I choose.  I'm diggin' it.  Now, to decide what I want to buy?! I am planning on buying N some Bummi Swimmis for all the trips to the pool I have planned this summer, so maybe we will use it on those.  Another benefit... most products you can get free super saver shipping if you spend atleast $25... so I will be covered!

I'm not going to pretend that the swagbucks search engine is the best search engine out there... but, it does the trick for about 75% of my searches.  So, I can't complain.   

If you are interested in trying it out, use the little box thingy to the right of this post, or click here and I will get referral credits... which would make this thrifty momma super excited! :-)  A few tips... Fridays are super swag bucks, where you can earn MUCH larger numbers of swagbucks (I think my highest is 300 in one search).  As I mentioned, I have done a few of the free offers... primarily the credit score checks.  Basically I just entered my info (along with a valid credit card), got my credit score, then called to cancel my free offer.  It all took about 10minutes of my time and really helped boost my account. 

Happy swagbucksing!

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

Gifts

I should be cleaning the house.  Actually, I should be doing laundry.  Or my bible study (that I am facilitating tomorrow and not even finished doing..) I should also probably be cooking dinner. Or taking a nap.  But instead, I'm blogging... priorities, people.

The past few nights N has been off... I am talking up every 2-3hrs off.  Little guy is learning SO many new skills and they are coming all at once.  Sitting up? Check.  Eating new foods? Check. Rolling around everywhere? Check.  Taking lunges (kinda one "step" crawling)? Check. I love seeing him learn, discover, and grow... but I prefer he practices when the sun can light up the room... not 2am.  Last night was especially rough, and then nap time today was equally as frustrating.  All this to say, I'm pooped today.  I know it goes with the territory, but it doesn't change my love (and desperate need!!!) for sleep.

As I was listening to N fight his nap try to go to sleep and trying not to pull my hair out, I emailed a very wise woman asking her to remind me how much I love Noah. Instead, she reminded me "Every good and perfect gift (even if they don't sleep) is from above. James 1:17."   I am pretty sure she has a different copy of the Bible than I do, but it got me thinking.  This little guy, sleeping or not, is pretty darned perfect.  He can make me smile, he can make me laugh, and he can warm my heart on the coldest of days.  It is so easy to forget how awesome I have it, and how lucky I am to be able to stay home with him.  I can't imagine having a sleepless night, then having to lug him (and myself) off to daycare/work.  If it has been a rough night, I get to stay at home in my PJs (don't judge) and walk around in a zombie like state.  The Lord has given me SO many gifts when He gave us Noah, and I am sure there is a gift hidden somewhere in this whole no sleep situation.  I don't always like how He chooses to teach me, but on the other side I am always so grateful for the lesson.  So, here I am... choosing to be grateful for this little perfect give, sleep or no sleep, sent from above. 

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

I could just EAT him!

This was just too cute not to share... Noah had two great naps today, so I didn't think he was going to need an evening nap.  I put him in his new favorite toy (the Jumperoo) while I was cooking dinner... I stopped hearing him jump and playing with the toys, and this is how I found him.  (sorry for the poor quality... All I had nearby was my iPhone... sometimes bad photographs make awesome pictures!)

Passed out in the jumperoo!  I know I am totally biased, but this kid is just too freaking precious!!

~xoxo
The Grant Gang

On the Move

My life is about to get a lot more hectic ("they" are right.... when you finally start to get in the groove, things change. again.)

Noah has started to figure out that he can get places.  He hasn't quite figured out the most efficient way to get there, but he knows he is capable.  He has been rolling over, both directions, for about a month now.  However, he just recently figured out that rolling means he can GET places. 

He has also started to get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth.  Normally this makes him go backwards.  I left Noah on his play mat to begin dinner in the kitchen.  I didn't hear him for about 2 minutes, so I went to check on him... and he ended up here. 

 He then sticks his little hiney in the air and gets on his tippy toes and tries to push off with his toes... he looks like a little bear or someone pretending they are doing a pushup.  It is... So. Cute. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out to move his hands, so he normally does a face plant.  Poor kid.

So, for now, I am going to enjoy these last days of being able to leave him on his play mat and him stay there (or relatively there) because I have a feeling that we are well on our way to ellminating Noah's transportation frustration.

xoxo,
`The Grant Gang

Dirty Secret

I love taking showers, but I HATE the process of blow drying/fixing my hair.  I have that lovely hair type that can pretty much always look cute if it is fixed... fixed straight, fixed wavy, or fixed curly.  However, NOT fixing is not an option... Some strands will be stick straight, others will have a beautiful wave, and then there will be the occasional kinky curly strand.  Mix these together and it looks like something out of the exorcist. Seriously.

When Noah was born, I found myself just throwing my hair back into a pony tail even more regularly than I used to (which pretty much means all the time) because I had struggled to find time to wash/blow dry my hair.  I MADE myself shower so that I didnt feel like a complete mess, but I typically only fixed my hair every few days, leaving it all sorts of greasy (don't judge... you know you've gone more than two days without washing your hair...)  And then I discovered God's gift to new moms: TIGI's Dirty Secret.  It is a spray dry shampoo, and it is simply amazing.  It doesn't leave your scalp looking like you have a crazy case of unresolved dandruff, and it doesn't smell like an old folk's home.  It is light and smells all sorts of delicious!!

So, new moms (and anyone else who loathes blow drying your hair as much as I do), here is your can't-live-without hair care product that can stretch a blow dry for an extra day or two and still leave your hair looking (and smelling!) nice, pretty, and clean!

xoxo,

~The Grant Gang

Oh, I almost forgot... how can I not give a shout out to this sweet little dude!? (He's getting closer and closer to being mobile... SCARY!!!)

My lil' Pumpkin

The past few weeks Noah has grown increasingly curious... of ANYTHING that we put in our mouths! We used to set him in his rocker/bouncy chair while we ate dinner and he would be completely content watching us and playing with a toy.  Recently, he has decided this is no long acceptable to him.  I think he realized there was something pretty amazing taking place that he wasn't getting to take part in!  So, we would just hold him as we ate.  And then it began... I took a sip of water, he reached for the cup.  I took a bite of chicken, he tried to grab the fork from my hand.  I set a plate of food near him, he lunged for it with both hands.  Poor kid was SO deprived... can't you tell?

I was pretty set on waiting until Noah was 6 months to give him any solid foods.  First, it was out of selfishness... I didn't want to have to "deal" with introducing solids.  I am going to make all of Noah's food, so I knew that would just be one more thing to do, one more thing to pack when we leave the house, etc.  Selfish, I know.  Also, our pediatrician encouraged this, as it is important for breast milk to continue to be the main source of nutrition until 6 months.  However, she also said to watch him, and if we saw the "signs" that we could start earlier.  Noah started with these "signs" a little after he was 4 months old.  I ignored them for a while, but as the weeks passed by, he seemed more and more eager to get to experience the awesomeness of real food.... and I started to feel bad!  Everything I read encouraged the 6 month age, but immediately after that encouraged parents to watch the child, not the calendar.  So... we did just that.  Noah got an early 5 month birthday present (1 day early..) on Easter Sunday... Pumpkin!!

He took to it like a champ.  He was SOO excited!  He ate pumpkin for 4 days, and this morning I introduced sweet potato.  He loved both!  I can't believe this little dude is already eating real people food.  Poor kid is going to be graduating high school before I know it.

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

Easter Sunday

My favorite holiday... Easter.  It's a day filled with all the things I love: Jesus, family, and a feeling of newness.  I can't imagine living life without the the hope of redemption that Jesus gave us all! Easter is also the time during the year that my brain switches from winter mode to summer mode... another thing that makes me smile a big 'ol smile!  This year was brought me a whole new perspective to Easter, too... sacrifice my only son?  Um, no thanks.  I can't believe God loves us that much!

We are really bad about taking pictures during events (and really good at taking pictures during the mundane, daily tasks! ha!) but we remembered to snatch a few right after church.  Here's our sweet lil guy! Take notice hus new tricks... getting on his hands and knees, along with his "head stand"!

The Grant Gang

Feet!!

Noah has found his feet, and I think he likes them...

The Grant Gang