Oh. Em. Jee.

How did I forget?  I just realized that I never posted our photos from the Arboretum that Gara took.  How did that happen?!  They are all sorts of fabulous, despite the fact that N was about an hour overdue for a nap.  I am normally the one snapping pictures of N, so I don't have very many of the two of us together... so these are super special.  Gara, thanks chica.  (and a shout-out to the T-man who was the model of perfection while A and N were going bonkers!!!) I absolutely adore some of the things she captured... the drool, the faces, and giggles, the pushups... so many things that I want to remember about this time in N's life!

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

Families Are Us

It's no secret that I think our church rocks.  If it didn't have "Baptist" in its name, it'd be pretty darned near perfect. HA!  Our pastor recently completed a sermon series titled "Families Are Us".  Each week he focused on a different part of the family unit.  He said some pretty impactful things, but at the top of my list of favorites is the following statement.  My dad inclulded it as well in a letter he wrote to all of us kids.

“I have learned through the years that healthy families are made by intentional efforts by family members in real time in real life circumstances. Healthy families are not created by accident. It takes time and energy. You have to be committed to stay with it! Communication, love, grace, discipline, accountability and encouragement have to be constantly monitored and maintained in relationships.


No family is perfect. Jesus was born into a family. He was perfect-his family was not. His brothers and sisters did not understand Him. He had to deal with the pressures of family situations that were challenging to Him. We have to do that as well. Our families are places of refuge, blessing, hope, affirmation, and challenge.”

Gives you, ok me, a lot to think about. Coming from a blended family, there are all sorts of "reasons" I can find to not be intentional on building and maintaining relationships, but all of them are flat out lame. They are excuses, and lies that I have come to believe. I am so thankful for the family that I have. We are lucky to live really close to all of our parents, and a few of our siblings. Other siblings live out of the "I'll just drive over and meet you for lunch" range. We do really well at being intentional We do really well at being intentional with most of our relationships, but not with all. My heart is starting to feel burdened by the latter part of that statement. I really need to commit myself to pray about that.

This wasn't supposed to be a deep post. Oops. :-)

To end the sermon series, the Preschool Ministry sponsored a photo shoot with 5 resident photographers (all of which are in the young married department, too!) for the families of preschool children.  We sat for a 10 minute mini-shoot and got a handful of pictures by a professional photographer for freeee!  We are so stinkin blessed to have so many talented people a part of our body.

So, here are our photos. They were done by Anna Cook at Laughlin House Photography.  She was great, and I am so pleased with what we got.  I am pretty surewe also got the first ever photo of our family with THREE smiles!!

Who can resist that silly little tongue?!?!

xoxo,

~The Grant Gang

Tricks a plenty!

It's been a while since I posted... because we've been busy! Here's what we've been up to...

Playing with the girls at the gym...

Flirting and smiling at anyone/everyone who will pay attention....

Helping momma do the dishes....

Playing in the sand...

And practicing our new tricks!

Yep... new tricks all over the place.  Standing up in his crib.  WHAT?!  I walked into this a few days ago, and every day since he has spent about 30 minutes practicing this new skill before his naps.  I am so glad we have the video monitor because it is SO funny to watch.  He just stands there, bounces, and smiles... so proud of himself!  

N is also crawling all over the place now.  He isn't quite to the point where he is all over the house, but he definitely gets to where he wants to go!  His favorite toy these days are toys that move... balls that roll (that he has to chase), cars that move (that he has to chase), and water bottles (that he has to chase). 

I'm pretty sure I had my favorite mommy moment to date today.  I was sitting on the floor eating my breakfast watching N play as he crawled over to me, climbed up on my legs, and got onto my lap.  Oh. Em. Gee.  So sweet.

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

Miracles on their way...

My two friends Eva and Sarah have been on a 9 month journey that has rocked both of their worlds... and today is that day that we have been praying SO hard for.  Sarah goes in between 2pm-3pm for a C-section and Eva's dream of becoming a mommy will become a reality.  These two little babies are total miracles, and it amazes me to see the selflessness that Sarah has had as she has given Eva and Kyle a gift that no one else could.  Sarah's facebook status today reads: "On my way to triage...in 3 to 4 hours from now, my friend will be a mom. :)"  Seriously?  Not an ounce of "me" in that statement.  She's got a spirit about her that is truly admirable.  Read their story!


Please pray today... pray for Sarah's health, pray for the babies' health, pray for the doctors' wisdom, and pray for Kyle and Eva as they make this transition to being a family of four. 

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

262,080

That's how many minutes I have gotten to love on my sweet boy.  6 months (+ a day) has gone by since Noah decided to grace us with his presence and rocked my world.  I can't believe that he has gone from this...

to this...

in only 6 months! 

Here's what you're up to these days...

- You are 26" long and 18lbs, 10 oz... you are definitely healthy and a good eater!

- You are wearing 6-9month clothes, and LOVE it when we let you bum around with no pants on!

- You have tried sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, green beans, carrots, avacado, and pears.  You LOVE pears... I think you have a sweet tooth like your daddy!

- You have been trying to crawl for about a month now, and have finally figured out how to crawl several steps.  You have also figured out the concept of army crawling, but also only do that for a few feet.  You get so excited, though!

- Everyone always comments on what a happy baby you are... you flirt with all the ladies at the grocery store (who know your name!) and are very social. 

- You LOVE your daddy.  When he comes home at lunch you get so excited!

- You are a DRAMA KING! You switch from crying to laughing back to crying then back to laughing in a matter of seconds, depending on how much attention is being given to you.  It always makes your daddy and I laugh.

- You have discovered your love for all things electronic.  You love the remote, my cell phone, and anything else with buttons.

- You have really started to take notice in the animals... but they aren't quite sure about you.

- You are a momma's boy, and I love it. :-)

We love you, buster... more and more every day!!!

xoxo,

~The Grant Gang

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Love Señor Noah

Noah got a new hat.

He thinks he's pretty cool in it...

Until it the weight of it makes him fall over.

Then he just decides to chew on it instead...

... until he realizes he has an audience!

Happy Cinco de Mayo from the cutest little niño around!

(P.S.... it is also Noah's half birthday! 6 month post and updates coming soon :-) )
xoxo,
~The Grant Gang

ENMV

This photo has nothing to do with the post... I just had to post a pic of sweet boy!

I can't get over how lucky I am to be surrounded by a group of Jesus lovin', baby raisin', good hearted women on a daily basis.  Since Noah was baby #18 (I think... maybe 19) of 2009, a group of baby mommas decided to start a baby play group... and I am pretty sure that it is WAY more for the mommas than for the babies!  We eat, we talk, we laugh, we let our little ones "play", and most importantly we just get to live life with eachother.  I have developed some pretty special friendships in the group, and I am so thankful for the wisdom, support, and encouragement they provide me daily!

You may remember a post from a few weeks ago that I talked about a great verse that Gara sent me when Noah was staging a sleep revolt.  It went something like this:

"Every good and perfect gift [even if they don't sleep] is from above."  James 1:17

I joked around with Gara how this must be from the ENMV bible (Exhausted New Mothers Version).  Within 24 hours the story/verse popped up on several other blogs.  It got Gara and I thinking... there are a lot of mothers out there who need encouragement from the Word just as much as we do.  So, we asked our friends from play group and some other mommy friends to give us their favorite verses and how they have spoken to them during their days of raising a little one so that we could compile a list.  Reading through these verses really made me smile... regardless of the age of the child, we are all experiencing the same emotions, the same struggles, and the same joys!  How encouraging is it that we can all fall upon the same God who has given us His word for encouragement?! 

Gara had this displayed at our last play group... so cute!

Now, I know, the Word of the Lord is sacred.  I don't, in any way, want His message to be misrepresented or skewed.  Everything below is exactly as the Bible reads, but with the addition of how it spoke in a believing mother's life in brackets.  This is meant to be encouraging and uplifting, and to inspire everyone to go Scripture when you are need of guidance.  We are all in need of some Godly wisdom, and He will speak to you through His word!

"Be joyful always [even when you are pulling your hair out because your kid did THAT thing, AGAIN], pray continually [for a bit more patience and maybe an extra hour of sleep, pretty please]; give THANKS in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you [even if it is changing the 6th explosive poop diaper within 3 hours] in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"[Moms] can do everything through Him who gives [us] strength." Philippeans 4:13

"Therefore, as God's chosen [mommies], holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

"Whatever you do [cook, clean, feed, play, nurture, and love], do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

"For with God nothing [including potty training] shall be impossible."  Luke 1:37

"But blessed is the [mom] who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. [S]he will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."  Jeremiah 17:7-8

"Whatever you do [laundry, laundry, and more laundry], work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you [so quit having a pity party and hand your worries over to Me!]; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem." Isaiah 66:13

"For I know the plans I have for you [and I promise it's more than just poopy diapers and sleepless nights] declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverence [in other words, laugh at the lipstick writing on the walls]." James 1:2

"Do not be anxious about anything [not even sleep training], but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Phillipians 4:6

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles [like when our little angels won't stop crying or they keep us up all night], so that we can comfort those [other exhausted new moms] in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us [and the tiny sweet voices of childre] to the glory of God."  2 Corinthians 1:20

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away [since we no longer have time to focus on ourselves], yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day [by the incredible joy our babies bring into our lives]. For our light and momentary troubles [diaper blowouts and screaming fits] are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

"For this (obstinate, defiant, whiny, not-napping, little terror, crazy, exhausting, wonderful, sweet, precious, delightful, amazing, smart, talented, etc.) child I prayed, and the the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him." 1 Samuel 1:27

I'd love for you to add your own verses and how they have spoken to you. Leave a comment or send me an email and I will get it updated! Also, check out my friend Anna who made some super cute wall hangings with her own ENMV verse! (I think she sold the one she has already made, but you can go to her Etsy shop and request a custom order.)

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang