Oh my goodness. Walker, I love you so desperately! I wanted a girl so bad, but as soon as it sunk into my heart that you were a precious son, it just feels so, utterly perfect. Like, of course it's a son. What else would it be?? You are the perfect person to complete our family and I CANNOT wait to meet you!! My heart is simply overflowing with joy and love and thankfulness to God for the precious privilege of being your momma. Truly, my cup overflows. And, also, if it's not too awfully inconvienent, please could you be born either in the end of July? But anytime is perf!
In other random news
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Brody has made a HUGE breakthrough in potty training the last few weeks! He's doing great! Going #1 and #2 all on his own and not having nearly as many accidents! I'm so proud of him! He continues to be a delight and a source of major joy in my life. He's a little chatterbox, and is constantly saying the cutest, darndest things. Brody especially loves playing the "tickle game" after dinner and the boys are often talking about who should be on who's team. B loves showing me how fast he can run and how high he can jump and how big his muscles are. He also loves helping me in the kitchen, which is precious!
Jasper is doing great! He loves school and is exhibiting a heart that loves God and other people. He truly loves other ppl really well. He often prefers others and shares his special snacks with his brother and his friends. He loves school! I've learned recently that yummy snacks is kindergarten currency, lol!, so I've been trying to pack "cool" snacks in his lunchbox. As he told me, "It's (school's) all about trading snacks at recess." Those little kindergartners take it quite seriously. :o)
Jasper loves playing slither and calculates his day according to how much time is left before he can play slither, or how long he gets to play slither that day, or how long he hopes he gets to be in slither, etc.
The other day, Brody said, "I'm batman AND superman AND spiderman!!" and Jasper immediately said, "Brody, are you the trinity, 3 in 1?"
Andrew continues to be the most wonderful man ever. Humble and kind, gracious and patient. He's enjoyed playing basketball in the city league for panasonic and now is starting softball with the church league. I'm really thankful that he has hobbies and an outlet.
I continue to love to do projects of many kinds. Landscaping, decorating, cooking and hosting are my major areas of outlet and enjoyment. The sickness from the pregnancy is mainly gone, for which I'm so thankful, and as long as I don't overdo it, I tend not to be too tired. Alas, however, I think I often overdo it. But I'm learning, which is good.
Well, need to go finish school and then we're ready to go to Home Depot and Micheals! Adios!
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
gender reveal
Oh my goodness! We're pregnant! Which came as a huge surprise to me, and Andrew... I think. I waver between feeling so excited and humbled that the Lord would choose us to be parents and His instruments of love to another precious little child, and feeling overwhelmed and sad that we're "starting over" again, back to the sleepless nights, nursing frustrations, teething, etc, etc.
I'm particularly overwhelmed with the thought of the baby being another boy. If it is a son, oh how I know that we'll love him (the future Walker Cade Meade). We'll love him so much our hearts will feel like they're going to burst and it will be 3 Muskateers running around, a precious little posse of boys. How utterly precious and special that will be.
Oh, but my heart aches for a daughter. It aches so, so much. And in my twisted, warped mind, I feel like there's no way God would ever give me something that I want so much. That He truly wouldn't want me to be happy and to have dreams come true. I know that's such a lie, straight from the pit of hell; straight from Satan himself. God is good. God is love. God is perfect. God is wise. He is a happy God, who yearns for godly, holy, and HAPPY people. And how He loves to give us the desires of our hearts. But have you ever yearned, truly yearned, so hard for something that your heart hurts? That's how I feel for a daughter. I shared with my small group at lbs last week that having a daughter was becoming an idol in my life and I asked for prayer as I tried to root out this sin of idolatry from my heart. They were faithful to pray, God was faithful to help, and my heart was much better. Much more focused on the Lord and His sweet attributes. There was joy and peace for the last week or so.
But then my heart got all twisted and sinful and ugly again. Andrew went on a business trip, the boys have been challenging, Brody's crapped his pants more times than I can remember, Jasper passively aggressively picks at Brody and tattles on him by praying stuff like, "dear God, please help brody not to take bites out of my special ball." and stuff like that. Constant interruptions, constant spills, constant discipline, single parenting, injuries, physical drama, emotional drama, head aches, sleepless nights, etc, etc. Exhaustion, emotions, discouragement, and bitterness have started overtaking my heart, and for the last 24 hours, I've been completely, totally a wreck. Mad at God for surely giving us another son when He knows how much I want a daughter, mad at the boys for taking such constant work and self-sacrifice, mad at my husband for having hobbies and restaurant food, mad, mad, mad. Another word would be sin. Or self-pity. Or pride. Or selfishness. Take your pick from any list of ugly sins. Those things are crowding my heart, stealing my joy, tainting my relationships, ruining my days.
Jennifer Koh has been an amazing help this past week or two, and she reminded me today of the verse in Psalm 34 (the chapter we're memorizing together), "I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."
I pray that I will seek the Lord during this ugly time in my life. I pray that He'll give us a daughter, although I surely know I don't deserve one. I pray that if it's a son (I don't deserve a son, either), that He'll fill my heart with joy at being a momma of precious little men. And, also, how amazing that the God of the universe answers me?!? That's truly incredible. Maybe that will fill my mind as I go to sleep tonight instead of my selfish wonderings about whether lil' peanut is a girl or boy.
I'm particularly overwhelmed with the thought of the baby being another boy. If it is a son, oh how I know that we'll love him (the future Walker Cade Meade). We'll love him so much our hearts will feel like they're going to burst and it will be 3 Muskateers running around, a precious little posse of boys. How utterly precious and special that will be.
Oh, but my heart aches for a daughter. It aches so, so much. And in my twisted, warped mind, I feel like there's no way God would ever give me something that I want so much. That He truly wouldn't want me to be happy and to have dreams come true. I know that's such a lie, straight from the pit of hell; straight from Satan himself. God is good. God is love. God is perfect. God is wise. He is a happy God, who yearns for godly, holy, and HAPPY people. And how He loves to give us the desires of our hearts. But have you ever yearned, truly yearned, so hard for something that your heart hurts? That's how I feel for a daughter. I shared with my small group at lbs last week that having a daughter was becoming an idol in my life and I asked for prayer as I tried to root out this sin of idolatry from my heart. They were faithful to pray, God was faithful to help, and my heart was much better. Much more focused on the Lord and His sweet attributes. There was joy and peace for the last week or so.
But then my heart got all twisted and sinful and ugly again. Andrew went on a business trip, the boys have been challenging, Brody's crapped his pants more times than I can remember, Jasper passively aggressively picks at Brody and tattles on him by praying stuff like, "dear God, please help brody not to take bites out of my special ball." and stuff like that. Constant interruptions, constant spills, constant discipline, single parenting, injuries, physical drama, emotional drama, head aches, sleepless nights, etc, etc. Exhaustion, emotions, discouragement, and bitterness have started overtaking my heart, and for the last 24 hours, I've been completely, totally a wreck. Mad at God for surely giving us another son when He knows how much I want a daughter, mad at the boys for taking such constant work and self-sacrifice, mad at my husband for having hobbies and restaurant food, mad, mad, mad. Another word would be sin. Or self-pity. Or pride. Or selfishness. Take your pick from any list of ugly sins. Those things are crowding my heart, stealing my joy, tainting my relationships, ruining my days.
Jennifer Koh has been an amazing help this past week or two, and she reminded me today of the verse in Psalm 34 (the chapter we're memorizing together), "I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."
I pray that I will seek the Lord during this ugly time in my life. I pray that He'll give us a daughter, although I surely know I don't deserve one. I pray that if it's a son (I don't deserve a son, either), that He'll fill my heart with joy at being a momma of precious little men. And, also, how amazing that the God of the universe answers me?!? That's truly incredible. Maybe that will fill my mind as I go to sleep tonight instead of my selfish wonderings about whether lil' peanut is a girl or boy.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
The Lord's kindness
Oh my goodness! Everywhere I look, I feel so humbled by all of the kindness of the Lord. From a wonderful trip up to Ohio, to a precious first Christmas in our new home, to having Andrew off for several weeks, it's just such kindness from God. We've been having a wonderful winter thus far. The boys continue to grow and be a delight to us. We're really enjoying this stage with them. Jasper continues to be thoughtful and enjoys thinking about stuff and doing Legos and figuring out the time on his analog watch and other such things like that. Brody continues to be a joy and loves to makes a "splash" and make people laugh constantly. He's recently become enamored with big boys and follows them at church everywhere. The other day, Andrew asked there boys what they want to be when they grow up, and Jasper answered, "a robot" and Brody answered "a bad guy." I have a feeling these boys are going took keep us on our toes (and on our knees) frequently!
I'm pretty sick right now with a double ear infection, strep throat, a fever, a deep chest cough, and lots of vomiting, but I'm still just so humbled by how kind the Lord is in providing for us during the sickness. Mom Meade had taken the boys for the whole day, Amanda Pesce brought me Gatorade and crackers earlier, and then brought us a homemade chicken pot pie for dinner tonight. I've slept lots today and am feeling on the mend, praise God!
I'm pretty sick right now with a double ear infection, strep throat, a fever, a deep chest cough, and lots of vomiting, but I'm still just so humbled by how kind the Lord is in providing for us during the sickness. Mom Meade had taken the boys for the whole day, Amanda Pesce brought me Gatorade and crackers earlier, and then brought us a homemade chicken pot pie for dinner tonight. I've slept lots today and am feeling on the mend, praise God!
Brody's 3rd birthday- a truck party!!
Nana and Papa so sweetly flew down to join us!!
Jasper spent his own money to buy me a juice glass (aka a candle stick holder) from the Dollar Store. To this day, it's my favorite juice glass ever!!
Meades- family of 5!!
donut date!!
coolest dudes ever!!
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Thanksgiving and Christmas 2016!!
Oh my goodness! Thanksgiving was so, so sweet! We hosted it here in our home, for the first time ever, and it was everything I hoped and prayed it would be. It was such a sweet time of eating and fellowship and love and laughter and kiddos running around and heart to hearts. It was totally presh! We ended up having our immediate fam of 4, my parents, my brother Cade, the Kellers, the Wilkersons, Ruth's parents, and Israa and Assad and their precious kiddos. We had tons of food, enough to feed the whole neighborhood, and we greatly enjoyed eating the left overs for days afterward. It all, from start to finish, was such a joy.
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Brody is at such a precious stage these days! We're really enjoying him a lot! One of our favorite little antics of his is that he always says "thank you" (aka "mink oo") after anything you say to him that's even remotely upbeat. For exampls:
The other day, I was roasting brussel sprouts in the oven, and Brody asked what he was smelling. I replied that it was brussel sprouts. He goes, "Oh, I WUV bwussel spwouts!" and I said, "me too!" and he said, "Mink oo!!!"
And the other morning, I opened up the blinds in the house and remarked on what a beautiful morning it was, and brody said, "Mink oo!"
He has such an upbeat, joyful, spunky, thankful little heart. And we're oh so thankful for him!
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Jasper, also, is at such a precious stage in life. He's gotten older. Not in the logical sense, per se, but in maturity and knowledge. He's such a little man. He thinks deeply, asks very thoughtful questions, and ponders the answers.
For example, this afternoon, after church, we were driving to Subway for lunch, and he asked me why he can see the exhaust coming out of cars on cold days but he can't see the exhaust on warm days. He asked why the temperature made a difference on being able to see exhaust or not. And, my classic answer, was to try to make an educated guess, and then I ended with my favorite go-to answer when J stumps me with his questions, "but let's ask daddy when he gets home!"
He loves and he's tender. He's kind and generally patient. He's a good helper and a kind brother and a loyal friend. He's getting a bit quieter, I've found, than he used to be a year or so ago, but I think it's because he's so busy thinking about things. Which is just perfect. He's such a joy and we love him so much!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brody is at such a precious stage these days! We're really enjoying him a lot! One of our favorite little antics of his is that he always says "thank you" (aka "mink oo") after anything you say to him that's even remotely upbeat. For exampls:
The other day, I was roasting brussel sprouts in the oven, and Brody asked what he was smelling. I replied that it was brussel sprouts. He goes, "Oh, I WUV bwussel spwouts!" and I said, "me too!" and he said, "Mink oo!!!"
And the other morning, I opened up the blinds in the house and remarked on what a beautiful morning it was, and brody said, "Mink oo!"
He has such an upbeat, joyful, spunky, thankful little heart. And we're oh so thankful for him!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jasper, also, is at such a precious stage in life. He's gotten older. Not in the logical sense, per se, but in maturity and knowledge. He's such a little man. He thinks deeply, asks very thoughtful questions, and ponders the answers.
For example, this afternoon, after church, we were driving to Subway for lunch, and he asked me why he can see the exhaust coming out of cars on cold days but he can't see the exhaust on warm days. He asked why the temperature made a difference on being able to see exhaust or not. And, my classic answer, was to try to make an educated guess, and then I ended with my favorite go-to answer when J stumps me with his questions, "but let's ask daddy when he gets home!"
He loves and he's tender. He's kind and generally patient. He's a good helper and a kind brother and a loyal friend. He's getting a bit quieter, I've found, than he used to be a year or so ago, but I think it's because he's so busy thinking about things. Which is just perfect. He's such a joy and we love him so much!
Christmas!!!
Monday, November 7, 2016
so sweet
oh my goodness! these days are so sweet! Jasper and Brody are such joys and they're delightful to listen to while they have their little conversations together.
For example, whenever Brody gets something special (like candy or caramel corn), he always goes up for 2nds and says, "I gotta get some for my's best fwiend." and I'll say, "who's your best friend, buddy?" to which he replies, "My bwudda." And he really will get some for Jasper and actually give it to him, too.
Oh my word. It melts my heart!!
And this afternoon, as we were walking to the workout room, Jasper and Brody were walking in front of me, and Jasper said, "Brody, will you be my helper?" and Brody said, "uh-huh", And Jasper said "thanks Brode. Cause when I'm a man, I'll have to work to provide for my family, and I'll have a lot of little kids. And I can't take care of them b/c I'll be at my job, and mommy can't take care of them b/c she'll be cooking. So can you be my helper and just take care of my kids for me and play with them all day?" and Brody said, "uh-huh." and J said, "Thanks Brode. Thanks for being my helper." and B said, "you're welcome, Dapper." And we continued on our way to the workout room.
Oh my goodness. It was so incredibly sweet!
Jasper is learning tons and tons in school. He's reading now and can write really well, also. His teacher does a fantastic job of teaching them lots and lots of things on Tuesdays. For example, last week, we were riding in the car and Jasper said, "It didn't rain today, but maybe it rained in South America. And mom. If you see any indians, be really, really nice to them because they give us food. Don't be mean to them. Be really nice to them." Ok, buddy! ;)
Tomorrow is a big USA day at school, and Brody and I are going in to be a teacher's helper. There's class, games, snacks, a banquet, a flag ceremony, etc. I'm really looking forward to it.
We love our home and our neighborhood. It's such a joy to live here. We walk to the playground and workout room and prayer garden and basketball courts almost every day. And as I walk, I'm constantly thanking God for giving us such a precious gift in this neighborhood and home.
We're busy getting ready for thanksgiving and my parents' arrival. It's so exciting!!
For example, whenever Brody gets something special (like candy or caramel corn), he always goes up for 2nds and says, "I gotta get some for my's best fwiend." and I'll say, "who's your best friend, buddy?" to which he replies, "My bwudda." And he really will get some for Jasper and actually give it to him, too.
Oh my word. It melts my heart!!
And this afternoon, as we were walking to the workout room, Jasper and Brody were walking in front of me, and Jasper said, "Brody, will you be my helper?" and Brody said, "uh-huh", And Jasper said "thanks Brode. Cause when I'm a man, I'll have to work to provide for my family, and I'll have a lot of little kids. And I can't take care of them b/c I'll be at my job, and mommy can't take care of them b/c she'll be cooking. So can you be my helper and just take care of my kids for me and play with them all day?" and Brody said, "uh-huh." and J said, "Thanks Brode. Thanks for being my helper." and B said, "you're welcome, Dapper." And we continued on our way to the workout room.
Oh my goodness. It was so incredibly sweet!
Jasper is learning tons and tons in school. He's reading now and can write really well, also. His teacher does a fantastic job of teaching them lots and lots of things on Tuesdays. For example, last week, we were riding in the car and Jasper said, "It didn't rain today, but maybe it rained in South America. And mom. If you see any indians, be really, really nice to them because they give us food. Don't be mean to them. Be really nice to them." Ok, buddy! ;)
Tomorrow is a big USA day at school, and Brody and I are going in to be a teacher's helper. There's class, games, snacks, a banquet, a flag ceremony, etc. I'm really looking forward to it.
We love our home and our neighborhood. It's such a joy to live here. We walk to the playground and workout room and prayer garden and basketball courts almost every day. And as I walk, I'm constantly thanking God for giving us such a precious gift in this neighborhood and home.
We're busy getting ready for thanksgiving and my parents' arrival. It's so exciting!!
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Brodybug
Brody is such a dear! He's such a special part of our family and keeps us smiling and laughing and entertained. :o) We love him dearly! This week, we transitioned him to undies! It wasn't quite on my radar yet, but he saw his superhero undies and was so excited to wear them, I couldn't resist. He's done really well with being in undies; we're proud of him. :o)
He runs around, calling Jasper "Dapper", and mimics every. single. thing. that Jasper does. We call Brody the little parrot. :o)
He is learning and growing so much, I can't believe it. Tonight, I watched him play a Lego game on my tablet and he completed the whole game all by himself, multiple times. I feel like he was just born yesterday, and here he is, counting in spanish and playing games on my tablet and wearing undies and sleeping in a big boy bed. I can't believe how fast it has gone! Gracious, I love the little guy so much!
He runs around, calling Jasper "Dapper", and mimics every. single. thing. that Jasper does. We call Brody the little parrot. :o)
He is learning and growing so much, I can't believe it. Tonight, I watched him play a Lego game on my tablet and he completed the whole game all by himself, multiple times. I feel like he was just born yesterday, and here he is, counting in spanish and playing games on my tablet and wearing undies and sleeping in a big boy bed. I can't believe how fast it has gone! Gracious, I love the little guy so much!
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
jadip
Oh my goodness. This last month has just been paradise for us. The boys are at a really sweet stage, we're all settled in the house, Andrew's getting more and more comfortable in his job, our doggie is such a sweet treat, and the weather is cooling off. Last night, we had some country music playing softly on the patio in the backyard, the boys were digging in the dirt, Charley was running around in circles, and Andrew and I were throwing a frisbee together. The sun was setting and there was a soft breeze. And we literally stopped, looked at each other, and said, "This is paradise. This is seriously perfect. This is just another day in paradise."
(a pic from earlier in that same week)
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