the season

the thanksgiving holiday was very relaxing and enjoyable. what could be better than extended quality time with family, yummy food, and late night conversations?! the boys' have been coming out of their "after time with cousins" funk. they love to play hard with all of their cousins and this time was no different. they are always very sad when it's over but special memories were made!

i don't have too many pictures this year because my memory cards are being bombarded with other peoples' families :) it's been a pleasure to be able to capture other families for them this season. i am really enjoying it. 

i do have a few from matthew's iphone of what we've been up to recently.

sunday evening we took the boys to pick out the family christmas tree. boy were they excited! 

tucker was mesmerized how the man wrapped the tree up in a net and has talked about it everyday since. they were so proud of that tree and watched daddy tie it up on top of the van full of smiles and "we really got to take it home!" 

we've already begun celebrating with our advent boxes this year. and grey has been pretending to be santa :)

their excitement for this season has grown from last year. i'm so glad it's only the beginning!

He came to us

i was listening to the new elevation worship album during my run this morning. "we rejoice" came on and i found myself with my hands raised (always a little risky on the treadmill) praising the Lord. i thought i would share it and hopefully you will find yourself praising Emmanuel.

praise the Lord our King has come! 

weekend

well this weekend was jam packed. 

mostly with good things.

i got to capture this little man at 8 days old.

how precious is he?! i can almost smell that sweet baby smell just looking at the picture. i sure wish i would have captured mine like this so fresh.

after all the jam packed-ness, i ended up with a jam up headache. maybe it was the absolutely embarrassing clemson game last night (which i only watched about 2 minutes of because i couldn't bear it) or maybe it was the extremely fast pace i kept but i crashed today. all plans ceased and i took a good ol' fashioned nap. it's amazing what rest can do for your body. tonight, i am almost headache free! 

it's on to thanksgiving week and i can't wait!

one of those

it's been one of "those" weeks. 

i won't go into details but nothing has gone as i have planned and i am flat out tired. and overwhelmed. 

ugh.

but...

i was looking through some pictures that i took last week of the boys under my favorite fall tree in our yard. i took some last fall in the same spot and want to do it every year.

let's just say this year i counted my attempt as a fail. you should have seen me trying to wrangle these little fellas into one spot and get all three of them to JUST LOOK at the camera for ONE picture. just ONE. it's basically impossible to do alone. 

at second glance, i found that i absolutely loved them and maybe my attempt wasn't a fail. they show exactly who my boys are and i ended up laughing as i remembered throwing myself down in the grass surrendering to absolute boyness that heavily surrounds me.

wrc . 8 months

let's see, let's see little man. your 8th month was FULL of new things.

you began to really take off on your hands and knees and a busy little boy you are! along with that came pulling up on everything you can. you set your little eyes on a prize and go after it full force. one of your favorite things to go after is your brothers. they continue to be the apple of your eye, especially that grey bear.

you are now joining in on all of their fun rather than just watching. as long as it's not too rough. just last night daddy was wrestling with grey and tuck and you sat in amazement before taking off for the action. once you got close enough, you reached for mommy. it really was a little too rough so i was happy to laugh along with you. if it's not too rough, you crawl over and on and all around your brothers. you love when they "sit" on you and bounce. you giggle and giggle and make sure i'm right there to watch. 

i have a suspicion you are going to be an attention hog. if no one is looking your direction you have learned to squeal VERY loudly so that we can't help but pay attention to you! today on our trip to the  store you squealed and squealed grabbing everyone's attention around you just so you could hear them say how adorable you are. you allow mommy to meet all kinds of new people and have some great conversation! one lady asked to take you home :) 

one of your favorite places to play other than grey and tuck's room is your own room! as soon as i get you out of your bed, you are reaching for your basket of toys and will play contentedly for awhile. you are enjoying books and especially books about dogs. we are working on teaching you to say 'woof woof!' i have a feeling it may be coming soon because you sure do like to talk a lot! more than both your brothers at this age. you babble babble babble while you play and ride in the car. you love to mimic sounds and try to talk back when we talk to you. grey thinks this is so special. he talks with you more than anyone.  

you still love to play with my hair while you nurse. you also prefer to be held and sung to before sleeping. i love to hold you so close before laying you down. i will treasure these moments for as long as i live.

you are indeed another momma's boy. as you grow, your attachment to me also grows. you will let others hold you and entertain you for a time but only a short time while i'm around. i am enjoying our time together day by day. i love watching you grow and learn and understand the world around you. you are coming into your own little person and it is a pleasure to be with you every step of the way.

inside out

{photo credit to none other than the tuck meister}

there have been lots of calls, texts, emails, and comments about matthew lately.

yes yes. matthew has lost 40 plus pounds. he looks wonderful. 

but even more than looking wonderful, the Lord has been faithful to do a work in his heart regarding his health. that's where it starts. and we get the grace of having an outer visual of the inner working. i realized today that's exactly what his weight loss has been. grace. 

i have had the pleasure of watching matthew on a journey of obedience in the realm of his health. i wish i could accurately dipict how encouraging it has been to walk right beside him these the past 4 months. 

he has depended on the Lord. he has failed. he has not given up but depended even more on the Lord. he has been weak. he has been disciplined. he has simply been obedient.

this isn't a matter of going on a diet to lose weight. this is a matter of taking care of the physical body that the Lord has given him. in trusting that God is bigger and better than running to food to satisfy. weight loss has been an immediate outward result but this is going to be an act of obedience for the rest of our lives. in the foods we choose to consume. in making time to exercise. in having the most energy that we can for our boys. in discipline to bring the Lord more glory with our bodies.

it has been an inside out working. and it's not over.

memory dump

1. we enjoyed our trunks and treats at church last week. the boys loved dressing up. we had two woody's this year and a little dragon. they were super cute and ate way too much candy. tuck charmed the ladies, they played lots of games, and they just enjoyed being with their friends.

2. on halloween we carved our pumpkin, danced on our table, and had a fun time together.

{notice grey bear in the background breakin' it down}

3. we've been listening to coldplay's new album . our favorite song is paradise. there's a whole lotta head boppin' when that song comes on. i don't have a picture of this but my mental picture works for me.

4. tucker has been pottying like a pro lately. he's been in undies every day, all day except for naptime and bedtime. and he's telling us he needs to go! success. now he is a funny one on the "number twosies" as we call it around here. he loves to label his poo. he'll call us in there and say something to the effect of "LOOK! there's a daddy one, a mommy one, and a wittle baby one. and there's a snake!" oh my heavens. have i mentioned he's funny? he is. really funny. and i'll spare another naked tucker picture for the blog.

5. grey ended up his soccer season on saturday morning. it was COLD. we bundled up and watched that boy actually kick the ball 3 times during the game. way to go out with a bang grey bear! his team had a little party after his game where they received a bible and a trophy. he was so proud.

6. that boy. he has one of the sweetest dispositions (most of the time). some things that have come out of his mouth lately... as i was getting ready for church sunday, "ooo mommy, you look beautiful!" or "let's sit and just talk for awhile. so, how was your day mommy? what was your favorite part?" or "that necklace looks really pretty on you. ooo and i love those earrings!" he really takes notice of the girly things. probably because he doesn't see much around here and it's rare that i actually look "nice."

7. tuck and grey have their certain songs they are "into" right now. for tucker it's background by lecrae. and oh my goodness we listen to that song all the time. i hear, "mommy, we listen to backround?" so many times a day. grey bear pretty much likes ANY lecrae song but really likes  gungor as well as coldplay's new cd. we have jazz for kids that they both really enjoy. (thanks ATL cavins!) we always have a beat playing around here.

8. will baby is kicking things up a few notches. he is making more effort into a real crawl. which is trouble as i find him crawling as quickly as he can to pick up the tiniest of "somethings" to put into that little mouth. he's pulling up on everything and acquiring quite the forehead of bruises as he ends up on falling face forward on his explorations. he's babbling up a storm. he enjoys spending most of his day outside in the beautiful weather we've been having.

9. we went on a walk today, me and the three little ones. i got to enjoy each of their precious personalities in very funny ways. grey was apprehensive as he wasn't quite sure where we were going and kept asking to go back home. tucker held my hand for the first few minutes and stuck close by my side and as soon as he was comfortable, he took off exploring all that our walk had to offer. will sat in the stroller kicking his legs and babbling the entire time. complete with squeals of delight. i love my boys.

10. spiderman. the boys have been watching episodes (circa 1981) of spiderman on netflix as a special treat lately. grey especially likes him. his christmas list has transformed into all things spiderman. and he jumps around the house, climbing on things and throwing himself on walls more often than not. tucker has been deemed captain america so they have all sorts of adventures together.

11. speaking of imaginations. the boys have made their room into a make-believe haven. exactly what i have dreamed up for them. i listen in on tales of spiderman and captain america and will the "monster," father and son play, doctor and patient, teacher and student. i look in and see them dancing to one of their cd's or laying on the floor looking at books together. some nights i listen to them sing to one another and play flashlight tag on the ceiling as they fall asleep. 

i have no pictures for some of these specific things but i sure hope this can help jog my memory one day of when they were little boys playing in a world all their own.

2011 . ten month review

i recently wrote down all  that the Lord  has done just in 2011. i was overwhelmed to say the least.

this year has been an exceptional year of growth and change for us. matthew described 2011 as the best year of his life.

i just might agree.

there is one common theme i saw as i was writing down the events of the year. we were constantly on our knees. we have found ourselves in this same position before Him more often than not. it's where i want to stay. forever. things make sense there.

in all of the the time we've spent there, the Lord has been very clear with us individually on so many levels. and in turn, He has been clear with us together. for our family and our ministry. though those things are separate, they are very much intertwined.

Jesus says, "let the little children come to me." that has taken shape and form in our lives this year in a tangible way.

i can understand dependence. i've got three little ones that are extremely dependent upon me. one who depends on me for sustenance even. what a perfect, in my face, picture of my calling to Himself. He is drawing us closer to that each day and making it even clearer that we can't do it without Him. not one little thing.

there have been days that during nap time, i find myself lying on the floor crying out to Him for strength, for endurance. for clarity on my next move in our day. it sounds dramatic and maybe sometimes it is but in those moments, when i make less of myself and more of Him, is when it all seems to come together.

 the details will be stored in our family journal for our children to look back on and praise Him for His goodness. it's just so obvious only He could orchestrate our circumstances. and that He is the author of our lives. and we want to remember it all. hindsight is always 20/20.

He has given us strength in our circumstances, put food on our table, diapers on our babies, given us an incredible vision for our future, poured truth in to our hearts, given us a means to exercise, a van to drive, boys to raise, wisdom to teach and love, perspective, clarity of mind and heart and purpose. He has expanded our faith, refined our view of our finances, called us to wait and obey. He has provided, sustained, and shown us grace in ways we never could have imagined in 2011.

and we still have two months left.

i can assure you i will remain on my knees