Sitting up and playing music!

Isaac is now able to sit up when propped up with pillows or when he's positioned in the corner of our couch. He's starting to learn how to lean over and grab his toys while he's in the sitting position. He is also spending more time in his exersaucer before he tires out. Growing, growing, growing! Right now, one of his favorite toys is a trumpet/french horn teething toy that I found at Babies R Us. He loves shaking it and "playing" it! The packaging called it a french horn, but everyone who has seen it at our house has called it a trumpet. I guess the name doesn't matter, especially when he plays it like a flute!

"With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the LORD."
Psalm 98:6

See where they stand...

A friend of mine shared this link with me. It's a helpful way to quickly see where each of the presidential hopefuls stands on the major issues. I hope it helps you as you're thinking and praying about which candidate to support during the 2008 election.

Green thumbs and being green...

This month, we've been doing little things around the house to spruce our grounds up for spring. We always like to plant something in the flower bed in front of our house. However, since we planted the perennial verbena last year, it came back and has taken up quite a bit of the bed. I thought my readership might enjoy a look at this plant in our front yard. (this is from one (1) $6.99 verbena plant that we planted last year.) I think it is lovely! It will bloom like this all summer! Since it did so well, we decided to plant two more of these size plants in the remainder of the bed, and hopefully next year, they will fill the entire bed up and will overflow beautifully over the rocks and into the yard. We may even be able to divide them and give them away or plant more in other areas of our yard.

Also, in an effort to save money and live off the land, we are growing tomatoes, herbs, and lettuce, thanks to my mom. She purchased these handy containers full of veggies at our local farmer's market.



Additionally, we are trying to do our part to be good stewards of the earth that God has entrusted us with by doing these things:
*recycling more (I picked up an extra bin at our local recreation center yesterday so that I have enough space to collect all our recyclables.)
*washing dishes in the dishwasher (uses less water than hand washing) and washing full loads of laundry
*cutting the lights/fans off when we leave a room

One of my next projects is going to be creating or purchasing a compost bin or compost system. My friend Ashley informed me that you can purchase a compost system here that is amazingly cool. However, the price is steep. Or, we can make our own worm composting system by using this method. I'm in the thinking stage right now, so please share any suggestions/ideas/comments that you may have!

Update on our pastor's new baby...

A couple posts back, I mentioned that our pastor and his wife are adopting a little baby boy. I went to spend some time with this little boy in the NICU on Tuesday night, and here is a little picture of the two of us (it's mostly of me, but you can see how little he is! I am not posting any close up pictures of him to maintain privacy). I was able to hold him for the first time, and boy is he a lot smaller than Isaac! At that point, he was four pounds, twelve ounces. He's growing very well for his age, but definitely he feels like a feather compared to Isaac's 16+ pounds!

This little man is so tiny and sweet. He is now eating all his meals through a bottle versus a feeding tube, and he is out of the incubator! Praise God for taking care of this little one and sustaining his life in preparation for his wonderful family! Please continue to keep him in your prayers - that his heart rate and temperature will remain consistent and that he will grow stronger each day.

 

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, {And} skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalm 139:13-18

Little Man is Five Months Old!

Isaac is five months old today! We thank God for the joy we've experienced having him in our lives for the past twenty one and half weeks!
Here are some of our pictures from his five month photo gallery:

He can finally put his "foot in his mouth!"

Chillin' on the playmat:

Monthly comparison picture:

Isaac gets a hold of the card...

And it goes to the mouth!

Sweet little boy!

We just love him! Children truly are a blessing from the Lord!

"For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. "
Psalm 92:4

Little friends...and the beautiful spirit of adoption...

Our pastor's family has grown by one! They are adopting a little boy! He was born 8 weeks premature, so he is still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) getting special care right now. Please pray for his health and continued growth. We have seen the hand of God in his life as he has regained his birth weight and is starting to spend more time outside the incubator. He is working on developing his sucking reflex so that he'll be able to drink from a bottle. This reflex is getting better and better each day! We thank God for the ministry of adoption! It is a true example of what God has done for his children by adopting us into His family.

On Monday, I kept the family's little girl so that our pastor's wife could spend some time with the new baby in the hospital. She and Isaac had the best time! It's amazing how they interacted with each other. This little darling was such a big help to me, and it's obvious to me that she's ready to be a big sister for the first time!

"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."
Romans 8:15-17

Findin' my feet!

Isaac has discovered his feet recently! Every time we change his diaper, he immediately reaches for his feet. For the past week or so, he has tried his best to put those feet in his mouth, but his little body just wasn't long enough! As the picture shows, if he has socks on, he just pulls them into his mouth! Last night, though, Isaac successfully got his big toe in his mouth (no pictures yet, but they'll be coming!) That shows how fast he is growing. GO LITTLE MAN!





"How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"
Isaiah 52:7

Splish splash...

Isaac loves baths and is becoming more aware of the water and bath toys each day. Last night, he was fascinated as Steven poured water on him. He kept reaching for it! Here's he is, focused on the water and even trying to catch it:



"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. "
Psalm 51:10

Isaac tastes solid food!

Tonight Isaac had his first taste of "solid food"! With the doctor's "OK", we gave him some rice cereal during dinner. Steven and I took turns feeding him, and we all had a great time! He seemed to like it, and he ate several spoonfuls. We will be waiting until he is closer to six months of age before we add any other solids, due to his tendencies toward allergies (which is the culprit behind his eczema). However, this will be enough fun until then!

First bite:

Not so bad...

I think I like this spoon better than the cereal!

Yeah, I want some more! (Notice my "rigged up" high chair!)

Dad, I love you! This is so much fun!


"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

Another visit to the doctor!

Today was Isaac's 4 month doctor visit. He received a great report! He is growing well and gave his nurse and doctor some sweet smiles during the visit. His eczema is still bothering him, so the doctor prescribed an oil-based steroid cream for us to try. Hopefully that will help to mitigate the redness and itchy patches. The doctor thinks this is allergy-related and wanted to do a blood allergy test, but the phlebotomist was unable to draw enough blood from Isaac's little arm (ouch!), so we'll have to wait until the 6 month visit to try again. Isaac was a trooper with his second round of immunizations! I think it wore him out, though, because he fell asleep on the way home and slept two hours, and he's slept another two hours this afternoon! (Usually, a long nap for Isaac is an hour or an hour and a half at the very longest.)

Isaac now weighs 15 lbs, 12.5 oz (75th percentile) and is 26 3/8 inches tall (90th percentile). He's a big boy!

We are so thankful for our little man! He is a precious miracle from God, and we are blessed that he is in our lives!