First try - lemons!

Isaac has had a fascination with "grown up" cups lately. He likes to drink from Steven's or my glass when we let him. Last week, I let him drink from my glass and then he asked (by signing "please") if he could hold the glass himself. How can I say no to a sweet request like that? So, he ran around the dining room with my cup and eventually decided to take the lemons out and try them. I think he liked them!!! (He didn't even have a sour face at all.)





Yes, in that last one, he has the entire lemon wedge in his mouth. I had to get it out or he would have chewed it up!

His love...

I don't think I've posted this video before, but I felt a need to post it today. This song has been instrumental (no pun intended!) in my life over the past year and a half. The words describe the most powerful love ever - the love of our Creator, the One True God of the universe. His love has consumed me and for that I am overwhelmingly grateful. I pray that you will be blessed as you listen to the words and the message of this song, and that you will be overcome with the love that God has for you.

Brute strength

He's a strong one!!!

Truly a little man!

Look at this little man! He's busy eating, but we wanted to get a shot of him wearing his Christmas present from Pawpaw and Granny! How cute!



Thanks Pawpaw and Granny!

Noel would rather be inside...

Since we've made Oreo and Noel indoor/outdoor cats (as opposed to 100% indoor), we are often greeted by this sight in the morning:



I guess that's Noel's way of saying she really likes being inside with us. :)

Isaac meets the allergy doctor!

Last Thursday, Isaac and I ventured to Carolina Asthma and Allergy for Isaac's first appointment with an allergy specialist.

Our appointment went very well with Dr Richard Roberts, who is one of the older physicians at the clinic. He was very thorough in explaining how allergies work and how to manage them. We learned how to use the Epi-Pens that have the potential to save lives during allergic reactions (and Isaac had to have one of these administered to him during his time in the ER). We also learned how to better manage Isaac's eczema (and we determined that it might be coming from a reaction to eggs in my diet that Isaac is exposed to through the breastmilk.)

Dr Roberts interpreted the bloodwork results that were taken after our peanut butter ER visit in December. He confirmed that Isaac is indeed allergic to peanuts, eggs, egg whites, cats and dogs. However, since that bloodwork was a very basic allergy screening, Dr Roberts felt that we needed to see if Isaac was allergic to a few other common allergens, including fish and tree nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.)

After talking for an hour with the doctor, he sent the nurse in to perform the skin prick test to determine if Isaac had other allergies. I had to take Isaac's shirt off, hold him facing me and let the nurse mark all over his back. Then she took tiny needles (with drops of the allergens in them) pricked the skin on top of the marks on Isaac's back. After that, we waited for about 15 minutes for Isaac's skin to begin to react to the allergens (and cause him to be very, very itchy!) After that test, we learned that Isaac is highly allergic to cashews and pistachios. Thankfully those were the only tree nuts he reacted to, but the doctor cautioned us to avoid all tree nuts for now. He said that even though Isaac didn't react to the other tree nuts during that test, he could develop an allergy to them at any time. So, we'll be steering clear of walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc. in Isaac's food for the time being.

After that, we were released to leave the office and enjoy eating anything that didn't include peanuts, eggs, cashews, pistachios... But the important part is that we were still able to eat, and eat we did! A yummy lunch with Steven! What a nice treat after two and a half hours at the doctor's!

Isaac will find a way!

In the corner of our dining room, we have a little stand-alone cabinet that was once my Nana's. When Isaac discovered how to open the doors on it, I removed all its contents so that he could use it to store some of his toys. Recently, though, he's found that it's much more fun to get in the cabinet himself instead of letting his toys have all the fun! Here are some pictures we took a few nights ago:

Hallelujah! (Isaac's version)

Like we've mentioned before, Isaac loves saying and singing the word "Hallelujah"! My mom (Isaac's Granni) taught him the cute song in the video below. You may recognize it from your childhood Sunday School or VBS days!

Enjoy! (and thanks to Erin for encouraging me to post this here!)



Hallelujah, a Hebrew word, is the most sublime expression of God’s praise, combining together in one word both praise (hallel) and God’s Name (the two-letter Name ‘Ya-H’).
(for more details on this word, go here.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Steven and I will be celebrating this day with an afternoon out on the town! (Thanks Momma and Daddy for your generous offer to watch Isaac!)

We hope all our readers have a wonderful Heart's day!

Business in the front...

Party in the back!



Isaac's hair is growing, growing, growing in the back but not so much in the front. We joke that he's got a "mullet." :)

Let's just call this "Isaac's First Steps on Barely Snow-covered Grass"

Although we're still not calling last Wednesday's snowfall "Isaac's First Snow" (remember my thoughts on that?), we did manage to get some pictures of his first experience stepping on grass that had a few snowflakes still left in it. He actually didn't appear that impressed! Maybe when the grass is completely covered in that crazy cool downpour I'm hoping for, he'll act a little more interested.

Valentine's Day is coming up!

Steven and I watched this video and were both impacted. We thought our readers might appreciate it, as well.


Got any gift ideas for Valentine's Day? We do. from Angel Mission on Vimeo.

If you'd like to support Angel Mission, go here. Or you can click on the Angel Mission link on our blog's sidebar.

A trip to the backyard...

Yesterday's weather was so beautiful that I decided to introduce Isaac to our backyard for the first time. (Actually, he's been in the backyard before, to pick tomatoes and to sit with us on the deck, but it's been too cold since he started walking to let him venture out into the grass to walk himself.)

He loved walking around the yard and touching the leaves and rocks! He wanted to hold my hand most of the time we were outside, which was very sweet. (how long will he want to do that??!) However, after a while, he was brave enough to let go and walk around a little by himself. We had a great time! When we walked up to the deck and started to go in the back door, Isaac turned around and headed back towards the yard. He'd had so much fun that he didn't want to go inside!

I have a feeling that this spring and summer is going to be so fun!

Lessons from a sleeping babe in arms...

There's nothing like a sleeping baby in your arms. Right now, Isaac is napping in my arms and I can't think of any other situation that quite compares with this. Often I've heard that having a child can teach you a great deal about the love of our Father God. I completely agree. Even in the short 14 months of Isaac's life, God has shown me much more of His character than ever before and most often in moments like this. I think of how comfortable and peaceful Isaac is in my arms. Also, his breathing is steady and calm. I am happy. Isaac is happy.

Since God is our ultimate parent, it is obvious to me now that He wants His children to rest in His arms. That is where we can truly find comfort, peace, and stability. There are many things happening in our house right now, yet Isaac is at total rest in my arms. Likewise, the world around us may seem chaotic, but we can find true and lasting serenity within the grasp of our Daddy.

Lord, I want to rest in you at all times. You are my peace, my comfort, my protection from the storm around me. Thank you for your loving arms that so gracefully envelop me and never let go.

Our little musician!

Isn't this cute! A piano his own size!

There's nothing like a fresh coat of paint...

...even a virtual one! I've done some updating around our blog recently. (If you read my blog through an RSS feed, you may need to switch to the actual blog to see the changes.)

Enjoy the new look and feel of our "virtual home"! Be sure to scroll all the way down to see our family portraits (taken by Lori Jackson) and Isaac's Two-Year-Old birthday ticker. As always, make yourself at home and enjoy your visit!

Steven and the juicer!

Steven enjoyed my fresh apple juice so much that he suggested we make some on Sunday night. So after Isaac went to sleep, we worked together to make it and we also used our juicer to make banana-strawberry sorbet (we just put frozen bananas and frozen strawberries through the juicer!) Delicious!

Here's proof that my man can work a juicer: (go baby!)

A beautiful, unexpected surprise

Last night, Steven and I went to bed around 10:00. I've had a sore throat for a few days and have had trouble falling asleep, so around 10:30 I was still awake and heard some noise on the first floor of our house (our bedroom is on the second floor). It sounded like some items had been knocked onto the floor, so I knew that the situation needed to be assessed. I woke Steven up and told him about the noise. As is customary when we hear noises, he armed himself and proceeded down the stairs to check things out. A few minutes later, he came upstairs and said "It was just the cats, but you've got to see something!"

We ran down the stairs, and he opened our back door to reveal a beautiful, very unexpected snowfall!

The flakes were large, and the snow was already accumulating on our deck. It was absolutely gorgeous and quite breathtaking. The world seemed so quiet and peaceful in that moment. I breathed in the cold, fresh air and thanked God for the opportunity to see this snowfall.

This morning when we woke up, the snow had stopped falling and our ground was covered with a white dusting.

While looking out our window at the winter wonderland, I realized that if I hadn't been startled by a loud noise at 10:30 last night and if Steven hadn't been inconvenienced by having to get up and assess the situation, we wouldn't have ever seen the snow coming down. We would have seen the white covering in the morning, but we wouldn't have been able to partake in the miraculous moment of the actual snowfall.

Just like last night, in my life I've often experienced incredible miracles and beautiful moments only after going through "inconveniences."

While all of our neighbors saw the results of the snowfall when they woke up this morning, we were able to see the snowfall itself. I felt so privileged standing out on our deck last night, thanking God for the chance to see something so rare in our region. How many times have I missed out on experiencing something awesome because I tried to avoid an "inconvenient" circumstance or person or idea instead of embracing it? How many times have I just settled for being an observer of the results? Last night's experience reminded me that if I embrace whatever the Lord may bring my way, I will be in for an unexpected, beautiful surprise!

Our ever-dusting boy!

Remember when I mentioned that Isaac loved to dust? Well, here's proof!

Here come the canines!

Last week, Isaac started cutting one of his canine teeth (see diagram above) and having a very runny nose. He has been quite fussy for the past few days, as well. I'm giving him infant's ibuprofen for the pain, and that seems to help. We think the runny nose is related to the teething, but if it's not, then we think Isaac could be having his very first cold. So, whether it's a cold or not, Isaac hasn't been feeling too well lately. He is drooling more than ever before and apparently the teething causes shooting pain in his mouth, judging by his random screams during the day. In spite of all this, he remains full of joy! Here are some pictures that Steven took this weekend while feeding him breakfast (and letting me sleep in! YAY! I love my husband!!!)

(By the way, we've been calling him "Mr Sticky-nose". It seems to suit quite well!)



And that cute bib was homemade by my cousin. Thanks Lee!