jessesgirl

2009-09-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Quick up date on me being on bed rest. I went back to the doctor last Friday and my amniotic fluid level had gone up to 9.8 :) That is .2 from being normal. So it was great news! Still need to drink lots of water and take it easy but no more bed rest :) So now just counting down the days until we get to meet sweet Jakin!

2009-09-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Jonathan's kindergarten graduation.

2009-09-06T15:49:00.001-07:00

Pictures :) Baseball and Gymnastics

2009-09-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yes it has been seven long months since I last posted a blog. What happened?? Not really sure - I'm sure I could blame it on many things - being pregnant, facebook, trying to raise three boys, starting to home-school Jonathan full-time (as compared to part-time last year), having our house on the market then off, deciding that our house needed to be cleaned out from top to bottom, traveling, .....the list could go on and on and on. Yes things have been very busy but my blog has always been in the back of my mind - knowing that it is being very neglected. So I am back - I hope. So here is a run down of what has been going on in the Lee house for the last 7 months.

1) Jonathan graduated Kindergarten from Cornerstone Christian Academy. We love the school and the program of part-time school and part-time home-school but the school made a decision about it's location that forced us to rethink if this was the best thing for our family. When we decided on the school they were supposed to move to Mckinney (about 15 minutes from our house) - their plans changed and they are going to stay were they are (about 30 minutes from our house). So we decided to pull Jonathan out and home-school him full time. This has been both scary and exciting for me. I know that God had a plan because I would have never been brave enough to even try this if we did not attend CCA last year and get a taste of homeschooling on a part-time bases. So with lots of prayer we ordered his 1st grade curriculum and began in July. I wanted to start early because the baby is coming in the fall and I wanted to be ahead. To say that it has been easy would be a big fat lie. BUT it is getting better and I can already see the blessings because of it. It was just a big adjustment. Jonathan and I are both learning and we pray together regularly for God to help us through this. We will continue until we feel as a family that it is not working for us, but so far (even though there have been tears) I know that we are being blessed because of this decision.

2) We took a family vacation to Disney World. The kids loved it! We really did have a wonderful time and look forward to going back someday - Jadon often asks when that day is :)

3) We took a trip to New Mexico to visit Nana and Poppa. Always fun, and got to stop in Lubbock for a few fun days too.

4) Jonathan took swimming lessons and is now swimming like a fish. He loves it and we spent MANY days at the pool this summer. Jadon will take next year but is also loved the pool this year.

5) Took a trip to Lubbock to visit family - esp. my sister Lynette who was on bed rest in the hospital for 71 long days this summer. Jillian did arrive in Aug. and she is doing great. She just got to come home and we are all so thankful for this perfect baby girl.

6) The Rangers - we are officially big fans. How this happened I do not know, but my boys LOVE the Rangers and baseball. We have been to several games this season. We go on Friday nights and sit in the cheap seats - everyone loves it. This is something that I never dreamed that I would enjoy, but have grown to love it and love watching my boys get so excited about baseball.

7) The Cowboys - I have always been a fan, but since getting to go to the first game in the new stadium - thanks to Lori and Jay - the boys now also LOVE the Cowboys. We all had a great time with Lori, Jay, Caleb, Skyler and Beth. Now we are all officially fans :)

8) Jonathan and Jadon started taking gymnastics and they both love it. It is so much fun to watch. Jonathan also played baseball last spring and had a great time. We look forward to playing again next spring.

9) Our summer was full of birthdays - Jordan turned 2 on July 16, Jesse turned 34 on July 31, and Jadon turned 4 on August 5. Lots of cakes and celebrating.

10) We took our house off the market and decided to stay here for now (in this house). We just got so tired of showing it - I was getting too pregnant and it just seemed to be what God was telling us to do.

11) My Pregnancy - I was sick for about the first 18 weeks (most likely a major contributor to the non-blogging). But I got better just about the time we went to Disney :). We found out the we are having another sweet boy and we are so excited. No we were not trying for a girl and no I am not disappointed at all to be having another boy. I have never had this overwhelming feeling of wanting a girl. I love my boys and really could not even imagine having a girl now. We are going to name him Jakin. Where did we get that? I have been asked many times - we had to stick to two criteria - had to be a J name and it had to be in the Bible. Jakin fits both - yes it is in the Bible - deep in the Old Testament - it means strength. I am now in my 35 week. We did hit alittle bump in the road this past Friday. I have been measuring small and they checked my amniotic fluid and it is a little low. Not much - normal is 10, mine is 8.6. So I have been put on modified bed rest and order to drink LOTS of water. I have most likely been doing too much. I have not slowed down - I have even cleaned out our entire house - every room, closet, drawer and pantry. Even the garage. I have been lifting things that I probably should not have been lifting. Just these last few months I have had this overwhelming feeling that I have to get EVERYTHING in order before this baby comes. With home-schooling and my 4th baby on the way I feel an incredible need to have my life and my home very organized. So hopefully when I go back this Friday, everything will check out ok. This was probably just God's way of getting me to stop obsessing about having everything perfect before he comes.

12) The Boys - they are growing like weeds and bring me such joy. I will post pictures soon - they are so much fun and I love them SOOOOOO much :)

13) Jesse - Still the best husband and father that I know - What a blessing God gave me by bringing this man into my life. His work is going great - he is excelling and being recognized for his great work. His consulting work has picked up again so he is very busy but enjoying it. He has lost about 40 pounds this summer. I am so proud of him. He also passed several really difficult tests and received some new certifications - again really proud :).

I think that about wraps up our last 7 months. I will post some pictures soon. If you took the time to read all of this, you must really love our family :)!

2009-03-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest addition to our family. Yes, we are going to have number four. We are excited and praying for our sweet baby to be perfect in mind, body, spirit and soul.

2009-02-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

Jonathan had his first science project this week and he lost his front tooth. My sweet baby is getting so big!

2009-02-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Northern California in January. Fun times :).

2009-02-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

It has been crazy around here. We had everyone come in town and stay with us for Jesse's Grandmother's funeral. We then celebrated Jonathan's 6th birthday. A week later we went to Northern CA for Jesse's holiday party for the consulting firm that he works for. My sister and her family are also staying with us about every other week while her husband goes to school here. Yes, we are so busy. I am trying to keep everything under control. Oh yea, in the middle of all of this we decided to put our house on the market and try to move to a home over in Fairview (about 7 miles away) that is on 2 acres. Since ours went on the market the home we wanted went off because the people decided not to move :(. So we have decided to keep ours on and maybe find another one or not - who knows - craziness! And my entire family came down with the flu this past weekend of which Jonathan and Jordan are still pretty sick :(. That's about it around here :). Here are some pictures of my big 6 year old at his party - we were so blessed that Nana and Poppa got to be here to help us celebrate.

2009-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

First an update on Jordan. He had his surgery to remove his adenoids a week and a half ago. He is doing good and can finally breathe. The doctor said that his adenoids were huge and they were blocking 85% of his airway. I could tell a difference in his breathing when I has holding him in the recovery room. He is not completely recovered yet but he is already so much better. Thanks for your prayers! We also have a lot going on at our house right now. Jesse's grandmother passed away this past Friday. She is being buried in the Dallas area so our house is host to family from all over the country. We are thankful that she is finally free and we know that she is rejoicing in heaven with Jesus right now :). I am also trying to get ready for Jonathan's 6th birthday party this Saturday. He actually turned 6 on the 8th and we celebrated as a family, but his party had to be planned for later. So I pray tonight for rest and that I can get everything done and be a good hostess to Jesse's family. School also started back today for Jonathan and that means home school tomorrow - we will see how that goes with all the cousins staying here.

2008-12-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post one more picture of my sweet Jadon. I love this picture of him.

2008-12-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

2008-12-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful and blessed Christmas this year. The kids are so much fun. We traveled to Lubbock a couple of days before Christmas and will stay for the week. We will travel home on the 30th. Jordan is scheduled to have surgery on the morning of the 31st. He has continued to struggle with breathing while he sleeps and congestion, so he will have his adenoids removed and his ear tubes replaced. We are praying that this goes smoothly and he recovers quickly. Here are some pics of our holiday.

2008-12-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

2008-12-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

2008-12-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

2008-12-04T10:41:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was so great. I went to New York with my two sisters, my Mom, and my two Grandmothers. We had so much fun! We went to see the Rockette's Christmas Show, the Lion King on Broadway, and all the fun Christmas lights. We watched the Macy's day parade from our hotel room and ate at Tavern On The Green. We did some shopping and a lot of walking! It really was the trip of a lifetime! Jesse was so nice to keep all the boys (as was the brother-in-laws to keep all the cousins) so us girls could take this very special trip. Jesse actually traveled to Lubbock by himself to spend Thanksgiving with my Dad. Here are some pics of our so very fun trip :)!

2008-11-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went on the church family retreat. We had a great time with good friends. Jonathan and Jadon loved the bunk-beds in our cabin. Jordan was just happy to be there :).

This week I also finished painting my kitchen. I started this huge (over my head) project about four months ago. I decided that I wanted to paint my cabinets and repaint my walls. It took me forever and I can honestly say that I will never paint cabinets again. I do like the finished product but it was sooooo much work! I will post the before and after pics soon. For now here are pictures of our fun retreat!

2008-11-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my 34th birthday this weekend. My parents came in town to visit. We had a great time and we finished the weekend by watching Texas Tech beat UT on Saturday night! So much fun!!

2008-10-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin pics. One day I am going to sit down and figure out how to post all pics to one single post!

2008-10-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

More pumpkin patch pictures. I now know it will be a miracle if I can get everyone to look at the camera and smile!

2008-10-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

We went out to the pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon. Lots of fun for the kids!

2008-10-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a big week at the Lee house! Jonathan lost his first tooth and Jordan started walking! So much fun!

Jordan Walking:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Jonathan's tooth:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

2008-10-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

2008-10-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Jesse and I took a "me and Jesse trip" this last weekend. My parents came in town and stayed with our kids for the 4 days and 3 nights (I know, soooooo thankful!).

We started our trip Saturday morning at 6:45 a.m. We went on a hot air balloon ride. It was so great! I was alittle scared before we went, but it was not scary at all. It was so very, very peaceful. From there we drove down to the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort and Spa. We got a massage at the Spa and spent our days laying by the pool and floating around the lazy river. At night we drove into Austin and ate at fun restaurants. We had a wonderful time. It is great to get to really spend sometime together. We talked a lot about our goals - family, career, and spiritual. It was just a really good time together!

2008-09-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

More pics that Lynette took last week.

2008-09-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

We have been busy with school, church, and family lately. Jonathan is really starting to enjoy school and I am really enjoying teaching him at home two days a week. Our small group started up again this fall and Jesse and I have agreed to co-lead the group. We are really starting to make good friends at our church and feel truly blessed to be where we are. My sister was in town to visit and we had a great time. She took a few pictures of Jonathan, Jadon and Jordan and they turned out great. Fun times.

2008-09-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

We have had a very relaxing and fun holiday weekend. We have got caught up on many little to-do things around the house. We have gone swimming, taken long naps, finally feel caught up on the laundry (at this very moment), I have got some painting done, caught up on stuff on the computer (eBay, pictures, banking, blogging), Jesse power-washed the living room rug (lots of fun for him), and ate at Chick-fil-A for breakfast (one of our families favorite places). I have a lot of pictures to post from the last few weeks. We went to the lake with my family last weekend and had a wonderful time. Lots going on these days - we are having fun. Will post pictures soon!

2008-08-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

Jonathan started school today. He did great. I did not do so great. I know that he will have a wonderful time and make lots of friends. It is just hard to let him go. His day started out with the principal leading everyone in prayer. Here are some pictures of our big kindergartner. I love my sweet boy so much!

2008-08-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

2008-08-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Again, it has been awhile since my last post. I keep thinking I will get on top of this blogging thing (and everything else), but it never happens. We have of course been very busy. We celebrated Jesse's 33rd birthday on July 31. My parents came in town and we all went to the Rangers game. We had a great time even though it was almost 110 degrees that day. To say it was hot is not enough - it felt like an oven! But we still had a great time.

The next day Jesse flew to Vegas for a conference and me and the boys drove to Lubbock with my parents. On August 5th we celebrated Jadon's 3rd birthday in Lubbock with my family. Jesse flew in for the party (and then flew back to Vegas). We spent the week in Lubbock and then my parents drove us home (I know - soooo nice of them to drive us to and from Dallas).

We have been home a week. Trying to regroup and get ready for the fall. Jonathan starts school in a week. I cannot believe it is so close.

So even though things have been so busy, I am so happy to now have my sweet, big 3 year old (which he reminds me that he is now big because he is 3) and have my handsome 33 year old. God has blessed us with more birthdays and a loving family to celebrate with.

Here are lots of pictures of this last month.

2008-07-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

This past week was Jordan's 1st birthday. I cannot believe how fast this year has gone! I feel so blessed by this sweet little boy. I am so thankful that God has in-trusted us with his little soul to raise. We celebrated with my family in Lubbock on his actual birthday (July 16) because we were driving through on the way back from New Mexico. We celebrated again as a family when we got home. When I told Jonathan that we were going to have another little party for Jordan at our house with just our family he replied: "Jordan is turning 2!!" :) So cute. Happy Birthday Jordan!!

2008-07-22T13:43:00.001-07:00

2008-07-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

We took a rode trip to Poppa and Nana's house in New Mexico. Everyone had a great time. We got to see Jesse's cousins from California - Neal, Ana (and their sweet new baby Alicia), Deanna, and Aunt Janice. It was good to see everyone. The boys had fun playing in the sand and in the water ditch. They helped Nana bake a rainbow cake and rode the tractor with Poppa. We even got to see Kara and her kids for a short while. Here are some pictures from our trip.

2008-07-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

We are still here, I have just been kind of lazy about blogging these days. We have been pretty busy with family visiting and Jesse traveling for work. Everyone is doing really well. We have all been well and enjoying our summer. We are swimming a lot and playing baseball everyday. Here are some pictures from when my sister and her family were here to visit. I will try to be better about updating my blog - hopefully this post will pull me out of my slump :).

2008-06-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had full week with tubes in Jadon and Jordan's ears. The procedure went really well last Tuesday morning. We had to be there at 6:40 am & we were loading up in the car to go home by 9:00 am. My parents came in town for a couple of days to help, so they stayed with Jonathan. They were a big help and I am so glad they came. Jadon and Jordan were pretty much recovered by that same afternoon. Jadon has been covering his ears a lot - without all the fluid behind his ears, he can hear well and he is not used to that. Jordan has become so much more vocal in just this short week. The doctor said that his fluid was very thick and he should hear so much better now. So I am glad that we did it and am also glad that it is over and everyone is doing so well. Thank you God for protecting my children. Thank you for all your wonderful blessings! Thank you all for your prayers!

2008-05-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ok - my last post for today. We are scheduled to have tubes put in both Jadon's and Jordan's ears on Tuesday morning. Please say a prayer for their safety during this procedure. They have both been battling ear infections on and off for the last 5 months. Poor Jordan has had to go through shots to clear his (which has not worked). Hopefully after Tuesday we will all be much better!

2008-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have got a little bit into gardening this year. I planted two rose trees in the front of our house and I planted some mini roses in pots in the backyard. They are all doing really well. These pictures are mostly for Lynette - she has been into gardening with me :).

2008-05-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

Jesse has been playing baseball with Jonathan and Jadon a lot lately. They have also been watching the Rangers play on TV. They all love it, but Jadon really loves it. He has been sleeping with his baseball :). I love my sweet sweet boy so much! So cute!

2008-05-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Just a few things that I have learned while trying to raise three boys:

1) Anything can be a sword - toothbrush, spoon, noodle (uncooked and cooked), chicken kabob, a stick (of course) - just to name a few.

2) No mud or water is to hard to find & yes, it will be jumped in - what is being worn at the moment does not matter - it is an amazing gift.

3) Underwear can instantly transform you into a number of different superheros.

4) Baseball is fun and I now know that this sport will be a big part of my life - I would have never said this ten years ago.

5) Japanese Ninja Warrior is an actual sports event (an obstacle course that Japanese athletes try to get through) that is televised and in Japanese and happens to be very entertaining to the 3 out of 5 people that live in my house - and I am sure that as soon as Jordan is of age the number will be 4 out of 5.

2008-05-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Jonathan had his graduation program from preschool on Thursday night. He looked so cute in his cap and gown! Grannie surprised us and came in town for the big event. We have been enjoying having her here and are so glad that she came and made such an effort to share in Jonathan's big day. After the program we all went out for ice cream. So now I guess we are officially ready for kindergarten! Jonathan has been accepted to Cornerstone Christian Academy. This is a University Model School. He will go to class three mornings a week and be home schooled the other two days. We have prayed a lot about what exactly to do about school for Jonathan and we feel that this is the perfect fit for our family. It falls in line with our goals as a family - it is Christian based and it allows us to be very involved with Jonathan's education. It also will allow for Jonathan to still spend a large part of his days with us. I continue to pray over this decision and hope that God will bless it. Here are some pictures of our sweet boys big night!

2008-05-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

We have been busy this last month. We had our good friends (Galbraith's and Coats') visit and stay the weekend with us. We all had a really good time. The only bad thing was that I came down with a cold while they were here :(. Jesse got to take Jonathan and Jadon to a Rangers game - and yes they loved it. The following week we traveled to Lubbock to help celebrate Madelyn and Ella's 1st birthday. We spent about a week there and had a great time. This past weekend we celebrated Mother's Day. Saturday I went to get a pedicure and manicure (one of my favorite things). When I got home I had 78 roses waiting for me from all of my boys. Sunday we went to church and relaxed the rest of the day - taking a nap, grilling out, and going for a walk on a perfect evening. So we have had a busy few weeks. The one thing that has been constant the last three weeks is a cold that we have been passing between the five of us. For Jordan and Jadon it also included ear infections (Jordan's 5th in the last 3 months & Jadon's third). We have an appointment at the ENT for both of them on Wednesday. On top of Jordan's ears, he is cutting FOUR of his top teeth! It suddenly becomes clear why he has not been sleeping so great this past month! So I am praying about the ENT appointment and hoping that we will all stay healthy for awhile. Actually, I suspect that Jadon is getting another ear infection as I am typing this. So maybe I will pray for healing and that we all survive all this sickness!

2008-04-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

Seven years ago today Jesse and I were married. I had no idea what wonderful blessings God had in store for us. We have done a lot over the last seven years. Here is a very short summary. We moved to Dallas, bought our first house, made life long friends, grew closer to God, found out we were having a baby the day before we moved to Virginia. We then moved to Virginia, made more life long friends, had our first son, lived through a snow storm that dumped 30 inches on us, bought our second house, grew even closer to God. We traveled to fun places - Niagara Falls with my parents and New York as a family of three. We lived through a sniper shooter taking the DC area hostage and a hurricane that hit the east coast. We traveled to Disney World with my entire family and had the time of our lives. We cried and rejoiced when Devon went home to Jesus - trying to find joy in all circumstances. We then found out we were to have a second baby. We traveled to Mexico with Lynette and Shawn and my entire family to witness their beautiful marriage. We had our second son. We moved back to Texas and purchased our third home. We sold our first and second home. We slowly adjusted to the move and again, growing closer to God. We traveled to Cabo San Lucus for a me and Jesse only trip. We found out we were having our third baby (surprise). We found a wonderful church home and began making wonderful friends. We traveled to Sea World for a family vacation. We started our own consulting company with the goal of Jesse working from home. We had our third son. We slowly adjusted to being a family of five and still growing closer to God. We traveled to Northern California with my parents. We survived an F2 tornado going through our neighborhood in the middle of the night. We are still surviving sleepless nights and raising three boys. God has molded us and changed us in ways I never imagined. He has worked and shown His glory continuously. Jesse is my very best friend and am so blessed to have had such an amazing life with him for the last seven years. I look forward to many, many more. I love you Jesse. Thank you for marrying me. Here are some pictures of our wedding day and our honeymoon (I'm not sure why they are side ways, rotated them in iphoto).

2008-04-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

I awoke Thursday morning at about 3:50 am to what sounded like hail hitting the house. I laid there for a minute and then things got very loud. I grabbed Jordan and went to turn on the tv to see what was going on. The weather said take cover. By this time I knew that something was going on outside. It was still so loud and I could tell that objects were hitting the house. I went and got Jesse and the boys out of bed and we all took cover in the closet. It was all over by 4:15 am. We could not see much out our window since it was still dark, but we could tell that our tree and the fence were gone. So we all went back to bed (finally getting everyone back to sleep about 5:30). I awoke again at 7:00 am to a very loud noise. This time it was the news helicopters hovering over our neighborhood. I'm not sure if it was ever officially called a tornado, but we believe that it was. We can see the path that it took through our neighborhood. The worst of the destruction being just one block over from ours. We were blessed that we only have a damaged roof and almost no fence and a tree down. A block west of our house, a bed was in the backyard and the back of the house was gone. There were trampoline's in trees, brick and stone fences broken down to nothing, and huge trees snapped in half. A house about 6 houses down from ours had a small airplane in their backyard (our neighborhood backs up to a small air strip owned by about 8 families). Houses right next to ours have no windows and no chimneys (someone's chimney was in our yard). God protected us and we are so grateful. Here are some pictures.

2008-04-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

Jordan had Cheerios for the first time this week. I have had a hard time getting him to eat anything but his cereal. He does not like any baby food or table food, but we tried Cheerios and he LOVES them! He will sit in his high chair and eat them one by one for a really long time - so cute! I love my kids so much and feel so blessed. Even with all the hard work and chaos that fills my every single day, I wouldn't trade it for anything. This is such a wonderful time in my life and my sweet family gives me such great joy.

2008-04-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Jesse's family came to visit the week of Easter. We had a great time. We celebrated Nana's birthday, colored Easter eggs, and hunted eggs with all the cousins. Jordan did have his first full blown cold (that came with an ear infection) the entire week that everyone was here. So Easter Sunday did not workout so well for us. Jordan and I stayed home from church and I did not dress anyone in their Easter outfit. It was freezing cold and I was just tired (Jordan's first cold = no sleep for Mommy). So this past Sunday we dressed up in our Easter attire :). Jordan is finally on the mend and things are going good. Here are pics of our last few weeks.

2008-03-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

It snowed this past week. Jesse and the boys made a snowman. I have to say that I was impressed with Jesse's snowman making abilities. Jonathan and Jadon had a great time. Jordan was napping, and I watched with a smile on my face. Fun snowday.

2008-02-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

My sweet baby Jordan. He is seven months old now and such a joy. Tonight I took some pictures of him to frame for the playroom upstairs - SO sweet!

2008-02-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of my boys before church this Sunday. I just cannot resist taking their picture when they are all dressed up!

2008-02-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by a friend to tell 5 or 6 things about myself that are "non-important or not really known". I think I have the concept and this is what I came up with.

1) I have naturally curly hair, hardly anyone who knows me now knows this because I have been straighting my hair everyday for years.

2) I cannot go to sleep at night without blistex on my lips. If I cannot find my tube, I will search and search until I find some - even if I am so tired and all I want to do is go to sleep.

3)I have lotion next to my bed because I wake up in the night and I MUST put lotion on my hands and feet - I know it is weird - they just feel so dry, even though I put lotion on before I went to sleep. It is not uncommon for me to apply lotion to my hands and feet several times during the night :).

4) I shower twice a day - once in the morning and once at night.

5)I am hot all the time - I freeze Jesse out. I sleep in a tank top with just the sheet for covers - Jesse sleeps in sweat pants, a sweat shirt, a warm hat, and uses all the comforters on our bed. I am sure that it is just my hormones. I have pretty much been hot since becoming pregnant with Jonathan. But now that I think about it, I have either been pregnant or nursing a baby over the last 6 years :).

6) I weigh about 20 pounds less than I did in high school. Not really sure why - just lost the weight in college and have weighed the same ever since.

2008-02-16T19:54:00.002-08:00

We have had a pretty peaceful February so far. Jesse has started his new schedule at work. He is now working from home three days a week and going in to the office two days. I love him working from home. It is challenging in some areas, but it is so worth it. It give us both so much more freedom. We got a membership to a gym down the street and it is actually working out that we are both able to go. It is really nice and we feel really blessed. We are still praying about what the future holds with Jesse's jobs. His consulting is still going really well, but he is also enjoying his "day" job. They have been great in working with him (i.e. letting him cut back his hours to have time for consulting work and letting him work from home). The boys are doing great. Jordan is getting so big. He is now seven months and eating cereal. He is also cutting his first tooth! Jonathan and Jadon are also growing so fast. We are enjoying life and are so very thankful for each day that God gives us. I was tagged a fellow blogger and I promise I will follow through on my next entry!

2008-01-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

2008-01-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

2008-01-28T20:09:00.001-08:00

More Pictures!

2008-01-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

Monterey, California

We have had a great trip to Monterey. We are leaving in the morning and are praying that all goes smooth and that we arrive safely in Dallas tomorrow afternoon,
Our trip did start out with a delay going out of Dallas Friday evening. We did not end up getting to our hotel in Monterey until 4:00 a.m. Texas time! To my pleasant surprise the kids did really great. They all slept off and on and when they were awake they were happy - God was with us the whole way. After sleeping in :), we all got and began our adventures in Monterey. Over the last 3 days we have visited the largest aquarium in the country, got on a train ride up in the mountains to see the redwoods (amazing!), drove what is called the 17 mile drive along the coast (again, amazing!), walked on Pebble Beach, shopped and ate at fun restaurants on Cannery Row, and went out on a boat on the very wavy sea to do some whale watching (of which we did see whales, and shortly after I lost all - and I mean all - of my breakfast and lunch). If there was something that was not so fun about the trip, this would be it for me. But besides that, it has been a great vacation. We have a great time with my parents and feel so blessed to have had this experience with them. The consulting firm party went really well on Saturday night for me and Jesse. I think that Jesse made even more contacts and we are both excited about what the future holds. Here are some pictures. We thank the Lord for His amazing creations and and His endless blessings. What an awesome God !

2008-01-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas, Jonathan's 5th Birthday, Trip to CA - I'm tired!

We had a great and blessed Christmas. We drove first to Lubbock and had a Christmas with one side of my family. We drove the next day to Ruiodoso, NM and had Christmas with Jesse's entire family. We stayed there for 5 days. We then drove back to Lubbock and had two more Christmas' with my family. After staying there for 5 days we drove back home. We were home for one week and had Jonathan's 5th birthday party with some of his friends from church. By this time I was very tired. We had a great Christmas and loved being with all of our family. Jonathan's birthday party went really well and I cannot believe that he is five years old! We have had a few weeks to try to recover and I was looking forward to not traveling for the next few months - until - we were invited to Jesse's consulting firms holiday party in Monterey, CA this coming weekend. I first said no - just the thought of going made me tired. Not to mention I did not want to and did not really feel like it was even an option to leave Jordan since I am still nursing. It just seemed to complicated. The firm contacted Jesse twice asking him to please come. They have never met Jesse face to face and would like to meet with him and get some face time. They were offering to pay travel and all expenses while we are there. So, long story short, we are going (my very giving parents are going with us to help with our kids). We are going to stay 4 days and look around some. It should be a good time. My sweet Jordan did get sick today - we are going to the doctor in the morning. Hopefully we will all well by Friday. That about sums up our last month. I will try to post pictures soon. Some of my blogging friends have listed some of their favorite things and I thought I would do the same.

Some of My Very Favorite Things

1) Being Mommy to three sweet boys.
2) Being married to my very best friend.
3) Snow on Christmas day
4) Getting my hair cut and colored
5)Getting a pedicure and manicure
6) The way Jadon says Jonathan's name
7) Watching football with my family
8) Taking walks with my family
9) Reading the bible to my boys
10) Watching Jonathan run really fast
11) Jordan's sweet, very wet kisses
12) Talking on the phone to my sisters
13) A full night's sleep - I know I will get to do this again someday
14) Laying in bed at night with my boys and praying with them
15)Rocking my baby to sleep
16) Being so incredibly blessed that my "Favorite Things List" could go on and on and on...............:)

2007-12-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

We are busy with Christmas - seeing Santa, Jonathan's musical at church, and just trying to get ready for the big day! We are having a lot of fun with all of this. The kids bring so much joy to our lives. Here are some pictures!

2007-12-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

I made an effort to decorate for Christmas this year. We put lights up outside and everything. The kids are getting excited about Christmas and it is so much fun! Here are some pictures of our decorations and a sweet pic of Jordan.

2007-11-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

Jordan had his 4 month check-up last week. He weighed 13 pounds 1 ounce (16%) and he was 25 inches long (60%). Two different nurses told me he was "a beautiful baby". I would have to agree :)! We are off tomorrow to Lubbock - have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2007-11-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

Jonathan's Thanksgiving Feast at Preschool

2007-11-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

I just want to thank my sweet husband for being so great. He continues to amaze me. He is the best husband and father that I know. He gives and gives and gives to me and the boys. His love for the Lord encourages me daily and his desire to study and know the Word inspires me to try to do the same. I loved Jesse and thought he was a great guy when I married him almost 7 years ago - but I had know idea what God had blessed my life with. I love you Jesse!

2007-11-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

Just some pics of the playing at the park, coloring, eating cupcakes, and just hanging out.

2007-11-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

Jordan Lucas will be 4 months old on Friday. He laughed out loud for the first time this week. He is "talking" all the time and at this point his Mommy is his favorite person! I love you Jordan! We are having a good time with our boys. What a blessing they are!

2007-10-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the Arboretum last weekend with our sweet friends Matt, JT, and Hannah. Here are some pics!

2007-10-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying our fall so far. We have enjoyed almost a solid month of everyone being healthy! We are getting ready for next week. Jonathan has to wear a costume to school, so I asked him what he wanted to be and he said spiderman. Since we got the costume in the mail he has hardly taken it off! He loves it! We have never really celebrated Halloween before (just a personal preference for our family) - so getting to dress up is new for us. It has been fun to watch my two spidermen run around the house. We will go to church next week and trick or treat. We also painted pumpkins for Jonathan's pumpkin patch at school. We are having a good time.

This morning I was reading to Jadon and I just felt overwhelmed with how blessed I am. Even with little sleep, I realize how I am blessed with a life beyond what I ever dreamed I would have. Thank You God for my life.

2007-09-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Jadon and Jordan both had their check up at the doctor today. Jordan was there for his two month. He weighed 11 pounds and 1 ounce - he is in the 18% for weight. He was 23 inches long (60% for height). He is still on track with Jonathan and Jadon growth wise. He is doing great and even sleeping alittle bit for me. He is smiling all the time. Jadon weighed 22 pounds - not even on the charts (height he was in the 57%). The doctor again expressed her concern about Jadon being under weight and wants to run tests. I asked to wait on the tests for a few months. I am not worried at all - my boys are just skinny (not a bad thing). Jadon also still has fluid on his ears. We are going to try a more powerful allergy med. If that does not clear them up we go to the ENT in the next month or so.

We are enjoying having some time at home. Jesse and I have officially started our own company - JLL Consulting. Jesse has two consulting jobs now and he has cut his hours back at work to try to balance everything. Starting the company is exciting and we are praying that God will lead us and bless us in this new chapter in our lives.

I guess that sums up what we have been doing. Jonathan is still loving preschool and is making friends. I will post pictures soon!

2007-09-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ok - one more post for today. Just some pictures of all my sweet handsome boys. I love them all so much and feel overwhelmingly blessed to have them in my life. I pray for each of them everyday. I pray that I would be the wife and mother that the Lord calls me to be. Thank You Lord for my boys!

2007-09-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Jonathan started preschool at church on September 4th. He looked so big with his backpack! He has been doing great. He is going on Tuesday and Thursday for about 4 hours. I pick him up about an hour early so we do not mess up nap time. I ask him when I pick him up if he had a good time and he always says yes - but he follows that with that he was thinking about me and missed me. It melts my heart! I do think that he is having a good time and is enjoying getting to play with all the kids. Here are some pics of his first day of school!

2007-09-16T19:06:00.001-07:00

More pictures from Labor Day Weekend in Lubbock!

2007-09-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

It has been over two months since I have posted anything. I guess having three kids has got the best of me! I have to say that the transition from two kids to three has been much harder than going from one to two. It has not helped that our sweet Jadon has been sick three times since Jordan was born. For now, we are all well and trying to get back to normal. We had a solid month of guests at our house after Jordan was born - the last being my Mom because Jadon was so sick that I needed help. We made a trip to Lubbock on Labor Day weekend. We had a great time with my family and Jordan got to meet his two cousins - Madelyn and Ella. Jonathan and Jadon got to spend some time with Pop out on the farm. We all had a great time! Here are a few pics from our fun weekend!

2007-08-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

We had a busy week last week. Jesse turned 32 years old on July 31 - Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! Jadon turned 2 years old on August 5 - Happy birthday to our sweet boy!! Jordan had his two week appointment - he had almost gained a pound since we left the hospital. He is up to 7 pounds 2 ounces! He is in the 10% for his weight and 25% for his height (he grew an inch - now he is 20 inches). He is right in line with Jonathan and Jadon for both height and weight. So he is doing great! I will say that he has woke up a bit and is now eating every 2 - 3 hours. That equals not a lot of sleep for me! Jonathan is so sweet to Jordan. He is always wanting to hug and kiss him and he is always saying that he loves his new baby. Jesse's parents were also here visiting last week. So we had a full and fun filled week! Here are some pics from our birthdays and our days with our new baby Jordan.

2007-07-30T13:33:00.001-07:00

More pictures of our sweet new baby Jordan.

2007-07-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Jordan Lucas Lee was born July 16, 2007 at 9:49 a.m. I was supposed to be induced on Friday, July 20. My Mom had changed her arrival date to Sat. July 14, because we decided to induce on the 20th. I am so very glad because if we had not chosen the 20th to be induced, Mom would not have been here when my water broke at 1:30 a.m. on that Monday morning. Labor went great and Jordan came into this world almost as easily as Jadon did. He did not hardly open his eyes for the first week. He is sleeping good and we are all adjusting to being a family of five. Today is my first day at home by myself with all three kids (and I am writing a bog, so I would say it is going well). My mom left this past Friday. She was more help than I could ever say - she was cleaning and washing clothes all the time, plus helping me with the kids. Jadon has had a hard time. We had a scare with him about 4 days ago. He awoke in the morning and could not walk. I was in tears and thinking the worst. We took him to the doctor and they ran test and x-rays. They determined that a virus had settled in his hip. He is much better today. I have been praying constantly about the health of my children these past few days. It is a true blessing to have healthy children. I feel so blessed to have three beautiful healthy boys. I pray that I will raise them each to be faithful and to love the Lord with all their hearts. I pray that they all (and myself and Jesse included) do not put our hope in the things of this world, but that our hope and goal is heaven. Since the scare with Jadon, Jesse and I have been talking a lot about that. We do not want our family to live for this world or our earthly bodies, but we want to be a family that lives for eternity - not getting caught up in worldly desires. Thank You Lord for Jesus. Thank You that we have heaven to look forward to. Thank You for our sweet Jordan, Jadon, and Jonathan - may we know that they are Yours and raise them to love You. Thank You.

2007-07-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

We were having a nice and quite morning this morning. I was checking e-mail and the boys were outside playing with a bug that they had captured. I can always hear them and see them out the window. I noticed that things were a little too quiet so I went to the door to check on them. I found Jonathan with mud on his hands and putting the mud on Jadon's eyes. Sweet Jadon was just standing there with his eyes closed letting Jonathan rub the mud on his eyes. I immediately told Joanthan to stop and asked him why he was putting mud on Jadon's eyes. Jonathan told me that he was healing the blind man (John Chapter 9). Trying not to laugh I told Jonathan the he is not Jesus and Jadon is not blind and to please not put anything in Jadon's eyes. Then I went and got the camera. I love my job.

2007-07-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

I had never thought about how awful it would be to be nine months pregnant and get sick at the same time - until this past weekend. I am 37 weeks along and this weekend started to not feel so great (besides being so uncomfortable from being pregnant). I started running a fever on Saturday along with the whole sore throat and cough. Jesse took me to a quick clinic on Sunday morning - I have an infection and they gave me antibiotics. So hopefully I will be better soon. I would not wish this on anyone. My sister Lori was visiting and helped out so much - I am not sure how we would have made it without her! Thanks Lori & Skyler & Beth! We are alittle over two weeks away from the induction date. So I am praying that I fully recover and that no one else in my family catches this so we can all be healthy when Jordan arrives!

2007-07-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has officially learned to ride his bike without his training wheels! He is getting so big! This was only his fourth time out with Jesse trying to learn - and he is riding like a pro =)! We were so proud. Another milestone - we look forward to many more - what a joy kids are! So much fun!

2007-06-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

In the mornings we all try to read our Bible so we can be closer to God. Jonathan has his little Bible that Fairfax Church gave him that he always reads out of. He often reads to Jadon and it is the sweetest thing. I captured some of our morning and wanted to share it.

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2007-06-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

I was given a baby shower by some very sweet girls from Greenville Oaks this past Saturday. This is a group of girls that I know, but not that well. They are apart of the small group that we decided to join. They have been so great! They totally planned the cutest shower for me - they started planning even before we had placed membership at church. What a blessing they have been! I felt welcome in the group from the beginning. The shower was wonderful and to my delightful surprise, there was a good turn out. They made everything so cute!! My Mom, Grandmother, and my niece Skyler all came in town for the shower. I am so thankful that my family makes such an effort to be there for me. I am so blessed to have them. So we had a great weekend going to the shower and spending time with my family. We also got to have a short visit with Jesse's Mom earlier in the week - it was a pleasant surprise when she called and said she was coming to visit for a few days.
So we have a fun filled week with lots of visitors. Thank you God for the countless blessings in my life!

2007-06-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I posted a blog. We have had a lot going on. My sister Lynette had her twin baby girls on May 5th. They were born at 32 weeks and weighed about 3 pounds each. We went to Lubbock as soon as we got the call. I ended up staying with the kids for 2 full weeks. Jesse was there off on on during that 2 weeks - he had to travel to Virginia for work for a few days. The babies are now at home and doing great. We have been home ever since and plan on staying until our sweet baby arrives. I have about six more weeks. We have been enjoying the summer. It finally has stopped raining some and we have got to enjoy the pool. It is such a fun time. Jadon is so cute and fun these days. He is always so happy and is talking all the time. Jonathan is getting so big and is also such a joy. I love them both so much. Jesse has started doing some consulting work from home on the side. He is really enjoying it. We do not know if it will lead to anything, but we are praying about it. I posted some pictures of our summer days so far. Such fun times.

2007-04-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

2007-04-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

More pictures!

2007-04-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

We went to San Antonio and Sea World for our family vacation. We had to move the date up from mid-May until now due to Jesse's work schedule. It turned out ok - probably better because I am getting pretty pregnant. The boys had a great time at Sea World (we all did). We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort and it was really a fun place. The only problem was that it was cloudy and cool the entire four days we were there. It rain off and on. That did not stop us from enjoying the cold water and sandy beach! We really had a great vacation. We felt so blessed to have our sweet family!

2007-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! Here are some pictures of our day. Jadon has had a cold and did not sleep well the night before, so we slept in and just went to late service. The boys loved there Easter baskets! It was COLD, but we wore our short sleeve Easter outfits anyway - atleast the snow did not stick! It was a good day! Thank You Lord for Jesus, for Your grace, and for Your mercy.

2007-03-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

My last few posts have been pretty short. It seems like I do not have a lot of time to sit down and just write. I look at some people's blog and I am amazed at how much it seems they put in to it. Maybe I am not managing my time as well - but you professional bloggers (you know who you are) amaze me :). One big thing that has been happening in our lives lately is that we have decided to change churches. We are now attending Greenville Oaks church in Allen. It is less than 10 minutes from our house. It was a really hard decision to leave Prestoncrest, but Jesse and I both feel like it is the right thing to do for our family. We have found a small group and we are excited to start a new chapter in our lives. We have already met so many great people. I am also trying to get ready for our new baby. I have plans to paint the baby's room and we have ordered Jadon furniture. Jonathan wants to feel the baby kick so bad. He is always asking me "is our baby kicking?". He seems to be getting so big so fast! I just cannot express what a true joy it is to raise him (and Jadon). Since we found out that we are having another boy, everyone is joking with me that we will have to try for a fourth baby (for a girl). I laugh and say most likely not - but a part of me is not opposed to it. Yes kids are A LOT of work and it is very hard sometimes, but they also bring me such and joy and I love them more than I could ever say. But I also feel pretty sure that if did have a fourth it would also be a boy. So who knows what the future holds. Now that it is after 11:00 and the baby is kicking like crazy (Jonathan is missing it again) I think I will go to bed - is this when the professional blogger's blog - late at night when everyone has gone to sleep? Just trying to figure it out. I am also including some pictures of Jonathan and Jadon before church this morning - all my boys (including Jesse) looked so handsome. Thanks Grannie for the matching outfits! Thank you God for a wonderful Sunday.

2007-03-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

We took a ride on Thomas the Train on Saturday. It was our second year to ride and the kids loved it! It was so much fun! Jadon calls Thomas a T-T. When he saw Thomas he was so cute! Here are some pictures from our fun day!

2007-03-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had our sonogram on Monday morning. Everything looks good. Jesse and I both were thinking that this baby was a girl - I felt so sure that I had already bought pink hangers for "her" closet. Well, we were very wrong. We are having another sweet boy! So now we are three =). Jonathan was very excited - he wanted another brother. God has blessed so much and we thank Him and give Him all the glory. Here are some pictures of my two sweet boys last Sunday before we went to church and on the bikes this past weekend.

2007-02-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

Jonathan makes a bed in the livingroom for himself and Jadon. Then he makes Jadon lay down, he covers Jadon up and attempts to sing him to sleep.

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2007-02-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend I attended the Ladies Retreat for our church. I left Jesse with the kids Friday afternoon and was to return home Saturday afternoon. The retreat was really uplifting. I enjoyed the speaker - her name is Devi Titus and I loved her message. I just sat here and tried to explain it in words and I feel like I do not do it justice. You could tell that she has a heart for the Lord and a heart to reach women. So I came away uplift and inspired to be a better mother, wife, and most of all a better servant of the Lord. I thank God for speaking to me this weekend thru Devi. Coming home from the retreat I was thinking how so blessed I am to have Jesse and the boys. When I got home , Jonathan was so excited to show me what Jesse had bought him - a vacuum cleaner - a real vacuum cleaner. Jonathan is always vacuuming with me with his little toy vacuum and sometimes gets upset because it will not pick things up. So Jesse has been saying that we should get him a real one - so I leave for the weekend and Jonathan gets a real vacuum. They had been vacuuming all day - it was pretty cute. We had to make Jonathan stop tonight at about 8:30. He loves it and he loves seeing everything that it picks up - and the floors are really clean :) Such fun times at our house.

2007-01-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

More Pictures.......... Jonathan's 4th Birthday Party

2007-01-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have written a blog. Lots has been going on - Christmas, traveling to Lubbock, celebrating Jonathan's 4th birthday, and last (but the most likely reason for the lack of blogs) a new baby and me being constantly sick because of the pregnancy. So where do I begin? I guess I could start with us finding out that we are expecting a new baby due in July. I am currently 12 weeks. We were somewhat surprised with the news (it was about 6-12 months sooner than I had planned), but we are excited. Jadon and the baby will be almost exactly 2 years apart. I have been very sick and that has been hard. I move slower and can't seem to get anything done. I have medicine that the doctor gave me so I have to make a choice - I do not throw up but I cannot function because I am so sleepy (due to the meds) or I feel horrible. It has been hard but I pray that I am close to the end of this phase. It is very humbling to constantly feel so bad, it makes me thankful for the health that we do have and to pray that we all stay healthy. Having a healthy body is such a blessing. We will find out what the sex is. Both Jesse and I feel like this might be a girl . I guess we will know in about a month.
So now Christmas - we had our little family Christmas on the Saturday morning before Christmas day. It was a lot of fun. Then we loaded up the car and drove to Lubbock. We stayed in Lubbock for a week. We enjoyed being with my family and seeing our friends. It was a good and joyful time. Of course, Jonathan and Jadon had a great time playing with their cousins. Jonathan got an electric train from Grannie and Pop and he LOVES it. We also had a birthday party for Jonathan in Lubbock with my family. He wanted a spiderman cake and he was so excited. I cannot believe that he is 4 years old. Time is going so fast!
When we came home from Lubbock Jesse took some time off from work. We celebrated Jonathan's birthday again - this time on his actual birthday - January 8. I made him a cake and he wanted to go to Chucky Cheese. We are trying to get back into the swing of things here in Dallas. We still do not feel that at home here but we are trying. We are thinking about making some changes at church in hopes to feel more connected. We have not been very consistant these past few months because of travel and sickness. Hopefully we can get back to normal soon.
I pray that we are continually seeking God's will and that we are listening to His voice. I am so thankful for my beautiful family - for my husband who was just sitting here next to me on the couch reading me the Bible, asking me questions to make sure I was listening :). I am so blessed.

2006-11-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

Jadon walking and talking.

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2006-11-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

Jadon blowing his nose.

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2006-11-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

,

Happy Thanksgiving! We spent our thanksgiving with Nana and Poppa in New Mexico. Kara, Jeff, Hayden, and Brylee were all there too. We had a wonderful time. Jonathan and Jadon got to ride the horse, ride the tractor, and at the end of the trip we all got to ride the Polar Express! We went up to Durango, CO. on our last evening there to eat dinner. After eating we decided to go to the downtown area to do a little shopping. When we got there we discovered that the train had just started runnning hour long rides to the North Pole on the Polar Express. Jonathan was beside himself!! He has watched and watched that movie and he LOVES trains! So we all bought our tickets and went for a ride. It was so much fun! The best part was watching Jonathan. I loved it. We even got a bell from Santa himself. We all had a great Thankgiving. I feel so very, very blessed.

2006-11-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

Today we went on a walk in our neighborhood and took some pictures. Taking walks is one of our families favorite things to do. We enjoyed our Saturday. After taking our walk we went out to dinner and then went to Target to let Jonathan look at the toys to maybe show us what he might like for Christmas. He loves the movie Cars, so anything to do with the movie he loves. Jadon also started walking this week, so I will try to post some video of it soon. Jonathan is so proud of him. It is so cute. I love my boys so much. Although staying home with them is sometimes hard and often challenging, I get to see all the first's of their lives. They are two wonderful souls that God has blessed me with. He has entrusted me to raise them up in Him. It is sometimes overwhelming. I pray everyday that I am the mother that He calls me to be. I cannot think of anything more important than raising Jonathan and Jadon to be Godly men. When I look at them I see eternity and eternity is what I long to live for. I want them to spend eternity in heaven. Thank You God for my children. Thank You for sweet Jadon's first steps this week.

2006-11-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

I painted our kitchen green. The color is called cedar path. When I decided to paint the kitchen, I pictured it in my head and it looked really good and I was sure of the color. I started painting about three weeks ago and I finished on Friday night at midnight. The closer I got to finishing on Friday, I started thinking I was not sure that I liked it. This made me so sad, because for me to paint anything any more is a big deal. With two kids and a husband, it is almost impossible to paint a room. So the thought of having to re-paint the kitchen almost made me cry. After I finished on Friday I looked and looked at the kitchen. I had decided that I for sure did not like it. Today, I sometimes thought I might like it, but most of the day I still did not. So I decided that I would leave it until after Christmas, and if I still did not like it I will re-paint. So let me know what you think because I need help to decide what to do.

2006-11-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

Today I just would like to share how amazing our God is. This past week I have been praying for several "big" things. I have been in constant prayer to the point of tears and pleading with the Lord. First, I have been praying for Sarah Bergquist. She is a wife and mother of four children that we attended church with in VA. She was diagnosed with acute leukemia. This past week she suffered a stroke and went through several surgeries on blood clots in her brain. I did not know Sarah that well while we were in VA, we have boys that are the same age and I got to spend a day cooking with her a few years ago. I have been keeping up with her situation on her website. I was praising God today when I read the update - she is off the breathing machine and talking! Thank you God for Your glory and Your grace, please continue to heal Sarah! The next thing I have been praising God for today is that we found out just a few hours ago that a woman in our bible class will not face a trial for a horrible accident that killed a 10 month old baby. She will get her own children returned to her and all of the legal stuff is over after a year of worry and heartache - praise God! The last thing that I have been praying for since last night and into this morning is my sister Lynette. She called last night and said that she had started bleeding. She is pregnant with twins through IVF. I cried and prayed for a miracle. She has already been through so much with losing Devon. I couldn't sleep, every time I woke up I started pleading with God. She called after she went to the doctor at 8:00 this morning. Both babies look perfect!! The heartbeats are strong and the doctor thought she knew the reason - something about twins, IVF, and not alot of room in the uterus. It is somewhat common in IVF patients. God is so good. His glory shines in all things - I know that we do not always get the answer that we are looking for when we pray. As I sat down today I just cried because He loves us so much! He wants to answer our prayers, He loves to hear our prayers, He loves to see us cry tears of joy. Thank You God for Your glory and Your grace. I pray the we live our lives for You and only You. I pray that we live for eternity. Thank You for showing Your wonderful love this week! Thank You.

2006-10-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated my 32nd birthday. On Friday night Jesse and the boys took me to Chili's to eat. On Saturday morning we went to IHOP and ate breakfast (one of our family's favorite places). After IHOP we went and bought a big rug for the living room. I used my b-day $$ to buy the rug and I love it. It makes the living room so much more comfortable! On my actual birthaday Jonathan was so sweet. He would just randomly tell me Happy Birthday throughout the day. Jesse, Jonathan, and Jadon made me a big sugar cookie. Everything was really good. Jesse asked if I was sad to be 32 and I said no way. I love my life and I think back on what God has done in my life since I was 22 and I am amazed. He has been so good to me. I love being 32 and I will take it over my 22 any day! We had a great weekend. Thank you God for letting me turn 32. Thank you for your love and grace and all the wonderful blessings in my life.

2006-10-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Fall is one of our favorite seasons. I have been trying to explain to Jonathan just exactly what a "season" is. He asked me why the leaves on our tree in the front yard are turning red. I never realized that the different seasons is a hard concept, or for that matter the days of the week. Everything in Jonathan's world happened "last year". "Mama, remember when we ate that ice cream last year?" In realitity we ate the ice cream at lunch time. It is so sweet and cute. But back to the tree in the front yard. I have been watching it over the last week and thinking how pretty the colors of the leaves are. Jesse said today that it is the only tree on our street that the leaves are so pretty and bright red. We are not sure why. When we were in Virginia over the last four years, one of our favorite things to do was to drive out in the country and look at the fall colors. It was always so beautiful and I loved going. I have missed Virginia very much since we moved here. When Jesse brought it to my attention that we were the only tree on the block that had the bright pretty color it made me smile. God gave me a little (very little, the tree is not even a year old) piece of Virginia this week.

2006-10-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

I have been inspired by my sweet friend Ramona to start blogging. It is such a neat way to keep up with what is going on in peoples lives. With Jonathan and Jadon changing so much, and being such a blessing in my life; I want to share our life with our dear friends and family. Now the challenge will be finding the time during the week to sit down and write this blog. The boys keep me busy, but I am going to try my hardest to keep this up. The first thing I would like to share is our fun trip to the Fort Worth Zoo this past Saturday. Jesse and I almost gave up trying to get there. It is about an hour drive from our house, but it took us two because of traffic! We were glad that we went, once we finally got there. The boys loved the animals. Jonathan would get so excited showing us all the animals and Jadon would just growl at them. So, so cute. I sometimes look at my family and I am so overwhelmed with love, joy, and happiness - it brings tears to my eyes and words cannot express what I feel. I can't believe how God has blessed me. So we had a great time at the zoo. The boys were getting tired about lunch so we ate and then came home. They slept the entire car ride home - another blessing =). So this Monday morning Jonathan, Jadon, and I have been playing zoo. Jonathan is the big scary lion, Jadon is the baby lion, and I am someone visiting the zoo with a make believe friend talking about all the animals - mostly the lions. Fun and blessed times.