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It was three years ago, RIGHT NOW, that I was laying in a hospital bed, getting prepped for a C-section...

Oh, if only I could have truly known how my life was about to change.

Actually, I take that back...
I'm glad I didn't know.
Not knowing was (and still is!!) half the fun.

So I thought we'd take a little step back in time and see what each year has held for us

This photo was taken pretty much as soon as JM was born.
I can still remember how sweet he was, how snuggly and warm.
It seems like yesterday... and forever ago all wrapped into one...

That first year was full of SO MANY firsts...
teeth, sitting, crawling, walking, babbling...
first car trips, play dates, ice cream...

To all you new and soon-to-be mommies:
TREASURE THIS BABY TIME!!
They grow up wayyy too fast and before you blink,
you're at:

The first birthday

As we move on into the next year, we had more growth and changes...
talking, singing, SCHOOL...
sleeping through the night, sippy cups, haircuts...
birthday parties, weddings, dancing...
What a year!

The Second Birthday

I think that this year brought more changes than a little boy should deal with...
I went back to work...
Micah changed jobs...
We moved...
and LOTS of other new things:
big boy bed, spankings, vacation...
weeks at bb & poppy's house, the ocean, a cousin!
What a blessing this sweet, flexible, easy going boy is!

The Third Birthday

I wonder what this year will hold...
I'm guessing lots of laughing, hugs and kisses...
probably a few fits, some tears and owies...
but one thing I KNOW-
this year will be filled with LOVE.
And hopefully each year John Mark will realize not only
how much I love him...
how much his daddy loves him...
but how much GOD loves him...

This is my prayer everyday.

adventures in potty training

I have to say, after a long summer,
I think we're getting somewhere.
In fact, I think I would say John Mark is 90% potty trained.

Ok, ok, so maybe it's more like 85%...

Anyway, I've learned some things through this whole process.

For example,
Just because he says he wants to wear big boy underwear,
and he promises to tell you when he needs to potty,
doesn't mean he will.

In fact, he might just empty his bladder right there,
while looking at himself in the mirror,
leaving a giant puddle in the floor of the store.

And just when I convince myself he's too young,
that maybe he can't control it yet...

I find him in a friend's playhouse,
"maybe going poop"
And when I beg him to hold it,
he actually makes it to the potty.
Thus proving to me that this is a matter of the will.

And the will in question...
well, it's pretty darn strong.

I've also discovered that potty training leads to some interesting
(and by interesting, i mean hilarious) conversations...

Like the day he announced...
"Mommy, i need to pee-pee FIRST
so my poop has something so swim in."

5 years

I have been married for 5 years.
FIVE years.
That sounds like such a long time to me.
And yet it seems like a day ago...

Five years ago we said our vows,
each with different picturs of our life.
We both had our plans and dreams,
and while of course we had talked and planned,
each had our own secret hopes...
our personal dream of how our life would turn out.

If you had asked me then whose dream would win,
I would have said mine.
I always get my way.

But to quote the mister:
"baby, you completely underestimated just exactly how okay i am with the rest of the world not being okay with my decisions."

A truer statement has never been spoken.

And you know what,
I'm glad he "won."
Life is simpler his way.

So in short,
Nothing is as I ever imagined it.
Nothing has gone according to my "plan."

Everything is better.

"I was a little girl
alone in my little world
who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees,
and fed my houseguests bark and leaves,
and laughed in my pretty bed of green."
--priscilla ahn

we will remember

Isn't it so true that we are bent on forgetting.
We can go through something so powerful,
so life-changing, so totally GOD...
and years later we've completely forgotten.

“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren." Deuteronomy 4:9

Today at church, we remembered.

It was moving to remember-
Christ's sacrifice...
His sovereignty...
His power...

It was powerful to remember-
how He saved me...
how He changed me...
how He lifted me from the pit...

It was awesome to remember the stories-
of His faithfulness throughout the Bible...
of His salvation in my own life...
of His hand in the lives of friends...

May we never forget.

"When we walk through life's darkest valleys
We will look back at all you have done
And we will shout, 'Our God is good!!!'
For He is the faithful one...

We will remember the works of your hands
And we will stop and give you praise
For great is your faithfulness"
--Tommy Walker

try to be better

I was mildly scolded by some of my faithful followers this weekend when visiting my parents, so I will try to do better at updating!

Here are some recent photos of John Mark and a couple of funny stories about the goober.

On Sunday night he came up to me and said "Mommy, I think that maybe I need to use your phone. I need to text Kelly."

I have to say- having an "almost 3 year old" is teaching me a lot about myself. For instance: I start a lot of sentences with "I Think". Also, I use the words maybe and probably quite a bit too. John Mark tends to enjoy putting all of those things together into one sentence, which makes for some hilarious thoughts, I'm not going to lie.

Also- I think maybe (see, I just typed that from my thoughts without even realizing what I was thinking!!) I text a little too much...

Tuesday night, John Mark and I went to a party for staff wives from church and their kiddos. We played games and ate yummy food. John Mark thoroughly enjoyed playing with the big kids and kept up with the biggest of them. My sweet friend Amy gave us a ride, along with 3 of her kiddos. As we're driving, John Mark loudly proclaims: "Hey! Don't pick your nose. That's gross!" He was talking to Amy's youngest son, Aiden. So funny!

And now for a poop story, since we haven't had one of those in a while. We're working on potty training, really we are. And we are just SO close.....

At the party, I went outside to bring JM in so we could pray and eat. I found him hiding in the little playhouse, and he said "mommy, I think I probably pooped." Since I hadn't brought anything with me I told him to stop pooping so I could take him to the potty. Fortunately, he hadn't pooped just yet, and I ran him in to the bathroom where he immediately sat down and let it go. It might have been my proudest moment of the month.