Visiting Family

This past weekend we were able to go and visit our family back in our hometown. We don't get to make it back home very often because it's a 6 hour drive, which isn't easy to make with 3 kids plus my husband's schedule is usually pretty crazy with school, work, and church.

We were so happy to be able to visit family. Our kids were able to hang out with their grandparents, Kuyper was able to meet some of his great aunts for the first time, and I was able to visit my cousin at her coffee shop and drink some delicious coffee. Here are some pictures from our weekend. They're all cell phone pictures because I forgot to get my big camera out. Most of the pictures will be of Kuyper because well, he's the baby and he was meeting some of our family for the first time. :)

Traveling to see the grandparents

Coloring, she's started trying to color in the lines

Kuyper and Aunt Mona, he loved her

Naps were a bit sporadic this trip and one day Lyric fell asleep on me. I loved the cuddles.

Eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Mama's Pizza

Kuyper fell asleep in the churchin nursery

Yummy coffee from Micki's Munchies and Perfect Perks Coffee Hut.

Papa K getting some love from Lyric

My boys and Papa K

Kuyper and Uncle Austin

Kuyper and Aunt Magaret

Raising Arrows

Some of my favorite Bible verses are Psalm 127 3:-5, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord , the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

I fully believe the Bible when it tells me that my children are a blessing from God. I take seriously my job as a mother to raise up strong arrows for battle. I want my children to love the Lord with their whole hearts, to know what they believe and why, and to be able to defend their beliefs with boldness and gentleness. I know that when I'm raising my children, I'm affecting generations to come because how I raise my children will affect how they raise their children and so on.

Parenting is a serious task, a hard one, a not always enjoyable one, but a blessed one. It's the most sanctifying job I've ever had. I'm not always a great mom, most of the time I'm probably a pretty crappy one, but I'm thankful for God's grace and His new mercies every morning.

I pray that my kids will see Jesus in me, that I will image God well, that I will live and show a life of grace, love, and forgiveness. It's only by God's grace that I can do this.

And since no blog post is complete without pictures, here are some pictures of my newest tattoo that I took with my phone. I recently got this tattoo for my 31st birthday. I got an arrow for each of my kids. Each arrow has a different feather, a Roman numeral for each child's birth year, and the colors used are my kid's birthstone colors. I love it so much, and I have room for a couple more arrows on my arm for future children. :)

First Post in a Loooong Time

So I haven't made a post on our family blog in over 2 years. Life has changed quite a bit since then. My husband has finished 2 years of Bible college with a 4.0 GPA the entire time, we've had another baby, his name is Kuyper and he's 9 months. I plan to blog his birth story here eventually. But for now, I've decided to try and start blogging about our every day life more often. My posts will include mostly pictures for family and friends to keep in touch with us and some updates on what we're up to. Some of the pictures included in this post include us hanging out at home, playing in the snow, and my boys being super sweet and cuddly together. Enjoy the pictures of our family!

My Baby Girl's First Birthday

It's so hard to believe that it's been an entire year since I gave birth (you can read my birth story here) to this beautiful little girl. It's such a bittersweet time. I'm so sad at how quickly this year has passed. I've tried to soak in and cherish every moment, but the reality is that it feels like I just blinked and now my little baby is a 1 year old little girl. This year has been filled with so many ups and some downs as well. I have been able to experience the joy of breastfeeding for a full year now, and I don't see our breastfeeding relationship ending anytime in the near future.  I have also been able to experience many sleepless nights, and I honestly have no idea how I survive on as little sleep as I do.

Our sweet Lyric is one of the sweetest and funniest babies I know. She loves to smile at people, and it's not unusual for her to get the happiest of reactions from people when we are out and about. I think she likes to make others feel good, and I hope she keeps this sweet spirit her whole life.  Lyric loves to wave at people and if someone is laughing, she laughs right along with them.

Lyric loves her big brother more and more now that she is getting older. He makes her laugh more than anyone, and she loves it when he plays with her, chases her, and tickles her. It's pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

Lyric also loves to crawl everywhere now, and she is so curious about everything. She can walk a little too, she actually took her first steps at 7 months old, but she definitely prefers crawling since it gets her where she wants to go faster.

Lyric is also using American Sign Language to communicate with us now. It blows my mind how much babies can learn. So far, Lyric can sign more, please, milk, finished, thank you, and eat. I love being able to communicate with my baby before she can really talk, although she can say Momma and Dada, and she has said "thank you" a couple of times. She babbles and talks away all the time now, and it really seems like she's trying to have a conversation with you.

At 1 year old, Lyric has 6 teeth, and she seems to be trying to cut even more right now. It took her 10 months to get her first teeth, but then they all decided to come in at once, which is one of the reasons we experience some sleepless nights. I can be so exhausted, and honestly so tired of dealing with Lyric after not getting any sleep, but then she wakes up and gives me the biggest smile and giggles at me, and my heart just melts. It's impossible to be annoyed with this sweet girl for too long.

Lyric loves her Daddy so much, and man does he adore her. Lyric melts Eric's heart like I've never seen before. I don't know what it is about a daddy and his daughter, but it's definitely one of the most precious relationships to observe. Lyric has her daddy's big blue eyes with her daddy's long eyelashes. She is always getting compliments on how pretty her eyes are, and I do have to agree.

Although Lyric does love her Daddy and big brother, she is a Momma's girl, which most of the times, I love. She always wants to be with me, and she does have a hard time when I leave her, but she's getting better. I do believe breastfeeding and babywearing has made us have a very strong and close relationship, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I can't tell you how thankful I am to be able to breastfeed because I know some women have such a hard time with it.

 So these are just a few of the things Lyric is now doing at a year old. She has made our life brighter and has brought so much joy to our family. I am so thankful God saw fit to answer our prayers for a baby, and that the baby He blessed us with is this beautiful little girl. I am in awe of the love of my Savior for His children. The way he blesses us with these precious gifts is beyond my comprehension. It blows my mind that He entrusts these little lives to us. I just pray we can lead our children in a Godly way and raise them in the way that they should go.

So Happy 1st Birthday to my beautiful baby girl! Here's to hoping we have many more together!!! I love you more than you'll ever know my sweet Lyric.