Zac comes to visit Harper

Uncle Z and Harper

Zac, Adam's brother who lives in Oregon came to visit Harper Ocotber 24th-26th. Harper was 6.5 weeks old. Here are a few pictures from his visit. Harper loves her Uncle Z.

OSU game

Tailgaiting with Harper


Adam, Dusty, and Harper



Jonathan, Adam, Jeremy and Harper (Adam and Jonathan have known each other since they were babies)

G-ma, Pops, and Harper (5 weeks old)

Still trying to play catch up and blog all of Harper's firsts... Harper's first OSU game experience was October 18th. Adam and I went up to Stillwater with Adam's parents and tailgated. We dressed Harper up in OSU orange and showed her off to our friends. She was such a good sport.

A Thanksgiving to be Thankful For

Cassie, Delaney, and Harper (Harper is wearing an outfit that GrannyBear bought for her)

Lindsay, Delaney and Harper

Delaney and Harper

Another Thanksgiving come and gone but this year was special because it was Harper's first. She had a great time meeting the entire family and she was the biggest hit of the weekend=) My favorite moment of the weekend was when Adam's 4 year old cousin Delaney sang "Twinkle, Twinkle little star and Humpty Dumpty" to Harper. Harper was all smiles, after the songs were over, and then Delany said "her loves me." Delaney enjoyed holding Harper and playing big cousin to her. It was just so sweet. We are blessed to have an amazing family to share this fun stage of life with us. Here are a few pictures of the weekend.

GrannyBear and her 3 great grand children

Harper Halloween Pictures

I realize that Halloween was a month ago but I forgot to post pictures of Harper in her Little Mermaid costume which uncle Jake bought for her. So cute.... I am sure she will hate us for this when she is a teenager =) Sorry Harper we just couldn't resist.

Thankful

So today I spent a lot of time thinking.. thinking about my life, how blessed I really am, how thankful I am for this life that God has given to me. For many of us life is so very busy, we make limited time to stop and just reflect on the goodness that he has lavished on us. I really struggle with being still and just enjoying the quietness in the day.. instead my inclination is to go and do and not stop until it is too late and I am exhausted. I am trying to work on this trying to get better and just be.

Today.... I made the time to do just that. I fought the urge and just sat and let my thoughts flood my mind. I spent a lot of time thinking about the crisis in the Congo and I was spurred to spend time researching about it so that I can be entirely informed. Our church spent this past Sunday educating us on the situation and I am still astounded and terrified by what is happening over there. I am trying to figure out what I can do, what is my part in all of this. I know I have to react and respond. Sometimes it seems so daunting, but then you realize that these are real people and these people really need our help.

I can't imagine what life must be like for them, being chased from their homes, not having food to eat, worrying about the health and welfare of their children, women being fearful of who might be lurking around the corner waiting to rape them. This is everyday life for these people and these are things that we rarely think about in our own county.

So today I remain thankful.. thankful to the Lord for the country he chose to birth me into, yet aware and re-awakened to the responsibility we have to our fellow man. We are privileged in this country no mater what our economic situation may be at the moment and we are blessed to be a blessing to others. God has not given us all this fame, wealth and power for no reason he has given it to us so that we can be a voice to those hurting around the world and so that we can be the hands and feet of Christ. I confess I have not done enough to help the destitute and hurting in our world. I have allowed myself to become a part of the culture, a part of a world that values money, success and material possessions over relationships and over service to others. I have become numb to the needs of the hurting and I needed a wake up call.

Slowly over the past few years my heart has begun to change, partly due to my circumstances and mostly due to the fact that I have surrendered and allowed God to change me from the inside out. I want to be different. I want to fight for those worth fighting for, those that are crying out for someone to hear them and to respond to their cry. How can I continue to sit on the sidelines waiting for someone else to respond or for God to speak audibly to me. My desire now is to educate my self, help educate others, and to give of my resources.

I have decided that I will respond... I will live life more simply not for myself any longer, that I will think before I spend money on another thing that I don't really need and that in turn I can utilize my resources for people that really need them, that need them so bad that they are dying all over the world. I have allowed the world to determine what I value for way to long.

Thank you Lord for allowing me to take the time to STOP and reflect and for continuously changing my selfish heart.

Funny Things Babies Do

Harper at 9.5 weeks

Babies are funny little creatures. They make the most interesting little faces and you wonder what they are thinking in that little  brain of theres. Harper is really starting to become more annimated and is making all kinds of fun sounds and noises. She litterally laughed out loud the other day and it completely took me by surprise.

Adam sings "Good Night Sweetheart" to her and apparently it is her new favorite song because yesterday Adam was at work and I put Harper down for a nap and she started to cry a bit. I went over to her crib and started singing that song and she immediately stopped and looked at me and started laughing and shrieking and smiling. It was so much fun. I did it over and over again. I wish I had a video of it.

Here are a few pictures I took of her yesterday.

Harper Grows

Okay.. so I realize I am not so good at keeping up with this blog. When I started the blog my intent was to post pictures weekly and I have failed miserably so I am now attempting to update you all on the progress/growth little Harper has made over the last 2 months. Here goes...

*She has found her thumb and has started sucking it every time she goes down for a nap. This has been so much fun to watch. 

*She loves to look around and  check everything out and is tracking really well with her eyes. She loves to just stare at the colorful picture in our living room.

*She loves her bath time and just relaxes in the water and coos, she also likes to check herself out in the mirror

* She is making all kinds of new noises and sounds. She especially loves her daddy's face and she is starting to laugh and smile a ton

* She loves to play under her playmat and check out all the cool toys dangling above her head. She also loves the mirror

* I have been reading the bible to her every morning and she listens intently and smiles like she knows who I am talking about. 

* She has started to sleep through the night, 9  hours the last 2 nights. This is amazing cause now I can get some sleep =)

It has been so much fun to watch her grow and change over the last few months. She has gone from being a sleepy baby to a little ball of energy and personality. I can't wait to see how she continues to grow and develop. Our job as parents is so much fun and we are enjoying every moment we have with her. God is good, all the time!