Life With The Webbs

Sweet Brothers

2011-11-08T21:54:00.004-06:00

I loved watching Caleb love on his younger brother tonight. David was lying on the floor making baby talk, and Caleb came and cuddled up next to him. Then he sat up and held David's hand for a minute. Such a sweet big brother.

Book Review: A Place To Belong

2011-11-03T09:19:00.003-05:00

A Place To Belong
By Lisa Troyer

Let me start by saying that I love small groups. I believe that meeting with a specific group of believers to study God's word, build relationships, and encourage one another in our walk with Christ is an especially beneficial practice in the Christian's life. Some of my greatest growth as a believer has happened within the small group setting. We were created to live in close community with one another, which is becoming more and more difficult in our culture today. I found A Place To Belong to be a very encouraging reminder of the importance of finding that small group of believers with which you can be real and grow closer to God.

A Place To Belong is a great book addressing the importance and value of small group relationships among women. I found the book to be both an easy, enjoyable read and a very compelling exhortation to find women around me to be real with and to encourage/receive encouragement from. Troyer does an excellent job of combining personal stories and biblical examples to keep the book interesting and relatable.

A Place to Belong addresses 5 components of small group relationships: Acceptance, Authenticity, Affirmation, Accountability, and Action. It also includes some great small group resources such as Personal Reflection Questions at the end of each section, a very good step-by-step guide to beginning a small group and material to use within that group, a year long Bible reading plan, and more. Overall, I thought it was a great read and a great resource for ladies starting or participating in a small group.

This book was given to me for free by The B&B Media Group in exchange for my honest review.

On the Go

2011-10-26T22:58:00.004-05:00

We've been busy! We went for a visit to Kansas (Mom - I need to get pictures from you).

Auntie Sara with baby David (5 months old)

David took baths in the sink

Caleb saw lots of farm animals, had his first pony ride at Grandma Vicky's farm, and had his own camera crew waiting to capture his every movement on film.

Then we went with our church's senior adults to the North Georgia Apple Country!

And next we had a Hayride, Hot Dog, and S'more Roast with the youth group.

Caleb's first hayride. He LOVED it!

And the holiday season has barely just begun. More fun is just around the corner!

Saga of the Big Boy Bed

2011-09-24T22:05:00.008-05:00

Whew, what a week it's been. I feel like I'm back into the newborn days of waking every few hrs during the night to take care of a little one. I just got out of that stage about ONE month ago...what was I thinking?!?

We moved Caleb to a toddler bed at the beginning of the week, and it's been a challenge for all of us. Let me just say that normally I've read every article about how to do something and have decided the best course of action and exactly how we'll proceed. In this instance, I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING when I decided, "Hey, let's move Caleb into his toddler bed tonight." I figured we'd show Caleb his new bed, tell him it was time to go night-night, put him in it, and then see what happens from there.

HA.

HA-HA.

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA. I know mothers everywhere are either shaking their heads in shame at me or just laughing outright.

The good news is Caleb loves his new bed, and when I tried to move him back to his crib the very first night (I was already having second thoughts just an hour into bedtime) he let me know very clearly (a.k.a. through crying, screaming, and pointing) that he wanted to sleep in that big boy bed. The problem was and continues to be that he does not want to sleep in that bed alone and will not stay there if Mommy is not in it with him.

Apparently moving Caleb into a new bed has coincided directly with the "I need Mommy at my side at every moment of every day" phase. So as long as I'm laying in the very small toddler bed WITH Caleb, he's fine. But as soon as I get up, he's up with me. I've tried sitting at the end of the bed, sitting in the chair in his room, sitting on the floor in the doorway, standing out in the hallway, and sitting on the couch in the living room hoping that maybe he would stay in his bed if I stayed in that one location long enough. I especially had hopes that the last one would be the magic location. After HOURS of both me and Stephen telling Caleb to get back in bed, along with numerous attempts at reasoning, disciplining, and pleading, apparently the only magic location is laying in that very small toddler bed with Caleb.

So that's what we've come to right now because, hey, it works. Thankfully, once he falls soundly asleep I can sneak out of his room and leave him be. But he has woken up at least twice every night so far and come calling for "Mama. Mama. Mama." Usually the first time I'll put him back in his bed and sit on the end of it for about 30 minutes with my head in my hands nodding off every few seconds until he's fast asleep again (don't even think about getting up before he's zonked out...it will only result in him getting up with you and another 30 minutes of sitting there). So then after I've gotten back in my own bed and slept for maybe an hour, here he comes again.

I'll confess, at this point I've been letting him get in bed with Stephen and me. I know that has the potential to form bad habits, but at this point I'm just hoping to get a LITTLE uninterrupted sleep. I haven't even mentioned the 4 month old sleeping in the same room as Caleb. He sleeps through the night, but has a tendency to get up super early in the morning (this morning it was 5:00am). So that doesn't leave Mama with much time to sleep. Now can you sympathize with me?

Stephen has been helping with all of this and hasn't gotten much sleep either, but unfortunately this is a Mama phase and not a Daddy phase. When Stephen goes to lay down with Caleb, Caleb just repeats "Mama" over and over. So while he makes a valiant attempt to be helpful, it ends up being Mommy getting up time and again.

Its amazing how just a week can feel so long. I do have a plan of action in mind to help Caleb get used to falling asleep and staying in his big boy bed alone. You better believe after that first night I quickly googled "transitioning to a toddler bed." But I'm thinking this is going to take some time and a whole lot of patience. And I'm trying to keep in mind the sweetness of my growing boy wanting his mommy close by his side and cherishing little moments of laying in bed listening to him babble while he winds down to sleep. Tonight he whispered over and over "Mama. Da-da. David." Melt my heart. I know these long sleepless nights won't last forever...

I'm Back

2011-08-26T00:57:00.000-05:00

Thoughts from today...

The Shema (Deuteronomy 6), families, and our Women's Celebration in a few weeks. I'm speaking. Need to get thoughts on paper. Praying for clear direction.
Met new neighbor - No Trespassing signs were hiding a really sweet hispanic mom with family. Caleb liked their dog. Wish I had gotten to know her better and invited her to church. Praying for another chance.
Agata knocked on my door today - 19 yr old Lithuanian college student and door-to-door saleswoman for the summer. Didn't buy her really expensive books, but still chatted for 30 min. Offered her a seat inside out of the heat, a cool drink, and mentioned Jesus Christ. Wish I'd done more than just mention His name...she goes back to Lithuania in 3 weeks. The nations came to my door today and I failed to be missional. Again. Don't think I'll get another chance to share about Christ with Agata. But I can still pray. And hopefully my actions spoke of His character.
Great lunch date with one of the ladies from our church. So glad to spend time getting to know her better. I'd love to make this a weekly event (different lady each week). Big thanks to hubby for staying with the boys while I went out. Can I convince him to do this weekly???
Bought a toddler bed for Caleb tonight. My little boy is growing up. He'll be out of the crib and into a bed soon. I think he's the cutest thing alive. :-)
Think I might start blogging again. Can't guarantee consistency, but oh well.
Oh yeah, and we have a new baby, a new church, and a new hometown. It's been a little while...

First Haircut

2011-02-05T21:20:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we decided that Caleb's hair had gone from cute and shaggy to...desperately needing a trim. It didn't help that he got called a girl while wearing all blue.

After searching high and low in Birmingham for a kid-oriented hair salon for Caleb's first haircut, we pretty much struck out. So we ended up on our back patio instead. But of course, before we could do anything, Caleb had to play in the leaves!

After about 30 min of playing, Mom decided it was time to get to cutting. Caleb wasn't exactly thrilled to have his play time interrupted.

Somehow we got him to calm down enough to sit still for a few minutes...

And what do you know - Mom didn't do half bad!

Caleb felt so good about his new do that he decided to show it off at a party that afternoon.

Turns out Caleb did great for his first haircut and Mom did ok too! :-)

Baby Comparison & Park Pics

2011-01-09T22:52:00.001-06:00

Ok, both Grandma's have requested a picture comparison of Caleb and baby 2. So this will mostly be a picture update. We had our 20 week doctor checkup/ultrasound last week and found out that we're having another boy! I was convinced it was a little girl, but Stephen says he knew it was a boy.

First: a great face shot of our newest little one!

And here's a face shot of Caleb at 20 wks:

Next, Baby 2's facial profile:

And here's Caleb's profile:

Here's a pic of me last week at 20 weeks:

And here's me at 20 weeks with Caleb:

So far the pregnancies have been pretty similar. I had slightly more morning sickness this go around, but still nothing too horrible. The heartburn that I had last time hasn't shown up yet, so I'm definitely thankful for that. I started showing a lot earlier this time, which seems to be pretty normal with a second pregnancy. Last time I was super excited to start wearing maternity clothes and show off the baby bump, but I learned the hard way that it gets old wearing the same few outfits over and over again, so I've been trying to stretch and fit into my normal clothes as long as possible. Good thing it's winter and most of my winter clothes have extra room!

And here's a few pictures just for the fun of it!

We took Caleb to the park yesterday and his two favorite things to do were sliding down the slide and walking all over the place picking up leaves and waving sticks - such a little boy!

He had a blast walking all over the place through the leaves. And it was pretty cute watching Stephen walking beside him and making sure Caleb didn't hurt himself. Such a good Daddy! Then he got pretty upset when we decided to leave - he definitely wanted to stay and play longer!

We'll have to do it again once this winter storm leaves and it gets somewhat warm again!

Book Review: God Gave Us So Much

2011-01-07T23:27:00.000-06:00

God Gave Us So Much

By Lisa Tawn Bergren

God Gave Us So Much is a three story collection of the stories God Gave Us the World, God Gave Us Love, and God Gave Us Heaven. I hadn't read any of the stories in this series before, but I've definitely heard of the book God Gave Us You, and was happy to check out these three. The series is about Little Cub, an inquisitive little polar bear, as she learns about the world around her by asking her family various questions.

Here's my take on the stories: They have good themes, and Little Cub is an endearing main character, but I thought the stories were a little long for most young children and at times the dialogue and plot were hard to follow. The questions Little Cub has are good conversation starters, and overall I think children will probably like these stories, but it wasn't a children's book that wowed me by any means. This particular book in the God Gave Us series would probably make a great gift book, as it is a nice hardcover copy and a collection of three stories in one.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Passport to the World

2011-01-04T22:57:00.001-06:00

Passport to the World

Your A to Z Guided Language Tour

By Craig Froman

This is another FANTASTIC children's learning book from New Leaf Publishing Group. Stephen and I LOVED this! It is a book probably best suited for older elementary aged children and it explores 26 different languages and cultures (one language for each letter of the alphabet). The book includes so many neat features - a removable passport with stickers for each language/country studied, maps, country stats, popular phrases and pronunciation guides, interesting cultural facts and pictures, name that flag/country games at the end, and a list of ways that kids can be involved in helping others around the world. So many great features and presented in a fun manner that should draw children into the adventure of learning about other cultures. I can see Passport to the World being a favorite in our family once our kids are old enough to read it! I must say that I've read 2 books now from New Leaf Publishing Group and have been blown away by the great mixture of Biblical worldview, education, and fun in each. I would highly recommend these books to other families.

I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: True Religion

2011-01-04T22:25:00.001-06:00

True Religion

Taking Pieces of Heaven to Places of Hell on Earth

By Palmer Chinchen

True Religion is a Christian Living book about missional living and getting out of your comfort zone to share Christ in the hard places. Author Palmer Chinchen focuses on God's heart to relieve poverty and injustice, and His desire to use believers to be His hands and feet in this battle. He also highlights the fact that believers who choose to step out of their comfort zones by reaching out to others often find their own lives impacted in huge ways.

This book was a challenging read for me. There were many parts I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with, but also many parts that I had issues with. This book is filled with emotional true stories of human injustices taking place in our world today. I found myself drawn to these stories - shocked, amazed, saddened, and wanting to be a part of helping. Yet Chinchen focuses largely on getting you to step up, get involved and do something to fix problems, and seems to miss the fact that true, ultimate freedom comes through Jesus Christ and the Gospel message. He spends so much time motivating you to ACT, that he overlooks the importance of sharing the Gospel. This is dangerous ground to walk on in today's culture of social action. As believers, we must remember that simply alleviating an oppression or injustice without focusing on the saving of souls leaves a person in only a better position here on earth while leaving them to suffer an eternity without God.

I did appreciate Chinchen's appeal for believers to participate in international mission trips. He spent a lot of time discussing the life change that takes place when we find ourselves out of our comfort zones in an international context. Having experienced this numerous times myself, I agreed with him and was thankful for his compelling arguments to get believers onto the mission field.

Overall, I found True Religion to be a great motivator to get someone to take action and step onto the mission field, but I really wished the book focused more on God's purpose for missions, which is NOT just to solve social problems. I would be very careful with who I recommended this book to and would make sure the person already had a solid understanding of God's heart for missions.

I received this book for free from The B&B Media Group in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Unlocked

2011-01-04T21:42:00.000-06:00

Unlocked

By Karen Kingsbury

Unlocked is a Christian Fiction book by popular author Karen Kingsbury. It’s the story of Holden Harris, a teen with autism, and Ella Reynolds the girl who finds herself drawn to Holden and to helping him emerge from his prison. It’s a story of challenges and hope with an inspiring message of looking beyond the exterior of a person and seeing the beauty within.

I enjoyed reading Unlocked. It’s a well-written story and really demonstrates the difference one person who cares can have on another. I was surprised by the many difficult topics this book tackled. From autism and the challenges of single parenting a special needs child, to teen suicide, bigotry and bullying, Kingsbury weaves a story that also digs into the lives of those surrounding Holden and his high school. I think this would be an enjoyable read not only for anyone who knows someone affected by autism, but also for teenagers who want to make a difference in their schools.

I did wonder at times how realistic the portrayal of severe autism was and whether or not Holden's outcome was possible. From what I could tell with my very limited knowledge, it seemed that the majority of the book was fairly accurate. But I would love to get my mom’s thoughts on this book, as she has worked with children with autism her entire career and she’s the closest thing to an expert I know. I passed the book along to my mom when she was here for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to hearing her thoughts on it.

I received this book for free from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review.

Book Reviews Coming

2011-01-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

Well I've slacked a bit in posting book reviews lately due to a combination of the holidays, being busy, and pure procrastination. So that means I've got quite a few book reviews to post. Get ready, cause here they come!

Jan 1: Thankful

2011-01-01T21:41:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year's Day!

Tonight, on the first day of 2011, I am thankful.

Sure, there's plenty of New Year's resolutions that could be made and plenty I'd like to change or work on in the next year - the list of housework I'd hoped to accomplish today alone could be at the top.

But tonight I choose to just be thankful.

Stephen, Caleb and I are having a somewhat unplanned getaway tonight. We're spending the night in a nice hotel room, which we didn't have to pay for (thanks for your hotel points Big Frank!), getting ready for Stephen to preach in the morning.

The church Stephen is preaching at is a little farther away than we wanted to drive tomorrow morning, and so we came up with a semi-last minute decision to get a hotel room close to the church (thanks again Frank!).

So after a yummy dinner out (paid for with gift cards from family - thanks!), we're settled into our room and winding down for the evening. Stephen is reviewing his sermon at the desk, Caleb has been chattering away for the last hour in his crib (he was supposed to go to sleep...), and I'm sitting in the big chair with my feet up on the ottoman sipping chamomile tea, thanking God for unexpected blessings and time with my sweet family.

I can't think of a better start to the new year.

Thank you, Lord, for unexpected blessings. There are many tonight without a soft place to rest their heads, or a family to hold close. You have given us both, and we are thankful. Thank you for this special time together as a family. Be with those who are without, and remind us all that only in You is found the ultimate peace and comfort that no material thing or person can satisfy.

"I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable."

Psalm 145:1-3

Life Update

2010-12-30T23:14:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It’s been a month since the last update, but it feels like two or three. We’ve had quite a bit going on around the Webb house, and I’ll try to highlight the big things. When I last left off, it was Caleb’s first birthday. We had a small birthday party for him and he had a blast eating cake and playing with the big boys who came.

We also made a big announcement at Caleb’s party – we’re expecting baby #2 in May 2011!

The discovery was a bit of a surprise for Stephen and me, and took a little while to really set in. Another baby so soon!?!???? But we know that it is truly God who opens and closes wombs, who creates life and takes it, and all things are done according to His perfect plan. We’re thrilled with this and excited to find out if this little one will be a boy or girl - we find out next week!

For Thanksgiving we flew up to Kansas to see my family. It was a fast trip (as they all too often are), but we had a great time. We enjoyed a yummy Thanksgiving meal with extended family, revealed our baby news, celebrated Caleb’s birthday for the third time, I finally got to meet Sara’s boyfriend, Stephen and I had fun going out with some of Sara’s friends and then ended up doing some spur of the moment midnight Black Friday shopping (what were we thinking). For a two and a half day trip, it was packed pretty full

Let’s see…we’ve attended some Christmas parties, which have been fun as always. Stephen has continued to preach at various churches as needs arise. At dinner tonight we were reflecting back on all the preaching opportunities he’s had over this past year and it really is incredible. He has filled in at quite a few churches, and most were for at least a month, if not longer, at a time. The church members have all been so warm-hearted and encouraging, and Stephen has gained a lot of experience. We're so thankful.

Around the middle of December, we traveled to New Orleans to attend Stephen's seminary graduation.

It was a wonderful time of giving thanks for all that God has done in Stephen's life. I'm so proud of him, and was glad we made the drive down to New Orleans so that he could actually walk at graduation.

Christmas was great and very full with lots of family gatherings. My family stayed with us for a few days and then we traveled to Georgia to see some more family. It's been a great holiday and I'm looking forward to one more with New Year's Eve tomorrow night. We don't have anything planned, but with all the busyness of the last month, I think that's a good thing. We hope you and your family have had a wonderful holiday season and we wish you God's blessings for your new year!

Our Christmas Card

2010-12-02T15:56:00.001-06:00

Christ Wishes Religious Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2010-11-18T12:48:00.000-06:00

It's Caleb's First Birthday today! He continues to grow too fast for my mommy heart to take.The last few days I've been thinking about all the changes and milestones Caleb went through during his first year of life. Here's a few memories and milestones that come to mind (not always in exact order):

Caleb's arrival. One year ago today, we welcomed a handsome, chubby 9 lb, 6 oz baby boy into the world. He was a week late and seemed to be very content in my tummy. The doc finally had to open me up to get him out!
Caleb was a very content and peaceful baby. He was pretty quiet, didn't cry much, and had huge eyes that seemed to just take everything in. When he heard loud noises, those eyes got even bigger!
First baby smiles
Tummy time, which he hated. He would be fine for the first few seconds and then the screaming would start.
Learning to hold his head up
Rolling over
Sitting up
Moving from the infant bath tub to the yellow ducky bathtub, which he still loves.
Learning to crawl. He started by scooting backwards and eventually got the forward motion going. His first crawling technique was affectionately called "the inchworm" or "the bellyflop." It was hilarious. Then he moved to a one-legged gimp crawl. And then he started the bear crawl - straight legged on just his hands and toes. He still does that one the most, but sometimes he'll do a normal crawl.
Transitioning from just milk to baby food, and now to soft solids. Caleb's always been a good eater and often gets very mad when his food takes too long to get to him or when it runs out. It's a one meal to the next
Learning to laugh and then great big belly laughs (always caused by something Stephen has done, of course)
From baby jibberish to learning to say "Mama" and "Dada." Caleb said "Dada" first and very often. The "da" sound is probably still one of his favorite things to repeat over and over.
And I have to mention one of his very favorite things to do: bounce in the bouncy seat! Caleb LOVES to jump and when he really gets going, he is usually laughing as well. So cute and fun to watch.

He's grown so fast over this past year and has been such a blessing. We're so thankful for the special gift of Caleb Spurgeon Webb. We love you buddy and can't wait to see what this next year holds for you!

Birthday Eve

2010-11-17T22:19:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Caleb's 1st Birthday! So in honor of the soon-to-be birthday boy, I'm posting one more video. This video isn't really about anything in particular, but just shows off Caleb's sweet smile. Plus, I can't help but to smile myself as I watch it. So enjoy!

New Caleb Videos!

2010-11-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

Our little man is starting to walk! He's still hobbling from one close object to the next and hasn't gotten up the courage to walk any great distance, but he's definitely getting there! Here's a few videos we took last night.

Caleb starting to walk

He was having so much fun playing with Stephen and wrestling with Biggie Bear

Book Review: The Reluctant Entertainer

2010-11-15T16:00:00.000-06:00

The Reluctant Entertainer

Every Woman's Guide to Simple and Gracious Hospitality

By Sandy Coughlin

I really appreciated Sandy Coughlin's The Reluctant Entertainer. This book is just as much about the heart and purpose of hospitality as it is about tips and recipes to use when entertaining. Coughlin emphasizes that true hospitality should focus on connecting deeply with others, and not on having the fanciest table setting or most delicious meal prepared. I felt like she did a great job of encouraging women in every walk of life, whether single, a busy mom with kids running around, or an empty nester, to open their lives up and reach out to others. I truly appreciated the tips she gave for having a nice gathering, but not stressing over perfection. She also addresses entertaining fears that I could definitely relate to: what to serve, how clean my house is, how to keep the conversation going, etc. Again, I was reminded that hospitality is not about me, but is all about making my guests welcome and at ease. As someone who loves the idea of opening my home to others, but sometimes lacks the initiative to actually make it happen, I feel like I probably need to read this book at least every other year to be reminded of these truths and encouraged to open my home even when life is somewhat chaotic. I would definitely recommend this book as a general guide to practical entertaining and the heart of hospitality.

I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

2010-11-15T15:27:00.000-06:00

Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half

With America's Cheapest Family

By: Steve & Annette Economides

One of the tag lines for this book says "You Can Save Thousands a Year on Your Grocery Bill Without Cutting Coupons." I'm always one to look for ways to save money, and since grocery shopping and meal planning/prep are two of my household responsibilities, I was definitely interested to see what the Economides had to say. If you are looking to cut down on your grocery bill and willing to invest some time, then I think this is a good resource. It's really a wholistic look at how to save money in the areas of meal planning and preparation. The chapters cover everything from how/when to grocery shop, the most economical ways to plan meals, time-saving cooking strategies, and even basic gardening. I found tons of good tips, some of which would take a significant amount of time and energy to implement and others that were quick and easy to adopt. I felt like this was a fairly practical guide that most everyday mom's could appreciate and glean tips from.

Overall, I really liked this book and their approach at saving money and planning meals. I wish I had more time to implement some of the strategies they suggest, but maybe one day I will.... maybe. The book is pretty lengthy at 300 pages and is probably best read from cover to cover, although you can fairly easily scan individual chapters based on titles if you're looking for pointers in one specific area. I would also say that you'll need some time to process and implement tips from each chapter before tackling the next one.

One thing I really like about this book was at the end of each chapter they give three different action levels for you to pick from and work on: The Timid Mouse, The Wise Owl, and The Amazing Ant. Each one is more advanced than the first, so I could easily read the Timid Mouse action plans at the end of each chapter and find quick tips.

I would recommend this book to someone who has a good bit of time to invest and really wants to make a difference in saving money when it comes to your grocery bill. It might be a little overwhelming if you are new to grocery saving strategies and just want some quick, easy tips.

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Holiday Card Offer

2010-11-05T11:29:00.001-05:00

Hey Ladies -

Shutterfly.com is offering a promotion right now where if you write a blog post about your favorite holiday card design from their site, you get a code for 50 free cards! You can find out the details and how to sign up HERE.

We haven't sent out holiday cards in the past, but there's just lots to celebrate this year, and I actually have some decent photos of our soon-to-be ONE YEAR OLD, and since it's a really good promotion that should only cost me about $6 shipping, why not!? So without further ado, here is one of my favorite cards and the one we will most likely be using this year for our family Christmas card.

"every good gift"

"every good gift is from above. merry christmas"

Of course we'll add our own pictures and probably an extra message on the inside underneath "merry christmas". I think we might try to take some pictures this weekend, although I need to find a nice Christmas outfit for Caleb first. We'll see. BUT, the plan is for us to actually have some Christmas cards this year! Hooray! Thanks to Shutterfly for offering this promotion, because I probably wouldn't have given Christmas cards much thought otherwise.

If you want to see some of their holiday card designs, check out these links. Once you get to the Christmas card page, you can also narrow down to Religious Christmas Cards.

Christmas Photo Cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Christmas cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

Thanksgiving Cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thanksgiving-cards

Caleb and His Car

2010-10-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple videos from the weekend. Caleb figured out how to push his car. He was so proud of himself! And of course Stephen and I were too. The first video is him pushing it across the room. The second video is pretty funny - his first car wreck! Don't worry, it didn't phase him at all.

Book Review: Charlie & Trike in the Grand Canyon Adventure

2010-10-10T21:07:00.002-05:00

Charlie and Trike in the Grand Canyon Adventure

By Ken Ham and Karen Hansel

This book is AWESOME!!! It might be one of the coolest children's books I've ever read. It is a great combination of an adventure story, natural history facts, and biblical truth. And best of all, each page has some kind of interactive part - pop-out pages, treasure maps, little interesting fact books, etc. I love, love, love how this book combines all those elements to make learning fun, and also takes a very direct approach to teaching children creation truths. In The Grand Canyon Adventure, Charlie and Trike tour the Grand Canyon and learn how God flooded the earth during Noah's time - that's why there are sea creature fossils at the top of the Grand Canyon. This is a very educational, yet fun and interactive book. I will definitely be looking for more Charlie and Trike books!

I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook

2010-10-10T21:07:00.001-05:00

The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook

By Robin Currie

This cute board book tells the story of Jesus' birth in short, simple stories. The book says that it's for ages Birth to 3 yrs old, and I must say I was a little skeptical at first how my almost 1 yr old would like it. What I wasn't expecting (and liked) about this book was after each line, they give you an action or sound to do. It's a fun, interactive little baby book, and apparently there's a whole line of Baby Bible books. This would make a cute Christmas present or shower gift.

I received this book for free from The B&B Media Group in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Adventures in Odyssey - Cause & Effect

2010-10-10T21:07:00.000-05:00

Adventures in Odyssey

Vol 52: Cause & Effect

Produced By: Focus on the Family

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review a volume of the Adventures in Odyssey stories. These children's audio stories have been around since I was a kid and combine great stories of adventure and mystery with a biblical lesson to be learned from each. I loved listening to Adventures in Odyssey as a kid, and still enjoyed listening to their newest volume - Cause & Effect. This was a set of 4 CD's with 12 different stories. I didn't even know you could purchase Adventures in Odyssey, as I'd only ever heard it on the radio, but it's great to know that they're available to own. They make great road trip listening for children!

I received a free copy of this CD set from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

An Update From Haiti

2010-10-04T16:23:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned the Hendricks blog. Today I want to share their latest post. It speaks for itself (and leaves me a somewhat speechless). Please take a few moments to sit still and read it.

A Video For GiGi

2010-10-01T22:12:00.001-05:00

This is probably just for my mom...nothing super exciting, but some daily Caleb footage. Here's his latest accomplishment, Mom! He's starting to balance without holding onto things - standing hands free! He hasn't quite figured out to take a step yet, but I have a feeling he will before too long.

Book Review: The Lightlings

2010-09-24T15:18:00.001-05:00

The Lightlings

By R.C. Sproul

The Lightlings is a beautifully illustrated children's story by theologian R.C. Sproul. Sproul is a well-known and respected Reformed Christian author and speaker. He's written some great books for the adult audience, and so I was excited to read one of his children's books, expecting that it would convey Biblical truths on a child's level.

Summary: I think The Lightlings is a good children's book. It's an allegory of the creation, fall, and redemption of mankind. It tells the story of a little boy, Charlie, who asks his Grandpa why he is afraid of the dark. Grandpa tells a story about the Lightlings, who are created by the King of Light to shine just as He does. But they choose to disobey the King of Light, and being filled with shame, they flee their garden to hide in the darkness of the forest. One day they see a light shining in the distance and discover that it is a baby, who is the son of the King of Light. They worship the baby, and the King's light is once again reflected in them. They then take their light into the rest of the forest, where some lightlings choose to accept the light and some stay in the darkness due to fear. The story ends with Grandpa telling Charlie that when he thinks of the dark or the light, to remember the King has given us a child to bring light to the darkness and we don't have to fear any more.

The book seems to be written towards a 4-8 yr old audience. The pictures are beautiful, and there is a section at the end with questions for parents to discuss with their children, showcasing the Biblical truths found in the allegory.

The book doesn't go into depth explaining sin, Christ, or salvation, but simply gives an overall picture of God's redemptive plan. Even though I would have personally liked more detail and explanation those things, I still think it's an excellent book to read with your child. As our family grows, I want our home to be filled with engaging stories that convey Biblical truths, and The Lightlings does just that.

I received this book for free from Reformation Trust in exchange for my honest review.

Caleb Playing

2010-09-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

Took this video tonight of Caleb playing in the hallway. For some reason he thinks the wall tastes good... Oh, and he's got a new crawl - the bear crawl - on his hands and feet only.

Enjoy!

Ordination!

2010-09-19T23:13:00.000-05:00

Tonight was a special night as Stephen was ordained into the ministry. I'm so proud of him and thankful for the call God has put on his life. It was a wonderful service and we were humbled and blessed by the charges given to the candidates and the prayers of the deacons over our family.

It was also an extra special service because Stephen's step-father, Jeff, was also ordained with him.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Book Review: Pursuit of Justice

2010-09-19T22:53:00.000-05:00

Pursuit of Justice

By DiAnn Mills

Pursuit of Justice is a Christian suspense novel. FBI Agent Bella Jordan returns home to West Texas to solve a series of murders surrounding a local treasure legend. She also returns home to face the ghosts from her past. Though not anticipated, she also finds herself with feelings for one of the murder suspects. Bella must follow the trail of clues to find who's behind the murders and catch them before they catch her.

This was an easy read and an enjoyable book. It wasn't super-suspenseful or surprising. I'd rate it a decent beach read.

I received this book for free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Stolen Goods

2010-09-15T09:12:00.000-05:00

Funny story from yesterday.

When we packed up to leave Aruba a week and a half ago, we had a plastic grocery bag full of snack items (mostly granola bars, popcorn, and oatmeal). I was a little worried that the bag might not make it through U.S. customs because of the "grains" in the granola bars (even though they were clearly packaged and bought in the U.S.

Well, this bag was one of the last to get packed and didn't quite fit in the suitcase I was trying to shove it into. Stephen was in charge of all the luggage and did a little last minute rearranging to make it all fit.

We get home from Aruba and start unpacking bags. I notice the bag of snacks is not in our luggage. We start to joke that the customs guys in Aruba must have pulled it out and spent the afternoon snacking on our food. There were a few other little things we couldn't locate either - bag of Twizzlers, a jar of baby food, and for a couple days I thought my flip flops were missing. Ended up they were hiding under a pile of clothes....

So of course we started joking about the customs guys stealing our stuff. Ok - I was half joking, half mad that they stole my popcorn!

Well, a week and a half goes by and I've mostly forgotten about our missing bag of snacks. Last night we're getting ready for bed and Stephen grabs his backpack, which he normally takes every day to work with him, opens it up, makes a soft cry, and pulls out our bag of snacks!

So I guess I owe the Aruba/U.S. customs guys and apology. I seriously thought you stole our bag of snacks. I will no longer warn friends headed to Aruba to watch out for thievery in customs.

But I do think you still have the Twizzlers!

Links I Love

2010-09-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across some great reads today and thought I'd share!

The Hendricks (church family from college) moved to Haiti a month ago to share the light and love of Christ. Heather's updates are great. Today she introduced us to Ben & Katie, a fellow missionary couple in Haiti. Katie's blog gives a great view of their life ministering to teenagers in Port-au-Prince.

I've been following the journey of Compassion International bloggers in Guatemala here. I've been to Guatemala, and we also sponsor a little boy in Columbia with Compassion. The overwhelming poverty contrasted with even brighter hope in Christ has left me speechless numerous times.

I especially liked Shaun Groves' post from today and loved his new song which he shares from Guatemala in the post!

And lastly, this recipe for Black Bean & Red Pepper Soup with Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins sounds absolutely delish for a cool fall day! Yummy....

Book Review: Solitary

2010-09-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

Solitary

By Travis Thrasher

Solitary is marketed as a teen, Christian suspense novel and I found it really entertaining in an edge-of-your-seat, light verses darkness, uncomfortable sort of way. I loved the way Thrasher narrates this book, making you feel like you're in the head of a teenage boy rather than just reading about a teenage boy.

It's about 16 yr old Chris, who has just moved to the town of Solitary, NC with his mom after his parent's divorce. Chris is immediately drawn to a beautiful loner, Jocelyn, who has some pretty dark secrets. Come to find out, the whole town has some very dark secrets and this book (the first of the series) only begins to touch the surface of all that is going on in Solitary.

This first book is somewhat dark - I have a feeling the series will become a true battle against the light and the darkness (good vs evil), but the main character has yet to really embrace the light/truth and is simply uncovering the mysterious evil going on around him. It's not a book for your grandma, but would probably be really popular with teenagers. I liked it a lot and would like to read the rest of the series as it comes out. The ending really shocked me (in a way that very few books do) and left me with a ton of questions that I'm assuming will be answered in following books. Good job Travis Thrasher - you've got me hooked!

I received this book for free from The B&B Media Group in exchange for my honest review.

Aruba Vacation

2010-09-07T21:15:00.001-05:00

Last week Stephen, Caleb, Stephen's Dad Frank, and I went to ARUBA!!! Woohoo! It was a week of relaxing, exploring the island, and enjoying God's awesome creation. It also fell on our 3rd wedding anniversary, so we got to celebrate with a sunset dinner at a restaurant on the beach - so romantic and pretty! Here's a few pictures from our time in Aruba. If you want to see more, you can check out my Facebook page.

Caleb reading his book on the airplane. He was such a good little flyer.

Our sweet hotel on the beach.

Stephen and Frank. We really enjoyed Frank getting to be with us for the week. And Caleb especially enjoyed his Grandpa time.

Speaking of Caleb... he got to play in the ocean for the first time! He acted like a pro, just chillin in his inner tube, perfectly content until Mom and Dad were ready to go in.

It was a great week and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to vacation in Aruba - what a special treat!

Lord, I thank You for the opportunity to see more of Your beautiful creation, and for the chance to enjoy it with my family. It was a special blessing, Lord, and a mere taste of what You have in store for Your bride. I look forward to the day when we will join You in heaven - when the wages of sin and a fallen creation are no longer evident around us and we see the new and perfect heaven and earth that you will make. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be, though it still won't compare to Your glory and beauty. You are a mighty and powerful God.

Book Review: That's Where God Is

2010-08-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

That's Where God Is

By Dan & Ali Morrow

I loved this children's book! It's the story of a little boy who asks his Grandpa where God is. His grandpa tells him to look for God during the week and let him know what he finds. Each page then shares one day of the week and how the little boy finds God in the activities of his day.

I loved the way this book teaches children to find how God is at work all around them. It also has a scripture that goes along with each way the little boy finds a part of God displayed around him (I loved the scriptures included).

At the end of the story, the little boy reports back to his Grandpa, who then shares with the little boy about how God can be with him everywhere he goes by being in his heart.

This is a great story, easy to read and relate to with children. The pictures are beautiful as well. I have a feeling it will become one of our favorites as Caleb grows older - I can see us reading it over and over. Great conversations could be had over the way this little boy finds God working around him and how we can see God working in our day as well.

I received this book for free from The B&B Media Group for my honest review.

9 Months Old!

2010-08-24T21:50:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 9 months old! Where have the months gone?

He is such a delight and still a very happy baby. He's getting even more playful and still loves to laugh with his daddy.

He's got his own inch-worm style crawl that he's been doing for over a month now. He kinda pushes up on his arms, gets his legs under him, and then flops on his belly forward. It's pretty funny to watch.

He is pulling up on everything, and is pretty comfortable holding on with just one hand, but hasn't gotten balanced enough to stand without holding onto something. I'm glad for that at the moment - I'm not ready for him to be walking yet!

Caleb is very talkative when he's comfortable in his surroundings. His favorite thing to say is "da da da da da" but every now and then I can get him to say "ma ma ma ma."

His 9 month check up was last week and he weighs 21 lbs - 75th percentile.

He's still got his sweet cheeks, but I feel like his face looks more and more like a little boy's every day.

He still loves to eat and goes back and forth between pureed foods and soft solids (green beans, cheese, rice, etc). He's still nursing and I feel pretty confident we'll make it to the one year mark, which has been my goal.

He's getting ready to switch daycares - he had been coming to work with me and staying in our on-sight daycare (so so thankful for that blessing), but it's closing down and he'll be transitioning to a daycare in Sylacauga soon.

Thank You, Lord, for the precious gift of my son. He is such a joy to us and I pray that we will honor You in the way we love and raise him. May You be glorified in our family.

Book Review: The Last Operative

2010-08-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

The Last Operative
By Jerry B. Jenkins

Genre: Christian Fiction

Jordan Kirkwood is an intelligence agent for the NSA. As he gets ready for a long overdue vacation with his wife, he gets word of a national security risk. This information rocks Jordan's world, as it implies someone on the inside may be involved, and his own family gets caught up in the whirlwind it causes. The chase to hunt down the truth takes the reader on global adventures with twists and turns at every corner.

I enjoyed this suspense novel by Jerry B. Jenkins. It was entertaining and kept me guessing as to what exactly was going on and "who done it," although I had had my guesses (which ended up being correct) all along. It was a good, easy summer read, and that's just how I would recommend it. Nothing to write home about, but definitely enjoyable. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. :-)

I received this book for free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

A Favorite Psalm

2010-07-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

Psalm 63

¹O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
         My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
         In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
    ²Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
         To see Your power and Your glory.
    ³Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
         My lips will praise You.
    ⁴So I will bless You as long as I live;
         I will lift up my hands in Your name.
    ⁵My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
         And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
    ⁶When I remember You on my bed,
         I meditate on You in the night watches,
    ⁷For You have been my help,
         And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
    ⁸My soul clings to You;
         Your right hand upholds me.
    ⁹But those who seek my life to destroy it,
         Will go into the depths of the earth.
    ¹⁰They will be delivered over to the power of the sword;
         They will be a prey for foxes.
    ¹¹But the king will rejoice in God;
         Everyone who swears by Him will glory,
         For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Caleb Pic Update

2010-06-29T22:24:00.000-05:00

Almost Crawling

2010-06-29T17:02:00.001-05:00

Caleb is so close to crawling! I told Stephen last night we had to record his attempts to crawl because before we know it, he's going to be moving all over the place. So here you go - our little baby is growing up!

DVD Review: Hermie: Who Is In Charge Anyway?

2010-06-18T16:07:00.000-05:00

Hermie: Who Is In Charge Anyway

By Max Lucado

This time I'm reviewing a DVD instead of a book! Last week's mail brought with it a copy of Hermie & Friends: Who Is In Charge Anyway? This was the first Hermie movie I've seen and overall I thought it was fine. It has a good message about God's plan for our lives and how sometimes what makes us feel "different" is actually what makes us special and can be used by God for something great. It was cute, but definitely not a huge attention grabber or super fun (I was expecting something like Veggie Tales). This would probably be good for young children, but might get boring for older kids.

I received this DVD free from Thomas Nelson Publisher's BookSneeze program in exchange for my honest review.

Caleb Laughing

2010-06-13T22:06:00.002-05:00

Lots of videos lately! This one speaks for itself...enjoy!

Book Review: The Mailbox

2010-06-13T22:01:00.001-05:00

The Mailbox

By Marybeth Whalen

The Mailbox is a Christian fiction book about second chances. Teenage lovers Lindsey and Campbell are grown up now and find their separate lives far from what they had dreamed of. Lindsey returns to peaceful Sunset Beach, the location of her fondest memories, to regain her identity after signing divorce papers. Campbell finds himself bringing his estranged, anorexic daughter home with him to heal at Sunset beach. Both Campbell and Lindsey discover God has a great plan for their broken lives and has given them opportunities for second chances.

This Christian love story would probably make a good beach read. It's the debut novel of author Marybeth Whalen, and while it's definitely not one of my favorite books, I thought she did a great job on her first novel. I found myself somewhat nervous throughout this book as both the main characters are divorced (from different people), have children, and are seeking to rekindle a flame they once had with each other. Lindsey's husband tries to come back to her at one point in the novel and there was a blurry line of wanting her to be with her "true love" Campbell versus wanting her to reconcile with her ex-husband. Some dangerous ground to walk in my mind. The saving grace was that both Lindsey and Campbell were married to non-Christians who cheated on them and left them, so finding new love seemed justifiable in the end.

Overall, this was a decent book and I would probably enjoy another book by this author, but I'd read the back cover carefully to make sure the plot is not morally compromising (which The Mailbox ended up not being, but I had to process it some before I was completely ok with it).

I received this book free from The B&B Media Group in exchange for my honest review.

Caleb Swimming Video

2010-06-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to Granna and Poppa's to go swimming! This was Caleb's second time in the big pool. He had a BLAST! It was so funny - he was swimming around kicking his little legs and splashing his hands. He played hard for about 30 minutes and then got tuckered out and was ready for a nap.

Caleb's New Tricks

2010-06-10T22:57:00.000-05:00

Check out Caleb's new tricks!

GiGi's in Town

2010-06-08T22:28:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This post is all about my mom...but the pics are all of Caleb. She took them today, but we didn't get one with her in it...I'll have to add some of those as the week goes on! So enjoy the post about GiGi with Caleb pictures. :-)

My mom is in town for the week! What fun and what a blessing. She drove all the way from Kansas (which she has done numerous times since the week before Caleb was born - pretty amazing). She's hanging out with us and getting some serious Caleb time - he's staying home with her this week instead of coming with me to work.

I love the time she gets to spend with us for lots of reasons. So let's name a few:

First of all, because she gets to love on Caleb. It makes me so happy for her to have time with him. It's not easy for Grandma to live far, far away!
Second, she is such a huge help to me with everything from making meals, running errands, and even doing the dishes and laundry! My mom is very servant-hearted and while I would never want to take advantage of her help, she truly loves and wants to take some of the load off me when she's here. Such. A. Blessing. I seriously thought numerous times today "I don't have to worry about making dinner tonight!" Thanks Mom!
We get to hang out, catch up in person, and plan when the next time we will get together will be. (Can't wait til we go to the lakehouse in July!)
She is a fountain of knowledge and wisdom, especially when it comes to being a mother. After raising four kiddos and teaching elementary students for years, she has quite a few tricks up her sleeve. Each time she visits, I feel like I learn an easier way to do something AND a new way to stimulate Caleb's little brain. There's an example of Titus 2:3-5 in the flesh!

And lastly, her birthday is in just a few weeks! Even more reason to celebrate! Happy early Birthday Mom! I love you and am so glad you're here to visit. God has given me a great gift in having you as my mom and Caleb's GiGi. Oh, and Stephen says you need to stay 2 weeks instead of one. :-)

Book Review: Busy Mom's Guide

2010-06-01T17:03:00.001-05:00

The Busy Mom's Guide To A Happy, Organized Home

Fast Solutions to Hundreds of Everyday Dilemmas

By Kathy Peel

I got really excited about this book. As a brand new mom with a full time job, I would definitely place myself in the "busy mom" category and I LOVE books about domestic things like managing your home, organization, meal planning, etc. Apparently Kathy Peel is a pretty well known and renowned "Family Manager" and has written a lot of books and articles on the subject - I had no idea!

Overall, I liked this book. It's more of a reference guide at 300 pages, split into chapters based on the different "departments" a mom manages: Time & Scheduling, Home & Property, Food, Family & Friends, Finances, Special Events, and Self Management. There's so much info that it's a little overwhelming, but taken just a chapter or section at a time, I think it could be very helpful. It definitely wasn't a book I could sit down at one time and read (because I'm a busy mom, you know), but I don't think that's how it was meant to be read. Definitely more of a quick reference with a great Table of Contents for quickly finding info on a specific subject.

I'm hesitant to give a big recommendation for everyone to go out and buy this book due to its length and wondering how often I will actually reference it, but I definitely think this is a book I will like more the more I use it. I just need to keep it handy rather than setting it on a bookshelf and forgetting about it. We'll see how that goes....

I received this book for free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

So Proud

2010-05-31T15:45:00.001-05:00

I'm so proud of Stephen. Last week he went to New Orleans and in the 5 days he was there, he took a course worth 3 credit hrs, wrote 3 papers, and took 3 tests to hopefully test out of 9 additional hrs of classes. So basically he knocked out a full semester worth of classes in 5 days and it was no small feat! He has worked hard to complete his Master's degree, and it looks like we might finally be at the very end. We missed him while he was gone, but I'm so proud of all he was able to accomplish and thankful for his hard work to finish his degree. Great job my love! And we're so glad you're home again!

Book Review: Mind Your Own Mortgage

2010-05-27T11:46:00.001-05:00

Mind Your Own Mortgage

The Wise Homeowner's Guide to Choosing, Managing, and Paying Off Your Mortgage

By Robert J. Bernabe

So, before I read this book I knew absolutely nothing about mortgages except that you need one to buy a house, and you'll probably be paying for it the rest of your life (which I think is crazy!). I figured Stephen and I will more than likely purchase a house in the next decade or so, and so it would be wise to learn a little about what will probably the biggest purchase we ever make. With that background in mind, I thought this book was AWESOME! As I read it I found myself stopping to tell Stephen how helpful it was and asking him to read it when I was done. And it's not just for the first-time home owner - it spends a lot of time addressing refinancing and paying off existing mortgages as well.

I first love the overall mindset Bernabe has toward debt and living within your means. It reminded me a lot of Dave Ramsey and stresses being a good manager of your money to pay off debts quickly rather than constantly buying more and digging a deeper and deeper hole. With that frame of mind, he gives a thorough explanation of how to choose a mortgage based on PRICE and not payment, and then how to pay it off well before the final pymt date (which is typically 30 yrs or even more if you are not careful with your refinances - yikes!). The book is very readable and he used terms that I could understand for the most part, although I had to pay attention and read somewhat slowly to take it all in. It's a decent sized book at nearly 300 pages, and it got a little repetitive at times, but I'm glad I read it through to the end.

The only thing I DIDN'T like about the book is that Bernabe makes a pretty strong sales pitch throughout the book for an online membership to his book's mortgage managing website. He references forms on this site in nearly every chapter, but doesn't mention you have to pay a $29.95 membership fee to access them. Not cool. If someone buys your book and you base whole chapters around using specific forms, you should include those forms in the book for free.

As I said at the beginning, I'm so glad I read this book. I feel informed and confident about what to look for in a mortgage and how to manage it in a wise way that will hopefully allow us to pay it off early rather than pushing it further into the "retirement years." I will definitely reference it down the road when/if we start the journey to buying our first house.

I received this book for free from www.booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Month of May, part 3

2010-05-22T23:13:00.002-05:00

And last but definitely not least, we celebrated wonderful life events with lots of dear friends from a baby shower to a bridesmaids luncheon to a wedding! I got to help with these events and had a wonderful time serving and honoring friends who are very dear to our hearts.

This pic was from our wedding back in 2007. Kameron was Stephen's best man and today we got to watch as he married his beautiful bride Olivia. Their wedding was an incredible worship service where the Gospel was clearly proclaimed and the covenant of marriage was celebrated. We're thrilled for Kameron and Olivia as they start their new life together as husband and wife!

Stephen looked very handsome in his tux. I loved the way he kept looking at me in the audience and winking from his spot on stage. :-)

Congrats Kam & Olivia! Love, the Webbs

Month of May, part 2

2010-05-22T22:53:00.002-05:00

Next, Caleb had his first water day at childcare.

He took a few minutes to get used to the water, but overall he did great and ended up liking it!

Caleb also had his first taste of real food - sweet potatoes (I made my first batch of baby food!)

We went to Granna & Poppa's house and swam in their pool for the first time. Caleb did great! We stayed in for about 45 minutes.

And of course spent some quality male bonding time with Daddy - computer games!

Month of May, part 1

2010-05-22T22:39:00.002-05:00

Wow, the last few weeks have been super busy. Soooo much going on and all of it has been wonderful. I have so many pictures to put up here that I'm going to let the pics do most of the talking. We'll start at the beginning of the month.

We went to Kansas to visit my family!

Watched Auntie Em play soccer (she's awesome)!

Chilled with Uncle Dave

Went out to the farm for a visit and got to pet a brand new colt.

Pet the dogs

And turned the cuteness up a notch for Gigi & G-Paw

Caleb Bouncing

2010-05-14T19:54:00.002-05:00

This video is from a few wks ago and I'm just getting it off the camera. I've watched it over and over and can't help but laugh out loud each time. Specifically because I think it looks like Caleb is bull riding at the end of the video. :-) Enjoy!

Normal Evening

2010-05-11T19:16:00.001-05:00

The game plan for tonight:

Parmesean chicken & pasta in the oven, veggies soon to steam on the stove
Stephen in the recliner talking baby talk with Caleb
Caleb in the excersaucer putting all the attached toys in his mouth
Watching American Idol (it's either Lee or Crystal for me - Stephen votes Lee)
A bottle for Caleb, then bath, story, prayers and bed
A little bedtime reading for myself
And then off to bed for us big kids

A fairly normal and great evening for the Webbs.

Answer to Plan B

2010-05-03T22:16:00.001-05:00

Ok, so within minutes of posting my book review of Plan B, I saw this trailer for David Platt's book Radical. I love David and what he says in this video is a major part of what I was thinking as I read Plan B, I just can't articulate it as well as David does. Much of American Christianity has been based around the idea of loving God and living the best life we can. But God doesn't always call us to America's idea of the "best" life. And we need to be ok with that. Watch the video. Read the book Radical or even better listen to the sermon series on Brook Hill's website HERE.

Radical by David Platt from Taylor Robinson on Vimeo.

Book Review: Plan B

2010-05-03T21:55:00.002-05:00

Plan B

By Pete Wilson

I'm mixed in my feelings regarding Plan B by Pete Wilson. The book is based around the question of how do you pick up the pieces of your life when the plan you had for it falls apart - thus the title Plan B. A primary observation I had is that Pete leans heavily on stories/experiences to convey his ideas rather than basing them on direct biblical truth. This lends itself to being an easier read, but left me hungry for God's Word. However, I kinda got the feeling this book may have been written more for the person who has grown up in church their whole life and done their own thing and all of a sudden reaches a point where they either a: realize their life hasn't turned out the way they thought it would, or b: had something tragic happen and are now questioning where God is in the midst of that hard time. This would probably be a fine book to help them through that time as it does point you back to God and His plans and purposes for our lives and how they don't always match up with our own. But I felt like it was a very light book and only scratches the surface of God's sovereignty over our lives and His ultimate purpose for mankind - to bring Him glory. I don't have a major problem with this book, but as I said, it left me wanting more; wishing he had delved deeper into God's Word and truth.

I received this book for free from www.booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Friday Night Plans

2010-04-30T20:10:00.001-05:00

It's Friday night! And since Stephen is off to Secret Church tonight, Caleb and I are gonna play! I took a few pics of my sweet boy and just had to share them. I know there's at least two grandma's out there that will love them as much as me. :-)

Caleb has been extra happy, talkative, and full of laughs this week and I am loving it! He was sick with his first ear infection last weekend, and that was no fun. Lots of pitiful crying and whimpering which was enough to break this mom's heart. But thankfully he's all better now and I think the quick change from ear infection Caleb to healthy Caleb has made me even more aware and thankful for the smiles and laughs.

So my plan for this Friday night is to get as many laughs and smiles out of Caleb as I possibly can. So far he's on board with the plan. :-)

*I was just holding Caleb over my head in the air and laughing and a drop of his drool fell IN MY MOUTH. EWE GROSS!!!*

I Love You, Honey!

2010-04-28T23:17:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to take a minute to give a shout-out to my wonderful husband.

I love being married to him. He makes me smile and makes me laugh, even when I'm in a bad mood.

He helps me so much around the house and with Caleb. He is such a servant. He is a fantastic Daddy - I can't tell you how much joy it brings me to watch him and Caleb interact. Caleb literally lights up when Stephen gets home. I love how silly Stephen can be and how he and Caleb play together.

I love that he can have a long conversation with absolutely anybody. I love that people feel comfortable opening up to him and that God has blessed him with wisdom and discernment to counsel others.

I love how he stands up for what is right and true. I love that he is passionate about the things of God.

I love all the incredibly random facts he knows about pretty much everything. I always think he's making them up, and then he gives this perfectly logical explanation of how he knows that completely random fact. Amazing. I love his awesome memory and that he can give details of just about everything that happened yesterday, last month, last year, and even twenty years ago. He'll rattle off names, places, dates and details like they just happened. I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday.

I love that he has MORE books than I do - WAY more. I always wanted to have a library in my house (one little way God blessed me with more than I even thought to ask for in my husband).

I love all these things about my husband and a million more.

Thank you, Lord, for Stephen. What a precious gift you have given me in him.

Book Review: Captivating

2010-04-22T17:08:00.003-05:00

Captivating

Unveiling The Mystery of A Woman's Soul

By John & Stasi Eldredge

I just finished reading Captivating and I really, really liked it. This is a book about restoring the heart of women to live full, beautiful, captivating lives as God created them for. It's a book about femininity and God's specific design for woman. It delves into the wounds and lies that steal hearts and reveals the freedom that can be found through God. It's a great book and I would definitely recommend it.

I was a little skeptical of Captivating before I started reading it because I knew it had been popular a few years back and I tend to be weary of "popular" Christian culture - feel good ideas with very little biblical Truth behind them. I also thought that a book about "being a woman" was going to be overly cheesy and sentimental. I was very pleasantly surprised by Captivating. While there were a few moments in the book I thought were a little over-dramatic, the majority of what I read was biblically based and rang true to me. I especially liked the way they described womanly beauty in this book - as a reflection of God's beauty and coming from a heart at rest in God. So good. I could go on, but I would suggest you read more for yourself. I think you will enjoy it!

I received this book for free from www.booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

So Wonderful

2010-04-21T21:34:00.001-05:00

Thank you for the flowers, honey! You are too good to me. I love you more every day.

5 Months

2010-04-20T21:45:00.005-05:00

Our little man is 5 months old! What a big boy Caleb is becoming. He's very active and has started rolling over some, although every time we try to catch it on camera he stops. I think he's getting cuter every day! His hand-eye coordination is really developing and he's getting very good at reaching for and grabbing things he's interested in. He absolutely loves his daddy and lights up anytime Stephen is around. He's also gotten very good at eating cereal from a spoon - if we can just get it in his mouth fast enough! He still loves to eat!We're so thankful for our precious baby boy!

Rick & Bubba's Big Honkin' Book of Grub

2010-04-05T22:03:00.005-05:00

It's time for another book review! I just finished reading Rick & Bubba's Big Honking Book of Grub. When I requested this book, I thought it was a cookbook by two of my favorite radio talkshow hosts who call themselves "The Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive." I was a little surprised to find that it was actually a book about food - specifically Rick & Bubba's thoughts on food - with a small selection of recipes at the end. I listen to Rick & Bubba on the radio every morning on my drive to work and I think they're pretty funny. This book is obviously meant to be comedic, but I honestly didn't think it was that funny. I kept thinking that if I heard them saying these things on the radio, it would be great, but reading it on paper just isn't the same. I liked that each chapter was split into short sections, so you could pick it up and read small sections at a time. I would use this book more as a time-passer - stick it in the kitchen or on an end table to grab for a few minutes at a time. I will say this though - knowing how much these guys love food, I'm looking forward to trying a few of their favorite recipes in the back of the book!

I received this book for free from www.booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Bumbo Seat Pics

2010-03-12T20:51:00.000-06:00

Here's a few more pictures from the last few days!

John Bunyan Book Review

2010-03-12T16:06:00.006-06:00

John Bunyan
Christian Encounter Series
by Kevin Belmonte

I enjoyed reading this biography of John Bunyan, part of the Christian Encounters series by Thomas Nelson publishers. This book gives a great overview of Bunyan’s life and the circumstances surrounding his writing of The Pilgrim’s Progress. I’m not a huge biography reader, and so this book was just the right size and had just the right combination of historical facts and storytelling to keep me engaged through the end. The book is 142 pages long, plus a few ending sections (appendix, notes, etc).

I loved reading about Bunyan’s conversion to Christianity, his endurance and dedication to preaching the Gospel even in the face of certain persecution, his young wife’s bravery and defense of his calling, and I especially appreciated the brief summary of both Part 1 and Part 2 of The Pilgrim’s Progress. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in The Pilgrim’s Progress or learning more about John Bunyan. It’s not a hugely in-depth look at Bunyan’s life, but just enough information to feel like you know who Bunyan was and what inspired him to write one of the most widely recognized pieces of English literature, The Pilgrim’s Progress.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

Thumbs and Books

2010-03-11T10:34:00.006-06:00

My parents are coming to town this weekend and I'm so excited! It's been about a month since my mom saw Caleb last and my dad hasn't seen him since Christmas! I know this little boy has changed a lot since Christmas, so it should be fun watching Dad catch up on all things Caleb.

Speaking of catching up, our sweet boy has turned into a major thumb sucker! He's always gnawed/sucked on his hands, fingers, or anything he can get close to his mouth. But over the last few weeks he has mastered the art of separating his thumb from the rest and more often than not he will fall asleep with that little thumb stuck tightly in his mouth. We've tried to give him a pacifier instead and usually he will take it, but before long that paci falls out and in goes the thumb. I have to say it's kinda cute.Other than that, he's been very smiley and talkative - it's been so fun! Last week Stephen went to Los Angeles for the Shepherd's Conference, so Granna and Aunt Jayci came over in the evenings to help out and play. It was great - Caleb loved it and it was a huge help to me!

On a non-baby note, I've joined a book review website called BookSneeze to review books for them. It's pretty cool because I just browse the books they have available for review and pick one, then they mail me the book (for free-no cost whatsoever!), I read it and post a review on my blog and then on a site like amazon.com. Once I've posted my review, I go back on and request a new book. From what I can tell, all the books on BookSneeze are from Thomas Nelson publishers, which does primarily Christian literature. I'm in the middle of my first book - a biography of John Bunyan. I'm hoping to finish it in the next day or two so you should see a review on here shortly.

I've been trying to be much more intentional about my reading this year because I always have a list of books that I really want to read and at the end of the year I find I've only knocked out a few of the books from my list. So there's books that I've been meaning to read for YEARS that I just never get around to. Well I decided this year would be different! I guess you could call it a New Year's Resolution. I've already finished three books and I'm halfway through two others. That may not sound like much, but for this full-time job working wife and new mom, that's a big deal! So all that to say, you'll hopefully see at least a sentence or two on here about the books I've been reading lately. I'm excited to share them with you!

3 Months

2010-02-18T16:57:00.003-06:00

Our little man is 3 months old today! Here's some pics from this weekend when GiGi was in town.

Finally An Update

2010-02-11T09:40:00.005-06:00

Sorry it's been so long!!! Going back to work, caring for a newborn, and being a good wife to my husband combined with internet problems at our house have led to majoy blog slacking on my part. Our internet still isn't fixed, so no promises on when the next post will be, but here's a brief update for now. I'm going to use mostly pictures to cover the last 2 months.

Caleb is almost 3 months old now. He's been smiling and cooing a lot over the last few weeks, which we are LOVING! He's sleeping great with just one middle of the night feeding and even a few nights where he's slept through the whole night! He's getting bigger and bigger (too fast for my liking) and he loves playing with Stephen. It's so fun to see the way Caleb lights up when Stephen plays with him. I get the same reaction from him when it's feeding time. :-)

Stephen spent the month of January preaching at a wonderful church near our home whose pastor has been sick. It was a great opportunity for him to get pulpit experience and let out some of the years of seminary training and study in God's Word. He did a great job, but more importantly, he proclaimed the Gospel with all his might. I loved getting to sit under his teaching and hear his heart for God's Word, for salvation, and for missions. I'm so proud of him and honored to be his wife!

We also celebrated birthdays over the last 2 months - Stephen's in Jan and mine in Feb. The picture above with Caleb was on Stephen's birthday, and the next one at the restaurant was on mine. Stephen got to preach on his birthday, which he said was the best gift he could ever get.

Well that's about it for now. Hopefully it won't be 2 more months before I get another update on here!

More Pics

2009-12-04T21:18:00.003-06:00

So I have a feeling the majority of the blog posts on here for the next few months are going to be pictures of our sweet baby. Hope that's ok with everyone who follows along! :-) There will be some commentary as well, of course.

These are from yesterday:

Caleb and Mommy

Nap time with Daddy!

I can't believe how quickly Caleb is changing. It's only been 2 weeks and he already looks so much older! He's been awake a lot more over the last few days. So far he just looks around very wide-eyed and makes cute baby noises. He loves to stare into your eyes and does a good job of fixing on objects/people.

2 Weeks Old

2009-12-02T22:38:00.003-06:00

Here's a few pics of our little cutie over the last couple of days:

During one of his naps today...so peaceful and cute!

Helping mom fold clothes

And checking things out

Pictures!

2009-11-29T20:57:00.003-06:00

I'm very proud to introduce Caleb Spurgeon Webb to you:

Our little man is a precious gift from God. He is a very peaceful, calm baby and loves to sleep (except in the middle of the night). He's actually asleep in my arms right now. He loves to eat, but tends to fall asleep about halfway through feedings. He's a cuddle bug and has already been loved on greatly by family and friends. We can watch him sleep for hours on end, and he's actually fairly animated when he's sleeping - making lots of faces and cute noises. And now he's waking up and anxious to eat, so we'll finish this later! :-)

Getting Adjusted

2009-11-24T18:04:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the delay in updating. We're home from the hospital and have our precious son, Caleb Spurgeon Webb. He's absolutely amazing and we're getting adjusted to life with a newborn. It's definitely an adventure. I feel like my days aren't really starting until about 2:00 in the afternoon and then by about 9:00 pm we're ready for bed (sleeping is sporadic to say the least). I've been extremely, extremely extremely grateful for all the help and love from those around us during the last week. Stephen is an awesome father and help, and my mom is staying with us and taking care of so many details...her help has been priceless. Once we get into a little more of a routine, I'll be back to updating on a more regular basis. I hope to get some pictures up here soon. Our internet is slow when it comes to uploading pictures and I need to sort through all the pictures of the last week, which will take a little time. We love you all and hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

2009-11-17T16:58:00.002-06:00

We're headed to the hospital tomorrow for a 6am induction! I am so excited to know that Caleb will be here soon! Thanks for all the wonderful notes and prayers. We truly are thankful for them and can't wait to introduce you all to our precious little one.

This Baby is Late!

2009-11-15T11:29:00.003-06:00

Still waiting. Today I'm not feeling very patient...

So glad my mom made it in town. Originally we didn't think she'd make it before Caleb was born. Now she's here and waiting with us. :-) We're trying to find things to do to pass the time. At least Wednesday is only 3 days away. Have I mentioned that we're scheduled for an induction early Wednesday morning? When it was first discussed, I thought there was no way we'd make it that far, and now it's just a couple days away. We can make it to Wednesday...if we have to. :-)

No Baby Yet

2009-11-12T09:43:00.002-06:00

Well, we're back home and no baby Caleb so far. I was admitted to the hospital last night with contractions anywhere from 3-5 min apart, but they started to decrease as the evening progressed. Not exactly the direction we were hoping to go in. I'm still having little ones today, but nothing like yesterdays...so we're waiting again. He'll be here eventually!

Maybe, Possibly?!

2009-11-11T17:03:00.002-06:00

We're headed to the hospital! I sure hope this is the real thing. I've been having pains all day and they've gotten stronger and closer together. Talked with the dr's office and they said when they get 5 min apart to come in. We're there, so we're heading in... We'll update when we can! Be praying for us!

Still Waiting

2009-11-09T09:13:00.004-06:00

No big news yet to update you on. Our due date is Thursday, so we're literally just waiting for things to start happening.

God blessed me with a great reminder yesterday that He is in control, which is much, much better than me being in control, and things will happen in His timing, which is perfect and planned out with a perspective that can see so far beyond my immediate viewpoint. My sovereign God sees every one of Caleb's days and how they will play out. He knows each step he will take as he journeys through his life. He knows the number of hairs on his head this very minute, as well as when he is 15 and 55. I'm so thankful for God's character. I can trust Him completely. So I'm ok to wait for His timing with this baby, even if it means another week of waiting!

Waiting...

2009-11-05T14:16:00.002-06:00

Just had my 39 week check-up. Doc says Caleb is in the right position and we're just waiting for things to happen...could be tonight/could be over a week... it's pretty much just a waiting game. I know there's probably a big lesson in patience and waiting on the Lord that I should be learning, and maybe I am, but I sure do just want this little guy to come! I am trying to rest in the knowledge that things will happen in God's timing and when Caleb is ready. God's plan truly is better than my own. It sure would be nice if I could get a hint though! :-)

39 Wk Pic

2009-11-04T20:41:00.002-06:00

We head back to the Dr tomorrow for an update! Here's a pic at the start of week 39...any day now!

Content Baby

2009-10-29T22:51:00.001-05:00

Quick Weekly Dr Apt Update: Caleb is nice and happy and hasn't made any new movements toward entering the world. Still two weeks til the due date. :-)

38 Week Pics

2009-10-28T22:09:00.003-05:00

We're getting so close to the end! It's just two weeks until our due date. I'm feeling great and still haven't really felt any signs of Caleb getting closer to coming (not that that means anything). As far as I know, I haven't had any contractions yet - fake or real ones. I'm definitely tired, emotional, and get worn down pretty quickly, but Stephen might tell you I've been that way for the last nine months. :-) I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we'll see what they have to say.

Last week when I went in, the first thing the nurse asked me was if I was prepared to stay if needed. As in, be admitted to the hospital that afternoon if they found we had progressed a lot. That really took me by surprise (especially since Stephen was out of town and there had been absolutely nothing to make me think we were close to having this baby yet). I think she was just checking to make sure I was prepared, and you had better believe I am this time! The bag is packed and going down to the car tonight. The car seat is installed. Baby room is ready enough...mom can help with the rest when she gets here. So this time if she asks, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be! But like I said above, nothing much is happening yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if we still have two more weeks to go (and hopefully not any longer than that!). I'll be sure to update after the appointment tomorrow!

And now, pictures at the start of week 38!

Best Parts of the Season

2009-10-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again! The weather is getting cooler, warm clothes coming out of storage, fires and s'mores on our back patio (maybe sometime this week!) and one of my personal favorites - a cup of hot chocolate is never far away! I'm sitting at my desk at work right now with my first cup of work-time hot chocolate of the season. When everyone else is loading up their coffee mugs with coffee in the kitchen at work, I'm filling mine with yummy hot chocolate!

There's just something fun and seasonal about hot chocolate. We enjoy it so much around our house that last year Stephen actually asked for a Hot Chocolate Maker for his birthday and got one! We used it lots last year (of course, with Stephen's favorite hot chocolate mix from Ghiradelli) and last night he made some for us again! It was perfect and brought the warm fuzzies of fall/winter thoughts to my mind. I almost declared out loud that this is my favorite time of the year, but then I remembered how much I love cool spring mornings with the sun shining brightly and dew on the new flowers. And how much I love sitting in the sunshine during the summer. And putting on long-sleeve shirts and sitting around the fire during the fall. And the joy of the holidays and family during the winter. So then I decided that I love ALL the seasons and get pretty excited with the arrival of each new one.

So right now I'm thrilled that it's getting cold outside and I get to sip my yummy hot chocolate. I'm thankful for the place God has us right now in the world, where we get to see a glimpse of His creativity, beauty, and wisdom through four distinct seasons. And most of all I'm thankful for the Creator of those seasons.

"Every day I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom." Psalm 145:2,3

36 Weeks!

2009-10-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

Wow. We're 36 weeks! Caleb is so close to being here and Stephen and I couldn't be more excited. Here's some new belly shots that we took TODAY, so you can't get much more up-to-date than that!

Can I just say that I was a little shocked when I saw these pictures? I knew that my belly was getting big, but wow. Seeing it in pictures is a little different that my aerial perspective of just looking straight down and only being able to see the top! Our little guy is supposed to be just under 6 lbs right now. I'm thanking the Lord tonight for Caleb's safe and healthy life thus far and praying for God's protection over him as he prepares to enter the world! Only a few weeks to go!

Almost Finished Nursery

2009-10-12T00:45:00.000-05:00

Here's my disclaimer that I still have a few piles around the room of gifts we got at last weekend's baby shower that I haven't found a home for yet. It's not perfect or 100% complete, but I'm pretty sure Caleb wouldn't mind too terribly if he had to come home to it the way it is now.

We'll start at the entrance and work our way around the room. As you open the door, here is what you see:

We'll probably add a floor lamp behind the crib, which will kind of fill in the empty space over there.

Here's the changing table in all it's glory:

And the crib with it's awesome bedding:

Then the side table with my new favorite book: "The Jesus Storybook Bible." There will be many story times that come from here!

Then the couch (which opens into two recliners):

Then the swing (bear is filling the seat until Caleb is ready to use it):

Then the closets (there are two, and I've put a bookshelf in one to serve as a dresser of sorts):

And that is the tour around the nursery. The room is square and the door to the room is between the 2 closets.

Glimpses of the Nursery

2009-10-09T23:05:00.000-05:00

I'm still collecting pictures from last weekend's baby shower, so I thought I'd post a few other pictures to tide you over for another day or two. These are pictures we took probably 3-4 weeks ago. We've actually done a lot more to the nursery since then, but you can still get a preliminary glimpse.

We now have a mattress and bedding for the crib, which look AWESOME! I've got some great pics of the bedding, and I'll definitely post those in the near future.

Stephen relaxing in the nursery. This loveseat was our first big purchase as a married couple out in California. It fits pretty nicely in Caleb's room and as you can see, each seat reclines, which is great.

More to come!

Baby Shower Pics Coming Soon!

2009-10-06T15:15:00.000-05:00

Hey All. So it has been a while since I've updated on here...if you can believe it, my belly is even bigger than in the last post and baby Caleb is getting very close to being here! We're just over a month from our due date - 5 weeks! I feel like that is about as long as a blink right now.

The last few weeks have been busy as usual, but a little more crazy than normal. We woke up a few Monday mornings ago to a flood in our basement, which created a frenzy of activity and after-effects that will continue for the next few months. Let's just say fully finished basement + flooding = floors being torn up, furniture/books/stuff relocated, a month of drying out and then floors having to be put back in. Oh, and the yard work that will soon commence to correct the drainage problems that resulted in said flooding. Have I mentioned on here that we're having a baby in about a month?!? Aside from the fact that the whole ordeal is a big pain in the rear and happened at one of the most inconvenient times possible........long pause for composure..........it's truly not the end of the world. There's actually lots to be thankful for - family that is taking care of things, friends who have helped out, a whole second floor that is fully liveable, etc. All that plus the fact that we're now a couple weeks removed from the initial shock means I'm ready to move forward.

And moving forward leads to a lovely and always too short visit from Uncle Lee that happened 2 weekends ago, a visit from my mom and sisters that happened this past weekend, and our first baby shower last weekend. So much to talk about! You better believe I will have at least one whole post (if not more!) all about last weekend. I need to download pictures to the computer and find a few more minutes to sit still and we'll get a full recount. To keep you in further suspense, I have to say that the cake at the shower was probably the most amazing and CUTE cake ever to make an appearance at a baby shower. AND IT WAS MADE BY MY OH-SO-TALENTED SISTER (in-law) JAYCI ADAMS!!! Seriously, you've got to see the pictures - it's unbelievable.

So more to come...hopefully before this baby comes!

30 Weeks

2009-09-02T20:39:00.001-05:00

Quick picture update, cause Mom requested it. :-) Here we are at 30 weeks. Things are still going very smoothly. We got a little more work done around the house yesterday getting ready for Caleb to join us. I mostly stood there and made requests and Stephen did all the actual work, for which I'm VERY appreciative! He was pretty funny because he kept saying things like "don't fall down" when I would just be standing there watching him move things, and "hold onto the hand rail" when I'd be was walking down the stairs (which I walk multiple times every single day). I guess he is in protective mode, which is both funny and cute at the same time.

Next doctor's appointment is at the end of next week, so hopefully I'll have a picture update AND a doctor update for you. Exciting, I know. ;-)

We have a Crib!

2009-08-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Baby Prep Update: Yesterday Stephen picked up and put together the crib and changing table!!! I LOVE THEM! I realize it's kinda silly to get excited about a piece of furniture, but in my mind this is the beginnings of making Caleb's room into an actual nursery. We had already cleared the room out and moved a love seat into the room (it reclines and is easy to fall asleep in, which I'm thinking will come in very handy), but that was pretty much the extent of the nursery prep so far. Now that we have a crib and changing table, it's actually starting to look like a nursery!

I have to brag just a little bit about this crib (and sing some praises to God as He provides even in the little things) because we got such a great deal on it. You might have heard of Craigslist - the online site where you can post items you are wanting to sell/get rid of so that other people in your community can buy/have them. I've personally bought and sold a handful of pieces of furniture on Craigslist at some great prices. I've been scanning the baby section for a few weeks to see if I could find a good deal on some of the baby items we still need, and last week I came across a beautiful crib and changing table at a great price! Most of the other nice cribs I'd been seeing were at least a hundred dollars more than what we paid and they didn't include a separate changing table, so I was pretty excited when I saw this one. I went and checked out the crib last week and then yesterday Stephen picked them up. It was kinda late by the time we got home and got them in the room, so I didn't take any pictures but I'm hoping to tonight!** Hooray for being just a little closer to having things ready for our little man when he gets here.

**Pictures are now above!

28 Weeks

2009-08-19T21:19:00.001-05:00

Once again the month has almost slipped by me and I'm behind on updates. We're moving right along with the pregnancy. I think it's pretty obvious that Caleb has been growing quite a bit lately. Comments I've been getting the last few weeks run along the lines of "You are definitely pregnant. There's no hiding it now." "That baby has popped out!" "All of a sudden you are showing." I've been thinking these thoughts for a few months now, but apparently we've reached the stage where everyone else thinks so too. :-)

I'm 28 weeks pregnant now, which means we're into the 3rd trimester, I have about 12 weeks left (give or take), and the calendar is showing less than 3 months until Caleb is here! I'm still feeling great and doctor's reports are all good. We're very thankful for these blessings! Caleb continues to kick and roll around a lot, and Stephen and I have been enjoying watching my tummy dance as he moves.
Stephen and I went on vacation last week and had an awesome time just relaxing and being together. We jokingly called it our second honeymoon/babymoon - the last big vacation before we are officially parents. It was such a great week of being with my best friend in the whole world and I can't really imagine it being much more perfect. We slept in everyday, ate at some great restaurants, took in some of the sights, and just enjoyed each other's company. Perfect.

I have been wanting to get some pictures of Stephen on here because I feel like they have all been me and my belly lately. My wonderful husband deserves some of the spotlight as well, so here he is with our newly purchased highchair. This was a present from my Grandparents. Since we were in Arkansas when we saw them last, they gave us a gift card to use for the highchair and I wanted to make sure I got a picture of it on here for Grandma Vicky to see. It's still in the box at the moment, but we'll be sure to put another picture up when there's a little boy sitting in that seat with baby food all over his face. I can't wait! :-)

Over Half-Way There!

2009-07-26T17:02:00.000-05:00

24 Weeks:

22 Weeks:

Can you tell there's been some growth over the last month!?! :-) I figured I'd put the pictures up first cause I know that's what you really wanted to see. :-) It has definitely become obvious that I'm pregnant and Caleb is really starting to show. Over the last week I've had to move a good bit of my clothes to the back of the closet cause they don't fit anymore. Good thing Janet and Jayci showed up not too long ago with their arms full of maternity outfits for me to look through!

As I'm sitting here typing, I'm also watching my belly make little jumps. Caleb has gotten strong enough that his kicks can be seen on my belly! Stephen gets a kick out of watching him push my stomach around, and the other day I think Caleb decided to try his hand at jumping jacks because it felt like he was moving in 4 different directions at one time. It seems like he moves around the most right after I've eaten - definitely a boy in there!

For the 4th of July Stephen and I went to Arkansas to be part of the annual Johnson family lake week. We had a blast even though we were only able to be there a few days. It was great to see everyone and they surprised us and had a baby shower for us while we were there! We got a lot of great, super cute baby items that I can't wait to use on baby Caleb. My goal this week is to get a few of the baby shower pictures on here for you to see. Stephen will be in Atlanta this week taking some classes, so hopefully I'll have a chance one of these evenings to put those pictures up for ya'll. More to come soon!

Update Soon!

2009-07-24T09:28:00.000-05:00

I promise to post an update on here over the weekend. I feel like the month of July has flown by! We actually took 22 week pics and I even uploaded them to the computer, but they haven't made it to the blog yet... Now we'll have to do 22 week and 24 week pics together.

Stephen and I are doing great. Just thinking about how busy things have been for me this month makes me exhausted, which is pretty much how I've been feeling every day by the time my head hits the pillow (if I wasn't already feeling it by about 3:00 in the afternoon). You know the feeling when you have been so wrapped up in projects that by the end of the day you literally can't think straight anymore? Yeah, that has been hitting around 4 pm the last few weeks. I'm not sure if it's more from the pregnancy or just from being so swamped at work. I'm expecting another week or two of the same, and then maybe work will slow down some. PLUS we're going on a little end of summer vacation in 2 weeks, so that's sure to help! I'm definitely needing one right now!

On another note, I got to hear Stephen speak to the youth on Wednesday night. He did a fantastic job and I was so encouraged and challenged by the message he gave. He taught on the supremacy of Christ from Hebrews 1:1-4. It was such a great reminder of the beautiful, mind-blowing act of Christ making atonement for our sins. Just hearing about our great God and the great price He paid to redeem mankind (sinful me) almost made me cry. And then to read in Hebrews 1:3, that "after He had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" and took His rightful place on the throne, just makes me want to give Him the praise He is due even more. And I can't think of anything more precious than to hear that coming so lovingly, eloquently, and humbly out of the mouth of my husband. I have truly been blessed beyond measure.

Well, more to come this weekend but now I need to go get busy with the things of the day. I took a much needed half-day off work and slept in, so it's time to start moving in that direction. I hope you guys are all doing well!

It's a Boy!

2009-06-24T22:49:00.001-05:00

We're having a boy!!! Today was the big day for the ultrasound and baby Webb did not disappoint! His name is Caleb Spurgeon Webb (Spurgeon from Charles H. Spurgeon, great Baptist preacher of old). Needless to say, today was a really big day and full of excitement and I am pretty much exhausted now. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking for the most part. Stephen and I are thrilled to be having a little boy and pray that he will grow up to love and serve the Lord.

Waiting before our Dr's appointment. Here's Grandpa Jeff and Aunt Jayci.

Grandma Janet, Me, and Stephen

It's a boy! Here's a cupcake to celebrate!

Jayci made these awesome cupcakes in honor of baby Caleb.

Here's some pictures of little Caleb. There is a face, a leg, and a foot in this picture. Can you see them?

Here's a facial profile:

And one more face pic.

And lastly, here's me at 20 weeks. This is the same day we found out we're having a boy!

18 Weeks!

2009-06-10T22:06:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhhhhh! This picture scares me a little...it's quite a change from 2 weeks ago. I've been thinking for the last 2 weeks that this belly has been growing a lot, and now I have proof. And it's only the beginning...

On a brighter note - we find out if baby Webb is a boy or a girl in TWO WEEKS!!!! Next Wednesday is the big appointment. I'll be sure to update you guys on the results! Anyone want to take a guess as to what it's going to be?!?

Free John MacArthur Book

2009-06-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

John MacArthur is a preacher and author that Stephen and I both love. Stephen actually attended the seminary MacArthur is the founder and president of, and we served at his church, Grace Community Church, when we were living in California. We loved it there and loved sitting under his expositional teaching (expositional means he preaches through the word verse by verse rather than topically; when we were there he was teaching through the book of Luke). I could go on and on about all that we learned about sheparding a church and youth ministry while we were there, but for now I'll get on to the point of this post - getting John's newest book for free!

John has a ministry called "Grace To You" that is a radio broadcast, sermon archive, and MacArthur book distributor. Right now if you sign up to be on the Grace To You mailing list, you will get a voucher to get The Jesus You Can't Ignore for free! You can click HERE to get to the offer. I can't wait to get our copy!

Colorado

2009-06-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

Ok, here it finally is - the promised Colorado graduation post! The picture above is me and Stephen with my brother and sisters. We took a picture with my parents and grandparents, who were also there, but for some reason I don't have those pictures on my camera - Mom, send me some pictures!We had a great time in Colorado with my family. Between the outlet mall, the mountains, Estes Park, and a 5 mile hike/rock climb to an awesome lookout, we kept ourselves pretty busy. Oh yeah, and there was a graduation ceremony. Which was fairly short as far as graduation ceremonies go (yeah!) and even had a few comical moments. The best probably being when the dean of the business school, in the middle of his speech, told the graduates to please not make their families miserable by going back home and camping out on the couch because the economy is so bad and they can't find a job. He said it funnier than I just did, but it was pretty great.

Also there was the scare at the beginning of the ceremony when my mom couldn't find my brother's name in the program with the list of graduates. Nope, it wasn't there. She called my brother, who was already lined up waiting to walk into the room, and asked him if he was sure he was going to graduate and if he had any unpaid fines he'd forgotten about. Of course my brother assured her he was actually graduating. While the ceremony was going on, Sara found David's name listed under his middle name instead of his last name, so it was in the L's as David Johnson Lee rather than under the J's as David Lee Johnson. That made my mom feel much better.

So now my brother is a college graduate and headed to Illinois State with the Peace Corp to get his Master's degree. I'm pretty excited for him.

Oh, and I have to mention the 5 mile "easy hike" that David took us on. Let's just say that the "older" participants (namely me, mom, and dad) had to stop, rest, catch our breath and let our leg muscles recover pretty much every 10 minutes. And this was like a 3-4 hour hike. And I don't think we were THAT out of shape... As we got close to the top we were actually climbing the rocks, NOT hiking. But even though it was a lot of work, we had a great time and the view at the top was amazing. Definitely worth it, but definitely more work than we were expecting.

This is not a picture from the hike, but it's still an outdoorsy Colorado picture with my awesome husband in it!

We bought baby clothes at the outlet mall! Here's the soon-to-be grandma and aunts and their baby finds for little baby Webb. Or as Sara decided to call our baby, for little raisin.

Here's Grandma Vicky, me, and Emily at Estes Park.

And here's me at the Wyoming State Capitol! Let me just say that everyone was REALLY excited when I told them that Wyoming was only 30 minutes from where David went to college. Sara could hardly contain herself. And since it's always been a dream of mine to go to Montana, and obviously if you can't go to Montana, then Wyoming is the next best thing, I made sure that we fit a drive up to Wyoming into the weekend. It was great. Pretty much just like I imagined it and once we crossed the state line, we found out that Cheyenne, WY which is the state capitol was only like 10 minutes further. So off to Cheyenne we went.
It was pretty awesome in a western/cowboy/deserted-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere kind of way. But now I can say I've been to Wyoming! And Sara definitely won't be going back with me any time soon.
All in all, it was a fun, exhausting, successful, family trip to Colorado (and Wyoming!)

Love: Action Statements

2009-06-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Here's an excerpt I just read from "The Discipline of Grace: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges (from page 38 in the book). He is talking about how love is to be the primary character trait of Christians, and how it is an easy concept to agree with, but sometimes hard to put into practice. So he took the first 2 verses from 1 Corinthians 13 (the "love chapter") and turned them into action statements. I thought these were pretty great and something I was definitely challenged by. Enjoy!

I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best.
I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings.
I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs.
I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses.
I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you, and "love covers a multitude of sins."

Lots to Update

2009-05-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been a few weeks since the last post. We've been pretty busy the last few weeks with graduations, the end of another semester for Stephen, and just life in general. So that means there's lots to update you guys on and I took lots of pictures! I'm going to do a separate post on David's graduation from Colorado State University because I have so many pictures to post with that one.

Ok first things first...BABY UPDATE! I'm now 16 weeks and the baby bump is getting a little bigger. I feel like there's definitely one there now and I'm guessing that in about 4 weeks it'll be an obvious baby bump. Still no need for maternity clothes, but I'm not really complaining about that one. I had another check-up yesterday with the doctor and he said everything is great and the baby's heartbeat is really strong. We'll find out in just 4 WEEKS whether this baby is a boy or girl!!! Here's some pics for you all.

The first picture was at 14 weeks. I didn't post it then cause I didn't think there was much to see in the picture... The second one was yesterday, 16 weeks.

Now that you've gotten your baby fix (Grandma Vicky), you may have noticed that there's been another change to my appearance since the last pictures - I got all my hair chopped off! I've been growing it out for about a year to donate to Locks of Love and it was finally long enough! I've been ready for the last few months to get it cut, so I was pretty excited (and nervous!) that the day had finally come. Here's a couple pics of the big event:

And lastly, a huge task has finally been completed at our house. We got a basketball goal for Christmas and it's been sitting in our garage in about a million tiny pieces for the last 5 months. Stephen tried to put it together a few months ago, but it turned out to be pretty complicated and definitely more than a one man job. So on Memorial Day, Stephen and his dad spent the entire afternoon piecing our basketball goal together. They got it finished and I have evidence of the finished product (for my parents to see the proof) :-)

What a cute father/son picture! :-)

Alright, next to come...the great Colorado graduation adventure!

12 Wks & A Little Bump!

2009-04-29T21:46:00.000-05:00

It's finally here! I have proof that there's a small baby bump growing in this belly. I have a feeling in another 2 months I'll think back on this and laugh, but right now I'm so excited that you can see what I've been thinking I can see for the last 2 weeks. Stephen says there's no doubt you can see the bump, and Grandma Janet and Aunt Jayci have both said they can see it too! :-)

I had my second check-up with the doctor today and everything looks great. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again and it was really fast and strong! They pointed out the sound of the baby's heartbeat and then the sound of mine and the baby's was probably twice as fast and twice as loud as mine was! Crazy. So we're doing great and I'll go back again at the end of May.

Oh, and this week we're at a large plum! This baby is growing!

Outback

2009-04-21T19:35:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Stephen and I served at Outback. Not like the restaurant Outback, but the weekend retreat held at Farmlinks Golf Course. It's a Fri-Sun retreat for relationship building between husbands and wives and parent/child. Stephen has been involved with Outback since high school and I helped at my first Outback retreat last fall. We actually got engaged at Farmlinks during one of the Outback weekends. We weren't serving there that weekend, but we went to visit friends and he took me up to the mountain top at sunset and proposed (he had it all planned out).

Anyways, we spent the weekend coaching one of the husband/wife groups and had a great time. We all learned a lot and got to see relationships built up and restored by God. Little baby Webb did a great job and didn't cause any problems for me during the weekend, other than helping to make sure I was ready to go to sleep the minute my head hit the pillow. I've been feeling pretty good the last few days...I haven't been quite as tired as I was, although I'm definitely still more tired than normal. For a few weeks, there was no question that the minute I got home from work I was headed straight to bed to take a nap. Now I'm still tired, but I'm able to make it until bedtime (which has been around 9:30 for the last 5 weeks).

Next week I have my next dr's check-up. I'll be 12 weeks along, which is kinda hard to believe. The first trimester is drawing to a close. At 20 weeks, we'll know if this baby is a boy or a girl. By my calculations, that should be the last week of June, just in time to get the news before we head to the lake for the Johnson family 4th of July festivities! I can't wait!

2009-04-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

10 Weeks Picture

I must say I'm a little disappointed after looking at the picture - I thought you could tell just a little bit that my belly had gotten bigger, but after looking at the 8 week picture, they look pretty much identical! Geesh. Well, maybe there will be more to show at week 12!