Motherhood Reminders

This blog post really spoke to me tonight. Being a Mommy is a lesson in selflessness, and it's not an easy lesson to learn. I have loved being a stay at home mom for the last 6 months, but it has truly been an adjustment. This "job" doesn't end at 5:00 every day. My sweet boys want attention every. single. minute of the day. Some days there's a little one at my feet even while I'm in the shower! I'm still trying to figure out how to get 30 minutes a day to myself just to get some exercise. There are many days where I think "If I could just have a break, have some ME time, I could do it all again tomorrow." Even though the moments of motherhood are truly sweet, there's an inner struggle for balance and personal time that I'm willing to bet most mom's have experienced. I'm too tired to have any grandiose answers right now, but reading this post tonight was like coming up for a breath of air on a day that felt a little more like drowning than swimming.

I'm thankful God's mercies are new every morning. I need His mercy and grace each and every day.

Growing Babies

This pic was taken back in October. They've done a lot of growing in just 4 months!

David loves to try and grab the spoon while I'm feeding him. This usually ends up in a big mess... :-)

Naptime?

Caleb was supposed to be napping. I walked in and found this scene and a cute little boy who was so happy with himself. Oh goodness.

I love these two little boys like crazy!

Monthly Reading Plan

his and her's reading lists (mine's on the right)

I have a confession to make. I love to read. I have ever since I can remember. I have vivid memories as a little kid hiding in the closet after I was supposed to be in bed and losing myself in great adventure stories. But I've found that life can often get busy (and I waste too much time online) and I'll find myself going months without reading a single book.

This is a problem for me because at least every other week, if not more often, I find another book that I really, really want to read. I would end up looking at our book shelves or perusing Amazon and thinking, "Man, I've been wanting to read that book for forever!" and not doing a whole lot about it.

So the last few years I've made a very loose reading list. This helps me a lot because rather than thinking "There's soooo many books I really want to read" and not knowing where to start, I actually have some direction and find myself making progress on my reading list. Also, if don't pick up a book for a few weeks, just a glance at the list reminds me how much I want to read them and helps me get back on track.

This year I've decided to split my list up by months. It's still pretty fluid, and I find myself adding another book to the list every few weeks or so. But it should give me a great starting point for my reading over this next year. A few of these are books I've wanted to read for YEARS and just never got around to it. This is the year!

I'm also excited to look back at the end of the year and see how many books I finished. I'm planning to do a monthly update of which books I read and which ones I'm hoping to read the next month.

So without further ado, here's my 2012 Reading List. Some are books we have on our shelves, some are ebooks on my Kindle, and a few are books I hope to purchase or borrow from our local library.

January
-The Hunger Games (Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins
-So You Want to Adopt... Now What? by Sara Dormon & Ruth Graham
-You Can Adopt by Susan Caughman & Isolde Motley
-Spurgeon by Arnold Dallimore (inspired by a conversation with Olivia Pugh and in honor of my oldest son, who is named after this "Prince of Preachers")

February
-Women's Ministry in the Local Church by J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt
-Radical by David Platt (reading with Stephen)
-One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (love her blog!)
-The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine (I follow her blog & won book from a giveaway!)

March
-Word Filled Families by John Barnett (reading with Stephen)
-The Variorum Walden by Henry David Thoreau

April
-The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever (reading with Stephen)
-Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

May
-John Owen The Man & His Theology by Robert W. Oliver, etc. (in honor of my youngest son's first bday. He was named after Owen, "The Great Doer")
-Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

June
-Transforming Church in Rural America by Shannon O'Dell
-Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis

July
-Heaven by Randy Alcorn

August
-Love That Lasts by Gary & Betsy Ricucci (our wedding anniversary is Sept 1!)
-Orphanology by Tony Merida

September
-Expository Listening by Ken Ramey

October
-Twelve Ordinary Women by John MacArthur

November
-Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

December
-A Love That Multiplies by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar

I don't know if anyone still reads this little blog, but if you do, I'd love to know if you have any books you're hoping to read this year!

Sweet Brothers

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

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

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

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

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

 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

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

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

 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

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

 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

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

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

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

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Happy Birthday Caleb!

 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!