Jack @ 22 Months!!

little boy, you are 22 months old. your 2nd birthday is around the corner & i can't believe it. time is flying by way too fast & even though i'm enjoying your age, i don't want you to keep growing up!

you are the smartest little booger i know. in this past month it seems like your vocabulary has doubled & you are picking up on everything we do. your new words are: heart, star, circle, Jack, momma (you've always said it but its really clear now) fire truck, dump truck, truck, beep beep, vroom vroom, lovie, car & cup. you are talking all day every day. several of your words are still jibber jabber but you throw in some real words pretty often. without a doubt, your favorite word & your favorite thing is fire truck. you are obsessed. you have about 5 different fire trucks of all shapes & sizes. you carry them everywhere you go: the tub, the bed, the car, outside, restaurants, stores & people's houses. as we are driving, you point out every truck you see & call it a fire truck. you must touch every single car or truck that we pass on our walk & call it a "friar tuck". (the way you say fire truck). we love it! its so cute to see you enjoy something so much.

you are still in a size 18-24 months in clothes. however, you can wear several 12 month things. you are a little bitty boy! you are now in a size 6 shoe, its a little big but you have plenty of room to grow in it the next few months. you are in a size 5 diaper. you weigh about 23 1/2 pounds.

you are definitely going through some phases & changes. you are a social & very friendly little boy. you love to play with others & give love to everyone. you have the sweetest little persona. but recently you have become so attached to me. you notice when we are in a new place or situation & you cling to me like crazy. you won't let me put you down. you are still having trouble when i leave you in the nursery but you are improving a little bit. i know it will just take some time. you love your daddy to pieces. you have become so sensitive to the tone of his voice. he rarely has to spank you b/c you cry as soon as his voice becomes firm with you. i love your tender heart. you notice everything now. you copy tones of our voices, you try to copy every word we say. its a little scary!! you love to dance when you hear music. you have a cute little rhythm. the sweetest thing you do right now is sing. you make up your own little songs & your own little words. it is the most precious thing i've ever heard. you are also learning some shapes & letters. each night at bath time i use a bath crayon to draw a heart, star, circle & the letter J on the tub. you can point to each one when i ask you where the are & you repeat them very well. i'm so proud of you! i can tell you are eager to learn new things.

you have fallen into a bed time routine. you love for us to lay you in bed, give you your lovie & sock monkey, cover you up, sing Jesus Loves Me 3 times (no less!) & pray. if we don't do these things, you let us know about it. we love having that special time with you each night. you have also become really interested in your children's bible. you love to look at the pictures & you even let us read a story or 2 before you become distracted. you are still the sweetest big brother. you & Jovie really play well together. she follows you around the house & gets into stuff with you. you love entertaining her & making her laugh! but you do not enjoy when she tries to play with one of your trucks! we're working on teaching you how to share!

you are the most precious little boy in the world. i never grow tired of spending my days with you. i just wish i could slow time so that i can enjoy you forever! you are an absolute blessing to us. you are teaching us so much about how to depend on the Lord as we parent you. we are thankful for your tender sensitive silly funny personality. we pray that you remain a sweet & loving child that seeks the Lord.

Happy 22 months sweet boy. i couldn't love you more if i tried.

Crazy Busy Life

crazy & busy are two words that accurately describe our life right now. we have had the most hectic year of our marriage but also the sweetest. we are doing well, just so busy. the days run together & sometimes i feel like we are living in a blur! such is the life with 2 kids under 2 & planting a church.

i know i'm the worst blogger ever. i really do want to blog, in fact i think about it often. but to be honest, when my kids are awake i don't have time to sit down & write. Jovie is crawling all over our house & putting everything in her mouth & Jack is into everything. he plays very well by himself but he loves to try & plug things in the outlets which keeps me on my toes! we do have the outlet covers but he's way too smart for those! he just pulls them right out. i'm constantly picking up after them & doing housework. so, if i get to sit down during the day then i'm either writing out lists for groceries, writing out a to-do list or writing down our crazy schedule in my planner. i just don't feel like i can concentrate enough during the day to blog! and at night time, when my kids crash in bed, then i'm just plum worn out! i do my Jillian Michaels video (kill me now) each night, study my bible, snuggle with the husband & go to bed. but i'm really trying to get better. i want a digital record of our lives. so, for myself, i'm committing to blog more!

our church plant, Revision, is really going well. we are all working so hard & putting in so much time, prayer & energy into getting it off the ground. i can't wait to do a post solely about the church. the Lord has really given me a heart for what we're doing. i'm so excited about this next phase in our life. and even though it means that for right now, we have no money & we live 30-40 minutes away from our church, we are completely content with where the Lord has us. we are so confident that we are in His will. we are surrounded my wonderful friends & family that are part of this process. we have such a strong core group & we are thrilled & thankful for the people around us. we are trusting the Lord to provide the money we need to live & get our church running. He is always so faithful. we really can't complain. Praise Him!

our children are so fun. i just love them more each day. i praise the Lord for allowing me to be at home with them. i do not take it for granted. my only complaint is that Jack & Jovie are growing up way too fast. my boy is about to be 2 years old! and my girl just started crawling. i must confess, i've had baby fever lately! i love jovie's age. i love that she is still a baby & so dependent but i know it won't be long & she'll be a year old & into the toddler phase! i definitely don't want to get pregnant this year. but maybe towards the last half of next year. we'll see. Ben isn't quite sure about when he wants another one! i'm not in a rush but i'm excited to have a 3rd baby someday. the Lord has showed me that i'm not done having kids & i love that! i've started a MotherWise bible study this week & i'm so excited about spending time with other moms & learning how to be the best mom i can be through Christ.

overall, we are doing really well right now. everything is not perfect. we do struggle, every day. planting a church is hard work. raising 2 kids is hard work. but when the Lord calls you to it, i believe that He equips you for it. this year is moving quickly. but we're looking forward to the fall & holiday season together as a family. we LOVE our new apartment & we're ok with being here until the spring or whenever the Lord gives us a house. we are learning so much & growing closer together in this crazy time! we are so blessed & we are so thankful. Praise be to Him!