2010 in Pictures

warning, LOTS of pictures in this post......

our 2010 has been wonderful. we were blessed with a sweet baby girl and Jack has been a joy to raise! sure, there have been hard days. the hardest being Jovie's battle with reflux. but, the Lord brought us through it. and overall, we have loved this year together as a family of four. we are so excited about 2011 and all of the fun memories we will share together. we know the Lord is going to do some mighty things & we are humbled to follow Him this year.

here is a snippet of our year, in a few of my favorite photos!

January:


February:


March:


April:





May:


June:



July:

August:


September:



October:


November:

December:






looking back over these pictures is a little emotional for me! =) i just can't help but be overwhelmed with gratitude to my Lord for giving me all of these sweet memories with my husband & children. i am so blessed. and if 2011 is half as sweet as 2010, then i know we'll have a blast! We can trust the Lord with our year. He is with us, each step of the way.

4 Years of Marriage!

today is our 4 year wedding anniversary. it has been such an amazing time. i love marriage. it is the most wonderful experience i've ever had. and of course it helps that i'm married to the most wonderful person in the world. seriously, so wonderful. in the past few months, with so many changes going on for our family, the Lord has reminded me how blessed i am to have such a sweet husband.

the first year of marriage was so sweet for us. not at all the difficult first year that some people warned us about. we loved having that time getting to know each other more & living together. were were able to take a few trips & spend lots of quality time together. in the fall of 2007, we took the Youth Pastor job at Meadow Brook Baptist Church. 6 days before our 1st anniversary (Christmas Eve) Ben told me that he felt like it was time to start a family & of course, i was on board with that plan!

our 2nd year of marriage was even more fun than the first. on March 20, 2008 we learned we were pregnant. i still remember that day so vividly. we were beyond excited & a little shocked b/c it happened so quickly. (Praise the Lord!) on June 30 we learned we would be having a sweet baby boy. Ben's excitement was off the charts! ha! we began preparing for our little Jack right away. we were able to have lots of date nights & 1 more vacation before Jack was born. on October 25, our precious Benjamin Jack was born, 5 weeks early. Ben was so amazing & supportive during my surgery & recovery. he was so patient & helpful. not to mention, he loved all the daddy time he got to have with Jack. we were able to celebrate our first Thanksgiving & Christmas as a family & we had a blast!

our 3rd year of marriage was VERY eventful, ha! we began making serious plans to start a church plant in Olive Branch. we, along with: my sister & her hubby, theDalombas & the Lyles felt the Lord calling us to plant together. we spent many, many days & nights talking, praying & planning together. the Lord had given us a tight knit group of people to minister with & we were so very thankful. we were also able to celebrate our first Easter, Mother's Day & Father's Day with Jack. our biggest news was learning on June 12 that we would be having another sweet baby. since Jack was only 7 months old when we found out, we were VERY shocked & so excited. we went on vacation in July with Ben's family. then on September 25 we learned we were having a baby girl. we were so thrilled. we decided to name her Jovie Claire. we began preparing for baby Jovie & the holiday season. we enjoyed one last Christmas as a family with Jack. it was such a sweet time.

our 4th year of marriage has been so hectic, but fun. we had Jovie on January 25. she was the perfect start to the new year. we couldn't wait to bring her home & begin life with 2 kids, just 15 months apart! after 2 months, Jovie had developed severe acid reflux & we began an epic battle. it was so stressful & really exhausting. we had so many doctor's appointments, we saw a few specialists & even had some hospital tests run. it was so frustrating to not be able to help our baby girl. through this time, Ben was a rock. he was worried for Jovie but he trusted the Lord completely and he never complained about the long days of constant crying from Jovie. he was so patient with me when my nerves were shot. he was there to step in when i needed a break & he was constantly encouraging me in my role as Jovie's mother. i really couldn't have made it each day without him. Jovie's condition began to improve at the end of the summer & life got a little easier for all of us. however, that is also when we learned that we would be leaving MeadowBrook & moving to Cordova. we moved in August, and we are loving it here. Jack turned 2 in late October and we had a blast planning his party together. and this year we were able to celebrate the holiday season with 2 beautiful, healthy children. wow. we are so blessed.

as we begin our 5th year of marriage, we are so excited about God's plan for our family. our church launches on January 9th. we are going to begin looking for a house in February & we hope to move before summer, if possible. we are planning our first vacation with our kids. we want to expand our family and try for a 3rd baby, late next year. we are so excited to watch our kids grow together & we can't wait to make memories with them.

i am so content with our life together. i'm so thankful for a healthy, growing, loving marriage. the Lord gave me the perfect help mate & partner. we are closer today than the day we married. we have a stronger more open relationship. Ben is without a doubt, my spiritual leader. i have learned so much from him about how to study scripture, how to pray, how to meditate on God's word & how to trust Christ with all my needs. Ben is a gentle, firm leader in our family & i am thankful for his sensitivity to God's will for our lives. my husband is constantly encouraging me when i feel down about myself or my job as a wife, mom & housekeeper. He has never belittled me or made me feel insufficient. i don't have to fish for compliments or beg him to give me attention. He tells me he loves me constantly & tries his best to meet my needs & the needs of our kids. He is THE BEST dad to Jack & Jovie. he has so much patience with them. he has done a fabulous job at making them a top priority & taking time for them. He loves & disciplines them in a way that is honoring to the Lord. He has been a blessing in every area of my life. i don't have one bad thing to say about him & there is nothing i would change about him. (ok, maybe i would change the way he leaves dirty clothes on the floor, ha!)

thank you, Lord for a wonderful, precious husband. you knew i needed him & i praise you for your divine will for our lives. we are a blessed couple & i am humbled to have such an amazing, supportive man.

Happy 4th Anniversary, babe. i love you so much. i am blessed to be your wife & i thank the Lord for you each day. you are my very favorite person & i love walking through life with you!

Oh So Croupy

it has been a super rough 24 hours in our house. really, really rough. the only reason i'm blogging about this, when i have so much other stuff to post, is that even though this day has been hard, i am thankful for my children. and i know how blessed i am to have them. plus, the hard days make the sweet days so much sweeter! =)

yesterday, we had to go to Jackson, TN for a funeral. Ben's great Aunt Jenny passed away the day after Christmas. the funeral was at 2pm which meant we had to leave home at 10 am, meet family for lunch & then go to the funeral. after the burial, we had to go to see some family. so we made 2 stops, one in Greenfield & then back in Jackson. we didn't get back home until 8:30 pm. Jack & Jovie had to go the ENTIRE day without naps. that's a total of 3 missed naps & it was not easy. Jovie was running a fever the whole day with a terrible cough & Jack just wasn't himself.

we got home, gave the kids some tylenol, put them in bed & then crashed into bed ourselves. at about 11:30pm Jovie woke up, sounding terrible. her voice was so hoarse & her cough was so dry. we changed her diaper, took her temp, gave her ibuprofen & made her a bottle. she drank a couple ounces of her formula & then started fussing. we could not get her back to sleep. we tried giving her a warm bath, rocking her, singing to her & giving her meds at the appropriate times. but it was to no avail. i have never seen her so miserable. at 1:30 am i finally decided to load her up in the car & drive her around. i figured the motion of the car would lull her to sleep & maybe she could rest for just a bit. i drove around town until 3:10 am. at that point, she had slept for about an hour, off and on. but i was so exhausted that i was scared i would begin to doze off unless i went home.

got home at 3:10 am. once we got inside, she woke up and began fussing. we did the bath, bottle, medicine routine. we were finally able to get her to sleep at 5am. and she slept until 8:30. she woke up with a fever, of course. Jack woke up 15 minutes later with a nasty cough & temp of 101.5: i was able to get them into one of the doctors in our Peds group. Dr Bubba is out on vacation, so we had to see Dr Senter. i've seen him before & he was great but today he was a little short with me & impatient with my kids. really made me miss Dr Bubba! ha!

he diagnosed both kids with Croup. but, i think Jack has strep. (and if he does, it would be the 4th time. ugh.) he prescribed Prednisone & sent us on our way. when we left the doctor, it was pouring down rain & i had to go into Target, with both kids, to fill the Rx and get some diapers & more meds. lovely.

both kids were so fussy & cranky in Target. i felt terrible for them. the pharmacist told me that the Prednisone (a steroid) might make them anxious, hyper, super hungry & thirsty & give them insomnia. perfect. we rushed out to the car in the rain & i gave them the medicine before we even left the parking lot. we got home & i tried to lay them both down for naps. Jovie slept an hour & woke up with fever & cough. big shocker. Jack slept 2 hours & woke up sweating with fever, red eyes & the chills. at this point, my nerves were shot & exhaustion was kicking in. Ben had to leave to finalize some paperwork for Revision, so i had both kids for a few hours. they took 2 baths (Jack pooped in the tub, yay! not.) had some frozen lemonade to soothe their throats & plenty to drink.

my house is a complete disaster. seriously. clutter, laundry, toys, diapers & pacis are everywhere. i can't pick up or cook b/c both kids want to be held, by mommy. i was able to get Jovie to sleep at 8:15. Ben got home at 8:30 & we put Jack down at 8:45. WHEW. and GOOD GRIEF.

the kids have been asleep for a little over 2 hours and i am praying, oh so very hard, that they stay that way. i have never seen 2 more exhausted little ones. and it breaks my heart to see them this sick.

tomorrow, ben & i will celebrate 4 years of marriage. we planned, over a month ago, to have my mom keep our kids. we were going to go to dinner & then stay overnight at Peabody Hotel. we were looking forward to getting lots of sleep! we planned on sleeping in & then going to a matinee movie before picking up our kids. but, since both J & J are so sick, we decided to cancel. we just can't ask my mom to keep 2 sick babies & we wouldn't be able to enjoy ourselves knowing our kids are so sick. as soon as they get back to sleeping through the night then we will reschedule. we are a little bummed out but our kids are way more important than a night out.

i'll be honest. the past 2 days have been so stressful. and at times, i've even found myself pitying my situation. however, the Lord has used this time to humble me. a couple days ago, i came across a girl's blog, she is struggling heavily with infertility. but her faith is strong & she is really encouraging. the Lord reminded me, several times today, that i am blessed to have 2 sick kids to care for right now. even in the yuckiest, most feverish, croupiest, sleepiest days, i am blessed to a mother. i need to be humbled in this way so that i never feel obligated in my responsibility of caring for my kids.

if you read this, bless you. i know it its terribly long. i just ask that you would please pray for my children. their little bodies are so exhausted & they feel terrible. they need rest & so do we!

so thankful for my children and my very helpful, attentive hubby. hoping we all rest well tonight!

Jovie @ 11 Months

baby girl, you are 11 months old, already! my oh my, you are getting big & growing faster and faster each day. we are loving each moment with you & we look forward to watching you grow & learn. you are an absolute blessing. i could go on & on about how much i love you, but i'll spare you the mushy details, for now! =)

at 11 months, you are quite the handful. you have been walking for quite some time & there is NOTHING that you don't get in to. you are more curious than Jack at this point. you put everything in your mouth. you want to touch everything & see how it works. you love to walk around the house with an article of clothing draped over your head or around your neck. its like you are putting it on & you just walk around so proudly. its such a funny, quirky little trait. you love my purse & you try to pull everything out of it so you can play with it. you love to walk around the house, carrying something. it can be anything. (cars, cups, pacis, baby, bear, socks, hat, scarf, my phone or whatever you can get your hands on!) you are a total mess with SO much personality & we love it!

you absolutely adore your brother. he is the only one who can really get you giggling. you follow him around the house & mimic his actions. you love to play with his cars & trucks. you constantly give him hugs & kisses. you occasionally get frustrated with him, for various reasons, and when you do you give him a loud grunt. its hilarious b/c your face gets so red & you pout your lip! such a cute girl.

you are definitely going to be our less sensitive child. ha! it takes a little more to get your attention when we tell you no, but you are quick to respond. you HATE when dadda tells you no, you cry immediately. but you are a smarty pants & try to do it again. we've already had to pop your little hand twice & it was terribly hard to do! when you get into something, you have the most mischievous look on your face.

you weigh 20lbs 4 oz. (1 lb ahead of Jack when he was your age). you wear a size 4 diaper, size 2-3 shoe & a 6-12 month in clothing. in some things you can wear a 12 month, but that is rare. you have tons of auburn brown hair & dark greenish brown eyes. you have the most chunky, stubby little legs & we love it. you hate wearing socks,shoes & hats, you are always pulling them off. its pretty frustrating, especially in these sub-zero temps we've had lately! you have 2 bottom teeth & your top 2 teeth have just busted through the gums.

you are a GREAT eater. i have zero complaints. you will try anything we put in front of you. your very favorite foods are oranges & green beans. i am convinced that you will eat endless amounts of both. its hard not to give it to you with every meal b/c you love it so much! you also like: apples, chicken, french fries, carrots, corn, vanilla wafers, ravioli, bread, oatmeal, sweet potato & cereal bars. you have tried whole milk but we think you may have an intolerance for it, so we've laid off it for awhile. you take about 3-4 bottles each day that are 7-8 oz each. you eat solid foods 3 times per day. you still take 2 naps a day. and i really appreciate that! you nap around 11 am & 3 pm. for about 1.5-2 hours each time. you sleep from 8:30-7:30 each night. you are a great sleeper. Praise the Lord!

you are definitely a mommy's girl. but, i don't mind! i love that you love me so much. you love to play with dadda & give him kisses. you have such a sweet, loving disposition. we pray you keep that forever. you are THE squirmiest kid that i have EVER known. you can not stand to be tied down or held in public, you just want to get down & walk. you will make the most dramatic movements, throwing your head back or making your entire body go limp until we put you down! its hilarious & exhausting! you are always smiling & happy. everyone always tells me how you are such a happy girl. and you really are, you only cry if you are tired, poopy or hungry. you love bath time but you hate being dried off!

Jovie, you are the most precious baby girl. you walk around the house, talking & babbling all day. you have a sweet smile, adorable laugh & pitiful cry. you are cuddly, silly, funny & quirky. we have enjoyed you so much. we love watching you grow & learn. you have made us want to have another little girl, one day. you are a joy and a blessing. we pray that you come to know the Lord at an early age & that you serve Him all the days of your life.

Happy 11 months, sweet angel. i love you immensely.

Merry Christmas

we hope you have a safe, fun & sweet Christmas with your loved ones! May you know the peace of Christ this holiday & remember to celebrate His birth!

Peace on Earth

" in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. this was the first taxation when Quirinius was governor of Syria. and all went to be registered, each from his own town. and Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the lineage and house of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. and while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. and she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and lay him in manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear, and the angel said to them, "fear not, for behold, i bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. and this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger" and suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace goodwill toward men!"

when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another: "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us" and they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, lying in the manger. and when they saw it they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. but Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

Luke 2: 1-20

and that is why i LOVE christmas. so very much. because my Jesus, was born to die for me. He chose a lowly birth, a sinless life and horrible death. what a precious Savior.

i love the holiday season, if you know me, you believe me! i get so excited about Christmas, each year. i love the hustle & bustle, the crazy shopping malls, the music, the smells, the lights, and spending time with family & friends. but i understand that Christmas is NOT about these things. Santa is fun. but JESUS is why we celebrate. He has given us abundant life. He wants to know us, intimately. He loves us, unconditionally. and although Ben & I will allow our kids to believe in Santa & enjoy the christmas season, we will ALWAYS teach them that we love Jesus first. we praise Him, live for Him & serve Him. we tell others of His great love.

i'm praying you know Christ this season. there is no better life than to be enslaved to Him. He IS life. and in Him we find the fullness of joy. thank you, Jesus for your beautiful life story. thank you, Jesus for dying for us. and thank you, Jesus for rising again. may we be a blessing to you this Christmas.

i want to be like Mary, in verse 19. i want to treasure up all these things & ponder them in my heart. i want to dwell on Christ.

oh come, let us adore Him.

Sprinkles for Everyone

yesterday, while Jovie was taking her morning nap, i decided it was the perfect time to do a little Christmas baking with Jack. i've been looking forward to it for a long time. and we had so much fun together. the cookies don't look like Martha Stewart made them. they are messy, covered in sprinkles & uneven. but, Jack had a blast. and that's all that matters!

i made some sugar cookie dough from scratch & then we got busy adding A TON of sprinkles!


he loved to hold the spoon

his main job: batter taster


and he did not mind doing it!


our first batch, decorated & ready for the oven! i helped him with the sprinkles, this time.


they came out great. and SO yummy!


time to prep the 2nd batch. he wanted to use the sprinkles all by himself.

and things got a bit out of control! ha!


it's a good thing we like sprinkles around here

and here we have even more red sprinkles.


the 2nd batch. so pretty!!

Jack did a great job & we had so much fun together. i love making memories with my sweet boy, especially at Christmas time!

Off She Goes!

my sweet, sweet girl is walking!! actually, she has been taking steps for a few weeks now. she will stand up, walk a few steps & fall down. but, on December 12th, she decided to take off and she hasn't looked back! she has been walking all over the house. its adorable b/c she still loses her balance & plops down but she stands back up & keeps going.

Jack was 15 months when he started walking. so, for her to be walking so early is a little crazy for us. we want her to be our baby for a little while longer. but she just watches everything Jack does & she is determined to keep up with him.

we love you, Jovie girl & we are so proud of you!!!