Happy 2nd Birthday James!

     My first born son, is now 2 years old! Where has the time gone?! James has been quite the tough child to figure out. With him being my first born, I was a new mom. I had no idea what to do with anything. I thought I had things together. Little did I know how much God was about to (and still continues to) teach me patience.
     James had all kinds of issues when he was a baby. From tummy/reflux issues, to dehydration and weight issues. It didn't help that I got pregnant again when James was only 4 months old. But, God knew what he was doing. I didn't think that I could do this mom thing. I wasn't cut out for the job. How could I be a mom to 2 when I couldn't even take care of 1 without falling a part and crying.
    God had mercy on me, and gave us Ezra who was an easy baby in almost every way, giving myself more relaxation and feeling like I can do this mom thing after all.
     While James still continues to be his strong-willed self, every day I find that God gives me more patience and endurance to get through the day.
     I have good days and bad days. When it's a good day, it makes me treasure them all the more. James is starting to actually say words now, making us sooooo happy! We taught him some basic sign language so that we can communicate a little bit before he learns to talk. He used to be such a shy child, and always disliked when other people held him or spoke to him. He's starting to come out of his shell a little bit. He takes a while to warm up to people, but when he does, he gives you all kinds of smiles and giggles. James absolutely adores his daddy, and will usually choose to be with my husband over myself, which usually works out since I have another little boy to take care of.
    James loves his little brother who's almost 1. They're starting to interact a little bit more. You can usually hear a giggle from Ezra when he sees James round a corner.
     James loves to be chased around, and for you to run while he chases you. He loves Almond Butter, cheerios, eggs, and healthy muffins as his favorite foods. We love our little boy and are excited to see what the Lord does in his life this year. Love you little boy of ours!

Thankful for the mess

    Life has been tough lately. My son developed whooping cough a couple months ago, which meant lots of weeks of constant throwing up because he was coughing so hard. James has had a lot of things going on with him that we're trying to figure out. But boy, he's such a cutie, and I love him. <3
     This week is supposed to be a week of Thanksgiving, and to look back at what you're grateful for. So, here's my post of thanks.
     Despite so so many hard days of Temper-Tantrums, messy house, dirty dishes, lots of laundry, snotty noses, baby spit up, and coughs, I'm thankful. You know, it's so hard to be grateful when you're in the moment of complete chaos. It's so hard to be grateful when you've barely gotten any sleep, you haven't taken a shower in a couple days, you've got a pile of tissues that need to be thrown away from snotty noses, and you don't remember when the last time was that you ate some food.
     But, looking back through the past couple weeks, months, and years, I am so truly thankful. I'm thankful for the mess my older son makes throughout the day, because it means that he's got an imagination, and that he kept himself occupied through part of the day. I'm thankful for baby hiccups, because it means that my baby has had enough to eat. I'm thankful for a messy kitchen, because that means that we have food to eat, and water to drink. I'm thankful for a dryer, because who knew something so small had such a significance in my life, and with all my dirty laundry, I'm thankful to have a working dryer again!
     I'm thankful for a husband who loves me despite my many sins and weakness, and my many days of lack of patience. I'm thankful for my two boys, because despite those hard days of their mommy having little patience with them, they love me, and trust me to take care of them.
    I'm so very thankful for those little phone calls and texts from friends and family, just checking in. I'm thankful for the ability to drive my husband to work once a week so that not only do I get extra time with my hubs in the car, but also so that my son and I can go to the Chiropractor on a weekly basis.
     I'm thankful for yummy meals that I've found on Pinterest, which makes diet restrictions so much easier to handle.
     I'm thankful for coffee!!!... something so small, but so delicious.
     So, that's only a small portion of what I'm thankful for, but it's good for me to get a different perspective every once in a while, and realize that I have so much to be thankful for!
What are you all thankful for? Comment below.