You Give and Take Away

One of my favorite worship songs is Blessed be the Name. It contains the lines "Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in this offering Blessed be Your Name." and then it goes on to say "You give and take away, you give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, Blessed be Your Name". In that spirit of worship I am filled with so much sorrow. Little Jordan passed away last night. He's now gone to be with his big brother and Heavenly Father. Please pray as you read this for the Buffington family. They have lost two of their five sons in a matter of months. This is Chad's sister and brother-in-law for those who do not know. It's going to be a devastating next few days for the family to have to say goodbye, so again I ask for your prayers. Please Lord, may I not become embittered or angered by yet another tragedy, but fill my Spirit with Your understanding and my heart with Your love so I can truly say Blessed be Your Name.

Prayer Request:

It's been so long since I've blogged I'm sure everyone has given up on me. But if someone does happen upon this, I have some prayer requests. One of my instructors from nursing school was killed in a car accident yesterday. She was only 33 and had a 2 month old. She was unbuckled, taking care of him (as we all have done) and was ejected out of the car. They had waited so long for this baby and there just wasn't enough time for them to have together. Please be in prayer for this family. They are wonderful Christians, but this will still be the hardest thing they have had to endure.

As for me, I don't know if many of you know this, but my 13 yr old nephew was killed back in July. Since then things just haven't been right with me. For the past two years I've lost 3 people that I love suddenly (grandmother, 20yr old cousin, and my nephew) and sometimes it just feels like too much. If you could, just remember me in your prayers and also the Buffington family. My nephew had twin brothers and one has been in the hospital since birth. Jordan is about 7 and 1/2 months old and needs healing. So if you can pray specifically for the healing of little Jordan that would mean the world to me. If I feel overwhelmed, I can only imagine what Ashley and Todd have had to overcome with the loss of one son, an infant at home and one in the hospital. Please pray, pray, pray. Thank you to my faithful friends and family; if you read this and pray.

In the love of Christ

Diva in the making

Every little girl needs a tutu. Laura - this was the cutest gift idea. As soon as I saw it I knew there would be countless photo ops and I was so right.

At 7 months there is just so much Lily is learning. Sitting up on her own is no problem now, in fact she loves the independence. And oh the attitude she's developing. If we're playing and I get up and just think about turning away, she will turn on the tears until I sit back down with her. And when I say tears, I mean that mouth wide open, whaling because I just broke her heart tears. If we eat, she eats. Don't even think about eating in front of her without giving her a taste. And if she likes it, you better keep it coming. You may say this sounds familiar...yep, she has her dads appetite. She absolutely loves other kids. Around her cousins she just laughs and wiggles around, you can tell she wants so badly to get down and play. She's saying Dada with no problems and Mama every blue moon. She finally likes to ride in her carseat which means I may get to graduate back to the front with my hubby. Up until this last week she only liked riding if someone was in the back with her. Well, I guess that's it for now because Lily is calling. Gotta love her.

Day on the Boardwalk

So I can't upload any new pictures from my camara right now, so I thought I'd post some old ones. These are from the boardwalk (before 100 degree temperatures). Everyone who walked by couldn't help but smile and giggle at the sight of my cutie.

It was hard work being that cute.

Favorite Time of the Day

When you have baby as adorable as my Lily there are so many moments of the day that I love. :) But I gotta say one of my favorites is when I clean the kitchen!? That's right, I said clean the kitchen. That's because Lily and I have a little routine. First we turn up KLOVE as loud as it will go, then I sit her in the Bumbo on the counter. We sing and dance as crazy as we can while we praise God and do the dishes. I actually get disappointed on a day we don't dirty the kitchen. (Don't tell my husband this, he still thinks I "suffer" through all the cleaning, I wouldn't want him to know I enjoy it) :) Anyway, just thought I would share this with ya'll. Here's a pic of Lily helping me clean the kitchen.

Memorial Day Weekend

I LOVE this time of year. So maybe it's a little hot, but that just means it's time to head down to the lake and spend some time with my family. There's nothing more relaxing than throwing a pole in the water or getting some sun as you float in the lake with the fishes :) We do this every year a couple times during the summer and I enjoy every minute of it. There can be anywhere from 20-30 of us under one roof for a couple days, but it couldn't be any cozier. God could not have blessed me with a better family and there wasn't a better way I could have spent my weekend. I only wish everyone would have been there. Lily missed her Noni and Papa and cousins Connor and Colby.

The Camp

"The Swing"

I got a big one

Getting ready to eat watermelon

A little inside fun

Chillin in the water

Lily's first boat ride.

Mmmm, a feast of fish (my big one is in there somewhere...along with my smaller ones) Best fish you'll ever eat.

Watching the sunset from the boat. Absolutely breathtaking.

I DID IT!

Mom and Dad please don't be mad at me! :) So in celebration of losing 8 lbs. ( this was suppose to be a reward for losing 10lbs, I just decided to round up) I treated myself by doing something I've wanted to do for a while now. I got my nose pierced! I would like to thank all of those who made this possible...to mom and dad who are two of the most loving and tolerant parents a girl could ask for, to aunt Debbie and uncle Kenny for providing the workout equipment so I could start shedding all this that jiggles, to my beautiful cousin Lacy who watched my Lily so I wouldn't have to bring her in a tattoo parlor at the tender age of 5 months, to Laura for going with me and holding my hand (I wouldn't have gone without you), and to my ever supportive husband who provided the dough to pay for my little reward. I love you all! :)

BEWARE...some of the photos may make you a little queasy. Do not try this at home.

Seriously, what was I thinking.

Almost over.

Ta Da.

Yum Yum

Noni gave Lily her first sip of Coke. Can't be for sure, but by the way her eyes widened and she practically ripped the glass from her hand, I would say she liked it.

Working Out

We had Lily's second Physical Therapy session this week. Her therapist is wonderful and they all just love when Lily comes in. We came home this time with a couple of exercises and streches and will go back in a month to see if she needs some boots. No worries though, she won't let anything keep her down.

Being fitted for boots

A Tiny Offering

Mother's Day 08' also marked another special occasion for the Osbon household. It was a day of dedication and promise. We stood in front of our church family and vowed to raise Lily in a christian home with Godly influence. Our prayer is that one day she will make the decision for herself and choose to follow Christ. You know I didn't know this before Bro. Keith told us, but Lily means Purity. I love that. When I look at Lily that is all I see, a beautiful, pure heart.

She looked so sweet in her dress...

...and then decided it would taste better in her mouth.

Her cousin Colby (left) was also dedicated. Big cousin Connor is in the middle. He loves his cousin Lily and baby brother.

First day in Nursery

Ohhhh, tell me it gets easier. Chad and I dropped our little girl off at the church nursery for the first time. Mama almost didn't leave. It was like, this is the rest of my life. I will forever be watching my baby grow up and experiancing new milestones. She just goes with the flow while mama is the one with the attachment issues.

After church we had to take a few picutures of my beautiful girl.

For those who know me best, know how much I LOVE gravy. Well, here is a play by play of Lily's first taste.

Girls Night

What an amazing night. You just sat back and let the Holy Spirit move. As soon as I heard Natalie Grant was coming in concert I knew I wanted to go. I'm so glad I did. It was one of those experiances where if you were a Christian you had no choice but to be in the presence of God. I love nights like this where your joined by hundreds of other believers at the feet of Jesus. My Spirit was so overwhelmed by it all.

One more thing...There was a family sitting right beside us with two teenage girls who were raising their hands, singing praises along with their parents. I lost it. All I could think about at that moment was my baby girl. How awesome it would be, in ten or twelve years to be doing this with MY daughter. What a reward as a parent to know you helped guide them into a relationship with their heavenly Father. Hopefully Chad and I will raise Lily to understand what an amazing gift from God she really is and that she will use this life that He has healed to do wonders for His kingdom.

Ashmont Hill and Natalie Grant

So after the concert we all left feeling a little hungry so we decided on Cane's chicken. We should have stopped at this point, but A Krispy Kreme was strategically placed next door to the restaurant. If only the "HOT donut" sign wasn't on. I don't think I need to explain what happened next.

My little Doll

Chad calls her momma's little barbie doll. I have no idea why he says that....

Lily and I were talking Saturday night and we decided to paint our toe nails. Too much fun for mama, until I realized (after painting her first five toe nails) that I had no polish remover. If you ever painted 4 month old nails, you know that this is the key supply along with q-tips. We worked it out in the end and I have to say they look so cute. Sorry for the fuzzy picture, that's why I pay people to do the work. As in Michelle Jenkins Photography. Do I get freebies for the plug Michelle? :) Oh and ignore the 2006 in the bottom of the picture, don't know how to change the year. And go figure, I got the camara in 2007. How does that happen?

Wheel of No Fortune

Well, I guess it's official. I'm not Wheel of Fortune material. :) I guess I should explain. About a month ago, Chad and I were watching some t.v. when something came on that got me excited. The WHEEL MOBILE was coming to town. Yes, that's right. The WHEEL MOBILE. Not only was it coming to town, but it was stopping about 5 miles from my house and holding open auditions for Americas favorite game show. (Wheel of Fortune - for those of you not in the loop) :) At that moment I knew what I had to do. So April 15th I got all glammed up, dropped the kid off with her Noni and headed to get my chance to spin the wheel. The only other two people I could find to go with me were my friend Tiffany and her sister. Everyone else I invited kinda did that laugh, you know the one where they're laughing at you, but trying to play it off. That's okay, I was kinda laughing at me too. But seriously, how could I not go? It was a random drawing where they called you on stage to interview you and play a mock game with 5 contestants at a time. Unfortunately none of our names were drawn, but we had a good time anyway. If they only knew how good I am. Seriously, I can solve those problems like nobodies business. Here's to trying. My camera broke while I was there so no pictures. If I get some from one of the others I'll post them. I did get a free Wheel of Fortune pen and CD ROM just for showing up. Yep, that's what we call hitting the jackpot. Although my pen never really worked and I don't know what I did with the CD.

4 Month Check Up

So Lily had her 4 month regular check up today which means vaccination time. You know I'm fine, I prepare myself and wait for that moment where I can scoop her up in my arms, hold her tight, and tell her mama loves her. This is how it should go right? Oh but no. Let me tell you what really happened. I mentioned to the nurse before she shot up my daughter, that I wanted to feed her right after she was done. She smiled at me and said "that's fine...as long as I can love on her when I'm done". I kinda stood there and grinned back, not knowing what to say. Well sure enough when she gave her that last shot it happened. My daughter is lying there turning blue from lack of oxygen because she forgot to breath while she was screaming and the nurse scooped her up and stood there comforting her. My heart broke. This was MY moment to comfort my daughter. I was suppose to make her feel better. Don't get me wrong, she is a really good nurse and LOVES children, which is why she wanted to hold her. But some things shouldn't be taken away from a mama. Anyway, this could be me just being overly sensitive, but it really did make me upset. I will however, make sure it will not happen next time.

Here I go again

To get a nose ring or to not get a nose ring...that is the question. For those who know me this isn't a huge shock. You just never know what I may come out looking like. I did the whole eyebrow ring for 3 years and now I'm itching for another piercing. The ONLY con is - it will leave a little scar. I'm thinking you won't notice it, much like my eyebrow scars. I'm sure my family will have a lot to say about it, but they love me anyway! (and I love them anyway) Despite all my hair colors and piercings (and maybe future tatoos) :) they've learned that this is who I am. While other peoples opinions are important, you can't be afraid to be who you are. Altough it is a little harder here in the South. Up North they're a little more...accepting...may be the word. So what should a girl do? I'm thinking I may just end up getting it. Who knows, maybe someone wants to brave going with me and get a piercing of their own!?

A Real Miracle

Right now, my little girl is on the floor grunting, kicking her legs, trying to turn over on her back. Kicking her legs....I can't get over how amazing that is. My heart melts when I see those little toes curl! The doctors told us she probably wouldn't have much use out of her legs, if any. If only they could see her now. What a true miracle of life! I'm so humbled when I think about how God touched and healed my little girl. A beautiful gift of His amazing grace!