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.