The Shoe Box

If you have never read The Show Box by Francine Rivers YOU NEED TOO! And you need to read it to your children!!! My mother-in-law bought this book for us a few years ago...this year we have let the kids pick a Christmas book each night to read. Last night Chase and Cooper choose The Shoe Box. This book is about a little boy who due to some different circumstances is in foster care and he always carries around a shoe box. I do not want to give the book away but in the end the boy hands this box, his only true possession, over to Jesus. It is amazing how God puts things in our life...this past week and a half has been REALLY rough for us...Cayden scared us again when he had to have another head ultrasound, Christopher's car broke down and it has been a challenge to find out what is wrong with it, and yesterday we learned of some new financial struggles! It has been ROUGH! Christopher and I have really felt beaten down this week...don't get me wrong it can ALWAYS be worse but in our present situation it is hard right now. Last night, while reading this book, I completely broke down as God was reminding me and Christopher to hand it over to Him! As Timmy hands his precious little shoe box filled with things that only he and the Lord know about...God was telling us to do the same. Give it all to Him...the stress, hurt, worry, hopes, dreams, goals, etc. He is our Father and He will take care of us no matter what. I am praying for God to turn all of this around but no matter what we have Him, each other, our beautiful boys, family, friends, job, church, etc. We will over come this...it just might not be the way we intended to do it but then again it isn't our plan, is it? Thank you God for reminding me of all these things but most important for reminding me that You are here, ALWAYS! Family, friends, bloggers, and followers...please add this book to your Christmas traditions. I promise you, you wont regret it! Also, a special thank you to my MIL Nancy for giving us this book...at first it was a sweet book to read and last night it became a bold reminder of God's promises to us! Thank you!

It's beginning to look and FEEL a lot like Christmas!!!

It is December 7th and it is 15 degrees outside...BRRR!!! We are so happy and blessed that God brought us back home to Indiana but I have a confession...I MISS CHARLESTON, SC!!! Last year, we attended the tree lighting ceremony in downtown Charleston wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, we took walks on the beach, and went to James Island Park to see Santa (the boys wore a sweater)! Now, having confessed this I will say we missed our family and friends and we would much rather be here but we are struggling a bit getting into winter mode! We have lost two hats already, Chase HATES his coat, and I never know how many layers to put on the baby!!! I love the snow but the wind that cuts through your body like glass I hate!!! Well I think that is enough confessing and complaining about winter!!! So now for the awesome Christmas stuff we have done...our tree and decor is up and looking great! We have watched a bunch of Christmas movies already. We read a Christmas book every night. We went to Christmas at the Zoo and drove through the Reynold's light display. We saw Santa but no pics to show because the one of Chase was terrible, Cooper Baby was TERRIFIED of him, and Cayden can't be exposed to the germs so we are going to wait for his first Santa visit next year! But the most fabulous Christmas thing we have done so far is teaching the boys especially Chase since he can somewhat understand is the real REASON FOR THE SEASON! If you ask Chase why we celebrate Christmas he will tell you "its Jesus birthday" He loves to play with his nativity scene and we often talk about how baby Jesus and baby Cayden are both babies...I love that he knows why we celebrate Christmas! If you ask anyone they will tell you I LOVE buying gifts at Christmas especially for the kids and I admittedly go overboard BUT I truly know THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS and am working every day to teach our boys the love and story of Jesus Christ. AND if all the shopping and gifts went away Christmas (also Easter ) would still be my favorite holiday!! Thank you God for the blessing of your Son and the amazing story of His birth, life, and sacrifice!

Cayden Six Month Checkup

Cayden is now 6 months old. We had his sixth month checkup last Friday, here are his stats: He now weighs 15 lbs and is 26 inches long. Typing that is making me tear up because for the longest time we were just praying for 8lbs, 10lbs, etc. and now he is 15lbs!!!! The last 3 times he has been weighed he has gained several ounces...it's amazing! He is hitting most of his milestones but is struggling with his upper body so we are having First Steps come and evaluate him. i think its because his noggin is just so much bigger that the rest of him :) Speaking of big noggin...his head measurements jumped up again so Dr. Davis sent us to Peyton Manning for a head ultrasound again. Thankfully, it was normal again! Praise the Lord! We started his Synagis vaccines which is a vaccine of antibodies that help fight against RSV. It is given to children who are at high risk for RSV. He will get one vaccine every 28 days until April. We are so blessed that God has watched over our littlest bug and has helped him eat, grow, and is keeping him healthy. We are praying for him to stay well through the winter and continue to gain weight so that he will be ready for surgery this spring! So many blessing to be thankful for with this little one...we love him so very much and we thank God everyday for him!!