easter weekend 2014

The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Savior of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse was broken

 
One final breath He gave

As Heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken

 The ground began to shake

The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated

Forever, He is glorified

Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive

stuck.

i haven't been writing here very often lately.
i just feel like i've run out words.
there's nothing left to say.
{nothing important, my mind says}
but that's not why i write here.
i write here so that i can remember.
and these days are so worth remembering.
God's grace is astounding and abounding.
there's joy and laughter and love and mistakes and HARD.
but i do want to remember.
because one day {all too soon} my boys won't give me slobbery kisses or sit on my lap to watch a show. one day {maybe} we won't be in this house or doing this job or in this place. one day i'm going to want to look back and see how faithful God was at blowing my mind in understanding for his faithfulness and HOPE.
so here's to remembering and writing it down.

these brothers. 

they make each other laugh.

they make each other cry. 

{i think it will be like that forever}

 they're starting to play more. 

asher laughs at joshua more than anyone in the world. 

asher also thinks joshua's food is the perfect snack and that his cup is much better than any other object in the room. 

joshua sometimes kicks asher in the stomach. also gives him lots of hugs. and says "asher, don't cry. i'm here."

 joshua. it's like you're almost a teenager. i bought jeans for you for the first time and you talk ALL.THE.TIME. and you wear your flip flops to bed. and you LOVE kaci, tyler, jocelyn, and ella. 

 asher. you have a stuffy nose ALL.THE.TIME. you fed yourself eggs for the first time yesterday and we all cheered. your cheeks are so kissable.

 

manny. i beat you in real scrabble for the FIRST.TIME.EVER. it was thrilling. i am just so stinking thankful that i am walking this life with YOU. i love staying up too late and talking it out. i love doing auctions with YOU. i love breakfast and dinner with YOU. i love putting away clean clothes with YOU. i love YOU too much.

i'm thankful for the spring warmth and the sunny days and new sunglasses. i'm thankful for a boy who challenges me and one who cuddles with me. i'm thankful for a yard to work in and house to plan for. i'm thankful for HOPE. that i know the HOPE and live in the FREEDOM of Christ. 

i am so thankful for that. 

so remembering... April 2014... this is life.

Asher Gray: 10 months

 Hey Big Boy,

10 months. That seems far too old. You are just a BABY. You say- No way mom! I can crawl everywhere, pull up on everything, & I have 4 teeth now! This month, you officially moved from 3 naps to 2. You gained 3 new teeth, 1 on the bottom & the 2 upper "lateral incisors" and the upper middle left is not far behind! You're starting to eat more (kind of). You really like anything made with white flour. Really awesome... Not so much for this food controlling mother... God is telling me to GIVE.IT.UP! So I'm working on that & you eat lots of bread, sweet potatoes, and instant oatmeal. The weather is warming up some & then it snows a lot. But every chance we get we play outside or go for a walk. You like the swings at the park and are always content on a walk. Your brother is still the coolest dude around in your eyes. Now that you can crawl to his toys and cup we are working on sharing and speaking in a kind voice (for Josh), but we are all learning :)

I love seeing what intrigues you- usually paper & balls. You also can play with a toy car like a big, big boy. You love sleeping with your blankie & only suck your thumb when going to sleep. Unfortunately, you got your first major sickness- a double ear infection. The running nose and a cough are still kind of lingering and I would be very happy if they went away sometime soon! But you are so happy most of the time no one would ever know you were sick.

 You are a joy. You love to hang upside down and giggle. You think Blitz is very interesting. You fit on my hip like you were made to sit there. You kind of say dada and when you are sad kind of say mama. But I'm not calling any first words just yet. You sleep every night 6:45pm to 7:30am. Your hair is getting longer and you love pulling off your socks. Sometimes you do the funniest things and we all just think, I can't wait to see what this kid is like!
Asher, we love you way too much! 
 love always, your momma & daddy

Asher Gray: 9 months

Asher man, 

It's hard to believe in 3 short months you will be 1 year old. 

I have held you in my arms just as many days as I held you in my belly!

You, my son, are just wonderful. You are cuddly and sweet, o-so chubby, and just plain happy most of the time. You only get fussy right before bed. You sleep & nap like a champion. Your chubby cheeks and double chin are loved by all. On your 9 month Age & Stages Questionnaire (from the doctor) you scored worst in Communication (you're pretty quiet most of the time) and best in Problem-Solving. I'm really looking forward to seeing how that plays out as you get older...

You started crawling this month! It has pretty much turned my world upside down. You are on the move & independent. First chance you get, you head straight to the bathroom and Joshua's froggy potty. You pull down books off the bookshelf and love trying to figure out everything in the bottom of the panty.

You can pull up now, onto your knees. You got your first tooth (bottom, middle right)!  You LOVE taking baths. You still hate food. It's pretty much a major stressor, but I'm trying to rest in the fact that you will EVENTUALLY want to eat something besides sweet potatoes and cheerios.

 This month you went on the Alethia Youth Winter Retreat. You were such a perfect baby & were fawned over by millions of middle school girls ;)

 9 month stats:

Clothing Size - 18 months

Diaper Size - 4

Height - 31 inches - 100percentile

Weight - 22.5 lbs - 88percentile

Head Circumference - 18.5 inches - 93percentile

 Asher, you are straight up blessing to everyone in this house, everyone you share a cuddle with, or flash that great grin to. I'm praying you continue to share your joy and love with everyone around you. I pray you use that stubborn streak to be stubborn for the righteousness of Chris. I pray you start eating more solid food soon. I pray you always want to cuddle with your mom & that your brother always makes you laugh.

we love you more and more everyday! 

love your momma & daddy

i don't want to forget...

Joshua, I don't want to forget...

how you are obsessed with tea parties

your love for tea party soup and pretend pizza 

the way you say "jump-in-the-watee" and "clifford-the-big-red-dog"

how much you love green beans, peppers, and anything i call a "special treat"

how every time we get in the car you want to listen to "tyler's song" & "kaci's song"

your special friendship with Jocelyn

how you kindly share toys with your brother

your love for the snow 

how you always look for "luna" (the moon)

how you sleep with all your blankies, animals, and lightening mcqueen 

your no-fear, i can do everything attitude 

how you always want to jump in puddles

how you wear your cowboy boots 6 days of the week

your monster/dinosaur/dragon roars 

this age is fun. this age is hard. 

we love you Joshua!

Asher Gray: 8 months

 My big boy! 

I can't believe you are 8 months old, wearing 12 month clothes, and about to crawl. 

The pajamas you are wearing in the picture below- your brother wore at 18 months. That's crazy! 

 Speaking of your brother, you think he's pretty great. He makes you laugh, gives you snacks (behind my back), brings you toys, and is always checking up on you. I love seeing your little relationship blossom & can't wait to see your friendship grow!

You are now a pro at rolling around and getting what/where you want. 

You can get up on your knees and rock back & forth, but no crawling yet.

 You are funny. 

You like to laugh & are very ticklish.

Story for the photo below- We had been out running errands. I thought you would fall asleep on the way home so I put your cover over your car seat. We stopped to get some gas. I got back in the car and you had pulled the car seat shad and canopy down and were peeking out at me & giggling! Too funny!

I love that grin!

You're back to sleeping through the night no problems! 

You still nap three times a day and eat 5-7oz about 5 times a day. 

You still HATE real food.

 

You are a joy & such a treasure. 

We love you more and more everyday!

love, your momma & daddy

Asher Gray: 7 months

 Asher Gray, 

Happy 7 months! My sweet boy. Not much has changed. You're still chubby & kissable, sweet & cuddly, ticklish & smiley. You're content but like to be held when it's almost sleepy time. You're grin is contagious. This month was your first Christmas! You are beginning to recognize those you love & LOVE to stare at your daddy! Your brother makes you laugh and you cuddle with anyone and everyone who is willing. You are still sucking your thumb, especially when you are sleepy. But you are not a fan of sleeping anywhere besides your crib, no matter how tired you are. Unfortunately, you got another nasty cold right after Christmas. It made for a few cranky days and some extra feedings in the middle of the night but most of the time you were just as smiley and never complained too much. Towards the end of this month, I seem to have lost some of my milk... Right now I am exclusive pumping and supplementing with formula. It seems to be what you need so we will keep that up as long as we can. 

This month was your first time in the big swing- loved it! 

Your first time in the big seat in the grocery cart (at Costco)- liked sitting next to your brother.

 

 You can sit up totally unsupported. 

You are not really caring about trying to crawl. 

Towards the end of this month you finally started to roll around with more determination.

 

7 month stats: 

Clothes- 12 months

Diapers- size 3

Teeth- none

 

This month we started solid food. Around 6 months, 3 weeks. 

I knew you weren't quite ready, so I held off a couple weeks. 

But you pretty hate food. You turn your head to the side and refuse to open your mouth. 

I've tried everything in the book- 

sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, bananas, oatmeal cereal, applesauce 

chunky, pureed, from a jar, on a spoon, from my finger, just let you play

you want NOTHING to do with it. 

Kind of driving me crazy but we'll just keep trying...

 

Your schedule is still pretty much the same. 

Lately you've been liking to get up between 5 and 6:30am, eat and go back to sleep till 8 or later.

Not my favorite, but it's fine... You go sleep at 7pm, so I can't complain! 

I love seeing more and more of your personality. Seeing what interests you and what makes you laugh. I love that you love to cuddle.Your sleepy, sucking my thumb cuteness is the best. You are wearing clothes your brother wore when he was one and walking- that is crazy to me! 

You are my sweet Asher man.   

We love you more and more everyday!

love, your momma & daddy