Kid-Isms

*This post was written a few weeks ago, just not published.

James took Asa to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Baylor football game last night. About the experience, Asa said:
This is the best night ever!
This is the best queso ever!
We should go to that restaurant for dinner every night!

Almost every day Reuben says:
Ezra is awake!
He's so cute.
He likes me!
Surprise! Happy birthday, Ezra.

When I was a little girl, I was at my grandma Hols' house. I must have been pointing to something on Grandma's face. Before I knew what happened, Grandma bit my finger! We laughed and I've never forgotten that moment. Last week my mom was here and Judah was inspecting her teeth. He was pointing to them and guess what happened! Grandma bit his finger! He was shocked for a minute and then we all started laughing. I hope he never forgets that moment. And the lesson to remember is to never put your finger near a Grandma's mouth. She might be hungry.

The Joy of Giving

About this time every year I start to get so excited. I love the way I feel. I have an overwhelming gratitude for the love shown in the birth of Christ. And I find myself asking: How can I share this love with someone else?
I try every day to love and serve my family. Sometimes it feels like a chore rather than an act of love.
Every year at Christmas we bake and put together "goody plates" for our friends, pastors and family. I guess it's just an affordable and simple way to say: we love you, cherish your friendship and thank you for investing in our family.
Each year for Christmas my mom gives us a monetary gift. We decided that this year we will use a portion of that money to buy gifts for someone else. I have real cash money and we will go shopping as a family. I want my boys to know what it means to buy gifts for someone else and experience the joy of giving.

Six-Month-Old Baby

I cannot believe that Ezra is 6 months old today! He is so much fun. He's happy, squirmy, content and best of all, loves his brothers! He likes to play with toys. When he's a little fussy, if we give him a toy, he quiets down. He plays with the toy for a little bit and then whines for a new one.
Ezra recently started eating solids. When you have 4 kids, you delay this as long as possible. Spoon feeding a baby takes a long time and is a big mess! How quickly we forget. Last night he sat in a high chair for the first time and ate squash. He actually did really well!

The outfit Ezra is wearing for his 6-month snap shot is one I bought on clearance after Christmas two years ago. I remember that my sister, Melinda was with me at Target, looking for good Christmas steals. Only our family knew that we were expecting again. I was so excited to find a cute Christmas outfit in just the right size for my baby. Unfortunately, in March we lost our baby. We named the baby Micah and later found out that the baby was a girl. As I look at Ezra wearing this outfit today, I am so happy and sad at the same time. The whole time I was pregnant with him, I was worried that he wouldn't make it. Or that there would be something wrong with him. For the first four or five months, I went to the doctor every two weeks to listen to his heart. Each time, I held my breath, remembering the morning of March 12 when I didn't hear my baby's heart beating. But every time, there was a strong, normal heart beating inside of me. It was a comfort each time. When we went to the hospital to deliver Ezra, I was still nervous. So many things can go wrong when giving birth. Would this time be just as easy and normal as the others? The labor took longer than I anticipated and I got discouraged. My good friend Emily is a NICU nurse at the hospital and had come in to be our nurse. She was a good distraction for me. Then suddenly things started moving very quickly. The baby dropped and I was ready to push, just had to wait for the doctor to arrive. After a few pushes, Ezra was out and in my arms. What a sweet moment. A couple minutes later Emily was checking him out. How awesome is it to have your best friend be your baby's first nurse?! I looked over and asked if he was ok. Emily said, "He's perfect." Sigh. Fifteen months of worry were over. We had a healthy, perfect baby. Well, he did cry a lot! I think Emily said that he cried more than most babies right after they're born. And he cried a lot for the first few weeks. Now he's much better behaved. And I am thankful again for the miracle of birth!