Tomorrow is Ayden’s FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! I am so excited…but it all seems a little surreal to me. I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the fact that he is already a year old, yet at the same time, it feels like he has been with us forever. I can hardly remember life without him! I am so thankful for the Lord’s goodness and how He is blessing Ayden’s life…and ours through him.
So Ayden…this week is all about celebrating you! Know how special you are, and how passionately loved you are! My life is so much better with you in it! Thank you for being your remarkable self! I love you always!
Ayden is such a precious, undeserved gift! He is so full of JOY. There are so many things I love about him. I love how the Lord teaches me so much through him, even through one of his expressions captured in a photograph. (Thanks, Katie, for the amazing photo!!) I love the wonder, awe, excitement, and innocence that is painted all over his sweet face.
William and I have decided to take the next few weeks to intensify our focus on the Lord and what He has purposed for our family. It’s no secret that there is a lot of change headed our way. Good change…and a lot of it! I am praying for the Lord to completely captivate my soul, making me incapable of looking in any other direction. We serve such an incomprehensible God. We cannot taste even a glimpse of His glory without being forever altered. Over the next few weeks, I want my expression to look at lot like Ayden’s in this picture…
…full of wonder at the depth of His character and glory; full of excitement at what He has for us; full of abiding joy in His Spirit; and full of a childlike freedom and eagerness to follow Him wherever He leads.
Has it really been nearly a year?! Last January my life changed dramatically when my son, Ayden, entered the world. What unspeakable JOY! I cannot believe that he and I have spent almost an entire year together…and what a year it has been! I could never have imagined that my life could be so incredibly blessed and profoundly different in such a short span of time. The Lord’s plan has been far deeper and far more satisfying than I could have ever known. I have watched Him grow this little family, make us stronger in Him, teach us how to trust, and I have seen His faithfulness in a whole new way. He is so good and I don’t deserve Him! Ayden is a pure joy to spend my days with and I cannot begin to fathom how more intensely this joy will grow…
Ayden had his first experience with green beans the other night. As you can see from the video, he was less than impressed! However, I am happy to report that his palate has now accepted the taste of green beans, and he ate a whole jar during his lunch today!
Enjoy!
(Oh, and feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the post-it note above!)
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the aftermath. 'ZD YouTube FLV Player' requires either a youtube video URL or FLV URL. Usage: [zdvideo]url[/zdvideo]
Ayden and I were shopping in Babies R Us today (saved $20 on our $60 purchase of diapers and wipes BTW…) and were stopped by a woman expecting her first child, who was shopping with her mother. They thought Ayden was so sweet, and spent several minutes talking and playing with him. We carried on brief conversation, and then…the hormones kicked in! Both of them simultaneously began crying. I mean, not just “misty eyed” but more like crying at your favorite romance movie or novel. They both looked at one another and exclaimed, “I’m crying! I don’t know why!” As they wiped the tears from their eyes, with a bit of a chuckle, they were sure to tell Ayden that those were just happy tears.
It made me think of the joys of being an expectant mother…joys I get to experience all over again as I await the arrival of our second precious little one. The Lord wired us women a little differently. And I love it! I love being able to share such a random, yet sweet moment with complete strangers in a store.
God, thank you for loving us so patiently and unconditionally…even when we have no idea why we’re crying. Thank you for the incredible privilege of being a mother and the opportunity to put aside all else to invest in the lives or our babes. Â Help me to always lead them to you.
Today my baby is six months old! Â I can hardly believe it! Â The past six months have been such a wild ride. Â I wouldn’t trade these moments for anything in the world. Â It is fascinating to watch my son grow, develop, and learn new things each day. Â He is my handsome little man!
When I was in college, my group of friends had a tradition when it came to celebrating birthdays. Â We would wake up early that morning and make “Birthday Waffles.” Â We topped them with everything, from fruit to peanut butter to ice cream…they were sooo good! Â We all decided that we would continue this tradition with our children & whenever we could be together on our birthdays. Â I can’t wait to share Ayden’s first “Birthday Waffles” with him in six more months!! Â Thanks, F2 sisters…miss you girls!
just after eating birthday waffles for cherith's birthday!
