Multitude Mondays

Giving thanks to God is what ushers one into the very presence of God. And this is why He asks us to always give thanks- Ann Voskamp


Giving thanks this week for...

October 24th

782. For crisp and beautiful fall weather that uplifts me
783. For Amber kindly inviting Jack and I to the aquarium this morning

784. For a friend who I can always relate to and encourages me

October 25th

785. That after many months of waiting, Jack and I are finally able to volunteer at Everyday Blessings, a home for abused and neglected children.
786. For a tangible reminder of how blessed I am in so many ways I take for granted.
787. For being able to hug on a little boy who needed much love and kept calling me mama.
788. That despite feeling frustrated when leaving this place, I trust in God's sovereignty and love.
789. For an encouraging conversation with my BSF leader.

October 26th

789. For being convicted by this morning's lecture at BSF
788. For Bethany kindly having Jack and I over for lunch at her house.
789. For Jack being upset when leaving, which makes me think that he really enjoys having a little buddy

October 27th

790. For a morning of catching up with friends who I hadn't seen in a long time.

791. For an answered prayer, I had been fervently praying for all week.
792. For feeling convicted on a certain area of my life that need change.
793. For an exciting surprise in the mail (which I will share more about later this week).

October 28th

793. For Steve's patience and grace with me when I fall behind on taking care of the house
794. For energy today and not feeling sick, allowing me to accomplish many things today

October 29th

795. For a day to rest and enjoy being with Steve and Jack without rushing somewhere
796. For Jack's playfulness and laugh


October 30th

797. For laughter in playing nintendo with my husband
798. For a fun evening with friends at a local trunk or treat show

799. For my father in law's extra kindness tonight

Lazy Day Lunch

I try to make meals that are healthy for Steve and Jack, but honestly many times I'm not able to. Just wanted to share this really easy lunch idea I make for Jack on the days when I don't have time for a fancy lunch.

Grilled Cheese with Cauliflower (Makes 2 sandwiches)

1/2 cup of shredded cheese
1/2 cup of cauliflower puree
Wheat sandwiches

It makes me feel better to know Jack is getting some of his vegetables, and he doesn't even realize there's cauliflower in the sandwich! He is a picky eater but he always eats this right up.

I will premake vegetable purees and freeze them at the beginning of the month, and when appropiate I will often add it to our meals. I got this idea from the book "Deceptively Delicious" I blogged about here.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Multitude Mondays

List of things I've been thankful for this past week...

October 17th
761. For joy in finally sharing the news of our pregnancy this week
762. For a woman's compassion as she saw me sick on the side of Publix and she offered to help
763. That even though nausea seems unbearable at times, it is a very good sign that my hormones are working and the baby is well
764. For receiving encouraging notes and messages tonight

October 18th
765. For the opportunity to share a little bit about Andrew with other moms.
766. That even though today was a difficult day, I was encouraged by good news at the end of the day.

October 19th
767. For how well prepared the teachers are at Bible Study Fellowship
768. That Jack is learning bible songs and receiving God's word at BSF.
769. For the kindness of Bethany in having us over for dinner.
770. For being able to lay down on her couch and feeling comfortable enough to do so.


October 20th
771. For a friend opening up and being transparent today.

772. For energy and being able to do more things to take care of our home.

October 21st
773. For a cool, beautiful, sunny morning in our backyard with two little boys.

774. For the different mood Christian music playing in the background can make.
775. For the excitement of a friend when I gave her the devotional book 'Jesus Calling'.

October 22nd
776. For how Jack and Roman really look forward to seeing each other, and the joy it is for me to watch them.

777. For celebrating Roman's 2nd birthday with their parents and family..
778. For a very fun day that was out of our routine.

October 23rd
779. For the excitement and anticipation of Tara in her shower as she awaits her two daughters from China
780. For an afternoon of catching up with friends who I cherish and wish I could see more often.
781. For Steve playing and taking care of Jack this evening, as I laid down in the couch nauseous and tired.

A Big Praise

As most of you already know, we are excited to share Jack is going to a big brother!! This picture was taken a few weeks ago at our first ultrasound appointment, and we were thankful for a strong heartbeat and a good doctor's appointment.

It has been very emotional this first trimester.

I cry at the drop of a hat, and sometimes for no good reason at all. I now cry everytime at the end of 'Extreme Makeover''. And have bawled reading books such as 'I love you forever' and 'On the night you were born' to Jack. Sometimes Steve will get home from work and I will just cry. I know it's the hormones, but most of it is my own frustration from being nauseous and tired. I've had to slow down a lot and haven't been able to keep up with the house or cook as I used to.

I often wonder if I have barely been able to make it through the first trimester, how am I going to handle taking care of two?

I think of our sweet Andrew everyday, but I don't long for him the same way I did when I was pregnant with Jack. I more often I think of Jack and what a joy it has been to have him. I still can't believe that we might get to hold and have another child! And it is truly a daily surrender for me not to live in the past or the unknowns of the future, to try to enjoy the blessings of today.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”

Revelations 4:11

I read this verse right before I found out I was pregnant back in August. Praising God for all life He brings forth!

Dinner and a Play

This past Saturday Steve and I had the opportunity to watch the play 'The Screwtape Letters' perform here in Tampa. We went to see it with our friends Kindra and Vipul, and I was excited as we had previously read the book at different times so we had a lot to talk about. It's a book that has challenged and convicted me in many different ways.

The book was written in the 1940's by C.S Lewis right before world war was about to break out. Most people are familiar with C.S Lewis's writing and he has the gift of always challenging the reader to read in between the lines and think outside the box! This book was even more interesting as he writes it from a 'demons' perspective who is mentoring a younger demon on how to spiritually attack human beings.

Although this book is dark, it shone a light on different ways that I allow myself to be distracted and brought farther away from my relationship with the Lord. Highly recommend this read if you are looking for a book that will challenge you. And I'm so glad Steve really enjoyed it as well!

A picture of us at the end of the night- after dinner, play, and getting drenched in the rain a couple of times :)

If you are interested in learning more about C.S Lewis and his writing- my friend Amber is doing a series of some of her favorite quotes of C.S Lewis in her blog. She is posting a quote each day over 31 days, and you can follow the quotes here.

Quarterly Top 5 Photos

My friend Amber is hosting her quarterly giveaway on the top 5 photos of your children for July, August, and September. She has some great giveaway prizes related to photography so I encourage you to join in! And it's a fun way to share pictures of your children (and/or pets).

Here are my favorite pictures of these past few months in no particular order...

I love this picture because you can see the joy in Jack's face of playing t-ball. I am so glad he likes it as Steve is a big baseball fan and is looking forward coaching little league someday.

It is so hard to get children to look at the camera, so I love this picture! This is from our visit to North Carolina to our dear friends the Clarks. I love and miss these kiddos very much and I hated saying goodbye to them...

This is at my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration in August. I wish I would've taken better pictures of the ocassion, but this is the best one that came out. It was a huge deal to our family to be able to celebrate with all four generations!

This is a picture with Steve's grandfather 'Bepop' taken in July/August. Jack loves playing the piano with him!

This picture cracks me up. Jack is probably thinking 'Don't you all wish you had my bike? Yep I know you want it!'. Who knows what was actually going through his mind...

I am excited about blogging more consistently going forward! And I am hoping even more so in a few weeks when I'm able to share more about what has been going on with us.  

Getting out of our routine

This past weekend Steve was out of town for a family wedding in Georgia. Jack and I stayed home for multiple reasons (long car ride, me being sick, etc) which I was glad for, but part of me wished I could've been up there with him.

Saturday morning I begun making my list of 'things to do' over the weekend. I had planned on having a very productive time while Steve was away... but already I was feeling overwhelmed and the day had not even started.

Another part of me just really wanted to cherish this time alone with Jack. I debated back and forth between being 'productive' and dragging Jack through errands all day or just doing something fun with him just the two of us.

Well my list of things to get done went out the window and we drove down to the beach for the day. I was so excited to get out of my routine and do something different with Jack that he enjoyed. I can't think of something that he loves more than running through the ocean shore.

So we made it not fully prepared to Ana Maria Island. We had a lunch date, played in the park, and then at his request ran through the water.

There is nothing more fun than to see pure delight in his face when the waves crash over him. He loves it! And I love watch him enjoy it.

I did not worry about getting back in for his naptime as I normally do, and thankfully he did pretty well. He definitely has much more energy than me!

We drove through Anna Maria Island and visited shops and houses. It was not something I would normally do, but today practical was not something I wanted to be on Saturday.

We had a delicious ice cream outing. Rarely do we eat ice cream, and when we do he normally has a few bites of mine or Steve's. But today I didn't worry about sugar. I bought him his very own ice cream all to himself :)

We sat outside the ice cream store watching the cars go by and it was perfect. For a few minutes we actually sat down without me having to chase after him!

Most days in the routine of everyday life, it's easy for me to run through the motions and not fully engage with Jack. I'm often multi-tasking and have a million thoughts running through my mind. I know part of it is the adjustment to being at home (being with him all day long vs. a few hours a day)... but I love that Saturday he had my full attention.

I would not trade this day for anything else in the world. I so treasured this day with him!