New Additions

Step aside Andrew & Graham...I have some new loves in my life!
We have a stove! We'd been hunting & hunting to find just the right deal, (because we just HAVE to find the very best bargain or it drives us crazy :) and then my Grandma Betty decided that we needed to have a stove right away and offered to purchase one for us! wow! What a blessing, we were thrilled!
Because of her generous gift, we were then able to purchase a dishwasher! I was not expecting that and am SOOOOOOO thankful! (I think I missed having a d/w as much as a stove!)

I am so amazed at how God cares for the smallest details. Such as... people had asked me what color I wanted and my first choice was black (because everything is WHITE in my kitchen!) But I fully expected to have to "take what I could get". In the case of the stove, since we were able to purchase a brand new one I was able to have the choice of white or black. And we found the d/w on Craig's List also in black! The previous owners had only used it for 3 months before they got a built-in one. So it's pretty much brand-new, but was less than 1/2 of the cost of a brand-new one. So God was so gracious in not only providing these items, but even giving me my color of choice!
If you need tips on living without a stove for 6 weeks - I have them. :) It honestly wasn't that horrible!
So now...Let the baking begin!

happy boy

There is no doubt about when the child is having a great time... he has one BIG expression!

big laughs with daddy!

Next week he'll be 7 months old!

he's finally getting to the age where we can teach him [very little, basic] things, it's so fun!

Because he has never been a snuggler, the VERY first thing I taught him (this was maybe a month or so ago) was to hug! This morning when I woke him up, he was grabbing my head with both hands & slobbering on my cheek. I think this was his morning hugs & kisses - LOVE it!

We're teaching him to wave hi & bye - he [kind of] waves just his little fingers - we're working on it!

He loves to play peek-a-boo. When he's on the changing table he will grab his burp cloth & hold it over his eyes & then take it away - so fun!

We're working on learning how to stack the rings & take them off again (again, a work in progress).

HIS favorite thing (my least) is the spitting bubbles! He blows as hard as he can & blows spit everywhere. It really is hilarious, but it just gets PUDDLES of drool on his shirt. aghhhh!!

It's ironic to me that he's been drooling like a faucet for almost 5 months and yet most babies I know have gotten teeth before him! I think I see 2 little bumps, so they may be coming. At least he hasn't been fussy during that time!

No crawling yet, but he can definitely scoot himself all around. I am THOROUGHLY enjoying these last few weeks before he's on the go!

bored (again!)

**EDIT, take 2**
decided it was too hard on the eyes and went with this new one.
whew...ok, boredom passed and that took up way too much of my time. :)

*EDIT*
ok, I've changed the main reading font to white (from brown). Some had suggested a darker color as well, but when I tried it, didn't seem to be any clearer. So...any better?
(I'm thinking this background might not last too long :) thanks for the help!
Every few months I feel this compulsion to change my background. Can't seem to handle the same thing too long. :)
I LIKE this background...however, I am wondering if it is too hard to read. I also changed my font, so that may make it harder to read as well.
So...just looking for some opinions - is this background too hard to read against?
thanks, blog friends. :)

{ from Whom all blessings flow }

Graham was quickly coming to the end of his wardrobe...for this winter, we only had 2 pair of pants & 2 shirts for him so far. So we were getting ready to think about some serious shopping! My neighbor had told me that someone had given her a bunch of clothes to look through and when she was done, she would pass the bags on to me to see if there was anything I could use for Graham.
So out of these "leftovers" came an unexpected abundance of blessings!
Most of the clothes ended up being 12-18 months and winter clothes, which is exactly what season & size we needed!!
2 pairs of slippers
2 pairs of mittens
2 pairs of shoes
4 pairs of socks
4 hats
3 shorts
2 swim trunks
2 sweater vests
4 pj's
3 halloween shirts
8 short-sleeve shirts
4 long-sleeve shirts
5 sweaters
3 overalls
and...
17 pairs of pants!
(and that was just what I decided to keep! still need to weed out some of those pants...!)
we are so thankful for God's provision!
Most of the clothes are either from Gap, Old Navy, or Children's place and so they've held up well through their prior use.
We praise God, from whom all blessings truly flow!

I really love these army pants & hat!
(but he was waaaaaaay to busy to look at the camera :)

out & about

we are loving our little excursions around the city!

.....Lovin' Life!

church life

If you are interested in seeing what's happening at and around Redeemer, you can pop on over to our church blog.

There are several ongoing series throughout the week.

On Wednesdays, the series is on men & women who have been used by God to build His church throughout the years.

Andrew will be posting on Mondays a series called Street Life to tell about what's going on in our city.

Check out Community Life to see the latest in our facility transition.

And coming soon on Saturdays...posts from the ladies!

Some specific prayer requests for our church:

-please pray as final details are being worked out for us to move into a permanent building. Much red tape and renovation still to be done! We are hoping to be in there in September.

-pray as we start a new series during our thursday night Community Life Group. We are praying that friends, neighbors & co-workers will begin to join us in our study of What is Truth.

-pray that women would accept our invitations to attend our Saturday morning Ladies Bible Study.

our munchkin turns the big 6....

SIX MONTHS OLD!

growth spurt theory: check.
2 weeks ago we made his exersaucer higher, so that he was only on his tip-toes. As you can see, he is now flat-footed! yikes! no wonder he's been eating like a crazy man!




he spends a lot of time in his stroller...he's a good little traveler. in fact, he only goes in the car maybe once or twice a week! it's pretty nice!


for some reason, he likes to ride with one foot sticking straight out. working on his calf muscles...?



BUBBLES!!

=FUN!!

discovering himself in the mirror...apparently he likes what he sees. :) ?????????????????!
chill mom...and give me some space! chew, chew, chew....
monkey toes...

drool, drool, drool...

toys contained: check. G can't fall over: check. mom happy: check!

you talkin' to me?

G-man - we love you so much!

You make us laugh every single day, if not every single hour!

You make us scratch our heads to try to figure you out sometimes, and we love the little glimpses of personality that we can't wait to see develop.

We can't imagine our life without you and you are one of God's greatest blessings to us. Ever!

Happy half-birthday baby boy!

Graham will be celebrating by eating vegetables for the first time!

green bean birthday treat - yum-o. :~)