All is Vanity

Derek and I posed a question to ourselves last night.

'If we knew we only had a certain amount of time left with life as we know it would there be anything we'd change?'

Its amazing the things that quickly become so unimportant when you put them in perspective. Our number one thing we'd do differently would be to read the Word more, learn the Word more and teach the Word to our kids more.
Another top thing would be to stop wasting time on the Internet. *confession* He doesn't as much as I do but we realized we just replaced TV with the Internet.
If anyone has been reading this blog since back in January you'll remember we did away with the TV for 3 main reasons. 1) We didnt want to spend the money on it anymore. Working towards becoming debt free makes you rethink the things you spend money on. 2) Whats on TV isnt what we want flowing into our home. Even if you just watching the 'harmless' things, like say preschool cartoons or documentaries, there are still commercials promoting lifestyles and values we dont want our kids being fed. So, why PAY for it to be in our home?! And finally 3) the time we'd spend watching TV in the evenings or on the weekends or even during the day was time spent away from spending time as a family together. (On a side note: not all TV is bad and if you choose to watch TV we dont think youre bad.....necessarily ;) )
But, we've realized the time we would have normally been spending watching a TV show we now spend online.....seperately (for the most part). So, we've gotten rid of one thing and replaced it with something different. Kinda defeats the purpose of that. So, wasting time online is another big thing we'd give the boot to if we knew we only had a certain amount of time left with life as we know it.
Some more things we listed were what we find value in. Things like clothes or eating out or spending money on things we want would be quickly thrown off the list. Its amazing the things we think that are important but quickly find unimportant when life changes.
Derek and I got new Bibles this past weekend. (I found small little ESV Bibles on sale at Family Bookstores this weekend so I could justify it. Besides we've been needing an ESV since thats what our church uses in corporate worship.) In these Bibes are a 1 year reading plan so we thought that would be a good thing to start reading together at nights. It would give us some direction in our reading. Something seperate besides family devotions.
So, last night Derek opened it up and read the passages it listed. Can I just say one of the sweetest sounds to my ears is hearing my husband read the Word to me and to our family! The Old Testiment reading was Prov. 31-Ecc.1. I think its funny how the Lord will direct you to exactly what you need to hear right at that moment. Lots of Christian women look to Prov 31 as a way to live. I've read it a million times but last night this stuck out in my mind:

27 She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

The Lord has been dealing with me on wasting time and 'eating the bread of idleness' so to speak. How appropriate for that to be one of the scriptures we read!
Then on to Ecclesiastes 1. All is vanity. Wow. How true that everything is meaningless and pales in comparison to Jesus! Just reinforcing what Derek and I had been talking about! Our relationship and walk with God and extending His Kingdom is what our life should be about. Yet, we replace it and fill that need with stuff. Stuff to distract from what is really important.
God is so good and just continues to show us how real and powerful He is! I can't help but stand amazed at how He shows us how much He loves us. Just directing us to scriptures we need to hear is such a sweet gift!
So....I ask you to ponder this:

If you knew we only had a certain amount of time left with life as we know it would there be anything you'd change?
Shouldn't we be living everyday as though it were our last?

Children of Caesar

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before but I was watching it again today and thought it needed to be posted again. LOVE Voddie Baucham!

In the meantime

I have something I really would like to blog about but Im praying for wisdom and the right words to say what I want to say. Something thats very heavy on my heart lately but something that everyone does not see eye to eye on. So, in the meantime here are some pictures of my driving force :)

Weird expression on Audreys face but this is her 4th of July outfit I made her. While uploading these pics I realized I never posted about our 4th of July!

Elisa's 4th of July shirt.

Super Ava

Audrey and Owen....I cant believe how much they look alike in this picture!

Ava dressed for a tea party we had a Mimi's house.

Sweet little Audrey face.

Mr. Smiles at 5 wks

Little cool dude dressed just like Daddy. From the pearl snap shirt to the Vans on his feet!

He's a hoss!

Owen had his 4 week check up today. This is the first time we've ever been to a 4 week check up. Normally its 2 weeks and then 2 months...from what I remember at least, lol. We also did Elisa's 8 year check up. I think it was pretty much pointless but since we're going to a new pediatrician I went ahead and set up a well check with Owen's so she would be considered an "established" patient next time I need a sick visit. I hated switching Pedi's since we had been at our old one for so long and they had literally watched the girls grow up but since we made the decision to stop vaccinating and they didn't agree or respect that decision it was time for a change. I found a non-vaxing or delayed vaxing friendly Dr (these are VERY hard to find) about an hour and 15 mins away. She also will treat naturally first before jumping to prescribe antibiotics or other meds. Since we live out of town thats a drive but we have to drive everywhere we need to get so its not too bad. Today we saw the nurse practitioner and I actually liked her better than the actual Dr. So, I wont mind seeing either one of them which is a good thing since its pretty hard to get an appt at this place. (But still worth it since she lets you make your own decision on your childs health without making you feel guilty if you choose something thats might not be the "norm")
Enough about the Dr aren't you dying to know Owen's stats??! ;) hehe Well our big boy just keeps getting bigger! LOL He weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs 4 oz and 23 inches. So, hes gained just 5 ounces shy of 2 lbs and grown an inch....in a month! Actually hes gained 2 full lbs since they lose some weight after birth, which he did. Hes in the 98% for weight and the 92% for height. But, if you've known any of our other ones as babies you know we make fat babies. I guess I should say my milk grows fat babies, lol. Our old pedi once said to me (when I was nursing Audrey) "Man Lindsay you dont make milk you make cream! You could nourish an entire 3rd world country!" LOL I thought that was pretty funny!
Whats funny about having such fat babies is around 2 or so they start to thin right out and become a normal weight kid. Elisa didnt pull such big numbers. But...we knew she wouldnt. Shes pretty little for her age. She came in at 2% for height. Apparently shes gets to be short like me...and my mom, lol. We keep telling her shes gonna be just like us and to be prepared for Ava to be taller. Which we're pretty sure is gonna happen. On the other hand, I think Audrey may be even littler than Elisa!
So, there ya have it. The big (har har) news about Owen at 1 month.

My beautiful children

My good friend Lauren at lwnphotography.com took these pictures of the kids at the Dallas Arboretum 2 weeks ago. Its taken me this long to post them! I'm so thrilled with how they turned out! The kids did awesome despite a little bit of fake smiles by the oldest 2, lol.

Notice what happened in this next picture.......

Owen pee'd! All over me and on poor Audreys head! She wasnt too thrilled.

We have smiles!

Here is Owen smiling. He started smiling last Friday at 2 weeks old. Yes, I know thats really early but let me reassure you...this is my 4th baby and I know the difference between a gas smile and a real smile. ;) Although this isnt the best picture its the only one Ive been able to capture so far. Everytime Mr Man smiles and I pull the camera out from hiding to snap it he stops and is too distracted by the red light to continue smiling at me. Now whenever he wakes up from sleeping as soon as he sees me smiling and looking at him he just starts grinning away! Its so sweet! I love this little guy!
So, for now, here is the picture of Owen smiling :)

2 weeks old!

Ready for a picture overload?!?!

Owen is now 2 weeks old and I realized I havent updated this blog with pictures since his birth! Im sorry to those friends and family who arent on Facebook bc I always forget to update this bc I figure most people have already seen the pics over there. (on FB) I'll try and get better so yall can keep up with the goings ons in our lives better!
Owen is such a great baby! Rarely cries and sleeps wonderfully! Hes only waking once a night to eat. While I would never recommend letting an infant sleep that long to someone whos trying to breastfeed, bc it can affect your supply, I figure since I was so still so recently nursing Audrey my milk is still pretty much established. And...letting him sleep hasnt affected my supply so yippee! I get sleep! :) Hes also a very alert little guy. When hes awake hes just looking around or focusing on whoever is holding him.
I think one of the most asked questions is...how is Audrey doing? Audrey is doing really well actually. Shes handling not being the baby anymore great. She hasnt shown jealousy towards the baby and loves being close to him.
Elisa and Ava are HUGE helps. Honestly, I dont know how I would manage having babies 21 months apart if I didnt have my 2 big girls to help. They'll grab me diapers and wipes when I need them or hold the baby when I need to run potty and hes fussing. They never complain about being helpers and are always ready to help with happy attitudes. (well when it comes to helping with baby stuff at least! lol)