Tis so sweet...

My favorite hymn of all time is 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus. I've really been meditating on the words to this song the past couple of weeks. I'm all about MY agenda in MY time. Wouldn't it be awesome if I could easily LIVE like the words to this song (shown below), and restfully rely on the goodness of the Lord and on His timing? Life would be so much more enjoyable if I really WOULD cast all my cares on Him!

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Nine month birthday- What, What?!

How the HECK did this happen? How did the past nine months fly by so quickly?! It seems like just yesterday you were my tiny little baby sleeping in his bouncy seat and snuggling up with Momma on the Boppy.

Now you're a big NINE MONTH OLD (Yesterday)!

Let's chat about what you've been up to this month...

You're growing very well. At your nine month appointment yesterday you were 17.8 lbs, and 28 inches long. You've grown a whole 7 1/2 inches since you were born, and have gained about 11 pounds. You're in the 49th % for height, and are only in the 10th % for weight... don't worry, though, your head's still growing!! Up to the 90th % for your head! :) HA!!

We're working really hard to help you with the weight thing, though. The doctor said that she is going to have us come back in the next month for a weight check to make sure you're still gaining well, though. We are feeding you all sorts of yums to try and pack on the pounds. Today at lunch you had some Chef Boyardee ravioli and some (regular- not non-fat) yogurt. We're adding extra scoops of formula to your bottles too! Here's hoping that big kid shows some weight gain next month when we go in for the check!

 Keegan Michael eating some Chef Boyardee... mmmMmmm!

You're silly, especially now that you can crawl. You follow us around the house and get into everything that you shouldn't. You like to find cords to lamps and computers and pull on them. You get very sad if Mommy says, "Keegan Michael! No no!"

 Keegan at the doctor... it's a whole new adventure now that he's mobile... ripping the paper, trying to crawl off the table... Don't worry, though, there was a mirror he could entertain himself in :)

You wear size 12 month clothes. You've been wearing them for a while and holdin' pretty steady in them. I'm thinking they'll last a while because the next size up is 18 months, and they're HUGE compared to your little booty. You're wearing size 3 diapers, and the older you get, the more I find that MOST diaper brands are working for you. When you were littler, there were a few brands that were just horrible for you.


You're still sleeping awesome- normally about 11-12 hours straight a night. When you teeth, you only wake up for a second at a time and will give out a cry, but fall right back asleep. We thank you for your sleeping. We appreciate it and are taking advantage of it while it lasts. Goodness knows that not all of your brothers and sisters will sleep like you, Mr. Big Kid.


You high five now, too. It's cute because you get SO excited. You're working on clapping, and working on waving. You are so darn fun now! We just have a good time hangin' out! You love to walk around with Daddy holding your hands. You're FAR from walking on your own, but you definitely think that you're ready to go! HA! SO funny.

Thank you for being such a good, sweet boy, Keegan. We are SO blessed to be able to call your our son! You bring joy to everyone you meet with your sweet grin and friendly demeanor.

Creepy crawler on our hands!

Welp, we've officially got a crawler on our hands. I thought I would dread it since I can no longer put Keegan down and walk away to do dishes, etc., but I actually LOVE it! He's so active now that he sleeps super sound when he naps. I will say, however, that the bruises and scrapes have already started.

This past weekend Keegan slept over at his Grandma Barb and Papa Bill's house while Kris and I went with a few people from our life group to see Francis Chan and Rend Collective. Keegan had crawled about 1-2 crawls for us- but of COURSE once we left- he became a crawling machine. He still doesn't crawl ALL the time... I just think he's kind of laid back and doesn't really care to crawl over and get something if it seems like too much work at the time... HA! Momma's boy, huh?! :)

Unfortunately, now that he's so mobile, if he wakes up from his nap prematurely, though, he sits right up and tries to stand up in bed... We'll have to work on that :) HA.

It's adorable. He crawls from the dining room into the living room, and tries to play with the fire place (we're working on that, too). He crawls into the kitchen and is now pulling himself up on EVERYTHING! I can tell that he has this new found confidence since he became independently mobile... SO CUTE!

Here are some photos from this week...

There's Standy Mcstanderson. Love.

Here's boo this morning- I went in the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.. He crawled over and pulled himself up... Then stood there for about 10 minutes (Show off! Ha!).

Okay, quick story: this Monday Kris had work off so he stayed home with Keegan. We were about out of food for any acceptable meals, so I asked Kris to take Keegan shopping for a short list of things to get us through the week. He 'bout had a conniption. HAHA. But, he cheerfully went- and I only received a couple of texts with questions while at the store. I ALSO got a great photo of my baby looking a little bit unsure to be shopping with Dad:

Love it. HA. Okay, well, now to some sad news:

On Friday I noticed that Henry's eye looked a little weird- and some friends commented on Saturday and wondered if he was going blind. Henry's only three- so we called the vet and they had me bring him in yesterday. Unfortunately we foudn out that our young little puppy dog has cataracts. So sad. We can have surgery- but it's really pretty pricey. But he's so young- we're debating if it will be well worth it. We have an appointment with a veteranary optomoligist (I can't believe they exist!) on February 2nd. Poor dog!

This weekend we actually have a day to relax. We are not doing ANYTHING on Saturday other than going to church... But, we DO have a house showing, which is always good. Just praying that it sells soon, especially with some unexpected big expenses that have come up. Can you say a prayer, too?!

Happy Friday tomorrow, everyone! Enjoy your weekend- I know I will!

Few favorites (right now... Ha!)

Revenge: it's my favorite tv show right now. I couldn't stand the commercials for it before it started- but I finally started watching it on Hulu- got ADDICTED- and then got Kris addicted, too. We look forward to Wednesdays SO much because this show is SO good. I love it. It's a total guilty pleasure because it's kind of a dramatic evening soap opera... but I just can't get enough!

I love these. My dad's girlfriend owns a business selling these oil warming lamps and night lights- and I can't get enough. I love that I can leave them on while I'm at work and come home to my yummy smelling house. If I could put one in every room without it seeming like I was a crazy, I would.

I love this picture. HAHAHA! I found it on Pinterest, and every time I look at it I smile. That's SO what he's thinking, too!

And then lastly, I've been loving these verses the past few weeks:

Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will FIGHT for you; you need only be STILL."

I'm definitely pumped for this weekend. Keegan is having his first slumber party with his Grandma Barb and Papa Bill while Kris and I go with a group of friends out to Troy to see Francis Chan and Rend Collective at Woodside Bible Church. We did Francis Chan's The Basic Series in our life group and are now reading Crazy Love. I so appreciate that he's so Bible based in his teaching and so honest. It should be a good time- and (hopefully) Kris and I will be able to sleep in a little bit on Sunday morning. Woot!

Oh, and the countdown is on for our roadtrip to Alabama: 36 Days!

My little pinteresting week...

A lot of people I know LOVE Pinterest. A lot of people I know also say, though, that they never actually do anything that they see on Pinterest. I, on the other hand, tend to take it a little overboard. I hardly cook a dinner anymore that I haven't seen on Pinterest... so, Kris LOVES Pinterest, too :)

I've tried a couple of new things that I'm really proud of, and so I have to boast. Hey, it's my blog- I can brag a little if I want to! Haha!

Okay, so this was my first attempt at baking a homemade pie. It's a salted honey custard pie- and I must say, we LOVE it. It kind of has the taste of baklava with the honey- but the texture of pumpkin pie. It's SO good. And the little bit of sea salt on top just brings the flavor full circle:

Kris even said that this should be my new go-to "signature" dessert!

Next, to say that we're chicken salad fans would almost be an understatement. We love it. We could eat it for a week straight and want more. You know, the type with grapes and almonds in it?! Well, Pinterest of course, had the greatest chicken pasta salad recipe ever.

So heads up to my in-laws and our lifegroup (who are all coming over tomorrow- at different times :) that you will all be served some of these treats. There'll be more too, but these are just my new specialties. HA!

Now, it was New Years weekend when I went through my Pinterest boards to try and remind myself of some projects. I realized that I had SO wanted to make this plate with Keegan, but figured that as long as I got it done before I put all the Christmas decorations away, it was alright and would count as a Christmas project :)

I found the plate at Home Goods, and actually went ahead and bought 3 other plates in the set so we can do it with our other kids on their first Christmases. I figured 3 more so we'd be safe to have all matching plates! :) Sorry, Kris, I guess we can't have six kids- not enough matching "mistletoes" plates!

Lastly- these pictures are definitely not Pinterest, but they ARE the cutest boy you ever did see, though!

Okay, so, Santa brought Keegan so many bath toys, and he LOVES it. Including these stacking cups. Every night, Keegan and I play a game where I put it on his head like a little top hat and say, "all dressed up and no where to go!" and he laugh-laugh-laughs until it falls off of his head, and he laughs even harder. It's so cute.

Haha, and I just love this picture for so many reasons. Kris took this yesterday after he got home from work, and texted it to me at work reminding me it was the weekend. If this picture isn't the best way to start your weekend, well golly, I just don't know what is. Another reason I love this: His teeth. Do you see them?! They're so cute. He's so cute. I love him.

I hope everyone's thoroughly enjoying their weekends- because I sure as heck am!

My someday house list...

I've been doing so much decorating in my head, of a house that we don't have. I have been planning and deciding things that I am going to be doing to our new house. What new house? I'm not quite sure yet, but I know it's the new house that we will get whenever we finally end up selling our current house.

I definitely think it's important to live within our means, so I'm trying to find frugal but creative ways to make whatever future home we have a cozy and lovely place to live. Not that our current home isn't. Our current home is beautiful. But, whatever home we end up in is not going to be as fancy as our current house, that's for sure.

But, to start, whether we move any time soon or not, I NEED a slip cover for our chair in our living room. I would say we need a new chair, but that's too much money. So, I NEED a slip cover :) This is the one I'd like from surefit.com:

It looks perfect and cozy, and will hide dog hair super well, and we'd be able to take it off and pop it in the washing machine. FABULOUSSSS!

Also, I really would like a new coffee table. Our coffee table works just fine, I guess. But it shows rings and stains, and I'll be honest, I spilled nail polish remover on it, and somehow it outlined my iPhone. So now, there's an iPhone ring on the table permanently. So, I'm hoping whenever we end up moving, we end up in a house that has a rec-room in the basement so we can put the messy coffee table down there for our children to play games and color on. And then this momma can get a new coffee table ottoman like this:

Don't you just want to snuggle up on a couch, put your feet up on this coffee table, turn on the fireplace and cover up with that blanket while you sip on that cup of tea right there?! Mmm.

Also, I'm really into the idea of re-doing kitchen cabinets. Not by buying really expensive ones, but vamping up whichever ones we're given. On Pinterest I've seen a lot of really cool ideas that involve bead boarding, painting and then topping it with fancy counter tops. I want to do THIS wherever we move (I will NOT do this to our custom cabinets in this house... HA!).

Okay, and then also, I found this Swedish Proverb on Pintrest also. I'm obsessed. My favorite. I want to either make a sign for Keegan's room, or eventually paint it somewhere on a wall in my house as a good reminder:

Isn't that fabulous? It's so true. When you feel like someone deserves your love the least, that's when they need it most. Love them through it.

Anyway, that's just my current someday wish list. Love. Love. Love.

Someday :)

Resolutions 2012

This year I'm really not doing my usual type of resolutions. I think it's an unspoken and assumed thing that after a woman has a baby, she obviously wants to lose the weight, and get her bikini bod back... HA! So, that goes without saying.

Instead, there are a few things that I've seen in myself that I want to work on over the next year. Since Keegan was born, I find myself surfing the internet on my cell phone ALL the time. I can't stand it. I don't even realize I'm doing it most the time, but talk about a horrible way for my child to see me. I don't want him to look back and remember me playing on my phone when I should be just simply spending time with him.

I know it'll be hard. But I'm going to take little steps. For instance, when I'm sitting with him at the table feeding him, I'm not going to be playing on my phone. I'm going to be with him. When I'm upstairs rocking him while he's sleeping. I'm not going to play on my phone. I'm going to be with him. These times are so fleeting, and I don't want to look back regretting all the time I spent on worthless things, like the internet. Yes, I love blogging because it marks a lot of important milestones for our little family. And I love Facebook because it's an instant family album to share with all of our family and friends. But it's not nearly as important as my son.

Another thing, is that I so frequently talk about wanting to spend more time with Jesus daily. But how do I do it? If it's not a set plan, how will it get done? How will I stay on track? Well, Riverview has a Text Project that they do every year. Kris and I decided that together, we want to read through the entire New Testament this year via Riverview's text project. So the goal is a couple chapters or so a day. Attainable? Yes. Easy? No. I know we will just have to make it a priority in both of our lives. We have so many other "priorities" and other very important things pulling us in different ways. It's just a matter of either starting or ending our days right, and in The Word.

These seem like really little things. I know they are. But I really feel like the little things are the hardest habits to make and break. Agh.

Happy New Year, world!