every captive thought

My last two posts were reflective of the messy emotional state I was in over this last week.  For reasons that may not make sense to some, everything about what we've been through this week has just completely shaken and unsettled me.  I am not proud of that...that I can be undone so easily.  But now that we are back at home in our own environment, I am starting to wrap my mind around things and find more of a peace about what has gone on. I've told you before that my Mom describes me as "finely wired" and that was never more evident than this week.  But I feel like I am back on track now.  I will admit that I feel like I have been precariously holding things together since Jude's diagnosis.  I have found comfort in getting a routine in place with the boys and with our lives.  There is so much that I can't control, like unexpected doctor's appointments, that when I find something that I can control, like our home or our schedule, I am comforted by th...

This morning Jude started running a fever which is not surprising since James is sick and I felt yucky a few days ago.  But it is always a big deal when Jude gets sick.  So I took him to see Dr. Honey and then we went up to the hospital to do blood and urine labs because his breath smelled like acetone.  Thankfully, all of his levels were normal and he just caught James' cold.  It was a long hard day on all three of us.  James and Jude didn't get their naps, their meals were all thrown off, I dragged them grocery shopping with me when they were hungry and tired...and I stupidly wore heels today.  What was I thinking!?!?  When we got home, I put the boys down for a quick nap before dinner, brought the groceries in, closed all the curtains, put my pj's on, pulled my hair back, and sat and talked on the phone to my sisters for about an hour. I woke James up around 5 to eat dinner.  He was so tired! He was such a trooper today.  He didn't comp...

I took James to see Dr. Honey today and he has a cold as well as one of his molars is coming in.  Poor baby.  But that certainly accounts for how he has been acting lately. When I was little my Mom would read me Bible stories from The Bible In Pictures For Little Eyes by Kenneth Taylor.  I loved it and I still have that book. When James was dedicated Mom and Dad got him the new version and I read it to him every night. Tonight we read about Adam and Eve.  At the end of each story there are a couple of simple questions to ask your child.  So I asked James, "What is the man's name?" and he said, "Adam."  I asked, "What is the woman's name?" and James said, "Steve."  Adam and Steve.  Nope.  I don't think that's it.  Perhaps we will do a little review tomorrow night.

This is one of my favorite things to see when I wake up in the morning. I love to see his little face peeking over the end of our bed. And always with that sweet sleepy smile. Next it was bath time. James' favorite. Mondays are my day to get a jump on the week...to get all those not fun chores started and out of the way. I generally like to do a little laundry every day so it doesn't pile up on me. Ummm....yeh. It doesn't always happen though. I'm a little behind. While James is down for a nap...or "quiet time" since he doesn't usually nap but looks at books...I get to have some sweet time alone with Jude. This afternoon Jamesie helped me get dinner started.   He helped me count the meatballs. He's a great little sous-chef. Finally Daddy got home and it was time to stack. He's getting pretty good! As soon as James gets his jammies on he loves to slide down the stairs...over and over and over. Jude thinks it's funny too! W...

This is Dee Dee, my grandmother. The oldest and the youngest of our family. Proverbs 31:31-Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

James had his 2 year old well check and immunizations yesterday. He is doing great. He is in the 90th percentile for his height and 10th for weight. Still tall and skinny like Daddy. I read 2 different devotional books each day as well as the bible and the theme today seemed to be the same throughout. Here are some excerpts from each- "I magnify You, O Lord, I exalt Your name, for You are great and highly to be praised....You are able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or dream of. 'There is nothing too hard for You'. I praise You for Your sovereignty over the broad events of my life and over the details. With You, nothing is accidental, nothing is incidental, and no experience is wasted... Thank You that I can move into the future non-defensively with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead, for You hold the future and You will always be with me, even to my old age...and through all eternity." "Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18: 14 Th...

I can’t believe it has almost been a year since we moved into this apartment. I was reading back over this , this and this post and was reminded of that time. Downsizing is not always an easy or pleasant task…but sometimes necessary. But we are on the move again. This time we are moving to a larger home and we are very excited. With Baby Jude’s impending arrival just around the corner, I am hoping those darn nesting instincts will kick in soon. And maybe this isn’t such a bad thing, moving while 7 months pregnant. I will be spared a lot of the hard work. We are moving literally right around the corner from my parents. What a blessing that will be with a new baby! I love the convenience. Packing while 7 months pregnant has been an interesting challenge. We started on Sunday to give ourselves plenty of time. I pack a few boxes each day and then Brad moves them into James' room to get them out of the way when he gets home. The key to my sanity is order, organ...

My wonderful and sweet Mom and Dad took care of James for us tonight so we could go to church. (I am boycotting nurseries until the spring). Mom got him all bathed and jammied for me so we could bring him home and put him right down. When we got home and took his beanie off this is what his freshly washed hair looked like... Even with crazy hair he is still adorable! Even cuter since he doesn't know how silly he looks. Church was great tonight. It was Tommy's last in his series on Tilted Halos and Broken Steeples . One thing he said that I really love and am thankful for was that "as Peter's sins abounded, God's grace abounded more". I am thankful for that grace. Because I need it. A lot. Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God .

This picture just about sums up my son in one shot. Today we spent the day with my family. My sister and her family, Carrie, Andy, Morgan and Madison all got in late last night. We had a great day with them! Then this evening we went to Brad's parents house to have Christmas with them and Karin, JT, Addison and Lauren. And I just have to say that Addison looks most adorable today! A little Cindy Lou Whoish. I could have just eaten her up! James and Addi had a great time with their new gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. And James was just cute and cheerful and adorable...well...just because he always is. Then James got to meet his cousin Lauren Elizabeth for the first time. And of course he fell in love with her right away. And I think someone else may be getting baby fever. But that's neither here nor there. A few more gifts and then we had to call it a night. One last stop by Nana's to say goodnight to everyone... And George wasn't the only one tuckered out. Tomor...

That's the title of my blog...but have I ever told you where it comes from? It comes from 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ ." Another version says, "...we capture our rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." I love that because I struggle with that... capturing my rebellious thoughts and making them obedient to Christ and what He wants me to think about...about myself, about others, about Him. It makes me ask...what DOES He want me to think about? Wellllll...Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers (and us sistas too!), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." So I am supposed to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirabl...

My very best memories from my childhood are of my mom singing. She was always singing and she sang beautifully. She still sings all the time and I love it. There was constantly music in our house. I would come home from school and she would have the windows open and music going and be singing and serving up a yummy after school "sussy". Some of the favorites were The Carpenters, Captain and Tenielle, Dolly Parton, Anne Murray, & John Denver. But that smell of the windows being open in a house...I love it. Anytime I smell it, it triggers that memory. I guess I grew up thinking that was the norm...that every one's mom was a cheerful-singing-sussy-making-delight of a mom. I know that is not true and it makes me all the more thankful for my mom. She was a stay-at-home mom and what a gift to my sisters and me! No matter what was going on, she was singing and cheerful. To this day, I have never seen my parents fight. I know they must have, they just never did it in fro...