Gabe's Dedication Night

So, it's late, and I'm tired, family and friends just left the house, but I wanted to write about this special night while memories are fresh! Gabe was dedicated tonight at church and this was such a special night for us all. He was so amazingly well behaved for his first church service, after missing his afternoon nap and being all off schedule! He cried twice... once when the choir sang a little too loud for him and then once when it was time to exit... he is so smart, timed it just right! On a more serious note... Pastor Monroe talked about how the dedication of a child is really about the parents making a commitment to do all they can to raise that child to grow to love the Lord. He talked about parents doing all they can to be faithful in directing their children towards Him... whether it's getting them to church, reading them Bible stories, praying for them and with them... whatever it may be... and as he talked about some of his earliest and fondest memories being of his mother reading him Bible stories...I could not help but cry as I looked at my mom, who also was crying, and thought of how much of that she did for me, and all those countless nights of praying over me... which she still does... It was pretty neat to see her there sitting on the front row, watching me make that same commitment that she made to raise me to know HIM years ago... how thankful I am for she and my dad and their dedication to me. I held his hand as Jay held him and the preacher prayed for all the parents up there... and I felt so overwhelmed with love for this child God has so blessed us with. And, it is my utmost goal in life to raise he and Jayce to love their Heavenly Father as much as Jay and I do. I watch him now, sound asleep on my lap, and there is no doubt this child is a miracle and blessing from the Lord... I want him to know his maker more than anything else in this world.

Thanks so much for all the family and friends that I know will support us in this effort!

I'm attaching pics from the service and our get together afterwards! Enjoy!

recent pics

Here are some recent pics of the boys... a few from our decorating the tree party... which was really fun by the way this year! Jayce did great, and got really into putting ornaments on the tree and has done super with leaving them there! Gabe enjoyed the lights a few minutes and then headed to bed! Also, I put a few pictures on here from me trying to get Christmas card pics... so you'll see them again on our card... probably sometime AFTER Christmas!

Dr. Jayce

So Jayce has informed us that he wants to be a doctor, always a mother's dream I suppose! Of course it will be fine if he changes his mind, but for now we are all for it! I had to go out and find a children's doctor kit for him and am most excited to give him that for Christmas! He told Jay to open his mouth and say ah, and that he is Dr. J... He says he wants to help little boys and girls feel better and give them stickers, just like Dr. Whitehead. He is absolutely obsessed with Dr. Whitehead and I think that has something to do with his new career path... Every time I ask him how he feels or to let me take his temperature, he'll say, I need to see Dr. Whitehead, or "what's Dr. Whitehead doing?"

funny story

or 2 funny stories

one, while Jayce's cousins were visiting... I told you Jayce was in rare form... well, he was pitching a fit as Jay was trying to get drinks ready for everyone... and saying he wanted the cup his cousin had... and Jay was saying, he is thirsty too, you have to share your cups... and Jayce was shaking his head, balling hysterically, saying, no, he's not thirsty like me dad, not thirsty like me...

And then, the funniest of all, although it did not seem so at the time... man...ok, we were at our living christmas tree last night at church... and at the beginning of the show, one of the ministers grabbed the microphone to make a few announcements and Jayce YELLS out... Stop making noise! Stop making noise... I mean it was loud... I think he said it b/c we had been telling him to be quiet... But then, it does not stop there... our preacher picked began the show with prayer... which we did not hear much of... it is so silent, other than Pastor Monroe praying, and all the sudden we hear a noise coming from Jayce which is only considered appropriate in the bathroom if you get my point... he did it twice... and then if it wasn't enough, he said " I did a rooty toot" REALLY LOUD... oh my word, Jay and I were laughing that silent laugh, shaking uncontrollably... oh man... it was bad... Anyhow, he made it through most of the show after that without any other major outbursts... then towards the end, he stood up and said I'm ready to go home... So, we figured it was about time and followed his lead...It could have been much worse though, there was a little girl rolling around on the ground in front of us the whole time, barking like a dog and stuff... so that made us feel a little better... boys, boys...

Officially 4 months

So, I can't remember if I already posted when Gabe was 16 wks, but as of December 1st, he is officially 4 months... I'm so sad, because that marks the end of the newborn stage, which I SO LOVE... and have enjoyed every single bit of... BUT, at the same time, he is getting to be SO MUCH FUN! He is really getting a little personality, and no longer just smiles, he gives us a good old belly laugh... which his daddy says sounds "dorky, dorky, dorky..." He is expressing strong preferences and dislikes now... and really opinionated... He Loves country music and wmhk (the Christian station I usually have on), and the other morning getting ready for church, I had on some black gospel music which he really seemed to enjoy! He does not like wearing shoes or hats, and will try his best to get them off... He LOVES his bath and baby massage and will just grin like the happiest baby in the world as I rub his little fat rolls down with lotion! He is losing his hair and it's hard for me to tell what color it will be... the top is sandy blonde and curly, and around the ears and the back of his head is auburn and straight... I can't tell what is going and coming in... Sometimes people say he has red hair, and sometimes blonde... we'll have to wait and see... Either way, he is pretty darn cute! and his cheeks are irresistible... he is breaking out and Jay said it's probably because we kiss his cheeks all day long... Anyhow, happy 4 months Gabe... we are SO loving you!

4 boys!

This past weekend, we kept 2 of Jayce's 6 cousins from Columbia.. Joseph and Caleb... We had traded weekends with my brother Dave and sister in law Shawna to give each of us a break, without having to ask the grandparents for help.. Jayce loves ALL his cousins and was so excited to see Joseph and Caleb arrive Friday night... So excited that he pretty much turned into a different child for the next 24 hours... He immediately went running through the house, pulling out every toy he owned... throwing balls (which we don't do inside, unless in the playroom), knocking things over... wild man on the loose... it was seriously like the child was on drugs... stimulants and not depressants... Anyhow, by that night, the boys were winding down and big boys were going to watch shrek 3 and have a sleepover in the playroom, so we decided that it sure would be nice to let Jayce fall asleep up there, rather than fighting him for an hour or longer to tear him away from them to go to bed... So, we did that, and the night went well, except for that he came down at 6:30 and said, "Hey, I'm gonna get in bed with you." And then he woke Gabe up too, so the 3 of us were up... Then, I'm sitting there feeding Gabe at the computer, and thinking Jayce was sitting on the couch in the den, when I hear LOUDLY over the monitor upstairs... Frosty the Snowman... and he was singing at the top of his lungs... So, down come the other 2 boys (who'd normally sleep till 9 or 10 on a Saturday), and we were all up by 7:30... long day it was... but we had a blast! I do think though that I am probably NOT cut out to be a mother of 4... Joseph and Caleb are SO EASY... but it was just having to feed 4, and be responsible for 4, and stop and change Gabe and Jayce and feed Gabe... and the list went on and on... Man... not sure I could do it... But if God had a different plan, I'm sure he'd help he handle it...
Anyhow, we all made a gingerbread train and I will post pictures of that soon.. the hardest part of that was trying to keep Jayce's mouth off of all the parts... Good thing we had help from his 2 older cousins...