Splish Splash!

After all these days of 90+ degree weather, we decided it was time to take Jacob for his first adventure to the pool. He had so much fun! He loved splashing at the water and playing with his pool toys. These are some photos from his day at the pool.

Day at the Arboretum

Yesterday we had so much fun at the Dallas Arboretum!

It was just Derek, Jacob, and I and we loaded up the car and made the trip down there. It's so far from our house, but definitely worth the drive. If we lived closer, we would be there several times a month.
We had a nice picnic on a blanket and just enjoyed God's creation all afternoon. Jacob had fun rolling around on the blanket. It was so funny because no matter how many times we put him on the blanket, he still managed to roll onto the grass!

What a Blessing!

This past Sunday I got to celebrate my very first Mother's Day, and I have never felt so happy. Well, actually, my dog "children" have honored me over the past few years, but this year was so special because I got to celebrate as a real mommy this time!

As deeply as I yearned for children while waiting for Jacob to come, I never knew what true happiness there could be by becoming a mommy. I feel so blessed by him - he is absolute sunshine and joy and I love him so unbelievably much! What a precious treasure and gift that God has entrusted to Derek and me.

Speaking of Derek, he did so good for Mother's Day! It started Friday night when we went out for a date. When he opened the car door for me, there was a gold-wrapped box sitting on my seat. I opened it and he got me the journey diamond pendant - so beautiful! Then on Sunday, I got to open the gift Jacob made me (with Daddy's help). They made a statue of Jacob's hand and foot! Derek set it up on a mirror and then attached it all to a wooden plaque that he stained. Then on the back of it, he has a poem as well as part of the Proverbs 31 verse. I love everything so much!

Here are pictures of the statue he made. I love this man so much. I could never have asked for a better husband!

My Sis

Here are some pictures of my sister Jennifer. Jacob, my mom, and I met her for lunch yesterday to celebrate her birthday.

It's a long story, but after almost 13 years of no contact with her, she came back into our family's lives in late December. It was such an answer to prayer to hear from her, and we are so thankful that God has kept her safe all these years. I am so happy to have her as a sister and Jacob just loves her too! He loves his Aunt Jen!

He Sits Up!

Jacob just started getting the hang of sitting up on his own. It happened sometime over the past few days and we are so excited! He's still a little wobbly, though. If he leans too far back or too far to the sides, he'll fall over. So we stay very close for now, but he should be able to do it on his own pretty soon. He's sitting so good! He can stay in the position for a long time.

Answered Prayers

I am an avid journaler. I still have my journals from high school. I journal all the important and not-so-important things in my life. It's always been a way of release for me where I can jot down all my prayers and the different scriptures that have spoken to me.



Well, yesterday I became distressed and overjoyed all in the same hour! First, I was trying to find my sunflower journal, which is the journal I just finished filling up a few months ago. It contains ALL my journal entries from our entire pregnancy with Jacob. I cannot find this anywhere. Derek and I have searched the entire house, every nook and corner, every drawer, every closet, everywhere. It has disappeared! The only thing I can think of is that it got tossed somewhere in the midst of us packing up boxes. We even went to our storage unit and looked through those boxes of books but we didn't see it. I am so distressed over this and feel so sad because I truly want to share all those journal entries with Jacob when he gets married and is having his first baby. Hopefully and prayerfully it turns up somewhere. I just pray we didn't accidentally throw it away because then I would be devastated.



That was the bad news from yesterday. But something so awesome also happened and I had to share it! As I was distraught from failing to find my pregnancy journal, I came across my journal that I used while struggling with infertility, as well as during both of our miscarriages. I was so amazed at what I wrote during one of my journal entries. Here is a tidbit from an entry dated October 7, 2006:



"Last night my sister gave me a bunch of maternity clothes. I pray I will get the chance to wear them next summer. I truly believe we will conceive by February, and I pray this is true."



Wow!!! I found out in February 2007 that I was pregnant, and Jacob was born October 26, 2007. How awesome is our God?! When I read this, I was so amazed and so in awe. I forgot all about this, but looking back I remember when I wrote this. I remember telling a couple of my close friends that I just knew I would be pregnant by February, March at the latest. But somehow during the time I wrote this and January '07 I got so discouraged and doubtful again.



I think God showed me this so I could see once again how mighty He is and that he truly does answer prayers. He may not answer prayers in the timing we would choose, but His timing is perfect. This is very appropriate for the season Derek and I are in right now. We are waiting on the sale of our home so we can move closer in. We are just keeping our trust and faith in God and His timing. We know and believe that He will direct our steps and everything will fall into place as it needs to.

He Waves!!

Lately, Jacob has been mimicking a lot of the things we do with our hands. His latest is waving. I don't think he understands that he's actually waving, but I captured a little bit of it on video.