Happy Thanksgiving!

So, there are many reasons I have been unable to blog for the month of November...
The main one is that Judah was a sick little man for most of the month.  I kept having to go to the doctor and get him on all kinds of antibiotics.  Finally I took him in and they tested him for RSV and we found out that was what kept causing him to get sick so frequently!  I was partially relieved and partially terrified!  He had to do treatments every few hours for a week and finally those are over! Yay!!

Needless to say I didn't sleep and neither did he... for pretty much the whole month!  I am so excited to become a part of society again.  I get to go to church tomorrow and everything.  So much to be thankful for. 

We had the privilege of doing Thanksgiving at our house again this year.  I will have pictures very soon.  It was so much fun :-)  We had about 15 people here and about 150 lbs of food or more!  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love that you get to enjoy family and friends with no pressure of gift-giving and all that.  I love to give and I love to receive, but I feel sometimes that Christmas has just gotten out of hand.  I think we will start doing things to teach our kids that it is truly all about Christ coming in to the world and show them how they can bring Him into the lives of people that need Him.  Of course I want to bless my kids every year, but I feel the biggest blessing I can give them is to teach them how to reach out.  Just my opinion... not preaching here! 

Next week you may not hear from me.  I am taking Judah to see his Papaw and we are attending the funeral of my Great Aunt Midgie.  You may remember her from the pictures I posted back in July.  She was 92 years old and lived a full, wonderful life.  She got to meet Judah and for that I am grateful.  Her funeral is Wednesday and she will be greatly missed by all. 

What Happened To JULY!!!?

So I am still writing "7" as the month on all my checks and it's already August 6th. That's "8"!! Which means Judah (or Baby J as we know him) is SIX MONTHS OLD! Or he will be in 3 days. Where in our beautiful blue earth did the time go?

And on that note...
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and we were laughing together at how people ask stay at home moms "so what did you do today, just rest?" Are you serious!!!!? I am lucky, and I mean LUCKY to take a shower before lunch time. If I get makeup on that is a miracle and if I dry my hair.... get ready for the apocalypse because Jesus is surely about to return!

The one I love the most is:
"Why don't you nap when your baby is napping?". Well, to name a few: my family would not have clean underwear, my house would look like a tornado and my business would remain in the red for eternity... but that's just naming a few. Those little 1 hour (and sometimes less!) windows are my one chance to accomplish something (apart from raising up the next generation of world-changers, of course)!!

When I was younger and much less wise...
I thought that being a stay-at-home mom was something women that had no plan for their future did. Now I clearly see that it's our God-given privilege to raise our own children and instill in them the values, ethics and education that we so desire for them to have for the rest of their lives. We never get this short period of time back! So have our extra wants sometimes been put on the back burner? Yes, at times. But I will say this, it is so fulfilling knowing that my son is not just being thrown in a daycare swing somewhere and only tended to when he has a need to be fed or changed. I am so grateful that I have the loving support of a husband that is willing to be a FATHER and not just a present male with no emotional or spiritual contribution. I have women friends who are forced to work full-time so that their children will not go hungry and yet they go without what really matters - parents that are the example of Christ to them. They would change it all tomorrow if they could, however, they have been left by their spouse with no choice. I am not saying they are wrong, but that I am so filled with gratitude regarding my situation.

Random Soap Box Serenade... sorry!
I know this has been rather deep compared to the normal cuteness that is my usual "post-a-licious-ness" but I just wanted to clear my head and give props to all the mommies that are making a difference in our future generation. Not saying that if you are working that you are not in that bunch AT ALL - to you I say WOW I don't know how on earth you do it. I am only saying that now in the time we live it is so easy to feel guilty for working, not working, etc... the point is that we have some serious responsibilty to take for our kids because one of them is going to be president, judge, teacher, movie producer, news anchor, mother, father... they will all influence in some way. It is up to us to determine how. What an amazing chance to change the world.

Okay, now for some cuteness...
Some pictures for your enjoyment to lighten the mood :-)



















Here is Judah meeting his Great Great Aunt Midgie and Cousin Suzanne for the first time!






















Here is Judah eating VERY successfully! He loves to eat now vs. the first month that we tried. He's been on solids since July 4! (How ironic that he'd take such a step on "independence day"!!) That's my boy!


















And here's one of many from a photo shoot at Aunt Dee Dee's house! He has his "up to no good face" on.