The Liedkies

Some Valentine's Love

2012-02-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here were our kids tonite!

January Pics

2012-01-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics we've taken since Christmas!

We had the Wraggs over, the blindfolded one is a game where the kids played guess the marshmallow flavor and chubby bunny :) Then the guys got competitive and had to play themselves.

We got to spend New Years Eve with the Bruces:

Our sweet neighbor bought us a delicious standing rib roast for Christmas, here it is in it's glory. No wait, you had to taste it, it was delish!

Our kiddos playing together. Oh Brynn's poor bangs, they are so long yet so thin. She looks wild in a head band but clips won't stay in!

Sure mom, I'll smile: - um slightly less pained son.

They like to have mommy race them around in laundry baskets!

No I'll take a picture of you mom.

Brynn's first ponytail:

The weekend before class started, we had scheduled to go to Naples, FL again for a few days to get away from it all before everything got busier again. Here are the kids in the hotel. We had so much fun there that we came home a day early. Ha - our kids were so excited they didn't go to bed til 11 2 nights in a row and no naps for 2 days. We were exhausted so came home to get away from vacation a day early! It was still a sweet time, just not what Jacob and I had in mind for a relaxing, goal setting weekend.

Beach in Naples:

We've had a little bit more cold weather lately and both kids strongly dislike wearing sleeves. Truett is constantly claiming, "No mom, I'm so shweaty - I don't need that" all the while shivering :) Brynn just angerly screams.

Kids love watching dad mow the lawn - and I love it too :)

This particular night was super cool as daddy caught a little snake and brought it over to share:

Even Brynn touched it!

They love this car. Brynn now opens the door and climbs in and out all by herself.

Look how big she's getting! She can stand on her own and walk with one of us lightly holding her hand, no steps on her own though.

Goofy Truett:

Quotable

2012-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

Kitchen dialoge today:

Susie to Truett: "What am I gonna do when you're too big to carry? That'll be sad."

Truett: "Mom. You can pull me with a rope."

Christmastime

2012-01-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas not being in Oregon. We decided to stay in Florida for a host of reasons this year, the biggest reason was that last semester was Jacob's heaviest school load thus far in seminary and with all the happenings over the last year, we really didn't feel like it would be the best decision for our family to travel cross-country. Although we missed our families (except Paul who stayed with us for Christmas too), it definitely turned out to be the right decision. We were able to catch up on some family time and a bunch of house/life projects that slipped through the cracks over the last months.

I wanted to fill you all in on what Christmas looked like for us in Florida! It was really special for me to be the mom this year, making sure we were all prepared with gifts and food! There were many late nights leading up to Christmas!

This is Christmas Eve Eve, I stayed up til 2am getting all the last minute preparations done - while watching Elf though so don't feel too bad for me. Here's my frozen peppermint cheesecake prep:

Just a pic of my girl:Jacob and Truett handcrafted a wooden bed for Duck-Duck (just like Courduroy's Bed!)
Truett's first candy cane with sister watching:
Jacob, Paul and Truett decorating the tree:

On Christmas Eve, I stayed home to bake and cook - the boys left and I think they played racquetball outside? Yes this is what we do on winter Holidays in Florida! Christmas Eve afternoon we were blessed to have our sweet friends Matt, Johanna and baby Alice join us for dinner and dessert before we all headed out to church! We had a great time and we're so glad we have such good friends as we're so far away from family!

Brynn and Alice:

Johanna and I with our babies:

Truett and Brynn:

Jacob, me, Johanna, & Matt:

Johanna was very kind to keep reading books that Truett brought to her! And Alice to share her momma!

Here was my Christmas Eve table! Truett made all of these candy cane reindeers for the place settings! I enjoyed having him help me out. The ONLY sad part was that it is a Compton family tradition to do Christmas poppers on the Eve but I couldn't find them here :( Turns out that is a Johnston family tradition as well. But we feasted on lots of yummy food - we had ham, potato casserole, rolls, fruit salad, salad, green bean casserole and dessert! Johanna brought more than her fair share which I really appreciated!

Off to church we all went to enjoy a Christ exalting, beautiful service! After church we got to Skype with the Liedkies while we opened our presents from them which was really fun! And we had an impromptu get together with the Torres', we invited them over to partake in our plentiful leftovers! So fun to get to hang out with our wonderful friends on Christmas Eve! Here is Truett preaching to them:

Now for Christmas morning - here's the stockings all ready!

Compton family traditional Christmas morning breakfast: Orange frost drinks, egg casserole and scandinavian cinnamon rolls! Yum.

Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year - we got to go to church again after stockings and breakfast! Again - a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Had to share this face of Brynn's - this is her "unjust" face. Like if you put her down and she wants to be held! Totally funny.

Oh good - just what Truett needed, a microphone.

Thanks Uncle Paul for this family portrait!

Brynn playing with the kitchen from Grandpa Mike and Gramma Janie! We also got to Skype with them on Christmas day and open presents in front of each other. Thank you technology!

After church it was naptime, then all 5 of us loaded up in the car and headed down for Christmas dinner with the Dawsons! Mike and Jill got all of us very generous stockings and the kids each got outfits and a special toy. Were are consistently blown away by their generous hearts and love - what a great example for us!

A goal for next year would be to try and figure out how to make Christmas even more Christ-centered. We read about the coming of Christ during the month of December to the kids and sought to instill anticipation, but I definitely felt like that pile of gifts was stealing plenty of attention. I know that the biggest thing is that my kids will pick up on if mom is more concerned with food and gifts, or about celebrating the birth of Christ. So, the first place I plan to start is cultivating anticipation in my own heart!! But nevertheless, it was a joyful celebration and a sweet first Christmas in the sunshine state!

Twenty Eleven

2012-01-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted here much lately - you can thank two laptops for that. One is in "imminent danger of crashing" and the other is stuffed so full I can't upload any pictures to it! We are working on a solution, so unfortunately no pictures to post right now, but I have been reflecting a lot on what the last year contained for us Liedkies and thought I would share with you:

Major events: Jacob's foot surgery last January - which was followed by approximately 6 weeks of one-legged wheeling or crutching around, Baby Brynn born March 3rd, Truett turned 2 in April!
Guests: out of the 12 months, we had someone either living with or staying with for a total of 7.5 months!!! And there were a few times in there where guests overlapped! Here were our (overnight) visitors: Ron & Joanie twice, Mike(twice), Janie(three times) and Sara(once), Tasha, Ryan Minnie, the Roberts, Paul (began living with us August 4th I think and just moved out last weekend). So needless to say, Jacob and I learned a lot this year about Biblical hospitality, and I learned how to manage two kids while cooking and cleaning for a housefull. (Want easy crockpot meals? Gimme a call!)
Seminary: Jacob completed two more semesters and two week long intensive classes for seminary! He's now 2.5 years down, 1.5 years to go before he receieves his Master's of Divinity!
Ministries we were involved in: Jacob was (and is) the AWANA commander, I help with AWANA, we both serve in the nursery, Jacob preaches periodically in our Faithbuilders Sunday School class. Then there were periodic service and ministry opportunities throughout the year. Jacob and I were both in very profitable discipleship relationships!
House: We did a TON of house projects this year! Painted a few rooms, updated light fixtures and bathroom mirrors, um knocked down a wall and put in a door frame, bought some furniture, fixed up and painted furniture.
Traveling: this is one area that we were less busy in this year. Since our first year of marriage we usually go back to Oregon a couple times a year, plus some other random places - anywhere from TN to DC! But this year, we went back to Oregon only once in June which is sad to us because we love our families so much, Jacob traveled to see the Ducks in the National Championship game last January in Arizona, we went to Naples, Florida for a couple days for our anniversary in July, and we took Ron and Joanie to the Keys for two nights in November. Wow. To see that written down is amazing to me. It's such an example of how drastically our lives have changed!
Work: No huge changes here, Jacob and I are still loving and appreciating his job and company he works for!
Babies: Brynn went from being a newborn to now saying over 20 words and cruising along furniture - almost walking! Her personality went from mellow to driven, happy, talkative yet sweet! It's amazing for me to think that of the last 12 months months, I was pregnant with Brynn for 2 and nursing her for the last 10! Truett went from being a toddler to being a little boy (I think so at least!) He is having real conversations, doing real reasoning, getting good at crafts, and it's been amazing to watch the Word of God shape his worldview. For example, he knows when he's anxious to recite 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you!" And Philipians 4:6 and 7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petitition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

I would hope that looking back over this list, my heart would be full of gratitude to the Lord for sustaining us through the year. But honestly, that wasn't my heart's first response, because I did so many of these things in my own strength, therefore for my own glory. Sure there were days and even seasons in there where I daily cried out to the Lord in prayer and immersed myself in His Word to grant me the grace to accomplish what I needed to in a Godly manner. But I'm afraid those times were less often than the alternative. What a shame.

At the beginning of the year I chose a new verse to memorize with Truett: Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." It has resonated daily with me over the last two weeks and my prayer is that my life in 2012 would be categorized by a deep trust in the Lord, regardless of what He chooses to bring my way. When life, according to my own understanding, looks bleak, or scary, or tiring, or difficult - I pray I will entrust myself to Him and allow Him to work through me. Hopefully, my year wrap up in 2012 will be bursting at the seems with gratitude to our Great God who absolutely deserves it.

Chatty Brynn

2011-12-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

Our girl is getting so big - thought you might all enjoy this current video of her!

October Catch Up

2011-11-16T18:25:00.001-08:00

I have a few catch up posts that I need to make happen! This first one is pictures throughout the month of October. Coming soon hopefully will be pictures from Papa Ron and Gramma Joanie's very fun (in our opinon!) trip out to see us and the Harvest Festival at church/Halloween. There's approximately one intense month left in this fall semester - I always compare the last month of seminary each semester to the last hour of labor. Painful, intense, but then yay the baby's here? Maybe it falls short. Anyway, after all this I'm hoping to share what the Lord has been doing in our hearts these last few months. Until then, we will be relying on God's grace during these long days and whatever they may bring - late nights, stomach flu (Truett).....

Sneak peek to Halloween - Truett would say as he went up to doors, "The fighter-fighter's here!"

Possibly my fav current picture of sweet little lady:

Here's the reason why we have two kids, I don't have to do any of the work anymore ;)

He says, "mmmmmmm" when he gets the food in her mouth:

Peek a boo!

So fun! My roommate Brooke from college was in Boca for a wedding and came up to see us for a Sunday with her friend Ryan! It was absolutely delightful and I wish I could see her and all my other college buddies more often.

Ha this was when daddy was coming to get Truett:

Miss Bryn has quite the crazy tongue:

These next two are compliments of Truett the photographer:

Two seminary students living under one roof: lots of books, couple pairs of glasses, couple laptops...lots o coffee.

Poor girl

We've been making these a lot, fruit smoothies and if you add spinach you can hardly taste it but you get all the yummy nutrients!

Brynn getting a very rare bottle, she has one about every 3 weeks. But daddy/daughter loved this so much we'll try to make it happen a little more often before she is too old for bottles!

She loves racing over to his bed and helping me tuck him in.

The crazy tongue. Jacob started calling her "Jordan" - after Michael Jordan.

Waist up pic of potty training. Truett was a champ.I read that the first day of potty trainnig you are supposed to give your kid salty snacks and let them drink juice so they get lots of practice. These people did not know my Truett. The guy tanked I don't know how many ounces but enough to go pee 34 times in one day!!

Peek-a-boo!

2011-10-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Learning new things every day over here, Truett potty training and Brynn playing peek a boo! Our kids are getting so big!

Brynn started waving today!!

2011-10-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

i would've missed it, but at breakfast Truett said, "mommy Brynn's waving!". Then I was able to capture a subsequent wave. Enjoy!

Lots o Pics

2011-10-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

My commentary here will be short and sweet, but I hope you enjoy all these pics of the last month or so around our house!

Brynn sleeping at the beach:

Truett being Woody:

Jacob running up from the beach:

Paul and Truett @ beach:

The boyz:

A very sandy baby Brynn:

Truett and I in the waves:

Possibly my favorite picture of Uncle Paul since he arrived - he's got that "Truett, what are you doing?" look down pat:

Is she a chubby baby or what??

Sad that this picture is so fuzzy, but Brynn and Truett playing through her crib slats:

Truett and some of his little buddies dining:

This cracked us up, Truett was eating grapes one day, put the stem on his forehead and said, "mommy, look! I'm a reindeer!"

I had a friend over one day and all of a sudden I walk back in the room and Brynn fell fast asleep in the middle of the living room with other little ones running around - that's a second child for ya!

My cousin in law Sarah made these adorable headbands for Brynn!!

His mischevious look:

A makeshift reading nook:

Having fun in their room together:

The cutest little thumb sucker ever, when she gets tired she just grabs a blankie, sucks her thumb and melts...ahhh she's too cute for us!

Here's Daddy cuddling with the babies:

Truett and Brynn after a walk one day, Truett likes to collect nuts and acorns.

Building towers together:

Cuddle time:

Brynn going through a box from Grandma Janie with me:

On a Sunday, pretending it was cold enough for a sweater vest:

With some friends:

Jammies:

Love this look of hers:

With "Mrs. Dr. Z"

Brynn & Emma Grace:

Uh mommy got a little crazy with the hair products one day:

Playing with her "insect". Poor little girl with the big brother - her favorite toys are an insect, snake, play knife....I guess she'll be tough.

Handyman hangin things up for me!

Family Pictures

2011-10-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had some family pictures taken. Michelle did a fantastic job, and we really had a great time with her. Mike and Janie were in town so we were able to get some of them with the kiddos as well. You can see a sample of our time with her here.

John 3:22-30

2011-09-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

In John 3:22-30 we find a tremendous paradigm for how to view ourselves rightly in the grand scheme of God's redemptive purpose. I preached this sermon in preaching lab for seminary, so the implications are directed most specifically at men training for pastoral ministry. Even so the principles are timeless and precious.

Let me warn you - it will be humbling!

You can download the sermon here.

Truett's First "Real" Football Game

2011-09-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight Truett and I are out watching the Jupiter Christian Eagles play Glades Day High School. Sooz and Brynn were going to come, but Brynn had a green nose tonight so it's going to be just us boys.

I say "first" game because although Truett has seen Oregon play Ohio State and Tennessee, he is now actually cognizant of what throwing, running, catching, kicking, and especially tackling actually mean... most fun of all he even knows which team to root for! In fact, he is very proud of his red t-shirt (which matches the 'hoffball' players).

Here is a quick video of Truett watching a touchdown play unfold. Got to go... he's nagging me to "watch the game dada!"

Compton Visit!

2011-09-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you blogger for finally creating a way to upload more than 5 pictures at a time and also put them in chronological order. Hooray. Sticking with you for 5 years has paid off.

My parents and Auntie Sara came down to visit us for a week!! That is a BIG, long, exhausting trip and we are so thankful that they took the time and energy to do this, it means a lot!! We had an amazing time with them and it even felt like a vacation for us!

They all stayed in a nearby hotel by a nice shopping area this time. It was really fun to go visit them and have a short walk to restaurants and shops. Truett had TWO slumber parties at the hotel! He didn't even blink when he said goodbye to us nor did he care when we came back the next day. And I'll just be honest, I didn't miss him :) I have plenty 'o' Truett 363 days a year. If anyone wants to make that number even 355 days a year I would be totally cool with that!

They got in at midnight so here they are when we came to see them the next morning. Truett wastes no time and wants to get to playing and having fun right away.

The consensus is: Brynn is a wild lady. Folks, she is 6.5 months and is crawling all over the place, climbing over objects and pulling herself up on things. My parents agreed she is super strong, super determined. Truett was wild in his own way but he has a pretty compliant, content personality. Brynn wants what she wants and she will not stop til she gets it. There is no tile too hard or obstacle too high. But, she is still our happy lady.

Grandma Janie playing with kids:

There is a carusol in this shopping area and Truett got a few rides. He always chose the same place to sit, in a swan?? Funny little guy.

Multi-tasking:

Out to dinner:

Do you see what's so amazing in this picture? No children in our hands. I barely remember what it's like to have my husband's arm around me :) It's nice.

Grandpa Mike was the resident Brynn baby food feeder.

Reading a bedtime story:

They brought Duck gear for the kids. Brynn got a cheerleading outfit and Truett got a t-shirt that he tells people is an "Oregon Duck shirt!!"

Thanks for coming guys, we love you all!

A Night on the Water

2011-09-18T16:42:00.001-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa tonight. So glad you guys could come and make it
out this week.

Brynn's Breakfast

2011-09-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

Might as well start 'em young.

Perfect Love

2011-09-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

I was reading through John Macarthur's sermon on 2 Timothy 1 this morning and wanted to share this convicting quote. Here Macarthur is actually talking about 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love"

Perfect love casts out fear. Let me give you an illustration of that. When I love something supremely I..I lose all fear of self-preservation. In what sense? One of my children were to fall into the sea and begin to drown, my love for my child would cause me to dive in to rescue my child with no thought of myself because I love my child to the degree that I would have no thought, that is the perfect love that casts out fear. If I loved God supremely I'll put my life on the line in serving God and have no thought of self- preservation because I love Him more than I love myself. The bottom line is very simple--what I love controls my action. And if I love God perfectly then I have no fear in serving Him because if I lose my life in serving Him I have lost my life for the one I love. And if I lose my life in serving men and bringing them the gospel, then I have lost my life in serving the one I love and if they and God are more precious to me than I am to me then that's no loss at all. Do you understand that? So that kind of love casts out fear.

If on the other hand I love myself and I will do everything to preserve myself and my own life and my own comfort and my own success and my own reputation and I live to satisfy me, then I will not sacrifice for God and I will not sacrifice for you or anyone else. I will sacrifice you for me. And I will sacrifice what God wants for what I want. My life can be measured by whom I love. But if I love the Lord God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and my neighbor as myself then I fearlessly serve the God I love and the neighbor I love.

Let me just say that I love myself so much and it does control my actions. How gracious God is to bring this to my attention and I pray that He changes my heart for I am unable to do it in and of myself!

Truett Update

2011-09-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

"I'm Truett William Liedkie. It's my birthday." - This is what Truett was heard going around saying to anyone who would lend an ear at church dinner a couple Wednesdays ago. We had some talks about that.

Some adorably bizarre things have been coming out of that little, tired mouth lately. Here's a few:

"The conversation never dies."

This is my personal favorite, but I don't know why he says it! Before sprinting across the church Wednesday night he said,

"I'm going to make a happy ending!"

A pen he was trying to get was stuck the other day, and with that infamous cock of his head and twinkle in his eye he says,

"Momma, that pen is a little bit pretty very very very stuck." He loves to use these words. When his food is hot he'll say, "That's a little bit pretty VERY very hot."

He's really into middle names and just cracks himself up by saying things like,

"You're mommy William Liedkie!" -or- "I'm Truett Elizabeth Liedkie". And whenever asked his name he says, "Truett William Liedkie." He was VERY confused when he found out that Uncle Paul's middle name was Isaac, for the longest time he was pretty upset and said, "No! The Wragg's have Isaac!" Because our friends the Wraggs have a son named Isaac. We got a kick out of that.

The other night me and him were sitting outside of a restaurant on chairs, I looked at him and I said,

"So Truett..." And he said, "So mommy...the sermon" and proceeds to make small talk pretending to talk about the sermon.

He loves playing especially with older kids. Whenever we have playdates, he gravitates towards the older ones. He still loves babies of course and we are still working on considering others first, sharing, bringing them our favorite toys, etc... He is into reading again - he goes in spurts. He enjoys creating little spaces/nooks around the house where he can cozy up and read or pretend to go camping. He still likes baseball and wrestling. Loves when we go out. Favorite restaurant is still Chick-fil-A!

Some games he plays that I think may be unique to growing up in the Liedkie household:

Leak detection (Jacob works for a leak detection company). Truett goes around trying to find leaks in our house.

"Going to seminary" - he packs a backpack and pretends to go to seminary where "Doctor ZEMEK" teaches him he says.

Barista - he pretends to make me mochas and lattes.

A lot of people have commented lately on how old and tall he is getting! I hope he's growing because he's eating like a horse! The other night I asked him if I could rock him in the rocking chair and he said, "You may."

I figure I may as well get my cuddles in while he is still somewhat little and will let me do stuff like that! We are enjoying him and are very humbled by parenting him - daily realizing our need for the Lord's wisdom and strength!!

Psalm 32

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity of preaching one of the great penitential Psalms to our Sunday School class. In Psalm 32 David lays out with remarkable clarity a principle that we are trying to teach Truett (and remind ourselves) - what you cover God will uncover, and what you uncover, God will cover.

Here is the link to download the sermon.

Truett in a Jumper

2011-09-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's hard having a baby sister, like when she screams in the middle of the night 12 inches away from my face. Or when everyone thinks she's cuter than me.

But let's be honest folks. The perks far outweigh the slight inconveniences. Some pretty awesome toys have showed up on the scene with Brynn. Here, watch me enjoying the jumper! - Truett

p.s. my dad thinks it's pretty cool too!

6 Months!

2011-09-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Baby Brynn turned 6 months old on Saturday!! I wrote a post on her last week but left it as a draft for a couple days, when I went to post it I realized a lot of the information about her was already obsolete - that's how quickly she's changing!

Here's a brief status update on our little lady:

Learning: to crawl! She's up on her hands and knees, starting to crawl with her legs but her hands haven't quite figured it out yet. She can already get into a sitting position from her tummy - this is one determined gal! There's no messing around when it comes to keeping up with big brother.

Eating: Apples, carrots, bananas, and nursing. She finally figured out solid foods and is giving me a little break as well as sleeping better at night because of it!

Loving: Truett and other babies/little kids. She absolutely lights up when she has a little friend to play with! Do we possibly have two social butterflys??

Disliking: to realize she's in the arms of a stranger when she thought she was in mommy or daddy's arms. She is just fine being held by other people, but there have been a few times when she looks up and had thought it was us and just gets this terrified, pathetic look on her face and starts bawling!

Sleeping: She goes down very well by herself as long as her tummy's full. She has two good naps a day, maybe a short third one. She maybe sleeps straight from 9pm or 10pm-6am. MAYBE. And that's only been for about a week since she's being doing well with solids, before that she had been getting up probably twice a night to eat full feedings. So I'm hoping that maybe we're in the clear for a little bit??

Looking: cute - of course I think that I'm her mom. I personally think she is an exact mesh between Jacob's and my baby photos. Whichever one of us is holding her is who people say she looks like!

What people are sayin': We hear ALL the time, "She's so petite!" Even from strangers. She's actually in the 80th percentile for height but we have determined she has a small frame and her neck and face are small so it's an optical illusion. People also ask, "Is she always this happy?" Because she hams it up. Yes she is unless she's hungry.

So there's a brief update on Brynn Elizabeth. We are absolutely loving having, loving, getting to know our little daughter. It is a really special season of life with these two little munchkins. I hope to do a status update on the Tru-mister as well soon!

Psalm 19

2011-08-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well we decided to try a new addition to the blog... post messages when I have the opportunity to teach - Sooz came up with idea.

I wasn't so hot initially on posting sermons, but Susie thought that a few friends, and especially family would enjoy hearing. We are still trying to figure out all the technical aspects, and the best solution, but for now you can click the sermon title and the media file will immediately download. Then you can open in whatever media player you prefer.

Although I am very new to preaching, there is one thing that is unmistakably clear - the study process produces a sanctifying effect upon the soul of the preacher. It is a profound ministry.

I can remember wondering how it was the preachers got fed spiritually... I figured if they are always preparing to bring the Word of God to others, how is it that they themselves get ministered to? Now I see that the preacher is ministered to by God through the study process and that is how his soul is nourished.

Teaching has been tremendously beneficial personally, and I hope that it is a ministry to you as well. I consider it a privilege to study and teach God's Word any time I get the opportunity.

This summer we taught through some Psalms in Faithbuilders, our Sunday Morning Class, you can download Psalm 19 here.

Mid August

2011-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

My babies are growing :( Too fast. I've taken the advice of every old lady that passes me by, I'm "enjoying every minute of it."

Here's my little Oregon Ducks baseball player. The Liedkies got this outfit for him a while back and now that it fits so well he wears it every week.

Miss Brynn is 5 and a half months now! She started sitting up on her own a little over a week ago and she's so sturdy I hardly need to put pillows around her. Some may attribute that to her oversized lower half.
We have our friend Ryan from Virginia staying with us this week. We're pretty much the South Florida version of Full House over here. Except my kids are way cooler and Becky (me) is married to Danny Tanner instead of Jesse :)

Ryan is a fellow seminary student taking a week long class with Jacob and Paul. He is so fun to have here, we are laughing a lot! Here he is with Truett riding their mega block train they made:

Brynn and Carson (1 year):
Truett with friends Hannah and Madison:
Truett and Hannah may or may not have gotten caught exchanging a smooch in the church nursery.
Uncle Paul gettin' Truett - there's been lots of this happening!
John T cleaning my kitchen - then Patsy super cleaned it later - and Johanna earlier that day. Don't I have sweet friends??
The Torres Fam:

Truett loves him some Jenna. His legs suddenly stop working when he's around the Torres girls and he must be carried around.

Ok this was way too fun for us, Alice Johnston and Brynn. Let's just call them Alynn. No, Brice.

Holding hands:
Truett loves his babies:
Brothers :)

This is the face Jacob gets a lot of times when he takes pictures of me:
Twice Truett has been in the middle of eating and all of a sudden breaks out in massive bug bite looking hives. So, the clothes come off and I monitor it to make sure we don't have a major catastrophe. You can't see them in this pic but I just thought he looked too cute here not to share.

Last of July Pics

2011-08-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I only got this smile upon saying "don't smile".

Jacob and I took the kiddos to Naples, FL for the weekend for our FIFTH anniversary a few weeks ago!! It is such a sweet little town and I would say 70% of the trip was really fun, the rest was dealing with much crying and bad tudes.

We went to this restaraunt for dinner, but if you want to save a trip and a few bucks I'd suggest just staying home and drinking some melted butter:

Daddy reading before bed:
"The project" - Truett loves to show the project to anyone and everyone who comes to our door :)

When asked who his best friend is, Truett now says, "Brynn!!!" The first time he said "mommy" but we explained mommy and daddy are each other's best friends :)

The Last Monthish Take Two

2011-08-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

Ok these are still some catch up pics from July. Right now what's goin on is uncle Paul got into town last Wednesday and will be living with us for a while! We all love having him here!! Jacob starts seminary back up in a week and I've had such a refreshing summer that I am really excited for him to be back, although certainly a grueling schedule we love all that he is learning and the way we all grow through it.

Here's more of the bathroom project:

Truett and I thought it would be fun one day to dress Brynn up in Truett's first Haloween costume, so cute:

Ever since we've been back from Oregon, Truett loves playing baseball and football like Uncles Michael & Luke. And I mean the kid plays all - the -time. I don't think I'm quite as fun to play with as Michael and Luke but he settles for me :)

That's it for now - Happy 17th Birthday to Auntie Hannah today! We love you!

For our families...

2011-07-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ah July has been a bad blogging month. And I know why - there's always something else to do - like tonight, the kitchen needs to finished being cleaned, the rest of the laundry put away, I need to take a shower, I need sleep, must return emails...but I definitely want to strive to make this a priority for two main purposes: to be able to look back years from now and enjoy looking at pictures and things we were doing, and equally as important to keep our family (and friends of course) far away updated on their grandbabies, niece and nephew!!

So - Oregon pictures are still on Jacob's computer and I WILL get to that, but for tonight I am going to start with pictures since we got back in late June and see how long I make it before I get tired :)

Our almost 5 month old girl! Her personality is still very sweet and happy, and she's getting more active and energetic. Still loves big brother of course!

Hard to get a picture of this little guy:
In their new room:

Sorry for all the multiples of Brynn, it's just so hard to pick just one! She's getting so much more coordinated with her little hands and loves to focus and work hard to get things in them:

Daddy & kiddos:

Truett and some friends eating dinner and enjoying a civil - non two year old moment together:
Brynn and Micah - I am so mad at myself for not taking more pictures of Brynn's 4th of July outfit, she was so cute in it. I have a precious one on instagram hopefully I can share at some point:

Truett transitioned beautifully to his toddler bed - this was a huge shock to me. I guess he was just ready. It's been about a month now and he still calls out after naptime and when he wakes up in the morning asking if he can come out, and he loves to show people that come over or family on Skype his "toddler bed":

Note the cut "fwuah-fwuah" - the name Truett picked out for his pacifier when he was just talking. That's what we call Brynn's too. I was terrified to get rid of the paci because he was so addicted to it, but we took about 2 months to cut it down, then he just started holding it in his hand when he slept, and now it's totally gone! I had three summer goals for him: toddler bed, get rid of pacifier, and potty train. #3 has not been done yet but I am happy with the others!

T bein a goofball:

I took him out to play in the rain one day, he was very cautious. He surprises me sometimes, usually he's so wild and fearless but then he definitely has an apprehensive side. I took him to a kids gym class this week and he went back and forth between fearless, loud and having fun to being really quiet and wanting me to pick him up - I guess there's still some baby left in him.

And this is actually why the last month has been so busy. We have a large master bedroom in our house and the kids were set to share a normal size room and their play area was out in the living room. We decided to switch rooms with them since we only need our bedroom for sleeping, so now they have a big room to sleep and play in, which helps keep our living room clean. So Jacob knocked out a doorway so that we still have access to the master bathroom. Truett has been helping him all along the way. Jacob made some wood blocks with nails and screws in them, Truett has some pretend tools and is SO happy to be in there for hours while Jacob is working.

Ok - time to wrap everything up for the evening! I made it through exactly half of the pictures from the month (believe it or not there are 300) and I will do a post soon to finish it off!

Colossians 3:20

2011-07-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

"Children, obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord."

If you're at all impressed, just think of how many times it took of him disobeying and hearing this verse from us in order for him to memorize it:)

Smothered

2011-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here's our girl giving big smiles to daddy:

After watching this next video, you'll understand if Brynn flinches if you approach her too quickly - really it's a survival skill.

Back Home

2011-06-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

I hope to post the Oregon trip pictures soon - but they are on Jacob's computer and I haven't had a chance to steal the mac yet. So - here are some pics of this week.

Brynn with little friends Rosalie and Micah:

You'll notice a theme in the rest of the pictures - pretty much all Truett and Brynn. Truett has always been loving to Brynn, but there was one day in Oregon where they had been apart from each other most of the day, and when Brynn saw him again she absolutely lit up. Since that day it's been nearly impossible to get Brynn to look at anything or anyone other than Truett. She will strain her little neck towards the sound of his voice and just smiles, smiles, smiles at him. It has been the most precious thing. So - wake time now consists mostly of Brynn sitting in the bumbo in the play area watching Truett. We've had a few playdates this week and Brynn loves looking at little kids in general. So sweet!

Can you believe they didn't plan this color scheme? Happy 4th!

Oh and good news - bedtime is now down to 9pm - we're almost on Florida time!

Bloodshot Eyes and Mud Pies

2011-06-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

The bloodshot eyes? We all have them. We got back to Florida on Saturday night. The day of traveling and 3 hour time difference didn't used to matter much, but those days are over.

Here's a summary of our night last night:

Child #1 bouncing off the walls until 10:30 pm when he finally drifted off
Child #2 waking up twice in the night to be fed
Child #1 screaming scared in the middle of the night needing to be comforted
Child #2 losing track of pacifier and thumb twice, needing to be plugged in

I think I was up once every hour. That's an equation for bloodshot eyes right there. Oh and did I mention an achy body and headache? Check, check and check.

Thankfully, they are both sleeping in this morning and giving me some time to bask in Truth. God is sovereign, He planned each awakening last night, He will work it for my good and sanctification, I cannot do this in my own strength, but He is made strong in my weakness, James 1:2, count this (insignificant in the grand scheme of things) trial as joy, desire not my own relief but the end result of being perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The mud pies? I was reading in Elyse Fitzpatrick's book Idols of the Heart this morning and wanted to share this quote by C.S. Lewis. It concerns how we too often look to lesser joys or false gods:

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easy pleased.

Let us not look to earthy circumstances or pleasures for our joy today, but let our hope rest in Christ alone.

Raiding the Granny Cam

2011-06-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

Stole my post title from cousin Melissa who recently did the same thing.

We're here in Oregon! We are all having a great time - Truett loves loves his grandparents and all of his aunts and uncles. Brynn is getting to know everyone and is sharing many smiles.

I've had some fun looking at some pictures in my mom's computer and thought I would share them:

Ducks vs. USC in 200? I think it was 2006 just a few months after we were married:
J and I at the rehearsal for our wedding:
Me and my bridesmaids, bridal luncheon:
Plus mom:
Aw - Zach, Vanessa, me and Jacob couple days before the wedding:
Me & EB @ a shower:
Jacob and I right before we were married. This was our apartment on Anzio - many sweet memories there, we lived there for 2 years:
Jacob and John 06
Look at little Jenna! Patsy, Jenna and I 2006
J & I 06
Jacob and I un Sunriver maybe 2007?
Mom, Erin and I in San Fran 2008:

Thought this one of Ginny and Audrey was too cute:
Mary Mac and Truett who was very sick at the time:
Might post later. Can you tell Truett is napping right now?

3 months, 26 months

2011-05-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe B will be 3 months tomorrow! She's growing up way too fast! She just moved to 3-6 month clothes, Truett likewise is getting a little too big for his 24 month clothes so I just got him a few 2T items! He is inbetween but I just can't believe how big he is!

We get to go to Oregon for 12 days on Monday, which happens to be Jacob's birthday! We are sooooo excited to see everyone and introduce Brynn to the great NW. Well - I am excited for everything except for the 8 hour travel days there and back. I have been training Truett for a while now. Yesterday I heard him say to himself, "Shhhh.....no talking on plane. BIG smile on plane."

I just looked up the weather this morning and it was 44 degrees in Oregon. Should be interesting. Truett shivers at anything below 75 and says, "brrrr mommy - it's cold!" He also doesn't like long sleeves nevertheless sweaters. Brynn's entire wardrobe consists of onesies and short little rompers. They are truly Florida babies.

On another note, I educated myself on night terrors and the #1 cause is lack of sleep. I realized we had been getting Truett down after 9 many nights and he was dropping his one nap. So, we have had to change our schedules a bit but we have gotten back to getting him down consistently between 7:30 and 8. And we've found that for Truett to nap, he has to get a lot of physical energy out first. So - we've gone to the pool and swam the length of the pool about 15 times, he's wrestled hard with daddy, played tag with mommy, and had hour long dance parties. And something magical happens - he naps. It might only be an hour, but he naps. Somedays it's hard for me to try and find ways to get his energy out when it's 90 somethin outside and I'm taking care of Brynn but now I know that's just what his body needs so find a way I do. Is this a boy thing? Anyway - happy to report we've been terror free for a few days.

We are just loving summer. The evenings here are gorgeous, we played soccer with the Torres' last night, the night before Jacob and I played frisbee while Truett played at the park. We have been eating outside, going swimming, eating watermelon, just enjoying God's creation in abundant ways. I realized I wasn't able to enjoy summer much last year because of my morning sickness, so this is a treat for me!

Truett and Brynn with little friends Luke (9 months) and Micah (4 months):

Doesn't he look like such a big boy here?:

Brynn and Michah holding hands: Laughing at Jacob:
THE water table - my parents got it for Truett for his birthday but we wanted to save it for when we needed a new trick. We broke it out last week and he has been spending anywhere between 1 and 3 hours out there just playing with it. By himself. Without mommy. Yes. My floors got mopped, which really needed to happen, there were unidentifiable objects stuck on there.

Still drivin around that car of his:
This is what she looks like crying, it doesn't happen too often thankfully :)

What mom? Don't even tell me I don't look cool here. Truett testing out the jumper we got out. It actually was kinda sad to see how big he was in there, I remember when we had to stack up books so that he could actually use the thing.

Tummy time:

Who doesn't look cool now Mr. Both Legs Through the Same Opening

Zoo, AWANA retreat - Summer!!!!!!!!

2011-05-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo last Saturday and had a blast! It was so nice to have a family day. The Palm Beach Zoo is perfect for a two year old and family with a baby. It was really small and fairly quiet, no worries about losing the little guy in a huge crowd. It only took us two hours to get through the whole thing -that was quite long enough for us.

The don't have the most amazing animals, the best ones were kangaroos, a tiger, bears and monkeys. Other than that it's mostly birds. No giraffes, elephants, penguins, polar bears or anything like that but it's plenty exciting for a two year old. His favorite by far were the monkeys. He's still imitating them.

Oh yes and they have an old tractor to sit on, practically had to peel the little guy off:
He's still terrified of trucks ever since we went to the fire station on a field trip a couple weeks ago. It's been a new parenting journey for us, it's the first real fear Truett has had. Usually he's recklessly fearless, like swimming the other day. But those fire trucks really freaked him out. Here we gently had him face his fear here and get in the truck with mommy. As you can see he wasn't thrilled. May the Lord give us wisdom - we're trying to strike right balance of compassion without giving into the fear, encouraging him to entrust himself to the Lord.

Daddy and T being swinging monkeys:

We went on the AWANA retreat two weekends ago, they have lots of fun things to do like go carts:

Jacob opening up the counsel time:
We got our double stroller a few weeks ago - yay for family walks again!!! That's a Liedkie staple. You can see Brynn's feet under Truett there.
Jacob getting wrapped in toilet paper:

Sweet times!

Truisms

2011-05-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

I needed to record some recent sayings from T:

He gave thanks for our dinner a couple nights ago and here's what he said:

"Heavenly Father, um, thank you for my water table. My daddy. My sister. Water. Milk. Crayons. Food. Amen." Um did you forget anyone dear son?

Then his prayer for breakfast this morning: "Heavenly Father, um, thank you for my mommy. Jesus. My sister. My mommy. My daddy. My sister. My baby. Amen." Sometimes he forgets to get to the food part :)

Sometimes he'll just be sitting there looking at me and say, "So." And I'll say, "So."

This is a frequent saying, "Oh, NICE mommy!" He says it when I spill something, or this morning when I was cleaning the floor. To Brynn if she rolls over. Or, again like today while holding Brynn, "Oh NICE Brynn! Big poopy!" It apparently applies to many situations.

Yesterday he called out, "Brynn! I come in peace!" Jacob says he probably got that from Toy Story.

I asked him if he remembered who was coming over for dinner tonite and he said, "Jesus."

Yesterday looking at a pile of Hershey Kisses he said, "Mommy, I NEED that."

As I've mentioned many times - Truett loves his sister SO much. When she's crying he usually says one of the following:

"Oh, Brynn tired!"

"Hungry! Feed him mommy." (He always calls her a 'him')

"Hold him mommy?"

"It's ok Brynn! Truett's coming!" And when he gets there, "It's ok Brynn, Truett's here."

If we're in the car he says, "Almost home Brynn!"

"It's ok sweet girl!"

If we're coming to get her from another room he says, "We're coming Brynn!" and runs as fast as he can to her.

He gets so excited when she wakes up, "Ooooooo HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Baby Brynn!" in a really high pitched voice. He also says this to every baby at church, except uses their names. He knows so many of the babies names at church and there are over 25 of them! He loves loves loves babies. He's the biggest social butterfly I know.

Jacob and Truett's latest theological conversations consist of Truett asking, "God mouth?" "God nose?" "God body?" Good questions T.

Love this little guy!

11 weeks

2011-05-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

This girl is so sweet! She's getting to the fun age of less crying, more smiling, more cooing and talking and even laughing! We're having a blast with her. Truett is still a sweet big brother - bringing her toys, lovin on her, and he seems genuinely happy when mommy and daddy are playing with her. She rolled over a few weeks ago at 2 months! Strong little lady.

We think she is looking more and more like Jacob. She is definitely a brunette. Her eyes might go brown - they are still blue around the edges but they've gone from green to an almost light brown in the middle. We'll have to wait and see!

She is starting to sleep through the night more consistently - she's gone three nights in a row. Last night from 9 to 5:45 - YES! Ah it feels so nice!! Truett on the other hand is starting to have night terrors and nightmares :( We haven't watched Cars in months, but all of a sudden he is terrified that Mack is coming to get him???

I think I might leave Brynn in the nursery for the first time this Sunday. It's just getting to be time, she is awake so much more now - no longer the sleepy newborn. I am starting to have to leave Sunday school and church more often just cause she's talking and distracting. I think this is around the same age we left Truett as well.

Jacob's last day of school is today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been another amazing semester of school - we are so thankful for The Expositor's Seminary. Hopefully I can post more on this later - but it has definitely been a busy semester - absolutely the busiest Jacob has ever been since we've been married. Which, if you know anything about Jacob, is saying a lot because this guy never stops. Hmmm kind of like Truett. Throwing in surgery and having a baby are the two most major things that made these last months a blur, but there are a host of others. I am amazed the Lord brought us through this time and I am SO ready for summer and a much needed break from the weekly schedule we've been keeping up. Tomorrow we are having a full family day - I don't remember the last time this happened. We're taking the kids to the zoo and who knows what else!

Here are some recent pics:

Homemade goop:

LAWN

2011-05-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Ok I'm gonna get some pics of our little 11 week old lady up soon but had to share this video real quick.

So, if you grow up in South Florida you hear a lot of lawn mowers. What do lawn mowers say? Naturally, "lawn, lawn, lawn...." - or at least that's what it sounds like to Truett.

He seriously does this all day long. Very, um, relaxing for the rest of us.

1...2...3!!!!

2011-04-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

See why I have a hard time getting a picture of Truett these days??

7 Weeks

2011-04-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

*I actually created this post last week and I began it with the phrase "By the grace of God, things are still going very well." Ha - well as I was working on the post, something happened in life and things got crazy and a little harder - I never even got around to posting my draft. Jacob is in the final few weeks of his semester, work is busy and AWANA, the ministry he's involved in, has all of the year end festivities and retreat coming up. That's just to mention a few. Of course that makes me busier and then I got sick, had a fever, ran (running) into some feeding issues with Brynn. I am tired and a little weary, but God is STILL being gracious even when I don't feel like it. I know that He is using these times to make me dependent on Him and more Christlike. When circumstances are hard to rejoice in - I can always rejoice that He is risen!!

On a lighter note - I am thoroughly enjoying my little sack of potatoes Brynn - I would hold her all day if I could. She is so sweet. She is starting to laugh. We'll be holding her and look down and see her just doing an ear to ear grin at us. And Truett is giving me a run for my money - very clever little sinner that one. He is super into coloring these days, repeating everything we say, he is always asking "What's this?" and I'll say (ex) "cooking spray" and he always responds, "Oh...cooking spray!" I love that in the middle of the afternoon when I have been absorbed in taking care of the littles, I get to go blow bubbles outside for 15 minutes and watch my 2 year old chase happily after them, "Look at that mommy!". Oh and lately, if he leaves to go somewhere with daddy, before he goes out the door he will say, "I'll miss you mommy." Ah it's the best!

Oh and a couple people have asked about Jacob's foot - it is doing much better. He was off crutches by the time Brynn arrived and it at one point seemed to be 100%. He has recently had some pain again and is limping a bit, so we're trying to get him into physical therapy again and see if some new exercises will help. But all in all, seems the surgery was successful and he's better off now than before!

Without furthur ado - he is my post from last week

Here's T today:

Daddy and baby B:

Don't know if you can tell on her face but she has had a pretty bad case of baby acne, or "baby acne gone wild" as the pediatrician told us. But seriously, people come up to us, look at her and say, "O, she's ....cute....what's that on her face?" I'm sure you'll be disappointed that I don't have a picture of it today - dryiing up and peeling all over the place. Poor girl.

Shout out to Vanessa and Zach for the cute shirt and new clothes! Thanks guys :)

After church on Sunday. On a side note - we had a Doc appointment on Monday and Brynn is 10 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches - that is 75th percentile for weight and height!! Quite the difference from T who was 7th percentile for weight and one point!

Tummy time:

Whenever she spits up Truett starts shouting "Dripping!!!!"

I realize she has spit up on her here but she is quite the spitter so just trying to portray accurate memories:

Birthday, Park, Tasha

2011-04-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Truett's awesome birthday cake :) It tasted good - that's all that mattered.

We got Truett this for his birthday, he's pretty much living in it:

Opening presents from Auntie Tasha - this is a Woody shirt:

Smiles for daddy:

Eating oranges with Auntie Tasha:

My friend Bethany with Brynn:

First jeans:

Yes she is wearing baby's first Christmas bib - thought her little face was pretty cute here:

We introduced a bottle at 3 something weeks, we give her one about every other day - it's a nice break for me and daddy and Truett enjoying helping feed her:

We went to the park one night:

Truett is 2!

2011-04-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little man is 2 years old today! Mommy and daddy woke him up singing happy birthday, then daddy took him to Panera for a special breakfast - with orange juice! He can't stop talking about it! Auntie Tasha is here to celebrate - or as Truett calls her, 'Uncle Sasha' - he is lovin it.

I am having fun reminiscing about the past 2 years. We love this little boy to pieces and pray that year # 3 would bring even more joy, laughs, and most importantly many many opportunities to share Christ with him and bring him up in the fear and instruction of the Lord!

Truett - I don't care how cheesy this is - but you're my little sunshine. Everytime you wake up or walk into the room I'm in I can't help but smile and my world is always brighter :) I know a few other people who would say the same! You have your daddy's gift of putting smiles on people's faces - even your little sister's already! You are a precious and undeserved gift to us and I truly enjoy and cherish each and everyday I am privileged to spend with you. I'm still having the same dilemma as I did when you were a tiny baby - I look forward to tomorrow and seeing how you've grown and changed, but it's hard to say goodbye to today and realize how much I'll miss exactly what you were like at 730 days old (I totally just had to google how many days were in a year and then use a calculator to times it by 2 - ha).

I love you little man!!!!

4 Weeks

2011-03-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Both kids are napping - which usually means that I should be napping. But I had to take the opportunity to upload some pictures and celebrate that our baby girl is 4 weeks old today! God has been so merciful to us. Our adjustment to two kids has been extremely smooth - which is such a blessing considering how rough of an adjustment it was from 0 to 1 kids. Is it a little crazy sometimes? Yes - especially this weekend when she was going through a growth spurt, eating every 1.5 hours and Truett was testing how much he could get away with. But most of the time - Truett is still cracking us up and Brynn is a delight. She even started smiling at mommy and daddy last week!

Grandpa Mike multitasking:
Grandma Janie:

This is Brynn's best friend Alice Johnston - Matt and Johanna's baby born just a couple weeks before Brynn!

Johanna and I with switched babies:
Matt & Jacob with switched babies:

Daddy giving Brynn her first bath at home:

Truett playing football with Papa Ron - or Grandpa Ron as he prefers to say:
Grandma Joanie and grandkids:
Grandparents Liedkie got Truett some early birthday presents - lightning McQueen hat, a baseball and balls! He was so excited!

Had to include this - every time we try and take a picture of Truett now he says "One, two, THREEEEEEE!!" - which means it's very difficult to get a normal picture of him. He is just talking up a storm and saying funny things, like he called me a silly goose the other day and says, "No, YOU'RE cute!"

Daddy is the best burper:

Hangin with big bro:

Brynn @ 1 week

2011-03-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Jessie came over last Friday to do a little photo shoot of Brynn. I would've never thought of that, but she made it easy on me brought all the supplies right to my house. This girl has selflessly served our family since Brynn's birth - what a blessing!

I am so glad to have these and I know I will love looking at them for my whole life! Here are some of my favorite pics:

Truett & Brynn

2011-03-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

Brynn is a week old today! She is such a sweet baby and has quickly made herself part of the Liedkie family.

Lots of people asked us before she was born if we thought that Truett really understood that a baby was coming. I really didn't know - he talked about it and seemed excited, but I thought, no - if he really understood he would be jealous.

Truett has proved over the last week that he did understand. We are fascinated by his reaction to her. He loves Brynn so much - always wanting to kiss her, hug her, hold her, pull her arm - yikes!, play catch with her - again yikes, run his bike into her bouncer, jam her paci into her mouth.... ok but it is all out of love. He hasn't yet shown a malicious attitude toward her - he is just a rough boy. He wants us to kiss her and hold her and think she's cute.

He says a lot "Ooooooo baby Brynn!!". He'll imitate her sounds and will just sit there forever watching her. We implemented a new rule today: No touching baby Brynn while she sleeps. She has to sleep in her bouncer now becauser a couple days ago I woke up to her covered in bloody spit up, then later it had brown chunks in it. Took her in and Doc said she had severe acid reflux and prescribed a med and said she needs to be elevated for 2 hours after every feeding. She's doin great since but the only prroblem is that she's always on the floor - Truett's zone.

Anyway here are brother and sister:

Meeting for the first time, lots of love:

Truett brought Brynn a blankie and Brynn gave Truett Jessie from Toy Story to complete his Buzz and Woody:

With Grampie Mike:

Mama and kids:

Snuggle time with Dad-O:

These two give us lots of joy!

Brynn Elizabeth Liedkie

2011-03-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

We welcomed our daughter into the world on Thursday, March 3, 2011 @ 1:09 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and is 20" long. We decided on her name just this morning.

She is an incredibly easy baby so far. Great eater, great sleeper (7 hours last night which was approved by the staff here based on how much she'd eaten), and so mellow.

We can't stop staring at her and cuddling with her. We are thankful that my parents are in town watching Truett so that we can have this special time alone with Brynn.

All the glory goes to God for this precious life He has entrusted us with!

40 weeks, 3 days

2011-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

(Pic taken last week)

Well little lady - you are officially going to stay inside mommy longer than your big brother did. Truett came 3 days late. I think I assumed that everything was going to be exactly like it was with Truett, but this whole pregnancy has been pretty different so why would I think that? Here's what has been different between our two kiddos so far:

1. Morning sickness - barely had any with Truett, and I felt pretty rotten until 15 weeks with this one.

2. Truett was a wild man inside me. It was my first pregnancy and I used to think, hmmm is this amount of activity normal? Our girl is so mellow in there. She moves just enough for me to know she is ok whereas Truett would attract an audience with his antics. I should've known he was a boy.

3. Truett was always in weird positions - my stomach would be a triangle, diamond, rectangle, square - anything but round. This girl makes my tummy round - thank you! Much better.

4. Weight gain - less with this one. I really don't know why - I excercised a lot more during the first pregnancy but I guess running after Truett burns more than I know. I also think she's smaller - I was hoping for a big baby and who knows? That's what I may get, but Jacob and I both think that she is smaller than T (who was only 6 lbs 10 oz mind you).

5. Already said this -but looks like she will come later than him. With T I had 0 signs of labor before I actually went into labor with him. I have had multiple signs with her only to be disappointed because I don't actually go into labor! I was SURE I was going to have her last night.

6. I am WAY more prepared this time - I obviously know what to expect a little better. I think I had 2 or 3 outfits for Truett and like 5 burp cloths - little did I know that you go through that many outfits and burp cloths in one day!

7. I haven't paid nearly as much attention to this pregnancy - neither has Jacob. It just hasn't been as big of a deal to us - that maybe sounds bad but I think it's probably normal when you've already lived through one pregnancy - and our pace of life is exponentially busier than it was last time. But ever since 38 weeks it finally seems real to me and we are SO excited to meet our daughter. There isn't fear of the unknown this time - there is just sheer excitement. Having Truett definitely cranks it up a bit because we are so so so looking forward to his new role as big brother. He is such a baby lover - he knows all the little babies' names at church.

We're pretty sure we're going to meet her by the end of the week whether she likes it or not. I have been doing all I can to not be medically induced - but if she keeps being stubborn we think it is the right thing to do. But you can join us in praying that she comes on her own - soon please!

Hopefully we'll introduce you soon.

Happy 1 Month Parker!

2011-02-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

So I had 4 friends all due within 2 weeks either way of me - and everyone has had their babies! I seriously have been so excited about the new babies that I forget that ours is coming any day now. Ours is due on Satuday and if she hasn't come by Monday my Doc would like to induce me probably early next week. So, whether she likes it or not, our baby will be here soon! I'm just happy she's growing and we've had some extra time to hammer out minor details like her name (still don't have a middle one and we're not 100% about the first). I was slightly bummed she didn't come on my birthday yesterday but I love that God has already written her birth story and date and I'm just excited to find out what it is!

Speaking of, my friend Vanessa was due the day before me but baby Parker decided to come 5 weeks early! Praise the Lord he is healthy and cute as can be of course. I wish I could snuggle him but he lives in Texas.

We made these videos for you guys right after he was born but of course everything I do is a month late so we'll just consider it a happy 1 month old present!

My Sweet Patient & HelmetLESS buddy!

2011-01-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Jacob got foot surgery yesterday. He was born with a club foot which was corrected as an infant of course, but there were still some residual issues that needed to be worked out. So, we got part one of that done yesterday. Jacob will not be able to bear weight on his left casted foot for 6-8 weeks. Our baby is due in 5 weeks you say? Hmmm... :) Well, we decided it would be easier to do before the baby was born than while two kiddos were running around. But, certainly there's no convenient time to have something like this done.

Anyway, it has been a joy to take care of my husband, he has just had such an amazing attitude. His seminary buddies came over to visit during their lunch break - here they are!

On another note - TRUETT IS DONE WITH HIS HELMET!!!! As of last Thursday! Praise God - his head symmetry got down to the normal range and at 21 months his bones are basiscally fused together anyway so we were about out of time. He had an AMAZING growth spurt there at the end that got us down to the measurements we wanted. I noticed one day, wow - all of a sudden he is too tall for his pants, too big for his diapers, and no shoes fit! And sure enough - his head grew too. I cried when they told us we were done with the helmet. I think it was mostly relief as this has been just a couple weeks shy of a year, and there was a little bit of sadness as well that we even had to do this, and that my baby is growing up.

But now - we are bruise central. He is bonking his head all over the place, we're trying to get him used to the fact that he can't be as reckless as usual! So he's got a couple nice shiners, but I'll take em anyday over the helmet.

And I'm personally glad that we got rid of the helmet before dad got his crutches - cause crutches, big belly and helmet don't exactly look like the all american family. Here's daddy's last bath for Truett before his surgery because he won't give any more for 6-8 weeks!!

Brad & Stephanie's Wedding - Oct

2011-01-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Finally I'm getting this one out. We traveled to San Diego in October to go to my cousin Brad and his wife Stephanie's wedding. It was a joyous occasion and we're so glad Stephanie is now a Compton!

We got a few great videos of Truett dancing at the reception and also, two members from the band "Journey" were there performing and we got a video of that. Truett likes Journey and they liked him as well :) And oh yea - those shoes that he's wearing - he stole from the maid of honor!

Theological talks with a 21 month old

2011-01-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

I had to record this conversation between Jacob and Truett last night. It's definitely longer than my usual, it's almost 5 minutes, so I won't be hurt if you don't want to watch :) But enjoy if you do!

Truett the pilot

2011-01-04T17:05:00.001-08:00

Here he is getting ready to fly from Portland to Atlanta - he was such a trooper today waking up at 4am and only one 45 minute napin 14 hours! We are home safe and I'm goin to bed now!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:27:00.001-08:00

Here's a few pics of the little man to get the year started:

He loves water out of a to go cup:

Just thought this was goofy:

Jacob and Truett with our friends Aaron and baby Luke about to watch the Arizona Oregon game:

Distinct Pronunciations

2010-12-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

I think Truett has a bright future ahead of him... as long as he
doesn't want to pursue a career in speech therapy.

Hope you enjoy this little clip from breakfast at Grandma and
Grandpa's house this morning.

Crocodile

2010-10-15T08:07:00.001-07:00

I like how Truett deals with things that he can't say

What We're Doing Tonight

2010-09-27T15:39:00.001-07:00

I have come down with some sort of flu and Jacob has been such a help with Truett and the house today. So now, Jacob has to get some studying done and Truett gets a special treat - to watch Cars! While mommy sits on the couch :) Cars is reserved for special occasions or emergencies because it's the only thing that gets Truett to sit still for longer than about 5 minutes. He LOVES it!! It is the cutest thing ever because he gets so excited all throughout the movie.

Here he is watching the intro scene to Cars:

Two words

2010-09-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

OH MY!

For Papa Ron

2010-09-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

My Father in Law requested a blog update - so here ya go Ron! Gotta keep the in laws happy :) It's really been about time anyway!

I just uploaded 300 pics from my camera, I hadn't uploaded any since June 30th. Not coincidentally, July 3rd marked the beginning of my morning sickness. We were away for the weekend in Orlando with John, Patsy and the kids and all of a sudden I realized I was feeling crummy and threw up for the very first time in a pregnancy - Truett was apparently a very easy fetus to carry! Thus I embarked on a very long, sick, hot summer. Thankfully, my energy is relatively the same as pre-pregnancy. I readily accept that gracious gift from God! I am feeling much better now and am definitely in nesting mode. That didn't happen til much later last time but I think now I know, hey I'm feeling good NOW so I should probably get all of these lingering house projects done while I'm feeling this way!

OK so here's a smattering of updates:

My boys at the beginning of the summer with their short haircuts:

Had to include this one. We had some friends with three little boys over one day and all of a sudden we realized that Truett and one of their boys were being very quiet. I go into the kitchen and find them in the corner with a bag of peanut M&M's (they were very proud of themselves):

Truett loves to ride around the house with dada:

One day this summer, Truett and I were bored so I thought we would play dress up:

Here he is in one of my shirts as a dress. We went outside to show daddy who was doing yard work, of course he also had a scarf over his head, and of course we saw the one neighbor that we NEVER EVER see that now probably thinks I'm the weirdiest weirde dressing my little boy up in a dress :)Mama and Little T:

Truett in my favorite outfit of his and in his new helmet that actually fits:
Daddy started seminary back up in August:
September 5-12 we met my parents in North Carolina and then drove up to Knoxville, TN to see the Oregon v. Tennessee game. Truett discovered Grandpa's monkey skills and now T loves acting like a monkey:
Our little fam in NC:
Truett and my parent:
Erin came to visit us all the way from San Fran last weekend we had so much fun! Truett had so much fun and he loved her!

Truett's cutie smile a couple days ago:
Julia Torres came over to be a mommy's helper yesterday - yay for me!!

Our new friend Heber from Spain. He stayed with us 4 nights while he was attending a conference at our church. He was so sweet and even brought us gifts from Spain!

Alright!!

2010-08-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

People ask me a lot what Truett's saying right now and I tend to draw a blank, "um...mama and dada?" So I listed it out the other day and I could think of about 29 words that he is saying! And the list grows every day. Literally, in the past day he's added 'feet', 'good job' and 'pepper'.

Today I got a clip of him saying the best ones. First he says 'thank you'. We've had him sign that for a while when we get him food or a drink or change a diaper. Now it's second nature for him to happily say thank you when he gets something! Next he says, 'Alright!'. Jacob didn't know that he said this all the time until Truett one day picked up on it. Now Truett says it whenever he's excited, usually when he finds a truck or car to play with.

We better watch out - we've got a little parrot on our hands!

Father's Day

2010-08-02T17:53:00.001-07:00

It's no secret that Truett and Jacob have an extremely special relationship. These two fellas are as kindred as two spirits can be. This is weird, but I've always wished I could meet baby Jacob, or little boy Jacob. Well, wish granted. Truett is a walking, talking Jacob clone. They both love life, they are so joyful, they love to be loud and talk and talk and talk, and they love people. Mostly, they love each other, and they love me. Jacob has been a super involved dad since day 1 and it shows. No one gets bigger smiles than daddy.

I am so thrilled that Truett has such a Godly father to look up to and daily watch his example. Daily he sees Jacob seek first the Kingdom, sees him battle sin, repent from sin, love his wife as Christ loves the church, love people, and work hard as unto the Lord. Truett is the recipient of abundant Fatherly love which will someday enhance his view of how his Heavenly Father loves him all the more. Oh yea, and they wrestle. They wrestle all the time :)

This past Father's Day, June 20th I believe, was begun by the boys wrestling.

Then we sat down for breakfast and daddy got his Father's Day Presents. First up, deodorant. Lame, I know. We were supposed to get him this special coffee thing but couldn't find it.

The boys thought that present time was over. But, early that morning, I found out that we were all going to get the best present ever. Here's Jacob right after he found out he is going to have a second child! A much more genuine smile than the one above don't ya think?

And here's Truett finding out that he is going to be a BIG brother!! I couldn't choose out of the 3 photos I got because I just love his reaction. He's like, who me? Alright!!

Baby #2 is due February 26, 2011. We are most commonly hearing, we are excited for you guys, but we are REALLY excited for Truett. I agree - I think after the initial shock of "oh the world doesn't revolve around me?", he will absolutely love having a sibling.

The Prez

2010-07-27T11:48:00.001-07:00

People have remarked to us multiple times that Truett reminds them of the President. Not referring here to a specific president, but moreso a politician in general. It's stuck and we sometimes refer to him as "Prez". And it's so true. More people in the church know Truett than Jacob and I for one. We went to the mall last night for a family walk, and when we let Truett out of the stroller, it was quite a scene. Waving and smiling to every person who walked by, and if they stopped to talk he would carry on a conversation, something like "Rawrawshahsha hahaha".

I can't say this enough : he LOVES people. His favorite things are playdates, going to the nursery at church, and going out anywhere in public. The other morning he went with daddy to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items for me as I was hosting a shower that day, and when he came home he had some little friends here. He ran yelling and smiling into the house - his dream come true. He was even more pleased with each ring of the doorbell.

This is a joy, it really is. Oh the flip side, Truett is currently an only child and he doesn't prefer days that are spent at home hanging with just mommy. Those are long days, and they do happen. But I love his personality and wouldn't change it for the world, so I'll take the slight downside.

4 years

2010-07-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

7/22 - our anniversary! We are stuck home tonight with a sick little man. But just had to mention the landmark.

I don't take it for granted that I love being married to Jacob - everyday.

Summertime

2010-07-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ah summertime. For a lot of the country, people are excited to finally be able to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. We here in Florida are doing all we can to avoid the great outdoors. Park as close as you can to the grocery store, the goal: hop out of the car and get in to the AC fast enough to not get that layer of sweat over your entire body. Humidity - it's just not pretty.

Here's some pics of Tru enjoying food and in his little basketball uniform that he finally kind of fits into! From Mary Mac at birth :)

This keeps him entertained forEVER. Just give him a drawer full of clothes, shoes and socks are even better and you're good for at least 20 minutes. Which is 7 years in toddler time.

Ekklesia Conference

2010-07-06T01:40:00.001-07:00

Our church is putting on a conference this fall on the priority and necessity of the local church primarily for college students. Click he re to watch the promotional video.

Last Resort: Swing

2010-06-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Truett has his second ear infection - this time it's bad. He has either cried or slept the entire day. I tried and tried to get him to sleep, but nothing worked. So, I pulled out our swing manual to look up the weight limit, it was 25 and he is 22 pounds - yes! Only problem is it was out of batteries because we haven't used it for months, so I just sat there with a book and swung him for hours. My dear hubby dropped off some batteries before his work dinner.

It was an interesting day for me. ALL I got done was taking care of Truett. I've thought about how much more freedom I have had recently since he's now 14 months and is down to 1 nap a day, but today really provided the contrast. It was like the newborn stage, kid is crying and you're not really sure why - hungry? tired? hurting? all of the above? It is exhausting!! So to all you mamas out there with newborns - don't feel bad if you didn't get anything else done except for love on your kid - that's the most important!

So since I was homebound all day, I got to take pictures!

This was the most pleasant look on Truett's face until about 5 pm. Have I introduced you to "quack quack?" This is Truett's duck that he must sleep and cuddle with whenever he goes down. Truett gets so excited when he sees it and starts doing his quack quack! I guess it's Truett's best bud.

He perked up a little tonight - I set him down about 15 times to try to get a picture cause I thought he looked so nice in his new pjs but he just hopped right up every time. This was the best:

Passed out in the swing like a little baby.

Back to Jupiter

2010-06-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

We flew home yesterday from the great NW and are back to real life. There's good news and bad news. The good news is that I fit into a pair of pants I haven't been able to fit into for quite some time - the bad news is that the reason the pants don't normally fit is because they are (or, um, were) too big. That's right, we had some good eatin while we were gone :)

Truett started walking while we were away so we wondered how the trip back home would go. I'm happy to report it went very well. Truett loved walking around PDX!! His favorite part were the moving walkways. I had to share this video with you, Jacob had been taking Truett on the moving walkways and when J tried to walk past one without getting on, Truett made a mad dash for it - trying to bite daddy's hand in the process. See for yourself!

Videos

2010-06-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun clips of Truett - enjoy!

Oregon Trip

2010-05-28T10:07:00.001-07:00

It's been a little over a week since we arrived in Oregon. We will be here for a total of three weeks. We attended a 50th wedding anniversary party for Jacob's grandparents last Saturday and my brother in law Josiah graduates from high school June 10th. We didn't want to miss either of these events so here we are! Jacob is taking about a week off but gets to work long distance for the rest of the time. Praise the Lord for an awesome job and boss that would allow this!

As I write, Jacob and I are sitting in a local coffee shop in Cannon Beach, Oregon. We have spent the last two nights here without Truett - he is being loved on by grandparents, aunts and uncles in Salem. This is the longest I have ever been without my little 14 month old and I miss him. But it has been awesome to escape with the love of my life. The past few months, especially the last month in particular, have been busy and it has been great to talk and hang out without interruption! We have revamped our budget, done some life planning, played A LOT of cribbage which we just taught ourselves, gone for long walks and slept in. It's amazing what one can get done without a toddler bouncing around!

The Liedkie family comes tonight and will bring Truett and we'll all spend the rest of the weekend here. This is a special trip to Cannon Beach, the beach town where I've been coming since I was born, because it will be the last time at my grandma's beach house. It will be sold shortly. My mom used to bring us here for weeks at a time during the summers growing up, with dad coming up on the weekends. In middle school while we were on spring break, Erin and I discovered the delight of eating a whole tub of rainbow chip frosting here, along with Neutrogena's tan in a can on our legs. We were very orange. Jacob and I brought Truett here last summer when Truett was but two months old - his first trip to the beach. Sweet memories of Hadley family pinochle tournaments. I will definitely miss it but am just thankful for the many weeks of my life that have been spent here!

Back on the home front, Truett spent the first night with the Liedkies and the second with the Comptons. He has had these red spots on his arms that we thought were bug bites, but yesterday he got a couple more of them and looked a little bit like chicken pox. Jacob talked with the advice nurse at our old pediatric clinic there in Salem and they thought he should be brought in. So my parents took Truett to the after hours Dr at the clinic. Truett is weighing in at a whopping 20.5 lbs which is something like the 7th percentile :) No chicken pox, as my dad told us he was diagnosed with acute bug bites. But - they did discover Truett's first ear infection! Poor kid, now that I think about it he has been messing with his ear a lot. Sorry kid - first time mom. But all is well.

Here are some pictures from the beautiful state of Oregon and all that comes with it:

My parents backyard - trees beautiful trees that I miss so much. Grey skies that I miss so much.

Double espresso: Jacob has been drinking A LOT of double espressos:

Here's Jacob first then me on a walk by Haystack Rock. It is FFFFFreezing here! I was wearing a sweatshirt and a jacked and was still super cold. But I'm enjoying it because the next 3 years at least are going to be spent in hot mugginess:

My Helmeted Buddy

2010-05-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

At the end of January Truett got fitted for this nifty helmet. He had an asymmetrical head to the point where something needed to be done. Unfortunately, we were originally told not to get one, that his head would round out on it's own - but by 9 months we realized that it would stay the same shape if something wasn't done about it. So we took him in and the specialist took a 3-D scan of his head, sent them off and a helmet came back a week later specially made just for Truett in order to reshape his head. We are SO SO SO thankful that we got in as soon as we did once we determined to get one.

So Truett wears this blue helmet 23 hours a day, every day. I just take it off to clean the helmet and bathe Truett. I'm not joking, his head smells like a middle school locker room. I have lots of pictures of him in his helmet, but I definitely whip out the camera more often for that one hour of day that he doesn't have it on because I personally think he looks cuter without it.

It's been very interesting to see how people respond to Truett. Most people have never seen these helmets and they think we're doing it for fun. They will say, "Oh! He's got his crash helmet on!" , "What, you got a football game today? Heh heh." A lot of people ask me if I'm doing it to protect him. Teenagers point and laugh. Little ones say, "Look mommy! A hat on the baby!" But my personal favorite is kids around 8 years old. They are smart enough to know that there is probably something wrong with or different with this baby, but not smooth enough to hide their curiousity. They steal glances and when I look at them they flip their head back around, proceeding to stare out of the corner of their eye.

What I appreciate the most is when people plainly and respectfully ask me what the helmet is for. Yesterday we were flying out to Oregon for a trip, and I was talking the lady behind me on the plane. She asked, "Now I know that he needs to wear that helmet. Would you mind me asking what it is for?" Jacob leaned over and said, "That was a great way of asking!"

It's been a good lesson for me. Truett's days of pointing out the elephants in the room are just around the corner, and I would like to teach him not to be scared of differences in people, but learn about them. Politely ask them if they would mind us asking about their wheelchair etc. Maybe we'll carry around a picture of him in his helmet.

Little T

2010-04-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted many pictures of T lately so here's how he's looking these days:

Right before he got his first professional haircut:

Hangin with dad:

Still hangin with dad:

Truett's a pretty happy boy and people ask me a lot if he ever gets upset, well here's some proof. I think here he was upset that he had to drink out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle:

Our one year old

2010-04-06T10:31:00.001-07:00

Truett woke up crying at 3:30 in the morning last night. I went in and rocked him for a few minutes until he went back to sleep. His timing was quite providential, because I had meant to wake up at that time anyway in remembrance of what happened exactly one year ago.

At about that same time, 3:30 or 4:00 am on Monday April 6th, 2009 - I woke up with a stomach ache. I was sure that my appendix burst, never mind that it was three days past my due date. I just couldn't believe that I was actually going to have a baby. There were some signs that the little person in me wanted to come out soon. So, Jacob and I drove to a nearby neighborhood to take a walk - we were told that you can decipher between real and fake contractions by going on a walk, if they get stronger - they're probably real. Well, they did.

So, at about 6 am or so we drove to the Salem Hospital. They checked things out and told us that we would probably have a baby within 24 hours, but to come back "when the humor leaves". I was smiling and laughing and apparently a women who is in full on labor is NOT smiling, definitely not laughing.

Jacob brought me home and he ran around cleaning the house while I sat downstairs having contractions all by myself. That was almost the most horrible part of the entire day, probably because I had nothing else to focus on except for the pain. Then, we went to Big Town to get lunch. I had something like an avocado and bacon sandwich - I DO NOT recommend this. I didn't find out until later that a lot of women throw up during labor - and while I didn't, it still wasn't a pleasant sandwich to eat.

Then we went on a loooong drive and Jacob took me to Bush park for a walk. That lasted about 2 minutes until my begging paid off and he FINALLY took me to the hospital. We were admitted at about 2, the nurses were surprised we had waited that long to come back. Me too, I thought. Me too.

The next few hours of labor were the sweetest hours of my marriage. I felt like I only made it through because my dear sweet husband was so strong and helped me all the way through it - oh and my awesome nurse Lori! It was the opposite of what you see on movies of couples yelling at each other, we needed each other, appreciated each other and our last hours as just the two of us. Such a sweet memory.

By 6 pm, we had a baby BOY!!!!!!!!! When he was born, Jacob said, YOU HAVE A SON! I couldn't believe it, I had to look. I had wanted a boy SO badly! He weighed 6 lbs, 10 oz and had dark brown hair. But for about an hour, I honestly didn't care much that I had a baby. I was just glad he was OUT! But as soon as I got out of my daze, those endorphins kicked in and I was ecstatic.

Our entire immediate family was outside waiting, except for Sara bless her she couldn't make it. Along with Gerry, Luanne, and Ginny!! The grandparents were the first to come in, and then the siblings and Ginny. Ahhh I love these awesome memories. I loved it when people would come see us in the hospital.

I've of course alluded to this, but the following six weeks were the worst in my entire life. But, I think that makes the last 10 and a half months even sweeter.

The first year of life, never again will someone go through so many transformations. It is absolutely incredible.

I LOVE MY LITTLE GUY SO MUCH! Truett, you are a little love. You are so joyful! You constantly have a smile on your face and your laugh flows easily. You have your daddy's gift of humor and I am the lucky recipient of your funniness. You LOVE people. You wave at people until they wave back at you, and if a stranger makes an effort to say hi to you you love to jump in their arms. You don't discriminate between people, you just love everyone. You even love those who don't wave back and who don't smile back at you. You just do it all the more. You are a little ball of energy and curiosity. You race around the house only to pause if you find something to learn about.

I am so excited about this new season of parenting that we're entering. My dear sweet baby boy had 3 little temper tantrums in the DMV yesterday. Why does that excite me you're probably thinking? Because God has given us Truett to nurture him and train him in the ways of the Lord. This past year has been a lot of keeping Truett alive and loved, but I am so excited for the next step of training him up. I am excited to help him see his sin and his need for a Savior to cover them with His blood. I am excited to shepherd Truett into becoming a man - bold, courageous, hard working, respectful, dignified. I am excited to urge Truett to use his gifts to glorify God and serve others, not to hoard them selfishly for his own pleasures.

I will miss baby Truett immensely, but I am going to love every day enjoying toddler Truett! I love you so much little man!!!

I will post some pictures later of the big boy. He just woke up from a nap :)

Mmmmmm... Yummy

2010-03-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

I took a quick break from work this afternoon and walked by the
kitchen just in time to catch Susie putting the finishing touches on
her "lunch". Can you name the items below?

"Sandwich" - Cheez-its w/peanut butter on wheat bread and vanilla yogurt with chocolate chips.
Bon Appetit!

Truett's Big Week

2010-03-12T04:21:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken during our visit to Florida in December. Who can tell me where it was taken? Chick-fil-a of course! There is Jacob holding Truett up by his namesake. I just love this picture of my boys, er - except for the random one I don't know.

My littlest man has had quite an exciting week! He finally learned to crawl!! Yay! Within days he went from not crawling, to sloppily crawling, to racing around seamlessly. It is so amazing to watch.

Here's a clip:

Then all of a sudden he was able to pull himself up to standing and walk holding onto furniture. All of this has been good EXCEPT for Truett standing up in his crib. I didn't realize how good we had it when Truett was forced to stay laying down because eventually he would get tired. But for the past two days, naps have been virtually nonexistent. He is just too excited because he can stand up and shake the crib. Unfortunately he's even woken up in the middle of the night and wanted to play. We're hoping the novelty will wear off soon.

This video is just for fun:

Tenemos Internet Ahora, Wedding, Mom, Maggie Dee, Vanessa

2010-03-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hows that for a title?

We finally have internet set up. We are adjusting very well to Florida and are happy to be back together as our family! I wanted to share a few pics.

We went to Grant and Sarah's wedding a few weeks ago and here's Truett dancing with the bride! He wishes I had a dress with beads all over it! Thanks for sending it Auntie Tasha!

My mom just had back surgery this Tuesday - we would appreciate prayers for a full and successful recover! I was going to post the picture of her drinking a Tab in her hospital room but wasn't sure if she'd want her hospital self posted on the internet - although of course she looks cute! She's quite the trooper.

CONGRATS to cousin Melissa, Jason and Jack on the arrival of Maggie Dee!! Her middle name is taken from Gramma Dee which is so sweet. I'm stealing a pic from your blog:

And happy LATE Birthday to Vanessa!!! My amazing friend from college that I miss so much! Wherever we move I keep thinking I need to find a Vanessa, but I guess there's just one! Love you! Also stealing a pic from your blog :) Vanessa and Hubby Z$

Quote of the Day

2010-02-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

My personal comedian Jacob this morning:

"I don't think the 5 o'clock club means waking up at 5 and then taking 4 hours worth of naps. Why don't you call it the 4 hour nap club?"

I have no idea what he's talking about.

5 o'clock club

2010-02-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

This week the ladies at the Girl Talk blog started a couple of clubs for their readers to join. As soon as I read about it, I knew I needed to join the 5 o'clock club.

It doesn't have to be 5:00am, but the basic goal is to wake up for the day early enough to have time with the Lord and be ready to serve your family.

My alarm clock lately is the sound of a cry. Yes, I wake up when Truett wakes up and I'm really not ready for the day. I may or may not get a quiet time in and my days are less efficient than they could be.

So, for the month of February I will be waking up at 5:00am, having a quiet time, getting ready for the day and getting the day planned out. Truett is now 10 months old, usually sleeping through the night so this is very feasible. At the end of the month, I'll reevaluate. Maybe 5 am will be counter productive and I'm so tired I can't get anything done, but I'm hoping my body adjusts and it becomes a habit.

Now you all can keep me accountable :)

Refreshing

2010-02-03T10:58:00.001-08:00

Check out this article on the Post.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well-written and sound argument from someone I disagree with. Sally Jenkins and I view the sanctity of life differently as it relates to abortion, but her clear thinking and careful writing allow me to engage with the piece.

Too often our arguments are inconsistent or even outright contradictory. What a good reminder of respectful disagreement.

Status Update

2010-01-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

Status Update

Sitting... in the basement of my parent's house listening to Truett not wanting to nap through the moniter - but he really needs to!

Drinking… my second cup of coffee with probably way too much vanilla creamer.

Wanting… to see my husband! If you haven't heard yet - we're moving back to Florida so that Jacob can attend The Expositor's Seminary. He's already been there for over 2 weeks and we miss him!! He comes back Thursday for the weekend though yay!

Imagining... how much harder it will be to raise Truett without family around. Will we actually have to pay a babysitter??

Realizing... why they call first children guinea pigs. I feel like I will do so much different when the next kid comes around - then again, I'll be dealing with a whole new personality so it will be like starting from scratch.

Learning… from the book below about the 3 waves of feminism in our country and how they has subtly yet dramatically influenced our view of womanhood. Also, how the third wave of feminism created the raunch culture we now live in today 'where women believe that using explicit sexuality is empowering'. Evaluating my own life and seeing where I've been deceived.

Reading… Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley.

Planning… to finish deep cleaning our house today.

*Status Update idea from Leslie.

Fun with Green Beans

2009-11-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

I was feeding Truett his green bean dinner last night and after a couple spoonfuls the kid starts coughing and sneezing like crazy. I realized that green beans are flying out his little nose! Poor guy. This has happened once before with carrots, I don't really know why. It doesn't seem to bother him though. He actually thinks sneezing is a funny game because every time he does it we make a big deal out of it. So tonight he would sneeze out the green beans and open his eyes with a great big smile on his face waitin for the big laughs.

Here are some pictures of the debacle:

Nope not boogies - green beans!

My best out of 3 attempts to take a picture of the green bean man and I -
our photographer was working late last night

This picture goes back to Tru's 6 month birthday - the first time
we gave him solid foods besides rice cereal.

I've been making his food myself so far, once a week I just make a bunch,
it's been pretty easy and much cheaper!

He cracks us up because when he gets really excited about his food he holds
his arms straight out and flaps them up and down.

His usual reaction to new foods

I have loved the transition to solid foods. He is a great little eater and he sleeps longer at night! So far on Tru's menu there are: bananas, apples, pears, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, and squash. His favorite: sweet potatoes - can't blame him.

LONG overdue #1: Torres Trip

2009-11-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

The Torres family came to visit us this past August all the way from Florida!! All 5 of them! It was A-mazing!

Jacob picked them up from the airport late one night so Truett and I were already asleep when they got there. But the next morning, as Truett and I were waking up, 3 little adorable girls that we love like a combination of sisters and daughters came into the room to meet Truett for the first time. There is something so amazing about people that you love the most meeting, makes my heart melt :)

They were here for about a week. We had SO much fun! Man how we've missed our life on life friendship and fellowship with John and Patsy! I always feel so edified and challenged after being with them, not to mention my stomach usually hurts from laughing so much.

And Julia, Jenna and Ashley were, as always, a joy. I personally had such a good time playing around with them. And it was the cutest thing ever to watch them with Truett, they thought he was very entertaining and he thought they were too. They were constantly asking "Can I feed him his bottle?" "Can I hold him?"...Nothing could have made me happier. They loved him and he loved them.

These girls were so helpful with Truett and around the house! I made a comment once when they were here like 'I hope my kids are like this!'. To clarify, I don't mean that I want kids so that they can help me. But I hope that Jacob and I are faithful in instructing, loving and disciplining our children as John and Pasty have been. We have seen them faithfully parenting for years and the joyful hard work that they have put in. And the result so far: 3 young girls that are developing love for Jesus, who are obedient and a blessing to all around them. We went to dinner and minigolf with my parents one night and my dad said that they were the most behaved kids he had ever seen (I'm sure you meant besides me & Sara right daddy-o???). And there's NO shortage of fun in that family!

So superlong post to say, WE LOVE YOU GUYS!! We can't wait to come to Florida hopefully soon and then get you all back out here again! How about an annual summer vacation together??

Here's some pictures:

Of course we went to the Gilbert House Museum, here's Ashley making a giant Bubble

Ashley

Julia

Truett having fun in the car with some girlies to look at!

Here we are at Silver Creek Falls - we saw a deer

Has anyone seen John?

I don't remember exactly what happened to Ashley, but something about John's face tells me he may have had something to do with it :)

We played a LOT of frisbee

Carousal Time!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here's Truett's costume today:
Jacob and I get to go to the Oregon v. USC game down in Eugene today (watch for us on Game Day!) so Truett gets to spend Halloween afternoon and evening with Great Auntie Robyn, Uncle Randy, Marshall & Eliza. Hopefully R&R have drank their coffee plus some this morning. It's incredibly generous of them to do this for us!! Thank you guys.

Favorite Parenting Advice #1

2009-10-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

I have received a lot of beneficial parenting advice thus far. I readily welcome tips probably because I don't know what in the world I'm doing. But I think moreso, it's because typically people have given it to me out of love and a genuine effort to help as opposed to being critical. I am so thankful for that and it will be a great thing for me to recall if I am giving advice to someone else. Much easier to swallow if out of love.

Some of this counsel has been swirling around in my mind the last few days so I thought I would do a post on it:

#1 - Focus on being faithful - Jacob. Jacob knows me better than anyone and unfortunately for him, gets to see all my issues up close. One thing I really struggled with early on was making mistakes with Truett. I had never taken care of a newborn before and the poor kid had to put up with mom messing things up a lot. I got so worried that I was going to end up hurting him or making a horrible mistake. Jacob didn't console me by saying that nothing terrible would happen. I wouldn't have believed him if he did because only God knows. Instead, he assured me that I would make mistakes. And that indeed I probably would somehow end up hurting Truett. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about that. But that my focus shouldn't be on doing things perfectly, but on doing what I believe is faithful to God and to Truett. I think about this daily and it has affected many areas of my parenting already.

It has convicted me of laziness when I wasn't doing devotions with Truett. I realized that the faithful thing to do, even at a young age when he can't even understand what I'm saying, is to read his Bible storybook and pray with him. It has put my mind at rest when I have had to let Truett cry it out. It has cut countless hours of worry out of my life, blessing both Truett and I.

As I think of them, I'll probably do a few more posts on what else has been helpful.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-24T09:10:00.001-07:00

Toweled Baby

2009-10-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

I love babies in towels!! What could be cuter?

Tonight's Photo Shoot

2009-10-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't gotten my camera out quite as much lately, so while Jacob was in class tonight Truett and I had a little photo shoot.

Two New Girlies

2009-10-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Two very good friends of mine have had baby girls recently!!

Ginny, Aaron and Audrey welcomed Ellie Lu on September 12th. I've had the privilege of seeing them a few times already.

Here is proud big sister Audrey showing me her teeth:

And here is Miss Ellie Lu:

AND Tim, Abby and Kate welcomed Piper Noel just this past Sunday!! Sadly, we live thousands of miles away from Ohio so we haven't got to meet her. But we just got pictures and she is the cutest thing.

Congratulations to both of you! I was just pondering this morning how both of you now have two girls and how God has specially equipped both of you to bring these girls up to become counter-cultural, biblical women.

This passage may not feel true right now as you are in the midst of caring for two young ones, but it is:

Isaiah 40:10-11

Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

We're praying for you!