Adalynn Turns Two!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our precious Adalynn! Over the past year we have seen her blossom and her personality has shined through. Thank you to all of you who prayed and continue to pray for her. 

Those of you who know her well have seen God reveal Himself as we've prayed for her to be free from fear and full of His joy.  She walks into the nursery at church now with no problem.  She smiles at new faces (much of the time!) and can't get enough of her big brother, Daddy,and Wynna.  She is learning her letters now and increasing her vocabulary every day. She is creating 4 word sentences such as, "Mama, I want milk," and has begun asking, "Why?" about many things! Here are some of her favorites:

Food: cottage cheese, yogurt, mush, hummus, muffins, bread, and milk

Toys: baby dolls, strollers/carts, pink riding toy, shapes puzzle, rubber ducky, books, anything that makes music, and anything that is Zeke's!

Activities: playing outside surpasses everything, playing the piano, running around and jumping, following Zeke, reading books, playing in the church nursery, putting on Zeke's crocs, and taking baths

God placed Psalm 28:7 on my heart as I began to seek a verse to pray for Zeke and Adalynn this year.  Ezekiel means "God is my strength."  We even have part of Psalm 28:7 painted on artwork in Zeke's room.  When I read the rest of the verse, I saw Zeke and Adalynn.  Gregg and I had been praying for both of them to know Jesus as their savior and to find their joy in Him.  This verse is what we pray they will personally speak to God someday.  

Psalm 28:7 ~ "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."

Now, onto some photos from today.  We chose not to have a party, but to celebrate as a family of 4.  Zeke couldn't wait to wake Adalynn up and tell her Happy Birthday!

We had lunch together, then sang "Happy Birthday" to Adalynn while we gave her pumpkin muffins with 2 candles lit.  She wasn't very sure about the flames!

She (well, Zeke) opened presents, then they had fun playing with them.  Jared, Jami, and the girls gave her a set of musical instruments.  Zeke decided we are going to form a family band!

What a blessing to have Gregg home safely, to get to spend the day together as a family, and to celebrate our little girl's 2nd birthday.  We thank God for each and every moment!

Valentine's Day

1 John 4:8 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

This post is a little late because Gregg was traveling for 2 weeks, so I had my hands quite full!  We missed spending Valentine's Day with him, but were thankful to have Wynna here for a visit.  We were sure to send some Valentine's surprises to him in his luggage!

Before he left, we had some nice time together as a family...

Adalynn had so many red and heart hand-me-downs from the girls, it was fun to dress her up the whole first half of February!

Haha, pushing brother out of the pic!

Zeke and I did a scripture hunt each morning from February 1st-14th.  He found his final heart on Valentine's Day.  Each heart contained a verse (or verses) about God's love.  For example, God's love is perfect (1 John 4:18).  I hid the hearts each night.  Zeke looked for them in the morning and we looked up the verse together and talked about what it meant.  It was such a wonderful time for us.  We'll definitely continue this annually.  Oh, and it was his idea to hang the hearts in the shape of a cross!

On the 14th, we got ready and headed out to have lunch with Wynna.  We enjoyed eating at Sweet Georgia Baking Company, even though they did not have a high chair!  Adalynn was such a big girl as you'll see below!

Our weekend was completed at our church, Cornerstone Church, which is always a blessing.  Zeke, our little photographer, took our pictures!

I pray you all had a blessed Valentine's Day with your families and, most importantly, felt the love of God above all!

Winter in the south!

What beautiful days we have had this February in south Georgia!  The temps have been in the low 60's and we've enjoyed getting some fresh air, sun, and exercise outside!  

Gregg and I have been overwhelmed by all that God has been teaching us lately.  Maybe I'll write a post on that another time!  For now, I just wanted to update you all with some pictures.

Haha, there's something wrong with this picture!

Gregg has been working incredibly hard.  Have I mentioned how much we appreciate his hard work?  If not, I want to publicly thank him for all the sacrifices he makes to provide for us.  

He gets up early and/or stays up late often to fulfill his duties at work, yet he still manages to spend quality time with the kids when he is home.  Below, you'll see a precious moment where I realized it was very quiet and came into the living room to see the boys napping!

We were thrilled to have a quick weekend visit from Wynna at the end of January.  It was a surprise for Zeke and BOY was he surprised!!  It was priceless!

The moment he saw her walk through the door!

Pure joy!

 

Headed to church

Adalynn is adding new words and phrases every day.  Zeke continues to enjoy putting puzzles together and learning to read more fluently.  They both adore time with their daddy.  We are grateful!

I will write more after Valentine's Day and Adalynn's 2nd birthday at the end of the month.  Hard to believe!

Blessings to you all!