Happy Mother's Day!

Don't you see that children are God's best gift, the fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don't stand a chance against you; you'll sweep them right off your doorstep." 

(Psalm 127:3-5, MSG)

This year for Mother's Day, I asked if Gregg would stay with Zeke for a "guys night" so Adalynn and I could go spend the night with my mom.  I have not had much alone time with Adalynn and neither has my mom!  It turned out that my sweet friend, Brandy, was in town house hunting.  They are moving to Georgia from Texas.  We got to have dinner with her and her husband the evening I was in Alpharetta.

It is kind of crazy because we'd never met in person.  We became friends through her blog, www.livingwaterhealthandwellness.com.  She is a type 1 diabetic, and I emailed her to ask her some questions a couple of years ago.  We share a faith in Christ and both try to nourish our families with whole, natural foods, the way God intended.  We also share a passion for fitness.  She became a Beachbody coach and I became one shortly after to get the discount on Shakeology.  She also shared with me about Young Living essential oils.  She has been such a blessing to me and I can't wait for her to live in Georgia!

Now, back to Mother's Day!  Sunday, we woke up and took Adalynn to Perimeter church while Gregg and Zeke drove over to my parents' house.  My mom graciously provided a WONDERFUL meal made by her friend, Rosemary, who is a chef.  It was delicious!  Jared, Jami, and the girls came over after church too.

The kids had a blast playing outside most of the afternoon.  The weather could not have been more perfect.

Adalynn slept most of the time, but we managed to get a few posed shots!  Oh, and one that proved my dad was there too!

Zeke crawled into Kariss' lap since Adalynn had just been there...silly boy!

Below you'll see a few more of the kids playing.  Zeke asked Jami if he could hug Harper.  He was so sweet to walk over and give her a gentle hug.

It is hard for me to believe that my baby boy is not a baby anymore.  He is growing into a fun, kind, loving, energetic little guy.  He makes me laugh and surprises me as I see him becoming the person God made him to be.  Adalynn is developing more of a personality each day and smiles a lot.  She loves to be with people and to be held.  I've even been able to enjoy little laughs and coos much more frequently over the last week. 

I'm so thankful God chose me to be Zeke and Adalynn's mommy.  I pray you all had a blessed Mother's Day.  If it is a day of sadness for you, I pray you were comforted by our Father in Heaven.  Blessings to you all.

Announcing....

Adalynn Rose Nomachee Hall

We were blessed to have two beautiful baby announcements for Adalynn.  The top two are the front and back of one card designed by my talented friend, Natalie (find her on etsy in the Petit Papel shop or on Facebook).  The bottom is the announcement our photographer designed for us.  I loved them both so much that I decided to use them both.  I just randomly chose who received each invitation.  Of course, we couldn't send them to everyone, so I decided to post them here too!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.  Blessings to you all!

Hall kids' stats!

I just returned from the pediatrician's office with both kiddos, and I was pretty proud of myself for making it through without stressing.  Zeke was well behaved and very friendly to all the nurses and doctors.  Where did our social child come from?!!

I wanted to post their percentiles before I forgot them.  Below you'll see a picture of Zeke that is kind of blurry, but I loved his sweet smile!

Ezekiel Forrester Hall

3 years old

38 pounds (90%)

39 inches (71%)

Adalynn Rose Nomachee Hall

2 months old

11 pounds, 12 ounces (66%)

24 inches (98%)

Two Months Old!

I don't know how it is even possible that she is two months old, but here we are!  It feels like were meant to be a family of four, and I am so thankful!  Zeke seems to be used to having her around, and I honestly think he doesn't even think about when she wasn't.  I doubt he'll have memories of life without "Sissy!"


Here are a few more shots of her and some of Zeke "loving on her."  I am trying to teach him what gentle means, but he is not grasping it fully yet!

I pulled the covers back and saw this...so sweet!

...and some with Gregg and his kiddos!

Tessa comes to visit!

We were blessed to have "Auntie Tessa" come stay with us for a week.  She flew out from California to help me with the kids and visit while Gregg went to hunt in Florida for a few days. 

Teresa started out as my Bible study leader when I was single and teaching at Perimeter Christian School.  We instantly connected and became accountability partners.  Our friendship grew from there and I consider her family now.  She speaks the truth in love and I can always count on her.  As it says in Proverbs 27:17, "Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man [woman] sharpens another."  I trust her to pray for me, seek scripture on my behalf, and love me like a sister.

While she was here, we stayed at home mostly, but did venture out to meet my mom, pick up milk from our farmer, and get Zeke's hair cut.

Such a handsome little man!

Zeke's old jeans made new by Wynna!

We had fun spending time together with Zeke and Adalynn, cooking meals, and just hanging out.  She taught me the "football hold" as you will see below.  Adalynn loves it, and it is our go to hold now.  It calms her instantly!  We didn't take very many pictures, but here are a few:

Multi-tasking at its best!

We got outside a few times and she helped me take the kids to church for the first time since Adalynn was born.

Watching big brother play baseball

First trip to church

It was amazing how quickly the week went by.  The pictures below were taken right before she headed over to Johns Creek to visit with other friends.  I was still in my pajamas, but wanted to get a picture of us together!

Thanks, Auntie Tessa for a great week.  We love you!

Reading fun!

Zeke has loved letters and numbers from the time he could talk, so it shouldn't surprise me that he is already reading some words.  I decided to record him reading today....

Easter 2013

 

"Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." Romans 8:34

This Easter we decided to stay at home and listen to a sermon on CD because Adalynn was only 4 weeks old.  We plan on returning to church when she is 6 weeks old.  My mom graciously offered to cook lunch at her house so we didn't have to take Adalynn (and all the kiddos) out to eat.  She hid eggs for them (then they took turns hiding them for each other) and they all had a great time!

I am so thankful to have such an understanding mom who is supportive of some of my non-traditional parenting methods!  She asked me what I'd like her to put in the eggs because she knew I'd prefer that Zeke not eat candy.  We decided on Annie's organic crackers and graham crackers.  Zeke was thrilled with the treat!

He also got a book about the story of Christ's death and resurrection earlier in the week.  He loved reading it with me!  Adalynn got a pink bunny in the mail from GeeGee and a sweet baby animals book from our friend, Jan.

We tried to take a picture of Adalynn in her basket like we did with Zeke on his first Easter.  She wasn't too happy...ha!

But we did get one...

Here is the side by side comparison of both kiddos in their Easter baskets!  It's hard to believe how quickly three years went by.  I feel like I was just taking that picture of Zeke!

We took some more photos to capture the day...

Overall, it was a great time together enjoying one another, but most importantly, celebrating our risen Lord.  We thank God for His son, Jesus, and for the sacrifice He made so we can spend eternity with Him.  I pray you all had a blessed day too!