New Years Eve...

We havent really done anything on New years eve in YEARS... like pre-Rhyan. Once we had her and started living on sleep schedules for kids, it just became not really worth it to try to go out much in the evenings in general... much less staying out till MIDNIGHT?? No thanks! I mean, Jeff and I dont even stay up that long! HA! But this year, we got Stone mountain passes and while Jeff isnt the biggest fan of Stone Mountain, the kids and I love it! We went over spring break (which is when we got the passes) and then again for the Christmas lights/show the week of Thanksgiving. Well, when I got an email about their New Years eve celebration countdown at 8:59pm, I was STOKED! I told Jeff I'd love to take the kids. Yes, it'd still make for a late night for them (Lainey goes to bed at 7pm and the big kids at 8pm) but since Lainey is SO easy going about being out and about and having bedtime messed with, I thought why not!?! Jeff wasnt thrilled with the idea. He thought it'd be super crowded. BUT! He agreed to give the kids the choice between grilling out steaks and doing a marshmallow roast over a fire outside OR go to stone mountain. And my party animal kids voted with me, so it was decided :-) I called Mama and asked if she'd like to join us... she never has plans on New Years eve, either. So that worked out, too. Plus, it was nice to have the extra set of eyes on the kids! We headed out about 5:30 with plans of just eating dinner in the park, spending some time exploring the Christmas area again and then being ready for the NYE party!

 The beautiful lights!The blue trees were Rhyan's favorite!

Cutie Lainey chowing down on pizza. Girlfriend LOVES pizza!

Me and my big girl!

Rhyan and Grammy. Side note: I showed Mama this pic for her to approve and she said "gosh i take terrible pictures" to which rhyan replied "why do you say that grammy? I think you have a nice smile! We took a great picture!". Such a sweet encourager.

Simply for proof that the boys exist... particularly Mack. He would not participate in pics all night :/

Even though we had seen the 4D movie in November, the kids loved it! So we decided to see it again so my Mom could experience it, too. She had never been to a 4D movie and she loved it!

 After the movie, we headed over to watch the glass blowers... there were a bunch of people watching already so Jeff and I put Rhyan and Mack on our shoulders so they could see while Mama kept up with Lainey for a few minutes. Then, we explored the glass shop which they thought was pretty cool!

Then we saw BUMBLE!!! From Rulolph! I was stoked and wanted a pic but the kids werent interested. I told them we could do it as a family and that got Rhyan on board, but Mack refused. He also proceeded to run away from us when we got to the front of the line and hid at the back of the line which scared me to death. I thought I'd kill him when we found him. LOL! Gosh thats the worst feeling. We had a big talk about staying with Mommy and Daddy even if you dont want to do the pic so we can make sure you stay safe, etc. Ugh. So this pic of Jeff and Rhyan was taken while I was searching frantically for him.

And of course I snapped one of Mama with the girls.

After the picture, we headed over to listen to Mrs Clause tell a story. The big kids loved it! After, Mrs Clause hung around for pictures! So nice of her! Unfortunately, Lainey wasnt having that! This was the ONLY time she showed the least bit of displeasure all night!

We had a few minutes to kill before the Snow Angel show so we thought we may do putt putt or something but decided instead on getting in line for a funnel cake while Jeff and Mack watched the train go by. Well, the fc line was WAY long and the gathering area for the snow angel was getting crowded, so we just headed on to get ourselves as spot, which turned out to be a good thing! The snow angel appeared just a few minutes after we got settled in a spot!

I wish I could have gotten a picture of Rhyan's face while she watched the snow angel. She was enamored! And the kids loved the fireworks! It was Lainey's first time seeing them! At this point it was 8:50. Everyone was doing great!

Then they had to DJs come out and do a dance party for the kids. They played some good dance music (Totally kid friendly) and Mrs clause, Bumble and Ruduloph all made an appearance! Super cute!

Last, but not least, they did a 10 second countdown to "midnight" (really 9pm!!!) and then said Happy New Year, gave kisses to kids etc and put off fireworks! The kids seriously had a GREAT TIME!
It was crowded  for the show, yes. But overall, it wasnt crowded earlier in the evening. I think a lot of people were doing snow mountain leading up to the show instead of exploring the Christmas area (which was great for us!)

I had packed the kids pj's and had them all go potty before we left. Lainey fell asleep before we ever got out of the parking lot and Rhyan was close to follow. As usual, Mack stayed awake till we got home (he doesnt sleep in the car much) and they all went straight to bed when we got home around 9:45. It was such a fun night for all of us, but the best part was seeing how happy Rhyan was. She loves this kind of thing!

So Happy New Year everyone! May 2016 be filled with fun, family and a growing faith in Christ!

Redeemed

We lay my uncle, Jonathan, to rest today. His birthday was Monday, Sept 28 and he turned 52. Just hours later, before the sun could break on the next day, he was already gone.

Jonathan was not married nor did he have children. He had spent the last 19 months of his life in jail and had he lived, he would have spent another 8.5 years there. It all sounds so sad and tragic, I know.

And truthfully, parts of his life are sad. The way it ended, specifically, was incredibly heartbreaking and something I dont think i'll "get over" for a long while... if ever.

But what some people dont know about Jonathan is what I want to share. Because tonight, as i've thought about the sum of his life and the choices he made, I cant help but to be grateful that there is no limit to how many said "bad choices" we make that make us unworthy of Gods love and grace and salvation. And likewise, there are no number of "good choices" that we can make that make us easier to love or more worthy of the same grace and salvation. In fact, often times it can be the people who have made all of the "right" choices in life who can be most difficult to love because their own sense of justification can cause them to lose sight of just how great their need is for a savior.

That was not true with Jonathan. Jonathan knew he needed to be saved. Both from himself and to Jesus.

Shlaine spoke at his funeral today. And wow... what an AMAZING job she did. She shared about his tender heart and how, as his little sister, she had often been protected by him. She shared a story in particular that I think tells a LOT about who Jonathan was. She was about 9 and he was 11 and they were riding on his dirt bike when they wrecked and she was hurt pretty badly on the leg. They were a little ways from home and he, being only 2 years older than her and "scrawny", carried her the whole way home... crying the entire way and telling Shlaine how sorry he was that she was hurt. That was Jonathan... always wanting to have a good time, always hurting when others hurt, always wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Through his life, Jonathan made many bad choices and found himself in and out of trouble much of his adult life. But in the last years of his life, you could see that the same 11 year old boy's heart was still the same... tender, compassionate, loving, kind, caring. The last 2 years of Mommie's life, Jonathan spent caring for her day in and day out.

But most people already know that about him. What you may not know is that the last 19 months, while in jail, Jonathan spent his time in Gods word. Leading bible studies. Completing bible course after course, stacking up certificate after certificate from Campus Church.

In Jonathan's belongings that we got back from the jail was stacks of letters from other inmates, thanking him for the bible studies he led, the prayers he had prayed for them, the encouragement he had given them. This is something we just found today... the day we said goodbye.   One in particular stood out as a young man told Jonathan that he knew that God had called him to ministry but that he had ran from that calling, feeling unworthy and like a failure. The young man had turned to drugs as he ran from his calling and through this had found himself in jail... with Jonathan. And it was through the bible studies that Jonathan was conducting that the young man was drawn back to the truth of Gods word and who he is (and who we ALL are) in Christ... Redeemed.

Today, at the funeral, we played the song Redeemed. I'll end with the words of the song as i just dont know any better words to speak to Jonathans life. He was created by God, for God, to bring glory to God. And while parts of his life did very little of that, other parts (specifically the last 19 months leading up to his death) were full of those things... And for that, I'm grateful.

Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head”
I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet

I don’t have to be the old man inside of me
Cause his day is long dead and gone
I’ve got a new name, a new life I’m not the same
And a hope that will carry me home

I feel confident that Jonathan is in eternity with his Savior... fully Redeemed.

Lainey Reulet: 10 months

Our Little Lainey is getting not-so-little!! 10 MONTHS! That's almost a year, folks! *sigh* 

This is a re-cap of Lainey's life from May14-June 14

Oh, my sweetness, how this girl's smile just melts my heart!

She's still a little unsure as to why the Monkey gets to crash her monthly photo shoot with Mommy!

HOLY TEETH BATMAN!!!

This has definitely been the month of teething for Lainey and is making for some interesting grins

So at 10 Months old, Lainey is:

• Sleeping pretty well but we've needed to shorten her morning nap a tad. It used to be 2 hours but we are doing about 1.5 hours now. So she starts the day at 7am, naps 9:30-11, 1-3 and bed at 7pm
• Crying out some at night... my guess... TEETHING
• Speaking of, she got "G" on June 4 and several more are right behind!
• CRAWLING!! Literally, we came home from her 9 month check up (the day after she turned 9 mo) and I sat her down on the front porch on a blanket and she promptly got on all 4's and started crawling! I just happened to be videoing her and caught it! SO exciting!
• Pulling to standing! This started June 12 at Tracy's house. Of course its the summer and she wont be going to tracy's again till August, but we had her keep Lainey for us to take the big kids to the waterpark and BAM... she pulled to standing at her house! Show off!
• Making "bad face" like a maniac. Cracks. Me. Up!
• Still saying "dadadada" like crazy but no mama (consistently) yet. Only the occasional babble that sounds like mama but clearly is just a babble. No, I dont count that ;-)
• Moving on up to 12 month clothing for some of her clothes. Some 9 mo stuff still fits fine, so we are in transition
• Size 4 diapers
• Still on 5mL prilosec twice a day
• Still on baby's only organic formula and taking 5ish ounces 4 times a day
• Still eating great! She is VERY open to new foods and this month loved cucumbers! And CHEESE

Mack and Rhyan continue to be AMAZING with Lainey. But I have to speak about Mack specifically for a moment. I was pretty sure that when she started crawling (and getting into his toys) that his love for her would be over... but I was wrong! Now that she can crawl, he will use a toy or a rope or anything that interests her to "lure" her down the hallway to his room so she can "play" with him in his room (this consists of them each playing separately in his room, but being in there together makes it more fun of course!). He is SO good to call to us and say "Mommy! Lainey is getting into the dog food!" Or "Mommy! Lainey picked up something little and put it in her mouth!". He's super protective of her, shares his toys with her, will be the  FIRST to take her a toy or sing to her if she's upset and just overall i'm AMAZED by his sweet heart with Lainey. He loves having a little sister and recently told me we needed to have FIVE babies because he LOVES babies :-). Im thinking.... NO... but isnt that sweet?!!

We are ALL enjoying having her!

Lainey Reulet: 9 months

This is a summary of Lainey's life from April 14-May 14... her 8th month of life! She is 9 months old now! And if that seems like a strange thing for me to type, its for one reason: to make it easier for me to scroll through her milestones in my phone and look at dates and see what is appropriate to add here ;-)

So the BIG thing this month is that Lainey got her FIRST TOOTH!!!! Hooray!!

And not only did she get one, but she got 2 within a day of each other!!

The other big news for the month: Lainey got herself to a sitting position on her own!

She's also decided that her monkey is HILARIOUS. She cracks up just looking at him. Which makes pictures fun... and difficult! HA!

And she's started noticing that I put stickers on her. And she's not having that. Which, again, is difficult. I know that every mom says as the kids get older that it'll be nice to be done with the monthly pics and I see why (i did them with Rhyan and Mack but not with a sticker).

Lainey also had her 9 month check up at the Dr this month. She is growing well! Here are her stats:

Height- 28 1/4" (74%)
Weight- 20lbs 9.5oz (79%)
Head- 44.5cm (66%)

At 9 months, Lainey is:

• Still sleeping great. Naps 9-11 and 1-3 and in bed by 7:30. Wakes at 7ish
• Keeping our bedtime routine of bath, bottle, bed. She almost never falls asleep at the bottle
• In a size 4 diaper all the time, now
• Still in 6-9 month clothing
• On 5mL of prilosec twice a day
• HAS TEETH!!! She got tooth "P" at 8mo 1 day and tooth "O" at 8mo 2 days
• Gets to a sitting position on her own from laying down now! AS of May 7th
• Eating solids great these days and I'm feeling much better about it! She loves to eat what we are eating! We've introduced cheerios and other small finger foods and she shovels it in! 
• Loving yogurt, green beans, peas/butter beans, etc and chicken and cheese best. 
 

 We are loving our sweet Lainey Rue!

Lainey Reulet: 8 months

This is a summary of Lainey in her 7th full month of life! And it was a FUN one with new skillz!

 Lainey is officially a SITTER! She can sit completely solo and we feel comfortable walking away now!

And she's a PRO "bad face" maker now. ;-)

Lainey is also SCOOTING all over the floor! She started trying right as she turned 7 months and here at 8 months she's scooting all over!

• Lainey is still sleeping great! 2 naps 9-11 and 1-3.
• Bath, bottle and bedtime at 7
• taking 4 bottles of 5ish ounces each feeding (7, 11, 3, 7)
• wearing size 3 diapers but close to moving on up. In a size 4 at night only for now
• still in size 6-9mo clothing
• saying "dadadadada" constantly. Still no mama except for the occasional mistake :-0
• eating 3 meals a day with the family now. We continue to offer whatever we are having. Her favorite foods are butter beans, green beans, any fruit but especially blueberries. She doesnt love carrots UNLESS they are cooked in a roast
• loves books but admittedly, Rhyan reads to her more than I do. But thats a win/win, right?!?!
• is SO close to having a tooth! 

Our family just loves having Lainey! Its amazing to me how we've all bonded over our love for her!