A Reality Check...

We had an interesting wake up call the other night. We had a person hit the power poll that delivers power to all the houses around us (including ours) and it cut off power to our whole street and more. At first, we called the power company and they estimated the power would be off for about 2 hours. Of course, this happened just as we were putting Caleb down for bed (about 7:30pm). We thought "Okay, this shouldn't be too bad". We played some games by candle light and thought it was pretty neat for a while. THEN, once the two hours went by, and the house was getting slightly cooler, we wondered when it would come back on. We didn't want to go to bed without having it on because all the lights and TV and all that were still on and would need to be shut off. So, as we waited.....one, two, three, FOUR hours, the house got pretty cold. The temp was supposed to get down to 18 degrees that night.

We were starting to get worried.....the thermostat said it was 64 degrees in the house but it sure felt cooler than that. We were worried that Caleb would be too cold.....and what if the power didn't come back on......it would be REALLY cold then!

It got us thinking about the "everyday" things that we take for granted.....like heat! Yes we do pay our heating bill but it got us thinking about people who can't afford to pay their heating bill. Many are parents with kids.....we got a glimps of how it might feel to know your baby is cold at night and there is nothing you can do about it! What an aweful feeling!

Our heat DID end up coming on after 5 hours and 15 minutes without heat! Caleb did wake up but thankfully went back to bed.....his room is the warmest in the house! Praise God!

Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone to NEVER take the little things for granted....food on the table, heat in your house, warm clothes to wear outside, shoes to put on.....it is all a blessing!

We learned that once again just the other night!

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures done in October and I just thought I would post them all up here for all to see. We had some cute ones done of Caleb and I LOVE them! Enjoy!

A Child's Love...

I have been considering and pondering lately how great it is to be a parent. You have a little one (or maybe two or three or more) that love you no matter what....even if you havent' showered, done your hair, put on make-up....they love you! They love you for who you are and not for what you "might be". They love you just for being you. There isn't many people in the world today that can say that.

It seems that most people in our lives expect so much out of us...they value us because of our work ability, our ability to make money, our looks, our capabilities. Not our kids....they pretty much love us because we are THERE!

They love us because we wake them up with a smile, we give them food to eat, we cuddle with them, we give them little kisses throughout the day, we say "I love you" as much as we possibly can, we SHOW them our love in every action we do towards them. I think that is pretty special.

What an honor it is to be a parent. It doesn't come without hard days and struggles, but it is so rewarding.

Don't forget to cuddle your little one close today and tell them how much you love them....I am going to go do that right now! :)

Some pictures to enjoy....isn't he just the cutest boy ever!! I think so! :)

Tags and challenges...

Okay so one of my friends did this challenge on her blog and I thought it would be pretty fun....

Here is how it works: You go into your "my photos" folder and pull up the fourth picture of the fourth folder, and then explain what it's about.

The picture to the left is of my son Caleb and it was of our recent trip to Arizona to see my brother and his family. Caleb hadn't slept AT ALL during the plane rides so he zonked out SOO fast in the car! He was so cute.

I also decided to do her tag challenge. She didn't actually "tag" me but I thought since I talked about my WONDERFUL husband on here a lot, I would let you all know a little bit about him. Here is goes:

Husband Tag

1. Where did you meet your husband? I actually met Kirk the very first day I started school. I was homeschooled until 3rd grade and he just happened to be in my 3rd grade class. The rest is history :)

2. How long did you date before you were married? We started dating in the fall of our sophomore year (2000) in high school, got engaged just before our sophomore year in college (2003), got married August of 2004....4 years altogether.
3. How long have you been married? 4 years and 3 months
4. What does he do that surprises you? He will occationally set up a babysitter and take me out for dinner and a movie....that's my favorite!

5. What is his best feature? I love his stomach....weird but I do!
6. What is his best quality? His humility....that is what I have ALWAYS loved about him.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Not really....he calls me Ames sometimes but so does everyone else.
8. What is his favorite food? He likes a lot of food but I would say his favorite food might be steak.

9. What is his favorite sport? He loves a lot of sports but the favorite to play has to be basketball hands down!
10. When and where was your first kiss? I believe it was in September of 2001 at his parents house.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Probably just be home watching a movie on the couch.
12. Do you have any children? Yes, Caleb is now 16 months.
13. Does he have any hidden talents? He has very stretchy skin....he would be embarrased if he knew I was putting that on here :)

14. How old is he? 25.
15. Who said I love you first? I think we both said it on the same night.
16. What is his favorite music? He loves LOTS of music but probably something like Jack Johnson or that kind of music.

17. What do you admire most about him? His ablility to share his heart with a humble attitude.
18. What is his favorite color? Gosh, probably green.
19. Will he read this? Probably not.

Late in the night...

Just a few weeks ago Kirk came home feeling sick. I had been coming down with a sore throat and congestion the day before as well. Kirk had more of the "flu" symptoms though. Since we were both feeling sick, I was praying that Caleb didn't catch anything. Well, anyone who has a baby or toddler knows that whatever sickness they are around, THEY CATCH IT! Their immune systems are not as developed as ours so they catch everything. Needless to say, a few days later, Caleb started getting a runny nose and cough. That turned quickly (like the same night) into a low grade fever as well. Whenever Caleb has a fever he does NOT sleep well at all. I knew I was in for a long few days and nights!

As I went to bed that night, I was praying, "Please God let Caleb sleep well tonight because in order for me to fight this sickness I need rest.....let ALONE for him to fight what he is getting as well." So, I went to bed early anticipating to be up about every 2 hours or less. Not to disappoint, Caleb was up within an hour after I had gone to bed.....and up EVERY hour or so there after! It was a long night BUT......

The very first time I went in to comfort him, I felt a peace wash over me. At first I was very tired and, frankly, kinda mad that I had to get up with him. Then, I just felt God whisper "CHERISH THIS TIME!"

It was only a few days before that I had been mentioning to a friend how much I missed Caleb's cuddles. He just doesn't do that any more.....too many toys to play with and places to go. And here I found myself with him, at 3am and he was cuddling in my arms. Yes, he still wasn't feeling very well (and I think he was a bit frustrated himself that he couldn't sleep) but I got to spend some great moments with Caleb just cuddling as he fell asleep in my arms. I also chose to use that time to pray for him.....for his life, his attitude, his health, his development (emotionally, spiritually, and physically), and his heart! What a great time to spend with God!

It is never fun to have a sick child.....you just feel so helpless. BUT, I hope that I can cherish those times with Caleb (and any children that are to come) when they are cuddling in my arms...sick or not. They grow up WAY WAY too fast!

Although 15 months is such a fun age and they soak up EVERYTHING they are trying to learn, I do still miss those times when he fit right in the crook of my arm. My baby is growing up!

Lord, please remind me every time I up with Caleb in the night to cherish the time with him. A mother's comfort is priceless! Help me not to take that for granted!

This was taken just before "the night" I mentioned above :)

What a beautiful baby boy (not so baby anymore!)

At Gma and Gpa Starnes house "mowing the lawn"

My Guitar Heroes

I took these shots just before we left for Arizona a few weeks ago. Caleb LOVES when Kirk plays his guitar and he wanted in on the action! So precious....my little guitar heroes :)

No pants?!?!

So, these past few weeks we have been transitioning Caleb from two naps to just ONE nap in the afternoon. He had a rough time adjusting but I think it was time since he had started only taking 30-45 minute naps at a time.

So, in order for mom (me) to get showered and ready for the day (something I used to do during his first nap), we have started "pack and play time". This is mainly just a time that he has a few toys in his pack and play and he watches a Baby Einstein video on our computer. He is doing great with it and seems to be content for the most part. So these are some pictures of his "pack and play time".


He also has really been into pulling his socks off lately (not sure why) and just the other day I got done showering and went in to find that he had also taken his PANTS off! I laughed so hard. He thought it was cool too!


Isn't it great how much our kids make us laugh? It seems that the laughs come just when we need them too. God knows how to humor us through our children!

He LOVES to look at books

what mom?

yes, he took off is pants...he thought it was really funny too! :)

Oh and he loves to chew on the side of the pack and play...without pants!

Just watching the movie...