A picture says a thousand words

Our sweet little daughter

And guess who has decided to begin potty training himself? I'm too young for this!!

Cold weather, warm jammies

Charlie and Bethan turned 18 months and 3 months today! I can't hardly believe how big Charlie is getting, and I'm still trying to grasp the reality that Bethan was born...much less that she's 3 months! Yai (Grandma) Vann sent a package of new jammies that arrived just in time for the occasion. :) Our hearts overflow with gratitude for these two precious children...
Enjoy the pictures!

Bets

Playing "Boo!" with Daddy--her favorite game!

Strange and Sinister

:) Eating Elmo while he watches "Elmo."

Thanksgiving Day

"...Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100:4-5 Amen!

Abel's Blood

Sometimes if you sit very still
And listen quietly
There is a shout that can be heard
Throughout eternity

It is the cry of Abel’s blood
Still speaking from the ground
And to a weary mother’s soul
It is a precious sound

For Abel died while serving God,
But not with battle cry
He died because he offered up
A simple sacrifice

A sacrifice that lingers on—
Through flood and years and space
Not valued by its cost or weight
But valued by its faith

And as I wipe clean little hands
For the one-hundredth time
I think of Abel’s sacrifice—
A bracing paradigm

For God does not delight in meat
Or in act of burning
And He does not take pleasure in
My own mundane serving

But if I offer up in faith
Each diaper, dish, or tear
The sound will be so loud that all
Eternity will hear

And sometimes if I’m sitting still
To listen quietly
I hear in awe an echo call—
My King shouts over me

-rev

11/09/10

"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." Hebrews 11:4

Then and Now

October 2009- 4 months old



October 2010- 16 months old

Charlie Mason

Thankful for every day with our growing boy...

Little joys

Hat weather at last...let the bundling begin!



"Here, let me help you with that." :)

I'll be honest

One of my favorite websites these days...

http://illbehonest.com/

Our sweet family- Oct 2010

Bets

How to train your (pudgy) dragon

Mom found this little treasure at a junk shop recently. :) Charlie loves having a tail and claws. :)

Pink

Thanks to the contributions and creativity of our sweet "Yai" (Mason's mom), Bethan has a "new" room! Everybody needs a little bit of girly girl in their lives, right? We're so thankful for our little pink bundle and for her sweet room.







P.S.Deann made the beautiful verse for her wall!

Our ongoing miracle

On October 15th, Charlie had his follow-up visit with the neurosurgeon in St. Louis regarding his head size and shape. When we saw him in the spring he had requested that we return in 4-6 months to make sure Charlie's head seemed to be developing correctly. At this visit he informed us that Charlie's head has only grown 0.7 cm in 5 months! He said that the size of his head is beginning to track back down into proportion for where he should developmentally be at this point in time. Praise God! Through the prayers (and even practical intervention in a couple of cases!) of the saints and through the abundant mercy and compassion of God, Charlie has thus far been totally spared from surgery or medical intervention of any sort! We were THREE days away from surgery to reconstruct his skull and possibly drain fluid from around his brain! The thought is absolutely overwhelming. Thank You, Father, for your tender grace! And thank you again to each of you who prayed and those who have continued in prayer. May God get much glory from Charlie's life and health.

The zoo!

For Moms

I recently came across a wonderful money-saving option in the area of DIAPERING (a large part of my life these days), and thought I would share it with all you other moms who might be reading this post. Signing up for Amazon Mom (FREE) saves you 15% on most baby items ordered through Amazon.com, as well as giving you free two-day shipping for up to 1 year. If you sign up for Amazon's Subscribe and Save program you save another 15%. This program (Subscribe and Save) allows you to have diapers delivered monthly on a continuing basis. If you want to skip a shipment you can, or order an extra shipment for that month, or choose every two months instead, etc. And you can cancel at any time! We currently use Luvs, and this brings the price of Charlie's diapers down from $.20 at Wal-Mart to $.14...and they're delivered right to my door! Yes!

October

Bethan Hope

All cozy after a warm bath...

Baby Dears

For Our Good

"For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

In these days of beginning to truly discipline Charlie, this verse stood out to me in my daily reading. As earthly parents, the best we can ever do for Charlie in regards to discipline is to ask God for wisdom and then do "as seems best" to us. We trust the discipline is what was needed at that time and what will result in good for him now and in the future. But God is not like that. Yes, He disciplines us. But His discipline is always and only for our good. He never gives too little or too much. And He knows exactly what form of discipline will be effective in removing our sins from us. What a comfort! What a Father! I am so thankful to be His child.

A trip down memory lane

In commendation of marriage

Today is our 4th anniversary, and though we joyfully confess that our children are gifts from the Lord, yet I must add--my husband is the greatest earthly gift God has ever given me. Marriage-in God's will and way-is wonderful. I love you, Mason! Here's to growing old together!

Daddy's girl

One more post...

Had to post these pictures of Charlie from a little bit ago. The precious S. family got him a new squishy lizard--I've never seen him so excited about a new toy!

Crazy amazing days

Bethan and Daddy--look at her sweet little face!

Introducing Charlie Vann- 3 parts monkey, 1 part little boy. This kid LOVES bananas!
Little Bets snoozing in her favorite pink blanket. She looks pudgy in this picture, but I'm afraid she's not...still trying to get back up to her birth weight. You can do it, Bets--just watch your brother!
The title for this picture is, "While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night." :) AKA- Charlie wearing Bethan's pink bath towel.