HOT!

We are quite hot down here! It's been in the 90's here on the coast and inland it's in the 100's. Today its only supposed to be in the 80's. I would like to go to the beach but I don't really have anything to provide shade for Case. Hmmmm. Reese ran down there yesterday and said that there was a nice breeze over there, we're surely not feeling it over here!

Wanted to share some pictures from the week. Case has been alot more alert and awake this week. His umbilical cord finally came off last Sunday and Lane was so excited to take a bath with him, even if it was in only 2 inches of water :) Case was pretty mellow during the whole thing. Lane screamed the first time we gave him a bath. I can already see differences in personality. Case seems more relaxed and mellow and is maybe more of a serious baby? Not sure. We are doing good. Lanes first week of school went well. I have a meeting with his teacher next week. It will be interesting to see what she says.

First Day of School

My little boy is off to Kindergarten today. There were no tears for either of us but I was one of the moms hovering outside the door trying to get his attention so I could wave at him again. I did get a couple good pictures. He had a great day and is excited to go back, hopefully that will last all year!

Some more pictures...

We got a couple family pictures taken while Reese's mom was here. Lane was being quite the little poser!
Finally got a few more of daddy and Case!
Can you see the little curl on the top of his head? I love it! He is still such a good baby! We have Reese's bro Jordan and friend Brian coming this weekend and school starts next week. Pray that I won't burst into tears on the first day!

A Great Responsibility!

Sometimes it dawns on me what a great responsibility I have. As a mother of boys I feel so strongly to raise them the right way. This world needs more "good men." Men of integrity, character, commitment. Men of God! So as I look at these two little guys that have been entrusted to Reese and I, I am reminded that they are "on loan" from God and I need to do my very best to raise them the way He would have me to. I was looking at blogs this morning and I found a post that I copied below. Such a great reminder of how powerful prayer can be and that I need to be praying for my boys daily that they will grow up to be the men that God wants them to be, the kind of men this world needs!

The Christian Reformed Church's publication, The Banner, has an article written by Bob Hostetler in this month's issue. He gives permission to share.

Here is the list I have developed, complete with brief suggestions for prayers from Scripture. Feel free to duplicate it—or improve upon it—to help you pray specifically and purposefully for the children in your life, that they may experience and evidence the following:

Salvation. “Lord, let salvation spring up within them, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Isa. 45:8, 2 Tim. 2:10).

Growth in grace. “I pray that they may ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’” (2 Pet. 3:18).

Love. “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to ‘live a life of love,’ through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Eph. 5:2, Gal. 5:22).

Honesty and integrity. “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Ps. 25:21, NLT).

Self-control. “Father, help them to be ‘alert and self-controlled’ in all they do” (1 Thess. 5:6).

A love for God’s Word. “May they grow to find your Word ‘more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb’” (Ps. 19:10).

Justice. “God, help them to love justice as you do and to ‘act justly’ in all they do” (Ps. 11:7, Micah 6:8).

Mercy. “May they always ‘be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful’” (Luke 6:36).

Respect (for self, others, authority). “Father, grant that they may ‘show proper respect to everyone,’ as your Word commands” (1 Pet. 2:17a).

Strong, biblical self-esteem. “Help them to develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are ‘God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus’” (Eph. 2:10).

Faithfulness. “‘Let love and faithfulness never leave [them],’ but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Prov. 3:3).

Courage. “May they always ‘be strong and courageous’ in their character and in their actions” (Deut. 31:6).

Purity. “‘Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,’ and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions” (Ps. 51:10).

Kindness. “Lord, may they ‘always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else’”
(1 Thess. 5:15).

Generosity. “Grant that they may ‘be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age’” (1 Tim. 6:18-19).

Peace, peaceability. “Father, may they ‘make every effort to do what leads to peace’” (Rom. 14:19).

Joy. “May they be filled ‘with the joy given by the Holy Spirit’”
(1 Thess. 1:6).

Perseverance. “Lord, teach them perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for [them]’” (Heb. 12:1).

Humility. “God, please cultivate in my children the ability to ‘show true humility toward all’” (Titus 3:2).

Compassion. “Lord, please clothe them with the virtue of compassion” (Col. 3:12).

Responsibility. “Grant that they may learn responsibility, ‘for each of you should carry your own load’” (Gal. 6:5, TNIV).

Contentment. “Father, teach them ‘the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . through him who gives [them] strength’” (Phil. 4:12-13).

Faith. “I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them” (Luke 17:5-6, Heb. 11:1-40).

A servant heart. “God, please help them develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, ‘as if [they] were serving the Lord, not people’” (Eph. 6:7, TNIV).

Hope. “May the God of hope grant that they may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

The willingness and ability to work hard. “Teach them, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, ‘as working for the Lord, not for human masters’” (Col. 3:23, TNIV).

A passion for God. “Instill in them, Lord, a soul that ‘followeth hard after thee,’ a heart that clings passionately to you (Ps. 63:8, KJV).

Self-discipline. “Father, may they develop self-discipline, that they may acquire ‘a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair’” (Prov. 1:3).

Prayerfulness. “Grant, Lord, that their lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests’” (Eph. 6:18).

Gratitude. “Help them to live lives ‘overflowing with thankfulness’; that they may be ‘always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’” (Col. 2:7, Eph. 5:20).

A heart for missions. “Lord, please develop in them a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Ps. 96:3).

Amen!

Pictures from this week

When I got out of the shower the other day, Lane had put his Padres hat on Case and was singing to him. Reese took him to the padres game on Sunday and he came back with the little plastic hat. He so badly wants to play with him :)
This baby loves to sleep!
Our little snorkeler. Reese got him a snorkel mask and fins. He's been at the pool almost everyday practicing.
A funky green bug that Lane found.
Hanging out in the tree right outside our house reading a Highlights magazine. Once again I am sure our neighbors think we're crazy!

It's been a good week! Grandma's visiting and Lane is having so much fun. I took Case for his 2 week checkup today. I can't believe it's been two weeks!! He now weights 7 lbs 13 oz and is 21 inches long! Ten days ago he was down to 6 lbs 14 oz so he has gained a pound in 10 days and grown 1 inch since birth!

A Few Pictures

So here is one of the only pictures I have of Reese and Case. I will change that soon hopefully. With Lane we took so many pictures that first week. I need to be better about that!
Such a sweet baby! He is so good and rarely fusses. We have been so blessed by such a wonderful, cute little guy!
Lane just loves this kid! He keeps saying "were baby is so cute." "Were" is the way he says "our." This morning he said that he was a little nervous about the baby. I asked why and he said he didn't know what to say, meaning he didn't know how to say it. I asked if he was nervous when he held him, he said no. Then he went on to explain that when the baby turns one he's nervous that we are really going to like him. Translation: when Case is bigger he's afraid that we are going to like him better than Lane. :) I assured him that that would never happen. For the first few days Lane would say to Reese, "Things sure have changed around here" Ohhh, the things that come from the mouth of a four year old!

Case William

Here he is!!! Case William was born on July 31st. He was 7lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long. I was able to have a regular birth, no c-section! He is such a sweetheart. He's really spoiling me right now. I need to wake him up to feed him. He rarely cries and when he does he's totally easy to calm down. Lane is a very proud big brother and very good with him!

There they are, my two boys, Lane and Case!
Me, Lane and Case on Friday evening after he was finally brought to us from the NICU. He was having a hard time getting enough oxygen after he was born so he was in the NICU for about 16 hours. That was hard but he did really well and he endued up being just fine!
Lane and Case this morning hanging out on our bed.
A picture I took of him this afternoon while he was actually awake!