The number of years we have been married and the number of weeks since AnnaBeth entered the world. Normally I will count AnnaBeth's months on the 19th of every month but this time, I'm doing it based on the actual number of weeks since it happens to fall on our anniversary.
It has been an amazing (and fast) four years! Time has just flown by and it's hard to believe how quickly we suddenly find ourselves at our 4th anniversary. I am very blessed to be married to such a wonderful husband. He is so caring and accepting of me and my ways. I'm not always the best person and don't always respond to things in a Godly way but yet he loves me despite my faults. Sometimes I wonder how he can still continue to love me with the attitude that I sometimes (which can be more often than not at times) have and end up taking it out on him (whether its directly or indirectly). I know that makes him wonder if I still love him and when he expresses that to me, its quite humbling and makes me stop and think about my actions and tone in which I say things. I wish I could be pleasant all the time but I'm not. I try to correct myself when I realize that I'm doing something wrong but it's not always very easy. It helps me to have him tell me how I'm acting because it instantly makes me analyze myself and work to correct the behavior. I know it's not easy for him to say those things but sometimes that's the only way for me to see what I'm doing.
I don't tell him enough how amazing he is and how lucky I am to be his wife. He makes me a better person and we make a pretty good team (at least I think so). I also hardly ever tell him how proud I am of his work. He's an amazing fabricator and I love to see him complete a project. Each project seems to be better than the one before it and his skills improve with every one he completes. And so far, he's been a pretty awesome dad to AnnaBeth. He was fantastic with helping me birth her. He thought he would get to stay up by my head and watch/let the nurses do everything but he and one nurse helped me through the whole thing. Him being so involved actually helped me out a lot. He was a great coach and gave me the motivation and strength I needed. I enjoy seeing the delight in his face when AnnaBeth coos or when she makes cute faces at the end of her crying sessions. I can't wait to see the things he will teach her as she grows.
So to sum it up, I have a wonderful, kind, caring and extremely loving husband and I can only hope to be better at telling and showing him just how much he means to me.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter
AnnaBeth had a very busy Easter weekend. On Saturday, she finally got to meet her Nanu, Papa Bob, and cousin Johnny. She also got to meet the Clark family. Her Aunt Geli made her a stuffed bear with the help of Mrs. Clark and she also got a yellow bunny from Grammy and Grampy.
Nanu and Johnny
Nanu and Papa Bob
She loves her Aunt Geli!!
Snuggle time with Grammy
We spent Sunday afternoon with the Porter family and AnnaBeth finally got to meet her cousin Jacob. As soon as we arrived, Papa snatched her up and here she is looking at him. 
Emma, Hailey and Jacob love each other so much that they can't help but give each other hugs!
Papa gave AnnaBeth some lunch and she fell asleep on his chest. I'm not sure who likes it more, her or Papa :)
Hailey waiting for her Uncle Kent and Tia YaYa to come back with Cadbury eggs.
Our Easter family photo
The dress finally became too much for AnnaBeth so we changed her into something more comfortable and she passed out in Daddy's lap after she ate again. 
Nanu and JohnnyNanu and Papa BobShe loves her Aunt Geli!!Snuggle time with GrammyWe spent Sunday afternoon with the Porter family and AnnaBeth finally got to meet her cousin Jacob. As soon as we arrived, Papa snatched her up and here she is looking at him. Emma, Hailey and Jacob love each other so much that they can't help but give each other hugs!Papa gave AnnaBeth some lunch and she fell asleep on his chest. I'm not sure who likes it more, her or Papa :)Hailey waiting for her Uncle Kent and Tia YaYa to come back with Cadbury eggs.Our Easter family photoThe dress finally became too much for AnnaBeth so we changed her into something more comfortable and she passed out in Daddy's lap after she ate again. Emma and Hailey got tired of their dresses too and were much happier once they were in regular clothes. They had a blast playing legos with Jacob!
The weekend was super busy and full of travel but we felt very blessed to have had the opportunity to spend it with our wonderful families!
Friday, April 10, 2009
It's My Turn
Hey everyone, it's me AnnaBeth. Mommy is tired so I'm going to post on the blog today. I've had a pretty exciting day so far (but the most exciting part will be when Daddy gets home from work). First of all, it's my Grammy Austin's birthday today. Daddy took a picture of me on his phone to send to her because honestly, a picture of me is pretty much the best birthday present ever (other than me in person of course). This morning after my breakfast, I spent some time hanging out in my boppy pillow. Mommy forgot to put the camera on the macro setting so that's why I'm a little fuzzy. 
Here I'm thinking "ooh, what is that thing??"
Getting a little tired of Mommy taking so many pictures of me. I know I'm cute and all, but jeez, give it a rest already!
This is probably one of the cutest faces I've made in my short 22 days of life. 
When Mommy started to take off my jammies this morning, she noticed that my umbilical cord stump was gone. She found it stuck to the front of her shirt. She plucked it off and set it on my dresser while she changed and dressed me. Well, with hand cleansing being so important after she or Daddy changes my pants, she forgot about my stump. That is, until a few minutes ago after she changed me again. You see, she left the room with me and came back to see my Tabby the Turtle on the floor. And when she put Tabby back where she belongs, she noticed my stump was missing. She knows that my kitty Rufus is the culprit but she doesn't know what he did with it. She hasn't been able to find it so she wonders if he may have possibly eaten it.
After I took a morning nap, Mommy and I went to Desert Breeze Park to celebrate Oliver being alive for 1000 days. We hung out with Hillary, Heidi and little Noah by the splash area. I had my lunch here and was starting to get a little fussy, hence my "what you talkin' bout Willis" look. During my lunch, my unborn friend Carter's mommy told Mommy that my friend (and his cousin) Jude was born today!
I finally got cranky enough that Mommy decided we needed to go home. I was super thrilled! All of the sounds, sights, sunshine and wind blowing got to be a tad too much for me.
After we got home I spent a little bit of time playing on the floor. Here I'm practicing my dirt bike riding skills. I need to get the handle bar grip and clutch motion figured out before I hop on one of those things.
Not only will I be awesome at vrooming like Daddy and Uncle Wayne, I'm also going to be a pretty good boxer. As you can see, I've already got a pretty mean right hook.
Here I'm thinking "ooh, what is that thing??"Getting a little tired of Mommy taking so many pictures of me. I know I'm cute and all, but jeez, give it a rest already!This is probably one of the cutest faces I've made in my short 22 days of life. When Mommy started to take off my jammies this morning, she noticed that my umbilical cord stump was gone. She found it stuck to the front of her shirt. She plucked it off and set it on my dresser while she changed and dressed me. Well, with hand cleansing being so important after she or Daddy changes my pants, she forgot about my stump. That is, until a few minutes ago after she changed me again. You see, she left the room with me and came back to see my Tabby the Turtle on the floor. And when she put Tabby back where she belongs, she noticed my stump was missing. She knows that my kitty Rufus is the culprit but she doesn't know what he did with it. She hasn't been able to find it so she wonders if he may have possibly eaten it.After I took a morning nap, Mommy and I went to Desert Breeze Park to celebrate Oliver being alive for 1000 days. We hung out with Hillary, Heidi and little Noah by the splash area. I had my lunch here and was starting to get a little fussy, hence my "what you talkin' bout Willis" look. During my lunch, my unborn friend Carter's mommy told Mommy that my friend (and his cousin) Jude was born today!I finally got cranky enough that Mommy decided we needed to go home. I was super thrilled! All of the sounds, sights, sunshine and wind blowing got to be a tad too much for me.After we got home I spent a little bit of time playing on the floor. Here I'm practicing my dirt bike riding skills. I need to get the handle bar grip and clutch motion figured out before I hop on one of those things.Not only will I be awesome at vrooming like Daddy and Uncle Wayne, I'm also going to be a pretty good boxer. As you can see, I've already got a pretty mean right hook. Pictures weren't quite enough for Mommy so she took some video of me playing as well. I was a little camera shy at first but then I forgot it was even there. Mommy stopped it before I started to fuss.
It wasn't long before I started to space out. Mommy knows that this means I'm about ready to nap. 
So before I had a meltdown, Mommy picked me up and snuggled me close. 
And it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.
It wasn't long before I started to space out. Mommy knows that this means I'm about ready to nap. So before I had a meltdown, Mommy picked me up and snuggled me close. And it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep. Thursday, April 9, 2009
What happens when...
His children are faithful and not only listen when He speaks but act on what the Lord has told them? The answer to prayer sometimes changes and that's what happened with Nana Porter. On more than one occasion before AnnaBeth was born, we had approached Nana about providing daycare for us after my maternity leave. We believe that if possible, family should care for the children if either Mommy or Daddy don't have the option of being a stay at home parent, so of course, Nana was our first option. However, each time Nana prayed about it, she was told no. We know that Nana would have loved to be able to care for AnnaBeth but all three of us also know that you better listen when the Lord speaks because He knows what's best even if it's not the answer that you wanted.
With the answer that Nana was being given, we looked at the rest of the family but knew that it wasn't going to be possible for Julie or Jill to care for her so we started trying to find daycare outside the family. A co-worker referred me to his daycare lady and when I spoke to her in February, she told us that she didn't have a spot for an infant at that time. We still had quite a bit of time to find someone so we continued to pray about it and just waited.
At the beginning of March, we asked Nana if she could put something in the bulletin at their church to see if there were any possibilities for daycare. I also started asking people from our church if they knew of anyone who did daycare out of their home. We had one lead and while we would have loved to use someone from our church for daycare, the pick up hours weren't feasible for her and her house was out of our way. That same week, my co-worker's daycare lady called to say she had an infant spot open again. We interviewed her as well but she had risen her rates, which were now way more than we could afford a week so she wasn't an option for us anymore either.
Now that AnnaBeth is here, the daycare situation has really been weighing on us. Our neighbor down the street was going to talk to her daycare lady for us to see if she had an opening for us but we haven't seen her since we talked about it. We have continued to pray about this situation but have still just been waiting for guidance because none of our options we've come across have felt right.
Yesterday the answer to our prayers about what to do were finally answered. Nana called to ask how AnnaBeth was doing and to also share some news with us. She had a solution for our daycare dilemma. The answer was not one I was expecting. She told me that SHE was available as many days a week as we needed to watch AnnaBeth. I couldn't believe it and was so happy that I was near tears when she told me (and no, it's not just from my hormones...)! I asked her how that came about and she said she didn't know, just that the Lord was telling her very firmly that she was the one to watch AnnaBeth while we're both at work. The Lord works in mysterious ways and our persistence in being still has paid off. I told Nana yesterday that I really think patience is one of the lessons the Lord teaches in EVERY situation and by having patience, we all were able to truly hear what God was saying to each of us. When I told Kent what Nana had called about he said "that's enough to make me want to cry."
A huge burden has been lifted off our shoulders and I don't even know where to begin to express to Nana how much this means to us. AnnaBeth is extremely lucky to have a Nana like her and to be able to spend 4 days a week for 10 or so hours a day with her Nana is indescribable. A daycare person would NEVER love AnnaBeth like her Nana does and a daycare person would NEVER be able to teach her about God and all that He provides. As Tia YaYa said yesterday, Jacob has such a sweet heart and a lot of that has to do with Nana caring for him for most of his life (he gets it from Jill too!) and that will carry over to AnnaBeth. Nana says she isn't perfect but to us she is. We could never ask for a better person to care for our baby day in and day out. Nana has had so much practice (and patience) with the Porter children and grandchildren that she'll know just what to say and the best way to handle anything that comes her way.
So Nana, thank you so much for your persistence in prayer. Not everyone would continue to pray about something like this, especially after they had been told no on more than one occasion. They would have taken the answer and moved on. And thank you for being the Godly woman that you are and seeking the Lord in everything you do. AnnaBeth will learn so much from you about what it truly means to be a child of God and we are so grateful for that! It makes me cry (which in turn makes it hard to see the computer screen to type) to realize once again, how amazing the Lord is and that He truly does know what's best for us. And this is just another good reminder that He answers prayers in His time and according to His purpose.
With the answer that Nana was being given, we looked at the rest of the family but knew that it wasn't going to be possible for Julie or Jill to care for her so we started trying to find daycare outside the family. A co-worker referred me to his daycare lady and when I spoke to her in February, she told us that she didn't have a spot for an infant at that time. We still had quite a bit of time to find someone so we continued to pray about it and just waited.
At the beginning of March, we asked Nana if she could put something in the bulletin at their church to see if there were any possibilities for daycare. I also started asking people from our church if they knew of anyone who did daycare out of their home. We had one lead and while we would have loved to use someone from our church for daycare, the pick up hours weren't feasible for her and her house was out of our way. That same week, my co-worker's daycare lady called to say she had an infant spot open again. We interviewed her as well but she had risen her rates, which were now way more than we could afford a week so she wasn't an option for us anymore either.
Now that AnnaBeth is here, the daycare situation has really been weighing on us. Our neighbor down the street was going to talk to her daycare lady for us to see if she had an opening for us but we haven't seen her since we talked about it. We have continued to pray about this situation but have still just been waiting for guidance because none of our options we've come across have felt right.
Yesterday the answer to our prayers about what to do were finally answered. Nana called to ask how AnnaBeth was doing and to also share some news with us. She had a solution for our daycare dilemma. The answer was not one I was expecting. She told me that SHE was available as many days a week as we needed to watch AnnaBeth. I couldn't believe it and was so happy that I was near tears when she told me (and no, it's not just from my hormones...)! I asked her how that came about and she said she didn't know, just that the Lord was telling her very firmly that she was the one to watch AnnaBeth while we're both at work. The Lord works in mysterious ways and our persistence in being still has paid off. I told Nana yesterday that I really think patience is one of the lessons the Lord teaches in EVERY situation and by having patience, we all were able to truly hear what God was saying to each of us. When I told Kent what Nana had called about he said "that's enough to make me want to cry."
A huge burden has been lifted off our shoulders and I don't even know where to begin to express to Nana how much this means to us. AnnaBeth is extremely lucky to have a Nana like her and to be able to spend 4 days a week for 10 or so hours a day with her Nana is indescribable. A daycare person would NEVER love AnnaBeth like her Nana does and a daycare person would NEVER be able to teach her about God and all that He provides. As Tia YaYa said yesterday, Jacob has such a sweet heart and a lot of that has to do with Nana caring for him for most of his life (he gets it from Jill too!) and that will carry over to AnnaBeth. Nana says she isn't perfect but to us she is. We could never ask for a better person to care for our baby day in and day out. Nana has had so much practice (and patience) with the Porter children and grandchildren that she'll know just what to say and the best way to handle anything that comes her way.
So Nana, thank you so much for your persistence in prayer. Not everyone would continue to pray about something like this, especially after they had been told no on more than one occasion. They would have taken the answer and moved on. And thank you for being the Godly woman that you are and seeking the Lord in everything you do. AnnaBeth will learn so much from you about what it truly means to be a child of God and we are so grateful for that! It makes me cry (which in turn makes it hard to see the computer screen to type) to realize once again, how amazing the Lord is and that He truly does know what's best for us. And this is just another good reminder that He answers prayers in His time and according to His purpose.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
First Trip to the Phoenix Zoo
Today AnnaBeth and I joined Julie, Emma, Hailey, Emily, Nathan, Caroline and Danielle at the zoo. Our first stop was a table between the carousel and the giraffes. All of the older kids wanted a snack and AnnaBeth needed to eat again. Thankfully Julie had some granola bars so I had my breakfast during our snack time. After that we stopped at the giraffes.
This guy was right up next to the fence. Emma and I went over to get a better look at him and right after I snapped his picture he headed off to hang out with his friends. 
These are his friends. I guess it was their snack time too. 
After the giraffes we made our way up and around the hill to the cats. The tiger must have already had his morning snack and was enjoying a nap. 
The lioness was proudly lounging for all zoo goers to admire her. 
Over by the rhinos a ground squirrel found a tasty human treat. The kids decided at this point that they wanted to eat again so we stopped at another table so Nathan, Caroline and Danielle could have some lunch. We then headed over to see the baboons. Spring is in the air and they gave us a little show of nature. Nathan however thought that the big baboon was stepping on the baby baboon. 
By now the kids were nearing meltdowns as nap time was quickly approaching so we headed towards the exit. On our way out we saw the zebras. They were all having their morning snacks just like the giraffes. 
As we left the zoo, the turtles were out swimming and sunning on the logs.
AnnaBeth slept through her first zoo trip but that's ok because we'll have many more outings to the zoo and someday she'll actually remember our trips to see the animals.
This guy was right up next to the fence. Emma and I went over to get a better look at him and right after I snapped his picture he headed off to hang out with his friends. These are his friends. I guess it was their snack time too. After the giraffes we made our way up and around the hill to the cats. The tiger must have already had his morning snack and was enjoying a nap. The lioness was proudly lounging for all zoo goers to admire her. Over by the rhinos a ground squirrel found a tasty human treat. The kids decided at this point that they wanted to eat again so we stopped at another table so Nathan, Caroline and Danielle could have some lunch. We then headed over to see the baboons. Spring is in the air and they gave us a little show of nature. Nathan however thought that the big baboon was stepping on the baby baboon. By now the kids were nearing meltdowns as nap time was quickly approaching so we headed towards the exit. On our way out we saw the zebras. They were all having their morning snacks just like the giraffes. As we left the zoo, the turtles were out swimming and sunning on the logs.AnnaBeth slept through her first zoo trip but that's ok because we'll have many more outings to the zoo and someday she'll actually remember our trips to see the animals.Friday, April 3, 2009
Little Monster
The last few days, AnnaBeth has been extra fussy in the evenings and on into the wee hours of the morning. She'll harbor burps during feedings, get really mad because it makes her belly hurt and as a result, wails continuously about it. And she gets so worked up that she can't truly calm down enough to go to sleep. She'll doze if we're holding her (some of the time) and walking around but only for a few minutes before she wails again. She generally refuses to let us sit down with her and her daddy has been a champ with standing with her for 2 hours at a time. I can't do it for that long and have resorted to playing baby praise and lullaby songs from my ipod for her while either walking her room or rocking in the glider. Bath time is hit or miss with the "there's nothing you can do to console me" crying. Fortunately tonight was one of the good times (for the most part) and the towel we use that she got from Kristy pretty much sums up how she's been acting lately =)
It's hard to see but the hood has a little face and little spiky things on the head.
Her sweet little face doesn't reflect at all what the back of the towel says. 
It's hard to see but the hood has a little face and little spiky things on the head.Her sweet little face doesn't reflect at all what the back of the towel says. This lovingly says it all....
Got Ink?
Before AnnaBeth was born, Kent decided that he wanted to get a tattoo of her footprints that would be taken at the hospital. So last Friday he was forever marked with her teeny tiny feet and I absolutely LOVE it!! He wants to do the same with the next baby on his other arm so hopefully the artist who did this work will still be working at the tattoo place in a couple of years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Scrap Pages
