Pumped Up

There are just certain things that you need in life, and for me I have realized that going to Christian concerts is a way to really rejuvenate the spirit. Our pastor is a great man of God, and he has really been convicting our lives. With Reson being the Youth Pastor, we get pretty busy in our house, and being able to get away and spend a couple of hours having someone else lead the worship gives us a nice break for us.
As you can see from the post below, Reson and I attended the Adie and Jeremy Camp Concert. It was a wonderful time of worship and convicting to really seek out God's will for our lives. With this conviction has come great frustration for me. I want to be living a life for God, but I have to deal with that not everyone seeks this in their live. The sad thing is that many Christians don't seek this, and we are having to discern those that are seeking God's will for their lives. Why the need of discernment? Because Reson and I are trying to surround ourselves with like minded souls, and this has proven to be challenge at times.
We are blessed to have found some, however those that wish were that way, simply aren't. As we read daily our Bibles, Christian blogs, it is evident that this world is not helping Christians desire the will of God.
I am reminded of a Caedmon's Call song, "This World"

There's tarnish on the golden rule
And I wanna jump from this ship of fools
Show me a place where hope is young
And a people who aren't afraid to love

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could want and nothing that I need

This world is making me drunk on the spirits of fear.
So when he says who will go, I am nowhere near.

And the least of these look like criminals to me
So I leave Christ on the street

This world has held my hand and has led me into intolerance
But now I'm waking up, but now I'm breaking up
But now I'm making up for lost time

We are raising our boys to love God and to only want his will for their lives. It has pumped us to really seek the will of God. Here is a cute little moment Logan and I had this morning. I decided that I want to reread "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer, and this happened... Logan grabbed the book and gave this beautiful smile.
Good times!

Talk about Busy!

This past week was jammed packed with events for our family. I was especially excited about taking Reson out for his Birthday on Saturday. Before that happened, Luk and I made rainbow cupcakes thanks to seeing the recipe from our dear friends Hannah and Benjamin Davis.

 After having fun with that, we took Luk to an event our town puts on called "Friday Night Live." Well, let's just say Luk was having fun in the Bounce House when an older boy hit him in the eye.

Saturday, he youth group had a car wash, and I surprised Reson with tickets to a Jeremy Camp concert. We ended up in the third row, and He loved it, I loved it. What an amazing man of God, and his wife. They are an incredibly talented pair. Reson and I were blessed that night. It was a wonderful date night. We needed that time alone, and it was wonderful to spend it with my best friend getting closer to our maker. 

However, the night ended with us coming home to sick little boy. Logan had been coughing since Wednesday, and it seemed to turn for the worse Saturday night. Logan and I stayed home from church, and he was in my arms the whole day. We are blessed to have a Pediatrician that has nights and weekend hours, and it allows us to take him to actual DR and not an ER. Logan was pretty congested and not getting the amount of oxygen that he should get. He tested negative for RSV, and we were sent home with a Nebulizer and breathing treatments. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, but he is feeling better.

"Logan is so cute!"

"Logan is so cute, he is the cutest baby ever!" This is what Luk says to me as he is making his baby brother laugh. It is the sweetest thing seeing Luk love on Logan. Reson and I knew that Luk would be a wonderful big brother. It was one of our main reasons for expanding our family. How could we deny Luk the love that he had? Luk has a big heart. With each friend that he saw get a little brother, he wanted one. I am excited to see how this brotherhood flourishes. I will not say that he is perfect with Logan, all the time, but the majority of the time, he is great with him. We will see what happens when Logan starts wanting to play with toys. =)

Bedtime Pals, Good Eating, and Brotherhood

This is what Luk wakes up to in the mornings. They used to just be scattered in the bed, but we have stated a new system. He chooses one each night to sleep with. I will also clarify that this is only a portion of the stuffed pals Luk has. It is very hard to toss them out when he literally plays with them all. He is not a boy that stays playing with one toy, he enjoys them all. I'm thinking that the way Logan is heading he will be a one toy boy. He gets very attached (to me, in particular), and we are thinking he will have a "lovey."

Luk has been practicing his "photography" with Logan as his main object of interest. This is a shot that he took while Logan was eating his yummy dinner.

Hahaha... Logan has a look saying, "Get that camera away." It was very funny watching this all come together. Luk then decided that he needed to have a self portrait.

He is getting so big. I am hoping that he keeps an interest in photography; I think it would be a great time to share talents together. He loves doing it, and I can only hope to flourish that love. I couldn't end the night without getting a picture of the boys together. Luk is such a sweet big brother to Logan. It is hard to get in the swing of things when there is a 3.5 year gap between the boys, but I love having Luk love on Logan.

Pioneer Park Animal Refuge

Luk loves his time with friends. It has been especially hard for me to get out of the house with Logan being very clingy, and knowing that I have homework to get done. The good news is that this is my last class, and there are only 7 weeks left. Here is just a few pictures of the kids and their refuge adventure. I never regret taking Luk to a playdate because spending this time with his friends and mine are rewarding to our lives.

Logan is precious. He is quite the clinger, but man look at those eyes. Sure he may look like Luk, but the boy is his own person. They are quite different in their mannerism and personalities. He is was bright eyed going in, but quickly fell asleep.

These two are so sweet together. Luk and Eva really enjoy each others' company. What can I say? It is adorable, and it is nice to see Luk being such a polite lil man. Especially as he goes through his "testing mommy" stages.

Here is the whole group together. They are great pals. Luk was really happy knowing that Noah and Eva were going to be there, and it was just a great and rewarding outing this afternoon.

 

 On a good week these guys see each other on Thursdays at Library Story Time, and these trips around our small town is just a bonus to their friendship. We are blessed with having Noah (and on occasions Eva) at church. I can only hoping that this leads to a great foundation of some great life long friendships.

I have to remember this as I rush through the door wondering if I should go. These are some great times in my boys' lives, and I am so happy that I get to stay and home (or out go) to enjoy it with them.

Fancy Nancy Birthday Celebration

This weekend we had a wonderful time at a friend's birthday party. The mom is great at putting together parties, and it helps that she is Cuban (like me) because then the food is quite yummy.

 Luk had a wonderful time as he dressed up in his fancy wear

 Luk and the Birthday Girl had a wonderful time spending some time together 

without the other friends before the party. hahaha... whatta boy. 

Look at that pose that I didn't even ask for.

(and Logan joined in on some of the action).

Hmmm... well, lack of action really as he and Reson both fell asleep.

We tend to see them pretty often, however since Logan's arrival the time spent together has not been as frequent. It just goes to show you that it doesn't matter if you live 5 minutes or 12 hours away, you may not see the people you enjoy to be around. It was a beautiful day to spend with Luk's friends, and it is wonderful to be friends with their parents. God has blessed Reson and I with some great friendships after moving back home to Wauchula. They are not people (except Brittanie) that we went to school with, but they are some truly wonderful people.

I would have to look at past posts, but if you were not aware, Reson is the Youth Pastor at our church. We have been very blessed with a great set of kids. To add to that list is the kids that I get to teach in my 3rd-5th grade class. They are such a fun group of students that long to learn more about Christ. I encourage to go take a look at their Youth Page. www.echohistruth.com

They are a group of about 20, and they are really great friends.

Here is a briefing of just how fun these students are (Christmas Party at our house, take note to how much fun they have with Luk)...

 

  

This should look familiar to our 9th&O Family. =)

 

Reson and I couldn't ask for a better group, and neither could Luk. hahaha...