James MacDonald

I was very blessed by yesterday's sermon by an awesome visiting pastor, James MacDonald.  If you have never heard this man speak, you are missing OUT!  I don't generally play favorites with Pastors, but I am always very blessed when James visits Harvest.  Check out the sermon here.

I think the biggest part of being blessed yesterday is that I feel like I have been struggling a lot.  Most of them are inward struggles.  And I have been praying, praying for something, anything to help me get through and move forward.  For a while I having silently been giving myself a pity part. 

It's not fair - we didn't get our house.  It's not fair - I have to go back to work.  It's not fair - that I'm so tired.  It's not fair - that everyone moves up and moves on, and we're stuck.  It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair.  These are the things that have been going through my head when I wake up in the middle of the night, and I am ashame of them.  Ashamed because I have been given a ministry to take care of my family and what really isn't fair, is me not happily doing what needs to get done.

I, in no way, could ever compare myself to James.  This man has battled cancer, has dealt with a prodigal child, and has a dying mother.  However, what encouraged me the most was that when he said he reached a point when he thought he could go on, and prayed that the Lord would just give him something.  God has always come through for him.  I can definitely echo that God has come through for me too.  Also, James reminded us that this isn't the way things will always be.  I am holding on to that with all that I've got right now.

My 6 weeks of maternity leave is over, and it has just been crushing me.  I am taking 2 weeks of unpaid leave to be home just a little bit more with the kids.  Every night I am praying for peace to return to work - 2 weeks from today.  Even as I am typing this, it's so hard.  My two beautiful children are asleep.  I've enjoyed just sitting here just watching them for the past hour.  They are so peaceful, without a single care in the world.  That is exactly how I'd like to be. 

I feel like the past couple months, we have just been hit with trial after trial.  Sometimes I cannot help but laugh. I was searching for verses tonight on trials and tribulations and came across James 1:2-3 (how perfect is that).  It says...

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

A couple different translations end with endurance, hope, or patience instead of perserverance.  But I like the NIV translation.  I need to perservere, not just survive.  I looked up perservere.  It means.. to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.  The 3 key words in the definition for me were:  persist, purpose, and steadfastly.  I feel lately I've just let everything kind of boggle me down and wear me down.  I was persisting.  I lost sight of the purpose.  And there was nothing steadfast about it, except me going steadfastly in the wrong direction.

There are so many reasons why so many things happen to us.  James shared that there is always something going on, something that forces us to rely on God, and maybe that is because it keeps our hearts humbled.  Boy, I sure needed reminding of that. 

Well, I think this is my longest post ever, but I want to update you guys on the kiddos real quick. 

Nathan is growing like a weed.  He's over 12 lbs., starting rolling over (tummy to back), smiles (a bunch!), and giggles.  He is starting to take longer naps - usually in the evening, and is a great sleeper at night.  Still has his wicked appetite during the day.  But that's ok, it's our special Mommy-Nathan time, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.  He's started tracking us - he definitely knows our voices.  He is one strong little man.  He tries to hard to push up with his legs when we hold him up.  He may be an early walker - we'll see.  He is outgrowing many of his clothes, and I am constantly resorting items we've received and switching out his drawers.  He is such a huge blessing to us and we are so very thankful for this wonderful person in our lives.

Natty is ALSO growing like a weed.  I cannot believe how heavy she feels after having Nathan.  She is getting so incredibly big.  I am a little sad because she is growing up so fast, and I don't want to miss a single moment.  She continues to master most of her alphabets.  Let's see, we are up to A, B, C, D, F, H, L, M, N (sometimes), O, P, S, X, and W.  More than half way there!  She seems to be learning new words everyday.  We are so surprised by the things she learns and comes up with.  Our favorite has been "apple juice."  It is so cute.  I haven't been able to catch it on video yet, but hope to post that soon.  She loves to read and draw.  I cannot wait for her to start school.  She is going to love it.  I sometimes wish she was in Thailand, then she could start school next year like mommy.  I can already tell she is going to have a blast.  She still loves her Curious George and VeggieTales.

4 Weeks!

Baby Nathan is 4 weeks old today!!! Boy! Time sure flies now with 2 kiddos. The days are pretty crazy now in the Fanning Household. But I am loving every minute of it. Even on days, like today, when Natty would not nap and got hesterical during bedtime. :) Anyway, Tim and I are definitely enjoying our little man. He is quite the cuddle bug. He LOVES to be held. I don't think we held Natty this much, and I thought we held her A LOT!!! He's got a wicked appetite during the day, and a pretty good sleeper at night. Enough to let mommy get some good chunks of sleep at night, which I appreciate so very much. Natty is still in love with her brother. She really loves to copy us, so we have to be careful. Recently, she has taken it upon herself to burp him for us. She is too cute. The other day, while driving somewhere, Nathan was crying and Natty looked over and said "No! No! No!" Sometimes she just looks as him like, What's your problem? But she is so good in the car with him, and such a caring sister. Here are some pictures to google over from bath time tonight. Surprisingly, Nathan loves bathtime as much as his sister does - can you tell by the way he's beached out and relaxed?

Only 4 weeks, and he's gettin' his rolls! :)

My little man - he's so handsome!

This would be Natty dunking her head in the water.

She loves rubbing the bubbles all over her face.

As I was taking pictures, she wanted me to take one of her say "Hi!"

So HERE it is!

Our beautiful blessings - Natty and Nathan

HAPPY 4 WEEK BIRTHDAY NATHAN!

You've really captured our hearts little man!

A Mommy of Two for Three Weeks

So I've been a mommy of two for 3 weeks now.  This is what I have discovered:

• No matter how tired you are, you will always have enough energy of either child that is begging for your attention. 
• If one has a dirty diaper, the other is soon to follow.
• I am capable of bathing 2 children at once - in different tubs of course.
• Your heart grows 100 times when you have another child.
• You feel guilty if you can't always be with both children at once, but they are just happy to know you are there.
• Babies can sleep through their sisters putting a princess hat on them and putting teething rings on their ankles (wish I had taken a picture of THAT!).
• The kids' room will now always be messy - until Natty gets used to picking up.  She does good with the books, but that's about it.
• It's possible to go through 200+ newborn diapers in less than 4 weeks. 
• And I am thankful for all the diapers we got at the shower, as we're using the HUGE box of 1's that are, now, nearly half gone as well.
• Just as soon as the kids get cleaned, either one will almost instantaneously get dirty - milk, juice, diaper blowout, spit up, you name it....
• It's possible to go through 5 onesies in less than an hour.

So this is just a LITTLE bit of the fun I've had the past 3 weeks.  I am most definitely NOT looking forward to going to work, so I'm trying to savor all this wacky, crazy moments.  :)

Happy Tuesday!

3 Weeks!

Happy 3-Weeks Birthday Nathan!!!

I cannot believe Nathan has already been here for 3 weeks.  Time sure has been flying.  Natty falls more in love with her little brother everyday.  I am so excited to see their relationship grow.  I am getting a little more sleep.  Nathan sleeps for about 3-4 hours at a time at night, so I get a few nice chuncks of sleep at night.  He is also starting to sleep longer at a time during the day, so that has helped.  But that means Natty gets Mommy all to herself!  (As she did today, and was very happy).  Both kiddos are doing great.  Bedtime has been hairy for Natty, but she's working on it.  She just loves her brother so much, and wants to love on him to death.  She seems Tim and I burp him, and tries to do the same.  She hugs and kisses on him ALL the time.  She is absolutely obsessed with his eyes, nose, and hands. (and can say all three)

Natty enjoying one of her favorites - reading!  :)

Happy Two Week Birthday!!!

I cannot believe it's already August 1st, and that means Nathan is 2 weeks old today! I cannot believe how fast he is growing. He has already gained all his weight back. Thursday, he weighed in at 9 lbs. He still loves to cuddle. Overall, he is pretty mellow - reminds me of Natty's temperament when she was this little. He does let me sleep a good couple hour chunks at night. He is such a good boy. Here's his two week picture. Happy Two Weeks Birthday Nathan! We love you!!!

I know I need to include Natty as well. Usually she is very good with her naps, today was a different story however. After a two and a half hour stand-off, she finally decided to sleep. This is how I found her. Glad we had the camera before I moved her into her bed. :) Along with her "Bob" (the teddy bear).