amberherron

~ Do Not Fret ~

All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God. - Oswald Chambers

~ Another 4th of July Cutie! ~

Chris, Andrea and Cameron came by for a few hours this afternoon.  It is amazing how Cameron changes in just one week!  He has now decided to start walking and is doing great.  Josiah loves having him around - even if it is hard to be gentle.  Josiah is fortunate to have the most laid back Aunt & Uncle around! 

Notice how Josiah is going fast enough that the boys' hair is blowing!  Also notice how little Cameron's mom and dad stand back and laugh!  LOL.  I am so glad they are laid back.  :-)

~ Happy Birthday USA! ~

We got up early and trekked out to Stow to claim a spot for their 4th of July parade.  We were able to get a great spot right along the road at the beginning of the line up!  It is amazing to me to see how much more Josiah appreciated the parade this year compared to last year.  He is starting to understand the fun.  The loud noises don't scare him and he actually kept the candy instead of throwing it back - ha, ha, ha.  I have to give him a thumbs up too - he was SO good about sharing candy when he got a whole bunch and kids next to him didn't get any.  I was proud of my little guy.  :-) He did have trouble understanding that he could not eat all his candy right away.   He is so smart, in fact, that once he figured out we we wouldn't let him eat it, he would pick it up, unwrap it real quick and stick it in his mouth before we could stop him!  He can be a little stinker!  Thankfully - some of the handouts were fun things like balls and frisbees and not all candy.

This might be right after he snuck a lolli pop and was quite proud of himself!

And now a visual reminder of how fleeting time is...

   

~ Where do kids learn...? ~

Where do kids learn stuff?  There are several things that have never been taught to Josiah, but he seems to innately know them!  Seriously - does he go to a secret "how to be a kid" class?  LOL.  Here are a few things he has picked up somehow and somewhere...

1) Grabbing onto your ankle and expecting you to drag him around.

2) Bedtime avoidance - I need a drink, I have to go potty one more time, and so on...

3) Mom says no, ask Dad!  We are trying to nip this in the bud real fast by saying, if Mommy says no, then Daddy says no.  We are a team - that's how it works!

On a side note - Josiah came up to me the other day after Daddy had taken him to the potty and exclaimed, "Mom, I have good news and bad news."  LOL - where does he get this?  He then proceeded to tell me what the good news was and what the bad news was and used it in the correct context.  He constantly astounds me!

~ Christmas Pages Done! ~

What can I say?  When I get on a roll, I really get on a roll!

~ Better Late Than Never ~

I am embarassingly behind on my scrapbooking for Josiah's 2 year old book!  It will be a miracle if I have it done shortly after his 3rd birthday (and since when is my baby already almost three???).  I am still working on pictures from Christmas time.  Here are a couple pages I sqeezed out this week so far....

And here's a cute pic I snapped of Josiah and Grandpa playing cars over the weekend...

~ John 15 ~

I have added reading "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers to my daily routine.  The last week included an ongoing series surrounding John 15.  It was interesting to find that Josh was preaching on that same passage at church Sunday!  Anyhow, here are a few compelling quotes that stood out to me...

Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ.  You say, "Yes, Lord, just a minute - I still have this to do.  Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over.   It will be all right, Lord.  I will abide then."  Get moving - begin to abide now.  In the initial stage it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort.  Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.

If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him.  It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is.  Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much.  But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult.  God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, "Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful."  And Jesus says to us, "...I have called you friends..." Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember His honor is at stake in your bodily life.

~ Picnic Dinner Date ~

Jon is working a part-time job on the side while we are interviewing and waiting for God to reveal where He wants us to serve next.  This means more nights that Josiah and I are home alone.  I try to make life more interesting and fun for him in little ways if I can. 

Tonight, we were playing outside and having a great time.  We picked flowers, sat in the shade and repeatedly smelled said flowers, made up shapes out of the clouds and drew on the driveway with chalk.  I was suddenly inspired to have a picnic dinner date on the back deck!  I put a baby gate up to block the steps (which also allows Juliet to participate without running off).  I took Josiah's little table and chairs outside and voila!  It was so relaxing and fun to sit in the cool shade, talk, eat and listen to all the nature sounds.  I want to take advantage of some of the great things (a private and peaceful nature backyard) this house offers while it is still ours!

Josiah was posing for me and the lighting was making his eyes sparkle.  I decided to grab my camera to get a few shots of him.  Of course, you know that once the camera was out, the posing stopped!  LOL.  Here are a few anyway...

~ Weekend Happenings ~

We continue to stay very busy over here between both our jobs, having a 2 1/2 year old, potty training, interviewing for future jobs and selling our house!  Wow - just typing that makes me tired.

We had a very exciting weekend! 

Friday we got a call for a request to show our house on Sunday morning.  We spent all day Saturday sprucing up the lawn and cleaning with finishing touches on the inside.  We were very proud of how our house presented come Sunday morning!  I even baked some bread for an extra "homey" feel.  The feedback from the potential sellers was very positive.  Our house is in the top five out of 27 they went through!  The bad news is they really want a formal dining room and are going to look a little bit more before deciding.

Sunday afternoon we headed over to Chris and Andrea's house to celebrate Cameron's 1st Birthday!  I still cannot believe the little guy is one already!  He is sporting a new haircut and looks absolutely adorable!  Josiah enjoyed the party, but had a lot of trouble understanding that it was not HIS party.  LOL.  I guess that's normal for his age!


Josiah shows Andrea how his shirt matches the one we bought for Cameron!

Cameron awaits his frosting sugar rush! 

Happy Birthday Dear Cameron....

Josiah enjoys one of the ice cream cone cupcakes I made!
BTW - these are SUPER easy to make and totally cute!  You should try it!

Cameron digs into his smash cake!

Jonathan & Andrea's paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather came out with their parents to see Cameron celebrate.

We came home and grilled for dinner.  We were talking about best friends.  Josiah said, "Josiah's best friend is Amber." Jon asked who Daddy's best friend is, but I don't think we got an answer on that.  We asked who Cameron's best friend is and the answer was Andrea.  We asked who Uncle Chris's best friend is and I think the answer was Daddy (or Jonathan - yes, Josiah actually says Jonathan!).  Finally, we asked who Juliet's best friend is and the answer was Snickers!  LOL.  I love the conversations at this age!

Josiah and Daddy are worn out from partying and chill on the couch.

This afternoon we got another request to show our house Tuesday night!  Thankfully, we have kept the house up since yesterday morning and only have few small things to do for showing!  Keep praying!  I would be SO encouraged and amazed if we are able to sell our house for a fair price this quickly!

Finally, at dinner this evening, we were joking around about the size of the chicken breasts.  They were huge!  I started reciting the lines from Madagascar 2 "I like 'em big!  I like 'em chunky."  Out of no where, Josiah began saying it in his fake deep voice.  Jon and I laughed so hard!  Thankfully, I was able to get him to repeat it for my camera!  Josiah definitely has a HUGE sense of humor and often tells me, "Mom, I'm joking!"

~ Vroom, Vroom ~

Josiah's bike arrived today!  We were all very excited!  I have several little video clips depicting the experience - opening the box, first try at riding and outdoor riding!  Enjoy friends and family!  :-)

And finally some pictures too!

Learning to ride a bike is hard work!

And finally, it's always exciting to bring your discovery of goose feathers to your fort!  :-)