Yep....He's a Boy!

Having a boy is different than having girls. I didn't really think so. My friends told me this was so and so did my Mom. But I didn't believe it.....

But now I am a believer! My girls never could catch or throw a ball before the age of ....three! But Liam? He already loves(and I do mean loves)to play ball. He can catch it from time to time and he certainly throws them well. Give him a stick, drum stick, card board paper roll, stuffed crayon...it becomes a light saber. He likes to hit his head against the wall, bookshelf, cupboard and then he laughs!

He is most definitely a boy and God most definitely....made them different!

And if the above didn't convince me, then the fact that he began roaring while playing with his little dinosaurs has! To really "feel" these pictures, you need sound, but since I don't have it on video...just insert a rather throaty, manly growl(or have your hubby/son do it) and take a peak at Liam playing dinosaurs(roars, fighting and all):

"Grrrrrrr..rrooarrrr!"

"Grrrrrrrr...rrrooarrr!!!!!!!!"

Now, lest you think Liam is all war and violence....here he is with his lovey. He is a very cuddly, loving and kissy fellow too:-)

Boys and girls..they are different. Don't let anyone tell you other wise:-)

Blessings,

Sommer

A Weary Mom, Who Needed To Read This

I am one of those moms that struggle with finding "quiet time" to spend with the Lord. I've purposed to make myself get up earlier than the kids and open the Word and pray...to no avail! It has been discouraging to say the least. People often will tell a mom like myself, your day will be much better off if you begin it in the Word. And I generally agree that this is true.

However, I have a baby that has not yet slept through the night and needs momma very much. Also, when I do wake with my alarm(which does not happen very often) and try to put said darling baby back in his bed...well, he wakes up! And not only that...but somehow my elder children get wind of me being successful at this and decide it is time to get up too:-0 So "quiet time" does not generally happen.

So, I end up being very frustrated, discouraged and really...I feel guilty. I am not giving my time to the Lord! But should I be beating myself up so much? Is there no other way to be with my Lord?

Well, Stacy McDonald at Your Sacred Calling has shared a lovely post on this! I really needed to see this and I pray it blesses some one else today. If you are feeling that there is just NO WAY you can get this time, read this and see what she suggests. I feel that here are some really practical thoughts and ideas for the mom that wants to be close to the Lord but has little children and is in the "noisy time" of life:-) I am embracing her thoughts and find myself feeling encouraged! So read her post, here.

Let me know what you think:-)

Blessings,

Sommer

Found this good to think about...

I went visiting around blog land today, and stopped at Tiffany's blog. She had a great post regarding a Christian's need to analyze movies and being careful about what we watch. Really the post was a review of a book...but I thought the meat of it really was important in her thoughts on reviewing movies.

Anyone with kids probably struggles or at least finds it important to consider what your children are watching(I do)...but do we think about what we ourselves are watching? I don't worry as much what we are taking in(although we are still careful), but this really made me think.

I encourage you to read this post at A High Calling, and consider what she says. What have you been watching lately?

Blessings,
Sommer

Finally!

Today, they put the finishing touches on my walls and hung up our blinds. The walls are done, the men are gone and my bed is no longer in the center of my room! Aaaah, how nice it is to walk in my room and find it normal again:-)

I still will need to place a few things back where they go and rearrange here and there, but it is all in all fine once again.

I will never again complain about how small my room is. Once you've spent a week and a half or so with all your furniture and knick knacks in the center of your room...you will feel like you live in a mansion after it has been put back to normal.....sigh....

I am now looking forward(is this possible!)to rearranging and decluttering my room further and then working in my daughters' room. It is in great need, but I've had to wait a bit. Now...I look forward to it:-)

Well, I'm going to close now...little Liam is passed out on my shoulder. But I hope to be back tomorrow to share some thoughts on a book I'm reading....Seasons of a Mother's Heart. Have a great night!

Blessings,

Sommer

Concerning Holiness and Humility

I read this post over at Amy's Humble Musings and found it quite thought provoking. Thought I'd share it with you all:-)

Blessings,

Sommer

Inconvenient Accomadations

For the last couple of weeks we have been sharing our days(off and on) with some maintenance workers. We developed some kind of mold on our daughters' bedroom wall(facing outside) as well as on two of our bedroom walls. Of course, I felt compelled to ask our manager to look into why this happened and they found(after tearing out the girls' wall), that there was absolutely no insulation in the walls!

Yesterday, the workers finally completed the work on my girls' wall and are working on our room now. They tore out one wall a few days ago and then decided to do so to the other. Right now I am surrounded by a green and white wall, with my room in a shambles. Everything has been shoved to the center of my room and I feel completely unsettled!

So this is what we get to see everyday until the walls are finished....

It is unsettling trying to go about your daily business having men tromping through your house. I feel completely akward doing lessons with them here and my home's mess is more obvious to me. Of course, the upside is that I've been forced to work on decluttering my room! I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel! So, once I do get my walls back, I will be working on rearranging our room and fixing up our daughters' room as well.

All in all...I'm glad our apartment manager took the initiative to fix this problem and the workers really are very nice. But.....I really want my home back!

Blessings,

Sommer

Thoughts of Love

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."~Ephesians 5:22

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it"~Ephesians 5:25

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged"~Colossians 3:18-21

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do hime good and not evil all the days of her life."~Proverbs 31:10-12

As I have gone through my day today, I have been thinking on some of these verses and what love looks like in a marriage. Of course today is a perfect day to be thinking of these things...being that it is Valentine's Day. We don't really do a whole lot on this day, but we try to remember to acknowledge each other and set aside a little bit of specialness to the day.

If you ever watched a Disney cartoon movie or even some typical Hollywood movies...you find that love happens rather quickly and often they've only just met! I find this(now that I have children and I am an adult)ridiculous! Sure, we often feel butterflies and lightening bolts...but most of us did not fall in love over night and surely there have been times for all of us that haven't felt like there were butterflies. Enter the "world's" suggestion to divorce or that something is wrong. Well, I find this just silly. Love...marriage takes work and commitment. We can't expect it to just move forward when all we are looking for is the flip-flop in our stomach we felt on the first date. No, it takes real honest to goodness effort! And respect and submission, teamwork, patience....the list could go on.

I find somedays that it is very hard to be a submissive wife. I want it my way and I don't always hide that. I had one of those days recently and I'm rather ashamed of it. I felt he did something wrong to me...so I was not so nice back. Childish really! I find that just being the wife God has commanded me to be is the best way I can show that I love my husband. Doing those things that make our home pleasant and make him happy...those are ways I can show my husband everyday that I care about him. As much as I did when we first married.

I don't think I always show Dan that I love him in how I behave and I am sorry that I don't. I really desire to be better about this. I do love him and I thank God daily for the man He placed in my life. He is my dear friend and love, a companion that most dream they had...I have him and only because God was gracious enough to give me such a man!

I purpose to try to live up to the above verses. I want Dan to know that I love him every day in all that I do...not just what I say.

Happy Valentine's Day Sweetie!

And Happy Valentine's Day to all my dear friends:-)

Blessings,
Sommer

Sunday Rest

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto goodworks, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

Fun With The Kids!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of taking our kids miniature golfing. We went to a place called GolfLand, which is the same place I went as a child. This was our birthday outing for Fiona. It had been delayed because of rain and money...and we thought yesterday was a good day for it.

It is not easy keeping a secret from Fiona. She will ask you 500 questions about where you are going and can usually figure it out. Not this time though. We were able to surprise her:-) That gave me alot of pleasure!

The picture below is of Brenna and her interesting putting style. She'd never golfed before and so it was fun watching her. She had alot better time than she thought she would...and I'm glad.





I just had to take a picture of the girls resting while Dan and I took a round at this hole. This particular hole had a little volcano that left Fiona with a filthy back end. But don't they look just lovely?

And here is Fiona taking her turn. She seemed to really enjoy the afternoon.

I really enjoyed this afternoon and I hope we do this more often. The weather was lovely, the company was pleasant and the time was just one to remember.

Blessings,

Sommer

Sunday Rest

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6

In light of the birthdays we've celebrated recently, I am thinking on such things as this. I hold to this verse as an encouragement not to give up in training up my children rightly. I pray that Dan and I will be faithful in our duty as parents and that our children will show the fruits of this and the working of God in their hearts when they are grown. This verse also gives me an awareness of the great responsibility that God has given us in raising these dear children. They are ours for a time...but truly they are God's and I hope that we will see them praising God and raising their children up to glorify Him too.

May you hold your children close today and be faithful to the duty the Lord has intrusted you with. Have a lovely Lord's Day!

Blessings,

Sommer

My Little Man Turns One!

Where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday that we brought home this dear, sweet boy from the hospital. Helpless and generally unable to do much. Now, he crawls and stands and laughs and points.

Today, my little man, Liam Patrick, turned one year old! And he is beautiful, darling and a joy to have about me. He snuggles and plays and is full of laughter. He has never been small, but he seems so much bigger now...on the verge of walking and saying little words to his momma:-) I am a truly blessed momma! The joy I receive from my children is overwhelming at times, and I am so thankful to God for giving me these little ones.

When I found out I was having a boy, I was totally uncertain of what to expect. My dear friend told me that I would love it so much and be so blessed by a son. A year later....I can say she was so very right. He is so different even as a little baby from his sisters and I love every little thing that makes Liam...well, Liam:-)

I wanted to share a few pictures that I love of my dear boy. I have many I love, but really only could pick a few to share with you all. I hope you enjoy them:-)

This is Liam just a few days old...was he really ever that small?

This was a favorite of mine from when we were at the park. I really can't remember what was so funny...but the joy in his face is priceless

This was from November. He was having a great time looking at books, but he always has time for the paparatzi:-)

This was from yesterday at my parents' house. We were celebrating Liam's birthday and of course he had to have his first birthday cake bath. I just loved this picture of my big boy. Totally oblivious, but absolutely enjoying himself!

Well, Liam...I look forward to this next year of new experiences and challenges. I look forward to seeing what kind of boy, man you turn out to be.

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!!!!

Love,

Momma