Happy 1/2 year Birthday!

Happy 1/2 year Birthday Sweetie!

It's hard to imagine our life just 6 months ago without you!

You have brought so much joy into our lives in just such a short amount of time. Look at you in these pictures above! See what I'm talking about :)

You were worth every second of the wait during God's lesson on His timing! He ALWAYS knows what's best for us. Remember that always!

I've finally started to relate to what Grandma Kriener always used to say about me. That I'm the best, and that I'm so advanced. Well I'm starting to realize I think most moms say that about their precious children, but...You really are THE BEST ever and we are SO PROUD of you!

During the past 6 months we have watched you develop right before our eyes.
Two of my favorite times with you are when you first wake up, how cuddly and squinty eyed you are. And when daddy gets you really laughing! Your giggle is so priceless! Always remember to laugh; Not at people, but with them.
You love being outside, or sitting in the bumbo on the kitchen table watching daddy shovel snow outside.
You love observing the world around you. You are a learner. I pray you always have that quality.
You love cousin Dax's toys. (We send him picture texts of you playing with them, telling him how thankful we are for them!)
We just started rice ceral with you at 6 months, and I can tell you will love food too.
You have always been a great sleeper. God always knows what each of us needs.
You just got your first tooth.

You just started rolling over while I'm changing your diaper. This gets tricky, but it's funny as long as you don't have dirty bottom!
Your hair is blond and straight. Believe it or not, mine was too until I was about 5 years old.
Everyone says you look like me. This makes me happy. But you still have blue eyes like daddy, maybe that's why I think your eyes are one of my favorite qualities about you so far.
You love sports. Whether we are at a volleyball, or basketball game, or watching football on TV, you are in the zone!
You have LOTS of girls that love you already (none like your mama, or grandmas!) But while I am coaching or your daddy and I are on a date night, there's always a dear friend of mine taking care of you. Some of them are Chelsey Butler, Andrea Goodrich, Angie Swoope, Janessa Potratz, Katie Farely, Jamie Kampman, Vanessa Nelson, Kristen Allocco, Laurie Goodrich, or west high players. Wow you are a loved boy!
You also have lots of little friends. We try to let you see them a couple times a week! Some of the more frequent are Liam Baumhover, Anna, Josiah, and Abigail Kampman.
You have been making your Mah, Mah and Dah Dah sounds for awhile. Although now more sounds are coming out.
You sit up on your own like a big boy! You are getting a little bored on your back now so you prefer to sit up and play. Clancy and Bubba are your favorite handheld toys. Bubba is special because daddy picked him out for you at the hospital giftshop :) (He is in one of the pictures above)You used to not like being on your tummy very much, but since you haven't quite figured out how to roll back over to your back, you have learned to be content on your tum.
I love that you love your baths! You're almost ready to go to the big bathtub. The little blue guy isn't quite enough room for you to play anymore.
I also love the times when daddy is playing you music! You are so interested and I think God will bless you with talents like your daddy. Maybe you guys can be in a band someday. :) I'll be the backup singer, eek, maybe not, but I will be your biggest fan!


We love you Elliot Alexander!

xoxo

lovemom

EWOW- A different season; from the INSIDE and the OUTSIDE

From some of my past posts, I'm sure it was clear that I was wrestling with some stuff with God. I have been frustrated, confused, mad, etc! I'm writing very joyfully today sharing what God has shown me and given me peace, freedom, and joy in lately! YAY! I have complete confidence in He is who he says he is, and He will do what he says he will do! This post has the potential to be all over the place. But that's part of who I am anyway I guess :)

You're Blessed when you get your inside world (your mind and your heart) put right. Then you can see GOD in the outside world. Matthew 5:7-8 (the msg)

As we have been trying to figure out "our" plans for the future, God has been telling me it's NOT about me after my selfish prayers "What should I do, where should we go...etc" It is Always, always, always about Him. He will certainly direct us where we are to go, but I need to remember WHY... It's to know Him and Trust Him more! Well it seems like he continually hits me in the head with the phrase "KNOW ME" lately. No worrying about what the world, or other people are telling me, but finding rest in what intimacy with Christ is like in seeking to know him more deeply: specifically by studying His word and trusting in Him.
Our body, Grace Community, has been giving messages on "Abiding in Christ" This has been an amazing series, that God is constantly using in my life and is one of those 2x4's that's hitting me every Sunday. I also listened to another message in the car by Francis Chan that hit me again with knowing Him from -Matthew 7 (I paraphrased here) "Many will say..'Lord, did we not do these duties and religious practices..Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' That is pretty clear about his purpose for us. Knowing Him. Andy also wrote a song called Straight Forward (one of my favorites) that the jist of it, is "We wanna go forward with "plans" but we need to go straight forward WITH HIM!

Draw Close to God, and God will draw close to you. James 4:8

Another sweet thing....As most of you know, I played basketball at Iowa State. It was at the end of my freshman year that I understood what it meant to believe in Jesus. I have complete confidence that ISU is where God wanted me to go for this reason (an added bonus...that is also where He had plans for me to meet Andy!) I am so thankful for my years there! So guess what my initial reaction was to moving to IOWA CITY! The DARK SIDE! yeah, well fast forward 4 years, to just this past August. The pastor who married us in Ames has a daughter who is going to play bball on the Iowa women's team! We got to talking and then I got to praying and to make a long story somewhat short, I knew I had to be faithful with what God has put in front of me. So I'm now doing their team chapel! Cheering them on. Supporting them. Encouraging them. Trying to be a spiritual mentor. Who would have thought! and get this... I LOVE IT! I am in my zone! I feel like I'm doing what I'm wired to do to a group of girls that I can relate to from my experiences as a student-athlete. I will try to be faithful to "bring the kingdom" to carver-hawkeye arena, because HE IS bigger than the Cy-Hawk series.... I was reading the story of the 10 talents in Matthew 25:14-30 and remembered what my mom has always told me "You have been given a gift" Well this story came to me in a different light the last time I read it. I learned that God has given us different gifts, responsibilities, etc. What will we do with them? Hide them for ourselves, or will we use or invest them for God's purposes? I don't want to be like the servant in the story who hid his masters treasure. I want to use the gifts he gace me to invest in peoples lives who need it (Whereever and whoever that may be) and to love God through it. Plus Jesus says to "love our enemies" :) Funny how at one time I considered the hawks "the enemy" now I'm truly lov'n the girls I get to cheer on (spiritually and on the court) Please pray for them, they have had some unfortunate injuries and are playing with only 7 eligible players. Pray also, that Jesus would bring them to himself. (Here's part of the team poster that is hanging up in our computer room, I'm using it to plan out the chapel times by using the sayings under their name and matching it with God's Word.)

Another sweet thing :) Many of you know that we have felt like going overseas is something God has been calling us to do. I've been up and down with this. One reason, because of family. Our family with Zander, what would that look like? And also not feeling supported by our extended family. I never expected them to be, OH YAH, GO! DO IT! but I did want their blessing on it, saying although we don't want you go, we will still support you! Guess what! God has answered our prayers! I'm SO THANKFUL and JOYFUL about this! Praise God with me!
MORE sweet things.... We painted one of the walls in our apartment, love it! I also made a new time with Jesus nuk! Now that I'm in routine with 6am p90x(see previous post), feed Z, shower, God time) it feels good to have an area set up. Many reasons why I love this new spot....

1. I can keep the dining room table cleaner (at least it is clean at the moment :)


2. Zander can play next to me (until he starts crawling)


3. Beverage warmer (a must) Looks like this.... Drink.. attend to Z's needs.. come back, coffee still warm.. Oh how I love thee!


4. drawers to stash all my study goodies (colored-pencils, different versions of bible, journal, etc)
   
5. Sun-shine!

It's always so easy for me to journal about the hard times, the times when I "need" God or times when I feel distant. But I wanted to Praise him for the answers! Thanks for letting me share!

Pray about everything. Tell God your needs and DON'T FORGET to thank Him for His answers. Philippians 4:6

Lov'n God in the inside, and seeing him work on the outside,

lovelisa