Hunter Alexander Armstrong

Precious little one, you have finally arrived into this world!  You have been prayed over and thought of many times, but there is one who knew you way before anyone on this earth. 

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:13-16

I pray blessings over you that you may know the love of those around you and your creator, and know you are His.  I pray you discover the grand plan and purpose that God has for you.  I pray blessings of joy and happiness and to find peace in the times of trial and an answer to each prayer. 

I know that there are exciting things in your future and I look forward to watching you grow and hopefully, becoming good friend with Cavett and Kendrick.

I love you, Hunter Alexander Armstrong. 

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Creation

It is a wonder, this world and how it was created.  His creations are just amazing and he is as well.  I was blessed today to see not one ultrasound, but two.  Two different babies, two different wombs, both of which will call me aunt.  He thought of it all--down to each and every eyelash.  I can't wait to meet both of these precious children of God.

In addition to human creation, I was able to dig my hands into the earth for the past two days.  It felt good to scrape it out of a hole, squeeze it and break it apart with my hands.  Adam was made of this stuff.  Awesome. 

The dirt in this neck of the woods is called caliche.  It's a mess.  When wet it is a sticky, glue-like substance.  When dry, it can be as hard as a rock.  And when tracked into my house leaves white footprints everywhere.  We had the flowerbeds made for us back in the fall, but we wanted to plant everything ourselves.  They mixed in good dirt and mulch, but as I labored with my trowel I couldn't help but worry about the rest of God's creation--the shrubs, the trees, the flowers.  How were they to grow in this "gumbo" dirt?  How were the roots going to find enough nourishment?  My mind/the Holy Spirit kept taking me to Luke 12:27.  "Consider the lilies." 

I knew this meant something and I was to discern what He was trying to tell me. 

Typically, I am not a worry-er.  I know it does no good.  One of my earliest memorized verses was "Cast all your cares on Him, for he cares for you."  But, maybe my "worry" comes in another form of second-guessing myself, being to critical/analytical or obsessing over things letting them consume me.  I'm a little "all or nothing." 

There are a couple of issues which have surfaced lately, that I will have a blog for later and that I'm not ready to talk about.  But, I guess I took my hint.   I'm going to stop second guessing, worrying about what I should have done differently or blaming myself.  I'm going to be disciplined but yet with an ease of spirit.  And, I am going to place all of my cares in His hands. 

The work is done.  I'm going to sit back and watch Him work wonders in our lives and on the branches of these little plants whose buds are just waiting to pop out at the right time. 

Bellybutton

We began the morning by singing the Veggie Tales bellybutton song. Cavett showed me where his is and then I told him that that is where he used to be connected to me when he was in my tummy. I opened the door. Uh-oh.

"Mommys can't eat when they have babies in their belly," Cavett said.

"Why not?" I replied.

"The babies will play with their food," said Cavett.

"No, they need to eat for their baby to grow. The baby is in a different part of the belly," I eplained.

"How do babies come out?" he questioned.

Quickly, I replied, "We will talk about this when Daddy gets home."

"Is Daddy the baby-getting-out-expert?" he asked.

"Uh, yes as a matter of fact, he is...." And so it begins.

Literacy Thursday and a Give-Away

**Welcome to Literacy Thursdays. This post is designed to highlight some of our favorite children's books in hopes that you will blog about yours. We are always looking for new books to discover. Literacy is so important and even at the youngest of ages is crucial to development. If you don't have children of your own volunteer at a school, read to a neighborhood child, but get involved. It's a great way to share quality time with the youngest of our society.

Here's the play by play: You blog about your book. Give me a shout out in your blog by creating a link to my blog using my Literacy button. Then at the bottom of my post, you will find Mr. Linky. Sign your name and add the web address of your post. Your post will automatically be linked to mine leaving a list for all to peruse. I hope you will join us.**



I'm just too excited about this one with the Give-Away. I had to post it early! This week I wanted to make sure that the very youngest of all have interesting books to read and look at. Our favorite is not necessarily a book as it is a sort of magazine. Let me introduce you to Babybug!


Babybug is a magazine just for infants through age 3, although Cavett still can enjoy them. It is published by Cricket Magazine Group who also publishes Ladybug, Click, Spider, Cricket and many more. It is published 9 times a year with May/June, July/Aug. and Nov./Dec. being combined.


As a parent, the best part about the books is the ease in transporting them. They are just over an 1/8" thick and printed on very durable, glossy cardstock. Many a time we have gathered up as many as we have and taken them on plane trips. They pack well and keep children engaged.

As a child, they love the stories, pictures and rhymes. Each book begins with a story about Kim and Carrots, her stuffed bunny rabbit. Kim does fun and interesting stuff or sometimes she is thoughtful or helpful. Each story has a purpose or can teach your child some objective. There are also usually 3-4 rhymes, poems or short narratives and then maybe one other story that also reinforces Kim's story. The illustrations are always good and varied. We like to count different things in the pictures or talk about the colors. Also, on the back, they feature 4 items from the book. You can use these in various ways--find where they occur in the book, do they have anything in common, which one is different, etc.

There are online parent guides to help you use the issue to its fullest. They are very helpful. Some of the issues I have read so much I have them completely memorized. Some of the poems I put to a random made up tunes. (If you look in the picture above, "Square Dance" is one of my favorite made up tunes!) But, one thing I will guarantee is that your little one will want to read it over and over and over.

Now, let me get on a soap box and tell you one more thing about repetition. Children need repetition. They thrive on repetition. The more times sequences, songs, patterns, words are repeated the stronger the neural connections become. My point is--don't not read a book because you have just read it. Read it again if they ask. You have to get over your boredom. You are building their brain.

It looks as if our next copy is on its way to our mailbox. And, a copy could be coming to your mailbox as well. The publishers of Babybug have generously donated a subscription to Babybug. Anyone who participates in Literacy Thursday this week by posting on your blog about your favorite children's book and linking back here will be eligible for the drawing. You have until Saturday, January 31 at 3:00 p.m. Just follow the directions at the top of the post!

Hosted by: jennifer @

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Sigourney Velvet

Besides packing, this is the reason why I haven't had the time to wander through blogs and give comments. There is a new baby on her way with a due date of July 27! Her parents, the Blumes are in our Sunday School class. I have desparetly been trying to get her quilt together for weeks, but it is so hard to find a long block of time to put it to it. (I don't like putting things down until they are finished or until there is a good stopping point.) Last night I finally finished it.

At first her parents just called her "Spawnette," but now they've resorted to calling her Sigourney Velvet. Of course it is a huge joke, but they can really pull it off with a serious face. Sigourney will have many laughs with her parents--they are fun people. We pray for her delivery that it is smooth and pray blessings for her life. May her parents also have wisdom and strength for all that lies ahead.

Bird Poop

I have decided that baby spit up is like being pooped on by a bird--same consistancy and disgusting. This one just barely missed me and Kendrick ( and this wan't even the biggest splat of the day!) If I could change one thing about babies, that would be it. Let me change poopy diapers all day, but the spit up has got to go! How about you? What would you change about babies? Comment away...

On another note, we had to get out of the house today. It's a kinda grey, blah day, but we brightened it by a little laughter in the park. Here are a few of Cavett's musings.