Picture Post - Christmas edition

You wish you had some reindeer headbands, don't you?
They blink too.

Blurry, but sweet

Miss Saniya :)

Envelopes in the tree, just like Grandma Amstutz

Best gift ever.

Pj's from Grandma and Grandpa Myers

This train is Max's favorite gift.  Thanks Uncle G and Auntie B!

Andrea and I sportin' the aprons Bets made us.

Max and Kobe

Family tradition - Myers Bingo

Look at these prizes...you will be jealous.

Gerald was the overall winner - screwdriver, 2 bags of popcorn and $20

flashlights and drawer liners

Betsy with her Subway giftcard

Wes and his winnings...

bag clips and a spaghetti spoon

Somehow, I didn't get pictures of Matt and Andrea with their prizes.  Andrea got candles and Matt got 2 water bottles - Sub Zero.

Uncle Wes loving on Keeton

Opening presents with Grandma and Grandpa Akers

You have to eat the gift to make sure that you like it.

Max taking a ride in his wagon

Wes and I managed to take zero pictures of our first Christmas as a family of 3.  Awesome.  We have a few videos, but I decided not to bore you with those.  

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Fistu What?

Just wanted to share a video that our church put together for our end of the year giving.  I love hearing about ways I can help others...even if they are halfway across the world.  There are so many people who have problems and struggles that have never crossed my mind.  This is one of them.  This was a huge reality check to the puniness of my problems and the magnitude of my complaints.

If you are interested in donating or would like more information, go to www.fistulafoundation.org. 

Halfway There

 Happy 6 months to our sweet little boy, Maxwell!

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

At 6 months you...

sit up on your own, smile every time we get you out of your crib, tolerate oatmeal and love bananas, scratch your face to smithereens,

 

suck your thumb (I'm pretty sure it's an addiction), refuse to roll over, no longer eat your feet (due to the extra lb's you have gained in the past month), have tried rice cereal, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots and avocado, make lots of spit bubbles, sleep like a champ, smile when Daddy gets home, move non-stop, cuddle more and "read" with Mommy.

We think that you...

will be sensitive like your Mommy and a thinker like your Daddy.

We call you...

Max, Maxwell, Maximilian, Buddy, Maximus, Cornbread, Little Stinker

We hope you...

won't suck your thumb when you are in high school, learn to crawl soon (although we enjoy how stationary you are), and continue to become more cuddly.

We love you so much and thank God everyday for blessing us with the privilege to be your parents.

Piano Recital

For some reason, my parents always got the giggles during our piano recitals growing up.  If I remember correctly, it was the silent, can't stop, tears falling down your face kind.  Thanks Mom and Dad.  Good thing we knew we were loved.  I'm sure it was a nervous laughter that had something to do with the fact that their children didn't practice as much as they should have for the recitals.  

I love playing the piano.  I'm not the greatest.  I can read music, you could probably guess the tune, but you would never be able to sing along with me due to the fact that I have to hold certain chords until I figure out where my fingers need to go next on the keys.  

Max has endured many butchered songs and amazingly, I think he likes it.  So, I thought I would start him early with his first ever piano recital...

Picture Post

Thanks, Uncle Matt, for the flashy ball!

The boys first bath together

Max in his new pj's that Andrea gave him

Uncle G, I wish I had a hat like that.

Thanksgiving Encore

Max is an amazing sleeper.  1 hour morning napper, 3 hour afternoon napper, 11-12 hour night sleeper.  Yesterday was a different story.  Apparently, his morning nap was all he felt necessary to take.  His afternoon nap consisted of crying, being held, falling asleep, back in crib, wake up and repeat cycle for the next 2 1/2 hours.  I had big plans for his afternoon nap.  I was going to decorate a cake, finish my bible study, and if I had time, start decorating the tree.  I started the cake at 1:00 and didn't finish until a little after 5:00, my bible study didn't get finished until 10:15 pm and our tree is still bare.

God is working on me.  He keeps telling me to be thankful in ALL circumstances.  I've discovered when God is trying to teach me something, He gives me lots of opportunities to practice.  It's easy for me to be thankful for the good stuff in life.  It's even fairly easy for me to find things to be thankful for when I'm going through a pretty significant trial, but to be thankful when I'm frustrated or annoyed with the little things is really hard for me.

Abigail's Hope Designs

So, as frustrated as I was that the afternoon nap did not meet my expectations, I began thanking God.

Thank you, God, for giving me this precious baby.  Pretty obvious starting point.

Thank you, God, that Max is letting me rock him to sleep.  He normally doesn't cuddle when he is tired.

Thank you, God, for giving me an opportunity to be still with no other distractions.

As soon as I started thanking God, my focus and attitude changed.  Thankfulness puts things in perspective.  In the grand scheme of things, a missed nap is not the end of the world.

I slipped back to my old self, dwelling on the negative, many times the rest of the evening, but am so thankful for the grace God extends to me.

He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be...