A Simple Truth About Love

It's interesting. I was looking at our baby today and thinking about how grateful I am to have him and how much I love him. My love grows more each day that he's been a part of our family. I was smiling at him, thinking how he doesn't comprehend yet how much I love him. And at the sweet young age of 7 months, I don't think he is capable of loving me just yet. But that doesn't stop my love for him, despite the fact that he is unable to love me the same. My love for him is unwavering, ever growing and pure. Regardless of who he turns out to be, I will always love him because I am his mother and he came from me.

I turned my attention then to the Lord, marveling at the simple truth I was seeing through my little boy. The Lord loved me first, when I had nothing to offer him in return. The Lord loved me first, when I did not even know Him yet. The Lord loved me first before I had thoughts of loving in return. The Lord continues to love me now, despite the fact that I am incapable of returning an equal amount of love. I am unable to worship rightly all the time. I am unable to fully understand the awesomeness, holiness, purity, righteousness of our Lord. I can know glimpses, but I can't see the whole picture, not yet.

The Lord loves me because I came from Him and He is my Heavenly Father. The Lord will always love me, regardless of when I mess up, because He smiles at me the same way I smiled at my precious boy this morning. Thank you Lord for showing me this sweet truth about love.

First Plane Ride with a Baby 2010

Our first plane ride was Aug. 31-Sept. 3, 2010 to Las Vegas, NV. Logan was six months old. He was fantastic on the trip! A passenger exiting the plane said he didn't even know there was a baby on board. For the plane ride, we bought an umbrella stroller and borrowed an infant carrier/base. The infant carrier was extremely useful for the plane ride for Logan to sleep and play in. I wore Logan in the sling while at the airport and being transported to the hotel in the airport shuttle. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, which was a beautiful hotel, complete with a lazy river and wave pool. Sadly we didn't make it into the water, but we did enjoy the view. Philip attended Photoshop World Conference during the day, while Logan and I explored the hotel. Logan and I had dinner with my cousin, Courtney, twice and met her fiance, Brady. That was a lot of fun getting to talk with Courtney and hear about her life in Vegas. Thursday afternoon Philip joined us for lunch and we ate with his aunt, Kathy, and his cousin, Brian. It was nice to finally Brian after hearing so much about him. Logan took a liking to Brian instantly. Philip enjoyed the conference and learned a ton of valuable information. The presenters were amazing, ranging from National Geographic photographers, to Photoshop gurus. The conference was definitely worth attending.

What I learned about our first plane trip with a baby:

• The infant carrier/base was well used
• The umbrella stroller caused more of a headache than anything and I would rather spend the money to buy a travel bag and take our stroller next time
• Traveling is great when UNT pays for it
• Food is not cheap in Vegas, it is ridiculously expensive
• Logan and I had a good time exploring
• It's important to keep Logan on his sleep schedule as much as possible
• Logan rolled over from his tummy to back on his own for the first time
• Logan found his toes and learned how to grab them

First Road Trip 2010

Our first family road trip took place from July 5-12, 2010. We left Denton and drove 5 hours to Amarillo and stayed the night at our friend's mother's house. The next day we arrived in Santa Fe, NM and stayed at a nice hotel for only $48 a night, thanks to priceline.com. Philip surprised me by making a short detour to the Four Corners on our way to Colorado. Turns out they closed the monument back in February and didn't tell anyone! At least we got a picture of the closed sign. We continued on to Durango, CO where we had a nice dinner and walked around the tourist area. The drive through the mountains was gorgeous, making quick stops at Silverado and Ouray. Absolutely breathtaking locations. We made our way winding in and out of narrow mountain roads, until arriving in Montrose, a decent sized city in the foothills where we stayed the night. The next morning we enjoyed a cup of coffee and pastry on the front porch at a cute coffee shop before hitting the road again. The drive from Western Colorado to Eastern Colorado was beautiful. We saw mountains, valleys, thunderstorms, snow and sunshine all in a few hours. That afternoon we pulled up to our final destination: Denver. We met our nephew, Matthew, which was really fun. The next few days we enjoyed time spent with Stacy, Ben, Matthew, my parents, Don, Lori, Courtney and Katie. It was relaxing and pleasant. The return trip we stopped in Colorado Springs just long enough for Philip to see our old house, then pressed on til we reached Amarillo and arrived in Denton the following day.

What I learned on our first road trip:

• we packed way too much of everything for Logan
• as long as we stopped every 3-4 hours for a feeding, diaper change and play time Logan did great traveling in the car
• priceline.com and travelocity's secret rooms were an excellent way to book lodging
• renting a car was a wise decision, providing more space and no wear/tear on our car
• I love traveling with my husband and son, anytime, anywhere, as long as we go together:)

Logan - My Little Love

I love my sweet and precious baby boy. He truly is a gift from the Lord. This morning we sang songs, read books and played with his toys. It is so much fun to watch him develop new skills each day. Three weeks ago he had no interest in his toys or books. Now, he smiles and laughs when we play with his rattle, and he looks at the pages of the book as I read to him, smiling as he observes and listens. It is fascinating to watch a little baby as he learns how to hold objects with his fingers, wiggle his toes, and laugh as the ceiling fan spins around and around. What a blessing and a joy for me to stay home with Logan each day and watch him develop from a newborn to an infant and eventually to a little boy. Thank you Lord, for bringing this sweet bundle of joy into our home to be a part our family. We love him so much and are so grateful for him.

4 Reasons to Use Cloth Diapers

I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers before Logan was born, but I have been surprised at how much I love using cloth diapers. Consider the following reasons and see if you would like to try cloth diapers for your little ones.

1) Cost Savings: There is an upfront cost of about $500 to buy all needed materials for cloth diapers. The cloth diapers will last from birth to potty training, and for subsequent children. I heard the average cost of using disposable diapers ranges from $2000 - $5000 per child. That's a huge cost savings worth considering!

2) Better for the Environment: One disposable diaper takes 500 years to decompose. One child will go through at least 5000 diapers from birth to age 3. Multiply that out by 500 years and your great-great-great-great-great grandchildren will be born when the diapers you currently use are finally breaking down in the landfills.

3) Less Diaper Rash: Most babies who use cloth diapers experience less diaper rashes, if any at all. Logan had a pretty bad diaper rash the first month of his existence, when he was using disposable diapers. Once we switched to cloth diapers and the rash cleared up, he's been rash free ever since.

4) Cute Colors: Cloth diapers come in all sorts of fun colors and patterns. They are easy to use and just plain cute on his tiny little bottom.

We bought all our cloth diapers from www.diaperjunction.com and www.kellyscloset.com. Check it out!

Turn off the tube

The average American watches 28 hours of TV a week, that breaks down to 4 hours a day. Most likely the majority of the TV hours takes place in the evening, after work, during dinner, before bedtime. I was thinking about how much time Americans waste away by watching TV, when there are all these major social issues going on, crime on the streets, homeless folks, orphanages, women and children seeking safety in shelters, the list goes on. What if each family across the nation chose one night a week where they turned the TV off and the entire family spent those 4 hours working on any one of the social issues present in today's society. Progress would be made and families would spend quality time together doing good rather than watching life pass by in two dimensions.

Compassion brings us to prayer

Recently I have been following a family of 6 from Iowa who just lost their 22 month old son, Ben. The father has been writing daily updates, both leading up to the sad outcome, and the days following. The father's trust in the Lord throughout this whole process has been amazing. In the midst of extreme sadness, he continues to praise the Lord and ask for prayer requests for him and his family. You can hear his intense disappointment and broken heart, but there is no bitterness, only trusting in the Lord's will.

My heart hurts for this family I have never met. Becoming a new mom has opened a door of compassion that didn't exist before. Because I hurt for this family, I have been praying for them on a daily basis. I think people try to protect themselves from pain and suffering, yet it is the pain and suffering that brings us to our knees to pray. If I had closed my ears to hear the heart-wrenching story this family is facing, I wouldn't have known how to pray for them, or even thought to pray for them. Pain and suffering bring about compassion, all of which leads us to prayer.