updates...

it's been quite some time since we've updated our family photos for you (other than christmas, that is).  we have tons of photos from december (before and after christmas) and january that we wanted to share with you.  CLICK HERE to see our updated slideshow.  

it's been awhile since we've given and update on the boys so here it is...they're still as precious as ever and keeping us busy!!  greyson will be 10 months next week.  he was at the doctor last week for his well baby check up and is 23 lbs and 29 inches long.  he still has such a sweet, lovable, laid-back personality and nothing really phases him.   he's certainly keeping up with his brother!  he loves all sorts of food (goldfish are his favorite) and doesn't let the fact that he only has two teeth stop him!  he loves to walk around...of course, with the help of his walker or anything that will move...but we have a feeling he will be walking soon.  he's very quick to get from one place to another and is literally into everything.  he's such a joy!  

hudson is such a great big brother (most of the time!) and it's fun to see the boys interacting more.  they are sharing and "playing" together now more than ever.  hudson still has a major love of music and grooves to any beat he hears...seriously...he's go some talent! :)  he loves to count, sing, and say "happy birthday" to mommy, daddy, and baby jesus.  we've had lots of birthdays in the past few weeks!  he's grown into such an amazing little boy and always brings so much joy to our home.  please continue to check back as we'll keep you posted on all the latest with our family. 

consumed more...

if you've read our previous blog post, you'll know that the inspirational word we've chosen for our family for 2009 is "consumed". coincidentally, our church began a new sermon series this week entitled "consumed" that will continue for the next 5/6 weeks.  how great is that!?!  you can visit our church website at www.rivertreechristian.com to check it out if you're interested or listen to the podcast.  

anyhow, this week we sang a new praise-song entitled "consumed" (again...perfect, huh?).  it's originally sung by the praise band at central christian church in las vegas.  the lyrics are unbelievable and we wanted to share them with you.  we'll be posting these in our home as our prayer as we strive to consume all that God offers to us and to become fully consumed by Him. you can check out the video on youtube if you CLICK HERE!

"CONSUME"

consume all that i am, 

consume all i will be

now until forever, 

my heart will live for Thee

consume all that i am, 

consume all i will be, 

now until forever, 

my heart will live for Thee

breathe into my soul, 

come and make me whole,

flood Your spirit over me.

burn in me a flame, 

bring glory to Your name

i'll forever sing.  

amen!

Our Word

A friend of ours has inspired us to pick a word to encompass a vision for our family in 2009.  What a great way to give us focus and direction daily in such a simple, yet powerful way!  After thinking and praying about a word that truly represents our desires as a family for ‘09, we’ve decided on the word – CONSUMED.  An awesome word, don’t you think?  This word serves much meaning to us as we, as believers, constantly need to be living in the reality of CONSUMING all God has offered to us – for free, not to mention…His Son, salvation, forgiveness, life, a personal relationship with Him, freedom from sin, to name a few.  Living in this world, we so often get CONSUMED by the things of the world, yet what we really should be CONSUMED by is Christ.  If we lived in this reality, we’d all be extraordinarily different people, wouldn’t we?  Our minds would be CONSUMED with only what God desires, not with what “we” desire.  We'd be more concerned with what God thinks and less of what others think.  We’d be more sincere, polite people and less judgmental.  People CONSUMED more with giving, not receiving.  People who feel more compelled to serve and not just be served.  We’d put others before ourselves…always!  What we CONSUMED with our finances, would always be God-honoring.  We’d have more compassion for people on the margins of society.  Heaven would always CONSUME our thoughts (Col. 3:2).  Our minds would be completely transformed!  Wow!  That’s SO what we desire for 2009.  

Here are a couple verses that have been very inspiring to us.  Hopefully they will be a blessing to you too!

“Let heaven fill your thoughts.  Do not think only about things down here on earth.” ~Colossians 3:2

“Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshipping him with holy fear and awe.  For our God is a CONSUMING fire.” ~Hebrews 12:28-29

So, that’s our word.  We wanted to share this with you in hopes that maybe you may be inspired to do the same.  We can’t wait to begin this journey together as a family! We have a couple songs that are close to our heart and related to being CONSUMED, but we’ll share that in another post.   Blessings to you all!

bathtime bliss...

one of our favorite times around our house is bathtime! the boys would stay in there all day if we let them. here are a few of our favorite bathtime photos...

christmas pictures...

    

hope you all had a wonderful christmas!  this year was exciting for us.  it was greyson's first christmas and hudson is now at the age where he really understands what christmas is all about.  he loved putting a new sticker on his advent angel each day and putting together his puzzle of mary, joseph and baby jesus.  we made monkey bread and sang happy birthday to jesus on christmas morning.  we ended up re-lighting the candle a few times because he loved blowing it out SO much!  both boys enjoyed opening their gifts.  greyson caught on pretty quick and was actually pretty good at it!  we really enjoyed spending time with our families over a few days of celebrating and are very thankful for all we received!  what a wonderful holiday!!

we have a lot of pictures to share but for now CLICK HERE to see our pictures from christmas with our families...more to come later.

joy to the world...

wishing you all a very merry christmas!  we pray that you will be filled with the hope and joy of Christ this season!  

too funny!!

if you need a good laugh...CLICK HERE to see pictures of my adorable boys!!  :)

our christmas miracles...

.....................last year ...................................this year


each year we've done a "lights" picture like this since the time hudson was just a baby and now it's a tradition. it's amazing to look back at the other pictures like this and see how much hudson has grown and changed. what a miracle it is to think that greyson wasn't even in the picture last year! wow! how great is our God!?!?!

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"worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. let all the earth tremble before him. tell all the nations that the Lord is king. the world if firmly established and cannot be shaken" ~psalm 97:9-10

in the holiday spirit...

sorry it's been a while since our last update! hope you all had a good thanksgiving...even though it was a couple weeks ago now! ours was spread over a couple different days so we spent thanksgiving morning making cookies as a family and then later delivered them to the Refuge of Hope in canton. hudson especially enjoyed the baking but it also gave us an opportunity to teach him about having joy in giving to others. we told him that we were going to give them to people who need them, even kids just like him. it was great doing that as a family! later that week, we decorated the house for the holiday season and hudson had a ball! he loved helping set up the trees and hanging the ornaments all by himself. he's got such a sweet, lovable personality and he loves to showcase that for the camera...as you'll see in our picture slideshow! lately, he has loved having his picture taken and he especially loves taking pictures himself, too! hum...i wonder where he gets that from? :)

hudson finished his first session of swimming lessons yesterday. he even got a little report card at the end and he has "officially" mastered kicking, blowing bubbles and listening and following directions. he now likes to show us all he can do during his bathtime...even with greyson in there he somehow still finds room! he loved his "pool class" and is excited for the next one. another exciting event for hudson was taking down his crib and putting together his "big boy" bed. hudson had never tried to get out of his crib so we've made it this long just letting him stay in it. we were going to make it into a toddler bed first and then we thought, why not just go to the big, full-size bed and make one less transition! he loved putting it together and getting his new mattresses. he has slept perfectly in it since the day we set it up and he's never tried to get out of it. we tell him he has a nicer bed than mom and dad!

greyson is 8 months now and getting so big. he got his first tooth and started to stand on his own all in one day. he loves standing all by himself and will do it forever! he now has two teeth and is starting to take a couple steps with his walker. he doesn't seem big enough to be doing that...he's our baby!! have you noticed his hair??? it's red!! everyone always ask where it's from and actually, it's on both sides of our families. it was destined to happen. it suits him perfectly! he is such a happy, easy-going, sweet boy. both our boys are constant reminders of how GREAT God is...they are truly gifts from him (psalm 127:3)!!!

we uploaded a ton of new pictures! CLICK HERE to see them!

circus and swimming...

i guess i haven't been doing too well at keeping this updated! hudson has had 3 swim lessons at the YMCA and he LOVES it!! we watch him on the monitor and he sits at the side of the pool splashing and kicking his feet. (he is allowed to splash while the teachers are working with the other kids!). he especially loves the fun shower after "pool class".

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andrew has always wanted to take hudson to the circus and it was in cleveland a couple weeks ago. he, papa and hudson left early and headed up for lunch in the city and then the circus. hudson loved seeing all the animals and the motorcycles. he still talks about the "big show"!!

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greyson will be 8 months next week. he's rolling all around and loves to stand at his activity table and play. today he pulled himself up to stand so it won't be long before he's all over the place!!

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CLICK HERE to see all the recent pictures.