Happy Birthday Baby Girl

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated birthday number 5 for our youngest. 

with a Teddy Bear Picnic

and apple bobbing

balloons

and precious friends!!

But the biggest surprise was a very special gift from Daddy!!!

A Handmade Doll House!

As you can tell, all rooms are already full!! 

And you, our precious daughter, have filled our hearts with pure joy from the moment you joined our family! We love you more than words could ever express and we thank God above for every moment we have enjoyed with you and pray for many many more moments to watch you grow into the beautiful woman God has created you to become!! We love you !!!

Happy Birthday CJ

It's hard to believe that another year has flown by!!!!! You have filled our lives with spunk, craziness, adorableness, tenderness, tears, laughter and so much more!!! How blessed we are that you have completed our family perfectly. How thankful we are that God gave you to us!!!!! I look forward to seeing not only your hair continue to grow, thank you for not cutting it this year, but also your heart and personality. You are an amazing little girl and I am so thankful that you are all mine!!!!!

!!!Happy Birthday Princess!!!

Remember When: Belated September

Remember When for September is a bit late due to some issues with downloading. I finally gave up and just decided to go with what I have. What a blessing LJ has been!!! He has taught us so much, made us laugh more than I can count, and touched our hearts in ways words can not describe. He has a heart for God's Word and a tenderness for his family that I hope never hardens. Thank you for being such a wonderful, exuberant, vibrant, full of life and love kind of boy. We are so thankful God gave you to us!!!!!



**because this is so late, I won't do a linky for this post but will have a current Remember When next week!!

Remember When: May (Birthday Edition)

<a href="http://www.learntolove-lovetolearn.blogspot.com/search/label/remember%20when"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhvwyloCZSEnV6_aoXSzzSxGYYkGdDoNEEnNRe2jU3iTWi2GyBqDdA17JdilVMGeSukBaypz0rBsYEBdpX2E2etXrrkLEl4hDI_Rh1INLZCWNY7x3GhPdqHnIgJckkE8NwtDpi2kpWA/s200/pencil+and+pen.png" border="0" alt="Remember When" /></a>

It's hard to believe that JJ will be 6 this year!!!! He was 1 week "late" and I was in a mall when he decided it was time make his debut. What a memorable ride to the hospital. From the time we got to the ER front doors till he was delivered was 43 minutes!!!! "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is a phrase I feel describes JJ to a "T". JJ was the only baby we decided to wait and find out the gender at birth.




Although I look rather miserable, JJ's pregnancy was one with little morning sickness, my energy level stayed up for most of it and I actually gained the least amount of weight as I could only eat fresh veggies and couldn't stand the smell of meat cooking.



Adjusting to JJ's arrival was rather smooth after all the commotion of his abrupt arrival settled down. I made sure that he took a pacifier and also began training him from day 1 to go to sleep on his own.


By 3 weeks, JJ was holding his head high, not wanting to miss out on any of the action his big brother was providing!!!



Speaking of big brother, this is where a friendship for a lifetime began!!!



When JJ was 4 months old we moved across the world and have been in Okinawa, Japan since. Hard to believe that this will be his last birthday here on the rock!!!



For JJ's 1st birthday we were blessed to have Matt's cousin and family on island to celebrate with us. We have always tried to keep 1st birthdays a family/close friends affair.



JJ's 2nd birthday began his love affair with Thomas!



His 3rd birthday would be the last one I had much say in what the theme was. The water slide was a big hit with him and all his little friends!!



JJ decided for his 4th birthday he wanted a pirate theme and he wanted to have it out in town at the A&W Restaurant.



One of the hard things about being a military child is that often your friends move or you move. We had a small but fun filled Monster truck birthday to celebrate 5 wonderful years God has blessed us with JJ.



And that brings us up to now, when we are just weeks from JJ turning 6. How thankful we are for each day we have had with JJ!!! I often say that my children teach me more than I could ever possibly hope to teach them! God uses each one of them, in different ways, to refine me. And how thankful I am that God has given me the privilege to be apart of their lives!! JJ, thank you for an amazing year. You have helped us through the bumps, joys, frustrations and added so much joy and humor to our lives!! Happy Birthday, we love you so much and pray that you always know without a shadow of doubt that our love is not conditional, not perfect, and never ending!!!!

Do you have a Remember When? If so, link up!!

Happy Birthday CJ

Wow, 3 years have already come and gone and look at you!!! You are an amazing child. Zany, tender, hilarious, precious, and breath taking! My daughter, what do I desire for you? To grow up knowing your value in Christ. To never for a second wonder if you are loved, because you are: imperfectly by your family and perfectly by our Savior Christ. I pray that the man you will marry is being raised up to also be founded in his identity in Christ, to love you as Christ proclaims in Ecclesiastes, and to be a leader of his family that takes His direction from God. My desire is not to give you the world but to impart in your heart knowledge that baffles the world:"God loved us and sent His Son. 1 John 4:10" Then I can confidently let go when you enter the world you so Christ's light shines into the world, through you. And how thankful I am that I have many years to enjoy with you before I have to release you so that you can continue the work God has in store for you!! Happy Birthday my precious daughter. We love you and are so thankful to God that you are apart of our family!

Blessings for JJ

May 25, 2009


5 years ago, my precious son made a rather exciting entrance into the world. I look back and wonder where all the time has gone and try so very hard to enjoy each day I am blessed with him. What a challenge my son has been but only because he has stretched and grown me into the mom that I am today. JJ, you are an amazing son, full of life and you have added so much to our family. We are blessed to have you as our son and pray that one day you will feel blessed that we are your parents!!!!

Dear Father,
Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you have given us to be JJs parents. He has brought so much life to our family and has taught us so much about showing kindness and understanding, and patience. Lord we ask that his heart be molded as he not only hides your word in his heart but begins to understand what he is hiding in his heart. Father, instill in him a desire not only to work diligently for his family but most importantly for you. May his desire to please you be greater than the desire to gratify himself. May he see early in his life that which you have gifted him for and have a great desire to cultivate those gifts into a ministry that will glorify you. As his parents, help us to continue to grow him up in a fashion that will give him the best environment to become the man you created him to be. As we guide him upon the path to your son, Jesus Christ, show us how to create in him a longing and desire for Christ so that when the time comes for him to chose,for himself, he will not have to look or seek but will be at the door of Christ and only have to knock and enter. May JJ always know how very special he is to us and know, ALWAYS, our unconditional love for him. Most important,though, may he know the Greatest Love of this world, His Savior Jesus Christ. Father bless this next year in his life with health, knowledge, family, and friends. Condition his heart that he will willingly receive the correction that is needed to mold him into a child that thinks of Christ first and not himself. This year will be chalked full of changes for him as more will be expected of him. As his parents strengthen us that we will not fail him in his continued training. Fill us with patience, understanding, and the courage to do that which we know is right; although not always popular and often the harder road to take. May all know the warmth of his smile and the gentleness in his heart. In Jesus name we pray and give thanks for the wonderful opportunity to embrace JJ every night and day, Amen

---

Purity
"Create in [them] a pure heart, O God," and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions. Ps. 51:10

Blessings for CJ

Wow, it's hard to believe that just two years ago we welcomed our baby girl into this world!!! What a journey and learning experience it has been. CJ, we are so thankful and blessed that the Lord chose you to complete our family. Thank you for hanging in there and giving us a softer view of life. We love you so very much!!!!

January 31, 2009

Almighty God, Creator of Life, Thank You for blessing our family with CJ. You are a gracious God to give us our little princess. Father help us to lead her to a personal relationship with Christ on the path you have chosen for us. Let us mold her into that which you have created her to be and not what we want her to be. Let her know always not only how much we love and accept her but most importantly how much you love her and have give her the most important gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Protect our precious daughter and keep her from harm's grip and out of danger's path. May she flourish in health and knowledge of being a daughter of The King this year. Lord we also call blessings upon her future husband. May he have the Word of God instilled in his heart at an early age, come to know Christ as a child and begin to practice a personal relationship with his Savior. May he have good examples to instill in him the biblical truths of being a husband and father. May he stay pure for our daugther that he can completely give himself to her as husband on their wedding day. Father we know that you have already laid a path out for CJ, as parents help us to follow this path and be an encouragement to Your will for her life and not a stumbling block. In Jesus Name we pray these things, Amen

Growing Up in Pictures

So LJ turned 7 last month and I had a grand plan of making a slideshow for him, however I ran into a big problem. I couldn't find any pictures of him between 3 months and 2 years!!! Not that we didn't take any, but somehow they are hiding on my laptop. So hopefully by next year I will have found them, but till then here are some pics that I did find and I hope you enjoy watching him grow up right before your eyes as well. Here is a video of the birthday boy at his birthday dinner. We went to his favorite place on island, Macaroni Grill.