This week has been so wonderful! After all of the (super fun!) vacations and Celebration, we’re finally back home to stay with no plans of going out of town anytime soon. I love my home; I love routine days filled with changing diapers, making dinner, keeping in touch with friends, doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms – I know there’s a temptation for me to find these things monotonous, but after such a busy summer, I’m thanking God for them!
As far as updates go…. my “little” man is three months old!
I can’t believe how fast he’s growing; he’s already in 6-9 month clothing! I prayed for a fat baby who loved to eat and boy oh boy, God gave me the desire of my heart 
He smiles like crazy, makes happy little “coo”’s when we talk to him. And he sleeps! He’s sleeping through the night (about 10 – 12 hours) pretty consistently which is wonderful. Sophie didn’t start doing that until she was 9 or 10 months old! As much as I don’t like hearing him cry, it’s definitely easier to train him to put himself to sleep… on the Metro Mom’s blog there was a recent series on “Doing Hard Things” in regards to raising our kids in the fear of the Lord. Through it, I realized that I often have very low expectations of my children. For example, in working to teach Sophia to obey and “take one more bite” for mommy and daddy, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said things like “She’s had a rough day” or “She’s off her schedule”, etc. Instead, as a mom, God has called me to train my children in the way they should go, regardless of what our day or week has been like. Yes, there is often room for grace and we’re crying out to God for wisdom daily, but if I’m faithful to be consistent and truly care for my children in doing hard things instead of loving my own comfort and being lazy… then I can expect that Sophie will leave her shoes on in the car, that she will not respond with “AH!” when I tell her she must sit, not stand on the couch… I can expect that Thomas will go to sleep when mommy and daddy decide that it’s bedtime and that someday (please, Lord!) he will not scream when it’s time to play on the floor with his toys. I’m so grateful for the leadership and wisdom of the ladies in our church and how faithful they are to share what God has done/is doing through them!
And as “hard” as some of these training days may be, there is so much joy in my heart. Lately, God has been reminding me each night as we tuck our two crazy children into bed that these are all blessings from His hand, He is the giver of EVERY good thing….
