Best Mother's Day Yet...

...and that's because it was my first one!!!

And because we gave our babies back to the Lord yesterday. Not that we hadn't already. But our church had the baby dedication ceremony.

I can't think of a better way to say "thank you" to God for our two huge blessings, than by saying "they are Yours, and I will do my best to show You to them and teach them how to follow You." So that's what we did publicly in front our of families, friends, and church body.

Mom and Mike came to visit to celebrate the babies dedication and Mother's day. It was a quick trip, but better than nothing!

{these are my people}

{mom and mike}

{me and my little buddy. and my pretty flowers from kyle.}

{two crazy girls. mattie rose and her meme.}

{praying over these two sweet things. notice how we did not come unprepared. pacis and a bird. anything to prevent a meltdown.}

{pastor roland giving us a few instructions. that's my friend jennifer next to me with her sweet baby anslee kate. anslee kept wanting to smell my flowers ha!} 

{our sweet sisco friends came to celebrate with us. love them so.}

{mamas and their babies. sweet maeve just a'growing inside kayla's belly}

{mattie rose was more interested in meme's necklace than smiling for the camera. james looks over it.}

{grandmothers and their favorite grandchildren}

{the mcshans}

{couldn't navigate life without these two}

{near impossible for everyone to look in the same direction, but i'll take it}

We also had verses that we chose to pray over the two of them. I always want Mattie Rose to know that internal beauty and integrity are for more important to the Lord than external beauty. So for her we chose 1 Peter 3:3-4 which says, "Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." And for James, we wanted him to have a verse to carry with him throughout life's challenges and trials that he will face as a boy, teenager, and man. We chose James 1:12 which reads, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

Mattie Rose and James, Mommy and Daddy are so proud to call you ours. We pray daily and fervently that you would come to know the Lord at a very early age, and hold on for dear life to Him all your days. We pray that we would always be aware of teachable moments to show you God's love, grace, and glory. And that we would be able to model Christ's love for you and others as we follow Him. We love you so much and cannot wait to continue to see what the Lord has in store for your lives!

11 Months Update

If I could sum up 11 months so far in one word, it would be laughter. James and Mattie Rose are hilarious these days, and they think each other are the funniest person alive. And they are. To me at least. Everything one does makes the other fall over laughing. 

They both are getting more curious and mischievous as the days go by, which brings about much chasing and correcting from this mama! There are times when I have trouble telling them "no" with a serious face as they look at me with such proud smiles of the trouble they are getting themselves into. And then there are times when I have just ruined their world for taking away a phone charger that they could easily wrap around their necks. Battles... Have to pick them I suppose. 

Birthday party planning for the big O-N-E is well underway. We (and by we, I mean me) are going for a fish/under the sea theme. I am not really sure how moms planned birthday parties before the days of Pinterest. However, I am quite sure they didn't spend as much money! 

Not too much has changed in the past month, but here's where we stand:

-We are able to push our walkers all over the house, but are still unable to stand unsupported. 

-We live to climb over any obstacle you put in front of us whether it be pillows, laundry baskets, human bodies... :)

-James has four teeth now, two on top and two on bottom. Mattie Rose still has just the two on the bottom.

-We FINALLY have babies who sleep through the night. Mattie Rose will have an occasional bad night, but for the most part she is sleeping from 7-6:45, and James from 7-7:30, sometimes 8.

-We have been taking two really great naps that last anywhere from an hour and a half to two and a half hours, just depending on how much they want mommy to get housework done :)

-We are working on weaning the bottle. This is so sad to me for some reason, but I am so looking forward to the day when I no longer have a tub of bottles to wash before bed. Sorry Dr. Brown's, but I won't miss you. They haven't been too interested in sippy cups before and knowing we are about to make the switch to regular milk, I have been trying to push the sippies a little more. They are definitely more interested and are finally drinking from them rather than just chewing on the spout. 

-We still love going for walks and swinging at the park, but we really love going to Jumpville! Jumpville is a place in Cookeville that has inflatables, but they also have a toddler area full of vinyl/foam type inclines, blocks, rollers, etc. They have a blast climbing up, over, and under everything! 

-We love to dance. Anytime we hear music, we bounce up and down if we are standing, and sway side to side if we are sitting down.

-Bath time is still our favorite part of the day. But now we have to watch for drowning babies, as they love to tackle each other in the tub.

-We are saying a few more "words." It's no longer just da-da-da-da. We can throw in a "mum mum mum mum" and "ba-ba," though I am not too sure they know what each means. Or maybe they do. Who knows???

Enjoy some pictures from our 11 month shoot! Hard to believe in just two and half weeks these babies will have been in our lives for a year! Can't imagine life without them!

It's a shame they aren't happy babies :)