Sam at play....

I love to watch him play. To discover life and learning is a gift. I love in the first picture how he kneels. He does that often and it is just one of those mama things that I love about my boy.

Upward....

This weekend is our final Upward weekend! Jacobs season ends this weekend with his final game, awards ceremony and trip to Braums to celebrate. Maybe in a few years we will be back if Sam desires to play but for now our 10+ years of being at games are and watching our sons enjoy a sport we love are coming to a close. Great season Jacob!!!!

Prayer...

Honestly I think parenting is the hardest job on this planet. It is very rewarding, filled with joy, being stretched, reveals your endurance level and your heart.....daily. We pray often for our children and this year we have this reminder next to our sink to pray for our children and daily it gives a specific new prayer.

Old things...

I love old things! Jacob does too and that is why we value going to estate sales, yard sales and hitting Goodwill together. We found this sweet little lamb for Sam and paid a quarter for it. The woman that was selling it told me it was over 30 years old as it was her daughters when she was little. It makes a really fun squeak too. Sam smiles whenever he sees this lamb. So interesting how we could spend big bucks on a toy or just some change found in our pocket and the inexpensive find becomes a family treasure.

Praise....

One of Trae's top way of receiving love is through affirmation. There is a deep rooted need and in desire in a man to have admiration and affirmation. It is amazing to see how a 13 month is even greatly effected by praise and words of affirmation. Giving a baby medicine isn't the easiest thing. Sometimes you literally have to hold them down in order to get the medicine down. Doing the nose aspirator often has the same results. Sam showed us early on that he wasn't any different than other babies and would really let us know how unhappy he was when those were done. One day I praised him over and over while having to take care of those things for him and he totally changed his tone. He stopped crying and squirming and let me take care of what I needed. I do believe affirmation will be one of his top love languages. Often times it takes years to really zero in on your childs top love languages because they do need and benefit from all of them. I am grateful to see uniquely how God has woven him.

Sentimental Sunday....

We have had one of our coldest winters ever in Texas. To be honest I am more than ready for spring. This picture was from the home we stayed at on our honeymoon. It was an amazing place and right on the beach. While we were there we took the little dining table out on the balcony porch and would sit and eat our meals. It was 80, sunny and pure bliss. While we can't return at this time I am thankful for the memories to reflect on and at this time can only dream of it being that warm! However, we are in Texas so our forecast shows possible snow for Tuesday but who knows it could be 80 by the weekend!

Valentines Day...

Our Valentine cutie...

My sweetheart and a little guy with his red on for Vday!!! People that know us both and know us well say that Sam is a perfect mix of both of us. I have to say that I agree!

Those special touches that come from sweet hearts!

Grandpa Mason and Grandma Sylvia have such a sweet way of loving on you and making you feel special. Grandpa Mason brought his Sam some cowboys boots that he had to have! Mama Sylvia made some a very, very special flag. It is a special tradition that she does with her children and blessed us with one too. I LOVE it and most of all the hearts behind it!!! I don't know if these two will realize how much there kindness and love bless our lives.

His banner over me and you too.....

He has taken me to the banquet hall,
and his banner over me is love. Song of Solomon 2:4

I remember as a child singing a song in our church about his banner over me is love. I liked it as a child. When I was an adult I heard the song again and it was a new version. It was perfect because I was in a season in my life where I was discovering the magnitude of His love. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I came to know the fullness of that love. The Lord overtook me with His love and I have never been the same. It doesn't mean perfection or that everyday I am a beautiful shining example of what a Christian is but it means I am HIS, covered in HIS love and grace and that is more than enough for this girl.

4.5 years ago....

I married my gift from God and today we renewed our vows. At our church we had a marriage conference and it ended with vows being renewed if you desired to do so. When we got married we did covenant vows. Basically the difference is that although we had a marriage license from our state we were making a covenant with the Lord and it would be forever. Covenant says I will never leave you or forsake you. Covenant says I chose once and I am done choosing and we can outlast our problems. That is what the Lord does in our lives to us and we want to live that out with one another.

Snow day 2....

We are home today! We got 10-12 inches of snow! It appears that way and we are grateful for being home and now having our power go out. Trae is working from home today, Jacob is doing a light school day and has found enjoyment in shoveling. He did our driveway and a neighbors yesterday and left with some cash in his pocket and our neighbor paid him and gave him some Mexican treats. Our marriage conference is still on so we will be heading there this evening and tomorrow. We are grateful for our sitter holding down the fort!!! Today I baked a cheesecake for Jacob for Valentines Day it is his very favorite dessert. I am making chocolate covered berries for Trae and I. Sam is napping, Trae is working, Jacob is outside looking for some winter fun and this gal is going to try and go get a catnap while I can!

Sweet Sam....

Snow again....

This is our 4th time this season to get snow! The other times were a couple of inches (but very appreciated!!!) and this time is much more. It has been snowing for 14 hours and we have about 7-8 inches. It is very wet and slushy out. Jacob went out in it and helped clear the driveway. Sam barely touched it and that was more than enough for him!

Grateful....

When we were there for his photo shoot I planned on just pictures with him. While we were driving there I was thinking how I wanted to so a photo session this spring with all the boys but that Sam would be 15 or 16 months than and that right now he was 12 months and that I wanted to capture his sweet relationship with his brother today. We had Jacob jump in for some of the pictures and I am so glad we did! They turned out great and captured the sweet relationship they have. Jacob loves his whole grain honey biscuit! That is his nickname for Sam. He always called him honey biscuit and than one day very innocently he said you know Sam is really more of a whole grain honey biscuit! Priceless! She also captured one of Sam and I as I was comforting him during our session when he needed some mama love. The first few months of Sam's life he cuddled as often as possible and always quickly fell asleep. Those times are less often now so I will take them whenever possible! I am so grateful Amy captured these.

Trae birthday...

I have to take a break from posting Sam's pictures and remember Traes special birthday! He turned 40 last week. We have a very special trip sometime this spring to celebrate both our big (40!) birthdays but his actual day was this week. Dad and Mama Sylvia came in to spend a few days with us and that made it really special. Trae and his dad went to the movies one night, we went out to dinner (his request was a local burger joint that has a blue cheese burger that he loves!) for his birthday and had cake and presents at home. Mama Sylivia a beautiful quilt that will keep him warm for many years to come. Trae got a few shirts, books a video game electronic that had some of the games on it from when he was a teen. His birthday ended on Thursday evening with our HWY team. Trae shared a lot that evening about his life, growing up and the team spoke into his life and prayed for him. We had more cake that night too! Trae LOVES a coconut cake so I made a coconut cake with a raspberry filling. He really enjoyed it and I was glad to make something homemade for my hubby. I have some more pictures but we had a little camera trouble that night so I don't have all the pictures ready yet.

Same session, different clothes....

I picked out 3 outfits for his photo session. How different it is when it is your third! Everything that Sam has on in this photo is bought used except for his shoes. Wish I had done more of that with my first!!! Simply adorable but more $ in our pocket.

Birthday session....

Sometimes you see 1st birthday pictures with a cake and what fun it is to see a baby diving into it. Sam and cake don't mix (at least at this time!) so we went for something festive, fun and that would allow him to move. He loves to be mobile. We did 3 different outfits but these were just to fun to not start with. If you live in our area and need a photographer Amy is amazing!!! We will use her again. I hope to do a session this spring with all the boys.

http://amypenningtonphotography.blogspot.com/