Emily Cracks Me Up!

First Snow in the 'Boro

Late posting, I know, I know! But, we enjoyed some snow here last week! Emily had a BLAST!!!!! I was trying to convince her after being out for over an hour that she was in fact freezing and we should go inside. She reluctantly agreed and was allowed to return to the snow when poor Daddy got home after about a 2.5 hour trip home from work...YIKES! They played for a bit and then it was back inside and off to bed with the hopes of returning to a bit of the white stuff the next morning. I was very thankful that there was still some left in the morning. Emily loved every minute of the snow. I am so hoping that we get lots this year, just after everyone gets home safely from work:):)

We even built a snowman (in our pjs:) with Hannah the next morning!

Our Frosty...complete with Christmas tree arms, carrot nose, and mulch eyes, buttons, and mouth. Hey, you gotta work with what you've got!

Sweet little Hannah helping out!

We Are So Grateful!...

It's ridiculous I know...this post was what I started last Friday...needless to say that I am just getting around to finishing it. I have had trouble articulating what I wanted to say. So here is the update on our little man...from last week;)

...for so very much! Yesterday was an emotionally difficult, but needed day. As most of you know we had Timothy's appt. at Vanderbilt yestersday morning. Let me first just say that the doctors were incredible and it could not have been a better experience. The resident that saw us first thoroughly checked out Timothy and kept saying how cute he was and how strong he was. Derek and I have said that from the beginning.:) He was holding himself up on his arms laying on his tummy at just 5 weeks old. The doc said that he had excellent muscle tone and was genuinely surprised at how he was trying to stand completely on his own. He also said, after much examining, that Timothy was completely on track developmentally and that his spine looked great and (we loved this one) that his head was perfectly round!:) Dr. Fenichel, the neurologist, came in next and reiterated everything that the previous doc had. He told us that what Timothy was having is called "Shuddering Attacks" if we wanted a name for it. And while they can seem very alarming and worrisome, they are totally normal for some babies and he will completely grow out of it. From what we understand, they are caused by the developing brain and nervous system...neurons forming and a bunch of other stuff that I don't really understand!:) Timothy did great for the doctors! He was so smiley, as usual, full of personality!!! All in all, he checked out wonderfully healthy! I almost couldn't believe it!

God was very gracious to us yesterday and, honestly, it was very difficult to comprehend the fullness of that! As we sat in that waiting room full of parents with their sweet children, I was overwhelmed with all kinds of different emotions. Over the past couple of weeks, in my conversations with God, He has really been challenging my concept of His grace. I kept asking God why Timothy, why Caleb, why Gracie, why Hayden?...and I was beginning to feel angry and frustrated at what seemed like a lack of concern on His part. It sounds terrible I know, but it is real...that is what I was feeling. Then over these last few days, something began changing in my heart. I began to ask, "why not Timothy?" It was a very sobering realization. I don't deserve His grace and truly Timothy is HIS anyway! He has known from the foundation of His earth everything about His son Timothy Kramer. As much as I hurt for my children, what must God feel for His children? His level of concern is so much greater, the greatest because Timothy is His! That doesn't mean that I don't worry for my son, but it does bring fresh perspective on how I care for him and see Timothy as God's and not mine.

In a moment, everything can change for any of us at any time! Sickness, disease, tragedies, and death are a part of sin and while I don't like it or fully understand...it is truth. It doesn't matter our education or status or how much money we make, every single one of us can and will for sure experience unexpected things in this life. While we may have gotten wonderful news yesterday, I am beginning to understand on a much deeper level how in just a moment, I can be right back where I was yesterday...full of uncertainty with my pride fully stripped away. I think this is a good place for me to be right now because it requires me to fully rest in the fullness of the Father's love and grace.

We thank each and every one of you dear friends, some we've never met, that prayed for our son. What an amazingly beautiful thing that our God gives us one another to love, pray, encourage, and care for one another when walking through difficult and uncertain circumstances. We are grateful!...for so very much!

I Got Tagged...

Alright Anna, this one's for you...I know you thought I forgot!:)

I am supposed to list 7 things about myself that are interesting/weird/unusual/fun and then tag others. It might be hard to keep the "weird" list to a limit of 7...hehe!:)

1. I am a major germ-a-phobe...Monica on Friends=Karen Kramer! (I totally got what she meant about needing a smaller vacuum to vacuum the Dirt Devil.)

2. If I had to choose salty or sweet foods, I would go with salty! I could ditch chocolate in a heartbeat but would be devasted if I ever had to cut out salt.

3. I can't wait for LOST to come back on!!! It is beyond completely ridiculous how long we have had to wait for a new season! (but I am no betrayer...I'll stick with the show until it's end!)

4. I have a terrible fear of losing my teeth. I would never play a sport which involves the possibility of getting a tooth knocked out (such as softball). When I was in college, I got braces and had to have a PERFECTLY healthy tooth pulled and I just thought I would die. Derek was with me and all was good until we got in the car and I started crying hysterically when I saw the gaping hole in my gum.

5. I love to clean! It relieves my stress. I don't get much of it done these days, but I thankfully married a wonderful man that appreciates cleanliness as much as me and has kept our home wonderfully clean since kiddo #2 came to town!

6. If God gave me the chance to spend the day with one person no longer living, I would choose to spend it with my Great-Grandma Grindley! She was an incredible woman with incredible faith and obedience. I fully believe that she prayed me to the Lord! I can't even imagine how many people have a relationship with Christ because of her 102 years on this earth! If God ever gives us another daughter, I will somehow talk Derek into letting me use her first name...Stella.

7. I truly believe that I have the BEST husband in the entire world! After having Derek at home for 4 full days, I was reminded about how awesome he really is! He is so funny, good at tons of things, makes me relax, enjoys little things in life, is easily accommodated, an amazing Daddy, fun to watch movies with, a great Mr. Fix-It (I cannot even fathom how much money he has saved us in car repairs alone), knows all kinds of stuff about EVERYTHING, can always answer my weird questions, reminds me that quiet is a good thing at times, has a very deep faith, and he is incredibly, ridiculously good-looking!

Well, that's all I've got! Now I would like to tag Judy, Ginny, Laurie, Rebekah, Casey H., and Kolby. (If you don't get to it...no harm done:):)

~~oh and I realize that you probably came for just pics, so those are below...more Thanksgiving, ELMO Live, and tree decorating pics to come.~~

Emily painting her first Christmas ornament. She LOVES to paint and could do it for hours.

I am in love with this sweet girl's eyes!!

Timothy grabbed onto this bear in his little chair the other night and we thought it was so funny. He kind of shook it back and forth and just kept staring at it. It looks like there is such a serious conversation going on between him and the bear. Timothy is growing so fast and getting sweeter and sweeter every day. He is a very smiley little guy for sure!

~~...more to come!~~