Contentment

This morning I found out that Tucker Beam, a third grader from my school, lost his fight with cancer.  I was so broken hearted.  When I hear things like this, it always makes me wonder about God's role in our lives.  Knowing Tucker has changed my life.  His family is so strong in their faith that it truly has inspired me.  I have been praying so much for this family and yet the life of someone so young was taken.  I know that it is not God that does these things but I know that he could stop them.

We went to church and in class we talked about being content with our lives.  Tom and I have been talking about this a lot lately.  With me out of work, we don't know what God has in store for our lives or what he wants us to do.  We really feel he is telling us that we truly have all we need and that I need to stay home and raise our children.  With all that has happened with Tucker, I feel like I need to be home and raise my children.  It is not often that people get the opportunity to be with their kids all the time.  Maybe this is my opportunity and God is showing me the way.  

I have such a heavy heart right now thinking about what would happen to Tom and me if we lost one of our children.  I pray for understanding, compassion, and healing for the Beam family.  I hope they know how much their son has inspired in so many.  I hope I will never forget this family and the hope and encouragement they have given me.  Thank you Tucker for being a true inspiration of God's hope and faith.  You will be missed by many!

Busy Saturday

Tinzley got us up early today.  Jonas slept in until almost 8.  Of course he sleeps in when she wakes up at 6:15.  

Jonas and I took a walk down to the park.  They were having Art in the Park today.  It was all free art activities for kids.  He had so much fun.  We made a washcloth with his handprints, we made a butterfly with a clothespin and coffee filter.  He also got a balloon sword.  He got to play some drums and different noise makers and paint a canvas.  He had so much fun.  It was so nice to be able to spend some time with Jonas, just the two of us.

We got invited to a pool with some friends.  We decided to try it.  Jonas had a blast!!!  He loves the pool and we realized we need some pool toys, and a round floatie.  Tinzley did not even know she was at the pool.  She slept the whole time which was nice because Tom and I both got to hang with Jonas in the pool.  

I forgot my camera so I do not have any pics.  I know we will have more fun times in the pool to come!

Three Weeks Old

It does not seem like three weeks have passed.  At the same time it feels like she should be crawling by now.  She is still sleeping well, eating well, and for the most part a content baby.  We have truly been blessed.  I keep praying that it will stay this way.  

I have decided to stay home for at least a year.  I hope that this is the right decision but right now it feels right.  I feel like I am suppose to raise my kids this year at least.  We will see where this leads us.  I have not completely given up on teaching but I do not know if it is what I want to do anymore.  I look forward to watching my kids grow this year.  It will be interesting.

We went to the library this morning and Tinzley slept the whole time.  We also stopped by Babies R Us to buy some formula, Thanks Julie!  

Wednesday Night Church

 I know it is important to go to church.  Wednesday nights are so hard.  I spent the whole time in the nursery trying to keep her settled down.  On the way home she cried the whole way home until I gave her a bottle.  She then was not happy at all when we got home and took a long time for her to settle down.  She finally settled down after she threw up everywhere.  I dont think she is sick, I think she was so worked up, she ate too fast and then could not handle it.  She finally went to sleep at 9:40.  She slept 5 hours until 2:45.  She then went right back down at 3:00 and slept until 6:45.  Not a bad night, just hectic with all the crying and throwing up.  On top of everything I had a headache and did not feel good so Tom was great and put her down the first time.  

Jonas actually woke up after all of us today.  I decided to take him to the park this morning to get out of the house.  We went a little stir crazy yesterday staying home.  We then took a walk around the neighborhood.  Tinzley ended up falling asleep on the way home and is now sleeping away.  Jonas is watching The Jungle Book for the 2nd time today.  We got it from the library and I am regretting it.  HE LOVES IT!  He wants to watch it constantly.  I am afraid this is one I may have to purchase.  

I am hoping to get to the library today to return our books.  I hope everyone else has a great day!

Lazy Day

It has been a pretty lazy day today.  Jonas woke me up around 6:30 this morning.  He needs to learn to sleep in like Tinzley.  She was up by 7:15 though.  I guess I will sleep in when they are teenagers.  :)

We took a walk last night while Tom mowed the lawn.  It was my first time taking the kids for a walk by myself.  Tinzley slept the whole time.  Jonas loves taking walks and showing me all the sights.  When we got home he helped Tom mow the rest of the lawn.  

I gave Tinzley a bath, which was her third official bath and the first bath she did not cry.  YEAH!  Jonas has always loved the bath so I am hoping she will too.  She went to sleep around 9:15 and slept until a little after 4.  I could not believe it.  That is almost 7 hours!!!  She just amazes me every night.  I want her to stay this good but you never know when babies change their minds.  My mom keeps telling me she is just a good baby but it is hard to think that when she is still so young.  She will be three weeks on Friday.  It seems fast and slow all at the same time.  I cannot wait for her to show us a little of her personality.  

We have church tonight.  I am hoping we can make it.  Wednesday nights are always so hard because of the time of day.  

Have a great day!  We thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Library

I signed Jonas up for the library reading program this morning.  I am trying to find free things for us to do to get out of the house this summer.  The library we went to is not great but it is better than the one in Alabaster.  We also ran by a thrift store so I could buy him some blocks.  He has been building with anything and everything and Tom and I decided maybe he needed some blocks.  He is super excited about them but had to wait to play with them as they were being cleaned and dried.  

Tinzley is still being a good baby.  She kind of just goes with the flow.  She slept around 5 hours last night and then slept another 4 hours.  Jonas even let us sleep past 7 this morning.  I was so excited.  We all woke up around 7:15.  

We had friends over last night for a cook out.  Jonas had so much fun playing with Heidie, Jayden, and Ethan.  Tom and I really enjoyed talking with Angie and Jeff while the kids played.  It is so nice to have families to spend time with.  We hope to do it more as we get settled into a routine with the new addition.

I keep thinking Tinzley is going to wake up one of these days and decide she is not a content baby but maybe I got lucky.  I can only hope and pray!

I hope everyone has a great day!  Will the rain ever stop?

Memorial Day

I am so excited to have an extra day home with Tom.  It is raining which stinks but a good day to just hang around the house.  

Tom is doing some filing right  now and Jonas is "helping".  Tinzley just went down for a nap.  Hopefully she will get to sleep with her noisy brother hanging around.  I am sure she will be able to sleep through anything because he is so LOUD!

We went to church last night and she was up for the whole service.  She was not too happy on her way home.  She was tired and hungry!  We gave her a bath and then she zonked out.  I had to wake her up to feed her before bedtime and then she slept 6 1/2 hours!!!  She woke up and we put her back down to sleep and she slept until 6:15 when Jonas woke us all up!   What an early riser he is.

I cannot wait for my Mom to come in 2 1/2 weeks.  I am also excited to find things to do this summer to get out of the house.  That is if the weather ever gets nice.  It is warm but so wet!

Saturday Night

We got a lot of cleaning done yesterday with both of us home.  Jonas had a lot of fun with Tom in the garage organizing all of my school stuff.

Tinzley seemed to sleep the day away yesterday.  She is still sleeping pretty well.  She is just not that exciting at this point.  She eats, sleeps, is awake for a little while, goes back to sleep and then eats again.  Pretty normal newborn baby stuff.  I am ready for some smiles and coos to come out of her but now I have to settle for the little smiles that she does right before she goes to sleep.  

She has not had her first appointment yet.  I cannot wait until next Monday for her first appointment to find out how much she has grown.  I hate not knowing how much she weighs.  I know she is growing but it is good to have proof.  

Jonas is becoming a challenge at times.  He does not like to hear he cannot do something or the word NO.  That is all typical two year old stuff but I think it has gotten worse with Tinzley's arrival.  He has a rough time during church.  He just doesnt want to sit and be quiet.  I cannot imagine why not!

We made it to church this morning and we made it through church.  Jonas was pretty good but did have to get taken out.  Tinzley did not make it through class so I had to take her to the nursery where the baby class is and there were lots of babies to keep her occupied.  I think they were all crying and she was not.  She will be there sooner or later.

She slept okay last night.  It was the first night we had to get up twice with her.  She slept in three hour shifts.  Which was okay because she would eat and go back down pretty easily.  

Great Night!

Tinzley is spoiling us again.  

We had a pretty uneventful night last night.  Tinzley was awake for a really long time.  She just would not take a nap last night.  She was awake from 3:30ish to 8:15 when we put her down for the night.  She slept from 8:15ish to 2:45.  I could not believe it!  She did not want to go back to sleep for about an hour.  She finally went back to sleep around 3:45.  She slept until 7:45 this morning.

Jonas woke Tom up around 6:15 but he let me sleep until Tinzley woke up.  I made breakfast this morning.  It is the first time I have cooked in 2 weeks!

We have been so blessed by the people at church!  We also have been blessed by one of our neighbors who was also my sub.  She has brought almost all of my stuff home from school and I do not know how we will repay her and her husband!

Good Night

We had a good night last night.  Tinzley slept about 5 hours the first stretch of the night.  She then did not want to go back down so Tom and I traded her back and forth trying to get her down.  She finally went down and slept about 3 more hours.  I am excited she is sleeping that big  chunk at the beginning of the night.  That helps out a lot.  It is amazing how great 4 hours of sleep feels.  

I have both kids home this morning.  It is the first test of how well this is all going to work.  I am looking forward to Tom being home for a three day weekend.  My mom is also coming back in three weeks so I am also excited about that!  

Jonas is playing in his room right now.  Tinzley is just laying on her fishy mat staring.  I doubt they are going to make it this easy all the time.  :)

Did I mention Tinzley is two weeks today?!

I am excited to go to lunch with my team today!  

Thanks to all of you praying for us!  I know I appreciate it.  I feel like I am in a constant prayer with God asking for strength and patience.  I know I need it.  Also, I wish my emotions would get back on track soon.  I feel like a big ball of mush!

Waking Up The Neighborhood!

Well, we made it to church last night. Tinzley had to go down to the nursery with me and she passed out for the rest of the time.  When we got home we were trying to get everyone to bed.  She did not want to eat too much so she went down easy around 9:00ish.  She slept until 12:45.  She then was awake until 2:15.  She only slept until 4:45 and went back down around 5 and was awoken by Jonas around 7.  I think that is the worse night she has had so far.  I still wont complain because I did get some sleep.  

We have had a busy morning already.  We took Jonas to daycare and then I wanted to pick something up for his teacher because tomorrow is his last day.  We went to a bakery and bought her gift and I tried to feed Tinzley.  She was not real interested so I moved on to my second errand.  I needed to close my bank account.  Well, she was not happy on that ride over.  When I got there she had settled herself and took some more bottle.  Now, we are home and I am hoping she will take a nap and I will join her!  

We miss you and love you all!!!  Keep praying for us!  Thanks!

Spit up!

We had a pretty lazy day yesterday.  I am reading the book Second Chance by James Patterson who I just discovered that I like.  Who knew I would read mysteries?  

Tinzley and I just rested around the house all day.  Then we went to pick up Jonas and came home.  She, of course, slept most of the day with a little awake time here and there.  Her awake time seems to be at night from 5-8.  This could be because her brother is here waking her up and Tom is here and there is a lot more going on in the house or she just naturally is awake right before bed.

She did not go down as easy as she has been.  She seemed to still be hungry after her bottle.  She finally went to sleep around 9:15.  She slept until 1:15ish.  She then took her bottle and went back down but after about 30 min she spit up all over the place.  I hope this is not going to be an ongoing thing because Jonas really had trouble with spitting up.  She seemed to be fine so far with not spitting up a lot.  Anyway, I put her back to sleep in the bed with us and she slept pretty well until 6:30ish this morning.  

I still am not going to complain about her sleeping because she is giving us big chunks of time at night.  We will see if that continues in the coming weeks.

This morning I took her to school.  She met all the little third graders who watched me grow and grow over the year.  They were very excited and she slept through the whole visit.  I am happy to be home with her now and she will soon wake up to eat.  Hope everyone has a great day!

Finding my way

I love this blog thing!  I look forward to writing on here everyday.  I am sure some people dont enjoy reading all of my ramblings by I enjoy writing them.

I had a little bit of a break down yesterday when Tom got home.  I know I am emotional because my body has some adjusting to do.  I am also worried about Tinzley and Jonas and me staying home by myself.  If you know me, I do not do well staying home with no adult communication.  So far, that has been fine.  I am also so stressed about losing my job.  So many questions, what am I suppose to do, what if we dont have enough money, what about insurance, am I suppose to stay home, am I suppose to find a job?!?!?!  Who knows?  I keep praying about it and it just all makes my stomach hurt!  I KNOW THERE IS A PLAN!  I just wish I knew what it was.

On the other side of things, Jonas is being pretty good.  He is a typical 2 year old sometimes but he really isnt any worse than before Tinzley.  Tinzley has been a pretty good baby so far as well.  She is sleeping really well, eating well(not as much as Jonas but that kid was a pig), and she is generally in a content mood most of the time.  She seems to enjoy listening to all the many sounds that go on in our house.  

Please pray for me and my crazy emotional, worried self!  Please pray we will see the plan God has for us.  Please pray we make the right decisions for our family!

Thanks so much for reading and listening!  

True Colors?

Well, we survived last night at church by ourselves.  She was awake most of the time at church.  She had a little trouble going to bed last night.  She just didnt seem satisfied.  She finally went down around 9ish.  She only slept two hours before she woke up again.  She had a dirty diaper so we think that is why she woke up.  I got her back to sleep in the bed with me and she slept until I woke her up this morning around 6:30.  

I took Jonas to Ms. Christy's house and then Tinzley and I got the oil changed in the car.  She has been sleeping ever since.  

I am trying to decide how to keep my days busy so I do not go stir crazy!  

She is going to wake up one of these days and keep me busy I am sure!

LOST and another incredible night!

Tom and I decided to take a chance and not go to bed when the kids did.  We have been wanting to watch LOST.  Well, Tinzley lasted about 30 min.  We gave her more to eat and then we had a little scare.  She choked on the bottle and we had to take a little break because we were both freaked out.  Jonas has never ever choked in two and a half years so it was a little scary.  She seemed fine after awhile but I held her while we watched the rest of LOST.

LOST was so great!!!  I am wondering where this final season will take us.  Juliet falling down the well and living?  I could not believe it!

Tinzley went to sleep around 9:15 and slept until 3:30.  She ate again and went to sleep around 3:50 and slept until I woke her up to get her ready for church.  

She slept all through church and woke up a little during class.  We all went to Cracker Barrel to take my Mom out for brunch.  She ate her bottle and slept through our brunch.  We are all home now and Jonas is getting ready for a nap and Tinzley will hopefully take one too!

Grandma is leaving soon and we are really going to miss her!  Thanks for all of your help, Mom!!!

Thanks to all of those who read my ramblings.  It is a good way to process the days.  It also gives me something to look forward to!

We love you all and thank you for all the prayers we know people are saying for our new growing family!

What a baby we have!

We went to the library yesterday and Jonas really enjoyed going!  My mom wanted to go buy shoes so we went to a shoe store.  Jonas thought that was fun.  He is so funny sometimes.

We got home and just hung out at home all day.  Tinzley just hung around with us eating, sleeping, and staring at her big brother who is so loud!

She got woken up by her screaming big brother around 6 which threw her off her schedule.  So, we fed her at 7:30 and put her down which made me nervous because it was so early.  I decided to go to bed with her.  She ended up sleeping until 1:15!!!  Tom got up and fed her and she went back down around 1:50.  She then slept until 7:00 this morning.  She is spoiling us and I just keep waiting for her to decide to give us a run for our money!  I am trying to enjoy it while I can.

I get pretty nervous and anxious every night before bed time.  She surprises me every night though by letting us get some sleep.  I am also getting worried about my mom leaving.  It has been such a blessing to have her here and I know Jonas is going to miss her maybe more than the rest of us.  He really has gotten very attached.  

I have one more week of daycare and then it is all me all summer!!!

My mom will be back June 13th and stay for 2-3 weeks.  We just have to make it until she gets back!  :)

Again, I thank all of you who are praying for us and taking care of us!  We feel blessed by our growing family!!!

Shopping and a walk, Oh My!

We went shopping yesterday morning with my  mom.  Tinzley slept the whole time!  I had so much fun picking out stuff for her scrapbook I am planning on making someday.  I also have to get caught up on Jonas for the last 2 years.  

We also went on our first family walk thanks to the LaCroixs for the double stroller.  Jonas absolutely loved it!  Tinzley was okay but got a little fussy at the end of the walk.  

Tinzley seems to have settled into a pretty good routine at night.  We are at three nights in a row going down at 8:30-9:00ish and sleeping until 12:30-1:00ish.  She then goes back down and sleeps until 5:00ish.  She is now still sleeping and we are planning on going to the library today because Jonas is staying home with us today.  It should be interesting!  

Thank you so much for all the prayers, presents, food we have gotten from friends and family!  We have been showered with so many blessings.  We love you all!

Church and another amazing night!

Tinzley went to church last night for the first time and slept through the whole class.  This made Tom and I worried she would not sleep last night.  Well, we were wrong!

We got home and fed her about 9:00 and she went down really easy.  She did not awaken again until 1:15.  Then I fed her and put her down about 1:45 and she slept until 5:00.  Tom fed her and put her back down and he got ready for work.  I went back to sleep until 6:45 when Jonas came to see what I was doing.

She definitely is spoiling us.  She has been extremely sweet!

Jonas is being such a good big brother.  He has a lot of fun with Grandma and I think we will feel the effects when she leaves on Sunday.  We will look forward to her coming back in June!  Pawpaw will get to join her then as well and meet his second granddaughter!

Biggest Loser Night

I am such a big fan of The Biggest Loser.  I decided I was going to stay up and watch the whole thing even with a new baby.  I fell asleep right at the end.  I could not believe I almost missed the final weigh in.  Oh, well.  I was surprised that Helen won but go Jerry!

Tinzley spoiled us again last night.  Tom got more sleep than I did because he did not stay up to watch the show.  She went down around 8:30 and slept until 12:10.  She then went back down around 1:40 and slept until 6:00 this morning.  Unbelievable!  

She is doing great.  She is of course sleeping again.  I am just waiting for my other little one to wake up.

Hope you all have a great day!

Enjoy some more pics.  We had a big day yesterday in the yard.

Second Night

Well, I think Tinzley finally decided to wake up.  It happened to be last night at 11:30.  She woke up ate and then was not content to do anything but be held and walked around.  I gave her another bottle at 2:00 and she finally conked out until 5:30.  This morning she took her bottle great and of course drifted off to sleep with no problems at 6:10 and is still sleeping.  What a little stinker.  :)

We will see what our day brings.

Jonas is loving having his Grandma here.  He does not want Tom and I to do a whole lot with him.  It is all Grandma.  

She is such a great help.  I feel so blessed to have all of this help here.

We also have been blessed with people showering us in pink clothes and tons and tons of food.  Tom knows we are not going to be able to eat it all.  

We love you all and thank you for the prayers and comments.  I am loving having a little girl to dress up!  

Going to see Daddy!

First Night

We had our first night with Tinzley last night.  She went down at 8:30 and slept until a little after 12.  She then ate and went right back to sleep until almost 4.  She was a little harder to put down the second time but went down around 4:45 and then woke up around 7:30.  She seems to like sleeping on her own and does not want to be rocked or patted.  That is the complete opposite of Jonas who was always moving.  (He still is!)

More pictures are coming!

New addition!

We welcome Tinzley Page Phifer to our family!

She came Friday May 8 at 9:53 am.  She weighed 7 lbs. 10oz.  She was 20.5 inches long. 

Jonas is excited about being a big brother and we are thrilled about having a little girl!