Oh Baby

So how about a healthy serving of Micah? I thought some of you (relatives) would like an update of Micah! So he is pretty much awesome. I could just sum it up with that. :)

Micah is now 8 1/2 months old. (Really?!) He is funny, joyful, and independent.

Our Routine

7:00 Wake up and takes a bottle in bed with us

Climbing practice, jungle gym: Mom, Dad, DeWayne :) (I LOVE this time, he has so much to tell us, and he touches our faces like he had forgotten what we looked like)

7:30-8:15 Plays in his room, while rocking out to Keith Green Kids Worship

*He LOVES playing alone in his room, all we have to do is walk towards the CD player and he kinda freaks out (meanwhile Mom and Dad shower and get ready for the day)

8:30 Breakfast: Usually a few slices of cucumber (LOVES them), 3 T vegetable, 3 T fruit

9:00-11:00 Morning nap (He reaches for his crib and giggles as we put him down)

This is when I get to have my time in God's Word, emailing, blogging, cleaning the house

11:00 Bottle and lunch (3 T vegetable and 2 T fruit)

11:00-1:00 We usually either run errands, go see Daddy (his office is 1 mile away-wootwoot!), or go for a run with DeWayne

1:00-3:30ish Afternoon nap

3:30 bottle

4:00 Room time again, play with Mommy, sometimes go with mommy to hang out with a youth group girl

6:00 Family dinner, usually the same as breakfast

6:30 WRESTLE TIME WITH DADDY :) (I firmly believe he LIVES for this time of day)

Bath time

7:00

Bible stories

He now loves to actually sit and listen to me read to him! For the longest time he would just try and eat every page...

Bottle

Pray with Mommy and Daddy (not DeWayne)

7:30 Bedtime

Usually 3 times a week I leave for work at either 5 or 7 and work till 1 or 2, so the 3 boys get the evenings together. I purposely don't ask what they do, it probably involves farting contests, eating ice cream, and making bets on the game....

Milestones:

*He can crawl backwards and rotate 360 degrees

*He is days, maybe moments, from pulling himself up to a standing position

*No teeth yet

*He is up to like 4 consonants, dada, gaga, nana, and baba.

Likes:

*Room time

*Balloons

*Target and Chic fil A (or is that me?)

*Byron Johns (one of our pastors, sorry to all other readers, but Mr. Byron is by far his favorite person)

*Runs in his stroller

*Dancing

Dislikes:

*Sunday mornings

*Getting dressed (he is passionate about nakedness) (I'm resisting making a comment about where he gets this from ) (his dad)

*Pumpkin

*Off brand formula. :(

What I am learning:

Is there room on this blog for this category?! I am learning so much, from organization and how to suction a snotty nose, to deep tough lessons in selflessness. I am learning how crucial moral training is, even at 8 months. (Micah now knows the word "no", and usually quickly obeys, I am amazed. I am learning the importance of prioritizing. If I choose to be lazy during his naps and not have my devotional time or clean up, it often doesn't happen. I am also learning how important my marriage is. The moment Matt and I put each other 2nd to Micah our family suffers. But when we treasure one another, set each other up for success, and communicate excessively, our family thrives. I am also learning the monumental importance of grace. I have to be gracious with myself as I fumble as a mother and a wife; and I must be gracious with Micah as he learns any number of things. Lastly, I am learning about joy. My first round of joy training was when I married Herky. :) And I am continuing to learn about it. It is so contagious! Betweeen my 3 boys I should just laugh all day, which I must add, would be quite healthy.

Oh yeah, I'm learning a flat stomach is way over rated........ hahahaha....eh.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

BIG

I'm giddy. I am at Panera---alone. Matt is home with Micah during his morning nap and I was sent to my happy place with my Bible, journal, and Mac. *Sigh. I hardly know what to do with myself, on the way here I turned around to talk to the empty car seat, then remembering I was ALONE. :)

So I just quickly wanted to blog about a cool thing God did this week.

While sparing you the majority of the details Matt and I have had a rough week. Finances are really tough right now, maybe tougher than ever. And in addition, I have been saturated in my pride and not wanted to share that with anybody. But, like most struggles, when handed over to the Lord it can be transformed into a beautiful opportunity for growth. Matt and I have existed on our knees for the past week. It has been scary at times, yet we know that we stand on the Rock (Colt McCoy).

But here is the sweet God story:

I have felt consumed with fear at times this past week. Then yesterday I got a text from a girl from our youth group that she needed to talk. She became a Christian about 2 years ago and we have gotten very close. But the past semester has been hard, the world has wooed her.
But my God is in the work of restoration. I love to see God bring the lost to him, but just as much I love love love to see him go after the wanderers. And he is going after this girl! I was able to listen to her as she realized that she is being pursued! God is coming after her! He is jealous for her! I got to listen to her as she realized that the world has nothing for her, as she realized that she is loved by a God that has been on the back burner of her heart for a semester. I saw it in her teary eyes that she felt pursued! Ah-I'm making a scene at Panera. Our God is so big! If He can save the lost, if he can drawn back the wanderer to himself with his love, then he can pay bills! Who cares about money?! As C.S. Lewis said "Aslan is on the move!"

So that's my rant. What felt like such a consuming struggle for most of the week now seems minimal. The mountain of finances is a molehill in light of the power of God.

As I sit here inhaling the addicting scent of Cinnamon Crunch bagels I am praying that you can experience our BIG God today. I'm praying that whatever feels insurmountable today will be conquered by the truth that our God moves mountains.
Zephaniah 3:17 claims that "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness;he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."


I wish I knew had to better finagle this fancy smancy blog thing so I could have you listen to this song, but until I learn I'll just give you the lyrics. My all time song of encouragement: He's Always Been Faithful To Me by Sara Groves.

Morning by morning I wake up to find
the power and comfort of God's hand in mine.
Season by season I watch him amazed, in
awe of the mystery of his perfect ways

CHORUS:
All I have need of his hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me

I can't remember a trial or a pain he did
not recycle to bring me gain. I can't
remember one single regret in serving
God only and trusting his hand

This is my anthem, this is my song, the
theme of the stories I've heard for so long.
God has been faithful, he will be again.
His loving compassion, it knows no end.

So, sit back and rest in the big loving arms of God. Look at your situation and say in my semi-gangster husbands words "It ain't no thang." ;)

2K10

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, I'm not a few weeks behind. I have decided that I love New Years more than Christmas. And that is saying something because the Hamby kids were raised LOVING Christmas. We have countless traditions that our wonderful husbands willingly inherited, and we reek of nostalgia from Halloween through Christmas morning. Yet, this year I have officially decided to switch my favorite holiday to New Years.
I get overloaded with motivation around the New Year. Also, there is no other time that I feel so refreshed by the Lord. I'm so thankful for his forgiveness and his refreshment. I feel full of energy, ideas, and goals. Ah wonderful goals. But more on that in a minute.
When I was in high school I would spend 4-5 hours every New Years day journaling and praying about the previous year and dedicating the upcoming year. Although I couldn't talk Micah into taking a 4 hour nap on New Years this year, I have enjoyed some time reflecting.
2009 made a run for one of the best years of my life. It was packed full of 'firsts.' I was pregnant for the first time. I had back pain for the first time in my life. I experienced 10/10 pain for the first time in my life (labor, obviously.) I had a baby. I brought someone back with CPR. Matt started his first official youth pastor job in May. We bought our first home. I cooked with prosciutto for the first time. I found a workout video that actually works. I hiked a mountain while nursing a newborn.
The year was also packed with refinement. The refinement was so deep, so intimate. It was about learning who I was "post-Micah" as a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a mentor. It was about realizing that nothing will make me a good mom more than further understanding and grasping God's grace and understanding with me. Refinement came in super size through some tough relationship issues as well.
And just like every year, God has been so beautifully faithful. And wonderfully gentle. This past year could have been brutal! I could have had post partum depression ( although I was crazy for about 3 weeks!), I could have been disappointed or unmotivated as a new mom, Matt and I could have had a tough year through the changes. But God's blessing poured down. And the refinement I have experienced have been accompanied with God's gentle leading hand and the whisper of his promises.
So, now, 2010! Here are my resolutions/goals. Bear with me, I know some of them are silly. ( By the way, silly has become a predominant word in my daily vocabulary, thank you Micah T)
*No pop all year
*No candy bars all year
*Memorize Scripture with my brother
*Meet with one girl from Matt's youth group every week. Matt and I want to increase the interpersonal aspect of ministry, hoping that more kids will know that they are loved and that they can begin to see life through a 'God lens.'
*Write one note every week
*Put energy into my spiritual gifts, primarily teaching. It's only a dream and prayer right now but I would love to lead a retreat for the girls at our church about purity, beauty, and relationships.
Ok, I'm being long winded. Happy New Year fellow bloggers!