This week in pictures

Henry loves showing off his pearly-whites! And, he loves when I brush his teeth! I think it makes him feel like such a big boy.

 These next couple pictures are from a family-fun day that Caterpillar had for their employees and families.

 Joel and Norah watching a machine demonstration

 Every couple minutes Norah would point and yell "BIG SCOOP!"

Since it's getting colder out, the kids often stay in jammies until late morning. And... being the self-proclaimed super-fun Mom I am, I usually participate too....

 The kids love racing down the driveway, Henry in the coup and Norah on the worm. Joel gives them a little push and I act as official at the bottom of the driveway.

 This does Joel's heart good, to come home and find two smiling kids playing outside.

 This was a hug/tackle that ended in lots of laughter.

  Have you ever seen such beautiful blue eyes??

 Henry's not mad about Norah putting necklaces on him... all he really wants is a big hug!

Is it time to go out and play Mom?

Have a beautiful weekend!

Have you checked out 40 days for Life's devotional for Day 3? You can find it here.

The truth about Henry.

With Henry's 1st birthday quickly approaching, I want to share some thoughts about our past year.

You see, Norah was only 7 months old when we found out that we were 6 weeks pregnant with Henry. I was still nursing Norah 5 times a-day, swaddling her everytime she went to sleep, she had just recently started eating rice cereal and she was still very immobile. I was not ready to get pregnant and Norah was still so very very little. So, when I found out we were expecting, I cried. I felt like it was way too soon, like I wouldn't be able to love another baby the way I loved Norah. My heart was already so full, was there room for another baby? I was overwhelmed. Joel was super excited. He is a very wise man and he knew from the get-go that God would provide. God would provide the love, the energy, the money, the healthy, happy baby. God was at work gifting us with a sweet little boy and I was... ungrateful.

Even though I was initially ungrategul, I immediately felt love for Henry. That love multiplied every single day. At 14 weeks, I felt Henry kick and I REALLY looked forward to meeting him and introducing him to Norah. I looked forward to teaching him about God, loving on him and telling him, "I love you more than you know." I had a feeling I was carrying a boy, even though Joel and I talked about how nice it would be to have a second girl since they would be only 15 months apart. When we found out we were having a boy, it echoed in my ear "God has an incredible plan." I teared up driving home from the doctors appointment.... this time I wasn't overwhelmed with fear or anxiety but, complete happiness. The ultrasound looked great and this baby was healthy.

Last October Henry came bursting into our lives weighing 10 pounds 5 ounces, 22 inches long, perfectly healthy. This baby was what we needed. God knew that. I did not. I get goosebumps and watery eyes, just thinking about how much we love and adore Henry.

On a lighter note:
Henry is as strong as an ox: holding him when he's trying to get away will always end in a sweat.
He is loud.
He has an obnoxious laugh.
His smile is among the biggest I've seen.
He's an early-riser. And sometimes he still wakes us up at night. Then, I tell Joel, "I'll give you one million dollars if you help Henry." He goes and helps Henry, returns and says, "I'll take my money in the form of apple-cider donuts from Tanners Orchard."
Holding Henry in church is like wrestling an alligator. Seriously, I wake up sore on Monday.
He's somewhat of a vicious hair-puller.
In the morning, after I nurse him, he lays in bed between Joel and I, while we both cling to 2.5 more minutes of glorious sleep. At this point Henry usually does his best impression of a torpedo. He sets his body perpendicular to ours' and spins, only stopping to kick Joel directly in the face or slam my cell-phone against my head. It's great fun.
Henry can eat like no other. He usually clears his tray then, finishes Norah's too!
He's usually screaming for his food before we can finish our dinner prayer.
He's like an octopus in the bathtub. Giving the kids a bath is not a task Joel and I fight for. The "lucky one" gets the job of cleaning the kitchen during bathtime.
He adores Norah. Follows her around the house, gives her hugs and kisses and, even lets her put necklaces on him.
Sometimes putting him in his carseat is like putting a cat in the bathtub. I'm not kidding.
He's a mama's boy. I love putting my arms out and watching him come running in for a big hug.
He's a little comedian. Sometimes he crawls across the floor with his face in the carpet like an ant-eater just because he knows it will make us laugh.

I would be lying if I said he was the most easy-going baby but, he's still a joy and we wouldn't trade him or his wild personality for anything. God was spot-on(as usual) when he blessed us with Henry.

And to the Skalet family, last night Joel said he thinks Henry's going to be a "busy" boy. You know what that means!

If you have a few minutes, would you please commit to the 40 Days for Life campaign devotional for Day 2. I love the prayer at the bottom of the page. You can find it here.

Be vigilant

Today kicks off the annual 40 days for life campaign. I believe that God has a truly amazing plan for every single human life and that that amazing plan begins at conception. At this very moment lives are being ripped away, babies are dying to the hand of abortion. Will you participate this year, in prayer, fasting and peaceful vigil??

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America. (source)

I remind you, all my prayer-warrior friends and family, to never cease praying. Pray persistently until the very last abortion clinic closes. Pray that these babies will live. The 40 days for life website has put together some really great daily devotions. The devotion for day one is here

The power of prayer should not be underestimated....

Two more abortion centers close their doors;40 Days for Life prepares for record campaign

WASHINGTON, DC – "This Wednesday, people of faith and conscience in 301 cities across seven countries are launching a massive, unified 40 Days for Life campaign of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion that is going to outstrip all our previous efforts,” said Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life campaign director.

“Tremendous momentum is on our side,” said Carney. “We’ve recently learned of the closure of two more abortion facilities where peaceful 40 Days for Life prayer vigils were conducted in the public right-of-way outside."

Those locations are in Pensacola, Florida and Forest Grove, Oregon. Volunteers in Pensacola report the abortion center was closed and a sheriff’s notice placed on the locked door as the result of court proceedings involving the business. In Forest Grove, volunteers say business signs were removed and the building emptied. Phone calls confirmed the permanent closure of the facility.

In all, 16 abortion centers where peaceful 40 Days for Life prayer vigils have taken place have closed following these campaigns of prayer and fasting. In addition, 53 abortion industry employees have left their jobs at facilities where people prayed for an end to abortion during 40 Days for Life campaigns.

Dresser and Rocking Chair

We've been keeping busy with all sorts of little projects and, I thought I'd share a couple before/after pictures with you.

 Dresser before. $15.00 at the thrift store

Dresser after. Yes, the picture is accurate, it is really that bright! I had envisioned painting this dresser yellow, distressing it some and putting dark drawer pulls on but, my sister Allison was here and both her and Joel fought for the blue so, I lost. I do like this though and, our livingroom did need some color pop!

 Rocking chair before

 My Mom actually spotted this at a garage sale in July when she was visiting us. It was in rough shape but, she paid just $3.00 for it and, it did rock really well.

Rocking chair after. We took it almost completely apart, sanded it down then, Joel put it back together tightening everything up so it rocks like new. The kids absolutely LOVE this chair! I think I'll eventually put a pad on the seat to make it a little more comfy for them.

I'm going to be posting a few more pictures of recent projects we've finished. The growth chart, toy box and subway art are finished and ready to be photographed! Stay tuned

Joel and Norah posed for some cheesy pictures last weekend.... it would be a crime to keep them secret!

Joel's senior picture re-enactment.

Happy Monday!

Henry 11 Months

Just popping in to let you all know that... Henry is now 11 months old and walking is the cool thing to do! As of last Saturday(September 10th) Henry has been officially walking. Joel and I both agree that it still catches us completely off-guard when Henry comes strutting around the corner... no longer our little baby. We're so in-love with this amazing little boy of ours and his beautiful spirit... truly blessed to have him as a son.

This past month has been overall pretty challenging for our little man. He started the month getting his second top tooth, took a break from teething to conquer roseola, diarrhea, then fought thru a nasty bloody diaper rash(TMI, I know) and finished off the month with his 3rd top tooth and all that fun that accompanies teething. He's doing well now and throughout all this yucky stuff, he still blessed us daily with his great big smile and his obnoxiously beautiful laugh.

There have been some things Henry's been doing for 1-2 months that I've forgot to mention. He's a dancing, waving, clapping, laughing whenever-he-hears-someone-else-laugh machine. One of my very favorite parts of the day is when Henry first wakes up. He's so happy to see everyone.. the waving is among the wildest I've ever seen. When he sees Norah they hug and usually both end up laying on the floor laughing.

With Henry's first birthday quickly approaching, I find myself remembering the first days, weeks and months when we first brought him home from the hospital. I've been thinking of the day Henry was born and, how hard it was to leave Norah to go to the hospital, what an emotional wreck I was as we walked and walked and walked around the hospital trying to move labor along. I had a VERY intimate encounter with Jesus that day and I think as Henry's birthday gets closer, I'm going to share all of this... my sons birth story.

Stella's Visit

So my BFF Stella came and stayed for about a week Aug31-Sept6. It was great having her here..... as always when someone special comes for a visit, time sped up. Those 6 days felt like 3 days at the very most. We kept busy with crafty projects, wasting time looking at home decor on pinterest, a quick day-trip to Chicago and we even finalized some plans for our upcoming "2nd Annual Holiday Party." Stella is the very best kind of houseguest. While I'd be changing dirty diapers before lunch, she'd be cutting up the kids' food. She refused to let me do her laundry and she even introduced us to an AWESOME mexican dip recipe while she was here.

These two pictures are my favorite from her time here. My babies love her so much and it doesn't surprise me one single bit. She is an amazing person.

Norah LOVES the smell of Stella's hair!

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us Stell, we love you!