Noah & Stone

I have known Constance (Goram) Stanton since we were in 6th grade.  That was 1990, so next year we will have known each other for 20 years.  Though we haven’t kept in touch during every stage, we recently had baby boys only 5 days apart. Stone Cash Stanton was born on November 26, 2008 and Noah was born on December 1. We just had a fun couple of days with them.  It was a great time seeing Noah & Stone play together. That is the first time Noah has been around a baby so close in age.  Stone was actually a month early and Noah was a week late, so Noah got to teach Stone some fun things like sitting up and working really hard to escape the crib!!

The first photo below is of our high school choir in 9th grade.  Connie & I are front & center! She is fifth from the left on the front row, and I am fifth from the right. The following photos are of Noah & Stone from our 48 hour extravaganza…

CHS 9th Grade Choir

Noah, please share your pinwheel.

I'll show you what I'll share!

That's not very nice, Noah!

One (of many) reasons I love Whole Foods Market

Jason & I got to shop at Whole Foods Market last week.  I am like a little kid in a candy store when I go there.  I could probably blow our savings in one visit.  The produce and meat, in particular, are outstanding.  I get even more satisfaction shopping there now, knowing I’m feeding this food to my little one.  When we got home from shopping, I was putting away the groceries and made an interesting discovery.  I had Progresso Plain Bread Crumbs in my pantry, and the can was still about 3/4 full.  I hadn’t realized I still had that much, so I had purchased a can at Whole Foods as well.  I decided to compare the two.  The price was about a $.50 difference, I think, but let me enlighten you on the difference in the ingredients.  No, I’m not making this up…

Whole Foods 365 Brand, Plain Breadcrumbs – Ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour, salt, dried yeast.

Progresso Brand, Plain Breadcrumbs – Ingredients: Bread Crumbs (Enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil [soybean and/or cottonseed and/or corn and/or canola], water, salt. Contains 2% or less of: yeast, honey, molasses, sugar, wheat gluten, whey, soy flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn flour, oat bran, corn meal, rice flour, potato flour, butter, dough conditioners [mono- and diglycerides, sodium and/or calcium stearoyl lactylate, soy lecithin, calcium carbonate], yeast nutrients [ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate], vinegar, nonfat milk, buttermilk, lactic acid, calcium propionate and potassium sorbate [preservatives], sesame seeds), oat flour, sunflower seeds, egg.

Does that list scare you like it does me?!  We have a friend who is a nutritionist, and he says ‘Don’t eat anything that lists ingredients you can’t pronounce!’  I think there were about 50 of those on this can! SHEESH!

This is probably a boring post to most people, but I am really wanting to feed the best to my family.  Sorry, Progresso, you don’t make the cut.

A big boy

Just a little while ago I nursed Noah and put him to bed.  I actually nursed him for the last time.  I’ve seen this moment coming for a while now, but I’ve been putting it off.  I can’t explain why it’s time to stop; it just is.  And I am heartbroken.  I sobbed while my little wiggle worm nursed for a couple of seconds, then sat up and looked around…. then nursed for a couple of seconds and sat up and looked around. This is how it’s gone for the last couple of months.  Then he sat up, looked at me as I was sobbing, pursed his lips and gave a BIG raspberry… spit all over.  It was actually perfect timing to lighten the mood for mommy.

It’s almost comical how sad I am, considering I wanted to quit after the first week of nursing. I’m proud that I stuck through it and glad that he had eight months worth of breast milk.  My little newborn is so big now…  on to bigger & better things, like bottles and sippy cups.

Noah’s a big boy now.

Pressure. Patience. Sacrifice.

We traveled to Norman, Oklahoma this past weekend for a family reunion on Jason’s side. As Jason was packing up the car to go home, I sat in the hotel room half-way watching Noah play and the other half watching one of those TLC home-makeover shows.  The show was about two different couples who were each remodeling one room in their home.  The first couple would be married soon and were redoing the kitchen in the home they had just purchased.  The second couple was getting divorced, and the woman was wanting to redo the bedroom.  The show was presenting each of these couples as if they were both about to embark on a new and exciting chapter in life. (Hooray for the couple getting married!)  The couple that was divorcing talked about how happy they were and how they were just so ready to ‘get this thing done’ (speaking of the divorce, not the bedroom).  Not only did the woman paint a big ‘D’ on the back of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s shirt, but she also was admittedly flirtatious with the two men who were remodeling the room.  I can’t quite explain how much this show was making light of divorce; it nearly made me sick.

I completely understand that some people are in a marriage that is so dysfunctional, that they truly will be happier apart.  I get that.  I also believe that many people may later realize they weren’t as happy as they thought they would be, once all is said and done.

As we drove home, I thought a lot about the show.  I tried to think of all of my closest friends’ families to find ONE that did not include a divorce somewhere down the line.  I couldn’t think of one.  I thought about my family and, though there aren’t many divorces, I could still think of three pretty easily.

I think divorce ravages families.  I think sometimes there are moments when it helps but, all in all, it ravages.  I’m stunned at how prevalent it is.  I’m stunned at how much light this show took with such a heavy subject.  I wonder if the couple had kids; it was never mentioned.

After my ‘downer moment’ thinking about divorce, I turned my thoughts toward Jason. The good in all of this is that it made me truly realize the extent to which I should be grateful for him.  I thought about how hard it must be to be a husband, dad, leader of the family.  Three words came to mind: Pressure.  Patience.  Sacrifice. All of which I think Jason battles on a daily basis.  He is so faithful and so committed. I posted on my facebook today that ‘I think that, when all is done, Dads who have loved their families and stayed committed must have an amazing reward.’

Thank you, honey.  And thank you to all the husbands and dads who will finish strong. It will not go unnoticed.

Dedication

Noah was dedicated to God at our church, Sherman Bible, on June 28th.  I would love to write about the Biblical background of dedication, but I’m too tired.  Can I get some love for the honesty, please?  I just wanted to post some photos that were taken for a video that was shown the morning of the dedication.  Our hope in dedicating Noah is that, one day (after our miserable attempt at guiding him and through God’s prompting), He will choose to walk with God.  Keep in mind that he was really tired when we took these pics, so no smiles were given.  He’s a happy child.  Really.

This Face

My heart breaks with utter joy and almost unbearable love every time I see this face… which is A LOT! What an incomparable and overwhelming blessing.

 

my little noah

The Noah Tree

My friends in Sherman threw me a wonderful baby shower last year and one of their gifts to me was a tree to plant when Noah was born.  Yes, I cried.  My grandparents planted a maple tree when I was born, so I was so excited to plant this tree in honor of Noah’s birth.  This little tree is still so small, but Jason and I can’t believe how many blooms it has.  It is growing so fast just like a little 7 month old I know!  There is a picture below from the baby shower (you can see the tree on the right) and one that I took of the tree this morning…

 

The Sherman Shower

 

The Noah Tree

Hide & Seek

There have been a couple of times Noah has been in funny positions when I go to his room to get him up from a nap… but today topped them all!!  I went in his room, saw him, and darted out to the living room to get my camera.  Thankfully I caught this one on film.  This kid is hilarious…. SUCH a boy!  (make sure you read the captions!)

 

SHHH... she'll never notice me.

Wait. Maybe this is better.

 

Ok. I think she spotted me.

I think I'll peak to make sure.

 

MOMMY! YOU FOUND ME!

Silly Wabbit

Noah started carrots this week… what an adventure!  I am constantly entertained by this little boy (look for my next post coming tonight as well!).

 

Wow, I think I like these carrot things.

Maybe mommy won't mind if I fling some over here!

 

I'm gonna chunk some at you, mom!

 

 

 

 

Nothin' better than bein' messy!

The Good Stuff

Do you like country music?  I am sort-of a closet country fan.  (Mind you, it can’t be too twangy.)  Country music was very popular when I was in high school, and I loved it then, but I haven’t listened to it all that much since then.  For some reason I sometimes forget how much I like it.

When Jason & I were dating we went country dancing together almost every Thursday night.  We took an hour lesson and then danced for a couple of hours after that.  We think it was pretty romantic, and we actually got pretty good, if I do say so myself.  And I remember when Jason first played Kenny Chesney’s “The Good Stuff” for me, and I cried.  Yes, I’m sappy… I admit it.

A little while ago, Jason’s dad decided to get a new truck so he gave us his old one. Now when we drive it, it just seems right to listen to country music.  There’s nothing like driving that truck with the windows down on a cool evening listening to George Strait or Kenny Chesney (this sounds so funny coming from the city girl that I am… I have a feeling I’ll hear it from some of you).

In my life (and in my opinion) there is just something wholesome and sentimental about country music.  I know it’s not like that for everyone, but it is for me.  It takes me back, it makes me think, it makes me reminisce, it makes me grateful, it makes me cry, it makes me happy… I love it.

I drove the truck tonight and listened to Kenny Chesney (yes, with the windows down).  I am very fond of his song, “Never Gonna Feel That Way Again.”  Like I said, it made me think.  I thought about certain chapters of my life and how wonderful they were and how I would “never feel that way again”…..

“It was my life and it was fun
Another season of my life is done
Another race I’m glad I got to run
Another chapter of my life, it’s over
No I’m never gonna feel like that again
Time’s rushin’ by me like the wind
Never be as young as I was then
No I’m never gonna feel like that again”

 

But I also thought about THIS chapter and how sweet it is…

 

“It’s my life and it’s sure fun
Another season of my life’s begun
Another race I’m glad I get to run
Another chapter of my life I’m writin’
No I’m never gonna feel like this again
Time’s rushin’ by me like the wind
Gotta grab each moment that I can
Cause I’m never gonna feel like this again”

Truly I am grateful for the former chapters of my life and the memories I have. Time really is ‘rushin’ by me like the wind.’  And truly I am grateful for this new chapter and the joy it brings me every day.  Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life you have given.