Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

I am so very thankful for our precious little boy! God is just so good to us. Not only is he the most handsome little baby I've ever laid eyes upon but he just has the sweetest nature about him. One of my very favorite things through out the day is right before Tommy takes his nap, I lay him sideways in my arms and snuggle him really close and he looks up at me with the most adoring look and it fills my heart with joy. And I mean it literally fills my heart with joy! He stairs so intently at me, and he'll smile really big when I sing to him. I just absolutely LOVE that kid! It is an indescribable feeling. And when he looks at me he just seems so wise but innocent at the same time - it sounds silly because he is this itty bitty human being but he just has a look of wisdom about him when he stares at me that way.

One good thing about having such a joyful baby is that he makes it hard to stay grumpy. I wasn't having a good morning and then I went to wake him up from his nap and he was nothing but smiles. The Lord used to him to quickly turn around my attitude.

We had our first session with his physical therapist today and it was wonderful! It is such a blessing to live in a place that offers early intervention for children who need help to achieve their highest potential. She is super sweet and did a great job with Tommy. She showed me some exercises to do with him and said that overall his muscle tone looks really good. Kyle and I always get confused when doctors or therapists say this, because we don't know if they mean his muscle tone looks good compared to all babies or just babies with DS. So she explained that there is a "normal" range of muscle tone they look for, some babies are on the high end of that range and some babies are at the low end of that range; therefore Tommy would be considered at the low end of "normal" muscle tone. Hopefully that makes sense, because the way she explained it made sense to me. Also, she was very impressed that Tommy could "prop sit" (I had no idea what this was or that babies were supposed to do it). But she said that it was really good that he was 4 months old and already able to do that by himself. This just filled my heart with joy! I praise God for giving Tommy such good muscle tone and the ability to do so much already. I pray that he will continue to advance but realize he may not always be advancing so well. The PT was very encouraging and thinks Tommy will catch on to things very quickly.

We serve such a great God!

Oh Alfalfa you're so romantical!

A couple of months ago I was complaining in my head about how Kyle hadn't done anything “romantic” in a while. But God graciously revealed to me the many ways Kyle is truly loving and romancing me. Kyle is the textbook romantic, every now and then; he will randomly bring me home flowers or surprises (like different kinds of candy – it sounds weird but I get super excited over a bag of skittles; I love food!) And he even takes me out on a date night every Tuesday night. He sets aside time from work and computer games (which he loves) and takes me out to eat and usually to a movie. I have grown to appreciate these date nights much more since we've had Tommy. My parents serve us every week by watching Tommy on date night, and I think they like getting alone time with him too. Anyway now that we've been doing date night for over a year, and we've been married almost 3 (Aug. 5th), I forget how he intentionally does things to show me he loves me.

The biggest thing that God showed me was how Kyle treats me in our everyday life. He is affectionate in little ways to me – he'll sit close to me on the couch, put his arm around me in church, pick on me like a 1st grader does when he likes a little girl. And if you know Kyle at all you would know he's being very intentional to show me he cares. If I cry because something is really bothering me or makes me sad – he will hug me and talk to me about it. And as cheesy or dumb as that sounds, that is something that means a lot to me. Because in those moments Kyle is emotionally taking care of me. He does a great job at physically providing for us and that comes somewhat natural to him as a man. But the emotional stuff is more of a challenge. But when those things are happening I don't think, “Oh Kyle is being so romantic.” I think he's being sweet and loving, but for a long time I never recognized the romance in it because I expected it from him. I thought he's my husband – he's supposed to be affectionate. He's my husband so he's supposed to hug me when I'm sad. He's my husband he's supposed to do a lot of stuff for me. But in reality that's very selfish way of thinking. Just because I think he is “supposed” to do anything doesn't mean he will or does. Since I am so comfortable in our life together I have been overlooking the sweet things he does for me and how special he treats me compared to other people. Kyle wouldn't surprise anyone else with a bag of skittles, and there are very few people he would hug b/c they're upset or sad, and he doesn't pick on anyone else the way he picks on me. I know that I am more important and special to him than any other person – and that is all the romance I need.

When I was thinking about this I couldn't help but notice that this is the same way I view God a lot of the time. I expect Him to do things for me. I feel like I deserve a good life – I'm a nice person and I love the Lord. But that is a horrible and false train of thought. I don't deserve anything from the Lord but He continues to bless me and do things in my everyday life that I overlook. God is constantly romancing me in everything He does for me throughout my day. And I know He uses my husband to bring Him glory through romancing me too. God has given me an amazing husband, and I greatly appreciate the way he loves me.