Wordless Wednesday: Ferocious "Cheetah"!!!

It's Not To Early

Tears stream down the cheeks.

"Where has the time gone? My babies are growing up so fast! It seems like yesterday they were born. Tomorrow they will be getting married. "

Kaylyn ( @ 14 mos.)

Don't dry up those tears and start thinking of something else, begin thinking about the day they will wed.

What do you want to see? I'm not talking about a pretty white dress and a nice tux, the brides maids colors.......what is it you want to see in your child, and in their future spouse?

It's not to early to think and ponder on these things.

I want to see a groom who loves the Lord. He is ready to take the responsibility of headship over his bride from her father. A groom who will sacrificially love his wife as Christ loves the church. A gentleman who treats his bride like a lady. Caring for her, sensitive, open to communication. A man committed to prayer. A sense of humor. Trustworthy. Teacher to his wife in the ways of the Lord. Humble. Forgiving. Respected by those who know him. Not easily angered. His house is open to visitors. He loves others. Exercises patience. A groom whose faith will not waiver.

Caleb "E" (@ 2 yrs)

I want to see a bride who cherishes the Lord with all of her heart. She is ready to receive her groom to be her head, willing to submit to him. A bride who will rejoice in caring for her husband, a keeper of the home, cooking, cleaning, washing, with joy knowing she is honoring him. She is not a gossiper, but one who encourages other ladies, young and old, to be more like Christ. Honest. Quick to forgive. She is a prayer warrior for those around her. Patient. Full of hospitality. A gentle and quiet spirit.

This is what I want to see at the wedding for my children.

But with this comes much responsibility and training. Many tears and prayers.

Hours upon hours of training our children to fill the roles as God has intended for groom and bride. It will take much patience when I see them not portraying the characteristics of godliness. Persevering when I feel like I have failed. "How do I teach patience when I just became angry at my child and yelled at him."


Katie Faith (@ 2 yrs.)
Hours in the kitchen learning the tricks of cooking...and cleaning up.

Allowing that sense of humor to come out in a joke that is not funny to me, but cracks my child up.

Working together to get a grass stain out of the jeans, and how to properly clean the toilet.

Teaching the son to be a gentleman by opening the car door for his mommy.

Encouraging a time of quietness with Lord in prayer. Leading by example. Allowing my children see me pray and read God's Word.

Training in fixing things around the house, changing a tire, cutting the grass.

Memorizing scripture so the Holy Spirit can prick the heart and encourage the weary soul with these verses ingrained in their minds.

Allowing friends to come over and play. Giving their friends first choice on the game to play, or first choice in the color of cup they would like to use. Ways to start teaching on hospitality.

Elijah ( @ 8 mos.)

We parents have much to train our children in.

But what about their spouse. What do we do about them? We may or may not know them, this does not matter, for our Lord knows who they are.

So we pray.

We pray for their parents. For God to grant them wisdom in raising our future daughter or son-in law. We pray the Lord will work in the child's heart and grant them salvation at a young age, to avoid the many temptations in the world. We pray for the Lord to guide, protect, and prepare them for our child. Pray the family will have a home full of joy in the Lord.

I encourage you,the next time you look at your little one, growing up too quick, shed those tears of missing the younger days, and then get down on your knees, thank God for these precious moments, and then pray to our Lord for guidance raising this little one in training to be a lady or man.

For it's not to early.

................Tears pour down the cheeks................

"Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday I was holding you in my arms, calming your cry. Now I sit here in church at your wedding," so I imagine...sob.
Zechariah (@ 9 mths)

Then I glance at my child's spouse...with tears in my eyes, knowing I have prayed for this spouse for many years. Since they were a babe. Rejoicing in this answered prayer.

Both are dressed up in their pretty gown and nice tux, but all I can think of is the many years I have prayed and looked forward to this sweet time of union between the two.


Lord, help me in raising my children. Give me discernment. Use me to reflect you in spite of my failures. Forgive me each time I show them something not like you, Oh God! Use me in their lives for your own glory. I pray for my future daughter and son-in laws, draw them unto you, prepare their hearts to be a godly spouse. Give me a love now, for my daughter-in-law, my future son-in-law. Thank you God for the precious moments you have given me with my little ones, I look forward to seeing them grow up, and Lord-willing, become a son and daughter that will honor you in their role as a husband or a wife.

Zechariah Turns the Big 1 !

Our Little Zechariah turned 1 years old March 4th. He is our "miracle" baby as someone calls him.

When I was pregnant with him, at 11 wks., my dr. informed me that there was something wrong with my baby. Read here for my thoughts and feelings on this. At 15 weeks, it was determined our baby had Down Syndrome because of having strong markers pointing to it.

AJ and I embraced in the fact that our God had blessed us with a "special" child. We were humbled that our Lord would find us worthy of raising a child with Down's. We looked forward to meeting our blessing, and that we did, on March 4, 2009.

Early in the morning, as I went to the hospital to be prepared for my c-section, I remember the excitement of knowing I was going to hold my wee one. I prayed for his/her safety. I prayed for strength to endure any difficulties or problems that may occur in the delivery. My doctor had informed me that he had scheduled for NICU to be there to assist with the baby.

As I was being worked up by the nurse, she mentioned the Down's, and then apologized for bringing it up. Oh, to the contrary! I explained to her how excited we were and knew God placed this little one in my womb perfectly, to His liking.

As I laid in the operating room, with AJ and Mrs. Pat (who is very special to me and who has been there for the births of my last 3 children), I felt an incredible peace. The atmosphere was a joyous one, besides my almost fainting and vomiting...

At 7:23am, I witnessed, by a mirror, the dr. pulling out the baby - a boy! I saw before he told us. The next words to come out of his mouth, "He looks healthy. I don't believe he has Down's."
After a brief glimpse they whisked him away to a separate room check him out.

Down's or not, it didn't matter. My heart was thrilled to see my newest blessing...Zechariah David.Zechariah, meaning "God has remembered", and David ( "Beloved")...named after the great man in the Bible who loved God with all his heart.

1 day old:

3 days old:





6 weeks:At 7 weeks, our Zechariah had a little fever. After a visit with the dr., he admitted him into the hospital to be monitored over night. After 2 weeks of ups and many downs we were discharged.

It was a rough 6 months dealing with his pertusis, but Zechariah proved to be of strong character.

4 months:

6 months:

Our chubbiest baby!

He continue to grows in personality each day. Calm and easy going. He first sat up at 61/2 months, began crawling at 10 months. He doesn't have a "normal" crawl, he kind of scoots on his bottom while pushing off with his leg.

9 months:

Zechariah prefers small quarters while sleeping. He prefers to sleep in a closet than in a room. When we go to a hotel, we place a blanket on the floor of the closet, shut the door, and he is happy. Just last week he left our closet to sleep in his crib for the first time. He is adjusting ok, but was quite content when he took a nap in the closet this afternoon! :)

He loves his diaper changed. From the time he was a week old, if he was crying, I learned when I acted like I was changing him he would stop crying. Now, he kicks with excitement when we change him. Cute it is, but a challenge!

Favorite food...dog food. Anything else...he could leave it. He never would eat baby food ( don't blame him), likes graham crackers ok, and bananas sometimes, but other than that, he is not that interested(Since I began this post...over a week ago...he has explored with oatmeal, beans, and potatoes, actually taken more than 2 bites!).

He is fought over by his siblings on who gets to take care of him. I encourage them not to quarrel over him and try to remember whose turn it is to help out.

Zechariah used to hate bath time until he could splash and get me all wet. Now, he has a ball!

To celebrate his 1st birthday, AJ prayed for our son and his life to come...

and we gave him his very first banana ( we don't do cake until the age of 2.)......

He likes our animals and I can often find him next to the rat cage "talking" to them. When outside, he loves the dogs. You think we should get him a goat?

Favorite toy is a pencil ( not sharpened) or pen, and paper.

It is hard to vacuum with him around as he loves to chase it!

Nicknames...Zecharoni (thanks Elijah A.!) and Cracker Zech.

Zechariah can be very serious, likes to observe his surroundings, and has a cute giggle and laugh. He truly is a blessing!!!

My sweet Zechariah, from the time I learned of you in my womb I have loved you greatly. I take pleasure in calling you my son. I pray you will have a love for our God we serve and be a servant unto him. I look forward to watching the milestones you will make this next year and enjoying them moment by moment. Mommy loves you, Zecharoni!!!

Wordless Wdnesday- Oh Rats!

This past March we had two specials birthdays in our family. I will tell of the first one today.

First was a child who was not supposed to have been born...according to my dr. After my 3rd child, and 3rd c-section, my dr. at the time told me due to physical signs she had seen I was to have no more children. She told me if I get pregnant again I would probably die. After much prayer and finding out some "things" about this dr. that were unethical, my husband and I went for a 2nd opinion for our hearts were heavy in feeling our family was not complete. We went to a Christian dr. who likes large families and was recommended by my friend, Laura . After a review of my records, he said he thought there was no reason I should not be able to have more.

Two months later I was pregnant after a miscarriage.

On March 1st, 2207 I delivered Elijah John. ....Elijah.... great man in the Bible meaning "My God is Lord" and John, named after a great preacher and ancestor of mine, Jonathon Edwards.

( unfortunately somehow all pictures of him before 8 months have been deleted or lost from our computer...if any of you have some, please e-mail these precious memories to me)

Elijah was a good baby full of smiles. He was my first to be attached to me so much he would only leave me to go with daddy sometimes and Miss Cole from church. People would roll there eyes, some make comments "he is a momma's boy" in a tone like there was something wrong with him or me for Elijah wanting to be with me. I was embarrassed he would not leave me and go to others freely. I would, at times, force him, in hopes he would get used to others so he would not be "disliked" for not being friendly.

Until one day, I asked myself, "why do I care so much?" It was pride. I did not want others to think ill of him...or me. And the thought crossed my mind," if something happened today to Elijah and he died, I would regret not holding my baby and forcing him to go to others." From that day on, I did not care if people liked it or not he was a "momma's boy".

Elijah- 8 months:

9 months- with Daddy, sucking his 2 middle fingers ( a habit since 3 mths old):

Elijah was a late walker. He did not begin walking until he was almost 20 months old.

Here he is pushing his biggest sister, Kaylyn, in the stroller at the zoo. Already in training to be a gentleman:

2 years old:

This past year, Elijah's personality has blossomed! His best friend is still my leg :) but he now runs off and plays. He has taken on many new words....that mommy can understand but others need an interpreter most of the time still.

Favorite color is blue.
He loves his "teekles" ( motorcycles), especially blue ones.

This is Elijah's first time sitting on a motorcycle. It is his Great Uncle Walt's "teekle":

First toy "teekle". He got it for
Christmas from daddy and mommy:

He loves football.He was given his first real football by his friend, Nicholas, when we visited Baton Rouge a couple of months ago. Elijah always has this with him, even to sleep and eat:

In case you are wondering, he is also a Florida Gators fan...just like his mommy!!!

Elijah loves to swing and Miss "Cole" is still his special friend he has had since birth:

Elijah Bear ( Daddy's nickname for him) is quite a character... likes to make us laugh...
tends to be a perfectionist, getting very upset when things mess up not to his liking...

loves to dip fish sticks in chocolate pudding...

and comes quietly in our room at night to sleep on the floor by our bed.

He may be the Big 3 now...

but he still let's us hold him like a newborn...

and he still sucks those two middle fingers.

You are a true blessing, my "Stink pot", I love you and pray for you daily that you will continue to grow, healthy and happy, but more importantly, I pray you will be a man of God. I will always treasure our moments of you in my arms the first two years of your life. And when you are a man, married, with your own children, you will still be welcomed to throw yourself on my lap and I will hug you, kiss you, and love you, just as much as when I first laid my eyes on you, back on March 1, 2007.