Top ten things that make me smile about Carter.

We have had a few hard weeks with Carter. He has never been a behavior or discipline problem until recently, and we have seen just how strong his will can be. As I have wrestled with my three year old, I have spent time reflecting on how God chooses to love us even when we are difficult to love and how difficult it must be for Him to discipline His children. Hebrews 12:6 says "The Lord disciplines those he loves." That is what I have been reminded of during the trying days- I discipline Carter because I love him. Anyway, it seems that my sweet boy has returned (at least for now) and I have really been enjoying him the last few days. There have been a few moments so sweet that I had to share them.

10. I found a rubber snake and a harmonica in his pockets at bath time tonight.
9. He strokes my hair when he sits in my lap.
8. We saw a man in a sandwich board on the corner yesterday and with enthusiasm he yelled "Mommy, look! That man is stuck in a rectangle!"
7. Every time I ask him if he needs to potty he tells me "I don't need to right now. Thank you." No progress towards potty training, but how about those manners.
6. He adores footie pajamas and would wear them 24/7 if I would let him.
5. His laugh is simply contagious. It is impossible to keep a straight face when he is giggling about something.
4. He loves to help cook. You can ask him to do anything in the kitchen and he happily says "oh, sure." Then he will tell you "This is such hard work."
3. He insists on being the one to pray at every meal. It normally goes something like this "Thank you Jesus for the beautiful day. Thank you for Santa. He ate my cookies and milk, just like I have milk. Thank you for the food. In Jesus' name, Amen." Sometimes he just describes everything that he has done that day and says amen. Either way, it completely blesses my heart.
2. He still lets me rub him down with lotion from head to toe and smells so sweet right before bed.
1. He truly is a fabulous brother. He is crazy about Evyn and very concerned about her at all times. It is so sweet to see the beginnings of their sibling relationship forming. What a gift.

I am sure that we will still have difficult days ahead of us, but for now I am enjoying the break from the tantrums and the sweetness of my little boy! He teaches me so much about God's love for me, and for that I will always be grateful.

Christmas pictures

Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful. I find myself loving the innocence and excitement of my kids during the holidays! I wonder if this is why my mom always loved Christmas so much- having kids just makes it all seem like so much more fun!

We had Evyn dedicated in church the Sunday before Christmas. It was a really sweet service- they gave us a prayer shawl, her first Bible, and a candle to light one day when she is baptized. We thought that it would be nice to have Carter on stage with us. That seemed like a great idea until he ran screaming off the stage, took a lap around the sanctuary and headed out the back door hysterically crying. It was truly a day that I will never forget.


Evyn before church the day that she was dedicated. Pretty cute stuff! This was Grace's outfit, which made it all even more special.

We had a really sweet time as a family on Christmas Eve. We went to the vespers service at church with Mark and my parents and then came home to eat dinner and make Christmas cookies. Mike told Carter the Christmas story and then we left cookies and milk out for Santa before taking a bath and turning in. It was a really fun night. Here are some pictures that we took on Christmas Eve:

Carter was so excited by everything about Christmas this year. He could not wait to give a birthday present to Jesus. And for the first time, he was not terrified of Santa. He actually cried on Christmas morning when the cookies were gone and Santa was nowhere to be found. I guess he thought that Santa would be there when he woke up. Anyway, I loved this hat on him and had to take a picture!

Mike's family came through town for a few days on their way to Ruidoso and we had a nice visit. They were here for Evyn's dedication and we enjoyed the time with them. Here are both sets of grandparents together.

This is the whole Holwerda crew on Christmas day! We haven't had a big family picture in a long time, and I thought that this one turned out really nice! Mike's head is blocking Courtney's tummy, but we will have another new baby next Christmas! We can't wait to meet him.

The best thing about cold weather is the hats! This one just makes me smile!!!

Carter has been a smidge more "difficult" the last few weeks. We have really been talking about making good choices and acting like a big boy. He has had a few tantrums that have simply taken me off guard. He has always been so compliant and low key that this is all pretty new for us. He has had a much better few days, and I am praying that perhaps the worst is behind us! Anyway, this was a sweet moment on a hard day. I am convinced that God gives us those so we won't sell our kids on ebay.

Evyn is always really happy after she eats and I love the faces that she makes! Sweet girl. I am now really savoring these sweet days knowing that one day she will be 3 1/2 too!

And last but not least, Mike officiated his first wedding last night! He did a FABULOUS job and I was so very proud of him. I, of course, cried like a dork thinking about the day when he will marry both of our children. I need to get a grip.

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for looking at our pictures!

Ten.

Ten years ago my best friend became my husband. It's amazing how much can change in ten years. And it's amazing how much can stay the same. We have spent a lot of time reflecting today and a lot of time counting our blessings. We did pause long enough to take a self portrait for the blog.


I never would have dreamt ten years ago that my love for Mike could grow any more than I loved him on that day. And I never would have imagined that we would buy our forever house less than a mile away from the house that I grew up in. Who would have guessed that Mike would be a preacher or me a preacher's wife? Ten years, two kids, three masters degrees, a house, and a lifetime of laughter later, all I can say is thank you God!

We watched our wedding video tonight and got a few good giggles. We laughed our heads off at Mike insisting that I wear the blusher on my veil so that he could pull it back to kiss me. Who wears a blusher? Was it the 1800's? Why did nobody tell me how weird I looked? Why was Mike so insistent that I do this?

I smiled hearing Brigitte giggle on video and felt so blessed that we got to celebrate with them this morning. We laughed at how fat Mike was and how "90s" we both looked. We both remembered feeling so grown up, but in retrospect, we realize that we were just children. Praise God for ten years of growing up together and that we somehow had the wisdom way back then to make a good decision.

Today was a fabulous day. We had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel with the Godins. Carter had a full blown meltdown at Walmart just to "keep it real", we had sweet time as a family, Mike brought me flowers, and we got to go out to dinner and coffee while the kids stayed with Hal and Joyce. We came home and put the kids to bed and watched our wedding videos while we held hands. I am truly blessed. Mike is simply the best man that I know and I get to wake up next to him every day. I have gotten ten years worth of good night kisses on my forehead. I get to share forever with a man who still makes my heart beat fast. There is no safer place on earth than in his arms. There is no other man that could be the father to Carter and Evyn that he is. There is nobody else that I want to share the rest of my life with. I honestly love this man more than myself, and my feelings for him are even more intense than they were on that sweet day ten years ago when it all began. Thank you, God, for an amazing decade!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

I love this time of year! And there is something about seeing all of our names on our stockings that just makes me so happy.


All I want for Christmas is these two:

Father Christmas.

We went Christmas caroling the other night, and this was Carter right before we left home. He was so cute in his hat. And he held the songsheet up like he could read what it said. Adorable.

The best things come in small packages.

Some friends from church passed on a disco ball that their kids had outgrown. I cannot tell you how many hours of viewing pleasure Carter has already enjoyed.

Miss Evyn is getting so big already. We are loving every day that we get to spend together!

My dermatological adventure.

Today was the big day. I am now mole and skin tag free! Whoohoo!

My precious mom came with me to help with the baby while I lost every shred of pride that I ever had. The adventure started with a hungry baby in the waiting room. I looked around at the 20 people waiting and decided that the doctors were in no hurry, so I busted out my nursing cover and started feeding Evyn. I kid you not- as soon as she latched on they called my name. I have decided that the key to shortening your time in the waiting room is to breastfeed. You should try it.

By the time I made it back to the exam room, Evyn was ready to eat. I had to ask the fabulously attractive nurse if it was OK if I fed her while I described the horrors that she was about to see. Then she asked me why I was there. I wanted to tell her that I had already given the specifics to the lady on the phone, but instead I started down the list of abnormalities that she was about to encounter. She literally had to ask me to slow down.

She leaves. I take my pants off and finish feeding the baby. The doctor comes in. He goes after the skin tag on my neck like it is nothing. So far so good. Not too much pain- I am only a little grossed out by hearing the snip of the scissors on my flesh. He puts a needle in the skin right under my eye. This was unpleasant. The pretty nurse is holding my hands. Then I hear his scissors cut the flap of skin off my eye. I want to cry and vomit simultaneously. It gets worse. The needle goes into the side of my nose. Several times. It felt like I was getting my nose pierced slowly with a sewing needle. Another snip and some disgusting sounding scraping. At this point I am oozing blood from my eye and am sweating. It gets worse. I then have to stand up in my granny panties and expose the skin tag on my butt. I am wishing that I had worn cuter panties. I am wishing that I was not sweating. I had to ask the doctor if he would like me to bend over. The answer was yes. I was afraid of that. This time I was sprayed with a deadening spray. Then there was the snip. The spray did not work- it really hurt. I warned the doctor that this skin tag probably had its own blood supply. I was right. The pretty nurse held gauze on my bottom for an uncomfortably long time before she asked if I would hold it myself assuring me that this was every bit as embarassing for her as it was for me. Really? I doubt that very much. I am still sweating. The doctor scopes out my potential wart on my arm and tells me that it is nothing to worry about and then looks at the scar on my back and gives me the all clear. I can't decide if it is really OK or if he is just tired of me exposing new parts of my body to him. The pretty nurse washes my leg because I bled everywhere and put the biggest bandaid on the planet on me. She finally leaves and I get to put my pants on. I am completely humiliated but my mom assures me that I was very brave.

I look a little rough. I have scabs on my eye and nose. But I have to say that I am super proud of myself for being proactive about my health. And I had already met my deductible, so I got to have all of that fun for a bargain price of $40. I will not be posting pictures. You can thank me later.

Sweaty or Greasy?

Having a three year old around makes for some hilarious conversations. If you know me in real life, then you know that I am perhaps the sweatiest person on the planet. Carter has heard me say more than once that he needs to hurry because mommy is sweaty, etc. Normally instead of saying that he is hot, he will say that he is "sreaty." It makes me laugh.

So, on the way to church this morning Carter asked me if I was sweaty. Now that you know the background, you understand that this is actually a thoughtful question from a three year old. I was happy to report that I was not sweaty. So, he moved on to Mike. The conversation sounded something like this:

Carter "Daddy, are you sweaty?"

Mike "Nope. I am not."

Carter "But I see the sweat on your neck."

Me "That is not sweat. Daddy is greasy." (giggling while I said it)

Carter "Daddy, are you greasy like bacon?"

Good times.

Humility

I called to schedule an appointment at the dermatologist the other day because I seem to have several skin issues that I wanted to have looked at before I go back to school. Everything was fine until the receptionist asked me to describe my concerns. As I listed off my rash, potential wart, hideous nose mole, unidentified bump on my eye, and skin tags in assorted places I felt more and more like Quasimoto. I decided that perhaps an annual trip to the dermatologist might be the best way to make sure that I stay humble. I will have to report back after I actually bare my flesh for the doctor. Good times.

Seriously.

Are these the cutest kids on the planet or what?

We got a new camera, so now I am just having some fun learning how to use it. I could not ask for better subjects! If anyone has tips for this amateur photographer, let me have 'em.

6 Weeks Old

Evyn turned 6 weeks old yesterday and the time is flying by. She is starting to smile and make more noises. She is definitely filling out and does not look "new" anymore. She is still a super sweet baby and we are all pretty crazy in love with her. As a special gift to mommy, she slept from 10-6 last night! Here are a few pictures that I couldn't resist sharing!

My favorite family tradition.

Every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving, we get out our Christmas decorations and put up the tree. I always want to do it sooner, but we always wait until that day. Mike makes fun of me because he says that I treat Thanksgiving like a person whose feelings I don't want to hurt. So for that reason the Christmas decorations have to wait until after we have lived it up with the orange and brown and pilgrims and turkey and parade and everything else that goes along with Thanksgiving. Anyway, we play the same Christmas CD, drink coco, and have a great time. When it is all finished we drink the first eggnog of the season! When Carter was tiny, we wrapped him up in lights and now that picture has also become an annual tradition. Here are my sweet babies all lit up!

2008

2007

2006

2005

And this is the little surprise that I found in with the Christmas tree this year!

On a completely unrelated side note, I have to tell a less festive story about that morning. You can see that Carter was wearing zip up footie pajamas. He sleeps in a diaper overnight and we had taken it off when he went to the restroom that morning, allowing him to go kamakazie under his pjs because I was too lazy to get him dressed while we were decorating. When I finally went upstairs with him to dress him, I laid him down and promptly unzipped his pajamas forgetting that he was naked underneath. You can guess what happened next. I completely caught his little weiner in the zipper and probably permanently blinded him in pain. I still feel really bad about it. Somebody should put a warning label in footie pajamas that underwear are REQUIRED!

Can't find a better man.

One of my very favorite things about being married is sitting in church on Sunday morning with Mike's arm around me. Silly, I know, but it makes me feel so safe and cared for. It is as if he is lovingly claiming that I am his girl. I love smelling his cologne next to me and hearing his voice as we sing. I feel like all is right with the world when I am sitting next to him all snuggled in and protected.

Mike officially topped the arm around my shoulders phenomenon on Sunday by dedicating the alter flowers to me in honor of our upcoming 10th anniversary. What a beautiful surprise from an amazing man. I felt like he stood me up in front of the entire church and threw his arm around my shoulders with pride!

Healing

I was reflecting on pain the other day as I was putting a shoe on my jacked up toe. It is amazing how one injury to a seemingly insignificant part of your body can alter so many things in your life. It occurred to me that before I broke my toe I never stopped to be thankful that it did not hurt. Isn't that how all painful experiences are? I did not wake up this morning and pause to be thankful for a healthy body, working limbs, a warm house, a beautiful family, etc. But if I were to encounter "pain" in any of these areas, it would be life altering.

I feel like my toe is finally starting to heal because I can walk down the stairs now without wanting to cry. I know it sounds silly, but I am so thankful for an almost functional toe. By the same token, I feel compelled to say how grateful I am for all of the little things that I don't stop to appreciate until they are "broken"- a husband that is honestly my bestest buddy, two children that make my heart sing, friends and family that fill my days, a job that I love, my dream house, a great church, the colors of the leaves as they are changing, music, fresh air, hot chocolate, laughter, naptime- I could go on. I guess sometimes the process of healing is a perfect reminder to thank God for the things in your life that are not broken! And I am truly thankful.

Updates

It seems like it has been a while since I have posted random pictures and stories, so here we go!

We took Evyn today (5 weeks old) for a weight check and she is up to 9 pounds 9 ounces! Wow! I knew that she was growing because she has already outgrown most newborn clothes and diapers, but I had no idea that she had packed three pounds on! Amazing! She is still as cute as ever and I am loving her hair. She is just so very girly and sweet.


Evyn loves to be swaddled. One morning while I was in the shower, Carter asked Mike to swaddle him too, so here are both of my babies swaddled together. Too cute! We swaddled Carter until he was almost 9 months old. We used to joke that we were going to have to use a twin size sheet, but he loved it.

Potty training continues to be an exercise in patience for all of us. Several days ago, we had just walked in the door from church when I smelled Carter. I was nursing the baby and Mike was not home yet. I am trying to make Carter more aware of the mess that he makes when he has an accident so I sent him into the bathroom to start cleaning up, knowing that Mike would be home in a few minutes. Poor Mike. This is what he walked in to. Please note the underwear in the trash and the very solemn look on Carter's face. And if you look closely you can see what appeared to most of an entire roll of toilet paper in the commode. Everyone tells me that we will look back on all of this and laugh one day. I can honestly say that I cannot wait for that day!

Mike is no longer allowed to brush Evyn's hair after bath time. He thinks it is super funny to make her look like a troll doll.

This is my favorite way to spend the days. She is still so snuggly and sweet and now I know how quickly this phase passes.

This was her first non-newborn outfit! She looked so grown up and cute that we had to get the camera out!

My heart is so amazingly full of these precious babies. Every day that I get to spend with them makes me smile. I am so looking forward to this holiday season. I sometimes wonder if this is how my parents must have felt when we were little. Life does not get much sweeter than this- even with potty training!

*TAG* 8 Things

My sweet friend, Mika, tagged me, so here we go!

8 TV shows that I watch:

The Office
Survivor
The Amazing Race
Word World
Super Why
Curious George
Sid the Science Kid
The News

8 favorite restaurants:

Orlandos
Abuelos
Harrigans
Stellas
Taco Villa
One Guy
Pei Wei
Cracker Barrell

8 fun things that happened this week:

Pedicure with Brigitte
Disciple Now at my house
Evyn smiled at me
Science Spectrum playdate
Lunch with Ashley
Steak dinner at my mom's house
Lots of fun playtime with Carter
Evyn's 1 month birthday!

8 things I look forward to:

Carter being potty trained
Paying off hospital bills
Christmas
Getting my braces off
Our tenth anniversary
Summer vacation
Carter being potty trained
Carter being potty trained

8 things on my wish list:

A new camera
A new TV
A couch for the living room
Recliners for the front room
A new fence
New carpet
Bedding for our bed
New jeans

Now I tag Brigitte, Mary, and Lori E!

My Sweet Husband

Sweet Mike bought me the most precious gift- a family ring with all of our birth stones. This year will be our tenth anniversary, so this is sort of an early anniversary present. I have a friend that is a jeweler and he designed the ring for me and called this afternoon to say that it was ready! Mike said that I did not have to wait for our anniverary to start wearing it- whooohooo! I absolutely love it and smile every time that I look down at my hand! I love what it represents. I am one proud mommy! Thank you, Mike. I love you!

You know what I love about blogging?

You guys make me laugh. I post a funny picture or a happy story and get like three comments. But then I bust out a good story about dropping poop in a restaurant floor or catching mice in my utility room and you guys come out of the woodwork! I love it. Looks like I need to put more of the random happenings in my life out there in the blogosphere!

Keeping it Real in the Lewis House.

I should have known after posting about my state of blissful happiness yesterday that I would have a "keeping it real" kind of day today. God definitely has a sense of humor.

There are a few things that you need as background information to fully appreciate my situation today. First of all, I seriously jacked up my big toe on Monday. I slipped on the stairs and can no longer bend my toe. The entire toe is swollen and my whole foot is discolored. Every step is excrutiatingly painful. Good times.

Carter did his poopoo in the potty yesterday and we have moved him to being in underwear full time. We figure that pull ups are just too comfortable to mess in and have decided that it is worth the mess of underwear if we can get him to make the big leap. So, today is day two of underwear.

So, today I had a lunch date with my precious and very classy friend, Pam. We agreed to meet at Chilis and I loaded up the kids to go enjoy a meal with my sweet friend. I get to the restaurant and Evyn immediately starts fussing. She has never done this. Ever. So I finally decide that she must be hungry, which leaves me limited options as we are just sitting down to eat. So, I get out my nursing cover and apologize profusely to Pam for what I am about to do. I am nursing my sweet child in the middle of Chilis and while I am OK with this, you never know how much you are going to freak out everyone else. It is while Evyn is latched on that Carter says "Watch my trick, Pam" and proceeds to lean over the side of the table and spit in the floor. What? He has never done a trick of this nature before but chooses today to debut his complete lack of manners to one of my nicest friends at a point in time when I can do nothing about it because I am already feeling rather self conscious to have my boob out in the middle of a restaurant.

Our food arrives and we start eating (yes, Evyn is still eating too) and I look at Carter and notice how still he is being and then see the awkward facial expression and decide that he is using the restroom. I ask him if he needs to potty and he tells me that it is too late. I pass Evyn to Pam, grab the diaper bag and take Carter to the bathroom. There is no way to get poopoo underwear off of a three year old without making a mess. I lay him on the changing station and get to work. Right as I am peeling the disgusting Bob the Builder undies off, the door opens and a Chilis employee walks in. The entire restroom reeks of poop and my 40 pound kid is squirming awkwardly on the changing station when the inevitable happens. The poop falls out of the underwear and lands with a loud splat on the floor. It is at this point that I start sweating. I did my best to clean the child, the floor, and the changing station, gather what is left of my dignity and go back to the table. I am fairly sure that Pam will not be inviting me to lunch again.

I forgot to mention that the entire scene was enhanced by my very noticable limp.

Carter fell asleep in the car on the way back home. When I put him down for his nap, he wet the bed. His sheets are in the wash right now.

I still love being a mommy. However, I am so thankful that I got to experience the sweetness of yesterday before being subjected to the sheer humiliation that today brought. And that my friends is what we call "keeping it real" in the Lewis house.

Pure Bliss

My heart is content. I get to savor the warmth of a newborn in my arms on a cool day. Her smell makes me smile. Her peaceful countenance calms my heart. I have enjoyed the privilege of watching my firstborn grow up in a thousand ways right before my eyes within the last three weeks. He makes me laugh until my sides hurt. His gentle spirit ministers to me. I feel so perfectly satisfied with life in general and I can't help but reflect on how richly blessed I am. This must be what people mean when they say pure bliss.

It was only a matter of time.

Carter is so observant and aware of everything that goes on around him these days. We are finding that we have to be careful about what we say in front of him if we don't want it repeated. I was wondering how long it would take my little copy cat to start breastfeeding. You can see my arm and Evyn's head in the edge of the picture, and sure enough Carter insisted that it was time to feed his baby too!


The proud big brother!

My sweet and oh so girlie Evyn. Have I mentioned what a fabulously easy baby she is?

Carter playing in the leaves.

Carter proudly showing off his new footie pajamas. He loves them!

One last story for today- we took Carter to get his flu shot yesterday. We talked about it in advance trying to prepare him for it. Well, we got there and he really was upset and nervous. I basically had to hold him across my chest while Mike held his hands still and he cried hysterically. As soon as we left the doctor's office, Carter told me "Mommy that was not a great idea." Well said, son.

We are having tons of fun with these two kiddos. More stories and pictures to come soon. . .

Two Week Update!

I cannot believe how quickly the last two weeks have flown by! Evyn had her two week well check yesterday, and everything looks great. She is up to 7 pounds 4 ounces and the doctor said that she looks perfect! We were also thrilled that her belly button stump finally fell off last night. No more sponge baths, and that is good news for everyone! I also had my two week check up yesterday, and my good news is that I weigh 8 pounds less than when we found out I was pregnant! Hooray! We get to spend some time together as a family today, so I am off to savor the day. I will post more pictures soon.

Evyn

We had the incredible opportunity to have Denae Hutson (click her name to see her website) photograph our family yesterday. She is simply brilliant, and so much fun to work with. We had a blast. The following pictures are previews from our time together. I could not be any happier with the way that they turned out and I am anxious to see the rest of the pictures! I just could not wait to share these with the world! Thank you, Denae! You are phenomenal!!!