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Oh the changes! He is growing and learning more every minute! Check out this video of him manipulating his little body to get to the baseball!

In Christ Alone

This is my prayer for the day. It is a modern day hymn written by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

wake up!

Just went in to get Hunter up from a nap. I could hear him making noises and talking so I decided to sneak up on him with my camera. Here is the video:



Here are a few pics of him waking up the past few days:



Here is a picture of how I found him sleeping a few mornings ago. He knows how to get comfy!

no more meds!

Hunter went to the urologist today at St. Louis Children's Hospital. What a great facility. The staff are all so friendly and the atmosphere is actually quite cheery. Hunter's doctor was great-- very relaxed and informative. We decided together that since Hunter's reflux appears to be minor and in no way damaging or hurting his kidneys, we are going to take him off of his medicine! YAY! We have really struggled over the thought of giving our son a prescription drug everyday for years. He has already been on it close to 5 months at this point and that feels so extreme. The doctor assured us that taking Hunter off the meds will not hurt him in anyway. If Hunter gets another Urinary Tract Infection, we will have to re-evaluate at that point what our options are. The doc suggested we have another ultrasound in the summer of 2011 to check Hunter's kidneys, if there are no issues before that.

We feel so encouraged by the visit and so thankful that Hunter's reflux appears to be minor. No more grape meds every night!

In other Hunter news, He really loves his bath time. I got these adorable pictures the other night during bath time...

Instant Gratification

Our culture has an obsession with Instant Gratification: email gets delivered in a second, microwaves make dinner in no time, drive thrus can hand us the perfect soy chai no water latte in minutes, and Google provides the answer to literally ANY question in .0279 seconds.

I'd like to say that I am "above" that thinking and can take the time to do whatever needs to be done with a great attitude and patience knowing that the process is good for me and all that.

But it is not true.

I spent several hours on Friday cutting and placing my material to make curtains for Hunter's room. Then I started sewing. I thought since my great friend Courtney was nice enough to let me borrow her sewing machine this project would be done in no time. I mean, how hard could it be to sew together a few pieces of material?

Let me tell you, it's HARD. I ran out of time on Friday and had to try again on Tuesday. I went to Courtney's house right before Hunter's nap so that he could sleep as I put together the curtains. As soon as I would start to get the hang of it the thread would run out. Then I would re-thread the machine and start again-- forgetting to put the "foot" down and immediately my needle would lose its threading. Then the bobbin would run out. Not to mention how many times I would get off track or sew it wrong... I was anything but patient and I almost gave up so many times.

Four hours later, I completed the project. Don't look too close, the seams are not beautiful, but I am pretty proud of myself. I made 4 panels, 2 for each window. Check them out:

I guess I can say perseverance is good. But I told Courtney I am going to think long and hard before I decide to sew again. And then when I decide I should, I gave her complete permission to ask me to think about it more.

tears

For the very first time, Hunter cried when I left him today. I took him into the nursery at church, a church nursery he has been to several times, and set him down next to the toys and a boy about 6 months older. Immediately, he started to cry. I took his coat and hat off of him and gave him a hug and his cries got louder.

I proceeded into church, heartbroken and a little confused. Was Hunter crying because I was leaving him? Or was it because he hasn't pooped in 48 hours?

I was in the service about 15 minutes before the nursery workers came to get me. Hunter was inconsolable. There were about 6 other babies in the room and they couldn't get Hunter to stop crying. As soon as I walked in, he calmed down. I took him and immediately he stopped crying.

So was it separation anxiety? Or was it the fact his belly didn't feel good? Maybe it was hard to be away from me and Josh when he didn't feel well.

I hope this isn't a new pattern!

our Valentine's Day Celebration

For Valentine's Day, Hunter made the whole family cards that he himself finger painted. We were going for hand prints, but with an 8 month old, we took what we could get!!!