I’m Stephanie, a 20-something believer, wife, daughter, sister, friend, mother, and most recently a stay at home mom. I have been married for 4+ years to a wonderful, handsome man and a mother to a wonderful toddler boy.
Born on October 8th, 2009 and weighed 9lb 5oz and 20.5 inches long. He is one of the most incredible blessings the Lord has ever given us.
So, yeah, I took a week or so off from blogging, so this is a bit delayed. Not sure why I didn't blog, I just wasn't feeling it and was just focused on hanging out with my family. Sometimes you just gotta be in the moment, right? :)
On Saturday we went to my Grandma's retirement home for an Easter egg hunt. We had a good time visiting with Grandma and Hunter scored lots and lots of candy. He was pretty excited!!
On Saturday night, we went to Easter service at church. It was a great message and they had a guy share a his very moving testimony.
On Sunday, we got to relax in the morning. Hunter opened his Easter basket. I ran out to pick up some yummy doughnuts for breakfast and then got busy making a fruit salad and some rhubarb cupcakes for Easter dinner.
We headed out to my parents house. They had a ton of eggs hidden in the backyard for Hunter to find. My mom made our family a huge Easter basket full of goodies and we had a wonderful Easter dinner with family and friends.
I know, I am so late in the game, as usual. But better late than never... RIGHT?!
We had a very busy and fun Christmas weekend. I am sad to report that I was very bad about taking pictures though. I was really trying to be in the moment, rather than just capturing the moments with a camera.
On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with some of our dearest friends, Joe and Nicole, and their family. We had a wonderful dinner and gift exchange. I just love how much our friends love Hunter, it makes me love them even more (that's A LOT!).
On Christmas morning, I woke up bright and early in order to put together Hunter's fire/police house that his Grandpa & Grandma Doyle got him, before he woke up. I am not usually the person in our house to put things together... but Jesse refused to get out of bed, so that just left me. I'm happy to say that I did a pretty darn good job! :)
He loves this new toy. I love that someone finally thought to make a "dollhouse" for a boy. Such a great idea.
Then he opened up his Cabela's hunting/fishing set. This was another huge hit.
Then he opened up his books. I got him all If You Give a "blank" a "blank" books. Like a mouse a cookie, moose a muffin, pig a pancake, and dog a doughnut. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was my very favorite book when I was young. But... he was more interested in playing with the gifts he got the night before, go figure.
He got a new North Face hat, which he found absolutely miserable. lol.
He also got three new Lego sets, which he LOVES!
Later in the afternoon, we headed out to my parents house for the whole family get together. I love it when our whole family is together and seeing all the cousins play.
So, I will admit it... I am kind of cheating on Thanksgiving by being ready for Christmas already. I've already completed over half of my shopping and am eagerly counting down the days until I get to put the Christmas tree and decorations up in our house (6 days).
I LOVE reading about what other blogger want for Christmas because it gives me new ideas about things that are out there! So I thought I would do the same by sharing what I would love to find in my stocking this year. I think Jesse and I have decided only to do stocking for each other this year, so that's kind of way some of them might seem a bit spendy for a stocking! :)
Starting from the top left:
Starbucks K-cups, Hunter socks to go in my rain boots, cute nail files, iTunes gift card, Hanky Panky underwear, grey nail polish, Real Simple magazine subscription, Mac blush (perferably a pink or coral color), Bobbi Brown lip gloss, Starbucks gift card (duh), Erin Condren iphone cover, Benefit tinted moisturizer, raw hazlenuts (yummy!), Victoria's Secret dryer sheets (if they are even half as amazing at their detergent, I'll be thrilled!), strawberry sour belts, and of course I would LOVE to make a baby in December! ;)
Hope I made it super easy for my hubby!! :)
What would you love to find in your stocking this year?
Hunter and I went over to my parents house on Sunday to celebrate Father's Day with my dad and the rest of my family. We had great food and company, if only we could say that the weather was awesome as well. Oh well, two out of three isn't so bad.
Hunter loved playing outside with his two cousins, Grace and Gabe, and his Uncle Eddy! Grace and Gabe are SOOOO good with him. I've never seen older kids love to be around a little kid so much. They were so patient with him and included him in everything they were doing. I could tell that Hunter was so happy to be spending time with them!
Hunter found his Uncle Brandon's catcher's helmet from PLU and decided he wanted to wear that one. :)
Happy Father's Day, love! I so wish that Hunter and I could celebrate with you today. You are such a wonderful and loving father. And you deserve nothing less than to be celebrated today for all your dedication.
I know that when we talked last night, you mentioned that you just don't feel like as much as a father when you are gone and that it's just not right. I understand that you are struggling with how it's not natural for families to be apart for months on end. You are right, it is not how most people have to live their lives as a family. But we are not victims, we are a strong and proud family. Yes, we have to deal with some unique circumstances, but in the end it truly only makes us stronger.
You might not be here every morning to get Hunter up and to give him his nightly bath. But, you are showing him what a hero is. Maybe most dad's get to show their kids love in their daily routines with them, but you get the less common blessing of showing Hunter what it means to sacrifice for your country. One day he will understand that you played a part in protecting our freedom and safety and he will be so proud of who are are and what you have done.
Hunter misses you and you are very much on his mind during this deployment. He looks at pictures of you everyday and shouts out "Daddy!". He just figured out how to press the button in his build-a-bear, so that he can hear your voice whenever he wants. Every time we open the garage door and he sees the truck in there, he gets excited and says "Daddy's truck!". Right before he goes to bed, we say our prayers and he repeats "God bwess daddy, thank you cheesus (Jesus)", Even at his young age, he knows, remembers, and misses you.
We love you and could not feel more honored to be able to support what you are doing. Hunter and I cannot wait until you are home again. Thank you for being our hero.
We had a very low key Easter this year and it was perfect. We went to Easter service at church on Saturday night and heard a great message from Pastor Dean. The widow of the man who was killed by the "Craigslist Killer" gave her testimony at the beginning of the service. It was heart wrenching, but also so inspirational to hear of her love for her Savior through everything that has happened in her life. Praise the Lord!
On Sunday we relaxed, gave Hunter his Easter basket, and then headed out to have Easter lunch with my family.
And sometimes you even have to do a sniff test on Easter. Stop judging, you know you do it too! :) But, you are probably lucky enough not to have a hubby who catches it on camera.
As a Jesus family, Easter is a day we celebrate with such joy. Jesus is ALIVE! Praise God. We do not worship a dead man, Jesus is truly alive and lives within us.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was very thankful that Jesse made it home for the holiday. We went to church on Thanksgiving morning. We sang the song Open Up the Sky by Deluge. The chorus of the song goes:
Open up the sky, fall down like rain We don't want blessings, we want You Open up the sky, fall down like fire We don't want anything but You
This hit me. The thought of not desiring blessings, only desiring Him. Such a powerful message. I am often hoping for wonderful things to happen to our family and less often just wanting Him. It doesn't matter what our earthly lives have in store for us, as long as we have God in our lives, we have an internal life that is full of the biggest treasure every imagined.
Check it out:
Also at church, Jesse got asked during the middle of service to come up on the stage in front of 500+ people. Jesse looked a little panicked, to say the least. Pastor Dean asked him questions about his military service and also asked him what he was most thankful for that day. Jesse, being the good husband he is, he said he was most thankful for his wife. Awwwww! So sweet, until the pastor asked me to stand up in the congregation, I think I turned 10 shades of red. But... we got through it.
After church, we headed over the my parents house and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner full of family, friends, and delicious food.
My little brother, Brandon, and his amazingly sweet fiance, Jennifer.
My nephew and niece Gabe and Grace.
Hunter and Jesse
My parents working hard at making Thanksgiving dinner.
Jesse is active duty Air Force and is originally from southern Minnesota. He has also managed to become a follower of just about every hobby known to man (which drives his wife crazy!).
Henry was born on July 4, 2007. His hobbies include playing with his squeaker toys, barking a little girls, dock jumping, going to the dog park, and being spoiled rotten by his grandparents.
