New Hudsonisms

Here are the latest convos:

H: "It was accent (accident)." I hear this one more often than I'd like!

H: "I want some to deeup (dip). Like cheeups (chips)." He wants syrup to "deeup" his pancakes in. My little country man.

H: "Hey, mommy. When I wake up and some ting is unfixed, I will fix it with my tool bench."

M: "Ok."

H: "And it will be all, all crumbled."

M: "Oh, okay."

H: "You know what crumbled means?"

M: "No, what?"

H: "It means not broken."

H: "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a race-car driver."

M: "Oh, really?"

H: "Yeah, I will go wooly wooly fast! And we can all ride...and when you drive, I will bump you."

Happy FIRST Birthday, Micah!

Oh how thankful we are for this little man!! It is so true that children are a blessing from God!! Matt and I can't remember what it was like before kids...life is very full! We had an awesome party for Micah's first birthday, and time has flown by too fast! Boys are a lot of fun- there will be loads of mischief in my house and everything will probably be destroyed, but drama will be low. I'm good with that.

We are praying that Micah would grow to be a man who loves God with all his heart...praying that he grows into a man true to his name. That he does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with his God. Lord, make it true! (Micah 6:8)

My Redeemer Lives!!

My heart has been overflowing this week thinking about the upcoming Easter celebration. I think it has been fresh this year because I have been thinking about how I can communicate the magnitude of this celebration to Hudson. I'm sad about all the fluff of the holiday- Easter bunny, eggs, chocolate, etc. Man, there's a lot of "fluff" to sift through at Christmas and Easter, and I want to make sure that my children understand why we celebrate these special days. There is a REASON to celebrate!! I remember Easter Sunday last year. I was very close to giving birth to Micah...we celebrated with our church family at Grace. One thing that sticks out in my mind is one of the songs that we sang (well, my friend Jennifer sang). Some of you know it, and some of you probably don't. The words of the song grip my heart every time and almost always bring me to tears...so, I hope that the words of this song will pierce your heart as well. If you know Him, I pray that this celebration will be extra special this year! And if you don't, I pray that these words will soften your heart and that THIS will be the year for you to know Him!!

Redeemer

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning?

And Who told the ocean, 'You can only come this far.' ?

And Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening?

Whose Words alone can catch a falling star?

I know my Redeemer lives!

I know my Redeemer lives.

All of creation testifies, this life within me cries.

I know my Redeemer lives!!

The very same God that spins things in orbit

runs to the weary, the worn, and the weak.

And the same gentle Hands

that hold me when I'm broken,

they conquered death and bring me victory!!

I know my Redeemer lives!

I know my Redeemer lives!

Let all creation testify! Let this life within me cry!

I know my Redeemer lives!!

He lives to take away my shame.

And He lives! Forever I'll proclaim,

that the payment for my sin was the precious live He gave.

Now He's ALIVE and there's an empty grave!!!

I know my Redeemer lives!!

I know my Redeemer lives!

All of creation testifies, this life within me cries!

I know my Redeemer Lives!!

Date Night

While in New Orleans, Matt and I got to go to one of his friends' wedding. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. The timing was great that we were going to be in New Orleans for the weekend anyways. I thought I would take this opportunity to thank Matt for supporting me and for giving me the freedom to train for the marathon. I could not have done it without that freedom. He kept the kids every Saturday morning for me to do my long runs...and helped lots on Saturday afternoons when I was tired. So, thank you, Matt! You are wonderful!!

We Finished!!!

I know it has been forever...no excuses, though :) We finished the marathon!!!! It was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The Lord answered our prayer and gave us an absolutely beautiful day to run. It was one of our first "springlike" days and we could not stop saying how beautiful it was. I'll give you the rundown...and who knows, maybe some of you will be convinced to run one yourself : )

First of all, it was in New Orleans and it was part of the "Rock and Roll" Marathon series. That meant that EVERY mile there was a band playing! Whaaaat?? It was so cool! There were like 13,000 runners, so to say the atmosphere was awesome would be an understatement. Also, Annie and I decided to pray through the alphabet during the race (26 letters and 26 miles), so at each mile we were talking about what the Lord had put on our hearts to pray for. It was sooooooo encouraging!!! We prayed for friends, family, circumstances, contentment, our children, and the list could go on and on. It was a gorgeous day that just screamed the faithfulness of our God...and He gave us legs and endurance to run for His glory. It was one of the sweetest times in my life...His presence was very near. It was like a breath of fresh air to my heart. So at each mile we were rocking out to a band, discussing our prayer requests, and praying....and then before we knew it there was another band!! It was wonderful : ) At the end of the race they called us out by name and we were both so overcome with joy that we were able to finish that the tears flowed. I know you're not shocked : )

So there it is! I hope you are encouraged...and if you are reading this you are probably a close friend or family member...and we probably prayed for you!

Micah-Doo

I could just eat him. I really could. I kiss those cheeks often. The comment I usually get is, "He sure doesn't miss many meals, does he?". But neither do we. No one in my family misses many meals :) We had his check-up today and he is following his big brother. He is 29 3/4 inches long and weighs 23 pounds. He is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. He got such a great report and I was so excited...his breathing was great- no wheezing, and his tubes looked great. He is so much fun right now. He is into EVERYTHING...he loves digging in drawers, opening cabinets, plundering the dish washer. Those are his favorites :) I will post pictures soon of that. He is cutting his top FOUR teeth right now...poor little man. Considering that, he really has done well through it. He is very content to be sitting on my hip most of the time, and I have to say that I am pretty content to have him there :) I know that I am reaching my limit of being the favorite. It only lasted a year for Hudson and I'm sure it will be the same for him...sad. When I was walking into the doctor's office today I was sad thinking about the fact that he won't be as excited for me to hold him very much longer...I had that feeling of wanting to savor it. The feeling exiting the doctor's office was not the same!! In the office I was thinking of how in the world I will have more children. Both kids were in my lap boohooing over their "pokes". It was all I could handle. Guess it's all I have to handle for now :)

Big Boy

We went today for Hudson's 3 year check-up (a bit late). The doctor confirmed that he is still big for his age. He is 39 inches tall and weighs 36 lbs. and 6 ounces. He is in the 90th percentile for height and the 75th for weight. I really thought he would have been a little lower in weight because to me he looks so long and skinny, but I guess he's still keeping up in the weight department as well. Today was also "school picture" day. Hudson is such a quirky little kid. He was scared of the man taking pictures and I had to work really hard to keep him calm...then at the doctor he had to get a "poke". Man, that was a treat. I used to think that if he would just reach the age that I could explain it to him before he had to get a shot that everything would go much more smoothly. Boy was I wrong! He's a smart kid and knew that something was up, so he kept asking me, "Am I through, mommy? Is that all?". I had changed the subject SEVERAL times to avoid the question. Finally I told him that he was going to have to get a little "poke" and that it would be all finished. BIG MISTAKE. Ten minute conversation ensues...complete with praying with him for God to help him not be scared. Man, I was exhausted. After we finished praying and talking about the fact that God is always with us, I said, "See. Isn't that great?". To which he replied, "No! It's not great!". Ok, then. On with the poke. (I'll blog next about Micah's poke...what a fun day).

We are all done now and Hudson is napping. He really is a joy...and I am so sad that he's growing up so fast. I want it to all slow down. I love his big blue eyes...I could just squeeze him.