Soaking

This past month has been the easiest with 2 kids thus far. And when I say easy, I mean we have a good daily routine and weekly rhythm going. It's busy. It's loud at times. It's full of tears and "boo-boo's", giggles and laughter.  I take deep breaths, say little prayers, and move forward to handle tough moments. And I am learning to soak in each day, soak in moments of sweet sayings from my 2 year old-"sorry mommy" after he has yelled at me- and first giggles from my littlest. I'm learning to be still and sit on the floor and play with my babies in the midst of laundry piled high around me and dirty dishes in the sink. Because the dishes will be there tomorrow but these sweet moments with my babies pass quickly.

This past month I have had a conviction and calling to embrace this season with as much JOY as possible. I'm learning to not define my day as "good" or "bad" based on whether my toddler threw a fit or not (which is a daily occurrence!), but rather am looking for precious moments where I see kindness in his heart, silliness in his personality, and love for his brother.  When I focus on moments and remember the big picture that this season will quickly pass, I find so much peace, contentment and joy.

Mother's Day: Grateful

Sweet, smiley Bennett

My silly man

Daily attire: No pants or matching shoes required

Soaking this in

Toddler bed, potty training, and TWO!

I can't believe my baby turned 2 this past week! I thought the first year of life went by quickly with so many changes, but boy did this past year go by fast. Luke has changed & developed SO much. A year ago he said 1 or 2 words and wasn't even walking yet. Now he runs everywhere and does not stop talking until he's in bed at night! He is definitely a toddler-wanting to do EVERYTHING on his own. When he decides to do something, he WILL do it, including sleeping in his big boy bed and going in the potty. A few months before Bennett arrived we set up his toddler bed (generously given to us by people from church), and began talking all about how big boys slept there. He had absolutely no interest in it until a few weeks ago and he officially gave up his crib just a few days ago (sniff, sniff). We have also done the same thing with potty training. We have talked about it for months, placed a small potty in our bathroom for awhile, and told him when he turns 2 that's where he would go. We are on day 4 of potty training and I can proudly say my son is potty-trained (while at home anyway!)!!

We celebrated his birthday with family and a few friends this past weekend. Luke's 2 obsessions are Mickey Mouse and BUBBLES!! So we ate a Mickey Mouse cake-my amazing sister-in-law helped me make it!-and blew bubbles. It was simple, fun, and Luke was surrounded by people he loves and adores.

Celebrating his birthday with family-March 28th

Riding his new scooter!

Our birthday boy!

Luke & his friend Kai: so cute :)

It was great to have my brother & his family there!

Family & First Smile

March has been a busy month! We had 2 wonderful weeks with family. First, my 11 year old niece, Kaylan, was here from Kansas. She is my oldest brother, Jeromee's, daughter. We had a wonderful week going to the zoo, beach (3 times!), park and playing at home. She definitely became a baby expert and I got spoiled. I was able to cook and clean without holding a baby and also took a nap almost every day. It was wonderful!

The next week my brother Adam and his family came into town. Back to the zoo and beach we went! These are 2 of our favorite places so we didn't mind one bit. It meant so much to us that they drove the 9 hours from Sacramento to meet Bennett and spend time with us.

Bennett decided to start smiling when family arrived! His little personality has started to come out and it is so sweet. He is definitely a mama's boy and loves to be cuddled. I'll admit that the last few weeks have been pretty overwhelming and tiring with a newborn who does not like to be put down. But, each day I remind myself how SHORT this season is and I take a deep breath, put down whatever I was doing, and sit and hold my baby and play with my toddler. THEY are what matters, not anything else on my to do list. I am learning how to do ONE thing a day, prioritize my time with my boys, and look at the big picture, especially when I get overwhelmed.  I'm so grateful to be a mother and so grateful for these precious boys I've been entrusted with. What a privilege!

Cousin Kaylan and Luke at the zoo

Best picture I could get of the 4 of us :/

GREAT baby-sitter!

Snuggle time with Auntie Abby, Kaylan & Liv

Cousins! *From left: Nate, Sheanna, Kaylan, Alivia, Tyr & Luke

Hangin' with Uncle Adam on the safari ride at the Wild Animal Park

Up-close view of the giraffes

Luke was not in the best mood that day...can you tell? :)

First Smile!!

1 Month!

Here we go again with the monthly blogposts. I feel like I just did this with Luke for his first year!

This month has been wonderful! I'm happy to report that life with 2 kids is BUSY but surprisingly not as hard as I had thought it would be. It definitely takes longer to get out of the house and when I try to get one thing done (i.e. empty the dishwasher) it seems to take over an hour to complete.

My goal for this past month was to ENJOY and SOAK IN every moment with my boys: play on the floor with Luke, hold Bennett as often as he has wanted (which is often!), read books to Luke in his rocking chair (one of his favorite things to do), and not worry about how dirty my house may get! This season of life will go by so fast and I don't want to miss a minute.  I am so in love with my boys and wake up each day feeling incredibly blessed.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from Bennett's first month of life:

Good morning :)

Not so sure about the lamb but I took this pic of Luke around the same age

Hangin with dad before bed

Favorite place to be: Moby wrap

Family day: beach

One month:waving hi!

Brothers :)

Bennett Lee

We are so thankful our little man has arrived! He surprised us and came 2 weeks early on Friday, February 1st at 8:31pm, weighing 7lbs 10oz and 19.5 inches long.

When it comes to naming our children, we are all about meaning. We want each child to have a name that has meaning behind it and becomes a part of their character. Luke means "bringer of light" and Daniel is Jesse's middle name. His life verse is Luke 11:36-Therefore, if your whole body is full of light..it will be completely radiant, as though a floodlight were shining through you.  Bennett was a name I had heard a few years ago and it means "blessed." When we found out we were having another boy that is exactly how we felt-blessed. His middle name, Lee, is after my grandfather, Robert Lee Jones. He was a pastor and an amazing man of faith. He passed away when I was only 4 but is someone I have always admired and had a great impression on me even as a little girl. Bennett's life verse comes from Luke 11:28- Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. This is our prayer for Bennett-that he would become a man who desires to hear and obey the Lord. We pray his life would be blessed and he would be a blessing to those around him, just as we pray for Luke that he would be a boy/man who brings light to those around him.

First moments holding our son

Sweet friends who were with me during labor

Bennett

College friends excited to meet Bennett!

First family photo

Luke was pretty excited about his brother :)

Jacobs Family

Meeting Nana for the first time

Big brother

SO grateful my parents came to help out!

Snuggling with Pop

Highlights of 2012

I love starting a new year: new goals, a new year to look forward to, a fresh start.  I especially, though, love looking back at all that happened in the previous year. It reminds me of the goodness of God and all that He has done in our lives in one short year.  This past year was especially amazing-so many things happened that we completely did not expect, yet have brought so much blessing and joy to our lives!

Jesse was hired part-time at our church: Grace Church San Diego (this pic was from Luke's dedication in September 2011)

We celebrated Luke's 1st birthday!

I finished up my year as a working mom & said good-bye to my classroom and career (for awhile.. :)

Thanks to the Lord and my hard-working husband, I became a stay-at-home mom!

Jesse graduated from Bethel Seminary: a 6-year long journey!
Jesse began full-time at Grace Church and I was hired 10-hours a week as the Birth-PreK children's director

Johnson family vacation to the Oregon Coast

Vacation in Yosemite: first family camping trip 

Found out we were expecting another BOY!

Celebrated our last Christmas as a family of 3 :)

Christmas morning: showing off his new toys