Three Months!

Greetings to my fans out there! It's time for another update from your favorite blogger. First, I feel the need to clear the air in light of my mom's previous post. I'm not perfect, but I am pretty close. Also, I'm here for her sanctification, right? Yeah, I said it. SANCTIFICATION. And I do not know where she gets these pictures of me crying. That never happens...

It's been a full month for me and my family and word on the street is that it will just get busier. We started the month with some crazy road tripping. Seriously, we drove a lot. In a span of 7 days, Friday to Friday, we [at least Mom and I] were in the car for at least a day. Here's some calculations I did—

Friday:          Auburn to Decatur =    3.5 hours
Saturday:      Decatur to Auburn =    3.5 hours
Tuesday:       Auburn to Decatur =    3.5 hours
Wednesday:  Decatur to Nashville = 2 hours
                     Nashville to Decatur = 2 hours
Thursday:     Decatur to Florence =  1 hour
                     Florence to Decatur =  1 hour
Friday:         Decatur to Nashville = 2 hours
                    Nashville to Decatur = 2 hours
                    Decatur to Auburn =    3.5 hours

The first trip to Decatur was so I could meet some more of my family. Boy was it a reunion!

My Aunt Erin and Uncle Adam came down all the way from Indianapolis. They have two children, Madelyn and Harrison. This was the first time I got to meet all of them.

Emma and Aunt Valerie came as well. They're living in Florence now, so it's only an hour drive for them. Unfortunately Uncle Brandon had to work. He missed out...

Aren't they beautiful? I have a good lookin' family.

The Memphis Moders came to show some love as well. Can you believe they drove 6 hours in one day just to get some time with us? That's love right there...

Great Aunt Anna and Great Uncle Jeff. They have 3 children— Ben, Amelia, and Sam.

Then there were the Madison Moders. They didn't have to drive that far, but I still was feeling the love from them as well. I sure do have a great family...

Great Aunt Debra and Great Uncle Bobby. A lot of these pictures are from his camera - thanks!

Finally, the patriarch of this all... Papa Bob! He was a trooper and I even got to sit with him for a little bit. We're all very thankful for him.

4 generations!

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but I got a whole lot of attention, so that made up for all the travel time. I'm definitely looking forward to growing up with these folks.

Emma and Maddie hanging out with me while I swing.

Papa Bob with his grands and great-grands: (L-R) Ben, Amelia, Sam, Valerie, Emma, Madelyn, Erin, Harrison, Mom, me!

Yeah yeah... so funny.

All these people and pictures wore me out. I love napping on my parents' chests.

They sure do love each other.

The next trip came about because Dad had class in Nashville [well Franklin, actually]. We weren't sure who would be free to house a married couple and their newborn, so Mom and I spent our nights in Decatur with Nana and Papa. That Wednesday, Mom and I drove Dad up to class. Then we got to spend the afternoon with Meghan and Evie. I know what you're all wondering and no, I did not punch her this time...

We also got to have dinner with Mom's friend, Lauren. She's so cool.

 

Thursday- Mom, Nana, and I went to Florence to have lunch with Aunt V and Uncle Brandon. It was good to see him again! It had been a while. Then Friday- Mom and I went to pick up Dad from class in Franklin. We had lunch with Meghan, Drew, and Evie [I finally got to meet Drew!]. We took some pictures and then hit the road.

We made a pit stop in Decatur for dinner and then had to head to Auburn that night so Dad could be back for something the next morning. Thus ends our around the world adventure. Well, I'm not very good with geography right now, but it felt that way to me!

In other news, I'm balding. Yes, balding. I've heard that it happens with old age, and I am getting older, so I guess it was inevitable. I actually blame it on Mom. I had a nasty patch of cradle cap, so she took it upon herself to rid me of this menace. She did accomplish her purpose, but probably took most of the hair on the top of my head with her. That woman...

Another note concerning my head is that it is apparently kind of big. Since it's gotten cold out, mom tried to put on about 10 different hats we had and they all just popped right off! Thus we've had to result to more creative ways to keep me warm in these cold months...

Lastly in the Haddon head news is that, in spite of its large demeanor, I can move it around pretty well! My neck is growing stronger every day and hopefully soon I'll be a pro at keeping it lifted. 

I also got a nice little war wound this month. This is when Mom gets the hint that my nails need to be trimmed. Just call me ScarFace.

This probably happened while attempting to shove my fist in my mouth. I do this all the time. At first Mom thought it was a new way of telling her I was hungry, but no, I just like to do it. Just trying to keep myself entertained, ya'll.

Another milestone was my first day of errands with my Mom in the stroller. I did really well, but we went to so many places that I just decided to fall asleep. If you've seen one store, you've seen them all...

I'm also enjoying play time more and more. We have a couple of mats with dangling toys that I like to whack. One of them lights up and plays music, but it decided to freak out on us about a week ago. The music skips like crazy now and Mom can't handle it, so we don't use that feature any more. It's still fun to wiggle around on though.

I'm also continuing to smile and coo like a pro. It's so funny to see people's reactions. They LOVE it. You can check out that cuteness here and here [if you haven't seen it already]. 

I'm still enjoying baths these days and have even moved up to just sitting in the tub without that sling thing. Aren't you impressed?

I guess it wouldn't be an update if I didn't tell you how I was sleeping. If you had asked that question yesterday, I was sleeping through the night. 10 to 7 to be exact. I know, I'm awesome. BUT I decided to mix it up on Mom again last night. 10 to 3:30. Then 6:30. Then 9. Just keeping her on her toes. I don't want to get too predictable.

Faith to be Strong

Hello out there! We're alive and well. Most of the time...  I realize that a lot of moms out there struggle with comparison and I won't say that I'm exempt from that struggle. I also don't want to cause someone to struggle by the way I talk about my family on this blog. Our days aren't perfect. They don't always look like this...

They sometimes will look like this...

Though Kameron is better at smiling during these times than I am... My husband really is such a blessing. What causes me to absolutely meltdown [yes, I have meltdowns] usually doesn't even make him flinch. He's kind of strong and resilient like that :) But alas, he's not perfect either. I promise I have a point with this post, even though now it feels all over the place. I guess that helps me to even further prove our point.

I do hesitate to write about the hard days for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don't ever want to sound like I'm complaining or discontent for what the Lord has put before me. There are days I do feel like that, but I never want to blast those sinful thoughts on the internet for all to see. The second reason is that my life is sooo easy. There are so many wives and mothers out there who are absolute warriors and have conquered [or are currently conquering] so many more trials than my 24-year-old self [25 tomorrow, whoop whoop] ever has. Therefore, I'm hesitant to even begin to paint my life as "hard."

But there are hard days. There are days when my sweet, handsome, blue-eyed son whines— wails, even. He isn't always a sleeping angel or a cooing ball of perfection. And I cannot always console him. I cannot fix it. I react in ways that are not worthy to bear the name of Christ. His grace restrains me from so much, but the battle is often disheartening. So tired of sin. So tired of impatience, anger, frustration, bitterness... I was briefly expressing these struggles to a dear friend the other night via text [I know, how personal, right?] and her response was so absolutely perfect that I even gasped a bit as my eyes brimmed with much needed tears. "Jesus was perfectly patient for you."

Now I don't want to ruin the sheer simplicity of that statement by rambling on about Jesus' righteousness and how that is imputed to us or that even though we are justified that doesn't mean we are to go on sinning so that grace may abound [not that those truths would ruin anything, I just tend to talk too much and for the moment would rather save those theological conversations for another day]. Well, now that I have ruined the moment with all my asides, time to go nutshell mode...

I fail every day. I am not a perfect Christian, daughter, sister, wife, mother, or friend.

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:56-58)

If you are in Christ, be encouraged by this truth. Know this victory. I'm not trying to encourage you by saying, Oh we all struggle—it's okay to be frustrated and angry. Everybody does it. I'm wanting to encourage you by saying—You are not alone. It is a daily battle to put my sin to death, fight temptation, and strive to be holy. But God's grace is sufficient. Take heart— for His power is made perfect in our weakness. Talk about crazy! Therefore may we boast all the more gladly in our weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in us. May we be content in our weaknesses, for the sake of Christ. For when we are weak, then weak are strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Picture break! I was getting a little text heavy... Sorry if I lost some of you :)

A few other encouraging nuggets for you...

"Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give you victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up." —Charles Haddon Spurgeon [thanks Katie!]

"I guess I learned the hard way that this world can’t give me what I need.
Even though the house I built on sand was swallowed by the sea,
You never let me down.
Sometimes I think I’ll only be content with things that money buys.
Its like trying to squeeze water from a stone – it will not provide.
But You never let me down.
You might let me cry.
You might let me sing.
You might let me feel a fraction of your suffering.
But you won’t let me down.
If I could just stop striving and surrender to Your holy power I know Your loving arms will lift me up and never let me down." —Andy Gullahorn, Never Let Me Down

But the real star of the encouragement show is Andrew Peterson. This song of his is absolutely wonderful [I listed the lyrics under the video, you must follow along!]
May this be my daily prayer as I strive to live in a manner worthy of the gospel.

Give us faith to be strong
Father, we are so weak
Our bodies are fragile and weary
As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead
Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn
Mend us up when we break
This flesh can be wounded and shaking
When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take
Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us hearts to find hope
Father, we cannot see
How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom
And as hard as we try, Lord, it's hard to believe
So, give us hearts to find hope

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us peace when we're torn
Give us faith, faith to be strong