9.30.11 - 2 years

2 years ago today, our precious little miracle was born...

Dear Liam,

Mommy and daddy could not be any more proud of the little man you are and are becoming.  Everyday is something new...from learning your numbers, shapes and alphabet, to recognizing places and faces, you are just turning into one smart little boy!  And you are so sweet and laid back.  Nothing makes you upset (or at least for very long) and we love that you are mild tempered.  In fact, yesterday you scraped your knee on the pavement and laughed when mommy cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide...I'm guessing your pain tolerance is mighty big for someone your size ;)

At 2 years old, you are chattering non-stop and most of it we understand.  You have a zillion words in your vocabulary!  Daddy and I are trying to teach you old-fashioned sayings for things, such as "Dog gone it" and "Oopsey daisy" and you get a kick out of it!  You LOVE love love to play outside, with anything and on anything.  You love our kitties and they are actually starting to not run away from you fearing for their lives love you too.  You love to laugh and frequently do it very loudly, on purpose, especially in public.  You wear a size 2T shirt, 18 month pants (for that tiny waist of yours), size 4 diapers and size 7 shoe.  You are, dare I say, almost 26 pounds and have grown like a weed the last month or so.  And thank goodness too, I think you knew you had a check up soon! 

You know your numbers, in English and in Spanish, from 1-12, and are working on learning your alphabet.  You know your shapes very well too.  Some of your favorite foods right now include ham, green beans, chick peas, lima beans, pears, peaches, cheese tortillas or rather anything with cheese, and teddy grahams.  However, you are just like a toddler and some days can be very picky on what you do and don't eat - it seems as though your favorites can change on a whim!

You are the joy to our lives, the song to our ears and the peace in our hearts.  We can't believe how 2 years have come so quickly, but then we have had some fun, haven't we?  We love you our little Liam, forever and always.  Happy Birthday our little 2 year old!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

9.28.11 - Living donor

I have an amazing friend, Vanessa, who will be giving the gift of life to someone tomorrow through the means of an operating room.  Tomorrow morning, Vanessa will be donating a kidney to a man, Gary, she meant at church years ago.  Although they never really got to know eachother and since moved to different churches, Vanessa followed Gary's journey with health issues from his wife's posts on Facebook.  Gary was diagnosed years ago with polycystic kidney disease, and when the news was shared that Gary needed a kidney transplant, Vanessa stepped up to follow God's calling on her life in a big way. 


I wanted to ask a special prayer request for Vanessa and her family and also for Gary and his family for this life-changing procedure on Thursday.  Vanessa is a strong woman of faith, and her story is so inspirational.   She is showing us how Christ can do all things through us if we believe and put our hope in Him.  Please help lift these families up.  You can follow Vanessa's journey at her blog here.

9.25.11 - Proud of my momma

My mom is an amazing artist.  She has poured her heart and soul into her passion for many years and this weekend was a great moment in her art career.  She received her signature membership in the very prestigious Southwestern Watercolor Society.  I am so proud of her, and she is so deserving of this type of recognition.  She has been the catalyst for my passion (and MANY many more students and friends alike) and my love of art and creativity, which has been a priceless gift. 

In addition to receiving her signature membership, she also won an award for her entry!  I just wanted to say, I'm SO proud of you, momma!!  Love you!

To see more of my momma's work, you can visit her website www.amymehrlich.com

9.20.11 - The heart of God...

Walking down to the river this year was a bit different.  A dewy morning coupled with sleepy eyes and a flashlight makes for an interesting morning hike down.  Many, many freshly woven webs of some of my not so favorite creatures, untouched by the days critters, lingering between the trees and in the direct path of our steps  as my friend and I traveled in moonlight to reach what we had been longing for...a stolen moment away with God...in the beauty and wonder that would embrace a morning sunrise.

Oh how I can say I've longed for this moment since the last one almost a year ago...with an anxious heart of love, I wait for Him to speak....

You see, there are trees of vultures that are just down the river bed, looming over our sacred place.  Each year, King speaks to me about these creatures, as they have come to represent an ever looming darkness, always present, yet in different ways.   As I found my patch of river rocks to settle myself into, I journaled these words first...

In the darkness, the enemy is hidden, free to prowl close without being seen...

As one tree of vultures peaks over, edging into the barely lit horizon, I see some...still, but watching...slowly light begins to touch branches and limbs....I continue...

But as my Light sheds on them - You see how they've multiplied...but you fear not, because you know I am greater still...

The sun starts peaking more vibrantly over the leaves and water...as the earth comes more clearly into view...It is beauty, majestic....


They want to steal your focus as they come into the light...steal it from My glorious morning that awaits to emerge over the horizon....Turn your gaze back to me and I will show you beauty and splendor....

Every morning, the same display of beauty and splendor anxiously awaits...for us.  To revel in its majesty and glory...to love.  Yet, so often the things of this world, darkness at best, grab our attention and we find ourselves wondering where the beauty went.  I am still here...it whispers.  So busy in our daily lives, we miss most often the daily display of love and affection that is our God.  As He softens my heart and I turn toward Him, I see the light, feel the warmth and settle into His ever-present embrace.   

Oh, how I've missed You...


*********  Prayer request   *****************

Our heart friend Mason, had his repair surgery for his Tetralogy of Fallot yesterday and is now in recovery.  He is doing great, but prayers are appreciated as the recovery is usually the hardest part and longest road...Prayers for peace and rest for his sweet family and for an uneventful and speedy recovery!

9.14.11 - Hearts and Parks

Our Hems for Hearts Charity Fashion Show and Auction was this past Saturday, and it was a huge success!!  The fashion show went great and the silent auction helped raise over $7,800 for our Amazing Little Hearts group!  Here are some pictures from the event:

Liam and Tucker showing off their duds!

Liam was wearing Vintage Couture...so cute!

LOVE these jeans...the pockets are so cool!

Cruising...

Our little man looks so grown up!

Our heart art that we made for the auction!  Made with metal scraps welded together mounted on a decorated art board...

Liam's first catwalk!

He did a great job!  He loved it...but really just wanted to play on the stairs!

The finale...all the kids on stage in their fashions!

Striking a pose!

 We have also been to the park a few times....for the first time since last MAY.  Yes, it has been WAY too hot here to do much outside all summer, so when the first cool breezes of fall came through these past couple weeks, we jumped on it and ran to the park...Liam also had a park milestone the other night, as he slid down the slide ALL ON HIS OWN!  Yay!  He usually is scared and won't go down without a lot of coaxing and holding his hand.  But the other night he walked right up, sat down and slid all by himself!  I think he did it because of the 2 adorable little girls who were also playing on the slides...Such a show-off =)

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!  I'm off this weekend to my annual women's retreat and I can't wait!  River moments, here I come!

9.11.11 - Remembering...

Dear Liam,

I knew I wanted to write this letter to you this morning...and also for any future siblings you may have.  I wanted to share an important, yet catastrophic event that took place in mine and daddy's lifetime. 

Ten years ago today, mommy was going to her second class of the morning at the University of North Texas...I had Political Science, which I disliked, much because I was not really into anything politics.  As I walked through the doors to the large auditorium, I saw fire blazing on the large screen at the front of the classroom.  Everyone around me was buzzing around on cell phones...it was a bit chaotic, but then again, class hadn't officially started yet.  I sat down next to a girl who was on her phone crying.  As she put the phone down, I remember asking her what was going on.  She said "the towers have been hit"...

I remember sitting there, watching the terror unfold on the screen.  Class was dismissed a few minutes later.  I remember walking to my car scared, for one because I couldn't get a hold of anyone on the phone, and second because I didn't know what to do...do I pray?  Cry?  Go home?  Go back to my apartment?  Nothing like this had ever touched the fiber of our country...Was I safe?  I finally got a hold of daddy - we had just started dating a month before, and he was at work.  All I knew is I immediately wanted to be in his safe arms.

The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area on September 11, 2001. On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth jet, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to take control before it could reach the hijacker's intended target in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 died in the attacks.

8:46 am - Flight 11 crashes at roughly 466 mph into the north face of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, between floors 93 and 99.

9:03 am - Flight 175 crashes at about 590 mph into the south face of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, banked between floors 77 and 85.


9:37 am - Flight 77 crashes into the western side of the Pentagon

9:59 am - The South Tower of the World Trade Center begins to collapse

10:03 am - United Airlines Flight 93 is crashed by its hijackers and passengers, due to fighting in the cockpit 80 miles (129 km) southeast of Pittsburgh

10:28 am - The North Tower of the World Trade Center begins to collapse   

As I remember that day, I remember the families that were broken, the immeasurable loss - our country's tears.  The bold, courageous responders that risked their lives to save others.  The military, who continue to fight, for our safety...for our freedom...thank you.   The deep sorrow and sympathy that pours out for those who were lost that day...and those that had to lose that day.

Liam, I want you know that, even despite how incomprehensible the attacks were, God is still good, He still has a plan...for us, and for our country.  I want to tell you how much closer it brought your daddy and I...and your grandparents and I too.   Ten years later, I want you to know, that while our past may shape us, it does not define us.  I also want to tell you that we will never forget, but we can choose to forgive.

So on this 10 year anniversary of 9.11.01, my prayer, my child, is that you will never experience such an event, ever in your lifetime.  But that you would know that you are blessed and privileged to live in the United States of America...our country is strong, and with God on our side, evil shall not overcome.

9.11.01 - We remember....

9.7.11 - Busy Times!!

We had a great long weekend down in San Antonio for Labor Day.  The weather was amazing...I had forgotten what 70's feel like!

However, the nice weather couldn't prevent the massive fires burning just east of Austin from blazing away...we saw the billowing smoke from the highway while driving back...lots of prayers needed for the folks in the path of the fires.  So far, it has burned close to 30,000 acres and over 500 homes have been destroyed.  My heart just breaks for those that are left with nothing but ashes...

We are busily planning Liam's 2nd birthday set for the end of the month.  We have a cake ordered from a wonderful ministry called Icing Smiles.  They provide cakes for birthdays and special occasions for children or siblings affected by chronic illness.  We are so blessed to have programs like this...Cakes Amore in Plano is working with Icing Smiles to create our cake!  So very blessed...especially since this will be the first year Liam can EAT cake!  YAY!

This weekend, for any locals out there, our Hems for Hearts Charity Fashion Show and Silent Auction will be going on Saturday in McKinney.  Liam will be sporting fashion from Vintage Couture in the fashion show and there are some awesome items up for auction!  Tickets are $12 and can be purchased in advance through Hems for Hearts website or purchased at the door.  AND kids under 10 are FREE!  There will also be lots of food, activities for the kiddos and much more, so come and and have some fun while supporting our local Amazing Little Hearts group!

9.1.11 - More pictures

Well, these are just some cute photos we've taken the last few days.  I just can't believe Liam will be 2 at the end of the month!  So, Happy 23 months to my sweet boy!  The LAST month we will be dating your age in MONTHS! 

Nothing new in our world.  Liam does have a runny nose, tearing eye and is saying sporadically that his cheek is hurting...called the Pedi and we are doing some allergy meds to see if that helps.  Hopefully it's just a cold or allergies or teething.  Other than that, it's been pretty normal round here! 

I think we are getting our moneys worth out of the nap nanny!!