Nae's Heart

In real life things aren’t always magical but they can be sweet and meaningful. I don’t always have a smile on my face or have things go my way but I love living life. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful life. My Son is 3 moths old and growing big and strong. My husband and I have wonderful jobs serving the Lord. My real life is being willing to be used where ever the Lord leads me…Real life has trials but through those trials I see the Lord more in control and leading. I am enjoying living in real life and not in a fantasy world. I know things go wrong but God is always good!

Well this week was fun and sad all at the same time.  It was a great first week of school and I am really enjoying my schedule.  On Thursday and Friday the Jr high and High School had Spiritual Emphasis and because I am off most of the day I was able to participate in some of the activities.  We spent Thursday at the park and Friday we joined them at the beach.

Friday we also received the sad news that Jesse Ravega, a friend of our family, had been killed in a motorcycle accident.  Jesse was a Godly man who loved his Lord and family.  He will be greatly missed.  This of course made my Friday evening very emotional.  I am so thankful Jesse was saved and that we will see him again.

Friday also brought James’ parents to visit.  We had a great weekend with them.  Saturday was a relaxing day of grocery shopping and walking around the mall.  We bought Jacob an outfit for his dedication on Sunday and mom and dad found some good deals on clothes.

Sunday brought church.  We dedicated Jacob to the Lord and both of his sets of grandparents were able to be there.  We had a relaxing afternoon at home with both of our parents.

Today brought good-byes.  We said good-bye to mom and dad Ashton.  We will see them on about a month but I still hate good-byes.  After they left we went and got our rings cleaned at Robbin’s Bros. and then walked around South Coast Plaza.  Now we are home listening to the Giants game while Jacob takes a nap.

Well, this week James is back to working full time with the school year starting…This week was teacher in-service and he has been busy with meetings, classroom preparations, and technical duties.  He is ready for the school year and excited about what the year will bring.

Leading up to this week he had a week off and this allowed us to get away for a short family vacation.  Since my brother, Tim, has been living up in Big Bear this summer we figured that would be an awesome place to visit and it would allow Tim to see Jacob.  It was only the 4th time Tim had gotten to see Jacob since his birth and James had never been to Big Bear.  We started our vacation at my parents house on Tuesday and had a wonderful time with them.

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa

We spent the night and then headed up the mountain to Big Bear Wednesday morning.  We arrived at Evergreen Baptist Church (the church my brother has been helping out at) around 11:00 am and I was able to feed Jacob and Tim and James talked.  Lunch was the next thing on the agenda and we headed to The Hacienda for some mexican food.  After lunch we took a walk by the lake…

A walk by the lake

this brought us to Jacob’s next feeding so we headed to check into the cottage that the Pastor’s wife had reserved for us.  It was a nice little cottage with a spa tub and a fireplace!

Our Cottage

We enjoyed hanging out and relaxing with Tim.  After Jacob’s feeding we went to play mini golf and James and Tim went down the Alpine Slide… our next stop was Boulder Bay ,which is just a little park by the lake over looking a couple big boulders!  This brought us to Jacob’s next feeding which took us back to the cottage. After this feeding we went to dinner at Teddy Bears in the Village…we then walked around a little bit but most of the stores were closed so we took Tim home and headed back to our cottage for the evening.

Thursday found us back in the Village at the Copper Q for breakfast and then we walked the Village and visited the shops.  SInce we had checked out of the cottage we headed to a park and played some card games and tossed a baseball around…Then it was onto lunch at BJ’s…After lunch we headed back down the hill to my parents house and relaxed there until church.  We visited Lighthouse and then headed home.  All in all it was a very relaxing time! We enjoyed spending time with Tim and my parents.

Tim and Jacob

Our week ended with a wedding on a yacht…this was Jacob’s first time on a boat!

Going on a boat

Our family with the Bride and Groom

This week Jacob is 11 weeks old and growing big.  He has slept 7 hours a few nights and loves giving smiles and playing with mommy and daddy when he is awake!

What beauty is to me:

My Baby boy smiling up at me at 2 am as I change his diaper

My husband handing me a cup of coffee in the morning with an “I love you” and a smile

The sun setting on the water as My Love and I walk down the beach

Time spent with family

The love that the Lord displayed on the cross when He took my sins and said “Father, Forgive them”

The laughter of friends over dinner

A relaxing afternoon as my baby naps

Cuddling with My Love after a long day

Enjoying the moments of life

As I think about all these different things I am reminded that my definition of beauty may not be yours but these are the things that show me the beauty of life.  My life was made beautiful the day I got saved and it is the little blessings from God that continue to make it beautiful day after day!

The topic today is: Whole… The Gypsy Mama challenges others to set the clock for 5 minutes and to write an unedited blog post about the topic…So here it goes.

Whole

When I think if the word Whole I think about my life being made whole in Christ.  Without the saving grace of my Lord I would not be complete or whole.  This impacts every area of my life.  I want my son to some day experience this saving grace and the wholeness that comes from it.  I want my life to reflect the wholeness of God and for others to look on and wonder what I have that they are missing.  Whole and complete in Christ should be the goal of every Christians life…but sometimes I fail.  I need to grow become more whole, more dependent on Christ.  As I go through my days I want my whole life to reflect the love of Christ in every area.  Lord, help me be whole in you today!

Well that is my 5 minutes! What does whole mean to you?

Well, Jacob is 8 weeks old and I am finally feeling back to normal.  I have worked through the hormones and the healing from childbirth.  We have finally settled into a routine and the feeling of reality has hit.  I actually have a baby, all our own.  It is kind of an unreal feeling but becoming more real every day.  I am finally learning to respond to certain cries and to let him fuss through others.  I am becoming more efficient at bathing him and changing diapers.  We are both getting more sleep at night and that is helping our days to go more smoothly.  Do James and I as parents always know what Jacob wants? No. But we are learning slowly and surely.  We are doing our best to love our little bundle of joy and to teach him about the love of God.  I am so thankful for all of the love and support that we have and for our wonderful family.  I would not have made it to where I am today without all of you!

I have a few friends that do this and thought I would try it today!

The Gypsy Mama has this idea of taking 5-minutes and writing about a topic in an unedited form… Don’t worry if it isn’t just right.

So here goes I am setting the clock for 5-minutes…

Still

As a new mom I have enjoyed the stillness when my baby boy is sleeping.  I have enjoyed the moments of being still just holding him.  He has taught a whole new dymanic on stillness.  I am a person who likes to be busy and I forget to stop and be still.

I need to be reminded of the beauty of the sunset and sunrise, the wonderful stillness that comes with these times of day.  I need to stop and allow the Lord to speak to me in the stillness of my heart as I cry with my baby because I don’t know what is wrong or why he is crying. I need to enjoy the stillness that surrounds me at 3 am when my baby wakes up to eat.

It is in these moments that I can look to God and thank Him for the stillness and stability he has brought into my life.  It is these times that I can pray for someone who I know is hurting…It is these times of stillness that bring my heart closer to the Lord and teach me to depend on his strength and power in my life.

Well that is my 5-minutes…

Well, Time has seemed to fly by and my baby is 7 weeks old…I am still learning to be a good mommy and to understand what his different cries mean but we are doing good.  He has grown so much since he was born and he is a joy to have in our lives.  He is doing really good especially at night…He eats at 8:30 pm and goes to sleep all by himself in his bed.  He sleeps for 4-5 hours before waking up for his first late night meal.  Then he goes 3 hours before his next feeding.  This has allowed me to get some much needed rest. We are all falling into a routine that allows us to spend time together and also with friends and family.

I have enjoyed being able to spend time with Helen Wright once a week, she allows me to do laundry at her house and it gives her the chance to have Jacob all to herself!  I have also spent afternoons with Sarah Jones and her 2 kids, Chase and Cassidy.  Chase loves baby Jacob and enjoys showing him all his toys and he also sings to Jacob when Jacob cries.  It is nice to be able to relax and just fellowship with other ladies.  This afternoon I hung out with Sara Nelson and her 3 kids, Aaron, Caleb, and Hannah.  Hannah is the sweetest little girl and she loves holding Jacob.  She spent the afternoon sitting next to me on the couch sharing Jacob with her mom.  I am so thankful for the wonderful friends and family that God has placed in my life.  I would not have survived the last 7 weeks without them.  So a great big thank you to all who have encouraged me and been there for me and put up with my emotions and tears.  I love you all so much!

This past weekend our family took a road trip to San Francisco.  It was Jacob’s first road trip and he did very well I will say.  We left Friday evening at 6 pm and arrived in SF at 2 am after a long but fairly uneventful drive.  Traveling with a child is so different then just the 2 of us.  We stopped twice to feed him and he had a few fussy moments.  Besides that all went well.

The weekend was fun…Saturday found us getting ready for Ruth’s going away party and making a trip into the city to visit AT&T Park which is the home of the Giants.  We took lots of pictures and had a great time.

Willie McCovey Statue

Mommy and Jacob at AT&T Park

Sunday found us going to church and then having Ruth’s going away party.  It was a fun time filled with food, friends, and family.  After everyone left we cleaned up and then all relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Our Family

Monday found James and I getting things ready to leave.  We took much longer to get home then we did getting there.  We left SF at 1:15 pm and didn’t arrive home until 11:00 pm.  We stopped to feed Jacob and also for a nice dinner out of the car.  All of us needed the break from traveling and it helped us make the last leg of the trip without much problem.

We had a great time and are glad we got to see Ruth before she moves to South Dakota next week.  Today Jacob and I went to visit my parents and Tim.  It is nice to be home now and I am looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow.  I have my 6 week dr appt tomorrow morning and church in the evening but the afternoon will be relaxing.  I can’t believe Jacob is 6 weeks tomorrow! Time has flown by!

Today, we went to the wedding of some wonderful friends…It was a beautiful wedding and Baby Jacob’s 2nd wedding in his one month of life.  He was a model baby.  But back to the wedding…It was a simple affair but very elegant.  Eric and Joyann wrote vows for each other and surrounded by family and friends committed their lives to each other.  I am really happy for them but sad at the same time…because they are moving to Kentucky right after their honeymoon.  I am really going to miss both of them, but am happy to see them following the Lord’s will in their lives.

Our family with Mr. and Mrs. Eric Lokker