The "Greene House" Effect

Lily at 4 months

2011-10-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that Lily is 4 months old today! Oh the time has gone by so fast and yet can't imagine life before my beautiful daughter.

Her smile absolutely melts my heart and we are just beginning to hear sweet giggles. Can't you just imagine it as you look at this picture! Sheer joy :)

She is by far the most laid back child of mine. She loves to play on her mat and bat at her toys. Because she struggled with reflux for so long (and still does on occasion) she absolutely hates tummy time! I still try to have her be on her tummy once a day but she usually spits up.

I love that she is starting to interact so much more and has certain toys she likes more than others. There is a little pink butterfly that lights up and plays "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" that she LOVES! She also loves her pack n play.

Parker is starting to be really sweet with Lily. He'll come up to her and gently give her kisses on the head or say "Hi, Hi, Hi baby" over and over again. She is starting to really pay close attention to her brothers and all the crazy things they do. She watches them carefully and smiles so big when they come over to her.

She really doesn't have any desire to move or roll yet. I'm sure she'll get there but I'm in no rush. I'll keep her my baby girl a long as I can :)

Here is a picture of Parker at 4 months and a picture of Lily. Do you think they look alike? I don't have any pictures of Noah at 4 months on this computer...they are on snapfish...but I think she is a good combination of them both.

Because Lily and Noah are so close in age I have to carry them both down and up the stairs multiple times a day. And unfortunately we are on the 3rd floor. :( No fun! But I am so grateful for my Ergo carrier. It is the only way we can get up and down the stairs. Here is what we look like as we walk out the door...now just picture Parker on one hip and the baby bag on my other arm. LOL It's quite the sight :)

I love my sweet girl! I love how much joy she adds to the family! I can't wait to watch her grow and to get to know her little personality more and more...but I'm on no rush. 4 months is a great age!!

Parker at 17 months

2011-10-01T06:45:00.001-07:00

Parker is growing so fast I can hardly keep up! He has so much energy and is advanced in so many things sometimes I forget he is only a 1 year old. The picture below was actually taken a couple of months ago but I love it! Parker absolutely adores his daddy and he looks JUST like him. He is always getting into his ties and shoes and pretending he is the man of the house :)

Parker loves to play with balls and trucks...all the usual little boy favorites but he LOVES to read too! He loves Dr. Seuss books and Sandra Boynton books. His favorite is "Barnyard Dance." I don't get as much time to read to this sweet boy as I did to Noah but when I do I treasure ever moment. He loves to point to each picture and all the different parts of the picture. I love snuggling with this sweet little man.

He is so fascinated by how things work and where things go. He is my little curious George :) Here you see him desperately trying to put on his own shoes. He is so independent and wants so badly to keep up with his best buddy Noah. Lately he has learned to eat with a fork and spoon by himself. He refuses to eat anything without a fork (even if it doesn't require one) because he wants to master this new and exciting skill. I love it :)

Parker is adjusting to being a big brother so well! My heart was so broken for him at first because he truly didn't understand what was going on. Now he loves his little sister and he is learning (keyword "learning") to be gentle with her and what it looks like having her in our lives. The cool part is that he will look back and never remember a time without her. I love how close in age they are even though it's tough while they are young. I love Lily's expression in the above picture...she loves her big brother so much!

Here are a list of Parker's favorite things at 17 months:
Favorite food: Pizza, bananas, pretty much any fruit, oatmeal
Favorite books: Bubbles Bubbles, Barnyard Dance, First Colors Book, all the Little People "lift the flap" books
Favorite comforts: His Pooh Bear and blue blankie (just like big brother :)
Favorite toys: blocks, cars, balls, and shape sorter
Favorite cartoon: Blues Clues (hands down)
Favorite Songs: This Little Light of Mine, Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Jesus Loves Me

Loving My Little Ones

2011-09-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

I love being a mommy! Oh I fail at it time and time again and I see my own sin revealed so much in the way I respond to my children and in how my children respond to me but that almost makes me love it all the more. As I train and teach my children God continues to train and teach my heart and that is just His unbelievable love and grace to me. I last posted almost a year ago at Christmas time and since then we have been blessed with a 5th member of our family: Lily Jane Greene.
Oh my goodness how this little girl has blessed my life already! She is the sweetest, most beautiful and most laid back little one I have ever known...which is good considering her brothers are far from laid back :) Lily has this adorable auburn mohawk of curls that excites me so much because I think she'll have curls like her mama.
The boys adore her! Noah is always asking to hold her and gives her sweet kisses and hugs. I picture him being her confidant one day; giving her wisdom and advice and gently guiding her through life. Noah has so much compassion and such a gentle spirit. I love to see him with his little sister.

I think Lily might be a little afraid of Parker but he loves her so much. He was naturally a little jealous at first but he has definitely worked through it. Now his love of her is just a little rough at times...he is all boy and all toddler :) I picture Parker being her biggest protector. I think because they are close in age he will be very protective of her and the friends she surrounds herself with.
I love the way God has designed our family!! I love having 2 boys that couldn't be any more different and who are very best friends.

And I love having a sweet baby girl who is so patient and has such a sweet temperament because she knows it's probably going to take this mama awhile to get to her. I am so blessed!

Let it Snow

2010-12-27T07:10:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last updated so I owe you some pictures :) but I had to share a few of our Christmas pictures before this day was through.
While we dearly missed our family and friends we had a nice quiet Christmas just the four of us (soon to be 5 come June of next year :) Here are a few fun pictures of our day:

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Brothers

2010-10-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

His "cheeeese" face :)

Reflections - Contentment

2010-10-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

From the very beginning of this week the Lord has been working on my heart in the area of contentment. Monday, in my quiet time with the Lord, I was just really struck by the verse in Matthew 6 where Jesus says "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you" The "these things" in this passage refers to food, clothes, shelter, and all the things that are necessary to live...and I think even a few blessings on top. :) So I prayed that the Lord would help me to trust him; that I would be kingdom-minded and trust Him for the "all these things." And then...as if the Enemy was some how not at all happy with my prayer of contentment he comes lurking in with some fiery darts that have made this week a battle for contentment. Fiery dart #1: Thought planted "If I only had 3 bedrooms...just a bigger place to live things would be so much easier" -- discontentment. Fiery dart #2: Thought planted: "I am sooo ready for this season of life to be over!" --discontentment. Fiery dart # 3: Opportunity presents itself...I get excited...opportunity leaves. --discontentment. There were so many of these fiery darts this week and I really battled to stay focused being fully satisfied in the Lord. But God.....aren't those the 2 sweetest words ever "but God"...you know something exciting is about to happen when you hear those 2 little words. God didn't leave me to battle on my own. He sent a new friend to say something to me that I don't think I'll ever forget. She said, "Don't wait for your life to finally happen or you'll miss it all together." Boom!! That hit me like a semi! Life is now! My babies are young now! I don't want to miss any part of this or any part of what God would have me to do because I'm too busy looking at what was or what could be. I want to be still and listen to God's voice and direction in opportunities to share the gospel, how I can love my husband well, how I can teach and shepherd my boys, how I can love others....all of those things I can do NOW! And what is more important? Do I need a bigger house to accomplish those tasks...no! Do I need to be better off financially to love and serve my family and my neighbors...no! Life is now! Lord, help me to always see that and to stay content in your all-sufficient love and grace for me each and every day.

Fun Field Trip

2010-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday, once a month, we go on a fun field trip with the other family we are doing a co-op with. Today we went to the local fire station and then picked out a pumpkin at a pumpkin patch. Noah had so much fun that he was every where!! The fire trucks were AMAZING to him and instead of listening to the fire fighters talk about their job all he wanted to do was climb in the trucks. I caught so many cute pictures so hang in there as you scroll down :) There are A LOT and this mama just couldn't choose :)

Sorry for the glare on a few of these pictures. Look at the sheer joy on his face as he gets to wear the firefighter's real hat! It was sooo heavy for him but he walked around with it with great pride

He could have climbed up and down in this fire truck all day long!!

They gave him his own special hat to take home

Here he is trying on the jacket too. He turned away right as I was taking his picture.

Here's sweet Baylor...he looked right at me :)

This picture is my FAVORITE! What a genuine smile and joy! He really felt like he got to drive a big fire truck!

Parker slept the whole time...because he didn't sleep last night :)

There were so many more but these were my favorites. I left the camera in the car for the pumpkin patch but I'm sure we'll visit another one before the season is out. We just picked a small one today

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

Mr. Smiles

2010-10-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Love my sweet 5 month old (how did that happen??? time flies!) He is doing so many things now! He rolls like crazy and always sleeps on his tummy even though I put him on his back. He is sooo close to sitting up on his own but isn't quite there yet and he is eating solid foods. So far he has had rice cereal, avocado, and banana. He loved the avocado but wasn't so crazy about banana. I need to snap some pictures of him eating but often I am by myself and things get a little crazy. Parker is trying so hard to crawl too (scary!) He can get all the way up on his hands or he can scoot with his knees and feet but he can't do both at the same time. He's so strong!! He is wearing 9 months clothes already and he is sooo long! I love his long curly hair and know I will need to cut it eventually but can't bear to just yet. It's so beautiful! It definitely has lightened since he was born. It has beautiful/handsome blond highlights in it. He is such a laid back kid as long as his teeth aren't bothering him. Only Noah can truly make him laugh, although we all try, because he is so chilled out. He smiles all the time though!! Here are a few sweet smiles I caught today.

Reflections

2010-10-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" Proverbs 16:9

I am a hard and fast planner. I love writing what's coming up in my calendar and checking things off a to do list. We haven't been on vacation in a long time but Bret used to make fun of me because before we would leave I loved to plan every minute to maximize our time. Unfortunately, with that comes inflexibility. I really believe the Lord honors our attempt to plan ahead and to make the most of our time however....I have been learning so much lately about how to let go when the Lord determines my steps in a different direction then my plan. God is so good and His ways are not my ways nor are his thoughts my thoughts (Is 55:8). He knows what is best for my family and for me and when things change from the way I thought they should have gone often my heart gets hard; I get frustrated and too many times I miss the blessing God has for me in the change. I am learning that it is more important to stop and play CandyLand with my kid even if that means dinner is a little later than usual, that it's more important to pick up the phone and encourage a friend even if it means Noah watches one more cartoon than I'd like him to that day, and it's more important to protect some down-time for my family even if it means I have to say no to some fun activities or play dates so I don't over-schedule. When I over-schedule I often miss promptings from the Holy Spirit on how we can truly love our neighbor in a spontaneous way. I am praying for a softer and more moldable heart in this area.

Lord, may I cheerfully go wherever you call me and may I always be flexible when you change my direction.

All I have is Christ

2010-09-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here are lyrics to a new song we are singing at church. Such powerful words!!

All I Have is Christ

by Jordan Kauflin

I once was lost in darkest night

Yet thought I knew the way.

The sin that promised joy and life

Had led me to the grave.

I had no hope that You would own

A rebel to Your will.

And if You had not loved me first

I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race

Indifferent to the cost

You looked upon my helpless state

And led me to the cross.

And I beheld God’s love displayed

You suffered in my place

You bore the wrath reserved for me

Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ

Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone

And live so all might see

The strength to follow Your commands

Could never come from me.

Oh Father, use my ransomed life

In any way You choose.

And let my song forever be

My only boast is You.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ

Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Friday's Reflections

2010-09-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

I've decided on Fridays or Saturdays, at the end of our busy week, that I would write a reflection on what the Lord has done in my heart and in our family's life this past week and what he has been teaching us. I'm excited to look back and read these and remember all that God has done and I pray that whoever takes the time to read our blog will be encouraged.

God has really been stirring in my heart as I teach Noah his memory verses. The verses we do are not chosen at random, they are common verses that are often the first we pull out for children as they are first learning God's Word. There are such simple truths in these passages that all too often we grown-ups or long time believers think we've "out-grown" them or they have become so route in our memory that they have lost their power in our hearts. One such powerful, yet simple, truth hit home to me today. Our church has been studying the book of Galatians and I have been reviewing it at home in my quiet time. I read today in Galatians 5:13-14 " You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" We have heard that truth from childhood and yet some how it loses it's ring in our ears. We become independent of each other, not needing anything from anybody or desiring to give to others unless it's convenient. Paul says that we have been set free to serve one another...to love each other through words and actions..."to never grow weary of doing good." So I had to examine my heart. How am I doing? How is our family doing with loving and serving others well? How could we do better? I love how 1 John 4:7-12 puts it: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for loves comes from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." Wow!! So in other words we need to love one another and if we don't we can't possibly know God because He is love. And not only that but this passage outlines what love is in what Jesus did for us on the cross...the ultimate gift of love. What does it look like? It hurts, it's sacrificial, it's done with unconditional love and without expectation of return. And the end of the verse says that no one has ever seen God but God's love is seen in us when we love one another. I just have to take a deep breath and take this all in. It's such an incredibly simple concept and yet we forget to live this way. We get busy with our lives and our families and forget to look around us...we forget to teach our children how to look around us...I forget. I forget what is important as I look at my to-do list for the day, to just stop and look at the needs around me. I know I can't love every single person well every single day and if I try to love them by my own strength or power I will exhaust myself. However, I can say a simple prayer every morning, "Lord, open my eyes to see who You would have me encourage and love well today and help me to do so by the power of your Holy Spirit and your love at work in me." It is amazing the days that I have done that how the Lord has truly provided that particular person or two that really needed it. We are far from truly understanding what it means to love, especially to love as Jesus loved, but we're grateful for the journey as we continue to grow in this area. I just never expected to learn or be stretched so much from teaching Noah these verses and reflecting on what they mean for our lives. I'm so excited and unbelievably grateful!

Brothers...melt my heart!

2010-09-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

I just absolutely love my boys and love even more that they are interacting more and more these days. It's hard to catch these moments on camera because they happen so fast but here are a few of them together and some individually.

Parker was wiggly and Noah was trying to focus him for the picture

Noah loves it when Parker tries to get him...he thinks it's hilarious

Look at that sweet, caring big brother face

And here's goofy big brother....oh I love his imagination!!

This has to be my new all time favorite picture!! Look at that super handsome boy!!!!!

Taking A Weekly Planning & Prayer Retreat

2010-09-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, I will get on the blog Passionate Homemaking but not often enough. This afternoon as I was waiting for my boys to settle into their naps before I closed my eyes I came across this article in her blog Taking A Weekly Planning & Prayer Retreat
I highly encourage you to read this and whether you are a mom, dad, married or single I think we should all practice this in some form. What a great idea!! I'm definitely going to start doing this intentionally.

Parker pics and a Labor Day picnic

2010-09-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

Here are a whole lot of pictures of Parker in the same shirt because he's adorable in it!! I can't believe how big he is getting!! He's only 4 months old and he is in 9 months clothes! He weighs 16 lbs and is 26 in. long!! The doctor says for as long as he is he's a great weight but that he is REALLY long!! He is rolling all over the house now and is up on his knees constantly! I think he will be an early crawler...yikes! Not anxious for him to be on the move just yet. i just put the boys together in the same room last night and they did great! I'm sure not every night will run that smoothly but it made me feel good about moving Parker in. They are really interacting these days. Parker thinks Noah is hilarious and Noah loves to make him laugh

Bret had Labor Day off (today) so we went to Falls Lake for a picnic. We had a little trouble figuring out where to go since the lake is so huge but we found a cozy spot for a picnic.

Here's my sweet boy who did a face plant on the side walk Saturday night while playing ball with Daddy. Poor guy...look at that nose!

That's all for now! Leave a comment so I know you stopped by :)

Preschool: D week

2010-09-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" This was our memory verse for 'D" week. What a great verse to teach him to hide in His heart! I can't wait until he is a little older and this verse takes root and I can explain to him what it means to "delight in the Lord" and how the desires of our heart line up with his will for us when we delight in Him.

Dinosaurs was the theme character in all our lessons so Noah was thrilled :) I didn't think we had enough for a 'D" scavenger hunt through our toys but Noah proved me wrong...there were a lot of D toys: dinosaurs, dog, dump truck, doodle pro, drum, etc... so much more than I thought.

We practiced writing our letters

And drawing shapes while learning patterns (disclaimer: I drew a lot of that...he was finishing the pattern :)

Here we are with our dinosaur floor numbers. I call out a number and he has to jump to it....can you tell he was having fun :)

We do a co-op with another little boy on Fridays and here they are during "C" week while we were having music time

Baylor has taken a couple soccer camps so here is Allie (Baylor's mom and a precious friend) teaching Noah some tricks :)

We had our field trip this week to the Science Museum but of course I forgot to take pictures. It's hard to juggle that with 2 kids by myself...I learn :) Baylor and Noah went to story time there and they got to pet some cool (and some kind of scary looking animals:)

Precious pictures

2010-08-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Preschool...Letter C week

2010-08-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

This week we are studying the letter C in preschool. We won't be able to do a scavenger hunt every week (I can't imagine we'll find too many "X" things in our house) but we did a "C" box this week and found quite a few toys around that start with the letter C.

Caterpillar, Car, Cow, Cape, C.D., Cat, Cymbal, etc...

There were quite a few things Noah wanted to put in the box (i.e. computer, camera, candle, etc..) that we obviously couldn't. :) But we talked about them.

We did a fun counting game today where I put a different number of caterpillars on this leaf and Noah had to count them and put the correct number in the square. Noah has REALLY been into caterpillars lately as we have been pulling out all his old Baby Einstein toys and books for Parker and their theme character is a caterpillar. Even parker's pack n play is covered in caterpillars.

I will laminate this cute caterpillar later this week and punch holes in it for a lacing activity.

Here is our calendar that we change daily but I thought I'd put it on the blog for "C" week. It's so fun...Noah LOVES it! You get to put up the month, day, and weather every day and it also shows the 4 seasons and the days of the week. Noah loves looking out the window throughout the day to see if the weather has changed so we can change it on our chart. Yesterday it started out cloudy and then started raining...that calendar was changed as soon as the first drop of rain hit the ground. :)

Our memory verse this week is "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right" Ephesians 6:1 which is one we know well in this house but reinforcement is crucial....especially with this verse :) Our Bible story this week is the story of Noah. We are just going in order in the Jesus Story book Bible. If you have small children I highly recommend this Bible!! It is so beautifully written and ties the gospel in from the very beginning which is a concept many adults don't even understand...how beautiful it is to teach our children that God's plan to rescue and redeem us started the moment we fell into sin. He loves us that much!!

Last but not least a picture of my silly kid eating our "C" snack for the day. Yes, I promise we will have carrots and all the other healthy C foods the rest of the week but we had to start the week off with a cupcake :) Look at that sheer delight!

Preschool Fun...the Letter B

2010-08-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that we have decided to home school for now. We're taking it year by year and prayerfully going to continue as God leads us. We are having soooo much fun!! I think I'm officially addicted to laminating!

This week we have been learning all about the letter B. We are using a great curriculum off of www.confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com called "Letter of the Week." We are adding our own stuff along the way but I love her curriculum and it has made a lot less work for me. Bonus: she loves the Lord and all of the letters have a memory verse that starts with that particular letter.

Here are a few things we did to give you a glimpse of our day:

We had a scavenger hunt for things around our house that start with B.

Here we have a bear, Bible, boots and a basket ball.

We had so many things we had to make a "B" box

We had frozen blueberries for a snack...Noah's favorite! What a silly face he's making!

We made a lower case "b" collage with beans

I didn't take pictures of everything but we learned about beats in music and had some rhythm activity time, we read our Bible story, traced letters, and practiced catching a ball after only one bounce for our gross motor skills time. Our memory verse this week is: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" Acts 16:31 and he has it down. I love hearing him speak the word of God....I know it will not return void and that it is planting seeds in his heart even now. That's all for now...I'll try to update on preschool often as it is so fun to see all that Noah is learning. I'll update precious Parker pictures too.

Picture update

2010-08-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

So strong

2010-07-13T12:12:00.002-07:00

Look how strong little Parker is holding himself up. He loves looking at those blocks.

I just love this kid!

Noah is imagination galore these days! He loves to put as many hats on as he can fit on his head...sometimes mommy feels like she has lots of hats on too :) Love him!!!!!

Visit with Nana and Grandpa

2010-07-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

We just wrapped up a wonderful birthday weekend (Bret's) and visit with his parents. We had so much fun that i didn't snap as many pictures as i would have liked but here are a few. I had to start with my adorably chunky little baby! I could just eat him up!!! Parker seriously has the sweetest spirit....he is all smiles these days and I'm trying to slow down long enough to enjoy every minute!

Nana and Grandpa love to spoil Noah when they come so here is Noah building his new Thomas Lego set with Grandpa.

Here is Nana loving every minute of snuggle time with little Parker

I know you're probably thinking...seriously...this is all the picture...but it is. i always forget to take them when we are in the midst of doing everything. i will definitely try to get some more of Parker though. I know second children often get the shaft with pictures :)

Summer Fun

2010-07-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

We have been having a great July so far...lots of family fun!

Here is Noah on the 4th of July with his first time holding a sparkler...scary I know :)

Baby Parker is all smiles these days (although it's hard to catch all the cuteness on camera)

I caught Noah dressed like this and I laughed so hard and grabbed the camera! He cracks me up! Sooo loves to dress up and pretend these days!

Here is Noah at a fun birthday party for 2 really special friends, Vivian and Kephas. This was such a fun water party!!

We went to the Science Museum a few weeks ago and Noah absolutely loved it!

His favorite part of the museum...the dinosaurs...he LOVES dinosaurs!!

I'll leave you with this sweet face and spiky hair.

Bits and pieces

2010-06-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a crazy 8 weeks but here we are....doing pretty well :) Parker is growing and thriving and is as cute as he can be and Noah is such a great big brother! I ended up having gall bladder surgery 4 weeks after my C section so it has been a much longer recovery than it usually would be but I am finally beginning to heal and make it back to my usual self.

I'm so beyond grateful to have 2 incredible boys and an amazing husband to raise them with. It is truly a gift from the Lord that is above all I could have asked or imagined. Here are a few pictures of the joys of my heart!

Here is Parker's first bath. Noah loves to help with bath time!

He's not so sure about all this

Here Noah is at Chuck E Cheese right after Parker was born. He LOVED this Bob the Builder ride

This has to be my favorite picture! I love seeing them interact. Noah loves talking to Parker and watching him smile and Parker loves watching and smiling at Noah. So sweet!

Here's my big boy :)

And last I'll leave you with a few adorable first smiles :)

Welcome Baby Parker!!!!

2010-05-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce that on April 26th we added a 4th member to our family, Parker Cole Greene. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long....and has a head FULL of beautiful dark brown hair. He's got the sweetest, tiny little features and we are so blessed to have him as our son.

Here I am in the waiting room before getting called back to triage. For those of you wondering why I look so calm it's because I had a scheduled c section...no contractions happening here :)

Waiting in triage

We were scheduled for an 8:30am c section but got bumped back a little bit

Heart beat looks great :)

Getting antsy....really ready to meet parker

Bret LOVED his doctor scrubs....he felt so official. Ready to scrub in :) Too bad he has a really weak stomach

Yay!! They called me in :)

Big brother is not so sure about all this change....we offered to have him hold Parker and he gave us that look. Classic :)

My boys!! Melt my heart!

Look how sweet that face is!

Look how sweet THAT face is :) I'm so in love with my boys

Proud Daddy with his little mini look- a- like

Precious friends and a funny kid :)

2010-04-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

Wow...things sure have been crazy around here in preparation of our sweet little Parker. We are so excited to meet him!! 11 days to go!! I have been so blessed this past month with two really beautiful baby showers. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the friendships God has placed in my life since living here in Wake Forest. These are friends that I know I will cherish for a lifetime.

My first baby shower was thrown by Hannah Broughton and let me just tell you this girl is so precious to my heart....one of my dearest friends!!! Hannah and I were house mates in college and have some really fun history together. I'm so thankful we have been placed in the same town and that we get to share life together for such a time a this. Here are some pictures from that fun day.

This is Hannah, my beautiful hostess :)

My other shower was thrown by my small group ladies and had 4 hostesses!! Dawn, Tara, Stephanie and Shawna......it was so much fun! Such incredibly precious friends and prayer partners. These ladies have walked me through so much, including praying for sweet Parker even when he was just a desire of my heart and then covering him in prayer through my whole pregnancy. Love these women!

Here are some prayer cards Stephanie made for Parker. There is a different scripture verse to pray through for each letter of his name. I LOVE this!!!! What a special thing to show him when he grows up.

Yummy food!

Dawn and Steph :)

A side shot of my belly. I haven't done any of these for this pregnancy...it's gone by so fast

Tara had a hot pad that said "hot" and the girls though it would be funny if I held it up to my belly. Not sure if it means "hot mama" or just that i'm a furnace right now with this baby inside :)

And here is a group shot of the ladies at the shower.

Last but certainly not least I have some funny photos of my sweet Noah. He has been hilarious these past few weeks especially as he entertains himself since I have not been feeling well. he's going to be a great big brother. He is soooo excited for Parker to come!

He seems to prefer to wear his mask upside down :)

He loves taking all of his animals and lining them up. Such an imagination! :)

So that's about all for now. Parker is due to arrive in about 11 days so I'm guessing the next time you read a post it will be introducing our newest member to the family. Love you all! Leave a comment and let me know you stop by :)

Trying this Again :)

2010-02-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I last updated this blog. I got frustrated with the picture layout one day and just gave up I guess. I am so inspired by all my sweet friends who keep their blog up so well and I wanted to give it another try...especially with baby #2 on the way. That's right! Parker Cole Greene is going to be here in 8 short weeks and we are soooo excited!

It's hard to know where to start since we have been away from the blog for so long but most of you visit here for pics of Noah and soon to be Parker so I will just update you on our super big boy 3 year old! He is soooo fun these days! Potty training was successful and is now behind us (Praise the Lord!) and his imagination just takes off every day. We have decided to home school Noah and so we are doing preschool 2 days a week now and let me just tell you....he is the smartest kid EVER!! He is already writing, spelling some basic words, putting rhyming words together in word families...it's unbelievable what his little mind is capable of!! He loves to learn! I could brag on him all day. I know he is going to be such a sweet big brother!

His favorite pretend character these days is Super Why. We don't have that many channels so PBS is a staple in our house. He loves to dress up and pretend he is a super hero.

I am also trying to put together "Free Field Trip Fridays" for Noah so we can get out there and try fun new things in our area and to explore new ways to learn. i may not always catch it on camera but last Friday we went to Barnes and Noble and caught story time with Curious George. Noah LOVES Curious George books and he was soooo excited to see him. He was a little intimidated by how many kids showed up though. Here are a few pics from that day.

That's about it for now i guess but stay tuned for much more. I think I figured out the picture glitch and i was able to do this much faster than before. I'm so excited to share pictures with you and what's going in our lives. Pray for us as we prepare for Parker over the next 8 weeks. We are so excited to welcome him into our family. Love to you all!

Too cute not to share!! :)

2009-03-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

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Fun Visit and New Bed!!

2009-03-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

This month has been a lot of fun! We had a fun visit with friends and Noah has officially graduated to a big boy bed! No more crib! Yes, I cried and cried my eyes out as we took down that crib! These mile stones are great but hard on a momma's heart! He LOVES his bed though and he had a nearly seamless transition!

Here was our visit with Jody, Tom, Emily and Julia:

Here is the bed! Can you tell he loves it!!! :)

Totally posing! He's saying "Night, night, mommy" :)

This is my absolute favorite picture of this set! How sweet is this??!! I'm sure the first of many reading moments on this bed :)

Singing away

2009-03-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Hint of Spring

2009-03-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well we are back to cold weather today but this past weekend it was BEAUTIFUL!! The temps were in the high 70's and low 80's and was perfect for going to the park so that's just what we did :)

Too Long :)

2009-03-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Wow! It feels like forever since the last time I put something on the blog! Sorry Grandma's and Grandpa's :) We have had one busy and sick winter. Bret got a horrible stomach flu and when we went to the doctor to treat that we discovered he has a right bundle branch block in his heart. It's not a big deal but at the time we didn't know that so that was crazy! Then Bret got shingles!! Poor guy has been so sick! Thankfully Noah and I have been pretty healthy through it all. So here are a few pictures and videos from the last few months

Here we are at Jumping Beans, a really fun inflatable play house. Bret and Noah had a blast and I had a blast at the Seattle's Best coffee bar.

I have to show off these beautiful curls. We did cut his hair since this picture because I know it's a little wild but...how precious!

What a face!

Eating lunch :)

Let it Snow!

2009-01-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

Well we woke up this morning to a winter wonderland outside. We had a limited time because Bret had to go to work (WHAT?!?) but caught a few fun pictures!

Florida Christmas

2009-01-06T12:05:00.001-08:00

Christmas '08

2009-01-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had an incredible Christmas and New Years with friends and family. We certainly did! What a blessing it was to see everyone and take some time off from the daily schedules and routines. I always come back from vacation so recharged and ready to take on whatever lies ahead. I was reading Romans 12 this morning in my devotions and this familiar verse stuck out to me as we start the New Year. " Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will" So often I start the New Year with plans and day dreams of what the year will look like but before I can discern where the Lord is leading me this year I must always keep in check where my heart and mind are dwelling. Am I conforming my dreams and plans for this year with the world or am I allowing the Lord to transform the way I think so drastically (every day!) that I no longer pine over the things of this world but deeply desire the things of His heart! Just food for thought!

Here are some pictures of this amazing season with family:

Here is my beautiful sister Amy! Noah fell completely in love with her! He kept saying her name DAYS after she left...wondering where she went. She got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us here in Wake Forest!

Many of you are familiar with the Bayleaf Baptist Church Toychest that blesses the socks off of us seminary families and this little tent was one of the many blessings from that church. Noah LOVES it!

We went to FL the day after Christmas and the weather was absolutely PERFECT! We got to see both sets of parents and Bret's Grandma and brother. What a treat! Our time was absolutely packed so I'm so sorry to those friends we didn't get to see. We missed you and will hopefully be down to FL again soon. I couldn't figure out how to get the slideshow below this post so the FL pics are all in the slideshow above. Hope you enjoyed and Happy New Year!

Our Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was filled with special memories and wonderful times with friends and family. We had a quiet Thanksgiving with just the three of us but it was incredible! We still made a feast and enjoyed the Macy's parade and spent some time outside. It was beautiful day! Here's a small peak at our day.

Goldfish: the perfect pre-Thanksgiving feast snack :)

There's nothing like the smell of a turkey cooking for hours in the oven. Yummm

This was our attempt at a family shot with no one there to help. This was the best we got.

We started a new tradition this year. I'm sure many of you do something similar. A few days before Thanksgiving I set this out on our table and Bret and I (and eventually Noah will do this too) wrote on slips of paper different things we were thankful to the Lord for. Some were general and some were specific to this year but we kept them a secret until Thanksgiving and then throughout the day read them out loud. It was so special to hear what eachother had written and to recall all that God has done and provided in our lives so I've decided to scrapbook those slips of paper and do that every year. So if you ever end up at our place for Thanksgiving be ready to write down a few things you are thankful for that will shared around the table.

Noah's 2nd birthday

2008-11-26T11:57:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Noah!

2008-11-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

Noah is two!! I can't believe it! We had a really simple celebration this year with a yummy cookie cake and a few friends from our neighborhood. I sooo wish we could have invited all of Noah's little friends as he is blessed with so many (and I am blessed by their parents :) but we will save a big celebration for birthday #3. Above are a few pics of the day.

My Little Mozart

2008-11-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

This video is a little dark but it is precious and I had to share it! Noah is singing and playing the piano and while I get to enjoy this a lot I thought you all might like to see :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree..."

2008-11-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

Ok so we are totally Christmas people and we always put up our Christmas Tree either the last weekend in October or first weekend in November. I know some of you may find us over the top but....we LOVE Christmas. :) Here are a few pics of the day.

Christmas is coming :)

2008-11-04T11:39:00.001-08:00

Silly video

2008-11-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Catching up

2008-11-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! I really did want this to be a weekly thing but it is definately not turning out to be that way. The good thing is I've been keeping up with pictures and fun events so we'll just have to catch up a little bit with what's been happening at the Greene house.
We had a Costume party with our small group from church on Halloween and Noah was a duck this year. I wish we could have captured some better pictures because he truly was ADORABLE...but such is life with an almost 2 year old and he is always on the go!! :) Here are a few we caught on camera and we have some video I'll put up later.

Here we are on our way to the party. Ahhh ... a still picture with a smile :) Can't beat that!

Here we were attempting a family shot. Noah was trying so hard to wiggle free and I'm trying desperately to make him smile. Oh...and in case you were wondering we were dressed up too. It was a poor attempt at a rapper and and 80's rocker. I truly do not usually wear that much make-up...just had to clarify! :)

And here is a great picture of toddlers in action. We tried to get a cute picture of them all sitting sweetly on the couch :) That is sooo not happening here but isn't this picture so much better :) I love it! It greatly demonstrates life with toddlers.

Here are some of the girls. Weren't they so creative with their costumes?!

A good tail shot :)

Keep checking the blog because there is much more to come! We've captured some really cute video and...believe it or not we put our tree up (as in Christmas tree :) this weekend so we have pictures and video of that as well. Those of you who know us well this is probably not a surprise. We'd love to hear from you!

Update

2008-10-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

It feels like we have been flying from one thing to the next these days so I'm sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. There have been so many great things going on but we sure have been busy. Last weekend Bret and I had the incredible last minute opportunity to attend a marriage conference through Family Life and it was AMAZING!! The Lord totally opened the door for us to be able to go days before the conference started and our neighbors so willingly and generously cared for our sweet son. I had every intention of taking pictures for the blog so ya'll could at least see where we were at and get an idea of what it was like but the conference was so good I didn't even think about pictures. Bret and I renewed our vows to one another and recommitted our marriage to the Lord so that He would truly be the center of our lives again; personally and as a family. If you ever get the chance to go to a Family Life marriage conference I HIGHLY recommend it :)

I know most of you get on the blog to find out about Noah and see pictures of him so I will definitely indulge you. Here he is at a really fun park in Raleigh (Pullen Park) with a good friend, Kephas

Here's Kephas and his mommy riding the train around the park

I attempted to take a picture of us on the train and even though it's crooked I love Noah's smile

Here's the lake at Pullen Park...it's the same lake from the introduction of the Andy Griffeth show...you know the one where he's whistling around it

Here's just a picture of how big my sweet boy is getting. He looks like a kid instead of a baby now.

That's pretty much it for now. Leave us a comment ...we'd love to hear from you :)

Almost 2

2008-09-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

Ok.....so I'm not sure this momma's heart can handle the fact that her baby is turning two years old in a month and a half!! I can't believe how much he is growing and changing every day. He is becoming more and more verbal....trying out different sounds and sometimes I can even make sense of what he is trying to say. His imagination is really starting to take off too as he is really pretending with his toys and stuffed animals. He'll pretend to give his stuffed Elmo some of his juice or he'll pretend his toys are talking to eachother....I love it! He also loves being my helper!! He loves to feel like a big kid and "help" me at the grocery store or chores around the house. Here is a picture of my little helper sweeping the floor. His servant's heart teaches me so much about how I need to be eager to love and serve others more

We've been enjoying some beautiful fall days the past few weeks so we caught a few outdoor pictures. The leaves haven't really turned yet but they are on their way...this is my FAVORITE time of year!Here is my sweet boy handing me the flower he picked for me :) I love his heart!

Learning how to work the bubble fan. :) Now that he can actually say the word "bubble" he wants to play with them all the time! He LOVES washing his hands now too because the soap and water makes bubbles.

Coloring in a coloring book is a whole new adventure right now too. We love putting the crayons in the box and taking them out the most though.

These last two pictures are absolutely precious and think it's because I took these the day my friend Dawn and I started reading and praying through "The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian. We just started this book but already this week I have been overwhelmed by the incredible importance of praying for our children. I want to encourage you if you are parent to pick up this book and start praying and interceding on behalf of your children. Noah "made" (helped make) a crown in child care on Wednesday night and I was just reminded of how precious his little life is and how I need to daily entrust his care to the Lord.

Bath Time Frog

2008-09-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

We were getting ready for bed tonight and I had to have Bret snap a picture or two of our little frog :)

I love hearing Noah's voice

2008-08-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

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Loving the new Camera

2008-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

We are having so much fun with the new camera! We have a lot of fun videos to show you. :) But first here are a few pictures of life around the Greene house.

Snuggling with dad before bed :)

Learning to eat with a fork

Oops...wrong end sweetheart :)

Loving his new play doh! He's finally old enough where eating isn't (as much of) a temptation :)

And finally here's a few pictures from my dear friend Hannah's baby shower last weekend

2008-08-16T18:31:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I've been tagged :)

2008-08-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

My sweet friend Stephanie tagged me on her blog so it's my turn to respond to these questions :)

3 Random Facts

1. I have every Sesame Street song running in my head 24/7

2. I LOVE fall!!! I'm so excited for it to be here!

3. When all my freckles merge I will have the best tan ever

3 Current Obsessions

1. Researching creative ways to teach and engage my almost two year old

2. Trying to get better at playing the piano

3. Blogging :)

3 Goals

1. To have a more organized home

2. Healthy living

3. To put together all of Noah's pictures in a scrapbook

3 Fears

1. The death or illness of Noah or Bret

2. That I would hurt someone's feelings or not have eyes to see when a friend is hurting

3. That I would ever be too afraid to share the Gospel

3 Joys

1. Spending time with my family

2. Grabbing coffee with a good friend

3. Leading worship

I am tagging Hollie, Melissa and Page :)

Fun visit with Mimi and Papa

2008-08-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

We just had a great visit with my parents when they came up a little over a week ago. I would have had these pictures up sooner but they blessed my socks off with a new camera ( THANKS Mom and Dad!!) for my birthday and I've been trying to figure out how to get everything up and running.
We took a picnic up to Kerr Lake in Henderson on Saturday and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Look how beautiful this lake is.

We had such a great time! Noah loved playing in the water and the "sand." It was more like red clay and dirt then sand but he had a blast. Next time I'll bring a swimsuit and change of clothes for him though. I don't why I didn't think of that before.

Fun in the sun with Mimi

Two of favorite men :)

Yummy picnic

We had a blast just hanging out at the house too. Noah is so funny to watch....soooo entertaining! I hope to have some videos up and running to show you soon. Here are a few pictures of Noah making us laugh and just being cute.

This is my favorite!! Look at that sweet smile!! The goodness of the Lord in allowing me to shepherd this sweet boy humbles me beyond words!

Here we have a few silly pictures of family just hanging on the coach :)

I wish this picture wasn't blurry because I love this sweet picture of mom and Noah reading. Noah is sooooo into books lately and is really starting to interact as you read to him. He loves pointing things out and asking questions about what things are (the best he can :)

Catching up

2008-07-10T09:39:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a great fourth of July celebration! We had such a fun time this year! On the 3rd of July there was an incredible fireworks display at the highschool right next to our apartments...so our front lawn was the prime spot to watch them. If any of you live in or have been to Wake Forest, NC you know it's not the largest town and I certainly didn't expect that nice of a fireworks display, especially at a highschool. Growing up in FL I thought fireworks had to be done over water because that's where I'd always seen it done. We had the whole neighborhood out there playing games and having a great time. Noah slept through the whole thing up in his room....it was SOOO loud! I can't believe he slept through all of that.

On the fourth we had a barbeque with our small group. It was a lot of fun too! Here are a few pics of some that were there.

We signed up for swim lessons this week and had a great 2 days! It was so much fun (Thank you Rick and Kathy!!!) It was supposed to last 4 days but I think Noah picked up a virus at the pool because he's sick now. Here he is on the way to swim lessons on Tuesday. He's getting so big!!

We had a birthday lunch for my dear friend Stephanie on Tuesday and it was so much fun! She had been gone on a long vacation so not only was it great to celebrate her birthday but it was great to celebrate having her back with us.

Here are 3 random pictures of Noah trying on my flip flops. I love how curious he is all the time...trying to figure out how everything works and trying to do things on his own. This is such a fun age!!

And last but certainly not least yesterday was Bret's birthday!! You know you're a grown-up when a new pair of glasses are your birthday present but he needed them so bad. Doesn't he look great?!! The picture doesn't even do them justice. We are so grateful to have been able to get these glasses!

He also got a yummilicious Cookie Dough Blizzard ice cream cake from Dairy Queen! It was so good...and so pretty that I had to take a picture!

I Can't Believe It's Only June!!!

2008-06-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was just reflecting back on what a full and tremendously fun summer we've had so far and couldn't believe it's only June! There is so much more fun to come! I am so thankful for all the Lord has given us, especially the time spent with family and friends. Here are a few pictures of the Aquarium we went to when we were at Atlantic Beach. It was just a 1/2 mile away from where we were staying.

Noah is sitting on a frog on the picture below. We were zoomed in a little too far so it's hard to see what he is on.

Noah and Bret both thought the jelly fish were soooo cool! The lighting they give them really does make them look neat!

Here is our best attempt to get Noah to look through the crab and smile. I had to hold him up because it was up really high. My little crab :) That statement can really be true some days...but he's a sweetie most of the time.

Bret's parents were here last weekend and my dear friend Stephanie recommended we go to Marbles Kids Museam in downtown Raleigh. If any of you live in this area and have children it is a MUST see!! It was so much fun!!

The kids enter through an old bus and then go down a slide. Noah thought that was great!! Grandma Greene was in heaven too. :)

Noah loves to read so as soon as we entered the museam he headed straight for the books. There was a fake log cabin that had rocking chairs and a basket of books on the "front porch." We got to read portions of "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly" :) Do you remember that book?

There was a kitchen that had all kinds of plastic foods and a refrigerator and oven to play with. He LOVED this!! He's always in the kitchen with me when I cook and clean up. Look how excited he is over this cheese! It's almost as if he's saying "Mom, can you believe this!!! Do you see all this stuff!" The whole time we were at the museam he kept looking at me and signing "thank you" I love the joy he has in every day things! He teaches me to be more thankful at all the Lord has given me!

Here's my sweet baby driving through town.

He LOVED this dog! Who wouldn't? :)

Here's my serious boy :) He's always had this serious look from the day he was born; so concentrated and intent on whatever he's looking at. I know what you're thinking....genius, right? I think you may be on to something :)

We also took a look at some future career options. What do you think?

Fireman?

Marine Biologist?

Postal Worker?

or Doctor? :)

LOTS of Summer fun!!

2008-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well...it's been quite a full summer already and I thought I'd post just a few pics of all the fun we've had so far. The first set is when our friend, Laney, came over to play in our new pool. She is so sweet and so is her mommy. We'll have to get together again soon Hollie :)

That was such fun!! We've also been playing outside a lot as long as weather permits. Lately we've had over 100 degree days and those are the days we stay inside. Here are a few shots of Noah on the playground at our apartments.

And last but not least here is a glimpse of our trip to Atlantic Beach this past weekend. It was such a quick trip and I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to. I wanted to make sure I enjoyed my family as much as possible as these times to truly get away are such a blessing and few and far between.

Here is Noah as we are getting ready to leave:

And this is the amazing view from our room!!

Noah thought the beach was soooooooooo much fun!! A giant sandbox and a giant pool all wrapped in to one!! What a treat! It was hard to keep him out of trouble :)

We went to the Aquarium while we were there too but...this post is long enough :) I'll save those pictures for the next post.

Pool Time

2008-05-25T17:54:00.001-07:00

2008-05-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well...summer is officially here because we finally got a baby pool for Noah. They certainly don't make them like they used to. We found this fun jungle themed pool and Noah loved it!! It has a canopy too so that it keeps him out of the direct sunlight while he's playing. We used it for the first time today and wanted to share a slideshow

Beautiful Moments

2008-05-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

I was in the car with Noah today on the way to the grocery store and I had a cd in that was playing the song "Lead me to the Cross" by Brook Fraser. I sang through the whole song and at the end Noah clapped and said "again." So we listened to it again all the way through and he sang along this time in true Noah fashion. Well, by this time we were at the store and as I went to get him out of the car seat he said "again" and he signed the word please. I told him we'd listen to it again when we got back in the car but as we walked in to the store I sang the chorus to him and he sang along ( with pretty good accuracy for an 18 month old :) and he had a BIG smile on his face. When we had finished shopping and were loading the groceries in the car he said "again" and signed the word please because he had remembered we were going to listen to the cd again. We listened to it twice on the way home and he's been singing it all day. As I was reflecting on this sweet moment I thought back to the lyrics of the chorus of that song:

" Lead me to the cross where your love poured out.

Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down.

Rid me of myself I belong to you, oh lead me

Lead me to the cross"

What an incredible song and prayer for my child to know and sing, for this is my prayer for him. That as Noah begins to grow and understand more and more that he might be led to the cross to find a Savior that loves him so much that He was willing to lay down His life for him. My deepest longing and prayer for my son is that he might first come to know and accept Jesus as his Savior and that second he would live a life fully in love with and fully surrendered to Jesus. What a beautiful moment....and what a great reminder to a mommy's heart that often gets distracted with less important things.

Spaghetti face

2008-05-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here is my funny little man after a night of Chicken Parmesan and spaghetti. I think he is wearing more than he ate. Needless to say Daddy is giving him a bath right now. :) I just had to snap a picture.

Sorry it's been so long!!

2008-05-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry that it has been so long since my last post. Life happens and we get so busy that it's almost impossible to stop for a photo op. I couldn't believe when I looked at the date of my last post that it has been a month. I have a few pictures and stories from this past month to update you on.

First is this mysterious window on campus:

Every time we visit Southeastern's campus, no matter which side of the campus we enter from, Noah finds his way to this particular window at the World Missions building and just stares at it. I don't know if the first time he saw it a person was standing there and he just checks to see if they are still there or what. It's so funny though because it's such an ordinary window. Here he is looking at it.

He's so precious! And I thought I'd add a few bath time pictures. These are always so adorable now and great for black mail later :) j/k

And last but certainly not least....this is the GORGEOUS bouquet of flowers my incredibly thoughtful husband honored me with on Mother's Day.

Fun in the Sun!

2008-04-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

We had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day here in Wake Forest, NC and Noah and I took full advantage! We went on a wagon ride and played football and went to the playground...it was so much fun! On a day like today I am reminded of Psalm 19 where it says "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands" Creation is constantly singing the praises of our amazing Lord!

I just loved this hat and caught a few cute pictures with it on and a few with it off (Noah didn't like it as much as I did:)

Here are a few where he sees the light streaming in from the window and he is trying to figure out what it is. He tried to stomp on it and pick it up...he wasn't quite sure what to do. So sweet!

His clothes are a little big on him because we just bought these and haven't stuck them in the washer or dryer yet. As soon as we do they'll shrink right up :)

I'll finish with a picture of the two loves of my life!

Women's Retreat

2008-04-14T11:14:00.001-07:00

What a fantastic weekend!! Our church here in NC put together a women's retreat this weekend in Blowing Rock, NC and it was such a beautiful time! Not only did I get to spend time with these fabulous ladies (and many more) but the Word was taught in such a powerful way on fear and anxiety which is so prevelant in the heart of a woman. The messages from the retreat will be up on the North Wake website soon ( http://www.northwake.com/) and I encourage you to check them out. I have a few more pics from when we were out and about during our free time. Here is one at a fantastic restaurant, The Blowing Rock Grill. We ate outside on a gorgeous day!

And here are a few more pictures of friends:

I have truly been blessed by North Wake and all the friends that I have made there. Each and every one is dear to my heart and has already had such an impact on my life. The woman's retreat was amazing and I will definately be going again next year!

My Little Man

2008-04-04T17:42:00.001-07:00

Ok....so I know every picture I put on here is of my little Noah but ....he is so precious! I just love this picture that's above! It just shows the joy that he really is. The other day we had a PJ day because he was extra sleepy and snuggly all day. I took a ton of pictures!

Here's my silly boy laughing at a sound his toy was making and trying to hand it to me :) I thought I captured his teeth but here he looks toothless. So far he has 8 teeth...going on 9!

This is what I call "baby yoga" He loves to get in this position just to be silly. He thinks it's so funny seeing the world upside down.

He loves these new blocks that Grandma and Grandpa Greene got him. He loves to build towers but especially he loves to tear them down. Most of all, however, he likes to pretend the blocks are his nose. He just thinks it's the funniest thing!

Sooo sleepy!

Night, Night!

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day!! Our small group at church hosted an Easter egg hunt as an outreach to the community and it was so much fun!! We opened up with a devotion about what Easter is really about and filled the Easter eggs with scripture and of course...candy. It was really the first Easter egg hunt that Noah could really participate in and while he didn't fully get the concept...it was still fun.

While I'm not the best photographer here are some of our dear friends in our small group....and their sweet children.

And last but certainly not least...here are my two favorite men!! I just love these guys!!!

He is Risen!!

Happy Easter!!

One of my favorite sounds

2008-03-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was getting ready for my day and Noah was in his room playing. All of the sudden I hear him talking....wait no....he wasn't talking he was reading. I didn't even have to see him to know which book he was reading. It was "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and he was reading it with the same inflections in his voice that I have when I read it to him. Of course he can't read the words yet so it sounded more like "Ba, Ba, Daba, Gaba rara, etc..." but it had to be the most precious sounds I've ever heard. Oh how I wish I could freeze time sometimes and just relish in these moments. I can't ever express my praise and thanks adequately to my God who loves me soooo much to place such a precious child under my care. And to allow me to parent him and raise him to be a worshipper and follower of Christ with such an amazing man and father in Bret. I am truly blessed beyond anything I could ask or imagine!

Games we play

2008-03-08T16:12:00.000-08:00

Noah's new thing is that he loves to open and close doors. He likes to shut them all the way and then fuss for mommy or daddy to open them up. He could do this for hours! We tire of it much sooner! He also loves to play with bubbles! Lately he just watches them fall to the floor and then he attacks them one by one. It's really funny!

We just bought him those crayola crayons for babies. Have you seen those on tv? They are round and supposedly fit in their hands perfectly. We are going to give those a try tomorrow after his nap and I will make sure to take lots of pictures. Has any other mom tried those yet? He may not be interested in them yet but when he likes something he can sit still for 30 minutes or better doing the same thing. He loves to spin the lid to one of his toys on the hard surface in our entryway and he does this for a long time! He also can read books for a long time. Lately he has been bringing me books to read and he wants me to read the same book over and over and over....It drives me crazy but....I LOVE that he loves to read so I humor him. His favorite book lately has been Dr. Seuss' "Go Dogs, Go!" HE LOVES THAT BOOK!

Camera Fun

2008-03-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Noah is at such a great age! He's always surprising me with what he is able to understand and do. He's like a little sponge. He's sooo active now that I can hardly keep up. It's crazy trying to catch a good picture of him anymore. By the time I think I have a great shot he's halfway across the room.

He also anticipates the flash so he closes his eyes. I put him in these adorable overalls the other day that someone gave him at one of our baby showers. They just started to fit him and I had to get a good picture. I think he closed his eyes in EVERY picture!

I just adore this age!! You always think...."It just can't get any better than this" but it does :) Every stage is such a gift from God. He just started really using some of the sign language I taught him and it's so precious to watch him sign "more please" He gets the sweetest expression on his little face. He rarely fusses any more when he wants something. He's starting to be able to really communicate which is soooo exciting! Can you tell I love this kid?

Marriage Conference

2008-02-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had a phenominal marriage conference at our church. It started with a dance on Friday night (yes...you heard it right! A Southern Baptist Church hosted a dance!!) It was so great to see one of the elders swing dancing with his wife and yet another doing the electric slide. It was a blast! Then on Saturday we had a conference entitled Marriage and the Gospel. Two of our elders who are also professors at the seminary spoke and reminded us all of the purpose of our marriages and how to work through the problems that so often stand in the way of that purpose. On Sunday morning Pastor Larry tied it all together with a sermon entitled "The Dress Code for Marriage" I wish you all could have been there but our church has all the messages from the weekend up on the website so you can listen (I highly recommend you do). To listen go to http://www.northwake.com/ and then click on media. To listen to Saturday's messages click on "other ministries" and then select listen for either session 1 or 2 of the marriage conference. To listen to Sunday's sermon click on "sermons" and click listen next to "The Dress Code for Marriage." I hope you take the time to listen and that you are as blessed as we were this weekend.

Fun with Isaac!

2008-02-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

Our friend Isaac came over to play tonight and we had sooo much fun! He is such a sweetheart! We are learning how to play together and share our toys. That's not always an easy lesson to learn for these little guys but they are doing well. The more they play together they more they will learn to be loving and share. It's so fun to see them interact with one another. I can't believe how fast they are becoming little boys. They are no longer babies!

Nostalgia

2008-02-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

I was feeling a bit nostalgic tonight and thought I'd go through our old pictures of Noah and pick some favorites. Of course it's impossible to pick all my favorites or you would be watching the slideshow for hours but I got it down to 19 which I love. We are so blessed to have such a sweet baby boy! I can't believe how fast time flies! Hopefully I will have some new pictures up soon but until then...enjoy Noah's first year.

Noah's First Year Favorites

2008-02-16T19:34:00.001-08:00

Worship...our response

2008-02-01T12:07:00.001-08:00

I'm reading "Created for Worship" by Noel Due and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to dig deep into the biblical journey of worship and what that means for us today.
Here's what I read today that I love!!!
"Their recorded actions (the patriarchs:Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) of worship are all shown to be actions in response to grace, and therefore typify the underlying theme of biblical worship: it is initiated by God, rather than human beings. It is thus the appropriate response of human beings who became objects of God's love and gracious care. Furthermore, it reminds us of the fundamental place of covenant in biblical worship. Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, all true worship takes place within a covenantal relationship. This removes from the equation any idiosyncratic worship and relates the actions of the worshippers to the great themes of God's character as the covenant making and keeping God. It also properly shows up idolatry for what it truly is: adultery against one's covenant partner."

I love this!! God is the initiator of worship...we simply respond. He reconciled us back to Himself through His son so that we may boldly approach His throne in worship....as we were created to do.

Noah is walking!

2008-01-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I'm still trying to figure out how to navigate this blog site so I'm sorry there aren't very many pictures yet. There are so many neat things you can do here but I am not techno savvy. :) I wanted everyone to know that Noah is officially walking now. He's still figuring it all out and crawls most of the time but he toddles around the house now. It won't be long until I'm chasing him around. Bret just started his second semester of school and is loving it. He loves his new job too. I'm going to start teaching piano and voice lessons again pretty soon which is exciting. I've just got to recruit some students now. We are all just trying to keep up with everything and trying to enjoy eachother as often as we can. Hope everyone is doing well.

Just joined

2008-01-04T11:35:00.001-08:00

Well...the Greene's are official "bloggers" now. I thought this would be a neat way to share what is going on in our family and of course....pictures of Noah. We started the New Year off with a great blessing in that Bret just got a job at Capital Bank yesterday. This is definately not an easy job market, but God is sooo faithful in providing! Noah is doing great and destined to be walking any day now. He has 4 teeth and more on the way. He is not all that happy to be sitting on my lap while I'm typing this though so I better make this short. We will try to post as often as possible with updates and pictures. Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to a New Year of blessings and of blessing others.