Thoughts on the book of Job

Well, it's a new year. I am not too big on resolutions, but I like the idea and it always seems like I fail at about week three into a new resolution/goal/promise...whatever you want to call it. I'm going to call it a promise, and I pray with The Lords help I can keep this promise!

I decided after reading this article, that I was going to start a Bible reading plan for the year. The plan jumps all over The Bible and has no particular order, but it is a plan to read the whole Bible in a year. WHOA! that's a big commitment/promise! I was hesitant to mention I wanted to do this,  to my small group last night, because I am already afraid of failing. But, I feel like I NEED to do this, I feel as if God is calling me closer to Him and it would be so sad for me to  ignore Him. I was not reading before. I really am bad in this area. It's sad. But, I want to try and I love how this article talks about fearing to fail and that God gives us His grace to fail. So, here's to a year in the Word!

I wrote this email to some my girlfriends after reading this morning, and decided I needed to share it on my blog:

So, I read my first day of my Bible reading plan. Job. Job 1-3, when I saw that this was today's reading I thought, thanks God...that will be uplifting. And, you know what? It kinda was! In Ch. 2 toward the end I really resonated with verse 10 when Job tells his wife (after all his livestock and such was destroyed and had sores covering his body from head to toe) "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" I also loved verses 11-13 when it talks about his friends who came to visit him because of his pain. They were emotionally so upset because their friend was in such horrible pain, all they could do was just sit with him-not saying a word. They probably provided so much comfort to him in those 7 days and nights they were with him...In all these things Job never cursed our Lord. WOW!

These two things that stood out made me think our our dear friend, Norma, who passed away yesterday afternoon. She was so good. She blessed so many people with her love and generosity, some would say through her they were accepting the good. And, now since she is gone it just reminds me we need accept Gods trouble sometimes. Weird? Make sense? I know Norma is "dancing with Jesus now" as one friend said yesterday, but it's still hard I think for some to accept. I have no idea if this is making sense so I'm sorry if you are like, Jen you have no idea what you are talking about =) The other thing it made me think of is good friends...that would be you girls. I so pray that in moments of your hurt I have been able to be there for you and just be quiet and be a comforting spirit. I will do my best in the future to be that person for you if you need it. Just like Jobs friends were to him. The best I know how to relate to this is, after I had Owen I had mastitis, I was sad because I was all "alone" with this new babe-Joe went back to work, and my family was back to CA. I felt like I was failing 3 weeks into his life as a mom because I was not nursing him. I was falling into a depression. I remember Sherry Scott and Audra coming at different times and helping me when I could not help myself, or Owen. And they would just sit, and I knew they were there. I was so thankful for them.

Anyway, that's what I learned and was reminded today. Hope I didn't ramble and it all made sense.

Have you read yet today???

15 weeks

**Pictures coming soon**

I THINK we are over the morning, all day, anytime of the day sickness. The last week or so I have felt great! I have had bursts of energy that have allowed me to cook, clean, and organize again! It has felt wonderful to be productive and "living" again. Owen watched entirely way too much TV which has resulted into a no more than 1 hour a day of TV watching in our house. We have had fun times drawing, and coloring and playing outside with side walk chalk. I know he missed these types of activities with me, and I missed them too!! Joe has enjoyed yummy meals again =) and a clean house I'm sure! Well, not all days are the house clean, but at least I'm getting back to my routine! =)

My tummy is getting bigger and rounder. People are starting to comment on seeing a baby bump. I think I have felt the baby move and jump around in there a handful of times. Sleeping is becoming more uncomfortable,  sometimes  sleeping on my side requires a pillow between the legs for more support. I'm peeing more and more. My boobs hurt!!!! My appetite is coming back full force, especially in the later part of the evening before bed. I LOVE spicy foods! Thai food and Buffalo Wings are a favorite, but sometimes I regret due to indigestion or heartburn-but so worth it! According to a website I follow, the baby should be around 4 inches long. The size of an apple, and weighs around 2 1/2 ounces. His or her eyes are still fused shut, but can sense light. It's amazing how much is going on in there. I feel so blessed to be able to carry a child, this child especially!

Big boy room!

**pictures to follow**

We took the plunge! We painted (we still have more painting to do) and got Owen his new 'big boy furniture". My very sweet Aunt Leslie came down and the plan was the boys would leave to go to her house to keep Uncle James company and do boy stuff. Well, Owen came down with an ear infection and delayed the boys from going up when they expected. With a quick trip to the doctor and antibiotics the boys left and Aunt Les and I got to painting. I LOVE the color of paint we choose for the walls. It's very fun and electric! I wanted blue, but not anything too babyish. It took two coats of paint and pretty much all day to paint, but we all love it! Owen walked in and kept saying "blue!"

Next, I bought Owen's bedding. We choose a set from Target that we felt he could keep for a long while, again nothing too babyish. I then found a great deal on JCPenny's website on his furniture! Within a week and a half his room was complete! Joe and I love it!! Not only is it cool that this is Owen's new room, but this is probably the most "work" we've done to a room in the house. It felt good putting our own personal touches on the room.

Owen has done AMAZING in transitioning from a crib to a twin bed. He has gotten out of bed once at night time and a couple times during nap time. I think that's pretty good considering it's so new. I do think he is not sleeping as well as he did when he was in the crib, especially during nap time. Overall, I'm very proud of my big boy! The first night we put him to bed I was very emotional. He looked so tiny in his bed. He was so brave, all smiles! I just can't believe how big Owen is getting. More than that it just proved to me that I always worry so much about new things and situations Owen may encounter. In the end Owen never ceases to amazes me. He always rises to occasion and proves he's AWESOME! =)

The Bowers

Again, I have been so bad about blogging! This post will be FULL of pictures, of some our favorite people! Tim, Mariah and Isaac came to visit us almost a month ago, actually it was a month ago! We had so much fun. We love hanging out with them. We got to see the little boys interact in good ways and bad ways =) It made me miss them and wish that we could live near by and have our boys grow together physically, and not so much through skype-although so grateful for skype! I love how Mariah challenges me. She is such a blessing in my life and her creativity blows my mind. Whether it's knitting, painting, cooking or as you can see taking pictures. She has a gift. I love how when we are all together Joe laughs SO much. He and Tim get along well, they know each other and comfortable with one another. It was super fun having them here and we appreciate them making the trip with a two year old. It was even more fun having them here when we found we were pregnant again!

Isaac and Owen watching Nemo. Isaac was not very happy at times =(

 My beautiful boy!

 LOVE

 just enjoying some ice cream on a very hot sticky day!

 I love this little man

 Me and Mariah

 No more monkies jumping on the bed....

SCHOOL!

I cannot believe it's taken me this long to write about Owen being in "school". It was a last minute decision that Joe and I made. We enrolled him into a Mother's Morning Out program that meets twice a week from 9:00-12:45. I didn't think I would have wanted to put Owen into anyhting like this or preschool until next fall, when he would be 3 1/2. But, after observing him daily and hearing how much he LOVES his friends I decided I would look into my options. I was only wanting something that he would only be away from me one day a week, and I had a very hard time finding something like that due to his age (they tend to have more options for younger kids that way) and I wanted something that had some kind of structure. A couple places I went to observe were basically babysitting, that included the kids just running a muck and having tons of free play. That may be good for some parents, it's just not what Joe and I were looking for. A few friends recommended a Baptist church that is not too far from our home. They knew what I was looking for, and they thought I'd be happy with this program. The only bad thing is it was 2 days a week. The idea of Owen being away from me that much during the week was hard to think about. I checked out the program and loved it! It was a clean place, with a lot of kids in the program ages ranging from babies to 4 year olds. Owen's class was having story time when I came to check it out and it was so cool to see all these little one's sitting in chairs listening to the teachers. His teachers were/are so very kind! THEY HAVE STRUCTURE! They have some free play, the do a craft every day they meet and he brings them home to me! They play outside when the weather is good, they do story time and music time...it's a good fit for us. Owen more than LOVES it. He talks about his friends Jack and Miles all the time. He talks about his sweet teachers Miss Erin and Miss Dolores. He is constantly saying "tomorrow, I go to SCHOOL!" (we made a calendar the other day that helps him remember when he goes to school, when daddy's home on Fridays and when we go to church) I have had an adjustment of not knowing exactly what I do on those days he's away from me. Some days I clean. Some days I do my grocery shopping. Some days I meet friends for coffee or breakfast. Some days I read...It's been good for all of us all the way around. I know Owen needed something like this. He is such a social kid and giving him an opportunity to socialize with other kids and taking instructions from other adults other than me or Joe has been so good!