Thankful

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will CONTINUALLY be in my mouth!"

I just had so much to be thankful for this year... I don't know where to start!  When I think about the things I am thankful for, it reminds me of a friend in HS.  She had a Happy Book.  It was a journal that she wrote in ALL THE TIME.  She made a long list of the things that made her happy.  Silly things like milk mustaches or flip flops made her list (flip flops are on Bethany's too!).  But she also had serious ones too, like salvation, Jesus, and her family.

If I had a happy book, it would have to be a really thick book with many lines in it.  I would write and write and write about all that God has done and given. I love the thought from a song that says if all of the oceans were ink and all of the sky was a page, we wouldn't have room to write about all that God has done and all that He is.

Lately, God has been teaching Danny and I all about His goodness to us and the things that He has given.  WE ARE SO BLESSED THAT IT IS DISGUSTING!  We had drawers full of things that we "might" need and a basement with boxes of Christmas decorations while children around the world are starving and are thirsty.  WE ARE TOO BLESSED!  WE ARE TOO COMFY!  WE ARE SPOILED!

What does this mean... what are we going to do with this conviction?  We aren't sure yet.  We are thankful, though, that God is still teaching us and we are still listening to Him.  We are willing...

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we will BLESS THE LORD and thank HIM for all things for I know I am blessed beyond measure!!!!

Yahoo! Great Sleeper Boy!

I feel rejuvenated and refreshed this morning!  Why?  Josiah slept from 10:15-5:15!  YAHOO! 

Of course, I didn't sleep that WHOLE time: I had to go in at 4:00 and check on him to make sure he was breathing!  He did a great job.  We will be a little "off schedule" today, but we will make it work.  Will this be our new schedule?  I can't wait to find out!

One Month Old

Seriously, is my little man ONE MONTH OLD today?  It doesn’t seem like 30 days of newborn diaper changes, middle of the night feedings, nursing every 3 hours (or more), baby car seats, and THREE CHILDREN!  This month has had its moments of greatness and meltdowns (for me AND the kids), but we are figuring it out.  We are finding our groove – just in time for the time change to mess things up and a long trip to PA to test our schedules, patience and determination!

I wish I had a scale to weigh Josiah, but I am estimating that he is in the 10 pound + range.  He is eating well and sleeping well.  He doesn’t always like to take naps during the day and he is fussy in the evenings.  He is starting to smile a little and he makes a few sounds other than crying.  

The girls really love him.  Grace can’t kiss him enough and is very helpful. Hannah loves squeezing him, head-butting him, and giving him an open-mouth kiss.   J 

We continue to praise the Lord for our three kids – all unique and special.  One day before Hannah was born, I asked my Nana about loving children.  “Nana, will we love this baby like we did Grace?  How can that be possible?”  She gave us these wise words, “Every child comes with their own suitcase of love!”  It is so true… our love has multiplied!

A new do!

I have wanted to give Hannah bangs, but I have been pretty nervous about putting scissors that close to her eyes.  There would be NO WAY that she would sit still long enough for me to do a fantastic job, and I didn’t want to poke her in the eyes with my scissors.   I didn’t want to crop it too short either.  With just one snip of the scissors, she could have a haircut that would haunt her for life!  Bravely, I got out the scissors and set her on the counter in the bathroom.  Very carefully, I combed her hair into position and took a deep breath. She didn’t sit still for long, but I was able to take several small cuts to make bangs. 

She looks like a new kid… so old…so grown up… so much more like her sister!  I discovered at lunch, that even though she may look different, she is the same kid. (When I wasn’t looking she put her bowl of spaghetti on her head and yelled, “Hat, Mama!”  Yup, it was a hat of spaghetti on top of her newly washed hair!  

This is still our precious Hannah!) 

Operation Christmas Child

As a church family we are participating in OCC this year.  Last year the church came together and gave over 650 boxes to this project and we are excited to be a part of it this year.  We grabbed our pre-wrapped box from church and drove to the Dollar Store to find gifts to put in it.  Grace was thrilled to find toys, a tooth brush, tooth paste, crayons, etc. to fill the box.  We told her all about the girl that will be getting this special gift…a poor girl, Grace’s age, without Christmas gifts from her mom or dad.  The most important thing that we will add to this gift…is prayer!

 We had such a hard time cramming everything in that we had to eventually get a new BIGGER box from church!

By the way… Danny and I think that it is really cool that we can track this box online and see what country it goes to!  We will let you know when we find out! 

Surprisingly gentle and helpful

Before Josiah was born, everyone asked how I thought the girls would handle his arrival.  I knew that Grace would be very helpful and loving... she had been through this before. Grace loved to talk about the baby and looked forward to helping with various baby activities. 

 BUT HANNAH WAS ANOTHER STORY!  I always joke that "Hannah just needs Jesus!"  It is true.  She really does.... we have our moments and times of discipline....MANY, MANY per day.    I didn't really know how she would handle Josiah, but she has been surprisingly gentle and helpful lately.  She is truly coming into the role of BIG sister.  She can be rough at times, but I try to channel that energy to help me burp him.  Her zealous smacks are very helpful!  :)

 (This is actually a kiss and not a bite!!)

                             

Both my girls make great big sisters... I am very proud of them!

Blessed..not bragging

Have you ever had one of those moments that you just felt so blessed that you needed to share it?  Have you ever been overwhelmingly blessed by the Lord you just had to shout it from the mountain tops? 

Danny and I have experienced God's blessings over and over again with the recent blessings coming after Josiah was born.  Even though I could write about the HUGE blessing our son is, the blessing that I want to share is about our friends and church family.  Right before Josiah was born a friend asked if she could coordinate meals for us.  I thought that it would be GREAT to have a few meals to make things easier after mom left, but what I didn't realize is that people would be begging to make meals and she would have to limit the number of meals!  What a blessing!  We have been blessed with SIXTEEN meals -- meals from neighbors, meals from friends, meals from people we hardly know from MOPS or church.  From pasta meals to chicken meals, from corn casseroles to salads, from soups to breads, from blueberry cobbler to chocolate cake, we have been blessed with more food than we can eat.  (We put three meals and a few desserts in the freezer to bring out on a later date!  YEAH!) 

So... why am I sharing this?  Am I bragging that the Lightners are just so wonderful that we deserve all of us? NO!  NOT AT ALL!  I am sharing to proclaim that we have a GREAT GOD and He has GREAT servants that have blessed us!  We definitely feel like part of the body of Christ here in Iowa... No, this is not officially HOME (yet), but we feel so blessed that the friends that we have made here are caring for us and are treating us like family -- God's family.

THANK YOU... to all who have served the Lord by serving us!  We are BLESSED!

Just a few things...

Here are just a few things that I LOVE about my newborn Josiah...

• I love how he hold his legs up when I pick him up!
• I love how he sleeps in a little ball on my chest!
• I love how he smiles after I feed him (I know it is gas)!
• I love how he grunts and groans when he is filling his diaper (especially during prayer time at Life Group!!!!)!
• I love how he has dark hair like his sisters did!
• I love how he needs his mommy!
• I love how he has a birth mark on his tummy!
• I love how he likes to cuddle with me!
• I love how he stops to listen to my voice when I get near!
• I love how he SLEEPS SO WELL AT NIGHT!
• I love how he looks like his daddy!
• I love the chub on his legs, arms, tummy, chins, and neck!
• I love how he has only squirted me once during a diaper change!
• I love how he totally relaxes in his bath!
• I love how he smells so yummy after his bath!

The list could go on and on...boy, I LOVE THIS KID!!

Lion, tiger and bear -- oh, my!

First Federated had their annual Fall Family Fun night on Friday with over 1400 people attending! Wow!  We had a blast...it was fun dressing up the kids and taking them for the first time.  They were ferocious!!!! 

 We even got some unsaved neighbors to go...super cool!!!!