One think that is backed biblically and is a very strong key to not only a good marriage but strong and stable children, is the relationship between a husband and wife.  Tyler puts me first always, and I do the same with him.  I had mentioned previously how one of my goals for this year was to spend more time with my husband for example, having more date nights.  I also said even if this includes our children.  Some people might disagree on the definition of a date night and assume that it means spending time alone with your significant other.  This is my definition of a date, spending quality time with your spouse doing something that brings joy to you both.  The key to a good date is doing something meaningful that you both get joy out of.  For Tyler and I our children bring us joy, so going out to dinner with our kids in tow is actually an ideal date night for us.  We love just watching them to see the things they will do…or say (sometimes this includes an occational red face from me and a hearty laugh from Tyler).  Just the other day Tyler said to me, “You really are a good wife, you know it?”  He told me I do such a good job of taking care of his house, cooking his food, spending time with him.  Then he said, “And you gave me the two most beautiful kids.”   That is what family is, pure love.  

One of the best things to do is to look back at how much your family has grown.  What better way than to document it in photographs.  I have on numerous occasions sung praises about our photographer, Nathan Smith, who never ceases to take beautiful photos of my family.  

Right now he is running a special and if you mention my blog you can get a 1 hour studio family session for $50 plus 1 8×10 photo print.  That is a $120 value!!! Please give him a call and book your session today, you have to book it before February 28th.  You can click on his ad to the right or visit his webpage at www.morethanathousandwordsphotography.com, for contact information.

I also may begin to pose questions to you as well regarding issues that I am getting ready to face…teething, potty training, etc.  I have created a new page called “Got Kids?” and with this page I hope to get questions and/or issues concerns regarding your children or topics for discussion.  Please feel free to visit this page and send me your questions, as I am eager to start creating a community of mom’s & dad’s that can bounce idea’s around. 

First I would like to share with you the story of my children and how blessed I am to be a well rested mother of two happy, healthy babies. 

Owen was born April 7, 2009 and he was a big boy.  8lbs, 21.5 inches.  From the start he seemed to be a pretty laid back little guy; he let us know right away the things he liked and the things he didn’t like.  His favorite thing was to eat, and let me tell you he was a pro from day one.  In fact the lactation consultant at the hospital was so impressed with his eating skills that she had other nurses come in and look at how well he did.  For me it was nice because with Owen I had absolutely NO pain learning to breastfeed not sore even a bit.  His least favorite thing was being swaddled, he had to be free to spread out and take advantage of all the sleeping space available.  After we brought Owen home I immediately started getting him used to some sort of a schedule, but at this point I was letting him kind of tell me what times were meal times and what times were nap times.  It wasn’t until he was 6 weeks old that I started a stricter schedule and routine.    I had been introduced to a method by a friend of ours called Growing Kids God’s Way, most of you are more familiar with the secular version called On Becoming Babywise.  There has been somewhat of a controversy with its methods and whether or not they are beneficial or harmful to children.  But in my opinion I don’t understand how there can be a controversy at all, every parent that I know personally who has employed this method with their children has had nothing but praises for it.  I am happy to say that I am included in that group.   It took Owen 3 days, and he went from waking up every 3 hours around the clock to taking scheduled naps during the day and sleeping for 5 hours at a time at night.  For his age that is considered sleeping through the night.  By 9 weeks he was sleeping from about 11pm to 7am, and since he was sleeping that meant we were too!!!  As Owen began to grow and his schedule changed, he started eating more, staying awake and playing longer and taking less naps during the day and still sleeping 10-12 hours at night.  His temperament changed and he was always smiley, happy to play on his own or with us, and when it was time to eat he was done in 30 min flat.  No fussing, no fighting just eat and get to playing.  When it was time to go down for a nap we would put him in his crib and he would just look up at us and smile then roll over and lay there until he fell asleep.  Sometimes he just couldn’t fall asleep, but because he was used to this quiet time he would lay in bed and talk to himself until it was time to get up, again with no fuss.  Now that Owen is almost 3 years old, sometimes Tyler and I try to keep him up a little later than his regularly scheduled nap so he can sleep at the same time as Evie and so that we can also grab a quick nap.  Owen will be content to play, but occasionally he will come to me and say, “Mommy, me sleepy.  Me take nap.”  I never in a million years thought I would have a 3 year old that would actually request to go take a nap!  My only hope is that Evie will be the same.

July 20, 2011 Evelyn Joelle Knepp came into the world as beautiful as ever.  Tyler and I knew even before she was born that we were going to be using the same scheduling method with her that we did with Owen.   Now, while our hope was that it would be just as easy with her as it was with him everyone knows that no two children are alike.  It took Evie a little longer to get into the groove of things.  In fact, she is 6 months old now and still sometimes cries after we put her down for her nap.  We just had to learn that crying was her way of unwinding and falling asleep.  She cries for a minute or two and then she falls asleep and is out for 1-2 hours.  She sleeps from 8pm to 7am.  She also started sleeping through the night at around 9 weeks.  She too is a very smiley baby except when she doesn’t feel well, and is content playing alone or with one of us.  Evie was harder to nurse and I did experience some discomfort getting her used to it, but after about 5 months she weened herself and would only take a bottle.  Now that she is eating some food as well, she has eating down to an art and is also done in about 30 min.  One of the big differences with Evie and Owen is swaddling.  Owen hated it, Evie can’t sleep unless she is swaddled tight…even still.  Last night in fact, she woke up 3 different times because her swaddle wasn’t tight enough and she got her arms out.  Once she was swaddled again she went right back to sleep. 

The biggest benefit to all of this is that well rested babies are happy babies, and well rested parents and happy and involved parents.  I want to share my stories of success with you and hear your stories as well.  My plan is to have a post a week about one aspect of the Growing Kids God’s Way method and to get feedback and answer questions regarding some of your questions or concerned.   Please visit the Got Kids? page and leave any type of feedback you like.  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

1. Read through the Bible in a year. (Task started, I am using an android app called YouVersion The Bible App.  It has several different through the year plans to choose from and you can choose to read it in several different versions.  I am reading the Message and NIV)

2. Spend more time with my Husband. (This includes more date nights, even if the dates include our children.)

3. Do more things with girl friends, make time for them.

4. Sit on the floor and play with my children. (Even if there are dirty dishes in the sink and clothes that need folded and put away.)

5. Run another Mini.

6. Take time to myself.  (Alone, no kids, no friends, no husband, just me and God)

7. Do something out of character. (Nothing dangerous, or irresponsible. )

These are the things that I have thought of so far and have made a point to complete this year.  I challenge you to also take a look at you and decide what things you would like to do more of.  God has given us these lives to do more than just live in the day to day repetitive rhythm and rut.  We need to appear as happy and blessed as we truly are.  To do so we have to learn to utilize everything that God has given us and to use it in a way that Glorifies Him.  And trust me, God wants to see his children happy.  There is no need to feel guilty in taking time to be happy, that is why God made you.  And happy people are more approachable and open to spreading good news than sad or downtrodden people.   This year is My year.  And I will have fun and be happy.  I will love and be loved. 

In Ecclesiastes 9:7-9 (MSG) it reads – “Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart.  Oh yes – God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love each and everyday of your precarious life.  Each day is God’s gift.  It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one!”

//
//

And here is a little video of the fun they were having in the cold.

After we were done outside it was time for Evie to eat.   Owen is such a good big brother and he decided that he wanted to feed Evie.  Needless to say she needed a bath after, but it was so much fun for both of them.

Owen had the opportunity to go with his memaw and pepaw to the train show down at the State Fair Grounds, he is really loving trains right now.  He has his very own train track at home too.

Owen and Evie also got to spend some time together at home with their daddy while he was on winter break from school.  Owen’s new favorite show is Looney Tunes, he calls it “Bunny.”  And the best part is it is the old Bugs Bunny shows, the ones I remember watching when I was little so Tyler and I like to watch them too.

Here are some other cute pictures of Evie that I just had to share:

Finally, the highlight of this post is the arrival of a beautiful little gem.  Avery Rose England.  She was born January 11, at around 8:30.  She weighed 7lbs 6oz and measured in at 20.5 inches.  She is beautiful, both mommy and baby are very healthy and the whole family is now home and happy as can be.

(Photo by www.morethanathousandwordsphotography.com)

When I was in Jr. High and High School I used to keep 3×5 cards taped up on my ceiling above my bed with prayer requests on them.  They would have names of people who were hurting in some way or another, prayers for my final exams, prayers for friends.  One of those cards sticks out in my memory most; it simply read, “My Husband.”  I prayed for my husband for years before I even knew who he was.  I would pray that if he was going through a difficult time God would put him at ease.  I prayed for any little thing he might be facing, maybe big exams at school like me.  I prayed for his family that everything would be well with them.  I prayed for him every night.  Little did I know, I had already met him.  I didn’t get to really know him until my junior year of high school thanks to my best friend Emily, she suggested that I ask him out on a date.  So, although I was a little reluctant at first, during passing period in the hallway at school I did.  He said, “Sure.”  The rest is history.  We officially became boyfriend and girlfriend at our highschool valentines day dance, February 22, 2002.   This February it will be 10 years that we have been together. 

Everyday I am so thankful that I have him.  Our marriage is always first in both of our lives, after we get home from work we sit together and enjoy “us” time.  Occasionally we will just stand in the kitchen and hug and hold each other for a minute or two, this for some reason or another drives Owen nuts and he will always jump up and get in-between the two of us wanting to join in the cuddle time.   Because of this love we have for each other, our children know how to love and feel safe and happy.  I remember during my childhood, no matter how gross or annoyed I would be when I saw my parents all lovey, it was comforting to know that my family was safe and whole.  I know that although my children are small they too feel this way.  I am also thankful that he is such an amazing father.  Just the other day Owen pulled some of his cars into the living room and said, “Daddy, play with me!”  Tyler crawled down onto the floor and played cars with Owen.  I also catch them building lego towers in Owen’s room with Evie laying on the floor next to them just loving being included, even if it is only watching.   I have so many pictures of Tyler sitting in his spot on the couch cuddling with both his babies and it makes my heart swell.  I love it so much. 

Lately I have been struggling with some things personally and the one person that I can lean on more than anyone else is Tyler.  He has been my rock and will continue to be.  Instead of just listening to me, which would have been plenty for me, he has chosen to take my journey to wellness with me.  Walking right beside me the whole way holding my hand.  He is an amazing man, he is my love and my life.  I am so thankful that God has given him to me.  I love you Tyler.

Here are a few pictures from right before Christmas.  We got a gingerbread train from our Harmon Family Christmas (which was a blast by the way!!!) , and Owen had been wanting to build it since we brought it home so this was our chance:

Once upon a time there was a little prince, his name was Owen.  Owen had been such a blessing to his parents and all who knew him.  As he grew he became more and more independent, wanting to tackle big milestones on his own without the help of others.  His determination was awe-inspiring.  First it was crawling, after he overheard his mother proclaim that she didn’t think he would crawl at all; boy did he show her!  Then was walking…well, running because he never did anything under 110%.  Finally, when Owen reached the tender age of 2 he began to show some interest in learning how to use the “big boy potty.”  Now, to clarify, this was partly because he was starting to not like wearing a diaper but mostly because he knew he would get sweets if he went potty in his big boy potty rather than in his diaper.  Now Owen was a very clever little prince.  He would only go potty when he wanted candy and knew that there was no other way to get it.  For example, during dinner if he didn’t want to finish his meal but still wanted candy he would say, “Me go pee,” and then he would get rewarded with candy.  After a while he wanted to start picking out his own rewards couldn’t even wait to get dressed again before digging into the candy bowl:

The prince’s parents quickly picked up on his clever ways and decided that perhaps he should be rewarded with money rather than sweets.  The prince’s response you ask?  He no longer uses his big boy potty. We will have to tackle that hurdle again soon.  Also, he refuses to wear clothes but that is a story for another time.  The End.

Then we started making the cookies, and they are 100 times better when I have my little helper.

Mission accomplished.  Christmas cookies!!

After the cookies were made and the clean up had started Owen came into the kitchen and said, “Mommy, me want Luke.”  I didn’t understand what he was saying at first, so I just looked at him and said, “You want what?”  “Luke, mommy, Luke!”  “What Owen, I don’t see anything.”  “No, mommy.  Me want Luke, my best friend.”  It was then that I realized Owen was asking if Luke could come over and play!  This came completely out of the blue and it was adorable!!!  Luke probably hadn’t been over to play since before Evie was born so it was a shock when Owen asked him to come over.  So I promptly called Luke’s daddy to see if he could come play.  Good news, Luke could come!! Owen was so excited that he started jumping up and down screaming, “Yay! Yay!”  After Luke got there this is how the rest of the evening went:

After all was said and done Owen said that he had so much fun and wanted Luke to come over again.  I love the unexpected things that he does that always surprise me.  He is so wonderful!!