Happy Birthday Levi!!

3 years ago today, (well, today when I was writing this) I was lying in a hospital bed at Huron Valley hospital, nervously awaiting the arrival of our first baby. We knew he would be a boy, and we knew his name would be Levi. We never could have guessed the joy this sweet boy has brought into our lives.
He was born at 6:07pm on November 3oth, 9lbs 10oz. A big chunky, healthy, beautiful boy. It does not seem like 3 years have passed since that day, but I'm sure it never feels that way.
In October, I posted 12 things I love about Mason, because he was 12 months old...so here are 12 things about Levi that I love (I thought about doing 36, but who wants to read that many??)
1. He loves to sing...he sings all the time, "As the Deer", "You're Enough for Me", the alphabet song, the list goes on and on...
2. He loves to play instruments. He makes drums out of anything he can, and he loves the drummer at our church, Mr. Matt. He plays Chris' keyboard whenever he can
3. He never crawled until his 1st birthday party. He did an army crawl for 12 months and on the day of his first birthday party, he picked himself up and crawled around the house.
4. He's only 3 years old and has already been in Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Missouri, and all the states in between..he is a well-traveled little boy
5. Levi is a 100% daddy's boy, and I love that! (OK, sometimes I am slightly jealous of this fact)
6. He recognizes Michael Phelps when he's on Tv, even if he's not swimming...we were olympic obsessed this summer
7. He was in the 90th% at birth and is now in the 10th!
8. He's 3 years old and wears size 18month clothes!!
9. For the most part, he's a great big brother...for the most part
10.He can say the entire "Pledge of Allegiance"...which I can't even spell
11.He loves to read books, his favorite is a book called "HO HO HO Tucker", which is about a dog named Tucker (which is our dogs name)
12.He leaves a lasting impression on people...sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always memorable.

I leave you with some pictures of my sweet Levi, I love this boy!!! I can't wait to see how God will use his love of music, or even if that love will stick around.

How God's working on me...

I have been convicted over the past week about the words I speak. I mean, majorly convicted. In one of those things that only God can do, our message on Sunday was all about the words we speak! Saturday night I was asking Chris where the passage that says "out of your mouth your heart speaks", or something. Can you imagine on Sunday when up on the screen pops Matthew 12:34 "...Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks..." can you just see me slinking further down into my chair as I feel God working on my heart?
I do not keep a close reign on my words, I hate to admit this, but I love to gossip. I am also extremely sarcastic, and I love to get a laugh (you're not surprised, are you?). The combination of gossip, sarcasm, and "humor" sometimes lead my words to be less than desirable.
One of the best examples of this is the way I talk about my children. And a very specific example comes from our small group on Thursday night. Someone asked me how the boys were and my immediate response was "annoying, but good". A while later we were marveling at how cute another group baby is and I said, "Oh I love this stage, then they get to my boys age and YUCK!"
I don't really mean those things. I love being a mom, I really do. And I love my boys, and all that they are. When I say things like that and hold it up to Matthew 12:34, I feel a need to do a heart check. If what comes out of my mouth is truly a reflection of my heart, then "change my heart O' God.
Another example of this is the way I talk about Chris. So often I say things to get a laugh or out of pure sarcasm, but they in no way show him respect or are uplifting to him. I always assume that people know I'm being sarcastic, but lately I've found that's not always the case. Again, I love my husband, I'm proud of him and proud to be his wife. But my words aren't always showing that.
I don't know if you've ever experienced a Sunday where you just know God is speaking to you, but oooo it is uncomfortable. And after that experience I feel so much more accountability to think that what I'm saying is a reflection of what my heart is, and to keep my words in check.
If you want to read more about this topic, some other verses that have been speaking to me are:
Matthew 12:34-37
James 3:1-12
James 4:11-12
Ephesians 4:29

November?

Yes, that's November with a question mark. How in the world did we get into the middle of November already? Time is flying, and I know that by me saying that, it makes me "old", but I can't seem to wrap my mind around how fast time is passing (or seeming to pass, I guess).
Things have been quite busy in the Gray household. We went Trick-or-Treating with Chris' brother and his family (that is so not the accurate description for them...it should be with my best friend and her family, who happens to be Chris' brother and his family) and the kids loved it. Levi was a dinosaur and Mason was a frog. Levi went right up to the houses and said "Trick or Treat" and thank you, it was so fun watching him do it. I thought it would be so over his head, but he got it. Mason just stayed in the stroller and observed, but he looked good doing it.
Chris has been doing a lot of traveling for work, which makes for long days for me and the boys, I don't realize how much I depend on him until he's not here. For conversation, for a break after dinner, for bed time help, etc... We always manage, but I prefer him home...well, mostly I prefer him to have a job, so I won't complain.
I am just short of hitting 35lbs. lost! I don't know who even reads my blog anymore, so I've been hesitant to blog about my weight loss, but it's my blog, so if you don't like it, stop reading! My hope is to stay between 30-35lbs through the holidays and then in January try to loose the last 15-20...well, not all in January of course! I'm kind of addicted to exercising, which I never thought I would say. I exercise 5 times a week, doing cardio one day, then sculpting the next. I love it, I love how I feel after especially.
I've been working with a team of awesome women to put together a Christmas Outreach event for women. It's been so fun getting to know these women at our church and seeing how God has made us all so differently, with different talents and passions, yet together we can put together something so cool! (Ummm...I'm pretty sure that's in the Bible somewhere :D )
I hope things are going well for you during this busy time. I still haven't heard about that baby, Mel...is he here yet? And what is his name? And how are you? And how is big brother?
Enjoy these days, they're going fast! (Maybe that's because I've been going to bed at 9:00 every night...I'm so old!)

Happy 1st Birthday!

See this guy? He turned 1 on Saturday! Man, oh Man, has time flown by. It seems like yesterday that I was waddling around trying to find my toes wondering if this was going to be Aubrey Paige or a boy with a name we hadn't figured out yet.
Mason LOVED getting into the cake! He had no reservations about picking up the entire piece and shoving it in his mouth. It was awesome...and messy!
Then he got thirsty, and decided he was done, but ohhh he was a MESS!
This was taken on Saturday before his party, just on our day at home.
Since Mason is 1 year old, 12 months, I wanted to take time to write down 12 things (pretty random things) that I think/love/pray for about this sweet boy. Remember, I'm his mom, so I'm quite biased...but it's MY blog, so I can be!

1. His first smile...I can see it so clearly, I was rocking him and nursing him in the morning and Chris came over to say good bye before work. As soon as Mason heard Chris he pulled off, looked up right into Chris' eyes and smiled. It was the coolest moment. There's something about the first on-purpose smile...and I didn't mind at all that it was for Chris!!
2. He loves to eat!! He is mommma's boy all the way on that one. This kid gets crabby if he's not in his highchair around breakfast time, lunchtime and dinner time. Yesterday I was at Panera bread with a friend and Mason reached right over to my try grabbed the 1/2 french baguette and started gnawing on it. This is after he ate 1/2 a grilled cheese; 1/2 a fruit cup; grahm crackers and bites of my soup!!!
3. He has a great personality at this age. This weekend we sang Happy Birthday to him 100 times, and every time we would start singing it he would stop whatever he was doing, smile a big smile and start clapping. He really has a great temperment and a fun outlook to his little world.
4. His eyes. They are truly the windows to his soul. They shine when he's happy, darken when he's angry and open really wide when something frightens him. Plus they are about the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a kid!
5. The fact that he's 1 and still has no teeth! I don't think much of it until I see our little friend Maya, who is 4 months younger and has quite a few teeth.
6. He loves cars. He will crawl around the house with a car in his hand for an hour at a time if nothing else distracts him. He pushes them on the carpet, carries them in his mouth, whatever it takes to have a car near him, he'll do it...any guesses where that comes from?
7. His pacifiers. If it's not a car, he's got a paci in his mouth and one in his hand, I've seen him have 2 in his mouth at one time, and now his favorite thing is to hide them around the house, which is no fun at all when he needs one for nap or to go in public, but it is funny to see all the strange places he hides them!
8. The way he mimicks things Levi does. Yesterday Levi was on the floor playing his little drum, Mason was watching him from a distance, then crawled over as soon as Levi walked away, sat down just like Levi was sitting and played the drum. Of course Levi flipped out, but Mason was cute just the same!
9. When he was 3-7 months he had the best hair. I called it a "baby-hawk" because it looked like a puffy mohawk right in the middle of his head. Now he just has a big boy haircut..
10. He was such a bad sleeper in the beginning. I remember thinking I'd be sleeping with this one until he was 10...
11. He's a GREAT sleeper now. 12 hours, in his crib, 2 naps, in his crib...PHEW!
12. We got off to such a bad start with him. The not-sleeping, the post-partum depression that led to me saying so many bad things about having him and ending up being away from him (and Levi) for a week..it was rough, but we survived, and I think I always look at him and think..."we conqured it!!! We're fine and it's all behind us!!"
I can't wait to see the life this little boy leads...he's such a treasure!

Reuniting

I have to admit, I have become completely addicted to Facebook. I log onto my facebook page at least 5 times a day...which is because my laptop is always on and I'm always wandering past it sneaking a few minutes at a time online.
I love Facebook because it has given me an amazing opportunity to reunite with some people I honestly thought I'd never have in my life again this side of eternity. A year after high school I spent a semester at a Bible School thats main purpose is to train missionaries for tribal missions. During that time I made some intense freindships and then when I left, as time tends to do I lost touch with those friends. Thanks to facebook, I've reunited with a few of them and been able to catch up on their lives.
A year after my semester at Bible School, I packed up my white Ford Aspire and moved to Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO. I lived in Dennis Hall on the first floor and I was a complete spaz surrounded by the most unforgettable girls I've ever met. Thanks to Facebook these girls: Lori; Eskai; Aline; Amy; Bridget; Kim; Laura; Becky; are now in my life again. I feel like over the past year I have seen their children grow (Lori and I have 2 boys, pretty close in age to each other), prayed for them, and laughed with them over old memories.
I only spent a year at Ozark, but my life was altered because of my parents divorce during that school year, and these women...who were just Godly girls then...pulled me through an overwhelmingly difficult time. I will never forget conversations and hugs and tears as I tried to understand what on earth was happening with my family.
I have to also give a shout-out to My Space because that's how I hooked back up with Melanie, my most faithful blog reader and commenter! We went to High School together, were sandwhich artists at Subway together, and I held a secret grudge against her because I was convinced she wanted my boyfriend and our fellow sandwhich artist Brian! (Sorry, Mel, the grudge is long-gone, but I figured it would add interest to our story :D ) Melanie is getting ready to have her 2nd son any week, so pray for her as you read this!
Anyway, I am now hoping to be able to actually see and laugh with these girls again really soon, and watch our kids enjoy each other and remember some of the craziness we shared. When that happens, It'll all be because of Facebook and Myspace...

A NEW kind of Friday Night Fun!

It wasn't all that long ago that I was determined to have weekends filled with going out with friends, having friends over, or going to friends houses. Then...came my family! While I still REALLY enjoy nurturing our amazing friendships, I am learning to enjoy our family time so much more.
This last Friday we let Levi stay up past 8:00, Chris lit a fire and the 3 of us shared popcorn and played Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. It was so cozy, so peaceful, and so much FUN!
Times like this are when I really feel God's ACTIVE presence in my life. While we were all sprawled out on the floor I could just hear God saying.."I love you so much, I heard your prayers, knew your dreams, read your diaries...and while in YOUR time it took a while to get here, my timing was perfect..and all of this...because I LOVE YOU!"
Here are some pictures of our game night! And since Mason was in bed, but not to leave him out, I included a picture of him too!

A funny memory!

Tonight was our first night of small group, so today I was preparing the house for the babysitter(see previous post about cleaning out the junk drawer). While I was doing so, I was thinking of all the babysitting I used to do, how much I got paid, (1.50/hour, a good family paid 2.00/hour), and some of the terrible kids I got stuck with. This one memory came to mind and I've been laughing about it all day.
In high school I worked at a day care, and would often make babysitting jobs from day care clients. This very eccentric family had moved from England to the US for job reasons, they lived near my family, and their kids went to the day care I was working at. One Friday night, my friend Jill came along with me to babysit at this families house. We were hanging out while the kids were sleeping and looking for some movies to watch...you can see where this is going, right? They had this big grandfather clock in the living room that had a drawer in the bottom, Jill pulled it out to see if there were movies in there...oh yeah, there were movies...porn! a drawer full of porn! We were probably 16 or 17 and Jill and I were the funniest 2 girls to find porn, because we were so clueless. For the rest of the evening we would peek in the drawer and make fun of the covers...I mean, neither of us had seen a naked man before, so to us this was HILARIOUS!!!
We didn't watch or even want to watch any of the videos, but can you imagine what it was like for us to have to face this couple when they came home. We were so immature and clueless, we could hardly keep straight faces while talking to them.
That memory has been buried for about 12 years, and today it came up and I've been laughing about it ever since...
In case you're wondering, my biggest fear was having the sitter find my good chocolate...