Noah's FIRST Birthday Celebration!!

Wow! I can't believe our baby boy is ONE already!! Life is going by so fast and at times I feel like I can't keep up. I try and savor each moment knowing they are going by in a flash. It has been an incredible year with the gift of joy we have been given. It's crazy now that he is one I can look back on the year and remember all the JOY! There were times of extreme depression and sadness and I felt like it was always going to be like that I would look back and remember pain. God is amazing because I DONT! I say that now with the biggest smile and tears of happiness!! God has allowed me to remember the laughs, the smiles, all the amazing firsts, the arms of my child reaching out for me. It over clouds the hard times. And when I remember those times, I think about God's GOODNESS, his GRACE. He let something bloom in the desert and ran a river of love through my valley!! Most beautiful year of my life and I look forward to my life ahead and what God has in store for my little Noah.
(I plan on blogging about the year-good times and the hard. At the time it was just too difficult to write. But I had amazing people reach out to help me and I want to return the favor. Also, I learned tips and tricks for children with clefts through research and hopefully that will help someone else too.)
Here are pictures from Noah’s first birthday celebration. We did a nautical theme b/c that’s what his room is and I could just take the decorations from it. Hah

The board reads:

I am 1

21 pounds

30.5 inches long

Our little MONKEY

Full of LAUGHS and SMILES

Climbs on EVERYTHING!

Learning to walk

LOVES to GROWL

1st Word: MAMA

favorite things:

when daddy comes home

bath time

chuggington

Bailey(our dog)

Twinkle Twinkle

waving

I HAVE 7 TEETH!

What a man! What a mighty good man! I can not even begin to put into words how thankful I am of this man. This is Chris's grandfather Shirah. He is one of the most caring, strong, hardworking and godly men I know. I am so thankful of the man he is b/c Chris's father is like him and in turn now is Chris. Im not sure if it started with him or not but it does somewhere. It just takes one good man to change the history men in their family.

The whole family! Chris's family from Alabama and Florida came in Town. His 2 aunts on the far right(who helped me get ready for the party-thank you!!, grand Shirahs on the far top right, Chris McIntosh in the green(she flew in from Texas bless her heart!!), granny mac middle blue(whom I can't wait to teach Noah some German!), his aunt and uncle in the green, brother bottom far left and his parents top left.

My mother and grandmother are in the middle. My brother-in-law and his kids were here earlier in the day.

I really wish I would have gotten a group photo like this of all of our friends who were there!! We are so blessed to have such great friensd in our lives. It's an area that keeps blooming and we are overjoyed. Many of them have at least one child around Noahs age so It is such a blessing we are getting to do life together. I once read to never get to busy for people. Engaging in each others lives is so important and I would not have been able to get through the year without the words of wisdom, encouragement and prayer of every person that was there. So if you are reading this know how much you are loved and appreciated!!

CAKE SMASH:

Let's just say he LOVED the cake! I mean what child would not?! But I am proud that we was willing to share with me. And yes mean mommy gave him his first cake in the face on the bottom-before you judge me he did not mind. Ill let him do it to me-maybe?

Radom snapshots:

                                                           poor baby Mason

                                                          Alex and baby Emmie

Sweet mommy Brittney and baby Gracelynn

                                               Noah and cousin Jordan (6 months apart)

Addie with Noah. She is such a sweetheart and so good with my little boy. (And did I mention how beautiful she is?!)

DECORATIONS:

Publix Cake and the free smash cake for Noah

 The card on the table has an important meaning to me. It was made by two women I don't know in prison. One woman drew the bear and boat and another colored it using only candy wrappers,water and a little deodorant. How amazing!! Mostly that they would do this for someone they don't know and to take care and patience to do it right. They made something out of nothing and It was the best gift to me! It shows me of GODs love and that it's being felt even in the hardest and darkest places. Everyone wants to give and recieve love. We should never be quick to forget it. Nobody is too far gone to recieve the love of our father and know his children love them too.

So I am going to end it on that note and say that Noah- you are so LOVED! What I love most about you is that you are ALWAYS full of laughs and smiles. You LOVE people. You love to reach out and give hugs and a big smile. You brighten everyones day. You make me live in JOY. I thank you for being my little blessing and I am so excited to be apart of your life-just don't do it so fast!!

Goodbye 1st Home

A lot of crazy things have happened the last 2 months with the birth of our first son being the biggest. I plan on posting a lot about Noah and his journey but I want to write about the most recent thing in our family's life right now. That is saying goodbye to our first home and hello to our new one.
This past weekend has been EXHAUSTING to say the least. Trying to move 1.5 hours away in just 2 days with a 5 week old is very difficult and I would not recommend it. Just when you think you are exhausted from moving all day, your 5 week old decides he does not want to sleep very well through the night.
We started packing on Friday night. We had some sweet friends come over Saturday morning in the wee hours of the morning to help us. Thank goodness I had Natalie there to help hold Noah so I could pack things up and load some. We moved everything into the basement of our new home but will not be able to move in until the 28th.
Anyway, it was very sad to leave our first home. Many tears were shed between the both of us before we left. We made so many memories there. It is where Chris and I started our life as a married couple, it's where I did most of my college school work, where chris put in so much sweat to make our house a home, where we had many church small group meetings, where we made many good friends, and the biggest thing of all where Noah became a reality and the place we brought him home.




I will miss the little front porch where I rocked him in the first few weeks of his life...



I will miss the large front and back yard for the dogs...














The back porch for Bailey..



The front porch for Bailey....



The large fireplace where Chris, the dogs and I cuddled and watched movies..



My hydrangeas...


I will miss having our dear friends over that lived close to us. I will miss all the memories made. Even though Chris and I were tired and wanted to get back to Noah, we did take a moment to walk around the empty house and reminisce in each room. We talked about the memories in each room and what we will miss. It was very sweet and a good way to say goodbye.
I am excited to make new memories in our new home. We are now only 10 minutes away from our parents and closer to siblings. I know that it will be a huge help for us with Noah. I can't wait to finally get his room ready! I am also really ready to be situated. I HATE feeling disorganized! Only 2 weeks!

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Noah's Birthday 06-05-12 / Maternity Pictures

I can't believe the day is finally about to be here. The day we welcome Noah into this world. There was a long time that I thought I would never have the opportunity to experience it and there were times during our pregnancy that I thought we might be robbed from from it. God has really shown me what can happen when you fully put your trust in him. Noah has already accomplished so much in his life and he is not even born yet. I pray it is a testament to what is in store for him in his life.
As much as I am handing over to God tomorrow, I would be lying if I said I was not scared of the unknown. When I start to think of all the things that could go wrong, or how bad Noah's situation could be, I have to stop myself and remember how far God as brought us and that nothing is impossible for him. I get scared when I think of not being in control and the doctors being in control and then again I have to stop myself and remember that God is the one in control and who better?! It makes me feel so much better knowing that.
It's late and I am going to try and get some sleep.
Here are some more maternity pictures that we took at a park in Buford in late April. Ashley Nelson did a wonderful job and her pricing is great!!








I could not have asked for a better partner to go through this pregnancy with! Chris has been a huge support, comforter and provider for me. He has has been my rock! I love him more everyday. Can't wait to see the life we created together!








Noah- I cant wait to meet you tomorrow!! To hug and kiss all over you and stare at you for hours on end. You are my miracle and I pray you always remember that! I love you so much.
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Mothers Day/Noah Update

Mothers Day is so special. After all, the savior of the world came through the womb of a woman. It's a day to celebrate your moms who have sacrificed so much to raise you. I am very thankful for my mom. I know it was not always easy for her raising a "troublesome" child all alone while going through cancer. I look back at how much she did during that time when I was nothing but a disrespectful, boundary pushing teenager. I wish I could take back the time and have made it easier but since I can't, today I am that much more thankful for her. I love you mom and thank you for all you have done for me!! Our first picture together:



This mothers day was extra special b/c I am now a mom myself. I have been waiting for that for a while now. Last mothers day was especially difficult since I knew that having a child on my own would be difficult and the surgery was not seeming to help me get pregnant. I remember the pain of not being able to stand in the church as a proud mother and watching the mommy videos on the big church TV screen, desperately aching from the pit of my soul. And while I was able to really celebrate and give praise on Mothers Day, my heart went out to all of those who were going through what I went through. Mothers day is a reminder for some that it may never happen.


Chris made mothers day wonderful. Woke up to pancakes made, kitchen cleaned and beautiful pink hydrangeas with new perfume on the table. He was proud in church, helped make mothers day lunch and spend quality time with me in the afternoon. I know we won't have many more days like that when Noah gets here.



God has given me my favorite present of all, Noah. There is no such thing as a Christian who's been spoiled rotten with spiritual gifts. God gives us gifts that fit us perfectly, gifts that fill and complete us. God has done that with Noah. The road has been difficult to say the least, but he knew that it would bring me closer to him. So in reality, I have been given two wonderful gifts, Noah and a deeper relationship with my father.




Noah is now just over 36 weeks. So 9 months and counting. I don't know how big he is now but I was told at the specialist at 34 weeks and 5 days that he weighed close to 7lbs and his head measured at 39 weeks!! He is one BIG boy! On top of that, he has his dad's baby chipmunk cheeks. I can't wait to see, hold and kiss all over that chunky monkey!


Noah chipmunk cheeks:



Daddy's chipmunk Cheeks:



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