God Bless

So I spend alot of time staring at my baby boy.  Wow, I am truly obsessed and so in love with this little human. I try to savor every minute so that one day I can truly remember how tiny he is, how soft his skin is, and how sweet he is.  Auri is 10 weeks today, and (as children do), he is growing so fast!  My prayer for our son is long and detailed, and never-ending; but it's all in the little things.

God bless the tiny feet that will learn to crawl, then walk, then run to do "all things boy."    God bless the tiny feet that will one day kick a soccer ball. This is obviously a lifelong dream of Jonathan's... to have a son that shares the love of soccer with him.  We will love and support him in every aspect of his life, wherever his tiny feet take him. God bless his tiny, perfectly long and narrow feet, that he will stand tall in his beliefs and be confident in who he is.

God bless the tiny hands that rest so perfectly in mine when he's sleeping.  Auri is quite the wiggle worm, so "holding hands" doesn't really happen much. But I am so in love when he is relaxed enough to rest his tiny fingers and cling to mine.  God bless the sweet, wrinkly little hands that will one day be strong enough to climb a tree, or write in a journal, or turn the pages of his bible.

God bless the tiny ears that will hear every ounce of sound that surrounds us. May he listen with respect to adults, may he listen with kindness to his friends, and may he listen with wonder during church.  May he use his tiny, perfectly shaped ears to know and hear the difference between good and bad in this corrupt world. I pray he takes everything in and learns from every experience.  I pray he listens to God's voice for guidance and faithfully hears His purpose for his life.  God bless the tiny ears that will hear his parents in the other room, talking about how proud we are of him. I pray he can laugh at a good joke...and even laugh at a bad joke!

God bless the tiny mouth that will one day be able to speak. I pray he uses his words to be respectful, and funny, and make everyone feel loved with kind words.  God bless the lips that will one day say "mama."  Where I don't want to rush his growing up, because I am so in love with this little-bity human.  But when the day comes from my son to call me "mama," I can almost guarantee I will melt with happiness.  Mama, what a beautiful word.  Mama, a word that is used to describe the very woman that I have known the longest, that loves me more than anyone in this world.  God bless Mamas.

God bless the tiny eyes that will grow to view the world around him. His tiny, beautiful, deep blue eyes have so much to view.  I pray he uses his eyes to see, and his vision to learn.  I pray he doesn't have the "scriber vision."  but seriously.  It's a thing.  And every person in my family has poor vision. Let's also pray he likes carrots.  Because "they say" carrots help a developing child's vision.  On a different note, may Auri find comfort in the beauty of God's nature.  No matter where he is, I hope he will be able to stop in wonder at His beautiful creations.  I pray that anything he lays his precious little eyes on, he can find a positive outlook.

God bless his tiny heart. For he is so innocent and loving and full of hope for a successful future.  I pray he will love God, and love people.

God bless his tiny mind that he will one day make decisions that will be pleasing to him, and to his parents.  In the corrupt world we live in, I know it is only getting more difficult to have the wisdom to do what is right and the respect to be firm in a decision.  I pray he has confidence in everything he does and selflessly interacts with people in his community.

God bless Jonathan.  We created Auri, and he truly is a perfect combination of the two of us.  Wow.  Ponder on that.

God bless our parents, who brought us into this world.  Jonathan and I never knew we were in for the greatest blessing of a lifetime. Our parents who prayed over us, and taught us to be the parents we are today. I feel so special to share this role with the most special people in our lives.

God bless my son.  He is my everything.  I never knew how I "did life" without him.  He is perfect in my eyes, and what a perfect addition to our family.  I pray he uses every bit of his tiny little self to one day glorify our Lord. It is a cliche' to say, "Someday I will change the world."  But that really is our dream for him, to change the world for the better.  Truth is, he's already changed my world.  He IS my world, and his dad and I will do whatever it takes for him to move mountains.

What a Year!

2013 has been quite possibly the best year of my life.  As I reflect on this past year, I am overcome with happiness.  It has been a whirlwind of emotions, both happy and sad; but I wouldn't change a single day.  As I reflect on the past year, I thought I would do a picture blog to give a more literal depiction of each incredible month we experienced in 2013.
My life in pictures :

January:
*My mom began making an incredible recovery from her recent brain injury.  She literally progressed every single day, and I am amazed at God's healing and grace in her life.

*I sold my first house! I began my Real Estate career working for Heritage Realty.  Being a Realtor, while also maintaining my job at Louisiana Tech University, has been a tremendous reward.  I have found a perfect balance between my two jobs and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love both of my work families!!











February:
* I celebrated 5 years of my employment at Louisiana Tech!

March:

*Jonathan graduated from Louisiana Tech!!!

*We found out we were pregnant!!! We didn't shout it from the mountain tops just until about May, but I loved that Jonathan and I (and close family) had our own little secret for a few weeks. 

April:

*Soccer season is in full force.  As the Technical Director for NELSA, Jonathan is super busy organizing, traveling, and coaching soccer!  I love traveling all over the state, while sharing Jonathan's passion along his side.

*We packed up my parents house in Arkansas, and they officially moved back to Ruston! They LOVED their home and relationships they made in Mountain Home, but it was time to migrate south again.  

May:

*We found out we were having a BOY!!  We were in the waiting room, just the two of us after we found out the great news.  We were so excited!!! So let the planning begin...

We celebrated by going to a Ranger's game and purchasing our son's first baseball attire.  One of our favorite things to do is go to the Ranger's stadium, we can't wait to start new memories with our little guy and love for sports.

June:

*We took a "babymoon" to the beach for our last vacation as a family of two!  Our vacation consisted of shopping, eating, tanning, and watching my nephew play baseball at the World Series.  

July:

* We began decorating our nursery and getting ready for the baby's arrival!

Kelly painted this canvas for Auri's nursery. It was a surprise between her and Jonathan, and I LOVE it!!  It's the perfect touch to the nursery, and even more special that Auri's AK (Aunt Kelly) made it.

*We took full advantage of having date nights and doing the fun things we have enjoyed for the past 10 years. I think we went to the movies every weekend!! Haha
Now we will just have one more to come to the party! Walsh party of 3 has a ring to it :)

August:

* Baby Shower time!! We were so very humbled with the opportunity to have baby showers in honor of Auri's arrival.
Our first shower was hosted by family.  Yall, between Jonathan and I, we have the greatest family on the planet.

Our second shower was hosted by my closest friends. We are definitely feeling the love!!!

September:

*Almost Baby Month! So much to do... Starting with football season!

October:

* Celebrated my 29th birthday! and of course we indulged at our favorite restaurant, RAW.
p.s. I love it when my husband wears a tie :)

* 10 year reunion in the cat box! RHS Class of 2003

(at this point...I am super pregnant, and so ready!)                               

*Louisiana Tech Homecoming!! with my favorite pregnant friend! We are both having boys, and can't wait for them to grow up to be best friends! 

*Robin and her family came up the weekend I was due... too bad Auri waited another week to join us!

* Our baby boy is finally here!! We dressed him in Halloween attire (being that he was born 2 days before)  Our little Punkin. My parents still call him "lil punkin", so the nickname sticks! 

* Overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratitude to God for allowing me to be Auri's mom.  He is perfect in our eyes, and a beautiful reminder of the miracle of life.  I love him more than words. 

November:

*Tara got married!!

*Auri's first Thanksgiving!!

December:

*Jonathan turned 30! I planned a surprise party for him and boy was he surprised!! It was a really great day! On this day, we also took Auri to church for the first time.  He was a perfect Angel in the nursery.  We are looking forward to going to church as a family and growing in His discipleship. 

*Christmas parties galore this year!! It is a bit more challenging with an infant to manage our time between Christmas parties, family time, naptime, feeding time, etc.  As proof of my of my time-management challenges, I have zero pictures from any of the Christmas parties we attended.  Oh well!

*Christmas Eve photo shoot with the family!

*Auri's 1st Christmas was a success! Although he was only 8 weeks old and couldn't really open presents, his parents sure did enjoy opening them in his place.  We hosted 2 Christmas's at our house this year.  It was exhausting but I absolutely loved having our families over to celebrate.

This is Grandma Walsh, on her 91st birthday! Holding her 3 great-grandchildren.  What a remarkable woman! 

*Linnie came to see us and brought the entire toy section from walmart with her!! haha but for real.  Auri is definitely spoiled already!! Auri had his own Christmas tree in his room and his very own ornaments.  A new tradition we have started with our family.

*Christmas Morning was Perfect!!  Auri slept for 8 hours through the night, so Merry Christmas to us, right??!!? We woke up semi-early, exchanged presents, drank coffee and made cinnamon rolls! I love that we are making new traditions with my own little family.  

*Auri is 2 months old! People say time flies but whoa. No kidding.  My little sweet cheeks is growing and healthy and super happy!

This year my personal "new year's resolution" is to be a better person.  The person I am today involves being a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, and most importantly a woman of God. I pray that each day I become more in love with my family and more faithful to my Heavenly Father. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

May you and your family be extra blessed this year!