Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Power of Light!

All of God's Creations and Powers Truly Amaze Me!


I feel captured by the magnificence of the light brought about by powerful storms such as this one.  One cannot deny the feeling of being drawn toward the brilliance of the light and yet a fear of the great power and fury can overcome as well.

I took this picture after watching this storm for about 3 hours!  The lightning was constant, like every 0.001 seconds to 5 seconds for the first 2 hours.  Nate and I at first thought they were fire works since it was the week of the 4th.  When John first noticed he thought they were fire works too.  I'm telling you this storm was way better then any fireworks!  

In Idaho and Utah I always got so excited for lightning storms, I loved to watch them and was never afraid.  In the midwest I'm usually too scared to watch too closely, but this storm was very, very mild for the midwest.  It brought back memories of lightning storms in the summers out west.

Storms in the midwest are so much different from the storms out west.


Did I ever tell anyone that I'm terrified of tornadoes?  
I'm terrified by those storms, but fascinated by them as well.

I experienced my first tornado at age six in San Antonio.  Much of the damage was too close to home.  It completely destroyed an apartment complex two blocks away from my home that we drove by almost everyday and took the west wing out of the hospital my dad was working at during his residency.  Almost 20 years later I found myself in Iowa City.  The tornado sirens went off weekly and at times daily.  My memories of these storms as a child left a lasting impression of the reality of the wrath of storms.  Everyone from Iowa assured me that they never get tornadoes and that it had been 30 years since the last one and it was mild.  I told John that I had a feeling that spring that there would be a tornado and to stay inside and away from the windows.  In April 2006, our first year out there three tornadoes that hit Iowa City.  It ripped through and destroyed much of the downtown, including a historical church, on the other side of town part of the Walmart was ripped off and there was significant damage to a honda dealership.  In May, our family drove through Alabama and saw unbelievable damage.  Damage from tornadoes that spanned almost a mile wide as it travelled several miles relentlessly destroying everything in it's path.  Needless to say, these experiences have left a lasting impact.  The fury of these storms have a humbling effect, as one understands that GOD truly is in CHARGE, literally.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Mr. Personality








Nate at 2 1/2
Nate has so much personality!  He is very expressive in facial expressions as well as in personality! I wish I could capture all of his adorable, silly, fun facial expressions.  You cannot help but LOVE this kid!  He is still so adorable and always a joy to be around!

Nate Loves to Sing 
in the car, in his crib, and in church with his own hymn book in his lap at the top of his lungs.  I love it!  It really is so cute and to me it sounds beautiful!

Nate Loves People
People are drawn to Nate.  He can be a bit shy when he meats a new face; but once he gets to know you, you will get squeals of excitement and lots of hugs and kisses.

Nate Still Loves Food
I love that he loves vegetables and well anything else.  He's a great eater and he eats a ton!  Many times he will eat as much as what Josh and I eat combined.  The only question is where is all that food going?

Nate is Compassionate
He really cares about people and is very intuitive toward others feelings.  He is so sweet and can melt anyones heart, especially his mothers.  Something about him just makes you feel good around him and always want to be around him.

Nate is in LOVE with "Miss Sally"
Nate's favorite possession is his "Sally."  He is in love with her and she is his favorite character in the movie cars.  For the past year Sally has gone almost everywhere with Nate and he must sleep with her.  As of today, Miss Sally has some competition, as he got "Holly" today and she is the one that he chose for naptime.

Nate's Favorite Movie is Cars
He asks to watch it everyday!

Nate loves Balls
He loves to run around and kick balls in the backyard
He requests to sleep with balls to the point that he starts crying for one.  He loves to play baseball and I love how he says the word "baseball."  He loves to play golf with dad and brother.  He also loves basketball.

Nate Loves to Pray
He always prayers out loud when others pray at church and at home.  It can drive Josh nuts when he prays, but it is so cute to everyone else.

Nate Loves Josh
Nate is the best little brother.  He gets along with Josh so well and they love to play together.  They usually play cars, trains, or stuffed animals together.

Nate Loves His Mom and Dad
He really is a "Mama's Boy."  I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.  He is so cuddly and sweet and he is always by my side.  Of course, he loves his dad and could never get enough of him.  When he hears the garage door open he always runs to the garage and right out to John while squealing, "Daddy home, Daddy home!"  As soon as he sees John he enthusiastically yells Daddy over and over followed by a big hug and kiss.

Nate Loves Books
He loves to snuggle and read.  He loves to snuggle in his blanket and look at books on his own.  Unfortunately, he sometimes loves to rip up books if I let him have them for nap-time or bedtime.  He is constantly working on getting the privilege of having books for  bedtime.

Nate is Very Independent
He insists on doing almost everything by himself.  He is great at asking for help when he needs it.  The other day he thought he could swim all by himself and didn't want us to hold him in the water although it was way too deep for him.

Nate Loves His Blanky, Stuffed Animals, Babies, and Still His Binky
Ever since he was 10 months he's only been aloud to have binkies during sleep time.  He is great with this.  Although, I know that one day he shouldn't have them anymore and I'm worried to take them away because I need him to keep taking naps.

Nate Has Recently Learned How To:
Button his shirts
Get fully undressed
Get dressed
Go potty all by himself when we are at home
Change his dirty diapers before I know he is stinky
Start his bath and get in all by himself
Open the Fridge and get his own food
Swing the golf club really well
Open doors
Get in and out of the car all by himself
More and more words and sentences

   











Funny Memory of Nate

About 6 months ago we were at church.  In the opening prayer Nate prayed out loud with the person praying at the pulpit as usual, expect he was louder then normal.  After about 5 minutes he decided it was long enough and exclaimed at the top of his lungs "AMEN!"  Then he realized they were still going to keep on praying, so he kept praying out loud with them after another few minutes Nate exclaimed an even louder "AMEN."  Well this was a really extremely long prayer and Nate said 5 total "Amen's."  Nate's last Amen was so loud, I'm sure almost the whole congregation heard him.  We were trying to keep him quiet and also trying not to laugh and be embarrassed at the same time.  I'm sure that almost everyone was thinking what Nate was thinking.  Amen already!!!  20 minute opening prayers are way too long for anyone especially children.  He is such a character and a cutie!