Breakthrough

"Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:15-16

Esther wanted to see breakthrough for the Jews not to be killed by a decree that Haman had tricked the king into signing. She prayed and fasted for 3 days and approached the king. He granted her request. The church we attend, Antioch, encourages prayer and fasting when you are truly seeking breakthrough for something. About once every four months we have 3 days of prayer and fasting corporately, and then celebrate with a prayer rally.

Two weeks ago Antioch encouraged everyone to pray and fast for 3 days. Jonathan and I prayed for breakthrough with Preston sleeping longer at night. We shared this with the couple that we meet with for Lifegroup and they prayed and fasted as well. "So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer." Ezra 8:23

Praise the Lord Preston is now only waking up only once a night! He sleeps from 7pm to around 12:30 or 1am, eats, and then sleeps until 6:30am. It is so refreshing for us all. We give God all the glory and just hope this testimony encourages anyone reading this. If you are truly seeking breakthrough for something, gather other believers around you, fast, pray, and be blessed!

2nd Haircut

Three weeks ago I decided I couldn't stand Hallister's hair being long anymore. Although it was cute in some aspects if it wasn't combed after bath time then he woke up with it quite messy. I thought I would save us some money and try cutting it. He didn't do too bad sitting in the bath tub and me cutting it. The front turned out okay but the back, well......it was layered, unintentionally. I ran him over to Smarty Pants where they have a car kids can sit while getting their hair cut. The lady was great with him. He watched Dora the Explorer and got a sucker.

Potty Training

Many of you have been asking us if we are potty training Hallister. Well, we were until 3 weeks ago. Hallister got sick and was throwing up for 4 days and had diarrhea. We were lucky if everything stayed in the diaper and did not even worry about the toilet. Before then he was wearing pull-ups during the day and a diaper at night. I would watch his face and knew 30 minutes after breakfast we sit on the potty and wait for the morning #2. Sometimes he would tell me before he went or right as he started to go. We would run to the bathroom. I would say "candy" as we were running to remind him what he gets if he makes it in the potty. I had a stash of candy on the bathroom sink. We would read the potty book as he went. After he did #2 I would sometimes put him in underwear. That didn't stop him from going though. He would just look down at his wet pants and say, "Aww man!" Now, after those 4 days, he comes up to us saying diaper change and doing the sign for it, after he has already gone in his diaper. Then as we change his diaper he says yucky. Hallister is so smart. I know that when he is ready it will happen quickly. We will try again soon.

HEB vs. Wal-Mart

Three years ago we started to shop at HEB for groceries rather than Wal-Mart. We heard the produce and meat selection were better. I liked being able to get non-grocery items at Wal-Mart and get it all in one trip but I was finding it really wasn't a whole lot, so I just make separate lists now. Any mom that shops with their kids should choose HEB. They have so much better customer service, and they cater to moms with kids. If I have both kids with me it is so nice to have my groceries loaded in my car while I load the kids, and depending on the weather I can get the car started and either warmed up or cooling off. HEB hands Hallister balloon at checkout and HEB Bucks which he uses to play in the HEB Buddy machine that gives him points. You save the points to redeem them for a prize. Also we enjoy using out HEB Rewards card. We seem to get HEB Dollars in the mail at just the right time. Lastly, the newest, coolest thing HEB has is this awesome car grocery cart (see picture)! Hallister loved it. It wasn't bulky and actually had a decent basket size in front. So, with all that said. We love you HEB and keep up the great work!

7 Months Old

This cutie is 7 months old! We are trying something new with sleeping - a sleep sack. I don't know if they had these when Hall was little. Preston likes to move around a lot. We thought this would help confine him. He also takes longer naps when he sleeps on our bed, so Jonathan cut the end of our "egg carton cushy thingy" off to fit Preston's crib. He has already taken longer naps. He is only drinking Enfamil formula now and the redness in his face is gone. (So if you ever run across coupons send them our way!) He will probably be crawling soon. He pushes up high on his hands like in the picture and is able to scoot backwards. He still just has his 2 bottom teeth. For baby food he likes pears, squash, and sweet potatoes. He is not a fan of peas. More info to come soon on our blue eyed prince Preston!

Technology

I used to be so annoyed with people who used bluetooths. I thought they looked funny talking out loud to themselves when they were really on the phone. Then I got one and saw how nice it was to have a cordless headset. I mainly used it when driving. The main problem I kept having was losing them. I washed probably three by leaving them in my pants pockets, then I tried just leaving them in my purse and they somehow fell out. After six I have decided to wait a while before getting another. The next big thing to come out was the iPhone. I was not impressed. I thought if I want to check my email then I will go to my computer. I was satisfied with my Motorola and did not want to get something just because everyone else was. I was also still the one out 1,000 people that did not have texting. I thought if I want to say someone then I will call. Your tone can often be misinterpreted in an email or text. Well after Jonathan got me an iPhone and texting for Christmas my thoughts have changed. I really love my phone. It has made it much easier to communicate and stay in contact with people during the day. I miss so many calls. Usually I am changing a diaper, disciplining, feeding somebody, putting someone down for a nap, or taking a nap myself. Texting makes the day easier to communicate with people, a simple reply to someone asking if I am coming over, or what are we doing tonight. I can reply at my convenience. Also, it is not easy to sit at the computer anymore during the day. That is why I closed my business.....too stressful with two kids. Now I can see on my phone if I have an email and reply, or wait until I do have time to go to the computer and reply. Anyway, technology and I have finally caught up with each other and I am impressed.

First Restaurant Meal

Usually when we go to a restaurant Jonathan and I give some of what we have to Hallister. We went to Denny's Saturday night since we had
a coupon for a free meal. They handed us a kids menu so we decided to get Hallister his own meal. He got a baseball shaped pancake and sausage. He loves pancakes so it was a special treat. At home he likes them with cool whip and strawberries (like me), but he enjoyed the raspberry sauce and ate half of it. The other half he got Sunday morning.

They Grow So Fast

Over the Christmas break I got to see my friend Leah and her son Hudson. Leah and I have been friends since 6th grade. We lived in Chilton and she lived right behind me. These are pictures of Hallister and Hudson when they were babies, Hall was 7 months and Hudson 3 months old. Then on the right they are 28 months and 24 months old. They just grow so fast!

Shed

I mentioned in the last post about our shed. I thought I would post some pictures. I am so proud of Jonathan for getting plans for this shed, improvising it to add a loft, building it himself (which he was able to do for half the cost of buying one), and using his Christmas vacation time to get it finished. We are both so thankful for our fathers helping out and putting in many hours, even working by the light of an iPhone, to get it finished. We have been able to clean out our closets and garage and feel a lot less cramped in the house now.