A Month to be Thankful: Day 1

well, i started this blog on november 1st and never got around to publish the past four days, so here are a bunch of blogs to read. Enjoy.

last year my friend, kristen macDonald (check out her blog HERE) wrote out something she is thankful for everyday for the month of november. i just LOVED this idea and wanted to do it this year. i guess i am feeling a bit more thankful this year?!? ;)

Day 1: Thankful for Jesus Christ

today i am thankful that the Lord die on the cross to save me for my sins and my ultimate penalty: death. i mean, i can't really be more thankful than that? through my faith and belief in Him, i know have the assurance of eternal life with Him! Lord, THANK YOU for saving me!

10.25.11 : 2 months

my baby boy is 2 months today. really? two months already? i feel like it was yesterday i was rushing to the hospital with labor pains. :) these last two months have been so amazing. being a mom is more than i could ever have imagined. and i am so grateful for my new role and more importantly, for my baby boy, colton.

over the past two months, i have been given a new perspective and genuinely fell back in love with the Lord.  i can go on and on about how my life has changed blah, blah, blah...but long story short God is good. joseph and i are in such a great place and while there are still obstacles to get over and getting to that point when "time heals everything"... we continue to trust the Lord and enjoy these precious moments with this beautiful bundle of joy that the lord has blessed us with. until next time...

things about colton @ 2 months:
-smiles
-scoots on his tummy all over his crib. we literally find him in a completely different spot in a completely different position
-knows his mommy
-loves falling asleep on daddy's chest
-sleeps about 5 hours straight every night
-almost grown out of his 0-3 month clothes :)

8.25.11

8.25.11::the date that changed our lives forever . . . and for the better.

get ready for blue, trucks, cars, dirty clothes, sports and more because we gotta boy on our hands.

colton daniel snare was welcomed into the world at 7:41am. at 6lbs 13oz and 21 inches - and what an entrance it was.

i had a doctor's appointment the tuesday before his "birth"day. i was only dialtated a centimeter. it was something new considering i wasn't progressing at all the whole month. i was truly convinced this baby was coming in september. i was drastically wrong. that evening i started to feel cramps but thought nothing of it since i was having him in september. :P

i went into work on wednesday morning (dumb) and left early because my cramps were actually contractions. [come on, i didn't know what to expect...]

went home. took a nap. made dinner. ate. turn for the worst (or better, whatever way you want to look at it)

around seven/eight o'clock my contractions became much worse and much closer together. by nine i was contracting every five minutes for a minute.

long story short: hospital by 11pm. epidural by 1pm. in the OR for an emergency c-section at 2am (didn't happen) because my water broke, i was dilated 6cm, contracting every minute - colton couldn't handle it so his heart rate went down while my blood pressure was shooting up. eventually we were back in our room at 4am. pushing at 7am. colton's arrival at 7:41am. talk about an entry, huh? definitely was an eventful night over at good shepherd.

when colton came out, i was so in awe. he was the most adorable newborn i have ever seen. he blew me away. with tears running down my cheeks, i couldn't believe what we created... correction: what God created. my little lamb was finally here.

colton is such a joy. a blessing. and i am so thankful to be a mommy to the most precious little baby. it has already been quite the ride but i look forward to many many more special memories with this little guy.

proud daddy

i was so in awe of his beauty

this picture says it all: in love.

mommy and daddy meeting colton for the first time

perfect babe

i'm back?!?

gosh. i am terrible. has it really been a few months since I have blogged? yikes. sorry. guess the new mom thing took over for awhile.

anywho, i am back. i am finally getting into the swing of things with my cute little babe so hopefully my blog posts will be more frequent. one can only hope. ;) i think i have said that many, many times before.

well, i have much to blog about. so here is a list of things that will come up shortly this week or next:

1. colton. really? i haven't blogged and bragged about my adorable baby boy yet? gotta get on that one.

2. bsf study in acts. so, so, so good. will be a weekly thing, but for this week, i'll try to sum up the past four/five weeks.

3. entrusted with a child's heart. yes, colton is only 7 1/2 weeks but i know getting this information in my mind now will help in the future.

4. babywise. definitely a wise book. and it works.

5. change. yes, things have changed in the snare household. not only a child but much, much more.

6. monthly (maybe weekly or daily or even hourly) updates on the one and only, colton daniel snare. duh. we are finishing up month 2 already, whhhhaaattt??

7. journaling. so good for my heart and soul.

okay, gave ya a little glimpse of what to expect. come back, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy my blogs. i am sure they will much more often and probably early in the am. :) loving my new 5am wake up time. really, i am.

signing out... until then... ;)

Top 10 Things I am excited for...

10. being able to get off the couch without extra effort

9. having my body back to normal (or somewhat back)

8. not having hands and feet twice it's normal size

7. sleeping or laying on my stomach

6. not feeling nauseous

5. seeing my toes while i stand

4. lose the weight and the challenge it will face (sick, i know)

3. running!!!

2. finding out if it is a boy or girl and the NAME!
1. actually holding my child/being a mom to the greatest kid ever created

there are a ton more, of course. good and bad. i will miss being pregnant. i know, even though i had a pretty rough pregnancy - i am going to miss all the fun moments with me and the baby. yes, there will better to come, but it is unlike anything.

excited for this little kiddo. few more days!

final stretch. and some major changes.

here we are, the final stretch of this pregnancy...

i know - i have neglected the blog world lately. my life has been insane. work has been very demanding. getting ready for a baby is more work than i ever imagined. i sleep like it is my second job. and well, i haven't had much to say lately.

however, here we are. on the verge of becoming parents to a little baby. scary? yes. exciting? yes. nervous? a bit. but, i am trusting in the Lord. i can't believe we will be a family of three in a few short weeks...

and yes, being pregnant brings many different emotions. one moment i am so happy and the next, i am full of tears. i don't know if it is just life decisions being made or just the final weeks of pregnancy, but these days have been pretty rough. when i was making life decisions by myself, i thought it was the hardest thing. but now add another person, and soon, three...

we have all made some pretty tough decisions in our lives that can impact not only our lives but the lives of others - and let me tell you... i have shed thousands of tears from it. you know when you are so deeply involved in something and your life is so impacted by it that the thought of doing something different almost brings anxiety? it is like i am scared of change. scared of the future. unsure what the Lord has planned. and while i am trying my hardest to trust Him and continue to ask for peace... my heart is still so burdened.

so here am i today. heavy-hearted. and after spending some quality, tearful moments with the Lord this morning the fact is, i am still not at full peace about it. and when you are making a decision with someone else in mind, and now two, it is even makes this whole situation that much harder.

so i continue to mediated on His Word. psalm 27:7 one of my favorite verses: Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him... so i do wait. and i wait patiently. i know He will show and give me the peace that surpasses all understanding at the right time.

wedded bliss

i remember our big day like it was yesterday. it was 70s, partly sunny, let's just say - an overall perfect day. it really was. of course i would remember the weather first as it is one of my major obsessions but really, the day was perfect. perfect weather. perfect husband. perfect bridal party. perfect guests. it was an overall, perfect wedding.

and here we are, two years later knocking on the door to parenthood and i couldn't be filled with more joy. i am so incredibly blessed with such a loving, encouraging, godly, selfless husband. seriously, i am so thankful for a husband that i continually fall more in love with everyday.

and while our marriage is a beautiful thing and this year for us has hit some amazing highs, we have also meet one another at some incredible dark lows. but, in all, the Lord was faithful. so faithful.

december was probably one of the hardest and most trialing months for us. both personally and in our marriage. from some very depressing circumstances that had arose in my life and uncertainty in our future, all where placing a major road block in our marriage and in my relationship with Christ. but through much prayer the Lord proved Himself True. :) Two weeks later on a friday (december 16) i found myself getting another job and the next morning (december 17) would be a morning that would change my life, joseph's life, and our marriage forever.

while i was "late" and didn't feel myself i really didn't think we could be expecting. so i nonchalantly took a pregnancy test only to come back a few minutes later and see two lines = pregnant. i was shocked. didn't believe it. but, yes, it was true joseph and i were going to be parents to a beautiful baby. and i was THRILLED.

God had a plan. a much bigger plan than i had ever thought. i kept thinking about the verse in proverbs... proverbs 16:9 - the heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. we might have been "planning" on when we wanted to start to have kids, where should i work now, and what should we do about this, and that, and this and that but God knew. and He established it. QUICK. he answered our many, many prayers and how THANKFUL i am of that.

so here i am today, entering into our third year knowing that our marriage is going to change. we are going to hit even more highs and lows. add another person to our family. decrease in our "income" as i go part-time. but in everything, we will give Him all the praise. i am truly looking forward to this next year of marriage with the events to come that will only grow us stronger in the Lord and together. here is to another year and many, many more (God-willing) to follow.

[jps - i love you with all of my heart and being. you are a blessing.]

here are some songs that i really have enjoyed over the year that always make me think of j and i. yes, they are country (no comments country haters...) but i think the words say a so much. take a little listen:

keith urban's "without you": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3TWpWf798s

miranda lambert's: "love song": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwvQcjWNiYw

miranda lambert's "makin' plans": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewg393qymRo