Aaron & Sonya's Great Adventure

Power of the gospel

2012-01-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Our associate pastor at church posted this video to facebook and I just wanted to share it with you all. It really blessed my heart and encourages my heart to see new believers in places where the gospel had not been heard come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. In this man's testimony you can really see how God has revealed the truth of the gospel to him and how it has impacted his life and thinking. They are in Papua New Guinea.

I can't help but look around us here in America, at all the people who claim to be Christians, but yet Christ has no place in their lives....He has no impact on their thinking......they have no testimony of the redemption and transformation that God has given them in His Son. This saddens my heart for many reasons. Maybe some are Christians but have never grown in their walk with the Lord. Maybe they are deceived into thinking they are Christians for all the wrong reasons because they have never seen or truly understood the gospel. I heard someone say that being a Christian is not just about a decision, but a DESIRE. If we are Christians, our hearts desires should be His desires. I pray that we, who do know Christ, who have experienced His power and His salvation, would live in such a way that people around us would have no question about WHOSE we are......

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

And that by doing so, maybe those who have never grown in their walks, or have never truly known Him would see what it looks like to live surrendered to the Lord and walk in His truth. Sometimes people don't know that there is more to the Christian life than going to church and "being good" because they have never been taught the truth of the His word and understood who He really is and the intimate relationship He desires with us. THAT is AMAZING, that He desires to have a relationship with US.
I say all these things because I have been in the place of not understanding and knowing that there is SO MUCH MORE to our "being a Christian" and I praise God for revealing to me through His word, His Holy Spirit,through pastors, friends and even the places that God has allowed me to live in. I really didn't plan on posting all this. And I don't claim to have all the answers or be a perfect Christian.....really there is no such thing. I struggle to live and walk by His Spirit daily, but I know without a doubt that my heart belongs to Him and I want my life to glorify Him as much as possible because that's all that really matters here on earth. Living for Him.....longing to bring Him glory in all things.
May God continue to reveal to each one of us more of Himself and more of His word so that we may love Him more.

Videos of Kapsowar

2012-01-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos that just share some more insight into where we are going to serve this fall at Kapsowar Mission Hospital in Kenya. The video below features Dr. Kyle Jones and the work he has been involved in there. Lord willing, we will be serving alongside him and his family this fall. Please pray for them as they are back in the US right now after finishing their two year term. They plan on returning to Kapsowar in July. They are currently raising financial support for their return. If you would like to learn more about their family or how you can support them their blog is www.joneshousehappenings.blogspot.com

Please continue to pray for us as well. Pray that the Lord would prepare our hearts for this next step and for wisdom in making all the decisions in preparation to leave. Thank you!!

Layna is one year old!!

2012-01-19T16:56:00.001-08:00

Our little Layna girl is now one year old!! Her birthday was January 12 and we sang Happy Birthday to her that morning and gave her a birthday donut (her first donut) that afternoon. She LOVED the donut :). She started walking around 11 months and is a pro now. She loves to play with her big sister and they are having lots of fun together....most of the time. She is my active child, always climbing or exploring. She has learned to sleep much better now and we are so thankful for that! Everyone says she looks just like her Daddy. She can say "ma ma" and "da da", but just prefers to babble most of the time. She can blow kisses and wave bye bye. She LOVES to cuddle with her lovey and any stuffed animal she can get her hands on. We look forward to watching her grow and learn so much more this next year. We thank God for the beautiful gift He has given us in Layna Aleese Jones.

Birthday afternoon....

Layna likes to color like a big girl....just have to watch out for her taste testing the crayons :)

This was our "mini-celebration" for her birthday since we weren't sure when we would get to have a party. She wasn't sure what to think about the candle, but Braelyn was more than willing to help her blow it out. She had no problem with the donut and even shared a little with her big sister. She went for her one year check up yesterday and weighed in at 17.15 lbs, which is the tenth percentile for her age group. She was in the 30% for height, and 90% on head size!! What a brain she is growing :) She is very petite, but very strong and LOUD! Don't be fooled by those big blue eyes.

Hopefully we will be able to celebrate with family and have a birthday party in the coming weeks.

Thankful for a Christian Heritage

2012-01-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last week my Granny Hasty passed away. She was 87 years old. We went to middle TN this past weekend to be with family and for the funeral. We thank God for the long, blessed life that He gave her. She did not have to suffer long, only a couple of months. Of course we are sad that she is no longer with us, but at the same time it is of great comfort to know she is with Jesus. One of the things that was said at the funeral about her was that she loved to laugh. And that was so true. I am thankful for the love and laughter she poured out into our family and the wonderful example she left.

After being with family all weekend, I just realized what a blessing it is to have a Christian heritage. I am so thankful to my Granny & Pop for the example they have set in loving the Lord and each other.
My Pop was with my Granny at the nursing home and the hospital, and never wanted to leave her side. They have loved one another and loved the Lord for as long as I can remember. They had been married for 68 years! What a legacy. I know he will miss her dearly, but I trust that the Lord will comfort him and guide him through each day.
While we were there this past weekend I was helping my Pop clean off some things from his desk and we came across some blank Christmas cards that had been sent as a gift from an organization he supports. I asked him if he wanted to keep them and he said, "Well, since they don't really say anything about what Christmas is about (Jesus)....I don't think I need them." (The cards were just "holiday" cards, nothing about Jesus) I was thankful I got to listen as my Pop said that because it showed me, again, his heart for the Lord. Also on his desk was his Bible, opened up.
I feel so extremely blessed for the family God has placed me in. I hope and pray that Aaron and I will be able to continue this heritage the Lord has given us with our children and (Lord willing) grandchildren someday.

Psalm 145

1 I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable . 4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. 6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness. 7 They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful ; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 9 The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. 10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power ; 12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations. 14 The LORD sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time. 16 You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds. 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. 20 The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Christmas Videos!

2011-12-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Braelyn at her preschool performing "The Colors of Christmas". Super Cute in our opinion!

Here is Braelyn at our church as a part of the shepherd choir. Thankfully Mr. Rick is blocking Braelyn at the beginning while she is picking her nose constantly! Then the whole time she is trying to balance with her foot on the step behind her. And for some reason she feels she needed to step up when the shepherds are speaking the first time. Enjoy!

Love this song!

2011-12-20T09:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas pics at church

2011-12-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

Random Pics from November

2011-12-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Braelyn and her best friend, Madelyn, playing dress up.

Daddy dancing with his girls.....they LOVE it!!

The blue hippo is one of Layna's favorite toys.....she loves to just stand in it and step out, step in and stand in it again....over and over. I think it makes her feel independent. :)

First time the girls have worn matching outfits. Thanks Mamaw for buying them :) They looked so cute. Braelyn was so excited to be matching with Layna.

Visiting my Granny Hasty on Thanksgiving. Hopefully she will get to go home soon.

We made a quick stop by Michael & Katy's on our way home.

Sweet cousin love!!

Layna's 9 month pics

2011-12-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know I am late blogging these, but better late than never. These were pics from jOct. Didn't take time to edit them, just wanted to share a few.

Drumroll please............

2011-11-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, I feel like this is the post that I have been waiting to post for the last 7 years! Some of you may not realize this, but Aaron and I both felt called to overseas missions even before we got married. So the last 7 years of our marriage has been preparing for and leading up to this next step. And we thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement. The Lord has given us clear direction and guidance as to which agency we should go with and as to where we should go. We are excited to announce that we are going to........
Kapsowar, Kenya !!

You would think after 6 years of blogging, I would know how to navigate this better, but obviously I don't. If anyone would like to give me a crash course on how to do all the cool stuff you can do on blogs, please come find me :).
So we have committed to serve with World Medical Mission which is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. They have a two year Post-residency program for people who are pursuing full-time medical missions to help put them in a position to be mentored and trained in overseas medicine after they finish residency. Here is a link to their website if you would like to check it out in more detail.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/WMM/index/

We will be serving in Kapsowar, Kenya which is a beautiful area, from what I have seen from pictures :). At this point , it would be neat if I knew how to import a map of Africa or Kenya and show you exactly where Kapsowar is located, but since I don't I will just put the link to the hospital itself which gives you a little more info.
http://www.kapsowar.com

Also, Aaron and I found this video, which was made last year by Sam Purse at the hospital there in Kapsowar. The surgeon that is speaking in the video is there long-term and we will be serving with him and his wife also. The surgery unit they are talking about in the video is now completed, Praise the Lord. There is also another family that has been there for almost two years now, who have 4 small children. He is a Family Practice doctor also and they are planning on returning to Kapsowar next summer. We are excited to meet them and look forward to serving alongside them soon.
http://youtu.be/7jCJrZ4vhv0

Hope that works! I put a link to it too, in case the video doesn't work.

We are really excited about this next step God has planned for us and are trying now to get the word out to all our friends and family so we can build a team of people who will be willing to keep up with us, pray for us, encourage us, and share with us in the work that God is doing there.
I am hoping to compile a list of emails that we could send regular updates to, so if you are interested in getting those just give me your email address some time. Aaron finishes up with residency at the end of June. We haven't decided for sure when we are leaving, but probably August or September. There will be many more blog updates to come in the next few months with a lot more information and prayer requests!

We are praising God for the direction and guidance He has given us. Please pray that God would give us wisdom in all the decisions and planning that lays ahead.

"Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised" Psalm 962-4

Videos!!

2011-10-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Posting videos has been on my to do list for a long time.....finally, today, I was able to get a few up. I love seeing videos on other blogs, and I want others to be able to enjoy ours too.

Thank you to all those who have been praying for us in regard to what steps God would have us take after residency. We are thankful for the direction the Lord is providing for us and will hopefully be able to share more specific details soon.

Below is a video from our recent trip to Breaks Interstate Park in VA. It is on the VA/KY stateline. It was a blessed trip. We had beautiful accommodations and a great time with good friends.

Oh, and I took Layna for her 9 month appt on Wed and she weighed 16.2 lbs, (15%) and 27 and 1/2 inches long (50%). We praise God for two healthy girls! Layna is pulling up on everything, but not walking yet.

Yay for Fall!

2011-10-09T18:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, Layna is pulling up on stuff and acting like she wants to walk!! We are making guesses on when she will take off....maybe by 10 months, we will see....

In the last couple of days she has actually started walking behind this toy! Watch out world, here she comes.

And these are just some fun pics I took today of my cutie pie. Can you tell she is teething? No teeth yet, but she is definitely working on them! And I realize that she always has a mop head of hair unless I take the effort to try to tame it :) which I didn't here....it grows two ways and is kinda curly which leaves her always looking like she has bedhead :)

I couldn't get any real smiles....she was too busy trying to find something to put in her mouth! Gotta love the upside down paci look :) She has been doing this lately.

And lastly I caught a shot of her blowing with her lips.....love this little girl. I am enjoying her more and more. I am so thankful for these two precious gifts the Lord has given us. Oh, and she has started saying "Ma Ma" in the last few days. Gotta love that!
She loves it when Braelyn tickles her and is happy to play by herself sometimes too. She LOVES being outside. If she is fussy I just take her outside and usually that solves whatever is bothering her. She is clapping her hands a lot now. I need to post some videos on here of that.

Please continue to pray for us as we pray and seek the Lord's direction for us in the next steps we take after residency. We are excited to see where He will lead us next.

End of September fun pics

2011-10-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Braelyn trying on her new Belle dress up outfit that Nana & Granddaddy got her for her birthday. She loves playing dress up right now.

Taking her new bike and new elbow/knee pads out for their first spin......

She did good. We have a nice flat area behind our backyard that she can ride in.

These are just some funny pictures of my two sweet girls! Braelyn was wanting to hold Layna and Layna was happy so I just kept taking pictures.

A little too much loving??

HELP!! and that is when I put the camera down and rescued Layna from her big sister's hugs!

Here we have Braelyn taking down all the toys off the shelf and being so kind and sweet that she wanted to give them ALL to Layna. Layna was overcome with toys and once again had to be rescued. :) Actually, she was enjoying every minute of it. So that is it for September. Hope you enjoyed!

Braelyn's 3rd Birthday Pics

2011-10-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

The birthday girl excited to get the party started!! She loved her Dora cupcakes! We had her birthday at the park again. It is a tradition, at least for her first 3 birthdays. It will be interesting to see where we celebrate next year.

So glad most of our family could join us.

Happy Girl!!

Braelyn had a blast playing with her balloons. It's the simple things they love :)

We had a double birthday party...we also celebrated Colton's 7th bday. Here is the whole gang!

Braelyn was very blessed to receive a lot of great birthday gifts from our family. Our big gift to her was her first bicycle! I think her cousins were more excited about it than she was, but she has enjoyed learning to ride it. Overall, it was a wonderful night of fun with family and being able to be outside and enjoy a beautiful fall day.

September pictures......more to come

2011-10-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Me & my girls :)

Just a few pics of what we have been doing around the house......laundry, which Braelyn LOVES to help with. She loves to put each piece of laundry in the washer one at a time and then push it as far down in the water as she can. Usually we have to change clothes bc she is soaked!

This is my homemade sandbox. We looked at getting her a big sandbox, but it just didn't seem practical for us right now. I was excited to find out how cheap a bag of play sand is at Lowes!

Layna enjoying her exersaucer

It is fun to watch them start playing together some. Layna loves to chew on all the play food. Braelyn likes to pretend she is feeding her, so it works out well.

Below are some pictures of us making "birthday cookies" for Braelyn to take to preschool and share for her birthday. They are chocolate yum yums, and we had a good time making them. The Lord was gracious and Layna actually napped the whole time we made them!! Part of why it was so nice :)

She really enjoyed putting the sprinkles on.

August Pictures...sorry so late!

2011-10-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Dollywood with a few of the cousins and had a lot of fun. Layna stayed with Nana.

Sisterly love :)

Playdate at the park with some of our friends. We are so thankful for the park and our friends!

Layna enjoyed the park as well.

Braelyn was the flower girl in Ryan & Amanda's wedding Aug 20th. She did great, although she didn't throw any flowers :). Can you tell she was excited?

She looked so pretty all dressed up!

This is her and the ring bearer.....I love her face in this one.

Mr. & Mrs. Williamson

Learning to crawl......she figured it out pretty quickly. And the last one is Braelyn "sliding" down the couch. Sorry I am so behind.

September happenings

2011-09-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

We have had a whirlwind here in Bristol! Friday night we headed to ToysRUs to let Braelyn get a birthday balloon and hat and just browse the toys. We had a $3 gift card, so we picked her out some dress up shoes and a ring pop. She was much more excited about the ring pop than the shoes :). Then when we got home, the shoes didn't fit. She didn't seem too upset. Maybe we can swap them for a book. A book always fits. Saturday was spent getting ready for the double birthday party at the park. We celebrated Colton's 7th birthday(Braelyn's cousin) and Braelyn's 3rd bday. The weather was great and it was so nice to be outside and enjoy time with family. Braelyn had a Dora party and got her first bicycle along with some other great gifts. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a great party.
Then this morning we were able to see Colton baptized at church! A very special day. Tonight Braelyn was talking about his baptism and said "yeah, and we watched him get thrown in the water." :) She is starting to say some funny things.
And finally tonight we ended the weekend with a sunday school party/fiesta/game night! We had some great food and some great fellowship. So thankful for how God is growing our church and our sunday school class. It is always fun to have more friends.

That was our weekend. Just a quick update on the rest of "life".....we received an acceptance letter from Samaritan's Purse/World Medical Mission. We are excited to be accepted and now are waiting to hear more information on possible hospital locations. This is a two year post residency program for people who want to do full time medical missions. Please continue to pray for God to give us wisdom in making decisions and that we will have peace about where He wants us to go after residency.(which is June 29th) We have not made a final decision about whether we are going with this program yet or not.

For me, I am excited to be back in my Precept bible study on Tuesday mornings. We are studying the Sermon on the Mount and I am already learning new things and having my brain challenged to think deeper. This week we are looking at the first few verses of Matt 5. Talking about what it means to be "poor in spirit". The one definition that stuck with me was "to know that you have nothing to offer". There is so much more I would like to share, but I need to head to bed.
Hopefully I can post some pics soon. Oh, and Layna is now 8 months old. She started waving last week and pulling up to standing in her crib. She tries to pull up on a few other things, but is a bit wobbly. I am pretty sure she will be walking in the next couple of months. I am still waiting for her to learn how to nap a little better and wake up a little happier in the mornings and from naps. But overall, she is a good baby and I am enjoying her more and more. We thank God for the gifts He has given us in Braelyn and Layna.
Happy Fall!

Layna's 6 month Pics

2011-08-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

So here are my 6 month pictures of Miss Layna Aleese Jones! I just smile looking at these. The dress she has on was actually one of mine when I was a baby that my Mom gave me. I haven't edited any of these, but don't worry Mamaw and Nana....I will print you some :)

So for her 6 month appt.....Layna weighed 14.1 oz and was 25 in long. She was in the 25th percentile for ht and wt. She is our little runt :)

One last thing......please pray for us as we have an interview with World Medical Mission on Saturday. If we are accepted then we will know what we will be doing for the next 3 years. Aaron has one more year of residency here. It is a two year overseas program, working at a mission hospital somewhere. More details to come.....the WMM website says that we should know details by the end of August if we are accepted! So that's not long. Thanks for your prayers! We are excited to see what God has planned for us.

A few more July pics

2011-08-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Just some fun pics of the girls. Layna, as you can see, is chewing on everything! And she is officially sitting up all by herself. She is 6 and a half months old now. I am going to do a post of a little 6 mo photo shoot I did with her the other day. I am really enjoying her more and more the older she gets. Braelyn is such a good big sister. She enjoys playing dress up and cooking in her kitchen. Honestly, she probably loves watching PBS kids most of all :). I have to make her turn the tv off or else she would sit there all day i think. She loves puzzles and anything Dora. She is doing well with potty training....still diapers during nap and bedtime, but big girl panties most all the rest of the time. She stayed with her Nana for a few days and our house was so quiet! even with Layna still here. We feel so blessed to have two beautiful girls who bring so much joy to our lives. The bottom picture is our Sunday School class at church and our teachers(He is also our associate pastor). We had a wedding shower for Ryan and Amanda who are getting married Aug 20th. Braelyn is the flower girl and I think she is most excited to wear a "pretty dress":). We are so thankful for this group of friends that God has provided for us here in Bristol, just another picture of His faithfulness to provide for all our needs. Because friends are a "need" :)

July happenings

2011-08-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

So I am now trying to upload pics on here from Picasa and it is definitely faster, but I can't get it to let me type anywhere but at the bottom of the page?? If anyone has a fast way of putting pics on a blog, please share with me. So, July was a good month. I spent a week in Dandridge and we got to spend a lot of time with family and friends. We went to the splashpad, the zoo, and I had a girls day out with my roommates from college. We walked all over UT campus and relived all our great adventures! It was so fun. Layna turned 6 months old in July and we started baby food, as you can see from the pictures. She had already been eating rice cereal, but didn't care for it much. She likes the oatmeal much better. She has enjoyed all her veggies so far. We are just now starting some fruit. When we got back from the beach in June she really started rolling over a lot, and now she pretty much can get anywhere she wants by rolling and scooting. No crawling yet, but I'm sure it won't be long. I think Braelyn just has more fun with her everyday as she gets bigger and more interactive. Layna has made some progress in napping. There were two days last week that she napped for 2 hours!! And yesterday and today she napped for 1 and 1/2 hours in the afternoon!! that's progress for my 30-45 minute cat napper :)) There is hope!
I keep wanting to blog about things I am learning in my bible study at church and what God is teaching me in everyday walk, but usually there just isn't time. I do good to actually get my bible study done and/or have some quiet time to pray! I have realized it is of UTMOST importance that I make bible study and time in prayer a priority each day or else I am running on empty and feel powerless to handle the demands of taking care of my family. I am so often reminded that I have to be careful in how I spend my time each day bc this life that I have been given by God is a gift and the time here on earth is SO SHORT! But eternity is forever.........I want to invest my time in things that are of eternal value: relationships, family, friends, growing in my relationship with the Lord.
Last night at church, we were watching a Beth Moore video and she was talking about evaluating your walk with the Lord. She was saying that if you are a child of God then your relationship with the Lord needs to be growing. You need to feel like He is working on You, like He is showing you things that you need to change.....you should be able to look back and see how God is continuing to TRANSFORM you to make you more like Christ. I really liked that and totally agree....being a Christian is about being transformed by the power of God and living a surrendered life that's goal is to please the Lord in all things. I was talking with a friend just the other day about "life" and I shared with her how I try to keep in mind that there will be a day when I see Jesus face to face and at that moment I want to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant". I don't want to regret how I lived or how I spent the short time I was given on this earth. I hope you all feel the same way and realize that this earth is not our home, our houses are not our homes, our towns are not our homes......they are just temporary places that we live while we serve the Lord. Our true homes are in Heaven, with the Lord Jesus! That is what we should be living for and looking forward to......
These are the things I like to talk about.......thanks for listening :)

More pics from the wedding!

2011-07-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Some more pics of the family from the wedding! It was a beautiful day and lots of fun places to take pictures. Braelyn loved the tractor. I could hardly get her to get off of it. We have been traveling so much the last month it has been hard to post much. We just returned home from a great week in Dandridge/Knoxville visiting family. Unfortunately Layna is not sleeping really well right now, so we are all pretty tired around here. I am wondering if she is cutting teeth. Braelyn didn't have her first tooth until she was a year old, but who knows what Layna will do. We will watch and see. Aaron just finished mulching and landscaping a front yard some....it looks so much better. I appreciate his hard work. Also, we have an interview with World Medical Mission in August so please be praying that the Lord will continue to guide us and show us what His will is for us after residency. Thanks!

Andriana & Dustin's Wedding

2011-07-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from Andriana's wedding a couple of weeks ago. I found Picasa online and I am having fun playing with editing pictures. It was a beautiful wedding and I am so happy for them! We had a great time.

beach again

2011-06-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

So just trying to upload pics another faster way... let's see how it works

Beach vacation

2011-06-17T12:43:00.001-07:00

Our beach vacation is coming to an end, but it has been so good! We had great weather all week, and it wasn't too hot until the last couple of days. I really enjoyed having family around to help us take care of Layna and Braelyn. I really enjoyed having some time with just Braelyn and I, or even just by myself! I felt like it was a real vacation. Aaron did a great job finding us a great place to stay. The girls traveled SO well on the way here. I hope they do as well on the way home. It has been fun being around family all week and getting to visit. Braelyn has loved the ocean. The last few days she has started playing in the ocean more. I figured I should update the blog now, because once we get home......well, just hard to find the time. I put lots and lots of beach pictures on facebook. I can just upload them so much faster there. Layna is now 5 months old. We plan on starting cereal when we get back home. Next weekend Aaron and I will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary!! So thankful for my wonderful husband and family. My most precious gifts here on earth.

Still here!

2011-06-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted last. I can't even begin to catch up on everything that's been going on. Let's just say that life with two little kiddos is a FULL time job! I keep telling aaron i need a "maid-sitter".....a babysitter and maid in one. I am so thankful to be a mom, it is just a very exhausting phase we are in right now.
Let's see....Layna will be five months old in about one week! at her 4 month checkup she weighed 12.4 lbs. We call her "long and lean" Layna :). Unfortunately she is not the best napper and for the past three nights she has not slept well at all either. However, she is still a pretty happy baby most of the time. Braelyn loves her to death and is such a good big sister. We are amazed daily at Braelyn's vocabulary and how she is putting sentences together and just the way she talks about things.
Aaron has had a super busy time with work and just "other stuff" the past couple of months, which is probably why I haven't had as much extra time either. He is about to start his last year of residency....wow....which means we are trying to figure out plans for after residency. We are still pursuing doing missions overseas, just not sure exactly how.
We have applied with World Medical Mission which is with Samaritan's Purse. It is a two year post residency program designed for people like us who want to do full time medical missions. we would be placed at one of their hospitals and aaron would get to be mentored/trained by their doctors who have been there a long time. We aren't for sure if this is the path we are taking, but we are praying about it and just going to see where it goes. It is exciting to think about. Please pray for us in making these decisions. That God would give us wisdom and most of all that we would be seeking His will first and not our own. Also pray for God to strengthen our hearts to TRUST in Him completely.
We are heading to the beach soon with Aaron's family.....very excited about that. It will be Braelyn's first trip to the beach and very entertaining I'm sure. It has been a while since we have been ourselves and I hope it will be fun and somewhat restful.....if that is possible with two kiddos. I know it will be great just being out of the house and with family. We had a good time camping with my family last weekend. Layna's first camping trip. She enjoyed it pretty well I think. Hopefully next post I will have wonderful stories of our family vacation to the beach and great pics too :))

Spring is here!

2011-03-25T11:54:00.001-07:00

Just some fun shots to welcome in Spring!!! So glad it is here. We have been to the park almost every day that it is warm enough to go. We are looking forward to celebrating Easter soon. It is so fun and exciting to teach Braelyn about Jesus and who He is and what He did for us. It is especially fun to hear her talk about it. I pray that she would learn more than just the head knowledge and "church answers" about things, and that she would really understand that Jesus is our greatest treasure and all that we do and say should reflect how much we love Him!

Playing with the cousins!

2011-03-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

We were excited to have some of our cousins come and visit us on Spring Break the last couple of weeks. Braelyn always has a good time with all of them.
Caryss and Gavin

Layna just relaxing in the stroller.
Jackson and Hayden
Hayden and Colton
They turned the mulch into a construction site and loved it!...until they found an ant hill.
We are always happy to spend time with our family. Thanks everyone for coming to visit us!

Family time

2011-03-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite things....getting ready to go for a walk to the park. Thanks Mamaw for the cute outfit. It was a little cool, but it was still very nice.
We have already used the double stroller a lot. Thanks Laura for letting us borrow it!!
And here is Braelyn enjoying some "special dessert".....chocolate eclair! "mmmmmmm" she says.

Layna 2 months old

2011-03-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

Layna was two months old March 12. At her two month appt she weighed 10 lbs even. She had to get her shots....which she didn't enjoy very much, but she did well overall. She had a lot of bumps on her face and all over her chest and we have been trying to figure out what is causing it. Right now we are switching our detergent and her soap and lotion to all "free and clear" stuff. It seems to be helping some, hopefully it will all clear up soon.

And of course, I had to get a few shots of Braelyn. Love that beautiful smile!!! She was a little jealous of Mommy taking so many pictures of Layna :)

Sisters having fun together

2011-03-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to watch Braelyn playing with Layna.....and Layna smiling and enjoying Braelyn so much!! Braelyn is so sweet to her....most of the time. One time I caught her reading Layna a book. She didn't know I was watching her, which made it even sweeter.

I've been surprised that the one thing Braelyn doesn't really want to do is hold Layna. She hardly ever asks to hold her, and then when she does, it's only for a few seconds and she is ready to put her down.
I have to comment on Braelyn's outfit. She has on her play clothes (shirt and pants) and then her Dora nightgown on top of that, and then a skirt over her pants!! She wore this all day and loved it.

Finishing up from February

2011-03-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

A shot of my long, "Layna girl" all stretched out. Braelyn has started calling her "Layna girl"

Well, my mind has a hard time remembering too much about February, even though it wasn't that long ago :). I do know that I had to have my first, and hopefully last ever, root canal. It was not a pleasant experience for me. And I am still trying to get my permanent crown for the tooth to fit right. God is teaching me how to try and have a good attitude about these kinds of things that you don't enjoy doing and are frustrating, but you just have to do anyway. I have to try to remind myself that every single thing, big or little, that happens to me is what God deems "BEST". Even a root canal. I have to believe that this is what is best for me to be experiencing right now and trust that God has a purpose in it. So that is what God is teaching me right now. And I have been convicted lately about my lazy prayer life. There are so many needs in our families and friends and church and I am not asking God to do much about any of it. It is just a matter of getting my thoughts off of myself and thinking of others and how God wants to be glorified in those situations. I wonder why things aren't changing and then I remember that maybe it's because I'm not asking. That is just what I've been thinking about lately....... here are some pictures to enjoy.

Layna is starting to smile and respond a lot more to us. I love it when they start smiling. It makes the lack of sleep seem more worth while :)
Here is Layna on our first trip to church. She did really well. I had to leave the service to go feed her, but I figured that would happen. Looks like she is waving to the camera. I tried putting a bow on her head, but I think she must have a big head, bc it was too tight on her head. Oh well...

Just catching another smile......

Enjoy this amazing song!

2011-03-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

So I heard this song on the radio for the first time yesterday and I LOVED it! I just felt like I needed to share it with everyone bc it really gets your mind in the right perspective. I guess it is our human nature to want things to be easy and comfortable.....and I find myself complaining and grumbling when they arent. But it has been the most difficult, most lonely, uncomfortable experiences in my life that have drawn me the closest to the Lord and have taught me the most about Him.
This earth is not our home.....the things it offers cannot satisfy us. Just a good reminder for me.

Here are the lyrics: I added the bold to some of my favorite parts.

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

(Chorus)
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home,
It's not our home

(Chorus)
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

My Sweet Valentines

2011-02-16T12:36:00.001-08:00

Well, I had good intentions of taking some pictures of the girls in red and then printing some pictures and making some valentine cards to send out........but........well.......I did good just to get a few pics taken :). So Happy Belated Valentine's day everyone! And hope you enjoy these pics online.

Braelyn opening her Vday treats from Mamaw. She had just put a sweettart in her mouth. :)
It was nice to have my parents come up for a short visit last Sunday afternoon.
Making cookies with Mamaw.
Braelyn loves her daddy.....and so do I !!!
My littlest valentine :)
The m&Ms I got braelyn had a stamper on top.....when we came back in the room, she had been pretending to paint her fingernails pink. obviously she did more than her fingernails.
Layna is 5 weeks old today!!

Beginning February

2011-02-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

So we were very blessed one Sunday a few weeks ago to have a very warm day. Although it was almost dark, we managed to squeeze in our first family walk, as a family of four :). Going for walks is something that has always been special for Aaron and I, no matter where we have lived, since we have been married, we LOVE to go for walks in the evenings. I am so thankful for the great walking trails and the park behind our house. I am really looking forward to getting out with Layna and Braelyn and heading to the playground when the weather gets nice. My body is craving some exercise and outdoors!

These are a fews pics taken 2/3/11, when Layna was 3 weeks old. We would like to thank Aunt Laura for the beautiful, super soft and cozy blanket!! A special keepsake :) These aren't my favorite pictures, bc apparently Layna had been sucking on her paci so hard she has red circles on her cheeks!

This tongue is for you Aunt Sarah!!!

I just thought she looked like an angel......so content and beautiful!

It's really funny.....every "new" toy we get out for Layna to use, Braelyn seems to be in love with! I guess it is good bc it is keeping her occupied playing with all of Layna's toys. So here is Braelyn and Layna doing some "tummy time". Braelyn wanted to take this to bed with her!

I can't say enough how thankful I am for the help I had from Aaron, his mom, and my mom for the first 3 weeks!! I have been on my own now for almost 2 weeks......and that is why I haven't updated the blog for so long. I am getting adjusted to taking care of two little ones, which can be a challenge at times, but the Lord has provided and sustained me each day to be able to keep going even when I'm exhausted. I keep telling myself that it will get better, and soon I will be sleeping more(Lord willing). Once I get more sleep, I know I will feel better. I'm just not the type of person who does well on little sleep. I know God is strengthening me each day. Braelyn is still doing a great job as big sister. I do have to keep a close eye on her at all times though. And Layna is beginning to smile a little more which brings joy to my sleep-deprived soul :). We are still waiting to venture out in public with her, probably a couple more weeks since the flu and all the other sicknesses seem to be running rampant. Oh, Layna was one month old last Saturday!

Layna Aleese 2 weeks old

2011-01-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

I wasn't planning on doing a photo shoot....but then I got carried away with the camera of course. Unfortunately her bows and outfit don't match, but I'll do better next time. Layna is a growing girl. She weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz at her 2 week check up last Wed. I was surprised she had gained so much weight, but thankful. She is a really good baby. She usually goes at least one 4 hour stretch at night, and last night she actually did two 4 hour stretches back to back! I am so thankful for her sleeping habits! I have been very blessed to have a lot of help, which makes it easier for me to try and get some rest. Braelyn is still doing a great job being a big sister. She is always asking about Layna and concerned about her well-being. We have had some beautiful weather the past two days. We actually got outside this afternoon and went for our first family walk! It was very encouraging to be outside walking....just a reminder that winter will not last forever and I will not be stuck inside my house forever either :) Hope you enjoy the pictures! There are more on facebook, just couldn't upload everything on here.

Just a few pics

2011-01-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pics...kind of random, more to come soon! Braelyn picked out this outfit..and was so proud to show Daddy!

Can't wait to see more of that smile :))

This pic was from the hospital. I just really liked it bc it shows her hair in the back. She looks so chubby in pictures, but in real life I have a hard time seeing it.

Going to go give Layna a bath! more pics coming soon!

The story behind the name

2011-01-22T16:51:00.000-08:00

Braelyn loves to give Layna hugs and kisses. She is doing a great job as a big sister.

Layna enjoying the car ride home.

Getting ready to leave the hospital and head home. Very cold and snowy outside.

I wasn't sure if I would ever be writing this blog.....about a name for our baby girl, a name that I liked and was excited about. But, Praise the Lord, God provided a name for her, in His perfect timing and we are so happy about it. I think finding a name for her was the hardest part of being pregnant.

So, before we had Braelyn I had decided that I would like for our children to have a "spiritual" name and a "family" name. When I started thinking and praying about a name for this baby girl, I kept thinking of the verse, Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify our Father in heaven." I started looking up names that meant "light", but didn't really find anything I was excited about. Finally, one night I was thinking about the name Alayna, which I knew meant light, but I wasn't crazy about it. That night before we went to bed (Aaron was half asleep already)....I told him the name Layna Aleese, but we didn't talk about it. The next day I looked it up to see what it meant, I was just hoping that Layna would mean light since Alayna does. When I looked it up online, I couldn't believe it.....it means "light and truth"!!! I had also been looking at names that meant "truth", since I couldn't find any that meant light. I called Aaron who was working and told him how excited I was.

I love the name Layna because it is simple, but not common. I think it sounds sweet and beautiful and, of course, I love it's meaning. We pray that God will use Layna's life as a light for Him and that she would know the truth of God's word and share it with those around her.

After we decided the first name, I knew I wanted her middle name to be after my Mom, who is Mary Alice. I had a few different names I was considering, but finally decided on Aleese, which is similar to Alice. I chose this spelling because my middle name is Lee and Braelyn's middle name is Evangelee. So now, both my daughters have "lee" in their middle names too. I didn't plan on this, it just worked out that way.

And that is why we chose the name Layna Aleese Jones! I have some more cute pics of her smiling that I took the other day, just need to get them on the computer. She is sleeping and eating well. And she is starting to sleep a little longer at night. Thank you for all your prayers.

Welcome Layna Aleese Jones!!

2011-01-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome Layna Aleese Jones. Born at 9:18 AM, Jan 12th, 2011. Weighing 7 lbs and 1 oz. 19.5 in

We are so excited to finally meet Layna and officially announce her name to everyone! I wanted to use this post to tell how she came into the world and how we decided on her name. She is such a good baby and we think she looks just like Braelyn did.

So here is how it all happened....

Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 I thought I started feeling some contractions, about every 15 minutes, but wasn't sure. They weren't painful at all. So I called my Mom and told her to come on to Bristol because Aaron was already at work and would be at the hospital all night. As the evening continued they slowly became a little more obvious, but still not bad at all. In the midst of it all, it started snowing....a lot, and the roads were getting bad. My mom got stuck on the interstate behind a wreck and so I was starting to get a little nervous. I decided to call our friends from church and so she came over and stayed with Braelyn while her husband took me to the hospital around 10:30 pm. Thankfully they had four wheel drive.

Once I got to the hospital I felt much better. I still wasn't having painful contractions, but was having some every 7 or 8 minutes. I decided to just hang out with Aaron in the call room instead of being admitted. I ended up just laying down in Aaron's call room bed and the contractions spread out some more, so I rested a little. Around 4:30 am I felt a little more intense contraction and they were every 10 min for about an hour, then they went to about 8 min apart and around 5:45 I had a really intense one and called Aaron (who was sleeping in another call room) and told him I thought we might need to check in. I was 5 cm dilated at that point.

So we got checked in to a room and they started getting me ready. My contractions were getting more intense and I went ahead and asked for an epidural. I was SO THANKFUL that I was able to get the epidural in a timely fashion. The nurse I had was SO GREAT, she made sure that the epidural guy came to our room first. He was supposed to go to start a scheduled c-section, but she said that they could wait and I needed it first since I was in labor! My epidural went so much better this time. He did a great job. I was just so thankful. It was only about an hour and a half later that I delivered. If the nurse had not insisted on doing me first, I would have delivered without an epidural! which I never want to experience :)

Around 8:15 am the Dr checked me and I was 8 cm dilated and he broke my water. Then about 9 am I started pushing and pushed about 8 times and then we were able to meet Miss Layna Aleese! This was my first time being able to feel anything while I was pushing. With Braelyn I was totally numb and felt NOTHING while I pushed. Overall, it was a great experience and delivery. It all went very smoothly.

Well, that was a longer post than I expected. But I wanted to document it all and share with everyone. I will post again and share how we decided on her name.

We are all doing well and getting adjusted to all the changes. Thankfully Aaron is at home this week and that is making the transition much easier. More later.....

Videos!

2011-01-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

Well, we are still waiting for baby sister to arrive. I had an appt today and the dr said I was 3 to 3 and 1/2 cm dilated! So we were excited that I am still progressing, it could be any day now.
Below are a few videos. Braelyn got to go sledding for the first time at her Mamaw's house a few days after Christmas. She loved it! She seems to be more of a risk taker than her Mommy :). And the other video is our attempt to get her "Joy to the World" song on video. She is still asking to sing it, which is kind of fun, even with Christmas being over. I'm hoping to post some pictures of baby sister's room soon. It looks just like Braelyn's nursery :)....just organized a little differently. It is so nice to have everything already and not have to buy new things.

New Year's Sermon Challenge

2011-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post some points from our pastor's sermon last Sunday. I felt like it was very straightforward, powerful, and convicting. I pray that God will use this to challenge you and make you reevaluate maybe what type of goals/priorities you have set for this new year.

How to Set Your Priorities for LIFE
What is the first commandment? "You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3
-The principle: God gets FIRST place in my life.
Definition of a "god": ANYTHING or ANYONE that has first place in my life.

Insight #1: The key to freedom is to choose the right master. (Matt 6:24)

-The promise: "Seek FIRST God's kingdom and his righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS will be given to you as well." Matt 6:33

Insight #2: If there is worry in our life something else or someone else has taken FIRST PLACE.
-The procedure: How can I make God the number one priority in my life? I must know what God expects. (Colossians 1:18)

Where does God want to have first place in my life?
F- Finances....it all belongs to Him, evaluate our giving, spending, acknowledging His ownership
I- Interests.....are you interested in the things of God
R- Relationships......are your relationships Christ centered and God glorifying
S- Schedule.....does God get the best of your time, or does He get the leftovers, evaluate where you are spending the most of your time, are you available?
T- Troubles....we should cry out to God FIRST in our troubles, trusting Him to care for us, shows our dependence on Him

Insight #3: When you and I forget what we started with(which is nothing), we tend to push God aside and something else or someone else takes FIRST PLACE.

Insight #4: The key to setting goals is to obey the RIGHT MASTER. (Luke 6:46)

My purpose in life is to glorify God by SEEKING Him with my whole heart and building my goals around HIS priorities.

What are 5 key areas in setting goals for my life?
Spiritual Goals
Personal Goals
Family Goals
Practical Goals
Vocational Goals

Commitment Prayer: By faith, I desire to choose to obey the right master: The Lord Jesus Christ. I surrender my life completely to His Lordship. By the grace of God and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit I desire to give God FIRST PLACE in these areas of my life.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like there will be at least one more blog before baby sister gets here :) We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with our families. Braelyn got a new kitchen, some play food, a leaptop computer, and some other things....I have hidden half of her new stuff in an effort to keep her from getting tired of everything too quickly. I just hope I remember what I hid and where I hid it.
I had a dr. appt last Thursday and I was 2 and 1/2 cm dilated, and the week before I was 1 and 1/2, so the dr said he wouldn't be surprised if I don't make it until 40 wks. Also, my stomach was measuring the same as last week's appt, so he scheduled me for an ultrasound on monday morning just to check and make sure she is growing and all is well. He wasn't really concerned about it, and figured the measurement is most likely due to the fact that she has already dropped so low. So, I feel like I am getting pretty close to meeting this little girl.
Good news! We do have a first name and have shared with a few people, mostly family. But we are still trying to figure out the middle name.
Here are some pictures from our Christmas travels....enjoy!

We celebrated our own Christmas on Christmas "Adam"....the day before Christmas Eve, in Bristol.

These snow pics are from the Monday after Christmas, at Mamaw's house. Braelyn went sledding for the first time with her cousins, Colton, Jackson and Hayden. She loved it! And she made a snow angel too. The snow was so pretty.

We do Christmas at my mom and dad's on Christmas evening. Here is our annual family photo!
All the grandkids!
This is at Aaron's Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry's house. We go there for lunch on Christmas day.

We do Christmas at Aaron's parents on Christmas Eve....we had a small crowd this year, but we still had a good time.

And finally, a few pics from a trip to the playground that Aaron and Braelyn were able to take Friday morning when the weather was so "warm"! She was needing to get outside and play!

Just a cute shot of Braelyn... my Mamaw actually made this cute little toboggan :)
Playing in the snow at our house with Daddy! She had a great time. Braelyn is eager to meet baby sister. We have been talking about her a lot and what it is going to be like. I think she will be a great big sister. Almost every morning the first thing she says when she wakes up lately is "I'm going to be a big sister"! It's so cute. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year! I'm looking forward to all God has planned for us and our growing family this year.

Counting down to Christmas!

2010-12-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

It is the week before Christmas and it really feels like Christmas here in Bristol. We have had cold weather for quite a while now and snow off and on for the last couple of weeks. I was glad to see the sunshine today. We have had such a good time doing the nativity advent calendar with Braelyn. I can tell she is learning a lot from it and from her PraiseBaby Christmas DVD too. I think our family Christmas "theme song" this year is "Joy to the World". Aaron started singing it in the car one afternoon and now Braelyn can sing the first few lines :)....I love it.

I am now 36.3 weeks along!! Wow, hard to believe that I was only 37 and a half weeks along when I was induced with Braelyn....We are hoping and praying that she hangs in there until at least after Christmas :) and hopefully even longer than that. I'm feeling good still and have a check up Wed. I think we might have a name for this baby girl!! The name that I thought we had, I changed my mind about...so we have been searching still until just a few days ago. It has exactly the meaning that I was hoping to find and it is simple, yet not common. Now I just have to decide on what middle name to put with it. I put all three pics up of my belly because I feel like they all look a little different. And they might be the last ones you see of me pregnant :)

I gave Braelyn her first haircut a little over a week ago. She did really well and I think it looks pretty good. Thankfully her hair has some wave in it, so I don't have to do a perfect job. I mainly just trimmed the back because it was quite uneven.

I was also blessed to have a baby shower at our church here in Bristol about a week ago. It was so much fun and exciting to get new things for this new baby. We are so thankful for our church family here. They are so kind and gracious. It was a true time of blessing.

I can't remember if I shared this or not already...but I am proud to say that Aaron was voted the Chief Resident for this year and will start carrying out those responsibilities in January. I am so proud of him and we give God all the glory for all that he is teaching him and how He is using him in his residency program.
Also, Aaron's Granddaddy passed away last Sunday morning. He had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and alzheimers. We can see the blessing in the Lord taking him home now, before he had to go through chemotherapy and any other suffering that comes with those diseases. He always loved to see Braelyn when we were there. We are so thankful for the legacy he left behind and the clear testimony he gave of knowing the Lord. We know he is in the best place he could be now....in the presence of the Lord and with his wife. Below is a picture of Aaron and all of his brothers and sisters (Aaron, Sarah, Clint, Laura, and Daniel). It was so nice to see all of them and be together for a little while.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! May we all praise God for the precious gift of Jesus He gave us, the hope of salvation! May He be your most treasured gift this year.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

2010-12-01T12:29:00.000-08:00

Today is Dec 1st and it is so nice to be home again after so much traveling in November. We thank God for safe trips and time to get away by ourselves some. I know that won't be happening much when this new baby comes :). We really enjoyed the Global Health Missions Conf in KY. It was a great experience and we learned a lot and got to talk to a lot of medical missionaries from different organizations. We have started the application process to become missionaries with the International Mission Board right now. It is a long process, so we wanted to go ahead and get started now. This is the organization we are most familiar with and have supported growing up in our churches. We continue to pray that God will give us clear direction as to what His plan is for us in this process.
Our second trip was to Pigeon Forge for a Rural Health conf for Aaron. I REALLY enjoyed this trip bc we got to stay at the Music Road Hotel and had a great room with a view of the mountains and a fireplace!! Plus, I was free to do whatever I wanted most of the time. So I caught up on a few things and then got to hang out with another resident wife and have some good fellowship time. It was a real blessing all in all.
Our last trip was to Middle TN for Thanksgiving. There were a few less people there than usual, but it was still a great time of fellowship with family. We have SO much to be thankful for.

So, now we are back home.....preparing for Christmas and a new baby :). We have our tree up and decorations, which I am enjoying. And it was snowing today!! One Christmas tradition I have been working on lately for Braelyn is an advent calendar of the Christmas Story. I'm so thankful God provided what I needed (time and supplies) to be able to make this. I am posting pictures of it. I pray that God will use it to teach Braelyn and baby sister someday what the true meaning of Christmas is and what the greatest gift is. I think parents have to be extra intentional these days to make sure our kids are not confused about why we celebrate. We don't plan on doing Santa with our kids, just to help them not get distracted (if that's possible) with all our culture says Christmas is about. So back to the calendar, each day you read a little bit of the Christmas story and add an item to the top. So there is a lot of repetition bc you start back from the beginning each day and add a little more. I will post the readings some time in case anyone else wants to make one.

I am now 33 and a half weeks pregnant! I still feel really good most of the time. Just getting a bit more tired and having some more back aches, but I guess that is to be expected. I think we are close to choosing a name! Thank you for your prayers...hopefully we can announce that soon.
My plan is to try to enjoy and make the most of each day these last few weeks that I have only one child to take care of and still have some quiet time :) I know things will be changing soon and quiet moments will be few and far between, but that's ok. We are so thankful to be blessed with another gift from God.

And here is a video of one of Braelyn's new favorite things to do.....washing dishes!! She entertains herself very well with this, but unfortunately the floor is always soaked with water and requires some extensive clean up :)

Sonya's 30th Birthday!

2010-11-09T05:41:00.000-08:00

Today is November 9 and I am turning 30 years old! That doesn't sound right, but I guess it is. I have been kind of dreading or just wanting to pretend that I wasn't 30, but then God just reminded me how much He has blessed me for 30 years and I thought it is just silly not to celebrate that and give God all the glory for what He has done in my life thus far.
So I decided I'm going to make a list of 30 things I am thankful for that God has provided and blessed me.

In my thirty years of life thus far, I am so thankful for.....
1. God saving me when I was 9 years old and giving me the gift of eternal life in Him.
2. The family God gave me: parents who love me and a brother and sister to enjoy.
3. My childhood....good friends and activities to be involved in.
4. My best friend....Alicia, someone to play with, talk with, laugh with, and cry with.
5. A family who raised me in church since I was born.
6. My health....this is a huge one, that I take for granted daily, but I am so thankful that I have been able to do all the things I have wanted to physically and that I am able to take care of Braelyn and go and do.
7. The mind God has given. To be able to read and learn new things and continue to grow in the knowledge of Him.
8. My husband, Aaron!! I could give 30 things just about him alone that I am thankful for! He is one of the best gifts God has given me.
9. My daughter, sweet Braelyn, who continues to tell me "Happy Birthday Mommy" over and over this morning. She could have her own list as well.
10. The blessing of being pregnant and looking forward to another addition to our family: baby sister.
11. How God has led me through high school, college, and career in making decisions and taking care of all my needs.
12. The call that God has placed on my life to do missions....as a lifestyle and career hopefully.
13. The opportunities that He has already blessed me with to go on mission trips and to see other parts of the world and learn so much from those experiences.
14. For every opportunity God has given me to share the gospel with someone.
15. I am thankful for the hard times....bc those are the times I have been closest to the Lord and have grown the most. He is so faithful.
16. For all the church bodies that I have been a part of throughout my life. For what God has taught me in each one.
17. For our church family here in Bristol, and the work He is doing there.
18. For the opportunities that God has given me to love and influence kids and youth for His kingdom and His glory....YOKE, Awanas, neighbors, my job in VA.
19. For the power of His word in my life......God has given me victory over a lot of fears and other things I continue to struggle through memorizing and believing His promises are TRUE!!
20. For my husband, who has taught me and continues to teach me how to think about things with a biblical mindset......focusing on what God says is true and believing it.
21. For all of Aaron's family who love us so much and who I get along with so well! A true blessing.
22. For a God who hears my prayers and answers.
23. For the supernatural ways that God has provided for Aaron and I since we have been married.
24. For a husband who shows me Christ's love and desires to lead our home and family in a way that glorifies the Lord.
25. For all the friendships, old and new, that God has allowed to come into my life and the blessing they have all been to me.
26. For the Lord's great LOVE, FORGIVENESS, MERCY, and GRACE! He is SO GOOD to me.
27. I am thankful for all the people God has placed in my life to teach me and encourage me in my walk with Him.
28. For the wonderful privilege to have God's word in my home...and many copies......to be able to read at any time, any place I want without fear of persecution.
29. For all my family has taught me......responsibility, integrity, honesty, money management, and that family always sticks together and helps one another.
30. For this life God has given me........my prayer today is that for every day that God gives me from now on, that I will seek with all my heart to live in a way that brings glory and honor to HIM, that my life would be spent on things that have eternal value, and that in the end I would be able to hear "well done, my good and faithful servant".

Here is a short video of Braelyn saying her prayer. She says the same thing EVERY TIME. She use to say "Dear God, thank you for the food. Amen" Then she heard her cousins praying at my Mom and Dad's house one night, and the next morning, her prayer changed to this! She is such a joy and blessing.

Happy Fall!

2010-10-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how quickly October is passing! And this was suppose to be our "slow" month! I am now 28.3 weeks, which means in just a couple of weeks I'll be in the 30's!! Which means it's getting closer and closer to actually having another baby in this house :) Right now I am feeling a little stressed because we don't have a name for her yet. Really we don't even have any ones that we like! So, please pray that God would lead us to the perfect name for her. I really want it to be meaningful and purposeful. There are some names we just like...but I need stronger meanings and reasons for liking them. Anyway, we will be traveling a lot in November....so it might be awhile before I post again. Braelyn has been doing really well in her big girl bed. She stays in it and sleeps well most of the time. She has become very inconsistent in when she will fall asleep....some days it takes her 15 min and other days it takes an hour and a half! She is talking so much and just has been singing Jesus Loves Me by herself, all the way through before bedtime. And the other night she actually sang the second verse of it too! We have been singing this to her for two years now, so I guess I shouldn't be that impressed that she knows it all :) She will tell you that she is going to be a big sister and she seems quite proud. She likes to find the moon and "twinkle little star" if we are outside and it's dark. The other night she couldn't find it, and she said "Moon, where are you?" in a super cute voice. She is just so much fun.
I am almost done with my bible study on Leviticus. Sorry I haven't posted anything on that. It's just so much information and honestly hard for me to digest on my own. I will say that I have learned A LOT, and God is amazing how much detail he put in to how He wanted His people to worship and approach Him. And it makes me so thankful that we don't have to make sacrifices and follow such strict rules in order to approach our God today. It is a privilege that I take for granted way to often. oh, so much to think about, and so much to learn still. God's word is so rich and full of His wisdom and instructions for us. I thank God that we have such wonderful resources in America and such freedom and access to Bibles that we are able to go to bible studies and go to church, and read our bibles, wherever and whenever we want without fear of persecution or imprisonment. I read the Voice of the Martyrs magazine and it just teaches me so much and changes my perspective so much, when I read about Christians who willingly suffer and joyfully suffer persecution for the love of their Savior and His Word. And many suffer death, but are not afraid of it, bc they are not living for this world or what it has to offer, but are living for an eternal home, in heaven with the Lord. They understand so well what really matters in this world is only that which has eternal value. I think we, as Americans, miss out on a deeper, more personal relationship with God because our lives are so comfortable that we don't have to depend on Him, or we are just too busy to seek Him. I want to know the Lord like these Christians know the Lord, to have such strong faith and trust in the Lord, despite my circumstances.
Oh, and here are some 2 year pics of Braelyn that we were able to take at the park a couple of weeks ago. I was so pleased with them and so thankful for such a beautiful day and beautiful daughter to enjoy!

Braelyn's Big Girl Room!

2010-10-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

So, we have finally made the big transition to a big girl bed for Braelyn. It was a pretty big change for her, considering all her furniture, minus her lamp, was taken to the baby room. I have some video of her when she first saw it, but I need aaron's help to upload that. She likes it and seems proud to be sleeping in her "big girl bed". When we tell her it is night night time, she will say, "go get in Braelyn's big girl bed" :), and head up the stairs. She has only gotten out a couple of times, and we explained to her she wasn't allowed to do that, and so far, since then, she has stayed in. It has been taking her quite awhile to actually fall asleep though, but I'm thinking that will get better with time. Another exciting thing is that she has not had her pacifier since we put her in the big girl bed!! The first day I laid her down, she didn't ask for it, so I just left her without it, and since then she hasn't even asked for it!! I'm so thankful for that. Right now all of the baby furniture is in the other room, and I'm keeping the door shut so she can't see it. Not sure when we will reveal that to her, but overall, she is doing a great job. Her room seems so much bigger now, and her toys all have a home, which is helping keep the floor more clear. Here are some pics. A big thanks to my Mom for finding the bed and hauling it to us, and to Aaron's mom for keeping Braelyn for a few days while we made the transition. And of course, to my wonderful husband, Aaron, for moving all the furniture, rearranging it, and rearranging it again :). I am so thankful for his willingness to help me with stuff all the time. And his patience with me while I change my mind over and over. Next project, baby sister's room!! But I am taking a break right now....

This is a collage of mini pics from her first year. Below are the verses that I had used in her nursery, and I was able to just change the background color and keep them in her room :)

I do have to give God the glory for providing so many things for her room at a really good price! I had one day to go shopping for pretty much everything I needed to put in her room(sheets, comforter, chair, shelf for toys, curtain, bedskirt.....) all I had was the bed frame, mattress, and one little shelf to begin with, but after a shopping spree to all the thrift stores in Bristol, and then to Target and Ross and TJMaxx.....I was DONE! And exhausted. So I got the curtain, bedskirt, and cute flowers on the wall all at thrift stores for like 2 or 3 bucks each! Thank you Lord!! And then I found the sheets on sale at Target for $3.50 for the set!!! And another set on clearance for 7.00! A big thanks to my cousin, Julie, who let us have the bedrail! So, I just wanted to say thank you Lord for providing so much, in one day, at good prices, to help us get this room ready for Braelyn.
And finally, a few pics of Braelyn. One of her favorite snacks is popcorn, which she calls, "hotcorn".....her and daddy REALLY enjoy it!
Braelyn had a lot of fun biting into this apple. She ate almost half of it like this. I think she was pretty proud of herself.

Braelyn's 2nd Birthday!!

2010-09-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

So here is the beginning of Braelyn's bday celebration last Saturday. We kicked it off by going to Toys R Us for the morning. Braelyn LOVED getting a balloon and a special crown to wear. When she got the balloon and crown she just started jumping and dancing in circles!! It was so CUTE!

And here starts the birthday party at the park. It was actually a double party, we celebrated with my nephew Colton, who turned 6 just the day before. It was a beautiful warm day and we were so thankful for everyone who was able to come and celebrate with us.

I was really pleased with the cake. I ordered it from Sam's and it was delicious!! I just didn't have the time or patience to try and make her bday cake this year. Maybe next year....
All the kids chowing down on some pizza....minus Mattie. I think she was still on the playground.

My big TWO year old going down the BIG slide all by herself!! She was not afraid at all, and insisted on doing it "again, again"!!
Braelyn got so many nice presents! Thanks everybody for thinking of her. She has had a great time playing with all of them this week.

We got her a baby doll that laughs and cries with some a little bottle and bed. She has been LOVING playing "mommy" to this baby, which encourages me a lot that she is going to be a GREAT big sister!!
Here is a picture of ALL of Braelyn's presents she got at the party! What a blessed little girl! Thanks again everyone for helping us make her day so special!
And finally, we don't want to forget baby sister, which is what she is going by these days. I have had many requests for a 'belly pic' so here it is. This was taken about a week and a half ago though....I was 22 and 1/2 weeks in the pic and I will be 24 weeks tomorrow. She is starting to move around a lot more. I am really wanting to find a name soon, bc I keep wanting to call her something other than baby sister. I think I might have a middle name, just still searching for the first. We are planning on transitioning Braelyn from the baby bed to the twin bed this weekend! So please say a prayer she likes it and transitions well.

Ready for fall!

2010-09-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from August. Apparently our month was pretty uneventful bc there aren't many pics at all, or maybe I was just lazy and didn't take many. These first few pics are of Braelyn and Mattie at the Zoo in Knoxville. We were excited to get to spend the day with Katy and Mattie. The girls really enjoyed it and it was a beautiful day too.

Braelyn did have fun, despite the unhappy face below. It was quite challenging to get a picture of the two of them looking the same direction.
I happened to find some "jewelry" for Braelyn at a yard sale a few weeks ago and she LOVES it! It's the first play jewelry she has had and it has entertained her a lot lately.

Earlier in August we went to a splashpad with some of the cousins and had a great time. It was scorching hot that day, so we were thankful for some water to cool off in. Pictured below are Braelyn, Mattie and Hayden.
And finally, we just had to get a shot of the deer that were visiting our back yard for a few days. It was unusual to see deer in our backyard, but fun too.

We just got back from spending the weekend with my family in the Smoky Mts camping for Labor Day. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! It was actually nice to be outside all day long, and even COLD at night!! So refreshing after so much heat this summer. We only stayed Sat night but spent all day sat and sun there. It was nice to spend time with family and be outside in the mountains. I am really glad it is September. Fall is my favorite time of the year. Lots of exciting things this month....Braelyn's second bday, lots of other family bdays, caregroup starts back at church, CMDA cookout, I started a new Precepts bible study, and COOLER weather!!
I started another Precepts bible study this morning. It's a Kay Arthur study and we are doing the book of Leviticus!! Yes, that's right. I am actually pretty excited about it bc I just read Lev. within the past few months since I'm trying to read through my bible, so it is kind of fresh on my mind. AND I know, without a doubt, that I will learn so many great things through this study. Kay Arthur is a great teacher and so is my bible study teacher at church who facilitates us. I'm also excited bc Braelyn is not the only child in the nursery this time. All last year she was the only kid there. But today there were 5 kids! And she knows all of them. This is such a blessing to have a bible study that provides childcare. I am very thankful that our church does that.
So, hopefully I can post some blogs about what I'm learning in Lev. I read the first chapter today....burnt offerings to sum it up. The theme of the study is that we will learn how to approach a HOLY God. Something that has already been pointed out is that our God is a God of great details. Also, it is important that we understand this book of Lev. bc if it wasn't important for us to study then God wouldn't have included it in the bible! So, like I said, I'm hoping to share some new things that God teaches me through this study.
On another note, I am now 21 and half weeks along. Feeling good, but still a picky eater. She is starting to kick and move around a bit more. Braelyn is starting to understand a little more. She will say "Baby sister". And if you ask her where Baby sister is, she answers "Mommy's belly". Braelyn is talking SO MUCH...not always coherent, but pretty much just always jabbering :) It is so much fun watching her learn and grow. What a blessing and gift it is to be a Mother and have the privilege of teaching and loving your child. I praise God for Braelyn and for this baby on the way. He is so good to us. Oh, speaking of His goodness. My mom found a twin bed for Braelyn (head/footboard and rails)!! Hooray!! Now we just have to get it to Bristol, put a new coat of paint on it and buy a mattress :) I am so thankful He provided that for us, at a great deal too!
Ok, I should probably go now. Oh, be praying for Aaron. He is studying for his boards exam that he will take next Monday. And we have a very busy weekend, so just pray that he will be prepared and ready. Thanks and have a good week!

We're having another GIRL!!

2010-08-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

Say hello to our Baby Girl!! She is 19 weeks in these pics. So thankful that she cooperated for us to be able to tell what she was. I was thinking it was a boy, so I have been having to rethink things. But I am very excited for another girl and for Braelyn to have a sister to be friends with. We praise God for this new life He is forming and growing! In the picture above it is a profile picture like she is laying on her back, head on the left. They said she was very photogenic.

The picture above is another profile pic, but she is turned around the other direction...head on the right.

Below, is what I like to call her "scary" face. :) Her face is right in the middle and it is like she is looking right at you. I call it scary, bc it looks skeletal still . Her body is on the right side.
The next few pics she is in the same position, her face is right in the middle. looks like she has her head on a pillow. her body is on the right again. and that is her arm along the bottom, with her hand next to her cheek.

Below, is mainly a shot of her arm, you can see a little bit of her face.
Just a couple of shots of her feet.
And finally she decided to play peek a boo with Braelyn :) You can see both of her hands are raised up in front of her face.
So these are some pics of our sweet baby girl. We are looking forward to another girl. That means less shopping for me and we get to use a lot of the stuff we already have again. We are working on finding a name, but I struggle with girl names, so hopefully we will have one before January! Please continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
We will be celebrating Braelyn's 2nd birthday soon! Hard to believe in less than a month she will be two! I have to get to work on figuring out her cake. She is having an Elmo bday party at the park. Hope you all have a good weekend.

The cutest Froggie ever!

2010-08-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

I know these are a lot of froggie pics, but I just thought they were too cute to leave any of them out! This is Braelyn's froggie towel, which she LOVES! She will walk around the house with it on and just want to sit with it beside her. thank you Kohls!

I think this one, above, is one of my favorites.
This is a picture of Braelyn at the library with her friend, Madelyn. We went once a week for a few weeks, then we have just been busy lately. It is an amazing library with a GREAT place for kids. We had a playdate there....nice and air conditioned!!! :)
And here we have some pics of one of Braelyn's favorite things.....going to the park with Dada. She gets to ride in the buggie while Dada pulls her on the bike. Then they usually play in the creek and playground, while Mommy enjoys a few minutes of alone time. :)
So that is some of what we have been doing in July. Aaron is starting to study some for his boards, which he will take in September.
oh, I got a haircut yesterday, which was much needed. I think i try to set a record for how long I can go in between haircuts. All the kids at church were getting haircuts for back to school, and it inspired me to do the same. Getting a new haircut made me want to go get some new clothes, but unfortunately, I'm in the in between stage where my clothes are getting pretty snug, but maternity clothes are still too big. so......i'll just postpone that shopping trip for now.
hope everyone has a good weekend.

Time with family in July

2010-08-07T11:45:00.001-07:00

We were excited to have some of our family come and visit us in July. My brother and sister and their families were able to come one night. We are all on the train above, but Jackson is hiding and unfortunately you can't see too well bc of the shadows. But we had a great time riding the train, feeding the ducks, going to the nature center, and playing in the creek and playground. The usual park adventures.

Just about a week ago we were excited to have Aaron's Mom and sister, Laura, and her kids, Caryss and Gavin come to visit too. Again we enjoyed the usual park adventures and had a great time.
I was excited to get a picture of the three of them together! It will be going on the fridge soon :) Braelyn loves pictures as much as her mommy.
And these last pics are a little out of order......4th of July! We decided to head home and visited with both of our families for the holiday. We are so thankful that we live close enough to go home and visit on the weekend if we want.

Great Granddaddy Jones with me and Braelyn.
Braelyn with her Granddaddy and Nana.

So thankful for both of our families and the time we get to be together with them.

Pictures from June

2010-08-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Looks like Braelyn is saying "Does this swimsuit make me look fat?" :))

I know pics aren't as exciting as videos, but I still haven't mastered the uploading videos yet. So here are some pics from June. Mainly just showing a few things Braelyn enjoys doing.....swimming in her pool, swinging, and painting. We also have been going to the park more lately and playing in the creek and playing on the playground.

It's hard to believe that it is already August. I am 16 and a half weeks now. We should find out on August 20th, hopefully, what we are having!!! I am very excited to find out. I really have no idea what it will be. We are starting to look for Braelyn a twin bed to put in her room. Then at some point we have to clean out our guest room and try to figure out where we will put all of that stuff to make a baby room! On a random note...we got new phones this past weekend and aaron and I now have texting plans!! Yes, we are catching up and will now be texting :) and sending pics. I have three weeks of teaching at church on wed nights, then AWANAS will kick off. I plan on helping with that. I LOVE Awanas. It's such a great opportunity to help the kids learn about verses and how hiding them in their heart can really change their lives. We have gotten to have some good conversations the last couple of weeks in our classes and I am thankful for that. I think the kids have learned a lot this summer...to the glory of God.
Hope you all have a good week. Hopefully more pics from July soon.

New Videos

2010-07-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Braelyn saying our family's name. Sorry that everyone didn't make the cut. She's a bit mesmerized by the camera. Sonya turned the camera screen around for her to see herself. Enjoy!

Warning this video contains my(Aaron) feet and me singing but it's also Braelyn doing this little piggy, and doing "if you're happy and you know it" so I think it's worth watching.

Here's a random video of a deer in our back yard this morning. Just for fun!

Last video is of Braelyn in the swimming pool. She enjoys pouring the water into her mouth over and over. Please excuse my cameo appearance, I was not planning on posting this but her faces are so funny I just had to. Thanks for watching!

Introducing Baby Jones #2

2010-07-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

So we have exciting news! We are expecting Baby Jones #2 around January 14th, Lord willing. I am 14 weeks along today and am glad that the first trimester is over! I don't get really sick, I just feel really yucky and have a hard time figuring out what to eat. The yuckiness is decreasing, but still having a hard time finding food I enjoy eating. We praise the Lord for answering our prayer for another baby and for the great gift of new life. It really is such a miracle. These pics and videos were taken at my first appt which was a few weeks ago, at 11 weeks along. I was really excited that we got the videos too. Hope you all enjoy them. My next appt is July 23rd. We do plan on finding out what the baby is, but that probably won't be until around 20 weeks. So stay tuned :) Braelyn doesn't understand yet, but she prays with us "for the baby in Mommy's belly" so hopefully by January she will understand a little better. She is so entertaining right now. She is just talking all the time and trying to say EVERYTHING. She is getting really good at communicating, which I enjoy. She likes to take her clothes off and try to put them on. Her favorite song right now is "If your happy and you know it". We finally visited our public library last week for story time and the Bristol public library is SO NICE!! They have a great play area and the kids part is totally separated from the rest of the library so you don't have to worry about your kid being loud :). More updates and pictures from June/July soon.

Still catching up.....

2010-07-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

ok, so I just thought I had posted all of May. I forgot a few pics from Dollywood and from our annual camping trip with my family to Elkmont over Memorial Day weekend. We had a good time camping. My brother let us borrow a much bigger tent than we have had before, so that was nice.

This is special father/daughter time :)) He makes a good reading spot.

We also celebrated Mattie's bday while camping. She turned two and had an Elmo party. Braelyn was pretty excited about that. Katy did a great job on the cupcakes. I don't know if I could pull that off or not.

Our attempt to get a picture of all the grandkids together......pretty good I guess.

Enjoying the Elmo cupcake. Braelyn had a lot of fun camping and spending time with her cousins.
More updates to come soon hopefully.

Official members :)

2010-06-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Aaron and Braelyn and I finally joined our church here in Bristol. Calvary Baptist Church. We have been meaning to do this for awhile now and it was just slow getting it all taken care of. We feel like we were already a part of the church family long before this though. I just wanted to take a moment to encourage anyone reading this who is not a member or regular attender of a church family to make that a priority. Aaron and I realize that lots of people in our age group for some reason don't make church membership or attendance a priority. I know it can be hard to find a church at times, but don't give up. We went to 12 churches here in Bristol before we found Calvary. We realize that no church is perfect, but God desires for us to be plugged in to a church somewhere, so that we might be a part of the body of Christ and encourage our fellow brothers and sisters and at the same time receive encouragement in our time of need. The church is God's design, He has a special purpose for it, and if you are a believer then God wants you to be involved in a church body.
We thank God for our church family at Calvary Baptist Church. We thank God for answering our prayers to show us where He would have us get involved for the short amount of time that we are here in Bristol. Praying that God has you in a church where He wants you or that God will direct you to a church home soon! To Him be the glory!

The month of May in one sweet post!

2010-06-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

May was a much less eventful month for us, as you can tell by the amount of pictures I took. :) Just some random pics of Braelyn, learning to help Mommy water the flowers. She really likes to be outside.

This is Braelyn's toast and jelly face :) She is currently cutting her incisor teeth on the bottom and has been running a little fever with it. But she was feeling a little better today. Those teeth look sharp!
Braelyn still enjoys playing in the tupperware cabinet. Mainly emptying it out, trying to put lids on and stacking some. But recently she has enjoyed crawling in and trying to hide in it.
I thought this was a great picture of Braelyn and her Mamaw. She came up to help watch Braelyn for a day while I was preparing for my class at church.

So, now I have finally gotten caught up on posting pictures......let's see.....

oh, we bought some patio furniture for our deck, a table and 4 chairs and an umbrella, but we need to swap the umbrella. I am excited and ready to get to eat out there soon. We went camping with my family last weekend for Memorial Day...I guess I still need to post those pics. We had a good time, although it was a little rainy. Braelyn loved being outside all the time and did really good sleeping in the tent in her pack n play.
Aaron is still on a pretty good schedule and we are enjoying that. Just a few calls here and there. Braelyn is talking more and more each day. One funny thing she just started doing a few days ago.... we often say "Silly Braelyn" bc she does silly things and the other night she said back without us prompting "Silly Dada....Silly Mama" It was so funny. She tries to sing parts of Jesus loves me and her ABC's. She is so entertaining. I love getting to be at home with her and see all those little things that make us laugh and love her so much.

Hope everyone has a good week.

Vacation to New Jersey

2010-06-06T18:17:00.001-07:00

Our last hoorah in April was vacation to New Jersey to see Sarah and Martin, Aaron's older sister and bro in law. This was Braelyn's first LONG trip and she did GREAT. I was definitely concerned about how she would do, but as Aaron always says "I think she'll be fine". :)) And usually he is right. We had a great time visiting and relaxing. The weather was kinda rainy and cold, but we still had a good time. Aaron and I went to IKEA for the first time....it was pretty neat. Nice to be able to say I've been there now. Braelyn enjoyed it too...lots to explore and even a play area. We also went to Lancaster-Amish country one day. That was a fun experience and once again, now I can say---been there, done that. For some reason, the amish clotheslines that hung from like a telephone pole down to the house, just cracked me up! They were so LONG and TALL, and full of clothes. I tried to get a picture, but never could. We were so thankful that it worked out for us to come up and visit with them. Thanks guys for hosting us!! Hopefully we will do it again before too long :)

Braelyn thought Aunt Sarah's step was a slide. She got really good at going up and down by herself. She would say "1, 2, 3...weeeeee"
And she enjoyed Aunt Sarah's rocking horse too and other toys. Thanks again for hosting us and helping us have a great vacation! We enjoyed it so much!

Stephanie and Hugh's Wedding :)

2010-06-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am still catching up on April pics!! It was a busy month, but a good one. Once again, the pics are backwards. I don't understand why it does that, and why I can't figure out how to fix it, so just start at the bottom and scroll up. We had a great time at Steph and Hugh's wedding. It was a beautiful day and we were so glad we got to be a part of it. Aaron actually led the ceremony and did a great job. It was a fun day and we got to see lots of old friends too. Congratulations Stephanie and Hugh!!! May God bless your marriage and use you as a blessing to others.

Braelyn had a lot of fun with the camera :) Hope the pics turned out good.

Stephanie was a beautiful bride and the wedding was wonderful too. Congrats again guys!!

Fun Spring Happenings

2010-05-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Tonight at church we learned how God is attentive. He is always watching, always listening, and always acting in the world. It's neat how as a teacher you think you are only going to be teaching the kids, but in my experience God has been teaching me a lot too :) I don't feel like I am nearly as familiar and knowledgeable about the bible and even bible stories as I should be. I'm praying that God would increase my understanding and help me get a better grasp on it all. As long as I've been in church, I am very disappointed at how much I really know and understand about the bible. I guess it's good, bc it is motivating to keep trying to learn and grow. And it is exciting when God does teach me something and a light bulb goes off about how that fits with this or that.

anyway, here are some pics of braelyn at dollywood. she has been twice now and has really enjoyed the rides both times. the first time was with her cousins and the last time it was just us(me, aaron , and braelyn) and she still enjoyed riding them even by herself. i also included a few pics from the park. we can walk to the park, such a blessing. braelyn really enjoys going down the slide. she is getting better every time we go. and her vocabulary seems to grow day by day. she just got back from spending 4 nights with her nana and granddaddy in knoxville--wow! she did really great and we did pretty good too :) it was strange not having her around, but we were pretty busy the whole time and didn't have much time to miss her. i can tell that she is nearing the big TWO.....her little stubborn side is coming out sometimes. she loves to play with our neighbor ashley, who braelyn calls "ashee". she is 4 yr old and they like to play bubbles together. she is really into building with her blocks lately. she can count to 10, although she usually likes to go from 3 to 6. overall, she is just a lot of FUN!! I'm so thankful for her and so thankful to get to stay at home with her.

Praising the Lord

2010-05-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from about a month ago, yes, I am behind. we had a pretty eventful april. we had a wonderful outing to the knoxville zoo with my friend steph and her little girl addie. they are about the same age. thanks steph for such a great day of mommy and friend time :) and i think braelyn really enjoyed it too. braelyn wasn't as interested in the animals as i thought she would be. i think a lot of them were just too far away. but she liked the petting zoo part a lot.

Notices how Braelyn goes from brushing the goat's hair to her own hair :)) She loved it! And Addie decided to give it a try too.

Just wanted to share a praise. I just got done leading my first class of the summer for 8/9 year old kids at church!! :) I LOVE THOSE KIDS!! I love most kids, but that age is such a great age I think. We had 8 kids, 4 boys and 4 girls. they did a great job. i know they learned some things and they had fun too. it feels so good to have one under my belt now. I have been working hard getting the room ready. I think I have been there every day this week! But it feels so good to have something to prepare for. it also motivates me in spending time with the Lord each day, bc I know I can do nothing apart from Him. I just thank the Lord over and over for opening up this opportunity. And aaron is helping me too. It was a good night. I think I was smiling most of the way home.

Braelyn has developed her first obsession....."Praise Baby DVD". Yes, she asks for it as soon as we come downstairs in the morning and pretty much anytime she is in the living room. it was a great babysitter the other night when we went to a friend's house for dinner. we put the dvd in, and just like that....we had ourselves about 30 minutes of kid-free eating and conversation :) she is cutting some more teeth. the other day i walked in her room and she was sitting up in the rocking chair......just listening to her music and staring around the room :)) I thought I was sneaking in on her reading her books and I was looking in the floor for her, and couldn't find her and then realized she was up in the chair. i'm surprised this is the first time she has done it. she is climbing up in the kitchen chairs all the time now.
have a good rest of the week.

Pictures from Easter

2010-05-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter in middle TN celebrating with my Granny & Pop and all our Hasty family there. We also got to see Daniel and Joanna on our way in, which was really nice.

Playing peek-a-boo..........where's Braelyn??
There she is!!!!
Birthday boy, Jackson (3 years old) and his brother Colton
What a beautiful Easter morning!!
Mattie and Braelyn

ooooooooh! What a pretty yellow leaf :)

The Byrd boys....Colton, Jackson, and Hayden Too cute
All the grandkids on the Hasty side
The Jones'

First easter egg hunt. She wasn't really competitive...she just wanted to examine each one after she found it for a while

I am really excited about a couple of things.....one, I got to plant some flowers on Sunday, actually quite a few, in pots and baskets. and most of the time, i was all by myself in the yard, just enjoying the beautiful day without any interruptions. it was so nice to spend so much time on one task and feel like i actually accomplished something :)))) and now I get to smile and enjoy them every day when I look at them. Our God is SO creative (wish i could think of a more brilliant word), when you look at all the flowers, all the details in each one, all the different kinds. I praise Him and thank Him for allowing me the privilege to enjoy them each day.

secondly, I am really excited about teaching a children's class at my church this summer, ages 8-9 year olds. we are using Desiring God's children curriculum, which I have never done before, but am really excited about. I have been wanting to be more involved at church and God has answered my prayer :) We start next wednesday night. Please pray for me and the children. That God will be glorified and hearts will come to love Him and treasure Him.

For me.....God brought to my mind yesterday the word "surrender".......i was reading in the power of a praying woman....GREAT book, and she was just talking about how we must surrender EVERY part of our lives in order to be fully used by God and to experience what God has for us in the fullest. I struggle with this bc I like to be in control and I think I know what I want and what is best for me---WRONG! I have to let go of what I "think" I want....and what I "think" will make me happy. Surrendering my life daily to the Lord and TRUSTING Him to provide and reveal His plan day by day is where I can find true joy. Many times I am so ashamed of how little I trust Him. I think I trust Him a lot, but then when I look at my actions and my attitudes and my thoughts....I just have to pray "Lord help my unbelief and help me trust you more."
"For I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing" Galatians 2:20-21
"If anyone would come after me(Jesus), he must DENY himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." Luke 9;23
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3: 5-6

Say Cheese!

2010-04-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

Would you like to count my teeth??

Finger lickin' good spaghetti!!

Nana and Braelyn playing outside at Nana's house.

ok, i just wrote a blog post, and somehow lost it. so i'll update with words later. here are some pics of braelyn. aaron has been working a lot the last six weeks, but will be on a better schedule starting tomorrow!! Thank you Lord....I miss my husband. looking forward to seeing Sarah and Martin soon ;)

Who is an overcomer?

2010-03-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

ok, so I wanted to share how God encouraged me this past Tuesday at bible study. The study was focused on 1 John 5. Here are verses 4 and 5

"For whatever is born of God overcomes(present tense, which means "continuously overcomes", it's an ongoing action) the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith."

There is so much good stuff, but honestly I can't convey it all on this blog. Kay Arthur taught us that the word for "overcomes" in that verse is the word "nikao" which means "to rule over, subdue, CONQUER". It is also what Nike shoes comes from, just a side note. So here is the SUPER EXCITING thing that just really sank in and stuck with me in a real way.......if you are a child of God then you are an OVERCOMER!! You can't not be an overcomer, bc God's children by definition are overcomers, bc we have Christ in us. And Christ is our greatest example of overcoming.
In John 16:33 Jesus says to his disciples, before his crucifixion "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." This is the first mention of the word "overcome".
Kay Arthur also reminded us that this doesn't mean that 100% of the time you are victorious in life, but as a pattern or habit of your life, you live in victory. I have been struggling lately with different things, and honestly, have really not felt like an overcomer. But this message was just so encouraging to me.....to know that being an overcomer is not something I choose, it is WHO I AM IN CHRIST!! Yes, I have to choose to believe this and set my mind on it, when Satan tries to get me down, but it will ALWAYS be true of me and of you, if you are a believer. I hope this realization sticks with me until I see Jesus face to face. I pray that God will use this to encourage someone else who might be struggling.
I am so thankful that we serve a RISEN Savior! One of the girls at my AWANA group last week had never heard that Jesus rose from the grave! What a privilege it was to share with her that awesome/exciting news. Hope you all enjoy celebrating our risen Savior this Easter weekend and all year long.

1 John

2010-03-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

So, I've been doing a bible study on 1 John for a while now, although I have to confess that I have not been doing the homework the past couple of weeks. But I went this morning anyway and still learned a lot. It is a Kay Arthur study and boy is she good! I love the way she teaches because she just tells it like it is and doesn't try to sugarcoat anything....truth is truth! And that's what I need to hear, and we all need to hear. So, I just thought I would share a few things I learned this morning.
Some parts may seem random, but i'm still going to share.

It was mainly on 1 John 4. We talked some about verse 18 which says "There is no fear in love; because perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment , and the one who fears is not perfected in love." I have heard this verse a lot and read it a lot through the years, and usually just tried to come up with my own ideas on what it meant(still mostly confused), not really using the context too much. And I had heard a lot of people just quote this verse by itself and use it in different ways.....well, I felt like I got some new insight on this verse that I hadn't had before. And the Holy Spirit revealed it to me first a few weeks ago while i was studying these verses, and then confirmed it this morning during our discussion time. It had been a long time since I felt like the Holy Spirit had taught me something new in my own quiet time, so I was excited just to experience that. It may be something you already know, but it was new for me.

I learned that the word "fear" means "to run away from in terror" in this verse and it is referring to the fear of God's judgment. When I realized what this was talking about it reminded me of when I was young, before I was saved. I used to lay in bed at night and wonder what would happen to me after I died.....and it was terrifying, bc I didn't know.....I just thought of total darkness and being alone. THEN, when I became a Christian, I no longer had that fear....I knew I would be in Heaven with Jesus. People who don't know the Lord do have a reason to be afraid and to run in terror because there will be a real day of judgment and they are enemies of God. They don't have Christ's righteousness in them to make them presentable before our Holy God. This makes me want to go out and share with people so bad, yet when I go out, I make excuses and don't say a word most of the time. I am really missing sharing the gospel with people, just talking to people about Jesus.....I hope and pray that God will give me boldness and opportunities soon. so back to the verse, it just made more sense to me....when we are saved through God's perfect love, we need not fear the judgment, because we have Christ in us and our sins have been forgiven. but those who fear the judgment, as they should, have not surrendered their life to Christ and have no righteousness on their own, they are enemies of God....not a good place to be.

every week, i want to write about stuff from this study, but then I don't. it has just been so good, but so hard too. it's all about knowing that you KNOW, that you really KNOW that you are saved. If you have doubts or have friends/family who have doubts, 1 John is the book that gives you the tests and helps you have that assurance of salvation.
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" 1 John 5:13

Spring fever!

2010-03-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Soakin' up the sun!!

Braelyn discovered the headband at my mom's house and just thought she was the coolest thing!
Aren't I pretty? :)
Hanging out with my cousin, Mattie, at Mamaw's house. They had lots of fun playing together.
Just a random shot of Colton, my nephew....showing off his creative skills. He actually did this all by himself, and he's not even in kindergarten yet! I was impressed! Pretty cute.

Well, I am so thankful for the sunshine and warmer weather we have had recently. It has been so refreshing to be able to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. We have been to the park twice already and Braelyn loves it. Things are starting to bud and green shoots are coming out of the ground- woohoo!! I love watching spring unfold and watching things grow. I have definitely been more motivated to get some things done lately. I am almost done organizing all of Braelyn's clothes, which feels nice. I like being organized, but a lot of times I lack motivation.

I wanted to share a few pics. One of the days when it was really pretty we decided to just move Braelyn's chair out on the deck for a picnic lunch. She loved it. Aaron and I decided that we might need to invest in some outdoor furniture for our little deck so we can eat out there more as the weather keeps getting nicer.

Braelyn was excited to get to see her Nana yesterday and today. Aaron's mom came up and spent the night with us last night and we were so glad to have her visit us. I am thankful that we are close enough that she can do that. And I got to go get some shopping done while Nana took care of Braelyn :) Thanks Nana!

hope everyone has a good weekend

Aaron's Award winning Chipolte Chicken Chili

2010-03-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have to say that I am copying Aaron's handwritten recipe.....so hopefully I will be able to decipher all the steps/ingredients. Here it is.....

Makes 8 servings

1 1/2 -2 lbs chicken (ground or shredded) Aaron used 1 lb ground chicken and 1/2 to 3/4 lb of a rotisserie chicken
4 Tbsp Chili powder
2 tsp Cumin (ground)
2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz each) Aaron used the ones that come with green peppers
1-2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp Tobasco chipolte sause to taste
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans rinsed & drained (Aaron used 1 black bean and 1 tri-bean blend)
1 can drained whole kernel yellow corn (save juice, Aaron used 1/2 for more liquid)
*1/2 Tbsp chopped garlic
*1/3 cup ranch dressing
*1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

*Aaron's own additions to the original recipe

1. Cook chicken in oil and half cumin & chili powder.
2. Mix everything else together (on stove or in crockpot) Bring to simmer. Add corn juice for more liquidy soup.

Hope you enjoy it!!

Pics from February

2010-02-27T16:10:00.001-08:00

So, this blog covers all of February. First of all, I wanted to show Sarah how cute Braelyn looked in her outfit that she got her. Everyone at church just went on and on about it. And as you can tell, I think Braelyn liked wearing it too :)

Next, we have the one and only 1st place winner of the Chili cook-off at our church about a week ago. There were 16 chilis entered and Aaron won!!! I was shocked, mainly bc he just threw it together about an hour before we went and had never made it before. But apparently it turned out GREAT....people are now asking for the recipe. He even got a trophy!! And a $50 gift card to FATZ. Sounds like a date night to me.
And here is Braelyn modeling an outfit I put together and thought was pretty cute. The sweater is from Aunt Sarah (you got it a long time ago, when she was little) but it has little bunnies on it. And the dress part was Caryss'. Thanks for all the clothes, we really enjoy them.

We got to go visit my friend, Stephanie and her little girl, Addie. This was the best picture I had of them. Maybe we'll get a better one next time. It was fun to visit, even though Braelyn was a bit rude to her friend Addie and kept wanting to hit her :(.

Valentine's Day!!!! Thank you Dwight & Andrea (all the Disneys) for the cute dress. It was perfect for the occasion. Aaron got me the Glory Revealed 2 cd, which is really good. We made it a week long celebration bc we went to Knoxville for a few days and got to go to a movie and out to eat a few times while Aaron's mom watched Braelyn.

Braelyn has begun brushing her teeth now and she really likes doing it......BY HERSELF. She gets frustrated when I try to help her, but it must be done. One good thing is that I can clip her toenails and fingernails while she brushes her teeth....good distraction.
And this is a picture of her first ponytail. Her hair is getting really long, but she won't leave anything in it for any amount of time. Usually by the time we get to church or wherever we are going, she has pulled out the rubberbands. Oh well, maybe someday.
We are really looking forward to spring and ready to get out of the house!!!! Goodbye February, come on Spring!

More pics from January

2010-02-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is Braelyn's favorite place to be outside, even in the snow!! She loves her swing.

This is Braelyn's new friend, Madelyn. They are really sweet together. I am thankful that Braelyn has a friend here. She has another friend, Kyrin, but we don't have a picture of him yet. They all three like to get together and play.
I think Madelyn is reading to Braelyn, while they both watch some PBS.

For some reason this picture just cracks me up. Just hanging out with God's word. She will find my bible and say "bible".

update on pics

2010-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks Aunt Laura for my cute outfit!! I really enjoy wearing it :)
Dreaming of going outside to play...one of her very favorite things~
Striking a pose
Would someone please take me outside?
)Cheese!!!

Carla and the boys (left to right: Jackson, Hayden, Braelyn, and Colton) came to stay with us one Friday night and it was a lot of fun. Colton especially enjoyed putting bows in Braelyn's hair. And believe or not, she actually let him and LEFT THEM IN!! Only for her cousin :

This is the first time she ever "cheesed" like that for the camera! It was SO FUNNY :)
My Granny and Pop Hasty.....with some of the GReat grandkids

Sorry for the long delay in updating with pictures. Here are a few to start with and hopefully more to follow soon. Braelyn is 17 months old now. Hard to believe. The first year seemed to go by pretty slow for me, but since she has turned one, it's passing quickly. I am enjoying this time though. Braelyn is so funny and is such a happy girl most of the time, thank you Lord. She is getting a lot more teeth, and has to be reminded often that it's not ok to bite your Mommy :) And she is learning to say "sorry"...it is so cute. Sometimes I struggle with keeping a "stern" face when correcting her bc she makes such funny faces even when she's not trying to. She LOVES to dance and is able to put her CD into her CD player all by herself and push play. She can even change CD's. She also likes to fake sneeze and just say "achoo". And she will say "Hi" to everybody we pass in Wal-mart or at the mall. One of my favorite things she does sometimes is when I am putting her to bed at night we always pray right before I lay her down and sometimes she will reach her head up and give me a kiss while I'm praying!! It just melts my heart. She is kinda stingy with her real kisses, but will blow kisses to anyone. ok, gotta get to bed....will continue this on another day.

Get to know the persecuted church around the world

2010-02-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share this, in case there are some people out there who are not aware of this great ministry and resource for the persecuted church. It is called The Voice of the Martyrs, they have been around since 1967. They have a website www.persecution.com . Please check it out. My favorite thing is they have a FREE newsletter that you can sign up for, once a month, that gives you updates on what is going on around the world with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When you read these updates, it really brings things into perspective AND it really reminds me that we are ONE BODY of believers here on this earth and we are called to pray for one another and bear one another's burdens. There are even links that you can go to on the website and are able to print and send a letter of encouragement to another brother or sister in Christ who is being imprisoned for their faith!! Isn't that amazing? I haven't done it yet, but I plan on it. Can you imagine how encouraging it would be to get mail from someone halfway around the world and hear that they are praying for YOU?? These Christians you read about in this newsletter/magazine......they are the REAL DEAL. They are risking their lives and they are losing their homes and jobs and loved ones because they LOVE JESUS!!! Their boldness and their faith encourages me, and convicts me of why I am not sharing Jesus with more people here when I don't even have to fear my life??? Lord, give us all boldness and opportunities to share and bring glory to your name.
So, PLEASE, share this info with others you know, sign up for the newsletter, and PRAY for our brothers and sisters around the world!

Open my eyes that I may see...

2010-01-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing around on John Piper's blog, Desiring God, and found a GREAT sermon on why reading our bibles regularly along with seeking God in prayer is what really GROWS us in our spiritual walk with the Lord. John Piper puts it so simply that I just had to share this bc hopefully, if you are a Christian, you want to be growing in your relationship and your understanding of the Lord and who He is and what He wants to do in your life. It is hard to be disciplined to do these things, and we all fall short, but it is worth making it a priority. It's all about what matters most to you in life. And God reminds us that this life here on earth is like a vapor....it will be gone before we know it, compared to ETERNITY!! When you stand before God someday at the end of this short time here on earth, will you be able to stand there, knowing, by the grace of God, you lived your life in a way that brought glory to the Lord, and was pleasing to the Lord bc you had purposed in your heart to seek Him and follow Him with all you had?? We only have one life here on earth, only ONE! I became a Christian when I was 9 years old, in VBS. I was blessed to have parents that raised me in church. I went on lots of youth trips and was really involved at our church. I remember the first bible verse I memorized was Ps 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" bc I have always struggled with fear. When I went to college I started going to some different churches and started learning some things about being a Christian and about God's word that I had never known. God used different circumstances while I was in college to really make me lean on Him and depend on Him....and it was during these times that I grew the most and could feel God's presence. I signed up to do summer missions in Gatlingburg one summer and God REALLY opened my eyes to see more of Him and taught me alot through friends I made there. That summer is when I knew for sure that I wanted to be a missionary. I really didn't intend on sharing all this this morning, but I guess I just think back on my life thus far and I can see how God has grown me at different times, and the times I learned the most or experienced His power the greatest were usually tough times when I had to cling to God's word and hide it in my heart. I have experienced the power of God's word in my life, and I just want others to experience it too. Even when life is good, I want to be hiding God's word in my heart. I think it's one of those things that you don't realize what you are missing until you experience it. I am doing a Precepts bible study with my church right now, and I love it. I realize now more than ever before that there is SO MUCH I don't know about the bible and that I WANT to learn.....and there will always be more to learn and understand. As Christians, we never "arrive" and are done with learning. We should always be seeking to know God more and understand His word better.
We have been so encouraged at our church here in Bristol. So many people truly love the Lord and you can tell that they are spending time with God on a regular basis.......they know God's word, they encourage one another, they pray for one another. They are real and they are dependent on God. They have been such a blessing to us.
Ok, so, like I said, I just want to encourage you to make spending time in God's word and spending time communicating with Him a priority this year. He will transform you and He can show you and teach you things you never knew. I am going to post an excerpt from John Piper's sermon....but I will post a link to the actual sermon and you can read it for yourself. He just says it SO WELL. Praying God will use all this to glorify Himself in your life and mine. Here's the excerpt:

Jesus put it like this in his great prayer for us in John 17:17, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." "Sanctify" is a Biblical word for making a person holy or godly or loving or pure or virtuous or spiritually wise. And these things I want for myself and for my children and for you. So what then should we do this year? If we are sanctified by the truth, and the Word of God is truth, what should we do?

If a doctor says, "You're very sick and may die of your sickness, but if you will take this medicine, you will get well and live," and you neglect to take the medicine - too busy, the pills are big and hard to swallow, just forgetful - you are going to stay sick and you may die. That's the way it is with sin and spiritual immaturity. If you neglect what God tells you will sanctify you and make you mature and strong and holy, then you will not be mature and strong and holy. Reading, and meditating on and memorizing and cherishing the Word of God is God's appointed way of overcoming sin and becoming a strong, godly, mature, loving, wise person.

Psalm 119:18. "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." This verse combines prayer and the Word, and we need to see how, so that we can combine them this way in our lives and in our church. There are three things that we learn from this verse.

One is that there are wonderful things in the Word of God. "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." The word "law" is "Torah" and means "instruction" or "teaching" in this psalm. There are wonderful things in God's teaching to us. In fact, they are so wonderful that when you really see them, they change you profoundly and empower holiness and love and missions (2 Corinthians 3:18). Which is why reading and knowing and meditating on and memorizing the Word of God is so crucial.
The second thing we learn from this verse is that no one can see these wonderful things for what they really are without God's supernatural help. "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." If God does not open our eyes, we will not see the wonder of the Word. We are not naturally able to see spiritual beauty. When we read the Bible without the help of God, the glory of God in the teachings and events of the Bible is like the sun shining in the face of a blind man. Not that you can't construe its surface meaning, but you can't see the wonder, the beauty, the glory of it such that it wins your heart.
Which leads to the third thing we learn from this verse, namely, that we must pray to God for supernatural illumination when we read the Bible. "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." Since we are helpless in ourselves to see spiritual beauty and the wonder of God in the teachings and events of the Bible without God's gracious illumination, we should ask him for it. "Open my eyes."

Here's the link to the entire sermon: it's printed out so you can just read it.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1998/1024_Open_My_Eyes_That_I_May_See/