Cell Phone Pictures

I thought it might be time to share some of the pictures I have snapped over the past few weeks with my phone. 

@ pj story time at the library

bowling with friends

she would ride the "merry round" a million times over

my two favorite boys

nothing like playing with play dough before 7 AM

@ McWane with Bailey

my crew one day last week. We had so much fun together

Lillian and Aiden rocking out together at Roger Day concert last week

how I have spent my last three afternoons...napping w/ Lillian

dinner @ church

Some days I simply cannot believe how blessed I am to be able to stay home with my little ones. Even though there are days when I want to run screaming down the road, I am all to aware of how quickly Lillian and John Whitten are growing up. Soon there will be a day when John Whitten will not let me rock him to sleep or when Lillian doesn't want me to read twenty books to her at bed time. What I wouldn't give to go back and hold my newborn babies just one more time...just for five minutes. But I am so thankful for the little people they are growing into and I love them more than words could describe. 

All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children

Isaiah 54:13

Wednesday's Thoughts

I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself

like a little weaned child with its mother

Psalm 131 1-2

Welcom Callie Grace Long

Yesterday at 12:59 pm Meredith, Travis and Bailey became a family of four as they welcomed their beautiful daughter, Callie Grace Long , into the world. She was a perfect 6 lb 10 oz and 19 inches long. Words cannot describe how happy that I am for Travis, Meredith and Bailey. Shaun and I feel very blessed to be in Callie's life and cannot wait to watch her grow up in our crazy family. 

Congratulations Long Family!

I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

Psalm 92:4

Not Surprising

Last night John Whitten said his first word! And to neither mine nor Shaun's surprise it was "Mama"!! He had woken up and Shaun went into his room to try and put him back down but he was not having it. He was screaming, crying and all around not wanting his Daddy. All of the sudden I heard over the monitor John Whitten shout out "Mama"! Shaun brought him into our bedroom and the second he saw me he said it again (this time reaching out to me), "Mama, Mama". 


John Whitten is such a Mamma's boy, and I honestly love every second of it. I tell Shaun that with him working so much these days John Whitten is my new main man, it makes perfect sense that he would say Mama first.

"For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."

Luke 6:45

Ten Months Old

What! When did it this happen? Where did these last ten months go? I cannot believe that John Whitten is ten months old and that in just two months we will be celebrating our little boys first birthday-eek!! It is hard to imagine our lives before John Whitten. Before his smiling face, his sweet belly laughs and his cozy cuddles. He is simply wonderful and my heart overflows with joy at just the thought of him. He makes us love more and laugh deeper. How blessed we are to call him our son. Here are a few things about my baby boy now that he is 10 months old!

*he is 26 pounds-believe it or not he is slimming down

*he is wearing 18 month clothes

*still nursing

*he is crawling everywhere and getting into everything

*LOVES to be rocked and cuddle

*he is still a big ole' Momma's boy

*jabbering a lot but still not saying Mama...sniff 

*sweet John Whitten is getting quite opinionated and will let you know when he doesn't like something.

*he loves to take baths and stick his head under the faucet

* he LOVE, LOVE, LOVES his big sister and is constantly laughing at her. 

*he is finally sleeping in his crib all night and sleeps from 8:00-8:30 to 9:00 every morning.

*today he finally ate something! Maybe we wont end up in therapy after all. 

*Shaun describes him as "jolly". I love to listen to Shaun talk about John Whitten. It is really special to listen to a man talk about his son. 

*He melts my heart....

"Your love, O Lord, reaches from the heavens,

Your faithfulness to the skies"

Psalm 36:5

Little Things Make Me Smile

Lillian is always saying something or doing something that makes Shaun and I die laughing, but often it is the little things, that I cherish the most. It has been a long couple of weeks here in the Hays' home with Shaun working a lot of long hours and the kids and I being on the go constantly. And the other night all three of us hit our breaking point and things just fell apart. It was a fight to get dinner made, a fight to get the kids in the bath, a fight to get them both to sleep...everything we did seem to bring tears to all of our eyes. After I finally got both Lillian and John Whitten to sleep I was walking around the house picking up toys when I came down the hallway to find this....

Lillian's baby doll in time out. It brought the biggest smile to my face and I literally laughed out loud when I saw her sitting there. Lillian might have said or done twenty hilarious things that day, but walking down the hall to find her baby doll in time out was just the laugh I needed and what I will remember about that day.

A Long Over Due Post

A few weeks ago our good friend Martina, who moved to Huntsville a little while ago, came back to Birmingham for a few days since her hubby had work in town. It was so good to see her and her sweet little boy Colton. Lillian, Eli and Colton pretty much saw each once or twice a week before they moved and I know that Lillian has missed playing with her friend Colton. We went over to the hotel where they were staying and spent the morning swimming and catching up on everything. Perhaps the BIGGEST news that we discussed was that Martina is PREGNANT with Baby Penter number two!! She is such an amazing Mommy already and I cannot wait meet their new sweet baby in December!

Scrub-A-Dub John Whitten In The Tub

"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 18:4

What Tired Looks Like

Yesterday I laid John Whitten down for his afternoon nap and as usual he sat back up and started crying for me to pick him up (this little boy loves to be rocked to sleep). I laid him back down, told him I loved him and left the room. He cried for maybe more minutes and was silent. When I went back into check on him this is what I found....



Of course I had to take a picture of my sweet boy; he didn't even flinch when it flashed. Obviously he'd had a good time at the McWane center earlier that morning.

More of Sweet Baby Graham

I am Graham obsessed right now...partly because I am so excited for Johnny and Emily, partly because I am his Aunt and partly because I don't get to see him everyday like I do Shepard and Eli. I have already told Shaun to be prepared to have a little extra gas cost each month because we will be going to Nashville as frequently as possible!

Lillian was so excited to hold Graham

even John Whitten wanted in on the action!

Johnny is a great diaper changer!

proud Grandparents!

 welcome home!

Sweet Graham

Praying For Our Children

I saw this the other day on a friend's blog and thought that it would be a wonderful thing to share with my friends and family. I printed the list out and have started praying a specific scripture over Lillian and John Whitten every day. My friend had the idea to match the number with the correlating date (# 5- July 5), and that is how I have been doing it. I challenge my other Mommy friends to do the same. Parenting is such a huge task and I know that I cannot go it alone. Shaun and I are not enough for Lillian and John Whitten and we know that we need God in order to be the parents He calls us to be.

 1. Salvation—"Lord, let salvation spring up within _________, that she may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." (Isa. 45:8; 2 Tim. 2:10)


2. Growth in Grace—"I pray that _________ may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 3:18)


3. Love—"Grant, Lord, that _________ may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in her." (Gal. 5:25; Eph. 5:2)


4. Honesty and Integrity—"May integrity and honesty be _________'s virtue and her protection." (Ps. 25:21)


5. Self-Control—"Father, help _________ not to be like many others around her, but let her be alert and self-controlled in all she does." (1 Thess. 5:6)

6. Love for God's Word—"May _________ grow to find Your Word more precious than gold and sweeter than honey." (Ps. 19:10)


7. Justice—"God, help _________ to love justice as You do and act justly in all she does." (Ps. 11:7; Mic. 6:8)

8. Mercy—"May _________ always be merciful, just as her Father is merciful." (Luke 6:36)

9. Respect (for self, others, and authority)—"Father, grant that _________ may show proper respect to everyone, as Your Word commands." (1 Pet. 2:17)


10. Biblical Self-Esteem—"Help _________ develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that she is God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:10)


11. Faithfulness—"Let love and faithfulness never leave _________, but bind these twin virtues around her neck and write them on the tablet of her heart." (Prov. 3:3)


12. Courage—"May _________ always be strong and courageous in her character and in her actions." (Deut. 31:6)


13. Purity—"Create in _________ a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in her actions." (Ps. 51:10)


14. Kindness—"Lord, may _________ always try to be kind to everyone." (1 Thess. 5:15)


15. Generosity—"Grant that _________ may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for herself as a firm foundation for the coming age." (1 Tim. 6:18-19)


16. Peace-Loving—"Father, let _________ make every effort to do what leads to peace." (Rom. 14:19)


17. Joy—"May _________ be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." (1 Thess. 1:6)


18. Perseverance—"Lord, teach _________ perseverance in all she does, and help her especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for her." (Heb. 12:1)


19. Humility—"God, please cultivate in _________ the ability to show true humility toward all." (Titus 3:2)


20. Compassion—"Lord, please clothe _________ with the virtue of compassion." (Col. 3:12)


21. Responsibility—"Grant that _________ may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load." (Gal. 6:5)


22. Contentment—"Father, teach _________ the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives her strength." (Phil. 4:12-13)


23. Faith—"I pray that faith will find root and grow in _________'s heart, that by faith she may gain what has been promised to her." (Luke 17:5-6; Heb. 11:1-40)


24. A Servant's Heart—"God, please help _________ develop a servant's heart, that she may serve wholeheartedly, as if she were serving the Lord, not men." (Eph. 6:7)


25. Hope—"May the God of hope grant that _________ may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Rom. 15:13)


26. Willingness and Ability to Work—"Teach _________, Lord, to value work and to work at it with all her heart, as working for the Lord and not for men." (Col. 3:23)


27. Passion for God—"Lord, please instill in _________ a soul that 'followeth hard after thee,' one that clings passionately to You." (Ps. 63:8)


28. Self-Discipline—"Father, I pray that _________ may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair." (Prov. 1:3)


29. Prayerfulness—"Grant, Lord, that _________'s life may be marked by prayerfulness, that she may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers." (1 Thess. 5:17)


30. Gratitude—"Help _________ to live a life that is always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. 5:20; Col. 2:7)


31. A Heart for Missions—"Lord, please help _________ to develop a desire to see Your glory declared among the nations, Your marvelous deeds among the peoples." (Ps. 96:3)

A True Daddy's Girl

It has become pretty clear to everyone these days that Lillian is a Daddy's girl. She cries every morning that he leaves for work. She constantly asks me to call him during the day so that she can tell him about her play dates with friends. At night she tells me "tickle my back like this (holding out her fingers as wide as she can) like my Daddy does". Lillian honestly believes that her Daddy can fix and do anything. And that is fine with me, because that is how a little girl is suppose to feel about her Daddy. She loves to tell me, "My Daddy keeps me safe all the time Mommy. He keeps our family safe". I have said it a million times before and I will probably say it a million more times, but Shaun really is an amazing Father and I am so grateful that Lillian and John Whitten have him. I am sure that Lillian will date boys and one day get married, but Shaun will have been the first man in her life and that is a very special relationship. 

Welcome To The World Graham

Last Thursday my beautiful nephew entered this world at 2:30 pm weighing in at a perfect 6 pounds and 14 ounces. As soon as we got the phone call that Emily was in labor I ran home, packed the kids and I up and headed to Nashville. However Graham did not want to wait on us to get there and decided to make a speedy entry into this world. I cannot tell you how beautiful Graham is; he is gorgeous. My heart swelled with love and joy when I walked into the hospital room and saw Emily holding that baby boy. He is so tiny and so perfect and I could not be more proud to call myself his Aunt! Poor Uncle Shaun had to work so he wasn't able to go to Nashville with us, but that's okay because it just means that we will get to make a trip back up there VERY soon. 

Graham Spencer Greene

the very proud Daddy

and the very proud Aunt!

Great Grandparent Bev and Joe

heading home

"I sing joy at the works of Your hands." -Psalms 92:4