Neela's 1st Birthday Bash!

Neela's invitation for her 1st birthday party!



Neela being busy at her party. :)


The cake Chad, my brother in-law, made for Neela alone. :) She felt so special. ;0


Neela eating her cake. Funny story... She really didn't know what to do when the cake was placed in front of her. She touched the cake very gently and was feeling it, but did not make a dent. So I pushed her fingers a little into the cake, she licked her fingers, and it was over from there. :)

She ate mostly icing, but loved it. We reaped the benefits of that later that night at 3am with a hyper baby jumping on our bed and then threw up icing. :) She has yet to have that much sugar, but it was so fun for her and us. A memorable day.



Here is another picture of the freakin amazing cake my brother in-law Chad made for Neela. What a memorable cake for her 1st birthday. I have his contact info if anyone would like to use his talents for a future event!






I made 13 frames for each month of Neela's life to see how she much she grew each month. They turned out pretty darn cute! :) (13 because I made one for the day she was born)



A few more...



The proud parents

Neela is 1!!

On May 12th Neela turned 1 year old. Wow, I know all parents say this but really, "Where did the time go?" I just kept saying that to myself that day, looking at this sweet baby girl and thought I could not imagine life without her.

What a blessing she has been in our lives. What a joy it is to wake up every morning, go into her room, and know I will have an instant smile when I see her face. She is usually standing in her crib waiting for Tim or I to come get her so she can start her day. :) Just picture this in your mind, what a sweet moment. :)



I know we have not been the "perfect" parents at taking care of her or training her, but God is still using us to reveal His love and truth in her life. It's funny to see her face when we are reading the bible because she is very interested in the book because we were reading it. Goes to show you, we are a huge influence in our children's lives. Don't get me wrong, it has been a rough road as well (unrestful nights, stressful crying, forcing medications down the throat, letting her cry herself to sleep, etc) but it's all been worth it.

We love our little girl so much and thank God for her daily.

Happy 1st Birthday Neela!

1st Easter Egg Hunt

What a sight to see, a bunch of kids running to pick up eggs off the ground. Oh the traditions we come up with! :) Neela had no idea what was going on. I thought we would focus on "1" egg, potentially "2". She saw the egg was interested for like 3 seconds and then playing with the wood chips. I tried to demonstrate what she needed to do, but she was distracted with picking up the wood chips and trying to put them in her mouth. It was so freakin adorable. Other kids were circling her wondering if she was going to actually pick up this egg because if not, they wanted it. :)

1st trip to the Zoo

Ok, so Austin Zoo is not the most fabulous zoo for Neela's first zoo experience, but they did have rescue animals which is a great thing. She loved seeing the animals and hanging out with her Daddy and Mommy.

It's funny because one of the first animals we saw was the black bear. She instantly saw it and was pointing and getting really excited. Tim and I were laughing because we were thinking she is going to like all the animals because they somewhat look like our dog Rocky (a black lab) and she LOVES Rocky.



So we start with the stroller because we are currently on pavement, but the pavement stops at the entrance and continues in gravel. So we pushed the stroller, but held Neela.... the entire time. :)



Neela loves spending time with her daddy!


I think the lion was at the top of Neela's list. She loved watching it move around. (also it was really close for her to see) :)

Overall, the trip was fun and educational for Neela all at the same time. Now I have an excuse to go to the zoo. I love having a little girl. :)

Flyleaf- Missing

Check out Flyleaf's new video "Missing". It's from the album Momento Mori. It's a great buy, totally recommend it!


Missing

Flyleaf | MySpace Music Videos

Below are the lyrics to the song:

Missing

I saw the queen
Swam out below her star on sea beneath
Though I lifted up my hands to her
She never lifted me

Oh, something's missing in me
I felt it deep within me as lovers left me to bleed alone

Found something sweet on the island with daughters of Eve
But through thick and thin they've gone away
And only left their grief

Oh, something's missing in me
I felt it deep within me as lovers left me to bleed alone
Something's missing in me
I felt it deep within me as lovers left me to bleed alone

Something's missing in me
Something's missing in me

Down here love wasn't meant to be
It wasn't meant to be for me
Down here love wasn't meant to be
It wasn't meant to be for me

Oh, something's missing in me
I felt it deep within me as lovers left me to bleed alone

Something's missing in me
I felt it deep within me as lovers left me to bleed alone

Something's missing in me
Something's missing in me
Something's missing in me
Something's missing in me

Wow

So I occasionally read this blog from my friend Faith's page, Daily Generous Wife Tips. Man, was this post convicting.

I truly desire to be a Godly wife who honors God by loving my family well. I want my home to be a place of peace, joy, and life that is glorifying to God. But I know living in my flesh and sinful ways this does not always happen. I get home from work and I am tired, snappy, and not wanting to serve my family.

But tonight as we prayed as a family, God opened my eyes again to show me what He desires for me and that is to trust in Him daily with my family and my circumstances. Neela had surgery last week to have tubes put in her ears due to a month and a half of ear infections and come to find out... she still has an ear infection this week and is accompanied by weezy bronchitis!! Man, my heart aches for my baby girl. Tim has had a few scares potentially with his heart for a few weeks and is currently with a loop monitor. About 2 weeks ago we had to call an ambulance one morning due to him waking up having difficulty breathing, seeing spots, and hearing a static noises. Man was that scary!! I love him so much and it hurt to see him go through worrying and and wondering what is going on. I am at a loss at times to know what to say to encourage him. But I trust God will be his ultimate comfort and peace. I struggle to just serve my family all the time because I am selfish and want time to myself or just to do nothing. But I know God is using this time to fix my eyes and heart on him for direction, wisdom, and strength. He alone is my refuge. ("Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed are those to take comfort in Him alone." Psalm 34:8)

So when I think about being married to myself right now, I just think it would not be fun to be around myself. What a great perspective and an eye opener. I am thankful I don't have to be married to myself. I would go crazy. :) I don't know how Tim does it. :) I am thankful God loves me as I am and is daily sanctifying me and drawing me closer to him. What a beautiful and gracious God we serve.

Below is the post I read tonight....

Would you want to be married to you?

I found this question in a post on Simple Marriage (Corey's blog is my current painful introspective obsession).

So, would you want to be married to you? How would you feel about being on the receiving end of your peculiarities, your selfishness, your obsessions, your limitations, and the things you won't let go of even though you know you should? Would you feel blessed or cheated if you received from your bride what she receives from you? Do you offer enough love, concern, support, understanding and space? Are you too critical, too distant, or too avoidant? Do you make your needs, desire and wants far bigger than you see her needs, desire and wants?

If you don't like what you see when you answer these questions honestly, it's time to pick one thing and start working on it; then another thing and another.

If you like what you see when you answer these questions, there is a very good chance you are not being completely honest.

Neela's 9 Month Photo Shoot Preview