Love this song!

I have heard the song "Always" by Building 429 several times over the past few days playing on K-LOVE. It is amazing. The chorus is simple, but powerful. As my girls' Bible study has just finished reading "Trusting God" by Jerry Bridges, this song captures the real meaning of placing our trust in our Almighty. Here's a link to the song, with some explanation of the story behind it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIR3VfS_who

ALWAYS by Building 429

I was standing in the pouring rain
One dark November night
Fighting off the bitter cold
When she caught my eye
Her face was torn and her eyes were filled
And then to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph
And my heart just stopped inside
She said, "He would have been three today
I miss his smile, I miss his face"
What was I supposed to say

But I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
He will be with you always

He was living in a broken world dreaming of a home
His heart was barely keeping pace
When I found him all alone
Remembering the way he felt
When his daddy said goodbye
Fighting just to keep the tears
And the anger locked inside
He's barely holding on to faith
But deliverance is on its way

'Cause I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
He will be with you always

Friend I don't know where you are
And I don't know where you've been
Maybe you're fighting for your life
Or just about to throw the towel in
But if you're crying out for mercy
If there's no hope left at all
If you've given everything you've got
And you're still about to fall
Well hold on, hold on, hold on

'Cause I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all faith is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
Always, Always
He will be with you always
He will be with you always
He will be with you

5 weeks old

Carter is 5 weeks old as of yesterday. I don't really feel like we are in much of a routine yet, but hopefully that will be coming. There's something about that 6 week mark that has me hopeful! A few tidbits about the past week or so... Carter is still (sigh...) eating every 2-4 hours. We're lucky when we get a 4 hour stretch... he's usually right on the money with wanting to eat every 3 hours, even at night. Heck, it's pretty predictable. We feed him at 10pm, 1am, 4am, and 7am. I'm ready for that 1am feeding to magically disappear!

Jerry was sweet and got up with the boys this morning so I could sleep in. And, what do I find on my camera? Pictures of our sweet baby with the hunting dog. Great! Definitely my kind of scrapbook material... =)

Even now, 5 weeks into this transition, Grayson still LOVES his little brother. It is very fun to watch. He loves snuggling with him!

The other day, while I was rocking Carter, he found his thumb again. I had to get a pic! He doesn't find it very often, but when he does, he goes to town sucking on it!

Another random tidbit... I took the boys to get their Easter pics taken yesterday, and I had found matching Polo shirts (a onesie for Carter) for them. Carter's was a size 3 months, and it barely fit over his head and barely snapped at the bottom. This kid is one chunky monkey! I guess the feedings every 3 hours are paying off for someone in our family. =)

My 2 Baby Jays

Bath time

So, this first pic isn't in the bathtub, but I thought it was cute. =)Tonight was Carter's 3rd bath and the 1st time he didn't cry! I think he actually liked it!
Grayson loves to help get him all clean...

He still has his big blue eyes, just like his Daddy -- yea!

Sleep is still a mystery to me... Carter had two 5 hour long stretches in between feedings over the past 24 hours, so I'm hoping that maybe we're making a little headway. Last evening, he ate at 7pm and then not again until midnight, but then ate at 3am and 6am. Then, this morning he ate at 9am, but wasn't hungry again until 1pm. We just need him to have these "stretches" during the nighttime!! I've been re-reading Babywise to see if there's anything else we can be doing to help his sleep patterns. I think we're somewhat on a decent schedule of feeding/awake time/nap time every 3 hours... It's hard to believe he'll be a month old on Friday!

Grayson's birthday party at Pump It Up!

On Wednesday afternoon, Grayson celebrated his 4th birthday with several friends at Pump It Up! We had a great time playing, bouncing, and running around!! Here's the birthday boy...

All the kids lined up to go eat cake and ice cream!
Amy and Kim

Kristy who is holding Kinsley, Julia, Chad, Katie is holding Delaney, Jami, Nanci, and Michelle

Elyse and Grayson -- they were born only 1 day apart!

With my sweet birthday boy =)

Kaitlyn, Grayson, and Brinklee

Elliot and Grayson

Carter took this opportunity to catch up on some of the sleep he's not getting at night by sleeping through the entire party. =) Here he is... all cozy in his carseat.

And, a fun "awake" picture -- checking out the fish while he's in his swing.

Thanks to all of you who have left comments regarding our sleeplessness or who have sent emails. We are continuing to try different things, and I am so blessed to have help from my mom and Jerry! Last night Carter ate at 10pm, 1am, 3:50am, 5:30am, and 7:30am. So we had two 3 hour stretches... Hopefully this week will be better!

Utterly exhausted...

It never ceases to amaze me how a tiny newborn can completely take over your life. We had a great first 2 weeks at home, but ever since this past weekend, I feel like we have a different baby. Carter is not sleeping more than 2-2 1/2 hours at a time during the night, which makes for a VERY LONG night for me! When he wakes up, he's usually starving... which is fine. I'll nurse him and hope that he goes back to sleep. We've gone back and forth with him in his crib and then him in our bed... he seems to wake himself up sporadically, and needs a little pat on the back to get back sleeping. With that said, it's easier to have him in with us versus getting up to console him in his own room.

I just know that it is stinkin' hard to not get more than a 2 hour stretch of sleep for days on end... I am up for any suggestions! We have given Carter a bottle about once a day since he came home, so we have actually tried formula at night to see if that tides him over a little longer. Nope. Doesn't work. I'm not a coffee drinker at all, but have had one Diet Coke a day since he was born. I want to say that I don't think that's what is affecting him, since he did so well those first two weeks. Shoot -- I even ate Chipotle three times in those two weeks without him being fussy later on.

We are tempted to put him to sleep on his stomach... we have tried to have several "awake" times with him after feeding him (Babywise instructions) during the day, to help get him to sleep at night. I don't know... I just know that I want to be able to sleep... for at least 3 hours straight. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Grayson!

Four years ago, on March 8th, 2005, our sweet Grayson was born! We had a fun-filled birthday weekend celebrating!! Grayson has been asking for a long time if he can go to Build-a-Bear for his birthday, and so we did. He decided to make a koala... here he is giving his koala a bath and some good brushing after he got stuffed.The birthday boy with his koala... he picked out a swimming suit for him to wear! Grayson requested to go to Red Robin -- one of his favorite restaurants -- for his birthday lunch. There was a balloon man there, making balloon animals, and Grayson chose a spider.

Gotta love the free birthday sundae... and the singing!! =)

That afternoon, Uncle Dave, Aunt Kristen, and Uncle Brentley "called" Grayson on the computer, via Skype, to talk to the birthday boy. Very fun!! Here he is, talking with everyone... you can really see Uncle Brentley and Aunt Kristen on the screen here.

Miss Kay and Mr. Paul were in town and we loved having them celebrate with us for Grayson's birthday dinner! They got to meet Carter, and we all had a wonderful time together. Here's Miss Kay with the boys...

Mr. Paul and Carter

Nana made a beautiful quilt for Carter and Grayson got to open it since he's the big brother! Mom and I had actually picked out the fun fabrics at this neat store in Lawrence, and then I forgot about it... A fun, sweet surprise! Mom also made Grayson's favorite meal for dinner: briscuit, cheesy potatoes, asparagus (he LOVES them), and fruit. Yum!

Licking the candles on his ice cream cake

Happy 4th Birthday, Grayson! We love you!!

More pictures of the boys...

Feeling blessed...

A week ago today we came home from the hospital. I must admit that I was nervous, tentative, wary, and just plain scared to bring a newborn home with us. I remembered our nights with Grayson... pacing back and forth, trying to get him to sleep. I remembered the stress of nursing, wondering if I was doing the right thing, and why on earth did they get so big?? I remembered feeling completely and utterly exhausted.

But, we have seen prayers answered over the past 2 years in so many ways. And, we continue to see them answered. We are blessed. Blessed with a sweet baby who goes back to sleep after he eats in the middle of the night. Blessed that Jerry has been off of work for most all of last week. Blessed to have family so close by to help.

This past week has gone smoothly! And, I can only credit it to lots of people praying for us. And, maybe, just maybe, we're a little more relaxed with our second. Who knows. =) Yes, I'm tired. But, I've actually enjoyed this first week at home. I'm looking forward to this coming week and attempting to get back into our little routine. And, we're still praying that Carter continues to go back to sleep after eating in the middle of the night...

This verse was in the book my girls' Bible study is going through right now: Trusting God by Jerry Bridges -- it might be familiar to you, too.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23