embracing me and the me i want to be...

for years, like most women, i've struggled with comparing myself to others. i've said things like... is my hair as pretty as hers, i just wish i could get my hair that color, wow they've got a great body- i just don't think i could have that body even if i worked my head off, man, that girl has got great boobs (come on, you know you do this one too) if i could just get a boob job then these saggy nursing boobs would perk up and they'd look as good as hers! i hope my husband doesn't compare me to her... and the list goes on and on... but now, the lord has brought me to a good place. a place of contentment with who i am. who i am in Him! who i am compared to his word, NOT other women. There will always be someone with prettier hair, perkier bigger boobs and a flatter stomach than me. and i'm ok with that! I'm embracing me and the me i want to be! i'm embracing my natural hair color, that's what God gave me. I'm blessed to even have hair. How dare i compare that blessing from the Lord to someone else. I'm embracing my cellulite! lol! I've got it, maybe it will go away someday, maybe not, but that's ok. I'm the Lord's and he loves my cellulite! I'm embracing my saggy boobs from all that nursing. i'm blessed to have nursed my children and i'm blessed to have healthy breast tissue. How dare i compare that blessing from the Lord! I know, I know. Some will say, this girl thinks you shouldn't get your hair highlighted. You shouldn't workout. You shouldn't have a boob job. NO! that's not what i'm saying. I'm saying, check your heart! Ask yourself why you do the things you do? Why do you wear the clothes you wear. Is it to honor God? or show off in front of others. Show your body off? Show off how much money you have? Why do you work out and eat right? Is it to be healthy and be the best temple for the holy spirit you can be. Because after all, as believers, the holy spirit lives within us. I had a wise woman tell me "We are a spirit with a body!" How profound! The spirit lives forever but the body passes away. So, my question is, why waste time on the perishable when the imperishable is what it's all about! The everlasting! Fellow sisters, live for the Lord! Compare yourselves to his standard alone, not those of the world and of your fellow woman. Ask yourself why you do what you do... check your heart... it just might surprise you. I know it did me! Praise you Jesus for teaching me! Help me to apply these principles to my life daily, hourly and moment by moment! I pray my fellow sisters in you will not struggle comparing themselves to me or others and that i will not have the same struggles in comparing myself to them. Help us to not pick ourselves apart in disgust for this is a lie of the enemy. Thank you Jesus for our uniqueness and inward and outward natural beauty in you! Help us to HONOR you in the choices we make about ourselves Jesus. We praise you Lord! Amen.

My little dancer...

Spicer Beth participated in her very first dance recital this past Saturday. I got a little teary getting her ready for the big night. I just can't believe how fast she's growing up. And growing into such a beautiful little girl, inside and out! She was a part of the "Little Mermaid" dance recital. Her part was a frog in the sea witch's castle. Spicer did an awesome job! Of course we have it all on video but she danced her little heart out! She spotted Jared with the video camera and waved to him a couple of times. Then, at the end, she came over and bowed right in front of our video camera! She's a hoot! But that's not all... oh no... that's not all the hootiness of SB! lol! At the end of the recital, she was the first to take a bow. Then she continued to bow, oh I don't know, like 400 times! haha! While the other dancers were bowing, yes, SB was still bowing. While the other dancers were taking their all important bows, yes, SB started doing cartwheels and handstands. lol! and while the other dancers were taking their bows, yes, Spicer Beth was dancing and bowing and cartwheeling! My oh My! It absolutely doesn't get any funnier than that! I was laughing so hard I was crying! I'm so glad she did all that, even if she wasn't "supposed to." It just shows her little personality! And we caught it all on tape! I sure do love my full of life little three year old! Her name says it all! She sure does "Spice" up life! Love her! :)

super sweet...

My sweet sweet kiddos are so super precious to me! I thank God daily for the blessings he gave me in Spicer and Axl. Jared and I always talk about how awesome they are and how much we love being their parents. :) Parenthood definitely has its challenges, but for the most part it is absolutely wonderful! Speaking of wonderful... today I bought SB and jojo new sippy cups. Spicer had hers and I looked at Axl and said, "here bubba, you got a new sip-sip." (for some reason i always say things twice or add an /s/ to words with baby talk,lol)Spicer looked at me and said, "Awe, how wonderful! You got Axl a sippy too!" Oh my goodness! This child is growing up so fast! Her vocabulary always amazes me! And her sweetness too! She's just the right amount of sweet and ornery! That's what I tell her! She's the best! Axl, Axl, Axl! Can't get enough of my little man! He's absolutely precious! He started saying momma this weekend! I told him that was the best mother's day gift he could give me! So, so sweet! He is such a lover! He loves squeezies and kisses. I love his big open mouth kisses! :) Last weekend we were able to get away for a day or two. It was nice! It has been so very busy around here, so getting away was much anticipated! We went to Cove Lake on Saturday and then stayed the night at the Lodge at Mt. Magazine. These are two of our favorite things to do around here. This was really Axl's first experience with a lake and a big pool. He loved splashing and of course kept wanting to pick up the pebbles along the lake shore and eat them! ha! Spicer love, love, loves going to Cove Lake and Mt. Magazine! I think we told her we were going on Wed the week before and each day she would ask if it is was time to go to Mt. Magazine. When the day finally arrived, she said, " Yay! We go to Cove Lake and Mt. Magazine today!" in such a sweet excited squealy voice! I love that little voice! Wouldn't you know it, I didn't take a single picture with my two little gems on Mother's day! Guess I won't win mother of the year award for that one... oh darn! lol! We had a wonderful mother's day nevertheless! SB made me a picture with her feet and hand prints and gave me two gerber daisys. The week before Mother's Day I picked her up from preschool a little early and she panicked! She started crying and said, "but mommy i didn't get to paint, and my mother's day is coming." Awe... how sweet! Melted my heart! She wanted to make sure she was able to make my mother's day gift! :) Like a mentioned, little man gave me the gift of saying my name. :) And big man gave me an iphone that i will be able to pick up on June 23 because that's when it's time to upgrade! ;) Doesn't bother me to wait! I'm excited to finally get a smart phone. It will be worth the wait! God is good! We are thankful and loving each day he blesses us with! Cove Lake (Axl's first time)

face paint fun at Ozark K-Life end of the year party! (Spicer busted out some awesome dance moves on stage!)

golly he's a cutie!

two little mess pots!

9 months!

This cutie toot (a.k.a. Jo Jos, Axl Jo, Bubba, Bubbas, the list goes on and on!) turned 9 months old last week!

Height: 28 1/2 inches Weight: 21 lbs 14 ounces Food: lots of it! lol! He tried eggs for the first time today and absolutely was in heaven! ha! He still doesn't have any teeth so I can't give him much table food yet. So for now, he's getting all the "baby food" he wants! He loves gerber snacks too! Puffs and the little gerber cheeto things are his favorite! I mean he gets so excited when I give those to him! Anytime I'm needing to get something done I can just put him in his high chair and give him some snacks and he's good to go! :) Sleep: He sleeps pretty good. Usually ready for bed around 7:30 or 8. Wakes up about 1 time each night and gets in bed with me for a few minutes to sooth back to sleep. Then wakes around 7 each morning. However, some mornings he wakes at 5 and has a difficult time settling back into sleep. This is not fun for momma! Occasionally he will sleep through the night without a peep. Clothes: 9-12 months (mainly 12 months though)and some 18 months size 5 shoes and he wears size 4 diapers New stuff: Oh my goodness! There are so many new things he is doing! Crawling all over the place, pulling up, walking along furniture, saying little things like, "num-num, ma-ma, da-da,". He is full of it! Constantly on the go unless he's eating or sleeping! I love it, but boy does he wear me out! haha! Gonna have to stay in shape to keep up with this little fella! Favorites: Loves taking a bath! He gets so excited when we turn the water on! We've been swimming some this month and he loves that too! Oh, and swinging! It gets his little belly so much! He laughs and then cocks his head to the left when it's getting his belly. He also loves playing with big sister. Lately, they have been playing house and Axl is SB's baby! I love this! So, so sweet! :) You're the best sweet son! God truly has blessed us beyond all measure! :)

here and there...

We've been so busy lately. Sometimes i seriously do not know if I'm coming or going. Ha! Spring is always busy for the Fowlers but especially now that we've got two precious little ones! It's been about a month since i last blogged so i'm just going to try and say a little bit about the pictures and move on. I'll be posting about my little man turning 9 months old tomorrow after his check up. Want to be able to put his height and weight in... He's a big boy! Jared always tries to find some time for his kiddos, even when he's super busy. He took SB fishing a few weeks ago and she caught her first fish! She wasn't too impressed by it, but golly we sure were!

And my oh my is this little guy getting big or what? Such a sweet little momma's boy!

We had to take him to Children's Hospital during the middle of the month. He had to have a CT scan of the bump on his forehead. The doctor said the CT scan shows it to be a cyst but he's not completely sure. He thinks it may still be a hemangioma under the skin (since axl has so many of those elsewhere). Anyway, PTL for a good report and either way they don't plan to operate any time soon. Took this picture while we were waiting to see the doctor after the CT scan. He's sticking out his tongue at the CT scan... Did. NOT. Like. it!

I rarely take both kids with me to the grocery store, so this occasion was an exception. It was neat to put both of them in the shopping cart together. Sometimes I just can't believe I have two happy healthy kiddos! They are both little blessings and we praise God for them each day!

SB and piggie! Yes, piggie is a pink teddy bear! lol! She wanted me to take a picture of her with piggie at the bar. Love it! She loves her piggie! :)

Even during the busy times of life I'm thakful for the busyness! Thankful for the blessings the Lord has given me that make me one very busy wife and mommy! God is good!

8 months!

This little guy...

turned 8 months old last week (3-26-12)! My goodness!

Height: Not sure, check up next month
Weight: i'm guessing around 22 lbs, he's one heavy little guy!
Food: anything and everything baby food wise and formula of course-- he loves his bottle! We do not feed him table food yet (with the exception of mashed potatoes). I waited until spicer was a year for that so we'll do the same for him. He did try some vanilla yogurt from goodies this week and of course loved that!
Sleep: He is sleeping MUCH better these days! PTL! For a few weeks he's been going to sleep in his bed around 8 or 8:30, and sleeps a couple of hours there. Then, when he wakes, I just put him in bed with me and SB and he sleeps like a "baby" with us for the remainder of the night. But, last night he slept the entire night in his bed! He woke at 5:30 so i thought he wanted to get in bed with us but he started crying when I put him up there, so gave him a bottle and he went back to sleep in his bed until around 8! WOWZERS! I sure hope this is what he's planning to do from now on, but if not, that's fine. I really don't mind him sleeping with me. He is so big I know i won't roll over on him and he doesn't move around much so he really doesn't affect my sleep. Now, him crying all night and waking several times when he's in his bed does affect my sleep, lol! So, I guess, for the past few weeks he's been sleeping around 10-11 hours each night. PTL!
Clothes: 9-12 months (mainly 12 months though) size 5 shoes and he wears size 4 diapers
New stuff: CRAWLING! He started crawling 5 days after he turned 8 months old! He'd been getting into crawling position the entire month and just couldn't figure out how to go forward. he would go backward a bit and get to what he wanted somehow and then get so very frustrated. I'm so glad he has started crawling (never thought i'd say that, ha) because i felt so bad for his frustration and he just wanted me to carry him around all the time. lol! This morning when i brought him into the living room he actually wanted me to put him down! He's ready to go now! he can also get into the sitting position from the crawling position to and it seems like he's trying to stand up on his own, but can't do that just yet. He does pull up on some things but hasn't started walking around furniture just yet. I've got a feeling i'm going to be one very busy mommy for the next few months! but i love it! He also started babbling some this month. He hasn't been much of a talker to this point, just a squealer! ha!
Favorites: His favorite thing to do his walk around while holding your hands. But i've got a feeling, now that he's crawling, he'll really like that too! He loves being outside and swinging in his new swing by big sister! He loves riding on our razor. We took him on it last night for the first time and he almost fell asleep. Guess I know what to do if I can't get him settled! He is a momma's boy! and I love that! But as soon as daddy gets home he gets more excited than anything! Loves his daddy! He started saying da-da-da this month, but not necessarily to Jared. It's so sweet seeing how excited he gets to see daddy! Of course he still loves big sister! They are playing so well together! I just love watching them play! Just precious!

Mommy and Daddy Praise the Lord for you sweet Axl Joe (a.k.a. brother)!

*Toward the middle of the month he goes to Children's for a CT scan of the bump on his forehead. Hopefully it's just a hemangioma under the skin and not a cyst. If it is a cyst they will need to remove it via surgery. ugh. He will need to be sedated for the CT scan and I'm not looking forward to that. God's got it though.

a little t-ball action

well... there is a mound of laundry calling my name and a house that needs some TLC but I know all that will be there when i get finished blogging. right?! If I don't blog now, who knows when I'll get the chance again and I have lots of important stuff to blog about, stuff that I don't want to forget. So, for now, the laundry and cleaning can wait and I'll take the time to write down these precious memories of my precious family.

This little sweetie...

... started t-ball this week! What in the World? Is she really old enough for that? It seems like just yesterday that I was learning how to be a mommy to her for first time. :,(

She is absolutely loving it! Her first practice was so cute. She was the first player to practice batting. She hit it to the pitcher almost every time. When it was time to practice hitting and then running to first base she hit the ball, ran and got the ball, and brought it back to the tee! lol! lol! so, so cute! SB was very attentive to her coaches instructions and is catching on quickly to the game. We are very proud of her! Can't wait to watch her out there in her little uniform playing in the game! Jared and I both grew up at the ball field so we're loving it too! :)


btw I think little brother likes sissy playing t-ball too! here he is hanging out at her second practice. he loves being outside! (he turned 8 months old and started crawling this week, but i'll save that for another post!)