When we were little... How JJ and I met

JJ (I like to call Jeremy that if you haven't noticed... sorry if it's ever confusing how I switch back and forth between the names :) )  and I met a long long time ago.  I was 5 and he was 6... When I was 5 my dad took a pastorate position at a church in KS, where JJ and his family attended.  There weren't many other kids, being that it was a small rural congregation, so we often ended up hanging out together.  My older brother and his older brother were also good friends.  Our families often got together for Sunday dinner at his family's farm.  So between that old country church and the near by Litke farm, thus began a childhood romance :)  Cute, huh?  He thought I was pretty... I had long dark hair and was a tom boy.  I loved to hang out with our older brothers and him... he thought that was cool.   Racing around the church ( I won), wrestling in the church basement ( I won...but I fought dirty :) ), getting in trouble together in Sunday school...laid the foundation for the relationship that would later develop.

Fast forward to High School youth group... I still had long dark hair, which he still thought was pretty.  I still liked to hang out with the boys, which he still thought was cool.  On Sunday mornings it was tradition for the high schoolers to sit up in the balcony together.  Jeremy and the other boys would sit behind the small row of girls... so they could watch us of course.  Sometimes I'd sit with the boys, but that made it especially hard to listen like a good pastor's kid should :)   JJ, his brother, my brother, and I still hung out together.  I still liked Jeremy, but I liked his older brother more!  Jon was the tall laid back one, JJ was the fun and goofy one.  Both were cute, but I had my heart set on Jon.

So I went to work, flirting and giving my attention to Jon.  It worked... to some degree.  He flirted back and we enjoyed hanging out at youth group activities.  There was a banquet coming up at Jon and Jeremy's school and I was hoping, dreaming really, that Jon would ask me to go with him.  There was also a youth group trip to Estes Park coming up that I was hoping Jon would go on so that we could hang out more.  Ended up Jon couldn't go... but Jeremy could.

So guess what happened....  Yup.  JJ and I talked the entire way there, till 5 in the morning.  We hung out the whole weekend. And when we got back to KS a week or two later, JJ asked me to that banquet, not Jon.  Hmmmm..... I was a conflicted girl!  I still really liked Jon, but Jeremy was sure growing on me!  He was so sweet and SO persistent!  I did end up going with JJ to the banquet... and I had a wonderful time :)

2 1/2 months later Jeremy and I went on our first official date, and shortly after Jon left for college.... So began our dating relationship.  We were 17.

Blessings,

Happy Things...Little Mama

There have been so many Happy Things that I daily see in our home since little Virgil has entered our family... Today seemed like a good day to re-activate the "Happy Things" blog posts... :)

It has been such a joy to watch my two oldest girls welcome Virgil into the family.  They both absolutely adore him.  Each show him love and attention in very different ways... For Alice it's a quick kiss on the head as she runs out the door with her plastic animals, ready to play in the dirt.  Or it's holding him on the couch for 2 or 3 minutes, expressing dramatically how he's the cutest baby she's ever seen and how she just "loves her bugaboo!"  Then she's off to play again, most likely striding across the carpet on all fours like a leopard and growling as she goes.

Elsie is very different than Alice... from the first moment she sees little Virgil in the morning she asks if she can touch him.  "Can I touch his head... his tummy... his feet?"   Then she's begging me to hold him.  If he's not needing to nurse, burp, or poop I let her.  They settle in on the couch with the boppy pillow and maybe a little blanket.  He starts out nicely propped up and supported by the pillow, but within a few minutes Elsie has slipped her arm underneath him and has tenderly pulled him up again her little tummy. She talks or sings to him, strokes his head or pats his back.  She will hold him, caress him, and admire him for up to 45 minutes!  And this occurs at least 2 or three time each day :)  It's very clear... God has given her the heart of a little mama and that is such a Happy Thing :)

Blessings,

a little boy

I'd like to introduce to you...

born February 8, 2011

6 lbs, 7 oz.  19 1/2 in. long

Virgil?  you may ask...
Well, Virgil is Jeremy's Grandfather's name.
After Jeremy's father left when he was just a baby, his mom and his siblings moved back into her childhood home where Jeremy's grandfather Virgil, along with his Grandma, began to supply for their needs.
He supplied a home for them, food on the table, clothes, and schooling.
He supplied direction and training, offering them a strong father figure and developing a rich work ethic in him and his brother on the farm.
He supplied love, encouragement, and affection for a growing boy.
But more than anything he supplied a Godly model for what a man should be...a man full of conviction and faith in his Savior.
He supplied priceless spiritual training by mouth and by example.

He is everything we want out son to be. 

Jon?  Yes, it's J O N, not John.  It is after Jeremy's brother Jonathan.
Jon and Jeremy are just 19 months apart and act like they shared a womb, not just a bedroom :)
Jon's and Jeremy's best friend... and always will be.

We're struggling a little with a nick name.  We do want to call him Virgil, but we'd like a shortened more casual name to use also.
Virg?  Sadie calls him baby Virg. 
V?  I kinda like that.
I'm sure something will develop :)

Blessings,

Me.... right now.

I've been wanting to have JJ snap another photo or two of me all big and preggers before I have this baby... but my favorite lens is broken and I am waiting for the new one to arrive in the mail (hopefully in time to take with us to the hospital!!).  BUT, just in case something would happen before my scheduled c-section, I had JJ take a quick photo of me with my other lens.... I was actually dressed, with hair done.... this doesn't happen more than twice a week these days!  (On a side note, you can also see my haircut.... yeah... it was supposed to be chin length... oh, well.  I still think I like it enough.) 

I'm also excited because JJ finished painting the nursery last night!!  Yeah!  I can finally set up/decorate this little guys room!!  This week is going to be fun... I finally get to focus in on baby preparations.  I think I might actually be having a baby in a little over a week!!!    So I'll try to post a pic of nursery when I get things set up later this week... FUN!

 

 Blessings,

We're In!

Well, we made it into our new house!
I can't even describe to you how much I love it...  I don't know if you remember, but I was never fond of that rental that we moved out of.  Especially the color of the walls...and ceiling.... yuck.  (if you care to refresh your memory, here's the post)
I feel like this house is a gift... a pure and wonderful gift.  This past year has been very hard for me.  Life has changed so much.  We left our home and family, entered into full time ministry, moved to a new town, new church, new friends....
I would call myself an adventurous person, but for some reason this all was especially hard. And oddly enough, the "home" part was one of the toughest things for me to adjust to.  I do everything at home.  I'm kind of a homebody.  I stay at home with my girls, home school, and have a home business... And I also happen to get a lot of enjoyment out of decorating the spaces I live in.  It never felt comfortable...settled... at home in that rental.
But now God has given us the gift of a comfortable home.  We were not expecting to buy a home here so quickly, but God lined up every single detail.  It was nothing short of a miracle... sometime I'll share the story with you all in more detail.  But for now... I'm just stating how incredibly grateful I am for this amazing gift.  ...just in time for baby, too :)

Here's perhaps my favorite room... it's far from decorated, but it is functioning as my workspace/office.  Check out the HUGE window.... love, love, love it.   And it was already painted that wonderful aqua green color!!!!  perfect.

The other room that is obviously getting alot of attention right now is the nursery.  Baby boy Jordan is scheduled to arrive by c-section February 8... 2 weeks from today!!!!  And this is what the nursery still looks like :(  We painted the walls a cool gray color, but we are still working on the wood work.  What a pain.  JJ is still trying to figure out the best method for painting it...

I also wanted to show you what I'm thinking for bedding/and color scheme for the room.  My mom-in-law is going to make the bumper pad , bed skirt, etc...
This is the bedding I would love to buy... but alas... I could never afford it!

http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=167&f=7925

Here's some fabric I found that I really love... I think I'll do the bumper pad out of the cars... with the orange polka dots on the inside... and the skirt the funky blue print.

www.fatquartershop.com

Anywho... lots to do!!!  I haven't even begun the other "normal" baby preparations.... wash clothes and bedding, get out car seat, set up cradle, pack bag.... I suppose it will get done eventually!

Blessings,

Call me Crazy

Call me crazy... but I just couldn't let the Valentine's Day season approach without designing something for it!!! Yes, I have other things I should be doing...
No, I don't have extra energy for "frivolous" activities....
Yes,  I already stay up waaaay too late...

BUT... it's fun!!  And I can't leave my Etsy store void of Valentine's Day cheer altogether!!!

So here's what I came up with: (you'll recognize the Elephant Valentine from last year.... I was strategic with my use of time!  May as well use something that I already had!!)
Visit my store.... WWW.AMYJDELIGHTFUL.ETSY.COM

 

Blessings,

I'm still here... kinda.

Hey... I do still have a blog... kinda forgot about it!   So here's what's goin' on:

-We barely survived December.  My family and I have been sick pretty much all of December.  We had two of the little ones puking on Christmas Eve and Christmas day... which we spent apart from family for the first time ever!  Between sickness, filling Etsy orders, and getting ready for our own Christmas events, it was just completely NUTS!

-We're moving... to a new house in Edmond. We're schedule to move in 2 weeks.  I just started packing today.  Ha!

-Baby is scheduled for a C-section arrival on February 8.  Yeah... packing isn't going so well 8 months into pregnancy.  I have no energy at all to speak of.  But somehow it will get done!

-Still trying to keep up with the three other kiddos, a little homeschooling, the laundry, and my Etsy store. 

-It's one of those times in life when everything is WONDERFUL... there's just a lot of wonderful to handle right now :) 

All to say... I'll be back eventually!!! Hopefully the next thing you see on this blog is our new home and our new baby boy.  :)   I can't wait :)  

Thanks for being patient!
Blessings,