2012...Year in Review

I stole borrowed this idea from Elenie!

Since 2012 was our first year of marriage, I thought it would be neat to start this tradition. It was fun looking back through pictures and reminiscing over the events of the past year!

January - Marriage and Ministry

Eagle Rock 9/11 Memorial (NYC in the background)

We moved to New Jersey on December 30th. We began to settle into married life and find our place in a new ministry. It was the first month in 8 years that I wasn't in the classroom. Instead of lesson plans and tutoring sessions, I spent time getting our new apartment organized, planning meals and learning to keep house!

test # 3 :)

February - Two Pink Lines 

I didn't believe the first test so I proceeded to take two more. It was February 2nd, we had only been married for a month and a half but we were indeed expecting! I'll never forget that day! 

our house was expanding by two little feet

We told our parents and siblings on February 4th by hanging this picture in our apartment!

Our little peanut

March- Love at First Sight 

We had our first ultrasound and saw our precious baby for the first time! I was amazed at the distinct features on such a tiny little baby! It was already moving around on the screen though I couldn't feel it yet!

April- Easter and a growing belly

This month, We celebrated our Savior's resurrection and watched my belly start to grow! 

May- a California graduation 

View from the Santa Monica Pier

We began this month with a trip to the West Coast to see Uncle Matt graduate from Bible College. We were so proud of his accomplishments at WCBC! As an added bonus, California was beautiful!

At church, we saw the Lord work in hearts at our annual tent meeting.

View from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

To close this month, we were able to expand our living quarters! Up until this point we only lived in the top half of our house due to missionaries staying on the lower level. It was exciting to have more space especially with a baby on the way!

June - It's a Girl!!!

PINK!!!

The highlight of this month was definitely our gender reveal party! I was convinced that baby was a busy baby boy, but Daddy's guess proved correct! We shared our sweet girl's name with our family and friends.

July - North Carolina & a Birthday

Mini Golf in Boone, NC

We headed to North Carolina at the beginning of the month. It was especially fun for me to share a place I've loved for so long with Daniel. We attended the Miller-Weaver family reunion, and I even volunteered to plan the next reunion in 2014! It was an added bonus to spend time with my sweet little cousin, Alyssa. She even felt Londyn Grace kick for the first time!

My Chicken Nugget & Mama feeling Londyn Grace kick!

We returned to PA just in time to celebrate Daniel's 29th birthday with his parents, grandparents and brother at a Lancaster Barnstormers baseball game!

We finished the month at the Summit conference in South Jersey. Three days full of preaching and teaching from God's Word was so encouraging to our hearts!

August- Sadness and Shower

We spent alot of time in MD/PA this month. Our first trip brought sadness as we said goodbye to Pop Pop Coale. He went home to be with Jesus after a long battle with Dementia. 

On our next trip Daniel was the best man in Matthew and Rebekah's wedding.

so many gifts! (and my Mamal in the corner!) :)

Then we returned to MD for my surprise baby shower! We were spoiled with so many sweet gifts for our girl!

In between all of this travel, we were excited about our first VBS at FBC. We had many visitors and saw several kids make salvation decisions!

September- Preparation and Prayer 

Labor Day weekend was spent preparing Londyn Girl's Nursery. I spent nearly the entire year prior planning it, but it was so exciting to see my plans come to fruition! Mama and Daddy came to help us with this project!

Beautiful Nursery

I was so happy with how it turned out!

look at that belly!

We also had a maternity pictures taken. Lindsey did a fabulous job and we will treasure them forever!

We took our childbirth classes this month and inched closer to October anticipating the birth of our daughter!

October - Londyn Grace Arrives!

We expected her around mid-October but she was ready on the third. I'll never forget the moment my water broke and calling Daniel to tell him! His initial reaction was "Are you sure?"

Londyn was in a hurry and my active labor was just under four hours! We were able to labor and birth at home just as we planned and prayed for!

Our family of three!

Our sweet girl arrived at 6:22 pm and was prettier than we ever imagined she would be!

Both my Mama and Daniel's Mom took turns staying with us during the first two weeks of Londyn's life! Their help was so appreciated as I was slow moving due to my stitches.

Londyn girl was also loved on by Pop Pop, Grandpap, Auntie M, Uncle Johnny, Uncle Ben, Tammy, Aunt El, Uncle Joe and lots of church family.

When she was two weeks old, we took her to Maryland and Pennsylvania to meet her great grandparents and other sweet family.

I turned the big 2-5, and we celebrated by taking Londyn out to eat for the first time!

November - Parenthood and Party

We learned (and are STILL learning) that parenthood was harder and more wonderful than we ever expected. With each passing day, we fell more in love with our Sweet Pea. I was blessed with the privilege of being a stay at home Mama, making a life long dream reality!

Grandpa and Grandma's Anniversary Party

In early November, we traveled to Grandma and Grandpa Hodge's 50th Anniversary Party in West Virginia.

I met many of Daniel's extended family members for the first time and it was, of course, their first time meeting Londyn.

Then we celebrated LG's first Thanksgiving in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

We praised the Lord for his abundant blessings and unending, undeserved grace!

December - Our Anniversary and  first Christmas

Last December, we were making last minute wedding preparations and then spent a week in Hawaii so we didn't have a tree.

our tree

This year, I was excited to decorate for the season. We went as a family to pick out our first Christmas tree!

We watched Londyn Grace blossom. Learning to smile and coo, she brought us so much joy in this new stage.

On the seventeenth, we celebrated one year of marriage. We left Londyn Grace at home (for the first time!) with Mimi and Pop Pop and went out to dinner at an Italian Restaurant in town. Then we did some Christmas shopping before heading home.

sweet smiles!

Christmas was spent with our precious family in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

On New Year's Eve, we retired early (we tire quickly these days!) and woke up excited about 2013!



Looking back, we are in awe of what our God has done in just twelve short months. It was a year of change. Moving to a new city (especially hard for this country girl), living three hours from family, serving in a new ministry, learning what it means to be husband and wife and then to be Daddy and Mama. Some changes were harder than others, but all the way we found our Savior's grace sufficient and presence real. We are so thankful for His gifts and pray that in the year to come we will glorify Him in a greater way!

Please Pray...

Our sweet Londyn girl was diagnosed with RSV Bronchiolitis today. She is one sick little baby. It is heartbreaking and scary to watch her suffer. She is coughing and sneezing so much. The pediatrician put her on albueterol for her wheezing and said it may get worse before it gets better. Please pray for our Sweet Pea.

Londyn Grace's 1st Christmas

our (faux) mantle

We started Christmas week at home in Jersey. Since we planned to leave following our Christmas Eve service, we opened our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve morning.

Daddy started by reading Luke chapter 2 to Londyn Grace! She sat on his lap and listened intently! :)

Our tree!

Mama and Daddy didn't buy much for her this year since she couldn't really open presents and we knew her grandparents and other family would spoil her rotten! We did get her a playmat that encourages tummy time, a caterpillar mirror toy, a bib, a fur coat (Mama couldn't resist it! It was on clearance!) a teether and a rubber ducky for bath time. 

Daddy helping LG open her presents!

After we finished opening presents, we made sure our bags were packed and all of the presents for family were wrapped! Daddy loaded up the car so it was ready. 

We had a great time at our Christmas Eve service. Daddy preached and we sang carols with our church family. After the service, we were excited about heading to Pennsylvania, but the weather changed our plans!

Daddy and his girl

The snow was coming down and the roads were getting icy so Daddy decided we would wait until morning. So we headed to bed early and got up at 3:00 am. Londyn Grace did so well! I nursed her right before we left at 3:45 and then she slept in her carseat the entire trip! There was absolutely no traffic which is almost unheard of here in Jersey so we made it to Grammy and Grandpap's by 6:30 (a new record!) 

Before opening gifts, we had Christmas morning breakfast with Grandpap, Grammy, Uncle Ben, Uncle Matt, Aunt Rebekah, Oma and Opa! Londyn fell asleep on my shoulder during the meal!

Sleepy Girl in her Christmas pjs

After opening gifts, it was time to get ready for our next stop. We packed up the car and headed to Mom Mom's house. Christmas lunch was ready when we arrived. We got to see lots of family there! Isaac held Londyn Grace for the first time!

Isaac holding Sweet Pea

We stayed at Mom Mom's for awhile after we finished lunch and then headed to Christmas Stop number three! Granny was excited to see Londyn Girl! We were also thankful that Uncle Joe, Aunt El, Aunt Mary Ellen, Andy, Angel, Briana, Micah and Benjamin were there, too!

We finished Christmas Day at Pop Pop and Mimi's house exchanging gifts with them, Uncle Johnny, Auntie M and Tammy.

It was a busy but wonderful day! It was so good to spend time with family and celebrate the birth of our Savior!

Londyn Grace was spoiled rotten by everyone. She received so many gifts  and certainly wasn't lacking attention even for a minute! In fact there was often a line of people waiting to hold her! :)

just a few of the people responsible for spoiling her! :)

We were able to spend the rest of the week there and tried to divide our time between everyone! The week went by way too fast and before we knew it we were packing the car again. It was filled to capacity with so many gifts! Our family is so gracious!

Our favorite Christmas gift!

As always, it was hard to say goodbye. We made it back to New Jersey by 11:00 Friday night and were definitely ready for bed!

Merry Christmas

from our family to yours!

Jesus!

Pleased as man with men to dwell! Jesus our Immanuel!

It’s mind-boggling if you ponder it for very long. He gave up His Throne for us! It pleased Him to be veiled in flesh, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes, to be laid in a wooden feeding trough.

"But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” Philippians 2:7

No reputation though He was Royalty. A servant though He deserved to be served. A man though He created the very men he would live among.

He submitted himself to a humble birth for the sake of a sinful world.

His birth is enough to leave us amazed at the humility of our Savior, but then we look ahead to a hill outside Jerusalem where He continues to place our needs above His own.

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8

It’s there we see Him stretched upon a wooden cross, wearing a thorny crown upon His head. As a crowd of onlookers are gawking at his broken and bleeding body, He continues to serve them and the millions of sinners who will live in generations to come. The Eternal One hung there in our place though it meant a slow and painful death.

As we see His sacrifice, we are amazed by a Savior not only willing to submit to a humble birth but also to a horrific death.

Our Savior gave much so that we wouldn’t have to live under Sin’s Curse forever.

“And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.” Jeremiah 18:12

”That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” Ephesians 2:12

His humble birth and horrific death brought hope to a people once hopelessly trapped in the chains of their own sinfulness.

Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die!
Born to raise the sons of earth!
Born to give them second birth!

We have hope because He laid aside all He is to become all we were.

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Colossians 1:27

We have hope that assures of His Presence in our lives in a personal and daily way.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13

We have hope that assures us that the One once laid in a manger then nailed upon a cross will one day return to rapture those He made such sacrifices for.

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” Titus 1:2

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:7

We have hope that Heaven will be our Eternal Home though we have done nothing to merit entrance.

May the Hope He gives be yours this Christmas and in the year to come!

Two Months

At two months, our sweet Londyn Girl weighed in at 8 pounds 3 ounces! She is still a peanut but gaining every day!

Londyn girl started smiling this month! She has a way of making us smile every time she does it!

Her favorite toy this month is a stuffed turtle squeaky toy with a mirror on his belly!

Londyn still isn't napping well unless we are in the car. Her carseat works like a charm!

She spent most of month two nursing. She is still eating every two hours and taking nearly an hour to eat. Nursing has been the most challenging part of motherhood for me, but with the encouragement of Daniel, my mama, a cousin who is currently nursing as well and a sweet friend at church I've managed to keep going! I cherish our nursing sessions but have dealt with a lot of worry and anxiety over whether or not she's getting enough milk. I don't get much when pumping, but our wonderful pediatrician assured me that if her diaper count is good and she's gaining weight than I have plenty of milk for her.

Speaking of our pediatrician, Londyn Grace went to Dr. Schlacter at six weeks old. We initially used a different pediatrician for her one week appointment, but were not impressed. We scheduled her one month visit with him and then it was delayed due to Hurricane Sandy. Once the electricity was restored and everything was back up and running, we were able to go in for a check up! He is an old school doctor and his encouraging laid back personality was exactly what this stressed Mama needed! We are grateful for his thorough examination and for his prognosis of a healthy, growing girl!

During month two, we took Londyn Grace to celebrate her first Thanksgiving in Maryland and Pennsylvania with our precious families! We were definitely thanking the Lord for our baby girl and looking forward to all she would experience and accomplish in December!

Instagram...

It's a silly thing to be thankful for, but it has sure come in handy! Since it's a whole lot easier to hold my phone than my Canon these days, I love using the fun filters and effects on my many cell phone pictures of my baby girl!

Here are a few pictures of our Sweet Pea...

Birth Announcement...

Better late than never, right? A certain little girl has kept me a little busy lately so I am way behind on posting! Since we took her two month pictures today, I thought I should post this first!

I use Shutterfly for most of my photo and card printing and have always been pleased with their product! I was so happy with how her birth announcements turned out!

We also added James 1:17 to the reverse side in the same pink font as her name!