Your Daily Mo

Playing outside with grandma...

P.S. I'm not sure he has any clue what's coming...

Deuteronomy 5:16

This is a verse I use when I correct Moses.. a lot. "Moses, you need to honor your mama and obey so that it will go well with you, that you may live long and prosper." Okay, so he is only 15 months old and he probably doesn't get it just get (or does he?). I will say though, that diligence in training our little ones won't return void. The more I think on this verse and the more I read Ginger Plowman's book, "Don't Make Me Count to Three" the more I grow in the conviction that training Moses is a big deal. According to this verse, he will be held responsible before the Lord for obeying his mama, and because I love him and want him to live long and prosper I want to cultivate a heart of obedience in this little man. I'm still in the process of figuring out the best way to do it, but by golly I'm trying! And Luke 17:2 says that we don't want to be a stumbling block to our little ones. This has me thinking, if I know that Moses is going to be held accountable for honoring me and I don't work to cultivate that in his heart, am I causing him to stumble?

Some thoughts for this Thursday evening!

Your Daily Mo

Making banana bread with the Mo-Man.

Two blogroll worthy blogs.

Once upon a time I went to college. In another life maybe. Also. I minored in African American Studies. It.was.awesome. Swahili classes! African lit classes! African politic classes with Professor Shunkuri.. gag :) Okay, but during those boring classes where I was forced to learn nearly TWO DECADES OLD information I was also given the chance to study and present a current political situation in Africa. All three times that I was fortunate enough to do this I chose the Sudan crisis. I joined the Save Darfur Coalition, wore "Save Darfur" t-shirts, organized, read, cried, prayed over this horrible thing that's happening right under our noses. Holocaust? We said never again. Rwanda? We said never again. Well, in Sudan it is happening again. It's so horrible and heartbreaking that it often overwhelms me. WELL. Imagine my delight when our friends, Stephen and Ginny Bracht, decided to move on over there (to Sudan, that is) and DO something. Granted, they aren't going on some peace keeping mission (per say), but it's a good thing they're doing and I wanted to let you all know about it. They are in the midst of fundraising and just started up a blog to keep us all updated. If you're interested, go check them out: http://brachtadventures.blogspot.com/. And maybe even pray about helping to make this dream a reality for them.

Also! My dear friend Stacey Paxson has a good thing going over at http://mymessylife.wordpress.com/. She is a SAHM with two little little people and she is so good about making every second with them count. She's all about being responsible with the earth and our bodies, scriptural living, and I think she's pretty funny too! She just put up an interview with the author of "Shoppers Guide to Healthy Living" and is having a little giveaway to go along with it. *Note* I had every intention of letting you all know about this before I knew I'd be getting giveaway credit for it! AND seeing how I already have this wonderful book, you'd better go on over there and try to win!

That's it! Happy Wednesday!

Happy 27th, Jeremiah!

27 Things I Love About Jeremiah:

1. How hard he works for his family.

2. That he loves putting Moses to bed each night.

3. He's our handyman. Needs to be done? He'll do it.

4. He is so handsome.

5. His sea grey eyes.

6. His license photo.. and all it represents.

7. He's smart.

8. He's wise.

9. He loves the Lord.

10. He is a man of integrity.

11. He leads our family with such wisdom.

12. So trustworthy!

13. He likes to play cards with me before bed.

14. He looks out for me.

15. He gets up with Moses in the middle of the night.

16. He's a wonderful son.

17. He believes in me.

18. He supported my crazy idea to run a marathon.

19. I love how much he loves the ocean.

20. He guards what his family sees and does.

21. He is a man of prayer.

22. He wakes up early every day to read the Bible.

23. Never, not once, has he raised his voice at me.

24. He is kind and gentle.

25. He is determined to raise a disciplined family.

26. He cries on occasion.

27. His hiney :)

I love you, Miah Face, happy birthday!

Hayes Happenings

Somehow I am surrounded by sickies and have managed to stay healthy. While I am grateful for that, I'm also ready for Moses and Jeremiah to get well. Moses has a lingering cough that keeps him up half the night and just as Jeremiah was getting well he now has something else. I'm just hoping it's not strep throat and that Moses and I manage to not get it. I would like to send a memo out to humanity: If you are ill, stay home. Thank you!

On to happier news: THE NURSERY IS DONE! Waa hoo! And, go figure, the camera has bit the dust. These pictures, taken with my phone, will have to do.

Here are those sweet flowers I told you all about. We painted them pink and cream and I think they turned out lovely!

We searched high and low for a side table and settled on this one from Target. It was the color of Pepto Bismol so Jeremiah was nice enough to paint it for me.

Sigh, so so cute!

And her name, hanging right over the sweet changing table that belonged to my dad.

This is odd, Moses was born the day before my dad died and this sweet little lady is due the day after his birthday.

We have named the little miss Sarah Elizabeth Hayes. We just love it and it feels like it is what her name is supposed to be. BUT! If we see her and feel like it just doesn't fit we aren't afraid to change it!

Less than SIX WEEKS!! The end of this pregnancy is much more uncomfortable than round one and the "3am dates" have returned. While I would rather have a full nights sleep, no feet in my ribs and be able to waddle around pain free.. it's really not that bad. All part of being a mama, right?! And in just a few short weeks I will have to share this little lady, right now I've got her all to myself :)

This is all I think about.

Well, that's not entirely true. For the most part, however, preparing for this sweet little girl (7 weeks to go!) is the main subject on my mind. So.. if any of you are interested in our weekend progress, here goes!

I managed to wash and organize all of her clothes! Jeremiah and I picked out the fabric for her blackout shade (although that sheet has been hanging there so long I forgot how tacky it was until I looked at this picture!!). On my to-do list for this week is buying a table to go by the chair for her cute lamp.

And on the subject of blackout shades, Kat finished them for the rest of the house and they are up! Thank you, Kat!

The crib now has her bedding and is full of the clothes I am waiting to put in her changing table. Once Jeremiah fixes a couple more things on it it will be done!

And the changing table! Thanks to all who gave their input! We went the safe route.. pink. But aren't those knobs cute?! I just love it. Once Miah works on the doors I can start filling it!!

Now all we need is about a million cloth diapers and we will be set! Oh! And we bought these to go on a wall, too. I love them! The next time you see this nursery it should be all set up and waiting for the little Miss.

True story. Blog worthy.

Today I was at Target, minding my own business. This woman was walking past the aisle I was on looked and glanced at Moses and I. She stopped dead in her tracks and asked me how far apart my babies will be. I told her about 16 months and she proceeded to tell me her life story - happens right? Here's the kicker. The woman says to me: You know what I don't understand? How you young mothers keep all that weight on you. I didn't get fat until I was in my 60's!

I'm.not.joking.

Hayes Happenings

Yesterday the crib arrived. Baby Girl is getting b-i-g and I'm starting to feel feet and limbs, not just movements. My back's starting to hurt. All of these things are making this much more real: my second child is due next month. Whoa.

First of all, here is my first born. His favorite game is peekaboo and he doesn't mind if his hands are covered in spaghetti! His eyebrows are still orange.

My men preparing to put together Baby Girl's crib!

I had one of those "whoa" moments passing by the nursery this morning. I have TWO cribs set up in my house! Awesome!

Another "whoa" moment. Nothing makes it feel more real for me (well, I guess going into labor..) than a laundry basket full of little people clothes!!

These are Mo's clothes that he has OUTGROWN! What?!

And isn't the bouncer cute?? Thanks Jamie!

Today I have managed to organize and store all of Mo's clothes that no longer fit - thank you nap time! Tonight Jeremiah is starting on the buffet/changing table. Things are really moving along! I just need to buy some sort of storage unit for Baby Girl's wardrobe and pick out some fabric for her shades!

Fun visits with friends and family!

I am not keeping up with blogging about all the adventures we've been having! I'm just too busy 1.) soaking up Moses 2.) preparing for #2 3.) being a housewife. It is no small feat!

A couple weekends ago we ventured out to Colorado Springs to visit the wonderful Paxson family! It had been too long since we had seen each other and we had yet to meet the newest addition to their family. We had a lovely time catching up! On Saturday we ventured to Focus on the Family so the kids could play. These are the only pictures I have of our time there. You can read more and get Stacey's delicious soup recipe HERE. Be prepared for a picture of yours truly looking like a cheese ball.

Miss Hope!

We also had a visit from Uncle Gary, Aunt Emma and cousin Leo. They flew in from England a few weeks ago and stopped by for lunch on their way back from skiing in Durango. I have never seen Moses warm up to people so quickly. He LOVED his cousin Leo!

Hanging out with Aunt Emma.

Spending some time with Uncle Gary and Leo. (Not to be confused with my brother Gary! This is my uncle, also named Gary.)

It was so lovely to spend some time with them. I have already finished the chocolate they brought (why is English chocolate so much better?!) and I am ready for another visit :) Come back soon!!

Baby shower!

What a wonderful weekend! Thank you, Cris, for throwing such a wonderful shower, and thank you, Carol, for hosting it in your home. Jeremiah and I were overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and we are now well on our way to being ready for Baby Girl!

I don't know how.. but this is the only photo I have from the shower!

This will be my project for the next 5 weeks! I want to have her room done by 37 weeks.

And on to the "new" changing table!

Jeremiah is going to start the sanding the changing table this week and I need to pick out the color. Here is the bedding, and the crib and chair have a cherry finish. I'm wondering what color you all think would work? Can't wait to hear your ideas!

Now.. I need to go sort some cloths!