Teeth

Jacob cut another tooth a couple of nights ago. This time it's on the top right next to the the spot where the front teeth will be...he looks so funny. I LOVE IT!!! :)

Pictures? I think yes. :)

Me trying to get into the jaws of steel...

He's trying to cover the evidence with his tongue...

Aha! Success! At least you can see one of them... ;)

His favorite thing to do ever.

His big ole' "I love life" smile.

SO I pretty much take pictures of him all day long. I don't know what I'm going to do with all the pictures I've taken since he was born. I can't print them out at the Wal-Mart One Hour Print for sure...there would be some unhappy customers waiting behind me.

Speaking of Wal-Mart: the other day Jacob and I were shopping. Jacob usually does really well in stores. He's only gotten really cranky maybe twice where I ended up holding him and pushing the buggy.... But the other day was my FAVORITE. He sang through the whole store! (Yes, Jacob has decided to pursue his dream of singing at an early age.) Literally though, he hummed the entire time I was there....the sweetest little hums. Ever since he was born, Nathan and I sing to him...I don't know if that is why, but he frequently tries to hum along with us, and that day, he decided to hum to the rest of the store as well. It was a memory I never want to forget.

- I must add for all of you baby mommas. You gotta' have one of these:
Baby Shopping Cart Covers.
They are the best invention ever. This clever seat allows baby to sit without falling over, and also lets them chew/bite on whatever without having to worry about GERMS. I love it. 5 stars definitely.

Other news? Well for me right now, the days are filled mainly with housekeeping and baby loving. However. Nathan did get a new job! He is now an insurance adjuster at R. Warren and he LOVES it. God always provides for us, and this time He not only provided a job, but He also made it a place that Nathan can really enjoy working at. He is learning a lot and he tells me that the people there are already like family. I am looking forward to meeting them all. :)

What is that I hear? Yes, it sounds like a little boy talking to himself in the bedroom. Now that his main method of travel is "rolling" I better go! Goodbye for now!

Caitlin Noel

A Little Note...

Hmmm... Is it wrong to live for Shabbat? I think about sabbath pretty much every day, just counting the days and sometimes hours until Friday night.... I don't know what I would do without a day of rest. Thank you Lord for your holy day! :)

Passover/Unleavened Bread has been fun this year. Nathan and I, and little Jacob of course, had our very first sedar together. It was sooo special. I think my favorite part was when we washed each others feet. (Jacob liked this especially.) We read the Exodus story and the Last Supper story in the Bible, and we enjoyed our matzah like always.... What a good night! This week we've experimented with a few new recipes. Honey Cinnamon matzah, Unleavened Cookie Bars and Apple Cobbler, and we even tried some potato gnocchi...but my all-time favorite Passover recipe remains the same: Unleavened Fruit Trifle. Mmmmmm..... Lemon Pound Cake with homemade whip cream, strawberries, blueberries and pineapple in layer upon luscious layer. Excuse me for a moment while I go look for something to eat now that I'm drooling....

Wow, nothing a little pudding can't cure! Jacob agrees. He was drooling too. ;)

Well, it's a special day today: My Little Big Bro's Birthday! Yes he's both my little and big brother. Younger but taller.... I don't mind because he's still just as nice as when he was the little squirt I used to boss around. :) Happy 20th Birthday Caleb! We love ya! :D

Well, I must go. Jacob has started a stick-out-your-tongue war with me, and I cannot miss this moment. Good bye for now!

Cate

Baby Days

It's been a while!

Actually we have been without internet for a few months. I have learned to figure out answers without Google....I simply call my sweet mother and ask her to look up a question on her computer. ;)

Really though, so much has happened. We had a baby! A beautiful boy on October 24, 2010. He is now almost 6 months old, and I don't know where the time went. I gave birth to him here in our little house... Nathan, along with the wonderful help of our midwife Kathy Williams, Gretchen Land, and my mom, was a big part of the birth. He never left my side. He coached me through 12 hours of labor and was there when little Jacob made his big entrance. I must say, I couldn't have done it without him. : )
Jacob is our little buddy.... I am so thankful God has blessed us with him. : ) He has become such a HUGE part of Me and Nate's lives. Actually I would just about call him an added appendage, since he pretty much stays attached to my hip, or within my site every hour of every single day. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Some things I have learned to do these past 6 months WITH ONE HAND:

1. Wash dishes
2. Cook dinner
3. Fold laundry...this one still needs work
4. Crack an egg
5. Clean up said egg
6. Change a diaper (the other hand is holding down a wiggling little boy)

Yes, being a mommy is hard sometimes, but it is definitely SUPER FUN. I love it. : )

I will post more later. I have vowed to start blogging more, so I promise this is not the last post for months. Until then, live like it's your last day to live! Praise God who gave you breath! And thank your dear sweet mommy who chose life. ;)

Love, Caitlin

A beautiful day...

Mmmmm, I love the smell of homemade granola in the morning. : ) Just recently, we have discovered a wonderful new recipe for granola that is oh so good, but still healthy as well. (Hard to find food that is both of those things you know... ) Secret ingredient? Oh there are several to this new found recipe, but I think the real hero in this granola is: pure 100% grade b maple syrup. I have never made granola that really tasted as wonderful as this. Honestly, it is hard to go wrong with granola... I mean, if it's too sweet add some more oats or nuts, and if it is too boring add some more syrup, cinnamon, fruits, whatever you want.... This granola consists of quite a few things... oats, of course, almonds, coconut, sunflower seeds, flax seeds :O, (they're actually hardly noticeable), cranberries, raisins, blueberries, cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup.
Yummy.

The baby has been kicking me for the past two days (and nights) NON STOP!!! Lol...I love it though, it makes it so much fun... It has become more real for sure, because before I only just believed by faith (and the positive pregnancy test) that I was pregnant...then I became very sick, then I saw the ultrasound screen, and now I can feel him/her wiggling all around in there all the time! I love it! I cannot wait to find out what gender the baby is and start prepping for him or her. Children's Place here I come! ;)

So yes lately life has been very exciting. I feel like a new chapter is about to begin and we are about to become entirely different people. I'm sure it will all be a good change, and I am looking forward to seeing just what God has in store for us. He always blesses us in so many ways! I can never be grateful enough for how much He means to me. I would be absolutely NOTHING without His love and mercy. Everyday in one way or another it seems that a prayer is answered. Even if it's an answer that we didn't expect, the prayer is always answered for our good and His glory. Praise the Lord!!!

On another note: Tomorrow is a very special day for us.... I am looking forward to it with anticipation and excitement! Time goes by too fast! But it has been wonderful..... I am going to leave you guessing what it is... ; )

May you all be blessed and may you listen to God's still, small voice when He speaks to you!!!

Love Always,
Caitlin Noel

A Rainy Day Post

Oh joy. It's raining again.

Well, there are good things about the rain...it fills the well, waters the garden, brings out the frogs for my little sis Chana to catch....

Lately though the water has brought more bad tidings to the people of Tennessee than good. I have never in my short life seen as much flooding as I have the past few weeks. So many people have lost everything, literally. Who would have thought that Tennessee would flood like it did? I believe the last major flood in Lebanon specifically was in 1881. The weather is so crazy here...

My heart goes out to the people that lost everything... we were very blessed to be on safe ground. I only hope that we can be a blessing now to the people that have nothing. Speaking of blessing people, be on the lookout! Everywhere you turn there are people in need right now. If you feel like God is putting someone on your heart, don't ignore it! That's what we're here for right? To be a light and a blessing to others.

On another totally different note... Nathan and I are... Expecting a baby! Come October 25, or somewhere around that day Lord willing we will have a new little blessing in our family. I cannot wait to see that little face. I cannot wait to cuddle that little bundle. I cannot wait to kiss their little cheeks.... Thank you Yahweh for such an awesome blessing!!! :) So eventually we will find out what gender the baby is and of course tell the whole world... I just don't think I can wait for this baby to be born. I want to start picking out names and looking for little cute baby clothes and that kind of thing....now! Lol.... My dear mommy is expecting as well. Father of the Bride all over again! No actually we're about one month apart...but still we are having a lot of fun being pregnant moms together. I just know they'll be little buddies one day... :)

Well, their is a lot more I could say, being that I haven't posted in sooo long, but I'm going to go now and meet up with my lovely husband. (He is still and will always be the most wonderful man alive.) Talk to you soon! :)

Caitlin

Bible Blessing

School time at the Crouch house! I was over at my mom's last week and we were at the table learning to read and the like, lol... I love doing school with the kids and watching them learn. I can't even believe that I finished school. When I was their age, it seemed like I would be doing school for the rest of my life, haha...



Which brings me to something my little sister Leah was saying recently... She was asking me about Nathan and telling me about whenever she's going to get married. (She is only 4.) Then she sighed and said: "I guess mom isn't going to let me get married until I finish all my schoolbooks." This totally made my day.



Then a few days later after we got done with phonics I noticed she was missing from the table. When I found her she was sobbing "drama tears" and she exclaimed: "I am so tired of tracing letters!" Oh my goodness, I had such a hard time trying not to laugh at her. Chana helped me to explain that after she learned how to write her letters correctly, she would never have to trace another letter again. She was satisfied with that. : )



Anyways, just a couple of days ago I was there again enjoying the kids. It was finally time for lunch and we all sat around the table and held hands to pray. Then lo and behold, as we started to sing the prayer Ezra opened his little mouth wide and if only I could write what sounds came out! He was really trying to sing along and it was the sweetest thing I ever saw.... He didn't chicken out either when he noticed we were watching him... he just kept singing until the prayer was through! What a blessing...


Later the same night, we were sitting at my parents dinner table and it was time to read the Bible. Little Ezra ran to get the bibles. I was laughing at his enthusiasm. As my dad opened up his bible to read, Ezra got settled in his high chair with another bible and opened it up slowly.... His face was so serious. He would look at dad out of the corner of his eye as he held the bible up gently with one hand. Then he licked his little finger and turned a page and you could see his little mouth moving with the words dad was speaking. When he saw that I was smiling uncontrollably at him he started to smile, then you could see with every muscle in his face he tried to get serious again and keep reading. And he did. I was so blessed with what I saw. Mom told me later that reading the bible is one of his favorite things to do. He will go and get out two bibles and give one to dad and the other he will sit and read. Oh my goodness! Who ever heard?!

I am so glad I was able to experience Ezra's love to "read" the bible. It blessed my soul so much just to know that he is growing up in a home where God's Word is a special and good thing. Thank you Lord for little Ezra and his little heart. I pray he grows every day into a godly adult and ask the same for all my brothers and sisters...

Well, it is almost Shabbat. I am so ready to go home and enjoy a peaceful evening. Nathan and I had a good day of work and although it is tiring, it is such a blessing. I love working with Nathan, it's really cool... Thank you God for my hubby and all that he does for me. : )

Goodnight!

P.S. Happy 13th birthday to my little sister Eliana! Love you!

Another day...

It's 50 degrees today. Thank you Lord!!! Finally people can actually see what I'm wearing because it's no longer covered by a very large brown coat... I can't wait for summer. : )



Violin lesson today! Yes, I still take lessons because I feel like while the opportunity is here I want to take it and learn as much as I can. Right now Mr. Haskins and I are going over Bach's Six Sonatas, my favorite being the Sonata VI Preludio. If you want to hear a very lovely version of it, look up Hilary Hahn Sonata VI Preludio Solo something or other on Youtube... she plays it perfectly.



I am out of time.... I suppose I will write more later. : )

Love in Yeshua,
Caitlin