10 Months Old!

Wow....WHERE does the time go? It seems like yesterday I was kissing and holding my little bundle for the first time...and now he's babbling, cruising furniture, and getting SO big. Happy 10 months, "Bubba". We love you more than I can put into words. :)

Austin's Milestones

I'm feeling guilty. Here I had this detailed-to-the-day blog for Alexis when she was a baby (mostly because of her medical condition) and I haven't written down ONE thing for my little buddy, Austin. OOPS! Bad mama! So this blog is dedicated to the milestones of Austin. Mostly so I can print them and put them in his scrapbook when I get around to it (which at this rate might be in 10 years!)

May 2010: 1st outdoor outing--Memorial Day Family Fishing Trip to Lake View (3 months)

Grandma kept him safe from the sun under the chair, don't worry! :)

June 2010: 1st Trip to the Omaha Zoo (4 months)

We visited my college friend, BobbiAnn, and went to the Omaha Zoo. It was fun!

June 2010: Started eating Cereal (4 months)

Let's just say he LOVES food!!!

July 2010: First Airplane Ride to Florida (5 months)

This was one of the only family pictures we got because Austin did not go to the Disney parks with us. Thankfully, Grandma and Poppa Barber came down to watch him for us. He was such a good traveler. Except for the HUGE blowout diaper on the plane, he did awesome!!!

August 2010: Started sitting up (6 months)


September 2010: Started Babbling...dada AND mama...and melting our hearts (7 months)
I have video of this and will try to figure out how to get it up here sometime!

September 2010: Started crawling!! (7 months)

He even tries to crawl off of chairs, the couch, beds, etc. BUSY boy!

October 2010: Popped through first two bottom teeth (8 months)

Cheeesseeeee!!!!

October 2010: Pulled himself up (8 months)
Oopps.....I've yet to get a picture of this. I will. Promise.

November 2010: Cruising furniture (9 months)
He's SO SO busy now. He's moving all over the place cruising from one piece of furniture to the next.

There you have it. Our little boy is getting big. We LOVE him, are so THANKFUL for him, and can't imagine LIFE without him!


Psalm 127:3 ESV--
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving 2010. I spent a few minutes this morning looking back at pictures and reflecting (in my morning quiet time) on the year and OH MY, DO WE HAVE A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR! Our life isn't perfect by any means, in fact it's far from it! We make a lot of mistakes and gripe more than we should but I KNOW we have so very much to be thankful for. I'm going to reflect on 2010 and put down some of our "blessings".

January--We were 8 months pregnant (YAY!) with Austin. Making it full-term with him was a dream of ours. Thank you God!


February--Of course, our BIG blessing this month was the FULL TERM birth of our son, Austin. I can't believe how much joy this little life provides us...and I can't even imagine what life was like without him. Thank you God!


March--Our Nephew, Kenley, turned 7. He's my sister, Angie's son. He's been my buddy since he was born and since moving to Newell, I've really enjoyed getting to spend more time with him and Angie, too! I'm also thankful that he and Alexis get to see each other each day and build a relationship. They're buds. Thank you God!


April--Austin started going to daycare @ my aunt, Brenda's in April. I'm thankful for the care Brenda provided to my kids while we lived in Clive. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know and I am so thankful to have her in my life. Thank you God!


May--Some months have overflowing blessings and this is one of them. In May, I'm thankful that Alexis learned how to ride a bike. Doctors told us she may never walk so the day she started riding a bike on her own was a special one for us! I'm also thankful for ALL of our friends and family that took part in our annual Team Alexis walk for the March of Dimes. We are ever-so-thankful for everyone's generosity, year after year, & to be able to make a small impact for the March of Dimes! Thank you God!



June--I'm thankful for Alexis' ability to play t-ball. She had a blast playing t-ball this year, even though it was more of a social event for her. I've come to grips with the fact she's not going to be an athlete like mommy and daddy and I'm thankful she has a mind of her own. I'm also thankful for her ability to participate in cheerleading. Her recital was in June and she LOVED cheerleading. Aunt Angie is proud of the fact that her little niece takes after her in that reguard! I'm also thankful that uncle Mark could come up from Texas to meet Austin and spend a week with our family. He was so fun to have around and we appreciate him taking time to drive up to spend time with us. Alexis LOVES uncle Mark! What a blessed month. Thank you God!






July 2010--I'm thankful that God allowed our family to go on Vacation to Florida. We got to see Justin's Grandma and Poppa Barber who we rarely see and they met Austin. I'm also thankful that Justin's parents came down to Florida to watch Austin so we could take Alexis to all of the Disney Parks. What a blessing! I'm also thankful for the time we had with The Shanks...we built great memories! I LOVE to vacation and I'm SO THANKFUL for ability to be able to do that. Thank you God!








I also turned 30 in July and got to celebrate in Des Moines with friends. I'm thankful God has given me 30 great years thus far and also for great friends to celebrate with! I always wish I had more time with friends but am thankful for the little time I do get to spend with them. I'm sad we didn't get a group picture that night (duh!) but here are three of us that celebrated our July birthdays that night!



August--August is the month that we moved from Clive to Newell. The move was (and is) bittersweet for me. I miss my friends and neighbors (and Target, Starbucks,....) in Des Moines TERRIBLY. However, I'm thankful for Justin to be able teach using his internship status rather than student teach, for Alexis to go to a smaller school and us to all be in the same district, and to be closer to my family. Thank you God! Oops...didn't take any pictures of the move, either. My camera was probably packed. ha!




September--Our princess, Alexis turned 6. She is the reason I started this blog. She is the reason I have so much love in my heart. She is the reason I have so much thanks for God! She is my hero. I am SO VERY THANKFUL for her, each and every day! Thank you God!



I'm also thankful that Justin's parents were able to fly up from Texas to celebrate with us and for my parents opening their home for us to celebrate at. Our parents are amazing and we appreciate them SO VERY MUCH!



October--I'm thankful for friends in October. In October, I got to see all of my close high school friends, college friends, Westridge friends, bible study friends, and the list goes on! That can be a rarity...so I'm thankful for the opportunity to see all of them and catch up. I also got to play a small part in the engagement of one of my college roomates, Erin and we attended a dedication brunch at our close friends, The Gulicks. Once again, I forgot to take pics at all of these events (duh!) but I'll improvise. (I don't even have a picture of all of my Westridge friends together. We must do that next time we're together!!) Thank God for friends!









November--In November, I'm thankful for LIFE! I had a real eye opening experience earlier this month. I got into a rollover car accident in my little Neon and totaled my car. It could have been very bad but I walked away untouched. Talk about a blessing!!! Whoa! Thank you, GOD!

I'm also thankful for Grandparents in November. We get to spend Thanksgiving today @ my Grandma Donna and Papa Ike's and we spent time at my Papa Cy's with the Nieland family last weekend. I am thankful for my Grandparents!



Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

THANK YOU GOD, for LIFE. Life is GOOD! :)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and take some time to reflect and be thankful to all you have!

BIG Blessing

As I said in my last post...when I started this blog, I wanted it to be some sort of a running record of my daily blessings. I went away from blogging for awhile (due to the time commands of working full time with 2 little ones plus moving) but I'm coming back to blog because I know my blessings overfloweth! Also, the group of bible study girls I've connected with here in Newell all started a blessings book (notebook) to write down blessings and as they handed me mine, I realized...hey, I can just BLOG my blessings because I had started the blog already anyway!

One BIG blessing that I encountered this past Friday (11/6) was to step away from an accident that could have been horrific. On my way to Des Moines, I rolled our little Dodge Neon. The car was totaled, glass was everywhere, the scrapbooking stuff I had in tow was spread out in the ditch and field among the accident yet I walked away untouched. I had a HUGE hedge of protection over me that day. In fact, I knew it the minute my car landed and I realized what had happened because in the front seat of my car was my school bag with my laptop, school papers and my bible zipped in its case. The entire bag flew into the back seat but somehow the bible tumbled out, thunked me on the leg, and left the only bruise I received from the whole incident. Now, THAT's a blessing. Thank you God. You are good. I appreciate you giving me more days to live and enjoy my family before I come to your eternal house! I'm SO blessed!

My Blessings Blog

When I started this blog a couple of years ago, my intention was to keep a "running tally" of all of the things life has blessed me with. My daughter, Alexis, was and is a HUGE blessing that I thank God for every single day, and that is why I choose to name my domain "blessedwithalexis". 2 years ago, she was my BIG blessing in life, among a ton of other daily blessings. Fast forward 2 years....now I have another BIG blessing in my life. Little Austin Hunter was born 2/3/2010. A full term, chubby, HEALTHY baby boy. Praise God. Although I learned a LOT through our struggles with Miss Alexis, I will say Austin's birth and days following were MUCH more enjoyable. I am so thankful for both of my HEALTHY kids, and I praise God every single day for the blessings he has bestowed upon us.




Recently, our family has moved from the suburbs of Des Moines to my hometown, Newell. From a city with endless shopping opportunities, to a town without even ONE grocery store. Ouch. It's tough on a girl that's in love with a little store called Target. :) But honestly, looking beyond all of the amenities that the Des Moines area offers, I know there are reasons God has placed our family back into my hometown. Yeah, the town with NO stores. One big bless, that I can clearly see, is that my entire family is there. My hardworking parents, my sister Angie and her family, and my twin brothers, Adam and Aron. I know it's very unique to be grown up, with a family of our own, and be in the SAME town as all of my immediate family members. I need to remember that on the days I'm REALLY missing Target, Jordan Creek Mall or the ginormous scrapbooking store that was a mere mile from where I worked. I know God is working his magic and placing us in Newell for many reason and I'm sure most of those we can't even see yet!

Anyway, I know it's been over a year since I've blogged. But, I want to start blogging more often for 2 reasons: 1) To "journal" my simple, everyday blessings so I can reflect upon them years later and be thankful and 2) Have a place to come record the events of my ever-so-changing children. They're growing up TOO fast.

Here are a couple of recent pictures of my family. Thank you God for blessing me every single day!


Our Family Photo this fall


My kids in their Halloween Garb