Silly Boys

Here are a few of the boys silly faces. Jake started making us laugh last night at dinner so that explains the blueberry and spaghetti faces.


Are we really adding a girl to this wild world of boys!

Is Spring Near?

It has been 75 degrees here the past few days so I wanted to get some outside pictures of the boys. We have been sick all Winter so we have very few pictures of the last few months.

We went to the playground at the church today and that is where most of them were taken. The others were taken at our house.
Enjoy!

Speaking with Grace

The past few months I have caught myself being a mom that is frustrating and raising my voice at the boys to get them to obey. We spend a lot of time trying to train them to "obey the first time with a happy heart" and it is very frustrating when Jake obeys in action but then proceeds to whine or cry while "obeying." You see we define obedience as the complete act "obey the first time with a happy heart" not just action. Life has also gotten interested as Judd is really starting to test us and we are training him to obey also. Yes, many days I feel like I am correcting them all day whether it is their actions or their attitude, (their heart).

I have prayed that God would show me areas specifically how I can be a better mom. He has been answering my prayers more than I would like in one specific area, speaking with grace. The Holy Spirit has convicting me as I yell, fuss, whine, or beg my boys to listen and obey. So yesterday I was praying that my speech would be pleasing to Him and then I read this verse:

Let your speech always be seasoned with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Col 4:6

I find that I try VERY hard to speak with grace to Jim and even others, but so many times I "lose it" with the boys. I know that more hurtful words are spoken when I am angry or frustrated than at any other time. I don't feel that my words are nearly as hurtful as the tone in which I speak. Many times see my tone and reactions imitated through Jake when he is trying to communicate with Judd. This is when the Holy Spirit gently nudges my heart and reminds me that if I want my children to know Jesus, I must be Jesus to them. I must speak gently to them, but in order to do that I need to spend more time with Him. I need to be closer to Him so that I will know how He would respond.
As a child of God and a mother to two precious boys (soon to be girl), I want this verse to represent me and the way I speak to our children:
"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26
Here are a few things to remember when I feel frustrated:
1. wait. Cool off before I speak. This will give me time to think rather than react. I must remember that I will most often react with words that are from my old nature than my new life in Christ.
2. speak softly. Frustration and anger is fed by an increase in volume. I want to speak softly and take down barriers.
3. Ask God to help when the temperature begins to rise. He alone can change me.

I pray that He will keep me sensitive in this area. I want our home to be a haven for our children as well as my husband.

I found this quote and I thought I would share it:
In every conversation we choose whether we are going to

• affirm the positive or dwell on the negative
  
• spotlight the growth or the weakness
  
• celebrate the victories or rehash the failures
  
• encourage (give courage to another) or discourage (take courage from another)
  
• think the worst or assume the best
  
• draw them to Christ or push them away
  
• And what we choose will make a difference in someone's life. . . . one way or another.
  

I want to begin now setting healthy patterns of communication children. If I am not their primary source of encouragement to, who is going to encourage them?

We only have a few more weeks before Baby Girl joins us. I want to cherish each day since these are the last days that I will have with just "the boys."

More Snow Pictures

This morning we got up and went outside to play in the snow. Jake was so excited to go outside and run through the yard. Judd still didn't find must interest in the snow. He just wanted us to hold him the whole time. We tried to build a snowman, but it didn't work. I guess building snowmen are not skills that are developed when you live in the south your whole life.


Jake was so excited that they were all wearing Carhart Overalls.


Can't you tell just how excited Judd was to be standing in the snow? He was watching Jim make the snowman. 

Edit: we took both boys to the Dr. after lunch and found out that Judd has double ear infections and Jake has another infection in his right ear. This could explain why they didn't enjoy the snow as much as we had hoped.

Snow

It is snowing! When the boys woke up from their naps we took them outside to experience the snow. They were not as impressed as I thought they would be. I guess they are still a little young. They were freezing and I was being a good mom and taking pictures for them. :-)

I think Skye enjoyed the snow more than anyone.

Thinking of You, Jim

This post is for my sweet husband:
This is a list of the 100 reasons why I love you...

He...

1. loves the Lord with all his heart, mind, soul and strength
   
2. loves me more than I deserve
   
3. is a great Daddy
   
4. has an incredible work ethic
   
5. is very wise
   
6. makes me feel secure by providing so well for me and the family
   
7. makes me feel secure because he is always loyal and faithful
   
8. his kisses are terrific!
   
9. is my favorite person to be with.
   
10. a great leader
    
11. is an incredible husband
    
12. loves me unconditionally
    
13. loves to be at home; it is his favorite place
    
14. is always ready to play with the boys
    
15. always knows the “right” thing to say
    
16. is always cool, calm, and collected.

    
17. is positive
    
18. is SWEEEEEEEET!
    
19. is understanding.  He has to be with a nutty wife like me!

    
20. is brilliant
    
21. studies God's word faithfully
    
22. has devotions with our  children
    
23. serves me
    
24. prays for me and our children
    
25. prays for my family
    
26. reads my blog
    
27. is neat
    
28. is understanding when the house is a mess
    
29. does dishes
    
30. doesn’t like coffee
    
31. doesn’t like chocolate
    
32. has put up with me faithfully for 5 years.
    
33. loves Georgia football
    
34. loves football
    
35. loves baseball
    
36. is self-controlled
    
37. spurs me on to righteousness.
    
38. loves to encourage me after long days with the boys
    
39. eats whatever I cook
    
40. is willing to let me use all my words at the end of the day, even when he is very sleepy
    
41. is really good with money
    
42. is teaching the boys how to be godly men
    
43. is an awesome Pastor
    
44. is an excellent preacher
    
45. preaches the Gospel with passion
    
46. looks so sexy in a suit…My preacher man
    
47. plays the guitar
    
48. sings better than me
    
49. can type faster than me
    
50. he still loves me, when I am grumpy
    
51. he is my best friend
    
52. he always puts me before himself
    
53. he completes me
    
54. holds the key to my heart
    
55. is simply irresistible
    
56. has a very forgiving heart
    
57. IS my better half
    
58. loves me without make-up
    
59. loves me when I stay in my pj’s all day
    
60. he compliments me
    
61. is sensible
    
62. teaches me how to be more like Jesus
    
63. wants to honor God in every area of his life
    
64. makes many animal noises
    
65. has been used by the Lord in so many ways to help me.
    
66. is a willing vessel
    
67. reads a lot
    
68. will go shopping with me even though he doesn’t like to shop
    
69. is gentle in speech
    
70. has great vocabulary and understands grammar rules
    
71. loves to study God's word.
    
72. loves his boys and wants to see them love Jesus more than anything else
    
73. is very supportive
    
74. has dimples- Very Cute DimplesJ
    
75. is so cute
    
76. I love how he makes me feel when I think I am nothing
    
77. loves music
    
78. takes wonderful care of us
    
79. keeps me focused
    
80. rarely complains
    
81. is almost perfect...I said almost...just in case he reads this ;)
    
82. loves racquetball
    
83. loves to have family time
    
84. loves to watch the boys play
    
85. works really hard
    
86. is silly
    
87. helps with the boys more than any other dad I know.
    
88. is tender
    
89. I know he was chosen for me by the Lord.
    
90. is definitely a kindred spirit.
    
91. likes my friends
    
92. they like him
    
93. inspires me
    
94. I love him more than I did the day I married him.
    
95. Things are better when he is around
    
96. Things are easier to manage if I can feel his hand in mine
    
97. Things are easier to decide if I can talk to him
    
98. Sleep is definitely easier if he is beside me
    
99. I love sharing my life with him
    
100. My husband is more than worthy of respect. I pray that I bring honor to him.

SHMILY!!!

Meet Jonah

My mom bought Jake a blue male betta fish for his birthday. Jim and Jake named him Jonah. What a great name for a fish! Jake is funny. He tells the fish to be good and not to jump out of the bowl when we leave the house. 

Meet Jonah:

Jake Turns Three

I can't believe that my oldest baby is three years old!

This has been a great couple of days with a couple of emotional moments. 

For several months we have been telling Jake that he was moving into his big bed when he turned three. For those of you that didn't know, Jake loved this crib. I think he would have stayed in it until he went to high school. 

On Tuesday the day before his birthday, I put him down in his crib for the last time. It was at that moment that I realized he was getting big. After I laid him down I called Jim at work and started crying..... I was sad because that was the last time I was ever going to put him in his crib. It was just one of those mommy moments!

Wednesday: February 27-The Big Day

Jake and I spent the morning together cleaning house and then Jim came home at lunch to spend the rest of the day with us. After lunch, Jim and Jake took the crib apart and gave it to Baby Girl. Jake was excited to give his sister the crib, however, he did ask us if he could have his bed back after she was finished using it. We told him yes. By the way, he will be five or six and I don't think he will want it back at that point.

Once we got the bed set up in the baby's room, we opened presents and then it was time to take a nap. This was the moment we had been anticipating. Jake climbed in the big bed and didn't fuss at all. We were excited, no crying. He didn't nap at all, but he didn't cry so we were pleased. That night he went right to sleep and we haven't had any problems with the transition. Once again, Jake has proven to transition very well. I am so thankful!

Sleeping through the night:

Jim and I gave him a play shot gun or as Jake calls it a "shoot" gun. He LOVES it. 

Friday: February 29- The Party

We celebrated Jake's party on Friday night. He was allowed to invite three friends since he was three years old. We had a Diego Party. It was very small, but he enjoyed having his friends over to play. I was thankful that my mom was able to be hear. She flew in on Thursday and is leaving Sunday. It is great to have people from home visit.

Saturday: March 1- Go Diego Go

This morning was the end of Jake's birthday. Jim and I bought him tickets to go see Diego Live. We got up this morning and drove to Memphis to watch the show. He enjoyed seeing Diego and Baby Jaguar. I was nervous buying the tickets, but he really did enjoy going. 

Happy Birthday Jake!

Psalm 12:7

There are times that I find myself worrying about my boys future. I get nervous that they are growing up in this generation. I know what it was like to grow up and go through school 15 years ago and I can't imagine the pressures that they will face in the future.

Well, I was reading today and I found this verse.
Psalm 12:7--You, Oh Lord, will keep them: You will preserve him from this generation forever.

This verse will be one of my new prayers for my boys. It just gave me confidence that my God can preserve and guard them from the negative influences in this world. There will come a time when I can't personally protect them. I am just thankful that I have a God that loves them and will take care of them better that I ever could.

New Pictures of the Boys

I haven't posted any new pictures of the boys lately. Since we have been sick for so many months it has been hard even take pictures much less post.

This picture is of Jake. This morning he came running in my room while I was getting dressed. This the outfit he had picked out. I thought it was great! I love the UGA and the cowboy boots. All he kept telling me was,"Mom, I am a Georgia fan."



Tonight I took pictures of them in the bathtub. Bath time is a good time to take pictures because they are contained:-)

Sweet brothers!!

31 weeks

I thought I would post a picture of my at 31 weeks. I went the doctor on Wednesday. Mommy and Baby girl are doing great! I still can't believe she will be here in 9 or so weeks. Jake was two weeks early and Judd was one week early. Hopefully, she will decide to come right on time. :-) I still enjoy sleeping through the night!!! However, I am eager to see what she looks like and how the boys will act when she comes. 

Last night, Jake was getting ready to go to bed and he looked at me and said "Mommy is your belly still big?" I can proudly say "Yes"

By the way, she still doesn't have a name! 

Praying for My Children

It is so weird to write children instead of "boys." How different to know that I have a little girl coming in 11 weeks.

I read this verse last night and it really motivated me to start praying more specifically and consistently for my children.

Lamentations 2:19 says “Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children.”

I spent some time last night researching how other couples pray for their children and this is one idea that I thought would work for us. If you know me then you know that I am a list person so I need a list to stay focused.

Jim and I plan to take time to discuss each child's strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully, by doing this we can commit to pray through each of those areas and work with them to embrace their strengths and have victory over their weaknesses. At the end of 6 months we can reevaluate, update, and praise the Lord for his faithfulness. Also, by writing these down we will be able to look back and see how faithful our God is at answering our prayers.

They belong to Him, we are just allowed us the incredible blessing of raising them for a short time. I want that time to be productive and effective in His eyes.

If you have any input on the topic let me hear from you.

Boy vs Girl Names

Boys names are so easy to figure out. We have two more on our list, but girls names have always been hard for us to decide on. We know that we want it to be a GIRL name. Not a name that could be a girl or could be a boy. We don't want anyone reading or hearing the name and wandering, hmm, is this is a boy or a girl. 

For example: Jake, there is no doubt in your mind that he is a boy. No question with that one. Judd, once again no question. 

As we continue on this journey to name our little girl, we know that her name will have been well thought out. 

Perdue Family Update

I know that I haven't even said Happy New Year, but life has been a bit overwhelming at times. I just thought I would give quick update of the end of 07 and the beginning of 08.

Dec 23- Drove to Atlanta

Dec 24- Perdue and Etheredge Christmas

Dec. 25- Brown and Perdue Christmas

Dec 26- Shopping and Jim Cleghorn's Birthday

Dec 27- Try to relax

Dec 28- Travel to Atlanta

Dec 29- Judd's Birthday Party at the Mansion and Judd's One year Pictures

Dec. 30- Travel to Jackson, Ga for church and enjoy Family time at Nanabuds lake house

Dec 31- Jim went hunting and came home with a fever

This is where it gets good:

Dec 31- 11:35 p.m Jake wakes me up telling me that his tummy hurts.....

We stay up off and on until 4 a.m. with him throwing up and then at 4:30 the other part of the stomach bug starts to hit him so we stay up until 7:30 going to sit on the potty....Oh Yeah...Happy New Year!

Jan 1- The day we had planned to travel home...didn't happen! Jim left us in Georgia so he could get back to work. Judd started throwing up at noon and we just all laid around watching football.

Jan 2- Nana graciously brought us back to TN.

Jan 3- Jim and I felt pretty horrible all day and the boys still needed to recover so all four of us stayed on the couch all day. Jake will Jim and Judd with me. It really was a sweet time to cuddle,but we all felt yucky!!

Jan 4- We finally felt better. I started organizing the house some.

Jan 5- Jim is sick again-this make for another rough day

Jan 6- Church and Jim leaves for Lynchburg for the week

Jan 7-9 The boys and I try to manage without daddy around.

Jan 10- Jake wakes up with pinkeye.

Jan 11- Can't wait to see Daddy

We are hoping the Jan 14 will bring a new day, new year, and a normal schedule to our daily lives. 

I am blessed, but overwhelmed  this week. Question: what in the world am I going to do with three? I am just thankful this is Jim's last class!!!!

Baby Trey Update

Many of you have read this, but I thought it was worth posting:

On Dec 21, Jim and I went to have a 3D/4D ultrasound in Memphis. I really wanted to have a video of this baby since I had one for both of the boys and none of the ultrasound places around here would record my 20 week ultrasound. It was so cool seeing the baby in 4D.

Another reason we decided to get the ultrasound was I wanted to surprise our parents on Christmas morning with the gender of the baby. No, I didn't want to find
out, but I thought that it would be a nice present for our parents. It was a really hard decision for me.

Let's pause and rewind a few weeks before I continue. At our 20 week ultrasound the baby's legs were crossed, but the technician made a guess and Jim was able to find out on his 30th birthday. I still didn't want to know and I didn't want to find our if her guess was wrong, so I decided not to look at the picture. He did a great job of keeping it a secret.
Okay, back to the 3D ultrasound.....

When we got into the room I told Jim that if we could tell then I would try and guess the gender. So the lady started the video and I was able to tell immediately. I guessed and I was right. I must say now that I will not find out in the future. I REALLY enjoy not knowing....but since our parents and the rest of our family know I thought I would share our
news with each of you.

Jake has known since day one and he has always said "We are having a GIRL!!!" How did I raise such a smart kid!!!

Happy New Year!!! Our world will change in April!

p.s. No she doesn’t have a name!

Judd is 1!

I can't believe that my little baby turned 1 on Friday. It just seems like yesterday I was waking up at all hours of the night to feed him, and wondering if he would ever sleep through the night. He is now sleeping through the night, walking, laughing, and signing milk, more, and please. He doesn't talk much, but he is a pure joy to have in our lives.


We had a small party at our house Friday night, but his birthday party is going to be Dec. 29 when we are home for the holidays. I decided to have his 1st birthday party with our family. Here are a few picture from Friday night.

He loved playing in the cake, but he didn't want to eat any of it.

Daddy, Jake and Judd playing with Judd's new basketball goal. 

Baby Trey Update

On Jim's birthday, November 29, we had our 20 week sonogram. This was a great sonogram. We got to see many pictures of the baby. At this point, we have a breech thumb sucker. Also, the baby was sure to keep its legs crossed and the umbilical cord in between the legs. We have a great picture to prove it.
Below are a few pictures from the sonogram. If you would like to view Jim's favorite go to his blog.

This is the picture of its legs crossed.


This is our baby sucking its thumb.


This is a picture of the face and hands.

Jim's 30th Birthday

i can't believe I am married to some one that is 30.:-) The best part is that he just gets better with age. If you want to see what I gave him for his birthday check out his blog.

Happy Anniversary, Jim!

I know that I am a few days late, but I wanted to express my love and thankfulness for my man. Our anniversary was November 23. This marked our 5th year together. It is hard to imagine that we have been married for 5 years. Our time together has gone by so quickly. We honestly love each more today than we did five years ago.

Jim, how can I thank you for your humility, leadership, genuineness, love, and constant joy. You have made being married to you something better than I ever could have imagined.

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

In just a few days, I can start celebrating Christmas. In our house we have one rule about getting the Christmas spirit. We must wait until Nov. 30. Jim requests that we not start celebrating until after his birthday.

As I prepare to decorate my house, wrap presents, do more projects with Jake, and just truly enjoy this time of year I wonder if I enjoy all of the things of Christmas more than I celebrate the greatest Gift of all. Tonight I was reading a blog, http://www.girltalk.blogs.com/, and they were discussing worldliness and this quote really made me stop and think about my motives for Christmas.

"Take the Christmas season, for instance. Every holiday I can be drawn to all things Christmassy--the shopping, buying gifts, wrapping presents, decorating the tree, baking holiday treats, attending parties and celebrations. Of course these things are not wrong in and of themselves. They can be delightful gifts from God. But I can be tempted to desire them more than the most important thing--regardless of the season: sitting at the Lord’s feet (Luke 10:38-41). And then I wonder why my heart feels so dull come December 26th."

How about you? Will you be to busy "doing" Christmas this year to sit at the Lord's feet and grow closer to Him this year?

This is the most wonderful time of the year......