"We love Baby Einstein"

"Beauty"

My parents came for a visit last weekend.  We, as always, had a wonderful time with them.  Vary rarely do you see my Dad without a camera around his neck.  Often times, Dad will "disappear" for a few minutes and no one knows where he is.  A few days later, I will receive an email with about 50 pictures attached that he has taken without any of us knowing!  We are always so grateful for Dad's thoughtfulness in taking pictures for us when we are oftentimes too busy to do so ourselves.  I must say he is quite the photographer. He loves to take pictures of the grandchildren of course, but I think his true giftedness lies in his pictures of nature.  I have so many pictures of tree bark, a leaf, a flower petal, waves on a lake, a cloud, bare trees in the Winter, etc.....  I personally find such beauty in these pictures.  I also have somewhat of an "obsession" with the sky and my Dad knows this.  There is such beauty in the sky if you look close enough.  I even think that the rainiest, grayest, most cloudy day is simply stunning.  Well after their visit, I (as expected and requested), received an email with many pictures taken my Dad in "secret".  He took some glorious shots of the sun going down behind the trees in the field where we live.  I am sharing some of these on this post. 

Dad, I know we sometimes chuckle when we see you squatting down to take a picture of the feathers on a duck or the bark of a tree, but I want you to know how much I appreciate your love of nature. I attribute my love of nature to you and I am so thankful that you taught me how to appreciate even the simplest of things in our world.  Thank you for helping me to learn the importance of stopping, resting, and reflecting on God's creation.  We are only here but for a moment. 

"For the Beauty of the Earth" 

"For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies.  For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies. Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise. 

"For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night. Hill and vale and tree and flow'r, sun and moon and stars of night. Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise". 

"Happy 4 Months Elijah Brooks"!

Elijah Brooks is 4 months old now!  He was such a trooper when he went to his 4 month checkup..., and shots.    He now weighs 16 lbs and is 27 1/2 inches long...., putting him in the 97% for length!  I suppose that explains why he is already wearing 9-12 month clothes and even some of those I am having trouble snapping because of his length.  Well, he gets his height honestly I suppose. 

His little personality continues to develop more every day.  I am finding that the Lord has graciously blessed us with a very happy child!  We are so thankful for his laid back disposition. Of course, when he is hungry or sleepy he makes sure that we know about it, but other than that, he rarely cries.  He seems to be the life of the party when he is out in public, constantly squealing and smiling at anyone and everyone who will pay him alittle bit of attention.  Ahem...., I think I may have another "Jay" on my hands :)     Jay's smile is absolutely contagious and he makes everyone he comes in contact with smile.  People are just naturally drawn to Jay.  How in the world did I get so blessed to have 2 amazing "boys" in my life??   

I still find myself waking up every morning feeling like it's Christmas morning and the greatest gift in the world is squealing in the next room.  Ah...., motherhood.  What a blessing! What a privilege! 

"Snow Baby"

"Over the river and through the woods, to Bethel church we go".  (We walk across this little bridge on the way to church). 

This was the view outside of my kitchen window early this morning. 

Elijah Brooks seeing snow for the 1st time! 

Daddy and son 

Mommy and son 

This morning, we woke up to 4+ inches of snow on the ground. It was beautiful!  Last time snow was predicted for our area we didn't get any, so this was a welcome treat!  We of course, dressed our son in his "snow suit", which was never thought he would actually get to wear, and ventured out to let him experience his 1st snow.  I do believe that he was far more interested in eating the zipper on his snow suit than looking at the snow!  He was able to hang outside for about 10 minutes until he started crying because his face was so cold.  So, mommy and baby went inside while Daddy went to check out the church folk sledding on the big hill towards the church!