Just got done reading the following article.  If you’re single or don’t have kids or both, read it and then I have a few thoughts for you.

Most people without kids don’t realize the stress and time that is envolved with raising children.  I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to a single person and wanted to smack them when they say, “I’m so busy!  I just don’t have time to __________.”  Normally their excuse is that they are working a part-time job and taking the bare minimum of credit hours at school.  Then for some reason they feel they have the right to look down on their married friends who only have a job and a kid to raise.

The reality that this article presents is that raising children (especially a stay at home mom) is probably one of the hardest “jobs” out there.  It is a strenuous joy that you can never truly understand until you get to undertake it yourself.

So here is my challenge.  Instead of living in your bubble, step back and evaluate how you could serve and sacrifice for your friends who have kids.  When the next great movie comes out, watch your friends kids so they can see it instead of seeing it yourself (it’s called sacrifice).  Show up randomly and do some household work (cleaning, dishes, dusting, laundry, etc.).  Take their kids out and let them have a quiet night at home.  Hang out with mom and give her some adult conversation during the day.

I can tell you from experience, these are some of the greatest blessing you can give to parents.

He is a total rock star!

Asa turned three months old this last thursday.  The boy is really starting to grow fast.  He has already doubled his birth weight and is over 12 lbs.  All his clothes were starting to get tight on him.  So, we had to pull out all of his 3-6 month clothes that we had stored for just this day.

I can’t remember if we bought this Rock Star outfit for him or not, but we just had to share the picture with everyone.

He is really starting to show his personality.  He is a morning person (unfortunatly for mom and dad).  Afte we feed him in the morning he loves to smile and play.  Most morning he actually greats me with a smile as I come into his nursery.  Oh and he is sleeping through the night now.  Every now and then we’ll have to change his diaper at 4 am, but that’s about it.

Asa practicing for his graduation pictures.

He isn’t enjoying tummy time to much, but we keep working with him.  He does love his Bumbo though.  For those of you that don’t know a Bumbo is a special chair that lets pre-sitters be able to sit up.  He’ll sit in his for hours if you let him.

He is also starting to eat a lot more.  The boy puts down 6 oz easily every feeding.  Mom and Dad didn’t realize if for about a week, but he was really fussy because we hadn’t been feeding him enough (you couldn’t tell from all the baby chub he has).  But we uped his formula and the boy is happy now.

Well that is just about it for now.  We’ll try to keep this site updated as much as possible.  Hope you enjoy.

I just got an email from my mom:

These are pictures from the alley behind our house, Denny’s, and Jordan’s School. Just to let you know how close it is. The smoke is blowing away from the house so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Love you,
Mom

Here are the pics:

I must say it has been weird not writing over the past few days (this isn’t writing this is me giving an update…or something). But I wanted to give a quick update and let you know that I’ll be back in the saddle as soon as possible.  I had a great weekend with my parents hanging out and painting the nursery.   I’m all relaxed and ready to get back to my blog.

On a side note.  If you hear on the news about a refinery blowing up in Big Spring TX (it’s Big Spring…not Big Springs…there’s only one spring and it’s big…kinda), that is where my mom and step-dad live.  It is only about a mile from where they live.   My mom said that it shock the whole house and when she first looked outside there was a mushroom cloud.  Kinda cool.  They evacuated all the schools too (my niece has to be happy).  There is reports that only one person got injured in the explosion.  Anyways if I get any further news, I’ll let you know.

Sorry for the lack of posts. My parents are in town until Sunday. Just thought I would give a heads up to all my loyal readers (all three of you…well wait….my mom is here with me…so all two of you).

I must say. Shannon and I just had the greatest Christmas. We got to go skiing all weekend long. As a Christmas gift Shannon’s dad took Shannon, Shannon’s youngest brother and me skiing for the weekend. We got to go to Wolfcreek on Saturday and Sunday. We finished us the trip by going to Purgatory on Christmas day. It really was a blast.

Some added news…my mom and step-dad are going to be staying with us New Years Eve weekend. So that should be a lot of fun.