His promise.

" And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:3

Sigh. Oh how I have found comfort in this verse this week. This is God's promise. He is off preparing a place for me and when it is finished he will come back and take me with him to see it. I can't even imagine how magnificent this place will be. It will be filled with all my hearts desires, desires I haven't even spoken out loud. Because my God knows every detail of my being it will be so intricately perfect and radiate his true love for me. Sigh. It's amazing isn't it?

We are here at another years end. This has been a year of many adjustments and now that I sit here thinking about it, I realize it went by fast. Tomorrow we will start a new day in a new year. How exciting! What will 2009 be like? I think it will be another year of adjusting. God knows we aren't totally happy here yet. Our lives have changed and we're still working on finding our fit in our community. It will also be a year of discovery. Evan is learning so much and now that he is mobile he will discover so much more. This makes us so excited. It is our pray that this is a year of true contentment. God is at work in us. I feel his pulls and tugs, but I have yet to understand some of them. I pray I am less stubborn this year and am able to rest in the potters hands. We are excited to use our house for God's glory. And we desire to grow deeper in our relationship and understanding of God, marriage, and parenthood.

So as we wait for the amazing place He is preparing for us, we start a new year with joy. We are eager for the sledding in winter, planting in the spring, swiming in summer, bonfires of fall, and the return of the snow. We pray we are able to slow down and enjoy a simple life.

My Love

Evan , originally uploaded by stacie ann photography.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little love Evan. My cousin Stacie took this while she was back a few months ago. That sweet face just melts my heart! Hope you enjoy it too.

Hot Cocoa

Winter Wonderlands need what? HOT COCOA of course! Here is a recipe for the Hot Cocoa my Mama always made when I was a wee lil' lady. Drinking a cup of this reminds me of snow days, sledding, cookies, and game nights. I've made 3 or 4 batches already and winter is just beginning! This mix makes an excellent gift too.

Hot Cocoa Mix

3 cups dry powdered milk
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup powdered coffee creamer
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together. Store in air tight container.

Add 3-4 tsps mix to 1 cup hot water. Top with marshmellows or whip cream. ENJOY!!

Today we were blessed.

Today we were blessed. It is such an amazing feeling to know you have received blessings from God. Indescribable, it truly is. Travis called me and upon receiving the good news, I fell to my knees and wept. I did! Emotions of JOY overcame my body and all I could do is weep in thanksgiving. Knowing that I do not give God all the glory he deserves, and yet he continually grants us gifts over and over. We know he will provide for us, but this can be hard to rely on at times. It is easy to want to take into our own hands. But today he reminded us that he is our provider, he IS in control. We pray we are good stewards of his blessings. Thank you heavenly Father for loving us so much. Travis I am so proud of you and all the hard work you do for our family! I love you!!

Mornin

DSC03838, originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics.

Good Morning.

"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify."
-Henry David Thoreau

France
Originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics

God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form...The perfect surrender and humiliation was undergone by Christ: perfect because He was God, surrender and humiliation because He was man. -C.S. Lewis

Photo Fun continued...

Photo fun! I saw this on my friend Ashley's blog More Than Dog Children and then saw my friend Kristin Two Songbirds On A Wire continue it. So I decided to play along too. Fun times!

Here's the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

Here I am standing in front of the reflective pool at the Christian Science Center in Boston. This was our apartment hunting trip in 2004 before we actually moved. It was a long day we had! Our first apartment was about 3 blocks away from this beautiful building in the Back Bay.


I'm not a tagger either but hope you'll keep the ball rolling and play along. I'd love to see what pics you find.

Just like my Daddy.

Taking after my Daddy! I love my camo gear, can you see me?

Where's the White?

Snow. Where is the snow? We were suppose to wake up this morning to a blanket of snow. I awoke to hear the wind blowing so strongly against the house. (instant grin) The creaks and howls screamed of whirling snow. I was so excited to start the day off with blueberry pancakes and coffee and be in a winter wonderland. Evan would have fun discovering the cold white snow. He hasn't used his snowsuit yet.

But then I went to window still groggy from a good nights sleep and saw colors. Rubbed my eyes a little more, yep colors. Disappointment swept through me so fast. Where is the white? We didn't get any snow at all! Not even ice or frost. I know the forecast was changed to only get an inch or two, but nothing at all is so disappointing. The wind is still blowing, but it isn't blowing anything white around.

I still made Evan and I blueberry pancakes and am sipping on my second cup of coffee. Evan loves pancakes. He is such a noisy eater anyway, but this morning he was really telling me how much he loved his breakfast. Don't worry Daddy we have left overs for you tomorrow.

Now I must prepare for our White Elephant party tonight. I'm bringing BBQ Wienies and Christmas cookies. I need to search our house for the best gifts, and do a little cleaning while I'm at it.

Evan's First Birthday

Evan. Our sweet lil' man. You are growing up so darn fast. We love this and are sad about this at the same time. We celebrated your First birthday with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Great-Grandmas, and Great-Grandpas. Daddy made you a mountain of pillows and blankets for you to climb on. You got balloons and presents and you LOVED your baseball birthday cake. You are such a huge blessing in our lives. Mama and Daddy love you so so much. Happy Birthday Sweet Boy, may we have more fun this next year than we did this past year.

One day Evan had an "AHA" moment and discovered that his big toys were not only to look at but to play with, in, and on. Life's been amazing ever since.

Friendship

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too?
I thought I was the only one." -C.S. Lewis

We were lucky enough to spend a few days with our good friends Troy, Amy, and Audrey back in October. It's amazing to have such good friends that life just seems to go on like you were never apart. It had been close to 6 months since we had seen them, yet our time spent with them felt so normal. God grants blessings big and small and friendship is one of the big ones. We love and miss you Douglas'. You too Nettie, we miss you lots.

Bare with us...

Hello fellow readers. Please bare with us as we are in process of posting many updates! We've had a lot of fun times these past few weeks and need to download pics and write up a few stories. Updates to come we PROMISE. In the mean time please go and VOTE tomorrow. We are lucky to be in this country and to experience such a history making election.

Stay tuned as we'll be posting later this week.

still in the potters hands

If you...

Miss a day with God, YOU will know it.


Miss a few days with God, your FAMILY will know it.


Miss a few more days with God, your FRIENDS will know it.


Miss even more days with God, the WORLD will know it.



A good friend shared this quote last night at our life-group, and it has not left my mind since. It scares me to know that other people may notice when I have not been meeting with God. Even more, it scares me that Evan may know. Life changes in so many ways when you have children. I think God knew I needed Evan to bring me even closer to Him.


My quiet times have been pathetic. Honestly. It's as if I've forgotten that God is REAL. I treat him as if he's not always there and almost look past him when I speak to Him. I'm only fooling myself when I do this. Lately there have been a few verses that I stumbled across that have stuck in my head. And though I'm not reading new scripture every day I've been meditating on what these verses mean for me. I can feel and hear God pulling me back to his side and I am slowly letting him grasp me again. PRIDE. It's become an issue for me this past year, and I know I am wrestling a lot with it. Have others seen this in my life? If I go back to the quote, they very well have. I am striving to meet with God everyday while Evan is napping. Pray with me that I can be disciplined to keep this up. Proverbs 9: 8 says, : Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you." My prayer has been that I take reproof with grace and not immediately get defensive. It's a lot wrestle with and humbling to admit. I thank you for your constant love sweet Lord.

Teething Baby =

Teething baby equals slobber and a tired Mama. But the way he wants to snuggle in and be lovey keeps me going. This soon will pass and we will wonder how he grew so fast. We'll let you know when the first one pokes through.

Greek Shrimp and Spaghetti Squash

Greek-Style Shrimp and Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 pound watercress
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup crumbles feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts

1. Prick spaghetti squash with a fork and place in a large kettle. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Drain and slice the squash in half. Remove the seeds and cool.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute crushed garlic cloves. Add peeled, cleaned shrimp, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add watercress, chopped tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and pine nuts. Stir until well heated, about 2 minutes.
3. Scrape the squash lengthwise to separate the strands. Pour the shrimp mixture over the squash to serve.

Makes 4 servings.

This is our new favorite meal, and oh so healthy and light. The spaghetti squash gives a bit of a crunch with the shrimp mixture. It is delicious. I used Spinach in place of the watercress. Watercress can be hard to find and may be a bit more bitter. This is must try especially of you like Greek food. Let me know how you like it!

Stats Are In

Evan had is 9 month check up on Monday. All is well and our little boy is growing strong and mighty. Here are the stats:

Weight: 18.5 pounds = 10%
Height: 29.25 inches = 70%
Head Circumference: 47 = 85%

So our baby continues to be LONG and LEAN with a big Lucas head. I asked about his low percentage of weight and the doctor had no worries. He said that at this age is when they really start looking at the parents as genes will kick in and the child will start taking after the parents. So if Mama and Daddy are thin, they expect the baby to be as well. We had no shots this time, only a finger prick, in which Evan looked at nurse Judy like "Are you for real? What the heck was that?" No crying just a look of confusion. As Dr. Davey and I chatted, Evan enjoyed ripping up the paper bed liner only eating a few bites of it as well as the cotton ball used on his finger. Good times. Now we start introducing more finger foods and start weaning off all pureed foods. Exciting for Evan, a little sad for Mama. I so enjoy making Evan's food I'm not quite ready to quit. He's growing so darn fast 1 Year is right around the corner. GASP!

Apricots = Yummy Goodness

I love making Evan's food. It gives me so much joy to prepare yummy food for him and see all the vibrant colors homemade food creates. Making baby food is so easy and fun too. All you need is a food processor or blender, a 1/2 hour of your day, and some love.

These apricots came from the Lucas farm. We were down there for a family picnic and saw that the tree was full and ripe. My eyes lit up thinking of all the yummy food I could make for Evan, for free!
I washed and pitted them. Then layed them out skin side up on a baking sheet with about an inch of water, and baked them till the skins were golden.
Then it was time to peel off the skin and plop them into the food processor. A few spins and lovely puree was created.
I save the plastic containers that store bought food is in and reuse them for my own food. My neighbor has been kind enough to save hers and give them to me as well.

Thanks Great Grandma Kate and Great Grandpa Ned for the delicious apricots! Evan's eyes got big and he had a huge smile after the first bite. There's nothing like freshly picked fruit.

nudges and pushes of encouragment

This last Sunday we learned about the mating rituals of Eagles. Eagles will mate for life. The Female, when she spots a Male she's interested in, will pick up a large stick and then fly really high and drop it. The Male eagle will then fly down and catch the stick before it hits the ground. If in fact this happens and the Male does catch the stick, the Female knows he is a suitable mate. When Baby eagles are hatched and it is time for them to learn to fly, the Mother will stand on the side of the nest and flap her wings so fast that the wind from it will pick the Babies up off the nest encouraging them to open their wings and practice flying. If after a few trials a Baby is lazy and does not open it's wings the Mother will push it out of the nest. But right before it hits the ground, the Father swoops down to catch the Baby and bring it back up to the nest. They will repeat this until finally the Baby opens it wings to fly.

So how does this story pertain to God and us? Our God is with us for life he will never leave us. He stands beside us sometimes creating a wind to lift us. He encourages us to flap our wings for his kingdom. This maybe out of our comfort at times; and in those times when we become lazy he may push us out of the nest to awaken us. And just when we think it can't get any worse and it's over, he is there catching us and bring us back to the nest. This may continue until we are strong and focused enough to fly out on our own. May we sing praises to our God of encouragement, of help, and of constant love. His plan is greater than ours and his teachings mold us to be his holy children.

"Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63: 7-8

Froggie Legs

A few weeks ago we took Evan swimming. As you can see he thoroughly enjoyed it. How blessed we are to get to see Evan find joy in so many firsts. It gives me a glimpse of how God feels to watch us discover his creation.

The Finer Things

"There's nothing finer in life than true love and a home-grown tomato." -Gary Ibsen

Deep thoughts

Would/Does Satan use my child as a distraction from my time with the Lord?

Yesterday this thought crossed my mind and I felt disgust and anger boiling up inside. At the thought of anything/anyone using my child against me makes the sirens go off the armor go up. It reminded me that there is a constant battle going on and that my God is always fighting for me-His child. I will fight to protect Evan the same way God fights for me.

Many times lately when I am spending time with my Lord-Evan needs me and interrupts our time. Sunday mornings at church are the same way. I get through worship and am ready to listen to what Pastor Matt has to say but Evan suddenly becomes restless and I have to leave the auditorium. Now I know babies will be babies and need our constant devotion but the timing of Evan's outbursts are sometimes questionable. Hence my first question; Would Satan use my child as a distraction from my time with the Lord? I sure would hope not. But it means this Mama must be ready for battle at all moments of the day.

I'm Listening

Yesterday I was standing at my kitchen sink looking out the window. My thoughts focused on the question of how can my God relate to me whenever I need him--when there are so many other people in the world who need him at the same time? See I know my God is just that big, that he constantly surrounds all his children. And because I love him, he loves me even more. But still the question arose.

Then the strangest thing happened the same time those thoughts entered my head. I very clearly heard the words, "I'm Listening". That's all, "I'm Listening". Again I heard them and I my eyes slowly darted around the kitchen in wonder if I really did hear it. The internal voice is such an amazing thing. The dialog that goes on in my head can be so sporadic. But then when it is interrupted with such clarity, I know it is my Lord asking for my attention. So the rest of the afternoon I spent thinking about what it was I wanted to or needed to say. I'm still not exactly sure what I want/need to say. But I know He is patient and is assuring me that He IS there to listen. He just gave me a nudge to start the conversation.

Happy Anniversary my Sweet Love!!!!

It's been four years...and I love him even more today than I did before.
Aargh to my Matey! I can't wait for more years together as we build our story.

Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary to our good friends Katie & Zach Schlegel.
Yesterday was their big day. We love you two!

Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary to our dearest friends Troy & Amy Douglas.
We love and miss you very much.
Keep being the rock-stars you are!

Praying Together

'A couple who prays together, stays together.'

This was our lesson this week in our marriage study. I don't know how many times we've heard this saying, and we know that it's true, but yet we still are not praying together on a regular basis. This week's chapters were so great for Travis and I to read. They really opened our minds to realize what we need to do more of. And that is Pray Together. I know that Travis prays regularly and I know that I do as well. But we realized our prayer time together has been in a bouncing pattern. We do, then we stop, then we're back at it, then it's gone. Why don't we pray together? Our answer...I don't know. Our prayer time together is before meals...and that seems to be it right now. We use to pray together at night just before bed, but our schedules are so off now that I usually fall asleep way before Travis. In the morning we're usually focused on getting Travis ready for work and we're trying to wake up for the day. Then we throw Evan into the mix and he requires our constant attention. Life changes, but our God never lets go. He continues to mold us as a couple and seeks our attention together and individually. We prayed together last night before bed. We chose one thing we wanted to pray about and we focused on that as we both bowed our heads. Praying together keeps us vulnerable. What a freeing feeling it is to share and trust as we confess and pray together. So we have made a commitment to work on praying together, to keep it a priority in our marriage. Please pray for us as we seek this goal. We encourage you to pray together as a couple, and see what our Lord has to say as you do.

FAN-TASTIC

A word used very often by my grandpa Les. It's not just the word that makes us smile, it's the way he says it...with so much enthusiasm. Grandpa and Grandma just came up from Missouri on Friday so we were able to spend an evening with them which is always a blessing. God has had his hand over them by healing them the past few months. I'm so glad there time here on earth isn't over yet-as selfish as that may be. We love them so much, they are just, well...FAN-TASTIC!

Evan & Great Grandpa Les

Evan & Great Grandma Arlene

Reading fun.

Reading fun., originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics.

Just sitting and reading...All by myself! I love to look at my books. My favorites are Fuzzy Bee, ABC, and Peekaboo!

Lil' Monstah

For your viewing pleasure. We thought we would share a lil' clip of what we see everyday. Evan "Lil' Monstah" Lucas enjoying his food. Ciao!

C.S. Lewis quote of the day.

Every uncorrected error and unrepented sin is, in its own right,
a fountain of fresh error and fresh sin flowing on to the end of time.


A fountain of fresh error. Wow this doesn't sound very refreshing, but why do I find myself slurping up more often than not? May we praise our God who keeps no record of wrongs. May I humble myself to admitting my sins to others, my God, and myself.

Confession

I am LAZY. That is the only word I can think of to describe how I feel. It's a terrible feeling, though I admit it. I'm tired of my house not being organized. Yet each day passes and I haven't done anything to help it. I'm trying to watch less TV as it seems to just suck me into the couch like a vacuum. (the Browns were right, the Greyhound has a magnet that holds you on the cushion) I'm not meeting with my creator everyday. He is in my thoughts, but our conversations are not current. I'm not reaching out to meet people. And we all know if you wait for someone to talk to you it will never happen. I feel like something is holding me back and I haven't figured out what it is. But yet I do know what it is, it myself, my own laziness. I have dreams and desires of what I want to be and do, yet I haven't started walking towards them. So, today is the day that change. I know it may be slow but I think I've been looking at all the Big things and too far ahead and I need to focus on the NOW things. The small stuff, it really does matter and makes a difference. I seem to have a constant dialogue in my head and I need to start getting it out. Hence this blog. I know if I get it out it will be a way to push myself onward. Blogging will become a more regular thing.

For the Milk-truck Mamas

The Milk-truck. Yes that is what my father-in-law calls me, especially when Evan is reaching for me ready to eat! I don't mind it makes me laugh every time because it truly is what I am. There will be a day when I no longer am known as a milk-truck-I'm not ready for that yet.

I came across this website which has answered many of my questions about breastfeeding. Breastfeeding Essentials Becky Flora-Waterman is a certified lactation consultant. She's written many articles answering questions and sharing tips she's learned from her own experience. It's been helpful to me and hopefully will be to you.

Four generations

4 generations of Lucas men
Originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics

Here stand four generations of Lucas men: Great Grandpa Ned, Grandpa Steve, TravDaddy, and Evan Alan. All who woke up in the wee hours of the morning to hunt down Mr.Tom Turkey. Evan of course stayed behind with Mama and cheered them on by wearing his own camo outfit. How lucky we are to have all four generations alive and well and enjoying the pastime of Turkeys. We love every moment we get to spend down at the farm.

Carrier

We're addicted to Carrier! It has been a highlight of our evenings this past week. And I just discovered that tonight is the last night it's on :( Carrier is a documentary of what life is like aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. If you get a chance this evening from 9-11pm watch PBS. It has been so interesting and has given us even more respect for what the Navy and US Military do for our country. It is so great to learn new things...PBS is one of our favorite ways to do that now.

they think we're older...

Yesterday Travis was talking with our neighbor Jason. He and his wife have a lil' boy and a lil' girl. Jason prodded Trav about how old we were so Travis told him we both were 27. Jason was surprised at that answer saying they thought we were older. Jason is 26, his wife Lindsay is 29, and we thought they were older. But this brings us back to the point of THEY THOUGHT WE WERE OLDER! I don't think I've ever met anyone who thought we were older than we are. Now we're trying to figure out what we're doing that makes us look older. Do I need to color my hair again? Is Travis hunting too much? Travis and I were shocked and laughed it off...but again...they think we're older. Aye-yi-yi.

SIX MONTHS

Can you believe it? Evan is 6 months old! We visited our new doctor yesterday for his wellness appointment. We found out that our lil' man is in the 98% overall for his age. He is 27 1/4 inches long (76%). He weighs 16.2 pounds (24%); and his head is 45 1/4 cm around (85%). That said he is long and strong just like his Daddy.
Dr. Davey was wonderful and immediately made friends with Evan. We are starting to eat cereal and He gave us a meal plan to start working on. He thinks that Evan is just Lactose intolerant and suggested that I start bringing back whey, casein, and soy into my diet. If Evan tolerates those we can play around with slowly bringing back dairy-YAY. Dr. Davey even thought Evan might grow out of it by his 9 month appointment. That would just be awesome!
We were all smiles until nurse Judy started with the shots! Evan was cooing and smiling and then all of a sudden got a very serious look on his face and the seriousness turned into a painful cry. My poor baby! But soon he was back to smiling. He has 4 marks where the needles went it, 2 which have bruises. He's also ran a low grade fever and was very lovey this morning-I love that.

So our little boy is Six months old. He is constantly smiling. Rolling over. Pushing himself up when he's on his tummy. Reaching for toys. Eating cereal. He is a lean machine. Mama and Daddy love you so much Evan. You are our precious gift from Jesus!

Sweetest Boy

Hello world
Originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics

Evan. My sweet love. You are such a joy. You are funny and oh so curious. You love your blue bird, and your monkey George. You have the greatest smile. I love how when you wake up you just lay in your crib and look at your hands and feet. You coo at your monkey George(thanks Brennan) and have started to reach up to pull down your music lamb (thanks Carolynne) You squeal and kick your feet when you're really excited. You've started to push out your lips and tongue when you're sad and upset. You love your Daddy, but always want your Mama. (Mama loves this) Please keep learning and discovering. Keep laughing and smiling. Keep being the blessing you are.

rockin 'n' ROLLIN

We're rockin 'n' ROLLIN now. Evan has reached another milestone. He's an expert with the amazing-roll over trick-which means Mama & Daddy need to baby-proof even more. Each new stage Evan reaches is so exciting. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful son who fills us with so much joy.

it's What out...

Yah...it's SNOWING...in April.

We woke up this morning to not only rain, but snow too. I guess that's Nebraska weather for you-always changing. We pray this is the last snowfall for a while so we can get to planning and planting our garden. We're reading about how to take care of our yard and how to plant a garden; and we're eager to start.

Evan and I are off to Lincoln so Mama can get a haircut.

hello anybody????

Can I get a little help here? Stop taking pictures and get this thing off of me, don't you see I'm pinned down? Gosh...Parents-what are ya gonna do with'em.

I've been cheating...

and have now discovered that my lil' snitches here and there really are a big deal. As you know we are trying to see if Evan is MSPI so we eliminating Dairy, Soy, and Nuts from our diet. This is very difficult for us as we LOVE cheese, milk, asian, indian, bread....the list goes on and on. Now we are reading every food label, which is something Travis did anyway. Over the weekend Travis went Turkey hunting with his dad, so I spent the weekend in Lincoln. I discovered that it is REALLY hard for me to eat when I'm not at home, so I cheated a little here and there thinking that it wouldn't be a big deal. I know that when you drink alcohol or caffeine you need to wait 4hours for it to pass through your system-I was thinking this was the same for Dairy. I WAS WRONG! I read on kellymom that it can take 10 days -3 weeks to eliminate the milk protein from your system. That means every time I cheat have milk or cheese I am just starting over from the beginning.

We're not even sure if Evan does have MSPI. This is just a trial period to see if we notice a difference in his stools. So far I'm not sure if we do. Which makes the diet even more frustrating. Please pray that I can stick with it and that each time I am frustrated that I remember it could really be helping Evan. We love food and the challenge of cooking MSPI free is exciting and tiring at the same time. So for now I will just dream of cheese...

Bryan holds the child...

Baby Lucas 0-2 months 018
Originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics

This one goes out to our dear friend Bryan who is soon to be a Daddy to little Eden Elizabeth! Though he panicked a bit when we placed Evan in his arms, deep down we know he loved it.

It's amazed me how once we had Evan, Travis and I automatically knew how to be Mama and Daddy. There is just something about holding your own precious child that brings out the natural parent in you. You realize how much this little person needs you for everything, and you do anything to protect and care for your baby.

Bryan it's has been so fun watching you get more and more excited as Eden is growing. Your eagerness to learn more and research items is awesome. We know you are taking great care of Katie and that she adores you more each day because of it.

We pray that our Lord continues to have his hand over you both. That he continues to grow each intricate part of Eden. That Katie stays strong, healthy and stress-free as she finishes school, and that Bryan continues to protect, support, and guide his family. We love you and miss you!

In The Motherhood

Comic relief! I've realized how important laughter is as I am home with Evan each day. He himself is a riot and makes me laugh with the little things he does. But to have some true mama humor to laugh with is awesome. I think I'd go nuts without it.
Last year my good friend Georgette and I discovered the webisode of In The Motherhood. We looked forward to each new episode and would surround the computer to watch. A few months ago she reminded me that there was a new season starting. Let me tell ya it is Terrific. This season includes Leah Remini, Chelsea Handler, and Jenny McCarthy. They are quite the cast. In the Motherhood is written For moms, By moms, and is About moms. Check it out I'm sure you'll love it!

Diet Change...What We're Doing Now

Over the past 2-3 months off and on we've noticed that Evan has had blood in his stools. This of course is not normal. The first time we notice it we took him into the doctor, had him evaluated, had his dirty diaper sent to the lab, and found nothing. So we thought it was just a freak thing and went on with life. But once again blood would show up in his stool- then no more, and show up-then nothing.

One diagnosis the Doc gave us was that he may have a Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI). Though most of the time a child is diagnosed with this early in life, and since Evan is almost 5mo we weren't sure if this was the problem. You would never know anything was wrong as he is such a happy baby-rarely crying and not terribly gassy (which are both big signs of MSPI). But his stools do have a slight mucous and/or spinach look to them. This may be TMI for some of you but once you become a parent diaper talk is nothing. The mucous/spinach diaper is a sign that there may be an intolerance.

So we are believing that Ev has MSPI. Because I am still breastfeeding this means that I have to change my diet. No longer can I eat Milk products, Soy products, or Nuts. How fun is that? Luckily I live with a dietitian who is excited for the challenge and is doing the diet change with me. We are ridding our cupboards of anything Dairy, Soy, or Nutty and learning what we CAN eat. It is difficult and tricky as we have to carefully read each food label. But for now the challenge of it is intriguing as we know it could help our lil' baby. We're going to try it for a month to see if we notice any change. We'll let you know how we're doing and what results we find.

another lesson learned

We just learned last night that we should be changing Evan's pacifier every 4 weeks. Who knew these things? We misplaced his favorite pacifier yesterday so I opened a new package and read the directions on the label. We were a bit shocked and have now thrown out all the paci's he has used. Another lesson learned by new parents.

Daylight Savings...

Reminder: Change Your Clocks This Saturday Night

The day of the year is quickly approaching when we lose an hour of sleep so that we can gain some light in the evenings. So, just a friendly reminder to set your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night in order to spare yourself some awkward moments on Sunday!

words to chew on

"Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord."
Psalm 27:14

"Indeed, none of those who wait for Thee will be ashamed;"
Psalm 25:3a

One of my daily reminders to myself is that It is all in God's timing not Ours. What a hard reality to truly digest and trust. But to fully fall into his arms and let him know I'm relying on him brings such great relief. My prayer is that you reading this remember to wait for the Lord as I do.

NITRO-PRAISE

Here's to the BEST cleaning and dance mix full of praises to our Lord!

For some reason this morning I woke up singing Nitro Praise. Now this totally awesome worship mix has given me some radical times with friends. It perks me up when I have to clean the house because who can resist that techno beat? It just calls for dance moves. If you have never heard Nitro Praise, you MUST...I say MUST go listen, it will bring a smile to your face.

Happy hump day everyone!

Dearest Friends

Our dearest friends-The Browns-We miss you!

Little did we know that moving to Boston would lead us in meeting the Browns who became our dearest friends. Not only are they friends...we discovered they are in fact family. A long lost cousin Danny is - our Great Grandparents married and forever connected us.

Life brings all sorts of crazy wacky things. It amazes me that my Lord has this plan laid out for my life. He's constantly shows me what being apart of his family means. He teaches me what trust is and how easily my life becomes a disaster when I don't trust him. His guidance is all I need and the only way I can continually receive his guidance is to be in conversation with him daily.

I find myself in constant conversation with my son as I am with him each day. Evan gives me his full attention and desires to be near me all the time. I imagine that is what my God is like with me, he is in constant conversation with me. Only rarely do I give him my full attention-all day. I may have a conversation with him, but that's it, he is left to talk with himself until I decide I want to respond back.

Picture Survey

My friend Ashley did this post and I thought it would be fun to see what came up for me.

1. Go to www.photobucket.com (don't sign in)
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

1. What's your first name?


2.What is your relationship status?



3.What is your favorite color?


4. Who is your celebrity crush?


5. What band are you listening to right now?


6. What is your favorite movie?



7. What is your favorite Disney Princess?


8. Name your favorite alcoholic beverage?


9. Where is your dream vacation?


10. What is your favorite dessert?


11. What do you want to do when you grow up?


12. What do you love most in life?

3 Amigos!!!

Three generations of Lucas men!
Are they handsome or what?

recent activities

So what's been going on in the Lucas house you ask?

Well to start, we've moved the big city of OMAHA. We found a house and became official home owners last week! Talk about an exciting time in our life. We have yet to move in our furniture, but we have truly fallen in love with our home. Travis no longer has an hour drive to and from work. YIPPEE. He no longer has to get up at the crack of dawn. Evan is sleeping in his own room and seems to be just fine. He is talking up a storm to his milk chocolate colored walls. I am so excited to have my own kitchen again. I can't wait to start cooking and entertaining. I've realized how much having my home really defines who I am. Maybe now we will finally feel more settled. Our Lord continues to bless us more than we deserve. More than we ask him for. We pray we can be good stewards and use our home for his glory.

Our neighborhood is full of kids. We are surrounded! It's wonderful to see that Evan will have friends so close. There is a 4 mo lil' girl right next door, as well as a 1.5 yr old. there is about a 3.5 yr old across the street who likes to ride his bike, and an even older girl who likes to roller skate down our street. We've gotten so excited to yell at each other to look out the window to see a lil' one treking through our yard and then to see their mom and dad getting after them to use the sidewalk. We haven't had introductions yet, but hope to soon. Travis met our one next door neighbor who has the 1.5 yr and 4 mo old, her name is Mandi. Most importantly she is a Red Sox fan! Can it get any better than that?

Ouppp baby calls...it's a pee pee cry. More updates to come.

Moving Dad

The day is almost upon us. We found a house in Omaha and will be moving this weekend. It is surreal to know that we will have our own place in a few days. Living in an apartment for the first 3.5 years of our marriage has been great but Evan informed us he wants a place of our own so he can color on the walls w/o our family having to pay. He is growing so much and it is weird looking back even a month ago to see how much he has changed. He is almost to the point of rolling over and boy is he talking. The other night we rented a movie...he started into a 10 minute speech on ahhhooo! hhhhaahh! ...in other words we had to turn the volume on the TV up a little.

Quote of the week

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face.
You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit." -Elizabeth Gilbert

We waited 40 weeks and 3 days for our lil' man. We were committed from the very start. I'm learning more each day how he is defining who I am. I can't remember life without him in my life. He has made me a Mama and Travis a Daddy and we Love that and are committed to raising him in a loving Christian home.