bramlett barometer

"Sing with us guys!"

2012-02-05T21:03:00.003-06:00

We're working on a song in choir called Luke 4:18 by Dennis Jernigan. Daniel is singing the solo, so we've been listening to the song quite a bit the last few weeks at our house. I knew Riley was learning one part of the song that's repetitive, but I didn't realize he'd memorized other parts of it. Yesterday when I was making lunch I was singing some of it and he corrected me when I sang the wrong word! Last night at dinner he busted out with the first part of the chorus, and Daniel and I were shocked!

In case you're wondering, what he said in the middle of the song was "Sing with us, guys!" Ha! We sure are amazed by this little guy's memory! Praying that these words will take root in his heart and one day he really will live out the words of Luke 4:18.

2-month check-up

2012-02-02T23:34:00.000-06:00

Weight: 11 lbs 2 oz (48th percentile)

Length: 23 in (75th percentile)

Head: 15.75 in (77th percentile)

You may notice the umbilical cord is STILL on...she'll be 10 weeks Saturday. Apparently she's super attached to me and she's really wanting a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

P.S. Riley looked at me after dinner and said, "Mama, you're the best friend I've ever known in your life!" So the grammar may not be correct, but it sure did make my heart smile!

They love each other

2012-01-30T15:10:00.002-06:00

When we found out we were pregnant with Ella, I immediately began praying about Riley and his sibling's (didn't know it was a girl at the time!) relationship. I did not want there to be any jealousy or ill-feelings between the two. I prayed over and over that Riley would love his little brother/sister with his whole heart and be thankful he/she was added to our family. When we found out the baby in my belly would be named Ella, my prayers became even more specific and focused. I prayed that he would be a protective big brother and love on his sister every chance he got. I prayed he would know just how much Daniel and I loved him, and that we weren't trying to replace him by bringing another child into the family. I prayed that he would never look at me and say, "When can we take her back?!" :)

All I can say is that God is faithful and He answered all of those prayers! Riley absolutely adores his sister. It is the most precious thing to watch the two of them interact. He loves to help me feed and burp her. I think he'd try and change her diaper if I'd let him! If she begins to cry, he's the first one at her side saying, "It's ok, Ella!" The other day I was getting ready for church when Ella began to cry while sitting in her baby papasan chair. Riley walked over to her, knelt down and said, "It's ok, Ella! Nothing is going to hurt you!" Talk about melting a mama's heart! He's so sweet with her now, and I can't wait to see how their friendship grows in the next couple of years. I think they're going to have so much fun together once she starts walking and talking (if he'll let her get a word in!).

Here's a timeline in pictures of the sweet brother/sister love going on in our house...

1st time holding his sister

Helping Grandma burp Ella

Pushing the swing for her

Chatting on the floor

One morning I was getting ready in the bathroom beside Ella's room. I walked into her room to find Riley laying beside her on the bed.

Feeling safe beside big brother

Fun times on the playmat


Riley serenading Ella with his guitar. Pretty sure the song of choice was "Jesus Loves Me."

So very thankful for the blessing of raising these two precious children!

2 months

2012-01-26T21:46:00.001-06:00

Ella Grace is 2 months old today!

What a joy she is, and I can't imagine our family without her in it. We all love her so much - Riley is one of her biggest fans. (another post on that soon)

In honor of her 2-month birthday, she discovered her right hand today. :)

She is also very much like her brother in that she is extremely expressive.

This one is my absolute favorite. She is the queen of pooching out her lower lip. Kills me every time!

Thank you, Lord, for precious Ella-boo. What an honor it is to be her mama. Thank you for knowing our family needed her. Please continue growing her into the beautiful girl You've created her to be. Guide us as we strive to raise her to honor You.

A boy and his dog

2012-01-26T15:09:00.000-06:00

Ever since I became Mrs. Bramlett, I've heard from my husband, "Oh, I can't wait for the day when we'll live somewhere that we can have a dog." I'm not a huge dog person, so I'd usually just smile and go on about my business. Then, once we had a little boy, it became, "Laura, every little boy needs a dog. We've got to get Riley a dog." Hmm...we've got to get little boy Riley a dog, or little boy Daniel a dog?! So last spring I caved in and we bought a brother and sister - Molly and McCoy. Long story short, they didn't work out so well with our family so we got rid of them.

Fast forward to this past Friday. Daniel had been researching online for several days looking for "good" house dogs in our area that needed a home. Friday he found a cocker spaniel puppy in Marshall (about 45 minutes away). "Laura, let's just go look (famous last words, right?!)." So, we loaded up the car and headed to Marshall. I was so tired from being a mommy of an infant that I begged to stop on the way out of town and get a dr. pepper. You need to understand that I don't ever drink sodas. However, a few times since Ella's been born, my body has NEEDED a pick-me-up, and a soda seems to do the trick. Friday was one of "those" days. So keep in mind later in the story that I was severely sleep-deprived. :) Anyway, we made it to Marshall (both kiddos napped on the way...how wonderful!) and went in to see this puppy. 30 minutes later we were walking out with an 8-week-old cocker spaniel. Yes, that's right...my daughter and my dog are the same age. Am I absolutely crazy??? Yes, I believe I am. Or wait, remember I said earlier how sleep deprived I was? I think that played a major role in my lack of discernment.

So, I am now a mother of 3...Riley, Ella and Mac. What a crazy week it has been! I ~~think~~ know once this pup learns where he should and shouldn't relieve himself life will get much better. Until then, though, it's a bit hectic around the Bramlett house. But, both of my boys got their dog, so all is well with the world.

Daniel was convinced we could take Mac into WalMart with us right after we got him...the Greeter thought otherwise, so Ella & I got to shop while the boys played outside.

Ignore our son's fashion statement - at home we go for comfort over looks :)

His cuteness helps his cause when I'm cleaning up the mess he's made on the kitchen floor!

Lazy Saturday morning

He adores Daniel and Riley

Right before this picture was taken, Daniel said, "I mean, this is just the perfect dog!"

A boy and his dog...

2.5 today

2012-01-20T10:20:00.000-06:00

This handsome boy is 2 1/2 years old today! Can't even believe it! He is such a blessing from the Lord. He brings smiles to our faces and laughter to our mouths every single day - usually multiple times a day! His vocabulary and language skills constantly leave us speechless. I have to remind myself all the time that he's 2, not 5! Of course, when those fun tantrums begin it's a nice, quick reminder! Although, those are thankfully becoming few and far between.

I recently read here about a 5-year journal for mothers where you write a short snippet each day. I love this because I'm able to pick one thing each day to record, and I don't feel pressured to write a lot because there are only a few lines per day. Riley is constantly saying one-liners that we don't want to forget, and this is the perfect way to be able to look back on his funny sayings in 10, 20, 30 years. If you're a mommy, I highly recommend one of these!

Riley-bug, we are so thankful for you! You made our world such a better place when you entered it 30 months ago! You are the best big brother I've ever seen, and I look forward to the years to come when you and Ella will have lots of fun together. I have so much fun watching you learn and grow each day. Your comprehension of what's going on around you absolutely amazes me. I pray you use the brain God has given you for His glory! If you're willing, He will use you in ways none of us could ever imagine! I love you with my whole heart, and I am so proud of the little boy you are! Always, Your Mama

New Years Responsibility

2012-01-12T15:47:00.000-06:00

Christmas Day and New Years Day were unique this year in that they fell on a Sunday, which only happens every 7 years. I liked it. I liked that I got to worship with my church family ON Christmas day. I liked that 2012 began on the Lord's day. And I'm a pretty big fan of my husband's preaching, so I'm thankful I was challenged by him from the pulpit (I'm challenged by him at home every day) on the first day of the year.

On January 1, his sermon was not about New Years resolutions, but New Years responsibilities. I loved this perspective. According to dictionary.com, a resolution is: "the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc." Whereas a responsibility is: "the state or fact of being responsible (geez, don't you hate it when a word is used in its own definition??)" and responsible is: "answerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management." So, if you resolve to do something, there's a determination there, but not necessarily any accountability. This is why every gym in the world - and I can confidently say in the world because I saw it happen in South Africa - is packed in January and then slowly the numbers die down as the year progresses. When you are responsible for something, you are held accountable for your actions.

Naturally, after hearing his sermon, I began to ask myself what my New Years responsibilities were. It didn't take long for the Lord to jump into the conversation and reveal several areas in need of change. As a way to hold myself accountable for these, I'm going to share the ones I've discovered with you (I'm sure more will be revealed as the days and weeks pass by).

#1 - procrastination
I am the world's worst procrastinator! In little things and in big things! I think the ~~best~~ worst story I have concerning procrastination occurred when I was a seminary student. It was my first semester and I was asked to go on a mission trip to Haiti. However, this trip fell during a school-week, so I had to get all of my schoolwork done ahead of time. Do you see where this would be an issue for a procrastinator?! One project that was due the week I was going to be gone was a 25-page paper for one of my missions classes. I was leaving on a Sunday, thus the paper needed to be finished Saturday night. When did I begin the paper?! Saturday morning! That's right...the day of! 13 hours later (most of that spent in the library) my paper was done and I was ready to begin packing for my trip.

Now that I'm a homemaker and mother, I find that my procrastination involves housework and mommy duties, mostly. It wasn't that big of a deal with just one child, but now that there's a newborn in the mix, I realized very quickly that old habits were going to have to pass away. Now, I certainly don't have it all figured out yet, but I feel like I've made some headway - baby steps, friends! My new motto is if I see or think of something that needs doing, I'm going to do it right then instead of saying, "oh, I can do that later." So far this thinking (and doing) has relieved some unneeded stress. I want to be the best wife and mother I can be, which means I have to work hard! This is my first responsibility this year...and in the years to come.

#2 - positive thinking
No, I'm not reading a Joel O'steen book (no offense if you're an O'steen fan - I am not). Unfortunately, I can be a very negative person, and this causes stress in my own brain and in my relationship with others (namely my husband who is SUPER positive!). I go to a Bible study on Thursday mornings called Community Bible Study. Right now we're studying the book of Colossians, and part of the commentary for the first week (which happened to be the first week of the new year) talked about "eliminating the negative by accentuating the positive." I'm definitely going to try and make this a theme in my life this year. I'm tired of immediately finding the negative in a situation or person. When I accepted Christ, I became a new creation. I am to put off the old self and put on the new (Colossians 3). Part of that old self is negative thinking. If I continue to think negatively, then I am not living the victorious life available to me in Christ Jesus. I am choosing to live a defeated life - one that not only affects me, but others around me as well. So, another responsibility for me this year is to be thankful in all circumstances - even when Ella's crying, Riley's whining and dinner is supposed to be ready in 20 minutes. :)

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

Colossians 2:6-7

#3 - taking care of my temple

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Plain and simple, now that I'm no longer pregnant and can exercise regularly again, I need to do it! Now, I'm not one of those people that loves exercising. I would rather eat toothpaste than run (not sure where eating toothpaste came from - just the first thing that popped into my head!). But, I've found that I LOVE Zumba, and there just happens to be a class offered in our church gym every Tuesday and Thursday nights. Last Friday I was cleared by my doctor to exercise again, so this past Tuesday I was at Zumba, and it felt so good! I'm going again tonight. The class is at 5:30, so it's going to take effort to continue going each week since that's right in the middle of dinner prep time. But, if I don't procrastinate, think positively, and start dinner early, I can do it! :)

And those, my friends, are my New Years responsibilities...so far. Like I said, the Lord is constantly refining me and showing me areas that are in need of change. I'm sure more responsibilities will be added in the coming weeks, but for now, I'm focusing on these three. Feel free to hold me accountable and ask how I'm doing with each one!

Mohawk Mama

2012-01-11T21:47:00.000-06:00

Apparently we make babies with mohawks. I was looking back on previous posts the other day and found this one. I didn't remember Riley having a mohawk, but he did and now we have a daughter to add to the mohawk clan. Thankfully, the rest of his hair grew out, and I'm trusting hers will do the same!

You can already see some hair growing out around the mohawk...yay!

Big brother helping point it out

We also have babies who are ridiculously attached to their umbilical cords. I guess the cords are super thick and securely fastened because Riley didn't lose his until he was 5 weeks old and Ella STILL has hers at 6.5 weeks (no worries...I didn't take any pictures of this. I hate the sight of it, so I certainly didn't feel the need to subject you all to it!). Riley's pediatrician at the time told us not to put alcohol on it to dry it out because it really wouldn't make a difference. After waiting 5 long weeks for it to fall off, I vowed that if I ever had another child, I would douse the cord with alcohol! I have been cleaning Ella's like crazy and it obviously has not made a difference. At her 1-month check-up the Dr. told us the longest he's seen one stay on was 3 months. Oh please, Ella, let's not attempt to break the record! I'm all about having a unique child, but don't really care to win the Guinness Book of World Records for longest time an umbilical cord is attached! I'll keep you updated on if we'll be in the next book. :)

1460 days

2012-01-05T15:31:00.001-06:00

1460 days...that's how long I've been married to my best friend. In case you don't want to do the math, that's 4 years. :) So much has happened in our lives in 4 short years. Great things that only God could have planned, but LOTS of them! This morning I looked back at last year's anniversary post, and unfortunately, I don't have the brain power or energy this year to write an involved post. Both kiddos are sleeping right now, and I need to be doing the same! So, just know that I love my husband VERY much, I'm thankful to be his wife, and I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together...especially once I can sleep through the night again. :)

Photo Card

2012-01-04T22:44:00.001-06:00

I made Ella's birth announcements tonight! I love Shutterfly! They told me if I posted about it here I'd get a discount on my next order. If you've never used them, I would highly recommend checking out their website!

Hello Chalkboard Girl Baby Announcements

Announcements for all occasions: graduation, a new baby, or wedding.

View the entire collection of cards.

1 month well-visit

2012-01-04T14:44:00.001-06:00

We went this morning for Ella's 1-month check-up. As we knew, our baby girl is growing! About 3 weeks ago she weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz. This morning she was 9 lbs 2 oz! She's also grown another inch, so she's now 21 inches. It's funny to think that some babies are BORN this size and ours reached it at 5 1/2 weeks! How thankful we are for a healthy girl, though! Speaking of her...time for another bottle! Gotta keep packing on the pounds! :)

A Year in Review

2012-01-02T16:18:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! In preparation for writing this post, I went back through my pictures from each month of 2011. It was fun, yet also very humbling. Fun because I was able to see all of the incredible things we were able to do and how much Riley grew and changed throughout the year. Humbling because as the Psalmist said it so well in Psalm 8,

³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

He has blessed us so much this past year, and we are so unworthy! How thankful I am for God's steadfast love and mercy! And now for a walk down memory lane...

January

In the first month of the new year we experienced our 2nd snow of the season

And participated in a snowman contest with some of Daniel's family who live in Arkansas and Tennessee (his uncle in Singapore was the judge)

February

In February it snowed yet again and we celebrated our 1-year anniversary at FBC Hughes Springs

I was also able to travel to Newton, MS (a day late because of the snow, I might add) to see great friends from Seminary, Shannon & Jonathan McDuffie and their new baby, Cole.

Later in the month I got to chaperone a youth girls' retreat to Lake Charles, LA

March

Thanks to a wonderful church member who traveled to New Orleans on business, we were able to enjoy a delicious King Cake

Gigi also came for a visit!

And we celebrated my 32nd birthday, but there aren't any pictures of that, for some reason.

April

My best friend and college roommate, Kristen, and her boyfriend at the time (husband now), Richard, came for a visit. We drove down to our Alma Mater, Baylor, and had a great time reminiscing about college days.

Riley participated in his first Easter egg hunt. After finding his first egg, he opened it and realized there was candy inside. He was so excited about the candy that he didn't care about looking for more eggs. We had to do some looking for him!

Every April our town and 2 other towns nearby hold the Wildflower Trails celebration. There's always a parade, and this year, Daniel and Riley got to drive a tractor! Riley (and Daniel!) was in heaven!

Much to our surprise, we found out another Bramlett was on the way!

And after Easter we headed to Mountain Air, NC for a much-needed week-long vacation in the mountains with my parents.

May

Our first glimpse at Baby Bramlett #2

We spent a lot of time outside this month...building a garden (which burned up in the drought), working on the yard, and just having a good time together.

June

In June we sent our first team from FBC to Peru. Daniel and Riley didn't go, but we were there bright and early in the morning to see them off.

Summer arrived in full force and we spent as much time as possible in the water! Thankfully, several of our church members have pools that we're able to use.

Daniel started to feel a little left out, so he decided to share in the pregnancy fun :)

July

We attempted to find out whether B.B. #2 was a boy or girl, but he/she would not cooperate! We did find out we had a healthy child, which we were thankful for, but we were a little disappointed we'd have to wait several more weeks before trying to find out again.

On the 20th our big boy turned 2!

And my parents made a trip down from Maryland to help celebrate his birthday.

August

After many years of praying, I was finally able to go on a mission trip back to the land I love - South Africa and Swaziland

September

Wildfires broke out close to our town and in our county and the county next to us around 60,000 acres burned

Daniel turned 31 on the 8th and he requested I make an Easy Skillet Apple Pie

We said goodbye to Daniel for 9 days as he led a team of 4 back to Peru

To break up the monotony while Daniel was gone, my friend Shannon & her son Cole (who was now 9 months) came to visit us.

And the greatest excitement we had in September was finding out B.B. #2 was a GIRL! Elizabeth Grace (Ella) Bramlett would be her name.

October

My best friend, Kristen (on the far right), was getting married in November. Since I would be 36 weeks pregnant on her wedding day and unable to travel, I went to Jacksonville, FL for her wedding shower in the middle of October. I'm so sad I missed the wedding, but I'm very thankful I was able to be there for this special time.

The happy couple

On this same trip I was able to spend one night with two of my best friends from high school, Summer (right) and Liz (left)

And then, of course, there was Halloween! We don't have any good pumpkin patches around us, so Riley and I had to settle for going to the local grocery store to pick out some pumpkins. He still had a blast!

For Halloween we dressed up as an oven with a bun in it (me), a baker (Daniel), and a loaf of bread (lil' man)

November

Daniel had Veterans Day off, so we took a quick trip to a nearby Christian camp, Sky Ranch, and had one final getaway before welcoming Ella into our family.

Some very sweet ladies in the church gave me an amazing baby shower

I took what would be my last preggo shot (unbeknownst to me at the time!) - 37.5 weeks

We met Daniel's Mom and Grandmother in Texarkana on Black Friday. We walked around the mall for several hours. None of us knew then that the very next day Ella would grace us with her presence!

At 38 weeks, Ella Grace was born!

November 26, 6 lbs 11 oz, 19 inches

My parents came a couple of days after Ella's birth and were able to stay for 2 weeks. They were such a huge help!

December

We decorated outside

And inside for Christmas!

Brotherly/Sisterly love and quality time

Family Christmas pic 2011

And Ella turned a month old!

What a year! I never dreamed at the beginning of last year that we'd get to experience even half of these things! I especially didn't think I would be sitting here with a 5-week old! I can't help but wonder what this next year will hold. No matter what it brings, I know the God of the Universe is in control of it all, and He will walk beside us day by day.

...in your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me...

Psalm 139:16

Working hard for his $

2011-12-30T21:59:00.000-06:00

In 2006 Daniel bought a small shark vacuum. It has been one of the best things (materially) he has brought to the marriage! We have dark green carpet in our house (think 1980's), and it shows everything! If I don't want to pull out the big vacuum cleaner and drag it all over the floor, the shark comes out and picks up the crumbs in no time at all.

A couple of weeks ago the handle on the shark broke. Boo! Instead of just buying a new one, my Mr. Fix-it husband thinks he can somehow rig the handle back on. In the mean time, we're shark-less. However, last week Daniel spilled something on the kitchen floor, and instead of using the broom, he decided to get on his hands and knees with the handle-less shark and pick up the crumbs that way. Riley observed the whole thing, and in true 2-year-old fashion, he wanted to be included in the fun! Thankfully the camera was close by...

This video is only a few seconds long, but believe me when I say he did this for at least 15 minutes! He was so proud of himself when he finished, and we had a clean kitchen floor!

A Month Already?

2011-12-30T21:40:00.000-06:00

Ella Grace, I can't believe you're already a month old! What an absolute blessing you are to our family! I prayed and prayed for a happy, healthy, content baby, and God saw fit to say "yes!" to all of my prayers! Everyone told us that if your first child was easy, your second would be a nightmare. You are proving every one of them wrong, and we are so thankful! You're an excellent eater and sleeper. You usually eat every 3 hours, but at night you typically have two 4-hour stretches between feedings. Love those! The only times you cry are when you're hungry or have some gas. You love to be swaddled, and most of the time when I swaddle you, you fall fast asleep soon after being wrapped up. My favorite part of the day is our afternoon naps we take together in the recliner. I love holding you on my chest while we both recuperate from the morning with big brother. Speaking of him, Riley absolutely adores you! He loves to kiss your head, help feed you, talk to you, play with you on your playmat, console you when you're upset, and tell you he loves you. I knew he would be a great big brother, and he has definitely surpassed our hopes of how he'd treat you! I believe the two of you will always have a special relationship.

We are so thankful the Lord chose to add you to the Bramlett family! I know He has big plans for your life, and I am excited to be able to walk with you as those plans unfold. Happy 1st month, baby girl! I can't wait to see all of the changes and developments each month will bring! We love you, Elizabeth Grace!

B-A-Y-L-O-R

2011-12-30T01:42:00.002-06:00

Well, they did it! The Baylor Bears are the newest champions of the Valero Alamo Bowl! Woohoo! Thank you, ESPN, for streaming the game live on your website! Not all of us have cable or satellite, so it was wonderful to be able to watch it on the computer! I didn't stay up for the whole game, though, because lil' bear likes to eat a couple of times a night, so I try to get sleep when I can. :) I just finished feeding her (1:40 am), and I read the good news about the Bears winning! I'm so proud to be a Baylor Bear!

Favorite gifts

2011-12-27T23:22:00.002-06:00

Without a doubt, this was my favorite gift this Christmas! I am so thankful for our healthy baby girl. It's currently 4 am, and I just finished feeding her. I am bleary-eyed, completely exhausted and wonder when I'll get another full-night's sleep. BUT, this miracle from above is worth every bit of it! Thank you, Lord, for blessing us in this way!

Thanks to Ya Ya for the bow and adorable shoes!

And this was, by far, Riley's favorite gift this year...

Since this video was taken, we've fixed (or should I say, Daniel fixed) a strap for him so he doesn't have to worry about it slipping down anymore.

After seeing his guitar, he was content and decided he didn't need to open any more gifts (literally - we ended up opening the rest of his presents for him!). Since Christmas morning, he has woken up every morning asking where his guitar is. As soon as he finds it, he says, "Do you like my guitar, mama?" He's so precious with it! Can't wait to see how God uses this little musician of ours!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:19:00.000-06:00

As I shared in my last post, we haven't had internet at the house for a while now. I tried to be patient for so long, and then I finally lost it last week. Blame it on postpartum hormones if you want, but Daniel realized pretty quickly that it was time to take action. So, my Christmas gift from him was a booster which allows us to pick up the internet from the church all over the house (whereas before I had to sit in one certain spot and sometimes hold the computer up in the air, depending on the weather). I am currently sitting in a comfy recliner, holding my baby girl, and typing away...love it!

But, the real reason for this particular post is to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from the Bramlett crew!

Riley got a guitar for Christmas and it had to be in the picture because it's now a permanent fixture in his hands :)

This was taken last night before the Christmas Eve service (don't you love the cheese face??)

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas - 2 healthy children, a wonderful church, loving and helpful family - but most importantly, we're thankful for our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We are nothing without Him, and every good and perfect gift truly comes from above! Happy Birthday, Jesus, and Merry Christmas to all of you! We love you!

Alive and well

2011-12-06T15:16:00.001-06:00

Yes, I am still alive! Between not having internet at our house and Ella deciding she wanted to come a week and 2 days early, blogging has been impossible lately. But, I wanted to take a quick minute (as I sit on the floor in the hallway at church) to introduce you all to the newest miracle at our house...

For those of you who don't know, our sweet Elizabeth Grace (Ella) was born on Saturday, November 26th at 4:17 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long. We were in the hospital 2 days and then headed home on Monday, November 28th around lunch time. Ella is a precious little girl. She looks a lot like her brother when he was born - around the same weight and length, yet has a petite frame that screams, "I'm a little girl!" :) I can't seem to kiss her adorable cheeks enough!

The original plan (and we all know that only God's plans are the ones that really unfold, so why do we even plan?!?!) was for me to go in for a C-section on Monday, December 5th at 7:30 a.m. My parents were going to leave Maryland on the 1st and drive down so they would be here in plenty of time for the birth on the 5th. Daniel's mom and grandmother were going to come down the 4th and spend the night so they'd be here too.

Saturday morning (11/26) as we were beginning to decorate the house for Christmas, I felt something strange, yet knew I had not wet myself. I calmly went to Daniel and said, "Not to alarm you, but I just had some fluid come out." He got the deer-in-the-headlights look and said, "What do you mean fluid??" So, I called the doctor and waited for a call-back since it was the weekend. My doctor happened to be out of town (of course), so I spoke to the one on call about 30 minutes later and she said to wait about 30 minutes and if nothing else happened not to worry about it. I went ahead and got in the shower (just in case!), but 3 hours passed and nothing happened. We continued decorating for Christmas and I figured it must have just been a fluke. Then, around noon, it happened again. I called the doctor back and she said I better come on in and get checked just in case it was my water breaking. So, Daniel and I quickly called the babysitter (who was already on alert from earlier in the morning), packed our bags and headed to the hospital. We got there around 1:30 pm and after checking me, the nurse confirmed that my water had broken and we would have a baby that day! So much for our plans, right?! Ella decided she didn't want to be a December baby, and she was coming whether we were ready or not!

We began calling family members and friends, and thankfully, Daniel's dad and brother were able to jump in the car right away and head for the hospital. We also had several church members come to be with Daniel after the birth. A little before 4 pm I was wheeled into the operating room and at 4:17 pm I heard Ella's first cry.

right before I was taken to the O.R.

Meeting Ella for the first time

"Mama, why did you have to disturb me? I was so warm and cozy inside you!"

Miracle from above


Proud big brother holding his baby sister

I'm still in shock she's here, but I'm so thankful! Several weeks ago I spent a long time praying and giving the labor and delivery over to the Lord. I knew if I didn't I would be a nervous wreck the closer it got. I told Him that I knew He knew the timing of everything and how it would all work out. I certainly didn't expect the plan to unfold in this way when I was praying, BUT I know His plan and timing are perfect, and Ella was born exactly when she was supposed to be. What a faithful and loving Father we serve!

I'm not sure when I'll be able to update the blog again, but hopefully sooner than later! I'm thankful I had these few minutes to introduce you to our sweet miracle and share a few pictures. To see the whole album, go here.

35 Weeks

2011-11-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

I have officially arrived at the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy, and I am counting down the weeks until I see with my eyes the feet that have been pounding on my ribs. :) I remember with Riley thinking, "the last few weeks of pregnancy really aren't that bad, in my opinion." Yeah, I was a little sore, but nothing like I am now! If I sit for too long, it takes me a while to get moving again. Oh the joys of the body stretching, the baby sitting on nerves, a sore back, etc. However, I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it in the end!

If all goes as planned (and when does it ever when babies are involved?!), I will go in for a c-section on Monday, December 5th. I am praying hard that my blood pressure will stay normal and I won't have the complications I did with Riley-bug. So far I haven't had issues with swelling like I did with him, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

Baby Ella is right on track with her growth. I took Riley with me to my last appointment, and I wish you could have seen his face when he heard her heartbeat. It was precious! The rest of the day (and even a few days after), he walked around telling people, "I heard Ella's heartbeat!" He was so excited! I can't wait to see how he reacts when he gets to finally see her in person. He already has such a sweet love for his little sister. I know he's going to be a fun, yet protective, older brother, and that makes my heart smile! Before you think him too perfect of a child, know that he certainly has his moments where I can tell this baby thing has him a bit scared. He frequently crawls around the house saying, "I'm a baby!" He has also upped the severity and frequency of his lovely 2-year-old tantrums. So, I'm well aware that adding another member to our household is going to be a HUGE adjustment for him. But, I think once he gets passed the initial shock of his territory being invaded, he'll embrace her with open arms and realize the value she'll add to our family. Here's to hoping this happens sooner rather than later! :)

The Bramlett Bakery

2011-11-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

The past two years I haven't been too concerned about what Riley would wear for Halloween because I knew we could put him in whatever we thought was cute and he wouldn't care one way or the other. For instance, for his first Halloween (2009), we found the most adorable giraffe costume.

And then last year (2010), my sweet mother-in-law sent this lion costume. Couldn't get any cuter!

This year, however, I knew would be a different story! Mr. Opinion and Strong-will has made himself known, and I wasn't too sure what he would "approve of." I figured he would either be Elmo or one of the characters from the Cars movie. But, when I started looking at costumes and how much they cost, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of buying a costume.

Daniel came home one day and said, "I've got the perfect idea for Halloween!" I was a bit scared to hear his idea (he can get a little crazy sometimes with his 'ideas'), but I said, "Ok. What is it?" He replied with, "You dress up as an oven with a bun it, I'll be a baker, and Riley can be a loaf of bread!" I thought this was pretty clever - had some apprehensions as to how we were going to come up with Riley's costume - but agreed this was doable and we'd do our best to make it happen. So, I present to you the Bramlett Bakery...

In case you can't read it, my shirt says, "Bake: With Care" on the left and "Timer: 5 weeks left!" on the right. I googled "Bun in the oven costumes" and found a website showing how to make my costume. I modified it a bit (was supposed to be a huge box covering my body) so I could help somewhat with Riley.

For Riley's costume I just bought a brown pillowcase from T.J. Maxx, cut out the head and arms, and used some good ol' gold puff paint. It reads, "Nature's Own 100% Bramlett"

The back says, "50% Daniel, 50% Laura, Ingredients: Love, opinion, fun, strong-will, humor, tantrums, compassion, and grace of God."

Heading to the town's Trunk or Treat

At our church's fall festival...we won 2nd place in the adult costume contest!

I was a little worried that I was going to go to all the trouble to make Riley's costume and then he'd refuse to wear it. Thankfully, the episode of Sid the Science Kid we'd watched earlier in the day talked about costumes and dressing up for Halloween. I was able to remind him of that and got him excited about his costume. Thank you, Sid, for helping us with this process!

Can't wait to see what our two little ones will be next year! A friend asked if I was going to save the box so I could wear it again next year...HA! I said, "Um no! No more buns in this oven!!" :)

Singing about Jesus

2011-10-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

When I was about 20 weeks pregnant with Riley, I began singing to him when I laid down in bed at night. I knew he could hear my voice, and I wanted to begin teaching him the love of Jesus at a very early age. I would sing whatever song(s) popped in my head, but every single night I always included Jesus, Name Above All Names. It's such a simple song, but it's always been one of my favorites and it covers so many attributes of Jesus. Here are the words in case you're not familiar with the song...

Jesus, name above all names

Beautiful Savior, Glorious Lord

Immanuel, God is with us,

Blessed Redeemer, Living Word

After Riley entered the world, Daniel and I both continued to sing this song to him at night but added a couple of others, too. There's Just Something About that Name and Sweetest Name I Know entered the mix. So, for the past 2+ years, Riley has heard these songs over and over and over. I call them our "Jesus Medley," and friends, there is SO much POWER in simply speaking or singing the name of Jesus! I cannot tell you how many times Riley has been throwing an uncontrollable fit, one of us begins singing about Jesus, and he calms down in seconds. I love that I serve a risen Savior whose NAME causes evil to flee!

A couple of months ago Riley began requesting to sing his own "Jesus Medley" at nap time and bed time. After we finish praying, he immediately says, "Let's sing Jesus Loves Me." Once we're finished with that one, he wants Jesus Loves the Little Children and then we always end with Oh, How I Love Jesus. How precious it is to sing these songs with my 2-year-old!

This morning I was working on our halloween costumes (another post about these to come...) when he grabbed his Bible (the one given to him when he was dedicated at our church in New Orleans), sat down in his chair and began singing song after song about Jesus. Thank goodness my camera was nearby! I quickly turned on the video and caught him singing Jesus, Name Above All Names, Sweetest Name I Know, and Oh, How I Love Jesus.

Reading

2011-10-28T15:01:00.002-05:00

Riley loves to "read," and his book of choice right now is The Little Engine That Could. Hopefully you'll be able to somewhat understand him in the video. Usually he starts at the beginning and "reads" through each page, but this day he kind of got caught up on the same part..."all the little boys and girls won't have any toys to play with or good food to eat!" He's very concerned about the boys and girls...too sweet. I told Daniel it's going to be hard to tell when he actually begins to read because he memorizes books so quickly and can recite them just about word for word. It's so fun to watch him learn and grow on a daily basis!

A Girl's Weekend

2011-10-25T21:43:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago I was able to fly to Jacksonville and surprise my best friend, Kristen. I've known this crazy girl since 2000 when we met at Florida GA/Acteens Camp. She likes to tell people I hated her at first (not true!), and it did take a few weeks for us to become friends, but once the friendship formed we were inseparable. In fact, I convinced her to leave Florida and transfer to Baylor (ok, maybe the LORD had a lot to do with it, too). We were roommates my 2nd Senior year (yeah, it took me 5 years to graduate), and I loved just about every minute of it...lots of GREAT memories! So, when the time came for me to marry the man of my dreams, I didn't have to think twice about who I wanted by my side. She claimed she had no clue what it meant to be a maid of honor, but she did exactly what I needed her to do...kept me laughing and asked me right before walking down the aisle, "Are you sure you want to do this? I have the getaway car out front!" :)

About 5 months after I became Mrs. Daniel Bramlett, I graduated from seminary in New Orleans. I begged Kristen over and over to come to my graduation, but she kept telling me it was impossible. I finally gave up and decided it wasn't going to happen. My parents arrived on a Thursday afternoon, and after seeing them for a short time, they claimed they were going to their room to "rest" before dinner. Little did I know, but they were heading back to the airport to pick up my surprise...Kristen! I was so shocked and excited to see her! So, 3.5 years later, it was my turn to surprise her! Even though we both always thought she would get married first, her time has come and she's going to become Mrs. Richard Robinson in a few short weeks! Guess what the only problem with this is? I can't be at the wedding!!! I will be 36 weeks pregnant on the day she says, "I do," and my doctor said, "You can't!" :( I still tear up whenever I sit down and think about this fact. BUT, God was gracious enough to provide a way for me to fly in for her bridal shower! If I can't be there for the BIG day, at least I could take part in this way. I'm not the best at surprising people because I can't lie worth a flip (which I guess is a good thing?!), but I think she was genuinely surprised!

Blindfolded by our great friend, Rachel, and waiting to see who she's come to pick up at the airport

The beautiful location of the luau shower

Such a fun night!

The happy couple - Richard & Kristen

My matron of honor and fellow prego friend, Anne (she's having a little boy at the end of January)

The crazy parents of the bride!

Great times catching up with friends

An added bonus to the weekend was I got to spend some quality time with another of my closest friends, Liz. I've known Liz all of my life (literally - our dad's are best friends). I was able to go to church with her on Sunday and then spend the rest of the day and night with she and her precious family.

Liz, Summer and I - best friends from high school

I know with sweet Ella coming it's going to be a long time before I'll get to have a getaway like this one again! I'm so thankful the Lord worked out all of the details for me to go to Jax. for the weekend. It was a much-needed break, and He reminded me of all the wonderful friends He has placed in my life over the years. Friendships that last over distance and time are rare, and I'm so grateful for the ones He's blessed me with.

Learning how to blow

2011-10-24T09:33:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, we took Riley to one of his friend's birthday parties. As we were leaving, we were handed a small box with fun prizes in it as a thank you for coming. One of the prizes was a party horn. Riley liked it, but really had no clue what to do with it. A couple of nights later Daniel decided it was time to teach him. I was able to get it on video, and as you can tell, we laughed a lot and loved watching our little guy learn something new!

31 weeks

2011-10-07T11:38:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know - I don't "look like I'm in my 3rd trimester," but believe you me, Ella is alive and well, moving day and night! :) It's hard to believe we'll get to meet her in just 8 short weeks! My actual due date is December 10, but since I'm having another c-section, she will be entering the world December 5.

I am really missing the energy and happy tummy I had during the 2nd trimester! I'm back to feeling nauseous and have absolutely no energy. I'm hoping it's just a 31 weeks thing and next week will be better! Currently my house is a wreck and I only cooked one night this week. I'm so thankful for an understanding husband who is willing to eat cereal and sandwiches a lot right now! :) Needless to say, blogging isn't high on the priority list right now, either. Praying for a restful weekend and a brand new attitude and burst of energy next week!

New Favorite Spot

2011-09-21T14:52:00.001-05:00

Riley has a new favorite place in our house...the kitchen sink. Most of the time, it does not bother me for him to carry his stool over, climb up and attempt to help me wash dishes. However, there are times when my type-A goes crazy and I just have to ask him to get down. I know, horrible mother. I try so hard to be patient, but it's just not always there! In fact, I've started leaving the dishes to do while he's eating (contained in his booster seat), napping, or after he's gone to bed for the night. Yesterday afternoon I was feeling a bit more patient, so I let him climb up and "make soup" in the sink. As he was 'cooking,' I had a little conversation with him that I think you'll enjoy.

What a sweet, big 2-year-old! I'm just hoping that a few years down the road his love for washing dishes and cooking will be just as strong! :) I may just have to show him this post to remind him!

Beautiful Feet

2011-09-17T14:08:00.002-05:00

I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that it is I who speaks to them. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring Good News of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!

Isaiah 52: 6-7

My husband and three other members of our church will be using their beautiful feet this next week to tell Peruvians about the love of Christ. Let me just say how excited I am that within a month and a half of each other, we've both gotten to go to another country to share His story! Wow! God's plans and ways of providing are absolutely amazing!

(L to R) Leslie, Daniel, Elizabeth and Cody

The team left Thursday night and drove down to Houston where they caught their plane early Friday morning headed for Lima. They were able to enjoy a 5.5 hour layover in Panama City, Panama before arriving in Lima late Friday night. Today they were gathering supplies in Lima and then headed to the mountains! It's about a 6-hour drive on some pretty scary roads, so much prayer is needed and appreciated! They will be spending the week in Huayacundo Arma, Peru - a small village that does not currently have an evangelical church. There is one catholic church that stays locked up except when the priest comes once a year. Oh, and he charges for confession when he does come. Wow! Anyway, their goal is to share Christ and hopefully lay the groundwork for a new church plant. Our church has partnered with this and 4 other villages in the area, so this is not just a one-time mission trip. Whatever seeds are planted this time will be watered many times over in the years to come. Pray the seeds will take root and GROW!

We will miss him, but are so excited about this opportunity he has!

The team and families

Saying goodbye to Daddy

As Daddy's away, Riley, Ella and I are missing him, but having a good time. The weather has been wonderful, so we've been able to spend a lot of time outside, which Riley loves! A great friend from seminary is coming with her 10-month-old to visit for a few days next week, so that will help a lot, too! As my mother-in-law said, Riley will be able to practice his big brother skills! :)

If you think about it, please pray for our team this next week! Pray for boldness, strength, unity and a willingness to do whatever the Spirit leads them to do. Thank you!

Her Name

2011-09-15T15:03:00.001-05:00


In case you have trouble deciphering these pictures (like I do!), her feet are at the bottom left with her legs going up towards the top right of the picture.

As I said in my last post, Daniel and I were ready to call our child by name! Up until this point, we had not been able to decide on a name for a boy or a girl. This was so different from when I was pregnant with Riley because a week or two before my 20-week ultrasound with him, we had both a girl and a boy name picked out. When we found out it was a boy, we immediately started calling him by name. I don't know why it was so difficult this time, but I guess we just needed the extra two months to think and pray about it.

When we got in the car after my appointment on Tuesday, we jumped into the name discussion. I was afraid there might be some arguing and difficult moments involved, but God was so gracious to lead us TOGETHER to the right name for our girl. So, if you haven't seen this on Facebook and you're not a family member or heard us talking about her at church, here's her name...

Elizabeth Grace Bramlett

We will call her Ella. The exciting thing to me is that I have always loved the name Ella Grace. In fact, if Riley had been a girl, that was going to be his name. When we found out I was pregnant this time, I mentioned Ella Grace and Daniel wasn't too keen on it because he didn't feel like there was much meaning behind Ella. He really wanted a Biblical name, and we both wanted a name that was more significant to us than "we just liked it." So several weeks ago the names Grace Elizabeth and Elizabeth Grace came to me. In case you didn't know, Elizabeth is my middle name, and I love Grace because it's only by HIS grace that we're even pregnant with another child! I mentioned them in passing to Daniel and asked him to just think about them. I then heard from a great friend in New Orleans who is due the exact date I am and is having a girl as well. Guess what they're naming her? Grace Elizabeth! So, I thought maybe we should lean towards Elizabeth Grace. :) Anyway, fast forward to this past Tuesday when we started talking about names. Daniel said, "Now what were the names you mentioned a couple weeks ago?" So I told him and he said he really liked Elizabeth Grace...not only because it incorporates my middle name, but also because of the Biblical character, Elizabeth. At first I said, "Ok, well let's call her Ellie." My husband then said, "Why don't we call her Ella?" This shocked me! Just a few weeks before he didn't care for the name. However, he said now it carried more meaning because it would be short for Elizabeth. So, there it is! That's how we came up with her name! Not only will she bear my middle name (just as Riley is Daniel's middle name), but I get to call her by my favorite girl's name! God is so good! I love how He always works out ALL of the details, if we will simply wait on Him!

SHE cooperated!

2011-09-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

If you remember, almost 2 months ago to the day, we attempted to find out if our 4th family member was a boy or girl. Unfortunately, the baby did not care to share that info with us on July 15, so we had to wait until yesterday, Sept. 13, to try again. MUCH prayer went into yesterday, and I'm excited to say SHE finally agreed to let us in on the secret!

I'm thinking, though, we've got either a strong-willed child or a shy child entering our world soon! The ultrasound tech (same guy as last time) took all of the measurements again this time and said when he was finished with that we'd look for the sex. When it was time to start looking, he said, "I'm afraid your baby is being stubborn again!" My stomach dropped and I thought, "no!!" He said he was going to go get Daniel and while he was gone I should poke around on my belly and roll from side to side to try and get her to move. I did both of those, but I also had a little chat with the sweet girl. I said, "Listen, we don't care about the pink or blue stuff or whether or not we need to paint the bedroom. We just want to be able to call you by name! We want to pray for you by name! Please let us know what you are so we can do that!" So after the pep talk and some poking and prodding with the u/s machine, we were finally able to determine that it was indeed a girl. However, she kept her knees together and ankles crossed the entire time! Such a prim and proper little one! :) Needless to say, we are SUPER excited about our precious daughter!

I'll share her name tomorrow and how we came up with it. Right now, though, big brother is refusing to take a nap due to some mean teeth attempting to come in, so I better go check on him. See you tomorrow!

Swaziland - Day 4

2011-09-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, our 4th full day in Swaziland, we headed to the community of Ngowane (N-go-wa-nay). I think everyone on the team was a bit nervous because this would be our first time doing homestead visits. A homestead is a piece of property where a family lives and there are usually multiple huts on this property - cooking hut, adult sleeping hut, children sleeping hut, living room hut, etc. Our goal when visiting these homesteads was to share the Gospel in a very clear way and give the people an opportunity to come to Christ if they hadn't already. After sharing with them, we were then supposed to invite them to the afternoon Bible study we were having at the local school. We divided into teams of 2-3 people plus a translator.

Here is a typical homestead

On our way to Ngowane, we came across this dam...out in the middle of nowhere, but beautiful!

View from the dam's welcome center - last potty break before the rural area!

Very rough road to Ngowane

When we arrived, we split into our teams and began walking in opposite directions looking for homesteads to visit. My team lovingly appointed me as the first person to share the Gospel because "I had been a missionary before." :) So, as we're walking down the road looking for a place to visit, we came across the woman pictured below. We greeted her and our translator began a conversation with her. The next thing I knew, the translator was looking at me saying, "Okay, you can share the Gospel with her now!" Talk about jumping in feet first! :) That kind of took me off guard, so I said a quick prayer and began talking. I'm sure my words were a bit jumbled and not quite as clear as they could have been, but I'm thankful the Lord is the one who actually saves people, and it's not based on OUR words or lack of words! She claimed to be a believer, so we asked how we could pray for her, prayed, and were on our way looking for the next place to share.

We came to this homestead where we found two men outside working on a car (sure wish Daniel had been with us!) and a woman (the wife of one of the men) working around the yard. The men were not interested in talking with us about spiritual matters, but the woman invited us into the round hut pictured below.

My friend Jill was able to share with her and she, too, said she was already a believer. She did ask us to pray for her family, though, because her husband is not a believer and it makes life at home very difficult. It was obvious she was very broken over her husband's spiritual health, and she asked us to pray for peace in their home. I shared with her that true peace will not come until all family members are believers. She agreed, and we prayed with her.

The second homestead we visited is pictured below

When we arrived here, we found this 19-year-old girl, Pilile (Pi-lee-lay) home alone. She was very willing to sit and talk with us, but she did not seem to have much hope. After sharing the Gospel with her, she said she believed in Christ and went to church. She then asked several really good questions and we were able to point her to different scriptures in the Bible which answered her questions. She shared with us that the reason she was home that day and not in school (she's a senior) was because her mom is an alcoholic and she had come into her hut early that morning and beaten her. We prayed with Pilile, and when we finished I looked at her and tears were just rolling down her face. Needless to say, this girl captured my heart and I will never forget the time we spent with her. Please say a prayer for her, if you get a chance!

After leaving Pilile's, it was time for us to meet up with the rest of the team for lunch before our afternoon Bible studies. We got a quick picture with our new friend, Khetiwe (Ke-tee-way) before heading out. We met her on the road when we met the very first woman, and she went with us everywhere we went after that! We called her our tour guide because she kept saying, "I'll show you which homesteads to go to!" She was awesome!

After lunch we walked over to the school for Bible study. We all began in this classroom with singing and prayer, and then the children headed outside while Rachel and I and the adults stayed inside. We taught them the story of the paralytic man who was healed by Jesus when his friends carried him to the house where Jesus was teaching and lowered him through the roof. After we were finished, we asked if they had any questions, and they asked some great, CHALLENGING questions!

My teaching buddy and roommate for the trip

Steve Allen (missionary) told us that after Bible study was over he was going to sell some Bibles to the people. He said they used to give them away, but people were taking advantage of them, so they had to start selling them for a minimal price. He asked all of the people to go outside and line up on the other side of the door. I asked why he did it this way, and he said if they stayed inside and brought the Bibles out the people would surround him and just start grabbing - that's how desperate they are for Bibles!

So, Maria, one of our translators, would crack the door, take their money, and then hand them a Bible very quickly. He only had 12 to sell that day, so once they were gone, they were gone.

I could not get over how eager they all were to get a Bible AND how limited the supply was. Steve said his Bible budget each year is only $800. That's enough to buy 5 boxes of Bibles with 16 Bibles in a box. I knew immediately that I needed to share this with my church. I did, and the gracious people in my church have donated money to go towards Swazi Bibles. I pray that one day every Swazi will have the chance to own their own Bible!

Wildfires

2011-09-08T16:20:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my last post about the wildfires in our county right now. Actually, they're all over Texas, but the one we're focused on is the massive one in Cass County that continues to grow daily and has not been contained so far. It began this past weekend and has grown by thousands of acres every day. I haven't heard an acreage report today, but as of last night, there were 42,000 acres on fire. So far, Hughes Springs isn't in any imminent danger, but if the fire jumps the one major highway between here and where it is, it will head straight for us. I tell you all of this to ask you to PRAY! I'm not even praying for rain, honestly. I am praying that my God, the God of miracles, the God who can speak and the storms will calm, will perform a miracle and put these fires out! I know He did not start them, and I believe it grieves Him to see so many people hurting and in danger. I'm praying that He will act and He will receive all of the glory! If it rains, people will blame the rain for quenching the fires. But, if the fires just cease to exist, they will know there is a God who is so much bigger than ALL of our problems! Will you please pray with me?

Driving out of Hughes Springs headed toward Avinger (next town over) - might look like clouds to some, but that is all smoke

In Avinger, TX...this is the highway (155) that divides us from the fires

Heading towards Jefferson, TX

Daniel and I were speechless (takes a lot to get us both where we aren't talking!) when we were driving into this

Hughes Springs Volunteer Firefighters working outside of Jefferson, TX

"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!" Psalm 33:6-12

"Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." Psalm 33:20-22

He's 31 today!

2011-09-08T15:37:00.000-05:00

This crazy, yet good-looking, man is 31 years old today!

How are we celebrating? Well, in true D.B. fashion, he is out helping to fight the fires that are raging in our county. He's currently helping a church member attempt to save his parents house from catching on fire. So, today probably won't be the typical birthday celebration most are used to. But, Daniel's doing exactly what he was created to do...help others and encourage them to cast all their burdens on the Lord. I'm so proud of who he is and all he allows the Lord to do through him!

About a week ago I showed the picture below to Riley and said, "Riley, who is in this picture?" He responded with, "Riley!" If there was ever any doubt (which I don't think there was...) as to which one of us Riley favors, take a look at this photo of Daniel when he was 2.

I'm excited to know that my sweet son will one day grow up to be a handsome young man just like his daddy!

I love you, Daniel! I'm thankful I can celebrate YOU all year long! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Swaziland - Day 3

2011-08-30T14:17:00.008-05:00

I apologize for my delay in posting! If I don't get moving on these Swaziland posts, it's going to be Christmas before I finish! Day 3, here we come...

We began the 3rd day by going to an outdoor market where we were able to shop for souvenirs. It is a huge place down in the valley outside of Mbabane, and vendor after vendor is set up side by side. We were there for almost 2 hours and I still didn't make it to every booth...but I was able to buy a lot of gifts for people at great prices!

After lunch Monica took us to the Sandra Lee Center, an orphanage in Mbabane that is directed by an independent missionary named Robin Pratt. Robin had the vision of starting this orphanage about 11 or 12 years ago, and through some gracious donors, she was able to do just that! They started with 1 building and now have 6 or 7 buildings on their property...all debt-free thanks to Sandra Lee and her family! After the way I reacted at the hospital the day before, I wasn't sure how I would handle the orphanage. God was so gracious, though, and I had no emotional issues there BECAUSE I could tell how loved and well taken care of the children were. There were 23 children living there at the time (she can hold up to 32), but I think Robin's going to try and get some more in the near future. Most of the children she brings home (and this will be their home until they finish high school) are abandoned children who are left at the government hospital. For whatever reason, their parents do not want them and just drop them off...can you even imagine?? I'm so thankful there's a place in Mbabane like the Sandra Lee Center where these children will learn that they ARE loved and they ARE wanted...not just by Robin and her staff, but more importantly, by a God who created them and loves them just the way they are!

When we walked into the first house, these cuties were sitting down eating some broccoli. I just had to get a picture because Riley loves broccoli! I knew he'd enjoy seeing this.

We took a bunch of toys with us to give out to the children. They, of course, loved them and kept wanting more! Children are children no matter where you are in the world! :)

This is Sibongile (See-bon-gee-lay). I met her when we first arrived at the center, and this was the welcome I received from her. :) I then decided to make it my mission to get her to smile. You'll have to keep reading to see if I was successful!

The preschool on campus. The older children leave to go to school each day, but the preschoolers go right here. What a great facility it was!

Inside the preschool building. I helped with the youngest ones during Bible study/craft time, and we felt it was best to sit them down at the tables inside the school. I think it was a wise decision. :)

Some of my teammates telling them the story of Jesus and the children

For the craft we gave them each a bandanna and they were able to decorate it however they wanted. We wrote "Jesus Loves Me" on each one so they would always remember WHO loves them!

The preschool team with all the kiddos

It was hard to get a picture of the entire facility because the buildings were pretty spread out. Basically, there's a large open space/playground in the middle and buildings surround it on every side.

SUCCESS! :) We became great friends, and I was even able to get her to record a message for Riley.

After leaving the orphanage, we headed to Sibebe Rock (the 2nd largest granite rock in the world) for a children's Bible study. Every Wednesday afternoon, children from the area gather with Maria (one of our translators) to sing, learn a Bible story and play games. One of the neat things for me about going to Sibebe was I had been there 8 years ago with my friend, Nikki, who is actually the one who started the Sibebe Bible study. Nikki was a journeyman in Swaziland while I was in South Africa, and when she left to go back to the U.S., Maria agreed to continue meeting with the Sibebe kids.

Sibebe Rock

Most of the children live across this bridge on the side of the mountain

Right beside where we taught the Bible story...gorgeous!

Waiting for the kiddos to arrive

Teaching the Bible story while Mr. Cow decides he wants a drink of water :)

Working on the bandannas

Yes, sweet child, Jesus does love all of us! (tried to turn the pic, but it wouldn't work...sorry!)

Watching the children head home after a great time of Bible study, songs and games

Swaziland - Day 2

2011-08-23T15:12:00.009-05:00

Our 2nd full day in the country was our first full day of ministry. We left the mission house that morning - which is pictured below (the front building is a carport and one-bedroom apartment and the back building is the house where we stayed - 3 bedrooms, 2 baths - very nice!)

and headed for the Mbabane (capital city of Swaziland) Government Hospital. Our task here was to visit the 4 children's wards and pray with the children and parents who were there. We also brought a bunch of small toys from the U.S., so we gave those out to each family.

It doesn't look too rough on the outside, but looks can be deceiving! It's probably not a place where most of us would feel comfortable receiving medical care.

Each ward is lined with beds, and the mothers (or a relative of some sort) are required to stay with the children because they act as primary caretakers. The nurses do not feed them, administer medicine, change diapers, etc. That is all the mother's responsibility. There's usually one chair beside each bed, and at night the mother's just stretch out on the hard floor beside the beds. Food is not provided for the caretakers - they must either bring their own or purchase some from the hospital. AND they must pay their bill in full before being discharged. So, if you can't pay the complete bill for some reason, you are stuck there until you can...and each day you're stuck adds that much more to your bill. Absolutely crazy!

This is the first little boy I prayed for and his mother.

I had a feeling walking into the hospital that this might be a difficult task for me since I am a mother, AND I'm pregnant! :) I was right! I prayed for 4 different children, and as I prayed for each child, I wept. You see, I had just read an email the night before from Daniel about how Riley had been sick several days before. Daniel called the doctor, took Riley to the office, saw the dr. within an hour and was home with medicine in no time. Within a couple of days, he was already feeling better. Some of these children have been in this hospital for weeks and have shown no improvement, and I can't help but believe that part of that is due to the care (or lack of care) they are receiving. I couldn't imagine sitting with my sick child (some more sick than others) and waiting days just to see a doctor. In some faces I saw hopelessness. How thankful I am that the God of HOPE was with us that day! Oh how I pray that each family in each of these wards feels His presence on a daily basis and knows He is in control.

Below is a mother and son who desperately need His peace. This 6-year-old boy has TB and pneumonia. The mother didn't say, but I would guess he is dying of AIDS. She was so desperate for someone to come to his bed and pray. When I finished she was so grateful and smiled a huge smile. I'm actually kind of glad she wasn't smiling in the picture because it helps to show just how desperate this situation is. Please keep praying for this family! I don't know their names, but God does!

After leaving the hospital, we were scheduled to go to the Swazi Candle Factory to shop for handmade candles. This is one of my favorite places to go in Swaziland, so before the hospital visit, I was pretty excited. However, as I was walking away from the hospital, I kept thinking, "how can I go from seeing such great need to shopping for candles?!" I felt very unsettled about the whole thing, but then the Lord calmed my heart and helped me to see that each candle I bought to give away (which I was proud of myself because I didn't buy a single one for our home!) could serve as a prayer reminder. I did end up buying a bunch of candles, but they will be in homes all over Hughes Springs, and also in Arkansas, Tennessee and Maryland. My hope is that every time my friends and family see these candles they will stop and pray for the people of Swaziland.

After heading back to the mission for a quick lunch, we were on the road again driving toward two different churches where we led afternoon children's Bible studies. The team split up, so three of us and a translator went to Peace Baptist Church while the rest of the team and translators went to Nsintsa Baptist Church. We split up 3 and 5 because Peace was supposed to have 20 maybe 30 children at the most. Nsintsa was believed to have at least 50, if not more. As it turns out, we had close to 50 while they had between 30 and 40. :) It all worked out well, though. The children were SO well-behaved, so we didn't have any trouble teaching our 50.

The road to the church was very rough, so we had to park at this homestead and walk the last 1/4 mile...

UP a steep hill! :)

Peace Baptist Church

Rachel (center) and Maria (translator) are telling the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den

The children preparing to make Lion masks - the church also has a preschool during the week, so that's why there are small tables and chairs...very helpful when attempting to do any craft with preschoolers!

Roar!! Our goal was for the children to learn the story and then go home and tell their families. Before we even left the church, there were children outside telling adults the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den - love it! May God's fame and glory be spread throughout the mountains of Swaziland!

Outside teaching the children some tag games

The preschool teacher, Wendy. Please pray for her as she teaches the small children day in and day out.

A busy, yet very challenging and fulfilling day of ministry! Needless to say, after this first day, we were all pretty excited to see what the Lord had in store for the rest of our time in Swaziland! And boy did He have a lot! More to come soon!

Swaziland - Day 1

2011-08-21T14:48:00.009-05:00

The thought of writing one big post about my trip to Swaziland is completely overwhelming to me, so I decided to break it up and do a post for each day we were there. That seems much more reasonable, and I won't have to sit at the computer for 5 hours trying to relive what occurred in a 2-week time span. Don't worry, today's post is not going to be about traveling from the U.S. to Swaziland. There's only so much you can say about a 15+ hour flight and a 4-hour car ride from Johannesburg to Swaziland! The flight was L-O-N-G, the luggage all made it (yay!), and we safely made it from South Africa to Swaziland.

So our first full day in the country, we went to Mkhaya Game Preserve and enjoyed an open-air game drive in which we saw LOTS of animals! At one point, I remember commenting to my Florida friends, "try going to Disney's Animal Kingdom after experiencing this!" :)

Here's the open-air vehicle that 10 of us squeezed into. The shocks on this thing were amazing, which was good because the roads were rough! (foreshadowing for the rest of the trip!)

I had to drive our rental van from the main road to Mkhaya's office building (think rough roads and a small river to cross)...this was the view in front of me. I was glad to finally get out of the van and into the land rover.The outdoor bathroom...it was very nice and "airy" :)Skulls of animals that have died on their propertyHipposFirst sighting of giraffes...if you know me, you know this made me smile REAL big!
ElephantsWanted you to see how close we were to the elephants!
Well hello there!
Quite possibly my favorite shot of the day :)Zebra
Warthogs (or "Pumba" as our driver referred to them)A whole family of giraffes!
A pretty sad-looking rhino. It makes me laugh that his lower lip looks like it's pooching out.Halfway through the drive, we stopped for lunch at one of the camps on the property. Loved sitting outside and enjoying God's awesome creation while filling my belly with delicious food!

Our meal consisted of Impala (a deer-type African animal), fried fish of some sort, rice, cole slaw, beets (which I thought I'd try to see if I had acquired a taste for...nope, still haven't!), and bread.

Very LOUD guinea fowl who spent most of their time walking around our table

Our team (L to R: Aarika, Jill, Anne - team leader, Ashley, Brooklyn, Mindy, Rachel and myself)

Our wonderful driver whose name I don't remember :) (a lot has occurred in my brain since then)

What an awesome day it was! At first I was a little disappointed that we were doing the game drive at the very beginning of the trip, but we all realized very quickly that it was a wise choice on the missionaries parts. We were jet-lagging so badly that I'm not sure we could have held a Bible right side up, much less taught anything it said! :) It was a great day of relaxing and enjoying some of the amazing creatures God placed on this earth. The real work would begin the next day!

All the Children of the World

2011-08-19T21:14:00.003-05:00

Before going to Africa I taught Riley "Jesus Loves the Little Children." He woke up from a bad dream in the middle of the night, and we sang/whispered this song over and over until he was singing it on his own. I couldn't help but smile when the sweet children at an orphanage in Mbabane, Swaziland began singing this exact song. I was able to video it and played it for Riley several days ago. Now he wants to watch it over and over.

So I returned from Swaziland over a week ago, and I still haven't really processed the trip. I was thinking about it tonight, and as a mother and wife, it's difficult to find time to sit and think through all I saw and experienced. I mean, I pulled in my driveway last Thursday night around 8:30 pm, spent a little time with my son before putting him to bed, and the next morning I was up fixing milk in a sippy cup and preparing his breakfast just like I would any other day of the week. Life did not (and could not) stop just because I had returned from a 2-week trip to another part of the world! So the last week has really been a blur for me. I've been completely exhausted, taking naps just about every day, and the days I didn't take a nap, I was in bed before 9:00 pm. I think I'm finally readjusting to the Central time zone, but in the process of it all, I feel like I've been merely surviving. Not exactly the way I had hoped to return from such a life-changing trip.

Today I finally sat down and spent some time in the Word. I'll be honest, since I've been back, I haven't done much of that. I opened to Matthew 11:28-30 in the Message and read EXACTLY what my heart needed to hear today.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

Whew! Thank you, Lord, for your perfect Word that washes over me and brings complete peace. I love every sentence in these verses. Each one speaks to me in a different way right now. "I'll show you how to take a real rest" - Since I've been back, I've been trying to do it all on my own, and yesterday I finally reached my breaking point. It was a rough day, and I was in a bad mood pretty much the whole day. Did I run to the One who could show me how to really rest?! No, I just kept trying to make it on my own. How frustrated God must be with me sometimes! He teaches me lessons over and over and proves Himself completely faithful in all of life's circumstances, yet I turn my back so often and say, "Don't worry, I've got this one." SO foolish!!! One of my prayers before leaving Swaziland was that I wouldn't return to "life as normal," but that I would allow what I did and learned there to transform my life here. So far, I've failed. However, I am thankful for a gracious God who gives me chance after chance and refuses to give up on me. "Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it." Daniel preached on abiding (John 15) in Him this past Sunday, and that is exactly what I haven't been doing, but need to do! Without Him I truly am NOTHING!

I could go on and on...I guess I'm finally beginning to process a little. Hope you don't mind being a part of that processing. :) I promise my others posts about Africa will not be this me-focused. I just knew I couldn't begin really sharing what happened over a week ago without sharing what's been going on since then. So now that that's out of the way, the more fun posts full of what God did while I was in Swaziland will be coming shortly. For now, though, it's time to go REST and allow my body to recover from a full week of being a mommy and wife again.

24 weeks

2011-08-19T20:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday marked 24 weeks of a baby growing in my belly. I realize to most my belly does not look like it's grown much (experienced the same thing with Riley), but just since I returned from Africa last week (many more posts on that to come), I've noticed a big difference. See, I have a really long torso, so my babies are pretty well hidden. In fact, when I was 9 months pregnant with Riley (in case you missed it, that's pretty close to the point when the baby enters the world), one person said, "Oh, I didn't realize you were pregnant!" Hello?!?! I guess that was meant to be a compliment, but sometimes I wish my stomach would just jump out so I don't hear the constant, "you don't even look pregnant!" Ok, enough of that soapbox...

Apparently Riley has noticed a difference in my body. (I apologize if you read this on my Facebook page, but not all of my blog readers have FB.) Yesterday we had just finished lunch and Riley was talking about colors. Daniel said, "Riley, what color are you?" And Riley replied, "pink." So Daniel said, "What color is Daddy?" And Riley replied, "red." Then Daniel said, "What color is Mama?" Riley looked at me, hesitated for a few seconds and then said, "Mama's heavy!" WOW! I mean, I realize at the age of 2 he really had no clue what he just said, but I will be honest and tell you that I teared up for a couple of seconds after hearing this. It was just one of those days, and his innocent comment got to me. No, I don't think my son was calling me fat or trying to be mean...pregnancy hormones kicked in when I should have just bust out laughing! To top it off, today right before lunch, Riley was sitting in his chair shouting over and over (unprompted, mind you), "Mama's heavy! Mama's heavy!" Out of the mouths of babes... :)

Besides being tired, which I can't determine if that's still from jet-lag or pregnancy, I feel pretty good. The nausea has gone away, praise the Lord! I still have pretty rough heartburn, but that will continue until this sweet one enters the world. Zantac 150 is currently one of my closest friends. Tums run a close second. :) I went to the Dr. this past Tuesday and found out my next ultrasound will be September 13. If we don't find out the sex of the baby then, it looks like we'll be waiting until early December for the reveal. I know that millions of women have waited and been just fine, but this Type A personality is about to go crazy! I want to plan, I want to decorate, I want to begin collecting girl clothes if we need girl clothes, etc. I'm praying hard that the baby will be very cooperative on the 13th! All prayers are appreciated! :) Until then, I will just continue enjoying feeling the very active little one inside and thank God each day for a healthy baby that's right on track. Really, in the end, that's all that matters anyway!

Africa, Here I Come!

2011-07-27T22:35:00.004-05:00

Well, tomorrow's the big day when I say goodbye to my two favorite males and board a plane for Florida. I will eventually end up in Africa, but I have to go through Florida first. I'll spend the night in Jacksonville with some friends and then head out on Friday. We'll leave Friday afternoon, fly through Atlanta and on to Johannesburg, arriving Saturday night at 5 pm (their time...10 am CST). I was hoping to write about Riley's birthday before leaving, but the days got away from me. I'll have to backtrack when I return.

I would greatly appreciate any and all prayers you are willing to offer while I'm gone! Please pray specifically for my health and the health of the baby, that I will allow God to strengthen me daily, that I will stay in the Word remembering why I'm in Africa, that I will allow Him to do everything through me, that I will remember quickly how to drive there, that Riley will adjust well to my being gone, and for strong team unity (I will be going with 7 other women from Florida). Thank you so much for being willing to lift me up during this time. I could not go if it weren't for the support of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I can't wait to share with you all that HE has done in and through our team! See you in a couple weeks!

Goofy ABC's

2011-07-22T20:26:00.002-05:00

Riley (a.k.a. Mr. Goofball) loves to entertain Daniel and I. If we laugh at something he does, he is bound to do it over and over until we stop laughing. One day he was sitting in his chair eating when he busted out with the ABC's but in a goofy voice. We laughed and laughed and then I grabbed the camera. Enjoy our silly little man!

The big brother is 2!!!!

2011-07-20T15:01:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that this little munchkin (all 6 lbs 1 oz)turned into this big boy in just 2 short years!
Happy Birthday to my favorite little boy named Riley! Mama and Daddy love you SO much, and we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays!

No Such Luck

2011-07-15T19:12:00.004-05:00

Well apparently this child has a mind of its own! For some reason I had a feeling he/she might not cooperate for us to know whether we'd need to buy new clothes or be able to pull out Riley's old ones. Sure enough, my feeling was right! Riley came with us to the appointment and was all ready to find out if it was a brother or sister...

The ultrasound tech took me back by myself at first. He said they like to do all of the measurements without anyone else in the room and then they bring the family in to reveal the sex and show all the body parts. He worked for a long time getting all of the measurements and he kept talking about how much of a mover this baby was. I thought that was a good sign...if he/she moves a lot, we should definitely be able to find out what it is! Once he finally finished the technical side of it, he went back out and got Daniel and Riley. I'm not sure why, but as soon as the baby found out they were coming in, he/she curled up in a ball facedown and would not move! We tried everything! He/She was determined not to let us know! Below you can see the picture of baby Bramlett #2 showing it's stubborn side. :)

It's head is on the left side of the picture with the spine on top and the ribs below the spine. The tech said this was its right arm/hand, but to me it looks like the left...but what do I know. :) Nevertheless, here is proof that the little one was facedown and not planning on moving.

Oh well...the most important thing, as I said yesterday, is that this child is healthy and growing as he/she should. We are very thankful for that! Supposedly we'll go back for another ultrasound in 4-5 weeks to track the growth, so hopefully by then we'll be able to find out the sex. If not, I'm not sure what I'm going to do! The suspense is killing me! Plus, I'm very much a type-A personality, and I like to be prepared! I'm really hoping the experience today is not a foreshadowing of things to come in the future...ahem, strong-willed child and all. I was a strong-willed child myself, and it may be payback time! :)

Exciting Days

2011-07-14T15:13:00.004-05:00

I am listening to the most glorious sound right now - RAIN! We have needed it so desperately, and I'm so thankful the Lord decided today was the day.

Today was also the 5th and final day of our church's 2011 Vacation Bible School. For my 2nd year in a row, I taught the missions rotation for the week. The difference this year...I had a helper! And what a great helper she was! We had a lot of fun (and many laughs) teaching the kindergarten through 5th graders, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved it was over. :) I am completely exhausted! Every day Riley and I came home and just crashed. He had a great week at 'Bible Cool' (he has some trouble getting the 'S' out), too! He was able to spend a lot of time with his daddy and he also had fun playing and learning in the nursery. Although, last night (Wednesday) about an hour before church was to start, I said, "Riley, do you want to go see Ms. Bobbie [nursery worker] tonight or stay home?" Without even taking a breath, he said, "Stay home!" Ha! So me and my boy enjoyed a quiet evening in our own home with his own toys...and what a happy boy he was! :)

Well, tomorrow is the BIG day! Daniel, Riley and I will go at 11:00 am for the ultrasound where they will check the baby's development and hopefully be able to tell us if it's a boy or girl! We are so excited! My main prayer is that the baby is healthy and developing just as he/she should. Finding out the sex is a bonus, but I won't be at ease until I see both arms and legs, a healthy heart, a good-sized head, etc. One thing is for sure, this baby is active! I felt him/her for the first time a week and a half ago when Daniel was preaching about Jesus being the Bread of Life (pretty appropriate, if you ask me!), and since then I've felt him/her off and on. Yesterday, though, there was a period of time where he/she was doing sommersaults in my belly! You can ask anyone who knows me well...I'm not a huge fan of being pregnant (ok, really I don't like it at all), BUT I absolutely love being able to feel the little life inside of me. That is priceless!

And in case you're wondering, we really don't have a preference as to whether it's a boy or girl. I will say that I've had two dreams so far where the baby was a boy, and in the past I've been known for having dreams come true. So, we'll see! No worries...I'll post tomorrow afternoon to update you all on what we found out. :)

For now, though, I think I'm going to curl up on the couch with a good book and continue enjoying the sounds of this amazing thunderstorm!

17 weeks

2011-06-29T08:42:00.003-05:00

Daniel was feeling a little left out, so here he is at 17 weeks...

So thankful for my goofy husband! :)

Summertime!

2011-06-25T15:11:00.004-05:00

I remember when I heard we were moving to Northeast Texas, I foolishly got excited because we were moving "north" and summers wouldn't be so hot. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, I obviously wasn't! :) Welcome to Northeast Texas where the thermometer hangs out around 100 degrees every day! This type of weather, being pregnant, and attempting to entertain a 23-month-old (can you believe he's going to be 2 in less than a month??) on a daily basis are a difficult combination! So, we've been spending a lot of time in the water. Thankfully, there are several church members who have graciously offered their pools, and we've taken them up on those offers!

Showing off his new shirt and trunks, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa!

His new thing is to intentionally look away from the camera when he knows I'm trying to take a picture...oh the joys of a little one discovering independence. :)

Having fun with the sprinkler in the backyard

He sat in this position for at least 15 minutes - it made my knees hurt so badly!

He loved riding in the 'boat'! And, it gave mama's arms a rest!

I got this floaty at our local grocery store. It works better than just arm floaties, but still requires lots of attention from mama. He is learning to kick, though, and to him that is 'swimming.' :)

Fun with friends

At another friend's house this past week. The big kids wanted Riley to get in the big pool, but he was content in his personal-sized one. :)

Love this boy! He makes my heart smile every day.

Here's to staying cool!

16 weeks

2011-06-24T14:10:00.002-05:00

Well, the baby bump has arrived, and I am currently in that awkward stage where most of my regular clothes no longer fit and the maternity clothes are still a little too big. Fun times! :) I definitely think my belly popped out a little quicker with this one, which I've heard is common. I remember one night after Riley had gone to bed, Daniel and I were sitting on the couch watching a movie and I said, "I'm pretty sure my belly just popped out." He, being the very honest husband that he is, said, "I thought you looked bigger." Just what you always wanted to hear! He wasn't rude about it...just honest. :)

So how am I feeling? It's funny because a lot of people at church ask if I'm feeling "good," and I always say that "good" is a relative term. I mean, it could be A LOT worse, and I have some friends who are pregnant right now who are experiencing A LOT worse! But, I'm still battling with major heartburn and feeling nauseous. I would love to know who came up with the term "morning sickness" because for both of my pregnancies it has been throughout the day, and for this one, I actually feel worse at night. But, I am holding out hope that this baby will be similar to Riley in that at 18 weeks I felt much better. If that holds true, I just have 2 more weeks and then happy times will begin. :)

My mother-in-law asked me the other day if it's really sunk in that I'm pregnant. Honestly, I don't think it has, and sometimes that scares me. I start to really think about what it's going to mean to add another member to this household, and I get a bit overwhelmed. Especially when I think about Riley and how he may/may not respond. Lots of prayers are being sent up on the little man's behalf! I want him to love this child so much that he doesn't even think about being jealous or sad that he's no longer the 'lone ranger.' I also wonder what it's going to be like to divide my time and attention between the two. I know every family who has gone from one child to two has experienced this and it's not rocket science, but these are just some things going through my mind pretty much on a daily basis. So, if you think about it, we'd love your prayers as we continue approaching this transition! I'm excited to see how God is going to use our family of 4 to continue bringing glory to His Name! Thank you for being a part of this journey!

Jesus Loves Me - Riley style

2011-06-20T16:18:00.002-05:00

The video below displays one of those moments when I was so thankful we had a camera to capture what our little man was doing. This proves that children, no matter the age, are listening to us and internalizing what we're telling them (or singing to them). I can't help but imagine Jesus smiling as He heard this!

R.I.L.E.Y!

2011-06-09T16:18:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I began working with Riley on how to spell his name...mostly for fun and to help him learn letters. I certainly didn't think that at less than 2 years he'd be able to spell it on his own, but in the past few days he has proven me wrong several times. I was finally able to catch it on video today!

My prayer for this child (and all of the others who enter our family after him) is that he will use his brain and intelligence for God's glory! There's no doubt in my mind that God has big plans for Riley, and I pray that Riley will yield to His Sovereignty and control from a very early age. I am so thankful the Lord has allowed Daniel and I to be the ones walking beside Riley as he grows each day. What a privilege AND great responsibility!

"I Clap!"

2011-05-22T14:41:00.002-05:00

Riley LOVES being outside with his daddy! Daniel's been working on a lot of projects in the backyard (or "backard" as Riley says) lately, and Riley's loved every minute of "helping" him. The other night they were outside after dinner, and I was in the kitchen cleaning up when Daniel brought Riley to the window to show me something. He had found one of Daniel's pairs of gloves and put them on by himself. He was so proud! After finishing cleaning up the kitchen, I joined them outside and the fun with the gloves continued. You'll see what I mean...

Laughter

2011-05-22T14:28:00.002-05:00

I could sit and listen to my son laugh all day long. I'll never forget the very first time we heard him laugh. Since then, we've done everything we can to invoke a giggle, and sometimes, if he thinks we're really funny, we'll get the deep-down belly laugh. That's definitely my favorite! The other night we were hanging out in his room and I started hiding behind a pillow and then quickly popping up from behind it. He thought that was the best thing ever! His laugh was so heartfelt and deep that I just had to run and grab the camera. Hope you enjoy the snippet of laughter I was able to catch on video!

The Angels Sang

2011-05-13T14:26:00.003-05:00

Do you know what this means?!

It means we get to do this again! FINALLY!

No, the car isn't completely finished yet, but a wonderful man in the church (who I think I'm going to give a huge hug to the next time I see him!) offered for Daniel to store the car in his shop until it's finished. Halleluiah! I get my garage back! :) Sometimes in life, it's just the little things that make you smile...

Such a miracle!

2011-05-11T20:13:00.000-05:00

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb...Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."

Psalm 139:13, 16

When I heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday, I felt so many different emotions. Relief, amazement, excitement, anticipation, etc. I've felt pretty crummy, so I assumed everything was going okay with the pregnancy, but you just never really know until you hear the sound of that heartbeat. What a beautiful sound it is!

As I looked at the ultrasound picture off and on last night and then throughout today, I couldn't help but stand in awe of our God! I realize I'm hormonal right now, but the thought of our little 10 week old having a strong heartbeat just brings tears to my eyes! I mean, there's no face, tiny arm and leg "buds" (as the doctor called them...which by the way, we apparently have a "wiggly" baby - another one of the dr.'s terms!), no sign of what the sex will be yet, no real organs yet, BUT a very strong heartbeat. And this can only be seen or heard through an internal machine. When I look down at my stomach right now, I don't see any real changes, I don't feel any movement, but deep down under the layers there is a little life that is being knit together by the Almighty God. I realize I've already carried one of these little lives, but once again, I am completely humbled that He would choose me to birth one of His creations. A child who has a future and a hope. A child who, I pray with all my heart, will proclaim His name to the ends of the earth. A child who is formed in His image and for His purpose.

Baby Bramlett #2, Mama and Daddy love you so much already! We are so excited that God chose us to be your parents! We know that He has an amazing plan for your life, and we can't wait to be a part of it! Rest in His arms as He forms each and every part of your sweet little body. Because He is perfect, there will be no mistakes, and you will be one of His prized creations! We can't wait for December when we'll get to hold you for the first time and kiss your precious face! Until then, know that we will do everything we can to protect you. Your big brother, Riley, says "hi" and loves you...I know he can't wait to play with you! Keep growing strong and healthy, and we'll see you soon! All my love, Mama

The 3 shall become 4!

2011-05-09T14:48:00.001-05:00

In my last post I mentioned that some things were going on that kept me from blogging much last month. I wasn't able to say then what they were because my parents didn't even know, but the cat is out of the bag now! In case you missed it on facebook, here's Riley sharing the news with his daddy several weeks ago...

We found out on April 5th that another little Bramlett will be entering the world...on or around December 10th. :) We were very shocked and not quite sure what to think at first. You see, this was not part of our 'plan.'

About a year ago, Daniel came to me and asked that I begin praying about adoption. He felt very compelled that we needed to adopt, and he wondered what my thoughts were. I was pretty taken off-guard, and honestly, I wasn't too keen on the idea. I told him I would pray about it, but was a bad wife and basically pushed the thought right out of my head. He came back a couple of months later and asked if the Lord had revealed anything to me. It was then that I had to admit that I hadn't even prayed once about it. I was scared! I had so many questions. What if I don't love an adopted child as much as Riley? Do I want to have any more biological children before possibly adopting? Can we afford to adopt? And the list went on and on. But, I promised my husband I would begin praying, so I did.

Slowly, but surely, the Lord began opening my heart to adoption. He answered questions for me through movies, magazine articles, books, friends' testimonies, etc. It seemed as if everywhere I turned, I was hearing or reading something about an adopted child and how their life was changed through that action. Finally, at the beginning of this year, I surrendered to the idea and Daniel and I committed to do whatever it took to "rescue" a child and bring them into a home filled with love and care. We started the process of figuring out which agency we wanted to work with (or did we even want to go through an agency?), we told our families and close friends so they could begin praying, and then the week before we found out I was pregnant, we told the church. We were excited and ready to find our child!

And then, there was this! Honestly, when I found out, I was very upset because I felt like we had disobeyed God. He clearly told us we were to adopt, and I've always believed that delayed obedience is still disobedience. Later that afternoon, though, I spent a long time with the Lord and He spoke such peace over me. He reminded me that children are a gift from the Lord, and this child is no different! He/She is not a mistake, and He has a plan for his/her life! Yes, we are still called to adopt. A positive pregnancy test does not change that, and He still expects us to be obedient to that command. It just won't all work out the way our finite minds had planned it! Come to think of it, when does it ever?! He is in complete control, and His ways are ALWAYS better than ours! After I was reminded of all of this, I truly felt the peace that passes ALL understanding, and I became very excited about the newest addition to our family! I just know God is going to use him/her in a powerful way!

So, right now I am 9.5 weeks along, and we'll go tomorrow for my first ultrasound. I can't wait to see the little bean of a baby with a strong heartbeat! I'm trusting that everything is okay and we'll get a great report. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Oh, and the reason I didn't post more last month is simply because afternoons (when I normally would write) have become for NAPS recently. :) I've never been a good nap taker, but this baby has taken the energy right out of me! The thought of getting on the computer and writing a post just made me even more exhausted. Hopefully my energy will pick up again soon, but don't be surprised if the posts stay sporadic for a little while longer!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T22:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating our RISEN Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I realize I've been pretty quiet lately on the blog front, but there's a reason for that, and one day soon I'll be able to share it. :)

What I can share right now is that we are officially on vacation for the next week! We left TX right after the morning service today and are headed to Burnsville, NC, where we will spend the week relaxing in the mountains! SO excited! And to top it off, my parents are meeting us there, so Riley will get to see 'Anma' and 'Anpa' (as he calls them)! I'll be sure to update more next week when we're back home.

Blessings!

Music Man

2011-04-08T14:33:00.002-05:00

Riley LOVES music! This doesn't surprise me because both of his parents do too, but since Day 1 of his time on this earth, music has always been able to calm him down. Just recently he has shown us his skills in directing music. :) I stay for choir practice on Wednesday nights, so our usual routine is when prayer meeting is over, I pick up Riley from the nursery. I then take him into the sanctuary (where the choir practices) where his daddy can be found talking, talking, talking. Choir usually starts before Daniel finishes talking, so Riley gets to hear some of our music. The past two weeks he has climbed the stairs to the stage and given our music minister, Lee, a run for his money! We all can't help but laugh while we're attempting to sing because Riley, very seriously, moves around the stage "directing" the music. It is hilarious!

Last night I was playing some music in the kitchen while getting dinner ready, and Riley began his "directing." I grabbed the camera real quick and below you'll get a small taste of what we very often see when any song begins to play.

Long overdue update

2011-04-07T15:41:00.005-05:00

Do you remember several months ago when I wrote about my friend J.M. who we found out had cancer? If you need a little memory "jogger," click here. I promised then that I would keep you updated as to how she was doing, and I have been horrible about keeping my promise. A lady in our church recently began an email devotional ministry, and this week Jenny is writing the emails. I wanted to share yesterday's with you because it explains very clearly the journey she and her family have been on since December. I pray it encourages you and reminds you of the POWER of our Holy God!

"1 Peter 2:24 – “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”

This is the third part of my story. We already know there is cancer, but are just beginning the journey…

We went to M D Anderson, in Houston, and saw an oncologist. I was diagnosed as Stage IV breast cancer and recommended to begin hormone treatment, instead of chemotherapy, because I was really still in excellent health in spite of being Stage IV. I had a PET scan, which shows where the cancer is in your body, and was very discouraged when I saw the scan. The cancer shows up as black spots in the scan and they were everywhere in my bones. The doctor’s report said there were “innumerable” metastases throughout my bones. We already knew it was in my bones, because I had broken ribs and a fracture in my spine from the cancer already, but still we weren’t quite prepared to see what we saw that day.

Steve and I returned home, with discouragement threatening to cloud our hearts and minds. A couple of nights later, I was lying in bed, thinking and praying about all this. It was like I heard the Father say, “You didn’t want M D Anderson to get the glory for healing you, so what better way? When that PET scan is clear, they will know it was My hand!” I told Steve the next morning what God had spoken to my heart and said, “We wanted God to do something big, where there would be no doubt it was Him, and He is preparing the way for that to happen!” It’s amazing how that changed a circumstance that was threatening discouragement in our lives into anticipation of what He was going to do! (We have to be careful to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on circumstances!)

Let’s fast forward to March. We went back to Houston for a three month evaluation of treatment. They scheduled a mammogram, ultra sound, MRI of the breast and a PET scan. The first news we received was from the doctor who comes in after ultrasounds and she told us that the big news was that my lymph node was smaller. We were excited and called the kids and sent out text messages. Then the second thing that happened was the MRI of my breast got cancelled. This was very exciting to me because I dreaded that test more than anything and had asked several people to pray specifically for me when I was supposed to be having it. I was already in scrubs, with an I V in my arm when the nurse came and asked why I was having it again so soon after one in December. I told her we were evaluating my treatment. She said they were paging the doctor because they didn’t believe I needed this test (how often does that happen?). The MRI tech came back in and reported she had spoken with my doctor and we weren’t doing the test. Let me tell you that was a wonderful blessing! (Once again, I was reminded that God cared about all my concerns… “Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7)

The best thing that happened was after the PET scan. I saw my doctor on Friday and his PA came in and was telling me how wonderful my test results were. The PET scan that had been summarized as “innumerable” metastases now said that there was “complete or near complete metabolic response.” I asked the PA, “So that means it’s not any worse, maybe even slightly better?” She said, “No, it means it almost all gone!” Praise the Lord! Psalm 103:2 – 3 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” Within three months, God had almost completely removed all the cancer from my body! There were spots on my liver that were now gone and bones that had looked like Dalmatians, now just had a few places left with cancer in them.

Did God do this because I’m worthy? No, He did this because He is faithful to His Word. I still have to go for treatments and my bones need to be strengthened where the cancer is leaving them, but God is honoring His Word! By His wounds you have been healed. Blessed be His Name!!

O Lord God, we honor You for all that You have done! We praise Your name that You have chosen us and You love us, even though in ourselves we are nothing. We thank You for Your faithfulness and ask You to be glorified in our lives. We pray that the Body of Christ will be built up and glorified because of what You have done and all people will be drawn to You! Blessed be Your Name! It’s in the name of Jesus, Your Son, we pray. Amen.

Start Your Engines!

2011-03-29T15:41:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday Daniel took the Galaxie for a test-drive. Grant it, it still desperately needs a paint job (you'll see in the video where he's started painting), and there are no seats (they are currently at the shop being recovered), BUT we are getting VERY close to the day when I will get my garage back! Can I get an AMEN?! :)

I spared you from having to hear me sing the "Halleluiah Chorus" on the video, but know that we were ALL very excited for this moment!

Moving up the number line

2011-03-19T15:51:00.002-05:00

He's moving on up...

I'm Dirty

2011-03-13T15:02:00.004-05:00

I don't know if you recall, but almost 5 months ago (yes, 5!), we were given a "new" car...and I use the word "new" VERY loosely! If you somehow missed that post, click here to read all about it. When Daniel pulled the car out of the woods and to our house, he promised me it would be in our driveway a very short time. I think his exact words were, "just until I get it running." As he began to look over the car and realized it needed an entirely new motor, his next step was to move the car into our garage so he could remove the motor. So, the next promise was, "It will be in the garage a maximum of 2 weeks." Hmm...that was about 4 months ago. :) Our two vehicles that DO run and we use on a daily basis were kicked out of the garage and parked in the cold, rain, snow, sleet, etc. while the beloved Galaxie enjoyed it's warm and cozy home.

Before the new motor could be reinstalled, Daniel wanted to sandblast the body to remove rust and make sure it was smooth for when he was ready to paint. I asked him where he was planning to sandblast, and he said, "in the garage!" For some reason, that just didn't sound like the best idea to me, but being the submissive wife that I am (ha!), I went with it....after sharing my concerns with him. :)

About to get to work

Future sandblaster in the making

Hard at work

This is what our garage looked like after he was finished...

Just in case you needed a closer look.

There was sand everywhere! I mean everywhere! I'm thankful I bought him a heavy duty shop-vac for Christmas...it proved itself and did a great job of cleaning up the garage. And, now Riley has a sandbox to play in in the backyard. :)

Ok, fast forward to last weekend. The motor was finally done and Daniel and a friend went to pick it up. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the long tunnel!

Taking it off the truck

Being very careful as they moved it toward the front of the car

Lowering it down

And then it was time to put the fender's on...which Daniel and I did on Sunday and Monday night after Riley was in bed...no rest for the weary :)

And then the hood! It's beginning to look like a car again!

As I type this, Daniel and his buddy are doing some more small jobs. We're waiting for a couple more parts for the engine (I'd tell you what they are, but honestly, I can't remember, nor do I know what they do) and then he should be able to attempt to crank it! I'm pretty sure I will hear angels singing if/when that car starts. I might even bust out in the Halleluiah Chorus...you never know. :) Then all we need are some seats (which are being recovered by a sweet man in town) and a little paint job.

Throughout this whole process, Daniel's come inside very dirty many days. Riley usually wants him to pick him up immediately, and Daniel will say, "let me wash my hands first." The other day he came in and was filthy all over...not just his hands. Riley was ready to be held, but this time Daniel said, "I can't hold you right now. I'm dirty." We didn't think much of him saying, "I'm dirty," but evidently little man internalized that statement and saved it to use at a later time. The next day, Daniel walked in from the church office and when Riley heard him he said, "Daddy. I'm dirty!" We laughed so hard! Ever since then, he walks around the house randomly saying, "I'm dirty!" This morning he took it to a new level, though, and I was able to catch it on video.

I had some overly ripe bananas on the counter this morning, and when I brought him in the kitchen for breakfast he looked at them and said...

"Dirty bananas!" I laughed so hard! I sure do love the mind of 1 1/2 year olds! I'm thankful for these fun (and funny!) moments I can share with this precious gift from God. And, I'm thankful for technology that will somewhat capture them so we can look back for years to come!

Happy Birthday, GiGi!

2011-03-07T14:40:00.004-06:00

This is Daniel's sweet grandmother, Betty Moore. We know her as Nin, and Riley knows her as GiGi.

Today is her birthday! I won't tell you how old she is, but let's just say she looks amazing for her age! Every time she comes to visit I am in awe of how easily she gets down on the floor and crawls around with Riley. How thankful I am that our son gets to spend quality time with his great-grandmother! Memories to last a lifetime!

Riley wanted to share with GiGi his own special message...

Happy Birthday, Nin/GiGi! We love you!

We've made it past 1!

2011-03-04T15:33:00.003-06:00

If you'll remember back to a previous post, Riley was having trouble getting past 1 when counting. Well, he's conquered it and there's proof below!

*You may need to turn up your volume in order to hear all of what he says.
**Please disregard the southern "five" you hear at the end from the camerawoman. She is in denial over the Texan accent that may or may not be manifesting itself in her Floridian body.

Amazed

2011-03-02T14:16:00.004-06:00

I don't know if any of you ever struggle with this, but sometimes when I get so excited or overwhelmed by something God's done, I have a hard time putting it all into words. I'm going to do my best to share what has transpired in the past 48 hours, but know that what is read on this post is only .001% of the excitement, joy and AWE I am feeling at this moment!

Monday afternoon I was doing what I normally do while Riley's napping...checking email, catching up on FB and blogs, etc. I noticed my friend Monica had updated her blog and I was excited to see new ways to pray for she and her family (they are missionaries in Swaziland - a small country inside South Africa). As I read down the list, I got to the part where she listed different volunteer teams that will be helping them the next few months. I looked over the list quickly and one group caught my eye..."some of the camp staff of Camp WorldLight are coming in late July/August." Camp WorldLight is the camp where I served in Florida for 8 summers. One of my closest friends is the director, so I figured she must be taking the team.

**Side note: For those of you who did not know, I served as a Journeyman in South Africa from January 2003 to November 2004. Monica and her husband, Steve, were in Swaziland at the same time. Monica and I also served on camp staff together in Florida before either of us went overseas. I consider her one of my mentors, so since I lived only 2 1/2 hours from her while in Africa, I spent quite a bit of time in Swaziland.

Back to Monday...after finding out about the team going to Swaziland, I sent a short text to Anne (the director) telling her how excited I was she was taking a team back to Swaziland (she went on a short-term trip there in the late 90's). I never dreamed I would receive the text back that she ended up sending. "Yeah! I am so excited about going back. July 29-August 10. You want to go?" If I wouldn't have already been sitting down, I probably would have fallen on the floor right then. You see, I have been praying for over 6 years that the Lord would make a way for me to go back to the land I grew to love so much. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I honestly left a part of my heart in South Africa when I returned to the U.S. in 2004. I told her that after consulting the Lord and my husband, I would let her know. When Daniel came home from work and I told him, his first word was, "GO!" He knows (boy does he know!) how badly I've wanted to return. We decided to think/pray about it and talk about it some more that night and then I'd give Anne my decision the next morning. By the time I went to bed Monday night, I knew I wanted to go. The only possible glitch, though, was she had to make sure with her travel agent that another ticket could be purchased. So even if I decided the Lord was leading me to go, that didn't necessarily seal the deal.

I called Anne Tuesday morning and told her my decision. She said once she heard something back from the travel agent she'd let me know. Tuesday came and went, and I heard nothing. "Be anxious for nothing..." - yeah, that was a hard verse to put into practice yesterday! Thankfully the waiting came to an end this morning when Riley and I went to the park, and as we were playing I got a text from Anne saying, "You're in!" The only way I knew to respond to that was, "God, You are amazing!" I mean, He literally placed this trip in my lap! So many truths can be gleaned from this experience, but one that is standing out so clearly to me is the importance of persisting in prayer. He knows our hearts, and He knows our desires. If we are seeking His will and His glory, He will give us the desires of our hearts! We must trust Him with those desires, though! We also must trust that His timing is absolutely perfect!

Well, since I have about 5 months to write more about this upcoming trip, I guess I'll close for now. :) I would ask prayer for a couple of things, though.

*Please pray that God provides the finances...it's not cheap to fly to Africa! :)
*Please pray that God will begin preparing Riley for my being gone over 2 weeks. He's at the fun age where separation anxiety is in full-swing, and I'm going to be praying that God helps him to know that while I'm gone he'll be just fine.
*Please pray for the hearts of those we come in contact with in Swaziland. May the Holy Spirit begin working on them now!

Thank you so much for reading this long post and praying with me! Like I said, mere words cannot even come close to expressing how grateful I am to the Lord. To HIM be all the glory for this exciting turn of events in my life!

Bye Bye Crib

2011-02-25T14:30:00.000-06:00

I apologize for not posting anything the past week. As the blog header says, things are constantly changing in our household, and the changes this past week have left me tired and unexcited about writing. Things are looking up, though, so I wanted to share some of what's been going on.

Here is Riley sleeping in his crib for the first time at the age of 6 weeks. Since then he has loved his crib and we've never had problems getting him to sleep in it. Sure, there were nights when he was teething or sick and didn't sleep well, but he's never just refused to sleep in it. That is until this past Saturday night. At the ripe old age of 19 months, Riley decided it was time to say goodbye to the crib and hello to a big boy bed. Was mama ready for this?? Absolutely not! In fact, I didn't even know it was happening until I returned late Saturday night from a youth girls' conference I had gone to with some girls from our church. Daniel took Riley to Hope to visit his dad Friday night, and the whole time they were there he refused to sleep in the crib. When they returned to our house Saturday night, he refused to get in his own crib. So, now we've had a fun week of adjusting to a "new" normal. Now that Riley is 'free' to move about the room, he does not want to stay in his bed when it's nap time or bed time. The first couple of days I just sat in his room until he fell asleep, but that took at least 45 minutes and was exhausting! I knew there must be a better way.

I love babycenter.com! I searched this website Wednesday afternoon and found a solution I thought might work. Just about every mother that posted about this topic said to go through the normal bed time routine, put them in bed and then walk out and close the door. If they get out of bed, put them back in without making eye contact or saying a word. Do this as many times as is needed until they stay in the bed. They'll realize (hopefully!) before too long that you're not going to give in and they're not going to win. Daniel was the lucky one who got to try this for the first time Wednesday night because I was at choir. :) When I got home at 8:45, Riley had just fallen asleep after getting out of his bed 46 times. Yes, you read that right. 46 times! Can you say "strong-willed child"?! I'm so thankful for his personality because I know the Lord created him that way for a reason, but good grief! Thankfully, nap times and bed time since then (2 naps and 1 bed time) have been much better! I think he's starting to catch on to what we expect of him. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can put him in bed and not have to worry if he's going to get back out or not!

Needless to say, it's been quite a week (on top of everything else, I think he's teething his 2-year molars...might as well work on those too while we're at it!) and we're all pretty exhausted. Here's to hoping and praying (feel free to join me in prayer!) for a restful weekend!

Pray without ceasing

2011-02-16T14:49:00.002-06:00

I love how the Lord uses children to speak to us and teach us how we are to live. When we found out we were pregnant with Riley, it was evident to both of us that this child was from the Lord and HE would have to parent through us! We were (and still are!) clueless about how to raise a child - especially a God-fearing child. So, from the get-go, prayer was a huge part of our parenting technique. We prayed all the time while Riley was in the womb, and then once he entered the world, we began including him in our prayer times. Since he was just a 6 pounder, I've (I say "I" because I'm usually the one to put him to bed, but Daniel does the same when he puts him down) prayed with him right before laying him down for the night. I'll never forget the first time a few months ago when he said "Amen" after I finished praying. It completely took me off guard, and it was the sweetest thing to hear from my baby! Now it's a common occurrence. In fact, he now asks to pray throughout the day.

This morning is a perfect example. As soon as he wakes up, I give him a sippy cup of milk and he usually sits in his crib while drinking it. This morning was no different. After he finished his milk, he was ready to get down and play a bit in his room before breakfast. He has a twin bed in his room, and he loves to get up on it and play with several teddy bears that sit on the headboard. As he was playing with the bears, he saw a cross that sits on a shelf (which he plays with a lot, too) and started saying, "cross. hold it." I gave it to him and began explaining about Jesus dying on the cross so we could know God and talk to Him. Riley then said, "Jesus. Pray." and held out his hand (we hold hands when we pray) to show me he was ready to pray. So I said a simple prayer thanking Jesus for dying on the cross and loving us. As soon as I said "amen," Riley said, "pray." So I prayed for Daddy to have a good day at work and for us to have a great day at home. Again, when I finished and said "amen," he said, "pray." So I prayed for all of the relatives I could think of - for God to keep them safe and bless them. You've probably picked up on the pattern by now...when I finished and said "amen," he said, "pray."

And this, folks, is what it means to pray without ceasing! I love that the Lord used my 18-month-old son to show me such a clear picture of His Word. I also love that at such a young age, Jesus is real to Riley and he knows what it means to pray. And we wonder why Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:3) May we all have faith like a child and never take for granted the privilege we have to pray to the Lord and Savior of the world!

Auctioneer Dan

2011-02-16T14:40:00.002-06:00

I'll bet you didn't know my husband had hidden talents such as this...

2.14.11

2011-02-14T13:36:00.006-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband gave me the best Valentine's gift...he took off work today so he could spend time with Riley and me! In my opinion, that's better than any necklace or bouquet of flowers. :) I'm definitely a fan of quality time. So, since it is an absolutely gorgeous day, we headed out for the park this morning...

Daniel found this little wagon, and this was Riley's first time to ride in it since it's been SO cold! He loves it!

Of course, much sliding occurred while at the playgroundAnd playing with the mulch is a must!

Attempting to master the art of walking down stairs

Watching the wind blow the leaves

Looking cute and OLD! Where did our baby go?!Such a fun morning! I'm so thankful for these two. They make my heart smile every day - usually multiple times a day!

I hope you're all having a wonderful Valentine's Day! May we never take for granted the MANY ways God shows His love to us!

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."
1 John 4:7-8

Bear attack

2011-02-09T15:17:00.003-06:00

Before thinking my husband is cruel for what he does to our son in this video, be sure to notice how much Riley loves it!

His Righteous Right Hand

2011-02-09T14:37:00.003-06:00

But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, "You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off";
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:8-10

As you've probably noticed, I am a little obsessed with special dates and anniversary's. I just love looking back at where we were and where we are now! A year ago yesterday, we pulled out of our parking space on Lipsey St. in New Orleans and headed north following the Lord's leading to our new church family and home. Our 3-vehicle caravan arrived at our new house in Hughes Springs a short 10 hours later. :) Not necessarily a trip I want to repeat again, but I'm thankful for the result it brought.

This past year has felt like a whirlwind. Riley has changed from a 6-month-old who couldn't even sit up unassisted to an 18-month-old who walks around saying "helicopter," "ready?", "shoe," and SO much more! Daniel has gone from a part-time chaplain and full-time student to a VERY full-time shepherd of a wonderful flock of growing sheep. And I have gone from a full-time stay-at-home mom to a...oh yeah, that's still my job! :) So maybe my job hasn't changed, but the Lord has most definitely grown and shaped me into more of His image this past year. He has revealed sins to me I was oblivious to, He has shown me the power of prayer and what it means to "pray without ceasing," His Word has come alive to me through an awesome Bible study I'm apart of in a city not far from us, and He has guided me through the ups and downs of raising a child.

I love the passage I quoted at the beginning of this post. I realize it was written to the Israelites, but there is so much truth in it for us, too! He has been completely faithful this past year to uphold us with His righteous right hand. There were many times when He was all we had to cling to! I am thankful that Daniel and I can look back on the past few years and know without a doubt that it was the LORD who led us to this spot. He called us here, and He will be faithful to show us how to best minister to those around us. I am excited to see what He has in store for this next year. No matter what it is, I pray above all that He will be glorified in us and through us.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
Psalm 115:1

Aunt Debbie

2011-02-09T14:32:00.002-06:00

This one's for you, Aunt Debbie! :)

On my own

2011-02-06T14:38:00.003-06:00

Meet my sweet friend Shannon

Shannon and I met when I returned to New Orleans in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina. She was the roommate of another good friend, and we immediately clicked. We began walking together 4 nights a week with another wonderful friend (miss you, Katie!) and really got to know each other. She knew me before I'd even heard of Daniel Bramlett, she walked with me through the ups and downs of dating, and she rejoiced with me when we got engaged. It was only fitting that she be one of my bridesmaids!

Meet Jonathan - Shannon's fun and crazy husband

After they got married in 2007, Jonathan moved to seminary and began pursuing a degree also. God worked it out so that when we got married in Jan. 2008, we moved in the apartment directly across the hall from them. Lots of fun times were had between our two apartments. We always joked that we should just knock out our adjoining wall (we were across from each other, but also on the end of the building, so we shared a wall) and make a pathway so we could get to each others apartments without having to go into the hall. The seminary probably would have frowned on that, but it was fun to think about.

Fast forward to Spring 2010. Daniel and I had recently moved to Hughes Springs and Shannon and Jonathan were in their final year at the seminary. I received a call from Shannon one day saying that a miracle baby was on the way! You see, according to doctors, Shannon wasn't ever supposed to be able to have children. Aren't you thankful that God is SO MUCH bigger than doctors or what's "supposed" to be?! Needless to say, when I heard the news I was completely ecstatic and wanted to rush down to N.O. When I told Daniel, he was very excited too and said, "When she has that baby, you need to go see her!" I said, "by myself?!" He replied with, "sure!" Oh, I love my husband! :)

Sweet Hadley Cole McDuffie (Cole) was born on December 16, 2010. They then moved to Mississippi for Jonathan to take a youth minister position. So the plan was for Daniel's grandmother to come on Thursday to help with Riley and I would leave early Friday morning (Feb. 4) to head to Newton, MS.

GiGi arrived as planned

And then this happened Friday morning...

So needless to say, I didn't get to leave as planned. But, Saturday morning everything began to melt so I headed out. I made it to Newton safely and am so thankful I've gotten to meet and hold this adorable little guy!

What an awesome sight to see Shannon kissing her SON! God is so good!I definitely miss my boys, but I am very grateful to be here sharing this special time with friends! Thank you, again, my sweet husband for giving me this time away!

Indoor Sledding

2011-02-01T15:11:00.002-06:00

Yet another fun indoor activity. Listen out for Riley saying "ready?" Every time I hear him say it I can't help but stop what I'm doing and join him in whatever activity he's "ready" to do. Minus the tantrums every now and then, this is such a fun age!

Round and round he goes

2011-02-01T14:33:00.002-06:00

On cold, winter days when we can't go outside, it's nice to be entertained by our sweet boy!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2011-01-24T14:45:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad!

I am so thankful for my dad. I wish I had a more recent picture to share (this was taken in March 2010) because he's lost over 60 lbs since then. I'm SO proud of him!! To say that this man's life is a miracle is an understatement! God definitely has His hand on my dad and is not through with him yet. When I was in high school he had a heart attack. When I was in college he had quintuple bypass surgery. He also had a pacemaker put in. When I was in South Africa as a missionary for two years he had a pacemaker/defibrillator put in. Last year he found out he had diabetes. So, as you can see, he's had some major health problems in the past 15 years. There were days when I wasn't sure if he'd get to walk me down the aisle or meet my child(ren). Obviously, though, through God's mercies both occurred and I'm so grateful!

He is such a sweet man. He will give the shirt off of his back for those he loves and never think twice about it. He is an amazing cook and always likes to spoil us when we're visiting by fixing our favorite meals. He LOVES his two grandsons...it brings me so much joy to watch him interact with Riley and CJ. He's a great husband to my mom, and I'm thankful to say that they'll celebrate 42 years together in June.

I love you, Dad, and I hope you've had a wonderful day! I sure wish Texas and Maryland were closer so we could celebrate with you! Know that we're praying for you today and every day!

18 months

2011-01-20T14:35:00.002-06:00

This big boy is 18 months today!

Riley, it's hard to believe that 18 months ago you entered our world. What an amazing, tiring, and surreal day that was! We are so thankful the Lord chose to create you and chose us to be your parents! You bring smiles to our mouths and hearts every single day. We are constantly amazed by the things you know and say. Here are some of the words we hear coming from your sweet voice (in a very random order):

daddy
mama
car!
truck ('druck')
orange ('ornge')
apple
banana
pear ('bear')
bear
dog
chair
phone ('down')
down
no (next to 'car', this is your favorite word right now)
yes ('shess')
shoe
jacket
hat
Jesus (melts our hearts to hear this!)
God
church
Bible
cereal
cracker
whale (we buy the cheaper version of goldfish called whales)
cookie
bread
pancake
yummy
yucky
peanut butter (not sure how to type it out phonetically...I'll have to get it on video sometime because it's hilarious!)
computer (also another funny one to hear)
washer
vacuum ('backyum')
hot
book
puzzle ('buzzle')
water ('bopper')
milk ('mulk')

And the list could go on and on! You really are a sponge soaking up everything going on around you. You love going to Bible study on Thursday mornings, and your teacher claims you're going to be a preacher based on what you say in class. If this is God's will for you, we want nothing less, but we're certainly not going to push you into anything. We know HE has a special plan for your life, and we're thankful to be able to walk beside you as you learn to seek Him. Daddy and Mama love you SO much! We pray God's protection and blessings on you every single day of your life!

Father, thank You for Riley Whitlow. Please continue to keep him healthy and strong. I pray for your protection over his body, mind, and soul. We desire nothing more than to see him come to know Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Father, show us how to parent in such a way that You are glorified and Riley grows up understanding who Jesus is and how much He loves him. Thank you for the ways you've taught Daniel and I through this small child. Thank you for the laughter and joy he brings into our home. May he grow up to love You above all else and obediently serve You all the days of his life. Thank You, Lord, for the perfect plan You have for him and for all of us! I love You, my Abba!

Car!

2011-01-19T14:56:00.003-06:00

As I've told you before, Riley LOVES any type of vehicle. To say this makes his daddy very happy is an understatement! I have many pictures in his short lifetime of him sitting/standing in the driver's seat of a vehicle pretending to drive. One was even taken yesterday...Every time we walk out of the house he says, "car!" and points to the car sitting in the garage. We then leave the garage and he says, "car! truck!" and points to the other two vehicles we own. The other day we went to Wal-mart, and on the 30 minute drive there he didn't say a word. The only word spoken was when we pulled into the parking space and there was a truck beside us..."truck!" Needless to say, he has an obsession with vehicles! I really didn't realize that type of thing could be passed on to offspring, but in this case, it certainly was! He IS his father's son! As part of Daniel's Christmas, he received from me a year subscription to a magazine called Autabuy. It is basically a classifieds magazine for old and new vehicles. Yesterday the first one came in the mail, and you can see below what my boys were doing for a long time after dinner...It cracks me up that a 1 1/2 year old can be completely satisfied with sitting on his daddy's lap 'reading' a car magazine. I've included a video below of what was said while he 'read' the magazine. :) Enjoy!

Another January Birthday

2011-01-12T13:28:00.003-06:00

I always wanted a sister growing up (preferably an older one). I can remember when I was little begging my parents to have another child in hopes that it would be a sister. Without fail, the answer was always, "no!" So, I had to wait until my brother got married. I'm so glad I waited, though! Jill is one of the best things that's happened to our family. We're not only sisters (in-law, but I never include those two extra words), but she's a wonderful friend! We have so much fun when we're together...even if it is just once or twice a year. It's been especially fun since we both had our boys because we're able to chat about the different stages of childhood and compare the little men (AND she graciously sends us clothes that CJ has grown out of. My son is clothed because of his aunt!!!).

Anyway, today is Jill's birthday, so Daniel, Riley and I wanted to say:

Happy Birthday, Jill! We love you so much!

S-N-O-W!!!

2011-01-11T15:40:00.006-06:00

We moved to Hughes Springs on February 8, 2010 (can't believe it's almost been a year!) and on February 11, 2010, we received a big snow. I was so excited! I thought, "finally I'm back in a place where we'll get snow every year!" And then I started hearing..."don't get used to this!", "this hasn't happened in 30 years!", etc. So I came back down from the clouds and got used to the idea that snow wasn't going to happen every year in East Texas.

Last week my mom sent me a text (from this post and the last you can tell we're a texting family!) saying we were supposed to get snow over the weekend. I didn't think much about it because I heard all of the above voices in my head. And then, early Sunday morning the sleeting began. It sleeted until Sunday afternoon when the flakes started falling! The winter wonderland came back for another visit! Yay!

Evidence of the sleet

Let the snow begin!

I tried to get Daniel to go out in it with me, but he wasn't 'feeling' it (bet you didn't know he melts when he gets wet!)

Our front yard on Monday morning

Bundled up and ready to go!

Heading out...his first time to walk in snow, and he loved it!

What a mismatched adorable little boy! :) Can you tell we're not prepared for this kind of weather?!

Had to get a picture with the truck! (look at the icicles hanging off of it!)

Daniel attempting (key word) to sled

Our house!
Thank you, Lord, for the snow! Looking forward to writing 2012 on the car next year...hint, hint! :)

The "layering" area. This experience made me appreciate mothers with young ones in much colder places than here! It took us 20+ minutes just to get ready to go outside!

What a fun surprise this snow was! I'm so thankful for God's perfect gifts that He chooses to share with us to make us smile! I realize snow doesn't make everyone smile (especially my relatives who live in the Northeast!), but it does for this southern girl! Looking forward to next year...

The Snowlett Family

2011-01-11T15:03:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I received a text from Daniel's aunt asking if we wanted to participate in a little family friendly competition. You see, this crazy winter storm (which I'll post about soon) hit us first, then Daniel's grandmother and aunt in Little Rock, and then headed to Tennessee where Daniel's mom lives(we hoped...still not sure if Daniel's mom will get to participate or not...hopefully she'll get enough snow soon!). So, we were all supposed to build a snowman, name it and send a picture to the judges, Daniel's aunt and uncle who live in Singapore. They will then decide who wins The Moore Family Snowman Contest 2011. Well, of course we wanted to participate, and we went to work almost immediately.

I am proud to present to you...

The Snowlett Family
We'll start with "Big D Snowlett"
You might notice that all of his body parts are 'recycled materials' (bed posts for the arms, baby food jars for eyes, rope for the mouth, a broken pitcher for the hair, and a ball of wire for the nose)...some call them trash, but Big D sees that they are treasures!

The proud creator with his masterpiece

Next is "Ova C Snowlett"
All of the items Ova is wearing are from a country other than America (scarf=Peru, bowl=South Africa, pants=Burkina Faso, West Africa).

Ova and her creator

Last, but definitely not least, is "Whittle O Snowlett"
Whittle is very similar to his dad, Big D...recycled materials were used and he's holding a hammer so he can fix any problem that may occur.

Because his should-be creator was taking a nap, Riley didn't get to form Whittle. But, I made sure he got a picture with him!

And there you have the Snowlett family!

We're looking forward to hearing who wins the great Snowman contest of 2011. So far, our competition is fierce with "Sooie" the red-nose snowman who had a very hog snout nose!

Can't wait to see what comes from the great city of Clarksville, Tennessee! Thank you, Alan and Lynda, for agreeing to be our judges! We love you both and miss you much!

Riley wants to say...

2011-01-09T14:43:00.002-06:00

Don't worry, Grandma, Grandpa and GiGi...we're working on your names, too! :) We love you all!

He's 2!

2011-01-09T11:13:00.004-06:00

No, I haven't gone crazy...I realize Riley doesn't turn 2 until July. BUT, my favorite nephew, CJ, is celebrating his 2nd birthday today! Here he is this morning with his cozy coupe and Tickle Me Elmo. Sure wish we could be there to see this all in person!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG BOY!
We love you so much!
Uncle D, Auntie Lala and cousin Riley

Shoes!

2011-01-08T14:28:00.005-06:00

In case you were wondering if Riley still had a thing for shoes...

Does this answer your question?! If not, watch this for further proof...

He keeps us laughing!

Another Anniversary

2011-01-08T14:04:00.003-06:00

It's hard to believe that 2 years ago today I began this blog (click here to read that very first post!). Also, (this may not be exciting to you) this marks my 150th post! I'm so thankful I decided to take the plunge and begin "bramlett barometer." Not only are family and friends able to follow the little one closely, but I have an outlet to enjoy some writing therapy every now and then, we'll be able to share all of these fun stories with Riley when he's older, AND I got 50 FREE (did you see that?! free!) Christmas cards from Shutterfly this year just because I have a blog!

So maybe Riley can't count to 150 yet (or even 2 for that matter), but he's got ONE down as you'll see in the video below! We're having so much fun with this kiddo! How thankful I am the Lord entrusted him to us!

The number 3

2011-01-05T14:30:00.000-06:00

3 = Father, Son & Holy Spirit - without which, I am nothing!
3 = the number of vehicles we currently own (one of which does not have a motor in it...)
3 = the amount of people in our little family
3 = the number of years it's been since I stood at the front of FBC Hope, AR and said "I do" to the man of my dreams!

That's right, 3 years ago TODAY (and almost the exact time of this post), Daniel and I became husband and wife. I am still amazed that I am married. I wanted to be married for so long, and the Lord told me several times that I would be, but there were lots of days when I had my doubts. Most of my close friends got married right out of college, so after I graduated college and the Lord sent me overseas for 2 years, I began to wonder when I might meet "Mr. Right."

And then it happened...I walked into class at New Orleans Baptist Seminary in August 2006. I had just moved back to N.O. after a year away due to Hurricane Katrina. To say that I was less than excited to be back is an understatement! (Cue Daniel's entrance) Daniel came into class very excited about life. I had no clue who he was, but I remember thinking at the time, "Who is this guy, and why is he so happy?" To make a long story short, we met, became friends and ministry partners, began dating and the rest is history! And he STILL has that same amount of excitement for life! For this realistic (not pessimistic...there's a difference!), glass always half-empty person, he has been such an encouragement and challenge to me! I can honestly say that I am a much better person because of him. The Lord has used Daniel to refine me in ways I never realized I needed. I am so thankful for a husband who will hold me accountable and not just say, "yes, honey. Whatever you say is right." The day those words come out of Daniel's mouth, I will literally fall over dead! LOL! But, that's a good thing! I prayed and prayed for a husband who would lead me spiritually and challenge me in my walk with the Lord. God is faithful, and He gave me SO much more than I asked for.

I thought I'd take a little walk down memory lane with some pictures...

Our first picture together (2 days after we started dating)

Daniel's 1st trip to Maryland to meet my family

My 1st trip to Arkansas to meet his family (he's standing on a dirt mound...I didn't shrink)
Day trip from N.O. to Perdido Key, FL
Dinner in the French Quarter with great friends
The day we got engaged (7.1.07) - even after I was soaking with sweat from climbing a mountain, he still wanted to ask me to marry him :)
My favorite of our engagement pictures
Just us
The big day arrived!
What's a wedding without a kiss?? :)

Our wonderful wedding party - we love them all dearly and are so thankful they were able to be a part of our special day

December 2010

I'm excited to see where we're headed as a family!

I love you, Daniel Bramlett, and I can't wait to see what the next year holds for our family! Thank you for making me laugh, holding me when I cry, loving our son unconditionally, leading our family in following Christ, and reminding me daily of your love for me. You will always be "my man," and for that I am eternally grateful to our Lord! "So let's grow old together, hand in hand..." (song by Dennis Jernigan)

Piano skills

2011-01-01T12:18:00.003-06:00

Here's Riley showing off his piano skills a couple days ago. Expect to see him in the symphony in the next few years! :)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:10:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! On this 1st day of the 1st month of the 11th year in the 21st century, we pray blessings on all of you! We are excited about walking into a new year and expectant about all the Lord will do in and through His people. May you experience Him in a fresh and life-changing way! We love you all and thank God for the roles you play in our lives.