YOU are the salt of the earth...

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. " Matthew 5:13-16 Our church recently got a new pastor. He's not just any pastor either...he's AWESOME!!! He has started a class on Sunday nights and this Sunday Wae and I went. He spoke about us being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. There is a song on one of my contemporary Christian CD's that sings about this. I usually sing the song and love it but I never really take to heart the words, you know the true meaning of the song. After his class I can't sing the song without overflowing with emotion. It's talking about us...here and now. Not the just the disciples from the bible we read about but us!!! As Christians we are called to be the salt and light of the world. We are called to be examples. People should look at us and say "What is it about her/him that is so different? I want what she/he has!" We are to be different from the world and we are supposed to have different attitudes. Whoa! That one gets me... I realized I have not been the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Recently I have been a little on edge. My toes have been stepped on in regards to Asher and I have not been different from the world. I have not reacted the way a person who is setting a Christian example should act. I have acted just like a person living without Christ would act. I've been ugly, I've said hurtful things, I have let it consume my world, and I've been down right exhausted letting it rule my life. When brother Eddie was speaking I thought to myself that his lesson was for me! Brother Eddie described four uses for salt which applies to our Christian walk. It flavors, preserves, makes us thirsty, and works quietly. Are we doing that for our Lord and Savior? Are we being the flavor of Christ for our non believing friends? Are we preserving the world...are we ministering around us and being missionaries? Are we making others around us thirsty for what we have with Christ or are we turning them away from a personal relationship with Christ? (that one gets me!) And are we working quietly for the Lord by living a life that so resembles Christ that people see Him in us in our day to day life? After asking myself these questions I cannot answer yes to them all. I fail miserably every day...I continue to wallow in self pity, I gossip, I question God, I'm afraid to share Christ with friends and family who may not believe, people who really know me and see my day to day life know I COMPLAIN and I like it! I have to do better. We as Christians all have to do better because it is our command from God to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let's pray for one another that we can do better! Brother Eddie asked us..."How many times does the world catch a taste of us and it's not Jesus they taste?" or we hear someone say..."I would have become a Christian if it wouldn't have been for all the Christians!" Wow... So you may be like me and be a stay at home mom. You may think you can't effect many people but in all reality we can. We take our kids to play dates, to the library, to the grocery store, etc. We can share our light every day as we are being moms and we have the most important job in the world in my opinion...we can share our light with our children! Asher is my world...I pray for him every day to grow up to be a man of God. To have such courage and strength that he takes a stand for Christ and is a life changer. He will not want to be that man of God if he has a momma who is not being the light of the world. Our children know the real us...they are with us 24/7. Be a Christian mom...be the mom who reads bible stories to your children, who prays with them at mealtime and before bed, set a Christian example, take your children to church, live out what it means to be a Christian, hug them, kiss them, and tell them you love them. Teach them to serve others and put their own needs below someone else's. We only get one chance at this thing called motherhood and it's something I don't want to mess up on. I hope you pray for me to be a good mom because I fail every day at something and have to try the next day to make it right. I encourage you to read Matthew 5 and let's all strive to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let's try to win souls to Christ and make a difference!

Lord, what do I have that YOU can use?

I know, I know..."Whoa, a post from Ian's Reason?!? Really?" I've been missing in action and I'm sorry for that. I have been a momma, a wife, and involved in many activities at church. I have been so blessed over the past 2 years that I have really just sat in amazement at the mighty works of God. And that's all I've done basically...I've sat and enjoyed those blessings all to myself and I haven't been sharing them. I vowed to God many years ago that I would be a willing vessel here to share about Him and His goodness in my life. I have failed Him miserably but I am going to try my best to start my ministry of sharing God's goodness through my blog again. In the past two years a lot of things have changed in my life. I have become a momma to our second child. He's our little miracle child who is so many things bottled up into one vivacious little body. He's loving AND silly, he's sweet AND feisty, he's smart AND a wild man, he's too many things for me to describe in a sentence. He has been my world, my heart, my life...Another thing has changed. A prayer of mine has been answered in a mighty way. My husband has become a MAN of God. He is the spiritual leader of our household now...he drags ME to church when I'd rather stay home, he prays with Asher and me, he's going on a mission trip to Brazil soon, and he makes me want to be a better Christian. I just can't even describe how good God is. Just know that my heart is full... At revival a couple of weeks ago our speaker asked us to pray, "Lord, what do I have that YOU can use?" I have really prayed this prayer. I have thought I'm just a mom Lord. What am I worth? I talk to Asher, I talk to my family and friends, I talk to the girls I workout with, I talk to people at church and that's about it. I don't do much Lord. I'm JUST a momma'...remember. What can YOU really use me for? Well, let me just tell you. God has answered and He has stepped on my toes. Isn't that always fun. He reminded me of my mission with Ian's caringbridge site and Ian's reason. He reminded me of how many lives were changed through Ian's life and my "ramblings" on the internet. He reminded me that I have NEVER been "just a momma'" I am a daughter of THE KING! He showed me through prayer and a gentle nudging of my heart that he can use me and that I have to be willing again. I can't keep enjoying God's goodness and keeping it to myself. It's time to share again. It's time to live again! So...without further ado I'm baaaacccckkkk!!!! I just hope I can keep it up. Please pray for me to be consistent. When I say Asher takes up all my time I'm not exaggerating. He never sits still, he doesn't watch TV, we read 356 books a day on average :), he LOVES to play outside for hours and hours and hours. It's time to be transparent again. It's been a long time for me living my new life of just Wae, Asher, and myself without sharing. It's been kind of nice to be honest. I've had a stirring in my soul though and sweet friends if you've ever had the stirring in your soul from the Holy Spirit you know like I do that until you submit to HIS plan and will for your life the restlessness will not go away. Me...I'm a mom to two boys. I will always be a mom to two boys. If you ask me how many kids I have my answer is 2 and I count it a blessing to share about my angel Ian as I also share about my silly Asher. Do I miss Ian? Well absolutely. There is not a single day that I don't miss my sweet child in my arms. However, I have to daily make the choice in life of happiness instead of wallowing in my pain. Some days the choice is easier than other days. I'm a stay at home mom to Asher and I LOVE every second of it. I wouldn't trade my days at home for anything in the world. We have "mommy school" during our days at home and we work on little lessons I make and yes I am that dorky of a momma'. We go to the library for story time once a week, we play in the mud with our dog Miley, we ride the golf cart thing a mig outside, we swing, and we enjoy just being plain ole' normal! Is Asher rotten? Absolutely! I wouldn't trade this spoiling for anything...he's only little once and I learned that the hard way. I will not forget the lessons Ian taught me. Asher knows he has a brother in heaven. He will say "Bubba" and point to Heaven and say "Jesus" We have talked to Asher about his bubba from day one and we will forever nourish that relationship between him and his big brother. I am also a wife as part of my job at home...I try my best. Wae might say different. We don't always have a hot meal or a clean house but I try. All I know is...we have a happy home and that's a blessing in and of itself. I am able to do a lot of things for our church and I so enjoy doing that. I work with the nursery ministry at our church and it lets me be with the children some since I don't teach anymore. I was helping with the two year olds but quickly learned that's not really my calling in life. :) I do carve out a little bit of time for myself and I workout with some great friends a couple of mornings a week. It's such a stress reliever for me. I also enjoy running now and I never thought I'd be one of those people. Hahaha... I'm trying to take up the fine art of growing flowers since Asher and I are outside so often. So far so good...they've been planted two weeks and they are still alive. Woohoo!!! That's unheard of at our house. I have been giving them a lot of TLC though. In the past two months I have been a friend...a friend to someone dear to my heart who I cherish more than life itself. Someone who understands my every thought and worry...someone who now understands what it means to bury their child. My sweet friends Gregg and Tracey Thomas had to endure the same dreadful loss as us when Jackson lost the battle to RCDP in February. I was blessed to be with Tracey during this time and I wouldn't have been anywhere else. I know many of you remember Jackson and I tell you this to ask you to pray for Gregg, Tracey, and Taylor as they are simply crushed as they mourn the loss of Jack Jack. We are still working with Rhizo Kids and the doctors and we will find a way to help the other children with RCDP. Our boys lives were not for nothing!!! Well that's a little bit about us now. Just to cram in two years of me being missing. It's not all that's happened but it's the best summary I got. I say all this to you to tell you God can use you too. No matter what your occupation is or what your story in life is God can use you. Please pray and ask God to reveal to you what He can do with you. If he can use me, he can use you! I will be back next week...I promise!

Is this real?!?

I am sitting in the bed with my two boys...Wae and Asher. They are asleep and momma can't calm her nerves. It's THE DAY I dread all year...October 9th. The day my first born went Home to Jesus...the day my heart was ripped from my chest...the day when all went wrong in the world...the day my very full arms were all of a sudden very empty. The day no mother should ever endure. The worst day of my life! I have relived THE DAY about three billion times over the past three years but when THE DAY is here I relive it even more. I remember Ian's special Nurse Kelly who was so gentle and smart. She knew he was leaving us and so delicately told us to prepare. Little did we know it would be within a few short hours. What a God-send she was! I remember our sweet therapist Kim coming and visiting with a frosty and Ian waking up for the first time in days to see her and eat his frosty. Oh how he loved his Ms.Kim! I remember four grandparents who loved their grandchild with all of their being...I remember making them tell him their good-byes the night before he died! I remember the heart wrenching emotions. I remember our friends...they visited, they called, they cried, they prepared a funeral for their friend's child, and they never left us through all the craziness. Our parents still love us even though we've made some big mistakes and probably said a lot of hurtful things. Our pain is so deep...it's unbelievable! We're sorry if we've hurt anyone...there isn't a book "How to bury your child and survive for dummies" I've been asked so many times..."How do you do it? How do you live without Ian?" I know people think this is cheesy but I tell you this from the bottom of my heart. I make it without Ian because my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gives me new strength every day to survive one more day without Ian. I could not do this on my own strength. I am a weak momma whose child is not in her arms anymore. If I relied on my own strength to survive this loss I would probably be in the crazy house or suicidal. BUT...that's not me. I wake up each day with new hope because I know He will supply all my needs. When I'm down He sends something my way that cheers me up. It's amazing!!! Today my weak momma self wants to be sad and only focus on the negative. I want to have a pity party and cry all day. I want to sit down and scream WHY and be mean to anybody and everybody that says something wrong to me. Whew...aren't y'all glad I'm not my self!?! I am made new in Christ's image because I am saved by grace. So today through Him I am choosing to focus on the good. Three years ago today Ian was healed and made whole. He was given a new body. A body with no stippling, no cataracts, no contractures, no dislocated hips, no dwarfism, NO PAIN, no deafness, no blindness, no mental deficiencies, no heart problems, no medicine, no hernias, no oxygen, no hospice!!! He was given LIFE...Our sweet boy is singing right now at the feet of Jesus. What a glorious sight that must be. He is raising those hands and running with the energy of a vivacious 5 year old. I picture it...he looks like Asher and has as much energy as little brother has. This makes my heart smile through all the tears. You see when you have Christ as your Lord and Savior you have the hope of Heaven. And that my friend...is how I get through life without Ian. I know when I am called Home I will stand at the Pearly Gates and I will see my maker. I will rejoice that I have been called home and hope to hear "Well done my good and faithful servant!" I will hug Jesus and He will say..."Sweet Mary there is someone very special waiting to see you." And at that moment in time my little boy will run in to my arms and all will be made perfect! So for the time being I focus on what our interim pastor Brother Bob said a lot..."You better be well doing here to hear "Well done" when you get to Heaven." I am going to choose to "well do" today and make my Heavenly Father proud instead of living in depression. I am going to strive to win souls for Christ and live a life of purpose. Why don't you join me and let's change the world?!? Love to you all and we greatly appreciate your prayers today and every day as we try to live this life without Ian...

New Team Ian Shirts!!!

I am selling NEW TEAM IAN SHIRTS!!! It's been quite awhile since I've done this but we need to raise some money for our conference in June. Actually we need to raise A LOT of money for our conference in June. We have 78 people who are going to be there...WHOA!!! We have 14 Rhizo Kids going to be there. WHOA!! We have never had a conference this big. People are literally flying in from all around the world folks!!! Can you hear the excitement in my voice?!? I am pumped. I think back to that first conference Tracey Thomas and I put on at St.Vincent's hospital. There were just five families there. Now we have a large group. I am amazed where our Rhizo Kids group has grown to. What a blessing. So...let's sell some shirts. If you want to sell shirts for me go right ahead. Just print out a picture of the shirts get the sizes and what they want and get the money ahead of time. The shirts are $15 each and if you get XXL or XXXL they are $17 each. If you want me to ship you a shirt I most definitely will. That cost $5 a shirt. There are four shirts. BUT don't be fooled. Three of them have the EXACT same back. I am repeating myself...three of the shirts have the exact same back. :) The first purple shirt is a "Rhizo Kids" shirt. It says..."RCDP picked the wrong kid" on the back. The black shirt is a "Rhizo Kids" shirt with a hand instead of the rainbow on the front and it says..."RCDP picked the wrong kid" on the back too. It's just black with a hand on the front instead of a rainbow. More manly we thought :) The green shirt is a "Rhizo Kids" shirt. The other purple shirt is....A TEAM IAN SHIRT!!! It says "team ian" on the front and on the back it says the same as the first two "RCDP picked the wrong kid" If you sell these shirts this is how I did mine. I have a sheet for: 1. Purple Rhizo Kid shirt 2. Black Rhizo Kid shirt 3. Green Rhizo Kid shirt 4. PURPLE TEAM IAN SHIRT Thanks in advance for helping us out on this. We need about $20,000 to cover the expenses of this conference :) Every little bit we can contribute helps. I love you guys for continuing to support Ian's fight even though he's with Jesus healed and whole. He may be gone...but he will never be forgotten. Thanks friends.... If you want a shirt please email me at maryellis96@yahoo.com. I won't get your order if you respond to this email or post on here. You need to email me. Thanks!!!

Perspective...

Asher starting getting sick on Monday. His classic clear snotty nose and coughing which is always accompanied by an ear infection. He didn't sleep at all Monday night so I thought I'd just go ahead and take him to the doctor on Tuesday morning. Well, to my surprise he did not have an ear infection but he did have RSV. I was familiar with RSV because during the fall and spring months of Ian's life we had to get those synagis shots which were $1000 (paid by insurance don't fret) to insure that sweet Ian didn't come down with RSV. If Ian would have gotten RSV it would have meant hospitalization and quite possibly the end of Ian's life. Therefore, Asher having RSV is just not really that big of a deal, right? I think so!

Ok...it's not that big of a deal. It's not life or death but it has been a rough week around the Ellis house. Asher has cried around the clock for 24 hours since Monday. He has pulled at his ears, fought the breathing treatments, spit out his cough medicine, spit out his zyrtec, grabbed the medicine syringe out of my hand and thrown it (LOL), and just been a sick little boy. Friday we went back to the doctor and what do you know...he had an ear infection. I am not going to lie...it has gotten to me. It has worn me down and I have "fretted" over things I "preached" about not fretting over. Wae and I continually say "Ian wasn't like this. He was such a sweet sick baby." :) I get it now though...he couldn't reach up and throw the medicine syringe out of hand because that was impossible for him. I know now that he wanted to though. He couldn't pull at his ears to tell me they hurt...that too was impossible. He didn't spit out his medicine because that poor baby had so much medicine poked into him every couple of hours that he probably thought there was no other way in life. He couldn't cry 24/7 because he felt bad because he physically didn't have the energy for that. Instead he would sleep around the clock when he was sick. So yes...we have experienced something new with a sick baby Asher.

During the middle of this the newest Rhizo Kid (just weeks old) has had some major complications with her intestines. She has had multiple surgeries and the doctors haven't had a good prognosis for this sweet family. Her mom posted some pictures on facebook of her attached to many, many machines with multiple tubes coming from her precious little body. Here I am fretting because I have a fussy baby. I am complaining because he won't take his medicine good and I have the nerve to say "I'm tired!" (insert whiney voice here) How did I so quickly lose my perspective in life that Ian taught me? How did I so quickly slide back into the this mode of thinking that life with Asher is hard. Life with Ian was hard...life for this Rhizo family whose child is living on the ventilator is hard....life with your child on a feeding tube is hard.....life with worrying 24/7 about your child catching an illness that might kill them is hard....life full of therapies for your child is hard.....

I am ashamed of myself! God blessed us...he showed mercy on us. We had such a great life with Ian. He wasn't a sick Rhizo Kid and he didn't require a feeding tube. God granted us the best of that situation. Then HE decided to continue to bless us. He gave us our genetic miracle which meant we could have healthy children. He then blessed us with Asher. He not only blessed us with Asher He blessed us with Wae an amazing job that provides for our family so I could stay home with Asher. (My all time dream of a lifetime was to be a stay at home mom) And what have I done?!? I have complained because my baby is sick and fussy...he has a stinking cold!!!! Don't you know God is watching me saying "She has already forgotten the lessons you taught her Ian." Not only is God ashamed of me but Ian would be as well. Forgive me God...I lost my perspective and I am ashamed. You have blessed our family. Yes..it's 4:00 in the morning and I am up but this will all be over next week. The life of a Rhizo mom is like this as long as her child is alive. And I have complained?!?

Please pray for the Guenther family in Canada. Their daughter is Megan and she is really very sick. We consider this family friends. They come to our conference every year and they are such an amazing family with an amazing faith in God. I know He has a plan here and I know they believe in His plan. I pray they feel God carrying them during these unbelievably hard times.

Perspective...I sure hope this doesn't happen again but the reality is that I know it will. I will get bogged down in the things that don't matter and I will let them stress me out. Whew...hard life lesson!!!

Asher is starting to feel better tonight I think. He is actually sleeping but I'm not. Go figure :) He and Wae are all snuggled up in the bed together and I'm on the couch watching "Three's Company." As I laid there for the past two hours looking at them I couldn't help but to think about how blessed I am. I have a wonderful husband and a precious 7 month old baby boy all snuggled up together. Life is good and God has blessed us far beyond our dreams. Now I'm going to join them and at least cuddle for the rest of the night if I sleep or not. This is my favorite time of the day.

I included some pics from Easter. It was a perfect day!!!!

Gratitude journal full of happy moments...

When I used to update caringbridge for Ian I talked one day about happy moments and a gratitude journal. I have read through my CB book and found that entry because recently I stumbled upon my gratitude journal and was so happy to remember these happy moments I had recorded. I wanted to read what my thoughts were then on recording "happy moments." I said that day..." Now I realize that if I write down my daily "happy moments" it is refreshing to read back over them. It helps me to focus on the good in each day instead of the bad moments of each day. It makes me appreciate life and all of my blessings each day." Wow...I can't believe this was my focus as I was watching Ian suffer. If you don't believe in God right there is evidence to me that He is real. He was living through me and showing me how to be positive and as I read back over these happy moments it is clear that He was at the center of it all!!!

Some happy moments I recorded during Ian's life...
1. "Feeling" Ian say I love you today
2. The mommy Ian has taught me to be
3. My happy moment today was Ian's sweet cheeks, his crazy hair, his two snaggle teeth, his crossed legs b/c that's just Ian, his glare at me, his love for swinging outside
4. I am happy Ian let me have a quiet time with God today and he let me exercise :)
5. I am happy today because Wae got Ian a puppy Miley (ummm...this may have turned into a nightmare LOL)
6. My happy moments today is the best in forever...Wae and I got our genetic testing results back. We don't both carry RCDP and we can have healthy children!!!
7. My happy moment today was BIG...Ian's superman party. (this turned out to be his last big birthday party)
8. My happy moment tonight is that Ian is breathing right now in his bed beside our bed.
9. Almost every day a happy moment was to be thankful for both sets of grandparents who loved Ian and helped all they could. Couldn't have asked for two better sets of grandparents.

And then I read on through the days after Ian passed away. I was still recording happy moments. How could that be?!? Because God never let me fall out of the palm of His hand. He carried me the whole way through the grieving process and still helped me to find happy moments in the midst of the storm.
Some happy moments I recorded after Ian's life...
1. I am happy today because Amanda and Deanna asked me to help with pottery. I have something to do now!!!
2. Happiness today came in the form of Ella Kathryn. I got to get her from daycare and come home and play.
3. A smile came to my face today when I understood that Ian is really healed now and is in his Heavenly Father's arms.

And happy moments now?!? There are so many I don't think my gratitude journal could hold them all. God's grace is so abundant in our lives. He chose to bless us beyond all our wildest dreams. We aren't worthy...we questioned Him at times, we ran from Him at times, we chose to turn our backs on somedays. But do you know what he did. He held us tighter and He never gave up on us. He showed mercy on us and blessed us beyond belief.

Some happy moments from life now...
1. My salvation....tomorrow is Easter and all I can think about is that Christ willingly suffered and died on the cross for me. My sins are forgiven and I have been set free. Thank you Jesus for saving me, for loving me, and for not giving up on me!!!
2. ASHER!!!!!!!!! He can sit up, he can smile, he can laugh, he can see a puff on the table pick that puff up and feed himself that puff!!!! He dances when I walk into the room. He reaches for me to hold him. He loves his daddy!!! He can hold a sippy cup. He's smart as a whip. His legs aren't crossed because of RCDP. He can hear me, see me, touch me. He wraps his arms around my neck. He has a fake laugh...hilarious. He squinches up his nose...precious! He fiddles with my hair to go to sleep sometimes. He sleeps snuggled with me because he loves me so. He can sit up in the bathtub. He plays in the bathtub. We HAVE to buy bath toys. We HAVE to babyproof the house. He loves to shop. He loves the nursery at church. He loves everybody (except some men LOL) He watches me walk through a room then cries when he can't see me (hehehehe) He rolls everywhere. He won't be still enough for me to change his diaper. The list goes on and on and on.
3. I am thankful for Wae. He works so hard so I can stay home with Asher. He is such a good daddy and Asher is obsessed with him.
4. I am happy all day every day because I'm not having to go to work at 6:30 am. I am able to be home with Asher and I know that's where I'm supposed to be.

There's just so much y'all. We have the best families you could ever imagine. Grandparents who love Asher with all their hearts. They beg to keep him and always want me to have something to do so they can see him. Aunts and uncles and cousins galore with love oozing out of the seams. Friends...they've watched us hurt as their kids grew up without Asher. They didn't leave us as friends when it would have been easier than seeing heartbreak on our faces. They stuck around and loved us and now they too are obsessed with Asher. It's wonderful. This REALLY is a wonderful life!!!!
So today my challenge to you is to stop...take a look around....and find your happy moments. I know your life is full of them too. Let's quit focusing on what's not so happy and try to focus on what is so happy. Try writing it down every day. I promise it will be a blessing to you when you go back through the different stages of your life and see what you were happy for. It does my heart good that even during the tough times God saw fit to help me find some happy moments each day.

If you don't have a church to attend tomorrow for Easter please come visit First Baptist Church in Centre. We would love to have you...I promise!!! We have an early service at 8:30 and regular service at 11:00. We have great Sunday School classes and I"m sure there is one there for you. I hope to see you there!!!!

A day in the life of Asher...

I tell y'all all the time how happy I am. I tell y'all all the time how precious we think Asher is and about all the fun we have. I thought I'd just share some of our fun with you. :)

This picture is from Asher's first trip away from home. We went with Wae to Memphis and Asher was an angel. He's so good about going places and isn't fussy at all. One of the many reasons I love him :)



This picture is Asher's first time to eat off the table. Wae's sister Andrea has been so mad at me (sorry Andrea ) because I haven't fed Asher from the table. So...I made him some mashed potatoes and he was not really impressed. This is what he did the entire time. We were laughing so hard we almost cried. Another reason we love him so...his personality is to die for.




This picture is from the first time we took Asher to the lake. He played on his beach towel, in his baby pool, and even took naps in his stroller. He was so versatile and never fussed. Was just happy to be with his mommy and daddy. Yet another reason we think he's perfect. :)




There just really aren't any words to describe the happiness from this day. Our family had such a good time being truly happy. I told Wae I never knew life could be this good.


















This is how Asher sleeps. In the bed with us. Last night he melted my heart into a big ole' puddle. He likes to spoon to cuddle. We are snuggled as tight as possible. He rolled over onto his belly about 2 am. I felt him roll over so I woke up. I was looking at him and he then put his arm around me and slept with his arm on my back. Could there be anything more precious in this life?!? I think not!!! This boy loves his momma and this momma loves her boy!!!






Wae's parents bought Asher his first playset for his 6th month birthday. He loves to go outside and swing on it. He is obsessed with being outside. If he ever is fussy I just take him outside and play and he gets as happy as can be. You guessed it...another reason I am completely in love with him. Could he be any more perfect?!? I think not :) So happy for God's blessings.

I'm sorry if I'm obnoxiously happy. I just remember where I was 4 1/2 years ago. I remember watching my little boy who couldn't grow, who couldn't move, and who couldn't enjoy the life I had planned. I enjoyed him. Every second of him and I tried my hardest to learn what God wanted to teach me. I think we learned and now we are able to enjoy His blessings of Asher because of Ian. I thank God every day for my blessing of Ian because without him I'd be that mom who didn't know to appreciate the fact that my baby can roll away EVERY time I try to change his diaper. I'd be that mom who was annoyed because her little boy had all his toys out in the living room. I'd be that mom who was too busy cleaning my house on Sunday to go spend the day at the lake with Wae and Asher. Ian Ellis taught me so many lessons I needed to learn and I'm so grateful God chose me to be his mommy.

Have a great Easter. Don't clean...don't rush...just enjoy the day. Remember the reason!!!! Celebrate Christ...go to church...appreciate the fact that He died and rose again for us. He died on the cross for our sins!!! Try thanking Him for what He did for us. It's really pretty amazing if you just think about it.