Happy Easter!

HE IS RISEN!!!!  The grave could not hold HIM!!! Thank you JESUS!!!!

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We are enjoying the beach with those we love so very much. 

Last night we ate on the water (Grouper Reuben, oh yes!!) and got to soak in every minute of the gorgeous sunset. 

Scarlett enjoying her root-beer (a special treat) with Boo. 

My man :)

Mitch, me and my little bro, Chaz 

My sweet, sweet mama and daddy. 

A pic with my 2 girls...one is in my tummy for now :) 

Aunt Rinnie is such a treat to be with!

Today, we have been soaking up Easter Sunday goodness... Scarlett's favorite so far has been "watering" Daddy :)  

This day changes everything.

Today is Good Friday. The day Jesus took your sins and mine to the cross. God looked through the corridors of time and saw you. And saw me. And He chose to lay our wrongs upon His Son. On the one who had no fault. Because He LOVES us. Thank you Lord. Whether the world knows it or recognizes it, this day in history changes everything.  Everything. I pray that this may become real to you if it has never been before. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. 

Isaiah 53 

Who has believed our message

    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

² 

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

    and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

³ 

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ 

Surely he took up our pain

    and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

    stricken by him, and afflicted.

⁵ 

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ 

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ 

He was oppressed and afflicted,

    yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

    so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ 

By oppression^[a] and judgment he was taken away.

    Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

    for the transgression of my people he was punished.^[b]

⁹ 

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

    and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ 

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

    and though the Lord makes^[c] his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ 

After he has suffered,

    he will see the light of life^[d] and be satisfied^[e];

by his knowledge^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,

    and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² 

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^[g]

    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,^[h]

because he poured out his life unto death,

    and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

    and made intercession for the transgressors.

almost.

To our beautiful and sweet almost 3 year old,

    Where has the time gone? Just yesterday we were holding you for the first time in the hospital admiring your gorgeous red hair and perfectly chubby cheeks.... and now you are learning the ABC's and talking about complex subjects such as Jesus dying on the cross and being raised on the 3rd day!?

    You are so precious to your Daddy and I that it is hard to put our feelings for you into words. You hit the ground running each morning and exude joy from the moment I first lay eyes on you. I love the way I find you each morning, standing in your big-girl room greeting me for the new day. Your Daddy and I love so many attributes God gave you. I want to note that these traits are God-given because we cannot claim credit for your precious spirit. God made you so very special. You are incredibly thoughtful. You think of others in a way that amazes us, especially for a little girl your age. Naturally we are very proud of you. When we pick you up from Bible school on Sunday mornings, your teachers make a point to tell us how nicely you share with other children. That warms our hearts to no end.

    While your sweet spirit is very apparent, you are quite spunky as well. You have no problem telling us what is going on, in your world that is. Your voice will be heard, even if it is simply because it is the loudest one in our house! Your favorite thing to say right now is, "I am the baby boss!" I may have told you I was the boss once or twice and then you just took it and ran! Most of the time you say you are the baby boss with a smile, so we can let that one slide :)  When you get a "bee in your bonnet" look out! But we love that about you. There is something to be said about a girl who knows how to get things done. So, you go girl! You can do anything you set your mind to. And your Daddy and I will always be the first to cheer you on.

You seek to understand things. I love that you always want to know what I am talking about if I'm on the phone with Nonni or even just talking to a friend. You like to understand the happenings around you and are very observant. I appreciate your curiosity and your people watching skills ;) 

You are just a treat. Every. single. day. Now, we have our moments of "hello strong willed child!" but 23.5 hours out of the day you are purely pleasant. You and I do not part ways often, but if we do you are like the happiest girl ever when we are reunited. It's something I could get addicted to :) 

You are so funny. I think your Daddy and I appreciate your sense of humor so much because it's simliar to ours. That's understandable. Like you laughed and laughed the other day when we were reading a book about Winnie the Pooh (aka Honey the Pooh) and he asked gofer for a "small smackerel" of honey... you laughed about that for close to 5 minutes. It was so cute. 

You are very nurturing. To other children and especially to Callie. You are always tending to Callie...giving her treats, putting her leash on and walking her around the house. I think Callie's quality of life improved by leaps and bounds when you came into her life. She loves you. 

You love to sing! Many nights at dinner you will pray and ask God to give someone in our family (mostly DeDe because you are crazy about him)  a "happy heart." I think you ask God for this for others because He naturally gave one to you! You are always singing to your baby dolls and just recently we started to sing some songs with motions and you went gaga for that!  

You are active with a capital "A." Girl, you can outrun your mommy AND your daddy any day of the week. We love to watch you GO in a wide open space. Your long legs can cover lots of ground, fast.

There is something that your Daddy and I have prayed for from the time you were just a tiny baby in my tummy. We asked God to give you a heart for Him. To make you a lover of Jesus. We can already see that unfolding. You love to talk about Jesus. Many times if we are just sitting quietly and I ask you what you are thinking about you tell me, "I am thinking about Jesus and how he loves me." The other day in the car I turned the radio on real quick and there was a sermon on. For the split second that we listened, we heard the woman speaking say very sternly to her audience, "Over and over and over the Bible tells you of how Jesus loves you...do you know why? Because you don't believe He loves you." Your eyes got wide and you said, "Mommy, they don't believe Jesus loves them?" I loved how you were so concerned that there would be someone out there that truly does not think Jesus loves them.  I hope you always react that way to those who do not know about Jesus' indescribable love for them. May you shine like a star in a crooked and perverse generation, Scarlett Jean! 

You are lovely in every way and we adore the young lady you are becoming. You will, however, always be our baby girl. I love you with every ounce of myself. It is my joy to be your mommy. I cherish every memory we have together over the last 3 years. Our days together have been so sweet and I know they will continue to be sweeter and sweeter. I cannot wait to see you become a big sister. I look forward to watching you grow from being a toddler into a little girl. You are the living-end in my eyes, girl.  I love you. I love you. I love you.   ~ Mommy

28

We celebrated my 28th birthday the weekend before last with a visit from my precious sister and brother-in-law. It was such a treat to have them in our home and God gave us a gorgeous weekend together. 

Here are Mitch and Scarlett killing some time as we waited for our guests to arrive! 

We spent lots of time just soaking up the sunshine, going on walks and sitting on the front porch. Scarlett LOVED having Aunt RyRy and Uncle DeDe (aka HER DeDe... that's how he was introduced to all of our neighbors. Ha!) 

We went to church Sunday morning and then headed downtown for lunch overlooking the bay...

Little miss drama was making some faces in these pictures, but let me tell you she was in HOG HEAVEN in DeDe's arms! :) 

Ryan and Derek had to head out early Monday morning (my actual b-day)... Their visit was oh so sweet and too short lived! 

Mitch and Scarlett treated me to a birthday dinner at the Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood and it was still pretty enough to dine al fresco... 

This girl makes me laugh so hard. Mitch said, "hey Scarlett, smile...." to which she just gave him a blank stare. So, he then said, "show your teeth..." and this is what we ended up with. She is a character!

Queso :) 

I am officially another year older and so thankful for the Lord's continued care over me and my precious little family. (Thank you Mitch for making me feel so special on my birthday. I love you.)

"Taste and see that the Lord is good..." Psalm 34:8

25 weeks

This "photo shoot" came at the end of a long day of running errands all over town. I put Scarlett in the bath-tub and said, "quick, Mitch take my picture!" Anyway, although I may appear a little haggard, I am feeling good! 

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: 25 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a cauliflower. I have been meaning to note that Ivy measured big at our 20 week anatomy scan. This comes at no surprise to Mitch and I since Miss Scarlett weighed 10 lbs 2 oz at birth (!!!) So grow, Ivy, grow! We love big babies :) 

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Gender: Girl!  Ivy Glenn Owen 

Movement: Lots ;) 

Sleep: Uh oh... the insomnia begins... 

What I miss: Being able to lift anything or bend over easily. 

Cravings: Blueberry muffins, chocolate, smoothies, yogurt 

Symptoms: Back pain, but nothing to complain about... pregnancy pains are SO worth it! 

Best Moment this week: I am really thankful for a great conversation I had with my doctor at my 24 week appointment (a week late) today. I have started to get super nervous about my repeat c-section with Ivy and my doctor was so reassuring. Scarlett's delivery was not ideal in that I had a lot of complications after my c-section with her including an additional surgery just 16 hours after her birth (Speaking of that, I really need to write down SJ's birth story at length... I think I wrote something very short here while still in the hospital). Anyhow, my doctor was super understanding having been through a c-section herself and even told me that she is going to be on vacation the week of my due date but that she is going to come in to the hospital specifically to do my surgery/delivery. I could not get over how sweet that is of her! 

Looking forward to: Our upcoming family trip to the beach with my parents, brother and sister-in-law... We will get to celebrate Easter together and Scarlett's 3rd birthday!! Yay!!!

calling my name...

I need to do a little update, but the to-do's on today's list are calling my name... Is that how we know it is Monday after all?! 

Until I can give an adequate update, here is my sweet girl just enjoying "feeding the alligators" as she calls it (i.e. throwing sticks into a pond in our neighborhood). 

It's Friday...

Let's do a little jig!!! 

I took this video in the car while Scarlett and I were eating lunch in the parking lot after a big "haul" at the Commissary. Can I just say, it is expensive to feed a family of 3?!? I guess it is the price we pay for trying to eat somewhat healthy... I am not complaining because the Lord provides (generously, amen!) I just am in shock every time I get to the checkout lane and the cashier says my total! 

Hoping you have something you are looking forward to this weekend! Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day...Erin go Braugh ;) 

The find.

The last thing that you think you would 1) find and 2) buy at a consignment sale -- The find. 

Here is Miss Scarlett in "the find" from a fabulous sale I went to last night....

That's right, look out Toddlers and Tiaras! We now have a pageant dress in our wardrobe :)

Perfect for twirling AND to wear while taking care of babies. 

My sister's response when I text her these pictures cracked me up... Bonafide. Ha!