Being a parent in college.

Being in college is tough.

Being married and having a little baby in college is even tougher.

Kudos to those people who do it alone. 

Matt starts up classes again today :( neither of us are ready. 

That break was not long enough at all.

And this semester his classes are actually in class. Whereas before all of his classes have always been online so at least he was home.

Now his Tuesdays and Thursdays will be from 7am-10pm.

Which is a long day of work and classes for him.

And a long day of being home alone with our baby for me.

I'm not complaining...but its not really any fun.

In just over a year. HE. WILL. BE. DONE!

We are both so ready for this.

I am so proud of him for sticking it out. 

He already has a great job...and  he easily could have given up getting a degree, but he has stuck it out. And he is almost done!

He also just got the confirmation that ALL of his internships were waived due to his current job being enough!

Yay! 

This was such a blessing...and a load off his shoulders.

And its just that much sooner he can be done :)

As much as interning at the U.S. Marshals and the FBI sounds really cool...he is glad he got it waived.

So prayers for us as Matt begins another semester.

It makes Tuesdays and Thursdays really long days for us.

And it makes weekends way too short and not near as relaxing or refreshing as they should be.

If anything...this has taught us to be really good encouragers. (is that a word?)

He is ready to give up...and I give him a pep talk.

I am ready for him to give up...and  he gives me a pep talk.

Not much longer...and HE IS DONE! :)

And I couldn't leave a post without adding a picture of our sweet boy.

Tired baby smiles :)

Matthew

My Dear Husband,

I remember growing up and praying for my husband - dreaming of what life would be like.

And I can honestly say it is better than I imagined.

I moved away from home to a Christian college mainly in search of a husband. 

And lo and behold the Lord brought me right back to Northern Michigan to you.

I know I don't tell you as often as I should how proud I am of you. 

How thankful I am for your hard work and sacrifices.

Ever since I've met you you've worked full-time...while going to college.

And when you weren't working full-time, you were working more than one job.

I am thankful for your hard-working spirit and the example you are setting for Reagan.

And I am thankful for your desire to provide for your family.

You don't get breaks.

But yet you don't complain.

Your classes for spring have just ended...and you just signed up for your summer classes, trying to take as many as you think you can handle so you can finish as soon as possible.

I love your positive personality.

I know I sometimes say you are too positive, but I secretly love it.

You always find the good in every situation

And put things in perspective and lighten the mood when I'm overwhelmed.

You are a goal-setter and you are always on a mission.

Which, yes, sometimes its exhausting keeping up with you.

But I love that you set goals and accomplish them.

You get things done.

I know our "newlywed period" was short.

Our life has moved fast.

And changed so much.

Its amazing how having a child changes everything.

You have never once complained about Reagan getting in the way.

Messing up our plans or making us too late to go somewhere or too tired to do anything.

You love kids and I love that about you.

Photo thanks to Ashley at Inspire Creative Photography

Not to mention you are an amazing daddy.

I think this is my new favorite role that I love seeing you in.

You are so hands-on and involved.

Even changing poopy diaper explosions!

And you know when I am overwhelmed and you will take him from me so I can get away for a second and breathe. That means so much.

And I have noticed you tip-toeing around in the mornings and taking your showers downstairs so you don't wake him up. Seriously, thank you. He slept till 7:30 this morning!

I love that you pray over me and our family as I doze off to sleep at night.

I love that you encourage me and support me.

And put up with my little bit of crazy.

 

You aren't perfect.

You STILL leave your clothes strewn all over our bedroom floor.

But you are perfect for me.

And the few things that do bother me about you I will gladly put up with because your good qualities far exceed your bad.

You are undoubtedly a leader. You are my heart and my best friend.

I love you so much, schnookums ;)

Bumbo Baby

Awhile back I told you about how I was so excited to score this Bumbo off Craigslist.

Not only was it not the bright neon colors that most of them are, but it was inexpensive!

Lately Reagan has been getting so strong. 

So today when I was cleaning out his closet I spotted it and thought we would give it a try.

And of course we had a little photoshoot!

He likes it!

He has a new fascination with his toes :) he just started discovering them a week or so ago...and he is always staring at them now!

He also just started noticing the cat in the last few days. They aren't quite sure what to think of each other yet...

I can't get over how big he is getting!

Just chillin here :)

Have a good day, friends!

Prayer

I wouldn't call myself a fervent prayer warrior. 

I've always prayed. 

And I've always had a heart for others.

But I have never been the type to write down lists and lists of prayer requests.

To spend hours of the day spent in prayer.

I remember in middle school and high school trying to be good at praying.

I would write down lists.

Set aside certain time to specifically pray for people (usually in the morning or at night)

And I almost always fell asleep.

Lovely, huh?

I truly never understood what people meant when they said "prayer should be like a converstaion with God, it continues on all day long...picking up right where you left off."

Until I had a child.

I can honestly say in these last few months I have spent more time in prayer than I can ever remember.

Prayers for safety.

Prayers for patience.

Prayers for family members.

And friends.

Prayers for the future.

Prayers for our family.

And faith.

Prayers for courage.

Prayers for a tender heart.

I've always heard my mom talking about her mom and her heart for prayer and for her family.

I don't know how many times my mom has said that she attributes much of the blessings and protection on our families lives to my grandmas fervent prayers. And there must be something to it. I mean...I'd say its pretty good none of the 12 kids died while growing up on the farm (seriously, you should hear some of the stories)...but to top that...they are all doing really well. 

Not to mention we are a family of well over 100 people, and we are all so close. I know families with just two or three kids and they've all gone their separate ways, but our Holmes clan stays close and tight knit. Our best friends have always been our cousins. I am sure some of it is attributed to the way we were all raised. Small-town country folk :) And I am sure some of it is attributed to our faith, but the older I get the more I realize the power of prayer.

When Reagan was about 6 weeks old I started to stress. Oddly enough, it wasn't when he was born. Yes, I was really overwhelmed for like a week at the beginning, but I didn't have anxiety over his breathing or doctor appointments or his growth or whether he was progressiny normally or all the new stuff to me. It started at 6 weeks when one day I was laying beside him and I swore he wasn't breathing.

And then I started to stress. 

Whenever I get stressed or have anxiety...my bodys natural response is to get nauseous. 

Did I mention a very top fear of mine is puking.

I. hate. it.

I had a very long pregnacny...

But I started to stress about everything that could go wrong with him. 

And as any other parents know...there is a lot that could go wrong and you could worry about.

So I would worry.

 And then I would get nauseous. 

And then I would worry even more for fear I might puke.

Over and over again in the Bible it tells us to not worry. To allow God to sustain us. But its so hard, isn't it? I guess we are all kind of control freaks thinking we can handle it. Or at least I do. Which obviously, I can't.

So one day I decided that I would just start praying every time I nursed Reagan.

Ironically...that was the first day in a long time I hadn't felt nauseous.

I am not even kidding.

So I continued on that trend.

Originally I was just going to pray for Reagan.

So much to pray about for such a tiny little boy

But eventually it turned into praying for him, and myself, and my husband, and our families, and friends...

And I started feeling much more confident.

I wasn't feeling sick and I started getting more done.

Everything just seemed to start running smoother, and I was a lot more content and happy.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "let go and let God"

Well, its true.

Over these past few weeks I have continued that trend of praying while I nursed. 

And anything other time I started feeling myself get anxious or upset about something...I would just breathe for a minute and pray.

And it has helped. I can feel myself calm down and I know God is in control.

It's amazing the changes that occur when you do things the right way.

I am happier.

And not sick.

Reagan seems much more content.

Our household runs smoother.

Matt isn't stressed out.

I know I am still young and have a lot to learn in so many aspects of life.

But I am proud of myself for how far I've come. How far we've come as a family since Reagan was born.

When I look at my mom and my grandma my heart is full. 

My grandma has fervently prayed for so so many people over the years.

I haven't personally experienced it with her, because she is so much older, but I have had enough people talk about her faithful prayers and letters to know it is genuine.

My mom is the same way. There are so many times I have experienced her prayers.

Praying with us before bed. Or meals.

Praying in a recliner in the morning sun.

Or in the middle of the night when there is just a lot on her mind.

Or over the phone when I call her and am crying and overwhelmed with life.

I feel so blessed to come from the family that I do. Both sides of them.

I want Reagan to grow up having prayer an integral part of his life like I did.

And I know that is our job as his parents to make sure that happens.

I know I make mistakes and fall short daily, but through God's grace I pray I can be the momma to my sweet Reagan and future kiddos that my momma was to us and my grandma was to her children.

And prayer, I now believe, is such an important part of that.

So for now while I feel completely disheveled and unorganized and overwhelmed with joy...I will soak up these crazy newborn days and pray for strength to be the best mother I can be.

To be a good example in my family, to my friends and others looking in, and most of all to my children.