Just another manic Monday

Monday morning at the Gay household.  Messy. Crazy. Noisy. And Fun...most of the time.

Some pictures from this morning just for fun.

Henry loves to climb and perch now and when he gets up "high"
he thinks he is really clever and shrieks with delight.
Its really funny and sweet.

Owen loves this robe a good friend passed down to us....
He thinks it is "super cozy" and I think he looks
amazing in it!   

Oregon weather

Yesterday



Today



Oregon you don't need help staying weird you are that way on your own.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Running,Pinning, and Birthday Fun

On Sunday Mg and I ran the shamrock race...well Mg ran...I am not sure what you can call what I did... I was running... just slower than I walk...like 3 minutes per mile slower(how is that even possible??)... but I "ran" the whole 3 miles and change(with out training first). At one point during the race my dentist and his 10 year old daughter passed me(that's when I knew I was going slow)so I decided to count how many kids passed me 17 little boys and 10 girls...plus 2 pregnant women and several people who were walking...I finished that's what matters... right?. Next time I will train and go a bit faster(at least faster than I can walk) I hope. Oh and I forgot to get this thing cut off my shoe...

We were with our sweet friends (Eric and Jocelyn) who run well. We spent time with them before and after the race. That was by far my favorite part. I always feel so refreshed after talking with Jocelyn(check out her blog and you will understand why) she is amazing and wise and I am so happy that we got to do something fun together with our wonderful husbands.

OK switching gears completely now. Pinterest is this crazy fun addictive site where you can virtually pin things to virtual cork boards. It works for anything you may want to save now and look at later from craft ideas to gardening help.  If you find something you like on the Internets-or on pinterest itself-you pin it and and you have a place to find all your ideas. The problem for me is that I want to try all the recipes I see(people pin a TON of recipes) and all the recipes I have tried have been huge flops. I find something online or on pinterest (some recipes go viral on there so you think they will deliver the goods) but then I make the recipe and it lacks flavor and depth. I am totally bummed. So I will be doing a new thing here on this blog...If I try something on pinterest (recipe or craft or something) I will post about the results. I will not be doing any retroactive type posting as there are way too many already tried(and failed) things and that would just be depressing. But I will keep you updated from here on out.

And last but definitely not least Mg had a birthday yesterday. This year I actually made him breakfast and dinner and a special desert. Oh and I got him a gift too. Those may sound like givens but last year I forgot to do all of them(yes all...not even a card). Henry was a new born babe and my dear sweet Gram had just died a few days earlier, So I just forgot.  He was sweet about it and never even complained. This year I did better. We even went to the Evergreen air space museum. It was lots of airplane, rocket, boy museum fun times.  Next year I hope to do an even better job as it will be his 30th so I really want to bring my A game.
Here is what I made the hubs for his birthday treat.

Peanut butter cup brownies !!

I better end here...this is the only part of the day that is even a tiny bit restful for us all so I must take advantage.

A song I love

There is this song I love... "Oh love that will not let me go" by George Matheson.
Here are the lyrics

1. O Love that wilt not let me go,
   I rest my weary soul in thee;
   I give thee back the life I owe,
   That in thine ocean depths its flow
   May richer, fuller be.
2. O light that foll’west all my way,
   I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
   My heart restores its borrowed ray,
   That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
   May brighter, fairer be.
3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
   I cannot close my heart to thee;
   I trace the rainbow through the rain,
   And feel the promise is not vain,
   That morn shall tearless be.
4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
   I dare not ask to fly from thee;
   I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
   And from the ground there blossoms red
   Life that shall endless be.
5. My favorite is the third verse. I sing it to my self in times of stress, and depression, and just when I have been hit with sickness and low energy(like today). This song is my all time favorite hymn it encourages me to look to the truth and helps me remember what my hope is in...and that hope sustains me. 
6. Here is a link to my favorite cover of it.  
7. Enjoy!!

A passion realized.

Wow...two posts in one day... not something you see here too often.

I just wanted to record an amazing experience that I had recently and how it brought me to a new realization. My good friend payed me the honor of letting me be her doula at the birth of her first born child. It was a beautiful experience. I felt like I was fulfilling a purpose I didn't  know I had. I think about that very speedy delivery everyday and thank God that He allowed me to be there and to realize my obsession with birth is really more of a passion. And that He gave it to me. This is a big deal for me.

Now I am not a doula...not a certified one but I LOVE birth. I hated birthing but I love birth. I love babies and women and the fact that our bodies are designed to bring life into the world. I love the idea (and now the practice) of helping women enjoy that experience no matter what it looks like for them. Birth should be celebrated and remembered fondly because it is the day you meet one of the most important people in your life. So weather you have an all natural birth or a c-section I think it should be remembered with satisfaction and love.

That being said...I would love to be a doula someday...a real one... who is certified. But not today. I almost signed up for a class recently... I want to be able to support women in birthing the way they choose to... and I want to do it real bad.
I also just have this   feeling   that now isn't the right timing for me. Our finances are tight and the class is spendy... Also there is just something (and I cant quite put my finger on it) that seems like this is just the wrong time...? I know that God gave me this passion so I am not doubting that I will do this...just wondering when.
It's sad when a dream is put on hold especially if you have been waiting a long time to ever even have one. It is also good to know that your dream will be realized...in God's timing There is comfort in that even if it lives  among the longing.
At another time-His time-I will jump head first into this dream. I Loved being able to help someone-in any small way I could-do birth the way they wanted. I don't know why I love birth so much...I feel like I didn't choose it I feel like it was chosen for me and I just can't shake it... and I am excited about that because for a long time I have wanted and prayed and longed for a passion.

Not in anyway to diminish the fact that I have a passion as a wife and mother that I have grown to love more and more.
I love my family and my role as a wife and mother to my children and I love that my family is my main purpose in life. For a very long time I felt that the Lord was keeping me in the home to bind me to himself and help me to see myself for who he made me to be(and to learn to love it).

I have however for a while now longed for a purpose that lay in helping women in some tangible way as well. I have been praying that God would give me a passion or calling outside the home as well. Now I feel he has and I know that waiting for the right timing may be hard...but it will be good too.
I hope He will empower me to use this passion well for his glory.

The LORD will keep your going in and your coming out from this time forth and forevermore
~Psalm 121:8

Birthday party

 So I am starting to think that I could win the title or "queen of better late than never" I really wanted to get these photos of Henry's first birthday party/cake up sooner but illness and life have prevented me from even using the computer the last week.

So here they are all pictures of the cake experience... that's the best part of a party and everyone knows it.

Watching the cake arrive.

When Owen turned one I made him his own no sugar banana cake and a separate chocolate cake for everyone else
Not this time...Henry got chocolate with vanilla butter-cream like everyone else...
He didn't complain.

First taste....

"Oh yes this is the good stuff momma!"

This face just makes me laugh...

I took about three quarters of his piece off his tray once I realized he may actually eat it all...

My favorite Henry face

Henry was appropriately adorable throughout his entire party...
No one left with out feeling the weight of his charm.

One

Henry,
You turned one year old yesterday. I am so overwhelmed by how fast this first year has by... Words just escape me when I try to explain how much I love you. You have been here one short year but it feels like you have always been with us... Your family adores you Henry and we just cannot get enough of your sweetness. You are a gift, a treasure, and we will never stop loving you.
love  Momma.
a few of my favorite pictures of Henry from this year

First day

first week 

First photo shoot

First bath

First month

Three Months

Eleven Months

One Year!

We love you deeply sweet son. Never forget.