.:merry christmas & happy new years:.

.: Merry Christmas & Happy New Years!! :.

2011

I would have loved to get out an official letter and picture card out to all of you this year but due to finances, we had to cut that out of our budget =( I figured I would at least post an "End of the Year" recap instead.

This year, Ryan and I have seen God do so much in our personal walks with Him as well as with our family as a whole. It's been a big year of learning how to be good stewards of the money He has given to us and really learning the truth that it is ALL God's. Even though we've been brought "low" this year, He has still richly rewarded and blessed us with fun activities, vacations and our "daily bread" - giving us all that we need =)

Ryan is still enjoying his job at eCivis working as a Customer Service Representative. He works so hard and faithfully at his job that it's hard NOT to be inspired to do the same in my role as a stay-at-home Mom =) He continues to lead one of the small groups as well as the sound team at our church and serves on the worship team as well. He has also been enjoying the opportunities to preach - yes! Preach! at our church and has seen God really directing him in that area =)

I've been learning and growing in my time management skills as I've had to figure out how to balance being a wife, mother, apartment manager and friend this year. It has proven to be good, hard work as I learn the importance of putting the needs of my husband and kids before work and household chores. I never realized how hard it would be to put the laundry down or leave a sink full of dirty dishes so that I could play and spend quality time with my boys!
Most of all, God's really been showing me the importance of getting up early before my kids so that I can have a few precious moments of reading His word while sipping my coffee. I've gotta enjoy it while I can because with baby boy #3 on the way, it's going to be back to getting it when I can =)

Kai-the-guy is now my big 3 year old and is talking up a storm, hamming it up with Daddy and using the potty all by himself!! He loves spending time with Daddy playing guitars, making up poo-poo jokes and then bursting out in loud sarcastic laughter. I'm enjoying watching him learn about Jesus, His work on the cross, and His word making the training well worth it.

Adon is now 16 months old and STILL NOT WALKING!!! He has been such a sufficient and FAST crawler that I fear he doesn't see the need to walk. But, as I've been comforted by many, he will eventually walk and has already taken several steps on his own. He's a big momma's boy and LOVES to follow his big brother Kai and play with everything and anything that he touches. He is such a happy-spunky kid and we all are having a blast watching him become his own little personality.

I am ABSOLUTELY loving all the boys in my home!!! I also love being the only girl which makes me the princess =) hee hee. Having these 3 men and one more on the way has made life so much fun and I thank God for each and every one of them!

Maybe God will bless us with a little girl some day =)

We love you all and we're looking forward to another year of growing in the knowledge of our Savior, doing His will and living for His glory!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you all!!!

Encouragement for weary souls

Romans 5: 1-5
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Lately, I have been going through a season of "why, God?!" I have 2 kids 3 years old and under with one on the way and the daily tasks and responsibilities of changing diapers, preparing and feeding meals, constantly cleaning up, doing the same chores over and over and over and over again have left me discouraged and depressed. My thoughts have basically been "what is this for??" " WHY am I doing this again???" "Shouldn't my life have more purpose than this?"

It does =)

The ESV Study Bible translation of the above passage reads: "The people of God rejoice not only in future glory but in present trials and sufferings, not because trials are pleasant but because they produce a step-by-step transformation that makes believers more like Christ"

I have forgotten this!! I have forgotten about the gospel and how it applies to the mundane and every day tasks. I've lost sight of the cross and therefore have not been preaching the gospel to myself on a daily basis. I've forgotten that the whole reason I go through these so called "minor trials and sufferings" is so that I can be made more like Christ. What hope and joy I now have to face the rest of this day!!! I am changing diapers and wiping boogers and making meal after meal because it is slowly changing me into the image of Christ.
These little tasks that can be soooo wearisome are teaching me to endure and therefore bringing me into the step-by-step transformation process of becoming more like Christ. Laying down my life and sacrificing comfort and hobbies to the needs of my family and church brings glory to God.

If you're reading this and you're being called by God to be in a season of work, schooling, taking care of another, waiting to be married or waiting to bear children, or maybe you think you have too many children and need encouragement, I hope this encourages you. The suffering you are enduring in what ever way has a purpose! And that purpose is to point you not to this world and the "here and now" but to point you to your loving Father and Savior who is preparing you to be His perfect and spotless bride!! He is refining your faith through these "fires" to bring you out pure as gold.

Watch 180 - a shocking documentary

watch this

.:My Hobby:.

Hair.
I love to color it, cut it, highlight it, crimp it, curl it, straighten it and tease it. It's like painting your nails but better!
It has been a desire and dream to get better at it so that I don't have to go to salons and spend $200 and I want to be able to bless other ladies who would like to have salon quality hair but don't have the money as well.

(before)
I've been coloring my hair since I was 14 years old (well, my mom was the one who did it but I started to pick it up around 15 or 16). It has since grown into a hobby that I have been trying to perfect and see how salon-like I can get it. Color is pretty easy now for me but it's trying to highlight with the foils that have been tough.
Today, however, I think I finally have a hang of it more so than I ever have. Thanks to YouTube and my hairstylist who let's me in on some of her tricks, and MUCH prayer, I've been able to do foil highlights that don't leak out and leave a tiger-stripe design on your head.

(after...ahhhhhhh)
It's very exciting to be able to do something like this for $8 rather than an arm and a leg. Although, it is so much more relaxing and enjoyable to have that salon experience while an expert works her magic =)

It's a silly post - I know. The praise and glory all goes to God as I couldn't do any of this without Him. Every time I sit down to do something like this to my hair or to someone else's, I always lift up a prayer asking God to bless my work and make it look pretty - as silly as a prayer it may seem, He always answers it!!! If it doesn't turn out pretty, it'll end up being a catastrophe I can learn from so that I can be better next time.

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
1 Corinthians 10:31

a new day...

Do you know that song "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me and I'm feelin' good"? Well, it's what's on my mind right now (in particular, the version by Muse - my favorite). I'm feeling so encouraged and inspired in my walk with God these past few days.


To back up a little, I've been going through the trials of prosperity. Being in the "good times" of life most of the times, distracts me from my Savior. It's very easy for me to cling to Jesus and feel close to God when I go through the "hard times" because He's all I have in those moments. But, when the days are easy and God's provisions are abundant, instead of rejoicing in Him and living in gratefulness I find myself distracted by many things and wanting more (especially as my family grows - my "To Do" list grows as well).

I've been feeling so dry, dull and not desiring God and being in His word as a result. My love for others has been lacking while the love of self has consumed me. God was poking me about it and then decided to really drive his big godly index finger right into my heart through my senior pastor's message on a hardened heart. God is so merciful and I LOVE that He doesn't leave you to die in the wasteland of "self". Instead, He showed me Christ! He showed me that I CAN get out of this self-absorbed pattern I've been living in.

It's always at that moment when you've just been shown an area that needs change that you feel stuck and I have the thought "okayyy, now what? where do I go from here?". And I love how the answer is so simple. Simply come. Come to the Lord, repent and ask for help and the grace you need to change. I also love how as you draw near to the Lord, He then draws near to you and that's a promise! Every time I've come back to Him after a period of growing cold and ignoring Him, He always is faithful to meet with me and draw me back. I've found the more I read and sow into His word, the hungrier I become for His truths. I'm not satisfied to just sit for a single paragraph! I want to read it all and dive deeper!

One of the tools that God has used to draw me back to Himself and help me realize the importance of meeting with Him in His word is this book:

"Shopping for Time". This is a book written by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters on how to biblically prioritize our days in whatever season we are in. They talk a great deal about the importance of meeting with God and how our relationship with Him should ALWAYS be our number one priority.

Here is a quote that really encouraged me:

"As believers, we are justified - declared righteous, forgiven, and accepted by God - through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone. We do not earn or forfeit our justification before God based on our performance. Our faithfulness to sit and listen, our diligence to seek the Lord through prayer and Scripture, our efforts to make the best use of the time - none of these is sufficient to earn God's acceptance."

"So, if you are discouraged or condemned by your failure to sit and listen, if you are "troubled by many things", revel in this truth: we have a Savior who died for our sins and it is his 'blood and righteousness' alone that make us acceptable to God."

When asked what her favorite verse in the Bible was, my husbands grandmother (Grandma Baird, whom we all look up to greatly due to her love and faith in Christ) replied "Matthew 6:33 - Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

That's exactly what I want to do each and every day until I get to see my Savior face to face - seek HIS kingdom first!

I hope this encourages you. I just wanted to share this so that you would be encouraged and find direction for the renewal of your faith.

Wow!! The Differences...

I have really been enjoying seeing these two start to interact with each other. Kai adores Adon and Adon watches Kai like a hawk - taking in every movement and sound that his big brother makes.

I've been getting a lot of comments about how Kai and Adon look alike and I can't help but think otherwise. I finally decided to compare pictures of the boys at around the same age.

Here's a pic of Kai when he was about 6 months - starting his baby food eating adventure:

....and here's Adon, very different! I'm sure there's some resemblance but, for the most part, he's a completely different baby =)

Here's Kai-guy right before crawling....

...and, here's Adon =)

.

I love my boys!! They are so much fun!

.:FOOOOOD!!!!:.

Yup! It's that time already!
My little Adon is LOVING food!! I could easily wean him this week if I wanted to but, I know it's better for his little body to go slowly and keep him breastfed.

Thanks to WIC (Women Infants & Children), I get about 100 jars of baby food & 4 boxes of infant oatmeal a month for FREE!! The best part is, I get to choose what kind I want so I go for the organic expensive stuff=)
I'm not really into cooking period so the thought of steaming and blending my own baby food was not very appealing to me. I love being able to just woop it out of the pantry, feed it and save the rest for later.
He's having lots of fun with it and I think he's going to be a better eater than Kai was. He already has been and that makes me excited for this new part of his life!

Will share more soon!

Since I last posted...

My biggest turned 2 years old in October!!!

My littlest turned 4 months old!!!

I died my hair...red...then brown/black...

Kai-guy has been walking in his Daddy's footsteps and dress up like him...

Ryan & I got to get away for a marriage retreat where not only did we relax and have a wonderful time re-connecting but, I got to try my first Lobster!!!

We're celebrating our first Christmas as a family of 4!!!

Oh ya, and we moved into our new home where we have been blessed with many opportunities to have people over and practice hospitality (something we desperately need to grow in!)

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Friends, Family & Cookies, OH MY!!!

Here's what we've been up to: (I don't know how to get this "underline" function to dissapear)

Playing, playing, playing with family and friends while Daddy is away on business trips...

Finding ways to cool off and have fun in this nasty humid heat...

learning to share.... hee hee

taking frequent naps to re-charge the batteries for more fun =)

and eating lots of cookies!!!

A friend of mine posted this delicious recipe for all organic cookies that not only make a tasty treat but also helps to boost your milk production. However, if you're a man, a child or someone who ISN'T nursing - they're just really good for you and will NOT make you produce milk ;)
I hardly EVER bake - let alone from scratch - don't even mention doing anything organic so the fact that I even made these is a HUGE step for me. I had to go out & buy a lot of the organic ingredients (ie: brewer's yeast, flaxseed meal, organic oats, etc) so it cost me a pretty penny.
So, now I'm going to sit back, enjoy my treat and see if it helps me to produce more milk.

PS: I'm actually doing fine on the breast milk. Ryan and I are going to a marriage retreat in about a month and I would like to leave BOTH kids behind which means that I need to have a nice stock of breast milk for Adon and I'm thinking this might save me a lot of unnecessary pumping.

Love you & God Bless you!!

.:Brothers!:.

Brothers!!!

I am so excited that I get to embark on this adventure of being in a house full of boys! Though...I do pray that one day I'll get at least one girl ;) Kai is LOVING his new baby brother. This morning, I had Adon on the bed while I got dressed and Kai came in, saw him lying there and wanted to snuggle up close to him. He even made sure that Adon was well covered by the blanket. It was too cute to resist! I had to take a picture...


There are moments where Adon will be watching Kai and a big smile while appear on his face. This kid is so smiley! It took everything I had to get Kai to smile at this age but not with Adon - the minute he sees me he breaks out into a big, open-mouthed smile =) One of these days, I'll be ready with camera in hand to capture the moment.

These 2 are suckers for their binkies. I'm in the process of weaning Kai off of it but I'm not really serious yet. If he's playing happily I'll simply ask for it and put it in his crib and tell him that "happy boys don't need binkies". Anyway, I'm thinking I'll get real serious about it when I potty train him (which will probably be sometime after christmas). It might just be me but in my opinion, if you're old enough to do your dooty on your own on a big boy potty, you're too big to be sucking on a pacifier.

Life is going farely well, I have to say. I'm finding more times for devotions which is unexpected. I was thinking that I'd have time to read only 2 verses here and there but I've been blessed with a good half hour at least during the boys' nap time. (Yes! They take naps at the same time, praise God!) Adon is still a really easy going baby - eats, sleeps, poops and only cries when he needs to do one of those 3 things or just wants to be held. He's definitely looking like his own little person and I'm seeing some serious red in his hair and green-brown in his eyes =)

Last Friday I mailed out 23 resumes for apartment management positions here in Pasadena and as a result, we have an interview set up for next Friday for a beautiful complex in the downtown Pasadena area. I'm super excited and filled with peace that God's will is better and what ever place we end up in - it will be perfect for our family =)

Ryan's job is going EXTREMELY well. He had his first business trip to AZ last week (yes, I stayed home with the kids and survived thanks be to God, Lynn & Terri) and is out to dinner right now with his CEO & VP!!! God answer's prayer, I'll tell ya what! We're both very thankful to God for this job and for how He is pouring out favor on Ryan with his coworkers and employers.

That's us in a nutshell for now. I'll be keeping you all posted and will try to stay current with pictures =)

Love you!

Introducing...

Adoniram Allen Baird (Adon for short)
August 19th, 2010 1:55pm
7 lbs 14 oz, 20 in. long

I had an AMAZING labor & delivery!!! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us - prayer works, let me tell ya!
Real labor began at around 9:00am on Thursday, the 19th and I had my Doula, Gracie Davis come over with her labor gear (birth ball, heating pad, etc) to help me labor at home as long as possible. Both she, Ryan and my mom helped me through the hard contractions with massage and acupressure. By around 12:00pm, I was starting to really think about drugs and with my contractions being 2 minutes long and 3 minutes apart, I was ready to go to the hospital...

...We got to the hospital at around 12:30pm and they started the admission process and hooked me up to the external fetal monitor to check on Adon. I was really starting to go through the "self-doubt" phase and told the nurses that I thought I might be in transition. Sure enough, after checking me, I was 6-7 centimeters dialated...

...As soon as they were done monitoring the baby, Gracie helped me get onto all fours for the rest of my labor (I was having a lot of back labor and this was how I was comfiest). As soon as I did this, things blasted off from there! I immediately dilated to 8 and my body was already pushing the baby out on it's own!!! This was the most bizarre yet AMAZING feeling EVER!!!
The baby was coming and there was NO amount of breathing it off to stop it!!!
I announced this to the world and they decided to check me again and sure enough, it was time to push =D I pushed for maybe 3-4 contractions and my little guy entered into the world.

This was by far the most painful experience I have ever gone through but for some strange reason, I'd do it again!!! I am filled with sooo much joy and excitement as I look back on the whole process. As painful as it was, it was awe inspiring and amazing to see my body do all of the work on it's own (with God as it's comander, of course) and feel the baby move through the canal and out into the world!

Not only was the delivery amazing but recovery has been 10 times faster and easier than it was with Kai. I didn't tear so to not have stitches down there really made recovery a lot easier =)
Now, I know there are other factors too like the fact that it's my 2nd baby and I was in much better shape to begin with ( I'm 7 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight already) but, I'm convinced that not having all of the drugs going through my body helped my body to get back on it's feet a lot faster.

Needless to say, I am soooo doing this again with my next baby!

Here's the proud and happy big brother! It was amazing how he went from being my little guy to my big boy in just one weekend =) Kai has been doing great with little brother. He loves to give Adon his pacifier and he always makes sure that the baby has his blanket too. Those are the 2 essentials in Kai's life =) hee hee

Will continue to keep you posted... still need to find the darn camera cord!

Love you all! =D

Comming Soon...

Hey everyone!

Sorry to have not posted in a while. I lost the cord that connects my camera to our computer so, I have several pics still on my camera that I would like to post (Ryan and I's 5th year anniversary pics & the most recent belly bump pics).
Hopefully we'll find it soon so that I can update y'all on the life =)

I'm 2 days away from my due date and I can't tell you enough how excited I am! My goal is to have this little one all natural - the Bradley way. I've been doing lots of studying and reading and training with my doula friend and feel as prepared as I'm ever going to be =)
With Kai, I had the epidural experience and, although it was pain free, I didn't like the experience as a whole. To begin with, the whole process of the epidural being administered was intense and just the thought of someone sticking a NEEDLE into my spinal column still gives me the creeps =P
I ended up still feeling a lot of "pressure pain" right before I started pushing for a good solid hour and then just the fact that I couldn't tell if I was even pushing when it was time because, you know, YOU'RE BASICALLY PARALYZED, I didn't like that either.
So, with that experience, I am REALLY motivated to try an unmedicated birth. Not only will both I and the baby benefit from this physically but, I'm also really excited to experience God in a whole new way =)
He has created my womanly body to perform this role and it is HIS hand alone that is making my body contract and deliver this little blessing! All of the details of the happenings of child birth are just so obviously an invisible God making things happen in a visible world and I can't wait to see Him in bigger way because of this experience.

I probably won't be blogging again until after Adon comes (unless I find my camera cord and post some belly pics), so please pray for Ryan and I as well as for this delivery.
Pray that God would unite Ryan and I in a deeper way as we work together to bring this little one into the world and as a result, love each other more deeply.
Pray also for God's protection over Adon as he's born, that there will not be any complications and that he would be a completely healthy little boy.

In the meantime, praise God from whom all blessings flow!

~Underwood Family Farms~

So, due to the fact that I only have about a month and half before little brother gets here, I am jumping on every opportunity to do something fun with my Kai guy.

Today, my friends let me crash their outing to Underwood Family Farms out in Simi Valley where the admission is CHEAP ($3!!!) and there's sooo much for kids and family to do together. With all of the farm animals, Kids Corral, train and pony rides plus a HUGE farm to go and pick whatever kind of produce you like, there was definitely NOT a dull moment!

Here are some of my favorite shots from our expidition:

The kids LOVED this ginormous pyramid made out of hay stacks - it helped to not be so nervouse about Kai being up that high when it's nothing but hay to break his fall =)

They also had these wagons (for free!!) that you could use for the day which was one of the favorite activities that Kai really enjoyed.

"Say what?!!"....work it girl!

They had these wooden trains and tractors everywhere that the kids can climb and play in.

And, of course, what would a farm be without chickens!! I got lots of shots of some of the other animals but, I didn't think that'd interest you ; )

My farm boy! He had sooo much fun and Ryan was super bummed that he couldn't go that I think we'll be making another trip out to Underwood Family Farms.

I'm so excited that God's giving me these opportunities to do fun things with Kai before the baby gets here (notice how I'm not saying a name - Ryan and I are re-thinking the name we had). I know he won't remember them when he's older but, we've got some great pics to look back on and remember =)

.:2010 BAIRD FAMILY BEACH CAMPING TRIP:.

Whewww!! We are back from our annual Baird Family beach camping trip that we took in San Elijo, CA (it's down by Oceanside/Carlsbad area). We had sooo much fun regardless of the amount of work it took. Kai and I went down with Ryan's family on Monday and Ryan met us down there after work on Wednesday and we stayed until Sunday night.

I so enjoyed watching Kai in his element! He LOVES being outside (like any boy does, I'm sure) so the fact that he got to be in the dirt and sand from sunrise to sunset was his biggest dream come true and was a happy camper....that is, until it was time to go to bed or take a nap =)

(This shot was taken at Sea Port Village in San Diego - just before we got on the Carosel)

Our home-sweet-home: the tent. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as being able to sleep on a blow-up mattress being 8 months pregnant. It actually was very comfy because I brought our Postra-pedic (spelling??) mattress topper and put that on top of the air mattress and made it up into a REAL bed.

Anywho, I love sleeping in tents at the beach because I love falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. I DON'T, however, enjoy falling asleep to the neighboring campers and whatever parties they might be throwing so I usually try to remember to bring ear plugs. Kai slept through it all to, amazingly enough.

Kickin' it with Grandma and Grandpa Baird and eating his favorite snack - a pickle =) That's my boy

He is a beach bum at heart - he LOVED to come over and just lay in the sun for a couple minutes...

...then go and play in his pool and sand, and then come lay down some more. Snack, rest, play - that's what you do on vacation, right?

Daddy got the idea...note: he forgot to bring a pair of sunglasses so I let him borrow mine. He's very secure in his manliness =) hee hee

Auntie Meghan had fun too! I had to remind her that it was Kai's pool and she needed to let HIM play in it ;) hee hee

Of course, camping wouldn't be as much fun if you didn't have your cousins to play and get dirty with.

Oh my!! Georgia LOVES her fruit leathers =D

Workin' the latest sand bucket fashion =)

Givin' mommy a kiss! He's my sweet boy!

All in all it was a great trip and wouldn't trade the memories for the world. Vacationing with small children, I've realized, IS alot of work but it's sooo worth it!!! Ryan and I really enjoyed ourselves and the time we got to spend together as a family before Adon arrives.

I can't believe I only have 7 weeks left before Adon comes!! The month of July is going to FLY by as I just enrolled in a certification course to get my Apartment Managers Certificate. Ryan and I really want to pursue becoming apartment managers as a way to save money and be able to live in a bigger place. I'm also viewing it as a way that I can help serve my family financially and taking on this responsibility as a job that I can do from home and still be with my kids.

Ryan's new job and position are going really well and by God's undeserved favor, he is really receiving a lot of favor from his employers and everyone has HIGH hopes and expectations for him in this company. It's exciting to see God answer our prayers through this job and I can't wait to see what will unfold =)

My pregnancy is going well - no complications or ailments. Just the 3rd trimester trudge - no energy, restless legs at night and not being able to fall asleep as fast. Adon is an active little guy - more so than I remember Kai being in the womb - and keeps me up at night sometimes but, I'd rather have that than the opposite where I'm constantly counting movements and worried that he's not moving enough (which I did with Kai).

There is always so much more that I could write about but, for your sake, I'll save it for the next post. You know, break it up a little ;)

Love you and we hope you're having a WONDERFUL summer!