"Praying for Boys" ~ End of the Month Wrap-Up

"Kindness.

It roots its way into the hearts of our children
when we give them something to care about,
tell them a story that's greater than they are,
and help them see the real, present needs 
of those around them."

-Brooke McGlothlin-

"Have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love,
a tender heart, and a humble mind."

1 Peter  3:8

My Nephew!

I made a quick journey back to Wisconsin earlier this month to meet the sweet little boy who made me an Aunt and Erik an Uncle!!!  He is also the first cousin for Bennett & Sawyer!

Meet little mister Lewis Dean Balts... born May 25th!

He was a lovely subject for taking pictures of :)

This is the blanket I made for him before he was born!

Just gotta love the many funny faces a baby makes!!!

I was pretty much in awe the whole time I was there of this precious miracle!

It took a while for it to set in for me that my baby sister is now a mommy!!!

And what a good (a.k.a. phenomenal) mommy she is.

I'm so proud of you Shelby!!!

I was sitting here talking with Lewis and he gave me a SMILE and then Shelby and my Mom said "THAT'S HIS FIRST SMILE!!!"  I was ecstatic!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then he started just making goofy faces at me again. We bonded right away :)

And I kissed him SO many times......

Last pics of my first day with Lewis.

Day #2 started out at the Barron County Dairy Breakfast!

Lewis' first time in the ErgoBaby carrier, he slept the whole time!

Yeah... YUM.

My Mom is the biggest fan of June Dairy month!!!

We ran into some other family members at the dairy breakfast too!

This is my Aunt Claudia sneaking in some cuddle time with Lewis :)

I snapped a few quick family photos before we left.

Then we got to relax at home for a bit before heading into town to visit the Great-Grandparents.

I soaked up every single second I had with him!

Me and my Grandpa Haas!

After our visits we stopped at the grocery store in town before driving out into the country side to Shelby & Justin's new residence for dinner.

This is Shelby & Justin's niece, she asked me to paint her fingernails and toenails :)

Uncle Jason and Lewis!

And in conclusion... how do I sum up how much love I have for my nephew...

...a picture is worth a MILLION words!!!!!!!!

What a great trip!  I am so thankful I got the chance to fly back to meet Lewis and give my sister a big hug and tell her how great she is doing!!!  Lewis is blessed with two amazing parents, I have so much love for them all.  And I just can't wait for my sons to teach Lewis the tricks of the trade when it comes to being messy dirty happy little boys!!!

The Quiet Virtue of Authenticity

"Courage is the parent virtue of authenticity.

It takes courage to tell the truth,

to be genuine,

to resist the falsifications that our peer groups endorse.

To be sincere when others are being ruthlessly sarcastic isn't easy.

And 'care for others' must inform our actions.

We should not use our commitment to sincerity as an excuse 

for blasting everyone who gets in our way.

Authenticity is not 'cruel honesty', 

as if we are justified saying whatever is on our minds.

Being genuine does not mean that we spew up every observation we make.

True authenticity practices a gracious honesty-

and it takes wisdom to know when is the best time to say the fullness of what we think and feel.

What really matters is how we live out authentic actions in the presence of others."

~Gregory Spencer~

"It is like having a morality in which stealing fruit is considered wrong-

unless you steal nectarines.

The fatal principle, once allowed in that department, 

must sooner or later seep through our whole lives.

We thus advance toward a state of society in which not only each man

but every impulse in each man

claims carte blanche.

And then, though our technological skill may help us survive a little longer,

our civilization will have died at heart,

and will-

one dare not even add 'unfortunately'-

be swept away."

~C.S. Lewis~

Happy 4th Birthday Bennett!

 Birthday brunch with our neighbors John & Chris~

and they brought trucks and truck shirts for presents! YEAH!

Omelettes and mimosas for brunch...

yes it was just plain O.J. for the boys!

Showing John and Chris some clips of Drum & Bugle Corps :)

Bennett got a couple pictures snapped:

Pez.

Ringer!

And Soy Sauce got a turn at the camera finally!!!

Here is the birthday brunch as photographed by Sawyer :)

 He caught on pretty quick.

 After John and Chris left, we opened more presents, and then had a few Skype and phone call sessions with family members who wanted to wish Bennett a Happy Birthday.  Thank you to everyone who thought of Bennett on his big day!  He had a great day indeed :)

Then after a long afternoon & evening of playing with all the new birthday toys, 
we had a late birthday cake / blowing out candles / singing Happy Birthday session,

just in time before bedtime :)

Making sure Sauce is singing...

Making sure Daddy is singing...

...OK, good work singing! Time to blow out four candles!!!

Sauce I need your help!!!

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy with the gentle soul!

We love you Bennett!!!!!!