Pray...duh

So over the last few weeks my 9 month old has taken to not sleeping very well.  Truthfully it has been more like 2 months, ever since our move to NC.  He may nap but only for an hour (two hours on a good day - yay!) and he rarely sleeps through the night.  However to his credit when he wakes at night, after nursing he will go back to sleep (unless he wakes after 5 am, which then he is simply awake).

  Now we don't remember this problem with our first son, albeit it was 6 years ago.  By this point in his life he was on formula, was in daycare during the day and slept great at night.  With our newest addition I was convicted on the need to nurse him as long as possible.  Working full-time and being a nursing mom is hard.  It takes commitment and consistency.  With my first baby, I did not make it a priority and my milk production dwindled after 4 months.  This time around I was determined to nurse as long as I could, at least to 12 months.  I had friends praying for me and I was committed to make it work.  And praise Lord my milk production is fabulous!

  I have read countless blogs and articles on how to create a good sleeper.  My husband and I have talked at length about the various schools of thoughts on creating a good sleeper.  Nurture, cry it out, switch to formula, etc.  It seems like everyone I talk to has a different opinion and is very willing to share what I need to do.

  After considering all of the different strategies I decided that I need to establish a nap-time / bed-time routine for him, to program his little brain to sleep.  So this past week I have worked hard at creating & sticking to a routine.  And he slept fairly good.  That is until Friday night.  The kid must have come with a weekend sensor.  The two days I can sleep in without the pressure of a pending workday looming...he was wide awake at 4am (Sat) & 5 am (Sun).  Not cool little man.

  Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who is willing to get up early if needed to relieve me.  Although because he works in the evenings so I try to let him sleep as much as possible.

  This afternoon while rocking little man (after 10+ minutes of screaming his little lungs out) I found myself praying and then subsequently in a time of confession.  After all of this reading, brainstorming & sleeplessness...I hadn't asked God what was best for Levi.  What?!?  How could I not have consulted the One who created him?  The One who knit Levi together in my womb.

  This was a HUGE awakening for me.  This longtime child of God and wife of a pastor is a little ashamed to say (type) it out-loud - I had not sought from the Lord what to do.  Needless to say, right there while rocking Levi to praise music and praying for guidance, he fell right to sleep.  I don't have a magic bed-time solution yet but I know the One who does! 

  So to all those well meaning advice givers...before speaking what I'm sure is a well meaning piece of advice to a mom of a baby, please stop, remember your baby-season of life and offer a hug before you offer advice.  Better yet...offer a big hug (skip the advice) and pray for her right then and there.  You may end up with a hot mess of a mom on your shoulder and likely a little drool from her quick power nap during your prayer, but you will be blessing her heart more than any piece of advice you could give.

Grandma Time

My mom made a quick trip up here to visit with her good friend, Barbara.  Although our time together was brief, it was nice to have her here to see our home and just be together.  We enjoyed a few great meal together, played cards and explored a few new places in Raleigh (the state Farmer's Market & the Natural History Museum).

What a blessing it was just to see her and spend time together.  Micah really enjoyed it and now we are counting down the weeks until we get to visit her in FL.

New Routines

Nate recently got a job at Olive Garden so now we are working on getting settled into a new routine of him working.  He has been working a lot as they are understaffed but he is enjoying it thoroughly.  Micah is still loving our new home and all the neighborhood kids that come along with it.  Just in our row of 4 townhomes we have four girls (ages 9, 7, 5, 4) and 8 boys (ages 7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 7 months and another on the way <-not us).  That's 11 kids running around not including our little guys who you can tell wants badly to be out there running as well.

There is always a flurry of activity in and around our home.  Since all of our kids, mentioned above, are still young they aren't allowed to go much further than right outside our homes, all of the older kids in the neighborhood tend to gather at various times in front of our house as well. There's always something fun going on...water gun fights, nerf wars, chalk drawings, BeyBlade battles, basketball or a fun game of tag.
They have their moments where they need alone time in their respective houses but for the most part, they all do a wonderful job playing together and having fun.  

We still have three weeks of summer to enjoy.  So far we haven't taken any adventures but with Nate getting settled at O.G. we haven't had much time.  We did join the YMCA here so we have been enjoying all this Y has to offer.  It has some fabulous pools, so along with working out we are having a blast swimming.  Sometimes for exercise, sometimes in the kid splash pool (inside) or enjoying the summer heat in the family pool outside, with the big slide.  

Micah excited after passing the Black Band Test.  

The black band allows him to go down the slide and swim in the deep end.  He's been learning how to swim laps with us in the inside, lap pool.  He's quite good & enjoying it.  (Likely because Levi can't be in there with us...so he gets good quality time.)

A home for my jewelry

As we continue to get settled in our new home, I keep finding new ways to organize things.  After scouring the internet for ways to organize my jewelry and looking through tools I already had at home, this is what I came up with.  Not all my jewelry will be on display just my everyday "fun" jewelry.  

Ikea bar & hooks for necklaces/bracelets with light pink tulle for earrings

It's hanging in our bedroom right under a mirror.  I love having it all displayed so I can see what I have.  The only downside is that it is hanging above a floor air vent.  I still need to find a home for my earring studs (nervous that if I drop them they'll be gone forever in the air vent).  For now everything that isn't hanging here will be either hanging in my closet jewelry organizer or my jewelry box.

Love that I have a little splash of girly in this house full of boys!

Two weeks in

We have been residents of NC for two weeks now.  Sometimes it feels just like a vacation but more and more this is feeling like home.  Everything has been unpacked and are house is feeling more like home every day.  Micah is thoroughly enjoying having friends all around - there is always someone to play with.  The townhouse to our right there is a 7 year old boy and the townhouse to our left, there is a 5 year old boy (as well as 7 & 9 year old girls).  I couldn't ask for better neighbors.

God has blessed us richly!   

We got Micah registered for school this week.  He got assigned a brand new school.  As of Monday, there were only 35 students registered for the entire school!  By the end of this school year they are hoping to have 100 students.  At first we weren't thrilled about the assignment, mainly because we didn't know about the school.  But now we are excited that we will have the opportunity to help create the culture of this new school.  Micah will get to be a part of creating school colors, a mascot and I'm sure much more.  What a great experience it will be.

Nate is taking one summer class that will begin in about two weeks.  Until then he is trying his best to enjoy the down time but it can be difficult as historically we have been on the go so much.  We are trying to not take for granted this down time.

I'm settling into a new work life.  Working from home full time has it's advantages and disadvantages.  Thankfully I am being productive and the boys know not to disturb me while I'm working.  However I am feeling a bit disconnected from my workgroup.  But overall it's been a wonderful experience.  And I get coffee and meals delivered to my desk - what service!

The weather has cooled off just a bit.  We had way too many days of record breaking heat - 100+ (over 110 with the heat index).  Thankfully we have had some rain which has cooled it down.  This is much more like what I thought it would be.  

That's all for now.  Be blessed and be a blessing!

Micah and our neighbor, Daniel (5), both lost the same tooth on the same day.

Micah with some new friends outside our townhouse

The view from my new office

Update from NC

It's been very hot here in NC since we arrived, over the weekend our high was 104 and this coming weekend appears to be just as hot. I thought we were escaping the heat by moving north. :) Thankfully the NC summers are much shorter than FL ones.

We are getting settled into our new home and I began work this week. Although it's work, it is nice to get into a routine again. The house is all unpacked and is feeling more like home everyday.

Micah is LOVING it here. The neighborhood is full of kids. What a nice change. He plays outside most of the day with occasional breaks inside to avoid the heat or to grab a snack. It has been a change for us to allow him to play outside without us being with him, but the older kids watch out for the younger ones and they stay right in front of our house (my rule until I feel more comfortable).


Levi is cutting four teeth at the moment (ouch) and Micah just lost his second tooth. Fun times in this Tyler house.

While our house is feeling more like home, we miss our family and friends. Our biggest prayer at the moment is to find our new church home and for community. Until then we are trying to enjoy our new slow paced life and remember it will soon be over once Nathan & Micah start school.

Move…19 days away

I forgot to post yesterday’s (Monday’s) Florida Fun activity.
Monday was a pretty typical “Florida Fun” event for us and one we will greatly miss. Playing in the pool! Micah and his buddy (and daddy too) had a blast swimming in our friend’s pool. The boys have been asking every day to visit the pool but between the rain and other things going on we haven’t had the time. Monday the planets aligned and we made it happen. The boys were in heaven!

We also had the chance to have dinner with some great friends! We will sure miss their company.

Countdown has begun...21 days left in FL

In 21 days our moving truck will be loaded and we will be heading to Wake Forest, North Carolina.  The next three weeks will zoom by so each day, we are going to aim to do something "Florida".

Today's "Florida" fun was completed by Micah.  Micah enjoyed a Rays baseball game with his friend Joshua.  The Rays beat the Orioles and the boys had a blast!  Thanks Brian & Tara!

Let the Countdown Begin

We have twenty-one days left as Florida residents.  Crazy to think about.

The next 21 days are going to race by so today I reflect.  Reflect on the wonderful friends we have made over the past few years, the great experiences we have had here and the memories that will last a life time. 

God brought Nate and I back to Florida six and a half years ago after Hurricane Katrina.  What ride the last six years have been.  We bought (and sold) our first home, both of our boys were born, we adopted a cute (sometimes annoying) puppy - Zoe and we had lots of parties with friends and family.  One thing I have enjoyed most in the last six years is the relationships.  We have loved living so close to family and having the joy of celebrating big life moments together - two weddings and two babies (so far)! 

Our home has continually been filled with fabulous friends - some we have laughed with, cried with, celebrated babies being born, mourned deaths - all who we remember.  It's impossible to recount all of the planned (and spontaneous) parties we have had...but some of the most memorable have to be Micah's 1st birthday party, Crawfish boil in the backyard and the boys throwing fireworks in the pond on some firework occasion (making my house shake) and roasting marshmallows in the backyard.

For the Tyler family - - life is defined first, by our relationship with the Lord but secondly by our relationships with people.  I hope the legacy we leave here is one of love, laughter and a contagious joy of the Lord.

Thank you to all of the wonderful friends we have lived life with over the last six and a half years.  Reflect with me...what has your favorite "Tyler memory" been?

Summer Time in FL = pool

We spent Friday evening in the pool with Memaw & Papa (Nate's parents). It was also Levi's first time in the pool. As with Micah, we wanted to get him used to the water soon and learn to go under water. So it was his turn to be initiated by daddy. Needless to say Levi was not too happy with Nate but after the third time under the water, he was somewhat used to it.

Micah, our little fish, had a blast and afterwards he spent the night with his Memaw & Papa. What a treat! Only 4 more weekends in FL...gotta take advantage of our time here while we can.

Creative Date Night

As I said previously, Nate and I have been enjoying painting lately. Last night we had a fabulous date night and went to Painting with a Twist. What a fun place!

- Thanks to Nate's parents for watching the boys while we took some time for ourselves. Only four more weeks of being by family...glad they could drop everything and come hang with the boys.

If you are married, devote some time to your spouse this coming week. Get a sitter, wear something nice and ENJOY each other. Laugh, hold hands, eat somewhere different (or your favorite spot) and have fun!
*If you can't afford a sitter, have a picnic in the living room or in the backyard after the kiddos are in bed. Or "baby swap" with another couple and give each other a date night.

Fun at the Trop

Today we were blessed by my company with Rays tickets. Not only tickets but parking, food
It was Micah & Levi's first MLB game. The game went to 11 innings (we only stayed for 9), but we listened to the Rays win it on the way home.

Learning to flex our creativity

Nate and I have enjoyed painting lately. Here are some of recent pieces. Enjoy!

Her children will rise up and call her blessed

For Mother's Day this year Nate and I wanted to make something for each of our mothers. This is a picture of the painting I made for my momma.

Oh the love

What a wonderful day! Today was Micah's first day back to school & Nate was off work...so I got to spend my day with the love of my life. It was fabulous. I can't believe how blessed I am to be married to my best friend. There is no better way to go through life.