Steph's Christmas Sermon

It is 4:00 a.m. Bo just left to go hunting this Christmas Eve morning. I can't go back to sleep and all I can think about is how tired I will be today. I am working in the jewelry store with Nash today. That is very challenging!
Among these thoughts, I started thinking back on Christmas past. All kinds of emotions started playing back in my head. A few years ago, it was just me and Jon Harris getting ready for our Christmas festivities. Those had to have been the "Best-Worst Christmases."
My divorce was the hardest thing I have ever been through in my life! I would not wish the pain and grief on anyone.... BUT I would not take back the lessons I learned in the process. Through the process, God made me more obedient, wait patiently, and gave me compassion for the grieving and the lonely. Honestly, you never know what you will do until you are extremely lonely! I don't really mean in a physical sense but an emotional sense.... or maybe it is BOTH!
During my divorce, I felt so lost! I say "LOST" because there is no other word. I knew as a child of God he would never abandon me BUT it sure felt like he was taking a "Leave Of Absence." I was up and down... I didn't know if I was coming or going.... I didn't know who I was...Where I belonged...What I should be doing... I became something I never thought I would be...Lonely and desperate! "Desperate times calls for desperate measures." I turned to anything I could to feel a lonely void. It was not pretty! I did have Jon Harris ( my sunshine) but the times he was gone....I remember thinking that I would rather take a beating than to walk in a lonely house. I have a better understanding of why some people are alcoholics, drug addicts, homeless, etc.....They are lonely and hurting!
It took me a long time to start the healing process. I went through Divorce Recovery at Bellevue. I started seeing that there were other people that felt like me.... and it was okay to feel the things that I felt! I had to turn my focus on healing, becoming happy with the person God made me, and what God wanted in my life. I believe that God wanted me to be still- if you know me, that is nearly IMPOSSIBLE! (Psalm 46:10) That was so hard to do but even though I thought that God was taking a "Leave of Absence" from me- He was NOT AT ALL! As one of God's children, we are promised his presence even though we feel alone. He takes us through some trials quietly to make us aware of his grace.
Trials in silence will make you:
*More obedient (Psalm 119:67)
*Teach you to wait patiently (Psalm 27:14)
*Make your joy less dependent on circumstances (Habakkuk 3:16-19)
* Make you appreciate God more and his blessings (Job 42:7-17)
And last but not least-
*Increase your compassion for others (2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4)
We have to allow God to mold our perspective. It is so hard to not act out of emotion (especially being a women!) But we need to remember God's promises. We are NOT alone and lost as a child of God. We should allow him to feel our "Voids." And believe me, that is so much easier said than done because of our human nature. When I was still ,(Psalm 46:10) I learned who I was and God was able to mold my character for his glory ( and he still is. ) We don't have to do LIFE alone... we have God and we have each other! LIFE is not always rainbows and gumdrops. There are storms along the way. We need encourage and not discourage each other ( 1 Thessalonians 5:11.) Show compassion to others... a kind word, a smile, time to listen quietly without judging, a hug, etc. You never know who God is trying to mold! Jesus told us and showed us in the New Testiment how to love one another.
If you read aaaalllll of this, Have a Merry Christmas and go love on someone today!

No Santa for Nash!

What is with my kids and Santa? Is it the suit? White beard?..... I have the same picture of Jon Harris as a baby! Nash is very intrigued by pictures of Santa. He points at them and grunts. Hopefully, next year he will be much happier with Old Saint Nick! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Sarah's pictures

This is Ava Parks, Andrew and Amy Parks' daughter

Sarah took these pictures! She did a WONDERFUL job!

Nash's first birthday

I can't believe Nash is one! This year has gone by so fast! We had his birthday party at our house. There were lots of babies there (as you can see in the pictures.) There are 7 BOYS in these pictures! (left to right) Grayson Davenport, Nolan Foreman, Evan Chipman, Nash, Brodie McDonald, Caden Caskey, and Mills Beasley. Can you believe we were actually missing a couple?! I think we are in for it!

Nash LOVED his birthday cake!

I thought it would be neat for all the kids to make stick horses.....Well, I made one for an example and realized how tough it was soooo I ended up making 20 stick horses. They were fun! I hope the kids enjoy them.

God's blessings

This year Bo and I have been so blessed. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on those blessings and what we have learned in the process. And BOY... Have we learned alot!
This year started with Nash and Bo getting pneumonia. Nash was only 8 weeks old- I was one scared mom! He was on a nebulizer and antibiotics. It was wild especially with Bo having it but at least nobody ended up in the hospital. - God got us through!
In February, Bo lost his job. We were so scared! We were thinking what in the world were we going to do! God is so good.... that same day that he lost his job, he flew to Baton Rouge to interview for Johnson Controls. Bo and I didn't know that he was about to lose his job so he had not been looking for anything else. The job offer came open very fast and he thought he would go and see what they had to offer. God was obviously in control! We didn't expect to hear from Johnson Controls for two weeks- they called Bo in 4 days and told him that he had the job. Bo loves his job and he is extremely good at what he does for Johnson Controls! I am very proud of him!
March was crazy! Bo started his new job and Jon Harris got his tonsils and adenoids taken out. It took him about 2 weeks to recover but he was a trooper! He is a tough little guy!
April, I started cutting hair again at Friends in Covington. I had so much fun! It was great to get out of the house even if it was 1 day a week! I had to quit at the end of July/the first of August. I was so sad! The drive got hard, my mom got sick, and I was losing money instead of making money. I loved working but who would want to work and have to pay to work!lol! I am so happy that I got the opportunity to get to know the girls at Friends. I wished I had more time with my friends in Covington. Last night was the first time I had been to Covington in almost 3 months! -I MISS YOU GUYS! If there are any Christmas "get togethers," remember us... We would love to hang out!
Well, in August, God laid it on my heart that I needed to start learning more about service! Josh, our preacher, started teaching on what it means to serve those around us. As a kid, it was drilled in my head to teach the gospel to others, which is great, but somewhere I missed something very important! God sent his son to show us what it means to be a Christian and show others his love- that means ( this is the part that I learned) clothing the poor, feeding the hungry, taking care of the sick and showing others love. I have a new passion for "service" and showing others God's love. I hope this is something that I can pass on to Jon Harris and Nash. The Weaver family will be working on "service" in 2011 and many years to come (I pray.) -I admire so many people in our church- They are teaching me so much! I can NOT express the LOVE that I have for my church family!
I was hired by our church to teach 4 year old pre-school in September. Those of you that know me well enough, know that I am completely in my element! :) I absolutely LOVE it! The kids and my co-workers are AMAZING!!! (I feel like I am surrounded by family because Sarah's mother-in-law is there with me. Janice is such a special person in my life. She is a wonderful role-model. Nash and Jon Harris love "Aunt Janice.") Nash gets to go with me to school. We go on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The hours are GREAT! I have the best of both worlds. Another blessing!- Another thing that I am working on is the Boys and Girls Club at our church. I am going to give the kids haircuts once a month. I am excited about getting to know the kids better. You learn alot about a person while you cut their hair.:)
I feel like we skipped the month of October ( it is one big blur.) Bo and I decided to go on a trip, just the 2 of us. We had to cut our trip short because Nash was being sent by ambulance from LeBonheur Urgent Care to LeBonheur Downtown. That was the longest drive from Knoxville to Memphis! He was having Febrile Seizures and was a sick little man. He had diarrhea for 12 days. I was a nervous wreck! Nash passed out on me- I was freaking out because I thought that I was going to have to do CPR on him. He wasn't moving, blinking, NOTHING! A million things were going through my head.... Seizures? Did he die? Pass out? As a mom, you could only imagine what I was thinking. I had nightmares and still do but now we know what it was. We finally found out that he had Salmonella. They said that he probably was dehydrated and so sick that when I laid him down, he passed out. Another blessing that it wasn't anything as dire as we originally imagined! We had so many people praying for us, sending us text messages, and emails. Again- God came through. He gave us answers and peace in our hearts.
Now as the holidays are approaching, I am just sitting here thanking God for everything he has done for us in the last year. I wished I could open my heart and show you what I feel right now. God has given me so much! My husband, my boys, a wonderful sister and brother-in-law, my fun new job, great friends, family, and church family. OH YEA! and my cool , all girls BUNKO group! Honestly, "my cup runneth over!" I can't wait to see what is in store for next year. Happy Holidays!

Yahyyy!! I am back!

Jon Harris's 8th bday ****We painted pumpkins**** Nash 11 months

Florida**** Nash and Colton**** My first cake attempt for JH's birthday

Our trip to the lake ****The "Guys" in Florida****Our Florida Trip

Nash and JH ****Nash's baby dedication****My birthday

Okay! It has been a long time..... My blog has been messed up and I did not know how in the world to fix it. Thanks to my sweet friend, Jennifer- she got me back on track! So much has happened since I blogged last. There is NO possible way to catch up! I am going to just post a bunch of pictures from our spring, summer, and fall.

Work - in Progress

Okay..... I am working on my blog! I will have new posts on here soon!

2 Months Old

Time has gone by so fast! Our Nash turned 2 months yesterday. I can't believe it. He gets more and more fun everyday! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers while he was sick. As you can see in the pictures, he is doing so much better. He is starting to look just like Bo. He still has some of Jon Harris's features and really looks like him when he is asleep. Nash goes to the doctor Monday for shots and a weigh in. I am sure that he is pushing 10 lbs. - He is getting chubby cheeks and a double chin.:)

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at the zoo. It was Nash's first visit to the zoo. The weather was awesome! It was great to get outside and out of the house. I will be so glad when Spring is here!

Basketball 2010

Jon Harris has started playing basketball for Faith Baptist. I am very impressed with their program. They have all family members line up to form a tunnel and they announce every player's name (while playing music)- the kids get to run through the tunnel. It was pretty cool! All the coaches and players have a devo during half time. They also stop the kids when they do something wrong during the game and teach them the right way.

Jon Harris scored the first goal- I got so excited!!! We will definetly try to play there again next year.

Your wrist pads go WHERE???!..???

So, Jon Harris decided to go rollerblading this afternoon. He put everything on ( rollerblades, knee pads, elbow pads, helmet....) Anyway, he wanted to show me how he put everything on all by himself. He was so proud! After he showed me his knee pads, he told me that he put on the bootie pad and the "Cheetoh" pad. ( Many of you know that is what he calls his "manly part"- he has since he discovered it.) I said,"WHAT in the world are you talking about?" He said, "You know, mom, the pad that has a hole in it for my cheetoh to go through." He proceeded to show me ...... He had taken his wrist pad and put it in his pants! He thought the hole for the thumb was the hole where his cheetoh was supposed to go through..... OMG!!! Imagine what I saw! Bo and I about lost it!! Where does this kid come up with these things!!!???!!!! Needless to say, he knows now where the wrist pads go.

Poor Baby Nash

Our sweet baby boy has had pneumonia. It was awful! I felt so sorry for him. I killed me to see him so sick! Luckily, we did not have to go in the hospital - Thanks to our wonderful Nurse Karen! She took such good care of Nashy. She called us everyday to check on us ( sometimes 2 or 3 times a day )and she saw him twice. We don't know what in the world we would do without her! She has a special gift of compassion. She is the most caring person I have ever met. I pray that I can be more like her. Bo and I feel so blessed to have her in our lives!
Everyday Nash is getting better and stronger- it is just taking some time. He is still on an antibiotic and breathing treatments 4 times a day. -Kendra, I am so sorry for what you have been through. I can't believe Sebastian has had pneumonia 3 times. Poor baby! You guys are definetly in our prayers! We will pray boldly that his tests come back normal!

2010 - Here already?

We started our New Years Eve celebration at Macaroni Grill with Ryan and Sarah and 25 other people. Afterwards, Bo and I took the boys to his parents ( G-maw and G-paw.) We were so excited to have a night to do what we wanted. Earlier in the night, we thought we would go out and bring in the New Year but after we dropped the boys off, a hot bath and our bed was looking more and more appealing. Guess what? That was exactly what we did! We slept through the new year! It was the first full night of sleep that I have had since I got pregnant! Well, there is always 2011, maybe by then we will be more rested! LOL

Christmas

Our Christmas Tree

Our sweet boys!

Jon Harris loves his netbook that Santa brought!

We had a great Christmas! I think I can speak for all three of us (Bo, Jon Harris, and myself)- It was so much fun having Nash here for Christmas!

The night before Christmas Eve

Look at these 3! Aren't they the cutest?? We went to Amy and Erik's house to have dinner the night before Christmas Eve. Katy, Landon, and Colton were in town so we were able to get all the babies together! It was so much fun! I hope we can make it a Christmas tradition!