Sunday, April 26, 2009

Jude Owen Crumpton

We have decided on a name for our new little addition coming August 6th (or 7th)! Jude we have had picked out for a long time for our next boy, but Owen just came in the last few weeks. I'm absolutely in love with these names!! To us, meanings of names are so important. It's like you speak a person's destiny over them every time you call them to the table or to watch out for something or even when you discipline them.

I really got into the meanings of names in college when a friend of mine who was dean of the junior high summer camp I was counseling at spoke into us the meanings of our own names and had been praying it over us prior to the camp. It meant so much to me and opened my eyes to the depth that is in a name...

Jude:
Inherent Meaning - Praised
Spiritual Connotation - Full of Love
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Owen:
Inherent Meaning - Distinguished
Spiritual Connotation - Pleasant to Look Upon
2 Samuel 23:4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain.

I have felt great lately. The process of registering and trying to find room for this new bundle is beginning, and I couldn't be more excited! Here's the bedroom theme we've decided on for little Baby Jude. Are these not the cutest monkeys you've EVER seen?! I have run into some hard decision-making this go-round though. It seems like I'll make a decision about something and then think and rethink and toil and travail about whether that's really what I want. Is that normal? I was even hesitant about putting this picture up because I don't know FOR SURE. But, yes. This is it. Final. Decision made. I think.

For those who haven't seen this, Deron thinks he has a baby in his tummy as well. It's pretty darn cute! He calls him his baby Jude. He likes to feed him and tells me when his baby is getting too full or hungry or tired. Obviously he's not as far along as I am, but he's having a terrific 1st trimester!

Deron's birthday party

Here are a few pictures from Deron's 4th birthday party held in our backyard. It turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day, which I was SO happy about! Not even any mowing was needed because of the rain like his 2nd birthday party (see below).


I tried to have lots of stuff for the kiddos to do so the parents could just relax and enjoy each other. Here's the bubble "station".

The "low-rider" Easter train cake as I like to call it. I wanted to make it bright colors, but you can not add enough food coloring to make dark colors! It still turned out pink!

His new scooter!

in other words.... I love you!


Fly me to the moon
Let me sing among those stars
Let me see what spring is like
On jupiter and mars

In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby kiss me

Fill my heart with song
Let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you

Like my facebook status said today, I hope everyone someday can feel this kind of love. In a typical week Philip and I usually say goodbye to each other come Monday and say a brief fleeting hello come Friday evening and throughout the weekend. God has been so faithful, gracious, kind, and loving helping us grow during all that we've done the past 2 1/2 years especially.

I am convinced I'm married to the most loving man on the planet.
I love you so deeply, my sweet Philip.

thoughts on student teaching #6

Well, I've had my last observation, I'm finished with having to write weekly summaries to my professor, and I only have 7 days left being in the classroom. I've had a great experience student teaching and I am endlessly thankful that the high school venue wasn't as stressful as elementary. Not that the teacher doesn't have a mountain more to take care of, she just didn't let me take care of it all. That's ok by me. Sure my days were sometimes slow, but I had energy at 4pm like I hadn't had for 2 months before that!

Overall I've discovered that I'm just not sure teaching in a public school music program is really my thing. At the end of the day I find my mind drifting to so many other things that would fulfill my life much more than teaching. This is always something I've thought deep down inside, but had to experience for myself. I have realized though, that I do love privately teaching voice lessons. That's something I'm excited to start in the fall. We'll see how much it fits with a brand new baby and all that goes with that.

Now on to the most anticipated event happening regarding my schooling EVER. Graduation! In 13 days and counting!!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

my Spring/Summer 2009 favorites!

So Jennifer posted this blog and I thought it was such a fun idea, I wanted to do it too! All credit goes to her! Do it yourself, it's fun!

My list is going to include things that I love and things I want to get reacquainted with... here it goes.


1. The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind by Bill Johnson. I started reading this book around December, had to read the first chapter again, and then still haven't finished it. Not because it's a hard book to get through, but because all of the pure gold and wisdom that is presented needs rereading and meditation! I am so excited to give God every ounce of me so that His Kingdom can flow straight through me to people. Who wouldn't want to have "access to a life of miracles"? I sure do! Bill Johnson is also the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, CA where JesusCulture is from. What an awesome church! Reading and watching their testimonies of how we all should be bringing God's power to earth is faith-building and inspiring!



2. Ice Cream with peanuts! Ok, call it a pregnancy craving or whatever you will, but the other night we had a 1/2 gallon of Hot Fudge Sundae Bluebell ice cream in the freezer. I was not impressed by the lack-of chocolate. I mean, if the title is "Hot Fudge Sundae", there should be at least 1/3 hot fudge to every bite of vanilla. So after topping it with my own chocolate syrup, I added a handful of dry roasted peanuts from the pantry. O-M-Goodness were my tastbuds in a tizzy! My mouth had a party that night and we plan to indulge quite often, thank you.


3. Mayan Mocha from JavaCity. I am a die-hard Starbucks fan. I really am. Ever since I personally tasted my first mocha frappuccino in Portland, OR circa 1994 (WAAAAY before it hit DFW), I was hooked. I nearly cried the first time I saw it in a Barnes & Noble, and only driving distance from my house. And then one came to a little town called Abilene while I was in college. And it was a DRIVE-THRU! Hallelujah! Anyway, JavaCity just doesn't compare to me. But sometimes you just need something. A couple of weeks ago, my love and I decided to step in for a mid-morning splurge. I tried a decaf-mayan mocha and was thoroughly impressed! It's not anything extreme, just a mocha with a little extra spice, but JavaCity, you have captured my attention. Now when I am on the northside and need a little pick-me-up, I know where I'll be headed.


4. Billy Joel Specifically this album. His Greatest Hits Vol. 1&2. Growing up, I would listen to this thing over and over. I love me some Billy Joel. PianoMan, the Entertainer, She's Always a Woman, those are some timeless treasures. Somehow the CD's my sister owned got lost, so I haven't been able to hear a lot of these songs except on Pandora. It just saddens me that when our youth group had a "seek and find" game to match funny facts to youth leaders, no one knew nor cared that I could sing every word to "We Didn't Start the Fire". Come on, people! That's pretty amazing!

5. Tide Pure Essentials Laundry Detergent I'll be honest. I don't really know why I love this stuff so much. I'm not terribly concerned with my detergent being "pure" or "organic", but I will make an extra trip to Drug Emporium because I know they sell this "flavor" of detergent. It's just so pure. And so essential. I love it.


6. Gauchos I've been trying for over a year to find some of these cute pants. No luck. Anywhere. Am I completely out of style here? I think they are super cute, modest, and flattering. Now the problem is that if I want to wear them this summer, now I have to look in the maternity section. *sigh*

7. My HSU class ring This has so much significance to me. I'm only a somewhat-sentimental person, but a couple of weeks ago when the provost made his speech to the upcoming graduates about the end being near and congratulating us on our accomplishments and so forth, I seriously shed a tear. This long, tedious journey is almost over. Have you ever walked away from something in your life and then gone back to finish what you've started? It has proven to be lightyears harder managing school with being a wife and mommy, but immensely worth it. I can not describe to people the feeling that comes with finishing something that was started almost a decade ago and has required so much sacrifice and energy.


8. Do-it-yourself ThinMints! http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/03/make-your-own-thin-mints.html I can't remember where I saw this recipe, but I tried it and they are awesome! Seriously! They make a TON and they are cheap! The only thing is, keep them in the fridge so the chocolate doens't melt all over the place. I will definitely keep these made and stocked.

9. Baby BOYS! Another strapping boy! Another crazy tool-loving, short-haired, lego-building, train-obsessed, sports-playing, man of God in training! (Sorry if those generalizations bothered anyone.) We found out a couple of weeks ago the Crumpton name will live on with yet another little man. I've had so many people say to me, "aww, were you hoping for a girl?" or "that's ok, boys are fun!" and "I bet the NEXT will be a girl." Uh, wait a minute. I actually find it a privilege to be able to train up a boy to be the leader in his future home, to learn to submit himself to authority so he can submit himself to his Ultimate Authority, to teach him to love a woman unconditionally and sacrificially, to grow him to worship without restraint and hindrance. What an honor to raise a man who loves God! I'm excited to bring up another boy, as crazy as they can be.

March and April (so far)

Happy Birthday, Deron! My little man turned 4 on March 30th, but we have yet to have his party. It's been rescheduled for this Sunday, because what else, Philip and I came down with pink eye! I haven't had this stuff since I was like 6! The weirder thing is that the bug didn't get it. Just us. Go figure.

Celebrating with his complimentary ColdStone Birthday treat!
His birthday cookies. These are his favorite!
Playing with Gordon and James, his new trains he's been asking for since Christmas.
Easter 2009
(donning my glasses because of the pink eye)
Deron's still in a "too cool for looking at the camera" phase.
I love Spring! The warmer weather, hearing the birds sing to me again all day long. (There is a certain mockingbird that lives in our front pecan tree that likes to get up around 5am and begin vocalizing- every year.) Since Philip's grandparent's used to live in this house and his grandma is quite allergic to most growing things, she laid rocks down in this planter outside the front of our house. And since I just can't have a perfectly good opportunity for flowers go to waste, Deron and I decided to "make our garden grow". ($5 if you can name the operetta that's from) We had fun, and who couldn't pass up $.68 flowers at Lowe's! We got there on a good day!

Yes, he's in his jammies. It was a relaxing day.
What a gardener! He's always loved planting flowers and watering them. Look at that concentration!
Voila! I'm hoping these will branch out and fill in the whole planter. And hopefully they'll flower all Spring and Summer long!