I Love This Man...

Today is my wonderful husband's 30th Birthday!!!!

I am so thankful for him.

These are just 30 of the many reasons why...

1. He is the spiritual leader of our home.

2. He can always make me laugh...even when I'm in a cranky mood:)

3. There is no pretense about my husband...he is who he is- and who he is is pretty great!

4. He is the best preacher of the Word that I know.

5. He is creative.

6. He is a thorough and critical thinker.

7. He loves me so selflessly.

8. He loves students and their families.

9. He loves Jesus...with everything that he is.

10. He cares about and looks towards our future.

11. He is one incredible daddy.

12. He doesn't complain when the laundry isn't done or we eat mac-n-cheese for dinner.

13. He puts our family first.

14. He loves to share his hobbies with me.

15. He loves God's Word.

16. He is a reader.

17. Even at 30, he is one seriously handsome fella.

18. He is a learner.

19. He values my opinion- for our family and ministry.

20. He loves my family.

21. He is the most forgiving person I know.

22. He doesn't care much about the latest style or fad.

23. He dreams big.

24. His memory and retention of information is amazing.

25. He loves the Tarheels...and although I rarely have the attention span to watch an entire game on TV, I do too:)

26. He laughs at my attempt at humor...and i'm really not that funny.

27. He plays the guitar and has a great understanding of music.

28. He has the greatest color of blue eyes...that have been passed down to 3/3 of our kids.

29. He is very smart...but never pretends to be smarter than he is.

30. Fred Broome is the husband that God chose for me. And I couldn't be more grateful.

I love you, honey:) Happy Birthday.

Just a Thought...

As Fred and I were talking the other night, I had a thought that I've never considered before having to do with creation/the fall. I can assume that it's not an original idea, but it is to me and I'm wondering if anyone has any insight: In the account of Eve (and then Adam) being tempted and then sinning, there is no mention of them having children yet. And when God banished them from the Garden, I would think that if they had already birthed a child, that would have been said. Because there was not yet sin/sickness/pain/ and an overall "fallen" state of humanity, I would think that Adam and Eve would have quickly gotten pregnant once they were created. (...I know that this is a lot of speculation...but stick with me here- I have a point!) Therefore, it is reasonable to estimate that they lived in perfect fellowship with God in the Garden for less than a year. -That is, assuming that it would have taken no more than a few months to get pregnant...and Eve could have been very pregnant when they exited Eden. (Thus, the consequence of pain in childbirth would have been very real to her!) So here's my point: if this is all accurate-- that Adam and Eve only lived in Eden for less than a year, how astounding that they were not content with the perfect and sinless life that God had created in the Garden?!!? It may have taken them less than a year to fall into temptation. Can you imagine?!? Tasting life, a constant and uninhibited-by-sin relationship with God, and all of His beautiful creation only to look for "more" after a couple of months. I know that none of this can be proven and if it was really important to us, God would have told us how long they lived without sin. But still, it's something to think about...

Fun Times

Joshua pulled out a bunch of Fred's fishing worms last week and had a blast! He must have played with these things for an hour. He enjoyed sorting them by type and color and then taking them one-by-one to the sink for a "bath." Unfortunately, Fred did not have as fun of a time putting them away, so we kept out a little baggy full that are now just for Joshua to play with.

I think that Caleb is going to pass his
big sis up in size before we know it!

Nothing beats running by Sonic for a route 44 slushy
(only 99 cents before 11!) on our way to the park!

Caleb is one sweet, precious baby!!!

Hmmmm.....

....I wonder who got a hold of the camera today...

Yee Haw

I love it when we discover new, fun, and free things to do in Macon. This is our latest find: Wesleyan College has an equestrian program and it is open to the public. Joshua and Anna Bell love looking at all of the horses. They are beautiful and enormous!!! One of the girls in the program helped with middle school for a while and she said that she would love to meet us up there sometime. She could get the horses out and the kids could even feed them! Does anyone have any other ideas of fun and free activities for families with little ones?

Crazy is Fun

Some may speculate that spending the weekend with 5 children 3 and under would be quite chaotic...and...well...just so you know-- it is! Our dear friends from seminary, the Vias, came to visit and lead worship for several events at Ingleside over the weekend. They did a camp preview on Sunday morning, since they will be leading worship for our summer camp in June. It was so great having them here! Josh and Tasha spend a lot of time on the road traveling to different places to lead worship. Josh sings and plays guitar and Tash plays the violin. It was great having a few days to hang out and visit. It was really encouraging to see how God is blessing their ministry and how they are such a team in both leading worship and parenting. Tasha is such a wonderful wife and mom-- here are just a few tid bits of wisdom/encouragment that I gained from their visit:
*Areyna and Zeke share a room and do a great job of sleeping right beside eachother; this has given me the confidence to do this once Caleb is sleeping consistently through the night.
*Tasha is a master at using coupons and cutting down on grocery expenses; I'm going to start getting the Sunday paper delivered and give The Grocery Game another shot.
*Tasha (and probably Josh too) ask the kids a great question when they say something that is unkind/disrespectful. They stop their children and ask "Was that kind or was that rude?" (and then discipline as needed) ...as simple as that sounds, it's a great way to help them realize that how they speak effects others.
*I am always encouraged by Tasha's commitment to be a vital part of their ministry. She not only leads worship alongside Josh, but she also handles most of the office/organization stuff that goes along with it. I was reminded of how important it is for us as wives to not only be workers at home but to support our husbands in their ministry as well.
*Tasha has a lot of little songs that she sings with the kids...some of them that she picked up from other places and others that she made up. Whether it's for picking up or having a happy heart, for some reason songs seem to motivate kids.
...I'm sure there are other things that I learned, but these are just a few that stuck out. I'm so thankful that God created us in a way that we learn and grow from community with one another. So...thanks for coming, Vias! We had a blast!

This is the only picture that I took while the Vias were here. Areyna was so sweet with Caleb! She was very concerned whenever he was crying and really enjoyed holding him.

We LOVE our cousin, Maddie Grace!!!

My parents, Laura, Ashley, and Madelynn all came to visit this weekend. We had a great time. Laura and Maddie met Caleb for the first time. Maddie is so sweet with babies and is going to be an incredible big sister to her little Ethiopian brother(s)/sister(s!). Joshua and Anna Bell had so much fun playing with their cousin, grandparents, and aunts. They were both bawling and begging to go with them as they pulled out of the driveway yesterday afternoon!

Does this mean that I'm not sentimental?

Anna Bell got her first official hair cut last weekend (I had trimmed it a couple of times...only because it was looking way too mullet-ish). I forgot the camera in the van, so I don't have any pics of the actual hair cutting experience. Bummer. She did a wonderful job sitting perfectly still in the over-sized chair with the huge cape around her little body. I was so amazed at how she looks so much older with her new cut.

Whenever I see your smilin face...

...I have to smile myself- because I love YOOOUUUUU!!!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Anna Bell!

Our precious little girl turned 2 last Sunday!!! And although Sundays are not the best days for birthday celebrations in our house (early church, late lunch and naps, Fred has evening activities at church...many of you know exactly what I mean!) we had a great day of being thankful for Anna Bell. She is such a joy in our family. She is expressive and adorable in just about everything she does. (Fred and I both have to remind ourselves that her "bit of sassiness" won't be quite as cute in a couple of years if we don't discipline her for it now!!!) I am so thankful for Anna Bell and love to watch how God is shaping her. These are just a few of the reasons I am grateful to be AB's mommy:
*She is so affectionate! There are moments that I have to remind myself that laundry and cleaning can wait...there will come a day when she will not want to sit and cuddle in my lap for hours on end!
*In Anna Bell's own words: "I'm FUNNY!!!!" ...and she really is!
*She ADORES her older brother, who she now refers to as "Josh"...even though we never call him that!
*She is quickly becoming a second little mommy to Caleb. Her most used expressions when referring to him are "Awww...how cute!!" "Oh no...mommy; baby cryin'!!!" "I wanna hold it" & "Hi Caleb!!!"
*Anna Bell is the best greeter I have ever met. She will yell your name and run to the door with her arms open wide for a big hug whenever Fred or I come home. She also does this for good friends or family...grandma is a sucker for this one!!!
*She is tenderhearted yet she can hold her own even with kids twice her size (she's quite the small fry; she weighed 18 pounds at her last checkup at 18 months!)
*She gives the BEST HUGS!!!!
*Anna Bell's voice is really raspy. I don't know where she got this, but I definitely need to record it more often.
*She is getting more into girly toys like her kitchen, dress up and baby dolls but also loves playing with trains and cars with Joshua.
*Her favorite song is "Jesus, You are near to me" and asks me to sing it before going to bed.
*She is undeniably a daddy's girl. I love that.
*Often times when I pray for her, I pray that God would develop in her a gracefulness that Anna in Luke 2 displayed. I see this character in her and am confident that as the Lord grows and shapes her, that she will be a woman of grace someday!
I love you so much Anna Bell!!! I cannot imagine our family without you!!! I am so thankful that God saw fit to place you in our family!!!!
Fred's dad and Terry came down for the weekend; it was great to be able to see them and celebrate with them. Thanks for coming, Dad & Terry!!! Unfortunately, Anna Bell woke up from her nap with lots of coughing and a slight wheezing on her birthday...I finally took her to the doctor on Wednesday morning and sure enough, we have had to do breathing treatments again. The doctor said that it was viral, so we are stuck at home until next Wednesday. I am getting a little stir crazy and I think that the kids are too! I took some sweet pictures of Caleb Judson smiling today. I will try to post them tomorrow...we'll see...:)

sleep in heavenly peace

I cannot believe that our sweet little Caleb Judson will be a month old next weekend!!! As you can see, our third spends the majority of his little life sleeping! When he is awake, he is really making eye contact and looks like he is about to begin smiling in response to us (and not just in response to gas!:))
This Christmas was unlike any other for me. To hold in my arms a brand new baby as we celebrated and pondered the wonder of Christ's birth was amazing. I thought a lot about what Mary may have experienced. I was also in awe more than ever of the great sacrifice that God the Son took upon Himself as He clothed Himself in flesh and came as a helpless little baby. How amazing and beautiful the incarnation is!!! Thank You, Jesus, for coming in such a humble way!

Precious Caleb Judson

Last Wednesday night (December 10th), we had the great joy of welcoming Caleb Judson Broome into our family!!!! He was born at 11:00 pm and weighed in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces; our biggest so far! He was 19 1/2 inches long and has more hair than his brother and sister did. We are all doing really well and as you can see from the pictures, Joshua and Anna Bell have done a great job of being sweet with baby Caleb. Caleb is extremely laid back so far; he only wakes up once at around 3:30 to eat and sleeps a lot!!! He is a champ as far as eating goes- he had already gained 6 ounces as of this past Wednesday! Anna Bell calls him "Baby Jesus!!!!" and Joshua exclaimed during a diaper changing cry "my baby brother is driving me CRAZY!!!!" ...Needless to say, life is not dull at the Broome house!!! --But we are beyond blessed and thankful for Caleb Judson Broome!!!!

Our New Floor!