John Phillip and Margaret Laughing

John had a great time with his cousins, Margaret and Veronica, when we went to Ohio for Katrina's wedding. It's amazing how much he recognizes and loves any kid or baby. The other day at the grocery he almost jumped out of my arms when he saw a little girl in the checkout line. He immediately started laughing and talking to her, wanting to grab her face. She was a little frightened. :)

Here are some cute photos of John Phillip and his sweet babydoll girl cousins.

Notre Dame Game Time

This is for the Simpson's to appreciate. :) Cute vido of the Simpson boys getting ready for a victory on game day!

Camping over Labor day

We went camping over Labor Day weekend with my sister and brother-in-law, Maria and Andrew, and had a great time! This is John getting excited about camping out.

Highlights: 1. Seeing Nicholas and Christiana play "garden" together. Nicholas kept himself busy digging with a shovel while Christiana helped prepare the meals. Main veggitation--tomatoes and apples. This continued into the morning as well. 2. Seeing John Phillip giggle and have the best time crawling around and exploring his new tent. And seeing how excited he got when he was around the kids. 3. Finding out it was a "no fire" weekend. ;) 4. Quality coal fire time with Drew and Mariah. 5. Eating a magnificent feast in the morning, prepared by my husband,  around our "coal fire."

A Baby Story: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" - Jeremiah 1:5

Life as I knew it was just beginning for my husband and I. We had our first baby, a boy! A beautiful miracle, John Phillip. And we just celebrated our 1 year anniversary. I was feeling overly blessed by God. He had given me so much in a short year’s time. Little did I know He wanted to give me even more!

                When Phillip and I were out in Kansas for Easter visiting with our families, I started questioning things. After I took a shower one night, I later told Phil, “My stomach is getting bigger!??” (I never gain weight there).Thoughts started rushing through my mind, “could I possibly be pregnant?” No way. John Phillip was just 3 ½ months old and I was nursing him. I couldn’t be that fertile. I shortly got rid of that idea and carried on with life as usual with it in the back of my mind, but not giving it any attention.  I told myself it’s just because I haven’t exercised in so long. But that wasn’t the end of it for Phil. Right away he started researching things on the internet and was anxious about it from then on.

                As time went on, we started to get more worried as I started to get more tired and as my milk supply was slowly diminishing. The following weeks after Easter, all my morning meditations on the daily readings seemed to have the same theme: TRUST. I knew Christ was saying, “Just trust in me, Tricia. I will never abandon you.” All signs pointed in the direction of pregnancy, but I was in denial. It came to the point where I knew I was pregnant, but just didn’t want to take a pregnancy test because I didn’t want to know for sure. I wanted to live in “freedom” a little longer. Poor Phil. The unknown was eating him alive. But he sat back, just encouraging me like the amazing husband he always is, and letting me take my time. I finally took a pregnancy test Mother’s day weekend after many tears and much encouraging from Phil. POSITIVE!!! The plus sign showed up in 2 seconds. Phil wrapped me in his arms as I cried many buckets of tears. It was such an overwhelming feeling. I felt so horrible for feeling so sad and selfish. All I could think was, “why me, God?” I knew I would be happy about it, but right then, my world was crumbling down. I like to have things planned and perfect and I felt as though God had given me enough this year. I was still getting used to being a new Mom! But as Phil hugged me, and as John Phillip gave me kisses, I felt Jesus doing the same.

Pregnancy Test :)

Very proud "littlest" big brother

                Phillip and I are 100% pro-life and also want a big family. So the idea of having another baby was wonderful thing, but I was not expecting it to be so soon. I was in shock, and it took a little while to get over the shock, but Mary has helped me.  We couldn’t be happier to be carrying another one of God’s precious miracles. And after the death of a best friend, many new doors were also opened to my eyes. The “why me, God” attitude flipped to, “why do you continue to bless my life, God?”  I felt as though I never wanted to complain again. What if I’m only able to have two children? What if my life is short? I need to embrace and love every moment I am given. I am beyond privileged to even be a Mother and have a loving husband. You feel like you know all these things, but sometimes things come up in life where you have to relearn them and recommit your love to God.

God works that way in my life sometimes and I couldn’t be more thankful.  As he drove out the sheep and oxen from the temple, he will also use circumstances, trials and difficulties as his "sword" to drive out from our lives whatever is opposed to God´s goodness and our own dignity. I was set in my ways and through this “struggle,” God has stretched me and taught me what surrendering my life to Him is really all about. He doesn’t want part of my life, He wants it all. And through this, He has allowed me to fall ever more in love with Him. One of the prayers in my meditation during this time read, “Lord Jesus, I trust in you. Despite the real struggles and obstacles in my path now, I know that you are leading me towards you. You are the only one who can fill the depths of my heart. Somehow, mysteriously, each of these trials is part of making that a reality.”

Our baby is due January 3, 2012! We won’t know the gender till then. We are getting so excited as my stomach is sticking out and as we get the feel the little baby kick and squirm inside. I know John is just as excited too. J We both feel like it’s another boy so we’ll be surprised if it’s a girl! I will keep you posted with updates and pictures. In the meantime, please keep our family in your prayers.  

All our love, Phillip, Tricia, and little John Phillip

Baby's toes

First Ultrasound

Little nose and mouth

Profile of baby yawning

2nd Ultrasound....head getting bigger.

John Phillip Scoots

Lately, little John has been moving around everywhere. He's been discovering new things like electrical outlets, wires, curtains, etc. He likes to come find us when we're in another room too. I can't stay in the kitchen too long before I see his little head coming around the corner. No stopping this boy now!

JP is 6 months old!!!

John Phillip had a photo shoot while we were home in St. Louis to capture his 6 month mushiness and smiles. Angela took phots of all the grandchildren, so while he was all dressed up, Maria helped take some individual shots too. Here's some of my fave. He's growing too fast now! I want to bottle up this age forever. He feels so proud that he can sit up now by himself. He puts everyone in a good mood with his giggles and personality that's shining through already. Oh what a joy you are to our lives little John!

Giggles

John Phillip's giggles are contagious! We want to record on video every time he laughs because we can't get enough of it.  He now giggles almost every day and we think there's nothing cuter. :) He usually laughs the most when we raise him up in the air, then bring him down for a kiss. He is one happy baby.

Easter

He has risen!!! Christ has risen from the dead, and has risen again in our hearts. Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. It refreshes my soul, and we get to recommit our love and dedication to Jesus. Meditating on the Pasion is something that always brings me closest to the heart of Christ. His love is so beautiful, his love is for ME. Having a baby boy now, I could relate to Mary's heart more this year too. Mary, help me to never leave Jesus' side and to be a woman of the Kingdom like you!

We got to go to Beloit, Kansas and spend Easter with family. We are always so happy to see family and are especially happy we didn't stay here because it was a white Easter...yuck. We had such a good weekend full of festivites, good food, and sweet moments. I love watching the little kids interact with each other and get excited about John Phillip soon trying to join that possy. I guess we'll have to get him some trains soon so he can fit in. :) He likes hanging with baby Margaret right now. We got to see new baby Veronica which was such a highlight. She is nothing but a beauty! Maria is always an amazing hostess. Everyone always looks forward to meal time at her house. Me and Phil thoroughly enjoyed our first Easter together with baby rabbit, John Phillip. We had too much fun dressing him up. Holidays just aren't the same without children! We also had fun preparing the Egg hunt for the kiddos. It was a real struggle trying to leave. After getting packed up, saying goodbyes, and getting situated in the car, Phil decided that we needed to stay for dinner....."we're back!" We felt a little better about saying goodbye after that.  

Nashville

We didn't want to leave! Even John Phillip started crying as we left. :( We had a wonderful time with family and friends and always get spoiled with love when we visit the Simpson's. John was always held and loved hanging out with his aunts and uncles. We can't wait till your visit out to Colorado this summer! We also got to celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary on Sunday. We ate a delicious brunch prepared by Mama Simpson, Phillip sung and danced with me to "kiss the girl" haha, and we sliced into some of our wedding cake! We of course rejoiced in our anniversary gift too, our precious John Phillip. God couldn't have blessed us more in our marriage. It has been the best year of our lives. I want to bottle up these sweet memories forever. Thank you Jesus for my dearest husband, Phillip!