alllll RIGHT ALREADY!!

lately, i have had several people mention to me, in a not-so-subtle-way ("uh, darby, you're a bad blogger." ah-HEM, you know who you are), that i haven't been the greatest at keeping up with my blog lately. and of course, i agree. it's pitiful. ridiculous. obsurd. but to my credit, i have looked at every pregnant girl's blog on my bloglist (amanda, megan, jen, emilie) and with the exception of kimberly, NONE of us have updated in the last 2 weeks at least. how can she throw them under the bus like that," you might ask???? well, it's because i am the worst of them all. so, that's how i justify ALL of our less-than-frequent updates. now...on to our life lately

my little baby boy turned TWO today. we woke up and had breakfast donuts, spent time with daddy before he went to work, and sang "happy birthday" over and over to our little audience. he would clap after each rendition and say "again!" it was great. his birthday party is coming this weekend and i'm SO EXCITED about having his friends over to play on his NEW SWING SET!! pops and gramsy (my parents) decided to get levi a little outdoor fun this year, and he is already loving it!!! it's going to be lots of fun in the summer months ahead, but i do confess that as a mom, i'm a little nervous about how adventerous levi is. he has already - in the last day, mind you - tried multiple ways to jump off the top fort. he has no fear whatsoever. so, we will just keep bandaids, popsicles, and blankies on hand at all times and we should be ok ;)

going back some, MY SISTER MARRIED HER BEST FRIEND on the 25th of april!! their wedding was incredible! great wedding, reception, dance, food, photographer ;0, music, friends, family, and ring bearers (levi and "cousin major" were the most handsome boys at the wedding)! it was a blast - kelsey and tanner - i am so happy for you guys and am so excited that you are MARRIED and getting to "do" life together as husband and wife! tanner hal easley - you have made my sister one happy girl and i am so glad to have you in our family now!! you guys are the best.

we also got to see grandma and grandpa edwards, who brought so many goodies to levi and me (but since i'm pregnant, none of the clothes fit ;( sad sad day when you have to turn clothes away), and with them, they brought cousin jenny and her little boy charlie!! after the boys got used to each other, they played all KINDS of games together! it was SO GREAT to see all of you, i just wish it could have been lots longer!

anyways, just some of whats gone on lately. i have been feeling better, not normal by any means, but better. i only have a couple of days left in my first trimester, so i am hoping that in the next couple of weeks, all sickness with be outta here! heres a video of levi seeing his swing set with the slide on for the first time!! he had to be so patient for 2 days while he watched this present go up piece by piece. he just couln't wait for the slide to be attached! big toys for big boys!!!

you're so smart!!!

yes!! we are pregnant with our SECOND baby! as of today, i am 6 1/2 weeks. we will have this baby, with the Lord's grace, around November 20th..right before thanksgiving! what a gift to be thankful for! i can't wait! i can't wait to see what this little ones personality will be, what they will look like - will they look like levi and clayton, or will you be able to see some of me in them - will levi be excited at first or apprehensive...the list goes on and on. i will comprise a list of them all soon - just for me to remember after the baby is here. i DO think it's probably another little boy, but God could surprise us!! who knows! when i was pregnant with levi, i was NEVER sick. i never felt naseous, never gagged at any smell, and never threw up. all i wanted to do my first trimester was eat. i was CONSTANTLY hungry. however, this pregnancy is stacking up to be completely different. i have been naseous since thursday. i have gagged at brushing my teeth, changing levi's poopy diapers, and any random smell in my kitchen. and in keeping with the contrast in pregnancies, i have hardly eaten anything - except bland food, peppermints and now preggie pop drops. so maybe it's a girl...????? but the male genes are pretttty strong in the walker family, so we will see.

thanks for all the congrats - we couldn't be more excited or more thankful for this little life that God has shared with us. i'm just ready for him/her to be here!!! is that being impatient? um, maybe a little.

secrets....

i know something you don't know....


can you guess what it is?

security

there are times in my life when God makes it so plain to me that i need Him. not just his grace or mercy or gifts...things that are easy to take for granted, but times that in my soul, i crave my Savior. there are times when things get so hard and so frustrating that all i want is for Him to save me from it all. yes, i wish that trials would just go away, who doesn't? but i'm talking about when you know you need rescuing and there is only One who can do it. who in the midst of all the chaos and confusion can settle the waves and put peace back into my heart. i LOVE that i have a SAVIOR - i love that he knows me in the most intimate ways, can sympathize with my weaknesses and failures, and more importantly - will stand on my behalf to intercede for me. these are the times that i long to know Christ more, when it seems like everything in me is yearning to just be in His presence. i hate these times, but i cherish them endlessly. i am so thankful for my salvation. so grateful that i have the savior of the world as my confidant and husband. and in all my thankfulness for having that relationship with Him, almost instantly i feel this ache for the lost. for people who have yet to know Him or have turned in outright rebellion from Him. Lord, my heart is torn when people haven't found your hope. thank you for being my savior - for taking my awful, wayward, rebellious heart and promising to transform it into your likeness. jesus - thank you for never being overwhelmed by my needing you.

introducing...mowgli

this is a video of levi "playing" with his pet mowgli - the beta fish. thank you grandma and grandpa edwards for this wonderful christmas gift - levi absolutely adores him! he fell in love with "bish" after nemo became a regular at our house, so having a fish to feed and watch at the house anytime has been a blast!

this weekend was a looooong one! clayton got sick with some sort of bug saturday night, and finallt felt good enough to go to work today. so we didn't leave the house from saturday afternoon until tonight - can ya say cabin fever!?!? we needed to leave so bad that we decided to take a family trip to target, only to find that the patty wagon ( our affectionate name for the pathfinder) wouldn't start. so we put the car seat in claytons monster truck (NEVER an easy task) and took off for a 45 minute outing. other than that, things around here have been pleasantly normal. oh, and just so you know, mowgli was not hurt in ANY way - well, not that we know of ;)

and by the way, is it just me, or do fish have personalities?!?! i swear our fish loves my company. or maybe being in the house all weekend is just catching up to me - mentally. what do you think?

boys make noise

apparently i'm banned from uploading videos right now and i'm ticked off - i have the greatest video ever and it wont let me upload it!!! argh! so i'm writing this in an embittered attitude. so if i can't upload the video i want, then i wanted to share with you a video of how i feel....this is older-right after levi started walking-old, but still, it represents my frustration well ;0

we have been great this week - levi has a little cold and had to stay home from parents day out, but is feeling better. instead we went to sonic to get some smoothies and hung out by the fire while watching veggie tales! coolest mom ever?!?!?! i think so. ;)

yes, yes. i know.

"choo-choo"
on the polar express in durango

ok, i have to explain, i was trying to make a sorority face, and this is what happened. clearly i was never in a sorority, but i laugh everytime i see this. so go ahead, laugh at my expense ;)

my new decor...thousands of army men.


its been awhile. but lets move on from that. no one likes to live in the past, right? uh, yea right. it has been such an amazing couple of weeks - christmas was an absolute blast this year. my sister and her fiance came to stay with us for a week and we baked the ENTIRE week....ya know, the stuff memories are made of. levi had a blast opening presents and got so many great toys  - we are defin cleaning out the house and putting younger toys in the attic - whew! can't wait for that saturday project. clayton and i went skiing with our college ministry last week, and clayton fell directly on his right hip and had a muscle contusion as a result. the poor guy was unable to walk, sleep, move, anything. he was miserable - but over the last couple of days he has started to feel much better - THANK GOODNESS! another update - we have decided to buy the house that we have been renting over the last 2 years!!!! we are so excited and can't wait to make it our own - which means lots of do-it-yourself projects, but it will be so great to know that we did it together as a family. i will acutally post pics of before and after bc i love junk like that. anyways, just a quick update, and now, here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks, er uh, maybe months. ;)