Jodi's Top 7 of 2007

7. My job at REACH -I have been so blessed to have a job that I love. Jan (my boss) has been so nice to keep me on staff even though I am very part time. Occassionaly, I get to go to go into schools on fridays (Jay's days off). Because of our new governor we have lost our funding and are on the verge of closing (thank you Ted Strickland). We are still holding out for something to happen to keep REACH afloat.

6. Our vacation to Hilton Head- We got to go with my parents to Hilton Head when Owen was only 2 months old. It was so relaxing and so nice to get away. It was also nice for Jay and I to get some alone time while my parents watched Owen.

5. Our new Mac/TV - We have literally waited for years to get a home computer. I am so thankful to be able to keep in touch with family and friends via the internet. I love having a connection to the outside world on days when Owen and I do not get out.

4. Pregnancy and delivery - I totally enjoyed being pregnant (except for the throwing up of the first trimester and being over due). People are so much nicer to you when you are pregnant. There are also the people stare me down (and continue to do so) because I look like a teenager. I always try to flash my ring in their direction. I have no idea why I care what they think but for some reason I just want to yell out, "I am 27 and I am married so back off."
Delivery was amazing, it was what came afterwards that was a bit of a challenge (emergency surgery and blood transfusions). It was crazy to think this little human just came out of me and he is mine!

3. Our church body - I love our church. I am so thankful that it is comitted to being a gospel oriented church. The people at our church are incredible. We were overwhelmed this year by the shower that was thrown for us. We continue to meet new individuals who are such servants and want to use their gifts to glorify God. It is so strange to think that a year ago I did not know some of the people that I know now who are such an encouragement to me. Our church had also gone through a lot of changes this year and yet because of God's grace we continued to grow.

2. Friends and family - We got to see a lot of friends this year from college that we do not get to see very often. It is those friendships that once you are together you just go from where you last left off. It is so bitter sweet to see them because afterwards you miss them more. God has giving us amazing friends from high school, college and in Greenville. We are so blessed to have people that help us grow closer to our heavenly Father.
We are so thankful to both be raised in Christian homes. It has been so much fun to watch our families interact with Owen (especially Jay's parents being that it is their first grandchild). I love that we never have to worry about Owen when we leave him with any family members. My mom has been especially amazing this year. She stayed with us for almost 2 weeks after Owen was born. Because of complications I was really weak and my mom just took over. She would sleep in the same room with Owen and only wake me up if he needed to eat! She is a woman that I truly desire to be like. It has also been nice to be able to drop off Owen and their house and go out on dates. :)

Drum roll please! And the #1 of 2007 is.....

1. Being Parents - I could never have dreamed what it was really like to be a parent. It is completely awesome and completely terrifying at the same time. Watching Jay with Owen has been one of the highlights of my year. I have seen a whole different side of Jason since he has become a dad. Jay is an incredible father! I could never ask for a better husband!
I love being a mommy. I cannot imagine life now without Owen (what did we do for entertainment before?) Being a mom has exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to the new year full of "firsts" with Owen.

As I look back over the year I am amazed at God's grace and goodness in our lives! Thank you Lord for blessing me way beyond what I deserve. Christmas this year brings on a whole different meaning when I think about God sending His only Son to this earth to die. I pray that in the coming year I would be reminded of this daily when I look at the son God has given us.
Merry Christmas!!!!!

Owen's Favorites

Just a few of Owen's Favorites (in no particular order)
~ Playing and standing in our laundry baskets
~ Sucking on his pacifier (check out both pics)- he just started taking it a few weeks ago
~ Standing in his crib when he does not want to go to sleep
~ Eating fruit (from mashed up bananas to canned apples and cranberries)
~ Any type of mirror. He loves looking at himself. Despite what the books and magazines say I can tell he knows that it is him.
~ Bouncing up and down in his crib before going to bed. We do this before every nap and at bedtime.
~ His fish and fish bowl toys - I got this at a garage sale before I was pregnant for $1.00.
~ Mommy - I have got the goods!
~ Daddy coming home from work. When he hears the garage door open his eyes get bigger and he stares at the door until Jay walks in. He knows that he is about to have some serious play time.

Christmas Dance

Bradshaw Dance
Jason did not think this was very funny! Bah Humbug! I thought it would spread some Christmas cheer!

The Simple Things

Today was a good day. This morning I had two friends over for coffee and breakfast. Isabel and Rachel each have a daughter who is close to Owen's age. I am so thankful to have friends in the same life place as me. I brewed coffee on my new french press. My sister, Jaime, introduced me to french press coffee a while ago but we had it again over thanksgiving. The coffee is so much richer and bolder - I love it! This morning I bounced out of bed when I remembered I had bought the press (and the fact that I still had some cleaning to do).

This afternoon we went to Walmart to get some things that we have been needing. Owen enjoyed his time riding around in the cart. He can now sit in the front of the cart so he likes when we go grocery shopping. We then both took an afternoon nap. :)

This evening Owen woke up around 5:00 and then we played with his favorite toy, a laundry basket, for about an hour. Nothing makes him happier than than when I push him around in the basket. He now also loves pulling himself up and hanging on to the sides. I think that he is going to enjoy the box his Christmas present comes in more than the toy! Why do I even spend the money?

Today was just a regular day spent with my little guy but for some reason it was just one of those great days. I love when I can just sit back and enjoy the simple things in life.

So Thankful

This last week we had Thanksgiving at the Slagle house. I love spending time with my family. The whole Slagle bunch stayed at my parents (8 adults & 6 kids). It was a little hectic at times but so much fun. I am especially thankful this year for two new members to the Slagle family, Owen and Sadie (my sister's daughter).

He's Growing Up

Owen & Malachi watching their first OSU vs Michigan game! So cute!

These last two weeks Owen has had a lot of "firsts".
* He now reaches up to be held
* He now sits in his high chair to eat (sometimes)
* He can get up to a sitting position on his own
* He pulls himself up to a standing postition (we had to lower the crib)
* He can now wave (although only does this when he wants to)
* He can eat five cubes of apples at one sitting (he also pooped a record high of 3 times in a few hours)

He is growing up way to fast! But we love seeing investigate the world (living room) around him and get so excited when he does something for the first time. He is on the verge of crawling. He just gets into the positon and rocks back and forth. Maybe by the time we go to G & G Bradshaw's house for Christmas he will be mobile.

We had a wonderful weekend. Friday night was our much anticipated date night. We went to BW3s for dinner, went and saw Dan in Real Life (we recommend it) and went to Night Sky for coffee. We were gone for five and a half hours! Thanks so much David and Lyndie for taking Owen! Saturday we got to spend time with wonderful friends and watch OSU beat Michigan. What a relaxing weekend with family and friends! We are so blessed!

Meme

Okay so I am not really sure what this is but I have been tagged by my sis-in-law Becky (prechewedworms.wordpress.com) and I have to write 5 interesting things about myself and then tag three other people (I think it is a way to get to know other bloggers - it is called meme).
1. Jason and I love to go out to dinner together. Our favorite place to eat is Bravo. I have not been there since before I was pregnant because there is so much garlic. The second I am done breast feeding we are there!
2. I love to clean! When I know that my house is clean I tend to feel more relaxed (guess I have not been relaxed for over 7 months).
3. When Jason and I met for the first time he thought I was a snob. No comments please! It was about a year later that we started dating.
4. One of my favorite things to do is bake cookies - especially chocolate chip (I made some today)
5. When I want to relax I brew some coffee and break out a good book.

I tag Lyndie - whisperingbrooke.blogspot.com
Janet - whipplewords.wordpress.com
Charity - charitywright.blogspot.com

Come on girls! Do not break the chain! Don't forget to tag three other people!

Sweet Potatoes & Wrestling

There are many things that Owen seems to love about life. He loves to eat! But I think his favorite time of the day is when Daddy comes home and plays with him! It looks like Owen has him pinned!

I LOVE MY HUBBY!!!!!!

This last weekend was so relaxing. On saturday our mom's group from church went shopping and out to lunch. It was so nice to get away from the cornfields (something I need to do often) and be in a "city". I loved spending time with the women that went along and getting some time to myself. When I pulled into the church parking lot to drop off some of the ladies Jay called and said to stay out longer if I want because he was just giving Owen his next bottle! What a great husband! He had already been with Owen for five and a half hours.

I ended up coming right home and then we fed Owen and left to go back to Richmond (Jason needs to get away a lot to). We went to dinner and did some shopping. It was so nice to go out with my two favorite guys!

Next weekend we have an official date night (thank you David and Lyndie). Looking forward to spending some alone time with Jay. Our last date night we felt like gitty teenagers when we were driving to go to dinner. I must admit dates are much more anticipated and fun now!

That is all for now! Hope you have a wonderful monday! Only 10 days until Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Occupation: Stay at Home Mom

Yesterday I was at the chiropractor and I was filling out all the papers. One question asked what your occupation was (this was the first time I was asked this since I had Owen). It was kind of fun for me to put stay at home mom since this has always been what I wanted to do.

When the chiropractor was working on my back she said, "So I see you have a bachelors. And you are a stay at home mom?"
I was not really sure how to take the comment. She did not say it in a rude way but just a sincere way of asking.

Some days I wonder what am I really doing? I sit and play on the floor and make funny noises half the day, clean dirty buns, sing silly songs, wash lots more clothes (with lots of spit up stains) and have a baby latched on to my breasts for three hours a day. BUT I also get to be there for all of Owen's firsts. I get to be there when he wakes up from naps and cannot stop smiling. I get to lay on the floor and tickle him until he gets the hiccups because he is laughing so hard. I have a constant companion to talk to all day (now I do not feel so insane for talking to myself). The most important thing though is that, Lord willing, I am helping raise the next generation of Christians. I get to daily disciple my son. What I am praying is that Owen will be a man who honors God with his life. How amazing it is to think that God has given me one of the most important jobs in the world. I can proudly say that I am a stay at home mom!

Alone Time

This is my first blog post ever (obviously). Just a few disclaimers before I actually get started....
1. I was not an english major. My Bible profs could care less if we spelled correctly or used the right punctuation. I have not had grammer since 8th grade and you will be able to tell. :)
2. I do not claim to be a writer. This is the one reason that I have not started a blog yet. I just write what I think.
Now that is all over with!

Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom (that is probably what the majority of the posts will be on) but I LOVE ALONE TIME!! Jay and I figured out early on in marriage that we both needed time alone every week. Now with Owen alone time looks much different.

I am so thankful that we have a sleeper! Owen goes to bed between 7:30 - 8:00 pm and gets up at 7:00 to eat and then goes back to sleep until 9:00. When I actually have the energy I stay up and I get my alone time. My day goes so much better when I have this hour by myself. I love sipping coffee and doing devotions or checking blogs! I know that you who have numerous kids are laughing now because this will not last but for now it is my time.

This blog is going to be made mainly for friends and family who are out of town so that they can see pictures of Owen growing up (have not yet figured out how to get pics up). It is probably going to be more of a photo journal and every once in a while thoughts on what I am reading or what God is doing in my life. Stay tuned for more!! I have about 45 minutes more of alone time so I am out!