Martha Metzler.com

As usual, I’m a couple weeks late on this post but eh, it’s just tradition at this point.

My little Bud,

You are 7 months old! How did that happen!? You are getting funnier and funnier every day. Your facial expressions have your daddy and me cracking up constantly. You love to sing and squeal a bunch of nonsense words although I’m sure they mean something to you. You have 4 teeth at this point! Two top and two bottom. Your dad would like to apologize that you got his gap teeth on the top. I had no idea how much your dad hated his teeth until yours came in and that’s all I hear about 😉 So, I’m not joking when I say that he has apologized to you a million times. I think you look perfect (I will not be saying that when you try out a goatee in your 20s… just sayin’).

You are still sitting up like a champ but don’t really understand how to catch yourself yet so we’ve had a few falls that make you a bit grumpy when I don’t get there in time. But you are a tough little man. You have gotten over your “I’m going to freak out when mama leaves the room” phase so that’s awesome. I love hearing you play independently while I wash dishes/cook/put my makeup on. You are showing zero interest in crawling so we’ll just have to see when that milestone happens!

My favorite thing you do is dance! Any time you hear music whether its from my ipod or one of your toys, you start to rock back and forth and bob your head. It’s adorable and we have a great time having dance parties together in the living room.

My least favorite thing you do is freak out in the carseat. You used to LOVE the car seat my little crazy child. Now, all of a sudden you HATE it. As soon as we start driving you start whining and crying away. We have “car cookies” when I give you a Mum Mum to eat and that’s the only thing that keeps you quiet… of course, I’m resorting to the things that I said I’d NEVER do but that’s motherhood right? I think there is a tiny little corner of hell devoted to really bad people where the devil makes them sit in a car with a screaming baby. It’s torture.

You are still eating like a champ, I love it!! We sit at the table together and you love sweet potatoes, peas, mo-meal, squash, pears, mangos, apples, peaches, yogurt, bananas, and avocado. While I couldn’t get you to drink water from any sippy cup, bottle, or straw you somehow decided that you are going to drink your water from a Camelbak water bottle! I kid you not, you chose the most complicated drinking device and you house some water from that. So I ordered you your own little Camelbak bottle with spaceships on it. It’s your new favorite possession.

This month had its ups and a down as your Daddy left for Afghanistan to fight some bad guys. I can’t wait for him to tell you all his stories and I know you are so proud to have him as your daddy because he works so hard for us and our safety. I can tell you miss him but you get the biggest smile on your face when we see his face on Skype or in pictures. It makes my heart so happy that you love your Dada so much.

I love you little man, to the moon and back and I’m so glad God chose me to be your mama.

Why yes, that is an amber teething necklace around his ANKLE! #neckfat

What the? This is a sticker?

This is what happens when your baby realizes that something is detachable….

Now you see the sticker....

NOW YOU DON'T!! NO MORE STICKER SUCKERS!

I saw this article and felt like it explained Lent so well. I don’t need a particular season to focus on my depravity and need for Jesus, but I think Lent is a good time to fast from something that I probably put a bit higher on my “importance ladder” (its a real thing) than it should be. The past 2 years I have given up candy. We all know my problem. I’ve accepted it. This year I’ll do the same but make sure that it’s not about just fasting from something. The season of Lent needs to be about my heart. Is my heart focused on Christ? Is it focused on my daily need for Him? Am I putting things above Him that in the name of all things holy need to be shot down below Him?

This article really resonated with me so I thought I’d share.

To those that know me know that it takes holding me at gun point and threatening to take away my Nerds Rope in order to get me to make a normal face for a photo. Remember this post I did a couple years ago? So its no surprise that my offspring would have some kooky faces as well. Poor dude never had a chance…

I think this might be my favorite….

I can’t thank you enough for all of your comments of encouragement, prayers, and support. It means the world to my family. For real, I read those this weekend when I was feeling sad and I felt so surrounded so thank you, thank you, thank you.

NOW, for Week 6 our challenge was to create something. I created some Valentine’s Day chocolate cupcakes for my valentine (he ate 2, I ate the rest) AND I made a collage of ole Bud and mod podged them onto a journal. This year I’m going to keep track of the things I create in this little journal whether its a picture of a craft or a song lyric. That way I’ll have a whole book to keep me accountable and encouraged to keep creating! That way I will mean what I said in this post!

Week 7 Challenge is to take the time to WRITE DOWN something you’re grateful for that happens in the everyday-ness  (it’s a word) of your life.  If you have a blog, just do a little post of something you are grateful for and link up! If you don’t have a blog, you can leave it in the comments section. If you hate blogs and only read this because I guilt tripped you or you have a thing for seeing me in unitards, then well… FINE BE THAT WAY!

Remember when I vaguely mentioned we had some stuff going on with us in this post? Well it all happened this weekend. What happened you ask? This happened:

Yep, on Saturday morning, the man of my dreams got on a plane to Afghanistan for the year. It was a sweet and rough weekend of goodbyes but irreplaceable memories. Sam and I sat up Friday night praying for each other and trying to laugh. He looked at me and said, “I know without a doubt in my mind this is God’s will for our family. And whenever you’re following the Lord, the highs will be higher and the lows will be lower. This is just a low point but we have to keep rejoicing.” So my man, I will keep rejoicing as my feet creep over to your side of the bed trying to find yours or when I have the privilege to tell Bud that his daddy is fighting for justice in a place that so desperately needs it and that he will be back so soon.

I sat on the couch last night watching movies on Netflix, eating a ridiculous amount of candy, and drinking a healthy-sized glass of wine and and had myself a good cry. Then I clung to Scripture like my life depended on it. Psalm 73:26 — I begged him to be my portion and my strength. Isaiah 41:10– He is my God, He will strengthen, help me, and uphold me in his righteous right hand.

I know these things to be true and He will be my breath. I know now that I can’t get through this without the Lord, it’s as simple as that. I must have His strength. It’s my lifeline.

I know each day will get a little easier, definitely not easy, but easier. I will hold those conversations so dearly that Sam and I had Friday night and will count down the days until he gets home. Saturday morning when we woke up, I tried to tell him that I talked to Afghanistan and they didn’t need him anymore. They had miraculously found peace and were all playing bridge together. But for some reason, he didn’t believe me. It was worth a shot.

Look at this sass… I have NO idea where he gets this from.

From our house to yours, may you feel love in any form today… but especially candy.

We had an awesome date night together at a cute little Italian restaurant on Saturday. Our Bud man wasn’t feeling great but our awesome sitter took great care of him and got our little man to fall asleep.

My hubby surprised me with an beautiful dress for our date. It was so fun opening up the package and having it to wear that night!!

And Bud’s new favorite game is to stand up and balance on the chairs. He’s not pulling himself up yet but once he’s standing, he’ll just grab hold and shake his little booty back and forth!

Well I don’t know about you, but I had an awesome time with week 5 of Livin’ the Dream. I sat down with a cup of tea, propped my feet up, and wrote 3 letters. I wrote one to a mama who deserved some thanks, one to a friend who I hadn’t talk to in a hot minute, and one really absurd letter to a friend who needed to laugh and appreciates my sense of humor (i.e. doesn’t institutionalize me).

Just a heads up so you can start marinating on your next challenge, Week 6 Challenge is to create something! ANYTHING! GO!

Who did you write letters to??

Happy Thursday everyone! You know what that means… good TV shows tonight and one more day until Friday. I did a guest post for my new bestiegirl Lauren over at Salt + Light.  She’s my new fav friend and we hold it down in the PNW together trying to talk about faith in a non-douchy way. I like her mucho and kinda wish we lived on the same street so I could share my love of dairy products with someone besides Roy.

I figured I’d post it here too because in full disclosure, I don’t know what else to write about today.

** Note, I know dudes totally need rescuing and the damsel analogy goes for you too 2 dude readers…

Damsel in Stress

 My son and I read “The Storybook Bible” each day and a common theme keeps emerging through the author’s words. She continues to point out that God sent a Rescuer to His people because we needed rescuing. I’ve said the words a million times, “Lord come rescue me from this situation…. or that person…. or this silence…. or my constant need for Willy Wonka products” , you get the idea. We are calling out constantly, yes? Don’t get pissed when I ask this but, do we make ourselves available for rescue or are we just waving the flag without looking for the rescue plane? Are we dying of thirst without noticing the giant jug of water God placed next to us?  I have asked myself this question this week: Am I a damsel in distress or just a damsel in stress?

Lets think about the classic damsels in distress shall we? We have Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, Lindsey Lohan… well, skip that last one. All those those ladies desperately wanted to be rescued. It was all they thought about and their life depended on it. They made themselves available for rescue. In fact, most of them had the entire community knowing that they needed rescuing. How humbling, how refreshing, and what a kick in the ass. Why do we cry out through our fears to be rescued but then strut through the streets in our pretty cardigan clutching out monogrammed Bible Purse and pretend as though we are just fine and dandy? Why in the world would we not embrace our need to be rescued and show the world, “YES, send my Rescuer… my life depends on it.”

 “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” 
– 2 Corinthians 11:30

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 
– 2 Corinthians 12:9

He desires to save us, in fact, that was His Plan… He made that kinda obvious through the whole sending His own Son to save us thing. He will be made known through our weaknesses if we are willing to be weak.

If we want to be rescued, we must open ourselves up to the way God wants to rescue us. Perhaps He wants to rescue us through silence. Perhaps He wants to rescue us through a diverted path. Perhaps He wants to rescue us by stripping us of the things we have grasped onto for stability. Whatever it is, if we truly, I mean truly want to be rescued, let us take a beat to listen to our Rescuer’s game plan. Lets stop stressing and  start listening. Lets put out LOST flyers saying, “Woman needing rescued: answers to Martha.” Plus, I’m guessing His rescue is better than any glass slipper or prince or fairy godmother; I’m willing to bet my life on it.

We’ve got top teeth and hair coming in this week! You can find me in my pantry… losing my hair. See what I did there?