What Is In A Year?

A year (from Old English ȝēr; symbol y or sometimes a) is the amount of time it takes the Earth to make one revolution around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit.
For me it has been 365 days of absolute newness. I have spent almost every moment of the last year with my sweet Colton! I have been blessed beyond words to be his mother. God is using this little man in a giant way to etch away the ugly in my heart and life.

I cannot believe my first born is a year old… I can still remember how excited in shock I was when I found out I was pregnant (in the bathroom at work!... who seriously takes a pregnancy test at work!?); I remember being in total disarray trying to figure out how I was going to tell Chris when he got home from his business trip and I remember the absolute calm look on his face when I told him I was pregnant! I remember the morning all day sickness, the labor pains, the hour long ride to the hospital, and the 4 hours in a delivery bed. I can still remember how HOT it was in the delivery room (Chris says he had the air on 60!), the hateful nurse, the annoying post delivery bed, but oh yeah, how sweet my husband was that entire day, well several days (why am I tearing up???). I certainly remember the epidural free childbirth (Thank you Lord that you allowed me to have that experience!) and holding my little man for the first time. Needless to say, it has been a memorable year!

52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours, 525600 minutes, 31536000 seconds; ONE YEAR!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLTON!

Full Circle

In my last 2 years of college I had the awesome experience of being a nanny to a wonderful family of 6. When I first started the job there was Phillip 4, Claire 3, and Anna and Andrew barely 1! Those 2 years were the fondest 2 years ever… yes, at times it was exhausting, but in the end it was so rewarding and helped prepare me for the arrival of my own son! During that time it was the twins that changed the most – when I first started Anna was barely walking and Andrew was crawling, when my time with the Nichols had ended I had made it through both twins learning to walk, going from the bottle to the sippy cup, giving up the passy, starting pre-school, and learning to potty train. Needless to say it was a hard break to make when I had to leave! The Nichols recently traveled to New Zealand for a yearlong medial/mission trip! Once they were all settled back home we paid them a visit…








Andrew (the youngest and Colton playing together!) ... he was definatley the most interested in my little man... Colton was mostly interested in chewing on the furniture!

So... as you can see this was a "full circle" moment for me!

Lots of Love,

Summer Jo Brooks

Mother's Day

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh






"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."-- Agatha Christie





"Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all."-- Oliver Wendell Holmes






"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."-- Cardinal Mermillod





A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories. ~Honoré de Balzac

I love being a mom, but I could not do what I do without the wonderful husband that I have! I am so in love with the "boys" in my life! I am blessed far more than I deserve!

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mom's out there!

The Lake

Chris grew up on the lake, his parents and grandparents live on the lake, so it is only natural that we spend a LOT of time during (especially during the summer). Our summers are jam packed with lots of time boating and relaxing in the sun! This weekend was so beautiful and warm so we took Colton on his first boat ride. Colton was just a newborn last summer so he did not have a chance to get outside much, but if this weekend is any indication of how our summer is going to go, it is going to be great! I was shocked that he didn’t take a screaming fit when I put the life jacket on him and was more shocked that he just lay down and relaxed! My child relaxing while awake! Totally out of character for him… he is normally go go go! Here are a few pics!





I think this is a indicator that he is going to do great at the beach!

Lot of Love,

SJB

Easter has always been one of my favorite “holidays” of the year; it is such a wonderful time to reflect on the death, burial and most importantly the resurrection of our wonderful Savior. This Easter was extra special because it was Colton’s first Easter (well, first Easter outside of the womb). I love to mark all of his firsts; I hope I do that with all of our children. Our Easter weekend was spent with Chris’ family on the lake – we got to visit with his brothers children (Mitchell 5 and Evelyn 2) – we do not get to see them much because they live in Nashville so we had a great time! They had not seen Colton since Christmas and he is a totally different child now (crawling, babbling, being a wild 10 month old) so it was nice to see them enjoy him! Easter day was a day filled with worship, great music, and a wonderful message from our Pastor. All this followed by lots of picture snapping…

Welcome Home

Chris and his dad were recently away on a 2 week business trip to China. This was Chris' sixth trip, but his first one since the birth of Colton! The days leading up the the trip are always super hard for both Chris and I, but I really tried to work hard to stay positive. As I always do, I dropped Mike and Chris off at the airport - when Chris told Colton bye we both teared up!... it was so sad! It was a lonely 2 weeks without him, but well worth it because on their business trip they had the opportunity to lead 27 Chinese to Christ!! Colton and I were able to stay in touch and talk to Chris and Mike (Papaw) twice a day via skype! It was great because with our web cams we could not only talk, but see one another too. I know that it was confusing to Colton to see his daddy and papaw on a computer screen. It was an exciting day when they returned... I took lots of pictures and Mooma videoed!... Colton was a little confused at first when he saw Chris, but once he realized it was him "for real" and not on a computer screen he couldn't stop kissing and touching his daddy! It was too sweet! Welcome home!

You Know You're a Mom When

You know you’re a Mom When…

Some days when I really let it hit me it is like a bolt of lightning coming in… Oh my stars! I’m a MOM!!

1. Its noon and you realize that you still haven’t brushed your teeth or had breakfast!
2. Life is planned according to a nap schedule
3. You’ve caught spit up in your hand.
4. You sing the ABC’s in your sleep… grr!
5. You cannot remember what it is like to get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time.
6. You not only pack your little one an extra set of clothes on an outing b/ you pack you an extra set.
7. Your purse contains pacifiers, diapers and wipes. (I also carried ‘Tucks’ for a while too… ha)
8. Your kid’s clothes are better than yours.
9. You get excited over a dirty diaper!
10. You realize that being a mommy is the hardest job ever!

Blessed

Sometimes the busyness of life hinders my remembrance of just how blessed my life is. I look at Colton and hold him and know that the Lord has blessed me beyond measure and far more than I could ever imagine and certainly more than I deserve. I have a son, a healthy baby boy who already loves me and knows that I love him. Unfortunately it sometimes takes seeing the tragedy of someone else's life to be reminded of just how great yours is. I was looking for some song lyrics today and came across 2 blogs that absolutely shook my world. Both were blogs from mothers who had lost newborn children. I sat in my desk chair reading absolutely broken for these families. They have been through such tragedy, but yet are proclaiming that they too are BLESSED!

If you are interested these are the 2 blogs:

http://thestanfieldjourney.blogspot.com/

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe," Hebrews 12:28

Colton's First Road Trip

Colton and I got to accompanied Chris on a business trip a few weeks ago... It was excited b/c we didn't have to go a week without daddy and because it was Colton's first road trip! As you can imagine with a baby in tow a normal 6 hour trip turned into an 8 hour trip to Tupelo, Mississippi for the Tupelo Furniture Mart. It was Colton's first time in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and his first time in a hotel room. Considering that he only slept for an hour on the way down he did really well! It is so exciting every time we get to do something with him for the first time or see him do something new for the first time! He recently learned how to clap - I wish we would have had a video of our reactions - Chris and I were so excited and we just wanted to show everyone his new "trick". Who would have thought you would get so excited over seeing a baby clap?! The joy he has brought into our lives is overwhelming and so undeserving.