Party of 3 Plus a Belly!

I haven't been great at taking the belly pictures this time around like I was with Cade. I had Eric pose me in front of a blank wall every 4 weeks with Cade. I think I'm lucky if I have 4 pictures this time! I guess that is what happens when #2 comes around and there is a busy 20 month old to look after and a new home to clean, decorate and organize. My sis was gracious enough to squeeze in taking some pictures of the 3 of us during a very busy weekend. Literally we had 15 minutes to get as many pictures as we could, and of course it was the perfect storm - - Jenny needed to get to Cooper to feed him, Cade needed a nap, Eric (who was on call for work all week long) had an emergency with a client, yet was kind enough to tear away for the photo opp, and we were expected at a 5 year old birthday party! Phew!! God had a grip on my heart and attitude because I know typically I would have been disappointed with the timing, upset we didn't get 100 photos, and frustrated with Eric's work emergency, but instead I was incredibly grateful for what we were able to capture. Life is not going to slow down, get any less busy or complicated.
So I am learning to be grateful for whatever the moment holds and sometimes you only need one picture to tell an entire story.

Oh boy! What a Summer!!

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant... you know what that means... last post until 2012! Just kidding, but with the way I update the blog I wouldn't be surprised. Nolan's due date (scheduled c-section on 9/9/11) is approaching so quickly. We are doing our best to get everything accomplished on our "to do" list. It's overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. We can't wait to add Nolan to our family and see what Cade thinks of being a big brother. He is such a sweet boy that I can't imagine that he wouldn't be great at the roll.

I still plan on posting some pics of our "new" home and the projects we have been working on, but for now I thought I would do a little recap of some of our summer adventures. Since we just bought a home there were no summer vacations for us! We have instead filled our weekends with home updates and trips around town. I have been really tired with this pregnancy, so I can't say we have done as much as I would have liked, but I think Cade has had some fun none-the-less :)

We welcomed Cooper John Poladian into the family early in the morning on June 18, 2011. It was an exciting couple of days since Jenny had to work out 30 hours of labor. She was a real trooper and strong mama! Cooper has been such a joy to snuggle! Cade and I have made couple trips down south to visit and Cooper has made some surprise visits up to us too. We are taking in as much as we can since they seem to grow so quickly at this stage. We love you Cooper!

July 24, 2011 was a beautiful day in Camarillo at the Bella Victorian Vineyard as we were part of an intimate group who were honored to witness our friends Tanya and Jere become man and wife. It was a bit of a date for Eric and I to be in this beautiful setting, enjoying wonderful friends! I even wore the shoes I wore on my wedding day. The first time since the wedding, so we had to take a picture to commemorate the special day :). I am 33 weeks pregnant in the pictures and still managed to wear those heels all night long! After leaving the wedding Eric surprised me and took me to this little gelato and chocolate shop (it was a treat since I couldn't eat the wedding cake!). We had the most wonderful salted caramel gelato and chocolate peanut butter chocolates shaped like an oyster shell with a macadamia nut as its pearl! Such a fun night!

Our friends the Tahmisian's are faithful missionaries in Russia. We usually get to seem them in the summer when they are home for their yearly trip to the US. The student visa they are currently allowed requires them to come back to the US once a year, and while we are grateful for their visits, we pray they will be receiving a more permanent way to stay in Russia in the near future. The weekend they planned their Russia update and family/friend gathering was also the weekend of the 405 closure. We were grateful to be on the "right end" of the closure so we could enjoy their company! Many people were on the West side and couldn't make it. We pretended to be sad (kidding of course), but were so excited to have a lot of one-on-one time with this special family. Our boys, who are just 5 months apart, played so well together. They even managed to pose for a picture as long as they had their brushes. The dads were so proud. HA HA.

Finally, our stay-at-home summer has given us the opportunity to create some homemade fun. Grammie and Gramps surprised Cade with this great little outdoor play table that holds sand and water. For now it just holds water, but Cade loves it. I got him all decked out in his swim trunks and we played in the hose. He giggled so much. It was really cute to watch.

We have also enjoyed the "little red wagon" at Grammie and Gramps house. Cade doesn't care if he's being pulled around the backyard or on a walk, just as long as he gets a ride! It's funny to watch him kick back in the wagon and take it all in. This particular ride we put a margarita in daddy's hands and Lucy even joined in on the fun (Lucy had just had eye surgery to remove a cataract hence the cone.).

Oak Park has it's very own splash pad that is free for the kiddos to play in all day long! It is really a fun place and lots of kids show up to cool off. Cade wasn't so sure at first, but eventually found his way over to some smaller fountains and soon enough he was jumping, laughing and splashing around.

I know I am missing some of the fun things we have done this summer, but looking through our pictures this was all I came up with! We have enjoyed lots of indoor time and movies. It is usually the first thing Cade asks for when he wakes up. He sits through them, but I'm not so sure it is the best thing for him! When you're 9 months pregnant you kind of let it slide for a bit. LOL!
Just this last week though our little bug was really sick with a 103 temp and a very sore throat from hand, foot and mouth disease. Sounds a little scarier than it is, but I am grateful even at such a young age the Lord gives our children the ability to let us know that something is really wrong. After a day or two of fever and Cade tugging at his ears we went to the doctor who immediately found "the culprit" as he put it. So it was stay-at-home a little more for us this past week and enjoy soft foods. Cade was a trooper, but daddy and I had a rough time! We aren't use to being up all hours of the night with a crying baby... uh oh, guess we better get use to that again. Nolan is just 3 weeks away and counting!


We hope you all have had a wonderful summer with all your adventures whether they be at home or off to some vacation spot! We look forward to catching up with you soon.
XoXo,
MmM

The Santa Barbara Zoo!

We are grateful for the men and women (past and present) who serve our country so that we may enjoy the freedom it allows us to have. We never take for granted the time we are ablet to spend as our little family of three, especially since that will be changing in just 3 short months.
We took full advantage of the Memorial holiday and drove up the coast to the Santa Barbara Zoo! Cade had yet to go to the zoo and Eric and I were excited to experience it with him for the first time. We packed a lunch and headed out for a fun day! It was absolutely gorgeous in Santa Barbara and the zoo wasn't very crowded, which was super nice. Cade loved the giraffes and his favorite part of the day was the koi pond. Go figure, take the kid to the zoo with lions and elephants and he likes the pond we can find anywhere!
After the zoo we decided to make a quick stop at the pier for some ice cream and then battled the holiday traffic home. To top off the evening we were treated to dinner at the Gutierrez' new home. Michelle is doing a great job turning this cute little house into a home that will no doubt bless anyone who shares a meal or a visit with their family. We are so grateful for their friendship, love and support. They mean the world to us and it is now fun to watch our boys enjoying playing together. Cade got the biggest kick out of Weston, and when Weston realized he could make Cade laugh it was endless giggles. Too fun! Can't wait for Nolan to join the bunch and for Gabe to get a little older so he can join in the fun too! Thank you Guties!
Here are a few picks from the fun filled day.
Xoxo,
MmM

Boys, Boys and Sick Boys

Well by now I hope most have you have heard that we are having another BOY! We are so excited that Cade will have a little brother to play with. They will be about 20 months a part and hopefully that means good buddies. My sis and I are 17 months a part and Eric and his brother are just under 2 years a part and we are best buds with our siblings. So fun! We have also given him a name, in fact we only had a boy's name so good thing the baby turned out to be a boy! Nolan Gregory Matthews will make his appearance in September!Auntie Laura babysat Cade while we went to our doctor appointment, so she got to be the first one to hear the fun news!

Here is a fun video of us telling my parents they were going to have another grandson! Cade was hungry and tired so he wasn't really into the whole reveal.

My pregnancy has been pretty smooth since the first trimester has passed, however my family and I have had a hard time staying healthy. One week we're sick and the next we're healthy. We're hoping for a few more healthy weeks now that the weather is staying warmer. Please pray we continue to fight off sickness and enjoy healthy days ahead. One of God's gifts while we have been sick are the sweet moments Cade and I have had together snuggling on the couch or watching Despicable Me (the current favorite of the Matthews' household). I thought I would share a few pics of my sweet sick boy and his sick daddy too.This is his new trick... climbing into the leather cube. He's pretty proud of himself for it too!
Sick boys :(, but oh so sweet!
On a brighter note, we have been doing some home improvement projects around the house and I can't wait to post pics of the finished projects!

xoxo,

MmM

What is on my heart ~

With the craziness of a new home and second child on the way I have had little time to sit down at the computer and put thought into a new blog post. I've written many in my head and thought oh, I should share this or that. I want to post some pictures of the house being (slowly) decorated and Cade's newest tricks, but that will have to wait for now.

What is on my heart is the gospel... I was recently reminded that it is not of my own strength that someone is won to Christ. I lovingly and armed with scripture pointed out someone's sin and was met with criticism and harsh words. It hurt, I cried and still it haunts me at times, however, I have a loving God who reminds me that I was faithful to His word and wanted only to glorify Him as I was sharing with this person. I am grateful God gave me the courage to speak and ever so grateful that I have a husband who was encouraging and so proud of my boldness.

This instance reminded me of a book I've been reading called "A Gospel Primer for Christians" by Milton Vincent. He was a seminary student at the Master's College and his journey is incredible. He is passionate about preaching the gospel to himself daily and writes, " The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom), so scandalous (according to my conscience), and so incredible (according to my timid heart), that it is a daily battle to believe the full scope of it as I should. There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemnings of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel."

He then goes on to tell us all the reasons we should rehearse the gospel, but what I continue to read over and over again is his gospel narrative, which he writes in a prose version. It's long, and I hope you'll read it because it is absolutely beautiful. It has brought so many ways for me to think about the gospel and just how undeserving I am Christ's sacrifice because of the magnitude of what he absorbed on my behalf.

A Gospel Narrative ~ Prose Version
The Glory of God
1 My God is immense beyond imagination. He measured the entire universe with merely the span of His hand.
2 He is unimaginably awesome in all of His perfections, absolutely righteous, holy, and just in all His ways.
3 He has also been unbelievably good and merciful to me as the Creator and Sustainer of my life.
4 Every breath, every heartbeat, every function of every organ in my body is a gift from Him.
5 Every legitimate pleasure I experience is a gift from His loving hand to me.
6 All that I am and all that I have I owe to Him and to His goodness.
7 My life in every way is, and will continue to be, utterly dependent upon Him in whom I live and move and have my being.
8 This wonderful God is the most supremely worthy Object of admiration, honor, and delight in all of the universe;
9 And He has created me with the intention that I might glorify Him by finding my soul's delight in Him and by living in joyful obedience to Him in all of my ways.

My Sin Against God
10 Yet I could not have failed this great God more miserably than I have.
11 Instead of giving thanks to Him and humbly submitting to His rule over my life, I have rebelled against Him and have actually sought to exalt myself above Him.
12 Going my own way and living accordingly to my own wisdom, I have broken countless times either the letter or the spirit of every one of God's Ten Commandments.
13 Thinking myself to be wise, I have shown myself to be a fool; and because of my arrogance, God has every right to damn me to the everlasting experience of His terrifying wrath in the Lake of Fire.
14 So as for myself, apart from Christ I am bound by the guilt of my sins and also bound by the power of sin enslaved to various lusts and pleasures.
15 Apart from Christ, I am also utterly deserving of and destined for eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire, completely unable to save myself or even to make one iota of a contribution to my own salvation.

God's Work on My Behalf
16 However, what I could not do, God did - and in doing it, He did it all, sending His own Son into the world to die on the cross for my sins, thereby showing me unfathomable love.
17 God loved me so much that He was willing to suffer the loss of His Son, and even more amazingly, He was willing to allow His Son to suffer the loss of Him at the cross.
18 Jesus loved me so much that He was willing to lay down His life for me. No one could ever love me more or better than Jesus.
19 On the third day after Jesus' death, God raised Him from the dead, thereby announcing that His death was completely sufficient to atone for every sin that I have or will commit throughout my lifetime.
20 God then exalted Christ to His own right hand, where Christ now reigns from on high, granting salvation and forgiveness to all who call on Him by faith.

My Salvation
21 Now when my time came and I placed my faith in Jesus, God instantly granted me a great salvation.
22 He forgave me of all my sins, past, present, and future.
23 He made me His child, adopting me into His family.
24 He gave me the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives me God's power, who pours out God's love within my heart, and who tenderly communicates to my spirit that I am a child of God and an heir of eternal glory in heaven.
25 In saving me, God also freed me from slavery to any and all sins.
26 I no longer have to sin again, for sin's mastery over me has been broken!
27 In saving me, God also justified me, and being justified through Christ, I have a peace with God that will endure forever.
28 In justifying me, God declared me innocent of my sins and pronounced me righteous with the very righteousness of Jesus.
29 God also allowed His future and present wrath against me to be completely propitiated by Jesus, who bore it upon Himself while on the cross.
30 Consequently, God now has only love, compassion, and deepest affection for me, and this love is without any admixture of wrath whatsoever.
31 God always looks upon me and treats me with gracious favor, always working all things together for my ultimate and eternal good.
32 God's grace abounds to me even through trials.
33 Because I am a justified one, He subjugates every trial and forces it to do good unto me.
34 When I sin, God's grace abounds to me all the more as He graciously maintains my justified status as described above.
35 When I sin, God feels no wrath in His heart against me.
36 His heart is filled with nothing but love for me, and He longs for me to repent and confess my sins to Him, so that He might show me the gracious and forgiving love that has been in His heart all along.
37 God does not require my confession before He desires to forgive me.
38 In His heart He already has forgiven me; and when I come to Him to confess my sins to Him, He runs to me (as it were) and is repeatedly embracing and kissing me even before I get the words of confession out of my mouth!
39 God does see my sins, and He is grieved by my sins. His grief comes partly from the fact that in my moments of sin, I am not receiving the fullness of His love for me.
40 He even sends chastisement into my life; but He does so because He is for me, and He loves me, and He disciplines me for my ultimate good.
41 I don't deserve any of this, even on my best day; but this is my salvation, and herin I stand. Thank you Jesus.

Oh my!! 36-41 make my soul sing! I want to repeat this daily so I can fully understand the gospel as Christ meant me to. I hope you are renewed as you read this as well.

A FUN Surprise

One of my dearest and oldest (only by # of years we've known each other) friends Kristin is expecting a little girl any day now. She has been such a trooper braving bed rest for the last few months and still maintaining her sunny attitude all the way through. We were blessed to be able to throw her a baby shower in the Bay area before her little one makes her arrival. Check out my sister's blog for full details on the shower. She captured it so beautifully (click here). It was a farmer's market theme. Very "green", fresh and so much fun! I decided to give everyone a little surprise - announcing I was pregnant - at the end of the evening when it was just us family/close friends hanging around. It took everyone a little too long for my sister and mom's liking to catch on so Jenny said to our friend Katie, "ask Melissa what her shirt says..." Jenny thought Katie would get up and come over to me to look at my shirt and instead Katie shouted at me from across the room. It made it a little more fun. Below are the reactions of everyone in the room and those in the other room who came to see what all the noise was about.

The shirt said "Pink or Blue either will do mommy's expecting #2"!!!The "mama-to-be", Kristin had my favorite reaction. Speechless and pointing at my fun shirt :)

Jana screamed. Love her!

Katie looking puzzled...

Now she gets it... and baby #2 is due just days after her birthday. She was excited about that!

I can always count on a great reaction from Marci! xoxo

"The Glorias" as they were nicknamed for the weekend.

Al (Kristin's dad) didn't get it at first, but once he read the shirt I got a BIG hug!

Retelling the story of how we discovered I was pregnant. I just knew something was up so I took a pregnancy test on New Year's Eve and it was positive! Eric wanted to be surprised the next time I told him we were pregnant, so I made a little sign that said "We have a bun in the oven" and wrote "September 2011" all around the edges. I decided to put an actual bun in our toaster oven and set the sign in front of it. When he came home I said I baked you something. The look on his face was so wonderful. Needless to say we had a great time ringing in the New Year :)