Thursday, December 2, 2010

Love Christmas?? Spread the Cheer!

Did you know that we have yet to send out a family Christmas card? Scott and I have been married 3 yrs, have a boy who is 1.5 and we STILL HAVE YET TO SEND A CARD!! 

So what are we waiting for exactly?? I'm not sure. Last year I had a nice little "Baby's First Christmas" written up, and it is still sitting in a doc on our Mac. Could I send it out this year? Um, no. Maybe we need to have another baby so I don't feel like I wasted my time. Maybe not.


That's why I'm fairly thrilled that Shutterfly has a Christmas Promo offering 50 FREE CHRISTMAS CARDS for those who blog about it! Thanks SHutTeRFLy!!!


Is this Stationary Christmas Card not ADORABLE??? I love that Shutterfly hasn't totally joined mainstream culture and banned a "Merry Christmas" all together. It's great to be able to choose some cute Christmas cards with a meaningful message behind it. Christmas, after all, IS about Christ, joy, peace and love. That's why the babe in the manger came!!


Since we have lots of pics of our little guy, and never seem to get them printed or sent to others that ask for them (sorry!), Shutterfly's Folded Christmas Photo Card is another great option to get lots of photos on one cute card.
How cute is this??


We also did one of these calendars for Doonie (Gma) & Papa last year, to share a daily glimpse with them of our little family since we live 10 hours away! Hope you liked it! :)
{Look at those chubbs - I miss my baby!!}
Shutterfly made it so easy with pre-made templates for a ready-to-go Calendar. It made a wonderful gift and you didn't have to spend every ounce of energy crafting it!! They make it easy to create without wanting to pull your hair out too! :)



So, here's to a wonderful Christmas of 2010... 
may you be blessed by remembering the reason for the season! 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A drive by... (er, fly by?)... the Skinny on LIFE and the CHAOS that ensues.


So, apparently I haven't blogged since June. JUNE??!!?? According to my calendar, that was SIX MONTHS ago.
In an act of apology, I will catch you up a bit on what we've been up to. Good luck staying with us!!




Our summer (turned into fall) months were spent doing a lot of this:

{on the plane.... in 1st class with our son sleeping at our feet}





And since maybe that was the only glamorous flight we actually had, we also spent some humble days on this:


{the city bus}




and did I mention this... ???



{the train}







All that travel is $$$$.

Our pockets were empty and we were forced to:




{walk}




















Things got so bad that eventually we had sit on the street corner .....


{begging with a small child for pity's sake}


...and beg.


so sad. :(



Okay, so maybe the last part wasn't quite on target.



BUT







No matter what type of travel...






We ended up doing A LOT of this:


Am I the only one who thinks this brings a whole new meaning to the saying????!!!




















Though I think my jokes are somewhat funny, I know that we are so blessed to have traveled SO MUCH!
It's hard having family across the country, but we are so BLESSED to even have family in the first place. I think of those who don't have that privilege and wonder how hard the holidays truly are for them. (When you think of it, pray for the lonely this Christmas.)

Though not all of our travel was for the best of circumstances, we are still so BLESSED by our Father GOD!

^
^
^
^

Though these scriptures have nothing to do with travel, they have everything to do with loneliness and a broken spirit.
Have you ever been there and needed to hear these words?
Know someone that needs encouragement today?
Are you there now?

If you are lonely, Jesus Himself has given you an invitation for companionship. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).

"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34:18).

Be blessed!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Vote for Scott!!


Hey everyone!


I am writing for a BIG Favor from each of you! Eli and I have entered Scott into a Father’s Day contest held by our local newspaper. What we need from all of you is to VOTE FOR SCOTT so that he can win one of the great prizes offered (and for bragging rights, of course!). Winning gets us closer to fixing our broken house!


Would you VOTE FOR SCOTT???


Here’s how :

1. Click on the Kearney Hub link above.

http://kearneyhub.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=16130

2. Register as a User

a. This only takes a minute and is required to vote. You will NOT RECEIVE SPAM if you simply click on the “no third party emails”.

b. Do it once and you’re done!!

*****Register each email address separately (spouses, you can vote individually!!)******

3. VOTE FOR SCOTT (5x a day, every day)!!

a. Click on View/Vote tab

b. The title is “BaBa BLOWS me Away!!”, Username: sbirney

i. The picture is of Eli and Scott ready to go down the slide. Cute!!


  • Select Scott's picture by clicking the circle next to "VOTE".
  • Scroll to the top or bottom and click "SAVE VOTE"
  • Do this 5 TIMES in a row, until it says "You've reached your max votes for this day"


Repeat each day!!

VOTE FIVE(5) TIMES PER DAY through JUNE 15th!!!!!!

**13 days at 5 votes/day = 65 possible votes from YOU!!
(130 from you and your spouse)!

  1. Pat yourself on the back and then Tell ALL to Join US!!!!



Thank you for supporting Scott!

Love to each of you,

stacy & elijah birney


Friday, April 30, 2010

He Made It! (We Made It!)

It's hard to believe our little man is one today! As I woke this morning, I remembered contractions starting at 5am as Eli prepared to make his appearance. Though I'm glad that part is over (!), I've loved this little one more than I thought possible.

What a wonderful gift we have in our son. Children truly are a blessing from our Father!

Fresh out of the oven!


3 months







6 months


ONE YEAR!

Happy Birthday, sweet Elijah!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Oh, how He loves me...


We've been having a battle of epic proportions in the Birney home this week. This battle has been so full of fight that both parties have been exhausted at the end of the day. Resistance has been strong and patience has run thin. This battle is not yet over.

This battle is... the battle of the bottle.


The battle of the bottle started Monday evening, upon realization that our little man was running on "E" when it came to getting enough liquids throughout the day. He has been a nursing babe for 9 1/2 months, and unfortunately he knows that fact well. We were smart parents in the beginning, being sure to give the little man a bottle every so often so as to avoid any "strikes" that would come. He did great taking a bottle, and was such a flexible babe.

And then our intelligence failed us.

The glimmer of formula being a welcome break to a mommy on the job was all too enticing, and I caved. I filled up a bottle of formula and stuck it into my son's mouth, soon to be matched with outright revolt. Revolt of not just formula, but all bottles to come....

ALL bottles....

.... ever.

And do you blame him? Have you ever smelled that stuff?

It reminds me of the powder my dad used to bottle-feed the calves whose mommy's wouldn't let them nurse or had died. It made my stomach drop for a few reasons: 1) for the horrendous smell of powdered milk, and 2) that the poor calves were being rejected by their own mommies or on their own for life (not sure which is worse). Sad.
Anyway, I digress...


I broke Elijah's trust and I paid for it.

As the strike on all bottles stood, I let it go and let him win. Sure it was tough to give up being away for more than 3hrs at a time, and sure we avoided going out too often as it was a LOT of work for a LITTLE time. But now, with Eli's need for more than I can give, we've been forced to return to the battle of the bottle.

And friends, if you haven't discovered this yet, you will... change IS tough. Apparently our son, as brilliant and compliant as we thought him to be, doesn't like change either.

As Scott stepped into the front lines of our battle one evening this week, I found myself locked up in our bedroom eating tortilla chips and salsa in bed (yes, in bed... sorry mom--you did teach me better). I was hungry and the chips were a perfect solution to drown out the screaming child in the kitchen below. And as I chomped, I prayed. I prayed hard. I thanked God for our healthy child, a child who had more than enough strength to tell his parents exactly how he felt about the bottle movement.

But then I prayed a prayer I didn't think I'd pull out until Eli was older. MUCH older. Maybe like 13 or 14 years older. Maybe like leaving for college older. Or maybe, in his 20's or 30's older. But no. At 9.5 months I prayed it, and how scary it was to say:

"Lord, please allow Elijah's will to be broken so that he may come to accept what is best for him."

WHAT??

Why is this so hard?? And WHY do I feel like I am praying the SAME prayer for MYSELF each day? It is so humbling to realize that God knows Eli's needs FAR better than Scott or I will ever know. Though I've read the scripture growing up, it has a whole new meaning of God's provision now that I have a son:

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need... If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing--you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?" Luke 11: 10-13 (Message)


But here's the problem.

Eli wasn't asking for a bottle.

He was asking for me. He was asking for the "comfort food" he's grown accustomed to. And oh, how hard it is to deny your son what he asks for and give him, instead, what he truly needs.

Which leads me to my title post. Oh, how He loves me...

On this day of love, as you go on dates and send valentines and kiss the ones you love, remember that YOU are loved. Yes, you are loved by others close to you. And yes, it is a wonderful feeling to be someone's Valentine. But remember when all that you feel is alone and abandoned, or you are just plain frustrated and hurt with the brokenness of others....

.... remember ....

HIM.

The ONE who LOVES YOU.


Just as Jesus asked us to remember Him as He allowed his body to be crushed with the weight of our sin, we must remember whom love truly comes from on this Valentine's Day.

Presenting "A 1000 Days of Love"
Brought to you by contributions from..... GOD.

Yes, that's right. I said God with a big "G".
NOT Mr. Saint Valentino III. And definitely NOT cupid, the naked cherub flying around and shooting people. Nope. Not our spouses or our kids. Not Scruffy the dog. But God.
Remember God.

Remember that HE is our great provider, knowing EXACTLY what we need and when we need it. Remember that His love won't always appear or feel perfect, just as Jesus being bloodied and killed didn't appear as though God loved his Son. But He did...

....and His love IS PERFECT.

Remember that we are made capable of love, albeit a broken love, through Him and Him only.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:18-19


How deep the Father's love for us,

how vast beyond all measure.



And oh...

....oh, oh, oh....


HOW

HE

LOVES

US!



Happy Day of Love...

may we never forget our true
Source of Love!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

This Man...

This man . . . is one of a kind.

This man . . . is a risk taker.

This man . . . is genuine and full of passion.

This man . . . is intelligent and thoughtful.

This man . . . is an innovative problem solver.


This man . . . is goofy and full of life.

This man . . . is a faithful worker and provider.


This man . . . is a father full of love for his child.
This man . . . is gentle, yet so bold.

This man . . . is full of grace and quick to extend it.

This man . . . is a warrior.



My sweetheart, my companion . . .

. . . my love!


As we celebrate our second anniversary (a few days late), all of the reasons I chose to marry this man come to mind. We jumped into marriage, knowing full well the challenges we would face, the sorrow and joy that would come, and the maturity that would be required to do it well.

And . . . we are learning.

We are learning through slow, difficult lessons that prove themselves to bring about the destruction of our pride and selfishness. As Paul wrote in Romans, 'I do the things I hate and do not do the things I should', so it is with me. Oh how I wish I would not be bull-headed and stubborn, showing through my words and attitudes disrespect and distrust. Oh how I wish I could say "I forgive" and truly forget the transgression in my heart. Oh how I wish I could give up my selfishness for the sake of our marriage. Oh how I wish I was not the "quarrelsome and fretful wife" when I allow control to compensate for my insecurities. Oh how I wish my salvation would be brought to completion to avoid the pain and the heartache I cause. Oh! how I wish . . .

But . . . we are learning through the joyful moments as well!

One thing I do know is that God is so much bigger than our marriage, our sin and the pain that it causes. I do know that there is forgiveness through Christ who died for our selfishness and pride. And for that, I AM THANKFUL!

I am thankful for this man who will stand beside me through my insecurities, pain, pride and selfishness... through my ugly sin. I am thankful for this man that faithfully goes to work each day knowing that the burden is on his shoulders alone. I am thankful for this man who chooses each day to work on our marriage and do his best to love me "as Christ loves the church" and to love our son with his whole heart. I am thankful for this man whom I deeply love!

Thank you to our parents for raising us in the knowledge of Christ and the discipline and love of a healthy marriage relationship. We are so blessed to have parents who are still together!!

THANK YOU, LORD!, for your MaNy blessings! May YOU be honored and glorified today!


[Note: Photo by Suzie Bauman @ lifeartphotots.blogspot.com. Thanks Suzie!]