Travels and The Lord's Mercy

We have been VERY busy this spring and this weekend marks the first in three weeks that we've actually been home! Silas has been a trooper enduring long car rides, eating his solids in strange locations (and sometimes semi-frozen), sleeping in the pack-n-play (and hotel beds), and exploring different towns with us. Also, excuse some of the poor quality of pictures; they came from my almost 4 year old 3GS iPhone, there's only so much technology can do :/.

Silas thinks he can help divide drive time.

Nashville was our first stop on our traveling adventures. Adam, Ryan, and I had signed up to run the Country Music Half Marathon back in December. I had run it last year while pregnant and had SO much fun. I was determined to beat my time from last year. The Tuesday before the race, I was hit with the worst stomach bug/virus/parasite(?). It was awful! I haven't been that sick in years. My mother-in-law, Joan, had to come over to help me take care of Silas because I honestly couldn't do anything but hold and nurse him and by the end of the day, I wasn't even able to do that because I couldn't even hold down water....it was scary. Our small group prayed for me, Adam prayed over me, I prayed for mercy and by the next day I wasn't vomiting, but still having other issues for the rest of the week.

Joan wanted to document me being sick.

So, Adam and I talked a lot about whether we should just stay home since I had lost a lot of weight, muscle, water, and the fact that it was going to be raining and in the 50's for the race. I'm stubborn, and some may even say stupid, but I decided to try and run the race anyway. I was up sick three times the night before the race and probably only slept for two hours. Most of that time, I prayed. I prayed for the Lord to show me mercy, for the rain to stop, for the weather to be warmer, to not be injured, I prayed for friends and family, and I thanked God for allowing a sickness that would make me pray incessantly.  

That morning, and throughout the race, God answered my prayers, but not in the way I asked or envisioned. It rained the entire time. The temperature wasn't in the 50's....it was in the 40's..and windy. The really amazing thing was that as I was waiting in a crowd of 18,000+ people, my running buddy, Angie, walked by. We ran together for 11 miles of the race and I don't think I would have made it if it wasn't for her encouragement and our conversation that distracted me. That may not sound like a miracle to you, but it was to me. I realized that what we consider mercy is not necessarily what God considers mercy. If the weather had been sunny and warm, I would have been seriously hurt because of how dehydrated I'd been all week. If I hadn't been sick all night, I wouldn't have prayed and I don't know if I would have had the opportunity to see Angie. He showed me such mercy that I couldn't talk about anything else for weeks!

Silas enjoying plastic cups at the Pancake Pantry with Uncle RyRy.

Proudly wearing Daddy's race medal.

I beat my pregnancy time, finishing in 2 hours 18 minutes. Adam finished in 1 hour 32 minutes!

Three days after getting home from Nashville, we hit the road again for a quick trip to Destin, Florida to celebrate Adam finishing his semester and to have some relaxation time as a family. Again, the Lord showed us mercy by sending rain, clouds, and low temperatures in the 60's while we were at the beach. At first, we were disappointed, but with Silas taking after me in the skin tone department, we decided it was a grace that the sun only shined for a few hours the one day we spent on the beach. It was funny too because it was sunny with few clouds in the sky when we left the beach and within minutes it became a monsoon once we were safely inside the hotel.

And now......multiple pictures of Silas' adventures in the sand!!

Sandy kisses.

Proof that Silas will eat anything...including numerous handfulls of sand.

 "What am I sitting on?"

 Not amused.

 Silas was not a fan of the water, but it was cold and the waves were rough!

 Check out that sweet swim diaper!

 Silas would attempt to dig in the sand and then eat the shovel.

 Sandy face.

Handsome boy!

 Silas gave his best effort to bury Daddy in the sand too.

 Sandcastles.

 Destroying sandcastles.

We built sandcastles, chased birds, went for walks, took naps (well the boys did), and buried Silas in the sand up to his neck...4 times! Adam had been wanting to do that since last year's trip to the beach. 

My studly men at McGuire's Irish Pub.

 The sun came out!

I can't believe that Silas was in my belly just last year.

Finally, our last trip was to go to Chattanooga and help Emily move her things to Huntsville!! We stayed with Bob and Capi (LOVE them) and got to spend time with my family. Unfortunately, we did not take our nice camera and we really only took pictures of Silas playing with a dandelion, which are on Adam's phone :(.

I think Silas had his best photo shoot to date this month. I typically take anywhere from 25-50+ pictures of him in his basket just because he moves so much! I've included an outtake of him attempting to escape.

 Trying to crawl out of the basket, but tipped it over instead. He started crawling later that day :)

Hey Ladies!

 "I want to smother you with kisses!"

Nothing I say can adequately put into words how I feel about this little boy. He has expanded my heart and often brings me to tears with his kisses, hugs, and smiles. Adam and I are beyond blessed by God's sweet gift to us. I know I probably say that every month, but I know the Lord takes pleasure in our love and thankfulness for Silas, and in turn that gives me pleasure in the Lord.