Walking With You~ Naming My Children

All of our children have at least one "J" name and a Bible name, as well as a family name. As crazy as it sounds, Janie Beth, doesn't actually fit every requirement. Her name was originally going to be Janie Elizabeth, and we would call her Janie Beth. Janie, of course, is her "J" name. Elizabeth was the Bible name, and was Joey's grandmother's name. After finding out that she wouldn't live after birth, we decided to make her name Janie Beth since that is what we had been calling her. We figured that she had quite a story already, and I didn't want to have to say her name is Janie Elizabeth, but we call her Janie Beth when she wasn't going to be here. 

Janie means God is gracious. I LOVE this!!! I really thought it was neat when we were coming up with her name because Katie Jo's middle name, JoAnn, also means God is gracious. :) I was reserved about using Janie because that was the name we had been throwing around for my second miscarriage and that is how I referred to that baby. (I have to say that looking back there were many ways God prepared me and warned my spirit that Janie wasn't going to stay this side of heaven. This is one of those ways.)

Beth means consecrated to God. How precious is that!?! :)

I will admit that the requirements for names has changed as we have gone along. I am a lot more picky now than I was with the first few. I look at the name meanings before deciding if it has a chance. LOL I am also more picky about which family names I will use. I want to use names of people that I want my children to look up to and aspire to be like.

Josiah Mark
Josiah is the Bible and "J" name. Mark is Joey's middle name.
Josiah: fire of the Lord (I pray that he will be on fire for the Lord!)
Mark: warlike (hmmmm... LOL)

Kathryn JoAnn "Katie Jo"
She is named after both of her grandmothers. Joan, pronounced JoAnn, was Joey's mother's name, but she went by "Jo". My mom's name is Kathryn, but she goes by "Kathy". JoAnna is in the Bible. Katie Jo technically doesn't fit all our current criteria either since neither of her names is really in the Bible.
Kathryn: Beloved (How sweet!)
JoAnn: God is gracious

Elisha James "Eli"
I actually took a little time to say ok to Elisha. LOL I prefered Elijah, but Joey likes the prophet Elisha and thinks he is pretty cool. I finally said ok, if we call him Eli. :) James is Joey's dad's name and both of his grandfather's names.
Elisha: God is my salvation (Amen!)
James: one who supplants/ to replace (After reading Kelly's post I find this meaning neat. Eli came after 2 miscarriages.)

Joy Michelle "Joy Schelle"
Joy was named Joy because she would bring Joy to our family after losing Janie Beth. Michelle is obviously my name. LOL It took me a while to warm up to Joey's suggestion that she have my name as her middle name. She has indeed brought Joy to her mommy, Michelle. :)
Joy: joy :)
Michelle: who is like the Lord (I need to begin praying this over her!)

Timothy Joseph "TJ" or Timothy
Joseph is Joey's name. We just like Timothy! He was an amazing man in the Bible! I can only pray that our Timothy with have a love for the Lord like the Timothy in the Bible!
Timothy: honoring God
Joseph: God shall add (another son) (I find this pretty cool!!! God definitely added Timothy. :))

It is funny how all the boys have ended up having both names be Biblical. This was not at all done on purpose! It just so happened that their family names were Biblical. If God decides to give us another baby, and the baby is a girl, then her family name will either be Jane or Beth after her big sister. :) That was also the plan this time, but I don't think Timothy would appreciate having either of those names. ;)

This has been a neat post for me to write! In looking up the meanings of their names, God has shown me ways that I can be praying for each of my children.

Puzzles

We love puzzles around here! We have been able to pull out our big 1000 piece puzzles since we moved because we have a place to leave them set up. It has been fun to work on them again. The last time Joey and I did them was in our first year and a half of marriage! :O The kids have also been working on their own puzzles.

Josiah has proven himself to be quite the puzzle genius!

Katie Jo does fairly well, but she doesn't last long. :) This is her newest puzzle.

Eli brings in smaller puzzles to work on at the same table because he makes pieces fit. LOL  This is his newest puzzle that he worked on with Dad. :)

When we started doing the puzzles, we knew there was one with a piece a missing. I was pretty sure I remembered which one, so we started with the other one. Then, we moved on to the one with the missing piece. Joey said we would throw it away once we were done. Then, we finished; and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. The missing piece...

It is so much like our lives! We have a missing piece.

The puzzle looks perfect and then you notice the missing piece.

The missing piece is physically absent (sometimes barely noticable), but the colors that are within the missing piece still run throughout the puzzle! The puzzle needs every piece to look whole, but you can almost picture it there because the colors run thru the rest of the puzzle.

Janie Beth is our missing puzzle piece. (Represented by her pink lamb. :))

She isn't physically here, but her presence it still here.

Her colors run through the rest of our puzzle because without her our lives wouldn't be the same! Her colors are present in the rest of our lives!



8 Years Old

It has been 8 years since I became a mother for the first time. Is he really that old??? Josiah Mark is now 8 years old!

This past year has been full for you! You are doing really well with school and your reading continues to improve. You are really sweet with Joy, and I look forward to seeing you with Timothy. You still building with anything you can get your hands on. You would LOVE a room full of legos! Your mouth never stops, especially in the car. :) You and Eli have a better relationship now, but you still have your moments. You and Katie Jo just fit. Neither of you remember life without the other. It is amazing to me how tall you are! You love to see how far up you are against me. It won't be long until you pass me by.

I look at you and wonder what amazing things God has in store for you. I am excited to see you grow through this next year. See you learn new things, and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

Father God, I thank You for Josiah! I thank You for the privilege of being his mother. He is the first one that gave me that title. That day changed my life. I pray for Your blessings upon Josiah's life. May You enrich his faith. May You mold a thankful heart into him. May You keep him safe and healthy and growing. May You prepare him for Your call on his life. May You prepare his future wife for the call You have for their lives together. May they both grow into godly young people living their lives for Jesus. I pray, Lord, that Josiah would fall in love with Jesus. May You continue to grow him in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord and his Savior. Help me, Father, to be the mother that Josiah needs. Show me how to reach him where he is. Show me how to show him that I love him in a way that he understands. Mold me and help me cherish each moment I have with him. Thank You for a special young man! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Here are some pictures through the year...
Started with snow

 One of your many buildings

 Brothers

 Big Big Brother

 Best Buds

 Had your first RA race

 Waiting out the storms in April

 You went to New Orleans

 Went on your first RA campout with Dad.

 You have gotten good on your scooter!

 Hula Hoop King!

 Flexible!!! Your legs are flat on the ground!

 Joined the family of God!

 Lost way too many teeth! LOL

 First time playing flag football. You LOVED it!

 More of your building concoctions.

 Army man!

 You were cold one morning and this is how you dressed for breakfast!

You are fun! I love you, Josiah!!!

Born Again

Josiah was born again into the Family of God on July 4, 2011!!! :) God is good!!! He was baptized 2 wks later on July 24. We followed church with a cook out at our house for immediate family members. It just so happened that Joey's oldest brother, John, and his wife, Suzanne, happed to come into town on the 23rd; and Joy, Heather, Sam, and Eliana were in town too!! We were only missing Judy, Niles, and their clan due to church responsibilities. I had no idea my house could hold 25 people!! LOL We had a good time.

Joey and I are so proud of Josiah. We are excited to see what all God has planned for his life. He is very keen on whether you are going to Heaven or Hell right now. :) He even pronounced to Eli that he was going to Hell. I had to explain that Eli is only 4. ;)

Dear Jesus, I thank You for dying that Josiah might have life! I thank You for writing his faith and opening his eyes. May You continue to mold him and prepare him for Your calling on his life. May the fruit of the Holy Spirit begin even now to be sown and grown. May Josiah fall head over heals in love with You and live a life of wholehearted devotion for You. Lord, may he be a godly witness to his siblings and all those around him. May You always be there to support him as his name says, Jehovah supports. Lord, I place him in Your amazing, loving, capable hands. May You make Josiah into a man of God after Your own heart. Thank You for calling me to be his mother!!! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Here are some pictures from his baptism...

Joey had the honor of baptizing him.

 Waiting

Thank You Abba for saving my first born son!!! We love you, Josiah!!

The 3 Biggin's

Yep, the 3 big ones is what Josiah, Katie Jo, and Eli have become. LOL Here is a little update on them...

Josiah had his first RA race last week. He was so pumped! He and Joey already have ideas for next year. I told Eli that by the time he was in RA they would have it all figured out. ha, ha! We aren't sure what place he was in, but he did pretty good. He also had the Grand Prix in Sparks last Sunday. He won the first heat he was in, but then didn't advance after that. He was still a proud supporter for Katie Jo! 
He is also doing great with his reading! He is getting more confindent which I believe is helping. Still a long way to go, but I am proud! His love is still math, but hopefully reading will become more fun as he learns.
I have a feeling Josiah and Joy Schelle are going to have a special relationship. Josiah has taken to being a big brother again very well, and he really looks after her.

Here is his RA car. You can see that it was damaged before it even got in the race. LOL

The Grand Prix in Sparks

Katie Jo has really been enjoying the warmer weather! She has completely been in her element in the mud.
She also had her first Grand Prix race in AWANA. She came in 3rd out of all the Sparks!!! Words don't do her excitement justice!! She was jumping around and screeching after every race she was in. It was so cute! She wears her medal proudly!
She has been all about GiGi's Cupcakes lately! She plays GiGi's cupcakes. :) She bakes them in her kitchen. I checked out a GiGi, God's Little Princess movie from church and she assumed that it was because she loved GiGi's Cupcakes so much. LOL
She was practicing her swimming in the tub yesterday. She called me to show me how she could go under water and how she will swim under water once Nana's pool is ready. She even asked about swimming lessons. (I will say, that it is ridiculous how expensive they are!) I can see her on a swim team one day.

It isn't shadow on her arms; it is mud!

 She was "painting" a ball with a small broom covered in mud.

 Cake

 There is a huge smile on her face in every picture!

 Pulling Josiah into the celebration when she made the top 4!

 She couldn't be still so she is slightly blurry in most of my pics. LOL

 Happy for the others too!

 The amazing car. :)

And then, there is Eli... LOL Never a dull moment with that boy!
His chore this week is cleaning the table. We had some chocolate cake for dessert on Monday. I told him to go and make sure all the food was cleaned up off the chairs and table before we wiped it. I asked him if he was done and got it all. He said, "yes." I asked if he had thrown it away. He said,"No, I ate the pieces." LOL It is much easier to just eat the crumbs from the cake than to try to scoop them to be thrown away. I asked if he was going to eat the crumbs that got stuck on Katie Jo's pants, and he just laughed.
Eli is loving being back in Cubbies! Every time we go to church, he asks if it is Cubbies time. :) He was slightly upset that he didn't get to watch the Sparks race, but he is talking about when he is in Sparks.
He is pointing to words and asking me what they say, esp when reading a book. But, he is quick to tell you that he isn't doing school yet. LOL
His birthday is in about 6 weeks, and it is very hard for me to accept that he will be 4! He is planning on celebrating at Nana and Poppa's house and having cake, and of course Star Wars will be involved somehow. The boy is in love with Star Wars!
And it wouldn't be Eli if he hadn't done something to his face! Yep, he thought stamps would be a nice touch!

This is his lion pose. There has been a lot of growling around here lately!

 Showing me how white and shiny his teeth were after brushing them.

You can see the stamps go all the way down his chin and onto his neck.

 It reads "He is Risen"

There is a peak at what has been going on around here. I have a couple other blogs I hope to write soon because we have other big changes going on here. A couple last pictures since we have been dancing our calories off. :)