151/365: Father's Day Boycott

Father's Day is tomorrow, and it's nice to celebrate it again.

I boycotted Father's Day for 7 years after my dad died.

When I was sixteen he was killed in a vehicle accident when he was headed to watch one of my games in high school. The accident was obviously horrible, and to make it worse we drove right by the scene on the way home without knowing it was him. It goes without saying that it took me some time to get over what I'd seen and experienced.

The first Father's Day after his passing, I barely made it through church without crying. I went to the cemetery afterward and bawled. If you knew me in high school, you'd know that I hated it when people saw me cry. I started trying to conveniently skip church on Father's Day every year, from then on out. It never fails that it's all about dad, which is great! However it was just a reminder that mine wouldn't be there to stand and be recognized or hear a sermon on how to become a better father, or go to lunch with his family afterward and at the time, it was too much for me. As I got older it got better, but I still dreaded going to church on Father's Day.

Last year was the first time since Dad's died that I felt joy on Father's Day. We now are parents and I'm blessed to have a wonderful and loving father for my children. I guess you could say my Father's Day Boycott has been lifted.


I'm thankful for the limited amount of years I had to spend with my earthly father. I also pray that Jaden and Baby L have many years with their daddy.

{Jaden and Stephen : 2010}

{me and Dad: 1985}

Thank you Lord for blessing me with a father whose love was unconditional. Thank you for my husband who is a Godly example for my boys.

150/365- like dad

Jaden is going through the imitation stage. He takes my sunglasses off and puts them in his head every time he sees me with them. He cracks me up. I love it.

Most sons want to be just like their father at some point. I know I still do in a lot of ways. But we should all take the lesson from Jaden to imitate our heavenly Father. He loves it when we do. I wonder if it even makes Him laugh... I'd like to think His joy turns to laughter sometimes. After all, He created us to laugh... Where do we think that characteristic comes from?

Happily,
Steve

149/365- Sneaky Devil

No bones about it, Satan is hazardous to life. Perhaps, biohazardous? People say that you don't have to worry if things are getting tough as a Christian. It's when things get easy that you need to question what you're doing. They say that (whoever "they" are) because when Satan doesn't view you as a threat, He doesn't need to mess with you. He can. He just doesn't need to.

It's when things get rough, when life seems unbearable and when people criticize you, that usually you're on the right track. James tells us to, "consider it a joy" when trouble comes your way. It's the growing pains of faith. Nothing ever grows in the midst of being comfortable. So I encourage you today. If life is tough. Good. If people are trying to tear you down. Wonderful! Give it to God and let Him grow you. It's in the darkest nights that Christ shines the brightest.

His,

Steve

148/365- Wise carpenter once say...

"...nobody wins in a hammer fight."

Or maybe I said that? Sounds like something I'd say. Random, yet sound advice. I believe I said this after being threatened to be hit with a hammer (jokingly) by a former carpenter employer/friend.

I don't remember all the details, but my imagination remembers something like the following. I made a smart remark to my employer-friend one day at work and he responded with the threat of physical brutality... hammer in hand... smile on face. So, in the spirit of a fair fight, I drew my weapon (hammer) from its sheath (tool belt) and smirked. "Nobody wins in a hammer fight," I quipped. It was like a showdown at the OK corral... only cheesier. Then we both backed down and went back to work.

You may be asking, "What is the point of this story?" Well, my friend, the moral of the story is this. Our words are like hammers. When we attack people with gossip, backbiting, and slander, most people respond in kind. Because hurt people... hurt people... and nobody wins.

-Steve "Confucius" Loeffler

147/365- 7...8....9... and they're UP!!!

Holy Cow!!! What a dramatic turn of events! What seemed to be a sure ten count is saved by an unexpected "tag in"!!! Ladies and gentlemen, it is a Christmas Miracle!!! (in June)

Okay, so it's really not all that dramatic... but as you can tell, MK is quite busy and in need of a temporary R and R from blogging. Since I have been very occupied over the last few months, its only fair that I take over for a while. Stand by for bad photography, lots of misspellings, and some mind numbing thoughts.

146/365: Goodbye

We are failures and I'm feeling the need to put the blog on hold for a while. Since we are now 11 behind, and I'm up to my ears in work this week I don't have the time to grace you with anything interesting to say. My friend Nikki says we should always speak with beneficial purpose, and even though I don't follow this as often as I wish I did, it's unfair to make you all read junk, and that's what it will be, junk, if I attempt to catch up on here, 11 posts, by myself. So, for now 365, you are on hold.

Life has just gotten in the way.

my bad.

Stephen may not be done, but for now, I'm out.

145/365: Bouncing Baby

Just in case you missed this on facebook...

Happy Wednesday.

144/365: Walk This Way

Have we mentioned that Jaden is walking now? Well, if we haven't, we're informing you now. Here he is informing you on his own. He walks around, arms raised in what I think is showing everyone how victorious he is. :)

Thanks to the "big red ball" that the Summers got him for his bday, he's had a great way to learn how to walk.

He's getting so big. Trying not to blink as time seems to be flying by.

143/365: Late night at the Office

This weekend I had had a first happen. I got to witness an engagement happening, and caught it on camera. :) I admit it made me feel all fuzzy inside. Look for more photos of Erin and Mik's (literal) engagement session on the business blog in the next few days. I always talk about how I enjoy engagement sessions, but it's so true. It's 12:30 am, and I'm still up editing, and taking a break to blog. I'm blogging recent sessions because I've had nothing exciting to photograph except work.

If anyone thinks that I don't work, let me tell you, I may not have official office hours, but I have plenty of "work," even if it's 3 hours after Jaden goes to bed, and 3 hours while he naps during the day, and crazy hours at night. If you're a photographer, you have a family, or another job, or both, and you're reading this, you understand where I'm coming from. It's totally worth it though. Everyday I feel like I have the best job on earth, and the best of both worlds; a "working mom", and "stay at home mom".

I'll take the occasional "late night at the office" for the joy I get from both.

142/365: Bittersweet at 20 Weeks

I know we're skipping one, but we messed up the numbers a while back and repeated a post # so I'm being lazy to fix it.

Thursday was the 20 week mark for us. While we're excited and happy that we're half way there, it's bittersweet. I found out a friend of mine, who was only 4 weeks behind me has had another miscarriage. This makes 2 for them in the past year. With every text and every comment from her, my heart breaks, and I can't help but tear up.

We rejoice knowing that in 20 weeks we'll see our little boy, but our hearts ache for our friends who will not see their baby again until they get to Heaven. I can't even begin to imagine the pain they are feeling, both physically and emotionally during this time. This week I've been praying for them frequently, and I ask that you would pray for them as well. I know our prayers have been answered already by the obvious strength and faith they've shown in the contact that I've had with them.

In the words of Stephen, "Tragic loss doesn't make me lose trust in God. I love Him still, but it doesn't mean I hurt less."

Please remember the Miller family in your prayers this week.

140/365: Be still

Life in the Loeffler house moves fairly quick and it seems that the accelerator is sticking to the floor. The days off turn into work days or days of anxiety for the work that needs to be done.

Then there is the whisper that says... Be still. Come, sit down, and listen. Stop the talking, stop the "doing", and just be still.

Don't get too busy for God. Be still. Listen for the whispers.

-steve

139/365: Ben and Jerry

This is not a current photo. I do however wish I could jump into a time machine right now and transport myself back to 2 years ago when this very carton of ice cream sat in my freezer.

I apologize for the multitude of blog posts over the past few days. Trying to once again catch up to date. Only 5 behind as I type this!! Yay!


We've failed terribly.

138/365: Picnic

I haven't been on a picnic since I was a kid, and even then I rarely remember ever going. I went on a pretend one for an engagement session last week, and saw images from my friend Bonnie's picnic with her man and it made me want to go on one too! (by the way Bons, your KFC picnic idea looked amazing. My mouth is watering just thinking about an extra crispy drumstick right now. Can you tell I'm pregnant?)

Things have been pretty busy lately, and Stephen and I are lucky to get one night a week where we're both at the house at the same time (and one of us isn't sleeping). So, I hated to ask him if we could go on a picnic. So, I took my second favorite date on a picnic this morning and we had breakfast in the park. It was absolutely gorgeous this morning and I wish I would have brought my camera. We had a good time reading God's word together and playing catch. Maybe we'll make it a weekly summer routine. :)

In the words of Dolores Lynch, "A good time was had by all".

137/365: Just Like Daddy

Ever since Jaden turned one, we've been having him brush his teeth a couple of times a day. (most days) Steve finds this pointless. "Those teeth are going to fall out anyhow so why do we need to brush them?" But anyhow, Jaden actually likes doing this. Teeth brushing time usually involves me brushing his teeth then letting him chew on the bristles, and hit/brush the mirror, wall, or cabinets (see photo listed). Stephen will probably kill me for posting this picture.

I know I'll have 100 more times like this but I loved this image from the other morning. Jaden was brushing his teeth with his daddy...and mommy had to take a photo.

Lately I've noticed Jaden starting to mimic us more and more. While putting together my furniture from IKEA, Jaden had to have the tools that I had and proceeded to rub the hammer (because it was too heavy to lift) on the cardboard box my nightstand came in, and wanted to touch the drill that I was using.

I look forward to the many more moments where I'll see him doing the things that daddy does. Stephen truly is such a great daddy. I can see how much he loves him everyday. The role of a dad is so important in both boy's and girl's lives and I'm blessed to both have had one growing up, and to have one now for our son.

136/365: Extra Snuggles

I hate that Jaden has been stuffy the past couple of days.


But, I love that he's been extra snuggly. Loading this one in the memory bank of things I will miss when he's 12.

135/365: May 21, 2011

This weekend was marked by a certain individual and his followers as the beginning of the end. The date 5/21/11 was supposedly the rapture date for believers. Maybe you believed, maybe you didn't.
Matthew 24:36 says:

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

You can search online the details about May 21, 2011 to get the whole story, but even though this man didn't have me convinced that he knew more than Jesus does, it did make me stop and thing about if it were to happen. It gave me mixed feelings.

I felt ready, because I have placed my faith and trust in Christ. It made me excited to be in the presence of my heavenly father. It also made me nervous to think of how unworthy I am to even be considered a future resident of Heaven. That's when I felt thankful; thankful for Jesus Christ, the price he paid for my sin on the cross, and the grace and mercy that God freely gives.

Am I alone in this?

Like I said, I wasn't convinced, but I admit that in the back of my mind I was excited about the idea of it really happening, that day!

I read an article that had an interesting perspective on the whole thing. Check it out.

134/365: Baby Steps

It's started. Jaden has officially been cruising around on two feet. The first steps he took were right after a bath a few weeks ago. Nothing consistent had happened since then. Then out of nowhere, yesterday afternoon while Steve and I were leisurely enjoying Saturday afternoon, he took 5-6 in a row!

I cried.

Stereotypical as it may be, images of him as a newborn flashed across my mind, and cuddles with my precious baby boy, and I realized, he's really growing up.

I had a session last night so Steve was on baby duty. I received multiple texts and this video from him. Today he's been walking up a storm. I anticipate him getting the hang of it very very soon. How will I ever keep up?

I love that when he walks his arms are stretched up to Heaven. I think Jaden walks with his arms in the air in sweet victory. "Yes I did it!"


He is officially 14 months old now, and is just now taking his steps. As a mom you are wondering when he'll catch up to all the other babies that you know who are advanced in every aspect. An update on him verbally: (partially for myself to remember)

Jaden regularly babbles syllables of all sorts. Dada, mama, duck, ke ke (in high pitched voice for kitty kitty), Sta Sta (in high pitched voice for Sasha), and De da are popular words in his vocabulary.

Our little guy is growing up so fast I can hardly believe it. I love you sweet boy. You're the best.

133/365: Right Near Da Beach

It was the last day of school for our students. Graduation was this evening and summer has officially began. Days like today make me miss the beach. Really, any day makes me miss the beach. What's so fantastic about the beach? How about the wonder of the way the waves crash on the shore and their power as they turn surfers into drowned rats. If I close my eyes and concentrate hard enough I can hear the waves crashing against the shore, seagulls scrounging for leftover tourist's crumbs, and smell the sunscreen. There's something about being there that makes you want to kick back, relax, and not worry about a thing. I think we all need a beach in our backyard. Don't you? If it wasn't for the glare, I would totally take a laptop to the beach to sit and edit while my legs got some sun.

Maybe someday we'll live near the ocean again. Or, at least be able to visit more frequently. I imagine our boys will enjoy playing in the sand. Of course the last time we visited the beach, This was Jaden's experience....
Maybe next time will be much more pleasant for him. (and his little brother)

132/365: Makeshift Office

My dream someday is to have a beautiful office in our home. A large space, that is just my style. We have been so graciously blessed with the home that we are in, and although we don't have a room that we can spare for my "office", I do have a space to work with as my office. I hated this area before last night. It's an awkward space, and we didn't have the furniture to put there. It was basically a junk collector cubby. My friend Becky and I (and J-Man) took a long trip to Chi-town to visit IKEA on Monday and returned home with less money in our pocketbooks, and our vehicle was panting all the way home from the weight of our furniture boxes. I came home with some new nightstands, a side table and new knobs for the nursery, a bedspread, and my most exciting find: office furniture! Here's the update to our "Junk Cubby": transformed into my workspace!

I just need some curtains and a wall full of Organic Bloom frames over the futon now! :)


By the way have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Ikea????

131/365: A Story Behind Every Lens

A few months ago I purchased and inherited what I fear may become my newest (or oldest) collector's item. I love all things vintage, especially cameras. If you asked me how to use the ones I have, I'd tell you that honestly I have no idea. I love the look of them though. Don't you? What I love most about them is the idea that thousands of memories have been captured by the lenses that I have. It leaves so many options for the imagination.

Perhaps it belonged to a dad who was able to capture the beauty of his little girl on her wedding day. Maybe it's been across the world, on many adventures and foreign travels. Whatever the case, there's a story behind every lens. If these lenses could talk, I bet they'd have lots to say.

This first camera I received from my mother in law. I believe it was her dad's, or maybe grandpa's, and the other I found at an old antique store for a good deal.

I can't wait to get more. And, as you'll see in my next post, I have a workspace that actually LOOKS like a workspace now! Woo Hoo! :)

130/365: Flashback - For Julie and Dave

We spent the weekend with some long time friends. As always, we got to reminiscing about the past. One thing that came up was the summer that Julie and Dave started dating. I'm sure they could tell the story much better, but Bonnie and I (and God) are responsible for getting them together. The summer after we graduated high school, we somehow were trusted to be in charge of our youth group. Yep. 4 18 year olds in charge of chaperoning and teaching youth group! :) It was so fun that summer. It was a lot of work, but I remember getting to spend so much time with some of my best friends. We roped in some friends of ours to help out whenever we could, Dave included. I remember discussing Julie at some point with him as I was "teaching him to play guitar" in the Way Inn, and talking about her with him as we roamed around Walmart after church one summer night.

He told me that night that he was going to marry her, and they weren't even dating.:) (awww)

I don't remember exactly how they started dating, but I do know that there was something to do with purposely taking way too long to put up a shopping cart so that he could talk to her for longer that night. However it happened, I for one am glad it happened. Julie has been one of my best friends since I was just a tot. We grew up together and lost more hours of sleep than we could count together. I always hoped that someday my friend's husbands and my husbands would be great friends. My wish has come true. I'm speaking for Steve, but I know that Dave means so much to Steve, and has been a great friend to have and brother in Christ. When we were growing up, Julie was always "the mom" of the group. She ALWAYS had anything you needed on trips, had the best route mapped out, with coupons, and knew how to fix things. Now, 10 years later she really is a wonderful mother to her beautiful little girl (aka Jaden's future wife) Hayden. Julie, Dave, we're so blessed to have you guys in our lives. We love you!!!

129/365: It's a.....

Thursday we went to find out what baby number two will be...

It's a.....


BOY!! :)

We will be having another boy mid October. :) Steve is thrilled, and I could see him beaming in the ultrasound room. I too am happy that Jaden will have a little brother to play with and to get into trouble together. What's a girl to do with a house full of boys?

For those of you reading this and are familiar with the "homer lip" notice this baby is doing it too. We have sonogram photos of Jaden doing the same lip. Gets it from mom, and you know what Bryan Hosick would say about it. :)

128/365: blue beast

Traveling in the "blue beast" today reminds me of when we were dating, except for I'd be sitting in the middle of the truck and there would be neither baby in back or baby in front. I remember going on dates and sitting in the passenger seat. Stephen would give me a funny "why are you sitting so far away from me" look, up the armrest and smile when I would come closer.

I admit I have a little bit of a love for the beast. While Steve was deployed little 5' me drove it around Jacksonville and got strange looks from all the truck driving marines. Although my feet barely hit the floorboard and it currently has no radio, It got me where I needed to go, and can haul quite a bit.

Although a newer model would be nice I will miss this thing a bit. Lucky for me we have no money for a new one.:)

126/365: Some things never change

Maybe it's just my friends and me, but does anyone else have this kind of friend? The ones that no matter how old you get or how long its been since you've seen them, when you get together... nothing has changed. We aren't the completely same people we were 10 years ago, but there are definately aspects that never change. Things like:

-Always looking for an opportunity to give each other an unexpected "cheap shot".

-Calling each other names that would offend most decent people... and sometimes veteran sailors.

-Quality friend times includes watching TV/movies or playing video games. Talking optional.

-Flirting with my girlfriend (now wife) right in front of me to get a reaction... getting punched.

-Never taking a serious picture!

These are just a few things that never change with Chris and me. However, apparently one thing that has changed is that, in this picture, I look much larger than Chris. It's just an illusion.

-Steve

125/365: Twinkle Toes

I love watching Jaden's feet. Within today, he has kicked them freely in his stroller, dirtied them on the front porch (they were literally solid brown), rubbed my sides when he was cuddling with me before bed, stood on tip toe to reach things he wasn't supposed to get on the coffee table, and moved at lighting speed as he crawled across our carpet.

I keep waiting for him to use those toes and feet to start moving about freely and independently on a regular basis, but no such luck yet. It feels like he's taking forever, but I'm sure that once he does start walking, I'll wish for the days when he wasn't into everything! :)

I love his "piggies". He is very ticklish on his toes. He thoroughly enjoys tickling mommy and daddy's toes as well. Most of all, I just love him, and everything about him. While I try to teach him everyday, he teaches me so much about life, about Christ, and about joy sometimes more than any other person I know. I hope that never stops.

124/365: the great outdoors

This is how jaden and I spent the afternoon; playing outside, tossing helicopters and grass in the wind.
Today was a relaxing day. I should take more of these days. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and for once I intentionally didn't pick up the house or do dishes, work on editing (etc), or laundry. I just took the day and enjoyed spending time with my little boy.

So now at the end of the day, my house is a mess, dishes are dirty, laundry needs done, and there's plenty of "business" I need to take care of but I'm glad I took the day to just be and enjoy the moment.

I love you Jaden Christopher.

123/365-Spring cleaning

Trying to get some spring cleaning done this week. I have a lot left to so but steam cleaning a few spots on the carpet is a start. I don't know anyone who really likes cleaning and I'm a procrastinator for sure. Don't be surprised If you drop by and see the furniture moved around or myself covered in dust!

122/365: 5 Tips From A Pregnant Lady

You probably know someone pregnant or will know someone pregnant close to you in the future. Here are some words of advice from one pregnant lady. (here I go again with my lists)

1. It is not ok to touch a pregnant lady's belly without her permission. The bump isn't a free ticket to handsiness. (I think I just made that word up) Unless you are her husband, best friend, very closely related (we're talking immediate family) or 90 years old, you shouldn't assume you can touch her growing belly, unless you would be ok with her patting your own belly back. (I've been tempted to do this many times)

2. Never use the words fat, huge, quite a belly, bigger and bigger, or anything that implies the size of a house. That's just rude. The only one allowed to refer to the belly in any of those terms is the carrier of the belly. Also, never ask a pregnant lady how much weight she's gained unless she brings it up.

When pregnant with Jaden I had a lady tell me "you're just getting fatter and fatter every week!" Not the most flattering compliment in the world.

3. On a related note, it is not necessary to remind her of how huge she is getting everytime you see her. An appropriate and nice way of saying this would be to add the words "cute", "adorable", "tiny", "little", "sweet", and anything else that says "I notice your belly" in a nice way.

Again with Jaden, a relative of mine always likes to mention that my belly is "really sticking out there!" and insists on sharing with people how much weight I've gained. Not cool.

4. Offer to help when you can. Something as simple as carrying in the groceries can go a long way. (not a hit on Stephen. He always helps carry them in when he's home and it's helpful.)

5. Women's feet swell when they are pregnant. If you are a husband offer a foot rub if she's been on her feet all day.

P.S. This photo is NOT a current photo. It is me at 39 weeks pregnant with Jaden. More from the pregnancy files to come at a later date.

121/365: Beauty

I had the opportunity to photograph a wedding alongside a friend of mine this past Friday. The wedding was beautiful, the location, the flowers, and most of all the bride.

Every girl dreams of her wedding day, and I've never seen an ugly bride. Every woman is truly beautiful on her wedding day. I have many favorite things about a wedding day. One of them is the transformation of the everyday girl to glamorous princess and the other is the reaction of her groom when he sees her for the first time.
I love when husbands refer to their spouse as their "bride". Especially those who have been married for a number of years. It's so sweet.

Somedays I wish I could feel the way I did on my wedding day. I can remember in particular right after Jaden was born, in sweats and spit up, I would catch myself drowsily daydreaming about how pretty I felt on that special day. I am assuming I'm not the only girl who feels this way. What happens between the now and the "day of your dreams"? Life happens I suppose.
As I sit here tonight in my old Blankenship Construction, coach pitch softball t-shirt, no makeup, and wet hair, that I realize that I have found my answer.

So why do girls love things like weddings and proms? Because every girl wants to feel beautiful and wants others, particularly one other person to think that they are beautiful.

Here's what the word of God says:

"For your royal husband delights in your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." - Psalm 45:11

There are three things I love about this verse. (and I like lists)

1. God is referred to as "your royal husband" and in some translations, "king". This implies that if you are a follower of Christ, you are royalty in the kingdom of God.

2. I'm certain that there are no translations that add in "on your wedding/prom day". He thinks your beautiful; always.

3. Just the fact that the creator of the universe would call you beautiful- that makes me smile and even gives me goosebumps at times.

I'm convinced that every woman is beautiful, no matter what their size, shape, race, imperfections, or quirks. If you're reading this tonight, remind your "bride" how beautiful you think she truly is. It will make her day.

120/365: Spaghetti Head

My mom has a photo of me when I was about Jaden's age eating spaghetti. However, I am fast asleep with spaghetti residue all over my face and in my hair.
I hope I can find that photo sometime when I'm visiting mom (and not working).

Last night was spaghetti night for us. Clearly it's one of J's favorite suppers. I thought it may be a good idea to remove his clothing before he dug into this messy meal. Good decision on my part.

Because we're behind on the blog, I figure a few photos of our cute kid would help to pardon us. Working?

119/365: Meet Dan

So, I have fallen way behind in blogging. Sorry honey, I have failed you. But instead of dropping the whole thing, I'm going to catch us back up.

So meet my older and only brother Dan, or Daniel to you. Not many people call him Dan, but since I put up with his beatings all my life, I get to shorten it. He's lucky I don't call him worse! I'm kidding, he has been the best brother I could have asked for. I am extremely proud of who he is.

As my brother, his worth is more than the accomplishments he has made, thus my pride in him goes far beyond any sucess he could ever have. But he has had many a success in his life. After 9/11, Dan joined the army to be part of the 82nd (All American) Airborne Infantry. He has served on several deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan as a scout sniper, squad leader, and most recently as an officer. He has a wonderful wife, Dorothy who is an amazing teacher and mother, and two little girls Allyson, and Haley.

I was very blessed while I was in the Marines to be stationed along the East coast where I could always drive 2-4 hours to spend a weekend with them. They never complained, even when I am sure I was intruding a few times. Haha. I miss those weekends, though I don't miss having to drive back to base to be by myself again. So, thank you Dan for putting up with me. You are the best. Even if you do it out of obligation or feeling sorry for all those times you whooped the crap out of me. I still appreciate it. God bless you man, and good luck with the live fires and evaluations this week. You'll do great!

-Steve

118/365- Toy for Tot

I tell everyone that Jaden doesn't need toys. We don't buy them for him but between family and friends, he has accrued a good amount. Our good friend Brandon Marshburn told us when we were pregnant, "don't buy toys, cause they'll just play with trash.". Here's Jaden thrilled to death with a clothes hangar. Case and point.

-Steve

117/365: Rock the Hawk

Tried something new today. I gave Jaden a fauxhawk. In case you don't know what a fauxhawk is, just look around at all the funny looking celebs or plethora of youth pastors who wear their hair spiked up in the middle. It's all the rage. ;) Jaden's hair is a little long to do it right now, and didn't want to cooperate, even with gel today so we'll try again soon. Still, I don't think he cared too much. If it helps him get attention from the ladies he's in.

116/365: Baby Steps

Jaden took his first steps on his own tonight. He only took two, and they were fumbled and clumsy. He wouldn't repeat it either. Of course I didn't have my video camera close by. After bathtime tonight he decided to do it, completely naked, arms out like Frankenstein.

I love this kid. :)

I anticipate this becoming a regular occurrence in the Loeffler household. You better find some good hiding spots Cali.

115/365: Easter

Happy Easter to everyone! What a great day to celebrate our risen savior! Today I sang a song with a friend in church and it's such a perfect song for Easter. I heard on the radio that the lyrics to this song were written in the early 1900's. How cool that the lyrics still hold true today? That's the amazing and awesome truth and relevance of the word of gospel. It's actually an old hymn as well, titled "One Day". Casting Crowns has taken it and given it a total new twist, and I love them for it. :)

As you finish out your Easter, take a min if you haven't already and reflect on the gospel delivered through these lyrics.

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine

114/365: Book Worm

Jaden Loves to read. I try to read to him at every day or at least every other day. His favorite books are the ones that are interactive. He loves flap books and touch and feel books the most. Ever so often he'll sit through a longer one. A few of my favorites that I read to him whenever I get the rare chance of him sitting still long enough, are:

- I Love You Through and Through
- God Gave Us You
- There's Rocks In My Socks
- Stand Back Said the Elephant, I'm Going to Sneeze
- Green Eggs and Ham

There are lots of other ones that I am very fond of but these stick out to me. If you remember right, I am not a reader. I would much rather watch the movie or read the cliff notes most of the time. I hope that Jaden takes after his daddy in his reading interest. By the way, I'm still not through the book that I mentioned in my post titled: Chapter Three Syndrome.

I think this photo makes him look so grown up for some reason. Time is flying by with our little man.

113/365: sickly

This is the aftermath if yesterday, well only partly. I had about 3 other trash cans full of kleenexes. Body aches, runny nose, and drowsiness does not mix well with chasing a 1 year old around. Fortunately Jaden was especially good for me and even let me nap while he napped.

Today I feel like a new woman. Body aches are gone, praise the Lord, and the runny nose has lightened up a bit.

Tomorrow we celebrate Easter. I haven't gotten an Easter basket for J nor do I think I'm going to. I'm faced with the delima of whether to bring secular culture like easter eggs and bunnies into our Christian celebrations. I guess we have a few more years to decide on that. We do however feel it's important to stress the real reason we celebrate Easter and Christmas. It's about Jesus christ who came to this earth to save us.

112/365: 15 weeks

Yesterday marked 15 weeks for us in the second round of our pregnancy journey. I'm just entering the beer gut stage, so that is fun...not. Jaden thinks it's funny now to pull my shirt up to tickle my belly button. I keep pointing to my belly saying "baby", but he kind of just looks at me with blank stares and touches my belly button with his index finger again to see if I'll fake laugh.

Hopefully he won't make it a habit of looking for my belly button in public in the coming months.

Nobody wants to see that.

Last night we went out on a date and I cleaned my plate, and half of Stephen's. In my defense, we did split a sandwich platter so it was really not quite a full meal on one plate. :) I did kind of feel like the crazy pregnant lady who ate up everyone else's food though.

Oh well. :) It was delicious!

111/365: Asian Cowgirl

These are not my legs, nor my boots. Are you kidding? I could never pass for wearing these awesome boots, mainly because I'm Asian. :)

These boots are from a senior session I had earlier this week from a beautiful girl from my hometown.

Stephen and I actually discussed the other day about how being Asian would have been so different back during western days in America. Stephen would have been a cowboy or deputy rounding up all the bad guys and I would have been working on the railroad...or a brothel. We kind of had a chuckle about it and it made me glad that I was born when I was. Then Stephen made the comment about Shanghai Noon and how Jackie Chan was an Asian cowboy. I then reminded him that it was a movie. ;)

It's funny that I really only think about looking different when someone brings it up (awkwardly or rudely), or when we talk about history. I obviously see myself in the mirror everyday (well, most days) but I've just never felt that different than any other American citizen. When I was a kid I was teased about the way I looked by kids in my class, but that wore off in the first couple of years and I eventually blended right in, or so it seemed. In fact, a friend of mine I grew up with didn't realize I was adopted till the 6th grade. (I love you Christy Lutz)

I never really thought about it too much till I went to college when you start trying to establish your individuality rather than try so hard to fit in. I wasn't blond and tall like a lot of my girl friends, and I couldn't wear cowboy boots or cowboy hats (when they were the fad) without looking ridiculous, or like I was Jackie Chan. I COULD keep a tan for longer though. haha. I've eventually come to embrace that I look different, and I am ok with it. :)

Who knows...maybe someday I'll step out of my house in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and just not care.

110/365: Trouble

We're lucky to have so many friends with kids close to the same age. Really, no matter which group of friends we're hanging out with, there's always a kid within a few years of Jaden. This makes it so fun. A lot of our friends have babies that are just a few months different than him. This is fun to compare stories, experiences, and questions. It's also very helpful and comforting to know that we're not the only one on this crazy ride we call parenting. :)

This is Eli. His mom and dad are Mark and Mandi. We've been friends with Mark and Mandi since high school. Steve of course has been friends with them longer, but when I came into the picture, they always made me feel like I just naturally fit in with them.


This photo looks like trouble, I know. They both look like they're up to something. Today we had a lot of fun while they visited, even though we had crazy weather and didn't get to go to the park. :( Next time I hope. Thanks guys for coming to see us! Hopefully we will get to see you soon. :)

109/365: hail

Today we had some interesting weather. We had tornados, hail, rain, wind, and fog. Luckily we were safe however we probably were not very smart. We saw everything from the front porch.
This is the largest piece of hail I've ever seen.

Maybe next time we should head to the basement.

108/365: Dimples

Playing catch up yet again today. Jaden and I traveled to Illinois this weekend for a few senior sessions from my hometown. This little guy is the best little traveler. He likes to ride and usually naps or talks to me from my mirror since we can see each other.
This sweet little smile and his dimples give me butterflies in my tummy.