Honesty

"There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are."
— Brennan Manning

The Meaning of a Name....

AUBRIE GRACE : Noble, bearlike, and full of Grace

When we started talking about having kids, Jason said he wanted our kids to have names with good meaning behind them. I had just always thought of names that I thought were cute or sounded good with our last name. However....I am so glad PapaMonkey shared his heart on this.....I love it now that our kids will have a good strong name to go with their identity.

GABRIEL PAUL: Strong man of God

ELLIE JOY: Concecrated to God and Full of Joy

Pictures-Sibling Love

We surprised my mom and came directly to her house to see her and the kids when we got home from the hospital......the kids' reactions were great....Gabe was very hesitant.....

Ellie however, just couldn't get enough of her little sister.....it was so precious!

We are gonna have our hands full!!!!!! Let the real monkey business begin!!!

She's Here!!!!

Aubrie Grace Strough.......8 lbs, 19 " long.....

Born at 9:45 pm on Feb 16th

Can we just say how thankful and happy we are that monkey #3 is finally here?!?!?!?!?!?

And we had a super great Doctor~~~would highly reccomend her!!!

Look at those chubby lil cheeks!!!!

And a HUGE thank you to Daddy AGAIN....for getting us thru our 3rd ALL NATURAL labor/birth!!!
He is the best birthing coach ever!!! Love you sweetie!!!

Daddy kisses.....

And Aubrie kisses....

God is so good.......what a sweet lil package from Heaven!!

Oh How He Loves Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWgeUrD4MHI
By David Crowder



He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane i am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And i realise just how beautiful you are
And how great your affections are for me.

And oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us all

Yeah he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves.
Yeah he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves.

We are his portion and he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we`re all sinking.
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don`t have time to maintain these regrets
When i think about the way�

He loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Oh how he loves.
Yeah he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves.

Well i thought about you the day stephen died
And you met me between my breaking.
I know that i still love you god despite the agony.
...they want to tell me you're cruel
But if stephen could sing he'd say it's not true cause...

Cause he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us.
Whoa! how he loves us.
Whoa! how he loves.
Yeah he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves us
Whoa! how he loves.

SuperGreat Valentine's Day

Little playdough gift from PapaMonkey.......for MamaMonkey ;)
(I heard him telling the kids, as he was making the arrow:
"Mommy shot an arrow thru my heart just like this over 5 years ago and got me good...."
Or something like that.....)


He was too busy trying to keep up with Daddy's art to look up for a picture.....

A valentine for Mommy....

And some snuggles for Mommy.....

And a hug for baby too....

~We had such a great day. We headed back to our old church, Living Hope, this morning as a last minute idea last night. Was so good to see everyone and be with them all again. Church was amazing as usual, then a quick trip to visit Jason's family since we were in the area, then out to Susie's for lunch with her family. (The place I lived for 9 mths before we got married.) Felt just like "coming home". We are so blessed by them!!!

~Home again for some good naps, then a visit from my uncle, his wife, and their 6 monkies.

What a fun, fun day. Now it's time for more sleep....I just can't seem to get enough anymore ;)

We Are The World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI

I think a I left a little bit of my heart back in Haiti years ago when I went on a mission trip.

So this song has really touched my heart. If I was in a different season of life, I would be on
a plane in a heartbeat going back to that beautiful/devasted country.

So until that next time....I'll keep those people in my heart and keep praying.