17 week update!

17 weeks pregnant! I woke up one morning this week and suddenly you could see a little belly! We find out the gender on January 2nd! We're both very excited and counting down the days....we're both thinking boy, but I think David is a bit nervous- there's got to be a stop in the run of Gossett boys...this will be the eighth in a row if it's a boy. We'll see......

Tagged

Okay, so I normally try to politely ignore these tags, but this is for little Anna. Congrats Aubrey and Josh. Maybe you'll have a little break and this will humor you a bit. Love you guys. By the way- I love your hobby of pro-creating. Nice! Just what the Lord orders:-) haha!



This is suppose to be word one answers, she says. So I will try my best...no promises:-)





1. Where is your cell phone? other room


2. Where is your significant other? work


3. Your hair color? black


4. Your mother? Exquisite:-)


5. Your father? Gentle


6. Your favorite thing? fall


7. Your dream last night? good


8. Your dream/goal? Love more


9. The room you're in? living room


10. Your hobby? learning


11. Your fear? jellyfish


12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? holding hands


13. Where were you last night? Flip house


14. What you're not? standing


15. One of your wish-list items? got it


16. Where you grew up? NC


17. The last thing you did? sat down


18. What are you wearing? wet hair


19. Your TV? DAvid's


20. Your pets? Not born yet


21. Your computer? a little sick


22. Your mood? peaceful


23.Missing someone? David


24. Your car? clean..finally


25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes


26. Favorite store? Anthropologie


27. Your summer? Hot


28. Love someone? more and more


29. Your favorite color? nature


30. When is the last time you laughed? at John David


31. Last time you cried? worshipping

Bye Bye Fall...

We had such a fun fall this season! I noticed I hadn't put up many pics, so here's a couple of what we were up to....

Pumpkin Patch with the Whisnants!
I thought this was too funny not to put up...at least it cracks me up. We decided it would be fun for us to jump off and Fred to get a pic. J and I both...for some reason unknown to any of us....decide to jump the same way- body down. We have problems:-)

...we both had hay all over us and in our mouths....

This was John David's favorite thing!

Ty and Hudson

We had to pry John David away from the truck to go do other things!

Blake and J

This was our first take at a family pic...you should see how many we took....and this is the best we got !

i like this one.

yah! a good one!

All eight of us...actually nine....we were so excited to get a good one. we thought it would be impossible, but we got several!

We love you guys! Ya'll are such a blessing and gift to us! The Lord has blessed us so much lately with several new friends! We are so thankful for each of you!

Okay- so off the pumpkin patch and to the fall festival. John David was Spider man and Hudson was the spider web.

Showing off his cool spider tattoos.

Trick or treat! This was the first time we've been trick or treating. Our neighborhood is great for that sort of thing. We went to two people's houses and J wanted to go back home to eat the candy. I told him we could go get more at other houses, but he insisted on going home:-) We had a good time handing out candy...he wanted to play with everyone that came by!

The carousel....

Books

Those of you who know me well, know that I love to read. I thought I would share a couple of books that are my favorites, that I have read recently, or in the middle of reading. I'll have to start putting up a few every once in a while.

This is one of my all time favorites. I read and read and read this book.

Focus on Giants- you stumble.

Focus on God- your giants tumble.

I'm in the midst of reading this book right now. I really like Max Lucado...I was reading a Max Lucado book when I met David:-)

He was an arrow in our quiver,

Then we held him in our hand.

Soon the bowstring held the arrow,

And the aiming part began.

"High and Far"

This book I am so excited about. I have not finished it but am looking for every minute to continue reading it. I think this is going to top my list of parenting books. Here's a quote:

"Perhaps protection, preparation, and even Christian training and biblical knowledge are not the real keys. Maybe these valid and [very] essential things can monopolize too much of our time, distracting us from the real issue- the winning our child's heart...The Key to winning the hearts of our children is the often overlooked biblical concept of romance- not the world's concept, but God's. He sent Jesus Christ to earth not to storm our hearts but woo us and draw us to Himself, winning our uncompelled love. If we truly make Him our model, and pattern our approach to our children after His approach to us, we automatically begin to parent from the inside out instead of the outside in. We look past behavior to the heart; we look past symptoms to the cause; we turn isolated events into shared, romance-enhancing experiences that connect to something larger than ourselves...we parents are used as instruments of God in this process [of winning our child's heart for Christ]....."

I was watching a program the other day about teenagers and parents. There was a counselor there that said that he thought, through all his years of counseling and such, that the greatest cause of teenagers turning their hearts away from Christ was because their hearts were never won. I thought it was interesting and remembered my sister reading this book a while back. Although, I don't think such a hard question can be answered in just one sentence, the implications of that statement made me really think. I know that God has won my heart- He has used many instruments for this- one major component being my parents. Another my husband. A third my children. The list goes on. How wonderful it is to know just the tip of how much God truly loves me and over the pages of my life has romanced my heart.

This book has been clearanced in bookstores, but is available on Amazon.

This is a popular book that I have gone back to many times.

It took me a while to get into the "feel" of this book, but once I started understanding the writing it became one of my favorites.

This is an awesome book for raising children, but I learned so much from it to apply to my own life. I pray we would raise our kids for true greatness. The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God.

** God has used these books in my life. I feel I need to explain though, that I do not agree with everything written in all of these books and I never just read a book taking in things as TRUTH. God's word is TRUTH. I read through the lens of God's Truth- what the Holy Spirit reveals to us through His Word.

It's all about Him

Alright, here’s a little story for you guys…I went to get some groceries one day w/ the boys…decided I might get a pregnancy test “just to make sure everything was okay”….well, we got home….I put the boys down for their nap….I looked in the mirror-cried… I was extremely nervous….took the test….God dried up the tears and replaced them with excitment (maybe I should call this nervous excitement).....called David and told him I was sick and he needed to come home…he told me to put the boys down for nap and lay down….I said no and for him to come home that I was really sick….he asked what the problem was….I said come home…..he insisted that he couldn’t…..I told him we were pregnant…..no noise……silence…..what? how do you know that?......what?.......

Well, that’s the story….isn’t it funny how God works sometimes? He can take the words right out of your mouth! This is a surprise for us….but I’m glad it wasn’t a surprise to our Lord. When I looked in the mirror that afternoon before I knew my future:-)…..I was filled with such…..well, I can’t even describe it…the best I can do is tell you a story to describe my emotions…..I was in the car one day w/ Seth and John David. We left Hudson w/ Mamaw and Papaw Ward. David was out of town. Seth and I were on the way to the emergency room with John David. He had stuck a wooden train wheel up his nose. I guess the little tire fell off and he wondered what would happen if he stuck it up his nose. Well, after some probing from mom’s tweezers I called the doctor who told me to take him to the ER. On the way there w/ Seth, all I could think about was how God was going to throw in a third one on top of this….so that’s how I felt at that moment….”what? God, are you for real?” Although we do have human feelings and emotions…I have to keep on trusting ….I’m just resting in the knowledge that even though I may plan my steps, the One who knows me better than I know myself has determined our course. I’ve said it over and over the last several years….In His will is the most amazing place to be, no matter where that takes you. No matter where that takes you. Whatever He wants…

Life’s not about me. It’s all about Him. Whatever He wants. He’s the Potter. I’m just the clay.

The Lord totally continues to amaze me…

The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God….

It’s like I can hear Him whisper: I know you, Emily, and you need to stay very very close to me. All things are for your good. You love me and you’re my called. Trust me. My plans are much more than yours. Keep running after me. I love you.

I trust him. But learning to trust him more and more.

As I looked in the mirror that day I read some verses that I had taped up…..

"Trust in Him at all times: people pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." ps.62:8

"The Words of the Lord are flawless." Ps. 12:6

It’s still there….I don’t think I’ll be able to take it off :-)

How thankful we are for His peace that is so much more than our understanding!

Our hearts leap with joy….

Life with David....

...is always an adventure...

...all I saw was a flash of pink and polka dots...

...somehow John David seemed to relate to this scene....

...Hudson was a bit bewildered....

Love you, Dad.

Hudson

J, Hud, and Mom went to the park several weeks ago to play in the cool weather only to see that it was closed! There are soccer fields close by so we decided to see what we could do....you might wonder why there are no pics of J...well, that is simply b/c I couldn't hardly catch him...while I was taking these pics of Hud I saw that J was climbing up the net of the goal....yes, he really does think he is spiderman...he was climbing up and w/ mom's help he climbed all the way over the goal post and hung like his buddy, spiderman...he thought he was the coolest...so my hands were a bit busy... no pics of J.

Hud gets a bike!!

J outgrew his bike....so we took it over to GiGi's and Pops' for a trial run for Hud....
Look Mom!! One hand!
His legs are still a little short, but he looks cute...and he loved it....thought he was big stuff I guess!

Well, nap time went by fast today....I have to go get the boys up, dressed, and in the car....we're going to the Pumpkin Patch!! I have more pics and the reason why I haven't posted in the last month....I guess I'll have to keep you guessing until a little later...haha! Off to the farm!

Triathlon....

Triathlon with Blake ...This was such a cute idea. First they rode their bike, then they ran for a bit, then they swam (which really consisted of them crawling through very shallow water)
You can tell here that J started feeling a bit apprehensive. I left him to go grab my camera so I could video....he didn't like that too much....I was taping and saw his upper lip....I took a pic then ran over to him but by that time he was too upset....I had to go beside him the whole time...he did well at the running part, but when they told him to take off his shoes to crawl through the pool, he lost it....you have to understand that there were people all yelling and hollering....all for fun....but J was not into it. Once he took off his shoes he was not about to get in the water....so mom took off her shoes...and he rode on her back through the water....how embarrassing... we came in dead last. He still got a ribbon....but yes, dead last. Next time we'll have to put him through some training:-) I can see Dad now!
Blake and John David. We are so thankful for Blake and his family. Blake's mom and I met this summer at MOPS...they have been such a gift to our family!

Little Hudson...

Clean and right out of the bath....love it!

Healthy as a rabbit!

I love organic baby spring mix lettuce.....David says he has to close his eyes and pretend he is a rabbit....

...My little Hudson loves it! 9 months and chomping down some good ole salad!! :-) Salad has never made it to John David's tummy....to his mouth, yes, but never to his stomach:-)

Luttrell Vacation!!

Pool Bum!

The cousins love baby Hudson!! Kase refers to him as his baby:-)
You can't get any cuter Kase-man!! :-)
Hudson working out!!
Grandma is the coolest!!

Grandpa and Kase! I love this!!

Go Hope!!

yeah kobe!!

Our room!

I like this one!Sweet little Hudson!
okay- so do you see that couple that is all over each other in the pool? That's David and I...How embarrassing!! Grandpa can really get the pics!

Lovely hat Leah :-) hah!

We love you "Ter Ter"!!
There was a little park beside the pool that J loved!!
Hudson and Aunt Kristy! I love this!

Kobe when he first wakes up!

Kloe!
The grandkids with Grandma and Grandpa!!
Best Buds!!

Look at that jump!!
The Hike! David wasn't able to come until mid week so Grandpa was sweet to take "daddy duty" on the trail.....
The whole gang!!
This cracks me up...two years ago I would have read a book for two hours while baking in the sun...and David with his shirt and computer...all under the shade while the pool and the sun is just a step away.....I think it was just a way to get a second of relaxation!!
okay- so I thought this was pretty funny too...John David was whining about something- and look at my face! I'm a bit intense...I know when I have this face...I can feel it, but I've never seen it until this totally random pic was flashed. hum....

John David put his hat on, Kase wanted one, John David shared one of his hats with Kase, Kase got some juice, J had to have juice, Kase shared his juice with J. This is how it worked all week.....
This pic doesn't do the craziness any justice...but maybe you can tell a bit....
Emily-left. Leah-right. Okay- so we'll take a vote....or maybe not...I'll just say that I win:-)
Doesn't every kid want to do this?

John David got into the pool bag on the way home....it kept him occupied for a while:-)

We miss you all already TONS and TONS!! We are so blessed by you guys!!