.birth stats.
.thanksgiving.
For Thanksgiving we spent the week in Spokane with Nick's family....but to our surprise, before we left for Spokane we woke up to snow in Bothell. Here is the view outside our porch at our neighborhood and some of the snow we got. It was so fun to be bundled up and cozy enoying the snow. The snow only lasted a few days in Western Washington, but when we flew to Spokane, it was a winter wonderland!! It snowed the entire time we were there and felt more like Christmas than Thanksgiving! It was so fun to just relax and enjoy time loving on my family and being loved on by Nick's family. We hung out, ate, watched movies, ate, shopped, ate, played games, ate....did I mention we ate lots and lots of yummy food?!?! It is such a blessing to be so close to our families and enjoy spending so much time with them...can't wait until I can host a holiday at our home.
Parker hanging out with his Auntie Hannah
Some of the delicious Thanksgiving spread
The Dietzen boys after our post Thanksgiving meal walk in the snow
Taking my little dude out for a walk in the snow...he wasn't such a fan
Parker Derek and his namesake Uncle Derek
Cousins Parker and Mason
Parker and Derek again :)
Nick, JD and their boys....looks like a family portrait to me!
We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season...we hope you are counting your blessings and relishing in the moment!
.4 months.
This is a few weeks overdue but as you can see below...we have had a difficult time getting a good 4 month picture! I am so mean because I still take pictures when he is crying....oooppps :) But I just think he is so cute even when he is crying. Below are the succession of a few photos from 2 different photo shoots we had.
Not very happy about this picture thing....
MOM! I am REALLY not into this picture taking!
Okay, I guess I can lay here and look cute for this picture....
Seriously mom....I am bored out of my mind. Enough with the pictures :)
Heheh....those are some of the things I think Parker had running through his head while his crazy mom was taking his picture! Oh the things we do!
Here are the stats on Mr Parker man at 4 months:
Length: 25 3/4" (80%)
Weight: 13lbs, 10oz (26%)
Head: 16 5/8" (50%)
So it looks like he is still tall and skinny....following right in his dad's footsteps!
Here are some of his favorite things right now:
-laughing, smiling, cooing and laughing some more (very happy baby!)
-Christmas lights
-his pacifier (becoming more attached....might not be such a good thing :/)
-rolling onto his side...can't quite roll over but tries so hard!
-eating breastmilk every 3 hours still...no solids yet
-loves his friends Evan, Gracin, Jack, Oliver and Cole at daycare
-loves to look around at everything
-sleeping on his tummy (LOVES this!)
-belly laughs
A few things he has decided he doesn't like lately:
-his carseat
-sleeping on his back
-cold milk (every bottle has to be warm or he won't drink it)
Overall he is doing GREAT! Growing strong and learning new things everyday. This stage has been so much fun because he is really starting to interact...knows who we are and smiles whenever he makes eye contact with us. He is even belly laughing which makes my heart smile. I love every inch of this little man! Still cannot believe he is ours!
.small world.
This weekend I came to a pretty harsh reality.....my world is really small. Like, really small.
Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of Charity: Water spoke at Eastlake this weekend. It was amazing. Our church has been partnering with Charity: Water for a while now and working towards building wells for clean water to those who do not have access to clean water. The weight of that reality really hit me hard this weekend.
I have never. ever. had to worry about clean drinking water. ever.
"Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war."
Let the weight of that statement sink in. just from lack of clean water.
A lot of times I get overwhelmed by the needs of the world and feel that I cannot make a difference. There are so many people in need and so many causes, that so many times I feel like I cannot do enough to make an impact. Selfish I know, but I just get completely overwhelmed and do not do anything as a result.
The difference this time is I actually feel like there are tangible ways that I can help bring someone clean water. That someone as insignificant as ME can make a huge difference in someone's life. Crazy how empowering that can be.
Looking at how much we have been blessed and how God has empowered us, I feel like the Dietzen family has been created for a much bigger purpose than we are currently living. God has a much bigger plan for our life than to just eat, work and sleep. We are not sure what that means, and what God is calling us to, but it has become pretty clear to us that we were meant to bring Jesus to others. Whether that means helping to meet the physical needs of others through clean water or working with those we touch daily to bring Jesus to them, we are on board!
It's crazy how you can hear the same things over and over, and then one day you really HEAR it for the first time. I love what Charity: Water is doing to build wells and empower the people to live life without the diseases that come about because of dirty water, or having to spend their entire day fetching dirty water from a swamp miles and miles away.
God has blessed us all so much and as Ryan Meeks our pastor says "God doesn't bless us to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of GIVING."
I don't know what God has in store for the Dietzen family...but I think there are BIG things in our future and I am so excited!!! My world is so small and I am so excited to start expanding it and living outside myself!
.bittersweet.
I am a huge nerd and love to read. My roomate from college (who is recently engaged..see post below..woo!), recommended I read the book Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist a few years ago. I seriously read the book in one day...I LOVED it!! Well she recently came out with another book called Bittersweet and I cannot get enough! I am trying to pace my way through it because I already don't want it to end! Her books are kind of like a journal where one chapter doesn't flow to the next but they are more thoughts and revelations that she comes to....kind of like reading a blog where every post is usually different. She has such a unique way of describing certain situations and making you feel like you relate to her. The way she writes makes it seem like she is writing down your exact feelings....she makes you feel normal, like you are not the only one feeling a certain way. Reading her books makes me want to be her friend...haha...I think we would be great friends! haha but for now I will leave you with a few little snippets of things that have spoken to me!
On the importance of gathering friends with friends and eating dinner together:
{when we stop everything else to gather around the table and eat a meal made by someone's hands, we honor our bodies and the God who created them. We honor the world he made and the beauty of creation. And in that moment we acknowledge that even though life is fast and frantic, we're not machines and we do require nourishment, physically and otherwise}
On coming to the realization that you cannot do everything, and making a list of things you do well and things you don't do:
{It's brutal, making the list of Things I Don't Do, especially for someone like me, who refuses most of the time to acknowledge that there is, in fact, a limit to her personal ability to get things done. But I's discovered that the list sets me free. I have it written in black and white, sitting on my desk, and when I'm tempted to go rogue and bake muffins because all the other moms do, I come back to both lists, and I remind myself about the important things: that time is finite, as is energy. And that one day I'll stand before God and account for what I did with my life. There is work that is only mine todo: a child that is ours to raise, stories that are mine to tell, friend that are mine to walk with. The grandest seduction of all is the myth that DOING EVERYTHING BETTER gets us where we want to be. It gets us somewhere, certainly, but not anywhere worth being.}
About throwing parties and seeing your house filled with people you love:
{I don't know where we'll be in five years or how exactly we'll pay the mortgage the next few months or when we'll have another child, but I do know how to make dinner, and to see the people I care about gobble it up makes me feel like something is right, even when it seems like nothing is. There's something so healing about those quiet moments at the table, when everyone's mouth-or mind or heart-is full, when you feel connected and nourished and content, even if it's just for a split second.}
Read it. Seriously. Walk Run to the nearest bookstore and buy her books. You won't regret it!
.engaged.
My dear roomate of all 4 years of college and best friend, Erin Schoenwald will soon be Mrs. Erin Thiele.!!! Jon and Erin got engaged yesterday 12.4.10!!! They are an amazing couple and God defnitely brought them together to do great things! Erin and I spent many late nights staying up talking about our future spouses and spent many hours in prayer over who God had in store for our future. I am so overjoyed to see how God has provided and brought Jon into Erin's life. I cannot wait until the big day and can't wait to hear all the details about the engagement and wedding!!! I love you guys....CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
.just do it.
This is a Nike ad from a few years back and I love it!! It describes me perfectly and makes me proud to be an athlete and a runner.
.three years.
Happy 3 Year Anniversary!!!
I really cannot believe it has been 3 years since we were married. It has gone by really fast, but I look back and cannot remember what life was like before I met Nick. So much has happened in the last 3 years and there is no one I would rather go through life with than him!
In the last 3 years we have....
-moved to Seattle
-each gone through 2 job changes
-lived in 3 different places (Seattle, Bellevue, Bothell)
-bought a house
-had a baby
And had many more changes that we have gone through together. Each day gets better and we have so much fun together. It's crazy to think we were just 22 years old when we got married and have grown up so much in the last 3 years. It is so fun! We have had our challenges and disappointments but I love that we get to grow through those experiences together.
Here is a picture of us from the last weekend...just as happy and in love as the day we said "I Do" and our little baby Parker that we have been blessed with. Praise Jesus for being faithful and blessing our life and marriage.
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