"It's been a while" - is an understatement!

So...it's been a while...haha...funny right?  More like, "it's been way, way, way too long" since I've written on my blog!

Dear Beloved Blog,
I'm sorry I've neglected you this whole Summer.  You were low on the totem poll and quite frankly it's not that I forgot about you...it's that I was too busy spending my long summer days with my charming husband and my lovely daughter.  Forgive me.

So anyways...if you are still reading my blog, or if I just have "ghost readers", I'm back.  No promises made, I will be writing a lot more often about, well, everything.  I thought of a lot of good posts to write over the summer and even planned them out in my head, but my fingers never got to typing them.  I'm working on the coordination of thinking --> planning --> writing and hopefully I will get better.  It's all about follow thru right? 

Well, given the fact that I have not posted on here since my birthday (I guess that doesn't count because Adam posted), I will try and catch everyone up on our summer.

May:  got out of school (yay!), went to the beach, Leah turned 3 months and rolled over.
June: layed around, went to the pool, Leah turned 4 months and started solid foods, celebrated my birthday, went to the beach.
July: layed around, Leah turned 5 months and is sitting up, went to the mountains.
August: layed around, Leah turned 6 months and is almost crawling, started school again. 

Leah at the beach holding her pacie like a ring pop.

Well, I hope I've gained some of my readers back because I will be sure to write more often.  Love you all...and to my blog, I love you more.

Happy Birthday!!!!

This is the other half of two are better than one writing this morning. And I must say that my other half (Elizabeth) is what makes our family! Today is a very special day in the life of our little family because it is Mommies birthday! I will not disclose her age for all to know, but she looks better today than the day I married her! As you all know this has been a big year for us. Our precious daughter Leah Elizabeth Hamilton came into the world on February 15th of this year. She has been an amazing gift from God and through her I have witnessed Elizabeth turn from wife to wife/mommy! Through the past 4 months I have witnessed Elizabeth grow in tremendous ways. She is one of the strongest people I have ever met. The day she gave birth to Leah she had already worked a half day teaching, then we left straight from school to go to the hospital, then she had a baby at 6:30 that night and then she stayed up for the next 4 days feeding her upwards of 18 times a day(The hospital documents these things)! That is what I am talking about, a little warrior! She sacrifices beyond belief. She never sleeps a full 8 hours except for today because I am making her! She loves her husband! Not many husbands could write that these days, but I know my wife loves me! She prays for me, she counsels me through my pain, she sees my every need and meets it! She is an amazing woman! But most importantly she loves Jesus. She has a passion for Christ and his word and I love to hear her speak about Him and pray to Him! She is a tremendous daughter, wife, and now mother! Today, Elizabeth I honor you and tell you that I love you and I am never leaving you or Leah! We are in this thing for the long-haul and no matter how rough things can get I am always going to show up and fight for your heart! I hope you have a fabulous day at....... THE SPA!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Love,

Daddy and Leah

Here are some pictures of our journey thus far!

Tips for New Moms: 02

02: Don't have a cow when your hair starts to fall out in chunks about 3 months after you give birth.

Because I did.  And I still am.  For about 3 weeks now I have literally had chunks of hair falling out in the shower, when I brush my hair, straighten my hair, or just whatever...it falls out.  Everyone tells me it's normal, but if it keeps going on, I'll probably be bald soon.  Leah gets the brunt of it all too because no matter what I do, I find some of my hair on her, in her hands, or even in her toes.  I have even found a strand or two in her diaper before.  I know pretty gross, but what can I do? 

So, when your hair starts to fall out, don't panic.  It's normal.  Or so they say.  :) 

Tips for New Moms: 01

I'm going to start something new on my blog.  You have probably already guessed what it is from my title.  Yes...tips for new moms.  Almost everyday I find myself learning something new as a mom that I had no idea of or hadn't read in any of the books.  So, I thought I'd help some new moms out there to have a better understanding of what to expect from being a mom.  Please don't take this as some kind of expert advise, because frankly I've only been a mom for 3 1/2 months and I'm learning new things everyday.  These are just tips of what I've found out that works and doesn't work as a Mom.  I'd love to hear any other advise you more "experienced moms" have because I'm all about learning from the best!  So, hear it goes...

01: Start packing for vacations at least 3 days in advance. 

This has been a huge struggle for me.  If you know me, you know that I am the world's best procrastinator!  I wait to the last minute to do everything (clean, pack, work, study, etc.), but when you have a baby, that all has to change!  I'm still working on it, but I think I've gotten a little better (though Adam might tell you differently).

If you have a baby or are thinking about having a baby, prepare to take anything and everything with you wherever you go!  Like pretty much every baby, Leah gets bored sitting or laying somewhere pretty quick.  You put her in her swing, she wants to move, put her in her boppy seat, she wants to move, lay her on the floor, she wants to move, put her in your lap, she wants to move, sit her in her bumbo seat, she wants to move...you get the idea.  So, we take everything!

Adam has a Jeep and by the time we're done packing everything you can't see out of the windows.  I'm sure we'll get better as time goes on, but I'm perfectly content taking everything "just in case".  Since we do take a lot, it takes a while getting it all together, so, the final verdict....start early!

Empowerment

em-pow-er [em-pou-er]
1. to give power or authority to; authorize, esp. by legal or official means.
2. to enable or permit

Our Pastor started a new sermon series called "e".  No...not for Elevation, but for "empowerment".  It was a great sermon with key points that really opened your eyes and made you realize what the "church" is really here for. 

Elevation is known for our mission statement, "So that people far from God will be filled with life in Christ".  It is our mission to reach the city of Charlotte in so many ways.  Elevation is also known for not doing anything mediocre.  Everything is done with excellence, which is what the Bible calls us to do as a church.  And part of doing things with excellence is not having an array, or rather, a "buffet" of things within our church.  For example, that's why you don't see a Men's ministry, a women's ministry, a missions ministry, a singles ministry, a college ministry, a special needs ministry, a hearing impaired ministry, a senior adults ministry, and I could go on and on.  Now before any of you have a cow, or stop reading, I am NOT saying these things are bad or wrong to have in the church.  Here me out.  Some churches do these things great and are reaching so many people through them, which is awesome! 

People all the time ask the staff at Elevation, "why is there no men's ministry", "where is your single's ministry", etc.  I think most people grew up in the tradition and mindset that there has to be a "pastor" leading these ministries...I know I did!  The answer Elevation always gives to these types of questions is, "why don't YOU do it"?  Why don't I do it? 

Pastor preached from Ephesians 4:11-13 which basically says that all of us are given a gift from the Lord...our passion.  And we are to use our gift/passion to reach the world, which creates great and perfect unity in Christ. 

Man!  Just let that marinate a little bit.  Don't you feel convicted?  I know I do!  God's given me a great gift and as long as I keep it covered up, tucked away in box, protected from the world...it's useless and a great insult to my God.  Just think...if we all discovered our passion, the passion God has instilled in you, and used it for the Glory of God, this world would be a different place! 

Pastor stated in his sermon that "Pastors are God's gift to the church and the church is God's gift to the world".  Pastors share the vision God has for us and we, as a church, are to take that vision and form strategies of how to implement the vision in our everyday lives.

He also said that rather focusing on entitlement ("pastors") we need to focus more on empowerment.  We, as a church, need to feel empowered to take our passions and do something with them to reach this city.  Even though the majority of us can't call ourselves "pastors", we DO have the authority and the power to take our gift and use it and let that be our ministry. 

Elevation has had community groups meet all over Charlotte since the start of the church.  These community groups meet each week to fellowship with other believers, discuss the sermon from the previous week, and to just do "life" with other fellow Christians.  These community groups are taking a turn for the better this coming season.  Instead of being called "community groups", they will be called "egroups".  The "e" standing for empowerment. 

As group leaders, we were told to discover our passion and let our group be centered around that.  For example, Adam's passion is teaching and he loves taking the sermon Pastor preaches each week and dissecting it and discussing it with others.  So...our "egroup" will probably focus on the series' we do in the church and discussing them with our group to provide application.

Pastor gave examples of other passions people may have.  Everything from Missions, to students, to sports.  Pastor Furtick is empowering us as a church to take our passions and use them to reach the city of Charlotte bringing everything back to our mission statement, "to see people far from God be filled with life in Christ".   This is where all of our "ministries" will surface.  Men's ministries, women's ministries, missions, sports ministries, etc. will all be brought to life. 

Forgive me for such a long post, but I just wanted to share what was on my heart the past couple of days.  Will you use your gift/passion God has given you to empower you to reach this city, or will you keep it safely tucked away?  God has called His people to take risks for His glory...no worries, He's always on your side.  I'll leave you with a quote from this past Sunday...

"We are placed here for a purpose, guided by a passion and empowered by the Spirit of God." 

Edible baby.

Couldn't you just eat her up?  This weekend we went to Rufus and Taylor's engagement party.  The weather was very nice, but it was hot!  Leah had never really been 'hot' before, so when she started to get a little dewy she didn't like it.  But Adam did manage to get this completely adorable shot of her.  Sometimes I still can't believe she's mine!

Truly blessed!

All the girls...

These are just some of the women in my life that make me feel special...

Mom, thanks for being the best Mom around!  If you can't tell from my last post, I love you very much!

Sara, thanks for being a great Sister.  You're always there when I need to talk and you seem to know just what to say!

Harleigh, thanks for being cutest niece ever!  I love being your Aunt and your "tiger" noise is my favorite!

And this little girl...

Leah, thank you for being my sweet daughter!  You mean the world to me and I would do anything for you!