New Camera

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A new camera is so much fun! It seems to provide a fresh pair of eyes to see the beauty and brilliance right in front of you all over again. I went ahead today and splurged on a new camera. As you all know, we take a TON of photos and the point-and-shoot Sony 7.1 megapixels had done a semi-decent job these past 2 years. But twice we have had the tracking come off within the lens so the camera has jammed and the only way to get it to work again is to send it back to the company. Yuck.

So I did some research and polled some of my mommy-photographer friends and decided to go for it. Normally, researching is not my job; Dan loves to research and research... and research a product and then after several months, he will get around to buying it. But I don't operate like that when it comes to cameras.

After Noah's 1st nap of the day, we loaded up and went to the massive Navy Exchange mall here on Island. It is like a Macy's for military members only - and it is tax free. I strolled into the camera section and right into a demonstration of Sony's newest and coolest camera. The Sony rep was there and was showing it to another elderly gentleman when I walked up. Then another man came over and within 5 minutes of telling us about this camera (coupled with the incredible price and it being tax free), we were all in line to purchase our own. There were 3 left in stock in the store so we all lucked out.

I thought Dan would be upset with me for being impulsive, but surprisingly, he was really excited to see that I had done my homework and had bought the best that was out there in our price range. So, if you haven't been innundated with Noah and Family photos yet, get ready! It will be a photography session like none other this next month and a half that we live in Hawaii.

These are a few of the photos I took within the first few hours of trying to figure out how to work the new addition. The flowers (plumbago, hibiscus, and Birds of Paradise) are all on our back patio and all of which I planted. I am very proud of the vibrant, brilliant colors that have come from my not-so-usually-green-thumb!

Contagious Laughing!

There is nothing like a good belly laugh. Tonight, we got a few minutes of Noah really laughing at his daddy on camera. He's such a ham!

Face for Friday

This redheaded, blue-grey eyed boy has a face to be treasured. I am so thankful he's mine.

Thought for Thursday

I don't normally do "daily themed" blog entries, but I think that there are just too many random thoughts running through my very active brain to not share them with you.

My whole life, my mom has taught me and my sister to "plead the blood of Jesus" over ourselves and our families and our daily comings/goings. I mean, I have been doing that since I was about 6 or 7 years old; starting our day or our trips, whatever by pleading the blood of Jesus was just the norm for me.

Just today, I stumbled across one of the most wonderful articles on WHY we are to plead that precious blood over ourselves, our loved ones, our lives. I just couldn't resist sharing this incredible article derived from http://www.bible-knowledge.com/bible-verse-for-terrorist-attacks.html and written by Michael Bradley:
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Some of you already know how to Plead the Blood of Jesus over the main areas of your life they want you want God's maximum protection on. In my opinion, Pleading the Blood of Jesus as an offensive weapon is the most powerful form of offensive prayer you can use to get God's maximum protection on you.

However, I did find in my battle verse system one rather long powerful verse that really shows how God the Father can protect His own from heavy attacks from the enemy. I'm going to go ahead and give you this verse in this article, as it will help give you knowledge that God can and will protect His own.

However, to get God's protection on you, there is something that you have to do on your end - and that something is to "pray it on you." You have to "plead" the Blood of Jesus in order to get God to protect you and you have to pray some of these other battle verses on you in order to move God to want to protect you.

Many Christians do not get this type of divine protection on them because they have either never specifically asked God to do it for them or they have never "pled" the blood or "prayed" the battle verses on them to get God to activate His protection on them.

The Bible says in James 4:2: "Yet you do not have because you do not ask." In other words, if you don't ask God to do something specific for you, then He may not do it for you because you simply have not asked Him to do it. Sometimes it is literally that simple!

For those of you who may be afraid of what may be coming down the road - really grab a hold of this powerful battle verse. This verse is very specific in that it will show you that God can give you His maximum protection right in the middle of a war zone.

Each Christian should be doing the following now that we have officially entered into both natural and spiritual warfare:

Plead the Blood of Jesus over your bodies, your houses, your cars, all of your loved ones who don't know how to Plead the Blood on themselves, and over all your office buildings if you are currently employed.
Take the following battle verse, "quote parts of it back to God the Father," and ask Him to give you the protection that this verse is talking about. Tell Him that you will believe in every part of this verse and that you will have full faith and belief to accept the protection that He will give you as promised by this verse. Tell God that you will stand on the wording that is in this verse and that you will have full faith and belief that He will protect you from these types of attacks in the future.

God loves it when you quote His own Word back to Him. This shows Him that you are doing your homework, that you believe in His Word, and that you are also willing to take a strong and powerful stand based upon what His Word is telling you to do.

This is putting your faith into action. God will move mightily on your behalf whenever you put your faith and belief in Him into action. Peter does not walk on water until he puts his faith into action by stepping out of the boat and actually starts to walk on the water. Then the miracle occurs.

Please notice that some of the words in the following battle verse really do apply to our current situation. It says that God will deliver you from "perilous pestilence." It says that we are not to be afraid of the terror by night or the arrows that fly by day.

Not to be afraid of the "pestilence that walks in darkness" could help us in the event of any type of biological attack. This verse also says that God will keep any plague from coming near our houses.

It also says, rather graphically, that God will protect you even though a "thousand may fall at your side." This means that God can protect you right in the middle of an actual attack.

There are plenty of incredible God-stories coming out about how numerous people were directed by God in the two World Trade Centers to get out before the buildings started to crumble. God did protect some of His own right in the middle of that attack - just like this verse says!

This verse also tells us that God will give us His angels to take charge of us. Now here is one big, whopper, mammoth battle verse straight from God the Father Himself. It is Psalm 91:1-16.

Also, look at the first part - Psalm 91:1. We always dial 911 for emergencies. This verse starts out at 91:1 in Psalms. Is the 911 lining up with the 91:1 on this verse? Coincidence?

Also - the first round of attacks occurred on our country on 9/11. Is the date 9/11 lining up with our emergency number of 911? If so, is God trying to tell us that we are in some type of "state of emergency?"

PSALM 91:1-16
Study the wording in this verse very, very carefully. This verse is giving us powerful revelation from God the Father on how far He can go to protect His own - even in the worse battle case scenario you could possibly imagine.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

Conclusion
There is only one catch to being able to get this kind of divine protection on you. This kind of divine protection will only be for the people who have truly entered into a personal relationship with God the Father. Notice the following words:

1. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

The word "dwells" is implying someone who has established a very good, close, intimate, personal relationship with God - someone who lives and walks with God on a daily basis - not just when an emergency presents itself.

He who lives and walks with God in a close, personal and active relationship will get the benefit of being able to abide under His shadow - which then means being able to be protected by God when the need will arise.

2. The next verse says:

"Because you have made the Lord ... your habitation, no evil shall befall you."

Again, the word "habitation" is implying someone who has established a close personal relationship with the Lord on a daily basis. Live and walk with God in this type of close personal relationship and then no evil will befall you.

3. The next part of the verse says:

"I will set him on high, because he has known My name."

The phrase "known my name" is also implying someone who has entered into a close personal relationship with God. You cannot really know God unless you have established a good, close, personal relationship with Him.
Establish a good, close, personal relationship with God - and then God will set you up on high and out of harm's way.

4. This verse then ends on a very powerful note:

"With long life I will satisfy him."

In other words, God will allow some of you to live a long life - protecting you from a lot of the evil of this world if you will truly enter into a close personal relationship with Him.

Michael Bradley
Bible Teaching, Commentary, and Over 150 Free Articles

Scripture taken from New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005-2006 by Michael Bradley.

Our Mr. is Such a Big Boy

"Give me my dinner, Ma"

The longest eyelashes I have ever seen on a baby...

"Stop it, already. Let me eat in peace."

"Hmmm, this is good!"

"Gimme more"

Ready to take the camera from Mama

Swimming with Daddy in Waikiki

My handsome guys

Having a ball at David's 1st birthday party

Dancing with Ryan at David's party

Honesty at its finest

It is my intention for this blog to be a place for others to come to see that they are really not alone in their mom, wife, woman of God journey. So, I feel compelled to be bitterly honest with my writing. Plus the catharsis that comes to me when I write is worth the pain of honesty. I hope this blog speaks to you when/if you need to know you are not alone in your journey.

When I say that satan is attacking me in every way possible, I mean it with every bit of sincerity. He's been hitting me in my marriage, my friendships, my family, and my happiness. Last night I hit an all time low; I haven't been that low in years. I received an email from a dear friend telling me she was ending our years long friendship... ending it. Because of me, because of something I had done and she didn't feel comfortable enough to tell me this to my face or give me some fair warning. That was the last straw. I had been feeling very left out of several of my friendships here in Hawaii and then being told that someone I care about didn't want to be my friend any more was just more than I could take. And she told me several things about myself that I didn't want to hear; they were just too painful.

In addition to some friendship problems, satan had also been chipping away at my relationship with Dan. As a married mom of a toddler, I - like most moms in my situation - allowed my marriage to take backseat for the last several months because by the time my husband got home from work, I was so frazzled that all I wanted to do was go to bed and read. Not talk, not laugh, not even eat dinner together.

And I began looking for EVERYTHING my husband had been doing to be wrong. No matter what he did, what he said, what he didn't do, everything was wrong. What an easy excuse for me to have in order to NOT deal with my marital issues! It didn't occur to me to look at how difficult I had been or how mean I had been to the love of my life. Noah gets the best of me and that is all I have been focused on for the past 14 months. That 'ain't' fair to my relationships. Period.

I was hysterical last night; I cried and cried and cried.... and cried some more. And the more I cried, the more frustrated Dan got and the more frustrated he got because he couldn't 'fix' it, the more crying I did. I went to bed giving satan the victory: he had successfully taken a friendship away, eaten away at my self-confidence and made some serious, problematic dents in my marriage. Yay, satan... until morning.

"Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

This morning, I awoke with a sense of complete victory. Just 8 hours prior to my awakening, my husband and I had successfully gone to bed TWO nights in a row without speaking (my fault) and I had successfully blown off a dear friendship. Yet the Holy Spirit renewed me in the darkness because I allowed myself to be opened to His moving. I awoke, not with a spirit of offense, but with a renewed spirit of LOVE and of FORGIVENESS and of HUMILITY: three things that are vital in having happy and healthy relationships. I have been lacking all three of these things. And maybe not in each area at the same time, but I promise you that throughout the past year, even if my marriage was okay, at any given time, I would be mad at someone or feel that someone had "done me wrong." Um, not healthy and not Christlike.

Satan can continue to work and wrangle his way into my relationships, but praise God that I have people in my life that love me enough to tell me that my actions and words hurt them and they give me the forgiveness that sustains me. And above their forgiveness, I have the love of a Father in Heaven who would send His only Son to die all over again FOR that forgiveness, even if just for me. Hallelujah.

Letter from a Hero

For those of you who know me well or who have been following my writings since www.babybeall.com days, you know my love and unwaivering support of our former President George W. Bush. I know that many of you who are Obama supporters just won't like this entry... so if you are too terribly offended, then just skip reading this one!

The night before the current president's inauguration, I was overcome with sadness and emptiness and for the first time in a long while, a feeling that the protection I had so enjoyed was being taken away from me. I couldn't believe the open hatred and ungratitude that the incoming president, his party or the majority of Americans were exhibiting towards the man who had led our country through one of the darkest times in our history. People were holding the door open for him to get kicked out and were laughing as he went. How audacious of this nation. Yet I remained and will always remain steadfast in my support and continued prayer for who I believe to be a great man of God.

So on the eve of the inauguration, I wrote a "letter" to President Bush giving him my humble and completely inadequate words of gratitude. I never, EVER thought he would read the letter at all, but God works in mysterious ways! My mom read the letter that I posted on babybeall.com and sent it to her friend, Mr. Karl Rove. They have been friends since he visited Troy University a couple of years ago and remain in touch. He immediately emailed her back to tell her that he had emailed President Bush my letter directly.

A few days later, my dad's secretary (who Mr. Rove also stays in touch with) received a phone call from President Bush's personal assistant. She asked for my mailing address, email address, former Air Force rank and my husband's Air Force rank. We left Island for the month of March, but when I returned, I had received a personal letter from Mr. Bush himself thanking me for what I wrote. HE HAD VIEWED NOAH'S WEBSITE! What?!

This is the letter that he wrote to me. I have just now had a chance to scan it and share it with you all. Whether you supported the former president or not, no one can deny that he had the most daunting job during the most horrible time in our history to date. I find it an honor to be contacted by a man under whose command I humbly served during my time in the U.S. active duty military. His name will always hang on our walls on our commissioning certificates and now on a letter that he personally wrote to me and to my family.

Some videos

We had a great dinner at Don Ho's downtown in Waikiki last night and a beautiful Hawaiian lady named Mihana sang for Noah. She sang a song that she wrote as she went along about our town where we live here in Hawaii, called Makakilo. He loved it! Of course, he was a bit ADD at the beginning but once he settled into his daddy's lap, he was fixated on Mihana and her guitar.




Noah is the most talkative baby we have ever seen. He's been chatting away since he was about 7-8 months old and now he's even more loud and verbal at 14.5 months! He knows how to make a point and how to be heard.

Dan calls him his little Italian redhead: the kid YELLS "Ma-MAH" over and over and louder and louder till I answer him. He sounds so Italian!

This is a cute video of Noah I took right before we went downtown to meet his daddy for our date night last night.

Jewels from a Drag Queen

I know, the title of this post was way random, huh?! But it is appropriate because I literally bought the jewels of a drag queen tonight. More on that in a minute.

Dan, Noah and I went down to Chinatown in downtown Honolulu tonight for a date night. We were supposed to meet up with some friends but it ended up being just us and we were kind of relieved; we needed some family time.

Each first Friday of the month, all the art galleries open their doors to the public and feature new and local artist. We got down there before things really kicked off so we strolled over to the Aloha Tower Marketplace and had dinner at the late Don Ho's restaurant. It is touristy but a nice place to eat right on the water. Noah got serenaded by a great Hawaiian singer and he was mesmerized (I have a video that I will post later this weekend): he's obsessed with guitars because his daddy has one that he plays for Noah.

Anyway, after dinner, we shopped a little bit and went back over to the First Friday festival in Chinatown. For those of you not familiar with Oahu, Chinatown is a seeeeeedy place after dark. It becomes filled with the motliest of crews (a word?) you could imagine. And it is definitely not the place to have a baby out and about.

We were finishing up our shopping and stopped by an outdoor jewelry vendor at the end of the row in Chinatown. She was selling estate pieces and several caught my eye so I stopped to check them out; many of the pieces were sparkling in the Hawaiian sunset and I had to stop and ogle them!

But one broach and earring set in particular captivated me. The vendor started to tell me the back-story of the pieces and I immediately decided I had to have them! She just recently purchased them from a Caucasian, blond drag queen "showgirl" who had reached his 40s, was past his performing days and had fallen on hard times. The set was from the 1950s and had belonged to his mother. He didn't want to sell the jewels to an estate dealer but he had no choice. So she sold them to me for exactly the nominal fee for which he had sold them to her.

I was giddy from the thrill of my purchase! I felt that I had gotten a steal on the jewels but also felt a sadness for the man who had had to part with his late mother's belongings. I left Chinatown wanting to find out more about him, his mom and I wanted to find a way to tell him that his jewels were in good hands now and will be well cared for. Oh well, thus is life. I just hope that he's found happiness and things are looking up for him.

I always love a good back-story, don't you?!

"Marley (Beall) & Me"

Our sweet Piper-Lou was born on February 2, 2007 - exactly one year to the day before my due date with Noah. She is a Beago which is a mixture of a purebred Golden Retriever and purebred Beagle. We got her from our dear friends here in Hawaii, the Smiths.

Piper at 8 weeks
To say that Piper was a challenge for me - this not-typically-a-dog-person person - is inaccurate. Piper's head was literally on the chopping block until she proved to us that she was worthy of being Noah's sister. Were we ever surprised and BLESSED to realize that our baby girl has not only calmed down (after what seems like years of training and disciplining her) but she is now Noah's best friend and his protector.

Piper and Noah at 2 months

Initially she got really excited when he was in the room. He was a newborn and she has the Beagle sniffer and the Golden excitement so she was a cyclone of energy and annoyance to have around. But soon, she began hovering over him, making sure he was okay, happy, safe and warm. And miraculously, Piper calmed down the older she got.

Piper and Noah at 14 months
Once Noah became more mobile, he started doing what all babies do and he began to abuse our dog. He pulled (and continues to) her ears, her tail, her hair; he bites her, chases her, hits her, takes her bones, throws her food, dumps her water, hides her ball - you name it, Noah does it to that poor dog. He calls her "Beaux" constantly because that is the name of my parent's dog in Alabama so he things that all dogs are "Beaux" (you should see him at the dog park calling about 50 dogs "Beaux!")And she just puts her head down and lets him have his way; she's never snapped at him or barked at him or shown anything but absolute adoration for her brother. Noah feels the same love for her as well; he's always showering her with big kisses - "mmmmaaaahh!" - and hugs and he will chase her down to lay one on her even if she's not in the mood.

Oh yes, he's pulling her hair out as hard as he can
Piper was once a huge, shedding, annoying thorn in my side. But she's now one of my 3 children (we also have a 9 year old Persian cat named Maria who won't have anything to do with Noah or Piper). Piper does everything with me and Noah when we are home during the day: you will see us 3 working out for an hour a day (she's an incredible running partner), eating at the same time, playing outside in the hose or going to the dog park together.

Piper can make Noah laugh like no one else can
Piper has proven that she's a worthy member of our little family and we are thankful for her. And once we get settled into our new home in Louisiana, it is our intention to find another doggie friend (a Great Dane - I have always wanted one and can't wait to find her!!) for her so she's not constantly outnumbered by Noah and his future brothers/sisters.
"Come on "Beaux," let's go for a walk"