Peek-A-Boo, I See You

This is how Aiden greeted me when I went in to get him up from his nap...

Aiden has found the Christmas Tree

Christmas is Upon Us

This is probably the busiest seasons of the year for us, as I am sure it is for most people. I have been very busy decorating the house, buying and wrapping presents, baking goodies, attending church events, and the endless amounts of Christmas parties. I have to say that I love every bit of season, right down to the Christmas lights and music, but I have a tendency to get stressed out and bogged down over what is next on the Calender and what needs to be crossed of the endless list next. I feel as if the "things" of the season take more priority over the reason for the Christmas season. I know I have let worldly things stuff my calendar and I have not spent near enough time rejoicing and giving thanks to God for giving us his son to be our Savior. The ladies over at GirlTalk have done a great job reminding me that although all of the parties, lights, and presents are a gift from God and are to be enjoyed, I need to slow down and take time from my crazy day to give thanks to our God and Father.


Recently, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the Mary's words "Behold, I am the servant to the Lord; let it be according to your word." (Luke 1:38) Mary says these words after the angel Gabriel approaches her and tells her that she will bear a son and he will be the son of God. This response really struck me and has humbled me this year. To think about what was probably going on in her head when the angel came to her and told her that she was going to have a child. I know she must have been afraid, not only of what others would think of an unwed mother, but how it was going to drastically change her life. But, yet, her response to the angel was "I am the servant to the Lord." She accepted this amazing gift from God, a gift we often take for granted, with such humility and grace, and yet with such boldness. I pray that this Christmas season and in the coming year, I will be constantly reminded of Mary's humility and boldness towards God, and that I would strive to have that same spirit when spending time with God.


I would encourage you all to take time our of your busy day to sit down and really reflect on the Christmas story and give thanks to God for his wonderful and beautiful gift to us. For it is written, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

These are a few of my (the daddy!) favorite things...

So, I have not been the blogging father as much as Lauren has been the blogging mother, which is fine... the pictures are the best part anyway right? But, Aiden is growing into a wonderful personality-filled little boy. And here are a few of the highlights as 6 1/2 months:

• He's now able to roll to a desired object... and then attempt to eat it. The other night it was a gift I had wrapped for Lauren. Later it was his saucer.
• He falls asleep in the car, sometimes; othertimes he laughs quite loudly.
• He cries when you walk out of a room... and smiles big when you peak around the corner and say, "hey silly man, i'm still here!"
• He loves dogs. Both sets of grandparents have a dog... one big one small. He loves them both.
• He cries pretty hard when he's hungry and has to be changed before he eats. It's as thought the previous billion times we've fed him give him no confidence. This always makes me think of my failure to trust God... and my quickness to complain.
• He isn't afraid of other people. He'll lay back in his stroller at church and smile at the best of them... and the worst.
• He smiles at me and his mommy. Surely this it one of the best parts!

Well there you have it, a blog from the daddy. Sorry there are no pictures... i'll get Lauren on it!

Our Growing Boy

As I was uploading pictures on our computer, I realized that our little boy is growing so fast. It seems like yesterday we just brought him home from the hospital. We would get so excited when he would open his eyes and now he is on his way to sitting up by himself and trying to figure out the concept of crawling. And I love watching his personality develop. Aiden is always very happy and quite a ham if I might add. When he meets someone new or just a stranger it just takes one smile from them before he is laughing and squealing and showing them how he can eat his feet. He certainly is not shy. Seeing him laugh and smile just melts my heart and I thank God for blessing us with such a wonderful and healthy boy. Below are recent pictures of the ever-growing Aiden!

"Who is that in the mirror?"

Mr. Independent.

All jumped out.

Bathtime fun.

Pumpkin Patch

Here are some picutres of Aiden enjoying his first pumpkin patch!

Four Months Brings Change

Aiden turned four months on the 1st and with that brought the love of new toys. He has finally gotten the hang of the Johnny Jump-up and the Exersaucer. He was unsure of the them in the beginning but he now loves them. When we first tried the Johnny Jump-up, he only liked it when someone else would make it jump, but luckily he has caught on and can now make it jump on his own. But sadly with the introduction of new toys means the retirement of the swing. Aiden weighs 14 pounds and the swing is really struggling to move and his little feet hang off the end of the seat. It is sad to see the swing return to its owner because it brought so much peace in the beginning, but we are excited to see Aiden grow and his personality develop.

Rice Cereal Anyone?

Here are some pictures of Aiden's first attempt at rice cereal.

Mom's First Trip Away

Last weekend Jeff and I had a wonderful opportunity to attend the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The conference was focused on the Endurance of the Saints. The conference was excellent and my personal favorite speaker was Dr. Helen Roseveare who spoke on the topice of perseverance and told a little of her story. The joy she has for Christ is just amazing and gave such encouragement to me. I am now reading one of her books titled Give Me This Mountain, which is her first book in her autobiographical series. You can listen to all the talks from the conference here.

Although we had a great time just the two of us at the conference, I definitely missed Aiden and was ready to come home and care for my little one. We had some trouble getting home from the conference due to weather and construction at the Minneapolis airport. It was looking as if we were going to have to spend the night either in Minneapolis or Atlanta, but after explaining to the flight agent that I really needed to get home to by baby, God blessed us with a nonstop flight home. This did mean that we lost our luggage for a day, but that was the least of our worries. My priority was to get home and hug and kiss Aiden!

P.S. Thanks Gram and Pops for taking care of Aiden!

A Request: More Blogs and More Photos

We have been asked to provide more blogs and more photos. The problem lies in the fact that I have run out of blogging topics (other than Aiden). Nothing major or exciting has really occurred over the past few weeks. So, for lack of what to write, I will give an Aiden update. Everyone seems to love those. Aiden had his first "sick visit" to the doctor yesterday. I was not a fan of having to wait in the waiting room for sick children, but as luck would have it, there was just one other newborn in there, which put me more at ease. Aiden just has an ear infection and is taking Amoxicillin and absolutely loves it. I don't think he likes the syringe that I use to give it to him, but after he gets a taste of it the rest goes down in a flash. A few days ago, Aiden rolled over from his stomach to his back and of course I missed it. I turned around for a minute and when I looked back to check on him, he was on his back. He has not done it since, so I think it was a fluke, but it still counts at least in my book.

In other news, Jeff surprised me last night with a date night after he returned from North Carolina. He made reservations at The Melting Pot for the cheese and chocolate and he even got his mom to babysit for us. It was a great evening just the two of us enjoying each other's company. The Melting Pot was great, and I have to say I love it so much more without the meat course. You leave feeling satisfied, but not stuffed.

We have not taken many pictures of Aiden recently...bad mom, I know. But as soon as we get some good ones we will post them.

Mingee Family Update

After a short break from blogging we are back and hope to be more frequent with the posts. This past month has been filled with adventure for our family. We were blessed with a wonderful vacation in Duck, NC with Jeff's parents. We had great weather and a great house to spend the week. Jeff even got his wish and got to watch an awesome lightning storm come across the ocean. We had a great time together as a family, spending our time on the beach, reading, and playing games! We even got a bit of a tan, although it was short lived. The week was truly an amazing week spent with family! Thanks Nana and Grandaddy!

Then after vacation it was time to pack up and move. We are very excited to be living in a house. We have had a great time getting settled in and making this house our home. Jeff has since started another semester at Southeastern and we are gearing up for another year with the youth.

As for Aiden, he is really getting big. I had to pack away all of his newborn clothes the other day, it was exciting to see what new clothes he fits in, but then sad because he is not the little baby we brought home from the hospital. He loves to chat and reach for things with his hands and feet. He really his one happy baby.

That is all the news for now. I have posted some pictures from our vacation. Enjoy!

Box Shortage

We are in need of moving boxes. If anyone has any sturdy boxes they are willing to part with, please let us know. Thanks!

A Family Outing

This week was a busy week for the Mingee family. Between family and church activities it seems we haven't had a chance to slow down, but that isn't to say it has not been an excellent week. We were able to make it out to our second Peninsula Pilots baseball game of the season. Aiden had a great time and proudly wore his very own Pilots onesie that his cousin made for him. I've posted a few pictures from the game along with some others. Enjoy!

Showing off his Pilots outfit

Cheering the Pilots on to vicorty

All ready for the beach

The thinking face

A Bit of Humor

So, a funny little tidbit... we've lost a cordless phone. I'm not talking about a small cell phone like a razor (we don't even have one of those). I"m talking a cordless house phone. And it's been gone a month, no less. It makes me laugh, thought it might do the same for you.

Aiden's First Road Trip

A few weeks ago I took Aiden and my mom to New Jersey while Jeff was in Charleston, S.C. at the high school mission camp for church. We figured it would be a great time for me to get out of the apartment and for Aiden to meet the rest of his family, including his Great Granddad. Aiden did great for being only four weeks old. He of course slept the whole way in the car, only to wake up when it was time to eat. He slept great at night, better than he was here at home, mostly because he had his cousins to play with and keep him up. We all had a great time and it was so nice to relax and have so many willing to care for Aiden. I've posted a few picutres of Aiden in New Jersey below.

Ready...Set...Move

It's official. The Mingee's are moving. On August 17th and 18th we will be moving out of our tiny two bedroom apartment and into a three bedroom house. We are still going to rent, but at least we will have four walls of our own. This is something we have been praying for and are excited that our prayers have been answered. So, for those of you in the area...Save the Date...we may be asking for your help on moving day!

On a side note, pictures will be posted soon from Lauren and Aiden's trip to New Jersey to visit his great grandfather.

Two Years as a Married Couple

Today was our 2nd anniversary and we had a great time spending it together as a family. We had a quiet morning enjoying coffee and then headed to the Aquarium in Virginia Beach with Aiden. Below is a picture of Aiden enjoying the aquarium. Yes, he did sleep the whole time, but we really did not expect him to be awake or know what was going on. After the aquarium, we dropped the little one off at the grandparents and enjoyed a dinner out just the two of us. It was a busy day, but a good one. It is amazing to look back at the past two years to see where God has brought us.

More Pictures

More pictures... because you asked so nicely.

1st Picture: 4 Generations of Mingee Men

2nd Picture: The Newest Mingee Man

3rd: Aiden's first Peninsula Pilot's game... he even got welcomed over the loud speaker!

Aiden's Arrival

Well, to be simple: Aiden James Mingee has arrived. After an eventful birth we are excited to have him home and trying to learn how to be grace-full parents, easier said then done. So, here are some pictures of the man himself!

New Date Set

Well, we are two days past the 'due date' and realizing just how approximite it was! The doctor said that if Aiden does not make his own way into the world then they will induce on Thursday. Our anxious hearts are evidence that there is still room for grace to grow. We are looking forward to his arrival, but trying not to be impatient. Walking has become a regular evening activity and midnight last night even found Lauren (and I a little bit, too!) cleaning the apartment.

Just Over the Horizon

Well, tomorrow is the official due date for Aiden. We are trying to be patient but often find ourselves wishing he were already here. Jeff is done with finals and Lauren is glad he won't be traveling to North Carolina anymore. I would imagine that patience is evidence of grace and impatience evidence that grace still has room to grow. So here we are and here we'll wait.

The Beginning Blog

Well, this is the first post on the Mingee blog. We'll try to keep it updated! We're sitting down listening to Andrew Peterson's song "Matthew's Begats" and waiting for little Aiden James to make his way into the world. As nervous and excited as we are... we are ready. But in God's timing, not ours. As we don't have any pictures of the man himself, here's a picture of his crib!