Sweet, Sweet Family Time

Recently, we took a small vacation with my entire family. All of us got to be together, all husbands, all babies, all sisters and my parents. We spent a few days on a lake. A BIG thank you to the Martins for blessing us with the use of their home. I'm sure that your house serves as the back drop for many vacation pictures on many peoples' refrigerators! Thank you, thank you!!

We played lots of games - Settlers, darts, ping-pong, Catch Phrase, In a Pickle, and card games. We jet-skied and bobbed in the lake. We laid out in the sun, and we ate A LOT of food! We had girl talk time, which after 45 minutes, was interupted every 5 minutes by one of our husbands peeking in the door asking when we'd be done. They just can't live without us. It was still a productive girl talk time. We made a few very important decisions... ; ) It was over all too quickly. I feel like I needed at least one more day.



Matt always teases me because my sisters and I often say, "But it could be the last time!" or "It'll be the last time for a long time!" This time we could truly say it'll be the last time we'll all be together for a LONG time. Lord-willing, Sally and Jon and Jude will be leaving in a few months to move overseas for a few years. Amy's furlough is over at the end of September so she could be off again to travel the world, and of course, Kaye, Scott, Grace and baby Birdie2 live a few states away. Mom and Dad are still rock solid in where they are and Matt, Chloe, and I aren't moving anywhere anytime soon.

It still hurts to know that my very best friends are, or will soon be, the farthest away. I can't even think about it without tearing up. It is not a hurt of someone leaving, but of part of me being torn away. Though a person can make new friends and have very close relationships, it's hard to replace someone who has been in your life from the very beginning, someone you know inside and out, someone you can be honest with and expect honesty in return on a level that you don't often get with even your closest friends. Someone who will expect righteousness from you, not just because it is right but because she knows beyond a doubt that you are capable of it because she has seen you through the course of your life, through your ups and downs and ins and outs, and she has seen you rise and fall and rise again. She is someone who scratches your back and caresses your arms and plays with your hair knowing you need that loving touch without feeling awkward and not expecting it in return because she knows sometimes you just NEED. To have friends whom I can trust and rely on, who will fight for me in prayer and will call me out when I am wrong, to have sisters who will love me unconditionally and will accept my differences because they know their own, who will wait patiently while I try to get my life back in line with the Word, who will encourage, who will cry, who will clean my wounds and shower me with love; to have these in my life... God has revealed Himself to me. I can see Him clearly, WHO He is, because of who my dear sisters are. Thank you, Lord. I can see now why You have blessed me so richly; You want me to know You.

I love you, my family, no matter where you are. My cup overflows...

Happy 30th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!! Thanks for sticking it out and for showing us how it's done!!

Important Conversation

You would think these kids are having the most serious conversation. Gracie is, of course, sharing her opinion as she always does. Let's hear what they have to say...

Grace: I am really considering changing my name to Princess. I think I look like one.
Jude: Yeah, yeah. I can see that.
Chloe: Whatever, Grace.

Somethin' New Everyday

Chloe is coming up with somethin' new everyday to show us. This is a video of one of her newest developments. Along with about 6 more teeth coming in (that makes 10 total), she'll be all grown up before we know it. She is 7 1/2 months now. She loves to cruise along the floor toward every thing that she is NOT supposed to have: shoes, remotes, telephones, plastic bags, dog tails, dog food. But we can hardly get her to go after her own toys; hence, the bait in the clip below.

Another New Trick

New tricks

I am so proud of our little girl! She can sit up now for several minutes without us holding her up! We have been practicing sitting everyday, including falling so that she wouldn't be surprised when that happened. I'd clap my hands and say, "Yay!" when she'd tumble over. She can't pull herself up to the sitting position yet but can hold herself up now once we put her there. She seems to like this new perspective on life because she stops fussing if I set her on her bottom. It was all the sudden that this happened too; or maybe it was that, before, I didn't want to let go of her while I helped steady her. It's sad but happy that our little girl is growing up! We do enjoy her company so much though!

Another new trick is her voice. She has started saying, "Bah" & "Blah". She will tell Matt all about her day sometimes when he gets home from work. It's so cool! She adores him so much!

Fun with the Fam

Read the previous post first if you want to read these in order... sorry. ; )

Our second trip was exciting because I was able to introduce Chloe to her Aunt Amy for the first time! All of my sisters, Jon (Sally's husband), all the babies, and my parents stayed at my parents' house. It was busy!!! The ratio of adults to kids was good because at least two people were always available to watch the 3 babies. Chloe did NOT like her cousins though, but I think it's because they are mobile and she is not, so she could not move herself away from their curious hands. Plus, they would just crawl over her if she was in their way. ;) She started this shreeking sound while there; maybe she felt she needed to make herself heard since she was the youngest. The problem was that she'd wake up 4-5 times a night making this noise with her cousin Jude in the next room. Thankfully, he had a sound machine that sounded like a wind storm so I don't think he heard her... although, I dreamt about storms for a few nights. One night I could hear Jude crying through the storm, so of course, I dreamt about a little boy in a storm.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from our visit. I didn't take that many of the kids; I guess 'cause if you weren't holding a baby while they were awake, you were doing something else that needed to get done.


Chloe's saying, "Mom, Gracie touched me!"


Pop & Chloe just hanging out.


Kaye & Chloe


Pop with a handful of unhappy babies!


Kaye with Sally's & Jon's Jude

Catching Up

Chloe and I have done a lot of traveling lately. We were gone for the first and third weeks in June. Matt was a good sport and allowed me to go see a few friends the first week and then go be with my family the third week. Chloe traveled ok; she didn't sleep well which meant, of course, that I did not sleep well. But after we got back from our second trip, she slept for 5 nights straight without waking up and two of the nights, she slept from 8pm until 10am the next morning! She must have been pooped from all the attention she received from my family and her cousins! She had become quite anti-social for a while but by the 7th day with my family, she finally seemed comfortable being around so many people. She is definitely like me in that way; she just needs her down time, her quiet time, away from all the hooplah.

During the first leg of our first trip, we saw Michael, Shanna, & Jonathan. It was our first time to meet baby Jonathan; he is a little cutie!! He is just so cool and laid back; he just goes with the flow. Shanna and I enjoyed sharing mommy stories and advice with each other. Moms never lack having a topic of conversation because you can always revert back to the kids it seems. Here are a few pictures from our time with them...


We actually got to get out and go to the mall!


New little buddies.


Jonathan and Shanna getting ready to go for a walk with us.


This one makes me laugh! It's Jonathan's "suave & sophisticated" face! It's how he'll get all the girls! I saw him trying it on Chloe! ;)

For the second leg of our first trip, we visited Travis & Rebecca and their two (now three) kids. This was more of a trip to introduce them to Chloe and to get some girl time with Rebecca and then to help her clean and such as she hosted her in-laws while she was 8 months pregnant with little Zekariah. Thankfully, she let me help her! We don't get to see them often so it was so wonderful getting to spend time with all of them! And thanks to Travis and his family, Rebecca and I were able to slip away from all the kids a few times and just talk. I didn't get many good pictures, but I have a few.


It looks like Alexia Karis is trying to aim the toy at Chloe to smack her in the head, but don't worry, that's not what she was trying to do. ; )


Alexia Karis enjoyed it some when Chloe was within her reach. She was very sweet with her! She is going to be a great big sister!


Chloe really, really enjoyed hanging out with Travis' grandfather. She was happy just sitting in his lap, playing with his watch.

So that was the first part of June for Chloe and me. We had lots of fun with friends! It's definitely not as easy to do anymore and requires a commitment to your friendships in order to make it work. But Shanna & Rebecca are very dear to me, as are their families. Thanks, girls, for adjusting your schedules to allow us to come!

Silly Sister Time

I recently got to spend a whole week with my family. All of my sisters were there for most of it, and we had a blast with each other! There are no replacements for my sisters; they truly are my very best girlfriends. Here are a few pictures of us being silly together.

Oh, Summer Days

Chloe has recently been introduced to the swimming pool and she has really enjoyed it! She took her first dip at the Estes' pool, Jon's (Sally's husband) parents. She kept trying to drink the water. I kept her in a normal diaper so she was very bouyant; those things fill up with water. It doesn't come out even when you squeeze it, so Chloe is at least 5 pounds heavier when she comes out of the water.

Our friends, the Welch's, got a floatie at Target that works very well for infants. My sister, Sally, got one for her son (she has play group with the Welch's), so I decided to get one for Chloe. Here are a couple of pictures of Chloe's and, my nephew, Jude's time in the pool. After about 30 minutes, Chloe leaned back and fell asleep in the floatie. Her hat came down over her eyes and she sucked on her pacifier and just dosed off. She had a good hard nap for at least 30 minutes!!! Of course I kept a close eye on her. But it was so adorable!! Oh, how nice that would be!

Wow

Today is our 6 year anniversary. If anyone took part in our special day several years ago, you know the hand Tropical Storm Allison played, and we still cannot express enough gratitude to you for making our wedding day work (especially to both our moms). You would think with a beginning like that, our marriage would have been doomed from the start. Though we've had our hard times when it would've been easier to give up than go on, as every marriage has, we are able to look back on those times and be thankful for the "growing up" we were able to do together.

At this moment, I have to brag on my man. I am so thankful for him. I used to wonder sometimes what God had in mind when He put us together :), but I know now that Matt is my perfect match. He has shown me love and how to love; how to treat the one you love; how to serve the one you love; how to be willing to grow and change to better "fit" the one you love. He has continually shown me patience, even when I am in a mood. He has always given me his 100% support. He hurts with me when I hurt. He leads our home and provides for all of our needs and many of our wants.

One of the main reasons I know that we have "melded" as one is that he hurts deeply when I hurt him. And I hurt deeply when he hurts me. I suppose this happened a few years ago, but this past year has been different. At first, if Matt hurt me in some way, I'd try to counter attack (or vice versa) so that if one of us was going to get hurt, then both of us was going to get hurt. This year, we've reached that point when, instead of putting up our guard during the attack to protect ourselves, we tend to let it down. We have allowed ourselves to be vulnerable with each other, to see each other at our weakest or grossest points and still be 100% sure that the other will accept us as we are(he still loves me after seeing me give birth... and all the aftermath!!). We are also confident that we do not intentionally seek to hurt each other. Maybe some of this comes with maturity of age, but I do believe that Matt has been my iron and we have sharpened each other in ways that no one else has been able to do.

Since we don't qualify for the young marrieds class anymore at church, I say we are entitled to some sort of bragging rights to have made it to year 7 (that is closer to 10 years now than 1 year ;). We are at the point now that people say "Wow!" when we say how long we've been married. Yet, we still have the fire that we had at the beginning and it is definitely true that it only grows stronger. I love Matt at least 100 times more than the day we married if not more (as if love can be measured). We are still completely "in-love" as well. We would rather spend time with each other than with anyone else. We'd rather just be in the same room than be alone. And we read each others' thoughts (I know exactly when Matt's thinking about ice cream...'cause I usually am too! ;).

Now, we look forward to the growing up we hope to do for the rest of our lives together. We have a new dynamic in our relationship with the addition of Chloe, so we are excited that we get to learn to love each other as mommy and daddy, rather than just husband and wife.

Thank You, Lord, for the gift you've given me in Matt.

Lots of Laughs

I finally figured out how to get this video from my phone onto our blog. It's poor picture quality but Chloe's laughing makes up for it. This video is from when we were camping with our friends, Brad & Lauren, in April. Somehow, Brad really got Chloe going. It was a delight to hear her so happy!

Up North

This is a shout out to all of our relatives Up North. Chloe is finally able to wear the onsie you sent to us when she was born! Here are a few pictures of her modeling her outfit! Thanks for sending it!

Our baby is sick

Well, we knew it would happen one day. Chloe has a little cold. :( She is coughing and sneezing with watery eyes. The cough started 2 days ago. I was getting a sore throat, so I started taking my Zinc and Vitamin C. Her symptoms were better today; hopefully, the vitamins are getting into her system too through my milk. It's so funny though; last night, I was still so worried. She doesn't even have a fever, yet my mind was turning it into some big, horrible illness that could cause me to lose her. Every single day I thank God for my precious girl. I can't imagine life without her!!

The above picture is Chloe and Molly. Molly is our neighbor's dog and we are dog sitting her for a bit. She loves Chloe and Chloe loves her.

Fun visit with sweet memories

I am so glad Kaye got this on her camera! It's so fun to hear my little girl laugh so hard. I guess she thinks her Uncle Scott looks funny! (Ha! Just kiddin', Scott! ;)

What a goofy girl!

So with Chloe's new tooth she's always sticking something in her mouth. When she's eating, she's trying to stick the bib in her mouth between bites. When she's looking at her daddy, she's trying to stick his nose in her mouth. She constantly has a few fingers in her mouth, if not her whole hand. Today, she started rubbing the tooth with her tongue producing a very funny smile which I thankfully got a picture of. Chloe seems to have a very long tongue...

Visit with the Birds!

Here are a few pictures of our surprise visit to see Aunt Kaye and Grace. We kicked Uncle Scott out of the house for the weekend, so he went and spent it with the guys. Grammie got to spend the whole weekend inundated with grandbabies! We had a wonderful time! We missed you being there, Amy, but we were so glad we got to talk to you!

Another Milestone

Our baby girl's first tooth broke through today!!! Even though she is probably so uncomfortable, we are soooooo excited! Just two days ago, I could only feel a little lump in her lower gums, and now, there is a sharp edge of a tooth. Our little one is growing up!

Chloe's First Camping Trip

We went camping this past weekend with our friends Brad & Lauren.

We were trying to get it in before it gets too hot in May. Little did we expect tempuratures in the low 40's, rain storms, and a lot of wind!! We nearly drowned on Friday night. And Saturday, we were all so cold, we had to make a trip to Wal-Mart to get some warm clothes! But we still had tons of fun. Chloe did pretty well considering she hates cold temps and wind. I just layered her as much as I could.

We hiked near the lake, but didn't have the guts to get in! So we mainly hung out by the awesome camp fire that Matt built, trying to stay warm. Chloe seemed to enjoy the warmth, but she hated the smoke. For some reason, Matt was only one who didn't tear-up when the smoke blew in his face. Then, we realized it's because of his contacts! No wonder he kept saying over and over, "I love camp fires."

Thanks to Brad's & Lauren's patience with our little girl, her first camping trip was a success! We don't know how soon we'll venture out again but I hope it won't be too long. Maybe we'll even have the guts to take our dogs next time!! Ha, ha... yeah, right!

4 months and still growing strong

Our precious girl is 4 months old today!! I was thinking back to where I was exactly one year ago... I was going to see the OB/GYN in two days to follow up for a previous problem. That day, I found out I had another issue that would make it very difficult for me to carry a baby. The likelihood of a miscarriage was 80-90%. Two days after that, I found out I was pregnant! Little did I know WHO was growing inside of me, safe in our Father's care, being molded and shaped and formed into a beautiful little girl.

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted my petition which I asked of Him. So I also have dedicated [her] to the Lord, as long as [she] lives, [she] is dedicated to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:27,28