three quarters of a year

Again, I find myself asking... where has the time gone? Annabelle is 9 months old today and somehow even more lovable than when she was born. Here is what she's been up to:

 Lots of preciousness. She's beginning to play more with toys, but usually they just end up in her mouth (she is constantly teething). Annabelle is sitting well but not so interested in being still anymore...

 ...because she's on the move! Over the last several weeks, she's gone from brief moments on all fours to crawling across the floor. She still spends some time scooting on her tummy, but we're pretty sure it's because we only have hardwood floors to offer as her training ground.

 Annabelle is slightly obsessed with the bath. She tries to dive out of our arms into the tub every time she's near it, and she couldn't be happier when she's in it.  (sorry the pic is so fuzzy, but it was too cute to not include)

 The biggest squeals and excitement are almost always reserved for her brother. Annabelle stinkin' loves Cooper. It has been such a joy to watch their friendship developing!

 She's still eating baby food like crazy, and we've recently started letting her try some solid foods. Here she is having her first taste of a baby rice wafer. 

 She wasn't too impressed, but she's come to love them.

 We occasionally try a cup of water, but so far we haven't been too successful with that one other than as a form of entertainment.

She is so much more interactive and is reminding me of why this is one of my favorite stages of infancy... the personality is really starting to emerge.

Annabelle is a charmer, especially in any public location, because she will smile and squeal loudly at anyone who pays her any attention. Old people just swoon.

Not to mention that she's waving now too, which further delights everyone around her... and her.

Annabelle is beautiful, resilient, smitten with her father and brother (okay, she likes me a lot too), strong, and oh so delightful. Now, if only she could grow some hair...

fireside

I ask you this:

What could be better than coming home from a fun night with friends, tucking the kids in bed, and lighting not only the first fire of the season but the first fire ever in your new house?!

 

It makes my heart happy. And my body warm. 

May be one and the same.

What a lovely sight! Truly, I'm not sure it gets much better.

 

Except maybe if you factor in a winning UT football game. Curtis might think that is better. 

Are you finding ways to enjoy this colder weather?

from the lips of children

Preface: I've been tired this week. It's a good tired, for the most part... the kind of tired that you are after having lived life fully, gone outside of your comfort zone. The kids and I spent part of last week in Knoxville visiting family and friends, and then met Curtis at Windy Gap for the weekend (more on both of those trips later). After the weekend away, Curtis has been studying constantly for an actuarial exam that he will take on Friday and I've been trying to survive & enjoy my extra time alone with the kids.

 ----

A few different visitors stopped by today and, as a result, we didn't leave the house this morning. I was feeling a little stir-crazy and a lot adult-deprived, so we ventured out right after naptime to run errands before our dinner playdate at Chick-Fil-A.

In the car, I talked to my friend Jesse. She casually mentioned that she had missed seeing me this morning at MOPS, to which I replied, "We had MOPS this morning?". MOPS is typically every other week and, since I had already missed it last week because of my trip to Knoxville, I assumed that the next meeting was not for another week. Apparently, this week was different. Because I wasn't there last time to be reminded, because I didn't look at my schedule, and because I somehow didn't get the reminder email... I had no idea.

As Jesse explained, I felt my throat get tight and tears well up in my eyes. Why am I crying? I got off the phone, feeling embarrassed at my reaction, and parked the car in front of Carters. Though I tried to brush it off, I couldn't.

"Where's the store, Mommy?", Cooper asked.

What is this? MOPS isn't so amazing that I should have been that upset. Yet I felt a real sadness at that moment.

"Where's the store, Mommy?"

I started dwelling on what I had missed: one of my few opportunities to be with other women, to laugh about the ridiculousness of our children, to muddle through the complexities of parenthood and marriage, to be pointed to Jesus in the midst of it all.

"Where's the store, Mommy?"

Why, Lord? That is what my heart is aching for... why would You keep me from this?


"Moooommmmy, where's the stooooore?"

It was only then that I realized that Cooper had asked me the same question probably 7 times. With my voice cracking, I said, "Buddy, I need just a minute." Then I braced myself for the whine that I knew was coming.

Only it didn't.

"Okay, Mommy."

Silence. As if he understood that I was upset. As if he was trying to care for me.

Even before I could gather my thoughts, I hear my son's little voice, quiet and clear...

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for da Bibulw tews me so. Wittuw ones to Him bewong, they ah weak but He is stwong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bibulw tews me so."

Out of nowhere. We had not sung that song today, maybe not for several days. I had not talked aloud to the Lord. There was no reason that he should have been singing that song at that moment.

Except that, I believe, God gave Cooper that song... for me. He was whispering, Don't forget that I love you. Don't forget that I'm here.

When Cooper finished, I thanked him sincerely for reminding me that Jesus loved me. "I needed to hear that right now," I admitted.

Even in disappointments, God's love for me has not changed. And Cooper reminded me of that.

I have so much to learn from my children.... 

 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2)

transformations: upstairs (part 5)

Random hour by random hour... late night by late night... our upstairs is coming along! Although we wanted to be able to hire out all of the renovations, the estimates we got for the trimwork were far above what we had budgeted. So, Curtis is doing all of the trimwork himself! This is fine and actually fun for him for the most part, but our life hasn't allowed for tons of time to work on it lately. Would it ever have?? What he has been able to do (with the help of several great friends), though, looks incredible!

Lots of baseboard action.

 Cooper especially loves the baseboards in his nook... and looking out his own mini-window.

 Because it is really important to us that our upstairs feel like a continuation of the house as a whole, we have done our best to mimic the style of trim that is downstairs. 

To make this happen, Curtis was forced to buy a new power tool... a router. He was devastated.

 I guess it was worth it. :)
Doesn't the window look great? It has a really deep sill, which I love. 

 Another big step forward (pun intended)... Curtis and a few friends put in the stairs! If you recall, our builders created the frame but only installed temporary stair treads.

 These are now the permanent pine stair treads, which will be stained to match the downstairs hardwood floors, and the risers, which will be painted white.

Two big things left: the banister/railing and the all of the doors. 

It won't be too long now!

happy halloween!

We rushed home from a fun weekend at Windy Gap to scarf down an early dinner and throw on our costumes. We were so excited for Cooper to have his first real experience with trick-or-treating...

Don't my little flower and Curious George look adorable?

We decided to make dressing up a family affair. Why not?!

I guess one reason might be that someone would see me looking like this. Scary.

We all had so much fun together. It's good to get out of your comfort zone every once in awhile. The Scottish mullet wig did that for me.

Cooper loved trick-or-treating. Or maybe he just loved the chocolate. I'm not sure.

This girl matched her costume perfectly... happy girl!

As we put the kids to bed that night I realized that, in the midst of all the rushing around, we didn't really get any good pictures of the kids in their costumes. So, a week later, I dressed the kids in their costumes once more and decided that no one would ever know that it wasn't October 31st. Except that I just told you.

It was worth it, though.

 Beautiful day and beautiful little ones.

Until the fearsome neighborhood cat came to play. 

Cooper's face is pure terror! Ha!

(Note: the cat has scratched him on several occasions, so it is a somewhat realistic fear)

Thankfully, though Cooper does feel every emotion strongly, he also feels them quickly. Back to smiles!

They are so precious together.

Cute Curious George.

I'm going to call this one, "drunky monkey".  :)

That smile... oh, it melts me.

They didn't really love to pose, but I was determined. I had to document "Halloween", right?!

Hope you had as much fun as we did (a month ago)!

windy gap weekend

Curtis and I love Windy Gap, Young Life's camp in the mountains of NC. It is beautiful, cozy, super-fun, and full of memories for both of us. For that reason, we were so honored and excited when Curtis' cousin and her husband asked if we would come help out with their city's weekend. So, after a quick and just-because trip to Knoxville (just the kids and me), we met up with Curtis in Weaverville for a non-stop and exhaustingly wonderful weekend.

 The great thing about our job/role for the weekend was that Curtis and I were able to not only serve together but also to enjoy time with our little family. 

 And how can you not enjoy that smile?

 

We enjoyed the gorgeous, chilly October weather with a few walks around camp (with our very authoritative walkie-talkies clipped on behind us). 

 Cooper pushed...

 ...while Annabelle chilled. 

 These boys felt right at home. 

 Cooper loved the adventure of the camp/giant playground. We even took a trip down to the horse corral!

 Cooper was about the same size as their heads. Surprisingly, he wasn't too intimidated!

Wild at Heart, right?

Scott and Susan (our cousins) provided an incredible babysitter, Jess, for the kids. While Curtis and I were heading up a leader meeting or "sweeping" through cabins looking for campers, she was entertaining and taking great care of Cooper and Annabelle. This is sadly the only picture that we have of her (she's the girl on the left)!

 Cooper especially loved getting to hang out in back of the club room (where the big group meetings happened). He was enthralled with the "silly mans" (guys who put on funny skits).

Side note: the "silly mans" often wore costumes featuring bleach blond mullet wigs. Several weeks later, while at Chick-fil-a, Cooper suddenly points his whole arm and yells out, "LOOK MOM! The silly man!!" I turned to see to whom he was pointing and then wheeled around as quickly as I could to shut him up. It was a woman. (In Cooper's defense, she was sporting a pretty intense bleach blond mullet hairstyle!) :)

I often joke that the main thing I miss about being on YL staff is having summer assignments (a month each year spent working at a YL camp). I really do wish that somehow our kids could grow up running around camp each summer as Curtis did.... exploring the outdoors, interacting with crazy teenagers, being loved on by staff-people from around the country, and experiencing Jesus. What a gift! Having the privilege of seeing our kids in that environment for even a few days truly blessed me. As did seeing Cooper's plumber crack. Ha!