My husband is a daring, adventurous, spontaneous, exciting guy… everything that I’m not, basically And, as such, he is teaching our children to be daring and adventurous. One of the early ways of implementing these qualities in our children is by playing games like “body-slam” and “wrestle-mania”… so far, he’s been pretty gentle with Thomas, but I knew that one day soon… it would happen. Last week Chris decided that our little Bubby, at 6 months and 20 lbs, was sturdy enough for this…

1…. 2… 3…

He didn’t get much air, but you can clearly see that, like Sophie, Thomas is going to love playing with his crazy Daddy!

The first time this year that it has felt like Fall (yay!)

The first time Thomas played in his new saucer (he loved it!)

The first time Sophie played outside all by herself for an hour (Most of the time she walked around saying “eee, gucky” – translation “eww, yucky”, but hey, she was out there!)

The first Peppermint Mocha of the Christmas season…

The first trip to the kids new pediatrician where we were told that no one in the US weighs more than my son (he’s just above the 100th percentile!)

The first time Thomas ate solid food – he loved it, big surprise! After the first few bites, he actually started laughing when he saw the spoon coming his way. It was so funny! We got a little bit of it on video, but I’m having trouble posting it, oh well.

The first time Sophie has seemed like a BIG girl and not my BABY girl – she’s been talking so much lately, and her new favorite phrase is “Silly Daddy (or Mommy or Bubby)” the funniest thing is that she uses in it the right context – for instance, Chris dropped something in the kitchen the other day and Sophie looks at me and goes “Silly Daddy”…

So much has happened this week; I know most of it seems uneventful, but to me it’s been a week full of new things and I feel like I’m seeing my family grow right before my eyes! This week I’ve also been freshly aware of my need for a Savior who calls me each and every day to lay my life down for His kingdom, for His glory – whether it’s changing the 3rd poopy diaper of the day, or reaching out to our neighbors who just had a new baby boy or reading Sophie a story in her “Jesus Storybook Bible”, I desire for God to lead us and show us HIS agenda and will for our day, rather than looking to my own to do list. By God’s grace and in His strength, one day at a time, we seek to honor the One who gave His life so that we might live. 

Oh and did I mention that I love my amazing, patient, servant-hearted, handsome husband? Yeah, I do. Alot.

Before I share the first batch of vacation photos, I should probably let you know that the shark picture in my previous post may not be completely accurate. Jason and Chris got a little camera happy and thought it would be fun to play around with some trick photography. That said, here is the actual size of the shark Chris caught:

Might not be quite as impressive, but it’s still a shark and he still wrestled it out of the water all by himself! Here are some pictures from our first few days in St. Augustine…

Yesterday was Chris’ last day off before vacation (only 5 more days!) so we took the kids out to Crane’s Roost park! We wanted to take some photos while we were out there, so we borrowed Chris’ parents REALLY nice camera; we’ve also gotten permission to take it on vacation with us, so watch out everyone! I’m planning on snapping photos like I’m a paparazzi (thanks, mom and dad, for letting us borrow it!)…

Father’s Day was so fun this year! I’m so glad that Thomas was able to be home with us and our little family was able to celebrate together. It was pretty low key for us, as Chris and I were both up with our little guy quite a bit Saturday night/Sunday morning. Chris was wonderfully unselfish and gave Thomas a bottle that night so I got to sleep for about 7 hours! I couldn’t believe he would do that for me… He’s such a good Daddy and husband For Father’s Day, Sophie, Thomas and I got him some grilling accessories from our favorite store, Williams-Sonoma and that night we grilled swordfish… MMM

This time, three years ago today, I was at the salon getting ready to get my hair done for my wedding day!! My mom, my bridesmaids, and I had taken over Deleah’s salon which opened specially for us on Sunday morning and were getting all dolled up while enjoying muffins and frappucinos –  as if I wasn’t jittery and excited enough already, right?

On the night of the rehearsal, I remember someone telling me to be sure to take in every possible moment of my wedding day and not to just let it go by in an excited frenzy of hairspray and makeup. I’m so grateful for that advice, because I can look back and remember May 22, 2005 with startling clarity… even specific moments like, “I’m getting my hair done on the morning of my wedding… AH!” Looking back on the day, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Even though some of it didn’t go according to plan, God perfectly orchestrated the entire event!

I loved Chris so much on that day, that I couldn’t imagine feeling anything MORE. But now, three years later, my love for him has grown exponentially! I truly did not realize the gift that God was giving me on that day, when we joined our lives together. It hasn’t been easy by any means, but while some say that the “honeymoon is over” I feel as though it’s just beginning! Every day that my husband provides for our family so I can stay home with our kids, every night when he tells me that he loves me and asks how I’m doing, each time he cleans my bathrooms, changes another dirty diaper, consistently and lovingly disciplines our crazy child and every morning that he tells me he’s praying for me… I fall more and more in love with him and can’t believe that I get to spend each day of my life with him!

I love you, babe! Happy Anniversary

So, apparently whoever said that bed rest is boring didn’t have a crazy 19-month old running around and they must not have had wonderful friends coming over to serve who bring their crazy kids to add to the chaos  and they must not have observed their sweet, wonderful, loving, adorable husband working his pa-tootie off as he is now father, mother, housekeeper, caretaker, cook, and breadwinner! Oh yes, and since the recent demolition  of our shower, I should also add that he is now Home Improver Extraordinaire! I tell you, there’s nothing that man can’t do

So yes, the last few days God has been so kind to make the somewhat mundane task of being a professional couch potato, rather hilarious! Sophie’s favorite new hobby is pulling wet toys out of the bathtub, rolling them all over the house and effectively soaking the floors. Today, poor Mandy has been run ragged by two crazy girls who decide to break down emotionally at the same time, one getting her leg stuck in the crib rails and the other running into doors and hallways. Then there was yesterday that had Chris running like a crazy man filling prescriptions, taking me to the doctor, grabbing some groceries, mowing the lawn, preparing for HG worship, making dinner and then trying to get Sophie to eat it as she threw french fries off her tray with wild abandon! Thank you, Lord, for laughter

In other news, we had pretty good report at the Doctor’s. My rapid progression and dilation over the last few weeks seems to have slowed down a bit, which is an answer to prayer! We now have some meds for contractions and don’t have to haul ourselves to Winnie Palmer twice a week for monitoring anymore which we’re SO thankful to God for… that was getting pretty tedious. And I’m now 32 weeks and 4 days (but who’s counting right?)! God willing, we’ll have another 3 weeks and 3 days of laying low, then I’ll be taken off of bed rest and Thomas can come anytime!

Here are a few pictures from our crazy week

A few pictures of my two favorites…