Living the Blessed Life

Testify

2011-11-15T08:43:00.003-06:00

Today I feel the need to testify about the Lord's faithfulness an goodness in my life. Today I am looking back on an almost two year journey and He has chosen today to reveal Himself to me in a fresh way. Over the past two years I have been asking, then pleading with the Lord over a specific prayer request. There have been highs and lows in the waiting for an answer and I admit I have not been the most patient person through this. In fact, over the past few months I have often given in to times of despair and had come to a very odd place in my faith. I still loved the Lord and believed He was good. I even believed He wanted good things for me, and clung to that scripture. I had, however, begun to believe that fr whatever reason he had decided to stop answering my prayers. Not say no, not stop listening, just stop responding. I felt ignored and that felt way worse than hearing Him say no. I even at times began to feel scared to pray for really important things. My friends mom was dying of cancer and I wanted her to live so badly that at times I was afraid to pray for her healing. You see, I did not want to be in the way of hundreds of others begging for her healing. He might not answer if I prayed.

I know. That is messed up logic and theology, but it's where I was. I am thankful that the Holy Spirit within me kept prompting me and prompting me to pray, or I might have stopped. However, the last few weeks I have felt like I was slowly pulling my head above water on this. Praying more and more everyday, with more confidence in His sovereignty in all things. Living life with more of His peace, glory to God.

And then this morning I picked up and old bible study. I've had it or years and never really gotten going in it. Apparently did a few days of it when I was pregnant with Lorelai. Things were a little rocky then. My marriage honestly was not in the sturdiest place. I had invested countless hours praying over, discplining, talking to and loving on a two year old who tried me every single day and almost as often brought me to tears, yet it seemed to be in vain. Even her beloved Grammy told me she was the hardest kid she'd ever seen. And here was this new baby growing in my tummy, making me wonder everyday if i could do this. How could I raise a new baby when I clearly wasn't very good at this whole parenting thing. What on earth was I doing? The weight of the responsibility (not to mentione the increased work load) seemed daunting.

I decide to flip through the answers to what I started over two year ago. In it was a prayer that I had written asking the Lord to replace my feelings of increased responsibility with joy, peace and confidence as a mother. I was overwhelmed as I read those words that I don't even remember writing. I have said often since lorelai's birth that if we followed the Chinese tradion of naming your baby after you've gotten to know them awhile that her name would be Joy. She has filled our lives with it. I have often remarked in the past year and a half or so how much more I feel like I've "come into my own" on this parenting thing. Not that I'm perfect by any means but the insecurity that plagued me for a long time is gone. And over the past year or so we have begun to see some of the fruit of the years of hardwork a Maelie has blossomed into a precious little girl who loves the Lord and has a passion for His word.

So basically over the past two years the Lord has been answering my prayers. You have no idea what it means to me to climb out of a valley, look back and see the evidence that the Lord was working the whole time you felt ignored. He is so faithful to us even when we are struggling mightily with our faith. He was always there. Of course He was. It is so precious of Him to not only be there, but to let us know it. To reveal Himself and the work He has been doing in our lives. Part of the greatness of this to me is that the original prayer - the two year prayer that started this whole particular journey - still has not been answered. But the cry of my heart to know Him more has been, which is so much sweeter.

Rise and Shine!

2011-07-01T10:01:00.003-05:00

This post is a little detour from my normal kid-type posts, but something really amazing happened to me and I want to share it. For years now - YEARS - I have struggled with extremely low energy. At first it seemed to make since because it took Maelie about 3 years to learn how to sleep through the night. Of course you'd be tired if you haven't slept all night in years. But then she figured it out and Lorelai has been an expert sleeper from way back. And still the tired. I mean, 8-10 hours a night and still feel like I have to nap for an hour or two every afternoon tired. It just didn't feel right, but nothing I seemed to do made a difference. I even went to an endocrinologist who said my bloodwork looked good and of course I'm tired I have a job, little kids, a house to run, etc.

Still, that did not seem to add up. I know lots of moms in the same life place I'm in and they still seem to have the energy to keep up with the laundry. Last week I finally went to the Fem Center, a homeopathic clinic of doctors. I've heard about them and thought about going for years. I almost cried when the doctor said, "no, you should not be this tired - you're young and healthy in the prime of you life." My feelings exactly!!! After talking to me for awhile, he said that sometimes having a baby does weird things to your body. It stops doing things it should do, and forgets to start back up after the baby's born. He took a lot of blood and gave me some supplements to help get my system back on track. And I HAVE NOT TAKEN A NAP IN A WEEK! I have even stayed up later than 9:00 at night. You have no idea how life changing this is. I made the kids 4th of July shirts. I painted my kitchen cabinets. I've read my Bible more. I've had a few minutes to myself at night. I still have not done the laundry, but hey, first things first!

Seriously, I have always wondered how other moms get it all done. I've been pretty hard on myself about my lack of ability to keep up - with the house, the kids, projects on my wish list, etc. Now I get it. Ya'll get stuff done while they're sleeping. You even stay up later than them at night. I'm on to you now and I'm in, too! So, if you have any weird issues that don't seem right, you should definitely go see my new best friends at the Fem Center. They have blessed my life more than I can tell you!

Hannah and Sarah

2011-06-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

I have always loved Maelie's heart for the Word of the Lord. It has amazed me from the time she was very young how she memorized and loved the Bible. Lately, it has blessed me so much to watch her learn to apply the stories and lessons from the Bible to her life. My recent favorite is driving in the car the other day, she told me that she thinks we need a baby in our family. She really, really wants one and she wants it to be a brother. I was pretty startled by that and told her that that is something we have to talk to God about for a long time before it happens. She said, "Good idea, Mommy. Hannah talked to God and she got a baby and Sarah talked to God and she got a baby, too. We should definitely talk to God about it."

A Whole Hand

2011-05-09T21:09:00.002-05:00

Dear Maelie,

You are five years old! Five! I can hardly believe it. I'll be honest with you, this has been an exceptionally hard one. Five means Kindergarten, time away from you, independence gained. So many good things that still pull on a Mommy's heartstrings. I don't know why I feel like it's snuck up on me. I mean, I knew eventually you would be five, but here I am shocked that it really happened. It's just that these past years have gone by so quickly. Some of it was a blur from too little sleep. Some of it was a blur from tears in my eyes of frustration. So much of it is crystal clear beauty of watching you grow. From a tiny baby to a big, helpful five year old, it's as if I've been watching little miracles everyday. There are so many memories that I treasure in my heart of being your Mommy and getting a front row seat of your life. This is why I scrapbook. So you can know some of these precious things about yourself, and so that you can always look and see and read about how loved you are, have always been. So that you can see how the Lord has grown you and shaped you over your lifetime. It's just too good of a story for me to keep to myself!

I have literally cried and cried about this birthday. If I had these past five years to do over again the only thing that I would change is that I would look around a little more, soak it all in a little more. Slowly, though, it has dawned on me that though you were once connected to me, every moment since the moment you were born had been little steps at you growing away from me and into who the Lord created you to be - your own amazing person living out the plans He has set out for you alone. I have been comforted by the mental image of you slowly leaving my arms as you walk more and more confidently and independently into His. And if this is the case, I'm in! My deepest desire is for you to know Him. I see just that coming. You love to talk about the Lord, His word, and what it means. You ask the best questions. I know that there are things about Him that you already get. You demonstrate for me everyday what it means to have childlike faith.

My prayer for you this next year is that you will flourish in your first steps out into the world on your own, but that you will always know that Mommy and Daddy are right here to love you and help you. That you will continue to love and absorb the word of God, making it your own, seeing what the Lord is speaking to you through it. My prayer for me is that I would be intentionally seeking out God's wisdom and discernment in cultivating the gifts He has given you, that I would love you in a way that gives you the confidence and freedom to grow into the person you were created to be.

I love you so much, Maelie Sarah! I am more proud of you than I could put into words. You are an amazing person - so beautiful and smart, so deep and precious. Nothing you can ever do will change the fact that you Mommy and your Heavenly Father are crazy about you.

Love you sweet girl,
Mommy

Two many ways to count...

2011-02-23T15:48:00.005-06:00

Dear Lorelai,

Tonight is your last night of being one. I cannot believe how much you have learned and grown this year. You've gone from saying a few single words here and there to speaking in complete sentences most of the time, using big words like delicious and beautiful. It is precious to me how many of your words are pretty, happy, encouraging words like those. I think that says a lot about who you are and about your sweet personality. You are such a happy, laid back, funny girl and the joy you have brought to our lives in two short years is immeasurable. Being your Mommy is one of the greatest joys of my life. It has opened my eyes to new things in the Lord. I can hardly grasp that my delight in you is just a shadow of the delight He finds in you and in His children. I look at you sometimes with a heart so full of joy and stop and try to imagine Him looking down on you, smiling even bigger than I am, laughing even deeper, loving even more. It makes me love Him and you even more and puts a fire in me to do everything I can to lead you to Him so that you can feel it, too. I can already see so many of the gifts He has given you blossoming and I know that He will use your innocent eyes and joyful heart to do great things in His kingdom. One of my favorite things about you is how observant you are. Once we were driving up a hill at dusk and you said, "Ooo, happy! A moon." I looked and saw the moon hanging there, looking very pretty and thought about how I probably wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out. You do that often - see the beauty in the world around us and point it out to me. My prayer for you this year is that you would continue to see the world around you with your special perspective and share it with others, that you would grow safe and healthy, that you would feel loved and accepted in our home and by your parents for just the precious person that you are and that your sweet heart would be fertile ground for the seeds planted there of your Fathers love for you. My prayer for me this year is that I would look to the Lord to guide you and teach you, that He would open my eyes further to the gifts that He has given you and help to nurture and grow them, that I would model for you someone who loves and needs the Lord passionately and lives her faith in words and actions. I cannot wait to see all the Lord has in store for you in your third year of life!

There are TWO many to list, but here are a few of the things you love at this age and I love about you.

The gallop - you rarely actually run, but gallop instead, especially if you are really excited. You usually have big eyes as you do it and it always makes us laugh!

Little Bunny FooFoo - I was probably the only mommy buying Easter bunnies on Valentine's Day, but I saw one and knew you would love it. You fell in love with this song when we were doing shadow puppets one night, and now anytime you see a shadow you say it. You ask for it all the time and love to sing it with your own finger bunnies. It is the cutest!

"happy" - This is what you say when you see something you like. The first time I remember it is the first time you saw our neighbor's Christmas lights. We were getting out of the car, and you pointed and said "Ooo, happy." I hadn't even noticed they were up. You say it often, and usually about sweet things like that.

You love to sing! Here are some songs you know and sing to yourself - I know you (from Sleeping Beauty), chim chimeny, Do you want to be my friend, God made me to wink and blink (my favorite about this one is your "aye aye" sound effects)

Your silly face - Once at night when I opened the car door the light came on and you snapped your head up to look at it like you were startled. Something about the face you made cracked me up. The next day we parked in the daylight and you did it again and looked at me to make sure I noticed. It made me laugh even harder that you were trying to make me laugh on purpose. Now you say "silly face!" and lean your head way back to make us laugh.

Knows letters and numbers - I couldn't believe it when I started to work on your letters and numbers - you knew 8 letters and almost all your numbers! I guess you really pay attention at school.

Notice the letters and numbers you knows - If you see the letters or numbers that you know you love to point them out on signs and things. I think you are so smart!

How much you love Daddy - you always ask for him second every morning (after Maelie), after nap anytime you hear a car drive by you say "daddy home!" and pretend talk to him on my phone anytime you get ahold of it.

the deep laugh and the high laugh - thanks to Mary Poppins, your favorite movie, we've started using different kinds of laughs. Anyway we laugh - deep, high, fast, etc. - you will mimic. It usually turns into real laughter because it is so funny.

You are the sweetest sister! You love Maelie so much and ask for her first thing every morning. You love to hug her and you two play so great together. If she's sad, you get so concerned. You say "Mae Mae cwyin'" and hug her and pat her. She is such a great sister to you, and I love the relationship that the two of you have.

The way you so often will grab my leg or hug my neck out of nowhere and say "I luba you Mommy." It's my most favorite thing you do.

Other Things You Love at Two:
Yo Gabba Gabba
My chenille socks - you put them on like leggings and wear them all over
Chocolate milk - well, hot chocolate mix with cold milk. It's one of the only times you are near tantrum mode screaming "chokit milk!!"
Cheese
Oranges
Ms. Brandi, your teacher. You will grab your backpack and run down the hall when you see her come in in the morning, you love her so much we invited her to your birthday party!
Playing with my phone - you love the games and you've figured out how to watch tv shows on my ipod
Mary Poppins
Princess books
Being "nekid jay" even if it's only you're "nekid jay feet" you love having some part of your clothing off.
Jumping - in your bed, mine, the bouncehouse, a trampoline - if it's bouncy, you're jumping!
Bible time - I love hearing your sweet voice say "it's Bible time!" everytime we say time for bed.
Your Bwankie - it seems you get more attached to it everyday. Luckily, it can be anyone that is silky on one side. You love to tuck into a ball and cover yourself in it when you're sleepy.

Snow Days!

2011-02-07T16:06:00.013-06:00

We had such a great time this week! It is pretty much Maelie's dream to "stay home all day in her jammies" so four days in a row was about the best thing she could think of. I knew we might be in for one day, so I stocked up on paint, crayons, new coloring books, popcorn, m&ms and hot chocolate. It was such a gift to have all of that uninterrupted time playing with my girls and getting our house a little more organized. Here's a little glimpse of our snow-cation (in reverse order because I'm technically challenged like that):

Making snow ice cream. They both loved it!

Playing in the snow with Daddy. This is the beginning of the snowman that she talked about making all day. However, once she got bored shoveling, she decided she would much rather just throw snowballs at Daddy.

The pictures aren't that great because that would require me actually going outside. In the snow. Not. Going. to. Happen. She was one proud snow-shoveler, though!

We made a tent to watch Mary Poppins in. It was super warm and comfy, and just a hair

static-y

Hanging out in the tent

And when we couldn't think of anything fun to do, we blew up the bouncehouse in the living room and had a jumpfest.

Lorelai woke up the next day saying "I jump! I jump!"

Mommy got to craft a little.

We did lots of painting and coloring and reading Mary Engelbreit's Fairy Tales over and over. Both girls LOVE this book and will sit with me under the covers reading it forever.

How could you not have a great week with these sweet girls?

Maybe it'll do it again next month :)

10 years and a New Song

2010-12-27T21:17:00.003-06:00

Somehow it's December and I haven't even blogged about the most significant event of the year for me. August 4, 2010 marked ten years of being married to Kyle McKillip. What a journey it has been together. We were 19 when we got engaged and 20 when we married. I think maybe we were both too young to be scared. I can only remember feeling a mix of total calm and bubbly excitement. The Lord has blessed us everyday since August 4, 2000. Sometimes the blessings were hidden and came wrapped as hardships. Sometimes they were compeletly evident as blessings and as direct gifts from His hands. On two precious occassions, they were wrapped in pink blankets and covered with little pink hats and I remember looking at Kyle both times in amazement that He allowed us to be a small part of His miracle making. Oh, how good He has been to us and to me to give me Kyle. Kyle is a constant compass, pointing me towards the Lord. He is the Lord's hands and feet as he walks hard roads with me, holds me in his arms and reminds me who our Father has created me to be. He lives out daily the Lord's tender affection for me and is a physical reminder that the Lord loves me dearly and accepts me just the way I am. He was precious when I married him, and has allowed the Lord to grow him and mature him into an amazing spiritual leader, father and husband. He simply gets better each year. I am so thankful that he's mine and even more that our sweet girls have him as an example of what love looks like. I think back to who we were - the young people we were when we got married - and like the song says, it is harder than we dreamed. Those young people never imagined marriage and life being so hard, throwing us so many curve balls. They also never dreamed of the how good the good days could be and how 10 years in, how much richer and fuller love and life could be. I think they probably could never have grasped all of the growing that the Lord would do in them and through them, all the hard work it would take to get there, the deep peace, happiness and contentment that could come with an ordinary, extraordinary life. I can't wait to see what the 70 year old uses and 50 years married uses think about how much more they know of love and the Lord than the 30 year old, 10 years married uses do.
I still love "our" old song by Keith Whitley (When You Say Nothing at All), but the one above brings tears to my eyes everytime I hear it and makes me love what I have in Kyle and in the Lord.

Summer's Blog

2010-10-25T19:09:00.003-05:00

My friend from church and YCW, Summer, is on a journey to adopt a baby girl from Ethiopia. We are so excited to be a small part of the journey as we pray for their family and anticipate welcoming a new member to our church family. This month, if you visit http://www.goseeklove.com/ you can buy a super cute shirt that supports their families' adoption. I've already gotten mine in, worn it, and loved it. If you are looking for a unique and meaningful Christmas idea, I would so recommend getting someone you love (or yourself) a go seek love shirt and help a great family and a great cause. You can get to know Summer, her family and her journey better at coxragamuffins.blogspot.com

First Day of School

2010-10-16T14:46:00.010-05:00

We had a great first day of school this year! It is always a fun, crazy day and a great reminder of why I love my job so much. I LOVE bringing my babies to work with me.

Lorelai and I are very spoiled this year - Ms. Brandi moved from the nursery to the toddlers this year, so of course we are at her table. I love how much Lorelai loves her "Bandi" and know that she gets loved on so much in class. She never even cries to go in when her second Mommy is there!

Playing at the playscape and looking super cute

It was Gracie's first day, too! We are loving having her at YCW to love on and play with Lorelai in class.

On the way home...

This year was a little bit sad for me, too. This is Maelie's last first day of school at YCW. I'm really not sure how that happened, but somehow in the blink of an eye we went from this...

...to this!

So proud of our big Pre-Ker! She is with two precious, godly women this year, Ms. Denise and Ms. Terri and she is doing wonderfully under their care.

The whole family

Mommy and her girls

YEA!

2010-10-15T14:45:00.011-05:00

I finally figured out how to download pictures to our new laptop! Here's to three months of catch up - one month at a time :)

For the second year in a row, we had the world's greatest intern. We love our Shelvy (or Shelby if you're not Maelie). Lauren, Cam and the McKillip girls took her on a going away playdate to Central market and a yogurt place. We love her and I hope my girls turn out just like her - she loves the Lord and is one of the most mature, confident young women I've ever known.

One of our favorite things about summer - popsicles!

Okay, have you ever seen anything cuter?

Two of my three favorite people relaxing before fireworks.

On the 4th of July Lorelai learned a new word - CHEESE! Here she is practicing.

We had our very first sleepover!

With who else - our sweet Elizabeth

Making ice cream sundaes at our sleepover

Looking back, it was such a quick summer, but we had so much fun. We spent so much time together as a family. I think after a super crazy June we were all in the mood to just hang out at our house together. Except for trips to NRH2O, Maelie's "favorite place in the whole world."

Chatterbox

2010-06-30T02:47:00.003-05:00

Lorelai has turned into quite the talker lately and we have loved hearing what's on her mind. She does a lot of jibber-jabbering, which I don't really remember Maelie doing. I feel like she went from pointing to five word sentences. Lorelai has a language mostly all her own, but there are quite a few words that the rest of us recognize, too.

Here's what she says:
Mama
Dada
Mae mae (this is her favorite and most used word)
bye bye
up (usually tripled - up, up upie!)
down
jump (gump)
outside
Papaw
Papa
Gigi
shoe - I love this one because she always says it with a shoe in hand trying to shove it in your hand so you will put it on her. She loves wearing shoes! The other day she got really mad because I would only put one pair on her at a time.
Yum! - when she's eating something good, she says this everytime she takes a bites and with a lot of enthusiasm. The other day I gave her a donut hole and I thought she was going to choke she was saying YUM! YUM! YUMMY! so energetically
Fufa - this is making me feel a little like a slacker, especially right after the donut hole incident listed above, but this girl loves her some Yo gabba Gabba and Fufa is her favorite.
No
Uh Oh
More - love this one because you get half of the sign for more, too.
baby
book
ball
go
nose - double points for this one, you usually get an unexpected finger up your nose with it.
duck
quack
woof
ooh ahh - the monkey sound
hello

It makes me laugh because so many of these are action words. She is a very active girl, so it makes sense! She is also the sweetest baby I can imagine. So laid back and happy. She just sings to herself all the time and she loves to dance and snuggle.

June so far...

2010-06-22T07:26:00.010-05:00

Maelie stared dance class. She was so excited and asks me everyday if it's dance day. She loved the outfit and special dance bag to carry all of her shoes around in.

Sitting on her square waiting for class to begin.

Doing her own made-up scarf dance. Afterward, she got to practice her bowing, which was one of her favorite parts.

We celebrated one great Daddy! We are all so lucky to have such a precious man in our lives. I mean, look at that guy - does it get any cuter? And he does an amazing job taking care of his girls. They swam all afternoon, and then the Burchfields came over so we could celebrate together. It was a great day!

About a week ago while brushing Lorelai's hair I thought "I could probably do little pigtails." It took me a little while to work up the courage, but she actually loved having her hair sprayed and brushed and played with. I actually do not love the fact that she looks like such a big girl, but it sure is cute!

Back view. Those little flower clips were on her hat in the hospital - time really does fly!

Maelie got new glasses. I didn't think she could get any cuter, but there ya go

Uncle Drew came over to hang out and spend the night. Lorelai was pretty fascinated by his XBox skills.

She's thinks Uncle Drew taught her some skills, too :)

Catch Up

2010-05-16T08:25:00.011-05:00

These are just some random things I've been meaning to post about. We have been so busy lately - but with lots of fun things! We rocked Baby Dedication in the usual McKillip style - acting like a little maniac. I was stunned - I've never seen Lorelai act like that, but she was a wild, wiggly woman from the reception and prayer beforehand to the stage. Until she saw one of her very favorite people, Ms. Brandi, in the auditorium. This is what she did for Brandi....

...and this is what she did for us. I'm trying not to judge my parenting skills too harshly :)

We had a Mother Daughter Tea Party at church that Maelie still talks about. It was so much fun! We got dressed up, had a cupcake and some lemonade and even got an etiquette lesson from Ms. Mindy. All her friends were there and it was so girly.

She was a little scared she was falling off the tall stool.

Lorelai got a new swing. That girl loves to be outside and is never happier than in her swing.

Kyle turned 30!

We had a party at our house with a lot of our friends. We are so blessed to have so many good friends. I'm thankful for each man in this picture and the fact that my husband surrounds himself with godly men. I'm most thankful for that handsome guy in the middle who has been a blessing in my life for almost 10 years!

We went to Ham and Eggs in Lewisville for a special birthday breakfast, then came home and Kyle and a couple of the guys went to the shooting range. This is Maelie and Daddy at the "new pancake store." (as opposed to OC Burger where we go every other weekend.) Their food is out of control - Maelie, Lorelai and I shared two pancakes and still left about 1/3 of them on the plate. These two have gotten to be really close lately, which is something else I'm very thankful for!

Princes, princesses...and Pharoah

2010-05-11T17:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, I know I desperately need to update some pictures, but my camera is not cooperating. In the meantime here are two funny exchanges I've had with Maelie lately.

One morning Maelie woke up and told me she'd had a long, funny dream. I asked her to tell me about it and she told me all about the kids in her class being princesses, fairies, princes and "King Ty." I was really excited about that one because Ty has an identical brother in class, too, so I asked Maelie how she knew which brother was the King. "Oh, I just picked one."

Later I told her to tell Ms. Kelli her dream. She looked at me in all seriousness and said, "I dreamed there were 10 fat cows and 10 skinny cows, but the skinny cows ate up all the fat cows." I crack up, and she interrupts me to tell me there were also "Helfy corn and skinny corn but the skinny corn ate all the helfy corn." Don't worry, we're working on the number thing...

Funny for the Day

2010-04-13T15:21:00.004-05:00

Conversation as we're leaving church today:

Maelie (singing) "I say no to the devil, I say no to the devil" Mommy, why do we say no to the devil?

Mommy: Everything he does and says and thinks is bad. We say no to everything about him.

Mae: Mommy, the devil's tricky.

Me: He sure is!

Mae: The Easter bunny's tricky, too. Maybe they're friends.

Me: laugh til I cry...

ONE Sweet Girl!

2010-03-24T17:54:00.013-05:00

I can't believe we've had this little ONE for ONE whole year! What a joy it has been to watch her grow, to see her little personality emerge, to love her and care for her, to "get to know her" and be her Mommy. The Lord has used her precious spirit to bless my life, to teach me and show me His love for me in new ways. It is such a priveledge to have her entrusted to my care. It has been one of the best years of my life! We celebrated with a cupcake party at our church with lots of friends and family.

Sweet little face

The closest we got to a picture with her "cake"
She loves this cozy coupe! It's the first thing she goes to each morning and she was in it for 90% of the party. Luckily, she had lots of people to push her around :)

The party!

Checking out a present - with a pizza face

Tiny hiney!

(P.S. Your hiney could look this cute, too! Or your bib or your onsie - check out my little pumpkin designs on etsy or facebook! Thanks, Donna Jo!)

Opening presents

Playing with her main man

Not a big fan of the cake

We had a great day!

Maelie-Moo

2010-03-03T07:51:00.009-06:00

Here's a little bit about what Maelie has been up to these days. She has been SO GOOD lately it has amazed us all. She went on an 11 day streak of not one spanking. Her previous record was 10 hours. And she was sleeping :) She's still cracking us up all the time and doing a really good job as a big sister. She and Lorelai have so much fun together. She even "babysits" sometimes while I'm in the shower, etc. and does a really good job. All she talks about is turning four and her Candyland birthday party - I can't believe it will be here before you know it!

Here's a funny conversation we had the other day
M Why is King Herod so mean?
E I don't know - some people just are
M But WHY?
E I really don't know - all I can think of is that they don't know Jesus
M Well, I know Jesus
E Yup
M Yeah, I saw him
E Huh?
M Yeah, when God was making me. He was there, so I've seen him
She does have a freakishly good memory...:)

Riding the golf cart with the Daddies

She is LOVING the snow!

(Yes, she's in a skirt - don't judge. We only wear dresses because pants are for BOYS!)

Having a little pizza at Micah's birthday party. This girl is definitely her Daddy's daughter - the other day we went to Chuck E. Cheese and she ate 4 pieces of pizza!

Painting on her easel - doesn't that look on her face say "come look at my masterpiece?"

We love this girl!!!

Lamby-less 11 Months

2010-02-24T16:33:00.004-06:00

Well, unfortunately due to a little chaos in our lives lately this months pictures will be a little different. Sweet Lorelai spent a few days last week at Cook's being treated for what we think is an MRSA infection. It has been pretty rough watching the sweetest baby ever in so much pain, but I think we're finally on the road to recovery. She is back to her happy playful self, with just a little touch of spoiled added in after all the days in a row of being held - but we're okay with that!

At 11 months, she is our little trickster. She's been giving fives for awhile, but over the last month she's learned to blow kisses, play peek-a-boo, say "shh!" with her finger on her mouth, hold her little arms out to play a game with Daddy, bonk her own head when Grammy says "ow!" do her little fingers like the itsy bitsy spider. This is a pretty cute age! She really loves a bath - which is a good thing since she's taking three per day these days. She is getting more expressive, too. Her facials crack me up! She snarls her nose when she's not happy, etc. She and Maelie are having more fun than ever, too. She wakes up every morning and lets me rock her for a few minutes, then sits straight up and either says "da-dee" or "mae mae." She also loves to sleep! I've never seen a baby who will finish her bottle and immediately just wants you to put her in her bed. As soon as you lay her in there, she snuggles up into a little ball and you never hear a peep out of her for at least 9 hours. Gotta love that!

Poor sick baby!

These are when we started feeling a little better.

By Friday, she was in the mood to play a little. This is her laughing at the bubbles Kyle and I were blowing at her. Even when she was really sick, she would still try to smile and say thank you to the nurses. Such a sweet girl!

Funny for the Day

2010-02-02T17:44:00.002-06:00

Today on the way to church Maelie said from the backseat "Mommy! If I'm not Jewish, then I'm not an Israelite!" This whole heritage thing is just not working out for her...maybe we should try to read more from the New Testament...

Big Lessons from Little People ...and double digits!

2010-01-25T21:28:00.001-06:00

I've always assumed that the Lord would use my children to teach me things about life, myself and Him. It makes me laugh the way he does it, though. It dawned on me the other day that it is in the best moments - moments of my heart bursting with love, pride, joy at them - that he quietly reveals himself to me. Pricks my heart that the love pouring out of me when I look at a sweet sleeping face as I rock her, pride over a new accomplishment, joy at just being their parent is just a small taste of the feelings that He has for me. It is in their not-so-best moments that He chooses to reveal things about myself. For example, the other day I was doing my best bear-wrestling imitation getting a squirmy ten month old dressed. I said aloud to her, "You know this would be a lot easier if you would just sit still." I was a little awed at how immediately and clearly He said to me "Yes, I know that feeling. It would be so much easier for me to clothe you in righteousness and joy, fill you with that wisdom that you keep asking for, etc. if you would just be still and let me." So thankful for the lessons I'm not sure I would've learned without the blessings I know I don't deserve.

Also, I can't believe our "Sweet Little Treat" as she has come to be know is already in the double digits. She is truly a light in our lives - the older she gets the more joy she brings to our family. Her sweet presence is such a blessing and we are loving getting to be a part of her life and watch her personality bloom.

This month is the month of talking! She started saying "Daddy"which I think is precious. She doesn't say dada she says "da-DEE" and gets really excited to see him. She also says "bye" - usually just once, not bye bye, with a wave. She finally started saying mama, too, which she usually does in a fierce way as she fast crawls to me. She learned to shake her head no, which I shouldn't think is funny because it looks like she's mocking me sometimes, but it cracks her up so much and makes me laugh. I don't think she really knows what she's saying, anyway!

Things she loves at 10 months:
Cereal - much better than baby food
Any type of fruit in her net paci
Her sister - she and Maelie love to play together and she thinks Maelie is hilarious
Standing up and jumping
Playing with big kids
Her teacher, Ms. Brandi. She would rather play at Ms. Brandi's feet than be held by another teacher - it's pretty funny and very sweet.
Playing in curtains
Being outside
Her Mommy - she has turned in to a huge Mommy's girl. It wears my arms out sometimes, but I love it!

Things she's not crazy about:
Baby food - we're pretty much over it
Having her clothes changed - she doesn't mind the diaper, but can't handle the clothes coming off and on.
Getting into the carseat, still
That's about all I can think of!

Belated Nine Months

2010-01-04T19:58:00.004-06:00

Lorelai has been a busy girl these days! It seemed like overnight she learned to crawl on all fours, pulled up and got a tooth. Now she is just everywhere, but if you can't find her she's usually playing with Maelie. She loves to crawl into her foom or Maelie's and just play, and they love to play together. She is such a content and happy girl. She's also learned to sleep through the night - I mean, really sleep - 10-12 hours a night. I didn't know babies could do that! She also grew three inches since her October appointment, but has only gained 2 oz. That puts her off the charts in height and drops her down to about 50% in weight. Oh, and 200% in cuteness :)In every way, she is a joy to have in our lives and I thank God daily that I get to be her Mommy.

Christmas Picture-palooza 2009

2009-12-29T21:39:00.013-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year - Lorelai's first! It was a little hard because Kyle has been working a ton, but we managed to have some fun, too. We had six family Christmases that nearly wore us out with so much fun, but it's always worth it to see all of our family.

The Girls

Maelie and Elizabeth at their class Christmas party
Look out for the newest Chip and Dale's dancer!

Three matching cousings

(Can you believe this is the best picture I got?)

These girls really love each other

Maelie wanted it to snow on Christmas SOOO badly - I kept telling her that it doesn't snow in Texas at Christmas and she was so upset. I think this made her even more excited when it actually did snow on Christmas :)

She said, "I can't believe God told it to snow just like I asked!!"

Lorelai peeking through her new tunnel

Maelie on the new princess scooter

My sister and brother and me

I think this has been Maelie's favorite part of the Christmas holidays - hanging out with Henry.

If anyone knows a good therapist, let me know, we're probably going to need it next week when he leaves to go back to Maryland.

Riding the scooter at Grammy and Papaw's

The Thirty Greatest Moments of My Thirty Years

2009-12-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

The Thirty Greatest Moments of My Thirty Years
in no particular order
P.S. There are pictures at the bottom if you get bored reading!

1) When I had Maelie. The strongest first memory I have of her is the sight of her. The second she was born they plopped her on my tummy and I was stunned. It happened more quickly than I had expected. One minute she was in my tummy and the next here she was - a little miracle that I had had a small part of. The sight of her there - perfect and mine - is still hard to put into words.

2) When I had Lorelai. My strongest first memory of her is the sound of her cry. For some reason at her birth she was not in my sight for a few seconds, but at the sound of that little cry I remember looking at Kyle with tears in my eyes and shock at how quickly my heart had expanded and how much I loved her before I had even seen her.

3) When Kyle McKillip called me on Christmas Day, 1998 and asked me out for our second date. After our first date I walked into my house and told my mom I was going to marry him. Part of that was being silly, but I really liked him and was so excited when he called on Christmas to think that maybe he felt the same way.

4) When we bought our house. It's funny, because I'm so ready to sell it now, but when we were 21 and buying a house of our own it was so exciting and I felt like we were "really grown up." It was so much fun working on it with Kyle and feeling like we had a home.

5) When it snowed in January of 2001. Kyle and I were living in an apartment, barely married and so excited about the snow that we moved our mattress into the living room and slept with the windows open so that we could hear it. I remember thinking that this is what I imagined being married as - having fun with your best friend.

6) When I took the Beth Moore "Living Beyond Yourself" Bible study. It was the first Beth Moore and first really deep Bible study I'd done and it showed me new ways to talk to the Lord that changed our relationship.

7) When I got the job at Young Children's World. I really thought that there was no way that they would hire someone as young as I was. Plus, it was going to be a $200/month paycut that we really couldn't afford. Kyle and I spent the weekend praying about the decision to take the job and right after we talked Kyle went to check the mail. There was a check for $500 and a letter from our mortgage company saying something had been miscalculated and our mortgage payment was being decreased by $200/month. No way would that have been there if we had not followed the Lord and taken the job that turned out to be the best job in the world.

8) When Drew, my younger brother by 10 years was born. I was not sure about a baby in our family before he was born, but I remember wanting to stay in the waiting room and not go on walks with the other kids because I couldn't wait to meet him. I loved him so much and still do!

9) When I realized I liked my mom :) We had some rough times over the early years of my life, but sometime in my 20s I realized what a good mom she is and more importantly what a good friend. (It doesn't hurt that she's the world's best Grammy.)

10) When I realized that Kyle was in it for good. I think there were times in the early years of our marriage when I would subconciously test that fact - picking silly fights or escalating them just to see if he really meant it. He did. The Lord shows me alot about His acceptance and love for me through the way that Kyle loves and accepts me.

11) When God put Jayne in my life. She is such a precious combination of friend and mentor. I think everyone needs someone like her - wise, but completely nonjudgemental, a little further down life's road and willing to share her wisdom, faith and experience. I know that I'm a better mom, wife, friend, and Christian because of her influence.

12) When Kasey moved to Texas. Okay, that's a weird one because it stunk that Rob had to be in Iraq, so it wasn't all good, but I'm thankful that we got to live in the same city as adults for the first time in our lives. I think that it brought us immeasurably closer and redefined our relationship.

13) When Henry was born. Getting to be an Aunt was the greatest experience. Love like a Mom with the ability to spoil and never have to spank! I got to spend the first week of his sweet life with him in San Angelo and I loved getting to bond with him. It still makes my day when I see his cute face on skype and hear "what aunt emmy doin'?"

14) When I made Rebellaire dance captain. It was my senior year and being in that group made it so much fun! I was so excited and it was also the first time I had been in a leadership position. It didn't hurt that so many of my good friends were there, too.

15) When I got to bring Maelie to work with me for the first time. I have always loved my job, but having her there with me made it even better. So many women that I love so much were there it felt like bringing her home a little having her in a place I loved with so many Christian sisters loving on my baby.

16) When I joined Richland Hills Church of Christ. Okay, in that moment I probably didn't realize how great it was, but I love my church and am so thankful to belong to a body of believers that loves the Lord and shows it in so many ways. I love our leaders and how they are so intentional about sharing the love of Christ "in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

17) When I met Patty Weaver. She is the best boss (even though she's not a fan of that word :) and friend. She has taught me so much about what it means and how to minister to others, especially children and their families. She is a living example of someone who does her best to glorify the Lord in all she does. She has also taught me a lot about spectacularness - how to make things better than people expected, how we can really do anything or make anything happen when we work together.

18) When Kelli had Elizabeth. When our daughters were born, so was a friendship that brings tears to my eyes when I really think about all the ways I've been blessed by it. No one is a better encourager than Kelli. She really makes you feel great about yourself while at the same time encouraging you to be even better. She is always pointing you towards a closer walk with the Lord. I also got my little friend Elizabeth that day - a precious friend to my Maelie and another sweet little someone to love.

19) When Lauren came to work at RHCC. Wow! Sometimes God really blows my mind. What a precious gift from Him to have one of your best friends working right down the hallway. I still get excited when I see her walking down the hall to stop by my office and chat. I am convinced that my life would not be the same without her presence - her ability to bring so much fun and such deep friendship into my life has been a blessing as long as I've known her (which is a long time).

20) Bringing Lorelai home from the hospital. I'll never forget the surrealness of having two full carseats in the back seat and feeling like it had always been that way. I was completely at peace about my new role as Mommy to two and amazed at how easily our family had grown from two to three to four. It was a great drive and just got better as the three of us introduced Lorelai to her new home and got to spend time together as a family.

21) When I moved to Abilene. I loved everything about being there - the friends I came with and the ones I made along the way. The town itself and all the fun things we did there. The classes I took even seemed fun, like the beginning of "real life." Living on my own and the freedom and feeling of being a grown up that came with it. Growing with God and being led to Kyle. I still love to go back there and have a little taste of all those good feelings!

22) When Maelie decided that when she grows up she wants to be a Mommy "just like me." She is the funniest, most precious thing, but she is also a very challenging little girl. There are many days when I question the job that I am doing with her as a mother, but I guess it can't be all bad if that's what she wants to be when she grows up!

23) When I got my quilt for Christmas. When I was around eight years old my great-grandmother made each one of her 15 or so great-grands a handmade quilt for Christmas. That thing has been on my bed everyday since. It's the perfect weight, size, and it's the craziest colors you've ever seen. It reminds me that really great things aren't always perfect on the outside. It's warm when I need warming and surprisingly feels cool in the summer. It's been on campouts, sleepovers, off to camp, picnics outside - you name it, but it better be on my bed before I go to sleep. When it started to get a little ragged, my Grandma took it and reinforced every stitch to make it last longer, so now it's even more precious.

24) When I found out Val was pregnant. This in itself was an answer to many, many prayers, and a few days later when I found out I was pregnant it was the fulfillment of a lifelong wish to get to be mommies together. Val is the biggest and best part of most of my childhood memories and getting to share this stage of life with her is a bigger blessing than I had even imagined.

25) My 30th birthday! A big group of our friends got together for a steak (my favorite!) and then spent the rest of the night driving around town in a Hummer limo looking at Christmas lights. It was so much fun and such a sweet treat from my precious husband. The best part was looking around and realizing how blessed I am to have so many amazing friends in my life.

26) When my Mom got married. I was so happy to see her with someone that she loves so much and that loves her, too. We all love Wayne, especially Maelie, and were so glad to have him as an official part of our family.

27) When Kyle asked me to marry him. We were on top of a mountain in Colorado, and I remember having a hard time catching my breath. I love him so much and it still amazes me that he saw enough in me to want to spend the rest of our lives together. He is such a pillar of faith, such a precious and tender heart - I just cannot imagine a better man. The fact that he chose me is still humbling and amazing.

28) When I went to Italy. My senior year of high school our choir toured several cities in Italy and had the chance to sing in several cathedrals. So much fun with great friends. Such a once in a lifetime experience to be in a foreign country with people I loved, doing something I loved, and experiencing something so new.

29) When I married Kyle. That day in particular was a great day - I remember not being able to keep a goofy grin off my face - but the thing that was so great about that day is that it was the beginning of so many great days. In our ten years of marriage, they honestly have not all been great days, but the cumulative effect of loving him and being loved by him, of raising children and growing up together has been the second greatest experience of my life, only next to my relationship with Jesus. I cannot believe God led me to such a loving, faithful, wise, selfless, and fun partner for life at such an early age, and am so thankful for the years and growing we have done together and the ones to come.

30) When I got baptized. I had no idea at the time how deeply and completely this would change me and shape me. Everytime I see someone get baptized at church it brings tears to my eyes not only that the kingdom of God has grown, but also that that person is in for such an amazing journey as the Lord grows them and draws them closer to Him. I had loved the path that He has led me down thus far and cannot wait to see what else He has in store for me!

Sweet Daddy and Husband

(P.S. That's the quilt, too!)

Maelie's first day at YCW

Having breakfast with Jayne

Baby Henry, less than 1 week old

The women of YCW

One of the biggest reasons this job is so good

Coming home with my girls!

Patty and Maelie

Baby bellies!

First night in our new house

Lauren's first day at RHCC

Maelie - 9 days old

Elizabeth - 1 day old

My sweet family

Me and Maelie

Funny (and disgusting) for the Day

2009-12-22T19:09:00.003-06:00

Tonight Maelie and I were playing with her Pretty Pretty Princess game and there are tiny jewel stickers you are supposed to put on the crown. After awhile Maelie said, "Look at this bootiful jewel. Isn't it bootiful?" I absentmindedly said yes and she said "I found it in my nose." No, she didn't stick a jewel in her nose - apparently, she just picked a real winner.

Funny for the Day

2009-12-04T18:42:00.003-06:00

I am bummed that I can't find the right stuff to upload some pictures. Until then, this will have to do you.

This morning in the car
Maelie "Do you remember Aunt Nita's birthday party?"
Me "yes"
Maelie "I wore that skirt"
Me "yes, you did" (shocked - Aunt Nita's fifties themed party that Maelie wore a poodle skirt to was in May)
Maelie "Sometimes when I sleep I see pictures. In my eyes."
Me "I think you are talking about dreams"
Maelie "Oh, yeah!! 'Course! Dreams"
Me "Did you dream about Aunt Nita's party?"
Maelie "Yup, and Grammy"

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T20:30:00.015-06:00

Well, we had a few last minute changes to our Halloween costumes. We were all set to be the Princess and the Pea, but the night before Papaw saw a beautiful Snow White dress at Toys R' Us that Maelie had been seen in the movie brochure and loved. Being quite the sucker, he bought it for her. She LOVED it and wanted to wear it trick or treating, and I could not say no. We bought some black hair spray and came up with a coordinating outfit for Lorelai, and I have to say I think I like the new costumes even better than the originals. We trick or treated with the Bankes and most of the Burchfields (poor Micah had surgery the day before :( and Katie stayed with him) and had a blast in Diamond Loch.

First time in the new dress - loving it!

Lorelai's spur of the moment costume change - the cutest dwart :)

Getting ready to hit the road!
(Not sure where Maelie learned that phrase, but she kept saying it)

The Babies

The Big Girls

Maelie kept saying "This is awesome!"

Lorelai riding in style. She looks a little scared in this for some reason, but she really loved the view from the bjorn

Riding in style.

We finished off the evening at Carol's house where Grammy and Papaw were waiting to see the girls. Carol and her Wayne popped fresh popcorn and the girls got to decompress a little. It was a great night!

One last look at our raven-haired beauty! She loved it while it was costume time but was pretty ready to wash it out and get her yellow hair back!

Seven Months and PP Rounds Two and Three

2009-10-23T09:51:00.012-05:00

Here's our sweet girl at seven months! Still such a laid back joy. She loves her new food - apples with cherries and sweet potatoes are her favorite and she really loves her cereal. She loves her bath even more now that she can sit up more. She is also rocking on her hands and knees so we are enjoying the sitting up but not mobile days while they last.

PUMPKIN PATCH - ROUND 2

Flower Mound with Grammy, Papaw and Grandma Dane

PUMPKIN PATCH - ROUND THREE

Hall's with the Beceras

funny for the day

2009-10-14T14:48:00.001-05:00

Today I was telling Maelie how proud I am of her. She had a really hard morning but turned it around and has had a great day so far. I told her "I am so proud of you, it takes a really big girl to have a bad morning and decide to be sweet and have a good day."

Her response: "Aw, shucks!"

Pumpkin Patch...Round One

2009-10-11T20:32:00.010-05:00

I LOVE the pumpkin patch, so we always go several different times each year. Our first one is always with the Bankes' at Hall's. I think this one is my favorite because it is so small, yet never that crowded. It was really not crowded tonight...we got rained out! Here are a few pictures we got before the rain came.

The Family

Sweet Pea

This is pretty much what Lorelai thought about the Pumpkin Patch! I think her teeth are bothering her. She was cranky all day, which isn't like her at all.

I think the Tylenol finally kicked in here

Sisters

It was hard to get a lot of good pictures of Maelie - she and Elizabeth ran and played the whole time. I caught this one in the hay maze.

Taking refuge from the rain

2009-09-22T17:35:00.008-05:00

Here we are at 6 months!

The Bible tells us that children are a reward from God, and I will definitely need Him to explain to me when I get there why I got this little miracle and huge blessing in my life because I know I don't deserve her. This has been six months of blessing upon blessing as we get to know and love our sweet Lorelai.

Just sittin' pretty!

She is so silly! She laughs and smiles so much I can't believe her cheeks don't get tired.

She's getting very wiggly. She wants to crawl so badly and jumps all the time. She wears poor Grandma Dane's arms out wanting her to hold her up so she can jump!

She's pretty laid back all in all, though.

We got the okay to try cereal and start introducing foods...

...but she wasn't exactly sure what do to with that stuff that I put in her mouth. She sat there with her tongue out for quite awhile.

Other news at 6 months:

she doesn't crawl yet, but still manages to get around by rolling and skooching everywhere

17 lbs. 12 oz.

95% in weight

90% in height

50% in head - just a little peanut head!

she loves trying to sit up, but isn't quite on her own yet

she sleeps 8-10 hours at night

she loves watching sister, her Mommy and Daddy, that lovey, anything that lets her jump, people in general, Mickey Mouse, anything that crinkles

She has one more EEG on October 7th, and then we should be all clear and healthy!

It has been such a great six months and I love her more everyday.

First Day!

2009-09-12T08:13:00.007-05:00

We had such a great first day of school! Maelie was amazing - she just gave Kyle and me big hugs and then marched right in. This is a feat for her! Her teachers said she had a great day and she was even sweet to everyone in the office after class. She told me that now that she's "free (three)" she's not going to cry to go to class anymore. I hope that lasts :)

The girls with Mommy

This reminds me of what a great job I have - I got to go to school, too and everyone had a great day. I loved getting to check on them during the day and having their PRECIOUS teachers as friends. Maelie's teachers are Ms. Patty and Ms. Christi and we are so thankful for them. They are two very precious ladies who are amazing teachers and whose love for the Lord is very evident in the work they do.

Daddy and his girls!
He is the best Daddy I could have ever dreamt of for my girls! He went into work late so that I could head straight to work and get things ready. He picked up the girls and brought them to school so that their day and mine would be a little smoother.

Lorelai's first day of school ever!
She, of course, had a great day. Her teacher is Ms. Brandi who we love - she has such a gift for loving on the littlest babies.

She was right at home!

Just a Few of the Reasons I Think I'm Blessed...

2009-09-05T22:03:00.008-05:00

Here it is, the face of a "perfectly, normal, healthy, baby!" The doctor also said that she was beautiful, by the way, but we definitely did not need a specialist to tell us that :) She is the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I can't believe I could be more grateful to the Lord for giving me this precious girl, but the past weeks have actually done that. I am ridiculously blessed and even thankful for these past scary weeks for making me realize that even more.

Can you believe I get to see this smile about 1000 times a day?

The girls are way better at waking Daddy up than I am (can't you tell?)

Maelie loves the show "The Cake Boss" and always says "I wish I could decorate a cake like that!" So one day we bought a boxed cake and some icing and I told her she could choose some candy to decorate it with. She chose Nemo snacks. At first I wasn't sure what we would do with that, but it turned out pretty cute! Maelie helped me every step of the way and was so proud of her cake.

Pointing out the sand and the Nemo snacks (I think that may have been one of the two that she actually put on and didn't eat. That was the only time she got distracted :)

Sharing it with a friend!

Speaking of friends, that is another thing that the Lord has reminded me of lately - what great ones I have. People have called, texted, prayed, asked, offered to sit with me at long boring doctor appointments and tests - it's amazing. The thing that's amazing is that none of that is surprising. These women don't do things like that just when things are tough, they are real, true, precious friends all the time. Each one of them brings something to my life to enrich it. They challenge me to be better, encourage me, teach me, show me, inspire me and love me all the time. They make me better in every area of my life and the Lord uses them everyday to remind me of who I am and who I'm meant to be.

And, just to show how Awesome He is, God gave me this treat - one of my lifelong friends is now a coworker. Her office will be at furthest just upstairs and at closest 20 feet away. We have been praying for a long time (since we found out Cam was on his way!) that the Lord would lead Lauren to a place where she felt like she could both work and be a mom to the best of her abilities. And then a job opens up at church that is a perfect place for her to use a variety of her many gifts. The kids will hang out in class together while the Mommies work (and maybe get coffee every now and then ;) It feels like a dream come true!

fabulous five

2009-08-18T06:44:00.009-05:00

Here's Miss Lorelai on her Five month birthday! I don't ever get tired of saying what a good baby she is. She is very content and laid back. Some of my favorite things she does is sleep with her lovey on her head (great parenting, I know, but if you don't put it on her head she does it for you). She might not even be acting sleepy, but if you know it's time and put it on her head she immediately closes her eyes. When she's not sleepy, she just loves to have that lovey in her hand - it's so cute! She's also started playing with toys and I love to watch her eyes concentrate as she examines something new.

Hanging with LambyI love this picture because it captures how expressive she is! She makes the cutest faces. One of my favorites is when she is looking really hard at someone and all of a sudden raises on eyebrow. We haven't been able to get a picture of it, but it makes me smile every time!

Halfway through our photoshoot Maelie woke up and wanted to help. It is so precious to watch these two interact - they are such sweet sisters! Lorelai loves watching Maelie and thinks she is so funny. Maelie wakes up every morning asking where sister is.

She's not sitting up yet, but it's her favorite position. If you lay her on her back she does little crunches trying to sit up.

My two sweet girls!

Oh, My Word!

2009-08-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

So tonight we started a game of Candyland before bedtime, but had to end it early because Maelie was pouting and screeching. She was crying when she got in bed and said "You're ugly!" I spanked her and left the room. A little while later I went back in to talk about it and asked her if she had something to say to me. She said "I'm sorry, Mommy."
Me "Why?"
Mae "For saying you were being ugly."
Me "Thank you, I forgive you."
Mae "Okay, I forgive you, too."
Me "What do you forgive me for?"
Mae "For acting ugly."

WHAT?!??? Oh, my word....

Busy Week!

2009-07-12T08:52:00.009-05:00

We had a very busy week this week!

Aunt Kasey and I loaded up Henry and Maelie and went to the beach.

Maelie had never been and we had a great time!

Playing in the sand

First time in the ocean!

Lorelai with the new lovey Maelie and I brought her as a souvenier - this girl loves a lovey!

Then we came home and had an appointment with and opthamologist - and discovered Maelie needs glasses. She picked a cute purple pair of Barbie glasses.

Papa has glasses, too!

Pretty cute!

And today Lorelai turned 4 months old!
She has discovered her feet and her hands - the feet get played with and the hands go in the mouth! She also learned to roll over both ways this month and has gotten very wiggly - she loves to kick her feet!

Can you say multi-talented?

Close up with Lamby. I know I'm biased, but I really don't think I have ever seen such a happy, content baby. She wakes up smiling and is such a joy!

2009-07-05T12:18:00.009-05:00

We had such a great and action-packed day yesterday celebrating the Fourth. Everyone slept until almost 9 this morning, which is an amazing feat in this house!

We spent the afternoon at the Letz's house with lots of friends. This is Maelie and Annalee getting ready to hit the pool with the Daddys.

Maelie and Daddy going down the gynormous water slide the boys built - she really liked it this year and even went down a few times by herself!

Lorelai got to get in the pool for just a few minutes - just long enough for a cool down and a few pictures with Daddy

Lorelai and Gracie hangin' out!
I love this picture - it brings back a lot of good memories of July 4ths spent by Val's side
Finally - the fireworks!! Can you tell these babies are tired? Maelie's phrase of the night was "I'm so brave to watch the fireworks!" I guess she still remembers last year :)

Theology from a Three Year Old

2009-06-22T12:54:00.003-05:00

Conversation in the car today that cracked me up:

"Mommy, God's really everywhere"
"I know isn't that cool?"
"Yeah, and it makes Him sad when you are ugly to your friends - like when you push Elizabeth."
"That does make Him sad."
"Yeah, but He loves us anyway!"

How could you not love that?!

Three months and a funny

2009-06-17T10:28:00.002-05:00

Lorelai turned 3 months old on the 12th. It still amazes me that there was a time when she wasn't part of our family. Her sweet and laid back personality has just made going from a family of 3 to a family of 4 seemless. She is the happiest baby and just fills me with joy all the time.

Likes at 3 Months:

She LOVES to smile and does it all the time

She started smiling at Maelie - she thinks her sister is pretty funny

She is getting better and better at holding her head up and prefers to be sitting up on your knee rather than laying back.

She loves her lovey! I'm so excited about this because I think it's so cute.

She has decided that she loves bathtime. She either looks at me or the cute little baby in the mirror and smiles the whole time.

She is still a fan of sleep - yea!

They got these new awesome swings in the church nursery that are so soft and she loves them! We kid that "hers" has her hiney print in it because she loves to take her Summer Spectacular naps in it.

Dislikes at 3 Months:

not a fan of the carseat, but usually settles down once we start walking her in it

that's about it - I'm telling you she is one precious, happy baby!

Funny stories about Maelie:

One of her favorite Bible stories is when the friends lower the paralyzed man down to Jesus. Somehow the way it's worded in her Bible has led her to believe that that is the man's name - Paralyzed. Last night I asked her which Bible story she wanted to read and she said "The one where Paralyzed gets sick." I don't know why but it cracks me up!!!

She got to go watch Aunt Kasey dance in the Summer Spectacular preview show and was really pretty good and seemed pretty interested. In fact, she was on the edge of the pew watching intently during the finale. So she was pretty shocked when the confetti cannons went off - so shocked she fell out of the pew. A better mom would probably have been concerned, but this one laughed until she almost cried. She did scale me in about .2 seconds after she fell, so I did hold her and pat her back while I laughed :)

Funny Girls

2009-06-08T21:06:00.009-05:00

The other night at CFA, Lorelai was fussing so Maelie put her pretend baby bottle in her mouth. She must have been hungry because she started to suck on it. Yeah, go ahead and cast those mother-of-the-year votes now...

These are Maelie at her first big girl movie trip. I took her on a Mommy-date to see "Up." That night before she went to bed she said she hoped she dreamed about that movie. I was so touched that she liked the movie (I loved it) until she said "yeah, especially that part where we drinked the Coke!"

Silly Lorelai! She loves to grab things (her dress, her lovie, the towel) and pull them to her mouth to gum on and then she just smiles. She is the happiest baby ever!

Whew!

2009-05-16T11:22:00.009-05:00

That's what I say to this whirlwind week! Monday was graduation for our Pre Kers at school, Thursday we had a tea and small performance with our Toddlers and a tea in the afternoon with the babies in the nursery. That would have been plenty to keep me hopping, but Sunday night Maelie ran a fever and threw up in the night several times. By noon she felt fine and was demanding pizza. Kyle had to work, so I strapped Lorelai in her Bjorn and she and Maelie helped with graduation. I had a lot of help from Aunt Kasey and Barbara, but I still felt like super mom and learned that super mom is a very tired mom :) Wednesday Maelie started complaining of a headache, which had never happened before, then late in the afternoon it made her throw up. By 9 I was on the phone with the nurse and by 11:30 we were in the car on the way to the ER because she was screaming about her head and even crying about it in her sleep. They did a CT and decided they think she had a migrain - crazy! The next night Lorelai had a rough night, which is weird for her and was very ill-timed because I hadn't slept much the night before at Cook's. The highlights have been that sweet Baby James is finally here and I got to spend some time loving on him - he is so precious!!!

Also, Lorelai turned 2 months old which is blowing my mind. She is such a sweet, laid back baby and I have loved having her in my life and in my arms these past two months. I think right now my favorite thing about her is her blue blue eyes. They have so much expression and she will look at you with such concentration and then smile the sweetest little smile that always starts out on just one side and then spreads to the rest of her face.

Showing off her smile in the swing, which is unusual because she doesn't like our swing.

Wearing on of Mommy's old dresses

This is what happens everytime we try to have tummy time!

She might not ever learn to roll over!

Two month picture with her Lamby. She was talking to me while I was taking it - too cute!

Close up with Lamby

First time in the Bumbo! She seemed to like it. I don't leave her in it for very long because I don't want her to get tired, but she is getting really good at holding her head up and loves to be upright so I thought this would be right up her alley.

So, at two months she can:

hold her head up to about 90 degrees and support herself on her elbows for short periods

the smiles come a lot more often and with very little work - she smiles the most at the fan and all it does is turn around!

track things with her eyes

turn her head to look for things - most often her Daddy, she loves the sound of his voice

coo and talk

sleep for 6 hours at a stretch in her own bed

she weighs 11ibs. 14 oz - oh, my goodness! (75%)

she's 23 1/4 inches long (75%)

She likes:

obviously to eat, she's almost 12 lbs!

sitting upright

being held

the swing in Mommy's office

sleeping on her tummy (only during tummy time!)

being sang to

She doesn't like:

the swing at home or the papasan chair - basically anything that reclines

when the car stops

having her diaper/clothes changed

Commotion in the Ocean

2009-05-08T20:57:00.007-05:00

The big YCW Spring Show was Monday and it was so much fun! It is a lot of work (mainly for Shei) but it is so worth it to see those sweet kids show off what they've been working on. Maelie did a pretty good job (except for picking her nose through the first song) and left us with lots of good Maelie memories.

Papa brought her flowers. When she saw them she buried her face in them and said in her most dramatic voice "Oh, sweet Papa!" Then she saw the balloon he brought her and said "Papa brought that for me? I'm so impressed!" We all cracked up!

Mommy and Daddy with the starlet.

Henry came to join Maelie's cheering section.

This is Barbara's daughter, Tatum. Maelie loves her and thinks anything Tatum does is so cool!

Singing the sailor song

Singing "So Glad that God Made Me" - yes, we are!!

Smile!

2009-04-30T17:49:00.006-05:00

Lorelai started smiling right about a week ago, but it's been pretty infrequent and hard to catch. However, today=success! Hope you love it as much as I do!

Oh, my word! She is such a happy girl!

Who wouldn't be happy? She spent the day with Ms. Jayne getting loved on by a pro!

Etc.

2009-04-28T21:34:00.007-05:00

I still feel like a slacker for the lack of Easter pictures, but all of my favorite ones are on Kasey's camera. Here are a few random ones from the past week or so that I love. On a side note, this has been an eventful week for Ms. Lorelai. She went on her first girls' weekend with the ladies from YCW and had a blast. Who wouldn't love having 7 doting women at their beck and call? I think she spent about 20 minutes not in someone's arms. Over the weekend she started coughing and sneezing up some yuck, so we got to visit our favorite pediatrician Monday who decided it would be best to stick a q-tip on a wire half way to Lorelai's brain to make sure she doesn't have anything serious. Luckily, we really love her :) She was such a good girl. She always is! Even when she's upset she settles down instantly when she gets her bottle, diaper changed, q-tip out of her nose, etc. I may not have anymore out of fear that they will not be nearly as good as her! Just kidding, I thought I shouldn't have any more after Maelie because they could not possibly be as fabulous as she is and here Lorelai is, amazing in her own right!

Gotta love all that pink-ness with sweet sisters

I just fall in more in love with that sweet face everyday!

She is smiling now which makes my day and makes it feel like 5 minutes of goofy baby talk is worth it when she finally grins

She is getting so strong!

How can you not love that face?

Back to the Grind!

2009-04-21T17:24:00.003-05:00

Well, I started easing back into work last week, and this week have been a little more. I really thought that it would be harder to go back this time, but I think that since I took it so easy for the first month it was actually easier. I was ready to see my friends and be back in my office. It really made me realize all over again how much I LOVE my job and what a blessing it is. Being able to take my girls there and spend the day multitasking as director and mommy with Lorelai right in my office is the greatest thing ever. Plus, I have the greatest friends - it was a great mix of working/being with my baby and working/having people I love love on my baby! I have missed those ladies, those sweet kiddos, and all of my responsibilities as well. I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to put me in this place where I can (hopefully) use my gifts to His glory in the midst of my church family.

I also have to give a "shout out" to the amazing staff that I work with. They all worked extra hours and really stepped up so that I could be gone and not worry. They encouraged me to take the time I needed to be with my baby girl and I knew that everything was in good hands. They are so talented and I am so blessed to be a part of this team! They are also such a gift in their sweet friendship as well as the examples they give me of different types of great moms.

I Love This Kid!

2009-04-14T21:36:00.002-05:00

Okay, this is not on the bloggy to do list, but I had to write it down so I won't forget it. tonight when I got home from Bible study we had the following conversation:

Me: Tomorrow we are going somewhere really fun with someone we really love

Mae: Who?

Me: Guess.

Mae: God.

Me: (loving this kid): Well, He's always with us. Someone else we love is going, too.

Mae: Kasey (yes)

Part II

Me: Now, guess where we're going - it's somewhere really fun.

Mae: Sam's? (the real answer was the zoo, but, hey, who doesn't love Sam's?)

Maelie Turns 3

2009-04-14T08:22:00.010-05:00

I know that every mother says this, but I truly cannot believe it has been three years since Maelie came into the world and changed my life. Some of it has been harder than I thought, some has been so much better than I could have ever imagined, it has all been funnier and more fun than I thought it would be, and all of being her Mommy is something I would never give up for anything.

Her birthday - so sweet! She and that binky have been friends from day one.

Her first birthday - spontaneously moved to RHCC due to the weather, but we still had fun.

I remember thinking 1 wasn't so bad, she still felt like a baby to me.

Her second birthday - Mickey at the park!

I honestly didn't have the chance to get to sentimental at this one because she was such a stinker that day. (that's also why this is the best picture I got!)

This year's 3rd birthday girl!

We had such a great day at the zoo with "everyone we love!"

The rest of the weekend, anywhere we went she asked if "everyone we love is going to be there?"

This is just a shameliess plug because Aunt Kasey and I made the hippo cake and we were very proud of it :)

A Few Things she does at Three:

(Really, I almost feel like what doesn't she do?!)
She's been potty trained since September

She can "read" (recite from memory) entire 5 or 6 page Bible stories from her children's Bible

She's known all of her letters and their sounds for a long time now, but lately she asks me to spell things a lot.

She can spell her name

She has three Bible verses memorized - John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 6:1 and we're working on Psalm 23:6

She can remember anything - long songs, small details - it's amazing!

She can dress herself with very little assistance

She just started playing games and she loves them - Candy Land was her first and we play it almost every night before bedtime.

She is the BEST big sister! Every morning when she wakes up she asks where Lorelai is, then goes to her and kisses her and talks to her in this sweet little "baby voice" that cracks me up. She has been so gentle (mostly) and sweet with her. When she cries she runs to tell me "sister's fussin'!" and loves to sing ger songs. She has done better than I ever expected - it is such an answer to so many prayers!

She weighs 31 lbs and is 38 inches tall

There are so many more things she does that I am so proud of and amazed at! I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

She likes:

anything princess

she's very into "girl things" if it's a "boy thing" she won't touch it, wear it, etc.

coloring and "snipping" with her scissors

baths

almost any food, but especially pizza, burritos, blueberries, cheese

her favorite places to eat are Jason's Deli, Pei Wei and "poach-lei" (chipotle)

singing - she sings all the time!

reading

Imagination Movers - favorite TV show

Tinker Bell and Robin Hood - favorite movies

Grammy's - favorite place to go

She doesn't like:

Not getting her way

waiting, especially waiting to say something

heights

loud noises (still)

having that crazy hair brushed

My Blogg-y To Do

2009-04-14T08:06:00.002-05:00

Some things I need to blog about soon:

Maelie's 3rd birthday
Lorelai's 1st and Maelie's 4th Easter
My first day back at work

Check back soon and keep me accountable!!

TWO funnies for the day!

2009-04-04T19:06:00.001-05:00

First one - Maelie was talking and singing in the bathtub and I said "What are you doing?" She looked at me and said "Just praising God in the bathtub." I LOVE it and said who told you you could praise God in the bathtub? She said "Oh, Jesus did." and kept singing. I am in love with her!

Second one - on the way home from the big Birthday party at the Zoo I asked her what she thought about her birthday party. She said, "Oh, Mom, it was totally perfeck!"

Too Good to be True?

2009-04-03T14:49:00.008-05:00

Seriously, I'm wondering when the other shoe is going to drop - this baby is so good! She eats, she sleeps, she LOVES the car, the only thing she doesn't do perfectly is poop, which she doesn't do enough, but hey, as long as the dr says it's cool, so isn't that a good thing, too? It has been such a great three weeks of loving on my sweet girls. Here's some pics!

She started sleeping in her bassinet two nights ago -

honestly, it's great, but I miss her sweet sleepy sounds right

next to me!

Her first date - lunch with the Camster!

Her first bath - not sure who was more upset, her or Maelie! Maelie does not like it when she cries.

The three kids on a trip to Target - aren't we brave?!

Sweet Days

2009-03-23T18:00:00.017-05:00

I can't believe how much time has passed and I haven't posted about sweet Lorelai! Things have been pretty hectic between the hospital, her being sick and my being sick, but I think (knock on wood) we are finally on the road to our new normal. Here's my attempt to catch up with pictures and thoughts on the whole experience.

P.S. If you don't want to read all of this novella, just read the first and last parts - they're my favorite!

THE HOSPITAL

One of the things I love the most about our God is how he always surprises me. I cried so many times in the hospital (and since!) at his goodness. I think I was so focused on the practical aspects of having Lorelai, bringing her home, preparing myself for increased work and decreased sleep that I kind of forgot about all the sweetness that comes with all of it. The days we spent in the hospital were so precious - so filled with His peace and joy it was tangible to me. We were so blessed with a perfect combination of our room being filled with people we loved celebrating our precious daughter with us and some quiet time for Kyle and I to love on her and revel in the miracle that she is. I truly thought that nothing could ever compare to the birth of Maelie - everything new, everything a first - that I was overwhelmed by all the blessing that come with the second child. The peace, the fun, the confidence and laid-backness that was present in a new way. I remember looking at Kyle at one point and saying "Isn't it fun to feel like we kind of know what we're doing?" I also know this time around how precious time is. Things that were important to me with Maelie as an infant - not "spoiling" her to being held or sleeping with her, were non-existant. I held her all night everynight knowing that it won't be this way forever and one day she'll be to big to lay on my chest and doze off with.

Truly love at first sight - first sound really...

My sweet girls

THE BIG SISTER
I was so nervous about how Maelie would handle her new role, but it seems that many prayers have been answered on this front, too. She has done better than I ever expected - she loves Lorelai so much and has been so sweet to her. She always wants to see her and give her hugs and kisses. So far, she has yet to get upset when her needs have to wait a minute to feed sister, etc. She loves to help burp her, change her, anything she can do. Her behavior has been pretty consistant other than that, too - just the normal everyday ups and downs, maybe even a little more up than usual. I am just praying that it stays this way and these girls grow up to be good friends.

THE JAUNDICE
Okay, we have the very best doctor in the world. I do not know many doctors as thorough and as truly concerned with children's health than her. I do not know many doctors who will call you at home at 9:00 to check on your baby and make sure home health brought the right equipment to your house that day. And then, she called back 30 minutes later to see if she had pottied and tell me the things that we should be looking for in case we needed to go to the ER that night. She also called me into the office when the lab results came back for the better to do another type of test just to verify that it wasn't lab error and make sure our baby was safe. I think she was just as relieved as I was when the tests were all good. I got choked up when I left and told her thank you for always taking such good care of my babies. This may sound melodramatic, but I truly don't ever remember being so scared (when someone tells you that the result of too much bilirubin is a break in the blood-brain barrier i.e. brain damage, it's truly chilling) but I knew that we were in good hands and that if anyone could make Lorelai better it was Dr. Saksena.

Our little Gloworm - the picture doesn't do the glow that the biliblanket gave her justice. I had to wrap her up at night so that the light didn't keep her awake.

THE ICK
Right about the time we got over the jaundice, I started feeling pretty pitiful. Very weak and shaky, no appetite and nausiated. I dropped a little over 3o pounds in slightly over a week and was at the doctor's office every morning by 9 the first 3 days at home, so I'm sure that all of that had something to do with it, but Friday night in the middle of the night I felt too shaky to pick up the baby and just felt like something was considerably not right. I talked to the oncall doctor and he said it sounded like anemia and to take it easy for a few days. Luckily we have an amazing family who stepped in to help with the girls and the house. Thankfully, today I have gotten a little bit of energy back and have been able to eat a little bit and feel like we might just be on the upswing.

NO pictures here - they would not have been pretty :)

THE GREATEST FAMILY EVER
Wow! We could not have survived these past few crazy weeks without an overwhelmingly loving and helpful family. Of course, my mom came over and loved on both girls and got the house in shape - she is the world's best Grammy. She also kept Maelie each time I had to take Lorelai to the doctor and kept her little world normal during the days in the hospital. Aunt Melisa came over Saturday night to help me with Lorelai and used her magical organizational skills on my kitchen, fridge and pantry. Aunt Kasey has gone above and beyond - you name it, she's done it. Helped with Maelie, helped with Lore, brought us dinner, she even made us steaks (my favorite!) last night which I credit to the turn around in my appetite :) Everyone has been so helpful - I truly don't know what we'd do without our family.

THE GREATEST HUSBAND EVER
I have never been more impressed or blessed by my husband. Kyle has been amazing. I can't even put into words how much it has meant to me to have him by my side. On top of just being a precious Daddy and loving on my girls, he walked in the door working - working on keeping the house up, working on spending extra time with Maelie, working on making me feel like a good Mommy and a good wife. It almost makes me feel a little guilty that even since he has had to go back to work, he works all day and then comes home to help with dinner, mow the lawn, clean the kitchen, get Maelie ready for bed, etc. You name it, he has done it. Not just in acts of service, but in words of affirmation, a well-timed hug, a sweet smile as he rocks my sweet baby, a precious prayer over our family, a million other ways. I knew from the moment I met him that he would be a great Daddy, and it seems like he has really come into his own. I wouldn't be the same without him.

Grammy's Wedding

2009-03-10T16:11:00.006-05:00

Maelie got to be a flower girl for the second time this past Friday at Grammy and Papaw Wayne's wedding. It was such a fun night and we are so lucky to have Wayne as part of our family!

Kissing her "new" Papaw Wayne, though I don't think she's ever not thought of him in that way.

The whole fam

Just the grandkids!

The first "legitimate" grandchild - well, at least the first one born after Grammy's wedding :)

By the way, please don't ask me when I'm going to have this baby - if it were up to me it would've been on Sunday!!

Surprise!

2009-02-25T09:29:00.007-06:00

Baby Lorelai and I got the best surprise yesterday! I thought our Children's Ministry team was going to lunch, but we ended up at my sweet friend Jayne's house. Inside were so many of my YCW friends waiting to throw us a surprise shower. I was truly shocked!! I am constantly blessed by the women that I'm surrounded by. I think the time to sit together and visit away from work was even more precious than all of the sweet things they spoiled Lorelai (and Maelie!) with.

Sweet friends! I was a little overwhelmed to walk in and see all these faces, but it makes you realize how blessed you are to have so many ladies in your life!!

Jayne and Sally - these ladies are the poster children for hospitality! Seriously, I have learned more from Jayne about being a Christian women, friend, mother and wife from her than anyone else. There is no one like her!

Me and Barbara - I am so blessed to share an office and big part of my life with this precious woman! She is a woman after God's heart and it is contagious when you're around her.

The gifted and talented Shei! She is one of those people who I just hit it off with immediately. We talked over email for our first few "conversations" and I felt like I already had a new friend. I was right! Now she's an old friend I wouldn't trade for the world.

Okay, so this one is not shower-related at all, but on our Valentines' Day party for school I got Maelie dressed and she said "I'm so beautiful!" I said yes, you are!! Can I take your picture and she ran to the red curtain and smiled so big! I loved it and haven't posted any pics of her in awhile :)

Funny for the Day

2009-02-18T07:19:00.001-06:00

For Valentine's Day, we bought Maelie "Mickey's Sweetheart Stories" and one of the clips has Mortimer Mouse in it. Around the same time she got interested in the story of Esther in the Bible and wants to read it each night. I guess all those names are a little confusing, because she keeps telling me she wants to watch the Mickey with Mordecai in it - it cracks me up!

Life Lessons from a Two Year Old

2009-02-04T07:45:00.004-06:00

Wow! Yesterday was a rough, and I mean ROUGH day for Maelie. I was crying by the time we got in the car, had already spanked her 3 times and was crying out to God "Why? What am I doing wrong?" Things did not improve throughout the entire day (though her teachers swear she was good in class - not quite sure I believe them!) Anway, after tiredly and admittedly somewhat joyfully putting her to bed, I started talking to God about it again and was literally brought to tears. He really put it on my heart that I am His "Maelie on a really bad day" quite often. How often must he think "I gave you that brain, why can't you make good decisions? You're a smart girl, why can't you just obey me?" The one that came to mind the strongest was a different interpretation of the thought I had had all day - "I love you so much and would LAVISH good things upon you, but I can't when you act that way." These thoughts and the other similiarities between my two year old and myself that presented themselves to me were not easy on a tired, weary Momma late at night, but then I really feel like he put it on my heart that no matter what I loved Maelie and would scoop her into my arms in a heartbeat if she fell, or cried, or needed me. What a comfort to know that He feels the same way about me. So I guess, at the end of the day, thanks Maelie for bringing me closer to the Lord the times I look at you with amazement at your beauty, your intellegence, at the miracle that you are and that you are mine and can do nothing but thank the Lord for you. And thank you Lord that you are so tender hearted that even on really bad days you show me your unconditional love and gently teach me.

I do hope, though, that today is a day that we grow closer to God because it's so good :)

The Name Game is OVER!

2009-01-30T08:36:00.003-06:00

Finally, finally, finally we have ended the name game!! A lot of people have told me not to worry, that you can still name a baby in the hospital, but that thought has plagued me. I want to talk to and sing to this baby by name and now, finally, thanks to a very sweet husband, I can. A few weeks ago after a round of tears, Kyle told me I could name her Lorelai. I told him that I did not want to name our baby that way, just give Mommy her way because she's a brat :) After a few more weeks of discussion, two nights ago he told me that he didn't feel like we were going to find a name that we both loved, so rather than us both just settling on an okay name, he wanted me to name her Lorelai. He said a lot of very sweet things to assure me that he is really on board with it, including that he didn't want me to stress out about it any more and wanted me to enjoy the rest of this pregnancy. He was so very precious and I told him that I think that is probably one of the greatest acts of love he has ever shown me. I am SOO over the top excited! One, because I love that name, and two because I really think that is her name - I can't explain it, but none of the other names seemed to fit her. That might sound crazy, but hey, if kicking is a form of communication, we talk all day and I know her pretty well :) The middle name is still pending, but Maelie has an unusual first name followed by a simple Biblical name, so I think I want the same thing for this baby - Lorelai Rebeccah has been on my mind a lot, but we'll see. I'm just so happy to have a first name - and, the world's greatest husband!

Up for Air

2009-01-22T17:15:00.002-06:00

Whew! I think that we are finally over the flu and it feels great! I think it will still be a few more days before my energy is back (not that I have tons of it at 32 weeks, but hey!) but it feels good to sense that the end might be in sight. As an update, the week of the 5th we had to take Maelie to the dr. 3 times - a cold (which at this point I'm 99% sure was really the flu) an allergic reaction and then a ruptured eardrum. Right after that Kyl-o came down with what would later be known as the flu and then a few days later it was my turn, which landed us in the ER and an official flu declaration. This poor little one! I can't take a lot of medicine, but I never took this much with Maelie. Luckily, I'm feeling good about the Lord's protection over her and she is moving around more than ever. I feel like she's telling me she's okay! Or, maybe she is just in shock that I've spent so much time being still! My sweet Mom is keeping Maelie tonight, so maybe she-who-cannot-be-named and I will get one more night vegging on the couch together. In just a little over 50 days, I'll get to meet her face to face - I am getting more and more excited. It helps that her sweet little nursery is coming along and I can nest a little more. As soon as we name her, I'll be ready for anything!

Tagged!

2009-01-06T09:35:00.002-06:00

Okay, so clearly I have way too much time on my hands if I can post twice in about an hour, but Maelie is sick sick sick and hasn't been able to sleep in a few nights so if she's sleeping, Mommy's being super quiet. There, now I have an excuse :)

Mindy tagged me so here it goes!

4 things I did yesterday
Went back to work (LOVED it! Missed it! Wish I could have stayed longer!)
Took Maelie to the doctor (put her on breathing treatments - yea...but thankful to be able to take her!)
Watched 15 episodes (or something like that) of Mickey - had forgotten how much I loved the guy!
Ran to the grocery store so that we can hibernate today, but now Maelie keeps telling me that Grammy would really make her better. I think she's ready to get out of the house.

4 thing on my wish list
A name for my baby
A finished nursery
A healthy Maelie
A night out with my sweetie - maybe Thursday!

4 restraunts I like
Jason's Deli
Outback - man, this girl is missing a really rare steak!
Mercardo Juarez (hmm, Thursday again?!)
Celebrity

4 TV shows I like
Gilmore Girls (is it a like, or an obsession?)
The Office
House
Jon and Kate Plus 8 - makes me feel like my life is pretty easy :)

4 People I tag
Val
Lauren (though she may have given up blogging)
Kasey
Jennifer

29 weeks?!

2009-01-06T09:02:00.003-06:00

December went by so fast it makes it hard to believe we're already almost 30 weeks pregnant. Yikes! It makes it feel like this little one will be here tomorrow! Kyle has been working for days to clean out the garage, so that we can clean out the playroom, so that we can finally have a nursery. I'm so ready! It will still be a week or two until the bedding arrives, so I'm at a bit of a standstill -I want to have it in hand when I choose the paint colors, but once that happens and we finally name her, I'll be ready! (please don't ask how the naming is coming along - it's too painful)

She is kicking like crazy at this point, and I LOVE it! My belly has gotten bigger, but still not that big, so I think she must be squished in there - it feels like she can kick all my organs at once and at times my whole midsection shakes. Maelie loves to talk to her, but has started acting a little freaked out about feeling her kick. I hope that she recognizes her voice once she's here. After seeing Maelie with Cam and Henry I am even more excited to see her with Baby Sister. She has been so much sweeter, gentler and more interested than I expected. I know it will be a little different once she's actually here and in our house all the time, but my hopes are higher :) She was a little surprised to learn the other day that once we went to the hospital to get Baby Sister she would actually be coming home with us eventually. Funny the things you don't realize you should explain!! She is also convinced that Baby Mary is in her tummy, which is funny and slightly disturbing at the same time. She says things like "Look my tummy's so big, Baby Mary is getting bigger!" and (my favorite) "Maybe Baby Mary and Baby Sister can be friends!" Oh, my! I think the name Mary comes from her love of the Christmas story, which we still tell everyday.

Christmas Marathon

2008-12-30T08:12:00.016-06:00

This Christmas was a whirlwind! Kasey, Rob and Henry moved to town, Baby Cam was born and Mommy got sick on top of the standard 15 Christmas parties, but it was a lot of fun. I think Maelie's favorite part was her Christmas lights. Sweet Uncle Drew and a friend came over one freezing day and strung up some lights around the house and she LOVES them. I can't think about taking them down because I know it will make her so sad. She loves to help Daddy plug them in each night and talks about them everytime we pull into the driveway. She also got obsessed (who's suprised?!) with Ms. Patty's yard in Diamond Loch - it has a huge Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. I had to call Patty to let her know that someone wasn't casing her house, we just had to drive by it a lot - even during the daytime :)

Making a gingerbread house - I think at least half of the candy made it on the house!

Snuggling with Daddy at the McKillip Christmas lunch

Opening presents at Grandma Dane's Christmas

Baby James and Baby Sister at Mommy's birthday dinner

Gigi bought her a Bitty Baby that she loves.

Shhh! Bitty Baby's sleeping in her "bajammies"

She LOVED Santa! I was so excited. She had not acted crazy about him all season but they were good friends by the end of their visit.

Checking out the princess castle Santa brought her.

Gotta love that hair!

Papa came over for Christmas lunch

After dinner and presents at Grammy's we all loaded up and went to look at Christmas lights - and Cindy Lou Who!

Relaxing after all the fun with a book and Grandma Dane

Meeting Baby Cam - she was so sweet to him!
After we left she asked if we could have a boy baby instead of a girl one, but she was okay when we told her no :) I can't wait to see her as a big sister!

Cam, Cam, He's our Man!

2008-12-23T07:10:00.005-06:00

I cannot believe how much you can forget just how tiny babies are! Cam came on the 21st and he is the cutest little thing ever. It makes me want to cry to think about how sweet our God is to give us such precious gifts. Even though he was a little over a month early, he is so healthy and we know that is just another sweet gift from Him. It is so exciting to watch someone you love so much go through this experience. Lauren is so amazing at every role she has in life - wife, friend, daughter, etc. that I cannot wait to see her in action as a Mommy.

Have you ever seen anything cuter?!

Sweet Mommy!

I didn't get a picture of Josh with the Cam-ster, but he is one cute Daddy! You can just tell that he will be a great Dad. Cam is so lucky to have these two as parents.

5 Reasons My Husband ROCKS!

2008-12-15T06:55:00.003-06:00

I haven't mentioned him in awhile, and while I know this is primarily Maelie's (and soon to be she-who-cannot-be-named's) blog, I feel like I need to give a little shout out to the man behind it all every now and then :)

1) He works his fanny off for us. Lately, I have been reminded several times what a charmed life I lead, and I know that a lot of this is possible because of how hard he works. And, while he does love to kid around about my "20% of the income" he makes me feel like what I contribute financially and otherwise is important and never makes me feel guilty about my time at home (even on the days when we do NOTHING except maybe have lunch with someone :)

2) He is such a great Daddy to Maelie. She is a fickle little thing and somedays she loves Daddy and somedays she is not that into him, but he is patient and never gives up even though I know sometimes it hurts his feelings. I think that is really paying off lately, because I have been told a few times to "come back later, I'm playin' with Dada." I can't wait to see to see him in action with a new one!

3) He loves God and is such a strong leader for our family. My favorite time of day is our family bible time each night, which we end with Daddy praying over us. It is so sweet to hear him pour his precious heart out to our God and know that Maelie is getting such an amazing example of a godly man in her life. He does a pretty good job of walking the walk all day long, but those night time prayers with him are my favorite.

4) He is such a good friend. You can tell by all the good friends that he surrounds himself with what kind of friend he is. One of our friends, Blake, is in from out of town - he is such a great guy, I even suggested naming Maelie Blake before we found her name. It has just made me look around and be thankful for the godly men that Kyle surrounds himself with, real true guys who have a great time, but all love teh Lord and aren't afraid to be the kind of true friend that keeps you accountable. He is always the first to lend a hand or an ear to his buddies, and I'm thankful to be counted in the group :)

5) He's getting me a MAID!!! Hello, I could have only listed this one I'm so stinking excited about it. It's hard for even me to remember sometimes that I'm not really a stay at home mom - I have an amazing job that lets me work some flexible hours, but I still have a full time job. Every now and then I look around our house and get pretty discouraged because of course that's the first thing that goes if something's going to go :) however, he decided that with a new little person joining our family and a whole new set of responsibilities on my plate this would be a great idea. I can't wait to have that burden taken from my shoulders. Plus, it makes me feel very loved, appreciated, and taken care of. Thanks, honey!

Funny for the Day

2008-12-08T15:58:00.006-06:00

Maelie made a bell today in music class and in the car I heard her singing (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
"Ring, ring, ring your bell
Jesus Christ is boring
Ring, ring, ring your bell
Jesus Christ is boring"

I died laughing and then tried pretty ineffectively to convince her that she may have misheard the wording. Maybe I should reevaluate our curriculum at school...

Note to Self...

2008-12-04T20:59:00.002-06:00

...never try to have a conversation with your two year old about the less priveledged at 11 o'clock in the morning. We were at WalMart the other day grocery shopping. As we checked out I told Maelie we were taking Grammy lunch and talked a little bit about what we might eat. As we headed out, I gave Maelie her dollar to put in the bucket and tried to have a real life-changing, eye-opening conversation with her about how we give our money to the man with the bell because some people don't have any food. "Like us?" she said. "I'm really hungry - I think I want chicken minis." After some careful explaining (we have food in our cart, and food at our house, and Daddy works hard to make money so we could even buy food at the supper store if we wanted to, etc.) I'm still not sure she exactly got it, but she did tell me she thought that giving other people food would make Jesus happy, so maybe she got enough of it...

Imagine That!

2008-12-03T08:56:00.002-06:00

Lately, Maelie has been cracking me up as I watch her imagination come to life. Here are some examples:

"Mommy, look, an airplane! I wonder if it's flying to the airport in Maryland to Kasey and Hendwee?"

"I want Elizabeth to go to Chick-Fil-A with us." me - "Well, Elizabeth is at her house." mae - "Well, the pretend Elizabeth is in the playroom and she really wants chicken minis."

On another note, it seems our little period of obedience and good behavior has come to a close. I know there will be another one soon (surely!!) but for right now we are in a period of tantrums, nos, a new scary face with wrinkled up nose accompanied by a growly voice and hyperdrive ocd-ness. All of this means a lot more spankings :( so pray for all of us as we work on obedience and sweetness. Oh, you've gotta love the highs and lows of the twos!!!

Here We Grow Again!

2008-11-25T09:49:00.002-06:00

Our family just keeps getting bigger - and, no, I'm not refering to the size of my body these days. We found out two weeks ago that Grammy is getting married to Wayne in March, and couldn't be more excited. He makes such a good grandad (soon-to-be Papaw Wayne!) that I'm sure he will make a wonderful husband, too. He is so sweet to my mom, and she is so happy - what more could you ask for? If he would only stop feeding Maelie pickles, I don't think I would have even the slightest complaint :) Seriously, Mom and Wayne started dating right around the time Maelie was born and it was a little while before we met him, but he has basically been Maelie's other grandad her whole life. She definitely has him wrapped around her finger - I've seen him sit in a kiddie tent, a Little Tyke playhouse, push her all over the house in a babydoll stroller (with a broken shoulder), and countless other things that make me thank God that she has someone so much fun who loves her so much in her life. They are so funny together! Oh, yeah, and he and Mom make a cute couple, too...

I know having a "step-parent" has tons of stereotypes associated with it, but I really don't understand it. I have never seen my Mom so happy. It is so nice to know that she has someone who loves her and that she loves, someone who accepts her just for who she is and that she has someone to "take care of," too. She is good at that and needs someone to share it with! I love that our family is growing again.

Nothing Like a Friend!

2008-11-24T07:47:00.006-06:00

This weekend Lauren and I took a quick trip to Fredricksburg under the guise of Christmas shopping, but I think we really only bought things for our babies! It was so much fun. I told Kyle the most fun was all the uninterrupted talk time - I think we talked for about 30 hours straight, minus just a few hours for sleep! I was thinking about it the other day, and I met Lauren when we were around 12 or 13, so I have really had her in my life longer than I haven't, and I can't think of a greater blessing. She is one of those rare, true friends who you can be just who you are around, tell everything that's on your heart (the good and the bad). I have always marveled at the number of people she can have in her life and still make each person she comes in contact with feel like they are precious and important to her. My life would definitely not be the same without her! I am praying already that my girls are friends and have precious friends in their lives like the ones the Lord has blessed me with.

Finally getting a little baby bump!

Showing off all of our finds - that's Cam's picture frame. He is lucky to have such a fun Mommy!

This is Cam and Baby Girl talking to each other - we were both surprised when we pulled out the same outfit to wear for the day!

What's in a name...

2008-11-20T16:18:00.003-06:00

A lot, if you don't have one. I am so ready to name this baby!! Kyle and I have a definite difference of opion when it comes to names. Here are the rules:

No double names (Mary Jane, etc.) per Kyle
Nothing too "out there" (weird, I know, coming from the people who came up with Maelie)
Preferably something more oldfashioned/classic.

Kyle's top choices are: Mary, Alice, Margaret and Lucy
Emily's top choice is: Lorelai (pronounced "Lore a lie" for you Gilmore virgins)

Neither one of us is willing to bend to the other's direction at this point and we haven't come up with any others that both of us like/love. (To pat my own back I was willing to compromise with Mary Alice, but that violated the no double names rule, apparently)

If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!!! There could even be a Bosses' pizza in it for you...

Elizabeth for President!

2008-11-04T16:16:00.004-06:00

Today my conscience got the best of me and I decided to go ahead and brave the lines and vote. I thought maybe if we got there early enough we could beat the lines. Maelie got dressed really quickly and easily when I told her we were going to vote (and that she could have a piece of candy while we waited). She talked about it a lot on our way to the voting site, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to explain our great democratic process to her, two year old style. I finished up and was patting my own back a little bit at the great expaining job I had done when she asked "Am I boting?" I told her that yes, she was helping Mommy vote, but who would she like to vote for. She looked up and smacked her lips and said "Um , I bote for....Elizabeth!"

I think it's a great idea! She's sweet, she's a good friend, she loves God, and I know all of her secrets and they're not that bad. I wonder if it would confuse anyone if I wrote her in...

Pumpkin Patch Overload

2008-10-30T16:03:00.014-05:00

Well, I guess since it's almost Halloween I should go ahead and post some pumpkin patch pics. I LOVE pumpkin patches - I remember being pregnant with Maelie and crying at the thought of getting to take my little on one pumpkin patch fun days. That being said, we tend to go a little overboard. The first set are us and the Bankes' annual trip to Hall's Farm, then we went to the famous Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch with Grammy and Aunt Melisa, then we had one at school. We have had lots of fall fun!!

Maelie and Daddy in the cornfield - we take this one every year!

Driving the tractor and loving it!

The fam

Pumpkin faces

We couldn't believe there was a hippo you could ride on - Maelie thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Outside the pumpkin playhouse - yes, that's a pumpkin stem in her hand. It was the only thing she wanted to take home. She's a cheap date!

Wearing the Hippo costume at the pumpkin patch at school. Have you ever thought a hippo could be so cute?

Showing off the pumpkin she chose

New Favorite Thing...

2008-10-30T06:11:00.001-05:00

I have a new favorite thing that Maelie has ever done. Two nights ago she was feeling pretty bad so at 4:15 I let her get into our bed. Her eyes were closed and her binky was in her mouth and she looked her sweetest. I leaned over and kissed her forehead and said "I love you, Maelie" she never opened her eyes, but reached up and patted my cheek and said "I know, Mama." I think that response was even better than I love you, too!

The Pink Stays!

2008-10-29T07:53:00.002-05:00

Yea!!! We got to see our baby yesterday and are 95% sure it's another little girl. Maelie has been saying that it was a sister all along, and it turns out she was right. We were even more excited to see how healthy she is - everything looked great and she measured almost to the exact day of her due date. She was pretty shy - for the longest time she had her little knees crossed and her face hidden. That is great in many ways - it could mean that she will be a great compliment to Maelie's personality :) and it also means that because of the way she was laying in hiding they could not look at her heart as well as they wanted to. The doctor assured us that she was not worried about it at all, but since she likes to get a really good look at the heart we get to have another sonogram next month and see her again - yea!

Flutterby

2008-10-23T06:48:00.002-05:00

YEA!! Two nights ago I finally felt this little one moving around in there. I love that feeling more than anything. I remember towards the end of Maelie's pregnancy feeling just a little sad that I would never feel her that way again, and am so excited to have 4 more months to feel this little one in my tummy. And, we only have 6 more days before we find out if it's a he kicking me or a she - I can't wait!! It seems like each day I'm SURE that it's one gender, and then within a few days am not so sure. Hopefully, the guessing will be over soon! I will be so excited either way, I'm just ready to know.

P.S. I will be changing the title of this blog eventually, but thought I might wait to see if I could leave the layout pink or not before changing things :)

Am I Forgetting Something?????

2008-10-20T15:24:00.008-05:00

No, I have not forgotten that we're pregnant, Maelie has just been up to so much lately and this time the pregnancy has really raced by - I am in shock that are almost half way to meeting this new little person!!! I have been pretty sick for awhile, but it seems to be easing up a little. I still take medicine everyday, but at least the medicine has stayed down :) for awhile, that was not the case. I am so thankful that I have a sweet, compassionate husband and a VERY helpful mom or poor Maelie would probably be malnourished, dirty, and over-Mickeyed. We are so excited to find out if it is a girl or a boy - just a little over a week and we'll know!! I haven't felt this baby move yet, and with Maelie by this point I was feeling her a LOT each day, so we're ready to see him/her and make sure they're healthy, too. Kyle keeps saying maybe that means this will be a laid back baby - we'll see!
I have even felt good enough that Kyle and I went on a little weekend trip this past weekend. We stayed in a really fun place way out in the country that had an underground swimming pool and a gourmet restraunt on site. It was 20 miles from Fredricksburg, so we ate good, slept good and shopped good this weekend! It was great to get away and just hang out together. It was also good to have a little time to catch my breath and really think about being a mom again and get really excited
about our new little one.

A picture of my sweetie on our little getaway!

After our great Italian dinner

I wish this picture would have turned out better so you could see how pretty and blue the water is. We had a great swim (well, Kyle swam and I sat with my feet in the water:)
You can see more photos of the place we stayed at troisestate.net - it was a great place to stay!

Maybe it's working...

2008-10-14T06:55:00.002-05:00

The other day Elizabeth was over and she got sad about something. It really stressed Maelie out, and she wanted to know all about it. I said "Yes, Elizabeth is sad. What could we do to make her feel better?" Maelie's eyes lit up and she said (direct quote, here!) "I know! We can wead her the Bible!" then she ran and got it and the two of them sat on the couch looking for Lazarus and the Tomb (her favorite). I thought it was the most precious thing Maelie had done to date!

30 Things l Love About You!

2008-10-11T10:21:00.000-05:00

Today is Maelie's half birthday and she has been doing so many new things I thought I would just list 30 things that I love about/am amazed about Maelie.

1. She's potty trained!! I can't believe how easy it was. She just decided to do it last month and we have been almost completely accident free ever since.

2. She says "God bless you, Mommy" every time I sneeze.

3. The other day I was telling her how pretty she was. I said "Do you know how pretty you are?" She nodded and said "Jesus make me so pretty!" Then there were Mommy tears...

4. She is such a talker! Some of my favorite things lately - "I'm going to give these flowers to Grammy 'cause I'm going to marry her" "it's my favorite in the whole wide world" "is my dada so handsome, just like Henry?"

5. She is obsessed with blue. She would eat anything, wear anything, play with anything blue. It's her "favowite"

6. She loves to laugh. She'll even fake laugh sometimes, but then she gets so cracked up at herself it turns into a real laugh.

7. She knows all of her abc's and the sounds that they make.

8. She doesn't really know that she's a kid - I really think she thinks that she and I are the same age. It makes for some very interesting stuggles and some very interesting conversations.

9. She loves to read her Bible. Her current favorite story is Lazarus and the Tomb.

10. She loves to do it by mysels, but she will ask for help when she needs it, too.

11. She just started saying "I love you, Mommy" spontaneously. Nothing warms my heart more.

12. She is a sweet little friend. Okay, mainly to Elizabeth, but to the people she considers friends she is very loyal.

13. She is so much like her Daddy that even when I am getting a little frustrated with her, I have to smile. She is so smart, so observant, so antisocial at times and she loves to be nekkid:) I love them both!!

14. Even if she doesn't always want to interact with people, she is a people person. Every night she asks who we are eating dinner with and talks about her friends (which always includes adults, too) all the time.

15. She has the strongest will of anyone I have ever met. I pray that it will be a blessing to the Lord as she stubbornly sticks to His word.

16. She loves to have her toenails painted.

17. She carries her "prinsheshes" everywhere in a little purse and pulls them out one by one, making me sing their song each time she does. Thank you, Rebellaires - I know them all!

18. She remembers things that I didn't even know that she noticed.

19. She knows the people closest to hers' eye color, favorite thing to eat, favorite color, etc. and she's working on their favorite prinsheshes.

20. She loves to snuggle when she sleeps in my bed.

21. She's obsessed with shoes, particularly the plastic dress up kind. She'll wear them until her feet bleed if you let her.

22. She is such a funny person. I love it when she is doing something just to make people laugh.

23. She is thoughtful. When Mommy's tummy is sick she always makes me pretend soup to make me feel better.

24. She loves to sing! She is constantly singing lately and I've been amazed at how many songs she can sing.

25. She is getting really good at expressing her emotions. She says things like "that was so much fun" "I'm so excited" "that will hurt my feelings"

26. She thinks I know everyone. Everywhere we go she asks me "What's her name, Mommy?" The cashier at the grocery store, strangers walking by, etc. It has made me a little more social. We now know the Chick-Fil-A lady, the lady at the donut store, several cashiers at Target, etc. by name.

27. She is such a girly girl! That's always the kind of daughter I wanted, but the other morning she came running out to meet me from Grammy's wearing princess jammies, blue dress up shoes, and holding her arms just so to keep her braclets on, and it made my day!!

28. She loves her Grammy. This is great for two reasons - one, that I love the fact that she loves my mom and has someone like her in her life, and two, I never have to worry about leaving her or feeling guilty - she would probably rather be with Grammy!

29. She loves being at church. If we haven't been there in a day or two (which doesn't happen very often) she'll say "I need to go to my chuch!"

30. She's made the last two and a half years of my life so exciting, so filled with love and laughter and joy. I cannot imagine life with out this precious person in it. The Lord blessed me in ways I never even imagined when he gave me Maelie.

Our Family Just Grew!

2008-10-07T15:52:00.010-05:00

Well, it finally happened - I'm down to one husband. For a long time people called Kyle's brother, Matthew, my "other husband" because the three of us were together so much. Especially in the early years of our marriage, we spent most of our free time with Matthew. As much as I love him, I always wished for a girl partner-in-crime to help me stop getting outvoted on pizza, Al's hamburger trips, lame guys movies, etc. and keep me company as I sat squished up in the back seat of our Mustang. The minute I met Melisa, my new sister-in-law as of this weekend, I knew that she was it. I have always said that whoever Matthew married would be my best friend no matter if I liked her or not. Because I loved Matthew so much and loved the relationship that he and my husband have, I was bound and determined that I would MAKE myself love whoever he married. Again, the minute I met Melisa I knew that this would be no forced friendship. She is such a sweet compliment to him and to our family, even to the circle of friends that we share. I'm so excited to have a sister and friend for life that I truly love!! The first time I sat shoulder to shoulder with her, squished in the backseat of the Camry, I got warm fuzzies - makes me not even mind being down to only one husband :)

Here are some pictures of her and what is undoubtedly the cutest flower girl I've seen:

Getting ready with Aunt Melisa

Who has the handsomest Daddy in the world?
Maelie!

Getting ready to walk down the aisle.

Who's happier? Uncle Matthew to have a wife, or Mommy to have a new sister? Hmmm, it may be a toss up....

Aren't they cute?!

School Days

2008-09-08T15:08:00.006-05:00

Today was Maelie's first day in the Twos Department at school. She looked like such a big girl! It was actually a little harder today than it was going from the nursery to the toddlers - she's definitely not the baby she was on the first day of school last year.

Daddy went to work late so that I could leave the house and get things set up early. He got Maelie up and took her to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast then brought her to school. (She really had a fun morning with him - she's just mad in this picture because I had just put her pigtails in)

So this picture is a sacrafice on my part - obviously Maelie looks adorable, but this is Mommy-got-up-at-4:45 and her make up has already worn off.

Can you read her shirt? It says "Preschool Rocks" and yes, it did! She had a great day. She is with two very sweet ladies who love their babies, as well as Elizabeth, Ava, and several other friends who she's been in class with for awhile. After school, Aunt Kasey and Baby Henwee came to take her to get "special snack" at Chick-Fil-A. I'm sure they are having even more fun as we speak!

Funny for the Day

2008-08-27T07:54:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Maelie went to ladies' bible class at church and at one point her teacher, Ms. Tricia, asked if she was poopy. Maelie said "I not poopy, I NOT poopy" so Ms. Tricia went to check the next kiddo. A few minutes later Maelie called out "Ms. Tisha, Ms. Tisha, I found it!" as she pointed to one of her friends. Everyone's good at something - I guess Maelie's good at finding the poopy friend!

Funny for the Day

2008-08-14T06:31:00.002-05:00

One of Maelie's new favorite things is to be a naked jay. This is what Elizabeth says when she's naked, so of course, that's what Maelie calls it, too, now. Yesterday she walked into the living room wearing only a bright pink pair of play heels with pink fluff on the toes and said "Look, Mommy, I a naked jay." After I confirmed that fact, she said, "I tee tee in my room" and walked off clomping in her heels.

Why 2009 Will Be the Best Year Ever...

2008-07-25T09:25:00.003-05:00

January 2009 - Baby Becera comes on the 20th! Yea! I can't wait to see Lauren as a mom. We have been friends through many of life's different journeys - high school, college, married life - and I'm so excited about the next one - being mommys together!

February 2009 - Baby Davis comes on the 21st! This is like a miracle baby. We have all been praying for so many years for my sweet cousin Val to have a baby and now she is!! She will be the best mom - she was born to be one!

March 2009 - Baby McKillip comes on the 22nd! I was always worried that I might not be as excited about being pregnant the second time, but that could not be further from the truth!!! We are so excited, and Maelie asks to see the baby all the time. She's going to be a great big sister. I can't wait to see all the blessings God has in store for our new, bigger family!

Wordle

2008-07-23T08:28:00.005-05:00

I copied this from Jacquie's blog, I hope everyone who sees this does it - it is so fun! At wordle.com they take the most frequently used words on your blog and make this little peice of "blog art." It cracks me up how many of Maelie's are action words and that the biggest one is "said" - I think that sums up Maelie nicely! You can click on the wordle to make it larger.

Sit down in that chair right there...

2008-06-25T06:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, so a lot of times I title a post with song lyrics that are usually random or a stretch :) but yesterday at swimming lessons Maelie kept pointing at the chairs by the pool and screaming "I want to sit down in that chair right there" and all I could think about was that stale line in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" "sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it's done." Possibly the stalest song lyric ever. Anyway, it made me laugh in a pretty stressful situation. On day two of slimmin lessons, she screamed the entire 30 minutes again, but upped the drama ante by throwing up on the side of the pool twice. She wasn't sick, just ticked. I think all that screaming made her drink too much water. My two favorite quotes for the day (other than the one above) were "I go to Grammy's house, Grammy make me feel better" and "I think I going to throw up." That last one she only said after she threw up - I think for effect.

She did, however, swim under water for about 3 seconds several times. A couple of times it was from me to the side of the pool where she grabbed the side and pulled herself up. She also floated on her back a few times - maybe we're getting our money's worth after all! That swim teacher sure is earning hers!

We are having to miss swim lessons today because I'm going to the Royal Family Kids' Camp birthday party. The majority of these kids are from foster care situations, so they don't necessarily get a big birthday party on their birthdays. So today is everyone's birthday and we throw a HUGE party - it's one of the most fun things I've ever done!! I helped register these kiddos on Monday, so I got to see there sweet faces - pray that they have a great day, a great week, and realize that Jesus loves them.

Slimmin' Lessons

2008-06-23T16:05:00.002-05:00

If anyone out there is considering taking a Mommy and Me swim lesson, please read this first. DON'T DO IT!! DON'T DO IT!!! Our first one was today and it basically consisted of me wrestlin 1) Maelie, since she was trying to crawl up me like a cat and 2) my swimsuit top, since she was trying to crawl up me like a cat. On top of that she screamed "Don't do dis Mommy! I can't do dis, I can't swim" over and over for thirty whole minutes. When we got out, I put her normal clothes back on her, gave her two dum dums and she walked to the car telling me she wanted to go slimmin' in Ms. Cheryl's slimmin' pool again. We'll see....

Gimme a Hug!

2008-06-06T06:54:00.002-05:00

This has become one of my very favorite things that Maelie says. While she says it she holds one arm straight up in the air. You lean down and she wraps that arm all the way around your neck and says "I give you a hug." She says it in such a "hey, we're buddies, gimme a hug" kind of big girl way - it cracks me up! Yesterday she was asleep in our bed (she wasn't feeling good) and said "I gon't want to!" twice in her sleep. I put my face near hers and said "it's okay, mommy's here" to which she responded, still in her sleep, "gimme a hug" and raised her arm. Is that the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

Funny (?) for the day...

2008-05-10T22:17:00.002-05:00

Okay, so maybe I shouldn't think this is so funny, maybe I should think I have a serious discipline problem on my hands, but Maelie cracked my up today. I caught her playing in my make up and told her to put it down. She didn't so I had to go take it from her. She, of course, started a grade A two-year-old tantrum. I said I'm sorry, but you have to obey. She said "I gonna KICK you!" and started walking towards me. I said if you choose to do that, I will spank you and put you in time out, so she cried, walked to her crib, got her binky, then walked back in the living room and said "I sad!" I wanted to cry laughing - sometimes being so verbal is really a drawback!

Happy Happy Birthday

2008-04-27T21:51:00.006-05:00

Well, all the pictures of Maelie's actual birthday are on the memory card that I had to turn in for some YCW stuff, and those are the good ones. For some reason we did not get a lot of her at her actual party, but a promise is a promise, so here's what I have...

All the friends feeding the ducks. Actually, we scared the ducks to the other side of the pond, so this is just us throwing bread into the water.

Maelie loves to feed the ducks, even after falling into the pond the first time she ever did it.

Lala thought this was a picturesque family moment!

This is Maelie about three seconds into the car ride home! She was one tired little friend.

Patience is a virtue...

2008-04-23T21:01:00.002-05:00

Ha! Bet you thought you were getting bday pics today. Actually, I have just finished up the two busiest weeks of the year, so they are coming as soon as I can stop and download pics from the cameras. I do have a funny non-Maelie story titled "Why the Neighbors Think I'm Crazy"

I hate squirrels. There is one that has taken up residence in the attic above the kitchen. You can hear him scratching around up there and it is literally driving me crazy. If you know my history and extreme rodent-phobia, you are more sympathetic to this. Kyle walked in the house the other day to find me jumping up and down ramming a broom stick in the ceiling ala the crazy neighbor on friends yelling "I hate you!" I though maybe I could scare the squirrel, but it turns out that trick only scares humans and makes them smile the smile you smile at crazy people. However, today the whole situation took a turn for the worse. I saw him in my yard (the squirrel - I let Kyle come in the house:) I was walking to the car with Maelie in my arms. I gave that squirrel a stare down, but he didn't move. I buckled Maelie into her carseat and looked around for something to throw at him. All I could come up with was a Dickey's BBQ cup that severely missed it's marked. He skittled a bit but kept looking at me. I found a branch that I thought might work, but it had too many leaves and just made a pathetic "whoosh" noise and made the squirrel run a few feet further down the fence. The only other thing handy was an empty paint can on the porch. Frustrated, I launched it with all my might at the freakin' thing. It finally ran off. As I turned around and got back in the car it struck me that there could have actually been people watching this odd interchange and was very embarrassed. That is, until I saw the stupid thing poking his head back over the fence as I drove away. Argh! If anyone knows more effective rodent repellent that throwing paint cans at it, I would love to know. On a related note, if anyone has a bb gun they're not using I would sure love to borrow it...

P.S. I promise BDay pics by the end of the weekend.

Funny for the Day

2008-04-06T11:12:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Maelie was supposed to be taking a nap, but Kyle and I could hear her in her crib jibber-jabbering away and jumping. I walked in and said "Why aren't you taking a nap?" She froze and looked at me with big eyes and said "I take my pants off" which actually was her pants AND her diaper. She took them off and then shoved them between the crib and the wall. Thankfully, it was a clean diaper!

Funny for the Day

2008-04-02T09:08:00.002-05:00

Last night Maelie asked for an orange and I told her she didn't say the magic word. Her reply was "Meeska Meeska Mickey Mouse." I almost dropped her Kyle and I were laughing so hard.

Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way!

2008-03-24T21:47:00.008-05:00

We had a great Easter! Maelie was so much fun this year, except for the fact that Baby Henee is "on airplane, far 'way" and couldn't give her a little competition.

Thanks for the Lamb Ears, Val!

The Fan Club - all these people watching one little girl hunt eggs!

Her Someday-Aunt Melisa gave her this stylin' hat.

The Sweet Little Angel picture...

...and the I'm a Little Stinker Picture.

Playing with bubbles from her eggs.

P.S. If you ask her what Easter is, she says "seesus dyin' on a coss!" It is PRECIOUS!

Oh, I Love a Rainy Night....

2008-03-18T15:47:00.004-05:00

...and day! That has always been one of my favorite old country songs, and I really do love the rain. I sleep so great when it's rainy, and apparently Maelie does, too, because she slept for THIRTEEN HOURS STRAIGHT last night!!! I did not hear one peep from her. It rained all night last night and so far, all day today. We have had some fun indoor activities, though. We met Elizabeth and Kelli at the playscape this morning, then had some Mexican Inn with Kyle for lunch. I thought our next step would be a nap at home, but Maelie had other ideas. For awhile I heard her in her crib counting (one, two, six, seben, aheght, nine, ten, eleben, twelebe!) over and over and thought to myself, maybe that's her version of counting sheep. Then I was having a little quite time in the living room and heard this weird noise. I thought Oh, my grief those stinking squirrels are back! But then I tried to figure out where they were and realized it was just Maelie jumping for all she was worth in her bed. I walked in and took the pictures below, then declared her the winner and got her out.

Air Maelie

The face of victory...

A Little Something to Talk About...

2008-03-03T22:27:00.007-06:00

Maelie talks more and more lately and it is cracking me UP! I've decided that two (or almost!) is definitely my favorite age. When she's not throwing temper tantrums, she's round the clock entertainment. Here are some recent funnies...

She barfed...in my bed. Not that funny until she finished, freaked out and started rubbing it frantically saying "a mess, a mess" like she was surprised that that came out of her and was cleaning it up. I know, SOOOO gross, but it still made me laugh.

Today on the way to school she said something and I chuckled. She said "I funny, mama. I a funny girl!" I told her that , yes, she was a funny girl and she said "I funny a L-Beth!" which I took to mean "I'm funny to Elizabeth" and cracked up again.

The other day I told her to go put her manger (the Little People one) in her room and she took her time, so I told her she needed to take it to her room because Jesus needed a place to sleep and she said "Seesus sleep in a BOAT!" (Jesus sleeping on the boat and then calming the storm is by far her favorite Bible story) I guess she had me there.

We took her to PetSmart the other day just to browse and she said (in a very high pitched squeaky voice) "Look at all the fishies!" while pumping her arms up and down. Then she repeated the process when we got to the birds. Guess we can save the money we were going to spend on all those upcoming zoo trips....

There are about a million more, but I'll spare you and just show you some pics...

Maelie went to her first school-friend party at Little Gym and had the time of her life!!! She said "aba biday ageen!" (ava's birthday again!) the whole way home.

This is her trying to eat some of her Nemo bubbles.

My new favorite picture ever...

I found a new fella at the movies...

...but my Grandma stole him!

Is that the funnest Grandma ever?
Yes, I think so!!
(And the cutest, too)

The Cutest Little Baby Face

2008-02-11T21:29:00.001-06:00

Well, apparently I have slipped and not added pictures to my posts lately. I apologize...here is my peace offering..

This was taken tonight while she and Daddy were playing before bedtime. Is that the greatest laugh face or what? Do you think she really means it?!

This one was taken at our friends' lakehouse. She and Elizabeth had a great time playing together. I love this pic because I think it shows what sweet friends they are.

Baby Henee made his debut in January (I'm kind of going in reverse order on these) She was mildly interested in him at times, but most of the time doesn't pay any attention (which I suppose is better that being jealous or being too rough with him. The other day I asked her where Baby Henry was just as Kasey walked down the hall and Maelie chased after Kasey instead of pointing to the baby I was holding. I think she might be confused....

THis is probably one of my all time favorite pics. They did not have the nursery open right before Christmas so Maelie came to service with us for the first time since infancy and did an amazing job. This is her reading her Bible to Mickey during the sermon.

Eat More Chicken?

2008-02-10T22:20:00.000-06:00

There is nothing really major to report on in our lives, but this weekend it has slowly dawned on me what a good kid I have. I think Maelie is known to many as a wild child, and she does have more personality than your average 22 month old (actually, she has more personality than some 28 year olds :). But lately she has been so much easier to "handle." I've felt like maybe the cagillion spankings I've doled out may actually be paying off. I know that there is still much work to be done, and surely there will be rough seasons ahead, but for now I'm really enjoying these moments of obedience. She's definitely defining her boundaries, but if you ask her to do something a lot of times lately she'll look at you for a minute, then you repeat your instruction - maybe with an added "or you'll get a spanking", and usually she'll say "A Kay!" and do it. ( I will probably so pay for this tomorrow - those of you who read this are welcome to laugh at me when she throws herself on the floor definitively ended this smooth stage!) I'm really proud of the little girl that she's becoming.

One thing I particularly think is precious these days is her obsession with Grandma Dane. She talks about her all the time, and since I think she one of the greatest people ever, I love it! You can ask her "Maelie, who do you love?" and she loves to list off the people in her life. Lately Grandma Dane is one of the first and often repeated several times. She thanked God for her 3 times tonight, and I thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Other important 22 month old accomplishments include: counting to 15 by herself, speaking at 7 word sentence (that doesn't happen a lot, but when it does it blows me away!), sharing very willingly at times, doing the "piggies" all by herself (the other day in the car she took her socks and shoes off and said "Piggy mock-it, piggy mock-it, wee wee wee wee wee and cracked up laughing) asking to go to bed fairly often and getting in her bed with little to no tears, wearing big girl panties for the first time, saying a prayer all by herself (when I overheard that I almost fell over and I almost cried) and perfecting her Chick-Fil-A order: "Chicken minis, white milk!" She says that as we get on the highway in the morning, then yells it from the backseat when we're ordering. I think she says "white milk" because when you order milk they ask you if you want white or chocolate, so I started saying white milk as I ordered to save that step. It cracks me up and makes me think maybe, just maybe, we eat at Chick-Fil-A too much....

2008-01-29T17:20:00.000-06:00

Well, this is an interesting blog to write. Every other post I've ever written has been upbeat and happy. Looking back on that, it makes me feel very blessed. But I'll tell you ahead of time, this one is a little different. Last weekend, Kyle and I were so filled with joy and excitement as we plopped an "I'm the Big Sister" shirt on Maelie and set out telling our family that we were expecting a new baby. Our bubble was burst so shortly after when the doctor's office called on Monday to tell us that we had lost the baby. I still haven't wrapped my mind around all the feelings I have about this. On one hand, I know what an amazing God we serve. I know that He loves us and wants good things for us, has good plans for us. I know several people who have lost babies at birth or shortly after, and I don't think I could go through that. I also don't think I could have handled knowing this baby even more intimately as months past and then loosing him/her. So in a way, I've tried to think that maybe our sweet Lord spared me even more heartache in the end. But it still hurts, and I still feel like someone died that I loved and never even got to see. I think it's even more evident why funerals are so important - for the closure, for the honoring of those we loose. It feels so weird that I lost someone so important to me, and some people don't even know. Some people that do know treat me like nothing happened and it's all just weird.
However, even as I write this I hear Maelie playing in her crib and know that I am very blessed. I have also had my eyes opened even further to the many blessings that are all bundled up in Kyle. He has loved me, supported me, cared for me and mourned with me in a way that I will never forget and that make me love him even more. I know that in some ways this has been harder for him than me. I can't tell you how many precious ladies have some to me at church/YCW with encouragement, "I've been through this " stories, just to tell me they're sorry, thinking about me , love me. It has all made this process more bearable to feel so surrounded by love and sisterhood and I know that men don't do those things or talk about things that are so hard sometimes. So, if you pray for me, please remember to pray for him, too. Anyway, I may or may not post about this again, but those are just some things I needed to get off my chest and "out there."

Jesus Loves You This I Know

2007-12-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

I have never known desperation. Never been hungry, thirsty, in need. And then I had Maelie and I am so terribly desperate for her to know the Lord. It is such an awesome burden to know that I have a had in molding that tiny heart and leading her to Him. I know that each of us are ultimately responsible for our own decisions, but I want to stand before my Father and tell Him that I did everything in my power to show her His love, His goodness, His sacrifice. She can be such a little wild woman that I think at times I overlook her sweet and tender side, but lately she has done some things during our family Bible time that remind me that none of us are all one way or the other and though they are small things they have blessed me so much as I see her learning about Jesus.

The other night she was playing peek-a-boo with a towel on her head and it fell just so that it looked like a little Mary looking at me from under it. I told her that she looked like Mary, Jesus' mommy (I have to differentiate because she really loves Mary and Martha). Shethought that was funny so we got a baby Jesus for her to hold. She wore it the rest of the night and to our bed for Bible time. Then when we said our prayers she kept it on and laid down face first with her little praying hands. It was so precious. I wish I could have taken a picture, but it would have been totally inappropriate in that moment.

She loves to look at the people praying in her Bible. Mary, Gideon, Jesus, she finds them and says "payin'" and makes her little praying hands. She likes it when Daddy prays, but lately after he's done she will hold her little praying hands up and say "pay". She likes to say her own, too. We say thank you for all the people who love us by name and the cutest thing is when she says "ank oo henee, safe" (Thank you for Henry, her soon to be born baby cousin, and keep him safe).

Twice lately we have tried to put her to bed with out our Bible time because we've been out so late, but she does not stand for that. When I went into her room tonight because she had been crying in her crib for a while and was clearly not going to sleep she said "Bible, Seesus." How can you resist that? We had her Bible time and said our prayers and she went down so much easier. What a great reminder that your day is not complete and your sleep not as sweet if you haven't said good night to our Heavenly Father.

In the Blink of an Eye Time Goes By..

2007-12-01T22:04:00.001-06:00

I looked at my calendar today and realized that Maelie is about to be 20 months old. Its seems like ever since she turned 18 months old I have stopped focusing on the months - it almost just seems like a countdown to 2, which is just way too crazy. Here are some great things about Maelie at 20 months old:
She talk so spontaneously. She will say things on her own that you didn't even know she could say yet. We were counting eight crayons the other day and when we were done she said Nine! I was very surprised.
She speaks in complete sentences or phrases a lot. She has been saying "Thank you, mama" "Where is it?" "Here it is!" and things like that for a few months, but now she says "A Mammy? On't Know. A her house" (Where's Grammy? I don't know. At her house)
She is so silly! She will hide her own hand in her sleeve and play peek-a-boo with it and thinks it's hilarious. She has decided that she loves sunglasses. She puts them on and says "piddy" or "so cool" It seems like she may avoid self-esteem issues....
She knows when she pottys in her diaper and does not like it! I'm so excited about that . She has been sitting on the potty whenever she asks for about two months now, but it is more just for fun that using it for what it was intended for, but her saying "Poop" and patting her diaper makes me think maybe we should get a little more serious.
She is very hot and cold. She can be the sweetest little thing, putting her arms around you and giving hugs and kisses just for fun and obey you so well one day, and the next day the word of the day is MINE! and we are throwing tantrums on the floor. It must be so hard to be a toddler!!

Here are some pics:
Maelie and Elizabeth love to play pretend night-night. It's a funny version of peek-a-boo and they crack each other up!

Looking "so cool" in her glasses! She loves to put them on by herself.

I love this picture because it is probably one of my favorite dresses on her, but also because she has Mickey and Minnie with her. They go most places with us these days.

For All That You've Done I Will Thank You

2007-11-17T22:16:00.000-06:00

Who else feels a little caught off guard that it's almost Thanksgiving? I wore a tank top out one day recently, so it still feels a little weird to be planning on turkey and dressing. I'm still excited, though. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite actual holiday. I love the Christmas season, but the actual day can be overwhelming and a little bit of a let down after all the hype. Thanksgiving, however, seems to be a purer holiday. Just bring over some food, watch some football, hang out. Well, the past few Thanksgivings have been that way. I just have a really hard time with the word "no" but two years ago, sweet Kyle put his foot down and said that from then on we would reduce our Thanksgiving obligations from 4 to just one. It has been so nice. It is really hard to feel like you're letting someone down, but it has been worth it. Our first several Thanksgivings as a married couple we ran around so much that we ended up missing most of the actual dinners and ended up at Whataburger at nine o'clock at night starving. In honor of the holiday, here are ten things that I am SO Thankful for...

1) My Precious Husband. I am so thankful for the man of God that he is and the way he really applies that to everything that he does - at work, as a husband, father, friend. He is one man who really walks the walk.

2) My Marriage. I am so thankful that her we are, seven years into it, and our marriage seems better than ever. So, while I listed above that I am thankful for Kyle, I am also thankful for the relationship that we have and how it opens my eyes to the way that Christ loves me. In no other relationship do you feel such total and unconditional love and acceptance - the freedom to truly be yourself all the time - good and bad.

3) My Maelie. Good grief, that is an understatement! She is so precious. And such a surprise! She amazes me with her humor, her bravery, her wildness. These are things that are so not me, but I love to watch grow in her! I think being a mom to someone like Maelie brings those qualities out in me a little, too. She is also so sweet and girly. She has several times lately put her arms around my neck to pull me into a hug and then just patted my back with her sweet little hands.

4) My Family. That is one thing I love about this time of year - that it really makes you stop and prioritize just how important your extended family is to you. I love having everyone together - we have a really big family so it is not often that we are all under one roof! It brings back so many good memories of my childhood. This Thanksgiving could also be the last one for a few years that we have all of my smaller family unit here, so I am especially thankful for that.

5) My Friends. I am so blessed to have so many sweet friends in my life. I really feel like we have such a rich life, and I know that is in large part because we are blessed with such rich friendships with people in various stages of life. Some friends have older kids to learn from, some have no kids to remind me what Emilylife is about instead of just Mommylife, and some have kids exactly the same age as ours to help share in the joys and journeys of Mommyhood. I feel like each one is a different glimpse of Christ to me.

6) My Job. This year I am especially thankful for my job. It gives me such an outlet to use the gifts and talents that the Lord has given me in a way that, hopefully, reaches out to others and brings Him glory, to plant seeds in tiny hearts about just how much Jesus loves them. It also puts me in contact with some pretty amazing women, again, from all different paths, who share a common love and a common goal. They bless my life just as much as all the kiddos do!

7) Kyle's Job. Even though Kyle occasionally has to work some pretty crazy hours, I am so thankful for his job. It really seems like he has found his niche. He likes what he does, and most days comes home in a pretty good mood. He also works for great people who we love, and that makes such a huge difference. It just makes all those hours that he is away working and sacrificing for our family go by a little quicker to know that he feels successful and fulfilled.

8) My Church. I try not to give out a lot of personal information on this blog, but I will tell you that I go to Richland Hills Church of Christ and I love that place. It is the first church that I've gone to that I've really felt like was my church family instead of a bunch of people I go to church with. Kyle was nervous when I first started working there that seeing the inner-workings my tarnish my idealistic views of church and in essence, hurt my feelings. However, I feel like quite the opposite has happened. Getting to know the people that work there, how things are done, sometimes why things are done has really made me love it even more. I feel like, while no earthly leadership is perfect, the hearts of the people at this church are really about serving God, bringing him glory, and spreading the Gospel of Christ to as many people as possible and it is really exciting to be working, worshiping and raising a daughter in that atmosphere.

9) My Hope. Is it not amazing that you can look back at all the things that you are thankful for, knowing how so very many things did not make the Top Ten, and know in your heart that it is only the tip of the iceberg? To know that even the things that you aren't necessarily thankful for - like the hurt in your heart for the people you love that are away from Christ - can turn into a thanksgiving because you are so thankful that God knows your hurt and has a love for these people and a desire to call them His that you cannot imagine. Above all, to know that one day you will leave it all to be with Him - I am so thankful for my hope and my future!

10) My God. Now, you know that this one could go on and on, but I will sum up my thankfulness for God by saying that I am so thankful that He is my God, and that I am His. I know that none of the other things would be possible without Him. Even if I had Kyle in my life without Him, I would not be able to fully appreciate all the things that Kyle is without seeing him through the Father's eyes. I would not have a marriage that was meaningful if both of us weren't striving for the same goal - to live a life that brings Him glory, and to take our children and as many others to heaven with us. None of it would matter - the joys would only be a glimpse of joy and the sorrows would swallow me whole without the love and sacrifice of my Father.

I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You...

2007-11-09T16:47:00.000-06:00

Well, I know that historically all my blogs have centered around Maelie, but I just couldn't help share this picture of Kyle. Sometimes I think about who he was and who I was way back when we got married, and it is amazing to see how far we've come as a couple and as individuals. I feel like we have grown up together in away, and when I stop to think about the man he has become it astounds me. He is the most precious Daddy to Maelie. I always knew that he would be a phenomenal dad, but watching him actually do it blows my mind. It was part of what made me fall in love with him to begin with, and it's part of what makes me fall more in love with him each day. He is also an amazing husband. I have felt so bad for the past several weeks, and he has so taken care of our family. He has done the cleaning, the laundry, given extra care and attention to Maelie and taken such good care of me. I have been a little frustrated by my lack of energy and the doctors inability to figure out what exactly is going on, and he has just loved on me and assured me that things will get better, I'm not useless, etc. All of this on top of the work he normally does and some extra help he's given friends lately. The most amazing area of growth I've seen in Kyle is spiritual, though. He has really stepped up and become the leader of our household with such grace, wisdom and faith. I think that's why I love this picture so much. When I first started teaching Bible class, Kyle was not that interested. He would help me set up, clean up, anything like that but I think he was a little intimidated by the kids. Over the last few years, he has become more and more involved and he is so good at it. He is great at getting kiddos that don't want to come in the door and involved in class. He is always ready to make towers for the boys to knock down and those little girls have him wrapped around their fingers. It just warms my heart to see him put himself so fully into serving our God by serving these precious little ones that He thinks are so important.

"Mr. Kyle" at work!

I think Maelie is so lucky to have such a fun Daddy!

Oh, What a Night...

2007-10-31T21:34:00.000-05:00

Well, this may be a record - two postings in two days! However, I thought this would be the best way to share our Halloween fun. We met the Daddys for dinner at Chick-Fil-A, then headed to church. It was crazy!!! So much fun stuff to do - a petting zoo, carnival games, so much more. However, the girls had more fun on the usual stuff they play on - the slide, the playhouse, etc. Then we headed to James and Linda's house for a little trick-or-treating and wrapped it up by stopping at Carol's for a little Grammy lovin'. All in all, it was a great night!
We started off a great day by meeting Papa at Fuzzy Taco's for lunch. Maelie had oranges, rice, beans and - what else - guacamole!

The little buggy friends at the petting zoo.

"A li -i -ide!" as Maelie would say.

What a little lady!

This is Maelie trick or treating at Linda and James' house. She was so excited about her treat - a box of Dots that made a fun noise when you shook them!

She was pretty tired by the end of it all. Grammy gave her a new Mickey Mouse and she kissed him all the way home, then went to right to sleep with him snuggled up next to her.