a baby bug

In the past two weeks I have been to see two brand new babies.  They were both so soft, sweet, sleepy, and just PERFECT!  It reminded me of how much I loved holding Obi when he was just hours old.  One of my all time favorite memories of him was that first night.  I had given birth, fed him, made phone calls, got cleaned/stitched up, and then came the quiet of the night.  Jason was passed out on the couch, and the nurse came in quietly to check on us.  She checked Obi's temps and said he was a little cool, but if I would move over a little in the bed she would put him next to me and he would warm up a bit.  I carefully moved myself over and then his little snuggly body was all cuddled next to mine.  I could hear him softly breathe in and out and he had that fresh newborn scent.  It was heaven on earth.   AHH!!  Seeing those two little babes in the last week and a bit has made me thing "Oh, I need another one".  THere is just something so sweet about a fresh baby.  :-)

But, then I walk out of the hospital and my head suddenly gets screwed on a little tighter and I realize, nah...I don't need another one just yet.  One day, but not today!  To all of you mothers that have kids a year or so apart, props to you. I literally have no clue how you do it.   I cannot fathom bringing home a newborn with Obi being at his current stage/age and ability level.  I guess God only gives you what you can handle and He KNOWS that I cannot handle that.  I did treasure seeing my dearest friend hold her sweet one though.  There just isn't anything that can compare to a mother holding her new baby.

Congratulations E.  You did it!   I am so proud of you, and I look up to you so much as a fellow mom.  I know you would say that you are far from being a perfect mom, but you are pretty darn close!  Your kiddos are blessed and very well loved.  Little A is very lucky boy to be born into your family.  Blessings on you all.

new wheels

Not sure I am cool enough to drive this thing, but I am loving it!  I am totally loving the fact that there aren't any bubbles in the window tint, and that the locks work all the time, and that the doors don't screach when they are opened, and that there isn't a crack in the windshield, and that the AC works, and that it is easy to put Obi in and out of, and that the sound system is AH-MAZING, and that there isn't a dent in the front side, and oh...that it runs!!  :-)

I am blessed.  And I am thankful.  God has provided yet again. 

plans change

We left for Kansas on Friday thinking that we'd go up for a visit to my in-laws, wander around the state fair, and come home on Sunday afternoon after a birthday dinner with my husband's grandma.  And though we did wander the fair and have lunch with Nana...we did not come home on Sunday afternoon.  No.  No we did not.  We pulled in our driveway at 3:30 Tuesday morning. In between pulling out of our driveway on Friday and coming back home Tuesday, is a long saga of a tired and worn out 96 Honda.  And, it was so worn out that it basically said to us "nope, I am not doing it!  I am not going to take you back to Arkansas".  And just like that our carefully laid out plans of buying a car next year dissolved. 

But seeing as we kind of needed a way to get home, we wandered our Wichita Monday afternoon, signed papers Monday night, and left my mother-in-law's Late Monday night in a new (to us) car.  I almost needed a brown paper bag to breathe in and out of.  I was hyperventilating over this decision...because it was a large one.  For the most part, this was the conversation going on in my head:
Breathe in "what did we just do??  AGH!!"
Breathe out "ok, well, we DID need a car". 
Breathe in "but it isn't in the plan".
Breath out "well, it was in the long range plan".
Breathe in "What would Dave Ramsey say".
Breathe out "He would say that we made a mostly good choice, especially given the circumstances".

You get the picture.  I love, love, love the car, and am still trying to get used to it.  I did keep telling myself that though this past weekend was a surprise to me and my bank account... it was not a surprise to God.  He knew it was coming, and what we would do. So we just prayed that God would help us make a good and wise decision and that if we got going in the wrong direction that he would put a huge road block in front of us. 

I don't havea  picture of me in my new car, but i'll take one and post it soon.  I gotta catch my breath first.  Pass that brown paper bag, won't you?!

an encouragement

I have a confession.  I am horrible about making my quiet time with the Lord a priority. I want it to be. I need it to be.  But often it is not.  There are excuses and of course, there is some modicum of legitimacy to a few of those excuses, but most have none. However, today was a day where I spent time in the Word.  And, as is always true...God was ever so present in His word today.  I LOVE that the Word is as fresh today as it was when the author was blowing on the pages so that the ink would dry.

Today the verses that so encouraged me was this:

You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.
And I - in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake,
I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Psalm 17:14b - 15

As a beloved of our King, I am cherished!  Not only that, but He allows for us to see His face. Oh how my heart longs to see the likeness of the King in me.  I don't know how to express in words how these verses encouraged my heart today.  Maybe they were meant just for me today, but I hope that they are an encouragement to you too. 

hiatus

When I last posted on this dear little blog, it was with every intention that I would come back to it within a few days.  Somehow the past four months whooshed (is that a word?) past me and here I sit...listening to the rain patter on my skylight, and the smells and beginnings of fall are right in front of me. Umm, how did that happen? No, seriously!! Going into this summer I knew that it would be a busy one, but I didn't quite anticipate the magnitude of it.  And, yes, I definitly had time within the last four months to blog. But somehow it felt like I had nothing to say.  Nothing meaningful or witty.  Not even anything dull and mundane.  And so I took an unintended hiatus from the blogging world. I've missed this place though.  There were a few of you (all 6) that check my blog on a daily basis despite my severe lack of posting. Somehow it felt reassuring to know that someone out there was checking to see if I was still around.   I am...still here that is!  And, did you notice the new look of my blog?  It was about time that I change it up a bit.  I am rather excited about it.  Gone is the boring, brown drab.  I needed something fresh and new, and for now, I like it. 

Towards the end of summer I started doing some baking for a local restaurant.  I am still green at it, but enjoying (mostly) the journey.  There are days when I wonder if I have indeed lost my ever-loving-mind.  But the satisfaction of the accomplishment usually trumps my moments of insanity.  Want to see?

Overall it has been fun.  Time consuming, but fun. I may post a recipe every now and then.  I've got some super yummy ones that I have recently found.

In the last month my baby has turned into a little boy.  He is more grown-up every day and I love watching him develop and change.  His personality is so very sweet and charming.  He is more than I could have hoped for.

And, somewhere in this summer me and the hubs celebrated five years of marriage.  It feels like forever and also the beginning all at the same time. I love that man. He drives me crazy sometimes, but I really wouldn't change that much about him.

Anyways, it is late and the rain is lulling me off to sleep. So before I start typing things that don't make sense I am gonna call it a night. 

This past month has been ridiculous.  Seriously.  I thought that when I would be stay at home mom that life may get boring and mundane.  Ummm..not my life.  It seems like there is always something going on.  And, even though I really couldn't recall to you what all has happened in the past thirty days, it was crazy...really, it was. 

This next week my parents will be arriving in town.  Their stuff arrived Thursday and I was there with the movers to get it all inside the four walls of their new abode. It was SO other-worldly to see my little yellow schwinn bike (from when I was a kid...they've had it in their garage for years) show up in Arkansas. I don't know, I mean, that piece of my life was ages ago and belonged in a memory, or at least in my parents garage in Colorado. Not in Arkansas.  The place where I grew into an adult.  The place where I became a wife...and a mother.  Crazy I tell you.

But this week is the week that my parents are arriving. I am gonna head over there tomorrow and Tuesday and do some cleaning/organizing and just kind of set a few things up.  My folks are exhausted and I don't want them to feel too overwhelmed when they get here.  My dad picked the house out...my mom has yet to see it.  So, I want to help make a great first impression for her. 

We are also going to Kansas this week to celebrate Jason's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary.  How amazing is that?  The phenomenal thing is that they are still crazy in love.  They aren't together because of a contractual agreement, but because they can't live without each other.  I want to be like that 55 years from now. 

So, busy week.  Good. But busy.  Hopefully I will get back here before another month flies past me. We'll see.

checkin' in

I am surprised that anyone still reads/checks this blog anymore.  See, I knew that I shouldn't have made any new year's resolutions...I just can't keep 'em!  It was a noble goal though....writing more often on this blog and all.  Oh well.  Life keeps trucking along, and even though there is isn't anything amazing going on in my life, and I couldn't tell you what all I have been busy with!  There have been lots of poopy diapers, quite a few loads of laundry, trips to the grocery store, walks in the park, and not as much vacuuming and mopping as I used to do. 

Big news?  Well, my folks are officially moving to my little town!  It's true, which must mean that pigs really CAN fly!  I thought there would never be a day in which my mother would agree to move to our part of the South.  I moved away from home 9 years ago and except for a few summers in college, I haven't lived near family since.  I am totally excited and totally nervous to be this close to family.  Growing up I never got to live anywhere near my grandparents. It is something that I always wished could have happened.  I am thankful for this opportunity for my son.  To be able to run down the street and meet up with Grandma and Grandpa will be amazing.  I am excited to be able to meet up with my dad for coffee dates, just like we used to have when I was a teenager. I am looking forward to spending time with my mom and just living life with them.  It is going to make our holiday scene SO much easier.  I can't even describe how excited I am about not having to split our holidays between four different states.  It is going to be fun to feel connected with them on a regular basis besides just phone calls and a twice yearly visit.

Other big news?  Jason has only 4 weeks left of school! PRAISE THE LORD!  We are both feeling the effects of how busy he is.  He's been traveling a lot lately (another reason it will be nice to have my parents near by) and it gets quiet sometimes at night.  Obi goes to bed, and it isn't like I can just pop out and meet up with a friend for coffee or something.  Jas has been super busy with work and he's on a city board, and he has some new opportunities ahead of him (can't spill the news yet...but it isn't a job change).  So between all of those things and then homework on top of it, well....it is hard to sometimes not feel like Obi and I are on our own.  We aren't, and he does make us a priority, but there are only so many hours in the day.  Needless to say, we are counting down the days until his master's program is over.  I am so very proud of him!  It has been an uphill battle at times, but he has stuck with it and it is a huge accomplishment.  We are heading to Chicago in June to watch him walk across the stage and be given a piece of paper that signifies just what an enormous thing he has finished!

Really small news?  I bought a bag of bird seed a few weeks ago at Lowe's. I don't have a bird feeder, but thought...hey, why not just put it on my front porch railing?  Yeah, the birds may poop on my porch some, but I can wash it off.  I am SO glad that I have food out there.  A pair of cardinals come stand on my railing throughout the day.  I get to watch them eat and, in some small way, I feel like I am being used by God to take care of two of His little creatures.  I love it that they know there is food for them at my house. I love it that they feel safe to come and rest and eat.  There is a robin that is starting to join them, and that robin is also starting to build a little nest over my front door.  There is a pile of twigs that showed up this morning on my porch. Messy?  Yeah.  But, I don't really care.  I'd rather watch the nest develop and the eggs be taken care of, and the babies be born.  After all, it is spring! These little birds don't care about the cost of gas, or the latest idiotic thing that our government has just done, or how the world is falling apart.  They just do what they were created to do....live life, sing, and in doing so, they worship their Creator.  I know that a human's life is a little more complex, but the basic gist is still the same.  We are to live our lives as a sweet smelling offering to the Father, and in doing so...we worship Him.  How humbling that we, a little lowly human, can worship the Creator of the world. How humbling that sometimes a tiny little creature, like a cardinal, can be more consistant at that than I. 

Well, if you made it to the end of this rambling post then you deserve some sort of award.  :-)  Sorry it wasn't terribly interesting, but there are my thoughts on this fine Monday morning.  I'm off to grab a quick shower before my baby boy wakes up from his nap.  I do have to say that I LOVE being that kid's momma.  He is a gift and a blessing, and I am thankful for him from the moment I wake up, to the moment I fall asleep...and even in my dreams.