10 months

sophia has made huge strides this month physically! she got her first tooth...finally! and she's working on 5 more literally. (just take a close look at the picture at the bottom of the st. louis post for proof.)

she started pulling up on things all herself and cruising around. she will take off like a bullet if you hold her hands and help her walk. i would love it if she got off her hands and knees and started walking...it can't come soon enough for me! she will spend hours standing up and then falling down on her tush. she's so proud of herself, but she also thinks it's fun. she can get from the crawling position to the sitting position all on her own.

she's full of 'mama' and 'dada' which absolutely melts our hearts.

she doesn't want anything to do with pureed baby food anymore. has to have texture and she likes to do it herself. she loves to eat whatever is on my plate.

she is getting old enough to play 'with' her siblings. the other day i was peeking in on the girls while they were in the playroom and i saw them sitting facing each other hugging and laughing, pushing and then laughing.

i am in love with her smallness, how she curls up in my lap. her sweet face, soft cheeks and wet kisses. her laugh and her hands that pat me. i am starting to miss the baby-ness already. we're almost to the end of baby years in this house... on one hand i'm thrilled, and sometimes i don't feel ready at all.

sweet sophia, you continue to be my joy.

st. louis

we decided last week that we were going to take a family vacation. we had heard what a great place st. louis is for families, so we decided to go.

it was a fantastic time. and as a friend told me today on the way home as i was telling her i'm not rested at all...when the kids are young the goal of vacations is not rest but memories made. if that is our measuring stick, then i would say this trip was a success.

we stayed downtown literally across the street from the arch. the first thing the girls did was snuggle in the beds.isaiah jumped from bed to bed.soph had to check out the view.that night we went to america's incredible pizza which is a chuck e cheese on major steroids. it was SO MUCH FUN. we drove race cars, played mini golf, and bowled. we also rode rides and played games. an hour and half of unlimited fun!

the next day we spent the entire day at the magic house. if you are ever near st. louis and have kids it is a MUST. we literally spent all day and we really just scratched the surface.

we ended the magic house with a huge section outside of 'beach'. there were umbrellas and chairs with sand toys everywhere. as seen in the picture above sophia had a BLAST in the sand.

we had to stop by ted drewes on the way back to the hotel. we had heard that it was the best frozen custard one can get...and we had to agree with the suggestion.

that night we all snuggled in bed, ate dinner and watched the lakers and celtics. it was a divided house, but by half time the celtic fan was asleep, so in the dark, with no sound daddy and i pumped the air in excitement to watch our team get it done.

we made tons of memories in st. louis, we loved being together and seeing a new place.

circle of women

through out my life i can trace women who have influenced my life. my mom has been the constant and most influential. but with my growth, with each change in my life, in God's rich grace he has given me someone. and now they make a circle of women.

they have given generously, given differently, but they have shaped me. helped me to be a woman. helped navigate me through hard times. gave wisdom in confusion. helped me flourish in times of rejoicing. i have lived a rich life because of these women and their gifts to me.

and today, i saw my daughter's circle begin.

sarah has three kids of her own, near the same age of mine. her husband is in the same program that matt is. her life is full of mothering, ministry and some days, just trying to survive. but a few weeks ago she asked me if she could take alaythia out on her own, be intentional with spending time with just alaythia. i said yes, not really giving it much thought. when she made specific plans last week for a time, i must admit, i was shocked.

she made arrangements for her kids, and during her free time, came to the house and picked alaythia up. just the two of them. alaythia has been talking about her time with 'ms. sarah' ever since she found out about it.

when i pressed sarah as to why in the world she would do this...when life as a mother to young children is draining enough, her answer was that she loved alaythia. she knows alaythia isn't around family right now and simply, she loves all that alaythia is. she went through all the different things that she loves about her.

she didn't say it, but i knew it immediately. she's part of alaythia's circle of women. she knows her, she cares for her and she is being intentional to show it.

as a mother, there are few things that more clearly communicate love to you, than watching others willingly love your children. and as i watched them leave together my heart was full of gratitude and thanks. for sarah. to God. for his grace being poured out on alaythia. to send women to her to help her grow, change and flourish.

alaythia and ms. sarah, before they left today.

laker playoffs

it's been a part of our life for a long time. back in the early days of our marriage we would spend our laker playoff nights with the martins. alan and i would get in arguments about kobe's maturity. we would eat julie's famous mudd pie and scream at the t.v...and winning. lots of winning. good, good days.

these days, there are no laker fans to be found in kentucky. so we sit and watch the t.v. knowing there are others in the world watching with us. we do our best to re-create the laker playoff early days. we eat fun food and we scream at the t.v...but there is another element that i never could have anticipated.

a die hard celtics fan in the house.

i know, how can that be? the celtic/laker rivalry goes way back, and how can there be fans of both under the same roof? i am just as baffled. and usually, i can swing my weight around to get this little person to come around to my way of thinking. usually, thankfully, his desire to please his parents still resides in him.

but not with this.

kevin garnet took his heart several years ago with the gatorade commercial, you know, the one that was black and white...and green. and now there's rondo. as i type i'm getting a play by play about how well rondo is doing right now. how did we get here? why is my influence not taking?

i guess it does make it a bit more fun. someone to talk smack with during the game. and yes, i am teaching him how to talk smack.

GO LAKERS!

a measurable day

half way done.

and all the way done.

since moving into this house the yard has been a huge undertaking. it's a typical rental house. the yard has been neglected for years. i'm no gardener, but a good friend is, and i come from a woman with a deep love for gardening and dirt. and i can feel it rising up in me. with sarah helping me along and mom cheering me on, i am slowly starting to enjoy it.

trimming these bushes in the 90 degree heat (plus humidity) was a joy. not because i loved doing it, but because it was measurable. i saw where i started and saw immediately the difference i was making. it felt SO GOOD to do it. measurable, done. it was amazing how fulfilled i felt today. like i had really accomplished something.

and i started to wonder why i don't feel like this most days.

oh how different i feel with mothering. often i can't see see the difference i make on a day to day basis. i wake up to the same whining. i mediate the same bickering. i correct the same disobedience. the laundry is never done, the kitchen never stays clean. i fall into bed at night to wake up and do it all over again the next day. i know deep in me that what i'm doing is making a difference, but i sure wish i could see it like i did in my bushes today.

what i do with my kids is amazingly more significant and important. but i don't feel fulfilled most days. most days i feel defeated. i find myself longing for the bush analogy to burn on my heart. to look at my kids faces and know even if i can't see it, there is measurable progress. i am making a difference, although i can't see it as clearly as i did today in the yard.



oh yeah, and this is the other thing i did today.

9 months

sweet soph is 9 months old. she has become such a central part of our family, the other day several of us commented on how thankful and glad we were that she is a part of our family. what was life like without her?

she is her own person and is able to communicate more and more about what she likes and what she wants. she waves bye-bye and hello, and will clap in applause for people. she will NEVER turn away a kiss and loves to snuggle. my favorite thing is when she nuzzles her little head right into the crook of my neck and snuggles in.

she's a thumb sucker. on our trip to the west coast she discovered that she can suck her thumb whenever she wants...not just for sleeping. i didn't discourage her that day because we were flying across the country on several different flights. it's the cutest thing when she pops her thumb into her mouth, palm to the sky.

she is a fast crawler and all over the house. she's into everything, exploring all that the house has for her. she loves to wade right into the middle of what isaiah and alaythia are doing...and destroy it. she still does not have any teeth...she's late compared to the other two. she has the cutest fake cough that you'll ever hear.

instead of pictures i thought i'd post a video of sophia at dinner tonight. you will see why, when people come face to face with her, she captures their heart.

baby tour

last week sophia and i headed to the west coast on a baby tour. ava miller, sister to olivia, was due to be born and we wanted to be there for the birth. also, there was a celebration for my niece, hannah, so we hopped down to join in on the party. daddy stayed home to hold down the fort with the older kids.

it was a great trip for many reasons. i loved getting to be with sophia all by herself. getting to know her, enjoy her stage and study her a little closer. it was also great for the rest of the family to get to know sophia on her own and spend some one on one time with her. she's quite the little lady...

grandpa sharing his pocket watch with sophia. it was actually his grandfather's watch. everyone has memories of walking up to grandy and having him hold the pocket watch over your ear and cup his big hand over your other ear. dad passes that on to his grandkids.

soph, listening to the watch.

we stopped by to see grandma at work. when sophia was born mom was in the middle of a surgery. she put me and sophia on speaker phone and shared her first cry with everyone in the operating room. we got to meet the surgeon and other nurses who shared that moment.

snuggling with auntie hallie.

bouncing in cousin hannah's bouncer.

being a big girl and taking a bath in grandpa and grandma's bath tub.

the birth of ava was one of the most amazing experiences i ever been a part of. it's hard to put it to words. a mix of relief, amazement, joy and celebration. seeing her face, smelling her skin, hearing her cry. all births are joy-filled, but ava's was different. set apart. she entered the world into a community ripe with anticipation and love. and never before have i heard of champagne being popped in the labor and delivery room...until now!


getting to see hannah with my own eyes was such a treat. laura and hannah were not expecting us to be there and that made the meeting all the more fun. i loved seeing laura with two kids. she's an amazing mother, who i look up to. she's doing an amazing job with the hard transition from one child to two. it was a quick trip but we got lots of hugs and kisses in.


at the end of the tour we all were ready to be back together again. we continue the process of trying to move into our house. we're almost done with the school year and are ready for summer to officially begin!