Trick or Treat

I know that some people are not fans of Halloween, but I absolutely love having adorable children come to my house, so last night I was all ready with 3 big bags of candy. So here is the story of my favorite Trick or Treater of the night: Tigger. I think Tigger was probably about 6 years old, I didn't know him and he didn't know me, but that didn't bother him at all. As soon as I opened the door he came bounding into the house. He went over to pet Mazie (who was behind her gate in the living room), looked through my candy bowl to see what he wanted in addition to what I had already put in his pumpkin, and said hi to Jonathan who was in his room swinging in his swing. His mother was just standing outside saying "you don't just go into people's homes" and I was thinking that I would probably have gone in after him, but it really didn't matter to me. I thought it was hilarious. And then I started wondering what Jonathan thought of the whole thing. If you are 6 months old, swinging in your swing in your room, and Tigger comes bouncing in to say hi, do you think it's weird, or is everything in this crazy new world of yours so weird that you just think it's normal? I didn't have a chance to see his face, but I sure would like to know.

Are you my Tio?

Just a few minutes ago the pest control guy came to do our annual termite inspection and our quarterly bug spray. I had Jonathan in one arm and Mazie in the other as he was telling me what he was here for and what he would spray, etc. As he was talking, all of a sudden Jonathan busted out laughing harder than I've ever heard him laugh. He thought the guy was so funny. I think he may have thought that he was his Tio Edwin, who has apparently made a very good impression on Jonathan.
Then a few minutes later I still had both Jonathan and Mazie in my arms and I was sitting on the couch, and Jonathan reached out and grabbed a handful of Mazie's fur. Thankfully Mazie is a very good girl and didn't snap. She only screamed as loud as she could, and it was so sad. I'm just so glad to know that her first reaction wasn't to bite. Looks like she'll be able to stay! Here's a pic of Mazie...I'll let her be the star today since she was so good.

Rambling

I had planned on going to the grocery store first thing this morning, but Jonathan woke up very cranky so he's back in bed and I guess we'll go later. He's been a little fussier than usual for the past several days, and I'm starting to wonder if he's not feeling well, but I don't know how to tell. I'll just keep a watch on his temp today and call my wonderful pediactric nurse practitioner friend Staci if anything gets worse.

Staci is one of my best friends from high school that is such a blessing to me!!! We had the most horrible experiences with pediatricians for the first 4 months (one clinic refusing to give us an appointment because they have too many patients, another office completely shut down after we'd been there once), but it's all better now. Staci is very smart, caring, beautiful, and one of the most Godly women I have ever known. So if you ever read this Staci congrats on being the star of my blog today :) .

I could be doing the dishes or the laundry, dusting or cleaning the bathrooms, but instead I figured I'd just wait for Jonathan to wake up here on the computer. I'll probably regret this decision later.

I started Tuesday morning women's bible study yesterday. I'm doing The Power of a Praying Woman, and I am excited about it. I think it is going to be a great growing experience for me, and a good opportunity to hang out with other moms that I don't get to see very often since we're in youth world on Sunday mornings.

I am substitute sunday school teaching for my friend Jill's 10th grade girls class this week. We're talking about spiritual gifts, and I'm thinking about giving them each a small wrapped box to remind them to use their spiritual gifts during the week. I need to find some small cheap boxes and wrapping paper though. Jill is a great teacher and has a huge group of girls.

Since I last wrote we've been to Dallas to watch Shiloh play a football game. They are very good and we are expecting an amazing season.

I had a great long conversation with my sister Amy last night. She is very gifted at sorting things through and will be a wonderful professional counselor in a few years. I am so thankful for the Word of God and the power that it has to speak and guide us when we're trying to sort out the messes of life. Once it speaks, there is nothing else left for us to say.

And speaking of nothing else to say, that's it for me for today. Have a good one!

Diaper Mania

I have had it with diapers. I used to wonder what they did in countries without diapers, and I think now I know, because they are so faulty that I just about wonder why I even bother. I think I have washed poop out of every outfit Jonathan has worn this week. Thank the Lord for Oxy Clean Baby! I have tried almost every kind of diaper available, and can't find one I trust. Next on my list are the Pampers Swaddlers, which I haven't used since the hospital, and they are my last hope. I've even entertained the thought of trying that insane baby potty training idea (http://www.diaperfreebaby.org for more info on that). He's in a size 2, which is supposedly for 12-18 pounds, and while I'm not sure how much he weighs right now, he was 12 pounds at his last Dr. visit, and I'm sure he has not gained 6 pounds in the last month and a half. So, I guess I'll keep on trying and keep on washing poopy outfits until something works.

We are Family

This weekend we went to Oklahoma City to celebrate the new marriage of my sister Melissa to her sweetheart Edwin. They were married in Miami, and had a reception at my Grandmother's house. We carried on the tradition of family pictures on the stairs. The picture I am posting is all of the cousins and their spouses. We always enjoy spending time with all of them, and I feel very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. Welcome to the family Edwin!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Ben and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this week. It's fun to think back over all the things we've been through together. When we got married we were barely 21 and in the middle of college. Ben was working at Sam's and I was working at the bank while we were going to school. We lived in an apartment, and our schedules were crazy. It was very common for us to eat dinner at 9:30 or later each night. Our grocery budget was $70 every 2 weeks, and we had another $20 to go out to eat once every 2 weeks! It was just a year later that we moved to Alabama to begin full time student ministry. I remember at some point before we were married Ben and I were talking about the future and struggling over some decisions, and I said "I can just imagine God smiling at us right now and saying, 'It's hard for you to make this decision right now, but you have no idea how much I have planned for you, you're going to be just fine". He is so faithful, and has brought us so far. I am so excited about the rest of our lives together. Love you baby!

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6

Summer Time

Summer is winding down and it's time to get ready for school to start. I can't believe it's gone by so fast and our boy is 3 months old already. Last week we went to Hoover, AL to watch Shiloh in a 7 on 7 football tournament. They were amazing and won the whole thing, beating some big time teams. While we were there we were able to see quite a few people from our Hunter Street family. We miss them all dearly! God's timing is perfect, and we were able to be at Olivia Claire's first birthday party. We went straight from there to Dallas, Tx for our staff retreat where we were able to spend time concentrating on building our relationships with each other and fellow staff members. We have greatly enjoyed this time for the past 2 years. The picture is of Jonathan on a shopping trip we took in Texas. He loves being outside! He is learing how to use his hands, and beginning to talk to us. He makes the sweetest sounds. I love to watch him admire Ben. He looks at him with these sparkly eyes and I can tell he is thinking "Dad, you are the coolest person in the whole wide world". It is so much fun to watch him grow and learn!

Here he is!

Well, Jonathan is here, and he's now almost 6 weeks old. Wow, time has really flown. In a way I can't believe he's already been here that long, and then at the same time it's like he's been here with us all along. I have to say that these past 6 weeks have been absolutely fantastic. Jonathan is so amazing, and he's already growing so fast! He's already smiling at us and trying so hard to make baby babble to us. As I sit and hold him I can't help but wonder what his little hands and feet are going to do someday. I wonder what things he will love and hate, who his friends will be, what his greatest accomplishments and hardest struggles will be. And Ben is just the best dad ever. He has been so supportive and loving to me, and is always happy to jump in and change a diaper or hold Jonathan whenever he can. He is the best!!!

Waiting for Jonathan

Well, we are about 2 weeks away from our due date, and ready for Jonathan to be here! Ben's dad gave me some baby pictures of Ben today and I couldn't stop staring at them, trying to figure out if they looked like Jonathan did in the ultrasound. Silly, I know, because who can really tell what anything looks like in an ultrasound, but I tried. His room is almost ready and I can't believe we're so close to meeting our baby boy!

Kristen

It's a BOY!

The long wait to find out the big gender question finally came to an end the Tuesday before Christmas. As the title points out, we will be having a boy! He cooperated perfectly with the ultrasound and was moving around like crazy. Our Scottish ultrasound nurse was very patient with us (me especially) as she pointed out things on the screen. Wow, it is difficult to see what is going on with those things. We have decided to name him Jonathan after my grandfather Trueblood. We are still unsure about a middle name.

The weeks are flying by and Jonathan is moving around more than ever! Kristen is still feeling him a lot more than I am, for obvious reasons, but when I jump at the opportunity every chance I get. April 27th seems like so far away but if the time to this point is any indicator then I know it will be here before we know it.

Now that things are happening more often we will do our best to keep this updated for all of you to check out if you so desire.