and so it begins....

First day of seminary: YAY! Josh had 2 classes today, including one we have together. His first class was a success. We are headed to our second class now!

I started doing the reading for Spiritual and Ministry Formation today during Hunter's nap. I am only 14 pages in and already so excited! This is a class about calling and purpose. I am going to have lots to process, I'm sure.

Look at him play!

We borrowed a stationary entertainer from a family in our building. Hunter LOVES it. Check out his gasps and adorable laughs!

Classes start tomorrow, so it is officially a school night. Wow.... it has been a while. Off to get some sleep before the big day!

underestimated

It is official: I am a Missourian. My license says so.

I totally underestimated a lot of things about this move. Here are some of my lessons learned:

1. It is TOTALLY different to move with a baby than it was to move when it was just Josh and me.
2. Having movers does not mean that the house will be settled by the time they leave.
3. Transition is exhausting, thus leaving even less energy to get the house settled.
4. Not knowing how to get to Target, a grocery store or a gas station can add a lot of stress to your day.
5. Meeting new people is fun and exhilarating, but being known is priceless.
6. There are a lot of decisions to be made when getting settled in a new town, and I am not always good at "grown up" decisions.
7. Fitting 1500 sq feet into 950 sq feet is going to be messy... and somewhat impossible.
8. I really enjoy(ed) Virginia Beach and sincerely miss my friends...
9. People here are very friendly and the community is great.

7 month pics

Whew! This has been a whirlwind few days!!!

We are getting more and more settled every day, but it is a slow process. Our old place was at least 500 sq. feet bigger and included an attic that was completely full of our storage. We are learning how to let go of things, because after all, they are just things. We were able to purchase new furniture yesterday as a Christmas gift from my mom and our own gift to each other. We have sold some of our other furniture. Things are coming together, it is just slllooowww!

Everyone here is so nice. We are really enjoying being a part of this community. We have already met several of our neighbors. Despite the smallness of our apartment--the benefits of being on campus are quite exciting!

Hunter had a doc appointment today with his new pediatrician. Good news: there is no blood in his urine and his blood shows no infection. That is great news for his reflux. We are scheduled for an ultrasound on Feb. 15. From there, we will decide Hunter's treatment.

Here are some of Hunter's 7 month pictures:

7 months!

Hunter is 7 months old!

Stats:
Weight: 18 lbs 15.5 oz (56th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (80th percentile)
Head: 47 cm (95th percentile)

Looks like he has a big head! Must be all the brains he has got in there!!!

He learned how to clap this week. It is so adorable. He claps at pretty much anything you say to him. When he was first trying to clap on Monday and Tuesday, he held his right hand still and moved his left hand up and down trying to hit the right. We got some good laughs out of it! He looked so cute and was trying so hard! Now that he has the hang of it he still usually brings his left hand to his right. We wonder if he is going to be left-handed?

He has learned how to click his tongue. He blows raspberries and started saying "ta" and "pa." Today he said "ma" but only once. I hope he starts to say that more!!!

Last night was our first night in our new apartment. We got his crib all put together and put sheets on his bed. When I put him in his crib he laughed out loud for at least 10 minutes. He squirmed all around and touched all the different blankets and bumpers. He was sooooo excited to be in his crib! I am not sure if he remembered it or if he was just really excited to see something new, but his laugh was so much fun!

I love this baby so much. He is such a blessing. I will post pics soon-- haven't had a chance to yet with all this moving!

numbers on my mind

6195.0 miles driven since we left Virginia Beach

59 total days on the road

11 beds since I have slept in my own

2 teeth Hunter has cut on this road trip

13 hours Josh will be taking this semester

6 hours I will be taking (nervous!)

2-4 weeks to get Hunter into his next ultrasound

3 grade given to Hunter's urinary reflux on his left side

195 a new offer on our house

31 days required to be delinquent in order to close on our short sale

12 people involved in the sale of our home as of right now

8:30 expected time our belongings will arrive in the morning via the movers

2 hours a week we need childcare so we can take a class together

7 months since Hunter was born... where does the time go?

1 amazing lawyer and friend who has been so helpful

more than I can count good friends who have, and continue to, bless us

20-10 List.

I feel like I have so much to update, so in honor of 20-10, here is a Top Ten Update of the First Week.

10. Hunter says DaDa, BaBa, and hhhhhhhhh all the time. He can also sit up completely unassisted for at least a minute at a time, if not longer!!! (As I typed that, Hunter just toppled over. ha!)

9. 3 trips to the Mac store and 2 months later, I have my Macbook back. Praise the Lord! Josh is excited, too, because we are no longer sharing a computer. Oh Macbook, I have missed you!

8. We have had *drama* with our home sale. Yuck. A week ago today the buyers walked away completely from the deal. We didn't hear from them for like 4 days, our lawyer informed their lawyer that they owed us earnest money or else we would sue, and they came back to the deal as of today. For 15 more days, we have a buyer. We are praying that our bank will make a decision on their offer in the next 2 weeks or else we will have MORE drama. We are ready to be done with this silly house!

7. I have experienced a new level of cold. Iowa has had temperatures below zero several times this week. Josh & I ventured up to Des Moines yesterday to do some paperwork and the wind combined with the cold temperature was unbelievable. I'm not so sure how I am going to survive this new climate I am about to be living in.

6. We have been watching a lot of TV. A lot! Right now we are on a Chuck marathon, making our way quickly through season 2. Season 3 starts on Sunday. We have 11 episodes to go to be ready! We have also watched Castle, The Mentalist, The Bachelor, and several movies. We are loving this low-key vacation at the farm in Iowa.

5. Hunter has had rice cereal everyday for about a week and a half now. He has also tried bananas and sweet potatoes. I don't think the bananas were a success, but so far the sweet potatoes have been.

4. We move into our new apartment on campus in one week! We are getting super excited to join the Covenant community! Josh is completely registered for classes but I haven't decided on my courses yet. We are hoping to take a class together, but we have to secure childcare.

3. Hunter's VCUG is scheduled for next Wednesday, January 13. See this post for more info. I am nervous about it. I really hope Hunter cooperates and it all goes smoothly. I am looking forward to no longer giving him antibiotics everyday.

2. I have a new obsession: Culver's. It is a fast food restaurant, and I usually don't like fast food. But during this road trip I have found new loves: Culver's Root Beer. Culver's concrete mixers. Culver's butter burgers. Healthy, I know. Get Culverized.

1. I am feeling very thankful for people. For my mom, for Josh's parents, for our amazing lawyer and good friend Ken, for my husband... my life is rich and full. God has really blessed me with great relationships.

Remembering John L. Skinner

Five years ago tomorrow morning, my father passed away. It was a Sunday morning and before I was even fully awake, I knew he was gone by the tone in mom's voice. She simply said, "Josh." And I knew.

The morning was a whirlwind of activity and overwhelming emotions. When I stop to think about it I can still put myself in the house. For many months the scene replayed itself in my head in a continuous play mode. Thankfully, the more time that has passed the less the ending of my father's life has tortured me.

This holiday season, I have been thinking a lot about how to commemorate his life. For the past five years I have remembered my father on January 2, the day he went to be with the Lord. It has been more a day of mourning and grief rather than celebration and rememberance of his life. It has been appropriate for me to grieve in this way. Grief is one of the hardest human emotions--at least the hardest I have ever faced.

I think now I am ready to move toward celebration in my annual rememberance of my Father. I do still grieve over his loss. But there is so much to celebrate about my father, John Lewis Skinner.

He was a wonderful, wonderful father. Now that I am a mom I can see it even more. He always cared, always provided, and was always there. I am very blessed to have had him as my father. I am very blessed that he was present through all of my childhood. He loved my mom well. They were married just shy of 23 years. He was a hard worker. He was passionate about sports--all sports. He was very competitive and in his day very athletic. He had a heart for people. I remember him teaching Sunday School to kids and coaching baseball for my brother. He never missed a dance concert, a school assembly, a piano recital, a game I was cheering at, or anything else that was important to me. He drove the truck for my class homecoming floats every year. He taught me to drive (much to the concern of my mother, ha!). He always had a $10 bill for me so I could go out with my friends.

He was present in my life. I truly miss his presence. He had a way of making me feel loved just by being around him.

Here is my mom & dad at their Senior Prom, I think in 1981. They were High School sweethearts!

Here is a picture of one of my favorite memories with him. Just a few weeks before he died, it snowed in Carlsbad. I was home on Christmas break from college. My dad, brother and I decided to get in the hot tub and watch the snow come down. It was a nice morning.
It breaks my heart that my dad didn't get to meet my husband. And with Hunter's birth I have missed him more than ever. He would have been so excited to meet his grandson. Hunter will be wearing his Cubs hoodie from his Grandma Frances tomorrow in rememberance of his Grandfather John.

I love you, Dad. You will always be remembered in my heart!

feeling cynical

I am learning a tough lesson.

Have you ever looked up to someone that you don't really know but admire from afar? When I was beginning a new profession in Virginia, I began looking up to the leader in this field in the area. I of course didn't know him but everyone knew of him, especially in this field.

Through some crazy events I have actually met him and done some business with him recently. And what I have found has been so disappointing. It is clear that he has not gotten ahead with values that I consider important-- like honesty. It has me wondering... do you have to be ruthless and manipulative to be successful in this profession? And if the answer to this is yes... then is there any way I could ever even begin to make a career out of it?

I believe you can be honest and upright and still be successful. But how disappointing it has been to see the poor business practices of someone I once thought was worthy of admiration.