Jewel

I feel on the verge of discovering beautiful jewels.
Jewels that are more precious than anything on this Earth.
Jewels that would provide refuge & serenity in a world filled with dirt.
Jewels that are buried ~ yet meant to be found.
Jewels that I am made for ~ created just for me.
Jewels that I am meant to share
The jewels are worth the work
and work you must in order to gain them.
They are easily covered by responsibilities, busyness, laziness, forgetfulness
and worst of all: The Enemy.
He tries to snatch them away or bury them further
and even whispers to me that I am not worthy.
His subtle lies invade and paint beauty over in gray.
But Oh, just a small view of the radiant jewel
shows me the lies are simply not true.
One little glimmer provides hours of hope.
What would it be like to hold one?
What would it be like to own one?
These jewels are God-given and for his children.
The journey to gain them is part of the gift.

Happy 3 years, Joshua!

This post is a little overdue... Josh & I celebrated 3 years of marriage last week! It was amazing: neither of us had to study, neither of us had to work, neither of us had any responsibilities at all that day! So we got up early and went to get coffee together. Then we took a long drive through the rolling hills of Missouri. We drove through the Missouri Weinstrasse, a 2 lane highway through the Missouri River Valley. We went to Augusta Winery, Mt. Pleasant Winery, and Montelle Winery.











At Montelle, we did the tasting and then bought lunch and sat on a huge deck overlooking a beautiful countryside. We enjoyed the view and good conversation and introduced Hunter to bar-b-que pizza.


Then we drove back toward home and stopped at Barnes & Noble. We bought Hunter the cutest little book about the alphabet. A friend introduced me to this author and he is my new favorite children's author.

After we got Hunter put to bed, a friend of ours came over and did his studying here so that we could go out for a nice evening alone. It was so nice of him. Josh & I went to the Chocolate Bar---AMAZING! We had planned on going to a movie but we got caught up in conversation and ended up talking until past 11. Since we both had to work the next morning, we decided to not go to the movies. But the night was perfect. It was so nice to relax and enjoy each other.

goodbye summer

Goodbye Summer,
You sure went by fast.

Today is our last day of summer. We seized the day! I got up and made the family pancakes & eggs which we enjoyed with blueberries. Then we went to the Botanical Gardens and had a nice stroll through the park. Waterfalls, pretty flowers, and a nice summer breeze all had a calming affect on me. After that we came home, ate a quick (small) lunch and all rested. I did a few chores this afternoon to get my house ready for the semester (ya know, when am I going to have time to dust everything in my house again? Probably December!). I even cleaned out and organized my closet. That is first time my closet has been organized since I moved in to this apartment... oh that is just shameful to admit! I have organized & reorganized Hunter's closet at least three times, but never got around to doing mine until today! Hopefully it will stay organized through the semester... we'll see?!?!

This evening I made a pizza with Trader Joe's pizza dough. I topped it with pineapple, spinach, and tomato. It was tasty!!!! We had that with broccoli. After dinner we took Hunter out to the playground and had a wonderful time on the swings. Hunter has mastered what my parent's called the "four-wheel drive crawl" where you crawl with your hands and feet. He does this now on any surface that is too hard on his knees like asphalt or on the wood chips at the playground. It is sooo funny! Hopefully soon he will decide that walking is better than that weird crawl! But for now, he is a fast little guy on his hands and feet! He was soooo determined to crawl UP the slide. And he did (with a little help from mommy) and he was very proud of himself!

Summer has been quite eventful... I completed 6 hours and Josh completed 3. Josh was able to work a lot & we had some fun family time. We got to spend time with family & enjoy seeing my brother get married. We had some fun visitors including family. We got more adjusted to St. Louis life. We aren't sure we feel rested enough to be starting a new semester. Sorta feels like summer was a blur.

But now it is time for semester two. I will be taking 9 hours and Josh will be taking 15. Josh will be working 10 hours on campus per week & drilling 1 weekend per month. We are very excited to see what God has in store for us this semester. I feel very privileged to be here at Covenant. I am nervous about starting my program tomorrow, but also very excited.

Hello Fall,
Please be kind to us!

14 months

Hunter is now 14 months old. Busy as ever, he has become my little explorer. Anything he can see he wants his hands on right NOW. He loves to shut doors and he can tip toe up to grab the door handles now. He does not have the strength to open them, of course, but he understands that is how the doors open and close. Hunter has also become fascinated with our trash can that has a lid that opens and closes. Gross. He loves to play hide-and-seek. He thinks it is soooo funny to hide and then suddenly show himself! Hunter has always loved music, but now he loves to dance to music. Any music, even just a little clip on a commercial or something, and he will start wiggling and shaking his body.

"Buddy," "What's That?" and "Buh bye" are his new words and he says them all. the. time. He still crawls mostly, but he does stand for extended periods of time now. I am still not used to seeing him vertical... he looks so much like a little boy now instead of a baby. He loves stuffed animals, especially his Baylor Bear (sic 'em!). At bedtime he loves to read books with me and we usually have to read 3 books before he is satisfied. I love that he loves books!

He is still around 22 lbs. His gums are very swollen, but we have yet to see any of the molars pop through yet.

Hunter is very close to weaned off the bottle. There are some days where he has very little out of a bottle, but other days he still wants it. Since he is teething, we have been letting him guide us. I still get my morning cuddle time! He is transitioning to one nap after lunch. So far it is working really well.

Super affectionate, curious, and adorable, Hunter fills our lives with much joy. Josh & I are constantly saying "oh that was so cute!" about something Hunter does. He is an absolute blast. We love the little lovebug!!!

100th post!!!

This is my 100th post to my blog... just 2 days before my 1 year blog-iversary! 100 blogs in a year... and what a great year it has been. As I was thinking about writing my 100th post, I went back and looked through my archives. Hunter is obviously the star of this blog! He was my inspiration to starting this blog and he certainly provides enough material for me to always have an idea to blog about.
ME, 1 year ago with the baby:

Our lives have grown and changed so much in the past year and I am really glad I started this blog. There are so many things I would have forgotten were it not for this blog like exactly how much Hunter weighed at each doctors appointment or when he started sleeping through the night. I have been able to blog about my journey of motherhood, and coming to realize what it means to be a mom. I am able to go back and remember my thoughts as Hunter struggled with a UTI and his urinary tract reflux. Plus I am able to remember the great feeling of stopping his meds. And who could forget our crazy road trip across the nation as we prepared to move to Missouri! I got some great photos of that trip. I can quickly recall the first day of seminary and even remember what books I have read. I was able to share with Josh's parents (and the rest of the blogger world) Josh's Commissioning. Fun Date Nights have been recorded as well as fun family outings. My little Baylee girl will always be remembered. Plus several other details of our past year are neatly organized and accessible.

This blog has been excellent not only for me, but also for family that live far away from us. I know the grandparents enjoy seeing photos and reading about Hunter. I love that I have so much information saved from this past year. Though I wasn't sure how committed of a blogger I would be, I have proven that I can do this!

ME now, with the family!
Cheers to 100 posts.

In light of reaching 100 posts, I have a request for my readership: I absolutely love hearing from you! Please, feel free to comment, ask questions, tell me my blog was dumb or awesome, or anything! Just comment so I know you are out there!

Curls!

Baby has got curls! I have been compiling these pictures for a while now... I absolutely love Hunter's hair! It has been growing like crazy the past few weeks. The curls are perfect little ringlets... makes a girl jealous! His hair is still reddish blonde!

Dressed by Daddy

Yesterday I was so sick it was hard for me to stand up. I had a pounding headache and chills mixed with hot flashes. It was clear very early in the morning that I was not going to be able to watch Hunter and the little girl, Evie, I usually watch in the mornings. So Josh took off work and said he would take care of the babies.

I fell back asleep and when I woke up, this is what I found:

So cute huh? Leave it to a daddy to dress his son in his swim shirt (SPF 50) and sweat pants. Ha! When I asked Josh why he chose this outfit he said he thought the shirt looked soft and breathable and the pants looked comfortable. Cracks me up.

Here Josh was giving each of the babies kisses from the giraffe:
I am so thankful that Josh was able to help me. I was very blessed by my husband yesterday! And I am feeling better today. Not great, but better!