Are You Kidding Me?!

My parents and sisters are on a cruise this week. I'm so excited for the girls because they are there with their best friends, dressing up and having a blast! I keep imagining what fun they're having and how cute that gaggle of girls is running around the cruise ship. This is a graduation trip for the two oldest girls who will be graduating in May. I'm sure my parents are also having a great time with the other two couples who are a lot of fun to be with. Yesterday I showed Little John a picture of their ship on the internet and told him that Marmee, Grandpa, Caitlin, and Carissa were on that boat. He stared at it for a second, dropped his jaw, and said, "Are you kidding me?!" in this slightly disgusted, slightly surprised tone. It was hilarious. He sounds just like his dad sometimes.

Our favorite photographer came and took Kailey's three month pictures today. It was "wheels off" to borrow a Walton expression. Little John is NOT good with having his picture made. All of his cooperative abilities go out the window when the camera comes out. Amazingly though, Kristin will end up with these beautiful photographs of him that show absolutely nothing of the difficulty we had in getting them. Kailey did great but was much more serious than she usually is. She is so easy to get to smile or laugh but, once again, bring out the camera and total deadpan face. Hey, they come by it honestly. I am the most unphotogenic person I know. Kailey did very well with all of her wardrobe changes and us putting her in different positions in all different places, though. I can't wait to see them. I love pictures of my kids so much because I know how quickly they change and I love to look back and see how they were! I would rather spend money on pictures than almost anything else we buy for ourselves. My problem is getting them framed and displayed somewhere. I really need to do better with that. I love going to other people's houses who have lots of pictures of their family everywhere. Maybe I really like pictures (just not of me)!

Favorite Toy & Camera Hog

Sadly, I don't remember who bought us this toy when Little John was born. I would like to thank them again. If it happened to be one of you who reads this, I love you dearly. He played with it for countless hours and now Kailey does the same thing. It is part of our daily rotation of "solo" play time. I did that with John and he has always played so well by himself for periods during the day. Kailey is already doing some great playtime by herself as well. I'm very grateful. We love the piano!John decided to get in on the action when I was taking pictures of Kailey. I guess we've gone from camera hater to camera hog! We'll see how pictures with Kristin go tomorrow!

I love baby feet!

6 Weird Things About Me

My friend, Meredith posted six weird things about her on her blog. This was my response with six weird things about me. Looking at this, I realize that I am a strange person. There are probably much odder things that I just can't think of at the moment. What are some weird things about you?

1. (Meredith said she loved to fall asleep watching movies and this was my response.) I totally agree about the falling asleep during movies thing, but even more than that, I love to fall asleep in the car when someone else is driving. Like late at night when you're coming home from somewhere or on a Sunday afternoon. This started when we lived 30 minutes from everything while I was growing up and I loved to sleep while my dad drove us home from church or my grandparents' house.

2. I forget to eat meals sometimes. This has gotten better since I had kids but I just get busy and will completely forget about breakfast or lunch. John thinks this makes me the weirdest person in the world.

3. I was looking at pictures the other day and realized that I was still wearing several shirts I had in high school. I get rid of things all the time but I'm not hard on my clothes and sometimes have a hard time getting rid of them if they're still nice and fit well. When I saw those pictures, I promptly gave the shirts away.

4. I LOVE brussel sprouts.

5. I can ride any roller coaster or thrill ride anywhere but have a very odd fear of standing next to those glass walls on the second floor of the atrium at church. For some reason, the glass and looking down at the first floor freaks me out.

6. (Meredith said she loved to swallow big pieces of Bubble Yum and this was my response.) Your gum thing reminded me of something weird I like to do. I like to chew a piece of gum and then eat a Lifesaver or other hard mint while the gum is in my mouth. The combination makes a strange texture and taste that I like. But that does make me want to swallow the gum sometimes. I completely understand.

So, you had no idea you had such a weird friend, did you?!

Golf Enthusiast at Two?!

Little John has been cracking me up this weekend. He insists that he wants to watch golf on TV. I was turning it on for him to watch something yesterday and he saw the golf tournament on the channel so he asked to watch. He gets very frustrated when the commercials come on or they start showing scores because he only wants to see the guys actually playing. He keeps saying, "They almost hit the pin," or, "It's going to go in the pocket" (which is the hole). It is too funny. It's like he's a little man. John almost never watches sports so it's not something that is on much at our house. Occasionally he watches golf on the weekend which I enjoy because I actually understand golf and I think it's nice to nap during since the announcers are quiet and relaxing when they talk. I guess Little John is going to be quite the golf fan. He told me that he wants a golf, baseball, boxing, tennis birthday so I think we may go for a sports theme. Sounds easy to me! I may have a long road of sports equipment, weekend games, and smelly uniforms ahead of me! : )

New Denim

Something you may not know about me is that I have a very difficult time spending money on myself. It's a little easier for me to spend money on my kids or my house, much easier to spend money on my husband (he made the money in the first place!) and easiest to spend it on other people for gifts, showers, needs, etc. I can hear my credit card screaming, "Put me back in the wallet!" every time I pull it out. I also have a hard time allowing other people to spend money on me. Because of this, I rarely buy myself clothing. Every once in a while, John takes me shopping and makes me buy a new pair of shoes because he's tired of hearing me say that I don't like any of my shoes. He's kind of a clothes person and I love having him shop with me because he thinks I look good in everything. : ) Not a very unbiased opinion, I guess. If I shop by myself, I won't buy anything that's not on sale and I end up not liking anything I buy. I also do the, "I'll come back and get it," which I never do. I have pretty much zero confidence when I shop alone. I'd be much better off to wait and put a little money into something I love every once in a while. Anyway, I have been needing a new pair of jeans and we decided to go on John's lunch break the other day to the brand new "Buckle" at Southlake Town Center (John works in the building over the Gap there). So, we took both kids and tried on jeans. I got two new pairs and I LOVE my new jeans! I feel like a totally different person in them! That was long over due. I wear them all the time so it's really nice to have some I like. So, while I'm sure you didn't need to spend time reading a random blog about how much I like my new jeans, just remember, every once in a while it's good to get something that just makes you feel good whenever you put it on! I think this is especially important for mommies, and our husbands like to look at something new on us occasionally too! Hooray for comfy, feel-good, new jeans!

I Can't Fly

Yesterday morning I was putting on my makeup in the bathroom and Little John was playing in there with me. He had turned Kailey's bouncer seat upside down and was throwing balls through the stand, then he sat in it like a spaceship. He is extremely creative. Anyway, he was doing all of this and suddenly looked at me and said, "Mommy, I can't fly." This is a sad realization. While we are disappointed, we can still hope for other super powers to emerge at some point. We haven't ruled out elasticity or super speed yet. : )

I was thinking about this and realizing that it probably is a little disappointing as you discover our many human limitations and begin to see our weakness both physically and spiritually. I am extremely grateful that I have something to offer my child besides "the power inside of him." If that was all there was, this would be a sorry life. I can't wait to help him understand that he is more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, that he can do all things through Christ who gives him strength, that in his weakness, Jesus is strong. These are the very real and miraculous super powers that I can promise my son he has beyond the shadow of a doubt! I can also already begin preparing him for the life we look forward to after this one where even his physical body won't have these limitations. He can put that creative imagination to work and never come close to the wondrous things awaiting us in eternity with God! Thank you, Lord, for what you give us. Thank you for your power at work in our lives!

Wake Up and See the Glory

I am a huge Steven Curtis Chapman fan and have been since the "old" days.  I love
his lyrics and the thoughts he gives about God and our walk with Him. I was
listening to this song yesterday and was struck again by the picture he provides
of the way we miss what God is doing because we're paying attention to such trivial
things.  Why would we play Gameboy standing in the Grand Canyon?!  I want to
wake up and see the glory.

I never did like the word mediocre
I never wanted it to be said of me, oh, no
Just point me to the top and I'd go over, over
Looking for the very best that could be
So.. what is this thing I see

Going on inside of me?

When it comes to the grace of God
Sometimes it's like

I'm playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sittin' at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean
Tell me what's the deal with me
Wake up and see the glory

Every star in the sky tells his story, oh
And every breeze is singing his song
All of creation is imploring
Hey, come see this grand phenomenon
The wonder of His grace
Should take my breath away
I miss so many things when I'm consumed with

Playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sittin' at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean
Tell me what's the deal with me
(I know the time has come for me to)
Wake up and see the glory

We Have a Talker!

It took a long time for my son to be interested in talking. He would more often just lie there and think about what was going on around him. He'd furrow his brows and take it all in. Now he talks up a storm but usually only when talking is needed. He talks to tell you he's hungry but less often just talks for the sake of telling you something. When he does, I love it. His thoughts are precious and his pretending is the cutest thing ever! Kailey is already showing signs of being the exact opposite. I think she just likes to talk. When she wakes up in the morning she starts and this morning talked solid for more than half an hour! I think she was talking to me and I didn't even have my eyes open! Right now she's lying in her crib talking to her stuffed animals. She'll talk to blankets, the wall, her brother, you name it. It's adorable! It will be nice to have someone who likes to talk. You might want to remind me of this when she's two or three and I can't make her stop talking for even a few seconds of peace. : ) I love watching her personality form already. These precious babies are like little treasure chests and it's so much fun to dig deeper and continue to find all the wonderful things inside as they grow. It is so special to me to be the one who so often gets to be the first to find out these things about them!

I'm Back!

Well, I think this household is finally over our junk. After Little John and I returned to somewhat human, Kailey came down with it. I've never had a baby this young with a fever. It was very sad. She kicked it quickly, though, and we're all fairly close to normal. I have missed my daily, therapeutic blogging so I will attempt to get rolling again. Thank you to all the sweet friends who have actually missed me! I will try to have some very interesting things to say. Right now all I can think about is being hungry. :) How's that for interesting?

Happy Valentine's Day!

After three weeks of posting every day I haven't written this week. I'm sure the two or three people sweet enough to read my blog on a regular basis are very disappointed! : ) Little John and I have actually been sick since Saturday and are still not feeling very good. I would appreciate your prayers for our continued return to health. Being a sick mom is a very difficult job, especially with a nursing infant and a sick toddler! I'm sure John would also appreciate your prayers that I'm well enough to do Star Time on Saturday or he's on his own with the girls!

We have postponed Valentine's festivities at our house until we're all well. To the rest of you who actually celebrated today, Happy Valentine's Day. Any time you think about love may you be overwhelmed with the love of our Father for you! Bask in the fact that He chooses you and says, "BE MINE!" What an invitation. I love you, sweet friends!

For Kailey & Hermie

Yesterday Little John picked out a toy at Target for Kailey. He apparently was very particular and didn't want all the girly things, he had something more fun in mind. He chose this cute little thing and wanted to give it to her as soon as he got home but she was asleep. He ran in her room and chunked the toy into her crib but, fortunately, she wasn't there. She was in my room in her bassinet. Anyway, he couldn't wait to give it to her and as soon as I opened it (and removed all the incredibly annoying little ties that kept it in the box!!!) he ran and gave her the toy. It was a sweet moment to watch. The final piece he decided to play with himself because it was a caterpillar and reminded him of Hermie. Hermie is very special at our house. If any of you haven't tried the Hermie videos, you'll have to check them out. I get a huge kick out of John saying, "Look, it's Max!" whenever Max Lucado does the introduction. Hermie teaches us lots of wonderful things about honesty, courage, God's design for us, obedience, and friendship. That's my kind of video.

Comparison

Here is a picture of Little John at a little older than Kailey is now. I just felt like comparing to see how much they looked alike. There are certainly big similarities!

Clearing the Air

Last night I had a conversation with people I dearly love just for the purpose of clearing the air. I felt like some healing needed to happen and I know that healing starts with humbling ourselves, so the Lord convicted me that I needed to start by humbling myself and then He could bring the healing in the lives of all of us. Have you ever had one of those conversations? The kind where it's sort of like a rain shower and everything feels so clean and smells so good afterwards? I love that feeling. I also love these times when the Lord prompts me to do something and I actually listen and act quickly. Why I don't do this more often, I'll never know. Satan throws so many lies my way about why I shouldn't mess with it or why it will just make things worse, etc. when all along he knows how good it will be! I claim to be doubting myself when I am really doubting God by my disobedience to His call. I am not a fan of hiding things, ignoring things, or even lying to avoid hurting someone else. That always ends up feeling worse in the end. It always hurts me deeply when I find out someone has been less than honest because he or she didn't want to tell me the truth. Bring the truth on. It's much easier to take.

My family tells stories about how hard it was to get me to say I was sorry when I was little. In my defense, I thought it would be lying when I didn't really feel sorry! I know, it's lame. This is one area where my precious husband has greatly influenced my life. He was always so quick to apologize and finally my competitive nature kicked in and I wanted to manage to say it first just once! Then I realized how good it felt and now the race is on. We usually manage to just stop before we ever get started, apologize, and move on. Now I love saying I'm sorry and getting my big "it's okay" hug (although I'm certainly not saying I don't ever revert back to my childish behaviors).

May we all accept the grace God offers us to keep the air cleared constantly so we are clean channels for the Lord to use in the lives of anybody around us!

"A Cup of Flour"

Continuing his quest to become the next Emeril, Little John pulled out my mixing bowls the other day and informed me that he was "making cookies." He kept using the little bowls to "pour" into the big ones while saying, "a cup of flour." It was so cute!

My Boy

I have to tell you that I love this boy (in spite of a particularly difficult week in the discipline department) ! He has been climbing into the crib lately when Kailey is not in it and playing with her toys. I was looking for him the other day and found him happily lying in the crib with her blanket on top of him and all of her stuffed animals around him. He was kissing Baby Pooh in this picture and has quite the model pose going in the bottom one.

Movie Time

Here are my sweet kiddos enjoying a Baby Faith video. If you haven't seen these before they are wonderful for babies and toddlers and teach them about the Bible using the music from hymns and some "Baby Einstein" type visuals. This was Kailey's first movie-watching experience and she loved it! The top picture shows her cooing at the screen. I know she's young but when Dad's gone at the men's retreat, you've got to do what you've got to do!

Commenting 1O1

Alright, this will be a boring post for those of you who blog often but I have decided it's necessary for all the friends and family reading this who have never used a blog before. To comment on a blog (to say how cute your grandbaby is, defend yourself, disagree with me, tell me how much you love me, etc.), you scroll down to the bottom of the post you are reading and it will say "Posted by Courtney" and a time. Next to that it says how many comments have been made about the post. Click those words and it will give you a box in which to type your comments. Since you don't have a blog, choose the anonymous option and make sure you put your name at the bottom of what you write so I'll know you left it. Then click "publish your comment" and voila, there it is. You'll also be able to read the comments other people have written. Welcome to the blog world.

Love Languages Lived Out

Okay. . . Part II. Why is is that things look so much cooler when written in roman numerals instead of normal, boring numbers? It's true. Anyway, continuing my thoughts from yesterday, here are some examples of people in my life who live out all of the five love languages. They might not consider these their primary ones but they certainly express love well in these areas!

• Words of Affirmation - My dad has always done this for me by telling me every day that he loved me, praising me, telling me he's glad I'm his girl, writing me letters that express his love for me, etc. I have been incredibly blessed to always have this kind of love expressed to me by the man in my life (and now my husband does a fantastic job of it too).
• Physical Touch - When my sister, Carissa, was a baby she would cry in the carseat (this was when we lived at the ranch and had to drive at least 30 minutes anywhere we went). The thing that would always calm her down was if we held her hand. I would start out in the front seat twisted around with my arm falling asleep and end up just moving to the back so it was a little easier! It was precious. Now Little John loves to cuddle with his aunt! My mother-in-law is also this way, always rubbing people's shoulders, hugging all of us, and showering her grandbabies with kisses and snuggles.
  
• Quality Time - My sister, Caitlin, does this so well. She is about to be 13 and at an age when most girls are thinking mostly of themselves, but she is always thinking of others. She is ready at any moment to completely drop what she is doing and spend time with me, my children, or anyone that she loves. She never thinks she has spent too much time with her family and always has more to give. When she is with you she is also very focused and pays attention and remembers details of what you are doing or thinking about.
  
• Gifts - My sister-in-law, Brittany, has this one nailed down. She pays close attention to what people like or need and can always find the perfect gift. This does not necessarily require a gift-giving occasion but can be just because "it looked like you." This also translates into thoughtful things like taking really good pictures of my kids and giving me copies or spotting something that I was looking for while she was out. Definitely the person you want to draw your name in a gift exchange!
• Acts of Service - This one is my mom. Growing up I don't think I ever fully appreciated the extent of this, but now that I am a mom I realize how MUCH she did without acting like it was anything out of the ordinary. Now I think about all those hours I sat on the dryer in the laundry room and talked to her while she ironed, and I realize that she was ironing all those hours! Even though I wouldn't consider this one of my primary love languages, it is something that I appreciate with all of my heart and it does make me feel very loved. The fact that she has driven to my house to help me clean up my carpet when Little John threw up all over the place is only one example of the things she is always willing to do! Moms are amazing!!! John's dad is also this way and is constantly giving his time and hard work to do things for others - even people he doesn't really know!

Yes, I know I didn't use my husband as an example on these. I honestly have a hard time putting him anywhere because he constantly shows me love in every one of these five areas. Unbelievable, I know. His primary love language is acts of service and he is completely happy if I cook him dinner or bring him a glass of water. This mostly expresses itself in the way he is always ready to use his many skills to bless others. I don't know how many friends and family members he has helped to fix their computers, set up their sound systems, or move into their house. And he is always doing something around here that needs to be done. The other day he was randomly over at our neighbor's house carrying something upstairs!

Looking at this list I realize what a blessing families are and how God uses them to show us love in all of these areas. Maybe as we grow we are supposed to be able to express His love in every area! The differences we all have make our lives together so interesting!

Love Languages

In our class on Sunday mornings for the last few weeks, Chris and Stacie Hatchett have been teaching on marriage. They've done a great job! They spent one Sunday on the five love languages from the book by Gary Chapman. John and I read this book together before we got married and it has been very helpful to us in our relationship. It was interesting talking about it again because we both felt we had changed a little in our strongest ones. We had a great talk about what makes us that way and how we feel about the ways we express love to each other. I know that this is also important with our kids and our conversation made me think - I would love to know my friends better and how they like to give and receive love. What is it that makes you feel loved and how do you tend to express it?

If you're not familiar with the love languages, they are:

• Words of Affirmation - Hearing those three little words and have loving things said or written to you, compliments, praise
  

• Physical Touch - Snuggling, sitting close, holding hands, being near those you love

• Quality Time - Focused time and attention, doing things together
  

• Gifts - Thoughtful gifts that show the person knows you and was thinking of you
  

• Acts of Service - Doing something where you don't have to do it, taking care of jobs, housework, chores, kids, whatever is on your plate

Apparently most people have one or two that are the strongest but usually appreciate any of them. I must be needy or something because I want them all! : ) If I stop and think about the ones I really can't do without, though, it would probably be words of affirmation and quality time with physical touch right up there. I've always been a note writer and wanted to say things to people I loved. I'm not afraid of being mushy. It has also taken maturing to teach me that someone can love me without wanting to spend a lot of focused time with me. I used to think that if we were friends, we would be together all the time. I also struggle with wanting all of John's attention. Even an evening doing two different things is hard for me even though he is usually great at paying attention to me when he's around. I'm also a MAJOR snuggle person and only keep that at bay because of the risk of embarrassment to myself or others. I'm sure John feels like he married a puppy dog sometimes because I kind of sound like I'm describing our labrador - she wants to be cuddled and petted, and she wants you to talk to her and play with her all the time! Maybe tomorrow I'll blog about the people I know who show these five languages the best because I know people who do all of these really well!

Meanwhile, while you are breathlessly anticipating my next blog, what is your love language?