Kathryn's Room

Well, I now understand why people would want to decorate a nursery before having the baby. Kathryn's room is now just now about decorated, although I still have some work on the curtains (right now they're hanging in place with pins.) It has been a very fun project, albeit done in spurts. The toile fabric is the same as is in my old bedroom at home. So hopefully SOME money was saved by making everything, although I'm not sure how much, in reality. But I had so much fun learning some new things on the sewing machine....still very much a novice, which means slow projects. :)

Prayer for Today

I've recently been reading from "Valley of Vision" again in the mornings, taking one prayer each day. This morning's prayer particularly struck me, so I thought I would share some of it here: From "Christlikeness":

"May my words and works allure others to he highest walks of faith and love!
May loiterers be quickened to greater diligence by my example.
...Cause me to be a mirror of thy grace,
to show others the joy of thyself.
...Let me always esteem others better than myself,
and find in true humility an heirdom to two worlds."

Am I a mirror of God's grace to others? Do I provoke others to grow in diligence, faith, and love? Do I regularly reflect the joy of Christ that others can clearly see? And do I esteem others as better than myself? Sadly, I find myself lacking in these assessments. So this prayer is mine today. I'm so thankful that there is grace to grow!

Outer Banks 2007

We enjoyed a wonderful week at the Outer Banks (Southern Shores) with my family last week. This year was a little different than last year with the addition of 3 babies! Jeremy and Nancy came with their 4 kids (baby Bradford only 10 days old!!), Kristen and Shepard came with their 2 month old son, Hayden, and we had Kathryn. My sister Margaret and her husband Josh, my brother Stephen and his friend Emily, my parents, and Gram (my mom's mom) added to the crew and we were 19 in all! Amazing. We stayed in a huge house that was pretty awesome, including a private pool and home movie theater (several hours of Lord of the Rings were enjoyed by various family members....(Nick). Here are some pictures.





We enjoyed some time on the beach as well as the pool. Kathryn loved being outside, loved the pool, did not love the ocean (well, the water WAS 50 degrees!) But she did manage at least one nap on the beach.


Tummy time with the three amigos. Kathryn made her little cousins seem quite small! :)


Baby Bradford had his first swim at 2 weeks old! (first day his umbilical thing fell off). I don't think he was a huge fan.


I think Hayden looks a little concerned in this picture....


"It's okay, Hayden, don't be scared of me. Good boy."


We went mini golfing one night, and Meredith (age 3) was so much fun to watch. This was her typical pose. And then she would run up, put the ball half an inch from the hole and hit it in. I think she was quite pleased with herself!


Hayden, 2 months; Kathryn, 5 months; Bradford, 2 weeks.


Attempt #1 at a cousins shot....as you can see, not so successfully. let's try that again....


Well, we sort of got it. Meredith (3), Kathryn, Alison (5 1/2), Bradford, Bethany (7), Hayden.

5 Months...Already?!?

Wow...where has this last month gone? These weeks are flying by, and all the while Kathryn is growing and changing so much! I guess that's what happens in the first year of life. I really think each age has gotten more and more fun. Kathryn is such a sweetie pie and such a happy baby! While we certainly don't expect all of our kids will necessarily be this good-natured, we are surely enjoying it. What a blessing she is to us.




This is what happens when I blink...suddenly she's turned over!

I tried giving Kathryn some rice cereal for the first time this week, and she gobbled it right down! Quite a messy process, though, as you can see! It was really fun for me to see how much she enjoyed eating from a spoon, since she's been watching us eat very intently for the last few weeks. It's hard to believe she's growing so quickly!



Hanging out with her buddy Alathea Lechner (whose parents, Joe and Jeanie, are our very good friends and neighbors). This picture is slightly misleading, since we balanced Kathryn there and quickly took the picture before she bent in half forward. Alathea was pretty disappointed that Kathryn couldn't go on a wagon ride yet. It was so cute!

Life Around Here

Kathryn loves playing with Nick's beard!


Fascinated with the picture of herself when I took this on our MAC camera...


And now everything is going into her mouth...yes, that is the bottom of our filthy chair! I walked out of the room for a minute and came back to see her several feet from where I left her. Yikes...I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

Cutie Pie

Growing, Rolling, and Sitting!

Our little chunker!



Ready,

Set,

and Roll!





And even kind of sitting!

We're Home!

We've made it back home to Charlotte! It has been a slow week of unpacking and getting resettled, so my apologies for not replying to emails and all. I'll have DSL now so internet will be a little less hit or miss. Hurray! It was hard to say our goodbyes in MD, but we are really glad to be home and even back in our house. I got some painting done in the two rooms that hadn't been painted yet, including Kathryn's bedroom. I'll post pictures when it's finished being decorated. How fun!

Visiting with Mamaw and Papaw

Last week Dennis and Marilyn (Nick's parents) came up for Nick's graduation...although we know they really just came to see their granddaughter. :) We had a wonderful visit with them and even had a little ride on Dennis's Harley. We thought about putting Kathryn in the back carrying compartment, but then decided that probably wouldn't be a good idea...




"Papaw thinks he can teach me to crawl when I'm only 3 1/2 months old! Silly Papaw!"


Kathryn has found her fingers...and sometimes thumb. Although she hasn't consistantly stuck with either, I noticed that in this picture she's chomping on he same two fingers that my brother Stephen did when he was little.


"Hey, Mamaw....what's up?"


"Who says I can't ride?"

Hey, Y'all!

4 Month Check Up

I took Kathryn for her 4 month shots yesterday (a little early)....she's now weighing in at a hefty 14 lbs. 3 oz (75%), measuring 24 1/2 inches (75%). No wonder the carseat is feeling heavier these days! :)

Ladies Night Out

One of the best things about this year has been getting to know the other 17 PC wives. It was so hard for me to leave Charlotte last fall, especially not knowing if we would be going back, since God had blessed us with such dear friends there. How faithful He has been, though, to bring new friends into my life, friendships which have made this year a joy. So it is with a sense of bittersweetness that I pack up my things....of course we are so excited about going back home, moving back into our house, and seeing our dear friends on a regular basis. But at the same time, it will be hard to say goodbye to friends we have here, especially since right about now is when I'm really getting to know people. We've already got on our "wish list" of vacations to go to Wales, Ireland, Colorado, and Arizona (an eglectic mix, I know), as well as getting an east coast reunion. Thank you for your friendhip, fellow PC folks and wives...we will miss you!




Can you believe that 10 out of the 18 wives either had a baby or got pregnant during the last 9 months?!? The back 6 are pregnant, the front 4 have already had our babies.

Recent photos

Kathryn's smiles keep us smiling!

Growing, Growing, Growing!

Studying Greek with Daddy

This was taken at Great Falls National Park...I didn't take a picture of Nick rock-hopping across the river with Kathryn in the Baby Bjorn! I had to look the other way. :)

Trip to Philadephia

On Wednesday I was able to make a quick trip to Philadelphia to see my very good friend Kim Lai. I have known Kim since my freshman year at Juilliard, when we met at Emmanuel Presbyterian. When we met, she had only been married for 4 months to her husband Chun, and I had not met Nick yet. So now she has two kids, Karis age 4 and Joshua age 2 and another on the way! :) She was one of my bridesmaids in our wedding, and I appreciate how we can pick right up where we left off every time we see each other. Kim and Chun excell in hospitality and let me stay the night with no hesitation, even though they had family coming for 3 weeks on the day that I left! Thank you both for a wonderful visit!

Moving Time....Again!

My apologies for going so long without a post....unfortunately our internet is not really working, so I'm only able to get online when Nick's laptop is free and when we can pick up a signal at our apartment. So...if anyone needs to get ahold of me, email is not the best way for the next 2 weeks.

Well, we have started packing up our belongings as we look forward to moving back into our house in Charlotte in a little more than a week! It's really hard to believe that the end of the PC year is really here! This Spring has really flown by! Last night we had a "Ladies Night Out," that was a wonderful time of sharing memories from the year as well as recounting God's faithfulness to each of us over the last 9 months. As one lady put it, God has been "rediculously faithful." How true that is. I think back to how hard it was for me to move to Maryland back in August, not knowing where we would end up after the year was over. I also had many fears about motherhood, not knowing what to expect. And now looking back over the year, I see how God used those times of weakness to draw me closer to Himself. In some ways, I find it easier to fall at the feet of the Savior in times of uncertainty. His strength is perfect in my weakness. I can look back over the year and see how truly faithful He has been...He has brought new friendships into my life, friends that will be dearly missed. He has delightfully surprised me with much joy in motherhood...I never thought I would enjoy this season as much as I am! And that is all due to the Lord's faithfulness. And now in the midst of another transition, I pray that the Lord would humble me in my weakness, draw me to His side, and delight me yet again with his faithful love. Oh, that I would be more ready to fall at his feet, quicker to humble myself, and take more delight in His presence.

If you think of it, please pray for us as we head into another move....Moving can be a lot of "heat" applied. Pray that packing would go quickly and smoothly and that Nick and I can delight in working together in the process. Love to you all!