Trip to the Mountains

It's hard to believe it's almost been a week since we got back from our trip to the mountains! So finally, here are some pictures. We stayed for 5 days at the McCoy's cabin near Brevard, and once again we had a wonderful time. This year we met up with Matthew and Aliza Williams, good friends from Pastors College who live in Virginia. They were a wonderful couple to vacation with! They even inspired us to go hiking, which we didn't do last year, and we saw some pretty awesome waterfalls (pictures below).

Here's a picture of our first hike to Paradise Falls, which was a 9 out of 10 for difficulty (oops, we now know that means NOT baby-friendly). We thought we could do it, but poor Kathryn kept getting hit in the face by little branches, since the path was hardly a path at all. It was really a step above bush-wacking. And after getting bonked on the head by a fallen tree (miscalculated clearance), she was a bit traumatized. About .2 miles from the bottom of the falls, we decided she had had enough, especially when the way forward involved a steep drop, weaving in and out of fallen trees. So kiddo and I stayed up on this little ledge while Nick, Matthew, and Aliza hiked to the bottom. Here's a shot of the three of us, just before heading back up, while telling Kathryn to be "brave and cheerful" on the hike back. She actually did much better on the way back, thankfully.

Here's the ledge where we waited for the others.

Riding the 4-wheeler with Nick driving...a much more efficient way to explore the wide trails around the cabin!

Looking for the "woof woof" that kept coming up to the cabin. Kathryn could hear him barking, so she took off (without shoes) on the gravel, determined to find it.

Upper Waterfall on Sols Creek- we didn't see anyone else during this short hike, which was fun. It was like having a private waterfall.

The view on the way back from Sols Creek...simply beautiful.

Schoolhouse Falls- this was cool because you can get behind the falls and walk around

Warden Falls

Greenland Falls- a great one to do with kathryn. The trail was very interesting and pretty wide.

Another shot of Greenland Falls- if you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see Nick in an orange shirt at the top.
This was an unnamed rapids on the way to Carlton Falls from Greenland Falls. The hike to Carlton was a 9 out of 10, so Nick stayed back with Kathryn at the bottom of Greenland Falls while the rest of us hiked to Carlton. On the way, though, was this beautiful scene.

Worn out from a day of hiking...I couldn't believe Kathryn fell asleep in the backpack!

Shoes

Kathryn's new fascination/obsession is shoes...putting on anyone's shoes she can find and trying to walk in them. I'm amazed at how well she can do, especially with things like my flip flops. I have tons of pictures of her wearing different shoes, but since that's probably cutest to me since I'm her mother, I'll just put two here.

And one just for fun...one of the reasons I love being a mom is that I get to see this sweet smile every day (well, most days!) Thank you, Lord, for this sweet girlie.

Goodbye, Lora! :(

I often think about how blessed I am to have friends as neighbors. Our neighborhood is tiny, but somehow we have ended up with three couples from church who are within a stone's throw from our house. An added bonus is having little buddies for Kathryn to play with, where we don't have to schedule "play dates" or drive to meet somewhere. We can just knock on each others' doors and stop by for a chat. I've also benefited many a time with borrowing food from someone's pantry when I've run out of something and have dinner cooking. And of course, there is a natural and unique kind of friendship that benefits from seeing one another frequently. These are only a few of the reasons I'm so thankful to be in our house.

Well, we knew the day was coming when one of our friends would need more space and move into another house, and last Saturday saw a moving truck in front of Lora's house, while they packed up and moved into their new house, about 10 minutes away. *sniff, sniff* Olivia and Kathryn are three weeks apart in age, and it was wonderful having them across the street. Here's a picture of our "neighborhood ladies" taken last week.

Lora with Olivia, Hilary with Abigail Lechner, Jeanie with Alathea, and Me with Kathryn

Morning at the Park

Last week Jeanie and I tag-teamed in watching the Blackburn twins, so we made a trip to Chick Fil-A and the park around the corner. It had just rained the day before, so there was a pretty big puddle that the kids loved splashing in (especially Kathryn- she, unlike the 2 1/2 year olds, is not old enough to know that she doesn't like being dirty). She got absolutely filthy, and we ended up stripping the kids down to diapers to get them home in the car because they were all dripping with mud.

I think there was some thieving going on in this picture...Alathea cries in desperation for her fries, while Avery looks slightly guilty . Meanwhile, Kathryn pretends not to see the crime.

I love this cutie pie!

"Hmmm, do you think we're allowed to go in here?"

"Hey, this is FUN!"

"Well, I've gotten this wet, I might as well just sit down in it"

"Hey Guys, watch this! I can splash!"

Playing is hard work

4 Month Belly Picture

Starting to show a little!

Baby Update

It's hard to believe that I'm 16 weeks along already! This pregnancy seems to be flying by, mostly because I'm pretty distracted throughout the day. I think by this point in my pregnancy with Kathryn, I had already read several books about it. One thing that I'm enjoying this time around that I didn't do with Kathryn is journaling letters to this baby. I'm glad that I'm doing that...because otherwise I might feel bad that I can forget that I'm pregnant some days! :)

I have been feeling great (sorry, all of you who battled months of sickness). Thankfully my nausea only lasted for the first trimester. No real stomach sickness, just that ongoing queasiness. So thankfully that is over, and my energy has returned.

I decided to switch practices to one with a midwife in their office. After Kathryn's birth, I thought it would have been nice to have a midwife, so I'm really excited about having one this time around. I'm hoping that this birth experience won't be quite as rushed as Kathryn's. 10 minutes to spare at the hospital really isn't enough time, and I think the whole process might have gone a little more smoothly had I been at the hospital sooner...ah well, hindsight is 20/20. I think having a midwife will give me more comfort in going to the hospital sooner this time around.

I am really excited about this baby! There are times when I think about all the hard things that went hand in hand with having a newborn, but those pale in comparison with thinking about how much fun babies are. I just love their tinyness. I am really enjoying the toddler stage with kathryn right now, but I'm looking forward to having another baby to snuggle. Of course there are days when I wrestle with anxiety: what if this baby is really hard? How will I learn a new routine with a toddler and a baby? How will I have the energy to play with my 2 year old when I haven't slept much? I have been trying to bring thoughts like these to the Lord, knowing that He will give me grace to joyfully walk through whatever He has for me. And I know that this is His perfect plan for my life and for our family, so I'm excited to see how the adventure unfolds!

Ordination

I had the privilege of seeing Nick be officially ordained as a pastor last Sunday...what a testimony to God's grace and faithfulness in my dear husband's life. The service consisted of regular worship time, then a slideshow of Nick and Mike Seaver (who was also ordained). Kristin and I both had the opportunity to publicly honor our husbands. I would love to figure out how to put that part of the video on here, but I don't have motivation or time to figure it out, so I've posted what I said below the pictures if you want to read it. Then our Senior Pastor gave a charge to Mike and Nick, and the service concluded with the laying of hands by the other pastors, as they prayed for Mike and Nick to fulfill the "vows" they took before the congregation. I was very moved by the whole service, and my appreciation and love for Nick has only grown.

John, Larry, Joe, Jim, Mickey

Honoring Nick

The Charge

Here's my "speech:"

"Nick, what fun to have the opportunity to publicly honor you today. There three areas I would like to encourage and honor you in this morning- As a husband, father, and leader.

First, I would like to honor you in your role as my husband. I regularly thank the Lord for you as my husband. And I often find myself marveling at God’s plan in bringing us together, that He has blessed me far beyond what I hoped for in marriage. These last four years of my life have been the greatest by far! You are my best friend, and there is no one I would rather spend time with. In fact, one of my favorite activities at the end of the day is sitting and talking together in our Den. I love that you challenge me and make me think when I would otherwise settle for casual conversation. Another thing I love about you is that you are very perceptive as to when my soul is not at ease. You always take the time to draw me out and listen, even when I don’t make it easy all the time. You are quick to listen when I am working through something, and you regularly point me to God if I am trying to stumble through things on my own. I love that you ask me, “where is God in this?” or “Are you trusting that God is going to take care of you?” Thank you, my love. What a gift to be under your leadership. I also appreciate how well you manage our finances. You have always made it a priority for me to have the opportunity to stay home with Kathryn, which I’m very thankful for. I do regularly tease you that budget fiddling has become a hobby for you, but really I’m grateful that you are so thoughtful about how to spend, save, and invest our money.

I would also like to honor you in your role as Dad. I remember thinking before Kathryn was born how excited I was to see you in your new role as her dad. Once again, you have surpassed my expectations! I love seeing how excited Kathryn gets when she hears you whistling when you get home from work. Her whole body goes crazy with delight as she yells, “Dada! Dada!” I love watching you play with her. You can get her laughing harder than anyone else. She adores you, and I treasure watching that relationship grow. Not only do you play with Kathryn and help me with baths and bedtime, I admire your vision for our family. This is something about you that I regularly thank the Lord for. I appreciate your desire to teach our kids the value of living a simple life with fewer toys and being grateful for what they have. I also admire your ability to keep sight of the bigger picture for Kathryn and for our future kids, that their greatest need is to know Jesus as their savior. Thank you for your example to me in keeping this the main direction of our parenting with Kathryn. You are wise beyond your years, and I’m so glad you are leading our family.

Not only have I seen and benefited from your leadership at home, I have watched you grow into your new responsibilities of being a pastor. It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that we got back from the PC and you were starting into this new territory of work. Since then, what a joy to see how God has equipped and enabled you to not only love your job as a pastor, but to throw yourself into it passionately. I have seen you balance leading our Mission 28 Care Group, caring for several regular Care Groups and Care Group Leaders, as well as helping with Solus. You love the people under your care, and I have learned a lot by watching you care for people. You ask great questions and make an effort to become truly involved in people’s lives. I know firsthand that you carry your flock on your heart, and I have heard from many people how much they appreciate your care and counsel. You are an effective leader and pastor. Thank you.

I think one of the most exciting things about being able to honor you today, Love, is that all of these areas point to God’s grace at work in your life. I have watched you surrender yourself to the Lord, as you seek to please Him alone with your life. And as you have surrendered yourself to Him, He has molded and shaped you into the husband, father, and leader that you are today. I am so proud of you, Nick, and I love you

A Visitor

I don't care how harmless these spiders are...this is not the type of visitor I welcome in my garden. This one seems set on making a home behind our house- I've wrecked the web twice, and I just saw he's at it again on my bean plants. And while I don't have a terrible fear of spiders, this thing is huge. Pretty as its colors are, No Thank You!

Splashing Around

On Wednesday we had a little brunch with our CrossWay neighbors- Jeanie, Hilary, and Lora. Lora is moving next week :( so we wanted to make sure we all got together before she left. We ended up having a wonderful brunch followed by setting up a "waterslide" for the girls. We put Jeanie's slide ending in a baby pool of water...it was hilarious watching the little ladies splash around. We are so blessed to have wonderful neighbors. What precious memories these are! Here are a few pictures. And I will do a pregnancy update soon, but it is 10:30 right now and my handsome husband is getting ordained tomorrow morning, so I need to go to bed. More to come...

Breakfast Time

"Hmm, I wonder out how to get this last little bit of applesauce"

"I think this will work!"

"Got it!"

Cleaning, Cleaning

For some reason today I got inspired to deep clean our bathrooms- down to Q-tip detail... It seemed like the closer I looked, the more grime I saw. As I was cleaning out this nasty pink gunky stuff from under our metal runners, I kept saying, "eeeewww, yuck." So Kathryn was next to me pointing to the shower saying, "Uck, uck". I do love having a really clean bathroom, even if it only lasts a few days. What is it about dirt that won't stay clean?? I guess that's the nature of dirt, huh? :)

Outer Banks Vacation

We just got back from a wonderful vacation with my family at the Outer Banks. This is the third year we've done this, and thanks to Dad and Mom's generosity, we were all able to stay in a huge house almost right on the beach. Here are some pictures from the week. I might write more later, but I'm up way past my bedtime, so pictures will have to do for now. :)

I won't put all the outtakes on here, but let's just say that these cousin pictures are nearly impossible to get good ones of everyone! This was the best I got. L to R: Kathryn, Meredith, Hayden, Alison, Bradford, Bethany. I'm so glad Kathryn got to play with her cousins and get to know them better.

And here's all the "great-grands" with Gram, my mom's mom.

Kathryn and Papa (my dad)

Shepard, Kristen (my sister), and Hayden

Margaret (sister) and Josh, who were able to come last minute...we were so glad to have them there!

Jeremy (brother) and Nancy and family

Stephen (brother) and Emily, just back from their honeymoon!!

Kathryn really loved the beach!

With cousin Bethany

Running from the waves

Proof that Nick did go outdoors this year...the guys had a lot of fun on the kayak, especially on the day that the waves were huge. At least they said it was fun...it looked a little scary to me, and it involved several major wipe outs that day!

A picture of the sky on the last night. We could see this storm rolling in, and the sky was so dark...I love the colors and lines.

Ice Cream!

After 6 weeks of not having the stomach for ice cream (what?!? I know, crazy), I had my first "craving" for a Dairy Queen Blizzard Friday evening, so Kathryn and I packed up to find the nearest one. Needless to say, she LOVED her kittie cone (which was huge, by the way). She was very absorbed in eating her cone...could hardly get her to look at me.

"Okay, here I go..."

"You didn't think I could eat that much, did you Mom?"

"Oooo, they didn't tell me about the cone!"

And one more picture for fun...This picture cracks me up.

18 Months and a Visit to the Fountains

This morning I took Kathryn to the Birkdale Fountains, since we were up that way for her 18 month check-up. At first she wasn't at all sure about the water, and she would cling to me when I tried to bring her near. After about 30-45 minutes, I think she suddenly realized that it might be fun to join the other kids splashing around, and she loved it! Here are a few pictures of our outing...as you can see, little Missy is getting quite the personality!

"Ooo, I look cool in these."

"Hey, this is FUN!"

Striking a "model" pose

Never too young, right? :)

Life with an 18-month-old keeps me busy! It is such an interesting (and sometimes perplexing) transition from baby to toddler, where it really feels like a whole new set of joys and challenges than I experienced a year ago in the mothering realm. I love watching Kathryn developing, as she's learning new words (about 25 words or signs now) and can really communicate what she needs or wants. I love that she's very cuddly at night now and will ask me to sing "Jses" (Jesus Loves Me) and "Apita" (The B-I-B-L-E)- don't ask me how I can translate some of her jibberish. :) I love how she plays with her babies and little dolls, trying to wrap them up in blankets and push them in her stroller. I love that she loves books and will back up into my lap with a book for me to read. Along with the joys of this season has come a new dependence on the Lord for wisdom and guidance as Nick and I are given a huge responsibility to steward her little soul for the short years she'll be under our roof. I'm certainly seeing now that things are less black and white than I imagined before having kids. I'm grateful for the newfound hunger for the Lord's presence and strength, even though it's not easy. I'm grateful that even though I can not love and care for Kathryn in my own strength, I have much stronger arms around me, giving me grace for each new day. And I am grateful that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me...comforting words indeed.