Starting to get warm...

Josh was getting Kate's bath ready the other night. I was playing with her while we waited and realized that she needed a diaper change...right away. I cleaned her up and then gave her to Josh in her birthday suit while he finished filling the tub.

Then I heard, "Oh no." I rushed back to the bathroom to discover what was wrong. Josh told me they were just sitting there, our little nakie baby sitting on his lap, when he noticed things starting to get warm...

Yes, Kate peed on her daddy. I laughed so hard I almost peed, too! Josh was not impressed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving thanks for family and friends. For happy moments and struggles that remind us we are in His hands. For our Lord and Savior. For the hope we have and the hope of nations. For a morning to wear pajamas and watch a parade. For a home with a mantle to place little Thanksgiving bears.

8 months

Kate is 8 months, as of Tuesday. I wanted to post this on Tuesday, but I ended up playing with her and taking pictures of her all morning and ran out of time. Haha! For Kate's 8 month birthday I took a break from housework and just hung-out with her. It was lovely!

Kate, at 8 months you are into everything and ready to do it all. You are a bundle of energy and full of life.


You army crawl across the floor, but don't lift that belly off the ground yet. You love to stand and can really move it in your walker. You chase Sammy around the kitchen!
You are absolutely beautiful. You bring joy to others with just a smile and light up my whole world with your laughter.

There's my girl!

You have sweet puffy cheeks, a soft round belly, and adorable chunky legs! You have two little bottom teeth which are really sharp when you bit my finger. You are still sporting just a smattering of peach fuzz on your round head, so old people still call you a boy at times. You have plenty of time to grow hair, so don't worry. And your mama is quick to set any mistaken comment straight. You are a blessing to us every day and we thank God for the privilege to be your parents.

Meet Virginia

We had a GREAT time with our friends, the Dickersons, in Virginia! We know Ashleigh and Joe from A&M and hadn't seen them since a few months after we got married. Ashleigh was our Bible study leader for the group where Josh and I met. Awww.....

It was so good to see them again and get to hear about their life. And, they have a son who is one month older than Kate! The babies got to be great friends and were quite happy to play together.
Deer in the headlights

Grayson and Kate laughing at Joe making faces at them

On Sunday the Dickersons took us hiking because it was a beautiful day. Here we are with babies in tow.

The river itself was lovely and peaceful. We could not have imagined....a waterfall!

It was a beautiful day for a hike. After a rainy Friday, an overcast cold Saturday, Sunday was warm and sunny. We spent the whole day with our friends and spent part of the night settling Catan (a board game).

Thank you, Joe and Ashleigh, for hosting us and introducing us to Virginia. We enjoyed our time with you so much. Thanks, Grayson, for sharing your toys and stroller with Kate. She misses you.

What's in your bag?

Funny story:

On Friday Josh and I were exploring DC on our own while Kate stayed with our friend. So, of course, I was carrying the pump around since I was not going to be able to nurse her for several hours. We had it in the backpack. When we got to the National Archives building, we had to go through a set of metal detectors and put our backpack through an x-ray scanner. The operator called Josh over:

Man: What's in your bag?

Josh: It's a...pump...a breast pump.

Man looks at him puzzled: What?

Josh: My wife's breast pump. We have an infant at home.

Man: Okay. (Still looking at Josh like he's crazy)

Great times. Thank you Josh for handling that situation.

I wonder if that guy has told the story to anyone from his perspective.

Hanging with the Presidents

This past weekend we went on our first out of state family vacation with Kate. She is a great traveler! She did great on the plane rides and made friends with everyone she could. We went to visit friends living in Virginia and to go to Washington DC and see as much as we could. I had not been to DC before and neither of us had spent time in VA, so we were really excited.

First up, here are some pictures of our adventures in DC. Our friend, Ashleigh, kept Kate on Friday so Josh and I could run around DC. Of course, it rained on Friday, so we were wet and cold, but we had a blast!

First we visited Arlington Cemetery. (Probably more enjoyable on a sunny day)Here we are on the Mall with the Capitol behind us. Don't worry, we have much better pictures of the Capitol, I just wanted to catch the moment for you.

Then, we mostly hit up museums that day, running through the Smithsonian Art, Natural History, and American History. We also went to the Archives building where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (among other documents) are.


This was my favorite animal at the Natural History museum. Great expression!
The museums are fabulous and we could have easily spent a whole day in each one.

On Saturday we took Kate with us to see several monuments. While still overcast and cold, it was not raining, so it was a great day to have her with us.

Josh and Kate at the Lincoln Memorial


We loved the red and orange trees!

Lincoln memorial across the reflecting pool


At the White House. Kate was clearly impressed.


Washington Monument. You can see this thing from almost anywhere!


Our little traveler in her puppy dog jacket

We had a great two days in DC. I'll do another post about our time in Virginia.

Blogging for Books

Vampires are all the rage right now with the Twilight books and movies. Author Beth Felker Jones wrote Touched by a Vampire to explore the messages of the series and what the books are telling readers about love, sex, marriage, family, and gender roles.

"Touched by a Vampire is the first book to investigate the themes of the Twilight Saga from a Biblical perspective. Some Christian readers have praised moral principles illustrated in the story, such as premarital sexual abstinence, which align with Meyer’s Mormon beliefs. But ultimately, Beth Felker Jones examines whether the story’s redemptive qualities outshine its darkness." (excerpt from summary from publisher)

I have not read the Twilight Saga. I know friends who have and really enjoyed them. I know for some people they became quite consuming. I know other friends who have been concerned about the messages these books and movies are sending to girls. After reading what Jones has to say, I think there is reason to be cautious about this Saga.

I think that Jones does a good job of examining what values the series promotes in light of Scripture. She does not bash the Twilight books nor condemn the author, Stephanie Meyer. Recognizing the Saga as interesting and engrossing fiction, she explores what Christians can agree with and what Christians should be careful to reject in the messages of the books. She carefully addresses messages that may seem hidden in order to expose these messages that get into our heads, even if subconsciously, when we get involved with what we read.

I think this is a great example of engaging culture and thinking critically about what it says, rather than embracing any message that comes along. This book would be a good resource for anyone who works with teenage girls. It is a quick read, easy to understand, and appropriate for any audience. For some points Jones may seem a little redundant, but I think she tries to stress certain issues because those are the most prevalent in the books. It helps develop points for discussion so that leaders, mentors, parents, and friends can separate fiction from truth.

Interested? Click on the book for ordering info!

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

I don't need help with THAT!

Those of you who know me know that I am usually on time, am organized with my schedule, and don't forget meetings or appointments.

This morning I called the doctor to set up an appointment for Kate to get checked-out before we go out of town tomorrow. She is getting over a cold and still has a cough, so I wanted to make sure she was developing anything else. When I called at 8:30 the office manager said they had a 9:40 or 10:40 appointment. Conversation:

me: Let's do 9:40

him: Okay, 9:40.

me: no wait, she might be napping then. I'll take the 10:40.

him: Okay, 10:40. We'll see you then.

me: Great, thanks.

So we show up at 10:40. When the nurse takes us to the room, she said "We were thinking something happened because your appointment was at 9:40." I told her about the conversation. But when the doctor came, I decided to just apologize for the confusion and not blame the office manager (even though our appt was for 10:40) since he's her husband. So I got to apologize for looking like a goof-up when I didn't even goof-up.

Really, don't I make a fool of myself enough without someone making me look like one? I don't need help with that area of my life.

I'm glad you can be my witness.

Oh, and the appointment went great and Kate is fine.

A Birthday Invite

My friend Shelby has two boys, Aaron who is almost 4 and Caleb who is 1 1/2. Shelby called me yesterday to tell me a story about Aaron. His birthday is coming up and Shelby was talking with Aaron about who he wanted to invite to his party. He listed off a few of his friends and then said that some of Caleb's friends could come too.

"Like Haley?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Aaron said, "and that baby with the puffy cheeks."

Shelby said he did know her name, just wanted to describe her first. I love it! I think it's funny, too, that Aaron considered her Caleb's friend, probably because she's a baby. I think that Aaron has actually played with her more than Caleb has, though.

So Kate is invited to Aaron's 4th birthday party. That baby with the puffy cheeks.

Happy Halloween!

This year Halloween had a whole new excitement - dressing our baby up in a ridiculously cute costume! Kate and I went to a Halloween party on Friday afternoon and I've decided that we moms definitely need to have more costume party/playdates for the kids. It's so fun to see them dressed-up.
Friday evening there was a Fright Fest at the university in Kerrville and our adopted student, Allison, was working one of the booths. So we dressed Kate up again to go out there. There were lots of families there and Kate got "ooo-ed" at by tons of people. Successful venture.

Kate and Allison

On actual Halloween night we got 7 trick-or-treaters, which came in 3 groups. We had a friend and her baby girl over for dinner, watched a movie after Kate went to bed, and then got excited about getting an hour more of sleep...sort of. =) (Babies don't actually understand time changes.)