Ryan's check-up

In the midst of all the crazy stuff going on, Ryan had his 9 month checkup on Friday. He's doing great! He weighed in at 17lbs 2 oz and is 28.5 inches - long and lean like his daddy. He did have to get one shot on his leg and a finger prick to test his iron levels which were normal. He even got Snoopy bandaids! We'll go back for the next visit in three months when he's a year old.

Quick Update

Well, we're moving! Our stuff is mostly in our new place up in Dawsonville, although it's not put away or clean at this point. And we've still got a decent bit here at the old place. But we techincally have until Friday morning to be out. We just needed to get as much as possible done the past two days since Coleson is back at work now. And we leave on the morning off the 4th for vacation! hooray!
So a huge thank you to everyone who got tricked into helping us pack on Friday. I really feel badly we never made it to the pool. Sorry! But thanks, thanks, thanks! And thank you to the guys who met us on the other end to unload yesterday. Ya'll are great! Thanks also to Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Pop-pop for helping out and watching Ryan for a few hours yesterday. I know he enjoyed seeing each of you and it was helpful to be able to focus on signing our lease and getting the stuff of the truck. I sure did miss him though for the short time he was gone!

Crazy Stuff

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged and this one has to be real short too (Coleson would probably kill me if he knew I was even on the computer at all instead of packing!). I'll blog more next week and fill ya'll in on the details, but long story short we are moving. Today. Crazy! We came full circle and decided last week that renting was really the best option. It's a great financial move for us and it allows us to see what it's like living back in Dawsonville before we commit and buy anything. And we still own our house here, so we have the option to come back in nine months like nothing ever happened if we chose to do that. So Monday I get a call that someone wants to see the house. By Monday night we have a lease drawn up, Tuesday morning they verbally accept it, and on Wednesday we had signatures. We signed a lease of our own at lunch on Wednesday and off we go! We're super excited about this opportunity and are looking forward to seeing what God has planned for the next nine months!

the bucket list

So last night we watched The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It was a pretty good movie, worth seeing. However, I really thought I would absolutely love it and Coleson was worried that after watching it I would be inspired to create my own list and want to see the world. However, it had sort of the opposite effect on me. About halfway through, I was worried I wasn't even going to like the movie. The two main characters, who suffer from terminal illnesses, are given six months to live and they set off to see the world - skydiving, the Great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, that type of thing. And that's all fine and dandy, but what really got me was that Morgan Freeman leaves his wife and family behind to do it. So that's why I didn't think I was even going to like it. I was worried they were going to be so busy doing and seeing "stuff" that they missed out on the really important things like relationships. But of course the writers are smarter then me and they brought the plot around full circle and it was a great movie and all the characters made up with their loved ones before it was too late.

Instead of stirring in me the desire to see the world, it really made me value my family. If I was given six months to live, I would want to spend it with Coleson and Ryan, not in Hong Kong with a stranger. Yes, I'd love to travel and see the world, but would I rather skydive or have a big family dinner at the end of the day? And yes, I know in the movie it took doing all that crazy stuff in order for the men to realize that's not what's important and I get the point of the movie. But in real life I want to live like that now. I am terribly afraid of getting so caught up in all the little stuff and the daily living, that I forget to live. We only have a tiny precious amount of time here on Earth and at the end of the day, it's God and family and love and friendships that matter. I think that's why I no longer care about having this big beautiful house; all I really need is a roof over my head. Coleson and I love to have discussions about the future and our favorite conversation was always "where do we see ourselves in five years?" More and more the answer to that question is I have no idea. We used to love to talk and plan and be in control, but the last few months something's changing in me. Right now I have no idea where we'll be in five years, or even one, but that's really exciting and freeing. I can't wait to see what God has in plan - I know He has a much better future for us then we could ever plan or imagine. And it seems no matter what path we try to take, He pulls us back around anyways. So right now, I'm letting going and enjoying the ride!

good morning

Once again I've let my blog go a few days without updating. I seem to go in spurts, two or three days of continuous posting and then nothing for a week. Oh well, I do my best! There hasn't been anything new or overly exciting the last few days, and I just haven't been feeling it.

Tuesday we did go swimming again; Ryan really seems to like the water. Grandpa and Nana were both at the pool too, so that certainly added to the fun! However, I did push it just a little too long and Ryan got very sleepy and a little fussy. Yesterday we did our Wednesday morning childcare up at church, went to Five Guys with the Isbells for lunch (yum!), and visited the bank.

Today is Barbara's birthday, so happy birthday!! We hope you have a wonderful day - I heard rumor we might head to the pool later on to celebrate!

Well, I suppose that's all for now. Like I said, just not feeling it today! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Ryan and I are very blessed to have a wonderful group of guys in our lives! We are super thankful for them today and every day.

Coleson, not only are you a great husband, you are the best father to our son that I could have ever hoped for. Ryan is so lucky to have you! You are kind and gentle and fun, yet a wonderful leader and role model. Thanks for always loving and taking such good care of Ryan and I! We love you!!

 

To my Dad, thanks for always being there for us and for being such a great dad and grandpa. I know you will always be a wonderful grandpa and teacher to Ryan - he's already to looking forward to playing catch with you in a few years! We are all so lucky to have you and I really don't know what else to say other then we love you!!

To Jim, thanks for stepping into our family and loving us as your own. We are blessed to have you in our lives and we thank you for being such a wonderful Pop-Pop to Ryan. (sorry though, no motorcycles or sharkfishing yet!)

To Clay, thanks for raising such a wonderful son and for sharing him with me! Thanks also for loving Ryan and being such a good grandfather - it's so wonderful that you and Coleson and Ryan can talk and see each other so often on the webcam. We look forward to seeing you in person again soon!

A final shoutout to all the other dads out there, including Steve, David, and Jeremy - you are all great fathers and are raising wonderful sons. It's so awesome and encouraging to see a group of men so in love with their children and so committed to their families. Thank you!

** This is really driving me crazy that I can't get all my text and pictures to line up like I want. I think I have to give up now before I go nuts. I'm trying to convince myself it doesn't have to perfect, but I'm still frustrated with it and I've pretty much wasted all of Ryan's precious nap-time. So fathers, please remember it's the thought that counts! **

Psalm 46:10

I wasn't sure how personal I wanted to be on this blog, but I've decided to go ahead and blog about what I've been working on in my quiet time today. I don't know yet if I'm doing this for myself or someone else. I'm not sure if I need to tell ya'll what I'm up to because I need to be vulnerable and I need accountability, or if I'm writing this to encourage someone else and allow God to work in their life through this blog. All I know is that I'm a big time introvert and it's pretty scary to open up and be honest like this for me.

Yesterday I decided to fast from TV and radio through Sunday at the earliest. I feel like there's a lot going on right now - the house not selling, losing my pt babysitting job, trying to find a spiritual mentor, etc. I'm not actually overly stressed or worried about it, I just feel like I need God's guidance right now and I need to make sure I'm on the right path. I truly believe that I am very blessed - I feel close to God, and I have a terrific husband, the best baby in the whole world, a wonderful church family, a great extended family, a roof over my head, and a fairly decent amount of savings, to name a few of the blessings. I know things could be tons and tons worse, but I also feel like I could and should be a better person and I am seeking God and His wisdom and direction.

The verse that came to me last night was Psalm 46: Be Still and Know that I am God. At first, I thought it was just to remind me of my fast - be silent and listen. But the more I dug into it today, I realized that's not exactly what it means. I read through all of Psalm 46 and then googled it. I liked one particular devotion lots. It explained how being still means to be slack, weak, drop our hands, go limp, chill out. I like that so much better then simply being silent. The devotion uses phrases like: "reliance upon God," "enjoying a calm confidence in Him," and "as your world crumbles around you... don't flinch in your Faith in God." While I don't think my world is crumbling by any means, I find it very uplifting and a great reminder of how awesome and powerful our God is. The bible notes on Psalm 46 say: "He will not fail to rescue those who love Him." That's just so amazing and so wonderful to hear. He is so much bigger then me and my house and our income and I know He will take care of us. "God is always there to help, providing refuge, security, and peace." I'm not going to worry - if our house is supposed to sell, it will. God will help us make ends meet until it does or else He'll help us become super creative and even more frugal then we are now. And until then, we'll enjoy being close to Ryan's grandparents, and we'll continue loving and serving Him through Mountain Lake from afar.

banana puffs are yummy

Ryan can feed himself! Despite putting everything else in his mouth, it was not until lunch today that he finally figured out how to eat the banana puffs on his tray. It was super exciting to watch him practice and get so close and then finally succeed. And once he got it, he got it! He's eating them as fast as I'll let him now. We'd been trying off and on for probably two weeks - at first he had no interest and then he'd just pick them up and look at them. But now he's an old pro. And if you don't believe me, check out the youtube video of him. I'm a very proud mommy! :)

A great group

Our growth group is an amazing bunch of people and I just wanted to let ya'll know that I've loved doing life together for the last months and years. Our group is Anna, Jeremy, & Noah (10months); Coleson, me, & Ryan (8+months); Steve, Alyx, & Caden (7+months); and David, Alicia, & Asher (7months). Each person, couple, and family has been a blessing in our lives. I absolutely meant what I said in your mother's day books: "Being able to go through such exciting life changes with such wonderful friends is certainly something special, and I am so thankful that God has brought us all together at this stage in our lives. I hope we will always be close and that our sons will grow up loving each other as brothers."

It's feels like yesterday we were throwing each other baby showers and visiting each other at the hospital. And it certainly doesn't feel like three years ago that we were in our very first group led by Casey and Kacie and just meeting everyone. Who can forget Coleson getting bit by the fish and dropping the f*word?! And then we picked up Anna and Jeremy at connection groups and poor Jeremy dropped his plate of food (apparently we are pretty scary people!). Yet in some ways it feels like we've been friends forever - I can't imagine my life without ya'll. And here we are with our babies barely babies anymore and already doing big kid things - Kindermusik classes, pool parties, swinging at the park. I'm so lucky and blessed to be sharing this special time with you guys. I know our group dynamics will be changing in the fall, but I love each one of you and I really do hope we can continue to be a part of each other's lives for a long, long time to come. Ya'll rock! Thanks for being my friends! :)

Fun Firsts

During all the excitement of camp, Ryan got his top two teeth. He doesn't like to show them off so I haven't gotten a great look at them. They weren't there when we checked during lunch on Thursday, and then Friday night they were! The left one had already broken through and the right side was white so I imagine it's in now. But when I try to look he gets upset and waves me off. So he now has the bottom two and the top two.

Saturday afternoon Ryan went swimming! We've dipped his feet before, but he's never actually gotten in. After the intial shock, he loved it. He would smile and splash and laugh. It was so fun! Saturday we celebrated Alyx's 30th with a surprise party at the pool (happy birthday Alyx!) and Ryan and Noah both swam. Sunday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's and swam over there.

Today we are off to Anna's Kindermusik story time. Hopefully Ryan will have a good time and behave himself!