Dear Family

Dear Husband and Daughter,

I have not been keeping track of the memorable and wonderful things going on in our lives. Blogger's Block, exhaustion, and fear of the near impossible task of choosing my favorite photos from the 1,000s we take keep me from logging some wonderful stuff. To make up for this and catch up, I am going to try to post once a day for 30 days. This is Day 1. I wonder how far I'll make it. I will begin this journey by posting pictures from a few days ago. It was when Livy dressed as Cinderella and people gave her candy. Really, it was only a few days ago.

And here we are...

Come What May

God speaks and moves in us through so many avenues. I've felt His presence in the beauty of His creation, the power of the Scriptures, interactions with strangers, through prayer and meditation, when holding a sleeping child. Here lately, I've been completely moved by the lyrics to this song. It was written by the worship leader at my church, Matt Boswell, and is based on Psalm 42:11.

Come What May


Verse 1:

this blessed assurance is rest for the weary
and strength for the weakness of man
prone to chase folly yet hungry for mercy
by grace you restore us again

Chorus:
come what may my heart will follow
come what may my song will be
i will sing of the cross where my dear saviour died
and trust in his wonderful name
come what may

Verse 2:
safely you lead me through shadows of danger
into cathedrals of love
Spirit imparting such peace everlasting
peace that is more than enough

Verse 3:
though i have questions that go without answers
my hope in you is secure
sorrow and pain fill my soul like an ocean
but Christ be my strength to endure

Happy Fall!

Livy and I have visited a couple pumpkin patches lately with some dear friends and family. The first visit was with Aunt Becky and our little friend. Our cousins Jessie and Jackson met up with us for the second one. Jackson is almost 8 weeks old and is as sweet as can be! He didn't make a peep the entire time, and he let me hold him as long as I wanted (which was quite a while because he decided not to join Olivia in the bounce house this year).


Olivia just loves her Aunt Bucky, unless she's asking her to smile for the camera.


Peek-a-BOO!


Jackson posed with a pumpkin that outweighs him and his Mommy. We won't talk about how unbelievably amazing she looks, especially for having a seven week old. And if we do, we won't be jealous at all. (So this is what one can look like when they don't put on 67lbs. during a pregnancy.) I just joke - way to go, Girl.


"Please don't lay me in the baby pumpkin bin again. I do have an image to maintain, you know."


This is the best shot I got of Liv with her baby cousin, "Dackson." Oh, how she loves him. I'm a bit afraid of her being around him, but she is so gentle. She'll make a great big sister one day.


Olivia, I'm afraid you are actually attracting birds to the patch. You are too cute, My Love.


When Aunt Becky asked her to smile, Livy gave her the most irritated, snobby scowl I've ever seen. I just caught the tail end of it on camera, but it was hilarious! Hopefully it's not a glimpse into our future, say, 11 years down the line.


We tried to duplicate it. We could scowl and eye-roll with the best of them.


No pumpkins here, well, other than those two - just a sweet picture:

Aaron can't take a Sunday afternoon nap without Livy wanting to "go to sleep" with him. Funny, she never actually goes to sleep, but she does have a fun time giggling with her Daddy. I don't think he minds. Not too much, anyway.

Potty Training Experts?

Any experts on potty training out there? We've been prepping for a while and officially started (then stopped) the other day. Olivia never went in the potty. I even set the timer to beep every thirty minutes to take her in to try, but she wet before the timer went off after 22 or 26 minutes. Does this mean she's not ready? I took it to mean that. Back in diapers, but she seems to keep them dry longer than panties. I'm sort of wondering if she was just in a hurry to change panties so she could try on the next princess. Maybe I should look for a pack of black and gray panties that aren't as exciting. I know I should read a book or two about potty training, but honestly, I know I'd read a few pages and lose the book for a few days. It takes FOREVER for me to get through a book. I blame my ADDOS: Attention Deficit Disor-OH, Sparkles! So, any thoughts from the experienced ones?

Back in business

After what seems like a very long time without "working," I have a job again! I've spent three months in limbo now. The plan was to teach four days each week at a private school, but enrollment didn't make, so now I plan on watching a few kids at home to bring in a bit of moolah. Unfortunately, Haltom City is not at the hub of an affluent area and is kinda far off from everyone I've talked with thus far. This time has been a tremendously amazing blessing since I've been able to spend it with Livy, but bills still need to be paid here! (I've given up on winning the lotto; perhaps my chances would have been greater if I bought tickets.) While I'm still unsure what the work week will look like for me, whether I really will be able to watch children or will go back to work, this is a great start!

Starting this weekend, I have the privilege of watching a darling four-year-old girl on the weekends while her mommy works for USPS. Last year I had a blast watching a four-year-old boy and one-year-old boy. Our days were filled with lots of playing, answering questions, singing, outings, sibling rivalry (my girl thought she had two brothers!) and all kinds of other fun stuff, and I can't wait to have another kiddo around again. Many, many thanks to God for this!

Since I'm unable to post new pics these days, I looked through some oldies and found some from a day in our lives last year. They kinda tell their own story.














He, he, would you let me watch YOUR children?

Plethora of Pics

I could look at photos all the day long. Here are some I love from our 'album.' The photo where she is holding a piece of bread was from when she made a cow out of her toast. Then he (the cow) started mooing, eating, and clopping around our dinner table. I was pretty tickled when I opened her dresser drawer and found my tennis shoes in it. Silly girl.

No pics - Just stuff

Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter!
I am the proud daughter-in-law of a real-life author! 'MomMollie' (a.k.a. Mollie Kehl Penrod) has her first published book available for the public. The Secret of Wellington's Map tells the tale of a young girl who has come across a mysterious map that allows her to travel to strange places and other time periods. She faces many adventures and dangers along with her friend who travels with her during what they thought would be a relaxing summer vacation. I bought my copy at Barnes and Noble, but it's also available on Amazon. (You know, just in case you might be interested in such a fascinating novel for tweens on up!) We're all so proud of her and can't wait to read her future works. If only we had a map of our own to get a sneak peek. ;-)

Welcome to our world & our family, too!
I had the utter joy of meeting my sweet little cousin who was born on the 27th. I was able to see him and his proud parents just a few hours after he was born. This baby boy is beautiful with a head of full, dark, fine hair! His dad had such a proud grin as he held his son, and his mommy looked amazing. One would not believe she had just given birth or had even been expecting a baby. This little boy is already so loved by all his family, especially his sweet parents. (Pics later - camera is currently MIA)

El Paso Family
Olivia fell in love again with her Great-great-aunt and uncle as we were able to meet them for dinner. They were passing through town and spent the evening with us. I think she was up past 10:00 and thoroughly enjoyed every second of peek-a-boo, tickling, cuddling, and chit-chatting with this sweet couple. I have only the fondest of memories of spending such quality time with them and was excited to watch my little girl do the same. (Pics later - camera is currently MIA)

That's $1.07.
For those of you who don't know, I have a bit of a weakness for caffeine via coffee drinks. The other day, I was especially tired and in need of a pick-me-up, so I made a quick trip to Quik Trip. (Cute, I know.) I filled my cup with frozen cappuccino and made my way to the counter, debit card in one hand, coffee in the other. (Livy was somewhere underfoot, I believe.) When the nice young man (whoa, getting old - referring someone as a young man - anywhooo...) rang me up he said, "That's $1.07." So I handed him my ...
coffee drink.
Yep, I tried to pay for my coffee drink with...my coffee drink.
I received a very blank stare in return. After what seemed like half a minute of mutual confusion, the poor young man simply said, "That's $1.07." Yeah, I'm thinking. So take my card. Wait. That's a cup of frozen beverage, not a card. Oops. After finally getting a grasp on the situation, I quite sheepishly handed him my card and muttered something about this being why I was here for a coffee drink in the first place and left.