Fall Festival

On Saturday night, we went with some friends to the Fall Festival at the First Baptist Church in Robinson.  We were actually impressed with all the work they put into it!  It was a Noah's Ark theme, where the children were asked to dress up in non-scary or animal costumes.  Since Kaitlyn is only 4 months old, we were not going to take her trick-or-treating, so this was a good, safe alternative and an opportunity for her to wear the cute lamb outfit her Momo bought her.

 She got to help feed the baby goats!

Kaitlyn also got to ride her first pony.

She was talking to the photographer.

The evening ended on a high note, with an amazing win by Baylor over UT.  So exciting to finally have a winning season and know that we will be going to a bowl game.

Sophie is healed!

Our miniature schnauzer, Sophie, passed a bladder stone about 6 weeks ago when she suddenly peed on the floor in the kitchen. We immediately took her to the vet and they found two more larger stones in the bladder.  They put her on a canned S/D diet and said to come back in 3 weeks.

At the 3 week check-up, she had 1 larger and multiple tiny stones.  They said to try this special (very expensive) diet for another 3 weeks, and if the stones weren't gone, we would have to do surgery.

Sophie and I went back to the vet this morning, and the x-ray showed no bladder stones! Yippee!!  So she doesn't have to have surgery and we don't have to pay for surgery.  She will continue to require an expensive diet for the rest of her life, but that should prevent the stones from returning.  No more table scraps for poor Sophie, but she is approved to have an occasional carrot, which is her favorite snack.

I Can't Believe I Found It!

And soooo completely by accident.  I made a picture a very long time ago and I thought it was lost.  Today in trying to recover from one catastrophe and avoid another I stumbled on an old external harddrive.


I plugged it in to see if I could erase it and use it for other purposes and staring right at me was a folder that rang a bell in the far depths of my memory.


I found it.


I give you the Smith kids.

The hilarious part is that Ryan and Angela were just in town for Homecoming and this picture came up and I said that I was pretty sure that it was lost forever.

Homecoming

Homecoming 2010 was fun and interesting!  Usually we have about 6-8 people staying with us, but this year, it was just our friends Angela and Ryan.  They are some of our favorite couple friends, so it was lots of fun spending time with them.  Not sure if having a baby scared other people off or what!

On Friday night, we threw Kaitlyn's schedule off by taking her to bonfire at 10:00.  We missed the big flames, but got a few pictures.

 We borrowed this cute bear costume from a friend.

 Family pic at Bonfire

Saturday morning, we went to the parade and got caught in the rain.  We had the best seats on campus that we have ever had!  (We won't say where, so we can get them next year!)

At the last minute, I decided to go to the game and got Micah's mom to watch Kaitlyn.  I probably shouldn't have spent the $40, because 1 and 1/2 minutes into the game, it got delayed due to lightning in the area.  Then a huge storm came right over the stadium.  We decided to run to the car, but waited 10 minutes too long and got drenched.  Everyone came back home to quickly shower and change.  At that point, I decided not to go back and gave my ticket to a friend.  Angela stayed for a bit, got cold, and ended up coming back to the house as well!  Cold and wet did not seem like a good combination.

That evening, our friends Lisa, Brian and her baby Kaylee, as well as Suzannah and Bo, came to eat a late dinner at our house.  It was fun to catch up with everyone.  I fell asleep on the couch with our company still there at 10:15.  Hope they weren't offended!

Kaitlyn and Kaylee playing.

4 Months!

It's hard to believe my little angel is already 4 months old.  How time flies!  I'm loving every second we get to spend together.  It is such a privilege to be her mom.  She is SUCH a good baby.  I hate to brag- but she is, so I'm going to say it!

We went for her 4-month check-up yesterday, about a week after she turned 4 months.
She is now 25 1/2 inches tall.
She weighs 17.45 pounds!  (I don't think she looks that big unless you look at her thighs!)

I can't believe how quickly she has gained weight.  I was a fat baby and so was my mom, so I guess it runs in the family.  I certainly don't worry about breaking her anymore!  I asked the doctor if I should be concerned, and he said, "no since she is growing along her growth curve and started out as a fairly large baby."  He thinks she will even out when she starts to move more.  He calls her "appropriately chunky."
I think we will wait to start solids (rice cereal) because she seems to be doing just find with breast milk alone.  She is doing better about taking bottles, but still prefers mom, if given the choice.

Her personality is really coming out.  She is fairly laid back most of the time.  Content.  She rarely cries, and when she does, it is certainly not for long.  She cried for about 15 seconds when she got her shots yesterday.  She continues to be very observant and has been almost since the first week she was alive.  She loves to watch people.

Kaitlyn has been battling allergies.  I have a theory that she may be allergic to cats.  The two times she has had reactions, she was in close contact with cats.  The doc said that was possible, but not to completely avoid cats at this point.  It could also be the weather change, high ragweed counts, the fact that both of her parents suffer from seasonal allergies.  Who knows!  All I know is that it's so hard to have a sick baby.  Especially when she has fever and seems like she can't breathe through her nose.  She's finally not congested anymore (13 days after the initial attack.)

I think she is going to be a talker.  She likes to hear her voice.  She is doing a lot of vocal play with mostly vowels and some consonants.  I swear it almost sounds like she says "mama" when she is frustrated.

Kaitlyn has discovered her feet.  She loves to grab them and play with them.  She is close to rolling over onto her tummy.  She is also starting to scoot just a little bit while on her tummy (but I bet it will be awhile before she is really crawling.) She is sitting up better and better each day.

In the past week, she has laughed for the first time.  Such a sweet sound.

This weekend, she will get to go to her first Baylor Homecoming.  We are taking her to Bonfire tonight and to the parade in the morning.  Hopefully, it won't rain on us tomorrow!

Here are some recent pictures.

 Love her expression here.  This dress was given to her by cousin Claire.  We have her infant dedication at the church on 11/14 and I hope it still fits, so she can wear it then!

 After lifegroup one night, she actually took a pacifier! It was worth taking a picture of.  This is a very rare occasion, but luckily, most of the time she doesn't need it.

 She hasn't quite learned how to jump in it yet.

 Go Baylor!  Hope we get to a bowl game.  Micah says he is going if Baylor makes a bowl game- and I can go with him if I want! Ha!

 At Starbucks in College Station on our way back from Houston.  

 Mandy gave us lots of 6-month clothes including this cute bear hat.  We were trying it out for the big debut at Homecoming.

Butterflies

Butterflies.
They remind me of life, new life.  I decided to do Kaitlyn's bedding in butterflies and flowers.  Red, of course, because I'm not a pink person.  The scripture that came to mind when I think of newness of life is John 10:10.  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."  In the past, I have preferred just the second part of that verse.  I have the whole verse framed in her room.

Since Kaitlyn was born, I have struggled with this fear of death- her death.  I don't fear my own, or at least didn't before becoming a mom, yet I am constantly battling fear of her death.  I think that is why the Lord gave me this scripture awhile back.  I almost forgot about it.  The Lord has promised me he would protect Kaitlyn's life.  He watches over her when I can't.  He is her ever-present help in times of trouble.  He is emmanuel- God with us.  He will never leave her or forsake her.  I believe that.

Butterflies.  Do you know what God has done to reiterate his promise to me?  I keep seeing butterflies everywhere!  I see them as I drive, when I walk, and when we're out in the yard.  It's just a tangible reminder of his love for me and my baby.  He promises fullness of life.  God loves to speak to us.  It's fun when he does it in unique ways.

How has the Lord spoken to you recently?

AH-CHOO!

You can't truly understand what it is like to be a parent until you are one.  You can't truly understand what it is like to have a sick child until you have one.  And it's awful.  Just awful!  You feel helpless.  You don't understand why it has to happen to such a sweet, innocent little person.  You wish you could take the illness upon yourself.  You pray and pray.  In fact, I prayed 93 healing scriptures for Kaitlyn.  No significant results.  But in a few days, it passes.  She survived.  And I start to pray about it a little less.  Why don't I pray as much in the good times as in the tough times?  If God has really called me to be an intercessor, which I feel like he has, then what is wrong with me?  I'm thankful that it is not about performance.  But I also know that if I would "pray without ceasing" in all circumstances, I would start to see awesome things happen around me.  My faith would be built up.  Others who I pray for would be blessed.  It would so be worth the time invested.  When will I learn from my mistakes?

Yesterday, I listened to 2 one-hour videos by Beth Moore on Believing God.  My faith was so stirred!  I do believe God is real, but do I believe He can do all things?   Joshua 3:5 talks about walking into our promised land.  The #1 hindrance to doing so is unbelief.  She asked that we stand on the following statements:  1) God is who he says he is, 2) God can do what he says he can do, 3) I am who God says I am, 4) I can do all things in Christ, 5) God's word is alive and active in me.  These 5 statements make up the shield of faith.

When Kaitlyn was sick, I found myself questioning God's goodness.  Why would he let it happen?  Why didn't he choose to heal her quickly as I prayed?  I had the thought that he may not want to heal her- but that does not line up with the Word of God.

Here is the bottom line.  I know God.  I know that he is good.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He loves me.  Jeremiah 29:11 says he wants to prosper me and not to harm me. The same goes for Kaitlyn.  I need to stop walking in passivity.  I am constantly reflecting who I believe God is.  I want it to be a positive reflection.  I want to stand in faith no matter the results.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  His word has to be immersed in me daily to build up my faith.  The word has to come in so that it will come out when other people need advice, prayer etc..

It's time to turn a corner in this journey.  It's time to walk out what I say that I believe.  I can't wait to see what God will do.

Bringing Up Suppressed Memories

So Davey Ovey twittered the image below and said he just received it in an HTML spam email.  He felt violated.  Instead of feelings of violation, it waxes more nostalgic for me. (That is probably because I was not blasted with it from an unexpected email.)

There are several things from the land of web that have faded away over the years.  Just a few of my favorite are the blink tag, bevels on EVERYTHING and animated GIFs.  Every now and then I will come across someone "holding on" to one of these old trends.  I go back and forth in my head whether or not they are attempting to be retro or are they just clueless (I'm looking at you BAA). 

Given the word "Retro" in the GIF below I tend to think they are trying to be clever.  I guess this is kind of like wearing huge white socks with thick colored stripes at the top of them.  I love those socks.

(click the graphic for full animated goodness)

Heart-Shattered

I was reading through Psalm 51 this morning and decided to take a look at it in "The Message".  One line struck me.


Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice. 


"The Message" has some funny way of saying things from time to time (John 1:14 is a good example) but something in the phrasing of this verse resonated with me and I wanted to share it.


Psalm 51 (MSG)