I'm sooooo excited about getting to sit down and blog right now.....I always look forward to this time. I really enjoy this whole "blog thing." When asked what I like to do in my free time, blogging is one of the first things to come to mind. Yeah, I know....then why has it been 2 months since our last post? All I can say is TIME FLIES!! And somehow, we always seem to stay so BUSY! ugh!
Lots has changed in 2 months...
** We're NOT planning on buying and remodeling the house we live in now (as I told you in the last post). All the bids were outrageously high! That was clearly no longer even an option. The house hunt is on hold for the time being.
** I did not end up taking summer classes at MCC, as I told you about previously. Lots to that story, but bottom line is my time and energy needed to be spent in other areas this summer (instead of studying, in class, stressed, etc.) Not real sure what the plan is in this area either, for the time being.
** As many of you may already know, Brett's grandfather passed away about a week ago (on July 2nd). He was such a sweet, wonderful man. Brett and him were very close and had a very special relationship. The last few months have been very difficult as he grew sicker and sicker. Then several weeks ago, he seemed to suddenly get worse, and we were told it wouldn't be much longer. We spent every minute there that we could. The night he died, the whole family was there, except for our brother-in-law. In Papa's last few minutes of life, Brett's mom asked us to gather around him and hold hands. Then she asked Brett to pray. It was really special. God is good and answered our prayer immediately. Brett said, "Amen" and we all watched Papa take his last breath. It happened within 45 seconds to a minute after we prayed. Then it was over. He wasn't suffering or in pain any more. Words cannot express how amazing and special that time was. There's sooooo much more to this story, but the most important thing is that God is faithful--He heard and answered our prayer (in more ways than one), He brought comfort like only He can do, and He brought everyone even closer together through this whole thing. Praise Him! The funeral was last Thursday. Brett and his great Uncle, Fred did the service together. It was great--a beautiful celebration of Papa's life!
He was pretty excited to be a great-grandfather!!
And now, we're getting back to "normal life." Still trying to figure out what that means exactly....
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Baby girl is NOT a baby anymore! She's such a BIG GIRL!!! Wow!! She amazes us daily with all the "big girl" things she can do. We truly can't keep up with all the words she can say now. She seems to be literally absorbing the environment around her. She is learning new things constantly. Sometimes you can just watch her, and it's as if you can SEE the wheels turning inside her little head. She'll watch us do something, then she'll try to mimic us. She repeats words after us. She understands things that we say and then responds. Just a few examples.....She'll look for Brett sometimes during the day, walking around saying "da-da." I'll tell her, "da-da left for work. He went bye-bye." Then she'll walk down the hall and go to the front door, wave and say "bye-bye." When you ask her if she's hungry, she'll go to her high-chair, hold on to the legs and look up as she does this chewing motion with her mouth. You can hold open a book and ask her questions and she points. "Emma, where is the dog? Ball? Shoe? Flowers? Cat?" She points to her body parts when you ask her, "Where is your belly? Ears? Nose? Eyes? etc. It is SO FUN to watch her grow!! Wow! I'm LOVING being a mommy and getting to be with her so much. Brett is the best dad too! Watching them play together is the best!
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PICTURE TIME!! :o)
Here's some family pics, first.
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The proud grandparents.....
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YOUTH CAMP!
Emma went with us to youth camp in Marathon, TX (out west near Big Bend). She did great and loved being around all the action. She was tuckered out when the week was over and slept a good part of the 7-8 hour drive home (below).
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Yeah, we're still working on learning how to use a spoon.
Fun times! :o)
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Messy eating leads to lots of baths, which this girl has always loved! Scares us sometimes how comfortable she is around water, though; we have to watch her closely. As you can see below, her love of baths and love of reading was joined together when Nana bought her a book for the bathtub. That ought to win the $10,000 on AFV, eh? Also, bubble baths have become a favorite. She loves to say "buh-bulls." Too cute! However, we've had to put a stop to the bubble baths for now, because she thinks it's funny to drink the water. She bends down and laps it up like a dog, then comes up laughing. I have to say, it's pretty funny (& cute), but I worry about her taking in too much soapy water and getting sick to her stomach.
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Loves carrying purses, bags, lunch boxes....whatever she can get her arm through. So if you're ever at our house and your purse ends up missing, go look in Emma's room. Another new thing, she wants to wear bracelets and necklaces. She'll put her stacking rings around her wrist and walk around to show them off. She has a couple other toys that she insists on trying to "wear" around her neck or wrist. She loves jewelry. I think the grandmas are rubbing off on her, cause we all know it's not from her mama. :o)
Here's some family pics, first.
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The proud grandparents.....
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YOUTH CAMP!
Emma went with us to youth camp in Marathon, TX (out west near Big Bend). She did great and loved being around all the action. She was tuckered out when the week was over and slept a good part of the 7-8 hour drive home (below).
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Yeah, we're still working on learning how to use a spoon.
Fun times! :o)
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Messy eating leads to lots of baths, which this girl has always loved! Scares us sometimes how comfortable she is around water, though; we have to watch her closely. As you can see below, her love of baths and love of reading was joined together when Nana bought her a book for the bathtub. That ought to win the $10,000 on AFV, eh? Also, bubble baths have become a favorite. She loves to say "buh-bulls." Too cute! However, we've had to put a stop to the bubble baths for now, because she thinks it's funny to drink the water. She bends down and laps it up like a dog, then comes up laughing. I have to say, it's pretty funny (& cute), but I worry about her taking in too much soapy water and getting sick to her stomach.
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Loves carrying purses, bags, lunch boxes....whatever she can get her arm through. So if you're ever at our house and your purse ends up missing, go look in Emma's room. Another new thing, she wants to wear bracelets and necklaces. She'll put her stacking rings around her wrist and walk around to show them off. She has a couple other toys that she insists on trying to "wear" around her neck or wrist. She loves jewelry. I think the grandmas are rubbing off on her, cause we all know it's not from her mama. :o)
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Another thing she loves....SHOES!! (she might have, maybe, possibly, sorta have gotten this from her mama a little bit.... but Nana could be to blame too! :o) Whenever she sees someone's shoes laying around (including her own), she says "shoooooose" and then proceeds to try to put them on. I caught her in my closet one day (pic. below); she had pulled out different shoes and was just having a good ol' time. Looks so innocent, doesn't she?
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Brett said that Emma and I sleep a lot alike....spread out, bury our face, hug a pillow, that sort of thing. I think he may have a point.
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Some of you may get a kick out of this, and some of you may think it's bad/gross, but here goes.....Emma has one other "new trick" that I wanted to tell. She has started patting her diaper to let us know when she has gone to the bathroom (not liking dirty diapers and letting someone know when you've gone is one sign that the child is ready to begin potty training.....we're kinda excited about that part). Anyway, we've discovered that she likes to notify others when they've "had an uh-oh" too. If you toot around her (or just make a tooting noise), she comes over to you and gives you a little pat. :o) Pretty funny, huh? We think so, anyway! :o)
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Here's a picture of my dad and my brother, Chris taken over Father's Day weekend. I know many of you have heard what's going on with him. He has some kind of mass or inflammation in his head (brain). For months, doctors have been trying to figure out what it is. It has some characteristics of a tumor, but not enough for them to confidently say that that's what it is. He's undergone a lot of testing, and seen lots of doctors....and still nobody knows or has even seen anything like it before. His headaches have gotten better, but he's been taking some very strong steroids. Obviously, this has affected his daily life a great deal. He has been living in San Antonio with family since this was first discovered (Nov/Dec??), but is likely moving to Wyoming soon with my other brother, Michael. If God brings him to your mind, please pray for him and his healing. Thanks!
