We're Still Here...

It's officially been 2 1/2 months since my last post. That's just sad. I do have some valid reasons. Here's a few of them (which will also catch you up a little on our life the past couple months)...

Shortly after my last post, I finally got a job! I had been on the search for about 10 months. And I use the word "search" very loosely. I knew what I needed was going to be hard to find. I am still home with Jake and knew I wanted to stay home with him, so I was looking for something I could do from home, that was flexible, or that was going to help us out enough financially for it to be worth the hours I would put in. (We don't have any family close and day care costs make most part-time jobs almost seem pointless.) Anywho, the Lord answered our prayers so specifically - we are beyond grateful! To give you the cliff notes version, I am doing some design work for a friend and amazing woman from our church. She owns a very successful company that makes all sorts of "lovelies" (as she likes to call them) - everything from stationery and recipe cards to stamps, plates, and perpetual calendars. You should check it out: Sincerely Yours Paper. (Her etsy shop is reopening soon...just closed for the holidays. So click the link again soon.) The fit could not have been more perfect for my needs. It's an ongoing job, flexible hours, and she is so much fun to work for. Am I repeating myself if I say I'm super thankful?!? Because I am! All that to say, any free moment I had to sneak in on the computer was spent doing design work. I'm not complaining, I really enjoy it! But needless to say, blogging wasn't on the top of the priority list.

We have also spent a good bit of time over the past couple months in Mountain Home visiting my parents. Does that mean I can't blog? No, but for some reason I totally disconnect from all things social media/phone/technology when I'm there. It's actually kind of nice - thoroughly enjoy the break. Anywho, Jake and I were there for a week in the beginning of November when Josh went on a mission trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. Then we were there for a few days for Thanksgiving and again a few days for Christmas. Again, not an excuse. Just giving you my reasons/catching you up on life.

The other main reason for my absence is STORAGE! What the heck??? Who knew you had limited "storage" on your blog for posting pictures and videos and such? Back at the end of November, I was getting ready to do a catch up post of pics, and it told me I no longer could upload pictures until I purchased more storage space. Genius, Google, genius. Guess that's one way they make their money. I know, it's really my own fault. I'm sure it was explained in the fine print somewhere when I first created this blog...but who reads that stuff, really? So I've been going back and forth on whether or not it's worth purchasing or not. It's not like it costs THAT much, but it's more the principle. I didn't think my blog would COST me money. It's like $2.50/month - I suppose we could probably handle that. I still haven't paid for it - hence the post full of only WORDS. Who wants that?

I swear we were also sick for like a month straight. Well at least one of us was. When Josh got back from Mexico, he caught some sort of virus, and we just passed it around between the three of us for a month. Not fun. Another reason I wasn't super focused on blogging. But we're well right now! Knock on wood.

So there you have it. All my "reasons" (excuses or whatever you choose to call them.) Hope that catches you up a little. If I ever do purchase more storage space (which is likely) - I will post a more interesting picture update. There are LOTS of them to catch up on. Beware of picture overload. Happy 2013 everyone!!!

Picture Update...

Here's a quick catch up on some recent pics...

We're still transitioning to one nap even though it's been over a month and a half since we started. By the time lunch rolls around, this little guy is spent. This happens often in his high chair while I'm feeding him lunch. You can see the progression...

 

 Poor buddy.

 Josh and I got Jake a wagon for his birthday. Best purchase ever. He LOVES it. We ride in it at least twice a day. He has never been so content being confined to anything...until now. His face lights up if we mention the word wagon.

 We laid sod in our backyard a couple weeks ago (actually on Josh's birthday...poor Josh...it's okay, it was a great gift once it was complete.) Before we laid it though, Jake got some good dirt time.

Love the concentration. And that belly.

A pic off Josh's iPhone from this past Sunday. Nothing better than a little afternoon snuggle time with my boys. I know it's a blurry pic, but I'm obsessed with it. Maybe because I wanted to freeze that moment in time. My heart overflows.

Visit from the Grands...

I'm way late on this post, but better late than never. Josh's parents came to visit us a few weeks ago for Jake's birthday. They got to stay for almost a week - had to make that 18 hour drive worth it. Yep, that's right, they drove. They're dedicated grandparents! They hadn't gotten to see Jake since he was about 5 weeks old, and I think it's fair to say this visit was much better than the first. Jake had probably his worst colicky weekend the last time they were here and screamed the whole time (and Josh's dad was sick for the entire visit.) This visit was SO good. We thoroughly enjoyed their company (and their help), and it only took a matter of minutes for Jake to fall in love with them. He was going through withdrawals (probably from the constant love & attention) when they left...something tells me that was mutual. I only captured a few pictures of them with Jake but I wanted to make sure I documented the visit. What a sweet time.

Papa & Jake reading his new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book.

 Jake & Grandma on his birthday.

Papa took Jake on lots of "adventures" outside. He loved it.

Jake was using Papa's head as a drum here. :)

Jake with his South Carolina grands. Look at that grin - happy, happy guy.

The Fly Swatter...

Who needs toys when you have a fly swatter? The first time we really heard Jake get super tickled at something and bust out his belly laugh was back in the spring when Josh was killing flies in our kitchen. Apparently, the fly swatter hasn't lost its touch...

Kind of obsessed with the part where he laughs so hard, it turns into a silent laugh. :)

And then a few more pics of Jake with the fly swatter... (We actually did have a ton of flies to kill recently...not really the season for it I know, but we laid sod the other day in our backyard - YAY - and the constant in and out resulted in a few "friends." It's okay - it provided Jake some entertainment.)

He's all boy for sure.

Sweet Reunions...

We got to reconnect with some great friends this weekend. We feel so blessed that we still have such great friendships from all the different seasons of our lives...we only wish we saw all them more.

Brian & Kelly Key, both best friends of mine in college, were passing through on their way to Siloam Springs. Brian was teaching at a college retreat, so we got to grab lunch with them on Friday. Was definitely not long enough - I sure treasured those two hours. (In case you haven't ever caught up on their story, you need to - it's beyond inspiring. Check out their blog here.)

Miss them so much! Unfortunately, Jake didn't get to meet Gabby, their 10 month old. Despite the "long line" they claim there is to get to her, I think Jake could jump to the front pretty easily. I mean, look at him? :)

Then our friends Bodie and Marissa came in on Saturday. I posted about their wedding and engagement back in the spring. This was our first time to hang out with them as a married couple. Crazy! Jake loved them - I think the feeling was mutual. Even for Bodie. Apparently Jake's out of the "boring baby phase" now. ;) Thankful they were willing to come to us since it's a little tougher to take road trips these days. 

 

 Love this pic. And love how Jake always crosses his little feet. Thanks for loving on our little man, Bodie & Mo!

Birthday Celebrations...

I want to share some pictures from Jake's birthday celebrations. Yes, that's plural. We just did two very small family parties. And party really isn't a very accurate term - we simply had cake and opened presents and loved all over him all day (not that we don't do that everyday.) I kept going back and forth, feeling bad that I wasn't making a huge deal out of his 1st birthday, but I think we covered the important stuff. And we got some great pictures! Jake did not disappoint with the cake smash.  (Warning: picture overload below, sorry. There were so many good ones, I just couldn't narrow it down.)

The cake. I ordered it from Shelby Lynn's. It was awesome. I love how it turned out. (I decided to just match the cake to his nursery instead of having a theme, since there wasn't much else to the party as far as decorations go.)


Jake had a matching little smash cake. (Josh was playing around with our camera in this shot. We still only know about .05% of what the camera is capable of doing. We're learning!)

Had to include at least one pic of him opening presents. He, of course, was more infatuated with the tissue paper than the gifts.

Getting started on the cake...

Really getting into it...

Once he started to get a reaction, he really started to ham it up. He was signing "please" here...exactly why he was only wearing a diaper.

Starting to get a little full.

Love this close-up.

 

Opening gifts at party #2 (with Josh's parents...they came in all the way from South Carolina for his birthday.)

 

Jake's first baseball mitt. Thanks Great Grandpa Carl! 

 Starting on cake #2. I decided to make my own cake for this one, since we ordered one for the first party. I also decided to let him try chocolate. Apparently he likes both.

Love that little grin. 

Can't get big enough handfuls. 

Hamming it up again. 

 He's so proud of himself.

 
And a little family picture from his first birthday. New favorite.

Happy Birthday, Jake...

dear jake...
today you turned one. as i'm typing this right now, the computer says it's 7:59pm. (i didn't plan that.) that is the exact minute you entered into the world one year ago. screaming. {then you continued screaming for the first 2 months of your life...as you can see, we all survived. it was touch and go for a while.}

there is no possible way to sum up a year. especially the first. so i thought i'd just tell you some stuff about you, how you are right now. i often wonder how much of this will change and how much is a reflection of who you will grow into. only time will tell.

you have always loved being outside. it was one of the only things that kept us sane during the colicky months and it remains your favorite place to be. i love that about you.

you are a terrible napper. always have been. maybe you just don't want to miss out on anything. or maybe you really don't require as much sleep as some kids. or maybe i passed on the "light sleeper" gene. who knows...i've learned that i guess a lot in this whole parenting thing.

you have started mimicking us more and more. two words for that - cute & scary. as if parenting wasn't sanctifying and refining enough. i hope you pick up on the good more than the bad. i have a feeling we'll be saying sorry to you a lot as well.

you are not an organizer. you know how some babies like to put things inside stuff? nope, not you - you dump, scatter, empty, spread, everything, everywhere. this is a challenge for your type A momma. i'm learning to let go of "neatness" all the time...it's a never-ending battle. i have a feeling we will have some battles over cleaning your room.

you don't snuggle much. so when you do, i soak it up. i love that you know your sleep "cues." when the light goes out and the sound machine goes on...your head goes on my shoulder. that's why it's hard to relinquish the "going to bed" duty to anyone else. that's my only snuggle time with you.

you have so much of your daddy in you - you are such a people person. you love being around lots of people. and you thrive in new places. you love exploring and experiencing new things. this is SO your daddy. and some of my favorite things about both of you.

you love your daddy so much. i love watching you when every time he gets home. the excitement in your face is priceless. i hope you always admire him in this way - he is such a Godly model for you.

you are extremely determined. maybe the term is strong-willed. this can prove to be challenging but i fully believe that your strong will can be harnessed and used in a mighty way for Christ someday. i pray that the Lord uses this to make you a strong leader. for Him.

you are beautiful. i stare at you a lot and study your face, your smile, your little fat feet. pictures truly can't capture your cuteness.

you have expanded our ability to love more that we ever knew possible. and you have expanded our view of God. to think that God the Father loves us infinitely more than i could ever love you truly baffles me. when i really try to wrap my mind around that truth, it's so humbling. and comforting. i pray that you know God in this way someday.

your daddy and i pray that you will come to know Christ in a personal, tangible way someday. that you will find full confidence in who you are in Him, not who this world tells you to be. we pray that you will understand at an early age that you are performing for an audience of One. and that you will experience freedom in obedience to His ways.

happy birthday jake, our little tooter. we love you so very much.