Post # I-Forget of Let's-Get-Real

Did you know it's President's Day?  Apparently my district didn't.  Anyway.  Recap: GO!

Enter: super busy weekend
Exit: even trying to post every day

It was a valiant effort.  (Cue applause.)

I know you were eagerly awaiting the update on our Sea Monkeys.  They were knocked over by a visiting two-year-old before they had even hatched.  How have we been coping since the loss?

Well, Friday was Randy's (a.k.a. PaPa, which I have accidentally been spelling PawPaw) 50th birthday party in Albany at The Icehouse restaurant.  (See Facebook for pictures.)  It was fun and relaxing to be around family and fajitas.  It even worked perfectly with our crazy schedule because I traveled to Abilene that day to drop off some artwork for the Grace's Youth Art Month show... check out my students' work at our Art Dept. website.

Saturday was SING SONG! (For Knox and me - Koby went on a hunt that evening.  They got skunked.)  Elizabeth did an amazing job as a cute little firework in an act that was spectacular, astounding, impressive.  Again, great to see family, semi long lost friends AND to have backup when Knox got a little restless.  (At the tippy top of Section J smack dab in the middle.  ACU alumni, you feel me.)  Thankfully, he made it through until post-EOX performance.

Saturday was also Melissa's last basketball game.  Ever.  Finito.  (Sadly, no pictures.)  I can't even tell you how much I admire my younger sister for not only being a woman of integrity, but also for being an incredible athlete, a hard worker, and crazy smart to boot.  She's a graduate student (who graduated with, like a 3.99 as a business major) who works full time and still managed to become UT Tyler's leading women's basketball scorer of all time this year.  What's she going to do next?

Sunday we were visited by friends Derek and Kim as they made their way back from Sing Song, and THEN we visited Brooke and John, who just moved HERE!  What?  Yes!  Welcome to Colorado City, population: your new best friends.  Sunday was also the Day of Regret, as it was the final night before grades were due and Mrs. Andrews still had a pretty hefty stack of Rhythm + Variety Projects to grade.  Weeeeeeeeee.

Here we are in a new week, Knox is officially seven months old TODAY (no picture... yet), and did I hear someone say FIFTEEN (school) DAYS UNTIL SPRING BREAK?!  Oh, it was ME!

Post #11, 12 and 13 of 29

It's Monday, I've sucked it up again with the whole "post every day" thing, but here's what's new: we spent a happy weekend in Austin with my family (sans a Pack 'N Play for Knox - NOT recommended) and got to visit with some of my college friends at a couples shower for my friend Marie, who is pregnant with her second baby.  It was great to see Abby, Meagan, Caroline, Hayley, all their respective spouses/boyfriends/offspring and of course, Marie...

Marie is one of those friends who's become like family to me.  One of those friends who I wish lived closer, so our kids could grow up together.  Maybe one day.

The morning of the shower I headed over to Marie's house to take some pictures of her baby bump.  Marie is on strict bed rest because of pre-eclampsia, a condition that caused her daughter Lyla to be born at 32 weeks.  She's currently at about 32 weeks with new baby Wyatt, and so we're all praying that she's able to stay pregnant as long as possible to avoid another lengthy stay in the NICU.  Anyway, we popped into her backyard, bribed Lyla with some jelly beans and snapped some non-strenuous photographs.

I can't wait to finish editing the rest of these pictures... two beautiful models = fun and easy work.  Check out www.paintsandpistols.com to see some more photography... and some exciting things are going to be happening with P&P Photography soon, so stay tuned.  Not telling yet.  It's a surprise.

Health Hubris

So, I used to be a little cocky about my super-stellar immune system. Which is a weird and annoying thing to boast about - I'm aware of it. Please just choose to find it endearing.

Anyway, I used to think I was essentially invincible to superfluous illnesses such as the common cold. I actually used to tease my husband when he would get panicky, after missing a few nights' sleep, feeling like he would "get sick". Ha! Getting sick was for mere mortals. (Are you wondering how someone can be married to me? Me too.)

Nope. I was just dumb. He was right. This fall (for lack of a better word to describe the beginning of the school year that has mostly seen weather in the 90s) I have chugged Emergen-C and TherFlu, Lysoled and hand-sanitized every surface within eyesight, and I have still managed to get sick three times. That is more than I normally get sick in a 1-2 year span.

No, this is not a urine sample.  It is TheraFlu in a Mason Jar.  Turns out, Sleep > TheraFlu. 

SLEEP. IS. IMPORTANT. Get enough of it. That's really all I can say about that. If you're young and married, like me, the best thing you can do to ensure that you're getting enough sleep is to take your birth control pill.

That's essentially been our week.  Mmm, and this baby in his winter hat.  (And so he's still a Halloween monster, so what?  Soon he'll be too big to ever wear this ensemble again...  sniff.)

I'm still ruminating over the chapters I've read about simplicity- hopefully I'll have something to share tomorrow.

As you head into the weekend, please keep the ACU community in your prayers, after the tragic bus accident that happened this afternoon. One student was killed and the other passengers are being treated for injuries. It is a terrifying thing to read about and imagine for the families and friends involved. It is especially on my heart tonight.

 

This picture was taken at the Prayer Vigil tonight on ACU's campus, by the Tower of Light.  Just when life becomes terrifying... it's so important to remember that

 

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous will enter, and they are

 

SAFE.

We Heart ACU

Knox stepped  foot on our alma mater's campus for the first time today...  well. not literally.  But he was there.  DT Homecoming Breakfast with old friends, and then the ACU Homecoming Parade with family as well.  Knox is a trooper and a saint of a baby.

Don't Blink

It appears I might be more likely to post some 'weekend wrap-ups' rather than religiously posting each Friday and Sunday.  Fridays are hard with the football games to go to.  This week/weekend has been BUSY.  Let me tell you about it.



Last Saturday and Sunday Ross and Alex came in to visit and we enjoyed some good relaxation time.  Lots of football and Words With Friends.



On Tuesday (Sept. 20) Knox turned two months old!  In some ways I can hardly believe he's only been around for two months.  Our lives have already been shaped and molded to accompany him so completely it feels like he's always been here.  On a side note, I'm still prepping the rough draft of his two-month entry before I write it in his baby book.  Lesson learned.

Randy came in town for the junior high football games on Thursday and was able to love on Knox for a few hours.  Also, Knox's special football hat made its debut because of the chilly, windy weather.  I was thrilled to be able to use this little hat!



On Friday afternoon Knox and I went to Abilene for his two month check up.  Everything is looking good!  He weighed 12 lbs 11 oz and is right around the 50th percentile for both length and weight.  He's a little bit higher on the weight end and we are lovin' it.  Here I am expressing my apprehension about the impending immunization shots, while he blissfully has no idea what's coming...



This is him after he found out what a trip to the doctor really entails. 



On Saturday we traveled to Midland for Derek and Kim's wedding.  (Remember when I took their engagement pictures?  Seems like just yesterday!)  It was a beautiful wedding and it was wonderful to be around our college friends again, even if just for a night.  Here are the guys in their suspenders.  Koby was beside himself about getting to wear suspenders, and in fact he was the one who organized this photo op.  If you know anything about Koby, you can appreciate that this is monumental.



On Sunday my college roommate Kristen visited and I FINALLY got to meet Michaela, her 8 month old daughter.  She is so cute!  It's just so crazy to see this picture of our KIDS sitting next to each other on the couch.  Time flies...

  

Sunrise and rain showers, both while on the way to Knox's day care before and after school.  It's a nice, peaceful drive.



 I'm beginning to realize that I can basically just write these posts in some sort of format like this:

Who came to visit "us" (read: Knox)?

Which football games did we attend?

Why else didn't I get around to writing the thank-you notes from when Knox was born?  (Whoops again.  But I am finishing them today!  They are on my "Urgent To-Do List" that consists of about 15 things that need to be done.  Well, needed to be done like a week ago to be socially acceptable and now it's just embarassing.  In one of the thank yous I mentioned how great it is to have a light, breathable cotton blanket for Knox "during these hot summer months".  Thanks a lot, Fall Equinox, for happening to come before I got that one in the mail.)

Let's talk about Knox for a bit, okay?  He's the best baby ever.  I'm realizing that more and more.  He is just so easy.  I'm so very glad he's able to fall asleep anywhere, any time.  Whether it's a row away from loud football fans or during the Cupid Shuffle at a wedding reception.  He doesn't cry when new people hold him and can find a way to be comfortable anywhere.  Not sure if he's that way naturally or if it's because he's had to be flexible since he was born because of our inconsistent schedule, but I do know either way that Koby and I don't deserve such a magnificent son.  We are so proud of him.

Oh, and I had a Mommy moment this weekend.  At the wedding last night, the DJ invited all the mothers and sons to come and dance together after Derek had his dance with his mom, and so I went to scoop up Knox from an admirer and danced with him.  I only managed to spin around the floor with him in my arms for about a minute because 

1. the sentimentality of the moment in no way lessens how awkward it is to slow dance essentially by yourself and
2. I got extremely choked up, dancing with my baby and looking at all the mothers dancing with their grown babies and Derek dancing with his mother.  I was thinking, "I bet they feel like this was just moments ago".  That's going to be us, one day, if we're extremely blessed. 

I hope I always note God's faithfulness, even in times of trouble.



ACU Homecoming Parade

Belinda and I met up with the Mechinuses to watch the parade - special this year because my sister-in-law Elizabeth is pledging Siggies!

Delta Theta Breakfast