Longmire News

Goodbye Old Friend

2012-02-16T23:08:00.019-08:00

Bob and I had to say goodbye to our big sweet Rocky Boy yesterday. Rocky was filled with cancer and it was in his bones and hips causing him excruciating pain. He went downhill fast and yesterday let us know it was time. Bob and I held him as he passed quietly and quickly and cried our eyes out too.

What a sweet boy. The Longmires could have had 4 doggie lifetimes with Rocky and still felt like it wasn't enough time. Rocky was special. Bob and I were always sure that Rocky was going to live forever. Not because he wanted too, but because we were sure we couldn't get by without the big ole boy in our lives. I will tell you, his pain was so great this week that Bob and I knew we could no longer hold onto him, it was time.

Its 2AM right now and I just can't sleep. My eyes are so swollen and dry from all of the tears, and frankly, the house is just too quiet. He isn't on his bed or on the floor between our rooms. Makes me realize how safe I felt having him around. He took his guarding responsibilities seriously and spent most of his time carefully placed between the 3 people he loved most, equidistant watching over us. Boy, I miss it. The loss is unbelievably great. Feels in a real way like an arm of our family has been sliced off. Man this hurts.

Rocky came to us at the sweet age of 6 and instantly became a part of the family.

When I look back I remember fighting Bob on getting him, after all, I did not want a big dog. How blessed I am to have lost that fight. Rocky was so worth it and he quickly stole a big part of my heart.

But no matter how much I loved Rocky, or how much he loved me, I couldn't hold a candle to the love and affection exchanged between him and Bob.

What an incredible relationship and brotherhood. Rocky was Bob's dog, no doubt about it.

Bob told me a story last night from Rocky's puppyhood that made me smile. Rocky was Grandma Jill's dog first and they got him when he was a enormous pawed puppy full of energy. Bob remembers that Rocky was yippy and would bark and make all sorts of noise as a little guy. One night he was playing cards with his buddies and little Rocky wouldn't stop yipping. Bob got up, went over to him, and just started barking in a big voice at him to which little puppy Rocky, surprised as all get out, fell flat all over his uncoordinated self. From that moment, Rocky loved and respected Bob, and every time Bob would come home for a visit, Rocky just came alive. There was a connection. The Boy and his dog.

I have so many special and precious memories of our sweet friend, and I could probably fill a large book recounting all of them. I am finding, though, that there are not enough words in the english language to truly depict how much Rocky meant to all of us, especially Bob, especially me.

How do you describe something that extends into the soul? It's simple, I can't. Those feelings are mine and will have to stay as such. I still can't help though sharing some of the sweetest memories that I have of our Rockstar.

.......he used to lay right behind Bob's chair when he would work from home. The never wavering companion

........how precious he was with Lily. He loved her a lot.

.......he could make Lily giggle loud and long, such a sweet sound

...... he could eat ANYTHING and not get sick, chocolate, baby formula, wrappers with food on them. It was AMAZING
.......he always barked to warn people at the door, like he was saying "I'm here and these are the most precious people to me, tread carefully."
.......he was always around letting me know he was there for me while I was throwing up in the first trimester

...... how he would snuggle with Bob. He just couldn't get close enough.

......how much he loved to be with us. So much so that he would move heaven and earth (sometimes literally) to be sure he wasn't forgotten

......he used to sleep bark while dream running through the woods. You catch those bunnies Rocky! Go Buddy.
......he used to lay "junk to the world" with no care for decency, nope, he wanted some tummy love.
......how excited he was when we would come home. Tail wagging, he would always meet us at the door. A true welcome.

......he would drink out of the toilet and leave a trail of water on the seat and the floor. Gonna miss not having a wet behind in the middle of the night.
.......how he would wait for Bob to come home. It was especially precious when he and Lily did it together.

......he would roll around on the floor after a bath desperately trying to get the wetness off. It provided Bob and I with many belly laughs.
......how soft he was after a bath and how I enjoyed snuggling and petting him for hours after.
.......vacuuming him. It was the best way to control the massive amounts of hair.
......letting him lick the tuna fish cans. He used to chase them around the hard floor until he figured out how to hold it between his paws.
......how much he loved the mountains and how much I wish he could have lived in them. Such freedom.

......the first time we travelled to Pagosa Springs to camp with Feddy and Kemo. He didn't want to be away from us so we all slept in the horse trailer with him. He got to sleep on our air mattress with us and LOVED it. Frankly, so did we.
......running with Rocky. No one could touch me, He was simply the best running companion ever. He always wanted to go and was flat out knock-everything-over, cant-get-out-of-the-door-fast-enough excited.
......how Bob always said goodnight to Rocky. He would get down on the floor and snuggle with him.......every single night.
.......how I always felt safe when Bob was travelling because Rocky was always there by my side
.......how much he loved me, even through the times when I didn't love him like I should. His love put me to shame.

I will miss so much about him, but especially his ears.

"Uppy Downy" is what we called him. Some people thought that he looked funny with one ear up and one ear down, but I thought that made him so special. From the first day I met him 8 years ago, his ears are what endeared him to me. I will miss seeing him every time I turn around.

Rocky's was a life well lived, a beautiful doggy life. If there was ever a time where I want to believe that All Dogs go to Heaven it is most definitely now. I like to think of him hanging out with Armondo, chasing gofers and eating food off of Jesus' table. Yes, that would be fitting.

What a great dog, what a precious friend. We will miss you dearly Rocky.

Valentimes

2012-02-14T03:17:00.007-08:00

Yep, you read the heading right, this year we are celebrating Valentimes Day.

Bob and I volunteer for Sunday School at our Church. While Bob is a small group leader for the 3rd grade boys, I get some future practice handling the 4 year olds. Let me tell you, 4 year olds are great. Last week we had Alexa in our classroom. Now the way to describe Alexa is this, she says what she says, she means what she says, she knows why she said it and doesn't understand why you don't get it. Got the picture? She is adorable, but outspoken, precocious and bold. So I sat down next to her as everyone was coloring their hearts and asked her, "So, Alexa, are you excited for Valentines Day?" She immediately replied, "Miss Bethany, its ValenTIMES Day." Thinking I must have heard her wrong I corrected, "Don't you mean ValenTINES Day?" to which she quickly quipped, "Nope, ValenTIMES, I get ValenTIMES cookies, ValenTIMES cards and a ValenTIMES party." I sat there wondering if I should continue the debate and decided against it. I conceded, "Well then, Miss Alexa, I hope you have a great ValenTIMES Day."

I thought about that little conversation all afternoon and over the past day. While to little Alexa it was purely about a difference in spelling, I started to ponder how I could pull a nugget of deeper meaning from the great ValenTIMES debate. Then as I thought about our weekend and how we were going to celebrate Valentines, it hit me. When Bob and I talk about our life, we talk about it in times, "Remember the time when........." or, "The time goes by so quickly now......" or "Times have sure changed." Every high and low point that we have had in our life, every expression of love centers around a time.

The beautiful thing is that the times don't wait for a special day or a special month, no, they keep happening no matter what.

Valentines Day has this aura of a "Give a little more than you normally would for one day" kind of love. You know, go the extra mile on this one day to show your love to someone. Its great to get flowers, give cards, lavish chocolate and fluffy "I love you" teddys, but what if we lived life, our times, like it was Valentines Day always? How amazing could our relationships be if we lived out all of the high and low times of life showing that special Valentines Day kind of love. It won't be easy and there will be times where extending that special V-day love will be a challenge, but imagine how we could affect our world if we all chose to live this way. Imagine how we could share the Love of Christ with others through ValenTIMES loving them. What a difference we could make! This was my challenge this year, extended to me by a bold little 4 year old. I want to have a marriage and life that celebrates ValenTIMES Day all throughout the year.

Where's Daddy?

2012-02-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

Lily is mimicking words lately and has absolutely connected the word Daddy to the person. Oh it is just so precious. In the evenings before Bob comes home I start asking Lily, "Where's Daddy?" Just this week she has started calling for him. She crawls around the house calling for "Daaaadee". I have found her at the gate at the top of our stairs several times calling for him and pointing at the door. PRECIOUS!

A couple of nights ago she was really calling for him so I took her over to the window and we watched for Daddy's bike to come down the road. She stood there beside me just calling and calling for Daddy. "Daaaadee, Daaaaadee, Daaaaadee."

It started to get a little sad because Daddy was taking longer than I expected. The poor dear was just desperate.

Once Bob came down the road, she was elated and smiled while calling for him through the window. She moseyed on over to the gate and anxiously awaited him. She has also taken to calling for him periodically throughout the day and sadly "Daddy's at work," doesn't assuage her need. How special to see the love she has for her Daddy.

On the Sandy Shore

2012-02-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Whew! What a weekend it has been. We seriously packed everything possible into the 3 day window of time. Busy, busy, busy. Our Lifemax team has been in a heated promotion and Grace and I were determined to win so we went all out hosting in home events in our little house. We started on Friday evening by hosting the NCSU Club Cross Country Team. We were able to get the entire team (11) people to come hear about a health food and business opp by promising dinner. Yeah, we didn't think that through really well. They literally ate us out of house and home. 2 boxes of spaghetti, 2 pounds of hamburger, 3 loaves of bread and a HUGE salad, oh yeah and 5 dozen cookies. Made me remember why I don't want a house full of boys.

The following morning was the Krispy Kreme Challenge so we were up and out early. After donuts, naps, a 5 minute break and a shower, we started dinner again for some friends that were coming to our second in home of the weekend. We had another bunch of friends over to hear about the AMAZING business of Lifemax and finished the evening with a big batch of corn chowder. Sunday brought 2 hours of church, grocery shopping (to restock on the depleted supplies) and of course, The SUPER BOWL. We hosted some friends over and had another big spread of food. Holy Moley what a weekend.

All of that to say that I kept telling myself all weekend, "don't forget Lily turns 15 months on Monday, you gotta blog." I even woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about it. With may lapse in memory last month I just didn't want it to happen again!

Lily is a budding, busy and absolutely precious little girl. Her smile is simply contagious and her curiosity is simply a joy to watch. She is so smart! The other day we met a friend an walked around Lake Johnson.

After we made it around we decided to head over to the beach and let the little girls explore the sandy beach and the ducks. Lake Johnson has a host of geese, swan and ducks that literally have no fear of humans, so Lily got to discover first hand what a duck says. She lit up as she went "ca, ca, ca" all along the shore.

Having a little girl is such a treasure and each experience is so incredible. I found myself simply in awe watching her stick her toesies in the water and squeal in delight when the ducks quacked. Pure bliss....

Her big word of the month is "Gow" and it kind of comes out like "cow" with a g. We still have been completely unable to pinpoint exactly what she means by it, but she uses it constantly. She gets her little pointer out and says "Gow." This is of course after she has signed "more," "please," "all done," and screamed too. If only I had a sign for "gow" that knew what she meant. I have been so proud of her because she has really picked up on the sign language. I am hoping that by using her little hands to communicate we might dodge a few melt downs. We will see.

It's Krispy Kreme Time 2012!

2012-02-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so when it comes to doughnuts, I am not an overly big fan. That being said, when Grace and Sebron asked if we wanted to do the Krispy Kreme Challenge, we didn't even think twice. Running and doughnuts? What a combo. Every year NCSU puts on the Challenge: 5 miles, 12 doughnuts, 2400 calories, 1 hour. Yep, you run to the Krispy Kreme Store 2.5 miles away, slam a dozen doughnuts, show them an empty box and run back (uphill I might add) the 2.5 miles. Many call it crazy, many call it stupid, we just laughed and though, "why ever not?" Of course, we are no longer college kids with iron stomachs (except Sebron-he's crazy) so we ran as casual runners. Basically we run down, get our box, run back and enjoy all of our doughnuts over the next couple of days. Yeah, we weren't THAT crazy.

The race is kind of an "anything goes" race so the little ones got to come and represent the MILA Milers too. Before the 7700 runners started towards the Krispy goodness, we introduced the littles to the NCSU Wolfpack mascots.

They weren't really sure what to think, they kept Mr. and Mrs. Wolf in their sights at all time and were very happy to stay in their Momma's arms. In order to avoid being trampled or have to elbow an encroaching doughnut obsessed runner, we headed to the back of the pack and waited for the start.

The Crazy Challengers-Sebron and Peyton

Grace, Bob, Lily, Jancsi and I all stayed together amid the sea of running eaters. We passed all sorts of crazy costumes and interesting runners.

Once we got to the Krispy Kreme store, there was an endless supply of tables with doughnut boxes on them and a literal mountain of empty boxes where the challengers had already come, ate and left. UNREAL!

We grabbed our boxes and pulled off to the side of the road to give our little ones a taste of doughnuts and to enjoy one ourselves. Only One! Let me just say, Lily and Jancsi are BIG fans of the doughnuts. Yum, yum, yum.

We tucked the rest of our dozen into our joggers and headed back to the start.

We finished the journey in under 55 minutes with no vomiting or hurling plus doughnuts for later. We definitely went casual. To give some perspective, the winner, ran the entire thing, ate all of the doughnuts and finished the race in 28 minutes. That's Amazing!

Making the Connection

2012-02-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

We have been up to much these days. There seems to be an endless supply of life that keeps us always on our toes.

Couldn't resist taking this picture. Look at how cute she is with those bloomers sticking out.

Lily is SMART. Holy Guacamole is she smart. She is putting things together right and left and unfortunately getting into plenty of mischief while doing so. Boundaries are so frustrating for her right now. Every time I tell her, "no don't touch that," or "no, don't pull the DVD's out," or "no, we don't stand on that," I get this absolutely frustrated look that screams (sometimes literally), "but Mom, I can actually DO all of those things, why won't you let me?" I think the hardest lesson for her to grasp right now is that just because we are capable, doesn't mean we should do it. Impulse control is going to be a hard lesson to learn. Oh dear. The other night she crossed the DVD shelf line again and got not only a spanking, but got put in her crib, in her dark room for 5 minutes all of which she spent screaming in anger. Meanwhile I sat in the kitchen thinking, "Honey, why does this have to be so hard?" This week has served to show me how invaluable an intentional parent is. It may be harder, but it is certainly invaluable.

Lily is into climbing on everything these days. I have had so much fun watching her explore and figure out how to get up, on and over things. She is really loving Rocky right now. When she isn't banging and patting him, or giggling uncontrollably at him she just loves to climb on him.

I discovered her like this the other night, completely unbeknownst to me she had successfully straddled the lounging doggy. Good boy Rocky. For all of his troubles, he does great with the babies.

When not crawling over him she plays "ghost baby."

We love watching her because she puts her blanket over her head and then crawls literally into everything including walls, chairs, doors and Mr. Rocky. She giggles and giggles while she crawls around blind. It really is funny to watch her entertain herself.

She is making "connections" all over the place. The other day I came into our bedroom to find her putting on my Vibram's. They may look funny to others, but, by golly, Lily knows exactly where they go and what they are used for.

I had to put them on my feet so we went and got the new shoes that Feddy gave her to wear. Such a lady, sitting cross-legged on her way to go running.

I have decided that baby shoes are a nightmare, especially when you take them out into the world on the little one's feet. Why you ask? Well because Lily could care less whether or not the shoes make it home and it is awfully fun to kick them off while I am running. I have nearly lost 3 shoes this way and have managed to get in extra miles going back to find them. Note to self: When it comes to running, leave the shoes at home. There are far too many miles of greenways to have to re-run in order to find the missing shoes.

Mommy made the "connection" on that one. Only had to run 5 extra miles to figure it out.

Feddy's Gift

2012-01-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

Grandma Feddy gave Lily a special gift back in November for her birthday. It is such a gorgeous piece and I instantly hung it on the wall without remembering to share how precious and special it was and is. It is a beautifully detailed cross stitch alphabet. So much time, so much work, so much love went into it and I don't want to overlook the amazing heart of this gift.

One thing I know for sure is that my Momma is a gift lady. She absolutely adores giving to someone and watching their joy as they open and reveal the present. She has been this way from as far back as I can remember and it has taken me a while to really see the tremendous blessing that she is. My Mom loves to give. Whether that is time, energy, money, gifts, conversation, or talent. Some might see it as an inability to say no, but I see it as something entirely different. I see it more as a complete and utter outpouring of love, unfettered, unashamed and unstoppable. Sure, that giving spirit has, on more than one occasion gotten her committed to far too many things and stretched her very thin, but that never seems to stop or slow her down.

Mom is always the first to help and the last to clean up. If you want something done, ask Mom. If you need a position filled or an extra salad brought, Mom is your lady. Need a shoulder to cry on? Mom's is pretty great. She is strong, unwavering, confident and yet somehow vulnerable even in the midst. She herself is a gift.. She gives from a tender place in her heart. A place of compassion, care and maybe even a small emptiness that only giving to others can fill. Perhaps its a Divine calling or perhaps its just a small reflection of the Lord Jesus pouring out in her life. Either way her tangible "gift love" has blessed me over and over again and is now simply overflowing on Lily Grace.

This beautiful keepsake is only a small part of all that she lavishes on Lily and yet it is my favorite. A true treasure given out of a Grandma's love.

Thanks Feddy.

And We're WALKIN'

2012-01-28T12:42:00.001-08:00

Yes, its oficial, Lily Grace took her first "help" free steps the other night.

As a woman I always thought about that moment when my little baby would take his/her first steps. Where would I be? What would I be doing? Well Bob and I were in the kitchen and she took her first steps (about 2) to her Daddy without holding on! What a moment! Those first steps will be the first of many, after all, we are just sure that she might be a marathoner!

It has been quite a week. On top of an already bum knee, I managed to get horribly sick. Oh the sneezing, oh the snottiness, oh the headaches and nausea and stuffiness. Is the whole world against me? Thankfully it has been a fairly low key week and I have had many hours at home.

Days with Lily are just so special. When we aren't practicing our animal noises, we are doing everything else.

Lily is in a time of testing boundaries and as she starts walking and grows bigger her world opens up and new boundaries have to be set. The newest one is her rocking chair. She desperately wants to stand on this chair, and is having a hard time with the "on your bottom only." boundary. The other day we had to have two spankings for crossing that line. I love, though, that she gets it because 2 hours later I walked back in her room to find her sitting on her little bum rocking away.

Good Girl Lily! She really is a precious little lady. I see so much strength and determination in her and I love that the Lord gave her those qualities. I can simply not wait to see how the Lord uses her! As long as Bob and I can curb that determination and keep her grounded.

She is also becoming such an independent young lady and is so creative with her playtime. I was cooking in the kitchen the other night and left Lily in the living room. I heard a little rustling and came around the corner to discover this little set up. There she was just reading her book (our Longmire News Blog) in her little bucket office. So Cute!

Both of the babies have discovered the outside and just love standing at the windows. We had the windows open the other day and they were both pointing and talking at everything going on outside.

We have had to limit their exhuberance because they desperately try to literally crawl out the windows. They are small enough now, but in a few months it will not be a safe practice. So hard for the babies to be limited to just standing and pointing.

Livin' on a Budget.....No REALLY!

2012-01-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

So inevitably, every American except the super rich or completely ignorant have, at one point in time, had to live on a budget. Oddly, though, most of us live "sort of" on a budget. Where we know "sort of" how much we make and "sort of" how much we spend. If we see that something in the window that would look just perfect on our silhouettes we buy it. Its not really in the budget but honestly, how much could that $40 really impact our monthly "sort of" income. Three days later finding yourself in another spending dilema. I know I don't really need that and its not REALLY in my budget, but honestly how much could that $20 really impact? This is the story of my life........until a month ago.

There is one thing that has been clearly defined in Bob and my marriage. I am the detail oriented person, I am the organized person, therefore it makes good sense for me to handle all of the finances. It was never an argument, or a control issue, it just naturally flowed from the best parts of our personalities. I have always thought that I was an excellent money manager, and in many ways I am. I have always lived on a "budget," however my budgeting technique is far removed from what a true budget really is. Here is my version of a budget: Know what you make in a month (or close-always round up), Know your bills and what they generally are (always round down), add in tithing (always good intentioned, but writing the check and putting it in the plate is hit or miss), create money limits for all of the other categories, but if you exceed those limits its okay, they are only guidelines. So in essence I never budgeted my money, I had a flexible phantom budget that could be changed depending on what I wanted to buy.

Needless to say, this form of budgeting kind of got us behind in several areas especially considering that we are a one income family. So in stepped the Director of Sales, numbers wizard, to the penny manager of Connexion Technologies and I got put on a BUDGET. Hard core, no budging budget. Every dollar is accounted for and every penny spent documented. Completely transparent, no longer a guideline budget. At first every fiber of my being wanted to loose all sense of maturity, lay on the ground and throw a temper tantrum that I could no longer spend whenever I wanted to. I knew that I needed to be submissive in this area, but my "inner sinner" definitely did NOT. Thankfully, through the power of the Lord, I have been obedient with our finances and have stuck on the constricted budget that we have put in place. It has been challenging and sometimes frustrating, but you know what feeling I most feel?

FREEDOM. Strange huh? I never would have thought that by creating strict financial boundaries and working to stay in those boundaries I would find freedom. There is money left over, Nothing is hidden, We are more creative with activities, We plan ahead better and we have seen how much we truly have. The blessings are abundant and the chance to really be a good steward of all that the Lord has given us has made budgeting a joyful boundary instead of a messy guideline.

Guaco Hair

2012-01-21T04:24:00.000-08:00

Lily and her "gzhee, gzhee"

Getting back into the swing of life has been challenging. My MILA business is booming and we have a promotion going on right now, so all of my “free” time seems to be centered around talking about MILA! I am determined to have a successful business and love watching the growth happen.

Yes, Lily discovered this fun "fort" all by herself.

It has been kind of a rough week with Bob's company having to go through some more layoffs and reorganization. Although Bob is still very much employed, it feels unnerving and I find myself really being tested in the “Do you REALLY trust the Lord?” department. Running has been my one avenue of stress relief, and I have a bum knee. Every run that I have done in the past two weeks (3) has been painful. Its frustrating and discouraging especially because running brings me such joy and self confidence. The knee problem is purely overuse and the fact that I made it carry me for nearly 30 miles a couple of weeks ago. Really, its to be expected. As Bob would say, “We aren't so young anymore.” I refuse to believe that 29 is old, but its definitely different than 18 in many ways.

Yes, Lily was brushing her hair with the spaghetti spoon

Lily has been doing great, but the poor dear has been cutting teeth like crazy. Her nose is literally running off of her face and there is a general existence of “Mommy I don't feel well.” She is super attached to me right now even at the extent of her Daddy. I don't take it for granted and love every minute.

Cookies make everything better!

She has been waking up around 5:45 these days, so I just get her and bring her into bed with us. She snuggles up on top of my chest and sleeps for another hour or so. It is so special. She is walking more and more these days, just not without some sort of support system. We have also learned more animal sounds to now include a kitty- “Mow” a doggie- “MM, MM” a cow- “ooooo” a monkey- “ah, ah, ah” and a duck- “ca, ca.” She is just adorable to listen to!

She has rediscovered avocados and LOVES them. The other night I gave her some avocados and within 3 minutes she had managed to get them everywhere.

Once they had covered her shirt, she decided that avocados made for excellent hair styling. I know I should have stopped her and forgone this mess, but it was just so cute. If you can't get this messy while your a baby, when can you?

The Ultimate Park Hopper Experience!

2012-01-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

After the marathon was done we decided to start really enjoying Disney World, right down to the playground and the pool.

The weather was perfect out there and of course, Disney keeps their pools heated. Good thing because as soon as Miss Lily saw that body of water she anxiously wanted to be in it! The pool felt wonderful after so many miles on the legs.

After splashing around in the water we sat down for some much needed FOOD. Lily was way too busy to stay still so she did laps around the pool decking using the stroller as a walker.

Now don't worry, we all took turns walking with her. She may be getting very proficient at walking, but still has no concept of direction or what might be lurking down the road.

We enjoyed a long nap and a delicious dinner at Chilis (can I get a shout out for their chips and salsa.....YUMMO). Bedtime could not come fast enough. We had decided to take on the "see-as-many-parks-as-you-can-in-one-day-Disney-Challenge" and we needed our sleep.

We were up bright and early to head to the parks. Let me tell you, there is a reason that the best way to see Disney is in 5 days. We just couldn't see even 50% of all Disney had to offer. Our day was so full that the best way I can share it is with pictures. We started at the Animal Kingdom.

The first thing we did was watch the 3D movie, "It's Tough to Be a Bug." From what I remember it was a cute little bug movie, just perfect for the little one. OOOOOO.....my bad. In case the interactive wind blowing in your face and things shooting at you wasn't bad enough, there was a person size grasshopper that popped out of the stage and giant spiders that dropped from the ceiling. Lily was beside herself. Okay so still a little little, Gma and Gpa looked pretty buggy though!

We toured on Expedition Everest

And went on an African Safari complete with rhino that walked right up to the car, hippos, alligators, lions, giraffes, elephants and a baby elephant.

Lily was mesmerized and kept pointing and squealing with delight right before she crashed for a bit. Lovely.

Next stop Hollywood Studios. We arrived and met with our friends right around the Hollywood Towers.

We hit the big Aerosmith Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror while Lily napped (cat napped) that is, with Kathy, Gma and Gpa.

We spent the rest of the time at the Studios trading our collectors pins (I was collecting the Villians) with Mikey and Maggie, and having lunch. Onto Magic Kingdom.

We really saved the best for last. The Magic Kingdom is well simply Magical.

There is nothing else like seeing Cinderella's Castle as you walk down Main Street. We had to catch a picture of the whole fun party! We waded through the sea of people to try to hit all of the major attractions like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and my favorite Tiki Room. "In the Tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room....." I love that show! We pushed the baby hard all day and at 7 she was COOKED. Fully cooked. Gma and Gpa took her home and I hit a few last rides with the others. What a great day!

The next morning we put on our race shirts, packed up our bags and left the magic of Disney. While waiting for the bus Lily walked and walked. She is getting so adventurous! and sleepy!

She slept the whole way home, after peeing through all of her cute little outfit. Its tough to be a baby!

Disney World Marathon 2012

2012-01-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a week it has been! Ready to catch everyone up on the amazing Disney World Marathon...

Okay so back to Saturday a week ago. Jill and Steve, aka. Grandma and Grandpa, rolled in on the Disney Magical Express at 12:30 AM. They hit the hay and were literally up 3 hours later ready to run their half marathon. Both of our races started bright and early at 5:30AM each morning. So we sent the half asleep Gma and Gpa to the start time and waited patiently for Miss Lily to awaken. We didn't have to wait to long as our 5:15 alarm went off with tears and everything. So we got up, got on the transport and headed to the finish line. Considering that there were over 25,000 runners, it took us a long time to get to the finish and get to a spot that wasn't 10 people thick along the course.

We found a prime spot right in front of the famous Epcot Ball.

What a way to start the morning! We watched and waited as runners crossed the finish line anxiously looking for Grandma and Grandpa. Finally we spotted them! Lily was a bit overwhelmed, but she saw Grandma and a big smile crossed her little features.

After we waded through the sea of spectators we found the runners and Lily got lots of snuggles and kisses. She especially loved playing with Jill and Steve's Donald Duck Medal.

After showers and a much needed breakfast, we spent most of the afternoon just hanging out and resting our legs and feet. We toured through the expo, took a nap (with the baby of course) and headed down to Downtown Disney for dinner.

The one really great thing about Disney is that you have free transportation anywhere on the grounds. After dinner we headed to bed, Marathon, here we come!

3:30AM rolls around.....I was so nervous and anxious and just excited to get going on my 26.2 mile journey. Bob and I snuck out of our room and headed to the bus. The bus dropped us off a mile from the start line which added to the nerves. We made it to our corral with 15 minutes to spare and got ourselves all warmed up. The Start Line was complete with Mega Screen, Disney Music, Mickey, Donald and Goofy! 5-4-3-2-1......Fireworks, music, lights.....and we were off! Boy, Disney goes all out!

The run started great, but at mile 4 my bad toe started to hurt, OH NO! So I pulled into a medical stop, put a bandaid on the toe and prayed that would work. Okay, back on the road. Then all of a sudden a years worth of nerves, excitement, stress and anticipation hit my stomach. Lets just say, it was a good thing they had pit stops every mile because I visited every Potty between mile 5 and mile 10. Good Times.....By the time we entered the magical Magic Kingdom, I was finally feelin' good. Its a good thing too because I got to enjoy a trip through Cinderella's Castle and past my most favorite ride, Splash Mountain! A great mile 11.

The miles were long, but so much fun. Besides the water and Powerade stops every mile, the entire Disney cast was out in all their glory including a Pirates of the Caribbean set up with a big pirate ship! We headed down to the Animal Kingdom next and then onto the Hollywood Studios. As we exited the Hollywood Studios we were around mile 18, I couldn't believe I only had 8 more miles to go. At mile 20 I had to stop and snap a photo.

2 was finally the first number!!! By mile 23 we had entered into the Downtown Disney area and headed towards Epcot. I was tired, but so fired up! I was almost there!

We arrived in Epcot to a glorious mile marker 25, only 1.2 left to go, Whoo hoo! Running through the Worlds at Epcot was the most fun I have had in a long time! I was almost there! We got up to the ball and there was the finish!

I crossed the finish line and felt awesome! What an accomplishment! Bob finished ahead of me after having run all of those miles completely barefoot!

We picked up our Mickey Bling and displayed it with pride.

Lily couldn't handle all the excitement and once she saw me finish the race, she crashed, HARD! Sweet, Sweet Baby!

We did it, the Walt Disney World Marathon! On to the next challenge!

14 Months......Yesterday

2012-01-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

I have officially broken my untarnished monthly update record. For 13 of Miss Lily's beautiful months I have written to update everyone right on the 6th. With all of the hustle and bustle of the Disney atmosphere and Marathon excitement, I woke up this morning to the realization that it was the 7th! and I hadn't written her blog! Oh well, Like I said a month ago, I knew these month updates were going to be a little different this year.

Disney is pure and simple MAGIC! That is really all that I can say. There is something about landing in Orlando and entering the Disney grounds that give you kind of an other worldly experience.

The people, the places, the settings, the characters, it really is MAGICAL and, as you can see from my late post, very distracting!

The few days leading up to our travel, Lily was busy, busy, busy helping me pack. Aside from using the bags as a baby jungle gym, she managed to learn how to scale the blanket chest to reach the peak of her favorite place...Mom's bed.

We arrived on the Disney grounds yesterday around 4:30 with a very, VERY, VERY tired and fussy little girl on our hands.

She was pooped and with all of the new things to see, she simply refused to sleep. We hurried into our room and, while waiting for her pac n play and our bags to show up, made a makeshift bed in the corner of our room. Once she realized that Mom and Dad were giving her the quiet opportunity to catch up, she crashed and crashed hard.

Once all napped up we headed over to the Health Expo to pick up all of our race goodies. So many runners!! We picked up all of our race numbers and mosied on through.

We decided that it was time for our nightly routine so into the bath we went.

We knew that bed time was going to be challenging because there was no "other" room to put Lily in, so we set up the red neck version of the "Canopy Bed" (ie, pac n play with a blanket on top) and said good night. Not but 5 minutes later, we turned around to find a very unhappy Lily attempting an escape from her digs.

Oh dear. So we had to shut all the lights off, and go to bed with her. Lily, Lily, what are we going to do with you!

At 14 months, she still is a little sleep fighter getting a stronger will with each passing day. Just love her.

Shoot for the Moon...

2012-01-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

cause even if you miss it you will land amongst the stars.

I love that quote! Through my Lifemax business I am really learning a lot about dreams, commitment, drive, passion, strength and belief. I am also learning that big reality is possible if you work hard for it and never let someone or yourself convince you its not possible. Sometimes I wonder where many people would be if they honestly went after their dreams and NEVER quit. I wonder what the world would look like if we all refused to let our circumstances, our attitude or our expectations get in the way of chasing after something we want. I hate to say it, but in many ways our society has really become a society of quitters. School is to hard...just quit, marriage is too hard.....just quit, paying bills is too hard.....just quit, your job is too hard.......just quit, if something is hard or requiring much of you, by all means, just quit. It's sad. Let me rephrase, it is SO sad and yet I have found myself so easily enticed to quit in different areas of my own life.

Starting my own business through Lifemax has absolutely been an eye opening experience for me. What could I achieve if I just refused to quit. One of the things that very successful people are constantly telling me is to make and write down goals. When goals and dreams are in your head, they are simply a fantasy, but when they are in ink, they become tangible, maybe even possible. I have put this little exercise on hold for some reason, perhaps out of a lazy (don't make me work hard) attitude, but if there is one thing that I am learning is that dreams require WORK. Hard, no quit, frustrating work. I want to make 2012 my personal best year yet and so I have decided to publicly declare my goals for this amazing year!

1. Run the Disney Marathon

2. Run the Tobacco Trail Marathon

3. Add one distributor per month to my growing Lifemax Business.

4. Read 1 self development book per month

5. Be making $1000 per month by December 2012.

6. Start riding a bike more so that I can one day do a triathlon.

7. Send out a monthly newsletter to all of my team members.

8. Get pregnant......Lord willing

9. Take a vacation with my hubby and without the little one.

10. Never give up on my dreams of being financially free.

Another Year Through

2011-12-31T16:57:00.001-08:00

Tis the end of 2011 already and we are only a few hours from crossing into 2012. TIme is so fleeting especially now with a baby growing up in our midst. Lily is such a joy and we have had such a treasured first year with her. The other morning we were watching the news and they had a montage of BIG events that happened in 2011. What an interesting way to look at the year. I found myself thinking about the events that are going to mark the 2012 year and wondering. Wondering, wondering, wondering, what will the future hold for our darling young lady and the entire Longmire family!

We have extended our friend and family circle. This Christmas Grace and I decided to hang up all of the christmas cards that we received. We have been richly blessed and I simply am amazed at the people the Lord has brought into our life.

Our year has been full of new things, most of them centered around Lily and how much she has changed. The most exciting and new thing that 2011 brought us is the chance to do life together with the Jessups. We have been so blessed with our communal living and really find a sense of sadness thinking about the reality that we won't always live together.

Bob has been blessed in his job and is ending the year as a Director in his company. He is anxiously pursuing the possibility of getting his MBA and we are looking forward in anticipation to the day when Bob aka Daddy heads back to school. It will be challenging and exhausting with a lot of homework and me single parenting, but we know it will be the greatest thing for him and us.

I started an amazing business with Lifemax this year and am simply amazed and excited about how it is growing. The power of MILA to transform lives has simply been a blessing and the opportunity to create residual sustaining income has been a treasured discovery this year! I cannot wait to see what is in store for 2012.

And Miss Lily? Well she has transformed from a tiny baby

to a beautiful little girl!

Goodbye 2011 and welcome 2012!

Big Steps and Little Feet

2011-12-30T17:14:00.006-08:00

What a week it has been for us. Truthfully, it has been a very laid back week filled with a lot of lounging around and a lot of resting. I have been a non-running soul because of a recovering blister on my big toe. I am having the hardest time not letting my toe get into my head and affect my marathon next weekend. It is so frustrating to have an injury. I just hate not being able to run. Our routine has been completely thrown off and after months and months of running 5 days a week, I have to say that I feel like a dreadful lazy bones. Bob got a new bike for Christmas so he has been exercising on the wheels much to Rocky's chagrin.

At least I have been able to do a little movin' and shakin' with Miss Lily. She is slowly getting more excited about the prospect of walking and we have begun doing laps around the house.

She really is a strong willed little girl and just doesn't want to do what she doesn't want to do. Why walk when you can crawl everywhere?? Makes perfect sense to Miss Lily. I am really in no rush, I know that once she figures it out, hold on tight, cause we are going to be in constant motion!

Lily had a play date yesterday with her good friend Lilian. Lilian is walking moving and practically 14 months going on a teenager. I think that it was motivation for Lily to walk while we were there.

It was just plain safer standing than sitting, much to Lily's chagrin. While the slides hold much fascination for her and she enjoys going down them, the swings are absolutely her favorite most fun thing to do at the playground. She sat in this swing for 15 of the 30 minutes we were there. This girlie likes to swing.

We also spent some dreaded time in the sandbox which was, to Lily, far to dirty and sandy for her to enjoy. She kept her hands and feet clear at all times. This was increasingly difficult too because there was a little boy who kept dumping sand near her, oh the horror!

We just discovered tooth number 5! FINALLY. These teeth are taking forever and creating a rather fussy little lady. Her little nose is constantly running and she desperately tries to chew on anything. Of course anything does NOT include chew toys or teething helpers, no, no, no, anything includes Mom's shoulder, a shirt, the couch, her blanket, a finger, a cord or really anything that isn't "designated" as such.

(Miss Lily as a two fisted muffin eater sittin' pretty on the floor)

Lily has just loved having her Daddy home over the past week. Bob and I take turns waking up early with the baby. I cannot believe that I have slept past 7:30AM 4 times.. Simply Delightful! We have been doing a lot of swimming and we even got to take the Jessups! It took a little time for the babies to warm up to the pool, but once they did it was so much fun to watch them splash about.

Lily was busy, busy, busy either kicking, splashing, squealing or desperately trying to convince me that she could do it herself. The little booger kept holding onto the side and pulling herself out of the water. What a determined kiddo!

She Can Fly, She Can Fly!

2011-12-27T08:40:00.000-08:00

We have discovered the best play place in the house.....Mom and Dad's bed! The mountains of pillows and endless cushiness are just a recipe for FUN.

Lily has become a little rambunctious kiddo that just loves to be thrown around, flipped over, tickled and launched across the bed.

SHE CAN FLY!!!!

We spent 30 minutes in our bedroom yesterday just playing rough house! Oh what fun!!!

Merry Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

What a great Christmas we had today! It was low key and we sure did miss all of our family, but it was so much fun to open presents with our little girl and share in a day of holiday! Lily was sort of interested in unwrapping the gifts.

Gift bags were much more her speed. She really liked digging into the bag and pulling out a new treasure with each arm.

I loved sitting with her and watching as she discovered each new surprise. Lily was lavished with clothes and more clothes. I watched as her pile of clothes got higher and higher and couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the cutie. 8 new outfits in the span of 5 minutes, a girl's dream! We are so blessed to have so many people who love her and who want to love on her. She truly is a special little girl.

(She got some hair bows that stayed in her super fine hair roughly long enough to snap this picture)

Once the opening was done and the clothing explored, she got bored and moved onto her favorite pink ride. Her little blanket kept falling off of the car so I tied it to her like a princess cape and she LOVED it. (Que Royal Music) Presenting Princess Lily Grace!

Christmas morning was wonderfully Merry and beautifully Bright!

On this Blessed Eve

2011-12-24T16:59:00.001-08:00

Lily, Bob and I have had a wonderful Christmas Eve today. It has been quiet. Actually very quiet. Grace, Sebron and Jancsi went home to Charlotte for the holidays and our big house is so quiet. While having a couple of days all to our 3 little selves has been wonderful, we miss them. Our home is just not the same without them. We are truly blessed!

The past couple of days have been true REST days and we have taken full advantage of them. We have really spent most of our time chasing the little blonde tornado around the house. Last night, after spending the entire day in our house, we decided to take a trip to a local park.

The last time that we took her to a park she was rather uninterested. Well, now she is almost 14 months. It's a whole different ballgame.

We started on the swings and she loved them, then we went to the slides and she really loved those, especially the swirly one with Daddy. We LOVE this parenting thing. Watching Lily brought us such joy and made us want to smile from the inside out. Such a special time. Bob and I both found ourselves saying to each other, "Yep, we want more babies!!"

Lily has discovered this new cool place to sit while I do my hair, the sink. It fits her little bottom perfectly and she is safe to explore all of the neat items located on the counter.

Today we enjoyed our Christmas Eve service. Crosspointe had a mid afternoon service so we were able to go in between nap times. It was a good thing too because they don't offer child care so Lily got to go to the BIG service. We went with an aresenal of snacks, sippy cups, and toys hoping to keep the little one entertained. She did so great. Sure, she was all over both Bob and I, but she enjoyed the music (even sang) and kept the fussing to a minimum. She made friends with the entire row behind us which most likely was highly distracting to them and their Christmas Eve expectations, but it kept her happy!

We really miss being with our extended family, but are finding an excitement in celebrating Christmas day together.

I have such fond memories of Christmas with my Mom and Dad and I just pray that Lily will have some of those same memories. Well, maybe not the same, but just as special. Our daughter is such a precious part of us and such a blessing in our lives.

This Blessed Eve, I am humbled by the gift of our little girl and simply bursting with Holiday Cheer!

Celebrating the Season

2011-12-21T09:05:00.001-08:00

Christmas is coming and our little family is really looking forward to it! Bob gets the entire week off after Christmas and we are going to have a blast as a stay at home family. It is going to be great. Bob and I are now in the calm before the storm with our running. We are officially done with the long distance, stressful, hours of running and into the tapering before the race mode. It is really nice, but also a reality check that in less than 3 weeks we will be running 26.2 miles. So hard to believe that it is almost here.

Last weekend Nana and Opa Martin came into town to visit the Jessups. Lily Grace simply loved Nana and both Grace and I looked like second rate citizens up against her. What a precious thing.

Opa brought with him all of his bread making magic and blessed our household with delicious Wittebur. Hard to describe, but it is a Swedish sweet bread that is SOOOOOO good! We have been eating bread for three meals a day right now. Is that bad?? Oh well if it is, Christmas time is for celebrating all of the good things in life. YUM!

Lily and Jancsi have become such dear friends lately. It is just so precious to watch them play with each other.

Lily is still the "big kid," and Jancsi so desperately wants to do everything that she does. Both of the little ones are still absolutely enthralled with the pink princess car. Right now, Jancsi just loves to ride and Miss Lily is absolutely content to push his little self around.

We don't have the heart to tell her that she has the hard part. We will let her live in blissful ignorance a few months longer. Right now, they are enjoying the innocence of the moment. Pure joy.

JOY

2011-12-15T18:10:00.001-08:00

Such a simple word and such a beautifully joyful little girl!

When I pulled this little toy out of the Christmas Box Miss Lily was just smitten. She was so excited and couldn't push every button fast enough. This little mobile is equipped with music, car sounds, royalty sounds and a singing wand. Lily couldn't get to everything fast enough. Once she discovered that she could ride on it while pushing the heart shaped horn, her smiles and giggles filled our little house. Her joy was unbelievable and practically tangible in these pictures. I just love this little girl!

Jancsi discovered the pink Princess mobile later in the evening and the two little kiddos had an absolute ball toodling around the house. Jancsi rode and Lily alternated between pushing and riding double.

They had an absolute blast and are now permanently attached to it. Joy, pure and simple, Joy!

Life in Community

2011-12-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

"People who need people are the luckiest people in the world"- from Funny Girl

That quote was infamously sung by the talented Barbara Striessand. It is kind of cheesy and for those of you who grew up with Barbara I am sure that you broke out in song right after you read that first line! There is a nugget of truth in that little saying and I am discovering just how profound Miss Barbara was when she sang those lyrics. People who need people really are the luckiest. Community, Fellowship, Relationship, really is at the heart of everyone and finding those people to share your life with is a treasure valued far above jewels. I know that this has been true of my life. Since Bob and I got married we have moved several times and have lived in 3 different states. In every one of those locales we have met some of the most amazing people. Many have come and gone, stopping only briefly into our lives, and others have become part of our extended family. Its odd how the Lord takes people in and out of our life. At times I find it sad, and other times I find it just simply a blessing. Every person that we have met has mattered, has influenced, has changed us in some way or another.

Community is just so important and we are discovering this even more now that we have added Mom and Dad to our resumes. North Carolina has brought with it wonderful community especially with MOPS. There is something so special about connecting with other moms for a couple of hours every other week. It really is special to just do Mommyhood together.

I have had the great privilege of being a table leader this year and I will truly admit that I have been the one abundantly blessed by these women. From the left: Courtney, Holly, Kristin, me, Jolene and Eleanor. I cannot wait until we come back next semester!

Bob and I have also gotten connected with a LifeGroup through our Church.

We meet together every Tuesday evening for a time of prayer, fellowship and strengthening our marriage. We may all come from different walks of life, but on Tuesdays we all come together as the body of Christ. It is simply lovely.

Carol and Ron

Sadie and Tron

Bob and Laura and Greg and Betsy aren't pictured.

Life lived without community is really very empty. We are blessed to know people and we consider ourselves very lucky indeed.

Grow Lily Grow!

2011-12-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

I just cannot believe how big Lily Grace is getting these days. She has reverted back to infant sleeping habits and I am discovering that some of her no sleeping is related to the fact that she is STARVING!!! I cannot believe how much she is eating these days, WOW. A few nights ago she woke up from 2:30 - 4:30. She snuggled, had her bottle, fussed some, and just wouldn't go to sleep. I finally got her back to sleep only to hear her screaming at 5:15. I groggily got up and decided that I was going to try food. DUH! She ate two full bowls of food including, MILA, oatmeal, yogurt, prunes, pears and barley then followed them up with 2 servings of leftover quiche. She just kept giving me the "more" sign. The poor baby was so hungry! Since then, her appetite has increased 10 fold. She is eating me out of house and home. She is also getting heavier and heavier, a growing kiddo!

We have put black out curtains in her room in a desperate attempt to convince her to sleep through the night. To date they are not working, but I still hold out hope. I may have to discover a new norm of waking up at 5:30AM. So early! In the wee hours of the morning, she does tend to want to snuggle on me for a while. I guess I could get used to that. It's just so early!

It has gotten quite chilly here in North Carolina, of course, we are still running, just with a few more layers. We are getting closer and closer to the Disney Marathon and training has become exhausting. We did 20 miles last weekend and have another 20 on the books for next weekend. SO. MUCH. RUNNING! Today Grace and I got to run together and with the temps in the low 30's we had to bundle up our little bundles of joy. They were so cute decked in their winter digs.

Both of them were practically immoble. Just the cutest little marshmallows ever.

All the Babies in One Place

2011-12-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

It has been a whirlwind week here at the Longmire home. I think after 5 days of being home I am finally feeling on top of my game again. My eye has healed and the memory of that hellish flight is slowly fading away. It has since become more comical than anything. Lily came back from Colorado a different little person.

She bit me for the second time nursing and now the bar has officially closed. She has decided that sleeping through the night is stupid and therefore Mom shouldn't either. Opening every cabinet door and pulling items out is not only fun but its a game to see how much she can get out before Mom can stop her. Closing doors is an excellent exercise, however, getting stuck behind them is not. Lily: "It closed so easily, why can't mommy open it with me still sitting here?" She may not be walking, but she can crawl into all sorts of trouble (ie. the toilet bowl) in less time than it takes me to blink and she knows the sign for "more" and "all done" and missing or mixing them up is truly a travesty. Aside from all of the new trouble she is finding, her little personality is coming out more and more. Lily can smile and her smile lights up the room, she can giggle and her giggle makes me want to kiss her endlessly, she can snuggle and her snuggliness makes me want hold her and forget about vacuuming, she can learn and her smarts make me look with great anticipation to the future. She is so special.

She is also learning about sharing. It is a new concept and most everything she shares she wants right back, but I love how her heart is growing and learning to love others. Feddy and Kemo bought Lily an adorable little nativity set this year and Grace and I came into the living room the other day to see this precious moment.

They were the cutest little diaper bottoms playing with the little baby Jesus in the manger. It was a sweet, although short, moment, but a glimpse into the hearts of our babies. Such a joy to see them together in one place. Jancsi is slowly getting more mobile, but Lily still runs circles around him.

By the time Jancsi gets his toy working in his little hands Lily Grace moseys on by and snatches it. Sharing happens, but not all the time. It's a learning process. They are so cute together and we are so utterly blessed that Lily has a little brother in the house.

The 13th Month Al-Cute-ah Hijacking

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

Breaking News! Al-Cute-ah strikes again! Just when we thought that we had prevailed against the organization, Osama Bin Lily came out in full force by attempting a 4 hour plane hijacking!

I was debating whether or not to continue a monthly baby update and I think that I will through her second year. Some day when Lily looks back on this I think that it will be really neat for her to see her monthly trasformation. This year, however, I will do a monthly blog on the 6th and talk about whatever needs talking about whether good, bad or somewhere in between as Lily enters toddlerhood. Today I am going to share with you the epic journey that we took home from Colorado!

So for those of you who read my blog, you know that Colorado brought out a new side of Lily. She was just aweful during the nights. Most of the time she was just so cute that it really took all of us by complete surprise, hence the Al-Cute-ah title. Well, I had no idea how powerful this little terrorist was until we got on our flight home. Now, normally, Lily is AWESOME on every flight. Albeit there are some tears and fuss, but overall she has done exceptionally well. Lily has been dealing with some cough/snotty nose gunk for the past few weeks so I was expecting a little drama with the altitude change, but nothing like what I got! WOW, she brought out a whole new side of naughty!

Lily and I loaded onto our little airplane and headed to the back of the bus last Saturdya. We got into our window seat and I prayed that it wouldn't be a full flight. Thankfully it wasn't, but a sweet college girl got stuck in the aisle seat of our row. In retrospect I should have second guessed her choice to sit there, but how was I supposed to know that she would be subject to the drama that would ensue? While we were loading Lily was a busy, busy girl, touching this, pulling that, crawling over there, pulling up on those, smiling at them, jumping on Mom, banging on the windows and talking up a storm. She has also started to hit by flailing her arms in all directions, she especially likes my face (an action which has gained her many a spanking.......remember the nose piercing? OWWWWW) So in an effort to provide some entertainment, while waiting on the tarmac, I gave her the security information card to look at. For a mere 5 seconds she sat still on my lap. Ahh, a break. Then, in one swift body thrusting, arms flailing move she managed to fling the card at my face and successfully jab a corner of it into my eye. Instantly I knew I had a laceration to the cornea and the pain was nearly unbearable. Mind you, we were still sitting on the tarmac and my child was still acting as crazy as ever. The flight hadn't even begun!

We sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes before the pilot said that we were headed towards our runway. They made us go to the farthest runway causing us to taxi for 15 minutes out to our lane. I was so annoyed and convinced that we were going to drive there instead of take off and fly. Oh this was going to be a long night! Well, we finally got airborne and Lily started to fuss. Oh boy did she start to fuss. As tired as she was she just would not slow down. Now remember, every time I blinked it was like fire in my eye, my eye was constantly crying and my nose was running all while Lily was slapping at my face, arching her back and filling the airplane with screams. In a desperate attempt to get her to calm down I put her to my breast (I really don't have much milk, but I was hoping that it would be comfort to her). There, she was quiet and content...ahhhhhh........then OMG! Lily bit me!! And she didn't just bite me, she bit and held on. I tried to pull away and couldn't. I had to flick her face for her to let go which of course amped up the screaming. So much for comfort. I was loosing body parts one at a time. For the next hour and a half I fought this battle desperately hoping that she would give up and SLEEP. After an hour and a half she started to sleep sitting up on my lap. She would lay on my shoulder, almost sleep then wake herself up by sitting up, fall asleep sitting up, fall back on my shoulder then start the whole cycle again. LILY. GO. TO. SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!! She just wouldn't do it. Then all of a sudden I felt heat on my legs. YUP, she had peed through all of her clothes and made me look like I had wet my pants. There in the middle seat we had to strip her naked and change everything while screaming and being half blind with pain.

Once changed, we fought each other for another 30 minutes before she FINALLY gave up and fell asleep. I dared not move even though my foot was asleep and one of my butt cheeks was numb. SHHHHHH, SHHHHHH, no I don't want peanuts, no I don't want water and no I don't need anything else. SHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I laid my head back in a desperate attempt to rest my eye to no avail. When we touched down and arrived at the gate several passengers stood up and gave me the once over. One guy even commented that you have a "little trouble maker" on your hands. YEAH, YA THINK? I was not in a good mood.

I love my daughter, but when we got off of the plane I went straight out to the curb and handed the terror to her father. I was done, off duty, DONE. It was an epic 4 and a half hour journey that gave me a cornea abrasion, pee pee pants, bite marks on my chest and a test of patience that would challenge even the most patient of people. Al-Cute-ah is still in full force and continues to strike.

Happy ThankBirthMas!

2011-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

What a great week we have had! This year we decided to head back to Colorado for the Thanksgiving weekend. I just love the mountains and it is always fun to take Lily and have family time in the hills! It was really a special time this year because we celebrated 3 celebrations in 4 days, Thanksgiving, Birthdays and Christmas. It was simply wonderful.

The three of us arrived Thanksgiving evening and had a feast waiting for us at home. What a great way to do Thanksgiving. We walked right into the dinner table, no waiting necessary.

Plus between Lily's twin cousins Mckenna and Kennleigh and Grandma Feddy, Lily Grace was completely occupied and taken care of so Bob and I could thoroughly enjoy our turkey, potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, stuffing and PIE! MMMMMM. Of course, our little Al-Cute-ah kept us up practically the entire first night, so we were far from relaxed, but at least we were full!

This was the first year in 5 years that my cousin Chase and I got to celebrate our birthday's together. We have the same birthday just 3 years apart. Our birthdays fell on the dreaded Black Friday this year, but it didn't bother us one bit. It was actually a fantastic day and we enjoyed a wonderful family dinner at Red Lobster.

Complete with 2 ice cream cakes. My family is such a treasure. Sitting at our table looking over the crowd I was just really blessed to see how much we all love each other. It was also so neat to see how our families have expanded. Simply a wonderful time!

The next morning, Lily got to discover a new creature. CHICKENS! My Aunt Jayne has 6 chickens up at her house and they are all named after the characters in the book "The Help." She was fairly unsure about them and under no uncertain terms did she want to be out of my arms, but she sure looked them over and she looked so cute in her hat and jacket.

Sunday was our Christmas day and what a day it was. Every year we do a christmas exchange and take turns opening each others gifts. It really is a fun time. There is something special about sharing in each other's one present joy. Of course, Miss Lily got about 6 presents including clothes, nesting dolls and books. Thats what's nice about being a little person, everyone wants to give you a present!

On Monday Bob and I decided that we were going to head down to Denver to do a 21 mile training run. Me, aka Race Director, planned our route perfectly. It was an out and back course taking us through all of our favorite stomping grounds including running past our beloved CCU. What I did not take into account was the intense hills and the altitude. IT WAS BRUTAL!!! Once we were about 10 miles out everything started to hurt. At mile 12 the legs started to quit and it turned into an all out battle just to get back to our car. Both of us "broke," me at mile 15 and Bob at mile 18. It was rough. Once we did make it to the car, Bob made it very clear that the Race Director was going to be immediately fired. I was in full support!

The rest of our week was spent relaxing and taking care of the very busy Lily Grace. On Wednesday night I walked into the kitchen to see her sitting in the dishwasher unloading all of the silverware. She has mastered the art of climbing up stairs and on things, so I should have expected this, but it surprised me! She is getting so bold and ambitious. I better pay closer attention.

When she wasn't in the dishwasher, she LOVED the dog bed in the living room. She would crawl on that big square bed and we would hear her giggling as she threw herself around on it. Just adorable.

All in all, and exceptional ThankBirthMas!

Al-Cute-ah

2011-11-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

We have uncovered a new faction of Alquida here in Colorado. It is the smaller lesser known faction Al-Cute-ah. The leader is Osama Bin Lily and she terrorizes her parents by refusing to sleep at all hours of the night. She can be heard screaming in the night, throwing her blankets in rage, arching her back in protest to her parents rocking attempts, refusing her bottle or pacifier and kicking her legs in protest of being forced to lay in her crib. She is hard to find because she usually masks in the form of the adorable smiling Lily Grace. Her methods are sneaky and just when you think that she is the cutest little baby you have ever seen and can do no wrong, she transforms into the midnight terrorist. You must have intestinal fortitude to wage the battle against the mighty Al-Cute-ah. We are hoping that a strong regiment of spankings, no no's and screaming herself silly will give us the victory against this organization! We will prevail!

I need a vacation from my vacation!

Climbing the Mountain

2011-11-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

Well Lily Grace has been up to much as a one year old. She keeps me on my toes more and more each day. She is a quick little one and boy is she starting to get a little bit too smart for herself. I could not believe, the other day we were downstairs doing laundry when I watched as Lily crawled her way right over to the stairs and began the great ascent. She didn't even pause for concern. Here I was thinking that I was going to have to teach her how to traverse the steps when someone (I think it as Feddy:) had already beat me to it. She was an old pro and by the time I reached her she was already up 3 stairs. We climbed up both flights of stairs and caught her right before she summited. My baby is already stair climbing! I must admit, I was the very proud Mommy!

Lily has just recently absolutely fallen in love with Miss Grace. She is just mesmerized with her.

Even when I am in the room Lily just heads straight for Grace. I LOVE it. I love that Lily has beautiful women around her that want to be a part of her life. Grace is a heaven sent treasure and I am so blessed with how she loves on Lily. Every Tuesday, Grace watches Lily while Bob and I head to small group. I think that it is Lily's favorite time of the week. First, she gets to hang with her favorite big person and second she gets to play with her BFF Jancsi. What could be better than an evening of bath time and near nakedness.

Her curiosity about things and places is growing daily. The dishwasher holds a special fascination for her and when I am in the kitchen, I can usually find her somewhere near the utensil rack. She discovered the tops to our water bottles the other day and I turned around to find her using the top as a makeshift pacifier.

Of course her usual one is attached to her 24/7, but the bottle top was clearly the better choice.

We are so excited to head to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year and I simply cannot wait. Doing things with our Lily Bear gets more and more fun every day!

Blue Flames and Jewels

2011-11-18T17:47:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to get my nose pierced for a long time. I know, many of you are going, REALLY? And yes, really. It has just never been right. First I had a career, and one that would not have looked kindly on a pierced nose. Then I had a baby, breastfed and couldn't risk a possible infection hurting the baby. So for my birthday this year I did it, I pierced my nose and I LOVE it!

I came up with the idea to do it for my birthday a few weeks ago and mentioned it to Grace. She has always wanted to pierce the cartilige in her ear so we decided to make it a date. On Wednesday of this week we psyched ourselves up all day, picked Bob up from work and headed down to the Blue Flame Tattoo joint. Okay, what a culture shock!

Here we were, Bob in his clean cut work clothes and sweet tattoo free Grace and I with our precious little doe skinned babies entering a nightlife tattoo parlour full of fully tattooed artists sporting piercings in everything you never thought could be pierced. We were a sight. Once we signed our waiver, met our piercer, selected our "studs," and mustered our courage we had to wait for a while. Oh dear!

Lily loved playing with the tattoo example boards, we were so glad that she was unaware of the questionable artwork on several of those boards.

15 minutes went by and it was TIME. Grace went first. She did great and she looks so cute!

After seeing how brave she was I knew there was no backing out!

Once I had my nose fully sanitized from the inside out I laid back.....took two deep breaths.....and WOWZA......Nose pierced!

Not going to lie, it was a bit painful, but I LOVE it and am so happy I did it!

Crisis of Self

2011-11-14T17:25:00.001-08:00

Bob and I had a great weekend this past couple of days. It was busy! We headed down to Charlotte on Friday to host a MILA event on Saturday. It has been on the books for a while and it was so great to see Darcie and Brent. I have discovered, though, that I am not an overly patient person and road tripping is so hard. I think it is overly challenging because Lily is not a fan either, so the entire trip is spent either listening to a crying baby or doing everything to keep her (and me) happy.

When she does finally nod off for a few minutes, Bob and I usually have some great time to catch up and converse. When we are finally given an uninterrupted hour with no TV, Computer or other distraction, it becomes a time to reconnect and talk deep. Its honest. Its transparent. Its beautiful. When given the time and the encouragement to really dig deep and talk about what is going on in my life and emotions, I actually find a lot within myself that I just haven't been able to verbalize. That is exactly what happened this past weekend and I discovered that I am going through an internal crisis. A crisis of self. Let me explain.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been about music. Actually, I take that back, my whole family has always been about music. It has kind of been a synonymous thing Bethany=music. I grew up singing in church, being encouraged to sing, even being asked to sing. I sang all the way through high school choir, leading VBS music along the way. Graduated from High school intent on being a musician, and spent 4 years seeking a college level music education. After college, I got involved with the worship team of every single church that I or Bob and I have been a part of. Music was me, I was music.

About two years ago was when this crisis had its beginnings. I auditioned to be part of a worship team fully expecting to be the singing treasure that I had always been. While I did make the team, I was told that my voice wasn't really what they were looking for and I was never asked to lead or sing a solo. I was the "ooo" and "ahh" singer. At the time I was okay with it, after all back up singers can be music ministers too, but there was a seed of self doubt planted. Well, we moved to North Carolina and after having the baby I decided that it was finally time to get back into music ministry. So again, I auditioned. This time I was told that while I had a nice voice it wasn't really a good fit and that they wouldn't be able to use me. Yes, I have dealt with rejection before, but this time it was different. This time it went far deeper than a simple "you didn't make the team." For the first time I felt my identity slipping away. Maybe I'm not music. Or said better, maybe music is just small part of the bigger self I live with. Maybe my ministry, my gifts, my heart has been hidden behind the conviction that Bethany=music. There you have it.....crisis of self.

Once I was able to put words to the emotional and personal turmoil within something amazing happened. I let go. Not of music, it will always be a part of me, but of the belief that music is the only ministry for me. Maybe now that I have let go, the Lord will truly be able to use the best parts of me to grow his kingdom. Maybe, just maybe, this crisis of self is instead a joyous beginning of living in the fullness of ALL that God has created me to be. The encourager, the prayer warrior, the confidant, the leader, the mentor, the builder, the friend, the love giver, the connector, the servant, the real, created............ME.

Another First....A Trip to the ER

2011-11-10T10:12:00.001-08:00

It is inevitable as a parent that there will, without fail, be one or several trips to the ER. Of course, as a Mom, you run through every possible scenario from a broken bone, to a cut needing stitches, praying that whatever it is will be non-life threatening. You never know when that moment will come, but you know it will. It is actually a daily challenge to not live in fear of that dreaded moment. You always wonder, "Will I really know when it is time to go to the ER, will I overreact?"

Well, Bob and my ER experience came, on Lily Grace's birthday no less! Everything was okay and we got her the help she needed. Lesson learned: don't push a sippy cup too fast on a little baby, because if they don't like it, they won't drink water, get dehydrated and decide that going #2 is not fun. Oh Dear. What a hard lesson to learn especially at the expense of precious Miss Lily.

After a long long night we caught up on some sleep and then had a much needed debrief. Watching as Lily screamed and cried throughout her ordeal was probably the hardest thing we have done to date. Bob and I really discovered how hard it is to watch your baby be in pain. Just awful! Goodness, loving these precious babies sometimes really hurts!

I am a ONE Year Old!

2011-11-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Mommy has been so busy blogging about my birthday party and birthday lately! Wow, she really does love me a lot! I wanted to get everyone up to speed on what I like to do now that I am a whole 1 years old!

1. I love to unroll the toilet paper. Oh it is so much fun. One day I got all of the paper off of the roll and since then Mommy puts it too high for me to reach. I always go into the bathroom though and check to see if it is back within my reach. It is so much fun.

2. Have you heard of credit cards? Wow, I just discovered them the other day when Daddy left his wallet on the ground. He was a little nervous when I pulled them out of his wallet, I wonder why?

3. I love to help Mom in the kitchen. I help her by taking the spoons out of the dishwasher and standing in the open refrigerator. I see Mom do these things all of the time and I want to do everything she does.

4. Bath time is still the best time of the day and I love to stand at the side of the tub as my bath helper gets water in the tub. It's just so exciting!

5. I am learning how to ride a tricycle. I can't wait until my feet reach the pedals!

6. I sleep all the way through the night. Mommy really loves this. I kind of miss her during the night and I always want to see her, but I go to sleep at 7:30 and don't wake up until 6.

7. Blankies are the best! Besides Mommy and Daddy, my two favorite things are my pacifier and my blankie!

8. I know what a kitty says, "Mow," and I know what a doggie says, "MMM, MMM." I am also learning what a cow says, "MMMM....something" I am still not sure about that one.

9. Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake, Baker's Man is so much fun to do. I am so good at Patty-Cakin."

10. Mommy says that I have a strong will. She says that she can see many tantrums in my future. I don't know what those are, but I can't wait to have one!

So excited for next year! It's gonna be fun!

Dear Lily

2011-11-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Lily Grace! A year ago today they placed you in my arms and your Daddy and I got to meet you for the first time. I will never forget the day, I will never forget the moment. It is so amazing to think that an entire year has come and gone already! You are growing up so fast and I am in awe at the precious little girl you are becoming. The Lord has blessed your Daddy and I more than we could have thought possible with you. Everything about you reminds us of the love the Lord has for us. You know, sweetie, your middle name "Grace" is very special. You were given that name purposefully. When your Daddy and I found out that we were pregnant with you after so many years of trying, we were overwhelmed with joy. You are a priceless and precious gift, undeserved, but given freely to us. God's grace is even more amazing and we pray every day that you wil know the Lord and have a relationship with Him.

Lily, He is everything. He created you in the secret place and knows all about you. He purposed and planned you, called you by name and loves you. You know the amazing part? He loves you far deeper, wider, greater, longer and higher than Daddy and I could ever love you and we love you A LOT! The Lord is going to use you in mighty ways if you let Him. The road of life won't always be easy or seem fair. You will face tough decisions sometimes daily and Lily, you won't always make the right one. Even so, there is nothing though that you can do that would make me, Daddy or the Lord love you any less than we do. We are and always will be on your team.

Lily, the Lord has great plans for you. You are a beautiful girl with strength, passion and determination. Yes, I can already see those things in you. I know that you will be a leader for Christ and that your life and passion will effect a great many people. The Lord has given you His heart and He loves who you are. Use your gifts to fight for the weak, to stand up for injustice and to love those who some of the world would deem unlovable. Seek to be compassionate to everyone you meet no matter how different or "sinful" they may be. Don't judge or pre judge someone based on their lifestyle or actions, they are sinners in need of Your Savior just like you. Lily, the greatest way that you can love the Lord is to love others.

I wish that I could accurately put into words how much I love you, baby girl. Even as I write this I have tears in my eyes thinking about you. I never understood how special being a Mom is until I had you and every day I am in awe at the blessing you are to me. I love being your Mommy and there is nothing in the world I would rather do. Watching you grow up so fast is the most joyous and heart breaking thing. You won't be my baby girl forever and I find myself wishing that each day, hour, minute was just a few seconds longer. Then I find myself excitedly thinking of all we have to look forward to, those first steps on your own, your first day of school, the day you accept Jesus into your heart, driving, graduating........oh the list is endless. There is so much life ahead of you and I cannot wait to watch you in each moment. Happy Birthday Lily Grace!

I Love you
Mom

To my Daughter

2011-11-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Ah Lily Bear, I can't believe it has been a year. You have been a joy beyond my wildest hopes since we first got to meet you. Over the past year we learn more about you every day. Each time you look at me I see something special and unique in your eyes. You have a passon and compassion I can't wait to experience.

Your mother and I love each other so deeply and you are such a natural part of our family. Each day when I come home from work you are helping mom around the house or playing so well with your blocks. As soon as you see me your eyes light up and you reach out for me. Those moments are the best part of my day. There is a rhythm to our home that you complement so well.

As you can see, through all the blogs on this site, you are loved. You are cherished. You are a prize that I celebrate. You are the perfect addition to God's blessings in our lives. It has simply been a joy going through life with you this year. Even during the hard times I never wanted anything other than to be in that moment with you.

When you are old enough to read this please never forget the love we have for you. A love that comes from the Lord and flows through us as we try to do our best caring for you. Please forgive me when I fall short. I can assure you there is nothing you can do for me to Love you less. I am on your team and nothing will ever change that.

May you know comfort and compassion. May you have and experience true others centered love. May Grace be more than a title.

Happy Birthday sweetie. Daddy loves you

Tricycle Time

2011-11-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

Pictures really do say it all. Lily got a brand new tricycle from her Grandma and Grandpa Longmire for her first birthday. Although she is still a bit small and her feet can't reach the pedals, the joy is priceless! Thanks for the Tricyle G and G Longmire!

Celebrating Lily!

2011-11-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated our sweet Lily Grace and it was GRAND! I am so overwhelmed at how loved our baby girl is. The Lord has blessed us with so many friends and such dear family! I love that Lily is loved!

Feddy and Kemo came into town and we started the party planning yesterday with the cake! I had a little teddy bear cake at my first birthday party (handmade by Grandma Feddy of course!) and I thought that it would be so cute to have the same little personalized cake for Lily! I made the cake, but Grandma Feddy was the Icing artist.

It turned out just perfect! Lily snuggled with me while Feddy worked. She has become super snuggly lately!

On the big day we spent the morning warming up food, setting up chairs and balloons and vacuuming around the babies.

By 12:30 our little house was bursting at the seams with birthday blessings and guests. Lily was extra blessed because Grandpa Longmire, Aunt Darcie (who is expecting!), Uncle Brent,

Great Great Aunt Bev, Cousin Sandy,

Cousin Sherman and Cousin Stuart all came out to spend her special day with her! Not to mention Feddy, Kemo and a host of friends from all of our favorite places!

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and then headed straight to the cake. We were a little uncertain as to whether or not Lily would dig into the cake or not touch it. All of our wonders were put to rest the day before when, as soon as I gave her a taste of the icing, she wouldn't go into the kitchen without grunting and reaching towards the frosting. She is very much my child, SWEET TOOTH galore. So we all sang her happy birthday, blew out her candle and gave her the teddy bear's ear.

She picked up the piece and ate every bit of it, even picked up all of the frosting on her tray. She finished that and then had two spoonfuls of ice cream. YUM!

She was fading fast so we started with the gifts!

Lily was lavished with diapers, wipes, clothes, toys, handmade pillows and hats, lego duplos, books and even a tricycle. As the party goers started heading back home, Lily got to snuggle with her Aunt, Uncle and Gpa Longmire while the tricycle was being constructed and all of the new fun toys were being opened!

We are so blessed and I am so humbled and grateful for everything! The party was a wonderful time and such a special way to celebrate LILY!

Splishy, Splashy Baby Bathy!

2011-10-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

When we all moved into our house together, we knew that having one bathtub would require a baby bathing schedule. We also knew that it was inevitable that Lily and Jancsi would soon end up in the tub together. Little did we know that the time would come while we were up in the mountains. It was such a cute time, that I had to devote an entire blog to it. PRECIOUS!

The mountain tub was tight, but it fit these precious wet babies just perfectly. Lily loves to stand at the side of the tub and Jancsi is fast wanting to do everything that Lily does. Between Grace holding Jancsi up, Bob snapping pictures like crazy and Sebron and I laughing and adoring our babies we had a regular party in the bathroom.

When the kiddos were bathed, pjed and snuggled in their beds we all got to thinking about how special those brief bathtime moments were and how that memory will be stuck in our minds all of our life. In fact, Lily and Jancsi will probably get tired of hearing the bathtime story! It just serves to remind us how fast our babies are growing up and how special each little moment is!

Patchwork Majesty!

2011-10-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

The Fall is such a BEAUTIFUL season out here in North Carolina. The lush foliage turns into an exquisite color palate and just engulfs every view around.

I also love it because the leaves stick around for a good month and a half so we get to enjoy the colors for a long time. It was an especially wonderful weekend this past few days because we got to head out to Boone and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sebron and Grace took us out to his Mammy's house just outside of Boone and we had a fantastic time!

The mountains of North Carolina are somewhat different than the Colorado Rockies, but so beautiful. Once we made it up to the house, we got settled and then headed to the Cascades for a quick and chilly hike. The Cascades are an exquisite waterfall and you actually get to hike all down the fall.

We borrowed a backpack from one of our friends. It was so cool because Lily got to piggy back on me which kept me warm too. What a cutie! The 4 of us love having kiddos that will go wherever we go. We just bundle them up and pack them along.

The next morning, after a long baby nap, we headed further into Boone towards Grandfather Mountain.

The traffic was crazy to get up the mountain so we decided to head around the back and hike up the less known trails. We ate a little Picnic lunch before we headed up the hill. Lily was loving her graham crackers and Jancsi was mesmerized with everything.

The hike was beautiful and covered with leaves and big trees. We passed by this beautiful waterfall and took a few moments to enjoy the scene.

Lily enjoyed most of the time in dreamland on her Daddy's back. After a couple of hours we headed back down the hill, stopped at a roadside jammery (jelly shop?) and took a tour of the Mast General Store.

It was such a step back in time. The General Store is over 100 years old and has been turned into a massive store offering everything from kitchen accessories, clothes, shoes, candy in barrels and old fashioned coke in a bottle.

What a great experience. Jancsi got to be the town sheriff for a couple of minutes and Miss Lily got to be her new favorite animal. HOO, HOO, HOO, HOO!

Once we made it back home we all had a scrumptious dinner, bathed the babies (check back soon for that story!), put the babies to bed and spent an evening around the Settlers Board Game. What fun!

We ended the week with church on the hill. Before church we ate at the amazing Dan'l Boone Inn for breakfast. It was an all you can eat (on a turntable) breakfast with everything from baked apples, cinnamon buns, bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes and country grits. YUM!

Lovely, beautiful and majestic weekend!

Our Family of 3

2011-10-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

As Lily Grace's birthday fast approaches, I cannot help but think about our journey and how far we have come. Our precious little girl is the greatest most unbelievable gift that we have been given. I am amazed to think that 2 years ago Bob and I were feeling so overwhelmed with our infertility and our dear friend Armondo's passing. Truthfully, life felt dark, and we felt stuck in the valley with no end in sight. I remember thinking so wistfully about the idea of a baby, hoping that someday I would hold our precious little one, desperately trying to hold the mountains of negativity and "impossibility" at bay. What a hard time. In fact I can remember thanking God for trials at a Thanksgiving dinner. You know you are in a valley when trials are what you are grateful for.

That was then, and this is now........

Oh I just cannot believe that this moment, this day and this baby girl are here, real, tangible and BEAUTIFUL. God is so good and He is so faithful. His mercies are new every morning and He has delivered us from the valley. Great is His Faithfulness!!

Lily is a perfect example of the grace given to us.

She is a gift, undeserved, but given freely. Look at her beauty. She mirrors the image of a Perfect God who knit her together and who knew her even before time. She was planned and purposed even when Bob and I sat in the fertility clinic listening as the doctor told us that our chances of conceiving naturally were less than 5%. Her frame was never hidden and He knew her unformed body. I am so humbled, honored and blessed to have been given the gift of this precious little life.

As we get closer to her birthday we cannot help but reflect on every moment of the past 11 and a half months. Yes there have been sleepless nights and frustrated days, but we have cherished every moment of loving our Lily Grace. She is a Divine Joy sent to remind us that we serve a Powerful and Magnificent Creator. One who makes the impossible, POSSIBLE!

Ramblin' Rose Half Marathon!

2011-10-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Since I have had a baby, getting back into running shape has been a big goal. My ultimate goal is of course the Disney World Marathon in January 2012 and I can't believe that it is only 3 months away! Lily and I run at least 3-4 times during the week and then we always run on Saturday with Bob. It really has become a great routine! So in an effort to get myself in shape and set some distance goals for myself, I registered for the Inaugural Ramblin' Rose Women's Half Marathon! I have had it in my sights for a long time and I was etra excited when my sweet friend and running partner Grace decided to sign up for it too! We have had it as a goal for ourselves and we feel so good being able to run the distances with a 6 and 11 month old waiting at the finish!

So with all of the running that I have been doing, I could not wait to run the half. You can imagine how upset I was when I woke up on Friday to excruciating pain in my hip joint. We are talking couldn't walk up the stairs pain. YIKES! I have no idea what I did, but it was miserable! I went to the chiropractor and she instantly recognized it as the periformis(sp?) muscle. Basically it runs through your behind and around your hip. When it is inflamed it causes pain literally all down your leg. Awful! On Saturday I stretched and iced, took advil and iced, stretched and sat and iced all the while praying that I would be able to run come Sunday. I woke up Sunday to my hip feeling "better" so I headed to the start line. So long were my goals to run it under 2 hours, I was just going to finish.......I hoped!

We all are officially MILA sponsored athletes, so we all donned our apparell, bundled up the little babies and headed up to Durham! Sebron was on Baby Duty and turned out to be excellent runner support as well!

Bob ran the entire race completely barefoot. He was one of only 50 guys registered for the half and led the pack with ease.

Grace and I started together, but separated in the middle when I had to stop and stretch the hip. I felt really great through the first half, but I angered my hip in the last half of the race. So I had to slow way down. To compound the hip was the fact that the entire race was hills. There were literally no flat parts, you were either going up, or down. All I can say is that it is a good thing I push a baby up the hills around our house. WOW. I pushed through the pain and crossed the finish at 2:02. Just can't get below 2 hours. Someday....

We all finished strong and grabbed our medals with pride!

The kiddos were awesome, but very hungry and tired by the time we were all done. The race really was spectacular and quite an accomplishment to be sure!

Attack of the Killer Pumpkins!

2011-10-12T11:30:00.001-07:00

AAAAAAAAAAA run for your lives, the pumpkins are coming! Who would have thought that those orange balls could be so terrifying to Miss Lily? Here were Mom, Dad, Grandma Jill and Grandpa Steve sure that a trip to the pumpkin patch would be a fun filled experience and instead we thoroughly traumatized the little dear. Oh no.

Out here in North Carolina, the idea of a pumpkin patch gets turned into quite an ordeal. Every pumpkin patch is attached to a big country farm that offers a corn maze, tractors, hay rides, games and all manner of barnyard fun. Of course, Lily was very unimpressed with all of that so we stuck to the pumpkins. I must confess, that my main goal in taking her to the pumpkin patch was really to get some cute family photos to put on the blog. What we got was a bunch of tears, drama and terror. As long as she was in our arms or on our laps she was relatively content, but put her on or near the grass and pumpkins, oh boy.

It was wonderfully warm so I put her in overalls and barefeet. Wrong move. Poor Lily hates the grass and did everything in her power to keep her toesies away.

So our pumpkin excursion was a bit short lived. We headed out of the patch and caught some photo ops on the tractor and with the scare crow.

Grandma and Grandpa sure had a smile on their face even if Lily didn't! Hopefully next year we will have a great time and Lily will be much happier about the pumpkins.

The visit from Grandma and Grandpa Hill was short but wonderful. Lily got to spend an entire evening with Grandma and Grandpa while Bob and I got a much needed date night.

It was such a blessing to be able to go out for a nice (sit down, glass of wine, dessert nice!) dinner together. We of course had to hit up Coffee and Crepes a couple of times, and take a run around the famous Lake Johnson too.

She got to sit in the big girl seat in the parking lot one day and got so excited about being a big girl so for Lily's b-day Grandma and Grandpa got her......a new carseat! Lucky girl!

A Candle on the Water

2011-10-09T12:58:00.001-07:00

For our final excursion last week we headed up the coast of the Outer Banks to a little town called Corrituck. The OBX have several lighthouses and you can literally spend an entire week just touring the lighthouses. While we didn't have enough time to do that we decided to visit the Corrituck Lighthouse and grounds. We really picked this one because we could actually climb to the top of the lighthouse.

Lily got to ride in a backpack for the first time and Bob got the job of carrying the cute little burden.

She was fairly unimpressed with the whole set up, but was a good baby none the less. The Lighthouse was still in great condition and the house and grounds had been restored so that you could really get a taste for how the lighthouse keepers and their families lived. Even down to the little shanty outhouse. We headed right into the lighthouse and started our journey up to the top.

From the ground level, the stairs seemed to go on forever, around and around.

It was really fun to walk up a level, stop, look down, take a couple of pictures and then head up to the next level.

As I was climbing I was thinking about that lighthouse keeper and how often he probably climbed all of those stairs. Hopefully he never had to get up there in a hurry! The light house got tighter and tighter as we headed to the top until we went through a little door and into the fresh air. MAN, what a view! We could see the ocean and the sound as well as the OBX islands in both directions. Very cool!

It was so spectacular to stand at the rim, look out at the ocean, and think about this lighthouse. For years ocean travelers counted on the lighthouses for direction and hope. During the storms, squalls and hurricanes, ship captains peered through their windows desperately searching for light. Hoping that land was near.

Can you imagine the peace those men and women felt when out of the darkness they spotted that candle, flickering bright and true? Isn't it amazing to know that when the storms of life threaten to throw us around, make us lose hope and alter our direction, the Almighty Lighthouse shines out bright and beaming to lead us towards home. When in the dark, always look to the LIGHT!

Once we descended from the lighthouse heights we enjoyed a moments rest in the rocking chairs before packing ourselves back up in the car and heading back on home. What a wonderful trip.

We can Fly, We can Fly!

2011-10-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so back to filling everyone in on our trip to the OBX and to Kitty Hawk......

After our wonderful beach run last Saturday morning, we headed over to the Wright Brother's National Museum to learn all about the birthplace of flight. It was so neat to get to take Kemo to the museum. He has flown airplanes for most of his life and yet last Saturday was the first time that he had ever stood on the spot where it all began. The park was really something else. We started in the museum where we got to learn all about the Wright Brothers, their dream, the obstacles they faced and the high moment when they finally realized their dream of powered flight. Aviation has come so far that sometimes we forget how big of an obstacle flight was.

The first airplane was a fancy "glider" with a makeshift engine and an open air cabin where a Wright brother literally laid on his stomach, held onto a pole for security and shifted his hips to operate the direction of the "airplane." Amazing! Dad got special treatment because the ranger learned that he was a pilot.

So Kemo got to go behind the ropes and actually get a closer look at the Wright bros. replicated flying machine. Let me just say, those brothers were ballsy and gutsy.

After we learned everything we could about the "machine", we headed out to the open grounds where they have a replica of the shanty and hangar that the brothers lived in during the testing phase. They also have the actual "first flights" path marked. So Cool! On December 17th 1903, the brothers made history with 4 powered flights. They took off at the same location each time.

First flight 120 feet, 4th flight 852 feet, next flight.....the universe is the limit. From that first day of flying it only took 66 years before we were on the moon. Amazing! That just goes to show you, if you have a dream, don't let anyone, including yourself, or any obstacle get in your way. Pursue it with abandon.

To finish the journey, we walked up to the top of Kill Devil Hill which was the sand dune that the Wright Brothers originally tested their glider off of.

The Park has erected an amazing monument and it was so neat to visit such an incredible part of history. Lily was such a trooper the entire time and hunkered down in her jogger for the trip around the park.

The next time I fly in an airplane, I will always remember the incredible men who pioneered flying. Thanks to them, the childhood dream of flying like a bird didn't stop at a wish, it became a reality!

Stay tuned for our last stop on the OBX.....

11 Months, 1 More to 1!

2011-10-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here today working on Lily's Birthday invites and find myself amazed that she is 11 months. I almost forgot to write her blog! I have been faithful to get the monthly blogs up right on the 6th of each month since her birthday, but I am not going to lie, it almost passed this month.

The Fall brings so much life and things to do. My MILA business is taking off and I find myself immersed in sharing MILA with everyone. MOPS has begun and I am a table leader this year so busy planning table play dates and moms night out. The Holidays are coming and bringing with them family visits and vacation. Top it all off, Miss Lily Grace is becoming a full blown toddler, attitude, squirmyness and all. WOW is she busy!

The other night I had a table leader meeting and I had to take her with me. Usually I can take her, put her in a high chair, give her a graham cracker and let her entertain herself. Boy was I wrong. She wanted to be in, over, around, inside, above, beyond, by and under EVERYTHING. Sitting still was not on her radar and I found myself understanding why Mom's don't take their little ones if they have to do anything that requires concentration, discussion and brain power. I was SO distracted! When she wasn't everywhere she desperately wanted to pull my earrings out of my ears and scream when Mom told her "No, ma'am, we don't pull Mommy's earrings." OOOOO, she has a temper. I love that she is strong. I just pray that I can mold her strength and determination into a warrior for Christ.

She has decided that napping is okay, but that she really likes to complain about it. She has figured out how to stand up in her crib, but has not mastered the ability to sit down. So, when she doesn't want to sleep she stands up and screams. Oh Dear! The other day I came into her room to find her peering over the side of her crib and crying. I walked up to her and she looked at me with this sad miserable face and then looked back down over the crib. I picked her little self up and discovered that she had gotten her pacifier off of her shirt and had dropped it on the floor! She was just beside herself struggling with how she was going to get to sleep without her beloved paci. Mommy rescued the paci and reattached the treasure. Nap time was saved!

Lily has taken her laundry helping skills and transported them into the kitchen where she now helps me wash the dishes in the dishwasher.

She loves to push the drawer in and out. Especially when it has plates in it because it rattles! So fun! She has got the unloading thing down pat, but she is really not sure she understands why things keep going in there? Silly Mommy, clean spoons go on the floor!

She is such a helper, whether its shopping, laundry or dishes.

This month also brought with it new experiences, like the backpack!

The Jessups let us borrow the neat little contraption and Lily got to ride on her Daddy's back all around Kitty Hawk. She wasn't completely thrilled, but she was a trooper. She also got to show Grandpa Kemo around her new house.

Our precious little girl is such a sweet little lady. Our love for her grows exponentially everyday that we wake up to her sweet little face. Happy 11 months Lily Grace, can't wait to celebrate your birthday!

The Stone in my Tumbler

2011-10-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

I love the poem about footprints in the sand. I love the image of walking with the Lord along the beach. What I really love about that poem though, is when there is only one set of footprints. I love knowing that the Lord carries us. It really is a special image. I don't get very many opportunities to walk along the beach, but when I do, these images always come into my head.

On Saturday morning of our OBX trip, Bob and I got to go for a run together along the beach. It was great because we left Miss Lily with her Feddy and Kemo and headed out jogger free. We ran most of the run on the road, but on our way home we ran along the beach for the last mile or so. Running on the sand is REALLY challenging, and definitely shows you muscles that you never knew you had. Since Bob and I have both gotten into the barefoot running craze, it was so much fun to run in and out of the tide.

Bob led the way and I followed his footprints. I found myself thinking about companionship and marriage and how special it is to have someone to go through life with. With the busyness of life, baby, work and life sometimes it is easy to fall into a routine of marriage without really pursuing each other. I think that Bob and I have discovered this lately. Unfortunately, getting lost in the routine makes marriage more of a social living situation instead of an intimate relationship. It has been hard. Running along the beach gave me a moment (okay a mile of moments) to really remember our marriage, remember its purpose. It's purpose is growth. I think that the Lord designed marriage so that we could be molded into a better version of ourselves, so that we would have someone in our lives who was constantly challenging us.

Someone likened marriage to polishing a gemstone. When a ruby or diamond or emerald is found in nature it looks very much like an old rock. You have to polish the gemstone in order to get the flawless gem. But polishing is not as gentle as it sounds. To polish a gemstone you have to have an abrasive grit and a secondary stone. You put the abrasive grit and the stone into a tumbler with the gemstone and let them tumble together. The grit and friction of the stones smashing into each other slowly polishes the gem. Simply put, we are the stones and God is the grit. Take one of the pieces away and you don't get a polished gem. I love this analogy. Sometimes there are rough times in life, but having the other "stone" and the "grit" of the Spirit can really yield the most beautiful things.

That is why I found myself humbly following this special man down the beach treasuring the thought that he would stop, turn and welcome me into his arms. I am a better version of myself because of Bob and I love that he is the stone in my tumbler. My prayer is that when we come out we are what the Lord intended us to be, glowing, exquisite gems.

A Trip to the OBX!

2011-10-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived out here in North Carolina and I am absolutely thrilled. There is something so wonderful about having to put layers on instead of try to wear the fewest clothes possible. Wonderful. We got to enjoy the blast of Fall weather along the Outer Banks this weekend while Feddy and Kemo visited. Grandpa Kemo has been a pilot for years and years but has never been down to Kitty Hawk to see where aviation began.

Since Bob and I have been out here in North Carolina we really have ventured out very little. It's so easy to get comfortable and stay home instead of exploring this pretty cool state. Where else can you get ocean, mountains, wild horses, farming and lush forest. North Carolina really is an awesome state. So we packed up our jeep and headed off to the ocean.

The trip was long, but Lily did great. The Outer Banks are incredible and such an interesting piece of real estate. We pulled into our hotel (right on the beach) in the early afternoon, and then headed to the Black Pelican for lunch.

The whole town of Kitty Hawk is immersed in everything Wright Brothers. It really is pretty neat. After our yummy lunch we decided to let the baby nap and we took turns walking on the beach.

It was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L! It was windy and chilly, but such a blast! Later that evening we headed out to Jennettes Pier and introduced Miss Lily to the ocean.

I was just sure that she would love the ocean and Bob was convinced she was going to fuss. Well, Bob was right. Miss Lily did NOT want her little toesies in the water. She did everything she could to keep her legs out of the ocean.

Some day she will love it, but not yet. She was much happier when her Daddy picked her up and walked her around.

We strolled along the 1000 foot pier, enjoying the sunset, ocean waves and brisk wind.

We topped off our evening with ice cream for dinner (YUM) and an early bed time. It's so nice having a little baby because you have an excuse to go to bed at 7PM!

Swing Kids

2011-09-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

Life is good. Life is busy. Life is life. Several times a week I seriously just have to sit down and STOP for even just a few minutes to breathe and enjoy the moment. Being a Mom is so constant. Thank Goodness I love the job and the job is so satisfying! Lily gets cuter everyday, but as teeth are coming in, her whole routine is getting thrown off.

She loves to stand these days but has trouble figuring out how to sit down. So, she stands in her crib and cries herself silly until we come and sit her down. It is a sneaky little trick to avoid nap time. Too bad she's the baby and I'm the Mommy. Yes, Lily, we still nap even though you can stand!

Living with Grace has been really great because she and I get to run together. We both really understand how crucial it is to have a routine for our day. Both of us know that getting up in the morning and heading out to run before any breakfast is served or laundry done is the best way to make sure we get our exercise in. Plus, the kiddos are happy and content and usually manage to make it through the miles with little fuss. The other morning we headed over to one of our favorite 3.5 mile loops. It starts at this huge park with swings and slides and all manner of jungle gym fun. After we ran our miles we thought it might be fun to put the little ones on the swings. Both Lily and Jancsi are still far from finding park equipment super fun. We found the chair swings and thought we would give the kids a little experience. Of course, the swings were WAY too big for both of the kids. I mean even with the harness system, Lily looked like a little peanut.

Needless to say we didn't push too hard. As I was pushing Lily I kept on smiling and laughing and telling her how much fun it was. All the while she kind of looked at me with a look that said "Mom, you are way more excited about this than I am, I just really want to be in your arms instead of this swingy thing." Okay, so I took her out and over to where Jancsi was having roughly the same experience. We just couldn't help but put their little bums next to each other. What cute kiddos. Both Grace and I are really excited for the times when they can't wait to go to the park. I am especially excited about watching Lily's face light up when she slides down the slide and into my arms. Some day soon!

My Favorite Things

2011-09-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

So I have a confession to make. I have not been blogging very often this month because I have launched a MILA business and have found myself so immersed in it that I forget to blog! This is not to say that Lily Grace isn't as cute as ever and seemingly always doing something worth talking about. Nope, its just to say that this mother has not yet mastered the art of extreme multitasking.

One thing that Bob and I have done really well with Miss Lily is to encourage her to entertain herself with the things around her instead of needing bright noisy kid toys. For the most part it works really well, but occasionally she manages to get her hands on something that is less than "safe for baby." Bob was fixing the baby gate the other day and Lily really wanted to participate. She managed to located the box of nails and realize that they make a super cool shaker.

Of course, it dawned on me that, should she manage to open the box, we were going to have nails in everything. So I took that from her. She then located the zip ties and the wrench. The tool box held incredible fascination for her. It just warms my heart to watch her sit and help her Daddy.

She has also become a bit of a wine-o. Okay, maybe it isn't THAT bad, but now when I am working in the kitchen, the bottom shelf of the refrigerator has become her personal territory to explore, and she has located the wine bottle. The other night I was cooking and managed to leave the door open. I turned around to find this little scenario.

Of course after she licked the cork and bottle she put it down and licked the Steak Sauce bottle too.

When she is not exploring the fridge, she loves this little kitchen stool. Since pulling up on anything and everything is her new favorite hobby, she has discovered that she can pull up and lean on this stool for support.

She has also discovered that she can push it around too. I couldn't help but take this picture the other day.

Her little bloomers were so cute sticking out of her little dress. I find her in this position several times throughout the day. LOVE IT!

Since her attention span is still fairly short, we go through the fridge, tool box and stool pretty quickly and are in need of other occupations. She is just mesmerized with paper and loves to rip it, crinkle it, bend it and beat on it. I found this old red notebook and she went to town with it.

Of course, whenever she gets a piece off she eats it. I am sure that she has ingested far more paper than I would like, but, Oh well, a little paper fiber never hurt anyone.

Lily has a way of keeping herself entertained and keeping this Mommy on her toes. I love watching her find new things to play with and new games to play. Just yesterday she taught me this fun new game: Bathroom Peek-a-boo (I don't think she knows I can see her little feet)

"Where's Lily?"

"There she is!"

Runnin' with the Ducks!

2011-09-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

While I was growing up, every time it would rain my mom would always say that it was "Great Weather for Ducks." I have to be honest and tell you that every time she said that I could not understand what she meant. Ducks don't love rain, do they? It then dawned on me that I really was never out in the rain for an extended period of time so, who knew, maybe ducks were out and about on a rainy day!

Well Duck weather happens a lot out here in North Carolina and this weekend is no exception. First of all you have to know that FALL has come for the past couple of days. We are talking temperatures in the 50's and windy cool. It is wonderful, but both Grace and I are discovering that we are a tad short on warm clothes for the babies. We've made do, but we are going to have to do some laundry and soon! On top of the temperatures it has been rainy, rainy, rainy for the past couple of days. Of course, while most people snuggle inside with their hot cup of cocoa and read a good book, the Longmires and the Jessups have other ideas. We go out and run. All I have to say is that it is a good thing we have tough kiddos!

Yesterday, Grace invited me to go out and run a cross country 5k race with her NCSU club team. You all know me, I am up for anything! So we get to the race site and here is the image: 50+ serious varsity runners are out and about in their little booty shorts, varsity jerseys, lightning fast shoes and matching jackets. In the background the announcer is calling the male run with a "There's the lead pack of 8 headed towards the finish. They are going to cross right at 14:50." What?????!!!!???? 14:50 for 3 Miles????? I did the math and realized that that means they were running less than 5 minute miles for 3 miles. Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore.

So I found Grace and we headed to the far edges of the start line. Far away from the hard core ladies.

The gun went off and we all started. Bob took a great video of the start. The entire pack headed down the hill at a lightning pace and then here comes Grace and Bethany.........DEAD LAST. I realized that I was way out of my league immediately, but I decided that I was NOT going to come in last, no way, no how. So I picked it up. Grace and I started picking off the varsity stragglers one by one and just so that you all know, we did not finish last, whoo hoo for the Moms. We pushed and pushed hard even when it started to pour rain on us. Grace and I, for all of our sweetness, are both highly competitive. We pushed and pulled each other the entire race, I took the lead when she needed encouragement, and she took over when I was gettin' tired. The last hill we dug deep and powered up to the finish line. Grace crossed at 24:03 and I crossed at 24:12.

Beating several of the varsity cross country runners. We felt so great considering we were older than all of the runners and the fact that we had two little munchkins waiting at the finish line.

This morning Bob and I had another 5k race and we woke up to pouring rain. You have got to be kidding. Sebron decided that he wanted to run it as well so we bundled the babies and headed out in the rain. For all of our hopes that it would stop raining, it did not and actually got worse. Grace stayed at the finish line with the babies who were SOOOOO good despite their "wet" status.

Sebron, Bob and I headed down the wet soggy trail and were DRENCHED when we arrived back at the finish. I giggled so much though, because all along the greenway I saw ducks! Indeed it was great weather for ducks. Ducks, not People! It was a great run and Sebron came in 2nd place overall, he almost won the whole event! Bob came in at a quick 21 minutes and got great looks because he did it all barefoot.

I came in around 29 minutes. I got stuck behind several "non-runners" just out for a jaunt in the rain. We had a great time and the babies were so cute!

So we have coined a new phrase. Whenever it rains it has become "Great weather for ducks, runners and babies!"

2+2=4

2011-09-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Lily is gettin' her two front teeth! They just popped through the gums tonight and Bob noticed them in the bathtub. She has been working on those for such a long time and for a while I thought they would never come, but they are here!

Of course, she is still dealing with a lot of pain and the poor thing pulls on her ears the whole day while desperately wanting me to snuggle her every second. I love to cuddle with her, but it is so challenging to get anything done. I just keep reminding myself that she is growing up fast and not to miss it! Each new milestone is so great and I look forward to them with so much excitement. Feeling those teeth is so special! What a cutie!

Let the Little Children Come

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am humbled and in awe every day that I wake up to a talkative little girl in the room next to us. While there are mornings that I wish she would be quiet for just a few more minutes, I am reminded of the treasure that lies not 20 feet from me. If it is possible, Lily has gotten more precious and more precocious. She is climbing on everything these days and just loves her new found trick of pulling up on things. Aside from the couch, the bathtub, the ottoman, laundry baskets, stools and chairs, I am ultimately her favorite chin up bar. Somehow she knows that if she grabs onto Mom she won't be so unsteady. It is so precious, she loves and relies on me in such big ways. How special to be someones everything. When Lily looks at me it is with a trust that is so innocently complete. Amazing.

Everyday that I spend in the presence of Jancsi and Lily I am absolutely floored at how the Lord loves us. When I hold both of them the protectiveness and intense love that I feel is overwhelming and I get a glimpse of the depth of love the Father has for us, His children. I love when the Lord talks about children in the Bible. Throughout Christ's ministry he was constantly breaking down walls and pushing boundaries. The image that we get in Luke 18 is one of those times. The Lord is teaching and ministering to people when mothers and fathers bring their precious little children to Jesus for healing and blessing. The disciples seeing how distracting children were going to be, rebuked them. Without missing a beat, "Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." ~ Luke 18:16.I can just see Yaweh, the King of Kings, reaching out his hands and allowing every child to crawl, run and jump into his arms. I can see him reaching out to hold each new born baby. Wow.

It got me thinking about the kingdom and why children hold the keys to it. The other day when I was holding Jancsi and Lily, it hit me. It isn't because children are innocent, perfect little beings, or because they are just so cute. Its because of the way they love and the way they trust. It's whole, without strings, and without fear. They don't live in a state of self preservation. They fully love. How sad that life has a way of teaching us to be fearful and to hold love back, what would it be like to become like a child again.Children truly are a gift from the Lord and a constant reminder to look inward and find the areas of myself that the Lord wants to remold. How beautiful to be the daughter of a King who never stops fighting for my heart..

The Perfect 10

2011-09-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

10, 10, the Perfect 10, Lily is 10 months old today! She is growing like gang busters and is just so much fun to be around. The other day I told Bob that she was going to be 10 months old and he turned to me and said, "Oh my gosh, one day I am going to come home and she is going to be 30 and I am going to be an old man." Ah how much the perspective of time changes!

Each new step in her life is such a blast and I am continually amazed at how every change brings with it so much new adventure not only for her but for her Mommy and Daddy. She is so engaged in her world around her and aware of everything these days. She loves to be on, over or in everything and is like a magnet to things lodged in corners or under tight spaces. Her little chubby hands maneuver their way into those spaces and bring out all sorts of treasures including old tissues that never got thrown away and dog hair piles. I am waiting for the day when she reaches behind something and pulls out a dead bug. Ah the innocence of youth!

She is talking more these days and just babbling everything she can. We are really hoping that a Mom or Momma is going to pop out soon. She gets the sounds out, but has yet to connect them with me. I feel so silly sitting in front of her pointing at myself going "Momma, Momma." She always sits and looks at me in complete bewilderment and confusion wondering what in the world I am doing. One day little one, it will all make sense.

We have such a great time each and every day especially because she is on such a nice routine. She is officially sleeping through the night. We are talking 7:30PM to 7AM. HALLELUJIAH! Never thought I would get to say that sentence! She still desperately attempts to get me up somewhere around 3-4:30 every morning, but I have lowered the boom and no longer come to visit. There have been a few dramatic mornings where she has had to fuss herself back to sleep, but she is getting better and better at it. What a good little girl! Of course my sweet roommate Grace is still dealing with a 5 month old Jancsi who likes the every hour schedule. I suppose we all have to go through it, but it is wonderful to be on the other side. Now on to the next stage.....

As for everything that Lily has been up to lately, I thought I would let her tell you about it.........

Hi Everyone, Lily here, oh I have so much to tell you about all that I have been up to. The world is such a fun place and I love discovering it.

First of all, have you heard of these things called magnets? They are so cool and they stick to the big white box in the kitchen. I cannot believe how much fun it is to pull them off and put them on.

The best part is that I don't lose my toy! When I get bored with my magnets, I can always do exercises on the big white door.

Second, I LOVE pillows. Mom and Dad have so many pillows on their bed and it is so much fun to crawl in them.

The best part is that when I get tired I can lay down and snuggle in the softness. AHHHH delightful.

Thirdly, helping Mom with the laundry is the most fun.

I think she might have told you about it, but my job is to pull the basket over and get out all of the laundry. I am not sure why mom puts the laundry back in the basket once it is folded. It makes no sense because I just have to pull it out again for her.

Silly Mommy.

Fourth is the DVD Shelf. I could never figure out why Mom and Dad had this big shelf full of these boxes. What do you use them for? Then I discovered how fun they are to pull out. So that's why they have them, so that I can play with them.

Fifth is running with Mom. She used to have to lay my seat down so that I wouldn't bobble around, but now I sit up so tall and big and I love to see where we are headed. Mommy thinks it is so cute because the wind blows my hair and makes it stand up all funny.

Sixth is special Mommy time. I love watching Mommy cook dinner for us.

Seventh is Daddy time. I love snuggling with Dad. Dad is so tall and strong and when he holds me I can see a whole new world.

Eighth is learning that everything, including the dishwasher, is like a built in jungle gym just for me.

Ninth takes the cake because I am learning all about walking. I don't really want to do it yet because it is so hard and I am so wobbly, but when Daddy holds me I feel like maybe someday I will learn the whole walking thing.

And Finally, I love Rocky and I especially love sharing my snacks with him!

Come on Doggie

2011-09-03T09:14:00.001-07:00

Lily has totally taken on her own little persona and has become a full fledged person! And she is BUSY! She is constantly moving somewhere, pulling on something, banging on the other thing, turning around, digging in Mom's purse, pulling out everything from everywhere and opening everything that opens.

Lately she has discovered 1) The Laundry and 2) The DVD Shelf. What a helper. I fold the laundry and pile it in the basket, she takes it out of the basket and unfolds it. It really is a great system. It takes us twice as long to get laundry done and I inevitably end up with baby spit up or throw up on one of the folded, unfolded clean items. The DVD Shelf is another area of wonder for Miss Lily. You see once you take one out, the rest of the DVD's just naturally follow until you are literally lost in a sea of DVD's. SO COOL! Of course how they get back in their neat and tidy row is lost on her and we usually end up with DVD's literally across the living room. She pushes them, shakes them, bangs on them, chews on them and crawls over them. Poor Bob has had to give up on keeping the bottom row of DVD's alphabetized. I just don't have the heart to tell him that as she gets bigger, the bottom shelf is not going to be the only row out of sorts.

As her mobility improves she is discovering that she can mount any obstacle, conquer any roadblock and push through any pillows, blankets, toys, stools, or rugs that Mom and Dad place in her way. She will not be deterred! I think her favorite mountain to conquer is our fluffy doggie. Mount Rocky!

He loves to lay right in the hallway between her bedroom and ours. If I put her in her room on the floor to play he actually creates a nice barrier so that I can get stuff done without too much worry about where the little one is headed. Well that was then, and this is now. No longer is he an effective guard. She just pulls, climbs, punches, kicks, pushes and stretches until she has conquered the fluffy beast. Once conquered she finds his collar and desperately pulls. You can just hear her, "Come on doggie, lets go this way."

When the 100 pounds of dog doesn't move an inch, she gives up and just sits next to him. So cute.

She just adores Rocky and we are loving watching her grow!

Mama's In Charge!

2011-08-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved to North Carolina, I have anxiously awaited the day when I could go to the zoo with miss Lily. The North Carolina Zoo is way over in Asheboro which is a good hour and a half away so it has taken me a while to want to brave an all day zoo trip with her. Last week, my good buddy Megan gave me a call and said that they were going and could get Lily and I in for free. So we went to the zoo.

The Zoo is ENORMOUS. It is different than any other zoo I have ever seen because it is more like an enormous nature park with animals than a touristy zoo. Seriously, if you walk along all of the pathways and see the animals in both the North America and Africa side you will walk over 8 miles. Needless to say, with two babies and a 5 year old we took the tram between the sides.

The weather was nice, humid, but nice and all of the pathways through the habitats were covered with lush North Carolina foliage. Lily can see the animals really clearly now (at least if they are active) and found the animals so funny. It was adorable. She watched the turtles and the penguins with abandon and just loved their antics.

After a couple of hours the kids all started to get fussy and a little rambunctious right as we were headed to the elephants. Megan and I couldn't help but stop at this sign for a picture.

Yes, Mama is in charge!

We all had such a great time being together and I just have to say how much fun it is to have a little girl to take to places like the zoo. It was a long day and Lily was exhausted when we got home, but it was great to see lions, tigers and bears, OH MY!

The Cone of Shame

2011-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful week away in the Mountains and away from my dog, I found myself looking forward to starting fresh and getting back to my four legged running partner. I even found myself missing him and all of his little quirks. Then we got home.

I came home to find our wooden gate destroyed, the blinds on our front door destroyed and that instead of just licking his legs he has transitioned to licking his body. No joke, my neurotic dog has now gone full fledged self mutilation and is literally licking his behind off. On Tuesday morning as I was headed out on my run, I discovered the 3 inch diameter open wound on the side of his hip. No kidding, an open, oozing, bleeding, smelly wound brought on by his own doggie craziness. I instantly called and got a vet appointment scheduled, but would have to wait 4 days. Oh no! The next day I woke up to a 6 inch wound that literally made me feel as nauseous as I felt when I was pregnant. So stressful and disgusting!

The only thing I could do in an effort to get him the next 4 days to his appointment was to subject him to the cone and a makeshift duct tape bandage. Yes, Rocky has a cone on his head and a diaper bandage on his butt.

Laugh! It is hilarious. It is the only thing that I can do. Seriously Rocky? You have a family that loves you, a house, a backyard, daily runs. Laughing is the only thing that keeps me from screaming in frustration.

Since we have instituted the cone, sleep has been fleeting for me. Rocky has no spacial awareness so he runs into everything, walls, doors, stairs, nightstands (he has knocked over one of the Jessup's tables 3 times) furniture, humans and yes, he tipped Lily over the other day just walking by.

At night it is literally like I have a tornado moving through my house. Since I have heightened Mommy senses, I don't sleep and have once again found myself only able to catch some zzzzzzs on the couch. There have been many moments where I have wanted to say "It's Me or the Dog," but know deep down I would never truly give the ultimatum. Why is it that once animals take up residence in your heart, no matter how much trouble they bring to your life, you still love'em?

Lily thinks the cone is so fun to play with and was banging, pulling and crawling on it the other night. Once she discovered her doggie was in the cone that made it even more fun for her.

He finally got to the vet today and is now on antibiotics and hopefully headed towards recovery. However, there is a part of me that thinks we may have only solved the problem temporarily. I think his issues run deeper than a round of antibiotics and a cone. O well, we will just keep a sense of normalcy for him and hope that it restarts his doggie brain and gets him off the train to Crazyville.

Mountain Adventures!

2011-08-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Colorado was so much fun! As always it ended far quicker than I would have liked, but with Bob left on the East Coast, Lily and I had to get back soon. While we were up in the Mountains, however, Lily and I had a wonderful time and Lily Grace had so many new and exciting experiences.
Lily and I left early last Tuesday morning for our flight. Because of the time change, we landed in CO right around 9AM and had to whole day to play and spend time with Feddy and Kemo. After a much needed baby nap, Feddy quickly took over and showered the baby with kisses, snuggles and love. GranFran got to feed the little one and Lily spent the rest of the afternoon in Grandma's arms. We played fetch with the doggies, sang music with Jayney and saw the horses.

My mom had such high hopes that Lily would instantly take to the big furry creatures. Poor Miss Lily was quite overwhelmed at first and firmly convinced that they most likely would eat her.

She didn't scream or cry, but was much happier when they were at a distance instead of right in her face.

Wednesday was a wonderfully full day complete with a massage for this tired Mommy! In the morning, Lily discovered how fun it would be to feed Oreo and Skittles' Cheerios. They were in heaven and Lily was so giggly.

Grandma Feddy then gave the munchkin a big treat. Lemon Meringue Pie for breakfast, mmmmmm. We headed down to Denver to meet with Aunt Jayne for a massage, A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! Afterwards we stopped for lunch and Jayney snuggled with Lily Grace.

She slept and slept, so precious. The afternoon was busy with making hummingbird food and a long bathtime. Big day!

On Thursday morning, I got the awesome opportunity to ride a horse again. After a 2 year break WOW did my legs hurt.

The views were just breathtaking and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment in the mountains. Lily got to stay home with GranFran and Kemo. They played boogeyman and snuggled together.

What a good morning. We headed down to Conifer that afternoon because Feddy wanted to show off "her baby" (yes, Grandma has taken ownership and Lily just loves her) at the Dental Group. While Mom had her meeting, Lily and I got the wonderful privilege of going on a date with Dad/Kemo.

Let me tell you, I LOVE MY DADDY! So glad he gets to be Gpa Kemo! Before bed time that night Lily and Feddy watched the hummingbirds, Lily was just mesmerized!

Friday was a day at home and a wonderful one at that.

We played with the horses all morning (many wonderful horse pictures to come), sat by the pond, looked at some flowers and rode the TRACTOR! Lily got all of the ranching experiences. Kemo was in his working garb, but took some time out of his busyness to show Lily the big orange machine.

Lily was so cute, not overly excited, but not fussy either. I think she was just glad Mommy had a good hold on her! She finished the evening snuggling with GranFran.

All of us girls got to enjoy tea on Saturday! We all got dressed up and headed down to meet Beth, Jayne and Jessi. Lily looked so cute complete with baby curl (complements of Feddy).

Her little dress was so cute and she was the hit of the morning. I just love all of these ladies and couldn't imagine what my life would be like without them. That afternoon when we weren't napping we were enjoying more horses. My cousin Derek's little girls came up to visit and just loved being with baby Lily. Not going to lie, this picture made me a little nervous, but Feddy did have a good hold on her.

Our last day was Sunday and we headed to church. My parents go to the church that I grew up in and it was so fun to see Lily in my old stomping grounds.

That evening we all got to have a family BBQ and Chase, Derek, Beth, Jessi, Tom and Jayne all came over. It was such a wonderful time to reconnect and get all caught up.

Lily was somewhat overwhelmed, but was such a good sport.

Later that night Lily got some snuggles from GranFran while showing everybody what she learned over the week from Grandma Feddy.

"Lily, how big are you?"

"SOOOOO BIG!"

Ride a Little Horsey!

2011-08-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Lily and I have been having the best time up in Colorado over the past few days. Visiting with Feddy, Kemo and GranFran has been so much fun. Lily Grace has been having the time of her life and is just mesmerized with all of this Mountain stuff. The air is so fresh and cool and we have been enjoying every moment of the outdoors especially since we don't get eaten alive by mosquitos!

From the moment we arrived on our airplane we have been going and going. Each day has brought with it a bunch of new experiences for the little one and she has been having a ball. It is so much fun to watch my daughter learn about the world. Having a baby just shows you how special each and every experience is. There is truly so much to tell, and I will, but for now I just have to show you Grandma Feddy's proud moment. The budding horse lover!

Lily got to ride on the big Bandit horsey today and she was so cute and had such a good time. Poor Bob is desperately hoping that she doesn't come home and smile sweetly with a "Daddy, I want a pony." If Feddy has anything to do with it, horses will be in Miss Lily's future, even if it is a special Grandma's house only treat (I think that's my Mom's secret plan to keep the baby coming back!)

What a little horsewoman.

Junior Baker

2011-08-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

I love to bake. Well actually, I just love to cook and work in the kitchen. So it would just stand to reason that little Miss Lily would have to learn her way around the bowls, spoons and spatulas. Every evening around 5:30 we head on into the kitchen and get crackin' on whatever is on the dinner menu. She plays on the floor while I chop, stir and mix. Some days she has a ball while others she fusses and makes the cooking hour a challenging one handed effort. During some of the biggest baby fits, I try anything I can find to see if it will occupy her attention. Really anything other than sharp or hot objects work like a charm.

I think she has decided that helping me make cookies is the best. She took to the spatula and mixing bowl like she knew exactly what she was doing. Of course the entire concept of keep the "stuff" in the bowl and no, eating the bowl doesn't produce cookies is somewhat lost on her, but what a good helper!

She stirred, she banged, she squealed and she giggled. What a precious little girl.

These days when she isn't helping me bake, she is starting to pull up on pretty much everything she can get the leverage on.

She started with the laundry baskets and then discovered the side of the tub. Of course, she can only stand with help and a firm spread eagle foundation, but oh she is getting so big.

B.A.D Dog

2011-08-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Our big 100 pound dog has been on a terrorist streak lately. Oh my goodness. Thank heavens Grace and Sebron are not newbies to the whole "bad dog" thing because if they were I have a huge feeling that they would have thrown in the towel this week and said "see ya" to the whole living together thing. He has been rotten. Bob has had to talk me off of the ledge many times this week. On more than one occasion I seriously considered dropping him off at the Goodwill Donation sight. They take dogs, right?

It all started earlier this week when my kitties Maddie and Bryce kept following me around and meowing at me uncontrollably which usually means hunger. Normally when I feed them they get along great for about 2 days, but later that night the kitties were all over me meowing and rubbing like they were starving. Well, they were! Rocky has discovered the cat food and conspicuously sneaks down there when we are all handling babies to eat his fill. No joke, one day I filled their bowls 3 times. Argh. Oh yeah, and did I mention that after he eats the cat food he tops of his meal with the cat box? YEAH, so GROSSSSSSSS!!!

Once I shut off his cat product access, he decided to go on a binge and eat all the trash he could find, an entire canister of Nutella Spread, bread, more trash, and two tupperware containers out of the sink. So Naughty! If he can't find anything upstairs, he just marches himself into the Jessup territory and helps himself. Poor Grace and Sebron, at this point they have had to sacrifice a lot living with our beast. Thank heavens they have owned a Demon Dog before so most of his trouble doesn't come as a shock, but STILL.

In case all of this wasn't enough, our entire house is literally covered with hair bunnies floating around. Lily crawls and has to plow through hair. Vaccuming only serves to make me feel better about putting Lily on the floor, it does nothing for the dog hair, seriously, it is everywhere. Once I vaccum, 5 minutes later it is bad again.

He has serious abandonment issues so when we put him in his spacious backyard, he scratches the door to be let in. He still licks his leg so I find little blood spots wherever he lays. He drools water all over the house and usually it is toilet water. My car smells like dog, my room smells like dog and because Lily is still stuck in the backseat with him, she tends to smell like dog. When the doorbell rings no matter where he is it is a brute bulldozing effort to get to and out the door, usually giving me enough time to frantically call out "He's friendly" to the terrified guest before he gives them a once over, hackles up. Let me tell you, he has been trying.

Throughout all of this, however, he has one overwhelming good quality, he is absolutely adorable with the babies. It's like he knows that how he is with them is the one behavioral area where there aren't any do overs or second chances. He gets it. Lily follows him around like a groupie desperately trying to find his dangly collar.

She pulls on his collar, usually choking him, yanks on his jowls, tugs at his hair and crawls on, over and around him with little care to what she might squish or pinch.

All the while he lays there quietly and calmly like he understands that his lot in life is to be Lily's jungle gym. So okay, I will deal with all of the other naughtiness with patience because I can tell he loves Lily and Jancsi, in the end that really is all that matters.

All right Rocky, You can stay.........