i've given in...

i've been holding out. who wants another screen name, another password, another form to fill out... i haven't posted lately because i really didn't want to sign up for google. not the end of the world, but a fair bit of annoying...anyway, i did and here i am.
the days are dwindling, her second birthday is drawing near. i can't believe that she's almost two! i thought that she had changed so much from birth to one, but TWO!, holy cow she is this whole new person who continues to unfold before me every-stinkin'-day.
i am so impressed at who God has designed her to be. i am amazed at how she is developing into that person. i am completely blown away at my role as God's helper in this project. i am so thankful for the blessing that she is, that He has given me. i thought going to school, work, and paying bills on time was a big responsibility...man, i had no idea what real responsibility was...raising a child, being an example, modeling Christ for her. it's so amazing to be a part of this. i look forward to each new day.

how big girls nap...

this is how big girls take a nap. in their big girl toddler beds without guard rails.

it only took her about three and a half weeks to decide, all on her own, that she wanted to sleep there. that was last monday night. i barely slept at all, so blown away by her very big decision and waiting for her to fall out of bed and need me. i finally fell asleep and she did not "fall" out of bed, it was more of a wiggle. daddy found her on the floor at the end of the bean bag, so he gently picked her up and put her back in her bed without waking her up. i found her in the same spot on the floor when i got up a few hours later. we had an adventure at home depot and found the perfect piece of wood to make a guard rail. for under five dollars. (we also looked at succulents and books on how to grow grass.)

...the little girl is almost gone. some day she will decide that she wants to go to the bathroom on the toilet and tie her own shoes. then she will be gone. and i will continue to stare at her when she's not paying attention, amazed at who she is becoming and dreading the day when she catches me and says...all "teenage" and annoyed..."what?! stop looking at me! you're creeping me out!" (sorry mom. i get it now.)

catching up...

so, it's been a few months since christmas, and since we are all still alive, i thought i'd update our blog. lots of things have happened. here are a few of them. more to come... the daddy got some new glasses. it's about time! his old glasses he'd had since he was fifteen. yes. you read that right. fifteen. next order of business - new contacts.


also, our friend georgia (and her parents) moved across the country to kentucky. we miss them very much, but they are doing well, surviving in the snow and cold of the east coast. we are hoping to visit them some time this year, georgia told hannah there are some really cool parks in her town.

merry christmas.

well, december 25th has come and gone once again. i hope that everyone had a wonderful day, enjoying time with family and friends and remembering why we are celebrating in the first place.
we had a great time today...our own special christmas morning, just the three of us. a video phone call to mike's family in austin, which totally made their day! and a really nice time with my family, including scrabble and virtually allergy free (a big victory! yay for claritin!)

we had so much fun that we didn't take ANY pictures. seriously. ANY. how retarded! my mom has some and i will try to post them when i can. meanwhile, we are still working on our family picture for our christmas, i mean new year cards..and hopefully i'll be able to get that up soon.

so, once again, merry christmas everyone. enjoy your loved ones, where ever they are, and rememeber jesus, who left perfection to come to earth to die for our sins so we could be with him in perfection. talk about the best christmas gift EVER.

adventures with uncle josh.

last week, we got to spend the day hanging out with uncle josh (my brother). we had lunch with nana at her classroom (it was her last day of school before christmas break) and then went for a looooooonng walk. we did some shopping and stopped off at the coolest park we have ever been to. it had a mini playground, just hannah's size! she had so much fun, climbing the stairs herself and tackling the ladder with only the tiniest bit of help from uncle josh. it was so hard to drag her away, i wish this park was within walking distance of our house, instead of nana's...but it just makes visiting there so much more fun...

toys and fire trucks.

so, this afternoon we were on our way to mike's optomitrist and noticed the ksgn tent.

"let's stop by after you look at your lenses and see if we can get some stickers or something."

"ok."

so we get there and it turns out that they are having a toy drive for the firefighters "spark of love" (i think that's what it was called...). we just happened to have some toys that we had purchased for christmas presents in the car and were excited at the chance to share. the radio-station-woman took some photos of us and we got to give our toys. (we also got some stickers! and hannah got a water bottle.) anyway, the firefighters were coming in their truck to pick up the toys. so, we decided to come back so that hannah could see the truck. she loved it. she got to sit in the cab and run around it and play on the back. it was really cute...but when is something she does not?...

...it got me thinking. how thankful i am for what God has done and is doing in my life. (i tend to get rather introspective this time of year, as opposed to the thanksgiving season...) we are not wealthy by financial standards, we are not successful by society's standards and yet, i feel like we have far exceeded any movie star, politician, professional athlete. God has brought together two best friends to become one. He gave them a part of themselves and Him to take care of. He prepared both of our hearts with the same desires for caring for our family. He provided a job that allows mike to provide financially for us so that i can stay with hannah full-time. He brought us to a church that has welcomed us and shared with us and taught us and blessed us and allowed us to be a part of blessing others. we live in a country where we can go to that church without fear of emprisonment or death. He has blessed us with family that loves Him as passionately as we do, who will help to pass that love on to our daughter. we have a house to live in, a car to drive, a washer and dryer to do our own laundry, money to buy food and pay our bills...it seems like the list goes on and on, but everything really just continues to point not to what we have done but what God has done. i tend to ponder during this time of year, when we are remembering Christ's arrival on earth, not only the fact that He humbled Himself to become man, but what He did as that man. that He left perfection to be yelled at and called names, to be tempted and tired, to be thought of as a lunatic and liar, to heal, to be a teacher, to bring forgiveness, to suffer, to be a savior, to be my savior. not just a baby, but so much more. i am so thankful. i pray that i can continue to look to Him as my anchor, my foundation, my guide. that i will remember that His grace is sufficent for me. for everything.

it rained on saturday night, which made some snow in the nearby mountains, which made the daddy a little bit excited...

see, he loves...loves...LOVES...to go sledding. we took hannah last year and had so much fun, we couldn't wait for the next sledding season...

so, since it is getting a bit colder down here and that means nearby snow, i started looking for some winter duds for the boog. i found these snow bibs at the osh kosh outlet store today. for nine dollars. did i mention they were NINE dollars!! they're navy blue, so they can be passed on to whoever the next sibling might be, not that any sibling is coming any time soon...but anyway...

we are now on the look out for a good snow coat and some boots for stomping around in. can't wait!!!