A New Adventure

When you take that first step

Into the unknown

You know that He won't let you go

... So don't be afraid to move

Your faith is all it takes

And you can walk on the water too.

This song, by Britt Nicole, never spoke to me much. It's a bit trite... It's all been said. 
Until recently. The Lord has officially asked us to walk on water, and he hasn't shown us how it's going to work yet. I suppose specifics would be helpful:

Ben has been working anywhere from 80 to 100 hours a week since the beginning of February. As a family, we have been struggling. With Ben gone all the time, Kelynn wasn't getting to spend any time with him and  I had to maneuver childcare around my evening work schedule. Simple things like going to the grocery store or out to dinner as a family had become a rare occurrence. 

Around mid March, an option became available for us to relocate to Grand Rapids, MI. As most of you know this is Ben's home town, where most of his giant family lives. Moving means that we would go back to 50 hour work weeks instead of 100. It means we get our family weekends back. It means we get story time at night back. It means we get daddy back. After lots of prayer and tears, we decided to take the leap. We will be pulling the moving truck out of town on April 27th. 

This means lots of sad things: I'll be leaving my home - the city I grew up in, not to mention all of the unbelievable community the Lord has blessed our marriage with in the last 3 years. 

It means we will no longer be a day's drive away from my parents in New Mexico. 

It means I can't be the children's minister at our church, or a play therapist at Lifeworks anymore. It means leaving my high school friends, who remain some of my best and most loyal of friends.

It means leaving my little brother, who I've gotten the privilege and honor to watch grow into a good man and a wildly talented actor/singer. I'll miss you most, bro.

But it means a lot of good things too. It means beautiful summers and snowy winters where Kelynn and her siblings can sled with their cousins. It means being somewhere that has actual trees (and not large shrubs we Texans call trees). Above all, it means letting the Lord be our only sustenance. All we can lean on is that he wouldn't send us there if he wasn't going to take care of us there. 

And so it is with apprehension, excitement, relief, sadness and joy that I post this one. For those of you we're leaving... you will be deeply missed. You've loved us so well. You've challenged and pushed us closer to our Lord and Savior. You've laughed deep belly laughs with us, you've helped us raise our little Kel, and you've been our crutches when we couldn't hobble along alone. But for those of you we are getting closer to, we can't wait to spend more time with you and allow the Lord to forge deep relationships in a new place. 

We love you guys! Stay posted for updates. 

ALMOST A YEAR OLD!

GAHHHH Mommy isn't ready for this!

You are a full blown toddler now. No gettin' around it. 

Since the last update at 9 months, you have started walking. It's the most fun thing ever to watch.

You also love to show us things. You grab anything, and hold it up for us to see. Or you point at things so we will name them for you. 

You're still not talking with real words, but since you were walking at 10 months, we think you might take your time with the words (which is fine with us). You have a few of your own words. Mostly you say "Dah!" and point when you want something. 

(Don't worry, mommy didn't let you play with the screwdriver for long)

Your new favorite thing to play with is your car. You use it to walk (or run it seems like) across far distances, and you also like to ride on it. You get on and off of it all by yourself. 

You still love being outside.

But now you also love getting into anything you can inside too.

Like the dog bowl.

Or the dishwasher.

And mommy's favorite thing, your new fake laugh that you like.

# of teeth: 10

Your Favorite things to eat: yogurt, applesauce, cheerios & kix, bananas, avocados

Favorite things to do: go out on the patio, go to the store and see lots of people and colors

Phase you're going through: Frustration when Mommy doesn't do exactly what you want her to. Like when you get in the high chair and your food doesn't show up instantaneously, or if you run out of food.  

 Size clothes: depending on the brand, anywhere between 12mo to 2T.

Weight: 21 lbs

What we're looking forward to: Our first solo mommy-daughter flight TODAY! Going to see the grandparents in New Mexico! How exciting. We can't WAIT to see them and to show off all your new tricks. 

A Hard Night's Day

Moms are for cuddles. Moms are for comforting when babies fall over, or get their feet stuck between the bars of the crib. Moms are for keeping tummies full, and arms and legs warm with clean clothes. Moms are for encouraging and loving daddies well. A lot of the time, moms are for helping pay the bills. Moms are for taking care of families.

Sometimes moms don't do these things very well. Sometimes moms are not slow to anger. Sometimes moms get exhausted just looking at the laundry pile. Sometimes babies need comforting all day. Sometimes moms cry on the way to the car after leaving the kiddos at the sitter's house so they can go to work. Sometimes moms don't have any encouragement left to give dads. Sometimes moms let fear get the best of them. Sometimes moms lean too much on their own ability, and not enough on God's. 

This mom had one of those days yesterday.

I was exhausted. The lord continues to promise to provide for our family, but doesn't show us the details of how that'll work out. He allows me to spin my wheels, frantically looking for a way to control things. If I could just put it all on a spreadsheet, project out 6 months and see that we'll come out on top, then I'd feel better. So I did. Only in 6 months, the spreadsheet doesn't project us coming out on top. 

So I sat next to my husband and cried. Feeling fairly sorry for myself. Why can't we just be comfortable? We are surrounded by people who are comfortable. Why can't we just not have to worry? Why does the Lord keep us so dependent? 

That's when it hit me. That's when it always hits me. It was never in my control. It was never because I did a good job spreadsheeting. My daughter and husband getting the cuddles and encouragement they need was never because I'm a wonderful mom and wife. James 1:17 says - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

This means that on days when I feel replenished and ready to give my family what they need, that is completely from God. The moment I start to think that I've got something inherently great within myself to give to my family, that's the moment I'll fail. The Lord does not change like shifting shadows. Shifting shadows are spreadsheets and feeling comfortable. They will fail me. God will never fail me, or my family.
My sweet and steadfast husband patiently reminded me of how faithful the Lord has been every day we've been married, that tomorrow worries about itself. These words - you guessed it - a good and perfect gift form the Lord. How amazing.

Isaiah 41:9 - I took you from the ends of the earth. From it's farthest corners I called you. I said 'you are my servant,' I have chose you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you. I will uphold you with my right hand.

What a promise for my little family.

Fine Nine!

Our sweet Kelynn Mae is NINE months old!!

Happy nine months, baby cakes! You are getting so big - mommy and daddy are having so much fun watching you learn new things.

You have learned to pull up on everything. Your new favorite place to hang out is next to the window. Thankfully this January we've had great weather for you to enjoy! 

Sometimes you try to use your toy basket to pull yourself up, even though it's really short. Pretty funny to watch! 

You are also CRAWLING!!! Everywhere! This, of course means you hate your walker, because it keeps you contained and you can't pull up on everything. You do love being put into the laundry basket, though. 

One day, the three of us were sitting in the living room with the windows and the door open, and suddenly I looked up, asked where you were, and your daddy found you out on the porch!

As a matter of fact, you love being outside. This is you and me, kid - hanging out while daddy fixed your carseat today. 

We had our first bout of real sickness this week with you. You got a respiratory infection which moved into your lungs, and you also got an ear infection. All of this together created quite the fever! At 103, your mama was panicking! Miss Allison ran over to help us take the temperature...more *ahem* accurately ... and to put you in a cold bath and call the doctor. What great friends we have! Here's some evidence of a long week: 

Thankfully you're almost back to your old self! Still wheezing, but you're sleeping again, which mom and dad are very thankful for! 

You cruise around all the furniture - hanging on with your hands, you can walk all around the room. We are convinced you'll be walking in a month or so.

# of teeth: 7

Favorite things to eat: Eggs with spinach, yogurt, star pasta with spinach, toast and jelly - ANYTHING off mom and dad's plate

Favorite things to do: go out on the patio, go to the store and see lots of people and colors

Phase I'm going through: Separation anxiety - you don't like it when mommy and daddy leave you at church or with the sitter! But you get over it really quickly! 

Love you sweet girl. You are just a delight, and we are looking forward to planning your one year birthday party soon - yikes! 

The Great Eight!

Our sweet baby girl is 8 months old! Here is her official 8 month picture... which is getting funnier and funnier to take: 

This after the following shots: 

Look! She's like the flash! Set her down, and she's OFF! 

Hey mom, you forgot to vacuum on this side of the chair.

This month was very eventful! We had Christmas: 

For which we did lots of shopping! That can be tough on a baby... 

But because it was the Christmas season, we got to spend time with our very fun cousins! 

And steal their balloons!

 And amazingly enough, we had a white Christmas! Mom and Dad tried to set me on a blanket in the snow for some pictures, but it was toooo cold! Brrrrr...

This month I also learned how to eat lots of new foods! Sometimes mom and I don't like to sit in our chairs. 

Sometimes we like to eat our celery at the coffee table!

But sometimes chairs are just right! Especially for messy meals like Mandarin oranges for breakfast.

 I also learned how to play reeeeeally hard: 

This is me dancing to my bright musical toys! 

And this is me making a biiiiiiig mess for daddy to clean up. 

Some stats: 

# of teeth: Six! 

Eating: Still 4 7oz bottles/day, 3 meals of baby food
(or little pieces of bread, peas, oranges, yogurt, etc)

New things I learned: Almost have crawling figured out! I also like to pull up on everything so I can be standing, or sitting on my knees at all times. 

My favorite time of day with Mommy: When I get up at 630 and we watch the news until my nap at 8

My favorite time of day with Daddy: Playing and learning new tricks after Daddy gets off work!

Kelynn Mae, we are so thankful to be blessed as the stewards over you. We love you deeply! Can't wait to see what the next few months bring.

Smooches

We're in Seventh Heaven

Our Sweet Baby Girl is 7 months old this week! Congratulations! Here's your official 7 month picture:

We gave up on getting you to leave Miss Bear alone. You have fallen in love with your stuffed animals!

These are all in comparison to last month's picture: 

You are all smiles these days! 

You are eating all kinds of fun foods! This month you started to eat more grown up things. You love any kind of bread (you are your parents' daughter after all).

You love puffs. You especially love it when we hand them to you and walk away. Not one of mommy's smartest moments. For the record, that can was closed when I handed it to you. 

Your favorite times of the day are in the morning right after you wake up, and at night when you're winding down. That's when you love to cuddle with mom and dad. 

Sometimes you fall asleep on the couch with your lovie. We're not too sure where we'd be without that lovie! 

Sometimes in the morning you like to come sit in bed while Mommy puts her contacts in and straightens up the bedroom. 

Sometimes you just like to sit there and look like your Dad. 

This month you have also mastered the art of standing alllllllmost on your own. You can stand holding onto anything - a table, a knee, a hand... 

You've also learned how to be just like Rudolf! 

Speaking of the Holidays, we spent Thanksgiving with Pops & Momsy Franklin

And Uncle Kole! 

You also got to participate in thanksgiving dinner! 

And we had a little bit of Christmas since we don't get to see everyone again before the next year! You got some VERY cute outfits and toys. 

And you can't see Momsy or her puppy in this picture, but you're laughing at both of them. 

Recently you think that any animals are HILARIOUS. When you see Izzy get up in the morning, you giggle and bounce and squeal at her while we take her outside! 

I got one of you trying to "pet" Mr. Pheeny: 

Bottles: Starting at 7am, every 4 hours

Food: 9am, 1pm, 5pm

Naps: 8:30am, 12:30pm, 4:30pm (each lasting about 45 minutes)

You still spend lots of time with Mrs. Allison and Ashlynn, both of whom we are so thankful for! 

We love you sweet girl. More and more all the time. You are such a blessing to our lives, and we pray constantly for the Lord to raise you up, always close to him, always knowing of his great mercies. We serve a glorious God, who fills our days with joy and laughter!