The Father's love

After a particularly difficult day today with Jacey, I sat rocking and feeding her thinking about my love for her. Days like today are fairly rare. She usually plays, naps, eats, and smiles right on schedule. Today she took a good morning nap, and then a short afternoon one. She woke up early, which meant she was grumpy. After spending 2 hours screaming and crying, she went to sleep, only to be woken up again in 20 minutes by our dog barking. Needless to say, my emotions were spent. (Luckily I have a wonderful, forgiving, and patient husband.) And I love that child more than I can possibly imagine. I used to wonder how my parents felt about me. Not that I wasn't absolutely positive they loved me, but I wondered what it felt like to have a child of my own. What kind of love is it, and what does it feel like? To be honest, I can't describe it in words. Awesome, consuming, fulfilling; these are a few adjectives, but they don't paint the whole picture. I really would do anything it took to make her happy and healthy. And I would fight anyone or anything that threatened her. I understand now the Father's love. I can barely fit my love for Jacey inside myself; God feels that for every single person.

That's just amazing.

3 Months

Today we are going to Sears to get Jacey's 3 month pictures taken. I'm quite excited honestly. When I was growing up my parents had our baby pictures on the wall for all to see. It made me feel special, and it was also fun to look at how little I was. I hope to continue the tradition with Jacey and all of our children. My only dilemma is what to dress her in...

The pictures should be online tonight, so if you would like to order any just let me know!

We are also going Christmas shopping. Yes, I know it's before Thanksgiving, but we're getting together with Mitch's family for a week of fun in San Antonio, and we're celebrating Christmas then. I'm also excited about this. Even though we just went to Nashville, I'm looking forward to a vacation. Maybe just a trip to a place we haven't seen in awhile.

God has really blessed us this year. We have plenty of food, clothing, health, a cool house, great friends, and a wonderful family. So many people can't say that!

And it might even snow here on Thanksgiving.

Recent Pictures

Here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment!

Jacey and Aunt Charlotte

Just hanging out.

My little bumblebee!

I just loved the antennas.

It's been awhile...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. We've had a very full few weeks. A couple of weeks ago we flew to Nashville to visit my parents. It definitely was a whirlwind trip, but a very enjoyable one. Jacey got to meet most of the family and some friends too. We even got an adorable 4 generation picture with my grandparents. Jacey was pretty spoiled all week, but handled it well, of course. She even enjoyed the airplane, since it incorporates the best things in her world: being held my mom & dad, eating a lot, and white noise.

Halloween was great. It was one of the most perfect Halloweens I've seen in awhile. The trees were turning colors but hadn't lost their leaves, the sun was shining, and the air was a little crisp. Jacey and I got a cold but still had a blast. She went as a bumblebee (pictures coming soon,) and the antennas were the best part. I'm sure she'll hate us for making her wear them in about 15 years.

This past weekend we went to Hooker for their youth rally. I ask Mitch every year if he is excited about going "home," but to him it's not really home anymore. Which is very understandable with all that has happenedsince they've moved away. But once he sees the land he grew up on, he gets this cute goofy smile. I love watching it every year. We enjoyed seeing the members of the church there and showing off Jacey. Mitch did a great job leading singing, and I think everyone had a great time.

Before we left for the youth rally, the coolest piece of technology I've ever owned arrived. How cool is it, might you ask? So cool it toook Mitch and I 5 minutes to figure out how to turn it on. Yes, I got a new cell phone, the Blackberry pearl. It is a phone, organizer, calendar, note taker, music player, and anything else I could ever want it to be, all in one. I used to think I didn't need all those things in a phone. Because a phone is just that, a phone. But after having Jacey, I've forgotten so many commitments that I just had to do something. And it's wonderful. Mitch is very jealous.

Pictures of the past few weeks coming soon!

Thank you

God has been reminding me recently in so many small ways that he'll take care of us. With all of the doctor's bills coming, and life just being what it is, sometimes it's easy to forget I don't have to do this all on my own. The most recent reminder happened yesterday. I had been thinking about going to buy Jacey some winter clothes, since it's getting cooler. Luckily I waited. This past weekend Harmony sent me home with two tubs of baby clothes she wasn't going to use anymore. After doing 4 loads of just baby laundry and putting them away, I realized that Jacey can probably wear a different outfit for every day from now until maybe April. And she'll look fabulous too. I'm out of hangers and drawer space. It is very wonderful. Thank you so much Harmony! (And Raylee and Reese too!)

Busy...

We have been pretty busy these past few days, thus the lengthy absence from posting. Last Friday Jacey went to the doctor for a check-up and to get her first shots. Poor thing didn't like them at all (who does?) but survived the ordeal very well. We then headed out to Dallas to visit the Wiggains clan. It was fun to show off our kid and to see all of the cousins and aunts and uncles. Everyone is growing up so fast. And they're all adorable.

I've come to realize that Jacey is a home-body. She inheirited this trait from me. Mitch told me a long time ago that he didn't want our kids to be home-bodies and attached to their own beds, routines, etc. Unfortunately, babies have a tendency to decide for themselves what they like. She was very pleasant on our trip for the most part, but didn't nap well, and was a little out-of-sorts. The wonderful thing about this is that when we come home, she's an angel. She's taken all of her naps, and slept for 7 1/2 hours last night. She's talked, smiled, played, and has just loved life. (I say this now; I'm probably jinxing myself for the rest of the day.)

Not to say we're never traveling again. Monday we head out to Nashville to visit my parents and sister for a week. I'm really excited to see them and all of my friends. My popularity has definitely gone up since Jacey arrived.

My 100

1. I'm 23 years old.
2. I share my birthday, January 19, with my sister, who is 3 years younger than I am.
3. We were actually born in the same hour, so we're 3 years and 30 minutes apart.
4. I also share it with Dolly Parton.
5. I like the idea of posting "my 100," so I'm being a copycat.
6. I grew up in Nashville.
7. Everyone asks me if I know any country music stars. Nope.
8. My dad has met or seen a lot of them though. He actually stopped Alan Jackson in a restaurant to shake his hand. Mom freaked out.
9. I always thought Nashville was a small city. Then I moved to West Texas.
10. I no longer can drive confidently in Nashville.
11. I've allowed myself to believe Canyon/Amarillo is a city.
12. Then I drove 5 minutes outside of town towards Hereford. What kind of name is Hereford, anyway?
13. I attended private schools all my life.
14. I was/am a band dork. Just turn on DCI, and I go crazy.
15. I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.
16. I actually like cleaning my house. It makes me feel clean and pretty somehow.
17. I don't like cleaning our shower though. It's all tile...walls, ceiling, and floor. And mold loves to grow. Ugh.
18. I've been married for 3 years.
19. My husband is the only person I've ever kissed.
20. I love being pregnant. It allows you to not worry about being fat.
21. My water broke before any contractions started.
22. I started shaking because I was so surprised. And scared.
23. Jacey came in 5 hours.
24. I'm worried that I won't make it to the hospital in time with my next kids. At least in time for an epidural.
25. I thought I wanted a lot of kids. I still do, but can't imagine such craziness yet.
26. I love chocolate cake.
27. My granny always made chocolate cake for me and my cousin Dustin when the family got together.
28. She also made me green beans. My granny makes the best green beans. I don't believe there is any nutritional value left in them, but boy are they good.
29. My granny's name is Granny. At least that's how the whole world knows her. She even addressed a package to me as Granny Chester.
30. I have 15 cousins on my dad's side of the family.
31. We warn newcomers when we go visit the entire family. They must be prepared, or they'll be very overwhelmed. Just ask Mitch.
32. I love playing music.
33. I desperately miss playing my clarinet.
34. I'm currently teaching piano lessons.
35. I love to cook.
36. I love trying new recipes.
37. I have to have a recipe when I cook, unless I'm making homemade pizza and chocolate chip cookies.
38. My mom and I make the best homemade lasagna.
39. I've always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes.
40. My experiments in that area have not turned out as I would have wished.
41. I've never had a "real" job, with a boss and everything.
42. I really try not to be lazy.
43. I love sleeping though. And naps.
44. I miss sleeping all night long.
45. My two favorite times of day with Jacey are mornings after she's eaten - she kicks and talks to me a lot, and bath/bedtime. There's something calming about a freshly clean, naked baby.
46. I love to read, and always have.
47. My kindergarten teacher told my parents to consider holding me back because I couldn't read anything but "stop" before 1st grade. They didn't, and I was reading at a 4th grade level a few months in.
48. It takes me about 10 minutes in the library to fill my arms with books.
49. I've read almost every Nancy Drew book in existence.
50. I love to scrapbook.
51. I hate the philosophy, "Just get it done as fast and easily as you can," when scrapbooking. To me, it's a process that must be enjoyed, no matter how long it takes.
52. My last scrapbook was about 6 inches thick. That was for 2005. It took me about a year to finish.
53. I also crosstitch.
54. I'm working on a snow scene for our guest room. I'll probably finish it by the time we redo that room.
55. My last crosstitching piece took my 8 years.
56. I guess I have a lot patience.
57. I can't watch true emergency shows, like the ones on the Discovery channel, or listen to sad songs, especially those involving little kids. This started about 7 weeks ago.
58. I hate animal movies, and refuse to watch them.
59. My favorite color is purple.
60. Our house will eventually have every color of the rainbow in it. So far, our bedroom is red, the guest room is purple, and the nursery is yellow and green. Eventually the living room will be orange (rust), the kitchen green, and the laundry room might be blue.
61. My favorite food is Italian.
62. I love rice as well. If Mitch is gone, I'll make rice for dinner.
63. I believe tuna casserole is gross.
64. I only make it with chicken.
65. The sound it makes is fun to hear.
66. I played softball for 11 years.
67. I believe my first word was ball.
68. My grandfather taught me eye-hand coordination. We would go into the hall of my house and he would toss me a tennis ball. I had a racquet ball racket and I would hit it back to him.
69. I enjoyed those 11 years, but don't miss playing.
70. I cannot dance.
71. I discovered this when I was in winter guard.
72. I can walk to a beat and catch things at the same time.
73. I was put on equipment (flags/rifle) as soon as possible during our show.
74. I painted myself blue every Friday night one fall.
75. Blue face paint can take forever to get off.
76. Driving home with a blue face can be interesting. I really tried not to get in a wreck or be pulled over. I didn't want to explain it.
77. I've had every length of hair possible.
78. I hate/hated being a dork.
79. I'm amazed I snagged such a cutie for a husband for that reason.
80. I love copying down music. I love the simple drawing process that is so precise.
81. I love school supplies, and can't wait to get to buy them for my kids.
82. One of life's greatest joys is a 120 count Crayola box of crayons that have never been used.
83. They even smell good.
84. I love going to the beach.
85. Boogy boarding and wave jumping are two things I could do for hours.
86. I like skiing.
87. I'm a horrible skier, but enjoy trying.
88. I love to eat.
89. Right now, I can eat a ton of food.
90. Koolaid is the greatest invention.
91. Sweet tea is a must. I didn't comprehend the existence of unsweet tea for a long time.
92. My grandmother was a poet.
93. If she was alive, she'd write you a poem.
94. My mom was adopted from Germany.
95. One day Mitch is going to take me to Europe. And Hawaii.
96. I love roses.
97. I believe every woman should get flowers at least once a year. Preferrable more often.
98. My dog understands English. He chooses to obey.
99. I don't really know how to use makeup, so I don't wear it that often.
100. It's hard to come up with 100 things about myself.