18 Months

I know, it's been an incredibly long time since posting. The 7000 miles of traveling to Nashville, Branson, and Colorado Springs took it's toll. We're finally back enjoying the quiet peace before pre-summer events start.

Jacey is officially 18 months old today. It's so amazing how fast she's grown up already. She has her daddy's social skills, and is trying to say everything we say. The most popular words of the moment are "no," "ah duh" (all done/gone), "book," and "mae-mei" (baby). I love being able to communicate with her and know some of the things she wants/needs. She loves going to the park, where she gets to play on the bouncy ducks, climb on everything, and go down the slides. We knew early on that she was a climber, and it's evident now. She has no fear. I'm almost able to let her run free at the kiddie playground - since she's getting so good and the slides. (I still have the image of her going over head-first.) She also loves Sesame Street, in particular Elmo. Today she dancing for joy when I turned the tv on and she saw the little guy. She knows his theme song too, and will sing it with him.

Mitch's job is going really well. Neither one of us have any doubts that we are exactly where God wants us to be right now. He was able to baptize 3 of our teens this month following their trip to Winterfest. He also has started and new program where he is able to go one-on-one and challenge a handful of teens to study deeper. I get to go cook on Mondays with the ladies where we feed 100+ teens lunch. It's always a blast, and any of you who have cooked large quantities of food with other women know.

I need to upload our recent pics. Once that's done I'll post pictures for all to see.

An update

So somehow it's already November. Who knew life could move so fast? I love the fall, with it's cooler weather, leaves falling, and a slower paced job. I wasn't sure Mitch's job would ever slow down, but we've had a few weekends here in a row that have been free. Mitch also has the ability to come home early and hang out with the teens on Xbox. He's truly enjoying his job, and I am enjoying being here in Canyon. I've started cooking for Monday lunch, where we feed high schoolers at church, and I'm going to our Ladies class on Wednesday mornings. I'm finding my place outside of just being a YM's wife, and it's been very good for both Mitch and me.

We were able to go to Harding's homecoming this year, which was a blast. We hadn't taken Jacey yet, so it was great to show her off to all of our friends and teachers. She was such a little trooper too. She only fussed about 45 minutes of the 20 hour round-trip drive. Brandon and Joy were awesome hosts. Claira is just adorable.

We had a fun Halloween. Last year at trunk-or-treat Jacey's costume wasn't as warm, and of course it was freezing. So this year, like the good mom that I am, I got her this adorable, warm pig costume. It was basically a sleeper with ears. And it was 80 degrees. Go figure. We all had fun anyway. Halloween night Mitch headed to a Canyon football game while Jacey and I handed out candy. At first she didn't understand why she couldn't have the candy, but eventually enjoyed saying hi to everyone.

Jacey is really growing up fast. She's definitely not a little baby anymore. She started walking more than a month ago, and now is walking and climbing on everything. She's also talking a lot. We haven't moved past single words, but she can say about 20 words and is trying to say more. It's nice to sort of understand what she wants.

Here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment:

It's Thursday

I will have to say that September has been one roller coaster of a month. Thanks to everyone who is keeping my family in your prayers. I know they are working to get us through.

This past weekend Mitch and I were free from any major commitments (who hoo!) and decided to get out the paint we bought for our kitchen and go. We painted all day Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday afternoon. We had to paint over wallpaper in our dining area, which added a lot of time to the process. (I know that is a no-no, but after peeling off one layer and then discovering that second layer was GLUED to the drywall, we decided to stop peeling and start painting.) We got out all of the loosely attached paper, mudded, sanded, primed, and then painted. And after one coat some of the wallpaper decided it really wanted to come down. So Mitch went back and took off all of the bubbles, mudded, sanded, primed, and then painted again. I have to say that all of our hard work paid off. It looks so amazing! For those of you who have never seen our house, we bought it from a sweet old lady who raised her family in this house. And they never updated any of the paint colors, so most of the house had dirty white paint everywhere. By adding some color to the walls (in almost every room now!) this house has come back to life.

Jacey has experience her first sore throat this week. Monday afternoon she woke up from her nap with a 101 degree fever. I decided to wait and see if this was just a 24 hour thing or part of teething, but on Tuesday it went up to 102. The doctor was able to get her in that afternoon and said her throat was red with little blisters. Poor thing. Apparently this virus is going around right now. She's finally starting to feel better, I think, but still has a little bit of the fever. Thank goodness for Motrin and Tylenol.

This weekend is going to be busy but super fun. It's Homecoming here and with that comes a powder-puff football game tonight, high school football game tomorrow, Fair on the Square, parade, and college football on Saturday. I'm hoping Jacey feels good enough by Saturday to really enjoy the crowds at the fair and the parade. I just wish I had enough money to buy everything and the fair! Our downtown square is decked out in booths full of crafts and goodies. It's a lot of fun to see everything and everyone. It's definitely one of the exciting things about living in a small(ish) town.

Life

Life has been...a challenge. We've travelled to Nashville, around Texas, and to Camp Blue Haven. Family is good, and horrible, and frustrating, and comforting. I guess that is the way life works. Thanks to you who have been there with yor prayers and encouragement. I'm going to need them for a while.

The job here has gotten better. It's very nice to be in a routine. We had a good retreat this past weekend. I'm thoroughly enjoying going to church for the first time in a while. Not that I've hated church or anything, but it's hard to separate ministry/job and church sometimes. I'm working with the Monday lunches and loving the girl time there. Also I'm able to go to Ladies Bible class on Wednesday since Jacey dropped her morning nap. It has been comforting, especially recently. Overall things here are great.

Mitch and I had an awesome weekend. I think it was the first weekend in a long time that Mitch was home. We had Friday Night Live here with over 10 Jr. High kids (craziness) and enjoyed the fellowship. The past few days we had been painting stripes in the youth room, so we continued on Saturday morning. Mitch, by interior designer, has done a great job at decorating the youth room so far. We're trying to create a "coffee shop" feel, with mood lighting, comfy seats, etc. That evening we enjoyed going out looking for cool decor and eating at Red Robin. (Burgers are alway awesome in my family). Sunday was full of more craziness, and included church, class, fellowship lunch, parent meeting, church, dinner and girls' devo. Needless to say I was wiped out.

Random things that I've learned this week:

1. Off-brand cream of mushroom soup is not the same.
2. Jacey loves meatloaf.
3. I need girlfriends, and desperately miss all of you who fulfill that for me!
4. Where the disposable tablecloths are at Walmart. This took me 6 months. They just aren't where they're supposed to be.
5. It's ok to discover different possibilities that life may hold.
6. The Olympics are truly fun to watch...with DVR.
7. I'm so glad school has started!

Commitment

Mitch and I have worked this summer on creating an exciting environment for the teens in the youth group, mainly to encourage them to grow in their desire and commitment to the Lord. So often we get in the habit of going through motions and thinking that church is boring. It's just another place to go, something to take up our precious time. We have a small handful of teens who have realized they want to be a church. They aren't there because their parents made them, or because they just want to socialize. They want to worship. Honestly though, that's rare, for the teens and even in my own life. We have graduated more than a few teens who've grown up in the church but haven't commited their lives to Christ. They know all the songs, some memory verses, and have done all the "big" things, like mission trips and such. They're the really "good" people and nothing bad should happen to them. Right? I wonder about their parents. Mitch and I can tell when parents truly emphasize Christianity. They have talked about God frequently at different times and value attending church. I know growing up that skipping church just wasn't a option. It wasn't even discussed. Were there times when my parents were tired and barely had time to get dinner on the table before we had to leave? Yep. I know how easy it is to make excuses and not show up. I'm the one who makes sure Jacey is fed, bathed, and ready to go. Due to the nature of Mitch's job, he isn't always able to help. I can't help but wonder sometimes is the reason our teens don't see the need to commit fully to God is because they saw the lack off desire in their own parents. The excuses of being tired, busy, having family time, etc. probably taught them that God can be put off until we feel like we're ready. I'm truly frustrated at times when we have twice the number of people on Sunday morning as we do on Sunday nights. Who cares if it's the same thing we've already done that day? We get to worship God. We are now making sure there are planned activities on Sunday nights after church every week so that the teens might be interested in coming. It's sad to me that we have to resort to that. As a parent know I am amazed by my responsibility. This rather lengthy post is for me as much as anyone else. I just hope Jacey can see my desire and commitment, even when I'm tired from everything life holds.

Birthdays and Anniversaries

This has been a very crazy, very busy week. Monday Mitch and I headed to Amarillo to do some birthday shopping for Jacey. We went to Toys R Us and were promptly overwhelmed by the huge selection. (I can't imagine what we would've done in a bigger city.) After an hour and a half, we left with a good selection. We decided that Christmas will come soon and we didn't have to buy everything on this trip.

Tuesday was filled with cooking, cleaning, and a fabulous party. Mitch's parents came in early and helped us get ready. We were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate with friends who have loved on Jacey so much this past year. The whole evening just went smoothly. The food turned out good, the cake looked and tasted great, and everyone seemed to enjoy each other's company. We host so many youth get-togethers that I forget what an party with maturity is like. The evening was very special to me, and I'll remember it forever. I think Jacey had a great time too.

Here are a few pictures of the evening:

It's had to believe that it's been a year since Jacey came into our lives. She's grown so much (and we have too!) I can't wait to see what our future holds.

Here are a few of my favorite things about Jacey:

1. Her quick smile.

2. The way she dances to any type of music. It's definitely in her genes.

3. Her expressiveness. If the house is too quiet she'll fix the problem.

4. The way she eats anything put in front of her.

5. Her wet kisses.

6. The look on her face when she's proud of herself.

7. Her giggle. She's not easy to get ot laugh, but when she does, it's priceless.

Yesterday Mitch and I enjoyed a quiet evening. We were thinking about getting out of town and heading to Lubbock just for the fun of it, but after everything we had done this past week we changed out minds. We watched August Rush and the Olympics. The Olympics are special to us because on our honeymoon we watched them a lot. I ended up with a bad cold on our wedding and didn't feel like doing much sight-seeing. Mitch told me he wants to hide out for a week or so every 4 years during the Olympics for our anniversary. We'll see. :)