Happy Birthday Daddy!

Our family got to enjoy a mini vacation for Andy's birthday. Being the day after the 4th of July, we usually get away with having some time off work to celebrate. This year we ended up with 5 days straight together- a real treat. The first thing we did was head to Granbury to spend some time out at the lake. Sophie loved playing with the sand and water table at Grammy and Bumpa's.

I tried to plan one fun adventure each day. On day 1, we started small by visiting the local park. It was really hot, so we had to be careful on the playground equipment and the rocks ended up burning our feet a bit. But we still had sweet moments together. She even let me put a ponytail in her hair!

Andy and I got to stay up and enjoy some TV (we decided we aren't missing much) and listen to fireworks. Granbury celebrated the 4th the previous weekend, so the only fireworks we saw were the ones the neighbors set off. They put on quite a show! Luckily for us, Sophie slept through it all. The next day was Andy's 29th birthday! We celebrated at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. It's a drive-thru zoo. The animals come up to your car and you get to feed them!

As we entered through the gates, we saw that our first encounter would be with an ostrich. I was not so sure about this. Here's the big guy at the car in front of us.

I am not a fan of birds. I was a bit uneasy about the ostrich sticking his head in our car. I was afraid he would peck me. I tried talking Andy into getting him to come over to his side, but let's be honest, Andy was a bit unsure about the ostrich too. When he came over, nervous turned to scared. I ended up throwing the food out the window to try and get his head out of the car so we could quickly drive away. This happened four times throughout our zoo trip, each time on my side of the car. There were panicky squeals from me, nervous laughter from Andy, and confused whines from Sophie.

Sophia LOVED being in the front and getting to drive the car. The only trouble was when we had to go home. She didn't understand why she had to get strapped into her car seat in the back anymore. Tears. Lots and lots of tears. :)

We had our hearts set on feeding the giraffes. Unfortunately it was hot enough by the time we got to them that they would not leave their shade to see us. Sophia was captivated by the giraffe. She stared and stared, not able to take it all in. Andy stuck the camera out the window so we could see what her face looked like as she watched them.

Half way through there is a place to stop with a gift shop, restaurant, petting zoo, etc. Sophie thought it was pretty cool to get to walk right up to these animals and pet them.

We did get a special encounter with the timid zebra, who after 15 minutes, trusted me enough to take some food from my hand. It was beautiful!

After a nice nap, we headed to the pool! I was sunburned already, so I had to wear a big baggy t-shirt.

As you can see, Sophie would not let go of these water squirters she found. Her favorite thing was running into the kiddie pool, so we did that about fifty times. :)

The next morning we ventured to the beach at Lake Granbury. We were some of the first to arrive, so we had a very relaxing time enjoying the sand and water.

That afternoon we headed back home to spend the rest of our weekend. Thank you Grammy and Bumpa for letting us use the house while you were away! We had such a special time together. Andy soaked in all these fun activities and a few days away from work with his girls. We are so blessed to have him with us. Happy Birthday Daddy!

Girls' Trip to Port Aransas!

Sophie, Mom, and I got to take a little vacation to Port Aransas. We wanted Sophie to experience the beach: the sand in her toes, the wind in her hair, the roar of the waves, the salt in her eyes...you get the picture. She liked some of those things, and was not a big fan of the others. The sand and wind were great. The waves and salt were not. :)

On our first day, we had a ball playing in the sand!

 The second day was so windy, we couldn't get our trusty shade shack to stay upright. Sophie seemed to want to go back and forth from the sand to the water, being carried the whole time, of course. This pregnant mama couldn't do it all, so Oma did most of the carrying. Sophie was afraid of the waves and wouldn't let us put her down anywhere near the water, but she did let us hold her and walk out into the water quite a way.

Unfortunately, Sophia seemed to prefer the pool a lot more than the ocean. We also got to see some new sides of her. Being so active and out in the sun all day, she didn't sleep very well although she was extremely tired. We saw her "wired" personality- it is something to behold! Look out!

Her fear of the water suddenly evaporated when a family with a baby and a dog put up shelter next to us. Sophie the Socialite ran over to introduce herself and play. She even went right up to the water! That is, until she saw the next wave coming. Then she backed up as fast as she could and ran back to safety. :)

We shared a lot of laughs and had a great time! Penelope also really enjoyed the fried shrimp po boys I ate both nights we were there. Delicious!

Introducing...Penelope Mae!

Most of you should know by now that we are expecting our second baby girl! My heart swells when I think of all that we are excited about and how good God has been. We hoped to have our kids close together in age, and our little Penelope should arrive a few weeks before Sophia's second birthday. I cannot wait to meet this little girl and wonder what she'll be like. All I know so far is Sophia, but I keep reminding myself that God has fashioned an entirely new body, soul, personality, life! What will she be like? I can't wait to get to know her!

And I admit, I am both excited and anxious about how Sophia will respond. She loves touching my belly and saying, "baby!" but will she feel the same way when Penny is not in my belly anymore and moves into her old room? :) I see her love for babies and think she will be the best big sister in the world and she will love Penelope from the minute she sees her. A beautiful relationship will begin that will last a lifetime. And then I will be cooking and Sophie is clutching my legs, wailing that I'm not giving her my 100% attention and I think, "oh Lord, how is this going to work?!"

When I was pregnant with Sophia, I had daydreams about our perfect family and this sweet perfect baby and how my days would be filled with songs and the sound of her giggles and "I love you"s. And to be honest, those moments come, often, and they are beautiful and precious! But so do the cries, the tantrums, the missed naps, the thrown food. I know in experience now what I only knew as theological truth before. And that is this: raising kids is a messy business. All of life is a messy business. It has been since Genesis chapter 3. Did I think my kids would be any different? Did I think I would somehow instantaneously and miraculously become patient, gracious, peace-filled? The past 20 months have shown me in real life what I have long believed in theory: I am a sinner. And so is everyone else.

Yet, if it is possible, we are even more excited to have our baby. We had only ideas about what having children would be like before we had Sophia. We wait with anticipation now with a sense of reality. Yes, it will be hard. We have done hard. Yes, it will be tiring. We have been tired. But...it will be beautiful in a way we only know from having raised a child already. It will be rewarding beyond understanding to raise another little girl. We know this, because we are raising one now and it is better than all my perfect daydreams. If anything, the tantrums make the "I love you" even more miraculous.

Will Sophia get jealous and act out? Probably. Will Penelope cry and give us sleepless nights? Yes. Will the girls fight with each other? Inevitably. But I look past those moments, to the eternal perspective of their lives in the greater scheme of God's will. Our job is a big one: the shepherding of our girls' hearts into the Kingdom of God. It is messy, but it is what we were put here to do. And it feels so right to do what God has planned for you. This is what he's planned for us- the raising of two daughters. We know the cost. We also know the reward, and it is priceless.

Easter unload

Because we're past a month overdue on this post, I'm just going to dump my Easter pics. It was a great time! Sophia enjoyed her first egg hunt and was very good at it. We enjoyed the anticipation of the season and soaked in all that God accomplished in those few days- the payment of our sin in full! We were again amazed and humbled by this great act of mercy, and filled with a renewed excitement. He is risen, He is alive, and He is coming again! Amen!

oops...a bone! Was I supposed to find something else?

had to take a break to water the herbs and do a little digging:

chocolate mouth

and then we played a bit with bubbles...no dress required ;)

All better!

Being in daycare three days a week, we've had our share of sickness. We've done double ear infections and stomach bugs. Sophia is always a trooper and makes the most of it, seeming to bounce back quicker than it took to get sick! But not last week...

After a few scary days of high fevers not relieved by medicine, not knowing the cause or the effects of this mystery illness, she slowly came around. We have never seen her feel so bad, never felt such fear at the unknown. Of course, I can say all this now, because she's better. ;)

In the midst of it, I found my heart warring within me. I felt helpless. But it was no different than any other day, was it? Am I ever in control of how healthy she is? No matter how many vegetables she eats, no matter how many times we wash her hands, wipe down grocery carts, or try to keep her away from germs, she's going to get sick. And some sicknesses have no means of prevention. And some have no means of a cure.

I know this all the time. But isn't it easy to forget about it when everything is good? Don't we start to believe that we are in control? That we are the reason for the good things in life? We have the lives we do because of the good choices we've made or the good things we've done? All it takes is one big fever to blow it all up in my face. My good mommy skills are not the reason Sophia is healthy most of the time. God's grace is the reason she's healthy.

The real war wasn't Am I in control? I knew I wasn't. I knew God was. The real war was this: God will do what He wants to do. Is what He wants to do good? Is He good? Always no matter what? Is He good if this is a blood infection? Even if it causes bacterial meningitis? Is he still good if this goes the absolute way I don't want it to go?

Yes. I believed it. But I confess I didn't always feel it. The real question I was asking was Does God really love me? And He does. I know He does. And He promises to always do what is for my very best. Even if it's not what I want. Even if it hurts.

I know this as a parent. I do the same thing for Sophia. I held her down as she kicked and screamed and cried while they put a catheter in, drew blood, x-rayed her chest, injected antibiotic. We needed to find out why she was sick. I knew it would hurt, but I wanted her to get better. Temporary discomfort for the more lasting comfort of getting better. God is willing to do the same for us. Temporary pain for the more lasting joy of getting more of Him.

He is good. Always and no matter what. Thank you to everyone who prayed for Sophia's healing! We will never know what she was sick with. But we did learn some good lessons along the way.