This morning we took a little walk down the street and around a path before it got too hot. This is what it looks like. Sweetness and bliss. Messy blonde hair and browned skin. Hand holding and love.
Jul13
Jun24
mini family vacation
Matt had a conference he had to work at the Four Seasons Resort Dallas at Las Colinas, so we opted to make a little family trip out of it. Who wouldn’t jump at that, right?!?
Anyway, we had a great time. On the way down we got to stop and say hi to a few friends that i hadn’t seen in years which was so fun…and completely wore the kids out! We crashed at Liz and Ryan’s house for a couple of hours before checking in.
The kids were so good and slept so well with us all in one room. 🙂 They really did! The Four Seasons was wonderful and added some really fun touches for the kids–milk and cookies on arrival, bathrobes and slippers for them, and a beach stocked with toys for kids to play with. We loved the pool and spent a lot of time there.
Our last night at the Four Seasons, the kids got to have a “sleepover” at Liz and Ryan’s, so Matt and I got to enjoy a date night out! The kids had a blast with their aunt and uncle, and we managed to have some fun of our own. 😉 Win, win!
On our way out of town, we met family and friends for brunch at Tillman’s in the Bishop Arts District (delicious!), and then drove home.
Our first little solo vacation as a family was a great success and we can’t wait for our next trip!
Feb17
she’s three
So, Caroline turned three on Christmas day. We celebrated Christmas, enjoyed the day and didn’t say a word about it being her birthday. I guess those are the weird issues you deal with when your child’s birthday is on the biggest holiday ever–do you tell them it’s their birthday or not? Well, we had decided not to say anything about her birthday that day…until the question came from the backseat at 7:15pm: “Is today my birthday?” I have no idea what prompted that question, but Matt and I looked at each other and then said, “Uhh, yeah, today actually is your birthday…. Happy Birthday.”
Yes, I am fully aware of how awkward and horrifying that whole exchange must sound. And it was.
Thankfully, a big, knowing smile spread across her face as we sang Happy Birthday to her and promised that tomorrow would be a special Caroline day just for her. And it was.
Some parents make big deals of their kids birthdays, and some parents have Christmas babies…and they may or may not tell their kids that it’s their birthday. We did have a plan.
Don’t look at me. Seriously.
Anyway, my point in writing this is to capture Caroline at three. I think the best description I’ve heard of her came from my dad. He describes her as a full-court press. So true. She is ON (full throttle) all the time. Jumping, dancing, running, singing, talking, wrestling, performing, wiggling, and repeat. The ONLY time she’s still is when she’s asleep or watching TV.
She loves playing pretend, and is constantly telling us who she’s playing at the moment along with who we are to be. Sometimes she gives us lines to say. It’s like Improv Theater around here somedays…gotta be on your toes. Her current favorite is Angelina Ballerina (a dancing English mouse). I am typically Alice (Angelina’s oldest friend), Matt is Henry, and Ian is William (sounds like WAY-am when she says it).
The girl rarely keeps her clothes on when she’s at home. Whether it’s dress up time, outfit changes, imaginative play (like indoor swimming), or sleeping (which is apparently a clothing-optional activity…always), the girl is rarely ready to walk out the door. It’s comical when it’s not maddening.
When Ian cries (many times because of something she’s done to him), she says, “I know just what to do!” Then she runs and grabs him a toy and blanket, and then sings the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” in his face. “It will make him feel better,” she says.
For all of her nonstop activity, her favorite thing to do is read. She would sit and read books with you all day long. She LOVES books. Always has. Her favorites right now are: Curious George, Angelina Ballerina, Franklin, Madeline, Berenstein Bears, and Winnie the Pooh.
She’s potty-trained, right? Um, no. And, might I say, not just ‘no’ but ‘HELL no.’ The girl is adamantly opposed to any suggestions or efforts to move her toward using the potty. Unless you’re talking a public restroom. Then she’s all for it. *sigh* I wonder how many strangers have overheard this interchange:
[Somewhere out in public]
C: “I wanna use the potty! I wanna use the potty!”
Me: “No. Remember what we’ve said? You have to use the potty at home before I’m taking you to a public bathroom.” [said somewhat quietly and with nervous laughter for obvious reasons]
Possible potty-training scenarios in our future: 1) We will have to move into Target to potty train. 2) I will be potty training Caroline and Ian at the same time. 3) Ian will be potty trained before Caroline. 4) I will die of Extreme Diaper Changing Distress Disorder.
What?
It’s a thing.
Caroline is a delight. She’s thoughtful, smart, kind, and hilarious. She is free-spirited and dramatic. She is so sweet. And, she is THREE. I love her dearly.
Sep21
vacation and a birthday
Confession: I went on a family vacation with two little kids and forgot my camera.
There’s more.
I went on family vacation with my two littles, my sweet son had his first birthday while on vacation, and I forgot my camera.
Okay, so it wasn’t my finest moment. But, thankfully, my brother-in-law Ryan took a ton of pictures with his really awesome camera, and saved me from taking pictures with my really not awesome camera (if I had remembered to pack it…which I did not).
So, while in Colorado, we…
hiked,
did our stretches,
spent time with Uncle Bob,
had piggie-back rides with Aunt Liz instead of running off crazy amounts of energy on a hike,
took pictures with Uncle Boyfriend (aka Ryan),
spent lots of quality time together,
enjoyed the beauty and majesty of God’s creation in the mountains (along with awesome mountain weather!),
went horseback riding and *LOVED* every minute of it,
celebrated this little rascal’s first birthday,
snuck some birthday cake icing (can you tell?),
had sugar comas from vacation and birthday splurges,
cleaned up a lot of messes,
watched Caroline open Ian’s birthday presents and then play with them (he didn’t care),
enjoyed more gorgeous mountain vistas (anyone else feel the urge to belt out, “The hills are alive, with the sound of music…”),
and just enjoyed being together, being outside, and making memories.
I’m just glad someone else packed their camera and took pictures so that I can remember it.
Sep13
shake up
Over the summer I read Radical, by David Platt. It’s a short book, but it took me a while because there was just so much for me to think about and take in. Sometimes, the chapters would literally blow my mind and completely shake up my world so that it would take a few weeks for me to sort everything out in my head.
Then, I was introduced to Interrupted, by Jen Hatmaker (still reading). And from there I heard about Shane Claiborne and, well, I’m a bit of a mess now. It’s one of those times when everything I hear (sermons, podcasts, songs) and everything I read (Scripture, Bible studies, books, blogs) lines up in one gigantic theme. In many ways, I can’t even put words to this shake up that is consuming my mind and heart. I only know that in my soul–in my spirit–it makes more sense than my previous view of the Gospel and the call of Christ.
One of the things I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t grasp before now was the reality of global poverty. A few statistics to share:
- Of the roughly 6 billion people on earth, more than one billion (roughly 1 in 6 people) live and die in desperate poverty. They attempt to survive on less than $1 per day.
- Close to 2 billion more people live on less than $2 per day.
- That’s half of humanity struggling to find food, water, and shelter.
- More than 26,000 children will die today due to starvation and preventable diseases.
- The wealthiest 1 billion people average $70 per day. If you make $35,000 annually, you are in the top 4 percent. If you make $50,000 annually, the top 1 percent.
Statistics compiled from Radical, pg 108, and Interrupted, pg 32.
I hate to say it, but my view of poverty and wealth had become very narrow…defined by my own immediate community. But in the face of global poverty and seeing the excess of the globally wealthy (that’s me), my own insatiable desires for more and more and more have been laid bare. My obsession with moving up and up and up is exposed.
“I’m learning what it means to descend, which is so revolutionary it often leaves me gasping. I have been trying to ascend my entire life. Up, up, next level, a notch higher, the top is better, top of the food chain, all for God’s work and glory, of course. The pursuit of ascension is crippling and has stunted my faith more than any other evil I’ve battled. It has saddled me with so much to defend, and it doesn’t deliver. I need more and more of what doesn’t work. I’m insatiable, and ironically, the more I accumulate, the less I enjoy any of it. Instead of satisfaction, it produces toxic fear in me; I’m always one slip away from losing it all.
Consequently, my love for others is tainted because they unwittingly become articles for consumption. How is this person making me feel better? How is she making me stronger? How is he contributing to my agenda? What can this group do for me? I am an addict, addicted to the ascent and thus positioning myself above people who can propel my upward momentum and below those who are also longing for a higher rank and might pull me up with them. It feels desperate and frantic, and I’m so done being enslaved to the elusive top rung.
When Jesus told us to “take the lowest place” (Luke 14:10), it was more than a strategy for social justice. It was even more than wooing us to the bottom for communion, since that is where He is always found. The path of descent becomes our own liberation. We are freed from the exhausting stance of defense. We are no longer compelled to be right and thus relieved from the idols of greed, control, and status. The pressure to protect the house of cards is alleviated when we take the lowest place.” From Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker.
I am in the midst of a shake up.
Sep12
more summer lovin’: grandparent style
my sweet Caroline girl
this is where she told the photographer to take her picture
Chief (my dad) and Caroline. I love this one.
Kiss.
Kiss.
Caroline and my mom
so sweet
Chief and Ian. They have a very special relationship...we call Ian "Chief's boy". 🙂
The grandparents and the grandkids. I love the relationships here!
Sep2
summer lovin’
These were taken in Breckenridge, CO, which was really the only place to love summer this year. Too dang hot here. But very nice there. Anyway, these were taken the day before Ian turned ONE! And Caroline is two and a half. And Matt and I are….older. Hmmm. There are some more great ones of the rest of my family, but those will have to wait for now. More summer lovin’ to come.
Jul3
scattershot
There are all this little things that I keep meaning to write down somewhere so I’ll remember them. Cute things the kids do. Weird things that happen. Developmental milestones. Anyway, I guess that place is here. So, without any sort of organization, I will commence the scattershot-ing (yes, I just made that into a verb).
- Caroline and I were swimming one morning at my parents house, and while she was swimming, I overheard her say, “Thank you, God, for making this water.” Sweetest thing. She does have a very thankful heart.
- Ian is the most tan person in our family. Seriously. His little legs and arms are brown and his little folds are white. I think he takes after Chief (my dad).
- Today, Piper ate the eyes off of Elmo. It looked pretty disturbing.
- When Caroline makes the “s” sound, it comes out as a very clear “f” sound. This causes much confusion as ‘sun’ sounds like ‘fun’, ‘school’ sounds like ‘fool’, ‘sister’ sounds like ‘fiffer’, and ‘stuck’ clearly sounds like the F-bomb. This can be quite horrifying if you happen to be in public and she yells that she’s stuck. Which happens a lot more than one might think.
- I am continually amazed at the differences between girls and boys. For instance, Caroline never cared about balls. Totally didn’t care to throw, bounce, roll, or play with them at all. Or cars. I had to show her how to make it go and then her interest in it lasted about 2 seconds. And then came Ian. He’s been in love with any kind of ball from early on. Now, he’ll roll, throw, bounce, wrestle, and play with a ball with the greatest delight ever. And today I gave him this car toy that Caroline never played with, and he immediately starting making it go like a car and even figured out that it would roll on its own. He rolled it and chased it down for probably 30 minutes. They are so cute and so different.
- “Put your other hand on the wheel, Mommy.” That’s what I constantly hear from the backseat when I’m driving now. You know, it’s pretty annoying when a 2 and half year old tells you how to drive. When I put my other hand on the wheel, like for a turn, I hear, “There you go, Mommy. That’s how you do it.”
- If Ian likes something or someone, he head-butts them. Not a hard head-butt. More of a soft, “How are you doing?”, in a wrestling baby kind of way. It’s pretty adorable.
- A year ago, we thought Caroline would never talk. Like we were looking into speech therapy options because she was pretty behind. Now, she talks like she’s about 17. And, she talks all. the. time. It’s exhausting…to me. I really cannot believe the sheer volume of words that come out of that girls mouth every day.
- Ian does this fake laugh that’s hilarious. Well, sometimes it’s fake and sometimes it’s real. But he does it a lot. He’s become known as “the laughing boy.”
- The other day, Caroline (sunglasses on) came and sat down in front of me on a stool. She proceeded to take off her sunglasses and calmly, coolly say, “Look at me. Look in my eyes. Do not hurt your brother. Do you understand? Okay.” She put her sunglasses on and walked away. Apparently that’s what I look and sound like.
- Caroline is sleeping in her toddler bed for the first time tonight. I’m not ready for this. But it is time. This morning she climbed out of her crib and came into our bedroom at 6:45, 2 books tucked under her arm, and yelled, “HI!” Again…not. ready.
Jun21
sibling love
May26
my “why”
I ran a half marathon nearly three and half years ago. Since then, I’ve had two kids and life has changed dramatically.
So, when I ran my first 5K in almost four years over Mother’s Day weekend, it was kind of a big deal to me. It was no easy task going from “nothing” to “running” and took about four months. Sickness, snow storms, and injuries made for a few hurdles, but I pressed on. So, when I got to run my 5K, I was excited. And nervous. Really nervous. But overall, it all went well. I ran it in 29:54, which is great for me. I wanted to run it under a 10:00 min/mile pace, so I was excited with a 9:39 min/mile pace. Matt and kids surprised me at the finish line, and it was great to be able to share my own little victory with them.
Caroline even helped me stretch afterwards. 😉
But after I reached my goal of running again and then doing the 5K, I kind of felt lost. I didn’t really know what to do on my runs. Doing the exact same kind of run every time gets boring…really fast. So, somehow I got sucked into to thinking I now needed to do speed work, tempo runs, hill work, long runs, blah, blah, blah. I got overwhelmed very quickly. Until a friend’s passing comment snapped me back to my “why.”
I don’t run to be fast or fit. I run to be me.
The truth is, I love running this time in my life so much more than I ever did before kids.
Now, running is my sanctuary. My space. It’s the one place that is just for me. It’s where I dream, problem-solve, grieve heart aches, and celebrate victories. It’s where I fight for sanity amidst the chaos of caring for two little ones. Running is how I move on to the next thing. One step at a time.
candidly katie 
