We're Back!

Judd and I had a great trip! We went on a cruise to celebrate our five year anniversary and to get away and relax before the baby arrives. The cruise was pretty rocky (literally) on our days at sea and we are slowly recovering - we still feel like we're swaying back and forth! The weather was sunny and warm. It was absolutely beautiful! Bailey had a great time with both sets of grandparents. She was spoiled rotten - we're trying to recover from that as well! And here are some pictures...

One of the many photo ops on the ship


This was my view from my lounge chair on our first day at sea.


The Dining Room...notice the three tables of "Red Hat" ladies. They wore their purple dresses and red hats EVERY night at dinner!


Gotta have my coffee...decaf of course.


Judd at the Rolls Royce Cafe aka coffee bar


Progresso - we were only off the ship for about an hour. We did some shopping on the pier then went back to the ship to lay out!


Judd and Jenn (and Campbell) in Cozumel. We shopped in downtown Cozumel then ate lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville!


Starbucks in Cozumel - you know we stopped for a drink!


Margaritaville


Conch Fritters - interesting, but yummy!

The view from Margaritaville

Every Season

This year for Christmas, Judd gave me this:

It is the "Four Seasons" charm from James Avery. It is significant to me because I am learning that God carries me through seasons in life. As every season (figuratively) comes and goes, He is molding me, teaching me, recreating me. I could say more about the topic, but Nichole Nordeman's song "Every Season" says it perfectly. I love the last verse about spring and that God is making me new with every season's change.

Every Season by Nichole Nordeman

Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You
In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer

And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn

And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter
You are winter

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring

Pictures

I finally uploaded some pictures from the past few weeks.

Bailey usually reads in bed before falling asleep. This is how we found her one night. She was reading The Polar Express!


And this is how we found her a few nights later. She's a wild sleeper!


Bailey and Kadon in the monster truck!


I had a meeting at church last night and this is how I found Bailey when I got home. Judd is quite the hair stylist! For some reason she likes wearing my socks on her hands.

Peanut Butter and Mayonnaise

What could those two things possibly have in common? They were both in my daughter's HAIR this week! I've already mentioned how much she loves gum. She usually does a good job of keeping it in her mouth at all times. Well, one day this week she took it out of her mouth and it ended up on top of her head. That's right - in her hair - at the scalp!

At the same time, she had gone to the bathroom in her pants! After cleaning up that mess, I called Judd and asked him to google "how to get gum out of hair." (I had one of the kids I keep sleeping in our office so I couldn't use our computer.) Judd and the church secretary said that peanut butter looked like the best option. So I strapped Bailey into her booster seat and went to town putting peanut butter into her hair. Nothing happened. The gum didn't budge. So I did what anyone would do in time of such a crisis. I called my mom. She said to try mayonnaise. Remember Bailey already had peanut butter in her hair so the mayo went right on top. Needless to say, it did not smell like roses! But the mayo (or probably the combination of the two) worked like a charm and the gum came right out. Then she had to have a bath to get the mayo and peanut butter out of her hair! Oh what a day that was!

Bailey Update

Bailey is getting to be such a big girl! Here's what our 2 year, 5 month old is up to.

1. She is almost completely potty trained. "Almost" because she wears panties all day, every day without having a "tee-tee" accident, but she refuses to go #2 in the potty. Oh, what am I going to do???
2. She repeats EVERYTHING we say. Just the other night Judd got some soup out of the microwave and said, "That's freakin' hot." Yep, she repeated. Word for word. We have to watch what comes out of our mouths around here!
3. She is very aware that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. We ask her where her baby brother is and she says, "Where is he? Where is he?" Then pulls my shirt up and says, "There he is!" She also says "baby brother" and "baby Campbell."
4. She still LOVES playing with her baby dolls. She got a new stroller, pack-n-play, swing, and activity gym for her babies from Santa. Her bedroom has turned into a mini nursery!
5. She is currently boycotting her naps. She has only taken a nap twice since the day after Christmas! I am not ready for her to give this up so she still lays down everyday, but doesn't go to sleep. Because of this, she has been going to bed around 7:30 pm and waking up around 7:30 am.
6. Her favorite foods are hot dogs, turkey, cheese, oatmeal, dry cereal, crackers, chips, chicken nuggets, and french fries. She chooses not to eat anything other than the already mentioned foods despite our persistence to expose her to a variety of different things.
7. Her favorite movie is The Polar Express aka "the train movie." Even though it's not Christmas any more, it still plays at our house quite often!
8. Her best bud is Kadon. He lives around the corner from us and goes to our church so she gets to play with him a lot. They fight like brother and sister but are still so sweet to each other!
9. When Judd leaves for work in the mornings, Bailey runs to him and says, "Wait! Kisses!" It's precious!
10. She loves gum! When we have gum in our mouths she holds out her hand and says, "Spit it out!"

Happy Anniversary!

Five years ago today I married my best friend! Judd and I started dating almost 12 years ago! In that time, we have had good days, bad days, fun days, and sad days. Through it all, we have been a team. I can't imagine spending my life without him.

Tonight we are going to Saltgrass for dinner (I've been craving steak throughout this pregnancy!) We're taking Bailey with us for the celebration because later this month we're going on a CRUISE without her! Judd and I took a "babymoon" before Bailey was born and decided to do it again before this baby comes. And, it is our 5th anniversary...that's pretty special!

2007 - The Year in Review

I guess if I sent out an annual holiday letter with our Christmas cards, this is what it would say.

2007 was quite a whirlwind for us as it brought many new and exciting changes to our lives! As the year began, Judd and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. My parents came to stay with Bailey while we slipped away to The Westin at La Cantera. Even though we were minutes from I-10, it felt like we were a world away from the hustle and bustle!

In March, the changes began for us. We announced to our former church that Judd had accepted a call to be the youth pastor at FBC Sealy. It was hard to say goodbye to a group of people who had become our family over the years, but we knew without a doubt it was God's directing.

Even more occured in April as we sold our house in San Antonio (thankfully we didn't close until the end of May though) and bought a house in Sealy. For the first time since we've been married, we were able to spend Easter at home with our families and attend our home church. The next Sunday was our first weekend in Sealy and thus began our six week separation as Bailey and I finished the school year in San Antonio.

When school let out in May, we closed on our house and the movers moved all of our belongings to Sealy. Oh, the joys of moving - especially with a 21 month old!

We had a busy summer as we celebrated my 26th birthday, went to youth camp, and a mission trip (yes, both of us!) Bailey got to spend a week with each of her grandparents while we were gone. The end of the summer brought Bailey's 2nd birthday, which we celebrated at our house with family and friends.

As the school year began for the rest of the world, I began a new adventure. I decided to stay home with Bailey and keep a few kiddos during the day to supplement our income. (We've since decided that this arrangement wasn't working for the best so I'm planning on returning to the classroom in the fall and I'm excited about it!)

We headed to Wagoner, Oklahoma for Labor Day weekend with my family and some family friends. Our families have been meeting there for almost 40 years. This was the first time for Judd or Bailey to go so it was fun for me to show them around.

September marked another huge change in our lives. We found out that we are expecting our second child! We are so excited for this little one's arrival in May and can't wait to see Bailey in action as a big sister!

We ended 2007 in a whirlwind of celebrations...Judd's 29th birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We also found out that we're having a BOY! We look forward to meeting Campbell Clark Cochran!

As many changes occured this year, we know that our God never changes. He is constant. His love and faithfulness don't waiver. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

May you have a blessed 2008!

Christmas 07

We had a great Christmas! It's hard to believe that this is Bailey Kaye's third Christmas and that next year we'll have another little one to celebrate with. We went "home" to spend the whole week with our families. We ended up attending FIVE separate Christmas celebrations among our extended family! Needless to say, Bailey was spoiled rotten!

Christmas Morning at Maw-Maw and Pop's ... gifts from Santa!




Christmas Day at Memommmie and Grandaddy's (Judd's grandparents)





And the day after Christmas at Nonnie and Bubba's