Itty Bitty: The Living Room

On to the living room!  Once again, the pictures make the home look a bit more spacious than it actually is.  The first few photos were taken with my back up against the front door.  No entry way here; just walk right in to the madness!  Of course, I snapped these shots just after cleaning the house, but on the average day you would walk into this room covered in toys.  Enter at your own risk :)  

As you can see, it is just one cozy living space with the family room opening right up to the dining area and kitchen.  

Our halls are decked for Christmas, but otherwise the mirror is really the only decor aside from the items on the bookcase.  I am starting to like the pared-down, simple aesthetic and I have a feeling I'll be getting rid of a lot of my decorative items once we get them out of storage.  There really isn't anything that I miss other than some of our framed photos and art work.  

I was originally worried about how we would fit a Christmas tree in this tiny space.  Then I just decided to spit in the face of our little home and get a big ole tree anyway!  The top is seriously one inch from the ceiling, and in person it looks like the tree is just bursting forth from the little corner we shoved it into.  I just love having a real, big Christmas tree and decided to go for it despite our small space!  

We moved the other chair out to the garage to accommodate the tree, so imagine a pair of chairs by the windows when it isn't the holidays.  

I didn't get a photo facing the armoire, but just to the right of that piece is the hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom.  

This is the wall just to the left of the archway into the kitchen.  We're rocking the felt kiddie tree a la Pinterest (which Riggins is totally uninterested in!), and our display of Christmas cards (Which is much more impressive now than when this photo was taken.  I think getting Christmas cards is one of my favorite things about this season!).

And here is the hallway back to the bedrooms.  You can kind of see that there is one small closet on the left, and then two sets of cabinets and drawers, one on each side.  We have totally maximized these spaces!  The hall closet holds coats, bags, the vacuum, and the typical hall closet stuff.  The cabinet and drawers on the left serve as the "pantry," "office," and "craft room."  The cabinets and drawer on the left store linens.      

That's it for living areas!  On to the bedrooms and bath next!  

Itty Bitty: The Kitchen

Now that I've told you about our itty bitty rental, I thought I'd finally get around to showing you some pictures of the place!  If you also live in a small or temporary space, you might be able to pick up a few ideas from our life in 800 square feet.

I'll start with the kitchen since it is my favorite room in the house and also the only room in which I have done any real decorating (i.e., hanging things on the walls).  Somehow these photos make the kitchen look larger than it is.  Rest assured that it gets very cozy in here!

Here is the view from the front door/living room, and a look at my best piece of organization/storage/decorating advice for small spaces.  Store stuff on the walls!  Sure, my collection of pewter platters looks decorative, but I really hung them up just to have a place to put them.  I have always been nervous to hang dishes on the walls and was so surprised by how easy it was.  I used spring loaded plate hangers from Lowe's and "gorilla hooks" that hold up to 50 pounds.  It was so easy that I was embarrassed it took me so long to do it; these would have looked so pretty in our Memphis kitchen!  

  

Here is the actual kitchen.  A nice, cozy little galley.  The cabinet space is just right for everything we need, and I have a bit of space in the garage for all of those kitchen things that I use less often (the blender, electric griddle, bundt pan, cookbooks, etc.).  

Now here is the big frustration with the kitchen that you probably didn't even notice.  If you look closely, you will see that the cabinets are very low.  So low that you cannot fit ANY appliance under them!  I can't even have my coffee pot out on the counter!  What is sad is that they could have easily mounted them to the ceiling, but since they centered them you can't really use the space above or below the cabinets.  Oh, and the landlord cheaped out on his kitchen renovation and opted for the "modern" look of going sans drawer or cabinet pulls; it may look nice and clean, but it sure is annoying!

The cabinets on the stove side are a smidge higher and can fit my Kitchenaid mixer, but of course there is no outlet on that wall!  Any time I want to bake I have to move the mixer across the kitchen, but I have to have pulled all of my ingredients out of the cabinet first because once the mixer is over there I can't open the cabinets without moving the mixer again!  I've found my groove for working with it now, but the first few attempts at cooking in here involved a bit of cursing ;)  

The kitchen was the only room in the house that did not have blinds.  We needed a window treatment for privacy, but I did not want to spend much since it is just a rental.  I opted to buy a couple of cute tablecloths from Target for about $16 each and used them to make curtains.  For the window behind the table I just cut one tablecloth in half lengthwise and hemmed it to form two panels that we mounted as curtains with clip rings.  

 Over the sink, I cut the tablecloth to the size of the window, hemmed it, and sewed a pocket in the top for a tension rod.  I then placed two more tension rods further down the window and draped the panel over them to form a faux Roman shade.  

 That door goes to the garage, which is ironically not large enough to hold a car!  That's fine with us since we needed the space for storage anyway.  My washer and dryer are out there too, and I have to say that my motivation for doing laundry has been pretty low with this cold weather lately!  Thankful to have a washer and dryer though, so I'll count my blessings!  

Now that Rhett is eating solids (p.s. the babe finally decided to eat!  Hooray!), the high chair is in that chair at the head of the table, so you get to do a cute little shimmy between the wall and the high chair if you want to get to the garage :)  

And here's my fun little chalkboard which enjoyed a past life as an ugly print from Goodwill.  I typically use it to write Riggins' little memory verses from BSF so that we can practice them during meals, but right now it's just spreading some Christmas cheer!  

Photos of the rest of the house to come!  

Rhett is 8 Months Old!

December 5, 2012

Dear Rhett,

Apparently your eighth month was one for getting down to business, because you sure accomplished a lot over the last several weeks!  In the course of one month you started crawling, learned to pull up, and cut your first tooth!  The world is your oyster now, little man, and not much is stopping you from getting into things, much to the chagrin of your older brother.  Riggins is not quite sure what to do with this newly mobile creature who innocently grabs for his toys.  I had not planned on becoming a referee this early in your relationship, but the time has come!  Just wait, baby brother.  A day will come when you will hold your own with that big brother of yours!

At eight months old you are wearing size 9 and 12 month clothing and a size 3 diaper.  People often comment on how long you are, although you have some cute chub to balance out your length!  You nurse about five times a day and still think that solid food is worthless.  I can occasionally get you to try a few bites of something, but you consistently respond as though I am poisoning you.  Frustrating as it may be, it is quite entertaining to feed you and watch your full-body shudders and repulsed facial expressions.  We're trying to be relaxed yet persistent in trying; surely you will come around one of these days!

Your sleeping is improving a bit, but you are still a restless sleeper who has a hard time getting yourself back to sleep after you've awakened in the night or from an interrupted nap.  You typically take two one-hour naps and then go to bed early, sleeping from 7ish to 8:00is.  You usually wake for a quick feeding around 11p.m. and then sleep til 5:45 or 6 when I bring you to bed to eat and snooze until Riggs wakes at 8.  But there is often some sort of interruption in that 11-6 stretch where you have a hard time settling back down.  You are definitely an "escalator" when it comes to crying; once you really get going it usually only gets worse!

This month you enjoyed two road trips.  Daddy and I took you on a whirlwind trip through Texas, visiting cousin Nelson at Texas A&M and watching him in his role as Head Yell Leader.  You tagged along to the Midnight Yell Practice at the stadium and were a total trooper as we joined 30,000 fans at the stadium in the dead of night!  We then headed up to Waco where you met lots of our friends from our Baylor days.  The trip was capped off with a stop in Dallas where we got to meet your new friends Jude and Sloane.  Riggins spent the weekend with Mama Anne and Papa Tom, so we loved spending a whole weekend with just our Rhettaroo!  The next weekend we headed to Arkansas for your first Thanksgiving!  You did not partake in the feast since you think food is silly ;)

You love bath time, being outside, Weber's paws, riding in the grocery cart, the music table, and sitting in your high chair as I cook.  You do not like being groomed, being rocked (you prefer to stand and sway), reading before bedtime (put down the book and put me in bed, lady!), eating, or getting in your car seat.  Although you smile if someone merely looks your way, we have to work really hard to get you to laugh.  You are honestly the most content, easy-going, happy baby I've ever seen (minus the whole sleeping thing!).

When I think of you at 8 months old, I want to remember how you scrunch your nose when you smile, how you laugh like Beavis and Butthead, how you giggle when I pretend that you have stinky feet, how you open your mouth wide when you're excited, how you bounce your arms at your sides when you're happy, and how you can scream like a crazy Jekyll and Hyde monster in the night!

I love you, buddy boo.

Momma

It's Alright to Be Little Bitty: Living in Small Spaces

There are a lot of things in life that are relative.  The size of your home is one of them.  In a previous post I mentioned some advice given by an interior decorator at a MOPS meeting.  She said that your home is like your wedding ring.  There will always be someone with a bigger, nicer one than yours, and there will always be someone with a smaller, cheaper one than yours.  It is just a fact of life, and the sooner you can find contentment with exactly what you have, the happier you will be.  That said, I realize that some might read this post and shake their heads a bit, but I'm going to write it anyway.  

We live in a little bitty rental house right now.  When we moved last summer, we not only added a person to our family, but we also decreased our square footage.  Currently, our little family of four and our 65 pound energetic dog are living in approximately 800 square feet.  (There's the part where my NYC friends laugh because that probably sounds like a lot of space to you!)  

I won't necessarily say that our house is too small, because we are definitely making it work.  Somehow the home managed to carve out three tiny bedrooms, so having a small space for each of us seems to help the feel of things.  We also have a garage and attic for storage and a large back yard.  Upon moving in, we promptly put the majority of our seasonal, sentimental, decorative, and otherwise non-essential items in the attic and garage.  I haven't done a whole lot of decorating in this place, partially because we will probably only live here for about a year and partially because the place is so small that there are only so many places to put things!  

If everything is in its place and the children are both asleep, all is well, but anyone who has ever been around a small child knows that a wee one can spin a tornado of stuff through a house in no time flat.  It is in those moments when I literally cannot walk through my home without stepping on something, or when a new item comes into the house and there is literally no where to put it, that I begin to struggle with frustration and contentment.  

There are quite a few perks to our little bitty space.  I can clean it in no time.  I can hear my children (or notice their silence, which is always concerning!) in any room of the house and usually guess what they are up to and whether or not I am needed.  The rent is super affordable.  Jonathan has a two minute commute.  I have a better idea of what things are essential in my home (I'm sure I will be doing a massive purge when we move again and go through all of those things that have been in storage!).  I know I will miss this simple time in our lives.   

But the biggest blessing of this little bitty home?  God has been revealing how much I have idolized the idea of a pretty home in a pretty neighborhood with pretty things.  In this Pinterest-crazed world, it is easy for my standard of normalcy to get nudged upward bit by bit, ever so subtly.  Contentment is conversely shoved downward and suddenly my expectations are distorted so beyond reality that I can hardly see straight.  Those entitlements and the grumblings of my heart against unmet expectations are sin, straight up, and they say that what God has provided for me in his grace is not good enough, big enough, pretty enough, cushy enough for my needs.  Yuck.  

Lord willing, we will someday buy a bigger home with space for two growing boys and their rowdy dog.  But God has been pressing on my heart that if I can't be content in this little space with his abundant blessings then I will not be content anywhere.  The choice to be content, and to go beyond contentment to gratitude and praise, can often be an hourly struggle for me.  But I am so thankful for the gut check brought by our time in this little house, and for a God who reveals the ugly areas of our hearts that we have failed to surrender, changing us through his power for his glory.   

I have a few practical tips that I have learned from living in a small space and downsizing our belongings by almost half.  I'll write a follow-up post on that soon, and will try to take some pictures to go along with it.  

Time is On My Side

I learned a new parenting trick recently.  It is one of those tricks that I'm sure many of you have already been smart enough to figure out, but it was groundbreaking for me and has been so helpful.  

I was at the playground recently and noticed another mom with her older children.  Suddenly, I heard that mom's phone ring.  She immediately held it up, called to her two boys, and said, "Ok guys, it's 3:30!  Time to go pick up your sister!"  They both stopped playing, ran to her, and they all proceeded to leave together without protest.  

I watched in awe.  

Setting your cell phone alarm for the time when you need to leave and then letting your phone be the bad guy, deferring any frustration away from you?  Genius!  Life with small children is all about choosing your battles, and I am totally fine with allowing a piece of technology win the occasional battle on my behalf.

Right then, I tried it.  Setting my alarm for 4:00, I called Riggins over to me and showed him my phone.  I told him that when the bell on Mommy's phone rang that it would be time to go bye-bye.  I even dubbed it the "Bye-Bye Bell."  He was free to play, but when it was about ten minutes until four I started giving him reminders every few minutes: "Riggins, when the bye bye bell rings it will be time to leave the playground and go home!"  "Riggins, just a few more minutes until the bye-bye bell!"  

When it rang, I held up the phone and announced to Riggs that the bye-bye bell was ringing.  I let it ring long enough to be sure that he actually heard the ring.  Then I started saying bye bye to everything at the playground as we usually do, and he immediately joined me in the farewells and followed me out of the playground without a fuss!  

I have used the "Bye Bye Bell" several times since then and it always works like a charm!  It is also good for me to avoid losing track of time and staying out too long (You know, so long that both kids fall asleep on the way home and then won't go back down when you get home?  Yeah, hate it when that happens!).  Just this morning we got to the zoo at 10 and I immediately set my alarm for 11:30.  We got home and fed just in time for both boys to go down without a fight.  

I'm sure I'll be finding lots of new ways to use my timer now that I know how well my child responds to it.  Do you have any tricks like that to share?  

(P.S. Regarding the title of this post... does anyone else immediately think of that creepy Denzel Washington movie "Fallen" when you hear that song?  You know, the one with the demon-possessed serial killer?  Haven't seen the film in years, and yet I still think of it and get freaked out every time I hear that song!)

Rhett is 7 Months!

November 5, 2012

Dear Rhett,

There is something about the seven month mark that gives me a little lump in my throat, buddy!  The fact that you are over halfway through your first year drives home the reality that you will not be a squishy little baby much longer.  Having your big brother around is a constant reminder of how little you still are, however, so I am soaking up my bitty baby as much as I can!

At seven months you weigh 18 pounds, wear 6-9 month clothing, 12 month pajamas, and a size 3 diaper.  You nurse every 3-4 hours during the day and once or twice at night.  You sleep from about 7:30 to 8:00 each night and typically take two naps.  Your morning nap isn't always at a consistent time due to activities with your big brother, but you take a nap after lunch each day.  You are rarely game for a third catnap and usually prefer just to go to bed early.  New skills this month include sleeping on your tummy, blowing raspberries, rolling and scooting more than ever, grabbing toys (much to Riggins' chagrin) pushing up onto your hands and tippy toes, and sitting up completely unassisted.  My favorite trick is when you push your little booty in the air and then jut your legs out behind you to scoot backwards like a little confused inch worm!  

Solid foods were introduced this month, and you are not impressed!  When given a bite of food--any food--you look as though we are attempting to poison you, making the most disgusted faces, shuddering, squeezing your eyes shut, gagging, thrusting it out with your tongue...the works!  It has caught me a bit off guard (your mama LOVES food Rhett, so I find it hard to relate!) but I am trying to be patient and trust that at some point you'll want to eat something other than milk.     

Several other "firsts" occurred this month.  You took your first road trip to Colorado for my grandmother's funeral.  Although the circumstances were not the best, your family members were so excited to meet you and I think your presence and snuggles brightened everyone's moods.  The other big first was your first illness; you had an ear infection that spiked up to a 104 degree fever and you were just pitiful and so, so hot.  You took your antibiotics like a champ and improved within a week, and I was so happy to have my cheerful little sweetheart back again!  Finally, we celebrated your first Halloween!  I dressed you in an adorable little donkey costume and you tagged along in the wagon as Riggins trick-or-treated with friends.  Needless to say, you were the cutest donkey I've ever laid eyes on!

You love bath time and have figured out how to splash.  If you're lucky enough for Riggs to join you in the bath you get positively giddy, belly laughing and splashing like crazy!  When you're feeling silly you shake your head side to side really fast and it cracks us up.  You also love time in your Jumparoo, riding in a shopping cart, laying outside on a blanket watching Weber and Riggins, or chatting yourself up in the mirrored closet doors in Riggs' room.  You are still a remarkably content baby and are perfectly happy to just sit with a toy and watch the action.  Other "loves" include your pacifier, the remote control, your little car toy, and Sophie the Giraffe.  Just about the only thing you really dislike other than solid food is getting your nose wiped or aspirated; it makes you madder than a hornet!

I love you, Rhett.  I love your bright blue eyes with their long, dark lashes.  I love your rosy cheeks.  I love your scrunchy-nosed smile.  I love the way you hold my thumb when you're nursing.  I love our Tuesdays and Thursdays when it's just the two of us.  I love the way you blow raspberries.  I love your calm, peaceful spirit and what it teaches me about contentment.  You're still my little Peach, Rhettaroo, and I love you so!

Love,
Momma
 

BOO!

We had a great time trick-or-treating with friends last night and celebrating Rhett's first Halloween!  I was just commenting to a friend that I think Halloween is one of the best perks of parenting.  You get to dress up your kid however you like, laugh at their expense, use them as a lure to get candy, and then eat it after they go to bed!  Of course, someday my boys will insist on plastic super hero costumes and will want to run around the neighborhood with their buddies and then refuse to share their Reeses pumpkins with me.  So I'm having my fun while I can!   

Warning: if you bring a donkey home, he will ruin your pansies...

Where's Riggins?  

There he is!  And that, my friends, was the end of wearing the giraffe hood.

This little costume was perfect for Rhett since I think his personality resembles a happy little Eeyore.  Laid back, easy, quiet, sweet, and just happy to have someone look his way.  

"Thanks for noticin' me..."

Got anything for me in there, Riggs?

Riggins got the hang of saying "trick-or-treat," but when I reminded him to say "thank you" at one house, he turned over his shoulder and yelled, "SEE YA!!!"  I guess he's partial to the tricks....  

Riggs made a few new friends on Halloween, chatting up a fake zombie sitting in a lawn chair in one driveway, and striking up a conversation with this scarecrow ("Hi, boy!").  

Best shot of my little animals, and the only shot where they are both wearing their hoods!

Love my donkey baby.

The drive home is only about 8 minutes, but that was plenty of time for the little critter to call it a day.

It's always a strange moment in parenting when your kids start doing something that you remember doing.  I always LOVED sorting through my Halloween candy and assessing the loot!

Hope you all had a wonderful evening of making memories with your family!

Letters to Riggins: 2.5

October 29, 2012

Dear Riggins,

Happy half-birthday!  In the six months since your last letter you have continued to shock us with the rapid pace at which you are transforming into a big kid.  As quickly as you are changing, each aspect of development is only bringing a new layer of depth the same personality we've seen in you since the day to joined our family.  You are sweet yet stubborn, affectionate yet independent, extroverted yet content on your own.  In short, you are a joy and we love you more today than we did two and a half years ago.

You are a talker, and I have no idea where that came from! ;)  You have never met a stranger and you particularly love to tell other people about what you're doing.  Just recently you have started inviting them along.  Today as we carved a pumpkin on the front porch you yelled across the street to the teenage neighbor boy, "Hey wan make punkin wit us?"  You have a few regular Riggins-isms that crack us up: "Thank you.  Thank you so much."  When answering a question: "Yes...I tink so."  When something isn't working: "No batteries!"  When you've figured something out: "Oh! Oh yes!"  "Maisy-I-N-G" (an attempt to spell 'amazing' based on a song from VBS last summer),  (when you wake up and waiting for us to get you or when you're hiding?): "Wheh ah yoooo?" "Get you!"  If you want us to chase you: "Get you!"  When you ask a question about doing something, you'll follow it with "Otay" as though you are giving yourself permission to do whatever it is you're asking about.  I'm keeping a journal of all the other funny little things you say, but you certainly keep us laughing and amazed by all you soak up!  

You know your entire alphabet and can sing the song, identify your letters, and say their sounds.  You can also count to twenty.  I would like to claim credit for that, but your love for Leap Frog DVDs and Starfall.com are responsible!  You love to sing, your favorites being ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, The Wheels on the Bus, Big Red Car, Hot Potato, and This is the Day.  You love listening to music and are pretty particular about your favorites: "bible songs" (the VBS cd), Veggie Tales, Praise Baby, and Hide 'Em in Your Heart.  You still enjoy reading, and your favorites include Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, Llama Llama books, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Favorite shows are Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Super Why, Thomas and Friends, Sesame Street, and Cedarmont Kids.  

You weigh 32 pounds and are still tall and lean, wearing size 2T-3T clothing.  That sweet round baby face is starting to disappear and the big kid face that is replacing it sometimes takes my breath away.  You sleep from 7 or 8 to 7 or 8 each night and nap from 1 to 3 or 4 each afternoon (Unless, of course, you are at MDO where you really struggle to lay down and take a nap in a room full of friends!).  You still take comfort in nigh nigh, hippo, and sucking your thumb.  You are a decent eater, always loving fruit, yogurt, bread, cheese, hot dogs, "choo choo snacks," animal crackers, cereal bars, and Goldfish.  You have a weakness for donuts like your mama.  You have no interest in potty training and are still in size 5 diapers.

A classic boy, you love trucks, trains, tractors, and animals.  Running, jumping, dancing, and being loud are your default settings.  You started Mother's Day Out in June and you love it, although you still resist taking a nap there.  We also started BSF again and you love that too.  It's fun that you are at an age where you can learn simple bible verses from our study of Genesis.  All of your teachers are frequently mentioned in your nightly prayers of thanks; sweet boy!  You are also the biggest fan of all of your grandparents and get so excited about any time you can get with your Papa Tom and Mama Anne or Bampy and Grammy.  You also love Uncle Todd and his dog Jett and recently got to know your Uncle Ramsey a bit better during our trip to Colorado.  You still love your baby brother and can be very sweet with him, although in many ways the honeymoon stage is over now that Rhett can reach for your things.  We are starting to hear a lot more "Mine!" from you these days!  ;)

As sweet and personable as you are, you are definitely strong-willed.  When we are diligent to give you clear instructions and expectations and reinforce it with praise, you frequently rise to the situation with obedience.  Even still, sometimes you are just a typical two-year old toot who has his heart set on his own way!  Frustrating as it may be at times, I am thankful for your strong personality and pray that God will refine it into a great asset.  

When I think of you at two and a half years old, I will think of you asking Daddy to "tickle neck" each night before you go to sleep; of you dancing like a maniac in front of the mirrored doors in your room; of you "running fast" up and down the hall and across the yard; of you asking for a "kiss" before going to play with your friends at MDO; of you singing "Jesus Loves Me" over and over after waking from your nap; of you "driving" the car; of you playing the air guitar and doing the bees knees to "bible songs" at Mama Anne and Papa's house; of you squealing with glee as you dipped your toes into a mountain stream in Colorado; of you double-fisting donut holes in your jammies on a Saturday morning; of you saying "hi" and "bye bye" to everything--animate and inanimate--you see.

I am so proud to be your mom, Riggins.  There are days when you wear me slick, and yet as soon as you're asleep I find myself missing you and laughing about all the funny things you've said and done that day.  We love you more than you will ever know and are so thankful for the blessing of getting to watch you grow!

Love,
Momma

Interruptions

Things are a bit nutty at our house these days.  

We made a whirlwind trip to Colorado for Grammy's funeral services, driving ten hours each way with two kids under 2 1/2.  They did remarkably well, and I was so thankful to have my little family with me as we celebrated Grammy's life.  And what a celebration it was!  Picture my entire extended family around her graveside singing "I'll Fly Away" complete with clapping and foot-tapping.  We will miss her terribly, but she is finally home and we are truly rejoicing over her rich life.  My dad and his sisters asked me to adapt my "Who Will Pray?" post and give it as part of her eulogy.  It was a great honor to share my thoughts on my remarkable grandmother with all of you and with those who came to honor her memory.  Thank you for your kind comments and prayers for our family during this time.    

Our days in the Springs were blessed with classic, sunny, crisp Colorado weather, and we were fortunate to grab just a bit of time in Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs before hitting the road back to Oklahoma on Sunday.  It was nice to at least pretend to be on a mountain vacation for a few hours, and we captured some beautiful photos of my favorite people in one of my favorite places.  

Unfortunately, our return home only heralded the beginning of a rough week.  Rhett has an ear infection, Riggins has a little health issue that I'm sure his grown up self will appreciate me keeping off the internet, and one of our cars is pooping out on us.  Add all that to the piles of post-trip laundry and general disarray and we're feeling a bit discombobulated around here!  

A couple of weeks ago, a girl in my BSF discussion group mentioned that God has been teaching her to embrace the interruptions in her days.  What a timely message that was for me!  From an unexpected death in the family to a child's illness and a broken down car, God is teaching me to roll with the punches, to choose gratitude, and to seize the opportunities to trust him for our material, emotional, and physical needs.  Granted, it usually takes me way too long to make that connection and cry out to him for help, but little by little he is giving me the grace to embrace the crazy!  

Who Will Pray?

She could recap Downton Abbey better than any of my girlfriends.  She loved Barack Obama and the nightly news.  She never missed a Broncos game on television.  She sang the silliest songs, and when I was a little girl she told me my hair was made of gold (I believed her).  She taught me to make pie crust and cream puffs.  She passed on her love for Singing in the Rain, Somewhere in Time, and Garrison Keillor.  She gave me her hammer-head thumbs, her pun-filled sense of humor and her opal ring.  She taught me that ministry could be as simple as a card, a stamp, and a thoughtfully chosen clipping from a newspaper.  She raised an adorable little boy to be my wonderful daddy.  She taught me to value my family and my history.  She showed me what it means to love unconditionally for a lifetime and beyond, and to serve selflessly without expectation.    

Meeting Riggins in September 2010

 

Yesterday my beloved Grammy, my friend, left this broken world and her broken body and was united with Jesus.  She was also reunited with the love of her life, Bobby.  Since his passing two and a half years ago, she still mentioned how much she missed him every time we spoke on the phone.  She thought Rhett had Bobby's lips, her favorite feature of his; the thought of those lips still made her swoon at 89 years old!  

I had plane tickets to take the boys out to Colorado Springs for a visit in November.  How I had hoped she would hang on until then!  But I know how ready she was to go home, so while I selfishly wish I could have seen her once more and shown her these beautiful boys, I can hardly hold it against her. 

In these last weeks, she and my aunt had many conversations about this closing chapter of her life's journey.  She articulated that she was so tired and so ready, but that she had one lingering concern:

Who will pray for my family?  

I could write a novel on the legacy my grandmother has left for me, but this one question captures her heart.  I know for certain that my Grammy prayed for each of her family members by name and in detail every day, and that she had personally shared her testimony of the Gospel with each member of our family.  Her body may have slowly failed her, but her mind and spirit never did, and she would spend her days sitting in her chair pouring out her heart to God over the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  In her final days, her one concern was that someone would continue to carry the torch, daily laying the lives of her precious loved ones out before the Lord.

Can you imagine being so dedicated to prayer for your family that its continuation was your one outstanding concern at the end of your days?  I don't pray like that, but I want to.  So even though she has taught me many, many things in my thirty years, I hope that her final concern will spur one last lifelong lesson in me: to be a woman of fervent prayer for those I love.   

I love you, Grammy, and will miss our late night chats.  Enjoy giving Bobby a big smooch on those pretty lips :)  

Rhett: Six Months

October 5, 2012

Dear Rhett,

Happy Half-Birthday!  Half a year has gone by since you joined our family, Rhett, and you have brought such great joy to our lives in that short span of time.  Your sweet, laid back personality continued to shine this month with even more smiles and giggles.  Everyone you meet comments on your content, sweet spirit, and easy smile; I am so proud to be your mama!

At six months old, you weigh 17.9 pounds (50%) and are 28 inches long (90%).  You wear size 6-9 month clothing and a size 3 diaper.  You nurse every 3-4 hours during the day but are showing all the signs of being ready for solid foods, which we will begin next month.  Sleeping is still not your forte, although your naps have gotten longer and more consistent over the last month.  Night time is another story.  You are just a restless sleeper, waking frequently and struggling to fall back asleep on your own.    I look forward to the day when you can sleep through the night like a champ, but you're so sweet when you're awake that it's hard to hold your one flaw against you!

You are now able to push all the way up on your arms and off of your hips, getting ready to crawl.  You can almost sit up on your own, although you're still pretty wobbly.  You can roll every which way and you can perform a frightening yet impressive dismount from your Bumbo seat.  The jumparoo is your favorite hangout, so much so that I have to keep track of how long you've been in it because you could literally jump for over an hour without ever complaining.  Other favorite activities include being outside, watching your big brother and your puppy dog, reading time with Riggins, getting tickled on your armpits and thighs, enjoying tummy time in front of our big mirrored doors, and riding in the Ergo carrier.  You also love your pacifier, Sophie the giraffe, your elephant lovie, and board books.

This month you began attending your own class at Bible Study Fellowship; it may look like any other nursery, but those ladies are praying for you, singing to you, and speaking God's word over you as they care for you.  We also enjoyed a visit to Fort Smith and a visit from Grammy and Grampy this month when they came to celebrate my 30th birthday.  Other fun activities included the Oklahoma State Fair and the Oklahoma Regatta Festival.

Rhett, you are seriously the happiest, easiest baby.  Your smiles and giggles are such a light in our lives, and they bring contagious joy to everyone you meet.  You're sweet as can be, my little Peaches (yes, teenage Rhett, I know you're shaking your head at me but I don't care!!! ;), and I love you more than you will ever know.  Thank you for giving me a new perspective on contentment and joy through your precious little spirit.

Love,
Momma

The Little Things

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Jazzercise.  It gave me the energy and strength I needed after becoming a mom, provided a fun outlet for stress, and gave me a grown up version of my college dorm room dance parties to enjoy multiple times a week!  After finding my ideal workout, Jazzercise was another aspect of Memphis that I hated leave.  It didn't hurt that our class met in the church across the street from my house; it doesn't get much more convenient than that!  

Just a few of the ladies from my Midtown Jazzercise class in Memphis with newborn Rhett.  After watching my entire pregnancy, you can imagine how thrilled they were that my water broke in class! They dubbed him their first "Jazzerbaby!"

In the Oklahoma City area, there were only Jazzercise centers in Edmond and in Northwest OKC, both way too far from my home to be practical as a regular part of my routine.  To make matters worse, my area of town doesn't have many good options when it comes to gyms, and the few options we do have did not offer group classes that worked with my schedule.  (I know for a fact that group exercise is the only form of fitness that works for me.  Apparently I have enough pride that working out with others is the only thing that will keep me from quitting! ;)  Even if I had been able to find a Jazzercise class here, I worried that I just had a really great instructor in Memphis and that maybe Jazzercise wasn't that great after all.

Jody, my amazing instructor, who pushed me to my limits when I was trying to get in shape after Riggins, and who encouraged me to keep going throughout my pregnancy with Rhett.  

Last month, I was officially discouraged.  Five months after having Rhett, I felt in worse shape than I did at 9 months pregnant when I was still doing Jazzercise a few times a week.  I had lost the baby weight, but my energy and strength were depleted; the muscle tone I had built over the last year and a half was quickly softening.  The lack of options had me frustrated and the whole situation began to represent some of my overall discontented feelings with this current transitional stage in our lives. 

Finally, I had a come to Jesus moment.  I told myself to stop making excuses, to accept the situation for what it was, and to buck it up and go join a gym that next week and make the most of it.  I told myself that my situation in Memphs--my ideal workout, across the street from my house--was a unique situation that was unlikely to ever happen again and that I could not make comparisons.  I also repented for clinging to another stronghold of discontent with what God has given us and where he has led us.  

The next day, I got a postcard in the mail from Jazzercise.  Assuming it was forwarded mail from Memphis, I was immediately annoyed at the reminder of what I was missing.  Then I flipped it over and realized that it was not from Memphis at all; it was an invitation to join the new Jazzercise center that was forming in our new town!  I looked at the address and recognized the street name as the one that runs perpendicular to ours.  I plugged it into Google maps, and when the results popped on the screen my eyes filled with tears.

It is right behind our house, just a two minute walk away!  

In that moment, it was as if God was saying, "Yeah, it probably was unrealistic to expect me to give you a Jazzercise center across the street from your house...but I can do around the corner!"  

Now I realize that my workout plans are a tiny, unimportant aspect of life.  In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter.  And I certainly don't proclaim a Gospel in which God constantly gives us the petty things that we want all the time.  But in that moment, I received a reminder that God cares about the intimate details of our lives, about the tiniest things that matter to our hearts.  I received a reminder that God sees me.  He knows me.  I had been feeling the sting of all our life changes so keenly, and something small like my favorite workout class around the corner was a sweet reminder that God provides for everything I need, and exceeds that by providing sweet blessings in the little things that matter to me.  

I am happy to say that Jazzercise is great wherever you go!  This new center has great instructors and I am loving being back in the groove of dancing my cares away several times a week.  If you're in my area and would like to join, they are running a great special through the end of the year.  Let me know if you'd like information on the class!