Friday Night Football

C devouring some Chick-fil-A nuggets in the parking lot. Yum!

This weekend sure flew by. *Whew* Never thought I would actually want the weekend to end, but evenings and weekends seem to drag without Steve here. Thankfully, our neighbor and her daughter have been so sweet to include us in many of their activities which has been such a huge blessing! On Friday we tailgated and attended part of the Thomas Sumter Academy vs. Wilson Hall football game (big rivals here in Sumter- both private schools.) Christian did really well even though it was later in the evening, and he lasted just a bit over the first quarter. Turns out we missed a great game! It was fun...I haven't been to a high school football game in quite some time.

Leigh and Christian- he snagged her brownie and ate it all!

The rest of the weekend we mostly chilled and the days just seemed to take care of themselves. Now just a few more days and grandma (my MIL) will be here and then we will be off to Colorado shortly after that. Hooray...so ready for a break! :o)

Daily Audio Bible

So maybe I am out of the loop and you all already know about this website, but while waiting at our local car care center over a month ago (Boo! My car had been there twice in 2 weeks. Cha-ching!) there were these cards for a website called "Daily Audio Bible." A very cool website that allows you to listen to readings of the Word straight from your computer or in Podcast form so that you can listen to them from your iPod. They even have a Kid version, as well as a Spanish, Hindi, and Japanese! Now there is no excuse- you can listen while commuting to work, cleaning the house, or even while eating breakfast with your baby (we like to listen to the kids' version.) It is easily broken down over 365 days and best of all its free! Simply click on the "Resources" tab at the top of the homepage for all the various feeds or if you want to listen from your computer, click on "Listen Now" on the right hand column.

My Little Teacher

Christian has decided the past couple of days that he doesn't need a nap. Yay. As you can imagine, this makes for a VERY long day, when some days just seem so long already. The following quote was a good reminder as I sat reading last night.

"We live in the midst of holy teachers. Sometimes they spit up on themselves or on us. Sometimes they throw tantrums. Sometimes they cuddle us and kiss us and love us. In the good and the bad they mold our hearts, shape our souls, and invite us to experience God in newer and deeper ways. Although we may shed many tears along this sacred journey of parenting, numerous blessings await us around every bend in the road."

~Gary Thomas, Sacred Parenting: How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls

If All Else Fails...

Christian has become quite the finicky little eater these days. He loves snacks, but I am struggling with getting him to eat fruits and veggies, and you know...nutritious food. Like I said before, eating has been hit or miss. One day he likes something, the next day he is throwing it on the floor. We were sharing a turkey sandwich the other day from Firehouse Subs (YUM) and it came with a dill pickle. I never would have thought that he would like it, but sure enough...here he is munching away.

With Great Thanks

We have been so incredibly blessed these past few weeks since Steve's departure. Our neighbors have been awesome! From inviting Christian and I to dinner and outings, to mowing/edging our lawn, to watching C, to driving Steve's car, to simply calling and checking in, we have been overwhelmed by the care and support of our neighborhood community. Thank you!

New Toy

Doesn't he look like a little boy? Not so much a baby anymore.

I bought Christian a small ball a few weeks ago. Can you believe he didn't have one yet? He has been enjoying carrying it around the house and rolling it around. It has also become a teething ball as of late. I have noticed that there are numerous bite marks and a few chunks taken out.

He also thought Phoenix might like it. Still not sure what Phoenix thinks of C, but he is always hanging around and puts up with the chasing and hair pulling. You would think he would run away and hide out.

Boiled "P-Nuts"

Livin' in the South comes with some new southern cookin'. My neighbor from SC brought us fried okra and fried green tomatoes along with roasted corn and BBQ chicken one evening. I had never seen okra before we moved here, and let me just tell you, the fried green tomatoes and okra were fabulous. Mmm mm. Sweet tea is served everywhere, although I have not tried it. On our drive into Columbia there are all sorts of places along the road advertising boiled "p-nuts." Just today on our visit to the "Farm Store" the kind owner offered me some boiled peanuts to try. They were interesting. They have the texture of a soft bean and are kind of mushy and salty. I think they would take some getting use to if you did not grow up eating them.

We have yet to eat at "Lizard's Thicket" where macaroni and cheese is a vegetable. :o)

Sweet dreams...

"To sleep, perchance to dream..." -Hamlet

Last night I dreamed of coming home to my beautiful wife and my son whom I love. I ran to them with my arms open wide, and Christian jumped into my arms. I held him so close and he said "I love you daddy". Then he turned to mommy and said "I love mommy too". Then he kissed us both with that sweet open mouth kiss of his and said "I love my family". At this point he began to laugh with joy...that gentle giggle and squeal that a child makes which can melt the hardest of hearts. Needless to say at this point I broke down into a sobbing mess, overjoyed to the point of tears.

Unfortunately I woke up and was still here. But with the dream replaying in my mind these steel toed boots were walking on air all day today.

My situation is definitely not as bad as many of the other brave men and women serving out there. But I can guarantee that our longing to be home and hold our spouse and kids is ever-present. It's what makes us human and what grants us the sweetest of dreams.

Watching the Rain

This past weekend was wet and soggy. I liked it! It is so nice to see rain after our 4 years in the desert at Edwards with very little. The thunderstorms out here are pretty intense. Usually when it rains, it pours. No wonder everything is so delightfully green!

Here is little man watching from his bedroom window.And his buddy thought he would like to see too.

Christian is 11 Months

Well hello there! Good morning!

I did a Christian update a couple of weeks ago, you can see that post here. Since then Christian's new skills include:

• Climbing over mommy and anything in his way
• Standing (the first place he decided to do this was IN the slippery bath tub peering over the edge...he then proceeded to try and climb out. Thankfully I caught him in time.)
• Babbling away (baba is the word of the week)
• He has also found great interest in blowing "bubbles" in his mouth and making other clicking sounds.
• Learning to wave (hope to get a picture of that in the near future.)

Our good little eater has now become more of a picky eater, disregarding most pureed baby foods, wanting to eat whatever I am eating, and finding great enjoyment in throwing food on the floor to save for later...mealtimes are definitely hit or miss these days. Plus, he is working on his eighth tooth!The new developments and silly things that Christian does never cease to amaze and entertain. He is such a fun little guy! Next month, we will be celebrating Christian's 1st Birthday in Colorado with our families!

Praying for Our Husbands

"Praying for Your Husband" is a simple 31 day guide to help us bless our husbands in our daily prayer lives. It's in PDF format, so it is easy to print out and keep close.

I remember a very similar guide provided in a women's Bible study that I attended while at CSU, before I was married. We decided to use this handy guide to pray for our future and unknown husbands. (Isn't it such a blessing that even though we didn't know who that might be, God knew all along and was preparing us for our future husband?)

At this time in our lives, I am finding it even more important to pray for Steve while he is deployed and away from all the comforts of home.

How can you bless the man in your life today?

Goin to the Zoo

(Okay, I had to post something quick so that the "spider post" was not the first thing that I saw when I pulled up our blog- each time I saw it, I cringed a little. Plus I feared that I would have spider nightmares all day yesterday. Not to mention I can see this spider from my bedroom window- Ack!)
~~~

Before Steve left we made a trip one HOT Saturday to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. Here are some fun pictures from our visit.We also decided that it would be worth while to buy a season pass. The great thing about the pass we purchased is that I can bring one guest with me whenever I go (Christian is free) and that person could be YOU. We also have 6 additional guest passes, so a larger group would be fun too. Let me know if you want to go! :)

Southern Hospitality

How would you like to find this beauty in your backyard? This lovely garden spider has been hanging out by our pond all summer long. As you can probably tell I am not much for bugs (which has been an adjustment living in the south) but as long as she eats the mosquitoes, gnats, and other annoying little creatures, I guess she is "welcome."

She has knit a large web across the pond, and I know you can't tell much by the picture but it has a zig-zag pattern in the middle. Pretty amazing, even if I don't like our "guest" all that much....

Winter in August

Yeah, I wish. We have had some stifling days here in South Carolina. At Edwards we dealt with 110 + degree days all summer long, but the humidity here just weighs ya down. We will be soaking from just a leisurely walk around the block or a trip to the mailbox. Yes, I guess this humidity will take some getting used to.Here is Christian wearing his winter/holiday pajamas. Wishful thinking? Yes and no...he just seems to outgrow his jammies so quickly, so this was the next available. Hopefully it will still actually fit by the time winter comes along.

Look familiar? Here is Papa, Christian, and his cousin Linden in the same patterned jammies when C was 3 months old (taken back in January.) A couple of others are here.

Flying Solo

Remember when I asked on the blog a little while back about your advice about lengthy separations from a spouse and daddy? I thoroughly appreciated all of your comments! One of the blogs that I read regularly, Simple Mom, just recently did a post about "flying solo" as a single mommy during military deployments or other separations, even if just for a few days. I don't know if it will help any of my fellow military wives or anyone else, but I thought I might share.

Flying With an *almost* 1 Year Old

Come September, Christian and I will be flying home to Colorado to visit with our wonderful families/friends and to celebrate the big FIRST birthday of our little man. What? How did that come so quickly? Anyway, I was hoping for some helpful suggestions on how to keep a one year old busy and happy on our flights out and back (we have a layover both times in Atlanta.) I know snacks and toys will help, but specifically are there certain toys/activities that you know of that might make the time go faster? This will not be Christian's first time flying (we flew to Florida from Colorado when C was almost 5 months to visit with Steve while he was at a training at Hurlburt Field) but I was able to coax him into taking a nap on my shoulder after nursing on those flights. This time it will be a lot different, and I don't expect him to want to sit in my lap for such long periods of time. Thankfully, my wonderful mother-in-law will be flying into SC a few days prior to help me fly with Christian out to Colorado. The extra set of hands and another lap will be SO helpful. The trip back will be just C and I. So...what advice do you have?

Wordless Wednesday *Papervore*

"My Buddy and Me!"

Some cute pics of Christian and Daddy taken these past couple of weeks:

Kisses!! Christian doesn't get enough of those.

Daddy's turn!

Christian's favorite part of the day.

The Energizer (Bunny) Baby

Christian is non-stop busy. He just keeps going, and going, and going....

As of late he has discovered doors, cabinets, and drawers (and toilet paper!) which means opening and closing them and pulling out the contents. Our house is semi-baby proofed, its kind of hard deciding how far to take it. I figure as long as the dangerous things are out of reach and locked up, we should be good for now.
Christian also likes to carry toys with him, especially small stuffed animals and his baby washcloths from room to room (maybe its a comfort thing...it is oh so cute!)
Christian is showing more interest in books now which is really exciting! He sits patiently in my lap and usually lets me turn the pages. His favorites are I Love You Through And Through and Andy Alligator both books we read really early on. Christian also likes to lean in and give "kisses" to the babies in some of the books. I hope that Christian will develop a love for reading like his mama and daddy.

Even though he is always busy, I love how he will be playing independently and then crawl over and lay his head in my lap for a quick snuggle before returning to play with something else. He is learning new things every day and it is so fun to see him explore...even if it means a very tired mommy.