New Beginnings

Tomorrow marks the start of our "normal" life. If there is such a thing. Tomorrow my maternity leave with Everly is over and I have to return to work. Return to thinking about my students...all 300 of them...directing shows full time, teaching lessons. I love these things, and I wouldn't be who I am today without teachers who gave me these opportunities, but I am so struggling to know how I am going to manage it all. I think I will "manage" by knowing there will be days where things do not get done-at home or at school. The house will not always look as nice as it has the last few weeks (I have energy to clean and do dishes most days!). The laundry will not always be done. I will not always have a tasty meal ready for dinner-which just reminded me to add frozen pizza to my grocery list! However, I am determined to be patient with my kids-both at home and at school. I am determined to be a loving and supportive wife. I am determined to present-when I am at school, I will work; when I am at home, I will be there for my family. And-I am determined to take time for God and for myself. As I look back at my happiest seasons of life, I was reading scripture and savoring time with Christ. I was running regularly and working hard to achieve a half marathon. I was so full from these things and therefore able to GIVE so much more! I know I will fail lots of times, but I want to try! I want so desperately to ENJOY life and recognize the BLESSINGS, give thanks to GOD and feel like I have done all I can. Tomorrow starts new beginnings for our family! We'll see how it goes:)

What's Happening With Whit

So I realize two posts within two days is a bit overkill, but I was feeling badly for not updating much about Whit. Lately, Whit has been imitating sounds and movements so much. He is working on more sign-language with us, especially during meal time. He's saying more words consistently-daddy, all done, ah-mie (mommy), and ooh-cie (Lucy). He is constantly chattering and although we have no idea what he's saying-he says it with confidence! It's hilarious to have full conversations with his jibber-jabber. It always makes us smile:) One of his new achievements is SINGING! He has many toys/books that play music and is imitating a lot of them-and actually singing in the same key. Most mornings when he wakes up he talks and sings and they are the sweetest sounds in the world. Sometime we really need to record his morning moments. I love lying in bed and listening to him to start our day. Last week he spent the week with my parents while Luke and I celebrated our anniversary. In one of my conversations with my mom she said that he was singing "ee-i-ee-i-oh" and the day after we picked him up-we heard it for ourselves! That same night he started imitating our counting to three while we were playing together in his room. Now he says "uh, tuh, ee!" We were amazed to say the least! I know these are all milestones he should be accomplishing, but to watch it happen before your eyes is truly incredible. I can only imagine how ridiculous we'll be once he reaches significant milestones in his life! We love our amazing boy:)

15 Months Old

Whit is so much fun these days!  He had a bit of a rough patch last month after fighting a flu bug, but once we got through that he went back to his old self:)  Last week marked 15 months of his little life and I wanted to share some of his accomplishments and funny moments...

• Talking...Whit can say "all done, doggy, yah, dada, mmmmah (mama I think!)
• Skills...since learning to walk, Whit has become very comfortable moving around on his own.  He can walk, run, dance and go forward or backward.  He is also able to get up the stairs-with supervision:)
• Toys...Whit is starting to figure out how things work...how to play with his toys, "read" books, open and shut doors, shoot baskets...it's so fun to watch him figure things out!
• Sense of Humor...Whit loves to laugh-and we love to hear him laugh!  He plays hide and seek, really enjoys Lucy's kisses, jumps/falls on the couch cushions, pretends to sleep on the pillows then laughs how clever he is, and is SUPER ticklish-just like his momma!  
• Dee-Dee-Dah...this one deserves it's own bullet, because we hear it pretty much every day!  He has this little rhythm down pat and loves to change it up.  Sometimes it's dee dah-dee dee dah, dee dee-dah-dee dee dah...many variations, but the same two syllables over and over.  So far it hasn't gotten old and it's a great source of entertainment in the car!
• Music...what a shock-our son likes music:)  If we play music while he's awake, he always dances or bobs his head to the beat.  The other day he ran to the office where the music was playing and started nodding his head to the beat, then when the music switched to strings and woodwinds he switched his nodding to shaking his head no-to the beat!  CRAZY!  Earlier in the week he matched pitch to one of his toys.  It amazes me every time he shows musical ability.  I hope he continues to enjoy music as much as we do!

I think I mentioned all the big things for now...just wanted to get that in before another month went by!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of him lately.

On a separate note-last weekend was our church's first ever Impact Gala.  It was a great night of celebration for all God has done at The Village Christian Church!  We are so blessed to be a part of this church and have made some wonderful friends there-and of course we love getting to see Nate, Rachelle and the boys every week:)  Here are a few pictures from the night!

September/October

The past few months have been great!  We have been extremely busy, but most of our busyness has been time spent with people we love.  School has been going well for both Luke and I, and Whit has settled in at his sitter's house-Miss Pat :)  She feels like part of our family now and we are very grateful to have her in our life!
In September Luke and I had the opportunity to see Romeo and Juliet at the Shakespeare Festival on Navy Pier.  We had a great date night!

Whit continues to grow and develop each day.  Here he is signing "please"

He is such a smart boy:)  He can sign please, more, and all done.  He is walking/running, getting into everything!, and keeping us on our toes!  In September Whit finished with pureed food-I was very excited-and is loving eating table food with Luke and I.  He is so verbal and always "talking" to us. 

Toward the end of September we got to meet up with some great friends from our college days:)  We stayed the night at my home camp (LaMoine) and went to the parade and Homecoming game the next day.  While we were in Macomb we had to visit a couple of our favorite restaurants-Rocky's & Aurelio's.  We had a great time and it was so fun to see our friends again!  I think this will be an annual event!

Here we are with our great friends:) Andy & Lindsay Knopp, Marc & Kristina Gorsch, and Tim & Liz Casey

October was another great month for us...we enjoyed more time with friends and family and really enjoyed celebrating Halloween with Whit!

Here's Whit and I on a Friday after school.  He loves playing on the couch:)  

Happy Boy!

Here we are on Halloween with our little Monkey Man:)  He was a very sweet monkey!  My favorite part of his costume was the banana peel on his head.  He did great with the costume, but unfortunately he slept through all the trick-or-treaters.  I was very tempted to wake him up, but we let him sleep.  He did wake up in time to go to Miss Pat's house for a picture though:)

Fun fun at Miss Pat's House!

In October Whit learned "where's your belly?"  Here he is showing off his new talent. Love his Halloween PJ's!

Yep-we put Whit in his Halloween costume for church!  He was not thrilled about this picture!

It's been a great fall!  We'll update you soon for November:)

So behind...so blessed

It seems like I never get on the computer at home anymore.  I have become totally dependent on my phone and while I am thankful I have it, typing on it is not my favorite, so I am way behind on blogging.  I need to go to bed, but I opened up my email and saw this little app glaring at me and thought, I can write a quick note...all I could think of was how BLESSED I am.  Daily I am in awe of this life God has given me.  I am so behind on this blog because I have been so BLESSED to have a family to care for and love, friends to laugh and cry with, family to visit and support, an amazing church to grow with, and a job I truly enjoy.  It seems that every night we have something happening, whether it is teaching lessons, going to small group or worship rehearsal, or just spending time with friends.  Some may hear me talk about this chaos and think I am complaining, but I can truly say that I LOVE MY LIFE!  This has always been my prayer, and God has answered it with a resounding YES!  I promise to update soon about the happenings of our sweet little Whit and the other things happening in our family, but for now Luke is hovering over me wishing I would wrap this up so we can go to bed:)  Praying that you are aware of the blessings God has brought into your life.

Cramming...

I have been writing so much lately...I feel like I have to cram every moment in before school begins next week.  It's a bittersweet beginning for our family.  Luke and I are really looking forward to seeing our kids and working with them again, but this summer has been so perfect.  We knew the end would come, but now that it's within reach, I'm not as ready as I thought I would be.  There are just so many great things I will miss about Whit!  Lately, he has become more and more entertaining:)  When he spots something he wants, he crawls with great determination and speed across the room, shaking his head and "talking" as he goes after his prize.  His tastes are becoming more discerning and I am having to be a little more creative with his lunch and dinner-oh, the things you say you'll never do!  He is experimenting more and more with his toys now, and seems amazed when something new happens, like a ball rolls across the floor or a button makes a sound.  Now he really studies these things and tries to imitate them.  Just yesterday he was in the office with me and was playing with his shoe for a good 15 minutes-grabbing it then throwing it in the air and crawling wherever it landed.  He thought this was the greatest game!  It's so funny what captures his attention.  I love watching his personality develop, and his interactions become more engaged-even with Lucy!  Poor, poor Lucy!  She loves to sneak in kisses, and I have a feeling her day is coming!  For now, all is well in our home and we are chugging along, using our last few days at home to make our final preparations for school, trying to cram 2 weeks worth of work into a few short days.  The procrastination was well worth it this year though!  I would not have traded a single moment with him this summer!

One Year Old!

What a fabulous day:)  Today was Whit's official birthday, and throughout the entire day I would see a clock and think, "last year I was..."  What a day that was!  I'm pretty sure that Luke has completely blocked it out-especially the last couple of hours.  For me, all I have to do is think about it for a moment and it's like I'm watching a movie in my mind.  I was using a different blog at that time, and because this is my primary journal, I want to share just a few moments from that day...
We drove to the hospital around 7:00, ready to go!  The morning was fairly slow, which I had expected since they were inducing me.  By early afternoon, things were moving along well, but I was experiencing back labor, so I was ready for my epidural.  That was one of my big fears going in; fortunately I had a wonderful anesthesiologist who did a great job.  After that, I was feeling good:)  The afternoon/evening were fine...our families arrived for the big moment and we had some nice time together.  By 9:00, it was time to start pushing.  Our family members came into the room and prayed for God's provision...the next few hours were some of the most difficult I have ever experienced, but I felt His presence and the prayers being offered.  I pushed for an hour and a half-trying various procedures and positions, but Whit's head was simply too large.  The worst part of the experience was that 20 minutes into pushing, my epidural wore off, so I was exhausted and in so much pain.  Eventually, it was determined that I needed a c-section, so off we went to surgery.  My medication was not kicking back in quick enough, so they had to put me out completely...I awoke around 12:30 and finally got to meet my beautiful baby boy!  It was such a long day, but completely worth it!
Now...that little tiny baby is crawling, standing, talking, laughing, discovering, learning, and growing before our eyes!  He has completely changed our lives for the better, and we loved our life before Whit was here.  I can't count the number of times Luke and I have said to each other, "We are so blessed," or "He is such a precious boy," or "How did we get so lucky?"  He is just amazing!  Today we celebrated his birthday by having lunch in Mazon with daddy during band camp, swimming in his pool this afternoon, and having homemade mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese for dinner.  We didn't have any cake, so he got to try chocolate pudding for the first time!  He seemed to be a fan and I think he had a great first birthday!  I can't imagine what the next year will bring...
Happy birthday Whit!!

First Haircut

I almost forgot to share this!!  So, we have been wanted to get a trim for quite sometime, but I'm really bad about remembering to call and schedule.  We finally got it booked and ended up making it a family affair...Luke and Whit got haircuts and I got my cut/color combo.  We were there for 3 hours total...as you can guess I will be going on my own next time!  It went great though, and Whit seemed to handle the trim just fine.  He sat on my lap, which was a pretty funny sight, and was mostly interested in the comb Heidi used for his hair.  Each time she would go in for a snip he wold lean as far away as possible, but once we handed him a comb to play with, he was good to go!  She even used the buzzer on him and he didn't freak out.  He's such a good-natured kid!  All in all, it was another successful first!

Birthday Fun!

It's CRAZY that we celebrated Whit's birthday this past weekend.  I think back to one year ago and am amazed by all this year has held-for our family as well as those we love.  There have been so many wonderful moments along the way...too many to name, but they were great!  One year ago, Whit was a dream...I hadn't met him, held him, kissed him-only imagined and anticipated how wonderful he would be and how much I would love him.  He has far surpassed any expectation we had, melting our hearts from day one.  He is a very loved boy, and that was evident at his party this weekend!  Our house was filled with family and friends from different parts of our life, each connected to our son...to look around our home and take it all in was truly amazing.  I think Whit was in awe as well.  He seemed so fascinated by all the action and attention on him.  He eventually seemed to accept it an go about enjoying his party-especially the cake!  What a wonderful day of celebration:)  Here are a few pictures from the big day.

Growing up...

So for some reason, I really feel like we've "grown up" a lot this summer.  It's hard to explain, but I said it to Luke earlier today and he said "I know what you mean..."  I'm sure much of it has to do with Whit being around to keep us productive this summer.  Also, we're both teaching lessons, so we have been forced to keep the house in order.  It feels good though.  Regardless of what is pushing us in this direction, it's one I am enjoying and excited about.  I feel much more disciplined and driven than ever, and have found some great outlets for myself this summer...running, singing, business...Luke continues to find new things to learn and ways to hone his musical skills.  It's exciting to me that even with the addition of a son, full-time jobs (9 months of the year) and a crazy daschund we are still motivated to be better.  We have become more involved in our church in the last few months, and I know that has had a positive impact on our lives.  I am convinced that we are doing something right because while this summer has been so wonderful and full of great moments, it has also brought some difficulty and criticism from various directions.  I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me-it certainly isn't fun to hear and I am still working on letting it go and placing my hurt at the feet of my Father so that healing can happen.  However, I feel like God has shown me to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly through the crossfire...I trust in His faithfulness and pray that our response to this negativity will honor Him.  I know that any time growing occurs, there is pain.  Just hoping today that the end is in sight and we can move on to a new challenge.