The Great Pumpkin

Wet Hair

I had a dream last night that I was getting married. Except I had just gotten out of the shower and my hair was wet and I had no makeup on. And Adam was waiting for me at the end of the aisle and all these people were at the wedding and I suddenly realized...hey, I don't look so hot. So, the bridesmaids have already walked down the aisle and I'm suddenly sprinting back to the dressing area to try and dry my hair super-quick and throw on some mascara and lip gloss. Meanwhile, I can hear the wedding music playing and my Dad is saying, "Camille- we're ready for you." Then I woke up. The end.

Moms

I don't know how it is with you, but when my Mom comes into town- I surrender. I totally succumb to the healing powers of Mom cooking supper, Mom cleaning our house, Mom entertaining Henry while I sleep an hour or two longer in the morning.

I forget how to do laundry, I am suddenly completely useless.

But, I also drag Mom to the Gap to try on skinny jeans (which she looks amazing in) and she buys a cute pair of tall boots to go with them. An official Hot Mama.

Fill In the Caption!

Look What Our Wild Thing Can Do!

sitting

pulling

standing!

Now, I know the laundry basket is not a very safe place to pull-up but he was supervised by Powers, of course.

Just kidding.

Dance Party before bedtime.

Henry in his new high chair- thanks Mama Lulu & Poppa Bob!

Poppa Bob taking Henry on a walk.

My parents were both in this weekend. My dad had to leave yesterday but my mom is here through Friday (Hooray!) We are having lots of fun and Adam and I got to go on a date last night- woohoo!

On the beautiful quilt that Mrs. Helen made (it has nursery rhymes galore!)

Thank you SO much, Mrs. Helen!

And, of course, these pictures are from my Mom's camera so there are no pictures of her- I will remedy this today!

Thankful for good visits! And now, I must leave you to go continue hanging out with my Mom!

Friday, Look Out.

So, on Thursday mornings, Bethany & I go over to Brooke's house and watch So You Think You Can Dance. This week, they selected the top 20 and, can I just say, that I am already beyond annoyed with Molly and Legacy. Out of all those great dancers...one dances like a junior high cheerleader and the other flattered and cried his way to the top because he cannot, I repeat, cannot dance outside of his niche. I mean, if you cry and tell someone that the dance they choreographed changed your life, you probably will get promoted to the next level. End rant.

I went to a surprise going-away party last night for my friend, Aubrey. Aubrey is moving to Japan with her husband and their baby, Roman. So, our girls' group all dressed up in our bath or silky robes and wore socks with flip-flops and tried to do our hair in chop-sticks in an attempt to Japan-ize this part-ay. Also, we ate chinese food and cake and drank tea. It was a fun way to send off our sweet friend. She will be missed.

Speaking of long plane rides, my parents are on their way up here! Yee-haw. So, we will be doing that this weekend- hope you and yours have a merry weekend, too!

Six Months, Howdy Dudey.

Today, our little bouncy (literally) boy is SIX MONTHS OLD! Never has half a year been so wonderful, so exhausting, so funny, so humbling, so fulfilling, so teaching, or so amazing. Here's to you, Henry James Jennings.

on his birthday- photo by Brooke Ackley

A very happy half-birthday!

Healing the Wounds of Yore

How strange is this:

Today, my friend Bethany & I were taking a walk along with Henry and Powers (our dog). A mailman stops us and gets out of his truck with a dog treat to give to Powers. After asking if this was okay (Sure) he bends down and pets Powers and tells us that he loves dogs and feeds Powers a dog bone treat.

He was the nicest guy and I really admire his persistence in breaking down the wall of hostility between mailmen and dogs.

Crazy world.

Really?! Already??

We hadn't even put our lawn furniture up!

It's so curious: one can resist tears and 'behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses.

-Colette

I just discovered that today is National Day of Miscarriage & Infant Loss day and I have no words for the anguish and heartbreak that I see in friends in these circumstances. Please pray for friends and family that have walked this sad, sad road. And, not just today.

A Tale of a Fallen Pinky.

The sea was angry that day, my friend...

Not really but the sky was overcast as I walked out of playgroup on an assuming Tuesday afternoon. With my son balanced on my left hip, I tossed the diaper bag into the passenger seat and slammed the door, and my littlest finger still in the line of danger, and heard the door click shut. And I ripped out my finger from the door and I screamed a bad word in front of my son and ran back into the house with Henry on my hip to ask for ice and assistance.

Tis a sad sight, my friends. Adam thinks I broke the tip of it because it is black and swollen all the way around.

AND, I am in NO WAY dramatic about it, at all. I am not at all like Michael Scott when he George Foreman grilled his foot...

pictures to follow!!

Dropping Things

Lately I've felt like I'm letting all these different balls drop. "Dropping balls" was going to be the name of this post but that sounded weird. But you know how people say, "I dropped the ball on that."? Okay, that's what I'm referring to right now.

Like, phone calls that need to be returned. Or packages that I should mail. Or birthday cards that need to be sent. Or summer clothes that need to be put away. I want to do these things but I feel like I'm failing at getting them done. Once upon a time, I thought that by staying at home with Henry, that I would get SO MUCH stuff done. Like, I would have dozens of hobbies and sew and be uber-organized. Not so much, at this stage, anyway. I look at working moms and I think that they have double the challenge- being away all day and then coming home and trying to get time in with your kiddos and get practical around-the-house stuff done. Whew!

All to say, I am dropping a few balls lately (that sounds not right, but you know what I mean.) I realized something, though. When I look back, I won't regret sitting on the floor with my son instead of putting away his 0-6 month clothes (which are stacked on the guest bed, currently). And, hopefully some friends will forgive me for procrastinating on calling them back because it's hard to call someone back if your baby is doing this: MWAHBAH AAAAAAH. And when he naps, I am trying to lie down myself or take care of something around the house or read or something random.

Confession: I am not a super-organized Mom. Starting on Monday, Adam will have a much easier schedule than the past 3 months and, hopefully, I can pick up some balls then. And now I have to go because Henry is sitting in my lap and trying to eat the desk. Happy Tuesday!

Booger Face

Here's my question about children: Why, why, why do babies hate having their faces wiped? Seriously! Henry has had a little cold and thus snot/boogers caked on his face and mix that with oatmeal cereal and you've got yourself quite a plaster for the skin. This doesn't seem to bother him. It bothers me. But what bothers HIM is getting his face wiped.

I've also realized that the desire to groom your children is overwhelming and so I apologize for giving my mother grief over that.

Winter is definitely coming. It was downright CHILLY this weekend! We took Henry swimming at the YMCA on Saturday afternoon- he seemed to really like it. They have a warmer pool (88-ish degrees) and I'm so glad that we have a place that we can both go on cold winter days to get out of the house!

Oh My...

My alma mater is playing OU tomorrow. Let's say a little prayer for those Baylor Bears (3-1).

Sic 'Em, Bears! Beat Oklahoma!!!

Balloon Feet

Anyone ever tried tying the string attached to a balloon to a baby's ankle? I read that idea in a book and it said it would be entertaining....for everyone.

Just one balloon, though. Not hundreds which might send your child into outer space.

Good Reminder

Personal worship is an absolute necessity for a strong marriage. It comes down to this: If I stop receiving from God, I start demanding from others. Instead of appreciating and loving and serving others, I become disappointed in them. Instead of cherishing my wife, I become aware of her shortcomings. I take out my frustrations with a less-than-perfect life and somehow blame her for my lack of fulfillment.

Bu when my heart gets filled by God's love and acceptance, I'm set free to love instead of worrying about being loved. I'm motivated to serve instead of becoming obsessed about whether I'm being served. I'm moved to cherish instead of feeling unappreciated.

-Gary Thomas
Sacred Marriage

P.S. Someone asked me if I recommend reading Sacred Marriage alongside the Sacred Marriage devotionals. Yes, I would recommend it but either are beneficial, even alone.

Standing On Our Heads to Entertain Him

Corn Mazes and Peas

We had such a nice, full weekend. On Saturday, we went to the Buffalo Wooden Nickel Farm in Edinboro and we did a corn maze with a few friends. I had never done a corn maze before and it was huge (it took everyone at least an hour) but I am happy to report that Adam and I were able to collect all our marks and WIN the corn maze against our 3 other teams of friends. AND, we had Henry strapped to Adam's chest.

We we very proud.

Henry also tried peas for the first time on Friday night. It was his first food, besides cereal. His first vegetable. He made the BEST faces when eating it. Clearly, the taste was not what he expected but he shoveled down a few bites each night.

Appalling.

So, Wednesday night, Adam and I were looking through his yearbook from his senior year in high school. Oh, bliss. The laughter. The blonde-tipped highlights (on boys!). I wish we had a scanner, I would share some of the glory.

First bit of goodness that I'd like to share is the name of one of Adam's fellow classmates:

Shotgun Pace.

How cool is that? That was his name...written out in the yearbook! I asked Adam about it but he told me that everyone called him "Travis". Isn't that backwards? Shouldn't his real name be Travis and everyone call him Shotgun? We had a boy at my high school named Stoney Stone, so I can't say anything but his real name was Clay Stone, I think. Either way...still pretty good, right?

Next, THIS part was truly appalling. There was a section in Adam's yearbook where parents could take out quarter, half, or full-page ads for their graduation seniors. You know, put a baby picture up and then a senior picture up along with a letter telling your graduate how proud you are of them.

BUT, in this section, boyfriends and girlfriends could also take out ads and write letters to one another. So, there would be a FULL PAGE AD with like 4 pictures of Billy Bob and Ruth Ann and then a letter from Ruth Ann to Billy Bob:

Dear Billy Bob,

I love you so much. The past 4 months have been the best of my life and I can't wait to marry you and have babies one day. Remember that night at Sonic? Oh my goodness, you have changed my life...yadee yadee

Yours Forever,

Ruth Ann

and then Billy Bob would write her a letter back on the same page.

Dear Ruth Ann,

When I gave you my letter jacket, my life got more sunshine in it. I love you, baby. Blah blah blah.

Love,

Billy Bob

Can you believe it??? These boyfriend/girlfriend ads were mixed in with the sweet parents ads. We went through this section and I asked Adam which couples were still together. Not many, if any. How awkward.

Sadly, Adam & his high school girlfriend did not take out an ad, so I had little mocking rights except where she started to write a note in the back of his yearbook that started with... "the past year and a half have been awesome."

Oh, high school.

Luxuries

We got a Patagonia kids catalogue in the mail yesterday and... wow.

Just, wow.




and... totally affordable!!!

ha.

p.s. but, seriously, how do you dress babies in wintertime up here?