When we had no electricity...

We spent just about every evening hanging out/eating with friends. Wednesday we went to Adam and Holly's house to do laundry and grill. Thursday was spent eating/hanging out with Abby and Christian. Friday we grilled out again with Adam, Holly, Danny and Angie (and all the girls!) and went to the Gaslight Festival. (More on that in a second.) Then on Saturday we went over to Danny and Carey's house where Carey and I made these AMAZING enchiladas. (Get ready, Scottie, Allyce, Brian and Kendra...this is your welcome dinner in a few weeks!) While I wouldn't call them simple as the Pioneer Woman does, I would say they are worth every pan you dirty up while making them! I am so thankful for friends who were so sweet to welcome us in their homes, let us hang out, and feed us!

On to the Gaslight Festival...

Here are the girls. Note my camouflage Razorback hat. I wore it EVERY DAY that entire week because I couldn't dry my hair. I had a permanent headache by Wednesday just from the hat and ponytail. For those of you who know how badly I hate to dry my hair, I was never so happy to see a hairdryer on Sunday night!

(Oh, and let me tell you how stinkin' cute Angie's girls are...Libby, the middle one, calls Kendall "Baby Henall" and I am not "Miss Leah" I am "Baby Henall's mommy." I love it!)
Here are the boys. Each one of them represent a different SEC team. Evan is obviously the Hog fan, Adam and Holly are Alabama fans, and I've never met a bigger LSU fan than Danny. (The first time we met them Danny, Angie and the three girls were dressed in LSU garb and it was a week away from game day. I loved it!) These guys are terribly outnumbered when we hang out!
Here is Miss Kendall. She was pretty much ready to go home and go to bed by this point.
And here is the funniest sign I've ever seen! You may have to click on the picture to see it better, but the doctor's name is BING CROSBY!!! Seriously!! Adam pointed it out, then I walked back UPSTREAM to get the picture. Really, could you go to a doctor who is named Bing Crosby?!?!? I don't know...
Anyway, just thought I'd share a little funny with you guys! Hope you laugh as much as I did!

Two Stories

Story #1
We ended up closing on our house yesterday instead of Monday due to the bank not getting the paperwork finished in time. (Surprise, surprise that it got pushed back two days!) Anyway, all the papers are signed and we have officially started the ripping of wallpaper. YAY!!!

However, yesterday we had a little drama after the closing. Here's what happened:

We were in separate vehicles at the bank because I had to meet them from school. As I was putting Kendall in the car and Evan was trying to get the stroller loaded, I saw that he put the folder with all our papers, home warranty, etc, on the hood of the car. I thought to myself, "That is not a good place for that." (Did I mention that the folder also contained the check we got back and closing AND a gift card to Home Depot from our realtors?) In the process of my noticing that, I bumped Kendall's head on the car and she starts screaming hysterically (more out of being tired and hungry than pain) and I guess I didn't say anything to Evan about the folder. We drive home in 5:00 traffic only to realize that neither of us picked up the folder. Evan jets out of the house as fast as he could as I get down on my knees and start praying.

He gets to the bank parking lot and no luck. We just knew it fell off the car somewhere when I was pulling out, because neither of us saw papers flying all over the place. At this point, Evan goes on to church and I stay home (mainly because I'm just tired of driving all over creation). I then call my best prayer warriors and ask them to pray. Miranda, my sweet accountability partner from AR, prayed with me right there on the phone. (I loved her words of, "God, you know where that folder is and we just pray you will return it to Evan and Leah without anything missing." ) We knew that the worst case scenario would be that we would have to stop payment on the check, recopy all the papers, and just loose the gift-card, but we also knew and believed that God was bigger than that. I was pretty much praying continually throughout the evening, Evan and I prayed together and then I read/prayed through the "worry" verses in Matthew 6 and went on to sleep.

Surprisingly, we were both able to sleep pretty well last night.

This morning, I woke up, got on my knees again. I just had hope that everything was going to be okay. Around 8:30 this morning, I got an email from Evan that said "THE FOLDER HAS BEEN FOUND!!!" A bank employee found it in the parking lot and gave it to our loan officer!

God is so faithful!

I've been thinking all day about the lessons learned from this situation. First, I know part of the lesson is to slow down and pay attention! We were so busy and excited about finally closing that we were getting too anxious and careless. Second, I also know that God has already proven his dependability to me, but he continually reminds me how faithful He is. He will always hear us when we cry out. I am so thankful. Last, I think God just wanted to remind me that my satisfaction and contentment will ALWAYS be from him alone. Not from a new house, decorating, paint colors, more square footage, etc. This is something that I've had to remind myself a lot along the way...that just because we are getting more space and I have new projects, I still need to remain faithful to Him and spending time daily in prayer and in the Word. I could just see Evan and I coming home from that closing talking about renovation projects, what we would do with that gift card money, more paint color/furniture buying talk (which I don't think any of that is bad at all) and clearly, last night, God wanted us focused on Him, as we should be ALWAYS.

He is so good. If only we would truly believe that all the time.


Story #2
Today is one of those days that I would have gladly quit my job. I'm not sure if my kiddos were on a day-after-a-field-trip high or if they just had the Thursday crazies, but EVERY ONE of them pushed every button on me today! I promise you, if I said "Stop talking" or heard "Mrs. Smith, I don't have a pencil/paper" one time today, I heard it 500 times, along with a plethora of other whines and cries. At one point, in my next-to-last period class, I said, "I am so tired of putting out fires today..." and the whole class starts in with, "Where was a fire?" "Who caught something on fire?" "You had to put out a fire, really?" When that all started, I just bent down over ever-so slightly and hung down my head for a minute. I just needed to "check out" for a moment. The longer I stood there bent over the kids started in with, "What's wrong, Mrs. Smith? Are you throwing up? Are you crying? What's wrong?" To which my sweet little George yells out, "No, she's pushing out a fart!"



Oh, the joys of middle school!!!! Will I get an extra jewel in my heavenly crown?!?!?!?!

11 Months

And to think that this time last year, I was very pregnant, trying to get through 90 degree days! Sometimes it's so hard for me to believe that Kendall will be a year old next month! WOW!

I took these pictures last week while we were outside watching Evan's soccer practice. The weather was so nice, and we were all enjoying being outside! The water bottle with beans was Kendall's choice toy for the week. (Well, besides the alphabet bug that Nana and PawPaw gave her.) Evan put some beans in it and gave it to her one night and she carried it around, shaking it all week. Pretty cute. She now thinks ALL water bottles are toys.
Kendall wasn't so sure what to think about the grass under her feet. She just stood there for a minute before finally starting to walk around. And yes, we do own shoes, but every time I put them on her, she just pulls them off, so what's the use? I figure she will learn to wear them when the weather calls for them.



Isn't she a doll baby???!?!?!?? We just love her so!

At 11 months Kendall:

*Walks everywhere!
*Jabbers constantly!
*Drinks from a sippy cup very well.
*Says Mama and Dada, although I think it is still very indiscriminately.
*loves to watch big kids.
*claps her hands.
*loves music and singing.
*has a third tooth (and I think a fourth) coming in on top.
*brings so much joy to her mommy and daddy!

Next month...First Birthday!

Kisses

Kendall is learning how to blow kisses...or make a fishy face. I prefer the former, but either is precious!

Our Joy!

Kendall LOVES life. This little video will give you a little glimpse of her personality. For the most part, she walks around singing and making noises like this all day long. (Don't get me wrong, when she's cranky, she's cranky. But for the most part, she is good natured and fun-loving.)

We let some friends borrow our Bumbo for a while, and just got it back recently. Kendall has become interested in it again. She loves climbing all over it, and will even sit in it some.

And for the record, she didn't fall at the end. She gracefully moved her bottom back in the seat!

Plugged In

Well, after having been off for a week and about an hour, our electricity finally came back on at around 5:15 this afternoon. It's been an interesting week to say the least. While Leah and I have enjoyed getting to spend some extra time together, I think I can safely speak for both of us in saying that we have never been so happy about getting to go back to work tomorrow (not because we're tired of each other, but just because it's a return to normalcy).

Here are a couple of my observations from the last week:

1. I really can survive without television. A couple of years ago, Leah and I tried to go without turning the t.v. on for a couple of days only to end up turning it on after a few hours because I was going through withdrawals. To my surprise, not having the t.v. wasn't really a big deal to me this week - even when I couldn't watch the Hogs yesterday (from what I have heard about the game, I think God may have just been mercifully sparing me the misery of watching it! 49-14, YUCK!)

2. Leah and I agree that if we were somewhere where having electricity wasn't an option (such as the mission field) we would be able to adjust. It's just that when you're used to having it, and live in a building where you a thermostat and light switches on the wall, and STILL can't have it, it's really frustrating!

3. Leah is really a trooper! As a guy, it's bad enough not having electricity, but I think it's a much bigger deal for a girl because of not being able to dry your hair, iron your clothes, etc. In spite of her frustrations, Leah showed tremendous patience and had a great attitude all week.

4. Not being able to make coffee in the morning, and not being able to check our checking account each day were probably the two worst parts of the week for me. I'm thankful for Starbucks, but I think we would go broke if we had to keep relying on them every morning!

5. Thank goodness for our wonderful church family and especially our ABF (that's sunday school for you Arkies)! We had so many people checking on us, volunteering their homes and providing us with meals all week long. It's humbling to have to rely on other people like that, and it makes me wonder how we would have gotten by if we weren't plugged in at church. Our church really has become our family here in Louisville and we are so appreciative of the way you guys love on us!

6. While the ordeal is over for us, there are still about 40,000 people in the greater Louisville area who are without power. Keep praying for the people in our city. The weather was great at the beginning of last week, but its been warming up the past few days.

Here are pictures we took walking around our neighborhood last Sunday after the winds had died down. I was surprised at how much clean up had already taken place considering I thought we got out about as soon as it was safe enough to do so. From what I have heard, we had sustained winds in the 40-50 mph range, with gusts in the 70-80 mph range. It was really crazy.

Apparently, the remnants of Ike coming up from the South ran into a cold front coming down from the North, resulting in one crazy wind storm! These pictures give don't really do justice the amount of damage that was done. While we were out driving around looking for ice on Monday, we heard a press conference with the mayor and governor in which they said there were more than 400 power poles and more than 6,000 power lines down across the city. There are electric crews from all over the southeast in town helping to restore power. The crew that finally got our lines fixed today were from Georgia.

Although this week has been a major inconvenience for us, it could have been a lot worse. We weren't hurt and none of our property was damaged. All in all, we're no worse for the wear and have a lot to be thankful for!

(FYI - the third picture from the bottom is our apartment. We lost half of a beautiful maple tree, but are happy that it just fell into the yard instead of into our living room!)

Good News/Bad News

Which do you want first?! (HA!)

Well, I'll give the bad news first! We have been without power since SUNDAY. (It is now Wednesday night, 10:00.) I am actually typing this from a friends' house; we came over to Adam and Holly's to do laundry, eat, and check email. (Well, and just to have some real light and dry my hair with a hairdryer! Ha!) Basically, a wind storm came through Louisville after Hurricane Ike and knocked out about 3/4 of the power in all of Louisville. School has been cancelled all week for both of us. (Had we known before today that I didn't have school for the rest of the week, we would have road tripped to Fayetteville!) :) Anyway, we are surviving. We had to throw out most of the groceries I bought last Thursday because we couldn't find any ice until Tuesday morning. (Yeah, stinks. Like ripping up dollar bills and throwing them out the window!) We were able to salvage some cheese and lunch meat, so at least we've had that! Hopefully, we will get power back soon, but we aren't holding out hope. We've heard it could be 10 days. Just keep us in your prayers!

The good news is that WE ARE CLOSING ON OUR HOUSE ON MONDAY!!! WOO HOO! We are so excited and a little bit nervous. We've got lots of work to do, but Evan and I are looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty. We won't officially be in our house until October 10, but will be painting/doing a few repairs for a couple of weeks. I'm sure we will have tons of before/after pictures!

Kendall is hanging tight in all this...she just walks around smiling and jabbering all the time. I think she just likes having her mommy and daddy's attention all the time, since we literally can't do anything! :)

Two things...

1.) Mrs. Carol, one of my mom's best friends, sent this picture in the mail this week. I was thrilled beyond words to get it. It's rare to get a good picture of BOTH mom and dad; usually the picture is good of one or the other. This was taken at Warrior Hunting Club in April when my parents attended an engagement party for Kyleigh and Chad (Miss Carol's daughter, one of my good friends, and the Destin wedding that we had to miss when mom broke her elbow). I bought that white jacket for my mom because she had done a lot of really nice things for me lately, and I knew she'd been looking for one. Isn't she cute in it? Without her oxygen, you would never have known she was so sick. Even Jackson, my 5 year old nephew, looked at the picture and said, "Look! MawMaw's normal!" Anyway, I love this picture and am so happy to have it.

2.) A quick Evan story...Tonight I went to this huge kid's consignment sale and left Evan and Kendall here. When I came home, they were nowhere to be found and no note. I didn't panic too much, until I tried to call his cell phone and didn't get an answer. After I waited 5 minutes, I called again and he ran to DQ to get a Blizzard. (A.K.A. Evan's favorite weekend treat! Especially since Sonics are few and far between.) As we are talking on the phone, he informs me that he paid for the person's order in the drive-thru line behind him. We always talk about doing it, and this time he really did. I love that my husband is an example of kindness AND that he finds ways to give back what we've so abundantly been blessed.

Heelarious!

To Jenny-

I pulled up the website and CRACKED UP!!! Evan immediately said, "Kendall is NOT having those!"

So funny.

For the rest of you...go to this website to see what we are talking about.

Just Because...

This was Friday night at the Fall Kick-Off party at the Seminary. (Next year, we will have SO much fun when Kendall can actually enjoy all the fun stuff there! We sure enjoyed the good food, though!) Jennifer took this and I thought it was precious, especially being that Kendall had been Miss Cranky Pants the whole afternoon leading up to the outside fun! Thanks, Jennifer for the cute picture! Hope you don't care that I stole it! :)

School Days!

I've had lots of people ask me how school is going, so I thought I would give the low-down and let you guys see some pictures of my classroom.

Overall, I am enjoying being back in the classroom. I am teaching 6th grade Social Studies at Conway Middle School, which is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools . (JCPS is the metro-area district, so it's ENORMOUS!!! I thought Springdale was large!!!) I'm on a four person team, which means that my students rotate between 4 different teachers. The best way I can describe Conway is that it's basically the same as JOKMS, minus the Hispanic/Marshallese population. (Which means that most of my students can speak fluent English, and since 6th graders tend to be a little on the mouthy side, I haven't decided if that is a good thing or not! HA!) I have probably half Caucasian, half African-American in my class, and probably over half are free and reduced lunch. The good thing is that right now, my classes are not full. I think we only have 86 total on our team. While teaching this population can be wearing, right now, I feel called to these students, as they need to see Jesus in a way I can't even begin to describe.

One of my favorite parts of the day is our C.A.R.E. time. If you are familiar with the middle school model, one of the components is an advisor/advisee time. Middle school kids are different breed!!! They need a lot of social guidance and thrive on good relationships with their teachers. JOKMS implemented an advisor/advisee period last year, so while we did some things to build teacher/student relationships, we didn't have a time built in the day every single day while I was there. C.A.R.E. is a whole program that is used to build relationships and to build character. The period is 30 minutes every day, and my first period class is my care group. Everyday, we get in a circle and have different activities to do or topics to discuss. I am really enjoying getting to know some of my students on a different level and seeing some of them really come out of their shell. We've already had some interesting conversations like, "why fist fighting doesn't solve problems" and "why it's important to encourage and praise people for the things they do well." The kids LOVE this time of the day!

I also get to teach one literacy class. The students are actually ability grouped, and my literacy students are right at grade level. I like this group a lot, although I think the program is a little dry. I plan on implementing some different strategies that will hopefully help these students advance a little. I would also like to try lit circles with this group, but will probably wait until next semester.

I think the saying rings true that 10% of the kids cause 90% of the problems in school. I'm constantly getting on to the same students over and over. I love it, though, that I have a phone in my room and when students misbehave, I can just call their parents immediately. Better yet, I can have the student call his/her parent! I am making good use of that phone! It's also universal that you can often understand why a student acts the way he/she does after you meet/talk to parents. I've already had SEVERAL interesting incidents with parents. (Nothing bad/confrontational, just interesting!)

Here are pictures of my classroom. It's really not decorated like I normally do, but because of circumstances, I just let it go. I JUST got around to getting my "Meet Mrs. Smith" bulletin board finished last Thursday for open house. The kids love looking at all the pictures and asking questions! I also still have a very blank wall behind my desk and need to get some concrete nails to hang some things, but it's not priority! (Oh, and the dingy carpet is supposed to be replaced with tile sometime this year...can't wait. That stuff is NASTY!)

Evan stays home with Kendall on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Abby keeps Kendall on Thursday and Friday while he has class. So far, everything has worked out just fine. I think Kendall has been on the cranky side when she's with Abby, Andrew, and Christian, but hopefully that will pass once she gets used to being there. (I'm also wondering if she's got some more teeth coming through...her cranky behavior seems all too familiar!) My school day is from 7:30-2:20, so while I have to get up early in the morning, I am usually home at least by 4:00, if not earlier on most days. The drive is 30 minutes right now, so once we get in our house, I will be home even sooner. Kendall and I have a lot of afternoon time together, and I love it because she's through with her naps by the time I get home and we can do all kinds of fun things!

Evan is doing a great job balancing school, work, and Kendall. He ended up dropping one of his classes after we got home from Arkansas. He had 20 chapters to read by that Thursday (realized it on Monday) and was concerned about balancing coaching soccer, leading an Academy class on Wednesday nights, and being our ABF class director. While I know he wants to push through, I don't want him to be overwhelmed with too much. I know he can catch up during the summer or even one of the J-terms in the winter.

Another tid-bit of info and I'll go...The 6th grade Assistant Principal had to have back surgery and is out for six weeks. The lady that is filling in for him (who used to be the AP at Conway before retiring) is Larry Birkhead's (A.K.A. the late Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy) stepmother. Let me just say: she don't play when it comes to the kids. I love her!

Yum, Yum!

Kendall LOVING some baked ziti last night! What a mess!

Makes bathtime so much more fun! :)

Stepping out

Here are a couple of short video clips I took of Kendall yesterday. We're going to have to get her some shoes pretty soon!

Tag...You're It!

I have been tagged by Carey. I haven't participated in a LONG, LONG time, but lately writing about anything is very therapeutic for me. So...here goes...

The rules are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules.
3. Tell six unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag six bloggers by linking.
5. Leave a comment for each blogger.


1. I never grade papers in red, blue, or black ink; I always use a color. I also use Flair Pens to grade. I like the way they write on paper and they last a long, long time. My favorite colors to grade with are bright pink, turquoise, and purple. I also like to give stickers when my students make A's on any assessment. While some see stickers as intrinsic motivators, I disagree. I teach middle school kids and kids aren't going to perform well on a test just to get a sticker. They are beyond that. I just think stickers are fun.

2. My favorite snacks right now are Sunmaid Yogurt Covered Raisins (chocolate or vanilla), Fire Roasted Tomato and Olive Oil Triscuits, strawberries dipped in melted chocolate chips, preferably white chocolate, and plain-jane rice cakes. I crave these things like a pregnant woman craves pickles and ice cream! Seriously, I can't get enough.

3. I do not like clutter. Everything has a place and needs to be in it's place. I have a basket in our freezer organizing some of our frozen vegetables and the same thing with things in the pantry. All my scrapbooking/craft stuff is organized in plastic tubs. In the cabinets, glasses of like kind have to be in the same area. I don't like plastic mixed with glass. I just can't stand for things to be disarray. Our apartment is driving me crazy right now, because everything is NOT in a place (we have too much stuff in this small area to have its own place) and with us moving (hopefully) soon, I feel like it would be pointless to find a place for everything. I guess I could get on the ball with packing...

4. On that same line, I am not a pack-rat. If I haven't used it or worn it in the last year, I get rid of it. Don't get me wrong, I keep sentimental items, but again, they all have a place. I'm just not one of those people who buys something just because "it's a really good deal" or "I might be able to use it later." As I was typing this, I was also thinking about how I can't think of a thing that I've gotten rid of that I wish I would have kept.

5. I don't like to shop on the internet, I would rather go to the store. I think internet shopping is great in theory, but it overwhelms me. Too many steps, too many clicks. I'm also very picky about fabrics and the way things are made, and I just need to look at something and be able to try it on before buying.

6. Peanut butter, mayonnaise, and anything with curry are about the only things I won't eat. I like peanut butter when it's mixed with chocolate, but not by itself and not peanut butter and jelly. (Evan, on the other hand, eats at least one PB&J a day, everyday. It's his favorite snack.) Mayonnaise is okay in chicken salad and coleslaw, but not gobs of it. Don't even think about making me eat a sandwich with mayo on it. YUCK! And curry...don't even get me started. I can't stand it!



So, there you go. I tag Jake (because I know he doesn't have anything else to do...ha...j/k...love ya!), Laura, Kara, Cassie, Angie, and Taylor.

Labor Day Weekend

I'm so thankful for a LONG weekend! I loved having an extra day with my two favorite people in the world!

Evan and I decided on Friday that we would drive up to Florence, Kentucky (about an hour and a half away...closer to Cincinnati) so we could go to Steve and Barry's. We got turned on to Steve and Barry's when we were in Arkansas last year...Evan found some khaki pants that he liked a lot and I am fond of Sarah Jessica Parker's line, Bitten, sold there. AND...everything in the store is $9.00. CRAZY. Last year, they compared SJP's jeans to designer jeans on the Rachael Ray show, and you couldn't tell the difference in the way they looked. I got a pair, and they actually washed/wore very well. Some of the stuff is very poorly made, but some of it is decent, 100% cotton stuff. So, we decided we would venture there on Friday when I got out of school.

I digress on this whole story, but I just have to say that before we left, Evan started looking up directions on the internet, only to find that S&B's has filed for bankruptcy. We kind-of got a good laugh out of this, being that they sell everything SO inexpensively, you have to wonder how the store makes money! We decided that if we were going to go, Friday would be the day to go, since who knows how long the store will be around! We ended up getting five items a piece and only spent $85.00. THAT's a bargain for clothes!!!

Saturday, we were pretty lazy. EVERYONE ended up sleeping in, including Kendall. I think she finally woke up around 9:00 or so. We took her to the pool at the seminary that afternoon and then just hung out the rest of the day. I enjoyed not having anything to do all day long!

Kendall is in between still wanting baby food and eating big people food. This stage is kind-of difficult (well, I think trying to feed babies period is difficult...that's a whole other post!) but I've been trying some different things to get her to stay in her chair long enough to eat. (That is the other problem. She likes to go. She doesn't like to be confined, even if it is to eat.) On Saturday, she ate some rice, not that this is new, but I thought my dad and my Pappaw would love to see a picture of her LOVING some rice. Couldn't she be the poster child for Uncle Ben's? :) (Well, in our family, we'd have to say Riceland! HA!)



Sundays are getting harder and harder. Kendall DOES NOT like Babies B. I think it is because she thrives on her morning nap and she can't take a nap with all the action going on in that room. It's very rare that we don't get called out to come get her, or that she isn't red-faced and crying by the time we are able to pick her up. I just hate it! I feel stuck, because if we go get her every time, then we are fostering "if I cry, they will come and get me," but if I don't go get her, I make the workers miserable! I also hate it because she is generally a very happy, good natured baby and the nursery workers don't get to see her that way! It's also just bad because I'm helping teach a 1st grade SS class now, so if I have to get her, then I have to take her in that class with me (which isn't a huge deal if we are finished with the bible story) and if Evan goes to get her, he has to miss the rest of the worship service. What to do, what to do...

Anyway...I hope this phase ends soon. I don't want Kendall to be labeled as the "terror" baby, which we all know she will be if this continues! This Sunday was particularly bad because when I left our ABF to go to the kid's ABF, I peeked in on her, and saw her crying. (Which was around 10:15.) Then, I had to go down the nursery hallway to get a broom (around 11:30) and saw her crying again (probably never stopped). As I'm walking back with the broom, a friend stopped me in the hallway, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BABIES B DOOR, where Kendall then saw me and became even more hysterical. The terrible thing was that I couldn't do anything about it because Evan had her tag!

We were invited over to a friend's house for lunch after church, which I'm always hesitant about accepting invites for after-church lunch, because of Kendall's lack of sleep. We accepted, and everything was fine. Kendall had a little power nap on the way to their house and was good to go! We had tacos and Kendall needed to eat, too, so I decided I would give her some taco meat and black beans. She's had hamburger meat before, but I don't think she's ever had any with seasoning. She LOVED it! She also loved the black beans! (Somebody pass on to Joe Batlle... Evan said he was going to start fixing Kendall the traditional Guatemalan breakfast of eggs and black beans since she loved the beans so much!) :) Seriously, she went to town on the food!


The rest of the afternoon and evening was more laziness. Kendall and I took two hour naps while Evan had his fantasy football draft. Oh, I also went to the grocery store. (More on that in a second.)


When I went shopping with my girls in Arkansas, we ventured into Baby Gap. I had my eye on a little dress, but was not going to pay full price for it because I knew it would be on sale soon. Of course, when we went in, the dress was on sale, but they didn't have it in Kendall's size. I guess it wasn't meant to be. Last week, Kendall got a package in the mail from her Auntie Heather (one of my best, best friends from college) and the dress, along with several other goodies, were in it. Even though Kendall is not as "fluffy" in this picture (her hair isn't brushed, and her hair bow is out), I had to show Heather how precious she looks in that dress! Thanks, Auntie Heather! We LOVE you so much! We must get better pictures in the dress later. It's so cute!

After being home for two weeks, I FINALLY made it to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon. I can definitely tell that my grief has manifested itself in my lack of being able to make a decision right now. Those of you who know me, know that grocery shopping/planning is a big deal to me and I have this huge system of how it all works. (Go here if you want to read about that.) Since we've been home, I haven't even been able to think about trying to make a grocery list, much less actually get to the store. It just overwhelmed me. The night that we went over to Danny and Carey's house, I went to Kroger to pick up something to take, and literally stood in the front of the store for 5 minutes trying to figure out what to do, then walked almost every aisle before I spent $20 on fresh fruit. Not like me AT ALL! I always have a plan. Thankfully, our ABF has provided meals for us a couple of days a week, so I haven't had to worry too terribly much that we would starve!

Evan has also graciously volunteered to run to the store and pick up items here and there and even volunteered to do the BIG trip on Sunday, but I told him I needed to do it, plus, he wasn't as frugal as I was at the grocery store. Soooo...Sunday afternoon, I made my list and off I went. Everything went just fine, until I got to the checkout counter and the clerk started sacking my groceries. I seriously thought I was going to have a conniption on the guy when he palmed my bread RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LOAF!!!! I mean, I did go to the Dirty K (a.k.a. Kro-ghetto) not seconds from our house, and I realize that most of the people that work there are a few french fries short of a happy meal, but STILL...do they not teach the baggers how to handle the groceries?!?!? He then proceeds to put my eggs in a bag and begins to toss them on top of all the other bags in the cart, but I caught him mid-air and put them in the part of the basket that the kids can ride in, and went on my merry way. As I was putting the groceries into the trunk, I noticed LOTS of other random things...like ONE can of rotel in a bag all by itself. As I put my eggs and bread in the front seat with me, (something I learned from my mom) I had to remind myself, "God loves people who don't sack groceries well" and "life is way too short to get aggravated about the little things." (So I just blog about it instead and that makes it all better! HA!)

Today has been another lazy day of just hanging out. Evan slept late (well, he got up, then fell back to sleep on the couch) and then took another nap this afternoon! We took Kendall to the seminary pool again and then met up with some friends at the park for a little picnic this evening. I didn't take many pictures, but I did get this one of Kendall on Evan's shoulders. He loves to put her up there, and you can tell she loves being up there just as much!

Kendall did take several steps on her own today. This morning, I was playing with her in the living room and she took about four, then she was trying to be a little dare-devil at the pool today and took some in the water (which made mommy a nervous wreck because daddy was letting her do it) and then again between chairs outside. Not too long! She also started clapping a little bit, only she has her own version. She holds her left hand still, palm down, and hits her right hand on top of it. Really cute.

Okay, it's 10:00. This is WAY long. I'm going to work on my bible study and go to bed!

The Little Helper!

Kendall loves to help daddy work!
She also enjoys helping mommy do laundry!

We LOVE our little helper!