Return to Madison

In case I haven't heralded the news enough, let me start by saying again: My sister and her family moved to the Huntsville, Alabama last month and we are all eek'd out with excitement at the prospect of living only two hours apart!  This past weekend was our first opportunity to finally get down there and welcome them to our old stomping grounds in the Madison area.  It was beyond weird to be there again as we haven't been back in about 4 years and haven't lived there in 7 1/2 years!  The memories really flooded back as we drove around ... the shock of how different we are, and our lives are, kept rushing over me in waves.  So very bizarre!  But so very good to be back for the reason of Emily and fam so close within reach!  We only went for a quick overnight trip, but so much fun was packed in.  Thankful for this happy move for their family and ours!

I am kicking myself now for forgetting to employ my new selfie stick for a shot of us big kids as well.  Next time!  ... Which is in two and a half weeks when they come to Nashville for a weekend!  Let the frequent visits begin! :D

UFC Gym Session

A homeschool dad in the area planned an event at a new UFC Gym in town and 120 homeschoolers responded to the call!  Noah and Anna enjoyed an active morning working out, brushing up on the food pyramid, picking up some anti-bullying techniques and learning jiu jitsu self-defense sequences. This was just the crew in the morning session we attended. Full house!

Some action shots ... which were hard to gather as I was holding Lasa the entire two hours.  Now that she is not in a baby carrier, errands are a bit more of a juggling act. :}

SEVEN Months!

Lasa girl marks 7 months today!   

Some milestones she met this month include passing 18 lbs, sleeping 12+ hours at night, starting to have separation anxiety ... just a smidge right now, starting to reach out for people, eating her first meats (nasty pureed things, but meat just the same), starting to object to naps, moving to only two hefty naps a day which is a welcome schedule change for us, sitting up unassisted to play, 

recognizing her name, playing back and forth games,  smacking her hands repeatedly on her side or the floor, and getting her first ear infections - ouch!  Which reminds me, she is a really great medicine taker.  No hassle, no fuss! She goes to sleep so easy at bedtime which is usually 8:30 or 9.  Now a proficient roller, she ends up sleeping on her belly every time.  She loves to chew my chin.  

And her favorite word sounds to say are Da and Ta.  She uses Ta to invite you to play with her ... she says it, you say it, she says it, you say it. :} Other days, she jerks her body and waits for you to follow suit so she can do it again.  Simply delightful!

She got her first baby doll this month and it pleased her very much.  Good hunting, Josh!

Her hair, so soft and curly, continues to grow and I know not what to do with it but slap a headband on it to offset the bald spot in back.  Lasa is a good sport during the school day these days ... amusing herself in the living room, napping, or being an understudy of sorts while the kids work beside her.  

 

 

Lastly, she has developed this happy habit of a gutteral squeal/shriek that sounds like an enraged monkey ... or a dying monkey ... or I don't know.  It's something else.  But it translates to loud joy for our girl, so we'll take it.  Also, she ADORES the table paper at the dr's office, though she grows more wary of the nurses and doctors with every visit.  

Emily says she looks like a curious cat and I have to agree.  That is her to a T!

We have a DCS meeting in a couple weeks to discuss increased visitation with her momma.  That would be great if it can be worked out! The more attached she gets to us, the harder our visits with Angelique get. Baby cries more, wants us, and resists the ways Momma interacts with her.  We are very ready for baby to be warming up to Momma much more ... with the goal of permanent reunification being just around the corner hopefully.  Trial is in April, so still a while yet for that and a number of unknowns.  Baby steps!

Doh!

The more I look at my new car, the more I have to admit - it really does look like a van.  Kimmie hangs her head at this realization.  This was not her goal.  Life is annoying/funny that way.

I still hope it's just the angle and dimension of this pic. I will try again on a sunnier day.  :}

Bradleys + Browns

This week's highlight was getting to spend an evening catching up with this trio who are home on furlough (I think that's what you call it?) from their mission work in Prague.  

Shannon and Elizabeth went to high school with Josh and, somewhere along the way after I married Josh, Elizabeth and I met via email and have been quick friends ever since.

 

Nashville happened to be one stop on their way back to FL this week and it was an honor to get to steal them for a night!  We enjoy fellowship with Shannon and Elizabeth like we enjoy with my sister and Lee. That's very special to me!

 

Til we meet up again, dear friends!  Praying for God's provision in your funding, your ministry, and your family.  Love you!

How a Week Wears Kimmie Out

Goodness, we just passed a really hectic week.  And we are staring down another!  Before I dive headlong into that one, some shots and notes from this one...

Josh was off for President's Day, so he loaded up all three kids Monday morning and they partied on down at Monkey's Joe's for Monkey Joe's birthday.  Anna even won a drawing for a free stuffed animal.  Because she doesn't already have too many of those... wait, what?!!

Tuesday we enjoyed another visit from Jonah's Journey, not counting how Lasa started getting a cold and the matching grumpy mood to go with it.  Wednesday, we did a half day of school and enjoyed a playdate with some fellow homeschool buddies ... not counting how fussy Lasa continued to be.  Red flags going up.  That night at Community Group, Lasa was an inconsolable beast.  More red flags.  Thursday, the kids had co-op and Lasa and I soldiered on through her cold.  Not getting better, snot turning thick and green in fact.   Friday I swore she was feverish, so I took her to the dr.  Turned out, she had a double ear infection and a RUPTURED ear drum.  This sweet thing!  In all that pain.  I cried right there in front of the doctor.  

Thankfully, my friend Karla was kind enough to take both my kiddos with her to play at Circus World while I did the doctor with baby.  Our homeschool group had plans to go and I hated to think of my kiddos missing it after looking forward to it all week.  Karla only planned to stay an hour or two.  They had such a great time, they stayed gone five hours!!   Which was immensely helpful while I did the doctor, pharmacy, wait, re-try pharmacy, and text everyone in town for GTP/baby/car issues juggling act.

Clearly we have a shortage of girls in our homeschool group.  At least we did Friday. Sheesh!

So, like I said, Baby had really, really painful ear stuff going on.  We were supposed to go to my sister's on Saturday but her oldest was sick and puny and Josh was gonna keep Lasa home anyway after the earfest she was battling, so we cancelled that trip at the last minute, which was no small bummer.   To get our minds off that let down, I busied myself tagging for consignment and Josh busied himself buying us a new car.  Yes, a new car. No, it was not an enjoyable way to pass a nice warm Saturday.  But it had to be done.  We have no savings to show for ourselves now that that's got and now we have a car payment which is also no small bummer.  But now I don't have to gripe about the GMC that I hated more and more every day.  Since it started rattling this week, we knew we had to bite the bullet and pour money into a reliable ride instead of repairing the Acadia again.  Memo to us, never buy American-made vehicles again.  Never.   Here's the ride we landed on after a bit of waffling and test-driving and borrowing for the afternoon - a 2015 Toyota Highlander.  I am thinking of naming her Julia or Trixie, but Anna wants us to think about it.  :}

There is a third row, but we have opted to only use the second on a daily basis.  That means it looks like this with all three bambinos piled in there.  

The kids assured me they weren't crowded and Lasa thorougly enjoyed not laying in a carrier for a change.  We are upgrading her to a big baby carseat this week once we get the right strap for riding her around rear-facing.  The test run with the big mamma-jamma carseat (though technically facing the wrong way) helped us get an idea of how workable this seating arrangement would or would not be.  We called it a go and signed on the dotted line ... which apparently still takes hours to get completed ... and we still have to go back Monday for a few final things.  It only felt a little weird to not get to say goodbye to the Acadia.  That car has been with us since before Anna was born and since Noah was just two years old!! That's a lot of life the GMC has seen us through since then!  It's also the last shred of Alabama we had hanging on to us.  We bought it just before we moved to Tennessee.  

So now it's Sunday, baby has three days of two antibiotics in her, and she is still a cranky beast.  We just suffered through a bummer of a visit with her momma and momma's new hubby tonight.  My nerves are shot and we are calling the doctor tomorrow, probably in tears again, begging for another solution to baby's pain.  Wish us luck! 

Journaling Galatians

Valentines Day don't have nuthin' on this verse!  Truest love there is.