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Monday, September 24, 2012

Love Tank:Full

What an incredible day!!!

It actually all started Sunday...

After church we ate lunch at our very dear friends', the Selecmans, house. Both JB and Audrey have been so influential in mine and Kyle's lives and our marriage. We covet the time we spend with them as our conversations are rarely wasted words. We love watching their kiddos (Sammye Kate is 5 and the twins Andrew and John Mark are 2 1/2) grow and now love watching them interact with James and Mattie Rose. 

Once we left their house, we headed home for just a bit to re-group and let the babies rest. Then we headed out for date night! We dropped James and Mattie Rose off at Meme's (my mom) house to spend the night. For the first time. Water works followed. Mom has kept them for a few hours here and there, but this was the first night I was not going to have them with me. Of course I trust my mother and had absolutely no concern for their safety, but it was just so hard to have to say goodbye. And I know it's good for them. And I know it's good for me. But to go from being with them EVERY day and night for the past four months is awfully difficult. Kyle and I had a wonderful date night with much needed adult conversation! And it was pretty nice to sleep in a dark quiet room without the baby monitor blinding me in my sleep. With that being said, I was more than ready to pick them up this morning!

Once we picked them up from my mom's, the four of us headed to Mellow Mushroom for some lunch and then headed to the zoo! For living in Memphis for 17 years, I have definitely missed out on many things that people travel to Memphis to specifically see or do. And here we are with two weeks left before our move, and I am wanting to cram everything in. I'm acting like we will never, ever return to Memphis. The zoo is one of those attractions that I have yet to see. I have been to weddings that were held there, but I have never been during business hours! :)

We had a blast!!!! Such an incredible family day! At times, James and Mattie Rose were very alert and interested in their environment, and other times they were more concerned with checking out their wiggling toes. They are hilarious right now! Below are just a few pictures from our little excursion:


{james and daddy}


{mama and mattie rose}


{ever wonder how a giraffe gets down to the ground? they spread their legs.}


{baby giraffe right by her mama}


{did you know that no two zebras' stripes are the same? kinda like human fingerprints.}


{loved the elephants}


{45 minutes into our walk this sweet thing was o.u.t.}


{and mattie rose was fighting it, too}


{they woke up in time to see the grizzlies}


{and the pink flamingos. still amazed at how these things balance...}


{lioness playing with her ball}


{king of the jungle}


{creepy little meerkats}


{chester cheetah}


{snow leopard}


{puma}


{leopard}


{kyle's favorite - tigers}


{amazes me how big these things are}


{near impossible for both of them to look at the camera...}


{...except for when they take a picture with their dad. of course.}


{daddy-daughter tiger watching}


{my little man}


{this sign made me laugh. some humans should wear these.}


{gosh i love these three. there are not enough words.}

To further fill my love tank, I met my discipleship group for dinner at Central BBQ for somewhat of a going-away dinner. Ahh these women! Love love love them! Each and every one of them!

For the past year and half, the five of us have gathered at Kathryn's house to dive into the Word and fellowship with, walk through life with, examine our hearts with, and encourage one another. I cannot even begin to explain what the Lord has done in my life through spending time with these women. We are all so different, yet share the most important common denominator: a desperate love and longing for Jesus! I don't think there are four women who I have ever been so vulnerable and honest with than these. We have shared heartache, joyous times, pregnancy, birth of children, brokenness, tears, fears, smiles. EVERYTHING! They have called me out gently when I have needed it, encouraged me when I was down and out, and the list goes on. To have a group of women who so genuinely care for one another and take interest in each other's lives is so refreshing! Women need other women. And the Lord so knew my need for these specific four! I am going to miss them exceedingly...


{christina, me, lee, kathryn, megan - and the awesome piece of art as a gift to me. our hearts. all five of us. can now go with me wherever i go.}

These past few days the Lord has really done a number on my heart and my attitude. No matter where we go, it's the relationships that make life, well, life. Location is just geography....


Friday, September 14, 2012

Monthly Recap and New Developments

We have been crazy busy lately! At least that is what I am telling myself to make up for the lack of frequent blogging. 

On August 30, James and Mattie Rose turned 3 months old! Such big kids... 

We had a horrible photo session on their birthday. We were in the middle of a growth spurt (I think), were fussy, and were not wanting to sit anywhere near our sibling. Much less smile for mommy's obnoxious camera in our faces!

Here's the best and most amusing of the bunch:


{3 months old today!}


{james make the funniest faces. all. the time.}


{when mattie rose isn't too busy screaming her head off, she'll slide in a sweet smile like this}


{"we have to take the pictures again..."}


{preventing a meltdown with a paci}


{love that face}


{sweet baby james}


{please excuse the "wetness indicator" on james' diaper. getting a good picture of him was more important at the time :) }


{we love to blow lots of spit bubbles these days}


{sister meltdown}


{brother meltdown}



{tired babies}

Labor day weekend, we took the babies on their first road trip. To Crossville. We spent the day Saturday in Kingston with the Siscos. They moved from Memphis several weeks before the babies were born and had yet to meet them! It was just what we needed, sweet time with our dear dear friends. No rush. Nowhere to be. Just hanging...


{kyle took james for a quick dip in the siscos pool. clearly you can tell what he thought about it}


{asher and the twins. he hadn't been around anyone younger than him before that day and it was neat to see him interact with them. i think he was confused as to why they weren't playing back with him.}


{on the way home to memphis, they slept almost the whole way!}

Last weekend, we had a quick visit from Kyle's great aunt and uncle, Mimi and D. We love them so much! Two of the best storytellers I know! I could sit and listen to them talk all day!


{the ladies}


{the gentlemen}

So that's been the past few weeks. And now for the new developments...

We are moving!!!

We have decided it's time to get serious about our future and starting to make strides to reaching some long-term goals. Kyle hopes to begin his own practice in Crossville, and we really need to be there in order to start the process. So he has accepted an associate position at an office in Cookville. And we are moving. Did I mention, in three weeks?!?!

While we were in Crossville Labor Day weekend, we house hunted, hunted a house, put in an offer, and got it accepted!


{our future home}

It has been madness at our house since then. I have trying to pack a little each day. In between taking care of two babies, keeping a mischievous dog out of trouble, and the usual household chores, packing up this house has been a big challenge. But I am making some head-way and have no doubt I can get it all done within the next couple of weeks. 

I am full of mixed emotions and can't even begin to go into them all for fear of another sob-fest :) 

We have another busy two weeks ahead of us with some fun scheduled along the way! Will try to stop doing such a horrible job keeping this blog up to date. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend with the ones they love!