Want to laugh out loud like I did?

Check out this link to my friend Kirsten's blog today. Oh, the woes of being a beautiful pregnant woman.

In Christ Alone

Last week, the choir sang an awesome song during the offertory. It's one of my favorites, and they did a beautiful arrangement of it. Here are the lyrics, which I've been pondering (and singing) for the last week or so:

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease.
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

The little lady

I suppose it's time for an update on our sweet girl, since we have many friends and family out of town/out of the country, and verbal communication is not always possible.

At Kate's 4 month appointment, which was actually closer to 5 months (thank you, slow insurance company), she weighed 15 pounds, 10 ounces. She measured 23 3/4 inches, but the doctor thinks she really is 24 inches and that the nurse didn't stretch her out as much as she could have. So, little lady is 2 feet tall! She got another round of shots, and she did really well! She is all smiles, so the doctor enjoyed our visit! Kate helped the doctor as she listened to her heart- she will grab anything in front of her, and this time it happened to be the doctor's fingers that weren't holding the stethoscope!

Our sweet pea is always looking around, with huge eyes, taking everything in around her. She wants to learn so badly! She prefers to look out the window during car rides instead of snoozing. It's been a long time since she let us cradle her like a baby. She wants to be up on someone's shoulder, so she can look around- even when she's being rocked to sleep. I guess she's wanted to be like the grownups from the very beginning... she wouldn't flip when I was pregnant with her, remember?? Grownups do NOT stand on their heads, and she was not going to either! A reclining position is much better. Her comfort in reclining also extends to football watching. She LOVES to watch football and Sports Center. This makes Daddy happy.

She has figured out how to roll over (my birthday present from her) and she's trying hard to crawl. She pushes herself so far up and tries to pull her legs up underneath her, but it doesn't work quite yet! This mama is okay with that for now. ;) She scoots a lot, so when we put her to bed, we start her at the far end. Come morning time, she has scooted all the way up and often has an arm sticking out of the slats of the crib! Since she loves to grab things that she sees, that also means the pacifier. She's AWESOME at taking it out of her mouth and looking at it and playing with it, but she can't figure out how to get it back IN her mouth... at least not in the direction it's supposed to go!

She loves to laugh and she loves to talk. She comes by it pretty honestly. Kisses from Daddy are her favorite, and we always greet him at the front door when he gets home from work. She's always SO excited to see him get out of his car and walk across the front yard.

We went to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens the other day with my mom and our dear friend Agnes to check out the butterfly exhibit. I was amazed at how attentive Kate is. Her attention span is far greater than I anticipated or even knew was normal for someone her age. She was enthralled with the butterflies and followed their every move. We just walked around the room and she jumped and kicked in my arms as butterflies fluttered past her face. Such a fun day!

I think that's enough of an update for now. Maybe a future post will include some of our nursery sagas. It's been an interesting ride, and it's only just starting!

**Just waking up from naptime**


**Wait... how did I end up like this?**





**Butterflies!**

Boy or Girl?

The number of friends who are expecting seems to keep increasing! And many are due around the same time! Blogs are being updated today, because today is apparently THE day!! Two boys, so far... Which leads me to my experience at the post office today. A month or so ago, I entered the world of half.com- this time as a seller. I have books from grad school to get rid of, and you can get good money for those! That, of course, sent me on a hunt around the house (at my husband's prompting) to see what other stuff I could sell. Especially since some books net $75! Poor Jon might come home one day to an empty house... But, I digress. At the post office (while shipping a book that had been sold), I was greeted by the kind lady at the counter. Really, she is kind. Surprisingly. I was carrying Kate in my arms, so she could look around and not be trapped in her seat. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Clerk: "Awwwwwww!!!!! Is it a boy or girl?"

Me: "She's a girl."

Clerk: "Oh, you confused me because she's wearing blue."

Well, I made Kate stand on the counter so I could make my point without speaking another word. Kate had on a bluish-turquoise onesie today with a slice of PINK watermelon on the front, and BRIGHT PINK shorts. All of which could be seen even before I perched her on the counter. I suppose girls are only allowed to wear pink and purple... Come on, people!!

Rest

Is it time to go to Boone yet? I'm exhausted and ready for a vacation.

Sexiest Men Alive?

Today I learned that you can add any of the following gadgets to your blog, if you so choose: Swine Flu Prevention Tips, Twilight Quotes, or Sexiest Men Alive pictures. We are pretty well protected against Swine Flu, I think Twilight is one of most absurd pandemics/fads/foolishness to come our way, and I will just check out this picture of the "Sexiest Man Alive," if I want that. I might also call it the "Jon and Kate" or "Dad and his Girl"gadget. Go Appalachian!

Back to School

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Here is the real reason I'm glad I'm not going back. And yes, this is one type of foolishness that high school (and middle school, I suppose) teachers deal with every day.

Mums and Football

It seems as though fall has arrived here in Richmond! So, I decided to autumnize my blog a little. Yes, this English teacher just made up that word. I've always loved fall and fall colors, but I'm especially enjoying it this year... It doesn't usually cool down quite this early (in the 80's... ha, ha!), but it gets in the low 70's at night, which makes this air feel much cooler! I ran by school to return my keys last week and the drum line was out front practicing. Praise God!! There's something about that deep sound that resonates through my soul, and gets me giddy for football. And I'm not even a huge football fan! Kate's eyes were huge as she took it all in. Each season brings new sounds and sights for her and I'm so excited to watch her learn even more.

Fall also means mums and I can't wait to go get them. I'm crazy like that, but I do love a few pots of mums perched on the front steps- gold, maroon, and orange. Such great fall colors!

Fall means football. My poor ASU Mountaineers couldn't quite pull it off this past weekend. Pirates are so mean. But as a college friend said, "Turned out to be a pretty good game - I still hate losing! But I can promise you this....I would rather lose a ballgame and ride back to BOONE than win and have to stay in a dump like Greenville." True, true. I don't really care too much about other football. I'll definitely cheer on the Panthers with my hubby and the Steelers with the rest of my family, but other than that... football makes for a good nap!

School starts here on Tuesday. And I'm not going. So weird! I've found myself thinking about it a ton lately, and almost literally crying in thanksgiving to Jesus for making it so I can stay home with my sweet pea. I will miss my friends, for sure, but check out my alternative!! Nothing beats those kissable cheeks and a huge gummy grin!

Enjoy the weather as it gets crisper, relax as football season kicks off, take in the smell of the fall air, and snuggle up in your favorite pair of jeans. God is so good to us!!

The Star of the Summer

It was brought to my attention that I haven't done a very good job of updating pictures of Kate on my blog. :) So, here are some pictures of my sweet girl from this summer, particularly from the beach...