She just keeps growing!

Lorelai is getting so big! Every single day I'm blown away with how much she changes. I went in her room this morning to check her, and I couldn't help but marvel at how much she's grown. She's so tall! I measured her tonight, and she's 25 inches! We took her to the doctor a few weeks ago, and she was 18 pounds! When did this happen?! I feel like I went to sleep one night, and the next morning she was this tall, chunky, singing, crawling, dancing baby girl.

Of course, I'm absolutely thrilled that she's growing so well! And every single day with her is more fun than the last. She loves to laugh at the silliest things, and she has the most beautiful smile on the planet. And no, I'm not at all biased:) Check out these super cute pictures of her scrunchy grin!

This is a child with a 102 - 103 fever!

She's definitely a poser for the camera! She thinks they were all created for her:)

She is the most amazing human being on the planet, hands down. I give my Heavenly Father all of the glory and praise for giving us such an incredible baby girl to share our lives with. She's so happy all the time. She's pleasant. She's low-maintenance. She's a joy!

Lorelai just keeps growing! And we wouldn't have it any other way!

Lorelai's First Game!

We are HUGE Ranger fans at our house! This is obvious from a couple of previous posts. I've been counting down the days til we took Lo to her first game. We finally got the chance last Saturday, the 28th! To say I was excited would be an understatement. I was PUMPED! Not only was it her first game, but it was my first game since last season!

Tyler met us in Fairview on Saturday, where we stayed with Jeremy's aunt and uncle. Saturday night, we loaded up and headed to the game! We had great seats. We were behind the left field foul poll. Jeremy picked these seats so that we would be in left field with Hamilton:) Lo stayed awake through the whole game, and never once fussed or cried! We seriously must have the most chill baby on the planet! Hope you enjoy the few pictures that we took!

She was a happy camper, even after being toted around for an hour

Mommy and her super excited little fan!

Lo hangin out with Uncle Tyler during the game

We had such a great weekend! We enjoyed spending time with Jan, Jeff, Joah, Jess, and Judson. And of course the game was a blast! Sure, they lost, but they're still our team!:) See you in the playoffs, Rangers!

In With the New

Life is funny. It's an adventure. It's never what you expect it to be. Sometimes God opens doors for us that we didn't even know where there.

Life is different for me now. I had no idea 2 months ago that I would even have the opportunity that I have now. A few weeks ago, it was mentioned to me in passing that there was a teaching position open at Columbia Christian Childcare in town. We talked about it for a little while. My friends have always known that I've had an interest in teaching, but that I've never pursued it. I guess they decided that they would pursue it for me! The next day, I had 2 of those friends contact me about the same position. One had even taken the time to call and speak with the director of the center.

Every piece of the puzzle kept falling into place. This couldn't just be by chance. If I am going to claim to have the faith that I claim to have, then I've got to live it. And so I did! Me and Jesus talked about it...a LOT. I agonized over this decision. There were nights that I couldn't sleep and days that I couldn't focus. I loved my job. I was happy. I was making good money. I had a great boss and coworkers that were so much fun! I would be absolutely crazy to leave! But sometimes God does things that we think are crazy.

Every single door opened for me within 2 weeks. And so...drumroll please...I've taken the job as a Pre-K4 teacher at CCS! Holy moly! It has absolutely rocked my world and turned me on my head. But I love it! My class is so much fun. We're all still getting to know eachother, but I really do have a good bunch of kiddos. They're not perfect by any means, but who is? Certainly not me! I love it, and I know that this is where God wants me. That's the most important thing to me.

My plans are to work through the Non Traditional Licensure Program for the next 2 years. I want to get my license in secondary English so that I can teach high school-level English courses. I know, it sounds gross to most people, but it's where my heart it. I actually wanted to major in English in college so that I could teach, but I changed my mind for one reason or another. But I'm doing it now. I'm jumping in! My next step is to take Praxis 1 and 2. They have to be completed before I can apply for the summer-intensive program. So here we go! This should be a wonderful adventure. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for our family through this journey! Stay tuned... :)

Watermelon Shoot

A few weeks ago, Lorelai had a mini-photoshoot with a local photographer. Stacey Howell with Cloud Dust Photography does amazing work! She had a promotional shoot scheduled for the last weekend in June, so I quickly signed Lorelai up for a 30 minute session. We could choose between a watermelon-themed shoot, or a woodland fairy-themed shoot. I chose the watermelon, mostly because I don't think Lo was quite big enough for the fairy pictures.

For a small sitting fee, we got 30 minutes with Stacey. She then chose 5 of the best photos from the shoot, edited them, and burned them to a cd. A couple of weeks after our shoot, the pictures were ready! I am so pleased with the results!

I sure do love this sweet smile! It was tough to get her to smile, but as soon as her P-Pop showed up, so did the grins:)

Her mouth was open in every picture because she had been so sick that weekend. Poor girl couldn't breath through her nose:(

This one is our favorite! Such a classic Lorelai expression!

Stacey is an incredibly talented photographer. She's so great at capturing candid moments, as well as cute little poses. I definitely recommend her to anyone in the Magnolia area! When Jeremy asked me in June what I wanted for our anniversary, the only thing I asked for was a family photo shoot with Stacey. We're scheduled to have a session with her at the end of September. I can hardly wait!

These are pictures from this weekend. It was a tough one for all of us, but we still enjoyed sweet fellowship with family. I haven't posted pictures in a while, so I thought I should share before I got in too much trouble:)

Four fun generations! We had a lot of fun Saturday evening and Sunday, just the four of us. I sure do love my mom and Grandma Eva!

Sweet Lorelai cooperates so well, even when there's a camera in her face!

This is special to me. These are the flowers that were at the church for Gramps' service. There are 22 red roses, and they represent the number of years Grandma Eva and Gramps were married. The 2 yellow roses represent Tyler and me. And the big sunflower represents Lorelai. She lit up his life, that's for sure!

It is so hard knowing that Gramps is gone. But it is such a blessing knowing that his death was not the end! I got to hear his salvation story this weekend, and it thrills my soul to know that he had faith in the Savior. He is rejoicing, and he doesn't miss us one bit! This is the way it should be! Praise God!

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Death is hard. Death is painful. Death is heartbreaking. But I praise my Jesus that death is not the end! I have leaned on this hope so many times in the past, and He is faithful to let me lean on it again today.

I desire to bring glory to the Father in my every action, my every word, my every thought. Even when faced with suffering, we are to glorify God for who He is. I'm so thankful to be a child of God. How fortunate that He chose to place me in a family that placed such value on His Word and His church. How unworthy I am of His salvation and His mercies. I'm so grateful and so humbled.

Death has no sting for a child of God. What a beautiful promise! The sorrow may last for the night, but His joy comes in the morning. Praise God! Today is painful for us, and tomorrow will be as well. The next few months hold many tears of sadness for us. But we will never cease to praise His name for who He is.

He continues to prove Himself faithful, and His mercies are new every morning.

My Little Fan!

We love the Texas Rangers at our house! I grew up watching them play. I can remember staying up late during the summer with Tyler watching games and learning players. I remember my very first Ranger game. I remember our favorite players in the 90s. I remember learning the ins and outs of America's favorite past-time, all while watching the Rangers! Sure, they're not always a winning team, and they usually break your heart come July or August. But they still are, and always will be, my favorite team in baseball.

I converted Jeremy when we got married, and now we're both hooked! Lorelai will be raised a Ranger fan, as sad as that may seem to many. She already has 3 outfits and a bib. I'm planning her first trip to the ballpark later this season. Enjoy the next few pictures of her cheering them on last night! Sadly, they blew it. Better luck next time, boys!

I think these are so funny. She looks like she's forcing a smile for the camera.

I saved the best for last! When I look at this picture, I can't help but say, "Bless her heart!"