blog drama

this is a test. my blog hasn't been allowing me to post for several days now. so, this is just a test.

brooke

(this was supposed to be posted last friday)

Being friends with someone for sixteen years means lots of things. It means you know each other's laugh. It means you know each other's favorite things. It means you always have something to talk about.

Brooke and I have been friends since sixth grade homeroom with Mrs. Schroeder. The timing couldn't have been better for the two of us to become a pair. We were both dealing with all the friend drama that fifth grade can bring (ha!) and trying to find our way in a big new school. God knew exactly what He was doing...which is, of course, no surprise. I have been thankful so many many times for our friendship, and the others that would soon come along because having Christian friends in junior high and high school is so crucial. Believe it or not, Brooke and I have never had a fight. Never talked about each other behind our backs. Never gone through any of that catty stuff that most girls do.

We've been through a lot together. A lot. We even went to college together and lived in very confined spaces. And we loved it! And we're closer because of it.

When you're friends with someone for sixteen years it means lots of things. It means you see someone walk through valleys and experience hurt. And, in some cases, really bad hurt. The kind that makes you feel helpless and advice-less. Those kinds of experiences bond you. We've sat together in pure silence after reeling from break-ups. Hung out and read magazines together after surgeries took away spring breaks. Hugged and cried at grandparents' funerals. I treasure those times just as much, if not more, than the good times. Because, Brooke, those were the times we ran to each other. You've been #4 on my speed dial ever since my first cell phone. :)

Tomorrow will be another kind of milestone that we will experience together, side by side. Tomorrow Brooke will marry her prince. And I don't mean that as a cliche. John treats her like gold and I saw it the very first time we met. I know he's going to live out the vows he takes tomorrow each and every day because he's perfect for her. When you watch your friend hurt, this is the day you pray for. So many times I've prayed for this day and for this man. I can't wait for them to experience together a Christ-filled marriage. Tomorrow our friendship will change. Tomorrow Brooke will get a new best friend. And it is good and worthy of so much celebration!

I love you, Brooke. And I'm so beyond thrilled for you and your new husband. Praise God for bringing us through so many things together and for bringing us to this day! I can't wait.

eight months...and I'm (almost) on time!

Phew! It feels good to actually get this posted "the day of"! Henry is officially eight months old today and even though it's not well-check time, it still feels like a milestone. Here's what he's up to these days...

• He's too big to put on the baby scale any more (sad) so I'm going to have to do the thing where I weigh myself and then hold him and weigh us together and then do math. Too bad I don't really care to know what I currently weigh, so I'm putting that off.
• He is sitting up completely on his own now. Sometimes he tips over, but we've discovered he's got a pretty hard head. Not sure if he can thank me or his daddy for that...
• He is super close to crawling but not quite yet. He's up on all fours, trying to figure out what the next step should be.
• He grabs at EVERYTHING. This makes things such as grocery shopping much more difficult. The other day I was reaching for an apple and he knocked a melon onto the floor. Thank goodness it didn't break!
• He sits in his high chair twice a day to eat, and has figured out that if he puts something in his hand and hangs his arm over the arm rest, Rufus will be right there to snatch whatever he's offering up. This is a very fun game for Henry and a very maddening game for Mommy.
• Speaking of Rufus, Henry loves him more and more each day. He has started doing a sort of fake laugh when he sees Rufus scampering around. He also loves to grab at his ears, his tail, and his tongue. I think Rufus is starting to get a sense of what he's in for...
• He rides in a big-boy carseat, which has seemed to make riding in the car more enjoyable for him. Turns out there's a good chance the reason he hated it up until now was because he was downright uncomfortable. I think the Babies R Us lady's exact words were, "The Graco infant seat has the most minimal padding of any seat. Wouldn't you be cranky riding in that?" Hmmm....thanks for telling us that when we registered for it.
• His personality is really starting to show more and more. He smiles and laughs when other people around him are doing that. And he seems to even go into silly mode sometimes by shaking his head back and forth and then waiting for our reaction.
• We can move anywhere by rolling and scooting, so we are in baby-proofing mode. His favorite treasures are remotes, cell phones, and cords. Help me.

And God is still good

Today I was thinking about how we've officially lived in Winterset for a whole year now. And, wow, what a year it's been! When we decided to move here, it was March. When we actually moved here, it was July 31. We attempted to buy five other houses before getting the one we currently own. (Which is by far the best one, in case you were wondering.) That's right, FIVE. And we couldn't even move into said house until the middle of September. But being teachers, we had to get here before August. So we moved into a one-bedroom apartment on the town square above the Ben Franklin store. We lived there for six weeks. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I blogged about that once. And I think I included the part about having to always take the dog out on his leash on the town square at all hours of the day and night. Neat.

Home ownership is always a mixed bag. We are soooo thankful for our home. But sometimes you just wish you could call a landlord to take care of a problem that arises. Ya know?

Like I said, we moved in the second weekend of September and tried to quickly get settled in the midst of marching band season. I was also nearing the third trimester of pregnancy, so I was pretty worthless in the "unpacking and getting organized" department. Not that that's ever really been my forte. Anyway, Henry was born in December and it wasn't long after that the house craziness began. In a matter of two months (give or take) the following occured...but not necessarily in this order: it all started when the furnace broke. then the oven. and then the blender. then the stucco fell of the side of the house, the roof got damaged in a storm, the roof started leaking, the ceiling fell off, the ceiling got redone, the ceiling was not correct so the ceiling got redone again, then the ceiling fell off again, the stucco contractor left us high and dry and the rain came in our windows, we got a new roof, we fired the stucco guy and got a new one, we hired a painter to paint the entire exterior, he painted in the rain and ruined our paint, he spilled window glazing on our new shingles and then stepped on the glazing so our shingles were ruined and then he painted our windows shut, and then he sprayed paint on some of the shingles that he hadn't already ruined, windows were broken (many windows), we fired the painter and hired a new one. Hmmmm....is that it? Probably not. I can't even remember. To sum it up, our house has been under construction since March and it's finally almost finished. In the middle of all that, it felt like we were sinking. This was not something we had planned on dealing with or paying for. Especially when trying to prepare to transition to being a single-income family this fall. But even at our lowest points, when our house was literally falling down around us, God was still there....and He was still bigger than all of it...and He was (as is) still good. Sooooooo good.

If you've known us for any amount of time, you know that this kind of house trouble is pretty much par for the course for us. Remember back in 2007 when we tore of our roof and then that monsoon popped up our of nowhere?? Yeah. But the truth is, there's no guarantee that we won't continue to have this kind of house "drama" for the rest of our house-owning years. Good thing we don't have to find our joy in things and stuff!!!

The Lord totally carried us through and provided for us....and continues to do so! Thank you, Lord, for being so much BIGGER than our stucco, our money, and our worries. And thank you for a place to call home!

carrot face

Dear Henry,

Today I fed you carrots and I naturally assumed you were swallowing them. Wrong! You were storing them up in your cute little cheeks so that you could squirt them all back out again when we were all done. I have a feeling you may use this to your advantage in the future. Wonder how many brussel sprouts you can fit in there...