Jump Around

We had a party filled weekend!  First we went to cousin Zack's 9th birthday party on Saturday night at Bounce Town.  Hunter has been asking to go to Bounce Town for several weeks, so he was so excited!  Unfortunately most of the pictures of him were either completely blurry or ended up being just the back or side of his head or body...that boy moves fast!  So know it's not that Charlotte is the favorite child, she's just easier to photograph at this point:)

Hunter and Charlotte were so excited to go inside...

...or at least Hunter was.

After a quick game of air hockey, he jumped right in...

Vanesa took Charlotte all around Bounce Town.  She's a great help and as we all know, Charlotte loves her!

Hunter was timid of the slide at first, so James went up there with him...

...but as you can see, he loved it once he got over his fear!

Hunter even went into the enclosed bounce inflatable with Charlotte and Vanesa, which is something he's never wanted to do before.  Maybe little sister's no fear attitude is rubbing off on him:)

Charlotte loved running through the place and dancing to Radio Disney...

And after a while, she was able to navigate through those mazes all by herself...

...well, maybe not completely by herself.  I jumped in to give Vanesa a little break.

Eventually Char discovered the toddler area...

She loved stacking the blocks with Nana, Uncle Steve and Vanesa.

On Sunday we went to Preston's 4th birthday party at Pump It Up.  By then our kids were champion jumpers!  James and I were a little shocked at how much of a workout it was to keep up with them, though!  We were really missing Vanesa! 

The slide at Pump It Up is a lot taller and steeper then the one at Bounce Town (seriously...it makes my stomach sink a little when I go down it.), so Hunter went all the way up and chickened out...a trend we'd see several more times during the party.  Because the climb down was so steep and long, James and I climbed up and he went down with Charlotte first to show Hunter how fun it was.  Here they are ready to go...

Our demonstration didn't work, so I had to just grab Hunter and slide down really quickly.  He liked it, but didn't climb up there again!

Charlotte is still such a mama's girl.  She often cries if I hand her off to James...

Y'all know I'm not complaining, though!

After the sliding fiasco, the four of us went into this huge bounce inflatable.  It was really hard to stand up (especially when some dad named James kept bouncing everyone around like a crazy man)...

One more go at the slide...

Hunter and Charlotte both loved the basketball inflatable and this little open softball throw...

Hunter would walk right over to the hole and drop the balls in...hey, that's pretty smart if you ask me!

We had such a fun weekend!  Thanks Preston and Zack!

Close to His Heart

Late Wednesday afternoon I received some long-awaited news from James...he had been offered a job earlier that day.  The prayer that we and so many others had been lifting up for 1 year, 9 months, and 25 days had been answered. 

It's been a whirlwind since then, and I've been waiting to post about it because it's been a struggle to find the words that express what I'm feeling.  Then tonight I opened my Bible and saw a verse that I had underlined in Isaiah...

"He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart..." Isaiah 40:11

I was so touched by that verse when I read it last week, and I had journaled on it after I was finished reading.  So tonight after seeing it again, I opened my prayer journal to read what I had written, and as I began reading, the tears began to fill my eyes.  Surprisingly I haven't had a moment like that yet (since finding out the news).  I have thanked God several times, but haven't felt a true, humbling gratitude.  It just doesn't seem real yet that this is all finally over. 

I journaled on Isaiah 40:11 on Wednesday, January 19th - exactly one week before James received the job offer.  I have debated whether I should post this because it is my intimate thoughts...my prayer to my God.  But it moved me so much to see how he works - that He gave me the comfort He did exactly one week before this journey ended for us, knowing that James would get the job offer on the day that he did - that I thought maybe it would remind you, too, that He always watches over us and sets out a path for us.  The Lord gives and takes away, and He is always good and sovereign. 

Here is a portion of my prayer to Him that night...

"He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart..."  Isaiah 40:11

Lord,
What a comfort that is to me to think of you carrying me close to your heart.  I feel safe in picturing that - safe for myself and James and the kids.  We have your protection and your love.  What have I to fear, then?  You are my God.  You love me.  You are my God and you love me.  It is a concept I will never fully understand...I will remain in awe of it.  You love me despite myself - regardless of my sin and faithlessness, you love me.  You have a plan - a good plan - for me and my family. 

Thank you, Lord, for bringing us through the past 22 months.  You've taught me many things.  You've shown me a new kind of love - for my husband and children and for you.  I am confident that no matter what happens, you will be there, loving me.  You are the constant.  You are unchanging.  My prayer tonight is that James and I and the kids would know that with confidence - that you love us.  You carry us close to your heart.  You cherish us.  You sent your son to die for us...that is breathtaking.  I pray that regardless of our circumstances, the four of us would know without any doubt that you are there...trying to teach us and grow us and push us through.  And above all love and protect us. 

So here we are...on the other side of it.  I look back over the past 2 years and wish that I could've been more faithful to him through it all.  But it is a reminder that I am a human in need of a perfect God.  I pray that I will never forget the last 2 years...and that I will continue to grow in intimacy with the God that carried me through this...

Basketball

So far Hunter has enjoyed all sports that he's been exposed to.  We have a variety of toy sport options in the backyard...soccer, basketball, football, golf, teeball...and he goes through phases of which is his favorite.  But up until this month, he had never played any "organized" sport...or at least as organized as you can get with 3 year olds.  So we enrolled him in the Richardson YMCA's small fry basketball this January.  It's only a 4 week class, and we already missed one week with all of the sickness that took over our house the last 2 weeks.  Friday night was the third class, and I finally got some pictures.  I think they are warming up here...

This is my only action shot that turned out clear (about 90% of my pictures were completely blurry), and of course Hunter is hidden by the other players...

Those are his little arms holding up the basketball right in front of James in the Cowboys cap.

Hunter's great at passing and pretty good at dribbling, but he got really frustrated with shooting this week.  He loves to "shoot hoops" at home, but we have that toddler net lowered pretty close to the level of his head...not much of a challenge to say the least.  So Hunter thinks the hoop at the Y is too high.  Anytime I talk about his basketball class, he says, "but the hoop is too high." 

This week he kept standing right underneath the net, so he never made any baskets.  The coach and James kept trying to persuade him to back up, but he'd just rush the net again and shoot really fast.  After about 3 failed attempts, he gave up, which was a good opportunity for us to teach perseverance...and let me tell you, that lesson was not well received.  Hopefully next week, he'll make a shot.  Until then, at least he'll look the part...

He is one tall, skinny kid, so he's got to be a champ at basketball some day, right?

Sick

James started feeling sick Wednesday night, and by the time I came home on Thursday afternoon, he felt terrible.  By Friday morning, Hunter and James were miserable, so I stayed home from work so James could go to the doctor.  Hunter spent the morning on the couch watching tv.  He's under that huge red blanket (it's actually my slanket...warmest blanket ever)...

 It wasn't long before Hunter was out...

While Hunter rested, Charlotte and I had a blast playing babies and grocery store...

Checking out her merchandise...

She loves her babies.  She carried one of them around in her sling all morning...

And at one point was holding two others!

Nana bought Charlotte some food to go in her shopping cart for Christmas, and now we have some interesting selections...eggplant, patee, and this piece...

I think it's a squash, maybe? 

After Charlotte grew bored with the shopping cart, we went into her room to play.  I pulled out her Christmas present from James and I, and she quickly asked me to take the lid off (in gestures and jargon of course).  As soon as I removed it, she climbed inside, but I didn't get back with the camera until she was climbing out...

Charlotte is so different from Hunter in many ones, but one of the most obvious is her lack of caution.  Hunter is pretty cautious in all situations, but little sister has no fear.  She has climbed into her high chair from the floor twice now.  She climbs up onto everything, and her love for climbing is only matched by her love for fitting her body into tiny spaces...

Not long after I took that last picture in her room, Charlotte started to feel sick, too.  It's been a sickness filled weekend.  Charlotte was much better tonight, but Hunter was actually worse.  James is slowly improving, thanks to the antibiotic, tamiflu, and cough syrup from the doctor.  Please pray that God heals them soon, and that I am spared from this round of sickness!

Snow Day!

Hunter was so excited about the snow on Sunday and couldn't wait to go out and play in it.  Clearly fun was the priority over fashion...

If you think Hunter looks bad, be glad there's no picture of me.  We'll just say I donned the scarf/hat (two in one, baby) and that very well could've been the most fashionable portion of my outfit.

Hunter immediately asked me to make a snow ball for him so he could "throw it at me".  He hasn't quite mastered the cognitive skill of not saying everything you think, but then again, some days, neither have I.

After a while, he was able to make his own snow balls...

Charlotte loved the snow too.  She posed for me for one split second...

 ...and then, took off...

I lured her back with snow, which she immediately put in her mouth...it was like a reflex for her...

 After one bite, she was hooked.  I couldn't get her to stop...

 Seriously..

Are you grossed out, Laura?  Here's one more, just in case...

If I took it away, she'd scream at me!  After a while, there was a big gush of wind and she started crying and wanted to go inside.  She's so her mama's daughter.

So James and Hunter stayed out and built a snowman while the girls lounged around in the warm house.  We didn't get as much snow as our neighbors because of our big trees, but I think he still turned out pretty good...

Our snowman is currently lying face down in our front yard surrounded by dead grass.  Hunter was very concerned that he fell, but after a few seconds said, "We'll just make another one the next time it snows."  I didn't have the heart to tell him that could be years from now:(

Until the next snow day...Or maybe a little sooner:)

2010

I don't really know what to say about you, 2010.  You're kind of the black sheep of years for our little family of 4.  Since James and I met in 2003, we've had one great, big, fun, life-changing event every year...

2003 - James and I met on our 1st (blind!) date.

2004 - James proposed!

2005- We got married!

2006 - We found out we were pregnant with Hunter...shocking at first, but oh, how he has brought us joy!

2007 - Hunter was born!

2008 - We were blessed with another pregnancy...our sweet Charlotte.

2009 - Charlotte was born!

Although we had no great, big, fun event in 2010, we've learned a lot this year.  2010 has had it's ups and downs...a lot of uncertainty and frustration, but also a lot of growth and acceptance and love.  Here are some of my favorite moments...

January:  Hunter got rid of his pacis...

...and hasn't looked back since.

February:  It snowed!!!

I think that's the most snow we've ever had in my 30 years here.

March:  Hunter turned 3...

April:  We took a much needed family get away to our friends' cabin...

May:  We dedicated Charlotte to the Lord...

June:  We saw lots of friends and family that we don't get to see nearly enough.  Some came here...

And we traveled to see some others...

July:  Charlotte turned 1!

August:  We had some family fun at Hawaiian Falls...

 ...and at the zoo...

September:  Hunter started preschool!!!

...we went to a Wilkinson family reunion.  Hunter still talks about that hotel fire alarm waking us up in the middle of the night...

...and we went bowling for the first time as a family of 4...

October:  October was such a fun month!  We went to the fair...

...and visited some pumpkin patches...

...and dressed up super cute for Halloween...

November:  We took a mini-vacation to Sea World...

December:  December was filled with lots of fun activities (as y'all have seen), but we only had 1 picture of all 4 of us from the entire month...

December was probably my favorite month this year.  We were really family-focused, and I loved it!

We're looking forward to a 2011 filled with lots of learning, growing, loving, family and friends!  Happy New Year everyone!