Paige

You are currently browsing the archive for the Paige category.

“I like to get it all again and in the end you know you get what you got…”

January 26, 2011 in Animals, Being a military wife, Celiac, Darby, Jacob, Justice, Paige, Pregnancy by Petra | 3 comments

It dawned on my I haven’t been blogging for the last few weeks. I guess all my internet typing time has been spent i.m.’ing with Andrew. So… a quick update…

I got glutened the other day. I haven’t had this bad of a gluten attack in a very long time. I’m on my 3rd day of a migraine and major intestinal issues (among the other symptoms that go along with me consuming gluten). I’m only blogging now because I finally gave in and took a Goody’s powder (it has aspirin, and I’m pregnant, so I had been avoiding it – even though it’s the only thing that’ll take any of the edge off a migraine like this… it was just too much though, so I decided to go ahead and take one today). Hopefully tomorrow will be better…
My first OB appointment is at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I’m not even sure which doctor I’m seeing. I requested one, Tricare assigned another, and they weren’t clear who I was seeing when they called to tell me when my first appointment was. I’ll just go to whomever they assigned, and if I don’t like them – I’ll be sure to switch. I just hope it’s a woman! I used to see male OB/Gyn’s, but it kind of creeps me out now, and I prefer to stick to women. I’m also hoping for an ultrasound!
Andrew is alive and well on the other side of the world. We have thankfully gotten to chat on the instant messenger pretty much every day, and have even gotten to have a few short phone calls. Being able to communicate with him regularly helps us get through this time apart. Continue to pray for him, please.
Paige’s favorite show right now is The Backyardigans. She copies their dance moves, and sings along with the theme song. To ask to watch it, she will sing her version of the theme song, which sounds kind of like “yah-ah-gan” in her sweet little singing voice.
Justice is halfway through his basketball season and he is doing great! He started off his 2nd game this past Saturday with a 3-pointer. Woo hoo! I love watching him play!
I am 8 weeks, 1 day pregnant, assuming I have my due date correct, which I’m pretty sure I do. I still have approximately one million weeks to go. At least, that’s what it feels like. I’m still ridiculously nauseous and exhausted. Hoping this passes with the first trimester – another month to go!
Justice and Jarvis got all but two pieces of furniture moved out of the office/school room in the basement. I’m hoping to feel good enough to get down there with the older kids and get some work done, eventually. It would be SO nice to have a place for all our school stuff, a place for my bill stuff, a place to do scrapbooking and cards, etc. I may let the older kids have at priming the walls themselves… we’ll see. lol
We gave away one kitten (the orange one), and we are giving away the fluffy calico one this week. That’ll just leave us with Chili (the mom), and Odin (the 3rd kitten). Chili is actually in heat again so she is forbidden from going outside! Pretty sure I’m going to work getting her fixed into the near-future budget!
I have so many photos to share – hoping to have the focus to be able to go through them and post them in the foreseeable future. Stay tuned. I’ll try to add at least one photo to this post.
I’ve been watching more TV than usual since I got pregnant. When I’m feeling awful, it helps to just zone out to senseless nonsense. I enjoy the show Lie to Me and am nearly caught up to the current episodes. I just started watching the first season of the Duggars, 17 and Counting, two days ago, and I’m already addicted. I didn’t realize I would enjoy it so I never even gave it a try, but I saw it on netflix and clicked it, and ended up watching several episodes already. I started watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent again too – I abandoned it in the middle of the 2nd season when I was pregnant with Paige and on bedrest, but it’s time to bring it back. I don’t really love the show, but I love Vincent D’onofrio’s character.
Jacob had a blast at his 5th birthday party last week! It was his first “friend” birthday party, and he was definitely a fan. I posted the photos on facebook already, but will try to add a few on here eventually too (so that they’re here when I print my blog into a ‘book’ for the kids).
I’m pretty sure it’s nap time.

Darby with her new bangs that she's so proud of

I try to think about rainbows…

January 5, 2011 in Brittany, Paige by Petra | 5 comments

I have lots to say, but am busy this week. I shall leave you with two photos and then I’ll be back hopefully on Saturday…

Paige with her bcf, Gideon, and their sock monkeys. Paige was looking pretty rough – all scratched up with dry skin and out of sorts from traveling and seeing so many new people and not getting enough sleep for a week. Gideon was recovering from being ill. She really does love him though. She points at his picture and laughs and grins all the time. Oh, and she said his name a couple of times while we were in Knoxville. Many more photos to come from our trip to Nashville and Knoxville over Christmas.

Britta colored her hair purple and teal (the faded pink is still there from her last dye job). She’s very colorful. It matches her personality.

Oh, and p.s. I had my confirmation pregnancy test today (because they have to do one in order to give me the insurance referral to see an OB), and sure enough, I’m pregnant. As though we didn’t know. It’ll take a couple of weeks to go through and then I’ll be able to see the OB. I should be approximately 5 weeks, 1 day today… according to the 40 week schedule. Which means I’ve actually only been pregnant for 3 weeks, 1 day, but we’ll discuss how much that whole thing confuses me at a later date.

Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow…

December 21, 2010 in Andrew, Animals, Being a military wife, Brittany, Christianity, Christmas, Darby, Food, Home & Garden, Justice, Lists, Paige by Petra | 2 comments

An update (with photos, of course)…

Andrew and I decided to try Carrabba’s on a date last week. I had heard they had a gluten-free menu, but hadn’t tried it since Italian food mostly consists of wheat-filled pasta. I figured they wouldn’t have anything good. While their gluten-free menu isn’t extremely long, the Chicken Bryan is AWESOME. And it didn’t make me sick at all! Oh yum, so good. Also, the garlic mashed potatoes are delicious. We went there for our next date too. But we can’t afford to go back for a while (Christmas kind of puts a dent in the ‘date’ budget – ha!). Man oh man – I am craving it though!
We had our Sunday School Christmas party at our house. My friend, Karyn, and I made the invitations (which reminded me how much I miss scrapbooking!), and the party was tons of fun. Andrew ended up missing most of it (he was stuck at work – ), but he joined in on the fun game at the end.
Justice started basketball practices. His games will start towards the end of January. He likes his coach and his team so far. I like watching him play!
Darby has been loving her gymnastics classes! I think she’d like to do them every day instead of once a week!
The kittens are SO adorable right now. Here are a few photos that were taken on December 10th. I am amazed at how much they have grown since then!!! They are running around getting into things now. Between 4 and 10 weeks is the CUTEST age.
God has really been working in our family. It’s exciting to see how He makes us learn and grow and how His Holy Spirit becomes more and more evident in our lives as we turn more and more over to Him. I’m just in awe of His grace and love. He is amazing.
I actually ate a piece of candy with corn syrup in it earlier today. What is wrong with me? That is SO unlike me. I can actually handle very SMALL amounts of corn and chemicals, but I usually avoid them altogether. But for some reason that york peppermint patty was just staring at me and I HAD to eat it. It’s been a long time since I have craved a non-food item. lol.
Andrew and I have had so much fun doing all our Christmas shopping this year. We have turned our shopping trips into dates. We have so much fun together. I’m so thankful for our marriage!
We are getting closer to Andrew’s deployment. It hasn’t really sunk in yet that he’s leaving, but I’m sure I’ll cry when it does. At least it isn’t a year this time!
Speaking of crying, I really hate crying in front of people. If you have ever seen me cry, congratulations! You must be special, because I will normally go WAY out of my way to NOT cry. I have cried a couple of times in the last few days though – I am just so thrilled about some things that God is doing… it’s a little emotional sometimes.
I love my family. I love my husband. I love my kids. I love my life. I am just so blessed.
Question: Do any of you want to come to my house and do some construction/decorating work? I have a big long list of things that need doing and not enough time/energy/money to get it all done. I think time is the biggest hindrance to the progress. First up: cleaning up all the dust in the basement (from the sanding) and putting the primer on the walls (I haven’t bought the colored paint yet, but I’ve got a huge tub of primer sitting down there waiting). Any takers? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Paige thinks she’s a big girl because she can now eat things like cereal-with-milk or soup out of a bowl with a spoon without making a huge mess. She’s adorable.
I think I might work on one of my books tonight. I’m pretty sure I’ll be an old lady before any of the books I’ve been working on are done, but hey – someone can read them in 50 years.
I’m pretty sure I need to ask Andrew to go buy me some dark chocolate, because I’m very tempted to go eat another york peppermint patty. The last one wasn’t even that delicious (your taste buds change when you stop eating chemicals and they no longer taste like food). I must just be hungry. lol
(while I was checking my spelling and proof-reading this post, I ate a reeses’ cup. I figured at least it didn’t have corn syrup in it so it was a better choice than the peppermint patty. It was so disgusting. And now I have a chemical residue taste in my mouth. Why did I do that ? So gross. I need to hit Trader Joe’s and get some of their chocolate-peanut butter cups. Those taste like real food! And they’re delicious!)

You are my sunshine…

December 21, 2010 in Paige by Petra | 1 comment

These photos of Paige were taken on November 27th ~ figured I’d add them into this post about the things she’s doing right now at 20 months/12 days old.

Paige is adorable! She gets squeezed and kissed ALL the time…

Her favorite thing to do right now is draw or color. Even if that means coloring on the carpet with the orange Sharpie she found, or drawing a Paige-heighted line of circles all the way around the front room on the walls. She will sit and draw on a piece of blank paper until there is absolutely no other space to draw on. She loves it. Loves. Maybe even more than Brittany loved it at her age. Which is a lot.

Paige has been talking a lot more. She saw photos of my brother, Josh (in the photo with her above) while I was editing for this post, and she pointed at him and said “Josh” even though she hasn’t seen him since Thanksgiving and has never said his name before that I’ve heard. She says most of our names (Jacob is too hard for her to say), and she knows several signs to go along with words (such as fish, bird, please, daddy, mommy, pretty, ball, etc.). The cutest thing is when we ask her a question and she grins a big toothy grin, nods her head and says “uh-huh”.

Paige isn’t too sure about the kittens. She thinks they are cute, but she’d much rather play with their Mama. I think she’s just not used to them yet. {and by the way – the kittens are almost 4 weeks old and couldn’t be ANY cuter!}

She loves to play games like chase and peekaboo. She sings “daddy, daddy” over and over again all the time. He is her favorite person right now (well, Mommy is pretty cool too).

Paige loves to play dress-up and pick out shoes to wear. She loves clothes! She dances all the time (if you’re on facebook and haven’t seen her dancing video, go watch it). She’s a complete ham. If we laugh at something, she’ll do it over and over again with a huge grin on her face. Anything for attention! She’s stubborn and persnickety at times, especially if she’s being told ‘no’ or doesn’t get something she wants. She is at one of the cutest ages, when her personality is really starting to show. She’s hilarious, beautiful, adorable, and we can’t get enough of her!

…and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing…

December 20, 2010 in Brittany, Christmas, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 4 comments

Trimming the tree…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Everywhere you go…

Take a look at the five and ten, glistening once again…

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Toys in every store…

But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door…

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben…

Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk is the hope of Janice and Jen…

And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Everywhere you go…

There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well…

The sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow…

Other photos coming, along with stories and lists and cuteness and fun! I hope everyone is having a wondrous Christmas week!

{these photos were taken when we put our tree up and decorated, the weekend after Thanksgiving}

A gluten-free and kitten-filled Thanksgiving

December 11, 2010 in Animals, Brittany, Celiac, Food, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige, Recipes, Thanksgiving by Petra | 2 comments

I know I’m a little late in getting this post up, but I wanted to share my menu with my gluten-free readers, and photos with all of you…

Jarvis’ cat, Chili, had kittens the day before Thanksgiving. They are so adorable! Kittens = perfection.

This was on my camera when I downloaded the Thanksgiving photos. Jacob told me Jarvis took it and that he is sitting on the ceiling. He thought it was hilarious.

Ah, the beautifully moist stuffed turkey. Yum!

Counter full of food (menu at the end of the photos)…

Mmmmm…

I love Thanksgiving.

An intense (and long) game of chess. lol

Paige the maniac

Tired party-goers. They were up early helping me cook.

It was a great day full of delicious food and wonderful friends and family! More photos of some of the party-goers shall appear on facebook in the near future, but there’s only photos of about half of them. I gave Jarvis the camera and told him to take pictures of everyone, but he missed some people. Oh well, without his efforts there would only have been photos of the food!

The Thanksgiving menu:

Roast turkey (I used a Trader Joe’s kosher turkey… I’ll post how I do the turkey sometime, it turns out flavorful and moist every time)

Stuffing and dressing (I used this recipe, and it was amazingly delicious – at least *I* thought so [for the GF bread, I used Whole Foods brand sandwich bread])

Ham (I love the hams from Trader Joe’s, and my awesome glaze is a trade secret… )

Deviled eggs (I only mix mayo/mustard/onion powder/salt/pepper into my eggs, and they are normally to-die-for, but this turned out to be the worst batch I’ve ever made (it was late the night before and I was being careless with the amounts of salt, apparently)… however, they still got gobbled up, so I guess that goes to show how good they NORMALLY are… lol!)

Mashed potatoes (I went out on a limb and used a new recipe this year. It was really good, but I think it needed a little more butter and salt than what I added. Oh, and I didn’t use leeks. I will definitely use this recipe again though… )

Homemade gravy (from the juices of the turkey, a bit of chicken broth, rice flour, and salt and pepper. So good! And there was not enough of it.)

Two kinds of sweet potatoes (simply sliced and roasted. One with olive oil and salt, one with butter and brown sugar. Pretty good, but I think they needed to cook a bit longer as they weren’t *quite* soft enough.)

Green beans

Steamed carrots with butter and brown sugar

Corn on the cob

Steamed zucchini with butter and salt (Josh made this for me – so good)

Steamed squash with butter and salt (Josh made this too – yum)

Fruit salad (brought by Lisa, and oh-so-delicious!!!)

Pumpkin bread (I adapted a recipe to be gluten-free. I got it from my sister-in-law, Carolyn, several years ago. It was really good! I didn’t try it on Thanksgiving because it didn’t look delicious, but then the next morning Andy was like “that pumpkin bread ROCKS!” and I tried some and oh my goodness – it was so good (especially for being gluten-free)! I’ll be making it again!)

Banana bread (I got the recipe from our friend, Jeff, when they were visiting last year and I’ve made it a million times since – so good! [recipe shared at the end of this post since so many people have requested it])

Gluten-filled yeast rolls (brought by Lisa, and thankfully received by all of the gluten-eating peeps )

Desserts (of which there were no photos – sorry)…

Two apple pies(gluten-free and adapted on the fly from a recipe online that my mom gave me. I used a pre-made crust from Whole Foods. They were good, but I’ll try another recipe next time.)

Snickerdoodle cookies (using a GF sugar cookie mix we get at Lowe’s Foods, Brittany makes these and rolls the cookies in cinnamon and sugar to turn them into snickerdoodles. I love them.)

Chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookies (I eat way too many of these whenever I make them!)

Cherry cheesecake (brought by Lisa, full of gluten, and LOVED by my gluten-eating men!!!)

Apple pie (brought by Alison, also full of gluten, and it looked SO pretty and I’m sure it tasted a million and four times better than my gluten-free ones. lol.)

Organic whipped topping (bought from Whole Foods and it was DELICIOUS) and Vanilla ice-cream to top the desserts

Recipe share:

Jeff’s banana bread turned gluten-free (just use regular flour to make this gluten-filled)…

Banana Bread
(Approximately 2 medium loaves)
Ingredients:
1 ¼ c. organic cane sugar (I use Domino brand usually)
1 stick real butter
2 lg. cage-free eggs (preferably brown and organic )
3-4 ripe bananas (the riper the better)
1 tsp. vanilla (I use Trader Joe’s organic alcohol-free vanilla)
½ c. organic 2% milk
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put sugar in bowl.
3. Melt butter. Add, mix together with spoon.
4. Add eggs. Mix with spoon.
5. Add bananas. Mix with electric mixer.
6. Add vanilla and milk. Mix with mixer.
7. Add flour, slowly fold in with mixer.
8. Add salt and baking soda. Mix again with mixer.
9. Bake for approx 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven, until fork comes out clean.
10. Top of pan should be in middle of oven for even baking.

“Send me, I’ll go…”

November 19, 2010 in Andrew, Brittany, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 5 comments

15 days since my last post?!?! Man – I am failing at this blogging thing. Well, here is a photo-filled update, and then I am going to do a series of posts using this writing prompt site. (Does anyone want to do it with me? I’m going to take a question from the first section on the first day, the second section on the second day, etc.) But for now, our weekend update with, well, me…

Since my last post…

Kendra, her three girls, and Aunt Cherry came for a visit. Good times were had, lots of laughing was done, and we can’t wait to see them again!! On one night, Kendra and I performed a spontaneous concert for Aunt Cherry and some of the kids. They were awed, amazed, and inspired. Our talent for singing along with 80′s videos on youtube is unreachable by any other. Kyra videotaped some of our singing and dancing, but alas, Kendra, the technology guru, accidentally deleted all but two of them. It might be a good thing. :) Aaaaaand, I did not take ONE photo the entire time they were here. Brittany did snap a few photos after her and Justice added some things to our wardrobe (we had been performing in pajamas), but um… I won’t be sharing those.
Jarvis had his soccer tournament. His team only won one of the three games, so they are done for the fall season. The spring season (he’ll be on the same challenge team) starts practices in February.
Darby starts gymnastics in a couple of weeks – I signed her up yesterday. She’s excited. She’s been asking to take gymnastics and/or dance for years, but it has just never worked out. So yay.
I have had appointments, errands or something going on EVERY day for the last two weeks or more. Today? I am not leaving the house (Lord willing). Oh wait – I’m taking the kids to the church tonight and picking them up – they are going to a Lecrae concert with the youth group… that’s no big deal though… and maybe Andrew will take them. But I may have just dashed my own hopes and dreams of staying in my cave for an entire day. *sigh*
Justice finished the driving portion of drivers ed and went to get his permit yesterday. He, uh, didn’t pass. So… we’ll go back Monday and try again.
Andrew has been working lots, getting ready to deploy in several weeks. I’d really rather he was here 24/7. I know some couples talk about how they need their space from one another or they get on each others nerves, etc… but Andrew and I would love to be together all the time. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, though – or rather, it makes us appreciate one another even more – so we’ll make it through and be excited to be reunited next summer!
Paige’s eye teeth finally all came through!!! This is huge, people. She has been so much happier, less fussy, is sleeping better, and her mouth isn’t in pain. I know one of my other kiddos had major trouble with those dreaded eye teeth too, but I can’t remember which kid it was.
Paige has also been saying more and more words. She understands all the basic commands we give her (“give this to Justice”, “throw this in the trash”, etc.), she nods her head for yes, shakes it for no, she does the signs for ‘eat’, ‘baby’, and ‘bird’ – and says all those words, along with lots of others. She loves the word “shoe” and asks all the time for us to put various shoes on her (which is funny because she HATED shoes up until a few months ago). She dances up a storm and has a ton of awesome moves. She is adorable.
When Britta had braces, I spent much of my life at the dentist and orthodontist offices. She got them off a couple of weeks before we moved here to NC, and I just never found a new dentist. Then Jarvis knocked one of his teeth out a couple of weeks ago (he was holding a stick, tripped over a rock, and the stick hit his face), so we called a couple of dentists recommended by friends and went with the one that answered their phone. It turned out to be a baby tooth that Jarvis lost (whew!), and we liked the new dentist so I made appointments for the other kids (Jarvis had to be the guinea pig to test out the new dentist). Darby and Jacob go on Monday for an exam and cleaning, and it will be Jacob’s first dental visit. He’s nervous and excited. Jarvis did have a small cavity on a permanent tooth he had to get filled the next day, and we have to get an orthodontist exam for him. Looks like my days of dental waiting rooms are back. It was a nice year or so though. lol
Britta dyed her hair pink and it looks really cute! Too bad that hair dye doesn’t last very long, but it’s still pretty bright after a week. Oh, and a large family of tiny blonde children stared at her for a long period of time in Qdoba yesterday. It was hilarious. She was scared. There were 7 little kids turned in their seat just STARING at her. I was like “wave at them?” So she did and finally made a couple of them smile/laugh. Then the mom came back to the table (they were all just sitting there being still and quiet while she ordered) and they all finally turned around to eat their food. THEN, we went to Trader Joe’s and two more little blonde children started staring at her. It was so funny. And Britta told me that pale kids with really blonde hair scare her, because they look ghostly or something. Ohhhh, good times.
Okay, look for my first prompted post (see top of post) later today.

Bye-um-pum-pum, bye-um-pum-pum, bye-um-pum-pum, bye-um…

October 25, 2010 in Andrew, Jacob, Jarvis, Marriage, Military, Paige, Photography by Petra | 3 comments

I cannot believe it has been a week and a half since my last post! Where is the time going? Well, the last two weeks HAVE been incredibly busy – I’m pretty much just chilling out today, and the change is kind of nice (though I do have some errands to run in a little while). I’m pretty sure it’s time for a bulleted list – it’s the only way my brain is going to cooperate for updates.

Jarvis has one more game in the fall soccer season (the 31st). He’s really good and his team has had some good games and some bad games. He’s having a blast with it, and we love watching him play! He’ll be on the same Challenge team in the spring. I really need to remember my camera next week!
Andrea and Gideon came for a week-long visit and we LOVED having them here. They left on Saturday and Paige got all excited last night when I showed her pictures of Gideon on my computer. She kept pointing and going “who’s that?” (which doesn’t mean she doesn’t know, it just means she wants me to say his name because she can’t say it). The two of them were actually starting to enjoy each other’s company by the time Gideon left. However, Jacob remains Gideon’s favorite, I think. (and these photos are much clearer on my computer – whenever I upload to my blog, even if I size them properly first, they get blurry and pixelated – what’s up with that, wordpress?!)

I was actually pretty horrible about taking photos while Andrea and Gideon were here. I managed to get the above series and just a few more, but for some reason I have not been using my camera much as of late. I’m not sure why – I love photos, I love taking photos… seems like a no brainer that I would get my camera out now and then. Oh well.
I love how well Andrea and I get along. It really does not seem like there are eleven years between us. I totally wish we lived near one another.

And how adorable is Gideon?!?! He is just the cutest thing!! And he’s so lovable and let’s you hug and squeeze him without complaint (unlike Paige, who has to be in the mood to cuddle or she shoves you away).

While Andrea was here, we did some shopping (including finding these adorable neon converse for Paige and Gideon), we hung out at the house, we took one very full day and drove to Richmond (see next bullet), and we didn’t get enough chances to watch nearly enough TV… something we both thoroughly enjoy.

My friend, Ali, who I’ve mentioned many times before, met us in Richmond this past Thursday. We had a really fun day together walking around, eating, and laughing – and she took lots of totally fabulous photos!! Seriously, if you are in Virginia or DC or anywhere close, hire her for a shoot – you’ll be thrilled with the images and she is totally affordable as far as photographers go!!! A sample of our photoshoot is below, but to see more become a fan of her photography page on Facebook and scroll down to the “Carden Family” and “Gideon” albums…
(photo by Ali McLaughlin)
We found out a few days ago that Andrew will be deployed much sooner than we thought. Please keep him (and us) in your prayers. I am soaking up every second of time with him while I can. We will really miss him, but know that he is in God’s very capable Hands and, after all, trials make us stronger. And might I also add that Andrew is the most amazing husband ever and I am so thankful for all God has done in our lives and in our marriage – life gets sweeter every day!!!

I have more stories to tell and photos to share, but alas, I have a life, and it has already taken me several hours to get this far into this post (lots of interruptions in my house). I shall try my best to keep the ole blog updated more frequently. I know you are excited at the prospect, but are also fearful because I have made similar empty promises in the past. Hopefully I will get a chance to get caught up on stories and photos this week though!

…where music and passion are always in fashion…

October 12, 2010 in Andrew, answered prayer, Brittany, Darby, Home & Garden, Homeschooling, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Lists, Paige, Parenting by Petra | 5 comments

Quick update…

Paige went to the doctor this morning for her 18 month old checkup, and according to her doctor (who we love, by the way!) Paige is perfect. We already knew that though. She had to get one shot today, but the nurse was fast, so while she did scream for a minute, she was soon fine. She weighs 21 pounds (10th %), and is 29 1/2″ tall (5th %). Her head? It’s still large. It’s 19 or 19 1/2″ (I can’t remember which) and that, my friends, is in the 90th %. Tiny body, huge head. For that big brain, I presume.
Britta Cait started babysitting for a local MOPS group. Today was her first day, and they meet once a month. She had a great time. She loves little kids, and she loves making money = a great combo.
Britta also turned 17 last week. More to come on that (and also I have photos from Justice’s birthday celebration last month. Patience, young padawans, patience).
Have I mentioned how much I love my kids? Yes? Well, I’m saying it again. God has blessed us so much with six amazing kiddos, I just can’t believe it most of the time. They all show me and Andy such love and respect (absolutely no slamming doors or “I hate you”‘s in this house), they all want to serve God, and they all love spending time with us. That may sound ‘normal’ to some of you, but I know a lot of people who struggle with their teenagers (and a lot of people who struggle with their pre-teens and toddlers too), and it just makes me so thankful to have loving, well-behaved kids. They are not perfect, of course (no one is), but they are an enormous blessing to me and I thank God for them all.
Homeschooling is going swimmingly (pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve ever used that word). I’m enjoying it, the kids are enjoying it – so awesome. The kids are all learning (which is more than I can say for their previous public school educations), and our schedule is going great. Total answer to prayer – all of it!!!
Construction is still ongoing. Andrew finished building the walls in the main room of the basement (school room/office/craft area), and just needs to do one more round of mudding and sanding – then we paint and put a new floor in. We decided on a laminate floor for that room and Brittany’s room after looking at cost, where it was in the house, how much wear it would get, etc… but we’ll put a tiled area by the back door since rumor has it that laminate flooring does not do well when it gets wet.
We have gotten more involved in our church and are loving it. The people are wonderful, the kids love it, and we just know it’s exactly where God wants us to be. Awesome.
Britta is going on a missions trip with some people from our church at the end of this month. They are heading to New York City to do some ministering to others. Please be prayingn for them.
Jacob has turned into a social butterfly! He used to be SO shy and just wanted to be with me all the time, but he has changed SO much in the past 6 months or so. He just wants to play with his friends, invite them over, go see them, go to church, and of course… marry Katie, my friend Robyn’s daughter.
Aaaaand since I’ve been interrupted no less than 47 times since the start of this post, I’ll go ahead and close with a couple of photos from my brother Matt’s house…