Beach Bummin

Last week we had an easy life. Actually our lives still seem pretty easy...we have no jobs and are bumming off of friends, that takes no hard work whatsoever. The hardest part of my day is making sure not to violate the pet peeves of the friends whose house we are staying. But they only have two. TWO. I am a terrible person because I probably find a new pet peeve of mine on a daily basis. Although they only have two, these two seem quite difficult for me. 

The first is that Josh doesn't like food particles in his dishwasher or on the DIRTY DISHES that are sitting in the dishwasher. Wait. You mean I have to WASH the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher? How about I just wash them, then put them in the cabinet. 

And the second is that Jessica doesn't like any spec of crumb on her floors. Omg I just started hyperventilating. I have a very messy 11 month old child. So when I sit Addie down to eat, I sit beside her with a wet cloth in my hand, quickly swiping up every crumb that flows from her mouth, fingers, toes, arms, and head onto the squeaky clean floor. 

This child produces crumbs from nothing. 

 Im not sure if I even noticed it until now. Where did that come from?? Change her diaper. Boom, found a few crackers saved for later. 

But this week they are at the beach, so you should SEE THEIR HOUSE NOW!! We have let loose people. Crumbs everywhere!! 

And when I say crumb, I mean I follow Addie around with a broom. 

But we are so so thankful they have graciously opened up their home to us. They have been so generous, and we love being around them, so that makes this more like a three-week slumber party. 

Hopefully I will be able to cook a few of my gourmet meals to show our appreciation. Josh is the easiest person in the world to cook for...no really. I have never met anyone with so few taste buds. 
He likes salad but with no dressing. He likes baked potatoes but not mashed. He likes spaghetti without the sauce...All I have to do is BOIL NOODLES. Dinner is served!! Help yourself to some noodles, guys. 

Anyways, I originally started this post to share about our beach trip, last week. We started out at Wrightsville Beach with Eric's family, for the weekend. We had so much fun and Addie began to warm up to the sand. Eric's mom roomed with Addie, so Eric and I got to sleep in a little.

Going to the beach with a baby is no joke. 

Have you ever tried to lather a baby with sunscreen? A baby who crawls away or tries to wiggle out from your grasp?...which makes it dangerous since she is already so slippery from the lotion? 

Have you ever put on a swimmy diaper only for her to go number 1 immediately after you put it on? And you are HOLDING HER? Fine. Lesson learned. You will wear disposables IN THE POOL. Your diaper will probably blow up, but we shall take our chances.  (For those who aren't sure, swimmy diapers only hold number 2. That's right. Every baby you have ever seen in a pool has done number 1 in the pool you are currently in).

And the beach. Oh the beach. Crawling around in the sand. THE SAND. I'm not a sand person y'all. Poor baby. When it's time to take her in, this mama holds her out at an arms length. Of course this would be the time she wants to cuddle. Then my heart strings start tugging, so I give in and now mama and baby are both covered in sand. 

Then she must have a bath. This week, the week she needs a bath the most, the week she has sand in every crevice possible...kind of like her crumbs... 

She is hating the bath. 

HATES IT. 

Screaming. 

Trying to stand up. 

Trying to crawl out.

So be it. 

This shall be the quickest bath you have ever had...

I get her out and rub lotion on her. It's more like I am exfoliating her body with the amount of sand still left on her. Oh well. It will fall off eventually, I tell myself. 

Repeat this process 8 more times. 

After the weekend at Wrightsville beach we headed to Atlantic beach for my family vacation.

We beached it up, pooled it up, televisioned it up, ate it up, and slept it up. I may have eaten so many cookies, I purposefully lost count at 10. But that's what vacation is for, right?! 

Both Eric's family and mine threw Addie a "first birthday party" since we will be gone on her real birthday. It was so much fun, but unlike her mom and dad, she did not like the cupcakes. Either time. She didn't smother it all over her face, squish it between her fingers, or bury her head in it. 

So disappointing, I know. 

But I was so proud. PROUD! 

Call me uptight, but I just wasn't yet ready for my 10.5 year old to eat pastries. So when all she did was poke her finger in the icing, stare at it, then whine, I was secretly elated. KEEP WHINING, MY CHILD....THAT'S MY GIRL!!  

I know, it's a bummer for everyone else. 

Confession: it took me months to give AG plain Cheerios....bc there is sugar in the ingredients. No judgement.  This is a judgement free zone, here. And remember, she is my first.

Sugar or no sugar, both parties were super fun and AG got really fun gifts. We had a blast beach bummin for 8 days and are so thankful both families made these trips happen! 

But for now we have 3 more weeks to go...and no jobs...and only time...because we were suppose to be in Central Asia...so if you want to hang out, let us know! 

We are very free :)

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH/ PARTY #1- Hovis Edition:

Opening presents 

Not sure she wanted to touch Uncle Dean's bald head

Laying out

Playing with daddy

Skeptical about her sandy hand

ATLANTIC BEACH/ PARTY #2- Brown Edition:

This is as messy as it got...

More interested in the presents

Because we won't let her eat seashells...

Sandy girl

Sunscreened up and ready to go!

Loving some spaghetti 

My family

Aunts, uncles, and cousins

A Little More Time

Today is the day. Well, today was the day we were suppose to leave, now it's September, 4th. Instead of sitting here at the kitchen table, sipping on coffee, and awaiting our 12:30 lunch plans, we would be loading up the car and heading to the airport for the longest two travel days of our life. After last night, I believe that God knew my heart was not yet ready and needed just a little more time for my "see you laters."

When we originally thought we were leaving today, I planned a little get together for our family and close friends so I could soak all of them up one last time. I don't know what I was thinking. I mean it was so much fun, but this idea was two different sides of my personality clashing together. I could have never been satisfied saying goodbye this way. Are you kidding me? I am a person that values long heart to hearts with a few people at a time. This makes me feel refreshed and invested in my friendships, BUT to have all the people that I have sweet conversation with in ONE room? Well, that only makes me feel as if I missed out on something by the time the party is over. 

The last few months, I believe God guarded my heart from feeling sad as we prepared to move. I felt nothing but excitement and calm. For once in my life I actually felt as if I did have it all together. I am not someone who covers up feelings of doubt, stress, insecurities, etc.. I share all my junk, so to speak. So when friends would ask how I am feeling, the truth was that I felt great. Not scared or worried at all. But when I would say that, I wondered how that could be...was there any fear or sadness at all? Because I felt nothing of the sort.

God does not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind...so when I prayed for my fears to turn to peace, I trusted in His power and the truth of the Bible to do so. Be anxious for nothing but in everything prayer and supplication, making your requests known to God... so I did. Fear and anxiety reveal lack of belief in God's promises, yet God has always kept his promises, so why should I not trust Him? He loves me, and He is good. 

But sadness over leaving friends, family, and everything that is familiar?

When Christ said to deny everything and follow him, and when he commanded his disciples to leave their home and families, I'm sure their was sadness within their hearts. 

But I pray that my heart would be so captivated by the Gospel...by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...that I would believe that my sole purpose on this earth is to build his Kingdom and not my own...that the urgency and truth of Gospel would spur me on to give up everything that is comfortable. Because He is worth it. 

Last night, for the first time, I was sad. Maybe because we are not in our own home and it felt so much more real. Maybe because I had all my friends and family in one place and couldn't have good time with everyone. Maybe because I caught a glimpse of what I am leaving behind all at once. 

But each day, whether hard or easy, I want the Gospel to reign in my heart. I want the characteristics of God to be engraved in my soul. So I must remind myself every moment...

He knit me together in my mothers womb. He created me, he knows my personality and my needs 

He died for me and gave me His righteousness. He loves me, he is for my good, he pursues me

He cares for the broken hearted. He is a caring and comforting God

He left the glory of Heaven to live on earth as man. He has left his home in obedience to God the Father

He is Sovereign. I can trust that He knows best and is in control

All things work together for good for those who love the Lord...so I pray the the Holy Spirit will work within my heart and allow me to love Christ. 

...while remembering that my good is defined by the building of His Kingdom and not by my own selfish desires. 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Last night was so much fun, but I am so thankful for another three weeks...now that the reality of moving across the world has finally soaked in. We will be home in just ten short months, but that is the longest and farthest I have ever been away from the comforts of my life. 

I am so thankful God loves me so much that He wants to push me out of my comfort zone so that I may seek Him more, rely on Him more, talk to Him more, crave Him more, worship Him more, and truly feel that I can't live without Him. 

Three of Eric's best friends (Luke, Austin, Eric, Robert)

Thank you so much to everyone who came! It truly meant a lot to us and we ARE SO THANKFUL for each one of you!!

 

11 Month Update

11 months. That's 1 month away from being a year old. The amount a baby develops within the first year is insane. Think about if we continued to develop that fast our entire life. We would all be 20 feet tall, speak 10 languages, and would have already developed cures for the rarest of diseases. I look back at pictures at my 4 lb baby and have such a hard time believing that was really her. I can't even remember what it was like holding such a small human. Back then I tossed her around like a sac of potatoes, used to her small body. In my head she wasn't a porcelain doll. She was resilient. Couldn't be broken. Of course I was very gentle, don't get me wrong. But she was mine. When friends came to visit her right after her birth, so many were afraid to move their left pinky because they thought it would break her bones. One of our friends told us, "I have never been so scared to hold a baby." Some even refused to hold her because of her small size. But now she is 11 months and 20lbs. She is always been around the 35% for weight, which I am so proud since she wasn't on the charts when she was born.

It's true what they say. You really do think your kid is the cutest. The smartest. The most wonderful creature on earth. I could Instagram pictures of her all day long. Of course everyone else wants to see her because she is the cutest baby on the face of the earth, thinks every mom out there. So I try to remove myself from planet baby and back to planet earth and remember that not every person wants their feed bombarded with my little daughter. Don't get me wrong though. If you choose to follow me, you will see many pictures of that darling child :). 

We have been beach bums for the past week and Addie has conquered fear of sand, fear of seashells, and beginning to conquer fear of ocean...only to have that progress stripped away as we move to a landlocked country. Yikes. No ocean within 2 hours. No ocean within several countries. 

At 11 months, Addie is speaking full babbles. We have conversations with each other on a daily basis. Sometimes I wish I knew what she was thinking because I'm sure she is wondering why she has to repeat herself a million times...and I still misunderstand her and change her diaper when she is actually telling me she's hungry. I'm sorry my child, I'm trying to learn your language but I'm an adult and our brains don't work as quickly as yours. 

She says dada, mama, baba, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, va, and probably others that I'm forgetting

She also seems to be getting over bottles. I speak full babble now, mom. Bottles are for babies. She use to drink 4 full bottles a day, and now doesn't want but half of the bottle. She is loving finger foods! I fill her tray with food and she stuffs it down that tiny throat. At 10 months I started putting whole milk in a sippy cup for her to "practice" during meal times. I didn't want to go from only bottles straight to sippy cup and whole milk when she turned 1. This is her "new schedule" that we are going to try based on her interest in big girl food and not bottles.

7:00- bottle

8:30- breakfast/ whole milk

9:00- nap?...she sometimes wants it sometimes not

10:00- snack/ milk 

11:30-12- lunch/ milk

1:00 - nap/ bottle 

3:30- snack/milk

5:30- dinner/milk

7:00- bath/ bottle/bed

I'm going to move to 3 bottles and give her whole milk throughout the day. When she turns 1, hopefully then she'll be ready for no bottles and just whole milk!

So far she is loving to eat:

Turkey sandwich (whole wheat bread and turkey slices)

Spaghetti

Pasta salad

Feta cheese (plain!!)

Cheese in general

Cucumbers

Hummus

Lasagna

Broccoli and chicken casserole

Fruit...LOVES fruit (bananas, peaches, strawberries, grapes)

For snacks, many times I give her the organic squeeze packs

Many times I'll usually give her what we have for dinner unless its red meat, seafood, or fried food

Happy almost 1 year my little big girl!

               

                                

Moving update

I haven't forgotten about this blog at all, but I have felt too overwhelmed to write anything. There has been A LOT going on and to think about what to put on here...well, I don't even know where to start!

Last week our life was crazy. Our plane flies out on Monday, however, it will be leaving us behind. But let me not jump ahead, I'll get to that in a minute. It actually started two weeks ago when Eric kept saying, "Kelly, we should really start packing up the house. We have so much to do." Actually we don't. I mean we have to pack our clothes but we get to leave our furniture and decorations so really there isn't that much and when I put my mind to something I work super hard and super fast so really it's not a big deal and I could probably do it in two days and be done. These were my thoughts...they were nothing but calm, cool, and collected run on sentences. I was not one bit of stressed. We decided that it would be best if my MIL kept AG for a few days so we could focus on cleaning and packing so we could be out by our deadline of Aug 1. So once again, I was a not stressed-totally relaxed- fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. We have so much time and Im really not worried bc your mom is keeping Addie for 3 days so that's plenty of time to do what we need to do so actually we should just play and hangout since we can't really be productive when Addie is here anyways. I am a stupid girl. 

Because I am so optimistic about my ability to work hard and get things done quickly, I decided to make dinner plans with some girlfriends on Wednesday, July 31. I just knew we would be done with our house since we had to be out by the following day. So here we go. We get a little bit done on Satuday, then Carlyne (MIL) gets here on Monday to pick AG up. We still have Monday, Tuesday, AND Wednesday to pack and clean so this will not be that big of a deal and we still have so so much time, thought the stupid girl. Thanks to Carlyne we get a lot done on Monday. We got to take a nice little break during the middle of the day for our church to snap some pictures of us so they can tell our story, but not such a stressful day. Then Tuesday. Oh Tuesday. Four years of marriage and Eric and I still find ways we are different. Me, I wake up and can go. I can go hard til around 4 or 5 then I am exhausted and burnt out. I'm done. DONE. Leave me alone, kind of done. Eric, well he takes a little longer to fully wake up. He really gets going around lunch time or maybe a little after then can work til 10 at night. Nope, not me at all. So lets just say the tension was running a little high in our household. And the meltdowns begin. It's Tuesday evening, I canNOT go anymore. I just can't. You can't make me. And we still have lots to do. But we still have Wednesday and I have my dinner plans so this will be a great day and we will get everything done. 

Wednesday. I don't even like to think about you anymore. I started working around 8 am.  Scrubbing refrigerator, vacuuming floors and two flights of steps, cleaning out every drawer that exists in our house, finishing packing bags, categorizing what should be checked, carry on, and/or go with us to the beach. Yikes. Our car won't start. Call AAA. Tow it to Toyota dealership. Oh great, works for them. They have no issue with our car. Kind of like being sick and then you finally go to the doctor and you're all better. Stupid car. And cue meltdown. Back to the house to continue cleaning. It's 5 o'clock. My body and brain is telling me IM DONE. I also realize there is no way I'm going to make dinner with my friends so I sadly have to cancel. It's 6 o'clock. Still working. Cue meltdown. 7 o'clock. I SERIOUSLY CAN'T GO ON.  Another meltdown. This process continues til 10 pm when I finally convince my night owl that we can come back in the morning to finish the last touches since we were FINALLY almost done. We were staying with friends and so we didn't want to roll in at midnight. Thursday morning we roll out of our friends' house by 6:30am. We have to be in Greensboro by a certain time so we needed to leave be 9:30am. When I think I am done, Eric says we should vacuum. AGAIN. Meltown. I am so burnt out. I hate our house. I don't think that is necessary. I think we are done. Since I am on the verge of a mental collapse, my sweet husband tells me that I should go ahead and leave for Greensboro. I agree and sprint to my car before he changes his mind and tells me to power wash the house or something.   

FREEEEEEDOM. Those days were the most stressful days of my life, besides having a newborn. I was so on edge, that it took me a couple of days to get back down of the cliff and truly rest. Lesson: start early! We did way too much in too little of time. 

If you are still reading, I'm impressed because this is long, I know. But now we are homeless and jobless and not leaving on Monday. Our friends the Nances have graciously opened up their home to us until we leave.  The government of where we are going has not yet issued our permission for visas. They are in the process of doing so, but taking a long time. Our international school has even had to postpone their start date to school, in order to give us time to get there. So please be prying for this situation. We believe that Gd is in control and are trusting in His sovereignty. 

Pictures of our car after we packed...bags to the ceiling and all the way up to the front two seats.

To come: our beach trip with both families, Addie's 11 month update, and Addie's "birthday" party with both familes. Who knows...we may still be here for Addie's real birthday party! Nothing wrong with having 3 parties, right?!