a shameless plug

Katie, my sister in law gave me a "Mama bird's nest" necklace for Christmas (that she made) and I think that it is such a cute idea! She just started an etsy account that you should check out. Message me if you are interested and I'll send you the info!


My mom's necklace (there are three of us)



Katie's necklace (she has a two year old and is pregnant)



Speaking of that two year old, here are some super cute pictures of Henry and his cousin...






(don't let the hugs, smiles, etc. fool you, they had their fare share of spats too!)

christmas with a 18 month old

Normally we don't decorate for Christmas. With three families to visit and our time off before Christmas (we have Christmas conference for students soon after the 25th), we've never been around long enough to really go through the "trouble." This year, however, I really wanted to do something! Our "something" was an artificial tree that we placed on a side table so that the stinker (aka Henry) could not get to it as easily. We taught him to wave at the tree versus touch it, which has worked on our parents big trees as well!




We've already been to Hank's two families, where Henry LOVED the commotion and activity with his three cousins! South Carolina is where we currently are and are awaiting the rest of the family to get in to town.



(can you tell Henry was excited?!)

where did October go?

I realize that it is the middle of November and it's a little late to be asking that question. I'm slowing coming out of the first trimester hole, and am a little shocked that Thanksgiving is NEXT week. Yep, you read that right, we are pregnant again (yay!!) We started it off with Henry and I getting a stomach virus which then lead straight into morning sickness. Hank has been awesome and has served us well, but I'm ready to get back to "normal!" All I know is that things are a lot different this time around. I have plans to be in my pregnancy jeans WAY earlier than last time not because they are super comfy but because I'm going to NEED to! I guess your body just knows what to do?

We are currently at a Crusade staff conference in Alexandria, VA. (currently, Hank is at the conference and I'm in our hotel room while Henry sleeps) I've never been here, so I'm looking forward to seeing some of the city during our free time. We're then headed to Greenville, NC and Raleigh to celebrate Thanksgiving with Hank's family.

Here are a few pictures of Henry the past month. We were able to see my dear friend, Dena on Halloween. Her cute son Luke (the lion) and Henry had a fun time roaming around in their costumes.




We've been letting Henry play outside in the morning with his Pj s on, which he certainly doesn't mind one bit!

boys

I grew up with two brothers, so you would think that I would have been prepared/informed about little boys. Sometimes I just have to stop and stare at Henry in amazement as I realize just how differently we were created. I saw a link on facebook that said this



and thought "what a true statement!" Henry is definitely a dirt loving, noise making, active machine! I took a few pictures yesterday of some of Henry's favorite things to do inside (of course this doesn't even touch on the stick eating, playing in the dirt, etc. that are outside)!







I have however, decided that I want to encourage his loud, adventurous spirit and truly give him the freedom to be a boy. Hank and I have been reading Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys and I would HIGHLY recommend it. Anyone else have a good "boy" book?!



I'm so thankful for this little boy and look forward to experiencing his physical, emotional, and spiritual grow!

friends

Some of our best friends, Kim and Nathan came to see us this weekend. It is such an encouragement when we have visitors! Because we now live so far away from most of our friends, it is especially refreshing to see familiar faces. They were such adventurous guests, and packed in way more than most people would in the (less than) 48 hours that they were here. We discovered a really neat apple/peach orchard on Saturday, and it was awesome! Food, wine tasting, and picking your own apples are a few things that Carter Mountain Orchard provides! Henry LOVED it, so we will definitely be frequent visitors;)






Watching the Auburn game on the computer

back home-finally!

This past week, we've been here



and now we are finally back home! Three months, nine cities, and 6000 miles later, we arrived in Charlottesville today. We're so thankful to be back. It's been an incredible summer, but we're ready for school to start and for life to get back to "normal!"

4 years

Hank and I celebrate our fourth anniversary this week! I still catch myself thinking about how thankful I am that the Lord allowed me to get married, and then what a perfect match he gave me. We are so different, but I have really come to see God's wisdom in putting us together. Though not always easy, marriage has/will be one of the biggest blessings of my life. By of His grace, I pray that we celebrate many more. Oh how I long to glorify Him in it, and for Henry to see his parents love and serve each other well.

wilmington

Henry is in heaven! We are visiting our friends (who have two boys and a dog) in Wilmington, NC. It's constant chaos, and Henry is loving it! We're here until Saturday and then off to the beach with Hank's family. We'll finally be home (after three months) on August 13th. Whew, we're getting tired of packing and repacking! Hank starts planning for the school year two days later. Where did the summer go?

the first of many to come?

Its begun. Henry chipped his tooth last night, and I can only imagine that this little "injury" is the first of many. We were thankful to get into a dentist this afternoon where we found out that the nerve was not damaged (whew). However, we are going to need to take him to a pediatric dentist to see if he can do anything about the sharp edges now on the tooth. Tonight Henry fell again and hurt his lip with that tooth (which is what we were afraid of happening), so we're thinking we need to go on and try to get it taken care of! So thankful that this isn't a big deal, but wondering how or if they can get him to sit still long enough to fix it:)

Stress reliever

Last weekend, some of the staff women went to a local shop and painted pottery. I had no idea how fun it was going to be and was surprised that it was actually really relaxing and easy! How awesome to just sit there (child free), paint, and talk to friends! Hmmm, need to do it more often. I decided to go with something simple for lack of creativity:)

touch a truck

On Sunday, a local museum had a fundraiser called "touch a truck!" It was a super clever idea and I'm thankful we were able to participate:)

glimpses of change/keeping it real

I thought that I would have blogged a lot more about our summer project. To be honest though, I've had a hard time wanting to put up a "cute" picture about what we are "up to" when there has been so much more to our summer. In a way, I would have felt like I wasn't being honest just highlighting us or the students behind a beautiful backdrop while I was sometimes struggling with being here.

With all of my heart, I believe that students lives have been truly changed since they have been out here. A student even came to know the Lord a few weeks ago! I've seen their eyes opened to truth and their hearts softened by God's grace. It has been a joy to be a small part of their growth, but personally, this summer has been kind of hard!

The summer project schedule has really brought out a lot of my sin and selfishness. The staff work six days a week and have been out of town way more than desired. It's not real life, but it has been long enough to resent the schedule and become tired of staying in our condo with Henry while the other staff are out with the students. My heart has become discontent and even asks the question of what is my purpose in all of this. It is a total blessing to be Henry's mother, so I long to be content with exactly where God has me. I know that a lot of people are reading (and blogging about) "One Thousand Gifts," so I started reading it and making my list in hopes of greater gratitude and embracing every day even if it seems like I lived it the day before. Ann V. says that gratefulness is a learned thing, and I feel like I am just at the beginning of my journey.

I have seen glimpses of change in my heart, and have experienced the blessing of being at home with Henry when Hank gets home from work. It has also been fun to co-lead a bible study to have more contact with students and to hear first hand what they are learning. We're thankful to be in such a beautiful place, for students willing to learn, and for our job with Campus Crusade! Thanks for letting me keeping it real:)

We're here for another 12 days and then off to Fort Collins, CO for our huge staff conference!

first birthday

Henry's first birthday was on Saturday, and it was such a blessing to get to celebrate with our new staff friends on Father's Day! The most memorable part of his first birthday was that he pulled a heavy landline phone (from pretty high up) onto his face and ended up with a blackish eye. It was a toss up for who was more upset (me or Henry)!

1506

We are 1506 miles away from Auburn, and look what I saw at the children's museum yesterday!! War Eagle!

hike

Hank is headed out this morning for a three day hike with two other leaders and 6 students. They will be doing 6 programs throughout their time "out there" that have to do with boundaries, bonding, and consequences and how they relate to our lives and to God.

Crested Butte

What student wouldn't want to spend the summer here and learn about Jesus?! We're somewhat unpacked and Hank has already started his training. We are with some incredible staff and there are even two other one year olds that are here! It is such a blessing to have the other mothers around as well as playmates for Henry. The students arrive Saturday...

here!

I am so excited that the plane flight is over and we are finally here! The flight with Henry was as hard as I thought it was going to be, but he did as well as a one year old could do! We're headed to Crested Butte in a couple of hours (4 hour car ride) where we will be for summer project for 5 weeks or so. As I said in an earlier posts, we look forward to keeping our supporters connected through the blog this summer.

our bags are packed...

We are ready to go! Hank is left EARLY this morning to start out on his 30 plus hour journey to colorado for our summer project in Crested Butte. Henry and I will fly out on Friday morning to meet him. If you think about me, pray for grace for traveling with the little man alone:) I'm going to be using the blog to update supporters on our summer, so there will be a lot more posts about our job with Crusade. Here's some blurbs from our latest newsletter about what we be doing out there...


"Students from colleges all over the states will join us for five weeks this summer. We will pour our lives into them through discipleship, teaching, training, and outdoor adventure. Our goal is that their relationship with the Lord would grow and they would learn how to impact their peers for Christ when they return to their campuses."

"Each student will be personally discipled by staff during their time on project. They will also be meeting in small groups with
other students. Our prayer is that each student will grow in the grace and truth of the gospel through his or her interaction
with others".

"Hank will be teaching a Bible study on the Holy Spirit this summer. He’s been working hard on developing his outlines and is ready to lead! He looks forward to getting to know the guys in his group and having an influence on their lives."

"We are going to be trained as well. Every Monday, we’ll meet with other staff to learn how to better minister to students through engaging their hearts and minds. Our training will be based on the book, Changes that Heal, by Dr. Henry Cloud. His book explains how to have healthy relationships with others and becoming a mature adult."

"Hank (with other staff) will be guiding students through a series of outdoor activities. We will be doing a couple of overnight
backpacking trips, sailing, rafting the Arkansas River, and climbing! These activities act as a catalyst to engaging the students in
spiritual discussions."

My newest niece!

Aren't newborns the best? Especially when they are not your own:) Don't get me wrong, I loved Henry's newborn stage, but there is something about getting to be around a newborn and not having the responsibility. Maelynn Thomas Uzzell is perfect in every way and we had a blast getting to meet her this weekend and hang out with her crazy family! Henry LOVES his cousins, Jackson and Holland, and was giddy for a lot of the weekend just getting to play with them. I'm going to hate taking him away from the chaos to go home tomorrow! Four babies three and under make for a fun packed weekend! We were so thankful to get to spend time with family.

Thompson visit

We had a wonderful time with my parents last week. Henry was teething for part of it, so it was nice to have two extra pairs of hands to entertain booper and get his mind off of those darn teeth! Can you tell that "blue shirt" day was the worst? :) We tried everything to make the little guy happy. It was just one of those days that bedtime couldn't come fast enough.