Love Those Giggles!

She Sits!

She sat for a long time - unassisted - for the first time last week - but today we caught some pictures of her doing it. She's so proud of herself. :) Unless she actively tips herself over, she can stay like this for a really long time. It's amazing that our little helpless baby can do this already.

Thanks for reading! :)

6 Months, 2 Teeth and 1 Arrowroot Cookie

Yepper - missy Peyton turned 6 months and popped out 2 teeth in the same day. I've edited out the pictures where poor piggy was getting the brunt of her new development - if you know what I mean...

Love those curly toes!

Ewww...

Kurt was a little irritated at me for giving her this on the couch - but the beauty of leather is that it just wipes off! :)

Hey Amy! Thanks for the cute piggy shirt (with Arrowroot guckies down the front...)

Thank You Cards

Only 6 months later... I think I just wrote the last one.
If you have given me a gift and I haven't given you a thank you PLEASE let me know, okay? I may have just misplaced your name - but I want to acknowledge everyone who reached out to us with a present celebrating Peyton's birth.
All 120 of you, so far. :)
(Ack! Writers cramp!)

"Jump"

Peyton's newest sound resembles the primal, animal-like shriek of David Lee Roth during the first 3-seconds of Van Halen's "Jump". Listen to the song and you'll feel like you're in the room with us.

I think it's kinda cool. :)

In other news, Peyton rolled over all by herself (without one of her parents pushing her) on April 14th, and did it again all by herself this morning. I'm so proud. :)

Also - for the astute listeners - I have added a few more songs to the playlist. (I've also changed the colour if you're wondering "what's different?") I have a sudden affinity for the Newsboys that was somehow lacking in my teens - but I suppose I'm just making up for lost time now. Hope that you enjoy.

Blessings!

Happy (Belated) Easter

We took a trip to Melfort and enjoyed Peyton's first Easter with Gramma Lori and Grampa Gord.
Oh - and we went swimming. :)

For Debby

Got it Deb. :)
Tell Matt we enjoyed him vastly and miss him, too. :)
love you!

The Best Analogy I've Heard In A Really Long TIme

Scene opening - Kurt and I at our supper table eating chicken-and-rice dish prepared by yours truly:

Me: "Man! I love the taste of this dish!"

Kurt (shrugging): "It isn't my favorite meal."

Me (sullenly staring): "Well, I love it."

Kurt: "Well, I should say that I do like it but just not as much as other stuff."

Me: continued sullen stare (not my most God-glorifying moment, I'll admit)

Kurt: "Yeah. It's like the Miss America pageant."

Me (shocked out of sullen stare): "Huh?"

Kurt: "Just 'cause a girl finishes last doesn't mean she's ugly. It just means she isn't as pretty as the winner."

I have to say, that was a pretty good one.
I'd personally say this dish is "4th runner up"... but it's all kinda subjective, right? ;)

Randomness, Thy Name is MrsManz

Peyton seems to have a vendetta that brings forth the systematic destruction of all my clean pants.
But she does it with a smile.
--
Our dryer is in the process of dying. It leaves big, ugly red rust-streaks across clothes for some reason. We ordered a new one the other day after Kurt had two good shirts wrecked. Shucks. ;)
--
Peyton has a new cry where she sounds like a Wookie. Did I spell that right, Star Wars aficionados?
--
Hey - did I mention we bought a minivan? Sure did - we traded in the truck for an '08 Dodge Caravan with the DVD player and all the stow-n-go seats. I love it. If the new dryer didn't make me feel like a grown-up...
--
My tan is fading. Already.
The Scottish were not meant to be brown.
--
I'm going to learn to make my own baby food tomorrow. Yaaaayyyy.
The upside of this is that it will save us lots of money.
The downside is that it will kick my lazy butt into action.
Perhaps - if I am not cynical - both are upsides.
--
Seriously. All my pants have been spit up on.
--
Rearranging furniture together is a true test of marital solidarity. Kurt and I passed that exam on Saturday with an approximate B+.
--
I think that my first two paychecks are spent - in theory - already on stuff we have to get done this summer. Including (but not limited to): a fence, camping x 3, Waskesiu, a new fridge, a possible road-trip to BC to visit our friends who just moved there, and all the house upgrades that didn't get done last year. :-P
--
I bought Peyton a little swimsuit and "swimmer" diapers yesterday. I'm ridiculously excited to let her use them on Easter long-weekend. :)
--
The next time I'm in Prince Albert I really need to go to head office and get a new picture taken for my Health Region ID. The last one has serious preggo face. I'd say it had to do with security concerns... but the truth is that I'm just vain. ;)
--
I took a break from tea today and made myself a small pot of coffee. Just a small one, Kurt!
--
I've set a tentative date for Peyton to start sleeping in her own room. (Big sigh...)
--
Oh - I'd also like to spend some $$ on another trip to Arizona in November to see NASCAR. That's the offical story, anyway.
I really just miss my friends down there tons and tons. :)
Kurt thinks the drive would be nice... we'll see... there is a lot of potential blizzard country between us and the sand in November.
--
So speaking of work (or not) I have my first full day of reorientation on Wednesday: go easy on me, Norma! :)
--
Dang! The sunlight is bouncing off my wedding ring and glaring me right in the face. I guess it's a true diamond. (lol!)
--
I'll take that as a sign I should remove myself from in front of the computer and go finish my coffee. :)
--

Some Women Meet Their Husbands At the Door With Candles and Romantic Music

My husband appreciates a ready-to-play game of Monopoly on the table.

He was pretty exited (considering I bought it for him for Christmas with the statement - as he opened it, "I hope you can find someone who will actually play this with you." chuckle...)Really, I dislike Monopoly a lot (Balderdash is more my style). It's ruthless - and Kurt is kinda a slum-lord. This game ended with he threw a couple of hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean and I was losing upwards of $400 bucks each time I passed "go".
Since I know God controls the throw of dice, I guess He's trying to teach me something sanctifying by letting Kurt whip my behind... So what can I say? God is growing me. ;)But boy, I love this man's smile. :) Worth the humiliation, right?
At least that's what I say a few days after the sting of defeat has worn off....

I LOVE This High Chair!

Classy, right? :)

Sometimes I look at the pictures and wonder when (and how!) she got so big...

Spring (and Assorted Thoughts about God)

I'm so thankful that the past 5-plus months could be summed up with the word contentment.
This time last year I could not imagine writing that. I feel like I have spent so much of the last 2 years waiting and anticipating the future.

Hurry winter - end!
Hurry spring - move into summer!
Ugh! Summer is so hot and I'm so pregnant - come on fall!

As those last few weeks moved so agonizingly slow towards the hopeful meeting of our daughter I couldn't even let myself imagine the winter to come - let alone seeing the snow melt!

God's faithfulness is pretty obvious in the whole seasonal-change thing. I mean, even though (especially in this part of the world) it seems as though winter will never end spring always eventually comes. The other day we saw Canada geese back. Soon it will be the crows... and then I'll see little green hints on all our trees. And then one day we'll have to turn on the air-conditioner! The joys of sharing all these things with Peyton is exciting. And for the first time in two years, I hope that summer lasts a really long time. :)

I've been reflecting on the fact that although I couldn't have pictured this time, God always knew it would come. Through the darkest valleys and the deepest pits, He knew the time would come when I would lift my eyes heavenward, take a big cleansing breath and announce to all who would listen, "He carried me through!"

I can still see the dark valley's rim behind me - but I don't feel like I'm teetering on the ledge anymore. The sadness over my beautiful Autumn is still there - always at the edges of my joy.
We still have a few pictures up through the house - some favorites - of our first and only day with her. Some days I pause in what I'm doing, sit down in front of them and the tears come as I just wish... to know what she would look like, sound like, feel like - if she would have been more of a cuddler than her sister (who always needs to be looking around), if I'd be having toddler challenges and tea parties and tickle times...

Peyton is not a replacement - but her birth and life are the proof that - like the seasons that change - God has been faithful to me. He was not obligated - I didn't expect her. But she is here and - by His grace - the joy that she gives me is a true joy. When I look at pictures of myself holding her or if we spend time playing in front of the mirror I can see the difference that 5 months of contentment have made in my countenance.
After we lost Autumn the Psalms of sorrow and grief spoke to my soul. I felt forsaken, alone, bruised and broken. I was lonely and incomplete... and the knowledge that the Lord draws near to those kind of emotions was a special comfort and strength. But today my heart cries out "You have restored me, Oh God my salvation!" And the neat part is that having been broken makes the recovery more complete.

It's like always having been thankful for health - then getting cancer. If you make it through surgery, radiation and chemo, endless blood panels and the illness that comes with all of it and hear the doctor say "remission" - the realization that you are "healthy" is never taken for granted again.

I believe with every fiber of my being that all things are from His hand - joys and sorrows. Otherwise He wouldn't be God. If losing Autumn was somehow out of His control then I could justifiably wonder what event He would lose control of next. The comfort would always be questioned and never complete - always wondering "what next?". But for me, knowing He did it made it a given that at some point - in some way - I would make it through the all-consuming pain of lowering my firstborn child into a grave. I didn't - and still don't - know exactly how it all works... but I had confidence that He is faithful and He has a purpose and that I could rest in it. There were days when that was all I could do... my blog is full of those posts which if I sit and read them brings all the heartache rushing back.

Seeing the cardboard testimonies video was further proof. There are others who have suffered so much more pain than me - but the same God carries His children through each trial.

So spring - with birds and mud and weather that seems so warm (but is actually still too cold to open my windows at night) is really proving to be a season of thankfulness for me this year.
Wow - praise God.

Thanks for reading, everyone...
kendall

The Egyptian Connection

Who knew the "very, very, very boring Egyptians" made all the difference in WWII? :)

Nothing quite like an animated five-year-old's version of history!