Happy Halloween!

Here are some fun pics of Caroline. She is still working on figuring out what crawling is. The pic you see her up on all 4's is where she gets to and then just can't figure out the rest quite yet! She is a ballerina for halloween...which basically meant she wore this to lunch w/ her daddy at work today...doubt we'll be doing any official trick-or-treating!

Firsts

Caroline and I have made it back from Kansas with several firsts now under out belt!
It was great to go home, see a Kansas sunset, splash in the hot tub w/ my niece and nephews, eat mom's good cooking...laugh w/ my brother and at my brother...see Daddy's smile and loud booming laugh, and watch mom work w/ kids at her school...home is good.
CDH and I however got hit w/ the sickness...the day after we arrived CDH got her first fever 102.2...thankful that she's been here for 7 months and this was her first fever. She recovered nicely w/ a little infant tylenol. I began to battle the chest/head cold...then when we went to Wichita to help Eastside Community Church launch KidStuf and CDH got the pukes that her cousin passed around our whole family...she was #5 to go down and I was #6...thank goodness for Grammy to help out w/ both girls down for the count w/ the pukes. Then on Monday CDH began to cut the first of two teeth...the other one she is working on today I believe. For all of you first time mom's out there the poo that happens w/ teeth is amazing...Jason and I have termed it "cement poo"!
Again...who knew I would talk as much about boobs and poo as I have these past 7 months.

We arrived back home last night and are adjusting back to life here. Good to be in our own beds...toys...dogs...

Oh yeah...one of the best parts of the trip...my roomie surprised me and flew to KC on Sunday to hang w/ me and my fam for a couple of days. What a good husband!

caroline

Finally Fall

Finally fall is here...the temp today was in the mid 70's...chilly actually outside!! I am making a pot of chili tomorrow...life is good.

So the last couple of posts have been a bit heavy so thought a cute blue eyed darlin' would delight all of you. She really is doing well. She is close to crawling, rocking up on all 4's, sits up fairly well...She still eats 4 times a day, but that will all change when we come back from KC. I have been waiting to adjust her schedule until this trip home was finished. Caroline and I leave on Monday the 15th to go to KC. The Lord has provided a couple of contract opportunities. I am going to choreograph my mom's school musical (Oliver) while home. I used to do this in college all the time to earn some $$...then over the weekend CDH, and my mom and I will go to Wichita where I am going to help (along w/ Michael Simmons, and Billy Boughey) a church cast vision about doing KidStuf!! What a blessing! Plus I will have much needed time in the mid-west. I'll be home for about 10 days. It has been 5 months since I've been home, CDH was about 10 weeks old...my she has changed. I am sure I will have much to report once we return. Until then...enjoy the beauty!

The Perversion of Excellence

So a pretty heavy title for my daughter's blog site...but I needed a place to share what the Lord has taught me this week and I think, or wonder perhaps if it might speak to some other mom's out there too..so here goes. (oh yeah. no pics at the moment b/c my camera needs a new battery)...
This week I came face to face with an "old friend" perfectionism again. I really struggle with this, and often become quite defensive when my life doesn't seem perfect. Those closest to me I am sure notice. I have known for awhile that my defensive nature and struggle w/ perfectionism would be dealt w/ from the Lord. So, this week it hit me. Perfectionism is the perversion of excellence. My mom and I have talked several times that any good and perfect thing from the Father, Satan has a perversion to counter it. And I believe the drive to be perfect is the perversion of what the Father would ask of me to be excellent.
The more I thought abou this the more I realized that while working in KidStuf I told the team on Sunday's that I wanted an excellent show, not a perfect one. I wanted a show that glorified the Lord and if it wasn't "perfect" I was okay, b/c I knew it was excellent. However, as I thought the other day, I do not apply that same pricipal at home. If dinner wasn't as flavorful as it could be then I would beat myself up, if Caroline struggled during the day I would beat myself up, if I hadn't vaccuumed yet this week, again...I would beat myself up b/c it wasn't "perfect"....oh how I have believed the lie.
I opened my eyes the other morning and saw a clean home, a child who is joyful and on a good schedule, a great marriage, laundry done, and a home cooked meal on the stove...I have an excellent home. No longer will I believe the perversion....
The main thing here is that Christ is the only perfect thing, so to try to strive for that will only leave me in a chronic state of worthlessness...
I have an excellent marriage, child, home...
Thank you Lord for the freedom in this lesson....