We'll Be In Touch

Canon had his first soccer "practice" this past Saturday! We signed up him for a 6-week tots class put on by Alexandria Soccer Association. Canon has always loved soccer and loves to kick a ball, so I thought it would be a really fun way to get us out of the house on Saturday mornings before football comes on. It was about as chaotic as you can imagine to have 10 (?) kids, parents and a coach running around, but everyone did a great job. There were some kids who paid really close attention and followed all the directions and those who just ran around to their own whim the whole time. Canon fell right in the middle. I was really proud of the way he followed his coach (with our help), but I could tell by the end he just wanted to do his own thing. They had warm-ups, then did some "dribbling" skills, and ended with quite a few games including building towers with blocks and kicking their balls to knock it over. I spent the entire time smiling and laughing while Aaron

Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to be part of some awesome ministries. From time to time, I've been given the chance to speak and I wanted a place to keep those files. Here is where I'll post my talks, Bible Studies, etc that I'm either doing or creating.  Arise Campus Ministry at George Mason University 9.23.2014 This week I want to tell y’all a little about my story, because the word “belonging” is extremely significant in it. I came to Christ at the end of middle school – which for me were terrible years. Think about all the stereotypes of mean girls and being made fun of and left out, and that is my story. It all really fell apart for me at the beginning of my 9 th  grade year when every girl I had left middle school fighting to maintain a friendship with completely ignored me. I had a peripheral friendship with a girl who was a church goer and accepted her invitation to become part of their youth group. I had been on and off, but nev

Wow, the past 15 weeks have really flown by. I'm glad that I feel like I made it until about 24 weeks until the bump was pretty big - but now it is clearly there! I start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now, which was also a shock when they told me. That can only mean that we don't have too much longer!! (84 days to be exact) How far along:  28 weeks! Baby Size:  a butternut squash or eggplant 15.25in & 2.5lbs Weight gain:  +14 Maternity clothes:  allll maternity - loving my full panel pants!    Sleep:  potty break at least once through the night    Gender:  BOY! Movement:  yep! I feel him all the time actually, especially at night, and Aaron has even begun to be able to feel him with his hands Best moment this week:  well, in the last 4 weeks....starting Bible study and getting Canon to finally sleep in his toddler bed Looking forward to: counting down the days, its getting so close! Food cravings:  nothing

I took Canon to his 2 year old appointment last Friday. One of the questions I had for our Doctor was her 3 most important pieces of advice for getting ready for a new baby. She said that whatever transitions we need to do, do as soon as possible and as far away from baby's arrival so that Canon doesn't associate the change with the baby, for example, the crib to bed transition. Well, that was just the kick I needed to get going since we already had a put together toddler bed waiting to be either used or stored. This is our week of transition - probably more for my own benefit as we will eventually put baby #2 in a toddler bed as well and I want to remember what it was like. Saturday: After Canon's nap, we pulled the toddler bed into the living room. When he woke up, we started moving things too fast and he fell apart when Aaron tried to get his mattress out of the crib. So we walked him into the living room to see his bed and give him a chance to adjust. From then

We had the best time celebrating Canon's 2nd Birthday! Before Aaron and I had really even started discussing birthday plans, Aaron got the idea to use Canon's birthday as an excuse to host a Flag Football Game. (Lucky for Canon, his birthday falls right around the kick-off of football season, so I have a feeling this won't be the only football themed party in his life!) I wanted to be sure we had enough entertainment for those who were bringing kids, so I found a park in Old Town with a large field and a two-story playground. Though it rained all.day.long, the sun finally peaked out about an hour before "kick-off" and we had a great time! We are so grateful to all our friends who came to celebrate and play with us!  The party-prep was pretty easy, though probably not Pinterest worthy! We picked up table cloths, napkins, balloons, etc from Party City that went along with our football theme. I got a vegetable tray, fruit tray, chips, water and cupcakes from th

Aaron decided he wanted to do a Whole30 for September. Because of that, dinners have been kind of interesting the past 2 weeks. I told him I was totally on board for dinners, and though I'm not going full on Whole30, I am trying to curb my sugar addiction! Aaron has been doing most of the cooking, which is why I don't have a lot of links, and he likes pretty simple food, but this is a sample of what we've been eating! * chicken & green beans (chicken w/ salt, pepper, garlic powder) * tuna steaks & green beans * lamb w/ vegetables (sweet potatoes, asparagus) * ribs & broccoli * rosemary chicken & sweet potatoes w/ garlic * grilled salmon & avocado salsa * balsamic pork chops, caramelized onions and garlic fries I'll do a full re-cap of his experience (or maybe I'll make him  write one!) at the end of the month.

I can't believe I have a 2 year old! As I sat rocking him last Wednesday night, his last night as a 1 year old, with his legs draped across my lap, I couldn't help but reminisce about all the hours I've spent rocking him in that same chair over the last 2 years. From swaddle, to sleep sack, to PJs and now even sometimes with tennis shoes on, he's grown so much since then! I've said it multiple times, the physical changes that have happened over this year have been harder on me than the previous one's. There is little baby left in my sweet boy, exchanged for a rowdy, wild, sometimes stubborn toddler who loves people, an audience and anything that he can throw! Aaron and I joke that the parenting part of this whole journey is really just now beginning and I'm excited to see what will happen this upcoming year. For his actual birthday, we started the morning with coffee & breakfast with our favorite neighbors, Meg and Avery. C