The day that got redeemed!

So yesterday morning the cable guy came late and stayed late and I had to cancel a precious playdate, of which there are not many left here.  This is what we did while we stayed out of cable guy's way (which incidentally led to me discovering that washable crayons indeed comes off doors and ottomans).  

Then the power went off during Abby Jane's nap which led to a series of events, including knocking out my cell phone and internet, culminating in a slightly shorter nap for my girl and a slightly more worn out me.

So then we arrived at our afternoon playdate with our "Malibu library friends" as I call them, though we haven't been together at the library in quite some time.  

And it was  SO wonderful to be with those friends and let Abby Jane play...

Then they surprised us with a "welcoming home" party from the last two weeks of being gone, which they decided was nicer than saying a "going away" party since we'll play a few more times before we leave.

They had cupcakes from Crumbs, my favorite new bakery.  They gave Abby Jane two precious books, one being A Baby Sister for Frances and the other being Fancy Nancy, which fits our sassy girl (who now insists on wearing her "panties" a.k.a. diaper cover even during naps) to a T!  Finally, they gave me a beautiful set of Bedhead PJs for me to be able to wear in the hospital with the twins.

Unfortunately I do not have pictures of the party part of our playdate, as we were all busy keeping sandy babies out of the cupcakes. I also don't have any pictures of all four of us moms and babies because usually at least one person is corralling a baby back from the ocean!  That will have to be a goal before we leave.  I'm so thankful for these sweet friends!  

4th of July and Job Training/Househunting

This blog is SO long overdue!  So here's the last couple of weeks...

We ran our third Will Rogers 4th of July race with our dear friends Jake, Lesley, and Sammy.  Last year we did the 10K, but circumstances this year indicated the 5K!  It was a fabulous little run despite my leisurely 12 minute pace these days!

Don't be impressed.  Jake pushed Abby Jane most of the way, but it was fun for me to push her down hills because her momentum kind of pulled me along!

Superdad pushing our big kid up a hill.

As is tradition, we had a great time cooking out with the Roberts and enjoying the view from their roof of three or four different fireworks displays along the coast!

We left for Atlanta the next day and Jake started training for his new job on that Monday!  He had a great, great experience and really enjoys his new staff.  We are SO thankful that the Lord has not only provided this job in perfect timing and location... but it's also a GREAT job that he'll really enjoy!

Jake's mom was super-Mimi and watched Abby Jane for some portion of almost every day of the two weeks we were in town.  They had a great, great time together, and it was such a treat to get a glimpse of what it's like to live in the same town as your parents!

Abby Jane's favorite activities at Mimi and  Bop Bop's are playing with the hose, filling buckets, making watering cans "rain"...
"hop"ping off this particular step onto the porch, swinging on the front porch, and listening and watching for "birdies" and "woof woofs".

Jake was able to get in some time with Abby Jane most nights.  She is dying laughing in this picture, despite how irresponsible it looks!

Abby Jane was also able to get in some time with her cousins Cade, Luke, Katie, and Ian, as well as her Grammy (or "Ammy") though I didn't document it!

We are still houseless (though not homeless thanks to the fact that our parents are both in town and we'll stay with them at first). But I was able to look at a ton of places and get a feel for what areas we like.  So at this point, we are continuing to look at what's on the market and what is new on the market.  My deadline to be in a home is middish to late September (it would be fabulous to be in somewhere for a few weeks before I could possibly go into labor!)

 So in the meantime we still have time to find and close on THE home, OR we may rent at first, watch what the market does, and take our time finding a home.  The bottom line is that the Lord has been so faithful in providing just what we need, and we know He hasn't forgotten the detail of where we will live and all the ramifications of the timing in finding that home!

The blog on her being 17 months is to come!

The time has come

A few weeks ago, Jake accepted a job at Kennesaw State, just outside of Atlanta!  He will be the Director of Orientation, and it is a fabulous opportunity for him career-wise.  Kennesaw is the third largest university in Georgia and is doing some really exciting things as it has transformed over the last several years, gaining all kinds of respect these days.  The Lord did so many things along the way of that job process, which was pretty quick, that made it more than abundantly clear that this was His definite perfect plan and provision for our family.  This move also places us with grandparents 30 minutes away on either side of us! 

If you had asked me three years ago how this move back would feel, I would have been far from the target.  We are beyond thrilled at being so much closer to so many of you and all the wonderful things that come with this move- proximity to family and friends, moving from a 2 bedroom apartment into a house, being able to drive to Auburn for games instead of fly :), availability of barbeque and Chick Fil A, having a yard, seeing leaves change... the list goes on and is so sweet.

But as we are leaving this community that has become our surrogate family out here, we are so humbled by how richly the Lord has chosen to bless our time here.  I think partially because the vast majority of our friends are transplants as well, the bond we all have formed is so unique and precious and the experiences we have had here in California have been much the same.  We are so grateful for honor it has been to have these sweet friendships and to have the adventure that has been our California life!

So the remainder of our summer is a bit of a whirlwind to say the least.  We fly back to Atlanta on this Sunday through July 18 while Jake has job training (and I do some serious house hunting!!)  We return on the 18th and Jake leaves on the 19th for his two summer weeks on campus at Azusa for his doctorate (yes, he can continue his program long-distance), while Abby Jane and I will begin the packing process.  Jake gets back on the 31st, and then we officially move August 9 or 10!

Please pray for Jake as he juggles doctoral work, finishing one job, starting a new job, and moving our family and all the details that lie therein.  Please also pray for Abby Jane- my job is to maintain as much consistency as possible in her little baby life, especially in anticipation of how her world will be rocked this fall with the twins!  I have another ultrasound for the twins tomorrow, but they seem to be just rocking and rolling along with no problems, which is such a blessing!  Please also pray that the Lord shows us in His perfect timing exactly which house is the one He has chosen to be our home!  Thank you in advance for these prayers!! 

Here are a few recent playdates as we try to cram in as much quality time as possible... do you notice a pattern to most of the locations? :)

5 years!

It's been five wonderful, precious, adventurous years since this day...

And I could not be more blessed to be married to a more wonderful man!  I cannot imagine going through life with anyone but my Jake (no offense to the other fabulous husbands out there- I'm sure you other girls all feel the same way about your guys!)  But I am so humbled and thankful that the Lord has allowed me to be Jake's wife and has allowed my girls to have him as a father.  He is my other half and my better half and my best friend.  

A very wise gentleman in his mid-70's at church married his wife about 10 years ago.  They are a precious couple who are both pillars at the church.  In referring to his wife, he called her his "good thing"- I think he said it's in Proverbs somewhere that it says, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing." 

Let me flip the verse a bit and say that Jake is MY "good thing"!  Happy anniversary, Love!
We are celebrating with dinner at Duke's tonight and dessert at Geoffrey's- our favorite special Malibu date spot!  Can't wait for our date, and thanks for babysitting, Les!

16 months

Well, we're halfway through her 16th month, but I still wanted to post on it for posterity's sake! The pictures are all from Father's Day afternoon.

This child is such fun.  She cracks us up all the time.  The phrase I hear the most is "Wah-dey?" or "Wah-AH-dey?", which is "Where are they?"  This applies to everything- where is Daddy, Bop Bop, Mimi, Grammy (who is now "Ammy"), the "aih-bow" (airplane), birdie, "neigh" (which refers to the rocking horse in Ammy's basement), the list goes on and on.  

She loves her fruit more than anything, but we made a breakthrough last night and got her to eat vegetables for the first time in a couple of months (other than the spinach I sneak in her cheese quesadillas!)- no kidding- my veggies only child has been on a veggies strike until this week.

She announces "RUN!!!" when she is running, and one of my favorite things she does right now is say, "HI!" to random strangers.  This is particularly funny to me when she does it at the grocery store and catches people offguard... sometimes she gets socially awkward people who don't know how to respond to a baby greeting them so clearly and boisterously.

Abby Jane loves horseplaying and has a fantastic belly laugh when Jake gets her going.  We are soaking up these days with this baby girl!!

Beaches and other good times

Happy Father's Day, everyone!  We got home on Friday from the most fabulous time with our families and with my girls!  I had over 200 pictures, so the following barely skims the surface...

Here are my childhood friends, with whom I had a girls' weekend in Atlanta that first weekend. 

Betsy, Katie, Whitney, and I have been inseparable (in heart, anyways!) since the age of four, for Betsy and Katie, and the age of nine for Whit!  It was medicine to the soul to be with them.

We got to run up to Chattanooga to see the Gregory family for a day and a half as they couldn't join us at Amelia Island this year, and it was so great to be with all of them!  Jo will laugh that I chose this pic for that day, but it was a classic moment of all the kids having a great time in the backyard... and my big sister getting soaked by her kids.

The Gross fam went down to Destin the next week, and Jake and Paul joined us a day later.  It was so fun having the whole family there- fabulous family time, great weather, great SOUTHERN beach, and wonderful pool!

Here are Sandy, Betsy, Luke (3 months), Ken, us, Cade (2) and Paul.

Cade and Abby Jane

"I LOVE THE BABY POOL!!!"

I left the Gross family trip a bit early while Jake kept Abby Jane with them... and I joined my roommates in Panama City!  We had a WONDERFUL weekend of long overdue quality time- I love those girls!
Then Jake, Abby Jane, and I joined my family at Amelia Island for the last week.  This is her first night there... so glad to be on the beach!

The fam at the pool

Happy girl with her daddy

My brother Greg and his family (Ryan-4, Scott-6, Ashley-1), us, and my mama.

It was a great trip, but we were so glad to back home, too! Abby Jane ran around like a kid in a candy shop when she got home and saw all her own things.  Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend!

Bop Bop to the Rescue

Jake's dad Ken flew in on Monday so he could help me fly back with Abby Jane tomorrow!  One fabulous result of that was that he has been around to help me with Abby Jane while I got us packed up.  Jake will come out to join us next week, and we're going to miss him in the meantime!!

So here are a few of Abby Jane's escapades with Bop Bop since he's been here...

She actually hung onto the monkey bars for two seconds or so all by herself!
Swapping hats with Bop Bop

I'm going to get in a couple of girl weekends and we'll have almost a week with Jake's family in Destin, then almost a week with my family in Amelia Island.  YEA for family time!