2007

(Me in 1979.)
Today marks the last day of another amazing year of life. And tomorrow is the beginning of a new chapter that is ready to be written. I am in awe of all that Josh and I have done this past year with Huntleigh now being a part of our lives. I realize more and more that my life is no longer about me. I guess it never really was, but I certainly lived as though it were. And the truth is, I still want to live as though life is all about me because when Huntleigh somehow interrupts my pursuits, I am quick to be frustrated. Huntleigh is my beautiful, precious and prized gift that daliy reminds me of how selfish I really am and how helpless I am without Jesus to daily forgive me and restore me in his perfect graciousness. She certainly makes life more rich than it ever was before...this is sometimes manifest in small ways and sometimes in very large ways with her big personality. These are the things I love: finding her magnetic letters in the dishwasher when I go to put the dishes away...watching her excitement and pride when she gets a puzzle piece in the proper place all by herself...hearing her laugh with Josh...watching her dance...having her come and squeeze my leg when she wants to hug me...observing the incredible speed at which she learns and retains new things...the list is possibly endless. These are the things that are difficult: interrupted sleep...a limited vocabulary with which we communicate...insatiable tears with no obvious source for reason...physical pain that I cannot subdue...manifestations of original sin...narrow-mindedness in regards to food. But at the end of the day, when the floor is swept of crusty food and I have finished my daily chores, I reward myself by peeking at the treasure sleeping so tranquilly in her crib and am refreshed for the next day. So 2007, we are ready to write the story. Where will you take us this year?

you shall about all things be glad and young

These pictures were my Christmas gifts to all my siblings this year. The black and white is my mother-in-law, the other, my mom. I wanted to post these because they are pictures that capture the beauty of both of our moms. There is an essence to each that is inescapable in these photos and is transcendent to time.

you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you're young,whatever life you wear
it will become you;and if you are glad
whatever's living will yourself become. e.e. cummings


Marilyn.

Debbie.

Christmas card fiasco

the end of an era.

Josh surprised me last weekend and took me to get a new car. He had been scheming with Kyle Trenary for some time and I was aware of the phone calls, but not so aware of the time line. I have very mixed emotions about no longer having the 4-Runner. If you really loved your old car, then it is a surprisingly emotional thing to trade in cars for a different one. I still remember when Josh came to school with that 4-Runner our Senior year of college. Four years later it became my car when we got married and I've been driving it ever since. There are so many memories that go with the 4-Runner, so many miles covered, so many stories. I've moved on to bigger vehicles to make room for more car seats and baby gear. My new car is so big, I'm almost embarrassed. But I am excited about it and am loving it. (It's a black Tahoe.)


I know this was indulgent, but I was just saying goodbye.

playground date

daddy took the afternoon off and we went to the playground near our house. hunts is a fan of the slide, but not so much the swing.

through a glass darkly.

...but soon we shall see face to face.

sweet smile

[i know my friend Danielle wrote this on her own blog about her own babe], but seriously....could this child get any cuter?!

hilarious

apparently my parents taught huntleigh how to "high five" sometime last week. this picture is so accurate a rendering of the situation, that it looks fake. oh, i am good.

worn out

we went walking through the gardens afterward to see the big fishies in the japanese garden and got all rosy red-cheeked. i could just never get enough of this face. could you?!

trains at the garden

we took huntleigh to see the model trains at the Botanical Gardens but she was hardly interested in any of it. once again, you see the half-scowl here...not sure what that was about. there were these two children who kept coming up to hug her--complete strangers--they were very nice, but really affectionate for strangers. maybe that's what all the scowling was about.

half-scowl

huntleigh had this new scowl face for awhile that was like this one, but much more intimidating. she would use it for friend and stranger alike, and i could never figure out exactly what it meant. i'm glad we've moved on from that face, but i know there will be many more to follow.

first haircut!

huntleigh had her first haircut on wednesday by my stylist, Christy. she sat through it like she was a superstar and did an amazing job. we hardly had enough hair cut to be noticable, but still, this was a big milestone for us. juice boxes and teddy grahams are great concepts.

christmas tree baby

fun in the bath

well, mommy had fun with shampooing huntleigh's hair while hunts had fun with bath toys.