Baby Turns Four Months, & Other News

 Baby ME turned 4 months on April 14th. Four months! Don't all moms say it: I can't believe it. Where did the time go? Well, I know where it's gone, and I'll get to that in a bit....but still....

ME continues to amaze us with her sleeping skilz and her happy, easygoing self. What a tender mercy of God that she sleeps so well, in this season of intensity and transition. She's indeed a sweet bright spot in everyone's day here, her face always lighting up with a smile.

She is a chubby delight, very contented and sweet. Yesterday she had her checkup and weighed in at 15 lbs, doubling her birthweight. She's entered the octopus stage - you know, grabbing everything with her tentacles.

ME and CA - baby adores all her siblings!

CA was imitating the comical way of infants - the fists and arms flying erratically, the legs pumping randomly. The baby has also started to raise her legs high, putting the soles of her feet together, then letting herself roll to the side. There's also some foot-grabbing starting.

Amazing photos of AH - we enjoyed some time away, just the two of us, recently, and I love, love, love the pictures we got. The sun was gorgeous, the weather divine. The water was icy. We didn't mean to go matchy-matchy, but we realized our clothes were quite coordinated as we got ready to leave!

I love this one, too. So pretty.

LC was part of the elementary school drama production several weeks ago - Schoolhouse Rock Live! She and her fellow cast-members did great! It was a fun, cute show, especially for those of us late-30-somethings who remember Schoolhouse Rock from Saturday morning cartoons as children.

I was nervous (a polite word for anxious, yes?) beforehand about how I would manage the busy-busy schedule that is the week before a drama production...and I was worried over whether I could contribute the help asked of me, which was to create the bio board (there were 2!) in the photo above. God was and is gracious, of course, in spite of my little-faith worries. He gave me the time and help I needed (thank you, sweet husband, for cutting all those little papers for me!) to get the boards done. And though I chose some methods that were frankly time-wasting (hindsight!), it was really satisfying to help out this way! And then there was crazy tech-week, the days before her show - and again, God provided the energy, rest, and unexpected breaks for me and for the family, and I actually got to be more present at the theatre than I expected. The whole family (minus babies) enjoyed her production at the Saturday matinee, then we all went out for pie down the street. So fun! What a great memory! I thought I took better pictures, but it was the coolest place, with mini-pies of ever so many delicious flavors.

Now. Where has the time gone? There's daily life. That's pretty full. We've had doctor's visits and ER visits (she's fine, thankfully!). We've had BB's birthday and spring break as well.

Then there was the house search. I say was because it's done! God has provided us a new home in our new city. The house-shopping was the roller coaster it probably is most of the time for most people. It was our toughest search yet and included the ups and downs you might expect. At last we found a place, signing the papers on Good Friday. It's exciting and overwhelming to think of moving again. That'll happen sometime in mid-May, which is great timing, giving us the summer to settle into the new place!

This year has been both beautiful and hard, simultaneously simple and complicated. Lately, I grieve the loss of our Texas connections more keenly, which makes me so glad God gave them to us!

God has put it in our hearts and minds, BB and me, to think more about glorifying Him...to desire His will above our own, to believe His goodness in all things. It's encouraging to see the way the Lord works to shape and mold our hearts more into His Son's image, even though it's often through upsetting or disorienting events or confusion or through persevering in the mundane. It's a mercy that He does not leave us to ourselves...

And on a funny (and telling?) note: yesterday, I've felt overwhelmed and emotional. Decided to jog. While loping down a pretty flowery-treed street near ours, I swear I heard one of the BIRDS in one of those trees squawk MOM! Yep. Needed a quiet breather, literally.

Lastly, I have to show one of LC's baking projects. She saw this in a recipe book and begged to try making it - multicolored cupcakes! They're very pretty cut in half. She experimented with striped icing, piping it from a makeshift pastry bag. Everyone gobbled up her treats!