I can't believe it's July!

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last took the time to sit still and write something down!  So many "little" things take up my days and it's like I blink and a week has gone by!  Seriously; I have good intentions to do a lot of things every day, but it doesn't work out.  I might put on my work out clothes, and find myself work-out free 6 hours later; or get the exercise ball out for crunches, and wind up using it as a toy with Addie instead; or I start separating the clothes to do laundry, but when the gal comes in to play with the dirty clothes I sit down and play with her... yes, it's gross.  Oh well.

June was such a busy month.  It started with a week at the beach with my sweet in-laws and 4 nephews.  I would argue with almost anyone that I have the best in-laws, hands down.  They have always gone out of their way to treat me like I was their daughter/sister, and they go out of their way to include me in lots of things that Brad can't attend.  This summer was a great example: Brad was in Arizona for a class, but the Gowings insisted that Addison and I take up precious space in the condo they were in for the whole week!  (With 4 boys, space was in high-demand, haha.)  In fact, my sweet father in law took the "big boys" (ages 6, 5, and 3) camping in his RV every night so there would be plenty of sleeping room. 

Addison enjoyed the beach - she LOVED the sound - and the pool every day.  It turns out our gal is part fish!  She crawled right into the water when I let her, put her face in at every opportunity, and drank what I'm sure is entirely too much chlorine and salt water... her diapers testified to that.  I had a great time too; I got to catch up with my good friend and sis-in-law, Britton, got a little sun, spent time with my 4th nephew, Jake (who is 4 months younger than Addison but bigger!) and I was proposed to.  My 3rd nephew, Ben, asked if he could kiss me on the lips and marry me!  That little guy certainly has my heart!  I told him that I couldn't marry him because I already had a husband, Uncle Brad.  Ben thought about that for a few minutes, and told me that "he been gone a long time" so it was okay to marry him instead.  Is that the best, or what?

Vacation Bible School was next... "B-b-b, b-b-b, big apple adventure..."  is still ringing through my head!  My sweet boss for the past 6 months, our children's minister, is retiring.  This is her 24th year at First Baptist Church, and she has led the ministry to grow and change with the times.  She has such a heart to bring children to the Lord.  That probably sounds like an obvious statement (shouldn't all childrens ministers?), but she goes above and beyond to make the Gospel understandable and accessible to children and their families.  She's great at reading people - of all ages - and meeting their needs.  I have learned so, so much from her, about ministry and ministers, about children and how to show them love, about God and different ways to share Him with those around us, even those who already know Him.  She is so quick to give the Holy Spirit credit for all that He does.  I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to get to know her and learn from her. 

My sweet sister is a mommy.  Her father's day present to her crazy husby was a new baby boy - William Holmes Morel Jr. - Holmes.  Isn't he so sweet looking???  I just can't wait to get my hands on him!  Addison and I are making the drive up to meet him this week... please pray for long naps and an easy traveler for me on Sunday!

July will be an even busier month!  We start off with our trip to meet Holmes, and the 4th.  Addison's birthday party will be on the 9th, and we'll be visiting with my mom.  And Brad will be busy, busy, busy with youth stuff this month!  I hope to make a trip up to Birmingham before the summer is over to see some friends, but we'll see.

Addison turns 1 in just a few days.  I am simply in awe of how fast time has flown by.  She's walking a little more, and is so expressive!  Every time we repeat something she watches our lips and mimicks the movement with her own, whispering her version of whatever the word is.  She says all sorts of important things in her "language" that I can't understand, and makes sure we know she's talking to us too!  She dances whenever she hears music; you should see her little hips shake.

God is busy with me, too.  I've been reading Francis Chan's Forgotten God, on the Holy Spirit and how modern Christians don't fully enjoy or experience all that He is for us.  If you have never read or listened to Chan, DO SO NOW!  God has blessed him with this incredible way of calling out his readers in very personal ways.  He uses scripture, respected theologians, and his own experiences to teach truths.  Here are some examples:

If it's true that the Spirit of God dwells in us... shouldn't there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God and the person who does not? (Chan)

The Christian's life in all it's aspects – intellectual and ethical, devotional and relational, upsurging in worship and outgoing in witness – is supernatural; only the Spirit can initiate and sustain it. So apart from him, not only will there be no lively believers and no lively congregations, there will be no believers and no congregations at all.  (J.I. Packer) 

What would your church (and the worldwide body of Christ) look like if everyone was as committed as you are? If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered? Or weak and listless? (Chan)

Re-read that last one.  Slowly.  I am praying that the Holy Spirit shows me what I should be doing.
Happy Fourth of July!  Check out my little Patriot...

Word count...

Addie is getting bigger by the second!  No, I'm not kidding: I watched her on the video baby monitor today (while she was supposed to be napping; joke's on me) and she was significatly taller, when compared to the side of the crib, than just a few days ago!  I feel like I've blinked and missed the entire spring... now it'll be June, then July, and I will have a one year old.  Where has the time gone?  This must be what it feels like for the rest of parenthood: a strange mix of excitement at watching your child grow and do and learn, and nostalgia for her to come snuggle up in your lap for a few more minutes. 
Word count: 7.  That's right, SHE CAN SAY 7 WORDS!  Now, please do not come ask her to say them; she absolutely refuses to do anything on command any more (she's like Brad).  But these are the words we've heard her say: mama, dah dah, bye-bye, bop (for Pop, Brad's dad), yit (for light), baba (for baby, her doll), duh (for duck), and today she pointed at Rosco and said "rah."  I think that counts.

I tried to get some shots of this couple together; it's hard.  She's always trying to kiss him (which involves putting his gross hair in her mouth), and he's trying to make sure she doesn't grab his whiskers or tail.  He's so good and gentle with her around; I turned around the other day to find her hand in his mouth (yikes!), but he just stepped backwards.  She gets so excited to see him, no matter what.  I'm kind of surprised "Rosco" wasn't her first word. 

a "best" friend

I have a sweet, sweet friend Denise who is possibly the best friend I've ever had.  Not like "my best friend" - that girlish thing we tend to do where we put friends into levels of importance, to describe a person who I tell everything to and is my closest friend.  She is simply, legitimately a good friend.  We met at church in Dothan, and in the two short years we lived there we became very close.  Since then we talk regularly and visit about once a year.  Yes, she's someone I share a lot with, who I ask to pray for me when I need it.  She knows me well, and - maybe just as important - she knows my husband well and understands our relationship.  Denise is so good at being a friend and showing love.  She reads people well - what they need and whatnot - so well, in fact, that as a women's ministry in our old church, she and a few other women have assigned groups of women to each other for mentoring.  When Brad and I sold our house in Dothan and we had to move out ourselves, Denise showed up at my house with boxes and tape.  My mom was helping me pack - Brad had to work - and Denise arranged dinner for us and stayed for an entire two days while we worked furiously to get it done!  At the time she had a 1 year old, so I know she had to scramble to find someone to watch her baby.  She is selfless like that.  I pray that I have a chance to be as good a friend to her one day.
Denise brought her two girls into town earlier this week, and we had a great time!  Mary Selwyn is almost 4 and Adeline is 2.  We played at the park, the girls "performed" on my fireplace "stage," and we went to the beach.  What a great start to the week!

Addison was enthralled by the big girls, as she always is by other kiddos.  I'm not sure she'd call them her "best friends" though... today that title seems to go to her daddy's foot - gross!

It's tough being the center of attention...

Not me; Addison.  Not to brag, but I often think that my kid is the coolest thing ever.  (Although at this moment she's fake-crying in her bed because she doesn't want to take a nap.  This part is not cool.)  Apparently other people agree.  It seems like everywhere we go people are so considerate and nice and loving towards Addison... even on an airplane where she bugged the woman next to us and fussed for the entire 40 minute flight, our neighbors were very accommodating.  Folks in restaurants comment or smile at us; while walking through a grocery store, people stop to wave back at Addie - she can be very persistent. 

Last weekend Brad, Addison, and I flew to Charleston to meet my family and celebrate my brother's graduation from college.  Between the commissioning ceremony (Drew is now a 2nd Lt. in the US Army - that's crazy!), a parade during a rain storm, a long fancy dinner, graduation, and lots of time in the car, Addie sat threw a lot of not-fun stuff for her!  She was so good.  She was not actually the center of attention - after all the weekend was about Andrew.  She did get a lot of love and attention.  Well, I guess everyone did. 

With the exception of a very stuffy waiter Saturday evening - who obviously was not used to kiddos and looked nervous the second we asked for a high chair - people everywhere were accommodating.  I really expected to get dirty looks and to be one of a few babies around all this college graduation stuff, but there were a lot of babies.  Addie was pretty great.  She didn't sleep a lot, and it caught up with us on the way home on Sunday.  Happy Mother's Day to me.  :)  It was a yuck way to end a fun, short weekend.  Too short to enjoy my parents and grandparents, and to watch my goofy brother-in-law torture my pregnant sister, and to ship my brother off to his life in the Army.  Sigh. 

We worked on Addison's immune system for a few hours Sunday, as she crawled and walked all around the Atlanta airport.  Speaking of the airport: I had a hard time finding a TV that was showing the news.  I thought that was weird; they usually have tons of TVs with CNN or something on throughout the terminal.  When I got home and realized that there had been 3 planes diverted due to suspected terror alerts, I was first thankful that it wasn't one of the planes I had been on, then amused that the ATL folks apparently were nervous about what we passengers would do if we heard about terror threats.  I guess they thought we'd revolt or something.  Funny, but in an ironic way. 

Happy Easter!

I love Easter. I love the colors, and the bunnies, and the baskets, and the eggs.  Apparently Addison does too.

this was right before leaving for our first egg "hunt" yesterday - we just gave Addie the eggs

"look what the Easter bunny left me!"

what is she trying to convey here?  what a funny face!

You always hear that "there's nothing like being a Mom."  I used to think "duh stupid."  Like, I knew that it would be like nothing else, and that I couldn't imagine what it would be like before I had a kid myself, but it just seemed like such an obvious statement.  Now I actually think that obvious statement!  I don't say it to my friends, but I think it to myself, and am overcome with what a blessing it is just to experience the role of motherhood.  I love every new face (like the sneaky one above) and noise she makes.  I can't wait until she can tell me what she's saying.
Today is Easter.  I was explaining what we celebrate to Addison this morning - that we celebrate a risen Lord - and she seemed very interested. 

this is the cross that's put up in front of our church every year on Palm Sunday.  Throughout Holy Week it bears a black cloth, and on Easter morning there's a purple robe draped around it, and people bring flowers to put all around it. 

Addison may not be able to hunt eggs yet, but she likes to hold the little empty plastic kind and bang them together.  Today she was trying to crawl and walk all around in her long, fancy Easter dress and kept getting tangled up - the above picture was right after a frustrating moment.

What a daddy's girl, huh?  Well, looks can be deceiving.  Lately she wants to go from one of us to the other and back.  I don't know if she's finally really getting to that clingy stage that most babies get, or if she is cutting another tooth, or what.  I kept the nursery today during one of our services and she was only happy if I was holding her!  Addison sees me hold and play with other babies all the time, but today she wasn't having any of that.  Brad, and later his dad, stopped in our class today, and she cried when both tried to pick her up.  What's up with that???
I hope that you had a chance to hear the Gospel today.  I hope that it convicted you and reminded you of the purpose behind the death and resurrection of our sweet Lord.  I've always believed that hearing the Gospel will draw people to Jesus.  I heard David Platt, author of Radical and pastor at The Church of Brook Hills in Birmingham, during a Secret Church simulcast on Friday.  He specifically argued against that idea - he said that the Gospel should make us run scared because of the life that being a Believer and Follower calls us to.  (I'm paraphrasing.)  While I understand that intellectually, emotionally I still like that metaphor that we're all created with a God-shaped hole that can only be filled with Christ.
By the way, if you want a challenging, difficult, possibly life-changing read, check out Platt's book.  I'm reading and it's putting a whole new spin - based entirely on Scripture - on things.

Happy Easter.

Clicker Hogs

That's right: I live with two clicker hogs.  Brad has been one for years.  He denies it, of course, but he is.  He can't let up!  If I put the TV on a channel he wants to watch, Brad still comes looking for the remote control, or "clicker."  Addison is quickly turning into her daddy's girl...

Can you see the clicker on the chair?  I turned around for a minute and she had it.  I am still kind of shocked that she's tall enough to reach over the arm of the chair like that; I feel like she's grown several inches in the last few days!  A few minutes after I snapped this picture (after I snuck the clicker away from her), she was using her walker-toy and pinched her sweet finger in it.  It was the saddest cry I've ever heard!  I got her little fingers un-snuck, and loved on her for a few minutes, kissing her sweet, purple fingers and trying to get her smiling again.  What finally worked was handing her the clicker.  Am I a sucker or what?

Sleeping on the job...
Addie hates to nap at school.  It's not like she just loves to nap at home... she just hates to miss even a second of the "action."  Even if every other kiddo in her class is asleep, the lights are off, and nothing's happening, chances are good that she's going to fight sleep.  Monday, however, was a new one: she fell asleep, but not during "naptime."  Instead she fussed and fritzed around until lunch time, then passed out in the high chair, mid-juju, and slept for almost 30 minutes.  How ridiculous!  How cute!  Her teacher came running to get me, and we snapped this quick pic:

By the way: "jujus" are the word we use for puffs/cheerios.  (Not Addison, but us grown-ups.)  Brad brought the nickname with us from Dothan, where our sweet friend Mary Selwyn - now three years old - used to call every kind of snack a "juju."  Brad actually thought the real name for puffs was "juju."  The name stuck, and probably will for a while.  We're hoping for a visit from Mary Selwyn and her sweet sister and mama next month.  I'm sure those "big girls" will teach Addie a few more things that'll stick with the Gowings.  :) 

A Pot and a Spoon...

It's amazing how much energy it takes to entertain a 9 month old.... It's also amazing how little it takes to entertain a 9 month old. 

This is Addison this morning.  Today has been a great day - no fussing, good napping, good eating.  Last week was slightly rough.  We had some separation anxiety (on her part, which of course causes it on Mommy's part), and two days of no napping, and I was working on cutting out one of our nursing times.  And that second tooth was still giving us fits. 
One afternoon she was inconsolable - not crying but really whiny.  After every toy had been played with and I had made every silly noise and face I could think of, I got out this little pot and a big spoon.  Addie was as happy as can be and totally emersed in making music long enough for me to go to the bathroom and cook dinner.  Phew!  After days of listening to the 5 o'clock whine, how did I not think of this sooner???  Since then, I've kept it hidden and pulled it out only when I needed a quick distraction for her.
Some other things she loves: the pantry.  The dishwasher.

The front yard.  Check out the drool.

A good stroller ride.  (She does not, by the way, like the sunglasses.  She's only still wearing them in this picture because I distracted her with her "purse."  That thing is a lifesaver.  And a nuisance.)

Rosco.  ("Mom, why can't he come inside???)

Toast.  That's right: our gal is eating toast.  This one 1/3 slice took her 30 minutes to eat this morning, but she loved it.  By the way: how much does she look like her Daddy in this picture?

The park.  Our friends Henry and Clayton.

On a slightly different note, I am constantly thankful to have good friends around with kids Addison's age.  The boys above are one month and one day older than her.  We have another set of twin-friends two weeks younger than her.  Several friends have kids about 6 months older.  It's been so fun to see them all grow and do new things together!  Also, my friends who are quick to listen to a whine from me, or give advice when I need it - and withhold advice with I can't handle any more info.  The families in our youth group who love Brad like he's one of their kids, and let him/us love on their kids in the same way.  We've been blessed beyond measure here in Pensacola. 

Oh, and I have plenty of pots to go around.  :)