The Harnation

A couple of months ago, Matt, Anne Marie, and I met up with Sarah Lyn and had our first ever family photo session!  This was actually Matt's and my first professional photography shoot since getting married, if you don't count that church directory mug head shot about eight years ago!  I'm so happy with them that I'm just going to scatter them throughout this post since I don't have any prints and can't pull them up on my computer screen saver (because it died in the pipe burst).

One of the things I cheaped out on was professional baby photos of Anne Marie.  I figured I had enough talented photographers in my family and could save on the cash (those baby sessions are expensive, y'all!).

I kind of regret that now. 



I have a very talented sister who was always more than willing to take photos for us, but she did have an adorably photographic spawn of her own to document, after all.

I'm thinking that I will have to suck it up and just bite the bullet for Number 2.

Which, by the way, we are expecting in May.  Baby Bravo (boy) is due mid May!



We're excited, a little nervous, and praying for an easy transition to two.  The transition to parenthood was quite the doozy for me and I had a really hard time adjusting.  Since we've already been through the "lifestyle change" to having kids, and Anne Marie is just so darn fun these days, we knew we wanted more kids.

Just not more babies.

Ughh.  I feel like a wretch sometimes but I really don't want another baby.  Does that even make sense?  I am so excited about Baby Bravo, so excited to meet and hold and snuggle him, but I am seriously having anxiety about going through the baby stage again.  I broke down into (ugly) tears in the middle of the hallway at work talking to Amanda about it several weeks ago. 

Those first 6-8 months were just... So. Hard.



Not that we have things figured out by now, but at least I know we're not going to die and our lives aren't ruined.  Anne Marie sure has plenty of spunk (temper tantrums?) and it's not always smooth sailing, but we really are enjoying her.  Every day is something new and fun with her and I can get just giddy thinking about how much I love that little girl!


I feel like I want to tell new parents, "It will be SO HARD at first, but then it will be SO FUN!"  I think it's the best decision we ever made (to have kids).  And I say "decision" because it was a very conscious decision for us.  We were never the couple that always knew we'd want to have kids one day.  There was a long time where we actually loathed the idea, to be honest, and didn't know if it would be good for us.

But God has tested and stretched us and I feel like I've learned so much in the last 20 months.  Parenthood has tested (and then strengthened) our marriage.  It's taught me a lot about my own sinfulness and selfishness.   It's taught me about God's provision for me, for my family, His goodness and steadfast love.  It's been THE most challenging and rewarding things I've ever done.  And I'm just beginning to learn and grow.  I have a long way to go!


Anne Marie.

What can I say about that kid?  She melts my heart.  She can make me so frustrated and yet so completely gooey-eyed all within the same five minutes.  She went through a phase about a month ago where she would lie down and throw a screaming/kicking tantrum on the floor... sometimes 5-6 times a day.  And now she'll run up to me, wrap her arms around me, give me a big kiss, and say, "Hold me!"

Seriously.  If that girl asked me for a pony at the right moment, I would have a hard time exercising any type of self control.


But what I love most about having her is watching her play with Matt.  He is wonderful with her.  Throws her in the air, wrestles, tickles, and just loves on her.  He reads her endless amounts of books (seriously, he seems so much more patient than me.).   She woke up crying in the hotel this morning and I put her in bed with Matt while I took a shower and got dressed.  Watching those two curled up together asleep was about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.


I'm also really enjoying how much she loves and is loved by our family.  There is no shortage of willing baby watchers whenever Matt and I have errands to run or are in need of a date night.

My dad is incredibly wonderful with the kids.  He keeps Anne Marie and Emmett Tues-Thurs while Amanda and I both work part-time.  He's always coming up with new activities for them and sending them home with expanded vocabularies.  He teaches them well and loves them just as thoroughly.

And speaking of Emmett... "E" is about the one person Anne Marie wants to see at any given time.  She loves him and says his name about 20 times a day.  (And who, in their right mind, could ever resist those beautiful "E" eyes?!!)


Even though those two know how fight over toys with the best of them, they are still big buddies.  They are two little tornadoes together, playing (and destroying) all over the house. 


Anne Marie is actually sharing with Emmett here.  If I didn't have photographic evidence, y'all might not believe me...




In non-baby news, two of our most beloved friends are moving out of town and we are just heartbroken over the loss.  Charlie and Lynne have been more than our pastor and his wife.  They've been our mentors, teachers, political debators, friends, and so much more. 

We've had a long-held agreement where Matt will come over and help with something around the house and Lynne will cook for us.  About the second time we came over to do this, Matt finally broke out, "Guys, I feel like we're really just taking advantage of you.  It's no big deal for me to come over and do this stuff, and Lynne's cooking is so phenomenal.  We're really getting the better end of the deal"  (Seriously, Lynne is the BEST cook I've ever known.  Gourmet, superb cooking!).  Lynne looks over, sighs a huge sigh of relief and says, "See, Charlie! ...Charlie's felt like we've been taking advantage of YOU!"

We've all got different skillsets, people!  Some of us are good with power tools.  Some of us are excellent teachers and pastors.  Others can cook you into a Christmas coma.  And then I come in and do the dishes (that's my "skill" ;))


Although I'm sad to see them go, it just means that we've got another stop on our next Mississippi tour!  We're planning part 2 of what we did this past summer (Starkville and Indianola) whenever we're confident enough to travel post Baby Bravo.

Here's two of the friends we saw this past June...


We saw Jonathan and Holly on our trip that included time with our other favorite pastoral family, the Zellners, and are hoping that everyone will let us come see them again sometime. 

This past fall, we've been hosting a small group Bible study twice a month and have had a really wonderful turnout.  30-35 adults, plus kids, have come each week while two friends and I take turns cooking.  Charlie's been the discussion leader and we've really enjoyed getting to fellowship with such a fun group.

The rainfall in our kitchen a couple of weeks ago unfortunately put an end to our hosting abilities for the foreseeable future.



And on the subject of the house... we're in a hotel still but just got approval for a short term furnished apartment that we can move into next week.  Thankfully we'll be able to stay there until the house is completed (no idea when that will be). 


The extent of the damage is so severe that it will be months before everything is put back together.  The entire downstairs (with the exception of our master bedroom/bath) will have to be refinished in some way or another.  The upstairs isn't nearly as bad - new tile/carpet in the upstairs back guest bath and bedroom and maybe some painting.  But the only thing staying the same downstairs is the half bath toilet/sink and kitchen granite.

Which means we have  get to pick out new (just about) everything.  And that's a little bit intimidating for me.  I don't feel like I have any home decorating skills.  I know I like something when I see it, but I lack the ability to pull things together that fit.



So we decided to hire a professional to help us pick out cabinets/flooring/paint/etc.  We decided we had to get it done right the first time and couldn't afford to repeat the experience we had with our master bath in our previous home...

That time I decided I wanted a nice sage green wall color.  We painted that bathroom two different shades of green, both of which were hideous once on the walls.  And then we finally gave up and simply painted it the exact same blue of a friend's hall bath that I had already seen in person and knew I liked.

Ughh.

Anyway, God is good.  Even with the mess in the house and the uncertainty of when we'll be back in (I'm no longer holding out hope it will be before Baby Bravo comes), He has certainly taken care of us.  We have good insurance (and an even better agent!), incredible friends willing to help us clean up, pack, and move things in and out (and even 3 families willing to take our three dogs!!), and we're all healthy. 

Okay, I've probably droned on more than enough for one blog post.  If you've made it this far, you deserve a cookie.

And here are a few more of the photos from our photoshoot, just because I still haven't gotten around to actually printing them all yet!!

I'm beginning to think that posting on here is bad juju.  This isn't the first time I've written a post only to be immediately confronted with a challenge!

So what happens when you write a post for the first time in nearly twelve months?

On the day that I had scheduled a new post to publish, Matt came home from work to discover our kitchen completely flooded. 

After turning off the water at the street, he took this photo:



We called our insurance right away and also had about 8 wonderful friends with shop vacs come to help suck up water in the upstairs and downstairs.  Our insurance agent called in a demo/reconstruction company and they began pulling out all of the wet drywall, ceiling, flooring, and insulation.  By the end of the next day, my kitchen looked like this:


The damage is extensive and the insurance company has been overwhelmed with all of the damage caused by last week's freeze (we had a pipe freeze and burst due to the low temperatures) and so things might be a little slow progressing forward.  We finally got driers into the house yesterday and they sprayed everything down with an anti-fungal/mold treatment. 

Thankfully no one was hurt, we have good insurance, a great agent, and are hoping everything will be resolved in a few months. 

In the mean time, my posting might not be so frequent/verbose (as if you'd notice anyway)... my laptop ended up with probably a hundred gallons of water poured over it over the course of last Tuesday.