Hello, strangers

I know, I know... I've not blogged in, like, forever. I truly intended to blog a lot over the summer. I planned to blog about our trip to Italy, share lots of pictures of Isaac, etc. Truth be told, I haven't wanted to blog. It's felt like another commitment that I don't really have the time for. But, I finally realized that blogging is not a requirement and sometimes, something's gotta give. So... I took a break. And, now my desire to share has returned... success! You're welcome, Mom. You're welcome. :)

Summer was super busy. And when I say super, I'm really not exaggerating. We only had 2 weekends that were spent at home, so it was actually quite exhausting. But, nonethless, it was WONDERFUL. I so enjoyed our family trip to Italia, our numerous trips to the lake and time with my boys and family. And, while getting out of the house typically involved a trip to the store since it was WAY too hot to play outside, we still managed to play the day away!

Our Isaac is getting to be SO grown up. He's talking up a storm. The process of language acquisition is amazing. He went from communucating with one or two words to four and five word sentences almost over night. And he seems to use new words nearly every day. How is that even possible? Nowadays he's speaking in nearly complete (and grammatically correct!) sentences. Again... amazing. If you don't have a kid, you should really look into it. I highly recommend them. :)

Brandon and I also found out over the summer that we were going to be having another baby! Unfortunately, we lost the baby when we were 10 weeks along. It's been a rough couple of months, but God is good. He has been faithful to answer our prayers throughout this difficult time, and the love and support we've had from both our biological and church families has been a testiment to His faithfulness. My heart and mind are in a much better place than they were with our first miscarriage, which I am incredibely grateful for. While the tears still come from nowhere from time to time, my joy is soundly intact.

Thank you, dear Lord, for carrying us through this difficult time. I know that You are in control and that this is Your Will. I know that You will take better care of our baby than we ever could have.

Okay, so I know you've been waiting for the pictures... I promise it was worth the wait!

Italy:

Our little comedian

Inside the Basilica

Amalfi

Shoreline of Riomaggiore

Streets of Riomaggiore

Ruins of Ancient Rome

Isaac turned TWO!

Loving on "baby Kake"

Stay tuned!

A tale of two showers.

I have had the honor of serving on the inreach committee for my Sunday School class this year. Mostly, this means that I organize showers for the ladies in our class that are expecting (three were expecting this year, each of them due a month apart), as well as organizing meals for families after a new child has been born, surgeries, etc. I have loved every minute of this ministry and hope that these families have been, and will be, touched by the genorosity of those in our Sunday school class by their giving of gifts, their time, their love and their cooking! Here are a few pictures from the most recent shower we hosted for Emily and her soon to be baby boy, Jackson.

Great food!

So pleased with the way these turned out!
Emily and her beautiful mother. Can you believe she's due in a few weeks?!

Opening gifts

In preparation for the shower, I decided it was finally time to get around to making the shower curtain for the bathroom that Brandon and I have recently re-decorated. We went for a much more contemporary style for this room that is in the rest of our home. We wanted to have more of a masculine feel since this is, primarily, Isaac's bathroom. I searched high and low for a pre-fab curtain, but to no avail. Then began my quest for a geometric patterned fabric in a yellow-on-gray color scheme. It doesn't exist. So... we improvised! While the shower curtain is certainly not as perfect as it would be if my Mom had made it, I'm pretty happy with it. This was my first solo sewing endeavor, so I'm proud that it was, for the most part, a success! Here are some before and after shots of Isaac's "new" bathroom. Although, it's weird... he hasn't said anything about it yet. :)

Before the "remodel"

After many hours of painting and stenciling...

So hard to get a good shot of this....

The curtain and panels hang from the celing

Sheer genious

After Isaac's bath last night, I went to work giving him a much needed nail clipping. Halfway through the task a wiggleworm emerged, anxious to play with the clippers. I held my own until the job was finished - all 20 wriggling fingers and toes - and happily placed the much desired clippers into his chubby little hand. He attempted several times to open them, and upon several failed attempts, asked, "Mama, ahpo?" (translation: Mama, open?). I sat him up after getting him into his PJ's and showed him how to open the clippers on his own. He watched closely and shot me that amazing smile after I showed a couple of times. After our lesson, I continued with the bedtime routine by meticulously combing through his precious head of hair when suddenly he exclaimed, "I did it!".

And he had.

AND he said so, too. Genious. Sheer genious. Sir Isaac himself.

The Great Outdoors

We had lots of fun family time in the backyard this weekend. Ok, well, most of it was fun. Several hours of it was spent working in the backyard, pulling weeds, etc. Even Isaac got his hands dirty helping Mama pick up the weeds Daddy had pulled and putting them into the lawn bag. Such a good little helper - anything to go outside! This afternoon was all play and no work - the best kind of outdoor time! Isaac had fun throwing the ball to Cooper and running around the yard while Daddy and I had fun taking pictures of our little man. He's getting to be such a big boy - and it's all happened so quickly. Where did my teeny, tiny little baby go? My baby is now running, jumping, talking and even going to the potty like a big boy! And did I mention that he's adorbale? Just thought I'd throw that in there. :) Here are a few pictures of our little - I mean, big - boy in action. Enjoy!

Ready to help Daddy with yard work

Looking for my receiver...

Jumping!

That smile just melts me...

Throwing the ball to Cooper

and to Mama.

Posing for the camera

Bird!

Mastering that big step

That's all for now, folks...

Dear Lord, thank you so much for our precious little boy. Thank you for the joy of each and every day you allow us to spend with him and to know him better. He is an immeasurably valuable gift from You - one that I promise to cherish always.

Potty humor

As Isaac sat on his potty yesterday (yes! really! potty training already!), he became anxious to get off and walk around. Not having finished his... um... "business".... yet, I began trying to distract him with other things. Our conversation was as follows:

"Isaac, where's your nose?". He pointed right to his nose.

"That's right, Isaac! Where is your ear?". Wiggles his ear.

"There's your ear! Now show me - where is your mouth?". Says mouth and puts his hand over his mouth.

"Good job, Isaac! Can you show Mommy where your hair is?". Isaac rubs his hand over his hair.

"You're such a smart boy, Isaac. Can you show Mommy your cheeks?". Isaac reaches behind his back, touches his tushy and says "boo-chis". (translation: booty cheeks)

Needless to say, roaring laughter ensued! :)

Kate Elizabeth Pruitt

Last weekend, the fam made the trek up to Oklahoma City for a very important meeting with our newest niece, Kate! I could hardly wait to get my hands on this precious baby girl. She is just gorgeous and such a sweetie pie. Very content. She even woke up long enough for us to get some pictures of her with her beautiful little eyes wide open. Stephanie is doing so well this time around - moving about like a champ, looking beautiful and glowing with pride over her new daughter. Congratulations, Mike and Stephanie!

Sweet, sweet smile.

Isaac loving on his baby cousin

And, in true Isaac fashion, has to give her a kiss, too!

Proud Daddy with his new baby girl.

Isn't she lovely?

Already working on those choir vowels

Looks so much like her Daddy!

Miss Kate

I love you, Miss Kate. I can't wait to get to know you better!!

Bo's Wedding

Two weekends ago, my cousin - whom we have always called Bo - got married. It was a simple ceremony and a beautiful reception in which we enjoyed good food, family, laughter and the celebration of the joining of Bo and Reyna's lives as husband and wife. The next day, it was also my Grandad's 72nd birthday, which made the weekend even more special! Brandon and I were lucky to have Grandad and my cousin, Jacob, stay the night with us Saturday after the wedding. Brandon made his famous pancakes, bacon and eggs for the birthday boy - another wonderful time with family. Check out the pictures!

Bo, the handsome groom

The happy couple, Bo and Reyna

Grandmother and the groom

Dinner by candlelight

Jacob and Lily

The fam... well, some of us!

One, two, three hunks, oh ladies! Jacob, TJ and Sam

Aunt Leah and Uncle Todd

Isaac just loves Jacob - and his phone! :)