THE RITTER LIFE

Isaac's reads us a story

2012-01-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

While listening to a CD this evening, Isaac decided to pick up the CD case to read us a story. The story read, "Once upon a time, there was a hungry caterpillar. He ate a big green leaf. Then he pooped. The end.".

Hmm... I've never heard that version of the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' before. Makes sense, though!

The aisles of Home Depot

2012-01-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Brandon is always so wonderful to carve time out of his busy school schedule to keep Isaac whilst I teach piano and voice lessons on Monday night. He and Isaac do all sorts of "guy" stuff together - tonight it was a trip to Home Depot.

As Brandon and Isaac walked the aisles, slowly mulling over random items, Brandon reports that Isaac said "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo". Brandon found this amusing and so continued with, "Catch a tiger by the...", to which Isaac finished with"...foot". Brandon kept going, "If he hollers make him pay....", and Isaac finished with "Money!".

Makes me smile every time.

Hello, strangers

2011-09-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-05-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

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! :)

Blump

2011-03-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't even remember the last time I blogged. I suppose I'm officially suffering from a blogging slump... aka blump. I don't have anything specific to blog about tonight, just thought that I would share a few updates on Isaac.

1. Isaac seriously plays up to the camera. It's sooo funny. You'll see what I mean shortly.

2. Isaac is talking... a lot. He seems to learn a new word just about every day. His newest word is bus (with more of a "sh" sound at the end than an "s"). He gets very excited every day to find a bus on the way to his sitter's house. We have fun spotting them together - and I have fun watching the huge smile come across his face, and hearing him say "buh-sh"! Makes me smile just thinking about it. And, my favorite of his new words is "Amen". He says it just about every night after we finish his bed-time prayer. Man am I lucky...

3. Isaac is running, climbing, and is beginning to ooze personality. He has quite the funny streak, too, and appreciates our humor. I always knew I was funny!

4. Isaac is - and I promise I'm not just speaking out of bias - the sweetest, most compassionate little boy ever. When I dropped him off on Wednesday morning, he promptly walked in and gave hugs to the two other kiddos that were already there. This was totally unprovoked. Anjie (his sitter) and I just looked at each other with that "Aw!" look. He just loves everyone and isn't afraid to show it. According to Anjie, he also hugs on the babies if they cry. And he LOVES his cousins, Mark and Karley, who also stay with Anjie during the day. They are always hugging each other, which is so special to me. I love that he's growing up knowing them and getting to spend so much time with them.

Ok, ok... here are the pictures! :)

Pose #1 (with my post-yogurt hair)

Pose #2

Laughing at my previous poses..

Like my new toy? Can you believe I found this gem in the garage?!

Whoa... I am SO tall.

A party for baby girl Pruitt to be

2011-01-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

My precious little sister, Stephanie, is expecting her second child... and this time, it's a girl! I can hardly wait to meet baby girl Pruitt, whose name is still in the making. I look forward to the snuggles and cuddles, the kisses and hugs, the nail polishing sessions... you know, all the things that an aunt loves to do with her nieces! There's not been a baby girl in the Rhodes family in quite a while, so it'll be fun for us to have another little princess running around.

Several of Steph's closest friends were gracious enough to allow me to join in helping throw her baby shower last weekend. She got some of the most adorable little outfits in which to dress her little lady, and I look forward to having another baby girl to shop for. We'll have her closet crammed full in no time! What more could a girl want?

Here are some pictures of Stephanie's shower in Julia's gorgeous new home.

Love notes to baby girl Pruitt...

The spread

Beautiful decor for Mama and baby girl

Prepping the beverage station

My beautiful sister

I love this shot... reminds me of Steph as a little girl. All smiles and giggles... sans the crazy hair. :)

Adorable banner made by Julia

The honoree and hostesses

from left: Julia, Jessica, Susan (Grandmama), Stephanie, Christina & Lindsey
I love you so, so much, Stephanie. I can't wait to meet your daughter! If she's anything like her Mama, she can't help but be beautiful... inside and out.

"Winter" in Texas

2011-01-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

As I cozy up on the couch, sipping a steamy mug of wassail in hopes of working the chill off of my nose, I can't help but chuckle about the weather we've been having around here lately. Here are a few pictures to chronicle the extremes in temperature over the last several weeks... and maybe a few others that were too cute not to share.

Enjoying the 80+ temps a few days before Christmas

Mid 60's on Saturday. So pretty outside!

Headed home with the promise of crackers...

Crackers and crazy hair.

Watching the snow fall

Bundled up for some fun in the snow!

Drying out our snow gear.

Peek-a-boo... I'll see you again soon!

That was then, this is now...

2010-12-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

Our son is, officially, a toddler! I feel awful that I've not blogged about this sooner, but you've probably already read about our December marathon. :) Here is a video of some of his first steps, as well as a more recent video of how quickly he's become an expert!

Dedicating our baby boy to the Lord

2010-12-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

On December 12th, Brandon and I had the honor of dedicating ourselves to raising Isaac in the Lord. It was such a special day for us. My parents came in to town for the event, which made the day even more special! Both sets of Grandparents, and two of Isaac's Aunts, Jenny and Karen, also made it for the dedication that morning. Thank you so much to all of you that went out of your way to be there for this special occasion. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family - we love you!

The church asked all parents to dedicate a verse to their child at the dedication service.

Psalm 73: 24-26.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

I love this picture, because you can see our choir director in the

background playing with Isaac. :)

Dad poses for the camera... note the tie. :)

What a lovely couple. I love you, Mom and Dad!

Thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of our son, Isaac. We promise to raise him in Your will so that he may receive Your gift of salvation through Your son,

Jesus Christ. May You be his portion forever.

The Gaylord Texas

2010-12-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

My awesome mother-in-law loves nothing more than having all of her family together for a meal. She always makes the event as special as possible bt pulling out her china, making a lovely display of her wonderfully cooked meal, placing beautiful linens on the table and lighting the candles as we sit down to eat. From time to time, she also plans an outing for the family. Since everyone was home for Christmas this year, she planned an outing to the Gaylord Texas, an amazing hotel in Grapevine which puts on amazing Christmas displays. This year, they were displaying a collection of ice sculptures! We didn't see those due to the hefty $25/person price tag to get in to the display, but we did enjoy the other Christmas trees, trains and lights around the hotel. While it wound up being quite a chaotic evening after fighting through terrible traffic to get to the hotel, wading through massive crowds of people to see the displays, and eating at a sports bar instead of the nice restaurant we had all envisioned - without a table!, it was still a great photo-op. Take a look!

The lighting displays are amazing.

The kids made the most of our interesting seating arrangements!

Isaac spots the train traveling around all the trees and lights

Two lovely ladies

He's a keeper, folks.

Christmas Day

2010-12-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is the second year for Santa Claus to visit Isaac, and this year was great fun for Mom and Dad to see little Isaac's excitement over his new toys, books and clothes. Well... maybe not so much his clothes, but his other gifts from Santa were a real hit! After playing with his new toys, we rushed around the house to get ready for Christmas brunch at Grandma and Grandpa's house. After devouring a scrumptious brunch, we gathered in the living room around the Christmas tree and began passing out gifts to each of the grandkids from aunts, uncles and Grandparents. It was so fun to see all the kids tear into their gifts and get so excited about each of them. I can only imagine that Christmas morning will become more and more special for us as Isaac grows older each year. I'm already looking forward to next Christmas. Not only for Santa Claus to come to town, but also to continue sharing with him the true reason for our celebration of Christmas - the miraculous and humble birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And now- the moment you've been waiting for... pictures!!

As you can see, Isaac was a very good boy this year!

Isaac discovers Santa's gifts!

Rushing over to check it all out...

BALL!!

Opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's

Mamma, help please!

Patiently waiting for everyone to recieve a gift...

Ready for a wonderful meal

The Ritter family - 2010

The annual December marathon...

2010-12-21T12:24:00.001-08:00

December is a month full of shopping, twinkling lights, merry music, happy energy and more activities squeezed into a three week period than are humanly possible in which to partake! Add on top of that all of the special performances expected of our Choirs at Christmas, and you have the annual December marathon! After three weeks of having an obligation every night of the week (except for 1), a couple of lazier days, thanks to our Christmas vacation, are much appreciated. And, since I now have nap time on my hands, I can catch up on my much-neglected blog. Thank you for being patient with me! There are so many things to report... too many to put in one post. So, keep your laptops open! The Ritter Life will have posts galore over the next week!

Thanksgiving 2010 was a wonderful time spent with my side of the family. While things just weren't the same with my Grandad Rhodes around at the Rhodes Thanksgiving, cracking jokes and doting on all of the babies, it was wonderful to have time to catch up with my aunts, uncles and cousins. Mom also organized a Thurlkill Thanksgiving. It was a relaxed wiener and s'mores roast - a great time! It was also wonderful to have the opportunity to stay in a cabin on Lake D'Arbonne with my parents, brother's and sister's families and all of our nieces (well... the second niece is on the way!) and nephews during our stint in Louisiana. We were even able to celebrate Christmas with my family while we were there. It's the first time in several years that we've had the joy of sharing Christmas as a "complete" family. It was was a wonderful time, and seems to be the beginning of a new tradition for the Rhodes, Jr. family. Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving with the Rhodes and Thurlkill families, as well as our "Christmas Day".

All the boys

Mike and Sam check out the beautiful cabin view
Madelyn and Isaac - too cute!

The Pruitt Family

The Rhodes Family

The Ritter Family

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Before the gift exchange

Santa after playing with the grandboys...

Greyson tears in...

Sam loves his train set!

Vroom, vroom!

No wonder all the grandkids are so good lookin'...

The Thurlkill clan

Walking to the pier behind the cabin

Isaac loves the water

Stay tuned... there's more to come!

The pumpkin patch

2010-10-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Brandon, Isaac and I, along with most of Brandon's family, made a visit last Sunday to the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. It was great fun! When we got there, all of us got to enjoy a beautiful train ride after which we chowed down on a picnic lunch. After lunch, we enjoyed walking around and looking at the various halloween attractions before heading back home. I look forward to visiting again next year!

Most of the Grandkids... we miss you, Bella!

Enjoying the train ride

I am so adorable...

That was FUN!!

Look, Mom... there's a pumpkin over there!

Karley found one to take home with her.

Told you I'm adorable...

We're looking forward to next year's visit!

Isaac's First Birthday!

2010-10-03T21:31:00.001-07:00

It seems like only yesterday that I blogged about the adventures of Isaac's delivery, the absolute joy of his much aniticpated arrival, the awe I felt in laying eyes on him for the first time and the excitement of bringing him to the home we had so lovingly prepared for him. I can hardly believe that our first year with him has come and gone. It's been such an amazing thing to watch him grow from a newborn so in need of his parents tender loving care, to a one year old that crawls almost as quickly as we can walk, loves to throw a ball back and forth and adds more and more words to his little vocabulary each day. It is incredible, to say the least, to watch them learn all about the things that surround them. It's extraordinary to see the world through a child's eyes... to get excited about a bird or a balloon, a ball or a book. And, until you've experienced all of these remarkable changes and discoveries through the life and eyes of your own children, you can never truly appreciate the staggering amount of growth they undergo and the vast amount of knowledge they acquire in a year's time. I feel so incredibely fortunate that the Lord chose me to be Isaac's mother. He is the most amazing little boy... full of smiles, laughter, dancing and high-fives. He is the most precious of things in my earthly life. I will always strive to be the mother he deserves and the mother that the Lord would have me to be. Lucky for me (and him!), I've been blessed with a pretty fantastic mother of my own, who has been the greatest of role models for me in this oh-so-important job of mine.

In order to properly commemerate Isaac's first year of life, we did the only thing we could... we threw him a party! It was a wonderful gathering of family and friends in which we enjoyed some good ol' American fare and the pleasure of each other's company. Many of the people in attendance traveled sizeable distances in order to celebrate Isaac's birthday with him and, for that, we are forever greatful. While Isaac probably won't remember the day that we all gathered together in order to honor and celebrate his first birthday, Brandon and I will always cherish the day and the memories you had a hand in helping us to create. Thank you so much for loving our Isaac and celebrating his first birthday with us!

WARNING:

RIDICULOUS AMMOUNT OF PICTURES

Cupcakes a plenty

Birthday banner made by Mom with love

In line for grub

Melissa and Conner

Corey smiles for the camera

The Cat in the Hat! (aka Daniel)

Adorable Hunter

Sweet Sam

Aunt Patsy and Brenner

Aunt Karen, Grandpa, Mark & Karley

Uncle Eric & Aunt Julie

Sam helps open presents

Excited about all the new stuff!

Playing with the loot

I LOVE my new teddy bear!

Dylan, Karley, Audrey and Mark pull Sam

Isaac's new piano!

"Happy Birthday To You!"

Mmm... frosting....

Wait a minute... this isn't frosting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISAAC!!

Looking forward to many more birthday celebrations with you, my sweet...

Help with the laundry

2010-09-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

After washing Isaac's diapers and sitting down to prepare them this morning, he decided to climb on board and dig in to help his Mama. What a sweetheart! :)

Just had to share...

2010-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here are several picures I snapped of Isaac sitting at the piano the other day. I could just chew on him he's so stinkin' cute! But then again, I am his Mom so, I suppose I'm a littled biased...

Sam's 2nd birthday!

2010-08-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that our sweet baby nephew turned 2! Brandon, Isaac and I made the trek up to Moore for the big birthday party. It was such a great time! We met some wonderful couples and had so much fun watching all of our kids run around and play. We had burgers, hot dogs and all the fixin's, and enjoyed watching Sam blow out the candle on his birthday cupcake. He actually did it all on his own - what a big boy he's getting to be! Here are some of the highlights of this oh-so-fun birthday bash.

Decorated and ready to party!

Thomas the Train, made by Mom and Dad especially for Sam

Jasmine, Jason and Jocelyn

Jules... lookin' good!

Mike hard at work on the grill, catching a breath when he can!

Zane checks out the tractor

Beautiful Sadie

My beautiful boys...

Tractor!

Having fun with balloons
More presents...
Ready for the eatin'...

Getting ready to blow out the candle

Mm... this is good!

Happy Birthday, Samuel Keith. We love you!!!

Tonight's a school night

2010-08-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the beginning of another year of school. And, as trying as getting my room and office back in order after a summer of renovations at my school has been, God blessed me with the hands of four of my former students to help me get the job done. I am forever grateful to these kids, who gave up some of the last days of their summer break to help out a teacher at their "old middle school". They'll all be going on to High School this year, and I will miss them deeply. After three years with them, it's hard to watch them go!

While I've had mixed emotions about returning to school and all of the new trials and tribulations I'll be facing "going it alone", the Lord (due to all of your prayers, I'm sure!) has given me a calm spirit about the whole thing. This will be my eighth year to teach MS choir, so the ins and outs are old hat to me now, which is a HUGE advantage for me. My numbers are higher than they've ever been since I've been at the school, which will be a blessing and a curse all at once. Wouldn't you know that the year my assistant gets taken away due to low enrollment, the numbers pop way up in refelection of all the recruiting I've been doing? HA!

And, on the homefront, Isaac is getting to be so much fun! His fun-loving, joyful personality shines a little brighter each day, and he is always a bright light in even my darkest of days. He's starting to say a few words here and there - inlcuding pointing to pictures of himself and saying his name (minus the "c" on the end). Does that make him a genius? His Momma thinks so!!

Sometimes, the answer is no.

2010-08-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

In our quest to open an in-home child care next school year in order to allow me to stay home with Isaac, we found doors to this venture to be closing all around us. After much prayer and financial scrutiny, we've come to the [tearful] conclusion that it's not meant to be. All of this has come on the tails of discovering that I will not have the benefit of an assistant choir director next year, either. This means that, not only will I have to go back to work but, I will have to run my choir program without help. This is also compounded by the fact that my school has been undergoing renovations over the summer, requiring me to completely pack up my classroom before leaving for the summer and my classroom isn't expected to be ready for "moving in" until days before school starts. Whoa.

I've been quite discrouaged through out the summer... feeling sorry for myself and adopting a less than pleasant attitude about my situation. My Mom snapped me back into reality when I was speaking with her about my frustrations one night, telling me that I needed to have a more positive attitude and to stop stressing about things that haven't happened yet, as well as things that are out of my control. She is completely right (which is not out of the ordinary). While it's not always easy to hear that you have a bad attitude, it's exactly what I needed to hear. I need to focus on the blessings in my life - and they are abundant. A wonderful husband, a healthy and happy little boy, a beautiful home and a secure job. My controlling, OCD personality makes it difficult for me not to worry, over-plan and stress about my work but I have no doubt that this is a lesson that the Lord has determined that I need to learn once and for all. I need to learn to "cast my cares upon him". I don't like to cast my cares on anyone... I like to deal with them on my own and control the outcome as much as I am capable. This is not, however, what my heavenly Father would have me to do. He is challenging me with the fact that He is in control of my life - NOT me - and that His plan for me is not what I've tried to make it. Humbling, to say the least.

As I reluctantly prepare materials, calendars, lessons plans and rehearsal schedules for the next school year, I'm not finding my heart to be in it... yet. I am working hard to mentally prepare for running a choral program in a completely new way by being creative with incorporating things into class time that I previously required myself to do outside of school and outside of contract hours. Before Isaac, I enjoyed being FAR ahead of the game, having tasks completed months in advance and working long hours before and after school. This year, I have do doubt, will introduce a brand new set of challenges for me in terms of time management, learning to realize what is necessary and what is superfluous, maximizing classroom time to it's absolute fullest and learning to say no to the many extra things the Vocal Region, district and school have come to expect from me. Does that make me a slacker? Maybe it does in the eyes of some. But I say, emphatically, NO! It makes me a Mom - and that is the most important job I'll ever have!

The best reason in the world to be a slacker

Thank you, dear Lord, for the abundance of blessings in my life. I know that they come from You.

Thank you for the life lessons You continue to teach me.

Thank you for loving me enough to tell me no when my plans are not in line with Your will.

Lucky me

2010-07-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

It's fun to watch my boy getting to be bigger, stronger and more independent. He's crawling and creeping everywhere these days, eating more independently, waving, and "talking" all the time. I wasn't truly aware of how my perception of him has changed over the past ten months until tonight. I've gone from viewing him as this delicate little being to a rough and tumble little boy.

It was after tonight's bath that I was made aware of the shift in my perception of him. As I saw him all snuggled up in his towel, memories of him as a newborn swaddled in his blanket came rushing back. How tiny he used to be... and how he loved to cuddle with his Mommy. And it was then that I realized that he's still my precious, fragile, sweet baby boy... and that he always will be. No matter how big he gets and no matter how grown up he becomes, I know that there will always be moments - like the one tonight - that remind me of that teeny, tiny, newborn Isaac... and that I've been lucky enough to be his Mommy the whole time.

Isaac the adventurer

2010-07-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a terrible mother for not having blogged about this sooner. I should have posted this a week ago. But I guess later rather than sooner, right? Or... somethin' like that....

Now, onto the meat of the story. Our Isaac is crawling! It's been so fun getting to be around for this milestone, knowing that we truly have gotten to see him crawl for the first time. The whole process of this, well, it's happened in baby steps (no pun intended). The first day he crawled, we got two strides out of him, after which Brandon and I both had eyes brimming over with tears of pride. The second time he crawled, we got two more strides out of him, but had to wait a whole week in between sessions. The very next day, however, he was crawling everywhere. Although I will say that we were still having to do a bit of coaxing to get him to perform the deed. The video below required stacking one side of the living room with his favorite toys, Daddy, Mommy and Cooper. Nowadays, he's everywhere. He is curious about everything - pulling up on everything and pulling everything off of everything else! It's so fun to watch him get around the house and playing "I'm gonna get you!" with him. My favorite part of this game is listening to him squeal in delight as he "runs" away from Mommy. Ah... that boy is so stinkin' cute. But don't take my word for it... see for yourself!

Firsts

2010-06-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

There have been so many firsts for Isaac this summer. It was his first Petit Jean (for those of you who don't know, Petit Jean mountain in Arkansas is where my Dad's side of the family gets together *every* summer for a family reunion. LOTS of fun!), swimming, hiking, a water park, and the lakehouse. It's been so much fun! Here are some highlights of all his firsts this summer!

Petit Jean 2010

A 2-fer... swimming at Petit Jean with Madelyn!
Chillin' with Greyson and Madelyn

The annual family birthday party!

Isaac's first hike

Having fun with Sam and Uncle Mike

The Rhodes Jr. Family

Dylan and Audrey's birthday party at the water park.

Audrey
Dylan

Mark and Grandpa

Karley is such a little dare-devil!

Isaac and Grandma
The Lakehouse

Isaac and Mommy - ready for his first boat ride.
Isaac can't wait to get on that wakeboard!

Asking for your Prayers

2010-06-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Having a child changes everything. Who hasn't heard that phrase before? As trite as it may sound, that's exactly what's happened in my life. Isaac has changed everything - including my drive and determination at work. I was constantly walking in to the school with mascara streaks down my face from crying my way to work. I hated dropping Isaac off every day. I was distracted by thoughts of him all day long. I found myself becoming apathetic about my work... I didn't know that I was capable of apathy! At that point, I realized that I needed to do whatever I could to find a way to stay at home with our son. The wheels began turning....

Brandon and I sat down one weekend, did the math, and decided that if I were to open up our home for child care, I would only need to keep three children other than Isaac in order for us to afford for me to stay home. To date, I've only got one person that's committed to using me for child care, and she's beginning to get anxious for an actual answer about my plans for next year - and understandably so! Brandon and I have looked at things from a different angle, and have decided that, even if I only have one kid during the day, that I can also make up the income difference by ramping up my piano and voice studio. In order for the studio to make up the income difference, the studio would have to triple in size, which is no small feat. But ALL things are possible with the Lord's help.

I need to channel all of the prayer warriors in my life - and there are MANY of you. I ask that you pray for us to find the financial means for me to stay home, either through child care or the studio, or any combination of the two. Please pray in fervor, as this is a decision that must be made within a matter of weeks. I ask that you also pray that, if it is not in the Lord's will for me to stay home, that He would reinvigorate me with the passion I NEED to do my very best for my students at school, and that he would give me to strength to continue to drop my son off with someone else day after day. Thank you, in advance, for those of you that will pray for us day after day, and for those of you that have already joined in this prayer.

Thank you for your prayers.

Memorial marathon

2010-06-02T19:36:00.001-07:00

Memorial weekend was a busy one for us Ritters, but so much fun! Friday night after work, we made the trek to my Granddad Thurlkill's beautiful home. He put us up both Friday and Saturday nights. Thanks so much for the feeding us and for sharing your home with us, Granddaddy. We so enjoyed getting to visit with you!

Saturday, we traveled to Ruston, La to attend my cousin Sarah's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding - very sweet. The reception was held at an historic Fire Station in down town Ruston and was just lovely. Great food, great fellowship, great fun. I especially loved the fact that her Middle Eastern heritage was honored at the reception through traditional wedding dances and traditional food. Brandon, and I enjoyed the music and dancing, as did Isaac! Here are some pictures of the beautiful bride, her groom and their guests at the wedding reception.

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Carter

Catherine and David dancing.

Anna and Aunt Lou at her new best friend's wedding! ;)

Isaac LOVED the bubbles!

Have a wonderful honeymoon!

After the reception, Mom, Brandon, Isaac and I went to visit my sister-in-law's daughter, Sarah's, grave. We wanted to be sure to honor her memory on memorial day and left flowers for her on her grave. Sweet baby girl - I hope I get to meet you one day in Heaven.

In loving memory of Sarah Jean Cobb

Sunday morning was spent at the nursing home where my Granddad Rhodes now resides. It was so hard to see my Granddad in a wheelchair and looking so thin. Nothing like the strapping, tall Granddad that I've always known. He met Isaac for the first time and seemed to be so taken with him. It was really special to see his face light up with joy at the sight of our little boy. I'll never forget that day. Never.

Granddad Rhodes playing with Isaac

I love my Great-Grandmother!

Four generations of Rhodes'

Granddad Thurlkill working those little legs...

Four generations of Thurlkill's

Sunday afternoon, Brandon and I loaded up again to visit Brandon's cousin Phillip to celebrate his 30th birthday. Unfortunately, his birthday party was the same day as Sarah's wedding, but we still wanted to get out there to visit with Phillip, Dare and Hunter to celebrate this milestone with him. Thanks so much for having us - we love you guys!!

We always knew these two would be great buddies!

Thank you, dear Lord, for family. Thank you for those that are with us now, and for the memories of those that have gone to be with you.

A very scary thing

2010-05-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Isaac recently had his first REALLY sick episode. He ran fever for three days straight. On the first day, his fever spiked up to 103, which was when I really began to worry. Tylenol would reduce his fever, but never got rid of it, so on the third straight day of fever we reluctantly gave him motrin before he went to bed. Luckily, he woke up the next morning with only a very low grade fever which was completely gone by mid-morning. The odd part of all of this is that he didn't have any other symptoms. Not one. No runny nose, no cough, no reduced appetite... weird. Come to find out, his cousin, Greyson, suffers from the same nonsensical bouts of fever. Poor boys... us Rhodes's have weird genes. Isaac's being treated for an ear infection, but the doctor openly admitted that his ear was only "a little red". I, personally, don't think he had an infection, but what do I know?

Here's a picture of Isaac on his first day of fever. This was one of the rare moments in which he tolerated sitting rather than being held. He was so incredibely hot to the touch with fever that I decided to drape a cool wash cloth on his head. I fully expected him to yank it off and either toss it to the side or suck on it, but he actually seemed to appreciate it. Poor baby boy. Mama's so glad that you're feeling better!!

When your child is sick with no explanation, it's a very scary thing. Terrible thoughts of serious possible illnesses began racing through my mind as his fever persisted. I also had thoughts like "What will I do if he's seriously ill?", and "How can I ever live without him?". Yes, I know... dramatic. But I'm sure all the Moms out there can relate! Plus, I come by the worry-wartedness honestly. That's the Thurlkill in me. :)

Dear Lord, thank you so much for the blessing of our healthy, happy little boy.

A Baby shower for two

2010-04-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, my friends and I hosted a baby shower for Dionne, a friend of ours from work. It turned out to be a cute little shower and Dionne got some of the things she needed for those TWO boys she's expecting in just a few short weeks... and check out how fabulous she looks! We love you, Dionne - I can't wait to meet those sweet baby boys!

The Spread

Visiting with friends

Dionne, Amaya and the Hostesses

A banner I made to celebrate those precious boys!

My smarty pants musician

2010-04-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

Isaac is becoming quite the expert sitter upper these days, which has made play time so much fun. He loves his stacking rings and has recently discovered that he can clap the rings together to make noise just like Mommy and Daddy have shown him. He and Brandon were practicing this skill just the other day, and Isaac was even clapping the rings together the same number of times as Brandon. What a little smarty pants we have on our hands. :)

Playing in my room

These blocks are awesome!I did it... I picked it up, Mommy!
This thing is so cool.

My Daddy is so fun.

Isaac has also become a huge fan of music. His absolute favorite thing is singing. He can be instantly calmed with the most ridiculous of Mommy or Daddy's made up songs. He especially loves the silly songs I sing to him during bath time. Sometimes I even manage to work a rhyme or two into the mix! Much to Cooper's shagrin, Isaac loves the piano almost as much as he loves singing. It's so much fun to sit at the piano and "play" together. He really gets into it, working his chubby little hands up and down the pearly whites, moving to the music and putting in a rest here and there for dramatic effect. I hope that his love of music continues to grow and that he will become a little musician in his own right- whatever his instrument of choice may be. It is in his blood, afterall...

This song is so easy.

Easter weekend

2010-04-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter at my parents house, and the entire Rhodes clan was in attendance! It was the first time that my brother and his family were able to meet Isaac, so it was very exciting for us. I had so much fun getting to visit with everyone and see my niece and nephews that I only get to see a precious few times each year. We had an Easter egg hunt, which was really fun, and also did Ressurection Eggs with the kids before bed on Saturday night. I loved both, and intend to make both traditions with Isaac. We also took advantage of my parents gorgeous backyard and took individual family and full Rhodes family pictures. YAY! Thanks so much, Ben and Mel, for making the trek from Minneapolis to B'ville for Easter weekend!! Thanks, also, to Mike and Steph for making the trip from OKC. Thanks, Mom, for spoiling us with your cooking and for managing to find a place for all of us to sleep! We had so much fun. :)

Ben, Melissa, Madelyn and Greyson

Mike, Stephanie and Sam

Grandad, Grandmama, and all the grandkids
Must find more eggs!!

YAY!! Easter eggs!!

Sweet Sam finds some eggs, too!

A day in the park

2010-03-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

Isaac is getting to be such a big boy and oh - so much fun! This week is Spring Break for Brandon and I, so we actually had the time to do some leisurely things today. While we always have intentions of doing leisurely things on the weekends, we typically wind up cleaning the house, running errands, tackling the laundry, or doing whatever else we've had to leave un-done throughout the work week. So, needless to say, our day of leisure activities was a blast! We went for a long walk and wound up at the neighborhood playground. We'd thought we would take Isaac there to swing for the first time, so we were looking forward to it. Upon arrival at said playground, however, we were overwhelmed by how much the playground.... uh.... sucketh. There wasn't a baby swing. Actually, there wasn't a swing at all! I mean, c'mon... can you really call that a playground?

Here's what Isaac thought of the neighborhood playground:

Once we got home from our walk, I quickly began searching the internet for playgrounds in our area. I found one not too far from the house, so we loaded up the car and headed for the park after lunch. Much to our delight, this playground had many swings, including a baby swing. And, as you can see by the pictures, Isaac loved it! I look forward to going back to the park *many* times this summer. :)

Fun with Mom & Dad in the Park

Pot of gold...

2010-03-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Mondays are long days. I go to work, bring kids home with me, and teach piano lessons for several hours. Between fielding students, the phone, parents, cups of water and jolly rancher requests, the time always flies by but not without it's measure of chaos. Today was no exception. I'm in full swing, teaching a lesson, when there's a knock on the door. I answer it to find that it's one of my piano Moms, and she tells me that I have to step outside to see something. I curiously stepped outside and obdediently looked in the direction of her pointing finger. It is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! I ran back inside to get my camera and the kids... the pictures don't do it justice, but I'll never forget it!

Can you see that there are TWO rainbows?

They were the brightest rainbows I've ever seen! The arch had been fully formed and stretched completely across the sky. I couldn't even come close to getting all of it in my shot. I'm so glad that the Mom came to get us because they were almost completely gone by the time we went back inside just a few minutes later. As I walked the kids back to the house, one of the boys stopped me, grabbed my hand, and asked me "Mrs. Ritter, can we go find the pot of gold?". I asked him if he would settle for a jolly rancher... his sprint back into the house answered that question. Besides, who needs a pot of gold when we're able see God's handywork painted across the sky?

To my Angel baby...

2010-03-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

I have a good friend who recently suffered a miscarriage. Her specialist discovered the loss when she was 13 weeks along but, sadly, the baby had passed during her 8th week of pregnancy. My friend had been stuggling with terrible morning sickness, but had been at work, teaching, every day... running to the restroom in between classes, and doing her best to eat well and stay positive.

When she found out that she would never get to see, hold or love on her baby, she called to tell me the news. She had spoken with family members who had said all of the wrong things to her, trying to "reason" the loss to her rather than grieving the loss alongside her. Since that day, she has confided in me about the things she is feeling and dealing with... things that I remember all too well after my miscarriage. I have done my best to be there for my dear friend. To listen to her, to reassure her that what she's experiencing is normal, to cry with her and to pray over her. The sadness from the loss of a child - even one you've never met - is absolutely excrutiating. I pray that the whole in her heart, the horror of her dreams, and the sea of her tears will blur in the distance of memory as quickly as possible.

Another of my friends recently suffered the loss of her 6 week old baby... a loss I cannot even begin to imagine. She came up to the school to visit last week and shared a poem with my friend that she had received in one of her condolence cards. She shared it with me, as well. The words brought about an eruption of tears, which then brought me to my knees in thanks to my God for choosing me to be Isaac's mother. I do not deserve him, but accept His precious gift with open and grateful arms. I am terribly saddened to know that there are many women out there that experience this loss time and time again, and yet are never afforded their hearts' desire. I pray for you, whomever you are, and share the words with you that were shared with me. I hope that they bring a meaure of closure to your heart, as they did mine.

"A Mother's Love cannot be measured by increments of time...an entire lifetime of love can be squeezed into a few brief miraculous moments when necessary..."

My Handy Man

2010-02-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, my husband is quite the handy man. He can tackle just about any plumbing, electrical, or construction project out there. We have enjoyed the end result of many of the home improvement projects we've completed. The process, though... now that's a whole other story. We always seem to hit a major bump in the road, turning an hour long project into an all day affair.

Yesterday, Brandon decided to install a four way switch to the hallway outside of our bedroom door. The hallway is perilously dark in the early morning and evening. So dark that our dog has just about taken me down several mornings as I've made my way out of our bedroom. The hallway already has two three way switches in it, so Brandon gathered the necessary wire, junction boxes and switch to tie into the existing wiring to complete the project. It was supposed to be a simple project... until he began cutting wire in the attic, only to find that the existing three way switches had been wired in an unexpected and unconventional way. This "bump"
caused a two hour delay as Brandon and I, and my wonderful father in law, Mark, began muscling our way through analyzing the circuit to deduce how we were going to be able to tie into it and make the new switch work. I'm glad that we were able to figure it out (ok, it was Mark and Brandon... but I was nodding right along!), because the hole for the new switch had already been cut in the sheetrock.

I look forward to the luxury of turning on the hall light as I step outside our bedroom door without worry of tripping over Cooper in the process. Never fear, the new light switch is here! Check out Brandon and Mark in action, as well as the beautiful new light switch.

Toolbelts are all the rage this season...

Almost there....

Voila! C'est fin!

Good-bye, toothless grin...

2010-02-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

Isaac has definitely been displaying the classic signs of teething - buckets of drool and chewing on EVERYTHING, but no teeth yet. Until today. When the tooth is more visible, I'll be sure to post a picture. The crazy thing is that it looks like a second tooth is about ready to make it's way into the open as well. I've gotten more than my fair share of teething bites during our nursing sessions (um... OW!!), so needless to say, I'm a little nervous about teeth actually being in the picture nowadays!

Here are some recent pictures - I just cannot believe what a big boy he's getting to be! These five months have absolutely flown by... I'll cherish them always.

Tolerating tummy time

Who needs toys... I have these things!

I see the bowl... patiently waiting for more...

Leave me alone, I'm watching Hockey.

Yes, that's drool on his chest!

Have you ever seen anything more adorable?

Jumperoo

2010-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Isaac is getting to be such a big boy. We're currently working on his sitting skills - he gets closer and closer every day. As of right now he can sit, or prop himself on his hands, for about 30 seconds before he takes the face-first dive into the floor. We do everything we can to keep him from smacking his face on the floor, but there have been a few times that we haven't been fast enough. And, at the risk of sounding like a terrible mother, it's actually pretty hilarious to watch!

Since all of his muscles are getting to be so strong, I decided to try out the jumperoo to see if he likes it. Once I finally got his chubby little legs through the holes of the seat, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his little toes were making good contact with the floor - enough for him to push off of it and have some fun. He was quite intrigued with the toys in front of him as well, studying the sliding rings and trying to push them all the way over to the other side of the arch. What a smart little boy! We had so much fun exchanging smiles, laughs and squeals of delight. And, even though I can't tell you what we talked about, we had a wonderful conversation. Isaac did most of the talking. :)

Have I mentioned that being a Mom is AWESOME?! And, if I do say so myself, so is our little man. Check out the video of him in his jumperoo... it's sure to make you smile.

For real?

2010-01-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe it... Isaac is officially eating solid food... kind of. We started him on rice cereal this weekend, and he LOVES it. The first several feedings of the cereal are supposed to be really runny - more like soup than anything, but he doesn't seem to mind! The funny part is that his favorite part of eating like a big boy seems to be sitting in his booster seat. It's so cute... he smiles and giggles the whole time!

Loving my big boy chair!

And, on another note, Isaac (ok, Mommy) has been thoroughly enjoying his new hooded towels that Aunt Melissa made for him for Christmas. These things are GREAT! The store bought hooded towels are really small, so these fluffy, oversized ones are amazing. Thanks, Mel!

Isaac post-bath, all dry and cozy.

That's all for now, folks! :)

Christmas with the fams

2010-01-04T21:06:00.001-08:00

This Christmas was spent with my side of the family, but we always have a Ritter Christmas celebration regardless of where we spend Christmas day. It seems rare that all of us Ritters are able to get together these days. Between all of us having kids of our own now and managing our hectic schedules, and my sister in law and niece living in China, it's difficult to find a time when everyone can make a get together! Here are some pictures of our oh-so-fun gift exchange.

Alicia and Bella

Dylan can't get enough of Cars!

Mark delivering gifts to everyone

Audrey looks happy!

The whole Ritter clan

Our time at my parents house was great... although we sorely missed seeing my brother and his family. Brandon, Isaac and I made the trek to B'ville the Wednesday before Christmas, which wound up being just on the nick of time seeing as a "blizzard" came through the next day! It dumped 5 inches of snow on us and the surrounding areas, which made getting around town for the next several days a little hairy. We've not had a white Christmas since we visited Minnesota two years ago, so it was really fun! Brandon and my brother in law, Mike, made the best of the snow by getting out and making a snow man and an igloo.

Brandon, Isaac, the Snowman & me

Opening presents on Christmas morning was fun! Sam really enjoyed ripping the paper off of packages and playing with the boxes. He'll understand next year that the exciting part is supposed to be what's INSIDE of the box. We all came away with quite a loot... Brandon was barely able to squeeze us back into the Accord for our drive home! Many thanks to Mom and Dad for putting up with us all, and a special shout out to my Mom for her endless hours in the kitchen. She kept all of us full and happy with her many wonderful meals and treats.

Sam tears into his gift...
...and it's a vacuum cleaner!!

Dad's new remote for the visually impaired. :)

Isaac's hand-held keyboard... so cute!

The after-math of the gift exchange.

Hope your Christmas was full of fun with family as well!!

Isaac says HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas shopping... and the wedding story

2009-12-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

Wow... I've only been on an official Christmas shopping outing once this year. I went with Isaac and, because of his schedule, we were only out for about an hour. I got one thing... which is still the only thing I've gotten so far for my husband. The other Christmas gifts I've managed to pick up have been for nieces and nephews, and for my brother and his wife. The nieces and nephews are lucky that there now exist Super Wal-Mart and Super Target and that my grocery shopping time can double as Christmas shopping time. How did my parents do it before Super Wal-mart or Super Target? It's a mystery to me!

Having a baby changes everything. I wouldn't say that having a baby makes things more difficult, it simply makes simple, every day tasks far more time consuming that you could ever have imagined. For instance, this past Saturday one of Brandon's long time close friends got married. Brandon was a groomsmen in the wedding, as was his cousin Jeremiah. Jeremiah's wife, Jennifer, and I decided that we should hang out while our guys were doing wedding stuff, so she came over to our house with Brenner, their 5 month old son. We had plans to go shopping for a wedding outfit for Brenner, then come back to our house to change before the wedding. Once she arrived, however, she quickly discovered that she had left her change of clothes for the wedding in another town where she and her husband had spent the night. So, we began to get ready to make the trek to Mesquite for her clothes, and then back to Garland to shop. By the time we had moved car seats, changed diapers, fed our boys, and unpacked her car to make room to pack the strollers, we had been preparing for our trip for an hour! The trip to Mesquite and back cost us another hour, which left us with 30 minutes to shop. So, our shopping trip together turned in to Jennifer running into two stores alone while I stayed in the car with the babies. By the time we got back to my house, fed the babies, changed the babies, and threw on our dresses, we arrived at the wedding 15 minutes late! We were running so far behind that, as I was putting Isaac in the car, my purse fell and dumped stuff all over the driveway and I left it... yes, me... I left the mess of stuff sitting in the driveway! The good news is that our baby boys were perfectly content with their full little bellies during the wedding ceremony, and made nothing but precious cooing noises for the entertainment of those around us. As they said about Apollo 13 - it was a successful failure. But I tend to lean more toward the successful part myself. Oh, and in case you're wondering... my mess of stuff was still in the driveway when we got home. :)

Christmas time is here!

2009-11-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas is, without doubt, my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the music, the smells, the decorations, the colors... it's all so beautiful. I enjoy every minute of it. I especially love decking the Ritter halls in preparation for the day we celebrate our Lord's birth. As I decorate the fireplace and dining room, Brandon hangs lights on the house. We top off the day by decorating our Christmas tree together and tidying the house of all the boxes and newspaper that house our decorations in the off-season. Here are a few pictures of the end result:

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

The Fireplace awaits the stockings...

The dining room adornment

This Christmas is going to be particularly special for us now that we have Isaac. I know he's too young to ever remember his first Christmas, but I'll ALWAYS remember it. I can hardly wait for Christmas morning... helping him open his gifts and playing with him and all his new toys. I have a whole new understanding of the miracle of Jesus' birth and the magnitude of the sacrifice God made for the human race. It's a sacrifice I cannot comprehend... which makes His love for us even more amazing and has made me realize how truly undeserving I am of His mercy.

And, last but not least, here are some recent pictures of our bundle of joy.

Chillin' with Dad

Relaxin' in my relaxin' chair

Dressed for the cold weather (finally!)
Playing with Mommy

I can't help but look good in orange... I'm part Cowboy!!

Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Season!

Short & Sweet

2009-11-28T18:47:00.001-08:00

When I went to wake my bundle of joy this morning to feed him his breakfast, I found him in the most peculiar of sleeping positions. Brandon and I got quite a kick out of it!

It was completely dark in his room, although it looks like he was trying to block out the sunlight. His plan was working well... the flash from the camera didn't even phase his slumber! :)

That's all he needs. He needs this....

2009-11-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I went to the mall tonight to get some much needed clothes for our boy. He's had a MAJOR growth spurt this week, and has gone from wearing 0-3 month to 3-6 month clothes in a matter of days. Cu-razy. We had so much fun shopping for him, but I must say it was a challenge. We kept finding adorable things all over the place, but knew we couldn't go crazy buying a million things that he'd only wear for a little while. So, we did our best to go the sensible route, buying several pairs of pants, lots of onzies and one splurge. He'll probably be able to wear the splurge for like, a day, but Brandon and I both agreed we couldn't possibly leave it in the store. You better believe I'm going to put him in that outfit as many times as I possibly can before he has another growth spurt!

Here's a picture of Isaac and Mommy just before our trip to the mall. That adorable outfit he has on was bought by Daddy. Does my husband have good taste or what?

How fast they grow...

2009-11-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

I've always heard parents talk about how quickly children grow and change and, now as a parent myself, I'm getting to experience this first hand. Isaac is growing so quickly! Brandon and I are running out of season appropriate things to put him in, despite the truckload of adorable hand-me-down clothes we got from my wonderful sister-in-law, Karen. While getting hand-me-downs is awesome, I have to say that I'm REALLY looking forward to shopping for Isaac!

On another note, Isaac is starting to enjoy his bath, which is so much fun! Here are some cute pictures of him after his bath last night.

I love bath time!

In my jammies and ready for bed.

Not only is Isaac getting bigger by the minute these days (at least it seems that way!), he's also becoming more alert, more responsive and... a totally new thing... he's cooing! This has got to be the single most delightful sound I've ever heard. Brandon and I do whatever we can to get a coo out of our little man.

Back to shcool, back to shcool....

2009-10-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

The honeymoon of my maternity leave is officially over. Monday marked my first day back to work, and my first time to leave my Isaac for an entire day. The good news is that Brandon, my awesome, amazing, wonderful husband, took Monday and Tuesday off to stay home with Isaac. It made my first week back to work quite a bit easier. It gave us the opportunity to get a feel of our morning routine, and it gave me the ability to go back to work those two days with much less anxiety... and knowing I could call home to check on him as often as I wanted! While I've always dreamed of being a stay at home Mom, that's just not a possibility for us right now. So I've got to make the best of this by remembering that I'm blessed with a job, a wonderful home, a tank full of gas, and food on the table while many others are struggling to find work and provide the bare necessities for their families.

Thank you, Lord, for these blessings.

Today was Isaac's first day to go to the sitters. Brandon and I LOVE our sitter - she is wonderful. A sweet, Christian woman who has previously run a day-care, a pre-school, has been a foster parent and has 5 children of her own. She is the real deal - she's all about kids. We couldn't have asked for a more loving and caring person to take care of our Isaac (with the exception of family, of course). Even as wonderful as she is, though, it was still a tearful morning leaving him with her. Those Moms out there that have done this before, you know exactly where I'm coming from! I've never been as ready to leave work as I was today... I straightened my classroom and cleared my desk in record time to get to that precious boy as fast as I possibly could! His big eyes and bright smile have never been so sweet.

Today brought about the harsh reality that my time with Isaac in the evenings is going to go much too quickly... between cooking dinner, packing Isaac for the next day, bath-time, kitchen clean-up and multiple feedings, the time FLIES by! I'll cherish the weekends even more at this stage in my life... the time that they will give us to spend together as a family will be invaluable.

Speaking of family, this weekend marked Isaac's first trip to Grandmomma and Grandaddy Rhodes house! Here are some pictures of Isaac getting his first bath at Grandmomma's house. I love you, Mom & Dad - we had a great time in B'ville!

Time really does fly...

2009-10-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my baby turned a month old yesterday. While the day of his birth seems like ages ago, his first four weeks at home have absolutely flown by! It's been so much fun being at home with him and getting to know him. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Gearing up for a smile...

and it's a big one!...

and still showing off my precious smile!

Ready for a walk with Mommy and Cooper

Playing with Daddy

Looking more like my Daddy everyday

World's cutest frowning face

Posing for the camera

What a cutie pie

Having lived in the Dallas area for nearly 7 years now, I've found that my least favorite thing about living here is the lack of a Fall season. The weather tends to go from hot directly to cold, the trees go from green to leaflless, skipping over that crisp, cool Fall temperature and the colors of the season. I remember hosting Thanksgiving two years ago and having to turn down the air conditioner because it was still so hot! However, we've actually been having Fall-like temperatures lately, so Brandon, Isaac and I took advantage of it this weekend by walking around a beautiful outdoor mall close to our home on Sunday afternoon. We bought a few outfits for our little guy, enjoyed a couple of Sonic drinks (thanks, Mom!) and did a bit of window shopping. I hope that the weather allows us to have another family outing sometime soon! I also hope that this Fall-like weather brings the other joy of Fall - the turning of the leaves. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll actually get to see some color this year!

Isaac's ready for the mall!
Just before I started this post...

I hope you all enjoy the wonderful Fall weather, too!

My little family and my 30th birthday

2009-10-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

My family... these words have a whole new meaning for me now. In the past when I've said "my family", I've been referring to either my immediate family, extended family, or that of my in-laws. Now these words refer to the family that my husband and I have started. I guess we're growing up!

Speaking of my family, here are some pictures of my boys. :)

Our perfect little angel...

Daddy and Isaac

Smiling for Mama

Daddy's whiskers tickle!

Daddy rocks me to sleep.
On another note, I turned 30 last week and had the most wonderful birthday celebration with my family. I'm still not able to get out much, so I wasn't sure what we would do for my birthday. I really didn't expect much since Brandon is talking about having a big 3-0 party when I'm feeling more up to it and Isaac is a bit older. I was very pleasantly surprised when Brandon brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers home with him, along with cards from both him and one from Isaac, both of which made me cry. And then, as I turned to hug my husband to thank him, he surprised me with a gift bag from Zales. Inside was a beautiful sapphire ring - something I've been wanting for years - AND a sapphire necklace and earrings. Oh, and did I mention that we also had sushi for dinner? WOW! Am I lucky or what? A healthy, happy, beautiful baby boy, an amazing husband AND sapphires for my birthday? What did I do to deserve all of this?

My new ring!

Thank you, dear Jesus, for the immeasurable gift of my family. I pray that I will never take them for granted and that I will always remember what a blessing they are to my life.

A visit from the Pruitts

2009-10-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday brought some much anticipated guests - the Pruitts (aka my sister, her husband and her son). They came all the way from Moore, Ok to meet Isaac for the first time!

My sister is one of the most special people in the world to me. She is my best friend. I can talk about anything with her and know that it is in complete confidence and also know that, if I'm receiving advice, it's expert advice from someone that knows me better than just about anyone else in the world. She is one of the most Godly women I know, so she is also an inspiration to me. Stephanie and I have always had this deep connection - we can read each other's minds.. I've heard her describe it as a "twin" thing, which is a very good way to describe it. Needless to say, I was super excited for my little sister to meet my baby boy. It was an incredibely special moment for me - one that I'll never forget.

Yes, there's also a baby in the picture... :)

Beautiful Aunt Stephanie and Isaac

It's always great seeing Mike, too! Mike truly is like a brother to me. He and my sister dated for many years before they got married, beginning in High School. Mike and I graduated from high school together and our families also went to church together. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time together at our many youth group gatherings, and also had a lot of fun "learning" French in High School (non, merci... ha!.. Mike will get it...). Mike is a great guy, a great father and a goof-ball that I always enjoy spending time with. He's the in-law that I can ALWAYS be myself around, same as my actual siblings. Sometimes we even fight like we're siblings... sorry, Mike. :)

Uncle Mike meets Isaac

And last, but certainly not least, there's my nephew Sam. Sam is the grandson of the Rhodes family that my Mom affectionately calls the "giant little baby". That's a GREAT description of him. He's enormous for his age (95th percentile)... I can't believe how much taller he is than even the last time I saw him! He's also one of the loudest, most rambunctious kids I've ever seen. He's ALL BOY, and super fun. He loves his parents, loves to smile, and loves to explore. I can hardly wait for Isaac to get a little older so that they can play together. They're just over a year apart, so we all hope that these two cousins grow up to be great buds! We love you, Sam!!!!

Sam on the move!

Sam loves on his Daddy. So sweet!

Thanks, Pruitts, for making the trek down to Rowlett this weekend. We love you and can't wait to see you again soon!

Isaac's arrival

2009-09-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was the most exciting day of my life. I woke up Sunday morning with some unusual symptoms, so I called my Mom to see if they could be signs of labor. She thought that they were, and as the morning progressed, Brandon and I became sure of it.

We made our first trip to the hospital when I knew I was definitely having labor contractions and they were getting rather close together. When we arrived at the hospital, one of the most wonderful nurses, Mary, checked us into Triage to monitor my progress. Sure enough, the contractions were coming hard every two and a half minutes, but I wasn't dialated enough for them to admit me. So... home we went... hard contractions and all.

I'd had the flu on Thursday and Friday the week before, so I was still monitoring my fever in case I should let the doctor know that I was still sick. At one point once we returned home, I began to feel feverish, so I checked and and found that my fever had shot up over 100. I called my doctor and he told me I should definitely come back in. When we arrived, they put us straight into a labor and delivery room due to my "flu symptoms", and the doctor reluctantly agreed to admit us, even though I was still not meeting the 3 cm dialation requirement. PRAISE THE LORD!! He told the nurse that he expected I would be at 5cm by 5 the next morning.

Once we were admitted, they started IV fluids, antibiotics, and pain meds to help take the edge off of the contractions until they could give me my epidural. There was also a shift change for the nurses almost immediately after we were admitted, which meant that, unfortunately, Mary was going home. Luckily, she snagged us a FABULOUS nurse by the name of Susan. (those of you who don't know, my Mom's name is Mary Susan.... coincidence??) After a couple of hours, the anethesiologist came into our room to talk with us. The first words out of her mouth were "I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news.". My first thought was, "Great.. they're sending us home... again!". Instead, the news was about my bloodwork. It showed a very low platelet count, which could cause major complications with the epidural the we'd planned to receive. So... there would be no epidural - only IV meds to help with the pain. The good news was that I was already on the same relaxing meds that I would be receiving throughout my labor, so I took the news much more calmly than one would expect. A couple of hours later, Susan came in to tell us that it was time to start pushing. She said "You still have 30 minutes to have this baby today... let's get to work!". She, along with my amazing husband, were the most wonderful coaches I could have asked for during delivery. Brandon was always there to give me more ice-chips and Susan knew exactly what to say to get that baby out of me. :) Their wonderful words of enouragement kept me going strong. Thanks to them, I pushed for less than an hour!

Labor was just that. LABOR. Hard work. Pain. Sweat. Tears. Ah, the tears. Tears of joy as they showed me our son for the first time. All memories of the pain, sweat and labor of child-birth were suddenly replaced with the overwhelming joy of that beautiful little person that the Lord had blessed us with. Love had never been so overwhelming. Joy took on a whole new meaning.

Isaac Aiden Ritter was born to us on Monday, September 21 at 12:29am, weighing 8 lbs., 4 oz. and measuring 21 inches in length. He is our little miracle - practically perfect in every way. I can't wait to see what God has in store for our precious little man.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for... PICTURES!! :)

Isaac's first picture

Look at those beautiful eyes...

Isaac and Mommy

One day old - snoozing with Daddy at the Hospital

Meeting Grandmamma for the first time

Meeting Grandpa for the first time.

Meeting Aunt Julie for the first time.

We're going home!

All dressed up for the ride home!

Chillin' on the couch

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

Isaac is super alert - watching Daddy's every move.

Happy camper right after dinner!

Isaac's first bath at home.

All clean!

Mommy and Me

Listening intently to Grandmamma

Thanks so much to everyone for the meals, sweet phone calls and emails of congratulations. An extra special thanks to my Mom - Grandmamma - for coming to stay with us during the first week of Isaac's life. Her help has been tremendous - she's cooked, cleaned, run errands, stocked our fridge and given up sleep for us. Thanks, Mom, for the precious gift of your presence. I don't know what we would have done without you!

Isaac Update

2009-09-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Today's exam revealed more of the same... no closer to meeting Isaac. But, with my due date only two days away and my docs suspicion that Isaac is getting to be rather large, he wants to see me again on Friday. If I've started to dialate by Friday, he wants to induce on Monday. Everyone say a prayer for me... I want to meet our baby boy on Monday! :)

My Mom wanted to see the latest picture of my bulging belly. Can you tell how much Isaac has dropped? That happened just last night.

Week #40... 2 days from due date

Finally... the torture has come to an end!

2009-09-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I admit it. I have been spoiled by the ability to do laundry in my own home, when I need to and when I want to. I didn't realize, however, that I was spoiled in this way until our washing machine was put out of commission for.... prepare yourself for this number, people... FIVE WEEKS!!!! The transmission went bad (yes, really... the transmission) due to the failure of a couple of bearings. Needless to say, this wasn't an inexpensive repair, but it was still significantly less than replacing the machine, so we made the decision to save a few hundred bucks and have it fixed. I'm not going to go into detail about why it took so long... I'm just going to say that the repairman didn't show on three separate occasions, our phone calls were only sometimes returned, and the company I chose to do our repair just plain blows. Now that our machine is back in our possesion and functioning properly, I will begin my duty of posting not-so-glowing company reviews and calling the better business bureau. In the meantime, however, here's a picture of our new and improved washing machine. I love you, washing machine! I will never take you for granted again!

And here's an updated belly shot at 39 weeks. If you think I look tired, you would be correct... but at least I have my washing machine! :)

JRLD led to B

2009-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

This blog is a bit different from those that I normally post, but it's been weighing on my heart. I'm not really sure why I'm supposed to write about it, but I am...
I recently received an unexpected email from an old friend. Actually, an old boyfriend. His name is David, and he and I dated for a short time before I moved to Dallas. After reading about his life over the past several years, I began recounting our time together. We enjoyed listening to music, playing with his "recording studio" (aka his master bathroom - HA!), spending time on the lake, and laughing A LOT. David did a lot of wonderful things for me... things that I never realized until I started thinking back on my life at that time. Seeing these things in hindsight has allowed me this strange, but very real, perspective into how ALL of my previous boyfriends have led me to be the person that I am today, and how they led me to choose the person that I will spend the rest of my life with.
BOYFRIEND #1: Jake
Jake and I dated for two years of high school and a year and half of college. Jake is a really cool guy - very intellectual, quite athletic, incredibley talented musically (All-State singer AND violinist, people... now THAT'S talent!), and he's quite funny, too. Jake was my first love. People who don't believe that you can be in love with someone at the age of 16 are mistaken... I was definitely in love with him. However, I don't know that Jake was ever in love with me, but rather in love with the idea of me. He had the issue of "the grass is greener" in our relationship, which effectively ended our relationship the second time he acted on this stepped into greener grasses. How did Jake point me toward my husband, you ask? He taught me that I needed to be with someone who possessed many of his qualities (intellecitual, musical, sense of humor) in order to have a lasting and meaningful relationship. He also taught me that just because I love someone doesn't mean that they have to love me the same way in return. That's a really tough lesson to learn, but it has been quite valuable to me.
BOYFRIEND #2: Ryan
Ryan and I only dated for 9 months... but man, what a whirlwind of 9 months! It was only a few weeks after we began dating that we started talking marriage. Ryan is a very passionate person - everything is exciting to him... in the beginning. He's a risk taker and a free spirit - totally the opposite of what I was accustomed to. This relationship caught fire very quickly and burned out even more quickly. The end of this relationship was harder for me than any other I've had. Why? Probably because this relationship eneded for the same reason as the first... someone else's grass was greener than mine. Talk about a self-esteem killer. How did Ryan lead me toward my husband? He taught me that passion in a person is important to me - that it invigorates me and is rejuvenating. It forces me to look at things from a different perspective, not only from the logical and judicious side of things (which I DEFINITELY tend toward). He also taught me that spontaneity can be a GOOD thing... that I don't have to have everything prefectly planned out, which is completely against my nature. Both lessons have been incredibely valuable to me in my personal AND professional life.
BOYFRIEND #3: Lance
Lance and I dated off and on for 2 and 1/2 years. Lance is very much like Jake. He's very intellectual, athletic, musical and caring. Lance is also unusually perceptive and empathetic... qualities that are not entirely common in men. Lance was also incredibely generous in many ways - something that was really new to me in a relationship. But, yet again, I wound up with a "grass is greener" guy. As soon as I began to move on with my life apart from him, though, he'd come running back! And, unfortunately, this happened many times. I've never truly understood why I put up with it for so long, except that I loved him and had very low self-esteem from my previous relationships. Clearly, Lance didn't love me, and that realization, for some odd reason, took me a while. This relationship ended when Lance moved to North Carolina for his residency. At the time, his moving away was the end of the world for me. But as it turned out, it was actually the beginning of a whole new world for me. How did Lance lead me to my husband? His perceptive and empathetic nature, I found, were incredibely important to me. His generosity was also a wonderful attribute, something which I appreciated immensely.
BOYFRIEND #4: David
David and I only dated for 2 months, I think. He was so cool, though, and so different from the other guys I had dated. He was very intellectual, VERY funny, athletic, generous, attentive, thoughtful, artistic, creative and a strong Christian. The other guys I had dated were all Christians as well, but didn't live for Him the way David does. David lived in his grandparents lake house while he was in medical school, complete with boat. We would get out on the water pretty often, which is when I was introduced to the world of wake-boarding. It looked like too much fun to just watch from the back of the boat, so David taught me to wakeboard. Our relationship fizzled out when I accepted my teaching job here in Texas. It was an amicable break-up... I'd say it was as good as a break-up can get. How did David lead me to my future husband? In many ways. His Christian walk confirmed how important it was to me to find a strong Christian mate. He taught me that I can be enough for someone and that's how it's supposed to be in a relationship. He also taught me to wake-board. 'Nuf said. :)
JRLD led me to B: My husband, Brandon
Brandon. What a wonderful name. Brandon is the most wonderful person to have ever stepped into my adult life. He and I met my first year of teaching when I worked as his assistant choir director. I remember meeting him for the first time in a job interview. After being offered the job, he gave me a ride to the school where he and I would be working together to show me around the building and to meet with the principal. I distinctly remember one fleeting moment of our ride to the school in which I thought "Could he be part of the reason I'm supposed to come here?", but I dismissed the ridiculous idea as soon as I thought it. Brandon and I quickly discovered that we have a lot in common, including our illustrious line of not-so-great relationships. I soon saw that he is everything I had learned that I needed in a mate. He is a Christian man, he is empathetic, he is passionate, intellectual, generous, loving, creative, attentive, thoughtful, musical, funnny, athletic (master wake-boarder)... I could go on forever! But do you know what the most exciting part of it all has been? He loves me.... always and without fail. And, while Brandon certainly isn't perfect, he is the perfect person for me... and I love him more and more with each passing day.

It's amazing how the Lord works. He's a GENIOUS! He knew that I would need to go through all of those difficult relationships in order to appreciate the things in my husband that I may have taken for granted otherwise. He knew that I would need a man that didn't fit into my "ideal" mold for a mate, but that he would come from a completely different mold and a very different place than I expected. He was waiting for me to relinquish my "control" over my life in order to show me what I had been looking for all along. I was blind... but now I see.

Thank you, Lord, for the trying relationships that you brought me through in order to receive your wonderful gift of my amazing husband.

Help me to always remember that

trying times lead us closer to You and Your will for our lives.

Help me remember that the grass is greener... on your side.

This one's for you, Mom...

2009-09-03T16:51:00.001-07:00

Another doctor's appointment with the same old news... which is no news at all.

My Mom wanted a picture of her grandson, though... enjoy, Grandmomma!

So close, yet so far...

2009-08-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday's check-up was a bit... um... bittersweet. The diagnosis? "You're not even close to having this baby... we'll see you next week!". On the one hand, I'm glad for the diagnosis because it means I have more time to spend with my kids at school before I have to leave them in someone else's hands for 6 weeks. On the other hand, I'm sad that I have to wait even LONGER to meet our son. The doc did give me some news, however, that I was definitely glad to hear. He estimates that Isaac already weighs 7 pounds! With only 3 weeks to go until the much anticipated September 18th due date, he could potentially weigh 9 (or 10 - yikes!) pounds on his birthday. Of course, these weight estimates are nothing more than educated guesses, so he could wind up weighing 7 pounds at birth. Who knows? I just hope he comes out all nice and fat.. and red-headed. Fat babies are TOO CUTE. And fat, re-headed babies are even more cute!!

Speaking of fat, here's the updated belly shot @ 37 weeks.

The Bussey Bunch at OTB

2009-08-15T15:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, my wonderful friends from Bussey (aka the "Bussey Bunch") threw a way fun baby shower in our honor! We had lots of tasty Mexican eats, a cake that was even more delicious than it was adorable and many generous gifts were given to baby Isaac who, at this moment, is moving around so much he's making it hard to type! :)

The cake... adorable AND delectable!

And here's the "Bussey Bunch"!

Beatles tunes... in lullaby version!

My wonderful husband and me

Isaac's loot...

Thanks so much to all of our wonderful friends at Bussey - I'm so lucky to work with so many amazing people. I can't wait for all of you to meet this little guy! And an extra special thank you to all of the hostesses who put this shower together for us - I love you, girls!

The beautiful hostesses:

Barbara, Julissa, Heather, (me), Sarah, Ryan and Julie

The little Kirklin Boys

2009-08-10T16:40:00.001-07:00

This weekend Brandon and I traveled to Longview, Tx to visit Brandon's cousins Phillip and Jeremiah and their brand new babies. Phillip and Jeremiah are brothers, so it's really cool that both of them just had baby boys... and they're only two weeks apart! Phillip and his wife, Dare, are the proud parents of baby Hunter. Hunter was born several weeks early, so he's still a tiny little guy. Hunter is so sweet and cuddly - I couldn't let go of him all weekend. Here are some pictures of sweet little Hunter.

Dare (aka Momma) and Hunter

Jeremiah and Jennifer are the proud parents of baby Brenner. Brenner is one of the most alert babies I've ever seen! His big eyes are always looking around, taking in everything new. He also has the cutest little chubby cheeks - irresistable! Here are some pictures of Brenner.

Look at those big eyes!

Jeremiah (aka Daddy) and Brenner

Christine and Catherine, Phillip and Jeremiah's cousins, also came over on Saturday to meet the babies. Catherine also brought her cutey pie of a little boy, Brilee (I hope I spelled it correctly, Catherine!). We had fun watching him run around and get himself into everything in the house. We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner together and had fun sharing stories and laughing. Christine, is Mom to two teenagers (even though she still looks 25!), so she had some super-fun parenting stories for us. It was a great time!

Dare, Catherine and Christine

Brilee and his Mom,Catherine

Thanks so much to Phillip and Dare for opening up your home to us this weekend. We love you and look forward to many future family visits with Isaac. Can't wait for Brenner, Hunter and Isaac to grow up together!

And here's the updated belly shot @ 35 weeks. This shirt used to be big on me...

Isaac's Nursery awaits his arrival

2009-08-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I have done it: we've completed Isaac's nursery. We are still lacking a few essentials, but the bones and "finishes" that we wanted for his room are complete. While I had an overall vision of how I wanted his room to look, I never dreamed that it would turn out so wonderfully! I must also say that I certainly did NOT do it all on my own. My Mom made all of Isaac's bedding, curtains and the pillows for his rocker. She even bought the rocker for us. Thank you, Mom! It means so much to me that Isaac's room is full of his Grandmamma's handy-work.

My sister stayed over a couple of days after my shower a few weekends ago in order to help me with some of the arts and crafts projects for his room. She helped me make and paint the letters that we hung on the wall to spell out his name, and she also helped me paint the pictures that hang on the wall. The pictures were quite an undertaking... I'm sooo pleased with the way they turned out! I LOVED being able to help Stephanie with some similar projects before she had Sam, so it's sort of a sister tradition that I hope we're able to maintain with all of our children. Thank you, Aunt Stephanie! I hope you enjoyed our time together as much as I did!

And last, but certainly not least, my wonderful husband had a major part in putting together our sons nursery. He helped pick out his bedding fabric, which inspired his design for the striped paint on the walls. He helped me paint the room, hung everything on the walls, and also did most of the work to refinish Isaac's furniture. Brandon also built some shelving into Isaac's formerly awkward closet that has already made it seem 10x's more functional than it was before. He built them in between the two doors so that they can be accessed on either side of the closet - smart, huh? Thank you, Brandon! You're going to be the world's best Daddy!

Ruggles the bear from Mom's childhood and a plate from Daddy's childhood.

Now all we need is our baby Isaac. We can't wait to meet you, kiss you, cuddle with you, sing to you and love you with all of our hearts.

Another wonderful weekend with family and friends

2009-07-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was WONDERFUL. I was lucky enough to have my Mom AND my sister in town, along with our nephew, Sam! They were here to help host one of our baby showers. The shower was given by my Mom and sister, and my mother and sisters in law. It was absolutely gorgeous! We were blessed with a wonderful turn-out of family and friends, and were equally blessed with gifts for our Isaac. Special thanks goes out to all the hostesses for their hard work in putting this event together and to everyone who took time out of their weekend to attend the shower... we love you all and can't say enough how much we appreciate your generosity!

The beautiful "dining hall"

Centerpieces ah-la Stephanie (my little sis)

Our niece, Audrey, in her party dress

The Food Table!!!

My beautiful Mom and me

Mom, Stephanie and Sam

My sweet sisters in law: Karen, Alicia and Jenny

Friends and Family

Opening gifts

All of the hostesses.

Left to right: Jenny, Carol, Karen, (moi), Mom, Stephanie & Alicia

Thanks so much to everyone.

We love you and can't wait for you to meet Isaac!

What a fun weekend!

2009-07-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I had such a great weekend. My Mom had her CFP exams (Certified Financial Planner) this weekend in Farmer's Branch, so we got to visit with her. We went out to dinner together on Friday night, and then picked her up Saturday afternoon after her exams were over. She got to spend the night with us Saturday night and spend most of Sunday here, as well. Now, in case you don't know, my Mom can sew. Now I know what you're thinking... "My Mom sews, too.". No, your Mom doesn't sew like this. I'm not talking about hemming a few pairs of pants, or repairing your buttons when they fall off. I'm talking about sewing without a pattern (who needs a pattern when you can look at a picture and duplicate what you see?), sewing fast as lightning and doing it all with a smile on her face. Mom worked her fingers to the bone getting Isaac's bumper pads, bed skirt and curtains made. And let me just say she did a SPECTACULAR job (no shock there!). Oh, and all of the piping that you are about to see was custom-made by Grandmama. Is she good or what?

The master at work...

We had so much fun!

How gorgeous are those bumpers?!

I can't wait for Isaac to sleep in his super -posh crib...

And, of course, custom window treatments.

Thank you, Mom... everything is beautiful!!!

After we dropped Mom off at our house Saturday, we had to rush off to our first baby shower! The shower was at Papsitos, where I had the most fabulous fajitas I've ever put in my mouth. I also got to have my favorite of all shower treats: PETIT FORS... yum! Mexican food and Petit Fors make me mucho happy. We filled in some hilarious baby shower mad-libs and also listened to Brandon's funny and sometimes touching answers to a survey about what pregnancy has been like as well as what our future with Isaac will be like. Both were great fun. After dinner we went to a cute little German place in downtown Plano where we sat on the patio for some good laughs. I also got to sample their Tiramisu... AMAZING! Brandon and I will definitely go back at some point to sample some other things on their menu. I have to say that I'm realy angry with myself for not taking out our camera at any point during the shower. What kind of idiot am I? If you got some good shots at the shower, please share them with us! :) Thanks Eric, Julie, Rob and Lindsey for hosting such a fun shower - we had a blast and are blown away with your generosity! Special thanks is also due to Andy and Jaimie for driving all the way from OKC for the shower - it means so much to us!

And last, but not least, my Mom has been after me about posting an updated belly shot. So... here ya go! Just a bit bigger than the last shot. I can't wait to meet you, Isaac! :)

Isaac's room: A work in progress!

2009-06-25T12:58:00.001-07:00

Work on Isaac's actual room has officially begun. Brandon and I finished up his furniture a while back. We sanded, primed, painted and polyurethaned it. It turned out great! You'd never know how little we spent on it. :)

My favorite part of the nursery project thus far has been painting the room. You know how it is when you picture something in your head and hope that it turns out as great in real life as it looks in your mind? Well the paint in Isaac's room did just that! Brandon did a great job of mapping out all of the stripes on the wall so that we could get busy taping off the first set of stripes: the dark brown ones. There were more of these than any other stripe, so we figured we'd get them over with first. We also knew that the brown stripes touched just about every other color on the walls, so they would be a good guide for the rest of them. I'm really thankful that we made this decision, because as we pulled the tape away from the brown stripes, we were also pulling paint off the wall! Needless to say, we didn't tape any of the other stripes... we free handed them. You'd never know, though - they turned out beautifully. I'm so happy with the way the paint turned out that I find myself stopping in the doorway to admire it just about every time I pass by his room. I know that Isaac will never care about the paint on the walls, but for Brandon and I, his room has been a labor of love and a joy to work on. We're super excited to see how it looks with his bedding and curtain in place that Grandmama is making for him . Yet another labor of love for this special little man!

The infamous tape

One stripe down, two to go...

Cooper getting in on the action.

Only one more stripe left!

Voila! Stripes to perfectly match the bedding fabric.

The "chair rail" and half-wall of green.

Refinished night stand alongside the oh-so-comfy rocker.

Refinished dresser.

We'll eventually get that mirror on the wall. :)

Time with the fam

2009-06-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I returned from Petit Jean, my annual family reunion, followed by more time with my family in Bartlesville. It was GREATNESS! Petit Jean is always such a wonderful time to catch up with family - immediate and extended. We enjoy playing games together, chatting, eating and, of course, laughing. I always love the way my husband enjoys the reunion just as much as I do. Brandon keeps himself super busy playing tennis, basketball, softball, hiking swimming and anything else "the boys" are doing together. Here are some pictures from this year's hike to the falls and the softball game. With all the rain Arkansas had before we arrived, the falls were really beautiful!

Petit Jean State Park Falls

Another picture of the Falls, with Mike showing us the scale...

The hike back home.

Our boys at the softball game.

I must admit that one of my favorite things about Petit Jean these days is getting to see our nieces and nephews from my side of the family. We only get to see them a few times a year since our homes are so spread out, so I cherish every moment I have with them, as well as my siblings and parents.

Madelyn, Grayson and Uncle Brandon at the playground.

Stephanie, Sam and Mike in the pool... how cute!

What a FACE!! :)

My Mom is always really good about getting a family picture of us when we're all together, which I really appreciate. This year she bought all of us matching shirts, so I'm excited to see how the pictures turned out! Here's a picture that Jeremy took of just "the kids" that turned out pretty cute. Don't worry about Mike's eyes being closed... that's the way he likes to take pictures. Just kidding, Mike! :P

Is that a good looking group of people or what? Next year, we'll have another good-looking face to add to the Petit Jean family picture. Isaac is only 14 more weeks away!!!

Weekends of Travel

2009-05-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I have spent the past two weekends away from home. Memorial weekend was spent with my parents up in Bartlesville, Ok. We hadn't been there to visit my folks in quite some time, so it was really great to get up there to see them! We had a great time eating (and eating!), visiting and driving through some state parks. I can't wait to see them again at Petit Jean '09 (the Rhodes annual family reunion... I think this marks it's 26th year)! On the way home from our trip to B'ville, Brandon and I gave a first name to our baby boy: Isaac. As it stands now, his name will be Isaac Aiden Ritter, but we've not completely decided on the middle name as of yet. It's been fun calling him Isaac rather than "the baby". I can't wait to meet him!

This weekend was spent at the Ritter's lakehouse... just the two of us. It was relaxing and peaceful, as always. We enjoyed watching a movie, some Friends and Scrubs, cooking meals together and - of course - getting out on the water! No, I didn't do any wake-boarding... I promise! But I did get to drive my husband for several slolam and wake-boarding runs. For the most part, the driving was up to Brandon's standards, which is quite the accomplishment. :) Hopefully I managed to pick up a bit of color while at the lake. I'm looking rather translucent these days...

The crib has arrived!

2009-05-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today was a very cool day... the day that our baby boy's crib arrived! Brandon and I put it together this evening and are very much excited about the way that it looks in the nursery. Can't wait to see how the bedding looks in it - it's going to be beautiful! Here are a few pictures of the nursery in progress.

The crib as seen from the doorway

The dresser, rocker and nightstand

The crib and rocker as seen from the dresser mirror

There are still a lot of things to be done but it's exciting to have our crib and furniture placement so that we can begin to get things underway!

Mother's Day Surprise

2009-05-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that Brandon had planned to do something for me on Mother's Day. It was soooo sweet! When we woke up that morning, he already had it all laid out for me to find in the living room... a beautiful new welcome mat for the front door and the cutest card I've ever seen! It was such a special surprise.... thank you, Lord, for the wonderful man you've brought into my life!

Welcome!

Is this card cute or what?!

And here's the updated belly shot...

A Baby and a Shower

2009-05-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have officially begun to realize that we will have a baby in September. WOW! What a huge responsibility... how incredibly exciting... I can't wait to meet him... I can't wait to kiss him... I cant' wait to tell him how much I love him! And what made me realize all of these things? A Johnson & Johnson no more tears commercial which, ironically, made me cry. I'm feeling him move around more and more these days as he grows bigger and stronger inside of me, and the miracle of pregnancy is overwhelming at times. A human forming inside of my body can ONLY be described as a miracle... and I cannot understand how someone could go through this process without seeing the perfect hands of God in it all. As my belly continues to swell and grow, I'm beginning to enjoy being pregnant more and more... mostly because it means that I'll get to meet our son that much sooner. And, even though he'll be perfect either way, I hope he has his Daddy's hair color! :)

Speaking of babies, I hosted a baby shower at our house for one of my good friends, Julissa, last weekend . There were 11 hostesses in all, which meant that we were able to get her the glider and ottoman that she'd registered for. The cute thing was that she didn't realize that it was her gift from us - she just thought that we'd set it up for her to use during the shower! When we told her it was her glider and ottoman, she got really excited!! There was a really good turn-out, and she got some really nice gifts. Best of all, the food was great, the company was great, and we all had a great time in fellowship with one another.

Juissa in her new glider

For those of you that don't know, I love to entertain. I love designing and creating the invitations, I love planning the menu, I love setting up the table for display of the food, and I LOVE having everyone over to visit. Baby showers are certainly one of my favorite events to plan because it is perfectly acceptable for all of the decor to be completely girly. AND you get to watch the guest of honor open all those precious gifts! Here are some snapshots of Julissa's very girly shower for her baby girl, Victoria.

A Living Room becomes a Cafe

Mmm.... finger foods...

Patty cake, patty cake... complete with a V for Victoria!

Shannon with her two adorable girls, Pheobe and Hannah.

I hereby raise my punch glass to good friends and good times.

Congratulations, Julissa!

Renovation Realities

2009-05-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I are totally addicted to so many shows about home improvement and home renovation. We watch "Spice up my Kitchen", "Devine Design", "Renovation Realities" and "Designed to Sell" all the time. We both love to do our own home projects and love to get ideas from these shows. We also love to make fun of some of the ridiculous things that happen on these shows. Especially "Renovation Realities".

If you've not seen "Renovation Realities" before, it's usually about a couple that decides to do a home reno on their own, on a small budget and, invariabley, in an unrealistic period of time. I'm not sure what the criteria is for finding the people that they decide to follow through these projects, but we're absolutely convinced that one of the requirements has to be "idiot". These people never cease to amaze us with their laziness, lack of knowledge as to how to complete their project, and their lack of common sense. Brandon and I watched one episode of "RR" in which a young man was renovating his kitchen with the help of his mother. He had originally planned to refinish the cabinets in his kitchen, only to find that the cabinets could not be refinished. Upon buying new cabinets, he proceeded to install the uppers WITHOUT using anchors to hold them on the wall. Needless to say, one of the upper cabinets wound up falling off the wall, crashing onto the floor and being ruined. I mean, c'mon... really?

Brandon and I are die-hard when it comes to finishing home projects. And, while we've never tackled something as overwhelming as overhauling a kitchen, we rarely go to bed until the project has reached a reasonable quitting stage... usually sometime around 2 or 3 am. These people, however, start late, take long lunches, long dinners, and end early. Keep in mind that the time-line for finishing these projects is usually 4 or 5 days. Who can reno a kitchen in that amount of time with only two people working.. or, more accuratley, barely working? It's baffling...

On the flip side, I do understand the need to entertain an audience. I just wish I could laugh at them rather than being frustrated with their stupidity. I guess I'm still watching, though, so they must be doing something right!

The new ebay stuff's here! The new ebay stuff's here!

2009-04-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was so excited to come home and find that my punch bowl had arrived! Brandon beat me home and had it all set up on the island for me to find when I came in to the kitchen. It's sooo pretty! Can you believe that I got this baby for less than $30, including shipping?

Today when I got home from work, I ran into my new jeans... literally! Brandon beat me home again today (which, by the way, almost NEVER happens) and had them hanging inside the laundry room door for me to find when I got home. I know... he's a keeper. :) Anyways, they fit great! Can't wait to get them hemmed so I can start wearing them. :)

I wonder if the mail fairy will bring me something fun tomorrow... best not get too greedy. :)

Our baby boy's room

2009-04-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Decorating is one of my favorite things in the world, so I'm very excited about putting our baby boy's room together. We've picked out his crib and have also purchased a dresser and night stand that we intend to paint an espresso color to match the crib. And, in keeping with our "frugal philosophy", the dresser and nightstands were purchased for just $60 on craigslist- and they're in GREAT condition. I found a mirror to hang over the dresser for a great price at Kirklands, which wound up being the perfect size for the dresser.

My Mom (Grandmama) bought the rocking chair for us that we'd picked out, so we're almost set on his furniture. Thanks so much, Mom, for our awesome rocking chair! :)

We've also picked out the fabrics that our baby boy's bedding will be made of. Both fabrics match the rocking chair very nicely, so everything really seems to be coming together!

One of my friends told me about a custom baby bedding website - it has some of the CUTEST bedding on it, as well as quite a large selections of fabrics. I found a bedding design on there that I really love and hope to copy. Luckily, I have a Mom that can make ANYTHING by just looking at a picture, and she's going to make our bedding for us! Here's the bedding style that we intend to copy... can't wait to see what it looks like with our fabrics!

I'll be sure to post pictures of his room as we make progress. As you've seen from the pictures, we have the unpainted furniture and mirror, rocking chair and full size bed in the room, but really haven't started turning it into a nursery quite yet. We'll hit it hard once summer gets here and we have some time on our hands. Hopefully I'll be able to help out with all the sanding and painting of the furniture - I'm excited to get started!

Speaking of getting started, my belly seems to be starting quite a growth spurt.

My students seem to have a different remark for my belly every day. Things like, "Mrs. Ritter, your stomach is getting soooo big!" or "You're huge!", and numerous other statements that a woman longs to hear. :) I really don't remember being very interested when my teachers were having babies. I was certainly happy for them, but didn't really talk to them about it. My students seem genuinely excited about our baby, though, which is very special to me. I've had some of these kids for three years now, watching them grow from tiny sixth graders to awkward 7th graders and on to young adult 8th graders. I feel like a Mom to them in a way. In fact, I don't ever call them "my students" the way I did earlier in this paragraph. I call them my kids. So I really can't help but smile at all of the belly rubs and funny comments... even when they include the word "huge".

Ebay is AWESOME!

2009-04-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... I'm way behind the times. But did you guys know that ebay is AWESOME?!! Let me explain... I recently decided that I need a punch bowl. Those of you that know me will understand this random desire. So, I sat down on the couch and began my internet research thing, found what I wanted for the price I wanted, at Target. So I proceed to order it online, since it's not available in their stores. I was appalled when I got to the end of my checkout and found that the shipping on the punch bowl nearly DOUBLED the original cost of the thing! So after that huge disappointment, I set out on a search to find this punch bowl for less. After many an hour of searching elsewhere, I found nothing better. Upon expressing my frustration to Brandon, he suggested I try ebay. Now, I don't really know why I've always been worried about purchasing from ebay or amazon. It's silly, really... but nonetheless, I was worried to. I reluctantly followed my husband's advice, though, and sure enough, there's the punch bowl I'd been looking for, for half the price of the Target website! Needless to say, I'm waiting for my punch bowl to show up on my doorstep. And I got it for a steal! :)

My next story about ebay should be prefaced with this: I am a cheapskate. I do NOT like to spend a lot of money on things (in case you hadn't figured it out already). I was raised by, perhaps, the two most frugal people on the planet and wholeheartedly agree with the "frugal philosophy". I do not understand how or why people spend a fortune on impulse. Do a little research - find the best deal out there! Or, how about waiting a week or two - or a couple of months - for the item to go on sale? It's so rewarding when it does (and it almost always does)! If it doesn't go on sale for a reasonable price, then don't buy it. This is the way my husband and I live our lives. Being that both of us are teachers, this "frugal philosophy" comes in quite handy for us.

Now having established that I am a cheapskate, I need to let you in on something that completely contradicts that statement; I am a jeans snob. I admit it... I'm guilty! I spend lots of money on jeans! One of my best friends introduced me to the world of designer jeans, and I will never (unless necessary, of course) go back. What's so great about designer jeans you ask? They actually FIT! EVERYWHERE. ALL THE TIME. I have become quite accustomed to my awesome fitting blue jeans and have been seriously frustrated with a search for properly fitting maternity jeans. Because of my frugal nature, I simply have had the hardest time justifying spending much money on maternity clothes. Yes, even for jeans... until I found ebay! I bought a pair of Citizens maternity jeans on Sunday for such a ridiculously low price on ebay- I can't wait for them to get here! I'll finally be able to walk around in awesome fitting jeans again... and feel super proud of my super duper frugal designer jeans expenditure! Ebay is AWESOME!!!!

2009-04-26T11:57:00.001-07:00

I've finally given in to all of your demands to start a blog!! I know that I absolutely love keeping up with my friends and families' blogs, so I suppose it's time to return the favor.

Here's a glimpse into the last six months of our lives together:
After a grueling 9 months on the market, we finally sold our wonderful home in Forney in order to get closer to work. We absolutely adored the house we'd built there, but after nearly three years, the long commute had finally taken it's toll on us. We'd been searching for months for a new home and had found nothing close to what we'd had in Forney. We found a home in Rowlett in an absolutely fabulous location and neighborhood that we loved but the neighborhood was, unfortunately, out of our price range. Our realtor pushed us to make an offer anyway and we were amazed when the builder accepted - with no changes - the ridiculously low offer we made! So, there went the building process all over again... but it was totally worth it. We're loving our new home and our SHORT drive to work every day! It's like a gift every time I get in the car and have a short 10-12 minute drive to work as opposed to the 40-45 minute commute -ONE WAY- that we used to face from Forney each day. Now, a mere five minutes from our house, are all of the shopping and conveniences you could ask for. Like I said, we're loving it here and are so thankful that God blessed us with the sale of our previous home, and the financial means to build again. Thank you, Lord!

Our New Home

Shortly after spending Christmas in our new home, we found out that we are expecting our first baby. We couldn't be more excited! Recently armed with the knowledge that we are having a boy, we made a trip to the library where we checked out numerous baby name books. We quickly came home and confidently began our name search in earnest, bouncing names off of each other right and left, each of us making a list of our favorite names (at least those not veto-ed by the other). Alas, after hours of searching and crossing name after name off each of our lists, baby boy Ritter is...... still nameless. We have managed to narrow the search down to just four names, but love all of them so much that we can't seem to choose just one! We may have to resort to a poll on our blog at some point and have you guys help us make the final decision but, for now, we are continuing to sleep on it. For the time being, we're simply calling him "our baby boy". Here are some sonogram pictures of our baby boy - the first is an attempt by the sonographer to get a profile shot. He was so busy turning over and rolling around that she had a hard time getting this picture! He actually had his legs up over his head as she took it. The second picture is taken from underneath his legs and his "mark of manliness" is in plain sight between them. :)

Profile of our baby boy

Can you make out the boy??

Our baby boy is one of the biggest reasons I've decided to jump into the blogging world. I figured now's the time to figure out how all of this stuff works so that when he finally arrives, we'll know exactly how to post all of those adorable pictures we'll be taking of him. And, prior to his arrival, we can share equally fascinating photos of his nursery and my ever-expanding belly. I suppose a picture or two of my amazing husband would be in order as well! Here's the handsome devil himself.

Brandon with our precious nephew, Sam

More to come...