In the Mean Time

Taylor talks about apple pie all the time... and I'm not exaggerating.

Not that she's ever had it or anything... but anytime she "prepares" food for us it's always apple pie. Delivered with such enthusiasm, it seems a shame to keep her in the dark any longer.

And as her "Mud-door" it's my responsibility to expose her to the art of making a mostly home-made apple pie.

My mom's got a killer recipe for the crust... and with our sparkly shoes (thanks for the hand-me-down Churchills!) we were ready to get started!

Here's the finished product - before baking!

And we ate apple pie for breakfast for a few days... shhh... our little secret.

I'm almost 15 weeks along... due April 27th, 2012 with little Willi #2.

More on the COMPLETE blessing and gift from God some other time.

Yep.

Just about the cutest little fairy princess EVER!

"Aren't I beautiful, Daddy?!"

"So I wear my costume and get candy? Okay!!!"

One morning while carrying Taylor down the stairs I kept telling her how much I loved her while snuggling a bit.

She stuck her arm straight out with her hand against my shoulder, looked at me with a stern expression and said, "Stop loving me!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her straight-forwardness and told her, "Sorry sweetheart, I'll never stop loving you."

In the moment, the idea just seemed crazy - that she would refuse my genuine, pure love for her. And maybe you can see where I'm going with this... but how often have I done this with God? How often do my actions speak as clearly as Taylor's extended arm and furrowed brow?

Praise the Lord that God's love for me isn't based on anything I have any control over.

Eternal love.

Think on that for a while.

As a baby, Taylor called me Mama.

I was kinda sad when that turned into Mommy...

Last week she was calling me Mom.

And that was just too much for me - I kept telling her I was her Mommy... and she'd say, "No, you're my Mom!"

As of yesterday she was calling me Mud Door.

At the park, "Help me Mud Door!"

At bedtime, "Mud Door, Mud Door!"

When she woke up this morning... "Muuuuud Doooooor!"

In case you're wondering, that's her pronunciation of Mother.

I'm not sure why she's trying out all these versions of my name... but last night when I was trying to calm her down at bed time (bug bites have been uncomfortable for her, but that's a different story) in between "Mud Doors" she said "Mommy" and it totally melted my heart and I couldn't resist picking her up and holding her for a while.

In case you want to see it first hand, I tried to catch a video of this... this is an after dinner video full of all sorts of things... the Mud Door comes in around 1:50 if you dare hang around that long.

I love my daughter!

And I don't mind being a Mud Door at all!

The other day Taylor found a random hair and proceeded to inform me that she had lots of hairs on her head.

I couldn't have agreed more.

The only problem with those hairs is that she never wanted to keep them out of her face with a clippy or rubber band or anything. Case in point:

During a recent cold, we decided it was finally time to cut some bangs when she ended up with snot in her hair. Yuck! Not exactly my first choice, but definitely more sanitary... and as a bonus, she can see!

Happy girl!

If my memory serves me right - and let's be clear, it's very possible that it's not - I think the last time we went canoeing was on Memorial Day 2009, when I was 30 weeks pregnant with Taylor.

Needless to say, we were pretty excited to get out on the water again! It was Taylor's first trip... and this was one of the first days in a LONG time where we weren't facing 100-degree temperatures!

In the picture above, I asked Taylor to come stand with me for a picture... instead, she squatted just like me, left knee down, right knee up, and smiled! I love that! Mini me?

We were all smiles as we headed downstream! No better place to be than on daddy's lap.

See that life jacket she's wearing?! It was mine when I was her age... I know... crazy. I'll have to find a picture to upload. There's probably some lifespan to that jacket, but it seemed to hold up well!

This is what we dealt with most of the way... Taylor trying to reach overboard to touch the water... she actually sat down for a good portion of the trip, but 2.5 hours of sitting in a little boat is a little much for a toddler like Taylor.

When she finally got fed up with us telling her to sit down she threw a HUGE tantrum (the terrible twos are in full force at our house). We couldn't put her in time out, and my attempt at spanking was ineffective, so I just had to pin her down with my legs to keep her from falling out of the boat while in tantrum mode. As a result, she fell asleep and we had a peaceful ride for the last 45 minutes or so.

After getting cleaned up and eating lunch she napped the whole way home!

Taylor turned two on July 30th!

I know... I know... I'm a little late in providing the appropriate update and pictures, but we've been VERY busy spending lots of time with extended family and dealing with some unexpected homeowner issues. Needless to say, we held a party (albeit a couple weeks late), and celebrated our girl with lots of love!

The yearly picture with the grandmothers wearing our party outfit!

See last year's picture here.

Taylor was so diplomatic, playing for a long time with each toy before we talked her into setting it aside to open another toy from another guest at the party. We only invited family to this one, but with our families combined, she got quite a stash! We have such generous grandparents and aunts and uncles. Seriously.

Playing with new toys!

Getting ready for cake...

Seems like only yesterday...

... get cozy...

... and then take a ride on daddy's back!

But before we get into the details, let me just say that this has been a busy summer... Rob has been holding down the fort at home with Taylor and I have, admittedly, been working too much. Our family beach week was scheduled for this past week and I was REALLY looking forward to several things...

1. Celebrating Taylor's 2nd birthday in a low-key, no frills kind of way.

2. Witnessing my baby brother get married to sweet Melissa and attending all associated events!

3. Quality time with Rob and Taylor on the beach!

4. Romantic sunset runs with Rob - free babysitters abound during beach week.

5. Watching Taylor interact with her "cousins" - my cousins' kids... all 15 of them!

6. Sharing dinner with extended family at one of the four beach houses our family rents - all

around a cul-de-sac, right on the beach.

7. Late night porch talks - with babies in bed - with the only lights being those of the stars.

8. Crab hunting at sunset!

9. Searching for sea shells during the morning low tide.

10. Extended quiet times.

11. Sleeping in.

12. Taking afternoon naps brought on by long, playful mornings on the beach and snuggling with a good book EVERY DAY!

13. Playing with my new camera and fancy-schmancy lens on MANUAL mode with professional teachers... dun dun dun...

14. An overall relaxing and rejuvenating week...

We arrived at the beach on Friday afternoon (July 29th).

While over the course of a few days I managed to check several of these things off the list our week changed drastically within the blink of an eye.

I should have seen something coming... God had woken me up early (5:15 am early!) the first morning we were at the beach with an amazing thunderstorm. I couldn't go back to sleep because all I could think about was the lighting and thunder that is recorded in Revelation... in the throne room! After following a trail with the Holy Spirit through the bible I ended this amazing quiet time with such peace and love.

Looking back now, I can tell that God was drawing me near, preparing me for something by reminding me that, no matter what, he LOVES me with a love that is unfathomable... that His strength is all I need... that his provision is more than enough...

As we were pulling into the driveway of the beach house directly after the wedding on Sunday (July 31st), we received news that Rob's Aunt Janet passed away suddenly in a car accident.

Rob immediately packed up and headed home to travel with his dad to Tennessee... Taylor and I made arrangements to follow via airplane and rental car.

It's a good thing we did, because we received MORE devastating news that Rob's grandfather passed away not more than 48 hours after his daughter. He was already in the hospital and it's quite possible he died of a broken heart...

The family held a double funeral. No fun, but definitely part of the mourning process. Taylor was a trooper the whole time and added a little much-needed joy to such a painful situation.

Spending time with Rob's grandmama, cousins, aunts and uncles was wonderful despite the circumstances. And having never experienced a loss of this magnitude, we are all bonded together now more than ever.

It was obvious that God was all over this situation, and if you get some time I'd love to share more of the details. Besides preparing me and our little family for this week - with meaningful quality time, a little rest, the timing of the painful news, and my being able to be there for my husband - God prepared us all individually and brought us together.

God's perfect plan is difficult to understand sometimes, but the confidence we are afforded in knowing Christ brings hope of seeing our loved ones again someday soon.

Not exactly the week we anticipated... regardless and despite my lack of understanding, all Glory to YOU, sweet Jesus.

Hey you!! I got something to say!

Thank you for our food (yes, thank you for the cake),

Thank you for our family (oh yes, thank you for my special daddy),

And thank you for Jesus (because he loves me).

And we all say Amen!