This Summer...

ellis turns one on September 1st and i'm still shocked at how fast she's growing up. everything she does is at the speed of lightning. she started walking at 10 MONTHS! she was crawling and sitting up at 6 months, she's saying words. nothing earth shattering profound, but she's proficient with "dada" "mama" "doggie" and her indisputable favorite, "mmmm, mmmmm." she's quite the eater. she's clumsy and daring, not a great combo. her personality is explosive. she loves attention, gets extremely jealous when Cam is getting love, but also highly independent and exploratory. i'm amazed at how she understands so much that's going on around her. today i taught her how to go down stairs on her belly. i only had to show her once. the only thing slow about her is her hair folicle growth. i'm positive she's going to look like a little old man with a mullet until she's in kindergarten.

mr. cam is still the man. he's learning now what it really means to be a big brother and i don't think he's quite as excited about it as he once was. i think he's growing tired of the whole "sharing" concept. he's grown pretty possessive of his toys, which i simply see as a survival instinct. he's getting a little too physical with her by passively hitting her on the head when i look the other way. he's 3 and a 1/2 now and still very tall for his age, but he's slimmed up and in my opinion is a very handsome, respectful little man. oh yeah, he's hilarious too. his vocabulary is out of this world and i have NO CLUE how. the other day we were sitting outside on the patio and he says, "the bugs and butterflies like it outside, but inside is their doom." really, a three year old that knows the word doom and places it in proper context. love it.

john and i are trudging along. this summer feels like the most overwhelmingly busy one of our life. we found a new house, made an offer, it was accepted, made repairs, packed up the old house, listed it for sale, moved into the new house, sold the old house and have been running like crazy ever since. i've never felt like a busy person. for me, the busier i am, the less i can enjoy anything. if i'm in this moment, i'm worried about the next obligation left. anyway, the busyness has been good.

we were able to go to the beach with my family in july and that was a lot of fun. it was work chasing 2 kids around, but well worth it. my mom took some amazing pictures for us, i'll upload more later....

by the way, mom's available for hire...if you're interested!

blessings

i'm having one of those blah days. nothings wrong, it's raining & the sky is a hovering gray color. i hate when i have these weird anxious days. i feel the nagging feeling that everything is wrong, so i go through my checklist of all the things that are going right in my life, but still i can't shake this feeling. this led me to dwell on all the blessings in my life. i thought it would be a good idea to blog about these blessings.

i have grace. despite my wretchedness & my continuing failings at being the woman God created me to be, i am forgiven & loved. this sense of peace inspires me to continue to strive toward that person that God wants me to be.

i am loved by an amazing man. he's charismatic, tender hearted, incredibly generous & loves me so completely. he makes me laugh & reminds me not to take life quite so seriously. we have a history that makes me cry every time i go back in time. i love this man.

i have a son, named Cam that fills a part of my heart that i didn't know existed before he was born. he makes me laugh & makes me so absolutely proud. he's articulate, obedient, smart & dynamic. i love looking into his little face & seeing john & myself. i like to imagine what kind of man he'll grow up to be. he will make some special woman as happy as his daddy makes me.

i have a baby girl, named Kellis. she keeps me young & gives me a strong sense of responsibility. my role as mother is one the MOST important things i will ever do. i love making her laugh & seeing her gigantic goofy, gummy smile.

i have two of the best parents that this world has ever known. my parents open their home to my family so often & we just enjoy being in their company. my dad is the wisest person i have ever known. he's the first person i go to when i need to hear the truth & need someone to bounce ideas off of. he sees life so simply, so black & white. this stability gives me so much peace. my mom is so cute. she's laid back & down to earth. no drama. common sense & a lot of fun. we definitely are each others confidants.

my 2 sisters are my lifetime friends. lynden & kylie are such great chill buddies. watch tv, drink a glass of wine & unwind. talk, listen, talk. it's nice to have someone to do nothing with.

God has given me amazing friendships. life goes by so fast & it's easy to get distracted & loose track of friends. i have had a few friends that have endured.

cam & kellis communicating
i'm still swollen, cam was still in icu, about 6 days old, carolyn was there

cam's first easter, in athens

cam about 1 month old snoozing with daddy with his heart monitor strapped on

i just put cam to bed at 10pm. i know that's kind of slack as a mom, but sometimes it just so nice to hang out with him. i get so busy sometimes, that i forget to enjoy what a special little man he is. tonight, his personality & charm was on. we sat outside on the front porch while he rambled on for 5 minutes saying,

"what's that? it's a mean dog. no, not really, it's a nice dog, like jenna's dog." "you don't like this chair? it's a bad chair. it's not scary, no." "what's that up there?" "we don't like skeeters (mosquitos) they're bad." "i don't like horses & giraffes. you remember the man with the beard in my class at church? george doesn't have a beard, he has a moustache. i don't have a moustache, i have a mouth and a nose and a face."

then we came inside & he cuddled up with his head on my lap, drinking his milk cup, sucking his thumb. i can't even describe how nice it feels with him so close to me. i have to stop for a minute & just savor what it feels like. how tender a son's love is. his heart is so pure & simple. he's thinking, " i love my mommy". (yes, as a matter of fact, i Can read his mind.)

i know everything will get more complicated for him. life becomes distracting, but right now i feel the same simplicity. "i love cam."

moments like tonight make me wonder if life really can get any richer. just acknowledging them makes me feel more blessed.

i have to remember to stop to savor the small things & start to comprehend that they're actually the True things.

goodnight.

It's been a good week, but a busy one for us. My friend Stephenie is a teacher in Athens & she was off for Spring Break, so she & her son Wes joined us Monday & are on their way to visit tonight. It's a lot of fun for Cam & Wes, but probably more fun for me & Steph to catch up.

Cam got a double ear infection, which is crazy. He's never had to visit the doctor, (with the exceptions of well check visits) his whole 3 years of existence. Needless to say, I was shocked that he had a double ear infection & really only whined about it twice. Tough guy.

John & the kids & I went over to our friends house, Steve & Brandi on Wednesday & played American Idol on their Wi. Wow, embarrassing, but highly addictive.

Kellis is 6 months old & in the same week, she sat up & started crawling. She's not winning any marathons yet, but she's getting around quite well. I'm deathly afraid that I may have a little firecracker on my hands. All my days of bragging about my laid back son, will be gone & Kellis will make up for his good behavior. Not really, but I do think she is going to push the envelope a little more persistantly than Cam.

Speaking of Cam, have I mentioned what a dream he is? He has a sweet little heart, an obedient spirit & a highly entertaining personality. We're constantly amazed at what he remembers & picks up. It's gotten to where we can't even watch cable television in the same room as him! I don't know if that looks better for his intellect or worse for the standards of network TV.

That's one thing that irks me severely. There are some really great television shows on, great writing, dialogue, plot development, but they all include the BDGD element. Bad language & it kills it. Good thing we have a DVR, but we also have a son that stays up late with us. So much TV, so little time...

John & I are trying to do the low-carb diet. He's actually doing very good at it. He actually thinks I 'm doing very good at it. Ha. I'm good in front of him, but the moment some salty snacks are in sight & he's in the other room, I'm popping them like an addict on a 12 day binge. With all of that though, I'm eating smaller portions (because I find the food dreadful) and snacking seldomly. I've actually dropped about 3 lbs! John is at about the same.

We joined a gym the beginning of the year (yeah, we're not a clique') but my three days a week has progressively turned to 1. I take classes & for the first time I actually "work out" at the gym. It used to be "ughh, I'm here, not what do i have to do until i can leave in 3o minutes?" the instructors keep me honest. too bad they don't pick me up.

I'm excited about my birthday. I turn 28 next month & my best friend Carolyn is coming in for a much anticipated visit. We always have the best time catching up. Usually John lets me get out of the house so that Carolyn & I can spend some "kristy carolyn" time. She's such a good soul & reminds me of how fortunate I am to have a friend that "gets" me indiscriminately.

The weekend after, I'm heading to the beach with another great friend, Shae. We're going to have a great long weekend & relax at the beach. We're even going to catch a concert while we're there. John's coming with me, so it will be nice to have a little grown up time together. My mother, the saint, is watching my children. I am ridiculously spoiled living so close to my parents & John's parents. My mom is the best, because she never makes me feel guilty. I try not to abuse her because I have the sinking suspicion that she would never tell me no.

Too much to ramble about. We'll talk soon.

My first blog

Hi everyone. I'm really going to try to keep blogging & posting pictures of my family so that everyone can keep updated on our lives & our beautiful children! :) I'm not too boastful, am I?

We live in Between, GA in Walton County. John is working for NaturChem Inc selling herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers & fungicides. If you know anyone in the green industry, let me know & he can hook them up with fantastic products at great rates.

I'm working as a Realtor with Keller Williams. The market has slowed tremendously, but this week things have miraculously picked up & I'm working on several different things. I absolutely LOVE what I do & pray to continue making a living at it. It is a wonderful balance for me & allows me to spend a lot of time with my family & produce income.

The kids are a major part of our existence these days. Cam will be 3 May 3rd & is starting to master potty training! Hooray. I thought this day would never arrive & thought very seriously about paying one of his grandmother's to train him. It would be so worth every penny! Overall, he is the coolest male child the world has ever known. He's outgoing, entertaining, obedient, handsome & very very loving to his family, especially his little sister "Tellis."

Kellis is 6 months old & her birthday is September 1st. She is such a vibrant, happy girl & fills our world with joy. Really. She's sleeping through the night & working on crawling. She went to the doctor yesterday for her shots & well check visit & I'm happy to report she's tall & skinny. Lucky little thing. She is in the 95% in height & 75% in weight. The doctor confirmed that she is the most beautiful female child in the universe. Actually, there were 3 doctors in the room & 2 out of 3 agreed.

Prove me wrong.


-Kris