The Countdown Is On

It's exactly one month from today until Kiera and I are flying with my mom to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Washington! I have not been to the west coast since I was 7, so I'm really excited! Of course, I'm also excited to see Art and Jenene and to see their reactions to how big Kiera has gotten since they last saw her in July. My mom is paying for my flight (Kiera is free) so that is a huge blessing!! Thank you mom for your unending generosity! We are there for a week and coming home on Kiera's first birthday, so she will spend it in Washington, B.C., and home! 30 more days....YEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Loads of Laughter

Blond Moment

Yesterday, I was going for a walk with Kiera when I noticed 2 people walking on the other side of the street. They were talking and using their hands a lot...more than most people do. I kept walking and then I looked at them again as I noticed their gestures were quite quick and big and as I watched it dawned on me...they weren't just talking and using their hands to emphasize; they were using sign language! And the blond moment of the day award goes to...

In other news, Kiera was up at 4:45 a.m. and 5:50 a.m today. That's not what I meant when I prayed last night that she would sleep through the night and I told God that, but He just told me to trust Him. Ok. I couldn't fall back asleep the first time, so I was still awake when she woke up the 2nd time! It was very frustrating for me. When I finally fell asleep sometime after 6 a.m., I was so tired that I actually had a dream about sleeping! Has that happened to anyone else? Strange! You know you're sleep-deprived when...

I'm Back!

Here I am, back on the net. It was a great week off and I got a lot of reading done! Kiera has been transitioning herself to just one nap a day, instead of two 2-hour naps, so that has been hard for both of us. She gets fussy, so then I try putting her down, but then she doesn't go to sleep, so then I go get her and she plays for a while longer 'til she gets fussy again, and then usually she goes to sleep around 1-3ish. I miss my extra free time, but I know that spending time with her is much more important than my hobbies. It seems September has been shopping month and I've managed to get a lot of clothes for not very much money (yay God)! On Labor Day, I took a trip to the States to go shopping with my cousin, Kristie, my mom, and my mom's co-worker, Crystal. I bought denim capris for $6 and a black tank top for $7.

Kristie, me, and Crystal in the mall...my mom was also wearing a red shirt, so I was the odd one out


















Does anyone actually buy huge pink sunglasses? I think they're hilariously ugly!


















My mom has not been able to stop buying Kiera clothes now that she needs new clothes in the 12-18 months size for this coming winter. She bought a whole bunch for $4/item at JC Penney and Target, plus we went to a huge community garage sale in a nearby city where we spent $0.50-$1.00/item and they were all in like-new condition, so these are just some of the outfits that we have bought for her. Yes, there are more clothes that didn't fit on the couch!

New clothes on the left and garage sale clothes are center and right
















Here are some close-ups of a few of my favorites


























































Left: Sweetheart Right: Let's all love our world


















I think little girl clothes are just the sweetest! I really hope to have a son one day, but I also really hope I have another girl so that we can use all these clothes again. I know God will decide what we need, but can I put in a request for 2 girls and a boy?

An update on the piano students: I had one signed up at the beginning of summer and I had been praying for a minimum of 4 students in order to meet our budget. I went on holidays in the middle of August and when I got back, I had some e-mails from people inquiring about lessons. I responded to them all and a 30-year-old woman immediately signed up at the end of August. I started teaching the first Thursday in September, so I was trying not to get worried and just keep trusting God. The Wednesday night before I started teaching, I got 2 phone calls and 2 more people signed up. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! He wanted me to trust Him right up until the last second. The following week, I had another girl sign up to start in October, so bonus! I have 3 adult students, an 8-year-old boy who's mom I'm teaching as well, and a 6-year-old girl. The adults are hilarious, outgoing, and such a joy to teach! I couldn't have asked for better students...God knew exactly who I needed. The 4 of them are all doing SO well, so this year is off to a better start than ever before in the past 5 or 6 years that I've taught. I've been blown away and my faith has grown. "He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us" Eph. 3:20

Taking a Little Break

Now that I've completed my 9-week dessert fast (which turned into a 13-week on and off fast due to our Bible Study taking several weeks off this summer so I can't say my fast was completely successful, but I did end up doing 6 weeks in a row, 2 weeks off, then another week...etc.), God has now asked me to fast from the internet. Our church is having a 1-week fast this week, so God asked me to give up blogging and facebook for this week. :( It's going to be hard for me, but I knew it was coming since I spend too much time on those sites. Please don't forget about me as I will be back next week! Have a great week and I'll "see you" next Monday!

You Know You're a Parent of a Baby When...

You spend over $100 at one time on diapers and wipes!























We don't normally do this, but the cases of diapers were on sale for $20, regularly $27, and the cases of wipes were on sale for $6, regularly $12, so who could pass up a sale like that? (unless maybe you have no need for diapers and wipes)

Picnic Playdate at the Park

When I got pregnant, I thought, "Hmmm....I'm basically the only one of my friends who's pregnant right now." Well, it turns out that a whole bunch of my old friends from my hometown who I went to school with for most of my life got pregnant after me and have now all had their babies! So, 7 of us got together at a nearby park for a picnic playdate with all our kids! It was lots of fun and all the babies were happy for the most part and didn't get stung by any of the many wasps that were flying around there!

My friends with their kids


















Kiera enjoyed all the attention she got from the older kids



































Including Landon's "scary" face (so cute)


















I really like how this one turned out




















































Thanks for a great afternoon girls! I very much enjoyed it. :)