Praise God...

I am still around. It amazes me that we always say that, but I KNOW in my heart, that heaven is MUCH better being here on earth :) Life has been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY...did I say BUSY already? This is what we have been up to since mid-August when I did my last REAL post...man, it is now October (That means FALL, FALL, FALL and the State Fair, now, if it could just get cooler during the day):

1. Adjusting to being back at work. Through God's grace and mercy, the transition back has been relatively smooth. It is such a joy to have a husband that works from home (a techy) and one that loves to clean. Now if only, work was not so stressful. I am mentally drained when I come home, so having a clean house and the cutest baby in the world waiting on me to pick her up from daycare, the cares of work disappear, but the fatigue doesn't. Just a constant reminder that my strength lies SOLELY in the Lord!

2. Watching Kayden grow and grow and grow. It amazes me at how quickly babies change and evolve. Our little one now has two teeth and at eight months old (tomorrow), she is starting to crawl and pull up. We really need to spend some time on Sunday childproofing the house. She is now about 18.5 lbs and 26 inches long and yes, we cannot purchase Soy formula fast enough. Her personality is now starting to develop and we now know for SURE that she is going to be a handful. I must admit that I am now itching for Kayden to have a little brother...if it is God's will for our lives, then we are believing that he will make it happy.

3. Preparing for my SIL to move in with us. My SIL "A" was blessed with a great job opportunity here in Durham, so she is moving to Durham from her hometown of Greensboro. At 42, this will be her first time ever living in a different city. Ken and I are SO happy to have her come and we couldn't say no, because the Lord has blessed us with more house than we need right now. We are having to move some spaces around, specifically my scrapbook area, which means some spring in the fall cleaning. This will also mean a love in sitter...I know, that is horrible. But because Kayden goes down at 7PM each evening and sleeps until 6:30AM, we hate to pay a sitter to come to our home and watch TV. So now, we can head out for a movie and know that someone is here with Kayden, if she should decide to wake up...likelihood is slim :)

4. Traveling. Kayden's first flight was about three weeks ago when she joined me for some meetings in Baltimore for work (Ken drove up that night and we spent the weekend hanging out with friends). She was an angel, like she always is, and allowed mama to work and love on her at the same time. We also have had some weekend trips to Richmond, Charlotte and of course Greensboro.

5. Preparing for Christmas (close your mouths)!!! I have already started my shopping and started designing my homemade gifts. The paper for the Christmas cards has also been purchase, so I hope to begin work on those soon and start addressing envelopes this weekend...if I get a free minute. I recently found out that we will be hosting Thanksgiving here at our home, so Christmas plans will come to a halt for Turkey day!

6. Continuing to love life, my family and where God has me right now. That says a lot when I feel like all I do is complain about not having enough time or energy for ANYTHING. I am reading a book called Feminime Appeal, recommended by my friend Shawnda, and I must say that it is changing my perspective on how I look at the more important things in my life. The scripture basis for the book is Titus 2: 3 to 5, where older women are given the directive to teach younger women to do the following: love their husbands and children, be self controlled, be pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their husbands. POWERFUL stuff I tell ya!

That is all for now! The photo of our sweet pea was taken just before take off on our Baltimore trip...she is starting to look like a little girl! In His love...