Summer Bucket List

All summer long this board has been hanging in our kitchen. 

Just a list of 2 year old do-able things to try and be intentional with our summer. Well, here we sit on the last official weekend of summer and I'm happy to report we did the majority of the things on this list. What we didn't do will give us inspiration for next year, hopefully. I didn't have the camera ready for all of them but below are a few examples of how we completed the list. 

"Family movie night", can you see the excitement on E's face? We watched Cars, of course. 

"Eating Popsicles"

"Bubbles!"

"Picking blueberries" strawberry season is surprisingly short in KY. 

"Running through a sprinkler!"

And last but not least, our version of a "water slide" 

Believe me when I tell you fun was had by all and it is nice to look back and see things we did together to enjoy the last summer as a family of 3. Next year someone else will probably be trying to keep up with this little guy. 

We hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day and enjoy the last drop of summer. 

"Your Grace Finds Me"

I love worship, especially worship music.  I think the Lord uses it to speak to me and help me to connect with Him when my words fail.  

As the weeks become shorter between "Richards party of 3" and "a family of 4" I have started really thinking about how much grace the Lord has for me.  For those of you out there with multiple kids (or heck only one) you know the joy, transition, stress a new life can bring to your household.  Once you were getting 8 hours of sleep and now you may be getting 3 at a time, your house used to be quiet and you used to be able to focus on what your spouse was saying when he/she walked in the door, but now it's all a blur.  

I know these things are all part of the newborn package, but as these weeks go by I am getting a little weepy at the thought of Eli not being my only child anymore.  Don't get me wrong I am so thankful for this new life, but things are bound to change.  He is likely to feel neglected, act out, have meltdowns, not sleep as well, etc.  But I am asking the Lord to help me focus on all that he "gets" to do.  

He gets to be a big brother, he gets to love this little girl like only a brother can.  He gets to teach her things that I can't and learn (yes learn) that he is not the only one we wait on around here.  I am so excited to see their relationship blossom in time and see his love for his sister and of course her love and desire to look up to him.

The following song by Matt Redman, "Your Grace Finds Me" is one I always turn up when it comes on in the car and the first song that I heard when leaving the hospital after finding out we were expecting a girl.  It is relevant to anyone's life and allows me, if only for a second, to remember just how much grace the Lord pours out on my life daily.  Lord, please help me to remember this clearly in the coming weeks and months.

It's there in the newborn cry

It's there in the light of every sunrise

It's there in the shadows of this light

Your great grace

                                                     It's there on the mountaintop

It's there in the everyday and the mundane

There in the sorrow and the dancing

Your great grace

Oh, such grace

From the creation to the cross

Then from the cross into eternity

Your grace finds me

Yes, your grace finds me

It's there on a wedding day

There in the weeping by the graveside

There in the very breath we breathe

Your great grace

Same for the rich and poor

Same for the saint and for the sinner

Enough for this whole wide world

Your great grace

Oh, such grace

From the creation to the cross

Then from the cross into eternity

Your grace finds me

Yes, Your grace finds me

There in the darkest night of the soul

There in the sweetest songs of victory

Your grace finds me

Yes, Your grace finds me

Your great grace, Oh such grace.

Just a few more weeks...

Today is a double post day because E is napping longer than usual and I'm kind of feeling behind. 

E trying to squeeze into his infant car seat. Regression? I hope not. 

This is what happens when mom trys to cook with a bored toddler in the kitchen. (Don't worry he didn't fall off). 

E has had a rough patch with sleep over the last few weeks.  It seems to be getting better, but a couple of weeks ago after a very restless night he crawled up on the couch at about 9am. No, he never fell asleep, but I think his mood improved. 

Baby girl's room is taking shape. I love how it turned out!

My little engineer hard at work. 

Me at 35 weeks. Whew, time is flying!

Cousin-time

A few weeks ago E and visited NC for some family time. I really can't believe I haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now, but things are a little hectic with baby girls' arrival in 5 weeks or less! Wow!

There's nobody like your family. I often tell E that they are "his people" and you have to stick with them and up for them when that time arrives. 

He absolutely adores his older cousins and talks about the constantly. Now that he's into matchbox cars he assigns one to everyone he knows, so the cousins have two race cars with their names on them waiting in KY. 

We also take many random videos of E with his cousins so he can look back on them and remember names & faces. One of his favorites right now is the train ride at the museum of life & science. 

These cousins are like brothers to E and I pray they'll stay close as they grow up. Even though we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like their mom and I try our best to keep them connected. 

Hopefully adding a girl to the mix won't throw their bond off too much!