A weekend of fun!

My parents joined us in Kentucky for Thanksgiving this weekend. We took a break from cooking and went to enjoy some time at the park on such a beautiful day.






There was lots to do to prepare the food. And our namecards- Halle and I made.





The next day we celebrated Christmas with my family. Halle got lots of toys!! She is now complete with cell phone and laptop just like Mommy and Daddy...







We spent some time at the mall- our Santa experience- well, this is how it went...





We loved having my parents here with us and my brother. We had a lot of fun hanging out, playing games, watching movies, and being together. We even celebrated my mom's birthday on Sunday. It was special to be able to be with her on her birthday!




We even managed a great family picture!

Oh Yuck!

I just got done with the worst- yes, the worst diaper experience ever!!! We were eating lunch when I noticed on Halle's shirt- green poop seeping up her body. In mid- lunch I quickly finished my bite before I tossed my lunch and began "operation stinky pants." Thank the Lord that Brian was home- otherwise I may have lost it. He grabbed Halle and brought her to the bathroom. We both started to gently take off her clothes. We could see that it was through her pants and up her shirt. As we began de-clothing her, it went from worse to more worse! There was almost poop on every body part. I did not do a good job of staying calm! How could I? My little girl had poop on her face! At this point, she started to cry. Great job mom! Yes, I think I scared her. After removing clothing, we stuck her in the tub as I tried to get every inch of yuck off of her. Then, she was too worked up to take a bath. We managed and Brian got her bathed while I took care of the clothing and clean up in the high chair. Oh yuck- it was the worst thing ever! We conquered "operation stinky pants," and I don't think Halle will be eating Craisins anytime soon.


On another note, here's Halle eating with her spoon. Yum!




Halle with her pigtails/horns...



Halle and me!



And this is Halle pre-explosion- she loves pushing this flower around like she's vacuuming (even though she's terrified of the vacuum.)

Our entertainer

This is our little girl- being silly as usual.

The many fashions of Halle

I try to capture Halle when she's looking cute(which is often) or when she has an extra cute outfit on. Here's a little bit of Halle sporting a few of her looks...

Here we have Halle with her sporty look, perfect for a day of lounging



And next we have our stylish dress and our trendy fur boots



Of course, you must have a proper winter coat and hat!



You gotta love stretch pants and sweatshirts for playing in the mall



Some more casual wear for playing outside



Another fancy outfit for church



And the best outfit- or should I say cheapest- is always...the birthday suit!! And she's actually smiling in this one- she really is happy, she just never smiles when I take her picture- she's a stinker!

More of the lion

Our little lion

Here's our cutie in her lion costume. I guess you could call her a lioness. I attached a bow to her costume to make sure people knew she was a girl. She was a great sport walking around for 2 hours in her costume. A few times she said, "on" and pulled her costume, meaning "off," but she hung in there. In our town, they close off the downtown area, and everyone has booths set up for trick-or-treating, and it almost feels like a carnival. So, it was great fun for us with a little one, and Halle loved walking around staring at all of the various people that walked by. It was a great 2nd Halloween!

Reflecting

I've been thinking... I've been reading a book called, "High Calling, High Privilege," by Gail McDonald with my friends here, whose husbands are also in Brian's program. It's been really interesting because it was written by a pastor's wife about being a pastor's wife. And since all of us are pastor's wives, most can relate. It's been a little different for me though, because I'm still new at all this "pastor's wife stuff." The author speaks from years of experience, a lot of heartache and struggles, and a whole lot of perspective. It's really scary for me as I think about what may lie ahead. Brian and I have been truly blessed in both churches we've been in thus far. We've been in great churches where I haven't really ever felt like a typical "pastor's wife." But- never being the senior pastor, our experiences have been different.
The author was saying that after each church she had to take a serious time of reflection to think about what she'd learned and what lay ahead. I thought that was great insight and thought I might do the same. So, please bear with me as I try to sort it out on here.
What I've learned...
-To serve in ministry where it fits me best
-To be intentional about getting involved and developing relationships
-To step out of my comfort zone
-To use my gifts- (lead, organize, shepherd)
-Protect time with our family
-To be patient with things that are new
-To be faithful in prayer
-To make the best of what doesn't always seem ideal
-Be fully present in where God has lead you
-Pray for Brian's ministry
-Be hospitable
-Do things that fill me up
-Find someone to invest in me
-Find someone to invest in
-Find joy in the small things
Being in Marion was hard, and scary, and wonderful, and amazing all at the same time. I'm so thankful for our time there and have priceless memories there. I miss our time there very much.

What's ahead...
I wish I knew!! If you have any insight, please let me know! As an avid "planner," it's super hard for me to have know clue where we will land in 7 short months. (I think God is teaching me in that!) I am taking time each day to pray specifically about where God will have us and what that will look like. I'm excited and anxious all at the same time. The bottom line is that we're trusting in God to take care of all of the small details and the timing and each part of where we'll be, and I have to rest in that.

Helping Mommy

The other day, Halle helped me make cookies for the first time! It was fun to have her help out- well really just be there with me and watch, but it was something we could do together! And of course, she discovered the best part- licking the batter!! She went to town on the beater for about 15 minutes!

Feelin' the Rythm

Fun with friends

We had a really fun weekend. Some friends came to visit us from Indiana and it was so great to have them here! Friday night we took them to an 80's party at UK that was sponsored by the college ministry that we help out with. It was hilarious to see all of the college students and their outfits. We searched Goodwill and you can see what we came up with. The 80's surely was not the best time for fashion. Saturday we went to Keeneland-the horse track. That was such a cool experience. It was great people watching all of the ritzy and glitzy society that frequents there. We definitely did not fit into the upper class there. But we saw a race and Halle enjoyed seeing the horses and giggled when she saw them.

Having Jess and Casper here really made me miss our friends in IN and MI. It's hard to believe that we've been here almost 4 months and that means 7 months left. We've been talking a lot about next year and imagining where God will lead us. It's a huge prayer for us right now. So for now, we'll just keep trusting that God has everything already worked out.

Fun date!

This weekend Brian took me to the UK/South Carolina game. It was something that I've wanted to do since we moved here. It was the most beautiful sunny day and a very exciting game, even though UK couldn't pull a win in the 4th quarter. The excitement of college football is amazing and it was so fun to be a part of the action. Thanks Hunny!!

Words, words, words

Pumpkins!

I have been so excited to take Halle to the pumpkin patch and yesterday was the day! We headed to Boyd's Orchard to check out the pumpkins and apples. Halle's favorite part was the wagon of course- she liked to ride in it and attempt to pull it. She explored many pumpkins- although we left empty handed bc we're going to go back in a week or so! We got many apples to eat and to bake with. They had this great little animal farm and hay maze for little ones. She's miss independent and enjoys roaming free! It was such a neat little place to go and definitely helps you to feel the spirit of fall! If you look really close you can see a little pony tail on her head. She's sloooowly getting hair, and I'm trying to make the most of it. She's just too cute with a pony tail! She can say all of the animal names that we saw and says, "punkin." She's our little pumpkin, that's for sure!