Another Playdate!

My friend, Tierney, from public school teaching days was in town over the holiday weekend with her husband and little boy, Jaren. Kendall had been looking forward to meeting Jaren for a long time now (so had Mommy!). Tierney and I had always said we would have a baby at the same time, and Kendall and Jaren are two days apart. Plus, Kendall and Tierney share a birthday!

And - as expected - Kendall was two pounds heavier than Jaren! (Refer to "Playdate" from last week for all the details.) Holding Jaren was quiet a differnce from holding Kendall.

Jaren sure is a cutie! And what a full head of hair!

Little Turkey Lurkey!

Kendall's first Thanksgiving was not without MUCH picture taking. Aunt Julie, the official family photographer, easily snapped about 200 pics during her three day visit. I'll share just a few...

Playdate

Kendall had her first play date today. My sweet friend, Robin, and her precious little boy, Jay, came over for lunch and a nice visit today. Look how cute the two of them are together!

Now, I have been told all along that my baby is big. That's the word everyone uses to describe Kendall besides beautiful and sweet, of which I was already aware. But I always wondered: Is my baby big? Everyone says she is, though I don't have anything to compare her to. Until now... Can you believe that Jay is 4 weeks younger than Kendall? That's it! 28 days exactly. My child is HUGE. At her eight week checkup we were told she was 95 percentile on her weight (13 lb 2 oz at the time) and off the charts on her length (25 in). My mom said I was the same way so I'm really not worried. I just now realize what others have been noticing all along. Even our pediatrician friend at church (whose group Kendall goes to) said if he didn't know better he'd say she was four months instead of two and a half months. Anyway...

Back to Robin and Jay. We had such a wonderful time visiting and catching up while our babies "played" as we both rocked them in our arms. Robin, Jay and Daddy Nathan are moving out of state after the first of the year. We are all bumbed about it. Robin is a part of our women's Bible study and we've been praying they could stay here, but so far it doesn't look that way. God did extend their time here, though, to allow Jay to be born here and spend his first holiday season close to family. We will all miss them, but we know God will take care of them and hopefully bring them back soon.

But since I've been learning (and blogging) all about living in the moment, I am going to spend today reflecting on our visit, and thankful for Robin's friendship. She is such a blessing to have for a friend. Today has enough worries of its own, so I will spend the rest of the afternoon holding and loving on my baby - when she gets up from her nap that is - and thanking God for all the blessings (too many to count) in my life.

Sweet Anticipation - Expecting Kendall

Several of my out of town friends asked for pictures of my baby bump. Well, I never posted any at the time. But I figured I'd share some pics and some thoughts with you that I scrapbooked in Kendall's first album.

Expecting is...

... taking a fourth pregnancy test - just to make sure

... asking the doctor if everything is okay and letting out a sigh of relief when you're told that it is

... holding your breath at the first ultrasound until you hear the heartbeat

... the excitement on your parents' faces when they find out they will be grandparents

... imagining who the little person inside you will be. Will she look like me? What is her soul's purpose?

... crying over sappy commercials and endearing news stories

... touching your growing belly, thrilled by every hiccup and kick

... thanking God for such a miracle and learning the meaning of praying without ceasing

... picking out paint colors and nursery furniture

... nausea, swollen ankles, and back pain. As real and intense as they are, though, they're still no comparison to your joy and excitement

... enjoying all the lavished attention

... realizing that your life is not your own, your world will be turned upside down - and welcoming the thought

... the surrendering of your own will. It's letting go of how you think things should be and trusting God to fill in the blanks. When you surrender, you let God take control, realizing that He is the Creator and the Sustainer of life. He loves your child even more than you possibly could. He has a plan for your child and He will be faithful to lead and guide you both as it unfolds. In the moment of surrender your heart softens and trusts beyond all of your mental capability, you find freedom with no expectations as you become fully embraced by God's unconditional love.

Hmmm, I'm getting an idea for another post: "Motherhood..."

Princess Kendall

Once upon a time in a far away crib lived Princess Kendall. She had just moved to this far away land located across the house and all the way at the end of the hall from her old kingdom, Kingdom Pack-n-Play, which was nestled in the corner of a land called Mommy-and-Daddy's Bedroom.


Kendall had a royal Palace Guard, Sophie. (Sophie also doubled as the Court Jester.) Princess Kendall loved Sophie and received daily "head lickings" from her. Sophie guarded Princess Kendall and her land by vading off any and all possible intruders that attempted to come within view of Princess Kendall's kingdom.


But Princess Kendall had a problem. She had something wrapped around her little finger and it wouldn't come off. "Hmmm," Princess Kendall thought, "What can I do about this problem?".

She noticed that this "something" gave her much attention and delight. With one simple cry and the wave of her scepter, her royal subjects, Mommy and Daddy, would come to her rescue. With one lift of her royal finger and a simple royal beckon, her royal "paci subjects" would rush in and save her fallen pacifier. Hungry? Tired? Bored? No problem, her royal subjects tended to these fancies as well. After pondering the situation further she thought, "Do I really want to fix this problem? Is it even really a problem at all?"


Princess Kendall sought the advice of Palace Guard Sophie since she as well had royal powers of persuasion (and the benefit of years of experience) in this kingdom. After receiving much wise counsel, Princess Kendall concluded that she should take full advantage of this royal treatment. And as for her finger? What a small price to pay for lavished love and attention! The thought of casting off this so-called hindrance brought a smile to her face. "Yeah, right!" she cried.


And Princess Kendall, to this day and to come, lives happily ever after in her kingdom. And what about Palace Guard Sophie and Subject Mommy and Subject Daddy? Yeah, they're happy, too!

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

I've been tagged by my friend, Danielle. She found this on a blog, copied it onto hers and played along.

ANYWAY, here's what you do:
You go to your picture folder, open the fourth folder, and then choose the fourth picture, post it, and then explain why it's significant.

Well, do I even need to explain the significance of this priceless picture?? Well, Danielle, you asked! I will attempt to put words to the most precious moment of my life which left me speechless.

Kendall is such an answer to much, much prayer. She is our miracle, our precious gift from God, who has shown Himself to me in many ways this past few years. As much as none of us like trials or waiting (yuck!), it is during these seasons of life that we grow and experience God's love and faithfulness in ways we couldn't otherwise. In James' words, "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. " (James 1:2) Kendall is tangible evidence to me of God's tremendous love and sovereignty. He is the Author and Creator of life. He sustains and upholds all things. And by Him and through Him are all things made.

As I held my precious daughter for the first time - a moment that at times I wondered would ever come to pass - I held God's fulfilled promise. Yes, there were times of doubt and uncertainty. Yes, there were times of heartache and longing. But having walked through the journey I am met once again by God's exceeding riches, abundant love and amazing grace.

If anyone is holding on to a yet-to-be-fulfilled longing, trust God's heart. We may not know the reason. We surely won't like the dry season in which we find ourselves, but God works all things for the good of those who love Him. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts. But oh how He longs to lavish His love on those who trust in Him. Just as I know more than Kendall, love her beyond measure and occasionally will have to do things in her best interest that she may not like or understand, how much more so does our perfect heavenly Father do the same for us? I am glad He is in control. And I am thankful even more so for His love.

Besides, sometimes God's "no" is for a "greater yes". Just maybe God has even more blessings in store for you than you have yet imagined.

And ANOTHER 4 Gen Pic

Kendall is so blessed to have lots of great-grandparents. This week Kendall was able to meet Grandma who was in town visiting from out of state. Here's a picture of Kendall, Mommy, D (my dad), and Grandma. My dad decided to be called D because when I was little I called him "D" before I could say Daddy.

The Whole Goza Gang

This weekend we took pictures with Gabe's family. These are some of the best ones. It was cold and the wind was blowing like crazy. A few shots in between gusts came out fairly well, but some are pretty funny with our hair standing straight up! Kendall was a trooper though it all as you can see.

Pictured are: Gabe, Carey, Kendall, Kenny and Vickie (Gabe's parents), Gabe's brother, Ben, and his wife, Kimberly

Playtime

Every night Gabe and I do our best to keep Kendall happy during her potential fussy time. Last night was so sweet. Gabe got down on the ground with her and they played together with her "gym" as we refer to it. There is a "Mr. Sun" at the top that lights up different colors. Gabe would point to each color as it changed and name them. Kendall was fascinated by this for over twenty minutes! I thought it was so sweet that I had to get a picture. Gabe's such a good Daddy!

Cute, But Not Scary (OK, Maybe So)

As promised, here are the pics of Jennifer and me (aka Lucy and Ethel). I hope no one lost too much sleep these past few days waiting for me to dig them out.

I learned that nobody makes an Ethel costume, so I had to improvise. It's amazing what a trip to Goodwill can accomplish. As for the wig, it was originally a Marilyn Monroe looking do from Target. After two bottles of Aqua Net and several packs of bobby pins you see the results. Not too bad. Hey, I did impress another Lucy fan bystander. She asked me "WHERE did you find an Ethel costome?! Can I borrow it??"

The next year, Jennifer and I schemed up the idea to dress as different episodes. Here's the Candy Factory costumes:



We have another year to think up another one.