Summer Vacay Part II

We love Ruidoso. It's a small quaint town with lots of interesting things to do, but the thing we love most is sitting outside on the deck swing, reading, meditating, watching the hummingbirds and enjoying God's creation in 70 degree weather. If you're lucky you might even see some deer, which we did one night as we were eating dinner outside.

We went to the shops one day (we didn't buy a thing!). We like to save our money for things like expensive dinners instead. Which we did a couple of nights that we were there and then we cooked at the house or grilled out the rest of the time.

One night we went to this place called the Pasta Cafe, which was similar to an Olive Garden. Taylor started off the night being fussy, but when the food came I started giving her my noodles and she went to TOWN on them. She was slurping them into her mouth and it was one of the funniest things I've seen. She loved it and she was a MESS!



Another night we went to a Dinner theatre that was actually like dinner and a concert. They had a band there that was amazing. It was almost kinda like a comedy show as well. They were very entertaining. I can't say so much about the food and the experience with childcare, but I definitely could have watched that show again.

Here's a picture of the stage where they played. One of the guys in the band played ALL of these instruments. Can you imagine? He really was amazing. He was the guy who sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and he can make his voice go real high.



We spent a day at the horse races and thanks to Bobby and Caryl Merchant had wonderful box seats. In between races we entertained Taylor by putting on Baby Einstein in the box and during the races we took her down there to watch the horses and tractors. She loved the "awsies".





While the weather was wonderful most of the time we were there, wouldn't you know it the day we planned our picnic it rained in sheets??? We went to Bonita Lake for a scenic picnic and ended up eating in the car. It wasn't all bad though. Seeing it rain from inside the car and with the amazing view was quite beautiful. We rather enjoyed it and made the best of it.



Other than that we read a bunch and just enjoyed each other. It was such a lovely vacation. Later I will have to do a book review on one of the greatest books I've read. I blew through 300 pages while we were there. I think my life changed while reading it. But like I said, that's for later...

Summer Vacay Part 1

I wanted to start off with a picture from last year's vacation to Ruidoso taken in the same spot with the same baby, only this year she is ONE year older (as are we too, of course, but who likes to think about that).

This was our first family vacation with just the three of us. I guess we didn't really know what to expect. Our hopes were that she would nap a lot and keep herself entertained so we could do what we love to do on vacation...READ. We both had ordered books to bring and were very excited about reading them. Allen's book somehow didn't make it there...among that and other realizations of things that we had left and incidences at the airport, we didn't have great attitudes to begin with.

The flight with Taylor (the 3 of us being crammed into 2 seats, for cheapness sake) wasn't all that we hoped it would be. Taylor's greatest fear, I'm convinced is being pinned down, not able to move and go where she pleases. (This makes for lovely times at the doctor's office...) So this situation on the plane was not one that anyone envied. She wailed toward the end probably less than 5 minutes, but I guarantee you that was the longest 5 minutes of my life.

And I'd like to add that traveling with a baby is just very HARD. You are talking about toting along pack-n-plays, carseats, strollers and then during the check having to take off everyone's shoes. I mean, seriously, what could possibly be in that tiny baby shoe?

Anyhow, that will probably be the last time we travel with a toddler. When she was littler it was easier, but now it's a little too much to handle for both of us. Although she did do MUCH better on the way back with her own seat. Don't get me wrong, Allen and I were having to put on an entertaining show for her (books, songs, games, etc...people probably thought we were crazy singing, dancing, playing peek-a-boo), but she kept entertained.

So all in all the travels taught us a LOT about our own attitudes and how WRONG they were! I think our reactions to those hard situations are the Lord's way of showing us if we are really growing like He desires us to and how we think we are (in our own prideful eyes). Glad He brought us back to Him from the get go. That actually provided the best possible outlook we could have had for our little once-a-year getaway. It actually got things started off RIGHT! Praise God, He really knows what He's doing, huh?

I will leave you with some pictures and continue where I left off later, after the loads of laundry disappear, the emails are all deleted and the blogs have all been checked.

Grown a LOT in 2 weeks!

The picture on the left is the one I posted about 2 weeks ago and the one on the right was taken yesterday. I can REALLY tell the difference and just feel like I have totally pooched out in the past couple of weeks! There's no way anyone can say they can't see a pooch now!!! (Janette! Michelle! Yes you!)

I am so glad to finally be "showing" in a way that (hopefully and selfishly) strangers don't think it's leftover baby weight from Taylor Joy. I know that's dumb and I'm pretty much over caring what other people think of me at this point. I know that most of the time anyway I don't even get a second glance when I'm with Taylor, which is all the time. And that's FINE with me! I get all the glances I need from my hubby. He seriously LOVES the extra "thickness"(as he calls it) on my body. Yay for that!

I love that there is a little baby inside that we get to love on in less than 5 months.

I love that I can feel that babe kicking and moving around inside of me.

I love that Taylor Joy loves the baby and gives it kisses and raspberries.

I love that she really has no idea what kissing my belly means.

I love that a life is growing inside of me at every minute of the day, whether or not I am aware of it, no matter what I'm doing.

It reminds me that sometimes I have to stop, slow down and enjoy a little kick, give a little rub, read a book, or sing to that little one.

It reminds me that our Heavenly Father is constantly ready to meet with us. He never stops His work whether or not we are a part of it. He never stops growing or changing His people as long as we allow it. He's always available to us. The God of the Universe...available to US. Crazy. Our time given away to Him or His work is always a blessing to Him and blesses us in return.

A sweet little lesson from my sweet little fetus ALREADY! Wow! Children are a blessing in so many ways and they teach me so much about our Lord.

Our Little Flower Girl

Taylor Joy is set to be a flower girl in Ryan and Cate's wedding! We are so excited that our good friends are getting married and our little girl gets to be a part of it. Well, all of us really. Allen is the best man and I'll be helping Cate in the House Party.

As soon as we found out about Taylor being in the wedding I went shopping for little flower girl dresses and quickly found that there was none less than $100. There was NO WAY I was going to spend that much money on a tiny little fits-around-my-arm dress. There's just no way.

Anyhow, Cate and my wonderful husband convinced me that I could use my sewing abilities to sew Taylor a dress. I was leery at first. And all along the way, really. But, turns out that I may have a knack for this. Check out the dress I made! I really am very impressed with myself! ;) I think the total amount I spent was probably around $20. I spent more than that on her shoes!





I am really unsure of how Taylor will do at the actual ceremony. I will be praying that she just walks down the aisle normally and doesn't do anything embarrassing, but nonetheless, I know she will look adorable!

A Day at the Gym

Yes, Taylor Joy went to the gym. We figured she needed to work off those tiny little rolls on her tummy.

Just kidding!

We went to Dallas this weekend with the Youth Leaders for their camp and they had some team building exercises at a gymnastics place in Garland, so we joined them. Taylor really enjoyed herself there. Check out the pictures!

Taylor Joy and Daddy



Taylor Joy jumping on the tramp (which was really just bending her legs a little bit...just about the same thing as when she "dances")








Some sweet girls that I just wanted to slip in here...



The progression of slide events that went down...





This girl had such a long day...it was definitely time for a nap...

A Little Pooch

Here's my baby belly since people have been interested in seeing it. As you can see, it's HUGE! Haha! Just kidding. I was only sticking it out a little bit but not too much...not enough to make a difference. 16 (1/2) weeks down, 23 (1/2) to go! I can't believe I'm almost halfway there!

A Duty Recap

What are we DOING with our summer??? Here's the answer in pictures!



Swimming...LOTS! The whole family enjoys it...especially when it's HOT HOT HOT like it has been the past couple of days.




Playing with that sweet girl. She is stinkin' hilarious and keeps us rolling with things that she says and does.

Yesterday morning I had to wake her up for church and she wasn't the happiest so I sat and rocked her for a minute. Well, while we were rocking I sneezed and tried to go back to rocking her, but oh no! She laid there and went "a-shoo!" repeating me and giggling and then looked up at me with the biggest, sweetest smile! I just had to laugh.




Did I mention how BIG our girl is getting?



Playing with fire...



Watchout! We can get pretty crazy after the baby goes to bed!

Doggy Love

Yes, as you can see she was showing Angel some love, but was unsure when it actually happened. I'm quite sure you will either think this is the cutest ever or the grossest ever. Enjoy either way!

Going Green!

Allen brought home a new book a couple of months ago with the title, "Serve God, Save the Planet." I was a little skeptical at first I guess because I figured the author was probably one of those tree hugger types and it would make me feel bad to even read the book because we are so far from that. I can't say there's not the tiniest bit of truth in that statement...but not enough to keep me from recommending this book.

The author's name is J.Matthew Sleeth and he comes from the perspective of a doctor that used to work in the E.R. and started seeing some medical conditions actually caused by environmental issues. I didn't even know this existed besides like asthma or allergies. Although that's not the main tenant of the book, his background does set the stage for what he set out to discover.

He simply and eloquently shows scriptural evidence for why we should be better stewards of our planet and gives basic steps in how to do it. I appreciated the book because he comes from the perspective of one who used to live in a huge house and accumulate huge masses of trash to now one who lives in a house that is the size of his former garage and his family only produces one plastic grocery bag of trash a week!

He doesn't look down on those that live the way he used to, he just gives simple, everyday steps to becoming more green, like: running the dishwasher only when full and without a heated dry, running the dryer as little as possible and line drying when the weather is nice, conserving gas by combining trips, cooking two casseroles at once, recycling, using less paper (plates, napkins, cups), buying things with less packaging, etc.

I'll leave you with an excerpt from the book.

He talked about the changes they made in their home and commented,

"Because of these changes, we have more time for God. Spiritual concerns have filled the void left by material ones. Owning fewer things has resulted in things no longer owning us. We have put God to the test, and we have found his Word to be true. He has poured blessings and opportunities upon us. When we stopped living a life dedicated to consumerism, our cup began to run over. We have seen miracles."

The workbook is available online at: Workbook

The website is: Serve God, Save the Planet

A Way to Serve

For the Bryan/College Stationites/Living Hopers who read this blog, here's a great opportunity:

Host families are still needed for the Athletes in Action Women's Basketball girls who are coming in town for training. I spoke with Jenn Jones and she said they are still in need of 5 or 6 homes for girls.

If you have a bed they can sleep in, you are qualified! All you have to provide is a bed, somewhere to wash clothes, and meals.

These girls are training so that they can travel to Taiwan and serve on missions projects there. This is a great way to show hospitality to those in the body.

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

If you are interested the dates are July 1-8 and let me know so I can get you Jenn's number. Thank you for serving our body so faithfully!

A Taylor Joy Update

Since this is what most of you wait for anyway, here goes...

Taylor thinks laughing is the MOST fun...she seriously just "ha ha's and ho ho's" all day long. It is her favorite thing to do and it's really hilarious.

She is also attempting so many words and sounds. She tries to say Taylor and she says, "tay tay". She also tries to roar like a lion and baa like a lamb among other things.

Yesterday she put her hand on my Bible and clear as day said, "bible." I was pretty floored but excited that she knows what it is!

This girl LOVES books! I seriously read books to her all day and if you ever come over that's all you have to do to keep her entertained. She loves them and walks around with her books saying, "booh booh!" No "k" at the end, which is the case with many of her words.

We have had some issues with fits and tantrums and even hitting but just have to trust that we are doing the right thing for her by discipling that kind of behavior and selfishness. Afterwards I hug her and tell her that I love her and that's why I discipline her. The Bible says that, "The Lord disciplines those He loves" and I repeat that to her too. I know she's young, but she definitely knows better and knows she's done something wrong after it happens. It really doesn't happen often, but she has her days for sure.

Another of her most favorite things to do is push her baby stroller around the house. It is a funny sight to see! She readjusts baby every couple of seconds and baby gets tossed in on her head, upside down, backwards, you name it! Thanks to Anika and Ariana for such a great gift! She loves it!

We are approaching 13 months! What a big girl! She is so much fun!

Worth a Listen...

New Attitude Conference Sermons

These are definitely worth a listen. I've had a chance to listen to a few and so far they have been AMAZING! They are from the Sovereign Grace Ministries' New Attitude conference with speakers like Josh Harris, John Piper, Mark Dever, etc.

I also have one by C.J. Mahaney called, "The Soul of Modesty" that I bought if anyone wants a copy or to borrow my ipod for a day. It addresses some things that will benefit anyone: husbands, wives, the modest, the immodest, the "I think I'm being modest, but I'm not sure", the friends of those who may need some help, and everyone in between.

Please let me know!

While I am recommending these resources, they have a children's CD that is so precious! I downloaded it for Taylor and they are her favorite songs with SUCH great messages. Your children will really enjoy them!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

I seriously can't believe we've been married for three years! In a sense it feels like it has flown by and we've done WAY too much stuff to have crammed it all into three years...in another sense I feel we know each other in a way that we should be having our 10 year anniversary! Marriage is crazy like that!

Listen to all the stuff we've done...

Getting married, 6 week hunniemoon (yep! our jobs hadn't started yet!), moving to NC, creating a new life together, new jobs, church hopping, trying to find couple friends, buying a house, only living there for 6 months before we moved back to C.S., coming home to our church family at Living Hope, being close to family, having a baby girl, going back to seminary, doing a million things at once, finding out baby #2 is on the way, our princess turning one... isn't this too much to cram into 3 years!?! (and I left a lot out...)

Life is so much fun when we're together.

I tell people who are engaged this all the time (not to scare them!) but, compared to the way I know you now, I might as well have been walking down the aisle to a stranger! And we had known each other for 4 years!

Walking with you through life is fun, wonderful, sweet, organized, sometimes spontaneous, and always hilarious...it's simply AMAZING!

I love you way more today than over 5 years ago when we started dating...I love you tons more than the day we got married 3 years ago...and I love you more today than yesterday. Everyday with you is my fairy tale.

I love you, boo bear!

Party Girl

Taylor's little princess party was on Saturday and she had a blast! I made her a sweet princess outfit to wear and she even had a princess hat, sash, a wand and shoes to match! (Thanks Aunt B and Nana!)

When people started arriving she couldn't have been any happier to be the center of attention, welcoming each guest with a hug and sometimes a kiss, which is really just her blowing on you.

We made it over to the cake, which by the way was the cutest cake I've ever seen! Thank you so much, Erin. You are AMAZING!



I really didn't know what to expect from her. She's usually very dainty with food, but I've never stuck a cake right in front of her either. Erin made her a "smash cake", which is a little cake for babies to "smash" their faces in, theoretically.



Not so at the Duty home.

We put it in front of her and the first thing she did was get a little frosting on her finger and hold it out for me. Sweet girl. I showed her that it was good, but she just wouldn't dig in....all we were getting was little swipes at the frosting.

So I cut her a piece and put some chunks in front of her. Then she couldn't get enough. She was gettin' after it. I think I cut her like 3 little pieces total. That's a LOT of cake for a little girl!



It was such a fun day and I really can't believe my little girl is one. I went in her room this morning to wake her up for church and here's what I saw. It seriously made me cry. I feel so blessed to have her and praise God everyday for letting me be her mother and do the job that He created me to do. And honestly I can't imagine loving another child as much as her, though come December I'm sure I'll find out that it's possible. I have my first appointment on Thursday, so I'll update then!

Happy Birthday Princess!

Happy Birthday Taylor Joy, our sweet little princess! I can't believe it's been a whole year since you popped out of me! What a sweet blessing you have been to our family. I can't imagine life without your sweet smile and laughter that fills our house. You bring sunshine with you wherever you go. We love you more than you will ever know and hope this next year is as amazing as the last.

We love you Taylor!

Thanks for reminding me, Heather! (To post this, not for her birthday, of course!)

Preggers!

Yes, that's right. My belly will look like this again very soon. Bye bye slim tummy. Hello basketball. I'm preggers!

Most people know already, but some of you don't. We found out a couple of weeks ago that we're pregnant and will be due in December. We are SO excited and happy to grow our family! So far, so good. Besides one horrifying migraine, the pregnancy has been great. Minus being exhausted, I hardly feel like I'm pregnant.

I told Taylor a couple of days ago that there was a baby in my belly and looked down and pointed, saying "Baby." She looked down at her tummy, touched it and said, "bebe." It was really funny. She has just been hilarious lately. I think having a brother or sister 19 months apart will be really great for her. Praise the Lord for blessing my womb! More updates to come!

Our Little Walker

I haven't posted videos of our little walker lately and she has really been picking it up! My goodness she loves it! Check out the video...we couldn't stop her!

Bluebonnet pics!

Here are some pics from our journey through the horticulture gardens with the Supercinski's last week. If you've never been there it's in full bloom right now and would make an enjoyable picnic spot for sure.




Since Taylor's 11 month is in a few days, I'll go ahead and update you on her.

After taking her first few steps (at least 10 at some points), she is considerably disinterested in walking these days. She finds it quicker to just crawl instead. I am totally fine with this. With our active little girl I can only imagine how "on my toes" I am going to have to be when she actually starts walking.



As for words, the main word in her vocabulary is still "dada". And she definitely knows who that is. She follows him around everywhere he goes. Literally. He is the world to her. It is the most precious thing I've ever seen. A couple of months ago Allen longed for this because she could never be anywhere without me and now it's happened! I am so glad she loves her daddy the way she does. And watching them together is pure joy!




She just got in another tooth. That makes six. 3 on top and 3 on bottom. She's lopsided toward her left.

Today I noticed that her hair in the back was kind of flowy and kind of curled up in the back and it made me realize that she's such a little person. She's growing up so fast! She doesn't have little baby hair anymore. It's big girl hair!



Can I just tell you how well behaved our daughter is? And I'm not praising us, it's definitely been the Lord's doing and He gets the praise. We started spanking her hand at around 6 or 7 months for discipline and were discouraged at first. But NOW, lo and behold, she responds so well to "no" and is always looking to us for approval before she grabs something she's not sure about. Can I tell you how encouraged I am by this? Or did I just do that??? Our goal is not that she be well behaved but that she understand the sin in her own heart and desire to let us shepherd her heart as the Lord has given us the authority to. Thanks for prayers about that...there have been many- even during pregnancy all the way until now. We appreciate them so much. We are, of course, praying for the day she will come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ and trust Him for the first time, understanding that all we do is to guide her toward Him.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Normally I would say, "Hoppy Easter Everyone!" And as you can see, we are entertaining a cute little bunny in our midst. Well, my husband has been walking around the house and around church telling everyone "Happy Resurrection Day" today.

I like that better.

So...HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

Our precious Lord Jesus rose from the grave to give us hope and a life worth living. Not a life worth living so we can do our own thing and focus on ourselves. A life worth surrendering to Him. It's pretty much the VERY least we can do seeing what He gave up for us. The God of the universe put on skin, came to earth, lived a perfect, sinless life, enduring every temptation as we have and became for us the PERFECT sin sacrifice.

Can we not live a life of worship unto Him?

Did you go to church today? Why? Ask yourself that question.

Read Isaiah 53. Read Luke 23 and 24.

And have an AMAZINGLY BLESSED day!

Sugar, Spice and All That's Nice

Lately our little girl has been just that...such a little girl. She has tons of "babies" as we call them - stuffed animals of any kind, little bunnies, bears, baby dolls, etc. She loves to hold them and give them hugs and it is SO sweet. The sign for hug is crossing your arms over your chest. Well, I tend to exaggerate it a little to get the point across so I sway a little while I'm showing her. She does it just like me every time! It's precious to see how nurturing and sweet little girls are from the very beginning and just how differently God created boys and girls. Most little boys I know are obsessed with trains, trucks and wheels and my little girl is busy pulling out all her "babies" to give hugs to.

She's sugar and spice and all that's nice. That's what little girls are made of.