october sped by...

we have been busy this month, so it seems. two major events stand out, amidst visits with mimi and grampy, oma and papa, and friends...aunt laura and cousin nora came to visit. i'll post those pics once i get them from mom's fantastic camera! and we had our high school church youth group reunion this past weekend. that was such a refreshing and encouraging time. i'll post more about that when i get the pics from karen tomorrow! but, just wanted to let everyone know we are alive and well. lisey is 10 months already and we can hardly believe it! she's crawling now...commando most of the time, but now graduating to the hands and knees crawl as well. she's still itching to walk and loves to hold your hands and stroll around as long as your back can handle it! here's our li'l punkin posing for me. i just can't get enough of her smile! and below is her tired pose :) guess it has been an exhausting month!

snuggly morning

this morning was so enjoyable i just had to share. i had made it a goal to get up at 6 this morning, before elise, so that i could spend some time with the Lord in the Word. when justin left for work at 6 and said goodbye to me, i thought, "i'm so going back to sleep..." but as i lay there, i became more and more awake and ended up getting up (thank you God). i had some good time reading, praying and journaling, and then sure enough around 6:50, elise woke up.

what i didn't realize is how much it would change our morning because i had gotten up before her and already had some quiet time. it changed me! usually, when we get up, i sit her down to play with toys while i get a cup of tea or quick clean up the kitchen or grab something to eat. in return, she usually ends up whining for me, and i end up feeling unproductive, unsuccessful...call it what you like. can anyone else out there relate?

but not this morning! i had already made my tea and eaten most of my breakfast...so that when she got up, we just sat and played together. and it was just amazing to me...every few minutes or so, she would turn around, reach up, grab on, and just snuggle me. we snuggled so much this morning. i haven't held her that much, that close, for that long in a while! what a blessing! thank You, Lord, that justin works so hard, so that i could be home with her to enjoy moments like these.

i don't know that every morning will be like this one, but as i held her, i was so thankful.