 |
| Baby Michael Paul Stephens (3 days old) |
 |
| Proud Auntie |
 |
| Tim and Gabriel on Billy Cotten's jet ski (not every 3 year-old gets to ride a jet ski!) |
 |
| Every summer, we turn down the temperature in the hot tub to make it more like a lukewarm wade pool |
 |
| Hard to believe this gal is a big sister! |
Let me start this blog posting by wishing my husband a
HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY 36th BIRTHDAY today. Words can’t express how much I love this man…we’ve
been through A LOT together and I’m thankful for another year to spend with
him.
In addition to birthday wishes for Tim, CONGRATS to Laurie
& Ken Stephens on the birth of their precious little boy Michael Paul
Stephens on July 21st. I was hoping for
him to arrive on my birthday (the 20th), but I suppose he wanted his
own day. He was almost a week late and
gave Laurie a rough time during the delivery process (as most 9 1/2-pound babies
do), but thankfully, all is well with both mom and baby.
More exciting news in the family: Dawn and William Moore announced
they’re expecting a baby boy at the end of this year or in early January of
2015 (perhaps a New Year’s baby???). So
far, Dawn and baby Charlie are doing well and under the care of the EVMS OB
professionals.
As for us, sorry, but we’re done expanding the family tree
on our end. I may announce that we have
a family dog many years from now, but even that isn’t a blip on my radar. Chase and Gabe are more than enough for
us. We’re thankful for them and wouldn’t
trade them for the world, but our hands are full right now!
Chase and Gabe are well into the Summer Camp program at
FOEC. I was a bit nervous for Gabe since
this is his first preschool experience, but he has adjusted extremely
well. His potty training wars continue
and his speech still hasn’t progressed to where it should be at 3 years of age;
however, we just praise God for the small victories. Gabe will start the preschool program with
the 2 year-old's in the fall. Our hope is
he can be moved up with the 3 year-olds once he masters potty training and his
speech evolves a bit more.
Chase, on the other hand, continues to talk enough for his
brother and himself. Both boys have
already had a slew of fun this summer with bowling, zip-lining at their Aunt
Laurie’s house, watching 4th of July fireworks (in spite of the
rain), taking countless trips to the park and pool, and doing many other
activities with FOEC. Chase is jumping
off the diving board and swimming in the deep end of the pool totally
unassisted; keep in mind, this is the same boy who was hesitant just to go down
the slide in the shallow end at the beginning of last summer. Meanwhile, Tim and I continue to work (and,
Tim has to work in the heat which is quite exhausting); even though we may not
get to play all day during the work-week like our kids, we sure appreciate our
weekends and remain extremely thankful for our jobs! We still have two OBX beach trips to
anticipate this summer to help motivate us through the work-weeks.
Before you know it, I’ll be posting an “end of summer” blog
update. If you’re going through a rough
time this summer (perhaps your circumstances go way beyond just enduring the
heat), remember that God has a reason for all seasons and that He will carry us
through the “deep water” in our lives. Even
I have to admit that I hit a patch of discouragement over the past month after
hearing so much negativity in the media (not that I should be surprised by any
of this negativity because that’s how the media thrives). It seems like so many folks in our country
choose to be offended (yes, my friends, being offended is a choice!) over
everything rather than choose the path of forgiveness. If everyone could just get over themselves for
a few moments and stop fretting over stars-and-bars and rainbows, then perhaps
we could focus on tackling the more important issues in our country. It gives me a heavy heart that our country is
steadily becoming more self-centered (is anyone else tired of seeing duck-face selfies
on Facebook?..or how about the constant reports on what Caitlyn is wearing?). Obviously,
the majority of our country has turned its back on God; however, I just have to
remind myself that all of this “deep water” (ironically, it’s shallow thinking
that got us here) will soon pass. God is faithful and will carry us through…
“When you go through deep
waters, I will be with you.” –Isaiah 43:2
