WayfaringStrangers

Graham officially has his first word! It's not 'mama' or 'dada' like I thought it would be. He does say 'dada' but not in context of Behn, at least not yet. Anyway, Graham has loved playing with balls for months now. He know how to roll them and chase them. It's one of his top choice items for play (that and measuring spoons). Over Thanksgiving weekend, we all noted how Graham now says 'bah' in context to the ball! My smart boy! He'll seriously say 'bah?' when he can't find it or if he sees it. He's also smart enough to go find the ball if I say 'where's the ball? Go find it.' Wow! Graham understands the word 'where.' He knows it means to look for something. Often before Behn comes home, I'll say, 'Graham, where's Daddy?' and he looks at the window, at the door, all around the room, looking for him. So sweet. I can't believe how quickly he's growing up. He's still not walking, bu...

This is Graham's last first holiday- soon he'll be 1 year old! Last year we stayed up in Lex because I was really pregnant, but this year we got to go to the Cathey (my parents) house in Maryland. Unfortunately, we failed at getting a family picture! The family included Mom and Dad, my brothers Aaron, Tim and Stephen, Hannah and her boyfriend Ben, Grandma and Grandpa, and some church friends. Here are some shots of the day: Graham snacking on some Thanksgiving green beans. Pretty much right after this pic was taken, Graham started whining and wanted out of his highchair. He crawled around while we ate. I'm hoping next year is a little more peaceful and he cooperates. I know he's been overwhelmed with all the goings-on the past few days, which has made him more clingy than usual. Attempt at a family picture. Graham is mid-clap. Best shot we could get. Thanksgiving hockey. Forget football! (note the baby playing as well) I've been learning so much about thanksgivi...

Sometimes when Graham wakes up and it's not quite morning, we let him sleep with us the last hour or so. It's proving to be a not-good habit because sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to be in mommy and daddy's bed, which I'm not wild about. I need my space, you know? But anyway, this morning he woke up a few minutes before 7 and it was starting to get light, so I was suprised when he fell back asleep in our bed. And as I was looking at him, thinking about how cozy it all is, and how much I LOVE him I found myself hurting so much for sweet babies and children around the world who don't have this. Don't have parents to cuddle with on Saturday mornings, don't have mamas and daddies who pray with them and read to them before bed. Don't have warm clothes and a safe place to sleep and their tummies are hungry. Oh, my heart aches for them! Praying that the Lord will put these children in families, and hopefully waiting for the day when ...

Hugging Daddy bye-bye before he leaves for work. Waaaahh! It's the last month of Graham being under a year old! How did this happen??? At 11 Months: He weighs 21 lbs (we took him to the doc because of a bad cold and he got weighed He is starting to stand without holding on to anything...but only for a few seconds and then PLOP! If you say, 'where's Daddy?' when Daddy is out of the room, he looks around all concerned and then squeals in delight when Daddy enters the room. Makes lots more sounds. Yesterday he said 'mama' when prompted! Still doesn't sleep well. Hardly naps and is still up at night, especially lately with a tooth coming in and a really bad cold. He wakes up coughing or congested. It's been a hard month. Has one tooth on top! Still waiting on the one next to it and the two below. Is always clapping, bouncing, and doing other cutesy interactive things :) Has become more of a picky eater with solid foods, but still eats ok. I think beginning ...

I DID IT!!! Yep, I ran all 6 miles :) And there were some BIG hills, people. Don't forget we live in western Virginia. Like, as in mountains. Though I didn't run up a mountain, there were lots of hills on the course. Did you know this race is the oldest road race in VA? I think this was its 52nd year. There were probably 50 people running it. The race started at 8:30 a.m. and I told Behn to meet me at the finish line around 10, because I figured it'd take me that long. It was 30 degrees outside. Once my lungs figured out they needed to breathe in cold air, the temperature was actually nice. I didn't get hot, but felt comfortable. I stayed in the back, knowing I'd be a slower runner. I had the iPod, but figured out pretty early on that the girl in front of me was running my pace, so I struck up a conversation and we ended up talking the whole time. She was a great new friend and we encouraged each other throughout the run. We ended up finishing at the same time: 66 m...

Haven't felt like blogging much lately. It's been a rough week for me. Nothing terrible has happened, but I'm not feeling good. As much as I want this blog to be upbeat, sometimes it's just too dishonest to pretend like it's all fun and games and hikes and smiles. But for an update: In about 2 hours, supposedly I'll be running a 10k (6 mile race). Ha, I said supposedly because it's 30 degrees outside and oh, that's right, I can't run 6 miles :) I tried to train for the race with the double jogging stroller, and got up to about 3 miles. So I know I'll be ok for 3 miles and then we'll see. Turns out, I HATED using the jogging stroller. The stroller itself was great- easy to push (as easy as it can be pushing 50 lbs of baby bum). The thing is, running to me is a chance for freedom...it's time for me to be alone to pray and feel healthy and good and refreshed and enjoy music. SO not possible when I have to make it a chore to put jackets on b...

Today is Orphan Sunday. We haven't been to church yet this morning, but I don't think our church is doing anything for Orphan Sunday...bummer. I just found out about Orphan Sunday a week ago, and wish I had known earlier because I definitely would have tried to do something at church to bring awareness to the worldwide orphan crisis in our local body of Christ. Anway, last night Behn and I watched this film from Cry of the Orphan. It wass really great; well-written and I especially loved that: 1. They talked about kids in the U.S. Foster Care System, as well as orphans around the globe. 2. They said that God doesn't call everyone to adopt, but that He does call every Christian to care for orphans in some way. 3. They profiled 2 teenagers who made a huge difference by bringing awareness about orphans to their schools- how awesome is that? Good little film, and maybe next year I can show it to more people in my community. Behn and I are continuing to pray as to how to respon...

Ok Patient Parents and Grandparents, I'm finally posting pics of our little pumpkin!! The costume was a gift from Graham's Uncle Stephen. Stephen called me one day and said he would like to buy G his halloween costume and what would I like him to be? How sweet is that? So my mom and Stephen went to Target and picked out this: It was so cute on Graham! He even left the hat on. He was a sweet, cuddly little pumpkin. (Albeit, not very photogenic. As SOON as he sees the camera come out, he refuses to look at it. He's all smiles and interaction except for photo shoots. Sigh.) Graham and Frankie went trick-or-treating downtown together. Of course they had to go together, that's what best buds do! The Pumpkin and I. I feel bad I got no pics of Behn with G. Graham and Frankie went out with me and Frankie's mom, but Behn was working. When Behn came home from work we took Graham out to a friend's house but it was dark and we didn't get any photos. Anyway, it was a...