WayfaringStrangers

It's been a rough week. Grieving the Sandy Hook shootings...Graham, Patrick, and I being sick...not getting enough sleep...my 2-year old choosing to push most every boundary I set...even Patrick being a little fussier than usual. We had plans to go to Williamsburg for the night on Friday to pick up a new used car, but that's not going to work out due to some complications. I am worn down and disappointed. But on Saturday we enjoyed celebrating Graham's 2nd birthday! We kept it very small and casual. It was just family and pizza and a homemade cake and a few gifts. Oh, little Graham! How have 2 years gone by already? I remember how we wanted you...prayed for you...and God heard our prayers! You came to us on a cold December night and it was snowing and perfect. You made me a mother, little boy. I love watching you grow and learn new words, seeing you kiss your brother and wrestle with your dad. Your favorite toy is still a ball (any kind will do...golfb...

This month is zooming by. We had a wonderful, whirlwind trip to see our Delaware family last weekend. Graham had a ton of fun playing with all his cousins. Behn and I also really enjoyed the family time- meals and laughter and catching up with everyone. (stealing this picture from my sister in law): These 5 crack me up: Bribed them with lollipops to get everyone to stay put: Lord willing, next year there'll be 8- EIGHT!- grandchildren on this side. The family just keeps growing! What else has been going on? Just daily life, plenty of little bottoms to wipe and mouths to feed. Keeps me busy. Yesterday I decided to bake and made these: Hot Cocoa Cookies. SO easy and delicious. Recipe here. I had a helper, of sorts. Little guy has a bit of a cold, so this cheered him up. ^ He will be 2 years old tomorrow and we can't believe it.  And this one. This one is all smiles and so big. Just a perfect little darling in our family. We have so much upcom...

It has been almost 3 months since I first got to hold Patrick- he is growing tooooo fast! Here are some tidbits on my littlest guy: Is a good sleeper! (Well, better than Graham was at least). He only wakes up once a night usually and he goes back to sleep really quickly after eating. Speaking of eating, this kid can eat! He still spits up a bit, but I'm not worried because he's got some major chunk on his legs.  He's obviously getting plenty! He's in 3-6 month clothes now. We'll see how much he weighs at the doctor in a few weeks. Can hold his head up and has rolled over twice.  Is SO happy! He smiles if you just look at him. I think everyone is really enjoying having such a cute, happy baby around....except for... He does have a temper! And since he's so strong, if he's unhappy, it's rough. He doesn't like to be away from Mama, so if I'm around he's ok. Has found his fingers (see above picture) I just want to say also that Gr...

Please meet sweet, beautiful Kurite: Kurite is a 2nd grade orphan in Ethiopia that Behn and I are now sponsoring through Project Hopeful Awassa . We are her Family in the Gap. As orphan care is very important to Behn and I, we felt as though this was a tangible way to serve God. It was something we've thought about for a while, but we can actually go ahead and do now, as the Lord has provided a new job for Behn. Just look at her, the beauty and grief in her eyes. When Behn and I discussed orphan sponsorship, we thought we'd look at lots of profiles in many countries and make a decision that way. But I kept seeing that my friend Charisa , who is the coordinator of the FIG program for Project Hopeful Awassa, was posting kids who needed sponsors up on her Facebook page. When I saw Kurite's face, I just knew. I knew I wanted to choose her. Behn agreed and so here we are! We hope to not only help financially, but of course be praying for her daily and writing her l...

My brother Isaac once told me that the first night he arrived that Basic Military Training, he lay on his hard, flat cot and whimpered, 'What did I get myself into??' I know that my sister Olivia and brother Tim had similar feelings that first week of BMT. Lately I've seen pictures on facebook of (usually childless) young married couples doing fun things, going cool places, hiking big mountains. And I, coated in a layer of spit up, bleary-eyed, and with a whining toddler clinging to me wonder, 'What did I get myself into??' I'm admitting it. I miss traveling. And looking somewhat put together. I miss riding horses and running on the trail instead of running around the neighborhood in the dark on 5 hours of sleep. I miss our little newlywed 1-bedroom apartment and the simplicity of that era. I miss using the bathroom in privacy. Motherhood is not to be taken for granted. I have friends who would so love to have little ones. I really love my boys and know th...

This post isn't too exciting, but it's sentimental to Behn and I, so I wanted to write this all down so I always remember. Today Patrick was baptized. My dad did the honors, as he did with Graham. Patrick's baptism has made me dwell on how he got his name, which is actually tied to Graham's baptism. Graham was baptized in March 2011. Of course, March is when many people celebrate St. Patrick's day, and Behn and I enjoy being a little Irish in March. A few nights before Graham was baptized, I had an extremely vivid and evil dream, which doesn't usually happen to me. It was the sort of dream where I felt an evil and dark presence, and even worse, during this dream I woke up to my babe crying out. He wasn't hungry or anything...and I absolutely knew we were under spiritual attack. I'm sure nothing makes us more vulnerable than raising children to love the Lord and belong to Him. Satan wants none of that! And so, I called upon the name of the Lord...

Gotta write up a token thanksgiving post, right? But there's nothing cliche about giving thanks, about counting the ways we are blessed, and glorifying God in our thank offerings. Here are a few of my favorites: -For a warm home to be in this winter -For Behn's new job- such an answer to prayer -For all of our beautiful Lexington memories -For my parents and brothers, who have made us feel so welcome -For the health of my family -For my wise and loving husband- who cares for me and our boys so dearly -For this one: -And for this one: - And above all, for our LORD- always providing, always pursuing.

Our days right now are: Walks to the neighborhood park to play... ...and feed ducks the boys bonding with Nana and Pop Pop Graham wrestling and rough housing with the big guys, my brothers Aaron and Stephen running to Wal-Mart with Behn after the boys are in bed (my mom and dad are home of course), just to spend some time couple together lots of soup and casseroles, for chillier days praying for naptime smiles a big boy bed, where Graham sleeps for the most part. The extra liberty to get up has been a bit of a temptation for this almost 2-year old family meals together borrowing a car to go to the library (sold our volvo before we left Lexington, so I'm without wheels for now) playdates with GG and GP (my grandparents) worshiping at our new church patrolling the house while Graham explores and gets into everyone's stuff Good days...sometimes long...sometimes hard...but often sweet!

Motherhood has been time-consuming lately, with the transitions and a very busy toddler and still-new baby. Most days I'm also quite tired, due to an infant up 2 times a night, with a side of Graham also waking up many nights. Behn started his new job last Monday and I'm happy to report he seems to be enjoying it. The first few days were very overwhelming for him, but he was really upbeat when he came home from work yesterday. We're getting settled into our new community. I've joined the church choir, we had new friends over for lunch on Sunday, and in 2 weeks we will join Grace and Peace Presbyterian and have Patrick baptized. I do very much miss my Lexington friends, but I am grateful that at least we are not lonely here because we do have family to fellowship with. Last Saturday my mom and I checked out an adoption fair at another local church. I picked up a stack of resources and papers from some local agencies. We are excited about the prospect of beginning our a...

First of all, I forgot to document our trip to Greensboro last month! Oops! Like I said, it was a reallllly busy month, plus I'm sleep-deprived and have "mommy brain" (that is a REAL thing!), so I excuse myself. Anyway, we went to Greensboro one more time before moving away. It was, as always, a pleasure to see Emily (plus one), Seth and Shane. Emily and I ran a 5k- was tough but so fun! I hadn't run in nearly a year, so I was quite  sore afterwards. Here Emily and I are before the race. She's pregnant and I just had a baby- yay us! The guys came to cheer us on (and babysit): Almost done! We went on some walks in the beautiful parks across the street from the apartment: Revolutionary War monument and my history buff husband: Graham Boy is chattering a lot these days. I can't understand everything, but I do know how to interpret his language pretty well. Here's a sample of some of the non-English words he says: wawa- fre...

Poor October got totally overlooked by the blog. However, it was a very busy month! Here's a review: -Hannah's wedding. It's always wonderful when a sibling gets married. Unfortunately due to having a toddler, a 1-month old and also being a bridesmaid, I didn't take any pictures! It was a special weekend though, seeing friends and family and standing up in front and watching my sister marry her love. She was beautiful! -Jess, Lily and Mom T visit. They came for a few days after the wedding. Graham loved having his cousin to play with. I enjoyed the company as well! And while they were there, Behn got the good news about his job offer. -Scott, Jessica, and Emma visit. It was really fun having our friends visit us one last time before we moved from Virginia. It was perfect fall weather and I know Behn and Scott especially had a good time catching up since they are long-time buds. And Emma is so cute! (sorry I don't have a picture of you, Jess!) ...

Well, we made it! We are now in Maryland, and here to stay for a while. I'm currently chilling in our new room at my parents' house while Behn is attempting to put Graham down for a nap in his room. Moving was quite  the fiasco. Seriously...packing our entire house up mostly by myself (I did have some help from friends at times) with 2 small boys was hard! Then Behn brought myself, Graham, and Patrick to MD and dropped us off and the next day, Monday, he and my dad and brother all headed back to VA in the middle of a hurricane!   I don't know how they did it. Then they got there and realized the truck was a bit too small. That stunk, especially since Behn and I majorly purged and got rid of stuff. Why do we have so much stuff???? The guys finally headed back, still during the hurricane, and of course the truck blew a tire...and then the 4Runner's battery died...BUT they did make it back eventually! They got in late that night and we were so grateful they were safe and s...

...that Behn got a new job  and we are moving!! This job came after a lot of waiting (not often patiently on my part), praying, pleading, wondering, job-applying, and trusting God. And He opened this door in His perfect timing (seriously, in the nick of time; we are supposed to be out of our house by Nov 1st). The job is with Recorded Books, a private book recording and ebook company, so actually he'll be in an office setting, not in a library anymore. He is excited! I am so proud of him. So, where? We'll be in southern Maryland. We'll live with my parents for a few months until we find a good place to move our little family. I am thrilled to be close to family again. I like adventure and change. But it is very bittersweet to leave this beautiful place that's been our home for 3 years. We have an amazing and treasured church family here. We love the mountains and this quaint, small, historic town. I have awesome friends who make my days brighter. So there is a l...

Ah, I just woke up from a wonderful rainy day nap. The boys are still down and I am relishing  this moment. We had a great weekend! We went on our first family of 4 hike, which felt great and was appropriately exhausting. Must throw rocks in the river at any opportunity! I am loving baby-wearing! Thanks for the wrap, mom! On Saturday we went to Roanoke to shop. We are NOT mall people. And we can't justify hauling our big SUV 50 miles down the highway just for nothin', so we rarely go to Roanoke. But this time, we needed some actual stuff. Behn got a great business suit to wear for interviews and also just because now he's a Master's degreed professional and should look like it. I needed and found cute shoes to wear for my sister Hannah's wedding this weekend. All in all, a fun day. Shopping with 2 kids isn't easy, but they both did great and we were all in good spirits! Fall is here and it's getting really pretty on the hills. We are all lovi...

We had more visitors last weekend... Nana! (My mom). Notice G's face...he had a cold and it was past naptime. Not so good for picture-taking. And Uncle Stephen! Graham adored Uncle Stephen, and vice versa. They read books, played basketball, and Stephen even sat and cuddled Graham while Graham watched one of his little kid movies. That is a very nice 12-year old uncle! We had a nice visit. Mom enjoyed meeting Patrick and playing with Graham. We mostly took it easy. As always, it was great having extra help :) And extra food! Love when moms come make me food! Thanks for the great visit, Mom! I'm a softie for boys' autumn clothes. Who doesn't love corduroys, hoodies, overalls, and flannel on little boys. Melts my heart! Here are pics of our handsome sons: Lookin' sharp, Mr. Graham! Here are the outtakes. This boy just does NOT like having his picture taken! Wake up, sleepy baby.  Hey there, little buddy :)  Ok, back to sleep...