Oklahoma, Here We Come!

Well, the countdown has begun. One week from today the movers will come pack our things, then they will load it on Monday, the 10th, and we'll head out. I can't believe this is actually happening. It is unbelievable, but feels very normal at the same time. I guess that's because this is the right thing for our lives. A few years ago we were discussing God's will for our lives, and we decided that when it was time for us to move from Riverbend, it would seem very obvious to us. And it does. We love Riverbend very much and will miss it and our "family" here greatly, but we just "know" that this is the next step in our journey. So here we go... We're excited about what lies ahead!!!

Nine months later...

Our little guy is nine months old...yesterday!!! I can't believe it! It's made me sad on many different occasions to think of him growing up...and I HAVE loved EVERY age!!! But he's SO FUN TODAY! And he's more fun ALL the time!!! Having a kid is unlike anything I've ever experienced before! And I know that each new stage will be just as fun as the last! I'll post pictures soon of our growing boy! Sorry I've slacked the last several weeks!!!

He's started doing this new thing where he'll be smiling, then he'll squint his eyes and scrunch his nose...and we laugh of course, so he does it more and more. And it's SO funny! He also fake coughs and fake laughs. For being "laid back", he sure can be quite dramatic as well...not unlike his parents, I'm afraid. =)

We have retired volunteers who come out to the camp for several weeks at a time to help with different projects, and he receives LOTS of "grandparently" love from them! He loves being held by his friends in the dining hall at lunch! =) And I love the "break" they give ME!!!

Speaking of breaks...I've been taking Asher down the hill to stay with Traci (nanny to Benjamin and Ethan at the camp) for a couple of hours in the afternoon the last two days, and it's AMAZING how much I can get done when he's not around! Not that I would choose for my life to be any other way than how it is! But it IS nice to get things accomplished without the little dude around sometimes.

Something else that cracks me up is how he throws things and hits things. He's such a little boy! He loves throwing balls over and over and over. And he just hits at whatever is in his path. We've just started trying to teach him what "gentle" means. I don't think he's getting it yet. =) We'll keep trying...for the sake of all the babies and animals that he will come in contact with in the future!

We love our little buddy! Happy nine month birthday Asher Case!

First Weekend Without Asher!!!

Well, we did it. Beau and I spent this weekend without our baby boy. I cried when we drove off, but Beau was good at changing the subject, and it didn't take me long to be ok. Then I only almost got choked up one other time. It was a GREAT weekend...for us AND Asher...AND his Grammie and Grandad! We got to Livingston at about 2:00am on Friday morning (Thursday night!), spent the day at Mark and Barbara's (Beau's parents) so that Asher could get used to being here before we left him. We left late that afternoon, and he did great! Hardly blinked an eye when we left. Barbara said he looked around for us every once in a while, but he was happy, happy all weekend! I'm SO glad it was a success!!! I was a little nervous, but it couldn't have been better. After stopping in Houston to eat dinner, we headed to Galveston and went to sleep fairly early. We got up and walked on the beach Saturday morning, had lunch at McAllester's, then went to Schlitterbahn for a few hours that afternoon. The lines were pretty long, so we just rode a couple of slides and went around the lazy river several times. It was a fun, relaxing afternoon! Then yesterday evening, we went to Fishtales, obviously a seafood restaurant. I'm not always a huge seafood fan, but I had shrimp wrapped in bacon, and it was SO GOOD! (Thanks for the idea Nadia!) We got up this morning and went to The Strand for an old fashioned chocolate malt and root beer float. It was a really neat area...lots of fun shops, but we didn't spend much time there, because we wanted to get back to our little man!!! But first on the way home, we stopped in Humble and had lunch with Beau's best friend from high school Brad and his wife D'Nina and their foreign exchange student from Turkey. We always have a great time reconnecting with them but don't get to see them nearly often enough!!! And THEN we couldn't get home fast enough!!! It was SO FUN to see Asher! He just kind of stared at us for a few seconds when he saw us, but then he got really excited! We love him SO MUCH, and he is SO FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love his loud "language", his funny and very animated expressions, and I love holding him!!! But it was worth it! He had great bonding time with his Grammie and Grandad, and we had much needed rest and time together as a couple. Thank you Mark and Barbara for a great weekend!!! We love you!

Sleepy...

Well, my kid was up TOO MANY times last night!!! Beau is working today, and it takes so much energy for me to get Asher and myself ready without him that I'm going to stay home from church this morning. He already took a "nap" from 6:45-7:50, then we ate breakfast (except he didn't really eat), watched "The Backyardigans", and played. Now he's playing with a lid, a coaster, keys, and a Sonic spoon in the Pack 'N' Play right beside me while I blog. And now he's "all done", so here's to another day...I'm going to try to finish my laundry and actually mop my kitchen floor. Those are my goals. =) Ta-ta for now...

"Da-da", Cords, Parenting, and Our HAPPY Boy

Asher has been "talking" a LOT as I've mentioned before. One of the sounds he makes the most is "Da-da-da-da-da...", and we've been trying to teach him that Beau is "Daddy", he is "Asher", and I am "Mommy". Well, today we're pretty sure he made the connection and called Beau "Da-da"!!! We're sure enough that we're going to mark this day as the day he said his first word! =) Beau is pretty thrilled...and so am I!!!

He's also VERY into cords! And we're trying to teach him not to touch them. That, of course, is not an easy thing to teach a baby. But he's starting to learn to obey. We're so proud of him. We think he's a good kid. =) It makes me a little nervous to think of all the complexities of the parenting experience in years to come, but I think it will be ok. If we can just take it step by step and be consistent, loving, fun, and firm, I think we'll make it. And I think Asher will too. =) I cry sometimes, because I don't want to lose this special time with Asher, but I'm really excited, too, about all that is ahead for us. I can't wait to see who he is more and more as time goes on!!!

His name means "happy", and I think that really is one of his attributes that sticks out most to me. And I pray that that will always be the case. It will be fun to see how that thread is woven into his life as he grows. I know that life will not always be care-free for him, but I pray that he will always see the bright side even in hard times.

Speaking of the "bright side" and cords...his whole face LIGHTS UP sometimes, and I LOVE it!!! Today, he was playing in his room by himself for a minute. I came back in, and he had crawled to a cord and was playing with it. I came up to him and was being very firm as I said, "Asher, no. Put the cord down. No." He looked up, and his face LIT UP...just because I had come back in the room. He had already forgotten about the cord. I love him!

My Boy

The week started out a little rocky. Asher has been quite needy and clingy. There are moments when I absolutely love the way he loves me and needs me as I hold him and take care of him. Then there are the "other" moments. Tuesday I had HAD it! Every time I would get up to DO something - straighten up, brush my teeth (God forbid!), or whatever - Asher would quickly crawl over to me, pull up on my leg, and sometimes bite at my leg so that I would have to pick him up. =) Yes, it's kind of funny...at first...but a WHOLE day of this? It wasn't so funny. I ended the day the way I started it. Dirty, probably in my pj's (I don't remember), and my house was a ROYAL mess!!! I was THANKFUL when Beau got home, because he was OFF on Wednesday and Thursday! The "funny" thing is is that I'm doing this Bible study with some women at my church called "The Excellent Wife". It's AMAZING how UN-excellent you realize you are when you're trying so hard to be!

However, Beau was an "excellent" husband on Wednesday. I often get a "bug" to go DO something when he's off. But because he's been working his tail off, he usually wants to relax at home. But I didn't even get the chance to suggest anything on Wednesday. First he let me sleep until 9:00 while he played with Asher!!! Then he took us to Fort Worth to eat and see a movie (which is getting more interesting to do as Asher is getting much more ACTIVE!). It was really fun just to "go"! Thanks Babe!!!

Then we had another fun day relaxing together yesterday. Except Asher wouldn't eat or drink hardly anything. He was kind of driving me crazy, then I felt really bad when he ended up with a 102.6 fever last night. He hadn't been feeling good!!! Poor little guy! Then this morning when he woke up from his nap, he had a pretty bad rash covering most of his face, and he was all swollen around his eye. So I called his doctor, and after asking me several questions, they decided it would be best for us to come in just in case it was a viral infection that would need to be treated. So Asher and I made a quick trip to Waco. We got to see Gibbie for a while before the appointment (but no one else, because we didn't want to get anyone sick). Then we went to the dr., and it is indeed a virus, but it's no big deal. He'll probably have a fairly high fever at night for a few days, and Dr. Nesmith thinks he'll be fine by Monday. He checked his ears for infection, but they were clear. We love our little guy so much and just HATE seeing him under the weather!!! But he's given us plenty of smiles in the midst of this, so we know he's FINE!!! Thank you Lord!

And here I am again. My house is still the same as it almost always is - in need of some organization and good cleaning. But another day has passed, and I have only straightened my room and the living room. That's usually as far as I get! How does that happen?! It's very frustrating! I need life to STOP for a day or two so that I can get caught up!!! But, again, I MUST sleep!!!!!!!! So here I go...good night!

Here I am!

I have recently been accused of being a "bad blogger"...Emily! I can't help it! I'm telling you people, I do good to READ my emails and your blogs...much less reply or post new blogs myself! =) What can I say?! I have a kid, a husband, a house, and sometimes a resemblance of a LIFE! =) Just kidding!

I wish I had pictures downloaded (or uploaded...whatever you call it), but today we went to Big Rocks Park in town. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's this really fun area with big boulders, and a river with shallow parts, deep parts, rapidy parts, etc., etc. It was so fun! Asher LOVED it! (We just stayed in the "shallow parts" with him.) Beau was carrying him in the water so that we could go meet up with some of the summer staff that was there, but he wanted to get down and play in the water. It was really cute. You probably would have had to have been there. You'll be able to see a picture or two soon.

Let's see...Asher's new things...He zerberts now every once in a while. He's taking better naps than he had been lately and sleeping better at night too. Hallelujah! =) He has stood up a couple of times by himself for a few seconds. He's our wonder-baby! =) And he's "talking" a LOT and LOUDLY!!! It's probably good that the couple who have been living in the "man room" for the summer is about to move out...for THEIR sake. =) Most of the time, it's "happy" sounds...just LOUD happy sounds! And he has five teeth now, and another one trying really hard to come out. I think it's causing him some discomfort, because he's biting like crazy. He'll spot our toes from across the room, and start crawling and smiling as if he's on a MISSION. And he IS...a mission to BITE our toes!!! It hurts, but it's pretty darn funny! Probably not a good idea to laugh, but it's hard not to. =) Who gets excited about BITING their parents?!

On a fun note, Beau and I just got finished planning his vacation days for the rest of the year. He's got TWENTY that he needs to take before January (because he couldn't take any between February and now), so we'll have some good time off! I'm hoping for a trip to Florida to see his sister Lee and our brother-in-law Chance. I haven't told him this idea yet, but I've got a friend who lives in North Carolina, and I think it would be fun to go see her. I've actually got friends in a lot of places that I would like to go see: Germany, France, Tennessee, Boston, East Texas, San Antonio, Austin, Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado. Oh! I could go on and on! But we ARE going to San Diego for our national CCCA (Christian Camp and Conference Association) conference at the end of November. It's our year to get to go with our camp director and his wife. (The staff rotates.) It should be lots of fun! I'm thinking we'll HAVE to take Asher to the zoo. But I'm SURE that we'll spend some of his vacation time (if not a lot of it) at HOME...the place my man loves the best. =)

I do feel bad, because most of you "bloggers" out there have such great and profound things to write about. But my brain is fried by this time, and I need my sleep. So, I'll have to impress you with my deep thoughts some other time.

Lots of love!