5 Months Old

Cameron James is 5 months old! We are so thrilled with him and in awe of the intricacies of his development each and every day.  This month, Cameron witnessed a tropical storm (although he slept through most of it), visited Uncle Matt and his fiancee Kara, and visited his girlfriend Emma.  Of course, Cam also kept up with the usual and awesome visits with Nana and Papa (and the crew), Grammie and Grandfather, Nan and Pop, and so many more! This month, Cameron discovered his feet!  One of his other favorite pastimes is watching Daddy read him Winnie Ther' Pooh on video.  Cameron has begun to roll around more frequently, try to squiggle out of his bumbo seat, grab at books, and put his mouth on just about anything he can touch- including Nanny's chin! 

5 Month "photo op" in backyard

Just arrived to Uncle Matt's and he's already exhausted!  Boy, was that car ride exhausting!

First time riding on shoulders

Perfect gentleman with a very "forward" Emma

Cameron, we love you so much and we are enjoying every day with you more than the last- even though we did not think it possible! 

It is hard to believe Josh has been gone for 16 weeks.  It's also exciting that we have only approximately 12 weeks left (eek, sometimes that seems really far away though!)  I think I will get back to not counting down the days just yet ;).  Come home soon honey!

Green Bean Heaven

Sadly, our sweet guinea pig, Edgar went to green bean heaven on September 7th. 

He lived 5 wonderful years and brought us many laughs and sweet memories.  Edgar was the most versatile piggy in the world, really.  He lived in 7 homes, vacationed in many more.  He rode on screeching subways, buses, trains, 27 hour car rides, and even in a little bag for a 1 mile walk to the vet at age 2 weeks old. 

I know it may seem silly that a 21 year old woman bought a guinea pig during grad school when she was about to be married, but we never looked back.  He went from being afraid of EVERYTHING to enduring baths, long rides, loud vacuums, christmas card photo shoots, and jumping off of Mom and Dad A's kitchen counter (during the greatest guinea pig escape known to mankind).  He won the hearts of non-guinea pig lovers and more- and he had us wrapped around his little piggy toes to throw him a green bean at the slightest squeak. 

During my recent adventure up to Connecticut (in Josh's absence) I left Edgar on a lavish vacation with a sweet girl from our church.  Edgar had been showing signs of older pighood for several months, but when he arrived to Rachel's house she brought out a renewed sense of youthfulness in him that we had not seen in almost a year.  He was so desperate for green beans he would do anything to get them, even in his last days.  It was so comforting to me to know Edgar was able to receive so much love and attention in his last few months- attention I may not have been able to give him with a new baby. 

 Edgar "Gropp" (he never had his name changed on his vet record) ;)

 9-5-06 to 9-7-11

Edgar consumed roughly 250 pounds of green beans in his life.  We think he has earned a cozy spot in the fields of "green bean heaven"

Beauty will rise

Someone recently posted this quote on facebook and I realized Josh and I read this book awhile back.  It was a neat reminder for a lot of the things we are going through right now:
"Beauty is often birthed in struggle. The desire for ease, comfort, and stress-free living is an indirect desire to remain an 'unseasoned,' immature Christian. God has given you opportunity for unparalleled spiritual growth. Face the struggle head-on." (Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage)

WOW.  I keep re-reading it.  How humbling in light of our power outage (tropical storm Irene), our aching hearts as we live apart while Josh is deployed, my "stress" as I figure out how to be a mom and communicate with Josh daily, Josh's difficult work schedule and the daily discouragement he faces living in a dark place...

We are being S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D and none of it is easy, comfortable or stress-free.  However, I find myself on a daily basis attempting to have all of these things and I become quite frazzled when I cannot live a stress-free life. 

I want the unparalleled spiritual growth without the desert times or the heartache.  I know this isn't how it works.  What a sweet reminder. 

Stephen Curtis Chapman wrote a song after his daughter was accidentally hit by a car and killed: "Beauty Will Rise"....he sings, "Out of the ashes...Beauty will rise....but I know that my joy is coming"
(see link for video of his song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6sGtkhpqeA)

Romans 5
¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.