Independence on the Loose

Slowly but surely independence has been creeping up in Grey's little life. He sure is loving it. Most things he wants to be independent with are really really fun. Things like blowing the bubbles himself, eating with a fork and spoon, doing puzzles, "reading" books, buckling himself in the carseat, putting his socks and shoes on, putting mommy's socks and shoes on, etc. Then there are things that aren't so fun and we begin to have a battle of the wills. In this case Mommy and Daddy win every time simply because we are his Mommy and Daddy. He is the child and we are the parents. It's a concept he has to learn now. It's funny how at such a young age, children can be so defiant. They know EXACTLY what they are doing and choosing to do the wrong thing. With defiance comes punishment. Can you tell we've been dealing with discipline?! We are learning as we go and are seeking the Lord's will all the way because we don't know what we're doing. I am so glad He has chosen to lend us Grey while we are still on Earth. Even in the times that call for discipline.

Anyhow, here are some fun things that actually caught a picture of Grey doing all by himself.

His new booster seat that he considers himself "the man" when he's in it

reading about elmo


eating a whole banana (not chopped up)

hanging all by himself

and this was just cute. he's kissing the turtle

See for Yourself

There has been quite the debate lately about who Grey looks like amongst everyone who sees our family together. Matthew and I think he's a pretty good combination of us both. Some say it's because Matthew and I resemble each other but that's probably because we both smile like we have just received our 9th gold medal in the Olympics. I find it funny that we could seriously mistake these pictures of my oldest brother, Chad, for pictures of Grey! (despite the photo quality) Seriously, it's kind of strange. I just thought I would let you see who he REALLY looks like!

Chad at 15 months

Grey at 15 months
Chad eating (and my super hot mom)

Grey eating (without his super hot mom)

And then there's me. If you remove my pigtails there's a chance you might get a glimpse of Grey. He will never have pigtails.

16 months and kickin'

Grey was 16 months old today. It's so fun to watch him grow and change so much day by day. Matthew took him to the park and he played for an hour and a half. He made some friends and wanted to do whatever they did. (Matthew didn't get any pictures) He can hang on the monkey bars all by himself. He goes down the curly slide alone too. We love to watch him stretch and learn to do things on his own. Here are a few things that we did today.

he can really blow bubbles by himself

marmie lets him lick the spatula with icing
eating his own corn on the cob
playing at gram's house just being cute

C-L-E-M-S-O-N fight tigers, fight tigers, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

can you tell we're ready for some Tiger football?! last saturday we went to Freedom Park in downtown Charlotte and Matthew, in the spirit of "there's exactly ONE WEEK left," insisted we all wear our clemson attire. we had a great time and are ready for the real thing this saturday!

an ode to 13 woodhouse court

goodbye little home
because of you we did not roam

we painted your walls and made you ours
we were a family under your roof

thank you for your warmth in the winter and cool air in the summer
we had send you on your way so that you could grow
it was both a joy and a bummer.


we sold our "summer home" yesterday. sorry to all of you who were planning to vacation to the booming metropolis of irmo, south carolina. what a great feeling it is to know that is done. we decided to walk through our first house one more time before it was officially not ours. it was a little sad. we have the best memories there because it was our first house. we brought our precious baby boy home there. we planted flowers and an awesome tree in the yard. needless to say, after a year of trying to sell that cute little house...IT IS DONE and we are happy.

matthew has lovingly referred to the woodhouse court home as the thorn in our flesh for the past 9 months. let me expand on that. you see, the Lord has chosen to teach us about Himself through such a huge financial burden. for that, we are more grateful than we can begin to express. in only the way that He has chosen, He has provided every need. even when we have absolutely no idea how we have paid our bills, bought our groceries, given to others, etc. He has provided.

We have learned eternal things. the Lord entrusts us with His money to ask Him what He wants us to do with it. it is not ours to buy more stuff for ourselves. He wants us to give give give in order to bring Him more glory. again, that is our purpose here. He expects us to trust Him. He expects us to listen and be joyful in difficult times. He expects us to see Him working in all things.
He has changed our perspective on needs and wants. He is teaching us to obey and to trust Him when He tells us to do things that don't make sense.

this is how the Lord has chosen to grow us in this time and we will always (so we pray) consult Him in how we use the monetary things He entrusts to us in this world. it's not to say that we don't struggle with worrying sometimes about how it's all going to play out in the ol' checkbook but when we step back and refocus on the Lord's character, our perspective is changed completely.

we are so thankful to ALMOST only have one house payment but are more thankful for the eternal lessons we could have only learned through this! thank you to all of our friends and family that have prayed for this certain situation in our lives. you have played a huge part in what we have learned.

simple friendship

i have been humbled by the simplest and the greatest acts of friendship recently. i will not go into detail of those events but i am certain that the Lord has allowed me (and matthew for that matter) to bond so closely to those which he has chosen for us as friends. i have experienced one of the deepest levels of friendship and love this past week and am so thankful the Lord allowed me to be humbled and blessed through a friend.

simple friendship to me is to journey with my friend in their walk with the Lord. i love to watch as they grow and learn through their obedience to what He has called them. i love to listen to a heart that is seeking Him every second. i love to share struggles and joys. i love to know that they are pushing me and challenging me to know my God more and more intimately. i love to encourage them through the living and active Word of God. i love knowing that they will speak the truth to me in love. i am so blessed to actually have been given people like this in my life. i don't thank God enough for them.

i have been thinking on the subject of my friends all week. i am realizing how specifically God has placed each friend that i have at the most perfect time in my life. hopfully He has received more glory because of these friendships because i know that was His purpose. i have such strong lasting relationships because our common bond is our Eternal Father. such a sweet thought.

we had dinner with some of our "newer" friends tonight and had a great time! Greg, Ashley, and Brooke are great and they are moving about 2 minutes from us next weekend. :) i have thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Ashley and our children at least once a week since we have lived here. i learn so much from her gentle and patient parenting and find she has so much wisdom to offer. how cool it is to have a friend in her.

Brooke and Grey

Brooke brought her left over b-day cake and shared it with us. This is a two year old eating cake.

and this is a 15 month old eating cake.