Kristin Benton Photography

Holy Heavens. We are in absolute LOVE with this little fella.Because, I mean, clearly Fargo hats are made to be worn barefoot.

Kristin Benton, you are our superhero. Cooper says, "will you come play and bring your stick?"

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The Original Jacuzzi Tub

So there's this "thing"...it's a silly little "thing", but, still it's a "thing".

It's not "thing one", it's not "thing two". It's this silly little house "thing".

I'm having some sort of internal battle and I think the resolution involves a bathtub.

When Chris and I found the darling house we put an offer on, we not only learned about the spacious front porch or the two story family room with the cozy stone fireplace, we also learned a little bit about the owners. They are around our parents' age. They are about to lose their house to a short sale/foreclosure. The wife has MS. They have two boys.

We fell in love with the wooded back yard. We fell in love with the open kitchen. We fell in love with the idea of finally having a guest room (Hi Grammie! Hi Nana!). We fell in love with the neighborhood.

And I fell in love with the family who lives there.

We placed our offer and prayed constantly about the house. Every time I went to pray "God, please please please show us grace and mercy as we purchase our first home" I found myself praying for the family instead. Strangers. Complete. I don't even know their names.

For 4 straight days I prayed that God would give that precious couple exactly what they needed. Obviously we were the answer to their prayers, right?? I tried to pray for God to shower Chris and I with blessings. I tried to bargain with Him. "God, if you bless us with this house, I will never spend over $20 at Old Navy again. Never. Ever".

Each time, I fell to my knees in prayer over this couple.

So when we got the word that we didn't get the house, I instantly knew that we were not the answer to this couple's prayers. I had prayed so faithfully and knew God had answered my prayer by simply telling me "no".

So naturally, I did what any good Christian girl would do. I cried. And cried. And cried. The human part of me threw a classic two year old temper tantrum. Why? Whhhy? Whhhhhy? Oh the porch! Oh the wooded yard! Oh the open kitchen!

My mourning began.

Then in small group last night, we were asked to tell about where we go for our "quiet time". "On the ski slopes", Jesse said. "In my fishing boat, out on the still, quiet lake at 3am", John said. "In my car on the way to work." "Cuddled up in a blanket on the couch"...

Me? In the bathtub. Every single night. It's just me, the tub, and a glass of sweet tea. It's true, I don't miss a night. It's just me and God. No TV. No cell phone. No Facebook. No Blog. No nothin'.

When Chris and I toured the owner's suit of that darlin' house, my first comment was "oh my heavens, an original Jacuzzi tub!". Gold accessories and all. Waterfall spout. Room for 2. Later that night I commented to Chris "You know my nightly baths will have to stop when we move into our dream home". 673 gallons of water just to fill that sucker up. Yep, my baths will definitely have to stop.

So there you have it. It all came down to a bathtub.

God knew that if He blessed us that house, my quiet time would come to a screeching halt. And so he answered my prayer. With a Big. Fat. "No".

And I'm done being a 2 year old.

Kudzu Mudzu!

We haven't mentioned the words "cancer" or "Kudzu" or "chemo" or "juice" in over 2 weeks now. And let me just say, it has been absolutely FABULOUS!

I haven't even really blogged, because, well to be honest, the blog has just reminded me of Chris' diagnosis.

This morning we woke up, put on our big boy/girl panties and headed to the oncologist to get the news regarding the latest scans.

We waited an hour and fifteen minutes to see Dr. Szabo.

Coopie made approximately 15 friends during that time.

We shuffled. We paced. We rocked. We swayed.

Dr. Szabo finally walked in, shook Chris' hand, informed him he was "done", and instructed him to "get up and go and enjoy his family".

We sat looking dazed and confused and instantly started praising God. After a few quiet minutes we followed Dr. Szabo out of the room and he said, "what I mean is that you are in COMPLETE REMISSION."

Awe struck wonder.

Chris will undergo 25 radiation sessions in order to finish the battle and he will see Dr. S every 3 months to make sure the kudzu stays at bay.

In conclusion, best words ever, ever, ever uttered: COMPLETE REMISSION.

PS. For those of you following our "home sweet home" adventure...We placed an offer on the house in Edgewater over the weekend. We dreamed of rocking on that darling front porch, sippin' sweet tea and watching Coopie ride his tricycle in the driveway. I perused furniture stores looking for cute sitting room furniture. I even got a quote on plantation shutters. (Bad Ali.) We started our day with the words "You didn't get the house". Funny how those words don't even seem to matter anymore :)

Here's to Chris' new BIRTHday. Praise God!

mischief

i'm getting into all sorts of trouble tonight. decorating mischief at it's finest.

my obsession with home decor began when i was eight. something about that laura ashley floral pattern. i just HAD to have it. the coordinating blue and white striped print just did it for me.

a few gallons of wallpaper glue and sweat beads later, i had the room of my dreams.

until i turned nine and became obsessed with a green and white ivy print. i just HAD to have it. and a daybed to boot. and so i got it.

i LOVED moving every year in college because it inevitably meant that i would get to redecorate something. a kitchen. a living room. my bedroom. t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

after college, gidge and i got our very own big girl apartment. complete with cherry cabinets. i was in heaven.

and so i decided to learn to sew so i could make all sorts of home decor fabulousness. i have hand sewn curtains and pillows and shams and foot runners ever since.

approximately 2x per year, i decide i simply MUST change something. a new pattern. a new accent color. something.

tonight's mischief started with this little beauty:

robin's egg paint. 4 wheels. the letter "w". and a vintage twist. cooper's big boy room is in the works.

*did i just say "big boy room"??? what i meant was "cooper's-we're-moving-to-a-new-house soon" room. shesh, they grow up so fast.

he so desperately wanted to help me pick out accent pieces but instead, "hitched his wagon to a star" and went off to the land of nod.

oh how i love that little boy.

bill, i have you to thank for this obsession. and "thank you", i do :)

beautiful mess

i haven't done laundry in over a week. as a result, i am sitting here in my rainbow reindeer pajama pants and hot pink maternity t-shirt. my hair seriously needs to get "did". like yesterday. coopie's finger nails are so sharp he could carve his name in the side of his crib. and he just might. we have unrecognizable items in our fridge. the toilet paper roll is on the holder upside down. and has been for 3 days now. i paid our car insurance only to forget that i paid it so i paid it again. i didn't even have enough brain cells to realize my mistake and spent 15 minutes arguing with the liberty mutual man (in my rainbow reindeer pjs) over why he billed me twice. blush.

i am the happiest i have ever ever been. somewhere in the midst of the chaos of the past 5 months, my type a-ness took flight and left me here dazed, confused, and absolutely blissful. i don't care about my hair. or my house. or my fridge.
i have the sweetest most beautifulest family in all the world. i love them more than i love perfection and that, is what i believe, God has been trying to teach me.

now off to find some different pj pants. chris says the reindeer have to go. their psychedelic-ness makes him dizzy.

8/8, Aint it Great!

complete (verb): to bring to conclusion.

finish line (noun): a line marking the end of a race course.

celebrate (verb): to observe a notable occassion with festivities.

praise (verb): to lift high a mighty and sovereign God.

party panties (noun): what we are lookin' for right this very second. ok, well truth be told, i can't even get chris to say the words "party panties", but i assure you that mine are big enough for all of us :)

8 out of 8, and we are D-O-N-E! so long "juice", it's been real.

F-I-V-E M-O-N-T-H-S old.

Cooper Wyatt, you are five months old today!
And mommy is um, five days late posting this.

You learned how to give "high five" this month. Daddy is convinced that Mommy is just making that one up, but we know better than that.

You count your toes one by one as you stretch them all the way up to your little mouth. One-two-three-four-five!

You graduated from five ounces every three hours. You're a big boy now and take six ounces every 3-4 hours.

Five. The number of nights you have stayed up ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Hoo. Hoo. Night owl, that's you.

Your top five fav foods are: rice, oatmeal, peas, bananas, and apples. Yum yum. It takes you approximately five minutes to crush a meal. And five more to burp like a grown man.

If we were asked to tell you five things that we want you to write on your heart for ever and ever, they would be:


One. You have a God in heaven who loves you more than you will ever know.
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Two. You are an absolute BLESSING to your Mommy and Daddy. You bring us great joy.

"And this is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Three. You make every single day five-zillion times sweeter. Five-zillion times more fun. Five-zillion times sillier. Five-zillion times more fabulous.


"Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say Rejoice!" Phillipians 4:4


Four. There is a plan for your life so incredible that we just can't wait to watch it unfold. Day by day we see God's purpose revealed in you and day by day we thank Him for giving you to us.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11.


Five. You. are. loved. (To the moon and back. Oodles and oodles. Bookoodles).

"Out of all the people on the earth, God chose you to be his special, treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6

We love you Super Coop! Muah!