classic

Life as a mountain baby... a diaper and tevas!

Christmas with the Gentry's

We celebrated an early Christmas with the Gentry's this year... A few nights ago, we sat around and told stories about Christmases past. I love hearing Mark and Evette's memories from when they were growing up.

And yesterday morning, we opened presents. Burke, of course, was mostly interested in the wrapping paper and tags (his mama, on the other hand, was very interested in all his darling gifts!).

Great food, fabulous company and more gifts than we know what to do with- we are spoiled indeed!

yum!

I know, I know... we could have started this whole 'solid foods' thing a few months ago. But we didn't and are just getting started now. Turns out, Burke's a rice cereal champ. It's a good thing, too, because judging from the time it took us to get this food thing started, he won't try fruits or vegetables until he's one. :)

yay for adam!

After countless hours of studying, Adam's dental school finals are done! HOORAY! There was some serious celebrating by the Gentry family this weekend... including the dental school Christmas party (dubbed 'dental school prom' by one of adam's classmates- haha)! It was so fun to get dressed up and dance and be surrounded by people who were in a similarly celebratory mood!

christmas cheer

Spreading holiday cheer with Tom... :)

my new trick

I still only roll if absolutely neccesary (i.e. to escape from tummy time). I don't crawl. And while my friends Annie and George Owen have teeth, mine are still resting in the warm comfort of my gums.

But I can sit up with the best of them.

don't judge me

After all of my big talk about loving organization, this is the current state of my craft room. I know in my head that I would get more done if I took some time to clean, but my "to make before Christmas" list (even the pared down version) looms above me like a cloud. Don't look too closely- your Christmas gift is probably in the mix somewhere.

delightful Christmas tree

Lita and Papa L. trekked through the mountains this year to find us the most fabulous tree we've ever had. In keeping with tradition, we decorated it as "Christmas on the Beach" (my dad's favorite decorating music) filled our house with merry reggae tunes. I love filling our tree with a mishmash of ornaments we've collected in our travels, ones from our trees growing up, and now ornaments with Burke's name on them. We told Burke the story of the each ornament we hung on the tree... though, some of the stories sounded like this, "This is an ornament that I liked at Crate and Barrel last year and bought it on sale the day after Christmas." Hooray for Christmas decorating!!!

holding pattern

The other night, I walked into the bathroom to find my sweet baby boy plopped in the bathroom sink, waiting for his shower. The faucet delighted him- until he turned the water on and soaked himself. Maybe next time we'll just stick with the floor.

miracle

Lately Adam has been learning about the formation of the face in his Anatomy class. Did you know that by the time a baby in six weeks old in utero that all of the major facial structures have already been formed/connected? And that there are literally hundreds and thousands of things that have to go just right for the face to develop?

Every time Adam tells me about it, I am struck by the miracle that Burke is. I am so thankful that even though we couldn't see him a year ago, that the Lord was literally knitting him together in my womb. I can't fathom the hundreds of thousands of steps it took to create Burke... what a miracle he is!

burke's new bff's

Not only are Uncle Aaron and Aunt Leslie charter members of the Burke Fan Club, they are also his new best friends. He would spend forever hanging out with them, telling them all of his secrets and playing with them on the floor if he could. It delights my heart to see how much he loves them! He's counting down the days until they get here for Christmas. :)

where are my people?

After being cuddled, snuggled, entertained, and held for the last ten days, Burke spent today wondering, "Where is my fan club? Where are my people? Where is my paparazi? Why am I not being held?"

Here are some pictures of our week in Texas... we had a great Thanksgiving, introduced Burke to Aunt Leslie, Mimi and some other new friends (not new to us, new to him), did some serious Black Friday shopping, and are back in one piece.

comparison shopping

I regularly walk around a store to find ideas for gifts, then come home to my trusty internet to try to find a better deal on the things that I saw. Lucky for me, RealSimple evaluated all sorts of price comparison websites to find the best ones... Check them out here!

suggestions?

Burke's "shades of white" nursery has been finished for many months... except for this final project (sorry I haven't posted pictures yet... perhaps when I get these done I'll actually take some pictures). His name letters (made out of a cardboard-y material) are sitting on his shelf, still unfinished. Any ideas for how to make these into lovely works of art that go with the "all white" theme???

thankful

Real Simple (the magazine) had a challenge this month to write down five things you are thankful for and post your list in a place you commonly see... Here is my list:

-the sanctification process- that the Lord is making me more like Him

-little "extravagances" like friends taking us out to a nice dinner, my dad filling our car up, jord buying clothes for burke that I can't afford, adam's parents blessing us with food

-Saturday date mornings at Startbucks with my hubbie and the conversations that we've had lately

-having the opportunity be home to see the little changes in burke each day or week... how he wrinkles his nose and snorts this week (he didn't do that last week) and loves to play with paper while I cut out coupons... I am so blessed to spend my days with him

-playgroup! I love our new church and the people we've met there, and I love having a chance to spend tuesday mornings with other moms... what an encouragement!

There are so many other things I'm grateful for, but that's a short list of things I'm thanking the Lord for today. Happy Thanksgiving!

fox in socks

As predicted, Burke's favorite toy is the biggest, brightest toy we own. He loves loves loves Fox in Socks... loves to chew on his mittens, loves to pat his back, loves to toss him over the side of wherever he's am sitting or laying (dad calls those 'cage fighting moves'... mom mostly doesn't want to retrieve said cage fighting opponent from the location he's been tossed to).

i heart black friday

photo from Real Simple

Many of my friends hate the commercialization of Christmas (I'm right there with them!) and in protest have chosen to boycott Black Friday shopping. While I totally agree with the premise that Christmas has become way too much "Santa" and crazy gift giving and far too little worship and meaningful celebration of the birth of our Savior, I confess that I LOVE Black Friday!

In fact, Adam and I usually scour the ads on Thanskgiving day, get up superearly on Friday morning and scoop up the deals we've found to sell on ebay. We use the profits of this little adventure in deal shopping to pay for Christmas presents- a fun contribution to the family budget! :)

Here are a few resources for those of you who will be joining in the Black Friday festivities (or the internet shopping on cybermonday):

real simple's black friday holiday shopping guide

a sneak peek at ads, etc. at bfads.net

blackfriday.info

more ads and deals at blackfriday.gottadeal.com

blackfriday info at dealsofamerica.com

cyber monday sales

cybermonday.com

hats!

We're loving hats around here lately... well mostly I am loving how cute Burke is in hats, so we rarely leave home without one! :)

study buddy

Burke is a superhelpful study partner as Adam prepares for yet another big anatomy exam.

half a year!

I know I'll keep thinking this each time Burke gets to a new age milestone, but I absolutely cannot believe that Burke is 6 months old! I kind of can't imagine our life without him... What a tremendous blessing he is to our family!

A few funny Burke-quirks:

-he loves to sing

-when you hold him, he pats your back

-he loves showers

-it takes him a while to wake up... and if you force the issue or get him up too quickly, he is one grouchy bear

-he keeps the hours of a college kid- to bed at a 11:00 and up at 9:00

-he sucks on his own tongue... and his mama's shoulder...

-he loves watching tv and will twist around and contort into all sorts of crazy positions to catch a glimpse

-his mellow personality comes straight from dad

Happy half birthday burke-y baby!

snow bear

It was only a dusting, but we had our first snow last week... Before it all melted, we took Burke outside to see what he'd make of the fluffy freezing-ness (not that interested, turns out). Good thing he has the attire for such occasions (the hat is from Lita and the sweater is from Aunt Jojo). Now all he needs are some mittens from mama (they're on my to-do list!).

what a day to sub!

Yesterday was supposed to be a pretty laidback day... Most of the fifth graders from Crawford are in the mountains camping and I was going to sub for the ones who were still at school so that another fifth grade teacher could join them for the afternoon. It was super laid back... initially. We did Math, made Project Wild journals and generally had a good time. The school was in lockdown for most of the afternoon, but just level 2 lockdown which means that something dangerous is going on in the community, not in the school itself.

And then at 3:00ish, the principal announced that the dangerous situation had not yet resolved itself (turns out a code officer was shot and killed a few blocks from the school and the suspect was still at large in the neighborhood) and that we wouldn't be releasing students. Three and a half hours (and a few shark movies and lots of coloring) later, I finally got in my car to come home! My 'laid-back' afternoon was not to be...

You can read more about the craziness here (they still haven't caught the suspect).

christmas crafting

When I looked at my planner and today's to-do list only included a Target trip (for free Ziplocs) and cleaning the house (which is already in pretty good shape), I happily wrote "Christmas Crafting" across the day and began gathering supplies.

Many hours later, the to-make list only has a small dent in it, but it was so fun to sip on Berry Blossom white tea, listen to Christmas music and create things for the people I love! Glorious!

up close

Look at those big blue eyes- just like his dad's.

stillness

Our "Indian Summer" in Denver has officially come to an end- there is snow in the forecast, the piles of leaves in my yard point toward bare tree branches and my drink cravings have made the shift from diet vanilla coke at Sonic to chai tea with a pump of mocha at Starbucks. Usually, I meet the change of seasons with a sense of mourning to leave behind my beloved summer and head into the colder, harsher, stiller months of winter. But more than any year before it, this fall has been a symbolic one for me.

I wrote a little while back about how it has been a sort of tumultuous time for us... and that continues, actually. There seems to be less time (darn dental school) and more tough stuff than usual right now. Yet instead of my usual anxiousness for activity and warmth, I feel the Lord calling us to make room for stillness and quietness and resting in Him. I don't know exactly what that looks like in a life abuzz with constant motion... perhaps we pare down our commitments? Maybe we get up earlier? Or maybe it is an issue of intentionality- putting up a guard against the flood of busyness and conflict that currently seems to encompass my thoughts and conversations. Whatever the answer, just the thought of rest is a welcome respite from the storm that life has been lately...

I can't say that I am giddy at the thought of winter the way my heart is delighted with the first warm-enough-to-go-to-the-pool days in May (not sure that emotion will ever accompany this season). But the serenity and quiet that accompany the fall and coming winter resonante with me right now and I am looking forward to the stillness to come.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. PSALM 46:10-11

g-o to the z-o-o

Considering my tumultuous relationship with the Denver Zoo (there was a point in time where I genuinely just didn't like that place... I think it was Jord's fault for choosing to celebrate her birthday there just to spite me- haha!), it's kind of funny that I now have a zoo membership and spend a decent amount of my free time wandering around looking at animals. And when the remke's come to town, I spend even more time there! During Jord's last three visits, we've visited the zoo four times (yep, that's twice during one trip). Keadryn LOVES the animals and it's a great way to enjoy the glorious Denver weather. Since I take pics every time we go, but haven't posted any of them, here's a chronicle of our last four zoo visits. :)