Zephaniah 3:17...

It's been awhile since I have blogged- but I can't stay away any longer...my brain is about to explode.

In the last month school has started, we have decided to send Kadence to preschool 2 days, we took our oldest to college, I have had some health stuff, Andy had a birthday, I hired another staff member, we went on a canoe trip, and we went on family camp...all while I have embraced this new mantra of Savoring Slow...

I have been and continue to start my day with coffee in the quiet of the morning with only me and Jesus and occasionally Jada when she wants to cuddle. It's amazing the peace that the stillness and silence of a house can bring.

I have taken a big X and put it through days on my calendar that indicate to me that I CAN NOT plan things on those days.

I have rearranged my schedule to be at home with Kadence a minimum of 1 day a week during the week to give us a slower rhythm (we are together most days but this is home and not going anywhere or doing anything days...intentionally her days to decide what we do those days)

I am a go getter, I am a highly driven person and I can't change that about myself but I can put some practices in place that make me a healthier mom, a healthier wife, and a healthier boss. When I love me well, I am able to love others well (I know a crazy concept- one I have been working on since way before I got married)

So, what about Zephaniah 3:17?

This was the very first Bible verse I ever memorized. I remember being in college and my mentor at the time asked me about my favorite Bible verses and I think the only thing I could rattle off was 1 Corinthians 13 and that was only because I had heard it so many times at weddings. I remember her teaching me Zephaniah 3:17 (in all honesty I don't think I ever new there was a book called Zephaniah in the Bible) but what was a foreign concept to me soon became something that at Breakfast, Lunch and everywhere in between I started to learn the words to this verse (I am pretty sure there were even motions). So that verse in underlined and more underlined in my Bible...fast forward to this past week...We listen to seeds worship CD's (Thank you to Katie and Jodi for letting me in on this goodness) and Kadence calls it her music. Track 8 came on and it is Zephaniah 3:17- I always sing along to it and reminisce about all that God has done since the day I told Him he could have my heart and that I would seek Him. I turned down the radio and had Kadence say Zephaniah 3:17 and phrase by phrase we said it together. That night we were rocking (one of my VERY most favorite things to do with Miss K- we usually sing at least 2 songs, and tell stories to each other, and pray together in this time and do some really silly things that get us both belly laughing before our time is up) and I said Zephaniah and she then said 3:17. I was shocked...so I said the next part "The Lord your God-and she says "is with me". Me- He is mighty K-to save Me- He will quiet you K-with his Love and just like that back and forth we said together Zephaniah 3:17. I don't know why I was shocked she picks up everything. But in that moment I held her tighter and I remembered all those lonely nights when I questioned God's promises, all those nights that I "knew" His truths but it wasn't enough to stop my tantrums. So there I sat holding in my arms the single best things that has ever happened in my life. The things that I wept for so long for- she was and continues to be my answer to so many prayers I have prayed. In that moment we stopped and truly let God "Quiet us with His love".

Every day I am mesmerized by this life I live- Im also taken aback in the many ways I botch it up every day-lol... but also in the many ways that God's grace takes all of that and loves me right where I am at.

For those that read this just to get updates on Miss K-
Her Favorite Color currently - Green, Pink, and Purple and ANYTHING with sparkles
She LOVES the characters - Paw Patrol, Minnie Mouse, Daniel Tiger, Peppa Pig and ANYTHING Disney Princess
Things she loves- Having crazy hair, shoes, swimming, cooking in the kitchen, washing her hands, riding bikes with daddy, reading books, being outside, playing dress up, anything that involves a bandaid, dinosaurs, sharks, and anything art related (coloring, paint, etc)
Her favorite foods- pasta, Costa Vida's Quesadillas, Ice Cream, goldfish, applesauce, grapes, watermelon, and cheese and...chocolate milk :)
Things she doesn't like- not getting her way (I think it comes with her age-haha)

The journey of taking less steps...

So, I got a new phone! I did it! I have had the same phone number since I was 16 (I won't do the math for you but that is a long time to have the same number). My number and I had a love/hate relationship. I loved it because we had journeyed for so long together but I hated it because that dang phone got in the way of many family events, conversations, pee breaks, and everything else...I was a slave to my phone. In honesty I liked the appearance of being needed, I mean if your phone goes off 24/7 you must be important right...and that's what life is all about...being important...

Somewhere along the way I have created a very unhealthy relationship with that piece of technology. It wasn't till I was on a solitude retreat and I turned off all notifications for the weekend and I did it...I  missed calls, I missed text messages, and I undoubtedly let someone down but it was so freeing to not know where that damn phone was all the time. There was something about it that felt right for my soul. Then, there was the dreaded date night conversation almost two weeks later that Andy would actually prefer that people couldn't get ahold of me during dinner, bedtime, breakfast, or the countless other times that emergencies or crisis would infringe on OUR time (I know shocking that he would feel that way). Why wasn't I allowed to take a day off? Why wasn't I allowed to not answer the phone? Why wasn't I allowed to not be present? I would never desire or think that was healthy for another soul so why had I allowed that to become my norm? The countless conversations I had with Jesus the month of May were UGLY- had I really let a piece of technology become a God to me?

I am always in the learning posture and so I found other Executive Directors that are christians and have families and started asking them what their relationship was with their phone. All were living my life, all were hating yet loving this small piece of technology. I remember driving and yelling at God and telling Him that it would be so much easier if I had a good example- if I could see someone living my life and still able to hit the off button. But, everyone I ran into was overworked, a little bitter, and enslaved by their phone/email and all of the other ways that people could get ahold of them. It felt helpless, I felt defeated...I felt scared. So, I told God I would do it- I would do it for my health, for my marriage, for my family, for Him...

So for Father's day I made the fateful decision that I would change my number for Andy, for our family, for God, for ME!

So (in my selfless act I was able to actually upgrade my phone and pay less than we were)- I know, Kylie the martyr! HA! So my new phone has these really cool/creepy (the words are interchangeable) capabilities. One of them is that it tracks your steps. The first day I had it I walked 25 steps. I was shocked that I could only walk 25 steps in a day and the shame started to flow in about my laziness and then I remembered that I didn't have a case for my phone so I left my phone on a shelf while I did life. So, I had indeed taken WAY more than 25 steps that day (did I forget to mention I have a VERY ACTIVE two year old) but my PHONE had only been with me for 25 of those steps. That was something I was VERY proud of!!! It has now become a game of something I check before I go to bed at night and something I reflect on- how much of life can I do WITHOUT my phone. So, Where as people with fitness goals want the number to be as high as possible my goal is to make it as low as possible...less than 1,000...enough to slow down, to be present, to be fully engaged and to not be reachable 24/7. It's a journey- I still have to train some people in my life...but it's worth it.

If seems so dumb to write a whole blog post on how my phone was more important than the people in my life. It doesn't feel great to admit it or to be transparent in that regard but I have learned throughout this journey that being transparent is how God uses me to crash into other people and their journey. So here is my hope that someone out there longing to be important and needed to...that you will find the courage to let go. When I am gone I don't want the person that gets up and give my eulogy to be my CELL PHONE!

So here's to my journey of taking less steps with my phone! To turning off work! Here's the journey of using the phone to take pictures of my girl and my handsome husband, to using my phone to check in on family or to schedule coffee/lunch dates that are not work focused. To use my phone to sign up to help others that are in the time of need by bringing a meal or going out with friends...there is so much more that I can do with my phone that creates a better me, doesn't breed resentment, and creates a healthy life balance.

Grateful that God is working on me through all of this...

(*My disclaimer- I still love the people that I loved and their late night text messages and their crisis'- my love and passion for them has not changed- I think it is actually growing leaps and bounds-I still want them in my life- I still want to do life side by side- I am just protecting my family and protecting me)

When you can't process, you blog...

So if you have spent anytime at all on my Facebook, or on social media at all over the last few days you have probably seen Josh's story. You have probably seen this unfolding nightmare that came out of nowhere...I just read a horrific version of this story which is probably accurate but as Josh and Melissa's friend it was VERY hard to read! So I decided to write my own story...

Meet Josh and Melissa- I met Josh through Andy when Josh and Melissa were expecting their twins. Josh and Andy worked the same wheel and same shift together. Andy told Josh that I was at home at night and could help out when their twins were born. Who knew that would be the beginning of something so beautiful. The girls were born in December of that year and over that next year Melissa and I did a lot of rocking, changing diapers, feeding, and holding sleeping babies while we laughed, cried and bonded. It was over the course of this, sour patch kids, sweet tea, and countless chick flicks that Melissa and I grew to be friends. Melissa was always a hard worker, always calm, always crafty, always the comforter. Over the years Andy and I continued to grow closer to Josh and Melissa and their children. They joined our church, we did countless lunch/dinner times together, dog sitting and our lives continued to get knit together...they are our people. 

Somewhere along that journey Andy and I started Pro Deo and for as long as I can remember they have helped out with Pro Deo. Josh grilling out hot dogs, bringing the twins over to eat at our house with the teens, Josh driving for events, delivering Christmas presents to our teens. Melissa helping at girls night, bringing food for events...you need anything and one or both of them are there. This past August I was able to bring Melissa on as our Administrative Director because her skill set works really well at balancing my...well let's say LOUD self. She keeps me organized, on task, takes all of the burdens of daily life off of me...in many regards I wouldn't be "me" if it wasn't for her. 

So let me tell you about what I know about Josh through our friendship with them:

Josh LOVES his job! He loves being a cop, he loves being a part of that brotherhood. He helps out on the department with things they are doing, takes overtime where he can, and always goes above and beyond the call of duty. He within the past year got promoted to being a detective which he also LOVES! He is proud of the work he does, he is proud of what he brings to the department, and he works very hard at what he does. 

Josh LOVES his family. When Josh is not at work you can find him playing zombie games, sword fights with his girls, being a super hero (I mean who has twin girls and by the time they were 4 could pretty much name most if not all the marvel characters), or wrestling around. You can always see the spark in his eye that he has for his wife and anytime she would let him he would steal a kiss from her. He is in all aspects of the word a family man and a man that loves them to their core. 

I guess I got so emotional reading some of the stories that are out there now on Josh because they may share the "facts" but they don't know Josh. They don't know that he will bust his ass to be a Husband, father, and cop again. He will and is fighting every day to walk out of that hospital. Their story doesn't depict the hope that comes when a whole community steps up and prays for a man's journey.  Their story doesn't show the power of what God can do or the healing that can take place. Their story doesn't show the ripple effect that his story is having on this community. This family is LOVED, this family has HOPE, this family is FIGHTING...so you may have the facts but I know that God is greater than the facts. God can heal Josh, God can comfort Melissa, God can continue to raise up an army to take care of their family. So I might not be a journalist but what I can tell you is that there is HOPE. 

One more thing I am processing through this all:

I am proud of the LSPD. Being a police officer in this world is not glamorous any more. I get on Facebook daily only to find another post of F the police. Gone are the days where little kids long to be police officers. Everyone wants to talk about what cop stopped them, how this cop made the wrong choice, etc, etc. As a wife who loves her police officer it has been an INCREDIBLY hard year listening to all of the criticism of his profession. But in a situation like Josh's there is no other field I would rather my husband be in. What other field could you be in where your co-workers are there around the clock supporting you, they are around the clock taking care of your spouse and children. They are taking care of meals, working on the lawn, getting chocolate milk for the girls' breakfast...this "brotherhood" people speak of is real, it is powerful, and it is profoundly humbling to watch it unfold before my eyes. So say what you want about police officers but this department has knocked my socks off in my expectations for what a brotherhood would be like and I am proud to be a part of this family.

Josh- We love you. We are praying for you fervently...and banding together with the rest of the community taking care of your family so that you can focus on the fight ahead of you. Sending you hugs and prayers constantly. 

Melissa- Girlfriend...you have got some badass super hero strength(maybe that's why Josh is such a huge fan of yours)! I am in awe of the week you have had and your ability to walk through each day. I admire you for how you take each day and how you stand by Josh through this all while caring for your precious babies. I admire your strength even when you don't feel like you have any. I admire you as a wife and a mom. Your journey ahead of you is going to be long, it's probably going to be hard...we will not leave you. Not after this week, not after this year, we are in this forever with you, we are committed to you and to your family. When your strength is gone, when calm cucumber has walked out the door...we will come pick you up for some sour patch kids till our tongues are numb and then we will go back hand and hand to face the day again. 

This feels more like what I wanted to read tonight...these are the other "facts"

The Grant that saved my life...

In non-profit work you have grants. You write grants, you receive grants (fingers crossed-lol), and life  can operate on a grant cycle. This past fall/winter we applied for a grant. It was a grant for healthy lifestyles. Although I was excited about the ideas and the prospects for potential community partners I had no idea the impact it would have on my personal life. I knew when we submitted the grant that if we had received it that we had to be all in from top management all the way down. I couldn't require teens that have no natural desire for healthy living to make such drastic changes if I too wasn't willing to go on the journey. It should make sense that this was my approach sense we run our organization with the "with" mentality. I want to be in the trenches WITH my people...so I knew the first step to this was I needed to make a doctors appointment to deal with some annoying things I had tried to avoid/ignore for going on a year now. To spare you all of the medical details my GI was/is messed up and that was a nice understatement. This decision to deal with this was not an easy one, not a cheap one, and not one that I was terribly excited to address but knew it needed to be done. The week we got word that we got the grant was a horrible week in my life- one that was filled with tears and much stress...I was a mess to say the least. I remember sitting at the coffee shop processing all that was going on and making the realization of the changes that getting this grant were going to mean for me and my family. As testing continued, dr visits continued to accumulate here I was at the crossroads...then there was spring break and the grant was officially kicking off...and the phone rang...

It was the doctor and although they had several tests that were still out (and still actually are as I type this) they had discovered at least one piece of the puzzle and that was that I had something "cool" called Gastroparesis (I still to this day have hit or miss days on being able to spell that awesome name) and to set up a meeting to meet with the doctor again. We met and as we started processing things I was well aware that my life was changing before my very eyes. At first I was in denial- at first I googled everything and was like this is SO not me...but then I did some more research (beyond google, WebMD, and the Mayo Clinic) and what I found were real people that had been suffering for way to long like me with out a diagnosis. Things that I couldn't put into words, things I had shook off as just my "quirks" and had no idea they were all tied together. What I found were lifestyle changes that I was having to make. More sleep, less stress (I actually am doing really poorly with the first two on many days), less fat, very little fiber, and the worst no blueberries or strawberries...I was confident that I was not going to be defined by my "diagnosis" since I struggled with that so long with PCOS too. The more I read and the more changes I have been making the more that I feel like this is the route I am to be taking. I am only two weeks in to my "new life", I still have bad days where I struggle just to function but I have been experiencing the bad days for so long that I have learned how to plow through them and put a smile on my face. If anything it has given me the freedom to say out loud that I don't feel well after I eat or when a certain meal makes things worse. It has also made me not feel like I'm crazy and that all of this pain I have been enduring was not "just in my head" or something else. It also has made me a student of my own body- figuring out how it is supposed to work, what helps and what hurts it and to learn everything I can to better me. 

So here I am two weeks in, appreciative for a grant that helped me take the courage and be brave to go to the doctor. To a grant that is making the means available for the people in my life and myself to seek a healthy lifestyle together, eat healthy together, and discover these changes together. Taking the bodies that God has given us, embracing them and all of their quirks, and becoming our own advocate and deciding to live well with whatever path we are given. So thanks to our grantors, to the drs, to the teens in this journey too, to Melissa that posts encouraging pictures for the teens that actually helps me too, for my fitness pal, and for my hubby who has been so encouraging and supportive through this whole life change. My life is different now and as more tests come in I am sure my life will continue to change but for now I am grateful to learn the things I am, and have the opportunity to be in the trenches with others making their lives better. Accepting this, advocating for me, and believing that God is creating a good work in me and that he can heal things even when medicine says it's not possible... 

That's what's been going on over here and what happens when a grant actually has the potential to change your life...not just in a financial blessing...but protecting and saving my health and the health of the people I love...GRATEFUL

To my second daughter...

Two weeks ago we welcomed another child into our home, she's 17, and she stole my heart a long time before she had a bed in my home...this letter is for her...

To my daughter,
I do not pick my words lightly. God has woven your story into my story and I am forever grateful and forever changed because of our relationship. I know that I didn't birth you, didn't raise you, and only have three years under my belt at loving you but I want you to know that I loved you the moment you walked through my doors. But what I thought was love then is so much deeper than any words could ever express today. Every path and part of your story that we have been on since then has made this moment in time where we are at so much sweeter. I don't take it lightly the pain you have endured or the moments that have made up your journey up to this point. There are really painful moments in your journey that are burned into my memory forever but they no longer make me sad for you they make me incredibly proud of you. You have let God take so much brokenness and make it beautiful. You are one of the most incredible young women I have ever met and I am proud to know you. I see your tender heart and it makes me want to wrap my arms around you and nurture you. I want you to know that these arms will be here to hold you on the good days and on the hard days when the world has been unfair or unloving. I am here to listen, to love, to be a sounding board, and to encourage you to continue to fight. I want you to know that I see your beauty- I see your smile, your eyes the way they lights up and I find myself praying for the man that will be your husband. I pray that he will love you well. He will speak your love language. I pray that he will treat you in every way that you deserve but have yet to experience. I pray that he will be a man of God that will lead you into a deeper relationship with Christ. I pray that he would nurture you, protect you, and love you selflessly. I see your servants heart and how you love others and I am proud to know you. I see how tender your heart is when you love and I know that God is going to use that as you grow to love others, to be an excellent wife, and an amazing mom, and follower of Jesus. You are so special, I hope you know that. They don't make people like you- people that have endured the things you have endured and can still come through the trenches and see the glass as half full and still have a child like heart. You are a fighter and stronger than most of the people I have met. Thanks for not giving up when it gets hard! Your courage you have showed me over the last threenyears and even more so these past 4 months is a force to be reckoned with. Thanks for letting me love you, I love that loving you is part of my daily life...I am better for getting to love you. I thank you for trusting me on this journey- trusting me and all the people I throw at you. :) Thanks for letting them be a part of your journey too. I am here for the fun- the countless nexflix hours we will take part in, the laughing, shopping, the arts and crafts, the cooking, the coffee...it is all so much fun! I am also here for the pain- when girls are hateful, when people treat you in a way you don't deserve to be treated, when a boy is dumb and breaks your heart, or when you are just exhausted from your journey I am here to rock you (literally) or just hug you and listen to the pain of it all. I want you to know that I am not going anywhere- that I am in this for the long haul- you get me for better or worse from this day forward ( I feel like I made this vow in my heart to you a long time ago-but if you in't know it-I'm telling you today)...I am confident you didn't know you were walking into all of this when I met you for the first time and in all fairness I didn't know that I was getting all of this either but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thanks for being in my home, teaching me how to love, and adding another level of joy to our home. We are blessed and can't imagine our life without you.

We love you! 

All up in my feelings...

God is active, and moving, and healing, and hearing, and changing, and shaking this world I live in...

I'm all up in my feelings today- maybe it's because the sweater I wore today was the sweater I wore when I was doing skin to skin contact with Kadence for the first time in the delivery room. I remember watching our birth mom go through contractions and remember wishing that I could give that for Kadence and then realizing the beauty of watching someone so brave and strong do just that. I remember when the nurse placed Kadence in my arms...I remember her gooey eyes and how stinking hungry and alert she was...I remember staying up all night and just being in awe of her story, of my story and God's love for our family...

Maybe I am up in my feelings because it was this week two years ago that Andy and I got to see Kadence for the first time on a sonogram, got to hear her heart beat...and now nightly when she is in my arms I hear that same heart beat beat up against mine.

Maybe I am up in my feelings today because even when I see God's face all over my daily life there are still hard days when I long for more. The pain of adding to our family is real. I long for more children, I long to watch my family grow and I know that we, as Kylie and Andy, can't do that on our own. It hurts to get down to the nitty gritty emotions and feel so helpless in the adoption journey. The wait, the longing...it's all very real. The holding on to baby things, thinking will we ever need these again? I want to be in awe of how God is continuing to write this story but in some of my realest moments I am scared, in my realest honesty it is hard and I want to loose hope. The pain of not conceiving is real, the pain of people not choosing adoption is real, the pain of wrestling through all of this with Jesus is very real.

Maybe I am up in my feelings today because we have entered the "birthday month" the month where Kadence, myself, my mother in law, one of my best friends, and everyone in between is having a birthday and I find myself reflecting when and how am I the best me I can be? Where have I been, where am I going? Am I someone that Jesus would trust with others hearts? Am I the follower of Jesus that I long to be? Am I the mom, friend, wife, leader that I feel Jesus has called me to be? There is a lot of reflection and a lot of evaluating that takes place.

Maybe I am up in my feelings because this week marks the three month marker of a really important event in the life of someone I love so much. Her making the decision to be clean flipped my life upside down, in the best of ways...it has been a long journey and we are only three months in. I have learned a lot about boundaries, walking when it's hard, and how to piss off a teenager (lol)...I'm actually really good at it...but I am so incredibly proud of where she has been and where she is going. I am proud of the tears she has shed to get here and that she puts in the work and pushes forward when it gets tough. I am proud of the community that I live in that has stepped up to the plate to surround her. They have surrounded her with meals, toiletries, incentives, rides, an ear to hear her, and so much more. For 90 days, we have watched this young girl choose sobriety and it gets me all up in my feelings because I love her in a way that tears my heart to pieces in the best of ways and I am so proud of her!

Maybe I am up in my feelings today because I don't get a lot of time in my life where I can just fall apart at the seams and curl up in the fetal position and cry(lol)- it doesn't matter if the tears are happy or sad. Sometimes I just need unplanned times to be me and deal with my heart. Today is one of those days. It could be that I have had a really emotionally draining yet empowering month at work. I've had to do some really hard things but yet have seen God's blessings all over those decisions and know that our organization is healthier because of the decisions that have been made. Maybe I am this way because I have seen God crash into the lives of kids I love left and right this past month. I have seen them worship together, discuss the Bible, and seek mentoring and change...things I have longed to see and am seeing. Maybe it's because the kid that was an outcast is now has a peer group. Maybe it's because volunteers I have longed to have are stepping up to the plate. Maybe it's because that boy I have longed to see have a breakthrough broke through and maybe now he finally knows his worth. Maybe it's because I love having a staff and love having volunteers that are burdened for the same lives that my heart hurts for. Maybe I am all up in my feelings because I watch "church" get lived out in front of my every day and it is powerful beyond words.

Maybe I am all up in my feelings because shane and shane is on iTunes and they single handedly (with the help of sidewalk prophets) can bring my worship out :) Although, He Knows by Jeremy Camp just came on and whoa it gets me every time...

Maybe I am up in my emotions because I've seen God crashing into the lives of my family. Andy and I have been praying for God to be "real" to some of our family. And He is, and they are seeking, and He is growing in their hearts...and although it's just the beginnings that has me all up in my feelings...

Maybe I am up in my feelings because a kid I have prayed for so long, walked in unexpectedly today to church...no invite...haven't even seen him in almost two years..on his own AND 41 days clean! I'm a heap of a mess. God brings him through the door and the topic at church today was answering the question of how many times can we sin before God turns his back...

Oh God, you are so great...you take my pain and the pain of every person I know and turn it into something beautiful...and here I sit as Gungor Beautiful Things "randomly" comes onto iTunes...I am a heap of a mess with a white mocha and stellar iTunes play list, and a God that has got this...God has not given up on you or me. God is healing. God is taking us at our worst and making us beautiful! God is taking me all up in my feelings and He is every so tenderly putting the pieces of my heart back together. God is good. I trust Him. And for now it's okay to be all up in my feelings...

More fun than I know what to do with...

My Kid is amazing and more fun than this mom knows what to do with...

I know lots of people probably say that but I seriously find myself daily thinking, does it get better than this?

Kadence is FULL of life, laughter, chatter, and new things daily...This week alone we realized that Kadence can spit off her ABC's, that she can make full sentences, she can count 1-11 or 12 depending on the day but 5 is always missing, and that she is probably (although I hate to admit it) ready to potty train.

Some of my favorite sayings that Kadence says are..."What you doing here?"- what she says when she wants to know what I am doing. "I hold you?"- What she says when she wants you to pick her up. "I pray?" What she says when mommy or daddy have forgotten to say grace or bedtime prayers (WHOOPS!) Today she asked for a baby sister-lop...let me get right on that! Today she also dropped her zippy cup and said "Uh Oh mommy, I drop water on the floor" and I laughed because it didn't spill because it was in a sippy cup.

Around the house she helps with daily things- She can put all three trash cans back upstairs and puts them exactly where they go. She can put her pj's away. She gets her laundry from our bedroom (where we fold clothes) and takes it to her closet. She can put her own socks on (tonight she came out of the room with socks on her hands and feet!) She can also help put dishes away- which usually looks like taking them from the bottom shelf and putting them on the top or taking out her princess plate and running it around the house.

She loves baths, paint, being outside, checking the mail, cooking in her play kitchen, and playing house. Her favorite shows are still Elmo, Frozen, and Rio although sometimes she is game for Curious George, Clifford, or Minnie Mouse (but Netflix doesn't have a real good option for this).

I could sit and watch her play, think, and work for hours...I am in awe of how she thinks, the things that make her giggle, and what she picks up...the other day we were in the bath and she started laughing and said, "Oh, geez" and I laughed even harder :)

She still loves books and can spend hours flipping through books and my favorite is now she "reads" the books back to you and that is about as heart warming as it gets.

Sorry this post is so..."I think Kditty is amazing" but I am just having one of those days where I'm in awe of my family, of my little girl, and just taking this life one day at a time...it's pretty GREAT!

I LOVE BEING A MOM!!!!!