Christmas Eve

As I've mentioned before, we don't do Santa at our house and each year Jason and I are more convinced that is the right decision for our family. People have said I am robbing my kids- to which I don't agree...

All day long the kids were jumping up and down yelling that "tomorrow is Jesus' birthday!" In H's prayers tonight she ended it with, "and Merry Christmas, God."

They talk non stop about Jesus and celebrating his birthday! Every time Jonah sees a Santa he calls him Joseph! Ha!

We did take them to Bass Pro Shop the other day and there was a Santa... We let them sit on their lap and when he asked my kids what they wanted for Christmas Havana said a bike and Jonah said bread! Ha- guess he was hungry!

They are all geared up for the birthday party tomorrow... So much so that Havana couldn't fall asleep. She kept asking what time could she get up... How many minutes until morning. I loved watching her get so excited and am certainly expecting an early morning! I love my family and our little traditions!!

Feeling discouraged

Feeling a little discouraged tonight...

Baby breech- don't like the idea of a c-section

Jason goes back to work tomorrow - baby coming in 13 days and Jason works 10 of those days.

Don't have a name, clothes, car seat, or room ready for the baby yet.

Kids bathroom is leaking making that bathroom out of commission- same for master bath- the thought of 2 bathrooms being gutted and repaired in a house with 4 kids makes me want to cry.

Trying to remember:
I've got a roof over my head
3.5 healthy children
An incredible husband
The Words of hope promised to me in the Bible...

Time to put my big girl panties on and face tomorrow! :)

Baby Coop!

Well, I'm 36.5 weeks pregnant and today we confirmed my husband's suspicions that the baby is breech! Not just breech, but in a "u" shape with his head and his feet pointing up. I am a little disappointed by the news as I don't want a c-section, but it looks like I might have to have one. They will check again next week when I'm one day shy of 38 weeks and will make an offical plan from there.

The painters came on Monday and started painted the children's room - We are painting Selah's room from the nursery green (that was her room, Jonah's room, and Havana's room as an infant) to a light sage with hot pink closets and black trim. She has moved into H's old crib and H is in a new bed that Jason built (she isn't in it yet... waiting on the painters... so she is sleeping on the floor). Once the room and bed are painted havana will move in there and the girls will be sharing a room.

Jonah will be moving into H's old room. It was pink, but the painters are painting it blue with red trim and we are putting up pictures of fire trucks, airplanes, and other modes of transportations because Jonah is obsessed with them! He will keep his same crib for a while.

After he moves into that room, we can begin getting ready for baby coop. Coop will sleep in our infant crib (which all the kids have slept in) and will be in Jonah's old room (blue walls with a sports theme). I haven't washed any clothes or gotten anything ready for the baby because I feel like I can't until the other children are all moved into their rooms. Hoping the painters finish soon! Lots to do and it looks like only 2 weeks or so to complete it in! Ah! Praying little breech man doesn't come early. ha.

Selah Update

I don't think I have posted most on my baby girl. She is soooo big! She thinks she is a teenager, I'm sure of it. She is known for throwing fits in the car, giving me big grins when she disobeys, pouring on the sugar with lots of kisses, and laughing hysterically. She is all around wonderful. ha.

She loves to give kisses and hugs to me, daddy, her siblings, tucker, and her dolls. She is very maternal and loves all her "babies" and always wants to check in on Baby Coop. I wonder if she will grow up to have about 15 children. ha.

She is so funny... she laughs as she runs or disobeys or whatever. She enjoys her life (or she hates it and is throwing a fit --- hot/cold is her personality... wonder where she gets that. ha).

She is sure she can do anything havana and jonah can do...

She can say a lot: this, stuck, oh-no, mama, daddy, tucker, havana, jonah, baby, downstairs, diaper, cracker (her name for every snack), water (which is her name for every drink), etc. She also loves to sign eat, please, etc.

When she is throwing a huge fit I will make her say, "mama, I will gain self control." And if I feed her one word at a time she will try to mimic each sound. Such a big girl.

She has the most kissable cheeks.  She loves to dance and play dress up.

Overall, I'm in love!

Jonah loves Clocks

Not sure if I posted this before, but Jonah LOVES clocks - he is obsessed. The other day we were playing wtih shapes and I asked him if he knew which one was a circle and he said, "this one. It reminds me of a clock."

I'm frustrated!

Havana's new phrase is "I'm Frustrated" --  this morning she was frustrated because the painters didn't talk to her this morning (they did say hi, but I guess she wanted a deeper conversation).

She gets "frustrated" at her siblings a lot.

The other day I had to park FAR AWAY at church and she said from the back seat, "Oh I am so frustrated."

Apparently, that is her new word. :)

The Past 8 Years in Photos!

Jason and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary... here is a look down memory lane!

Photo from wedding reception! 2004!

One year photo! 2005- celebrated in South Carolina!

Two year photo - 2006 - celebrated in North Carolina!

Year Three! 2007! Date night in Indy - went to the Melting Pot!

4th Anniversary - 2008 - first date night without Havana - went to Ruth Chris.

5th Anniversary - 2009 - Pregnant with Jonah - went to the Eagle's Nest in Indy.

6th Anniversary - 2010- living in New Albany and pregnant with Selah - date night to Melting Pot.

7th Anniversary - 2011- went out to eat at Jack Frys!

8th anniversary:

Date #11

November's Date Night was fun! We went the week of Thanksgiving. My original letter to Jason said this,

"Let's go back in time. Think high school... Or middle school.... Let's go ice skating! I can't wait to join the ranks of the middle schoolers as we hold hands and skate around the rink!"

I had planned for us to go ice skating - which is something I haven't done since middle school! However, when I planned this date, I didn't know I would be in my third trimester of pregnancy and the more Jason and I thought about it the more we were uncomfortable with the idea. What if I fell (which would be likely)? Etc.

So... we just went to a movie instead. We grabbed a quick meal at Quiznos and snuck it into the theaters to watch the final Twilight movie. Jason is such a great husband to take me on dates to see such girly movies. :) Everything was fun - except the seats were uncomfortable with my big belly, but it was fun all the same!

Always great to date my man!

Spiritual Little Havana!

My Sweet Havana has a very special relationship with the Lord! I often amazed at what comes out of her mouth. The other day Jonah was throwing a fit and Havana said, "Jonah, when you cry you are not being a peacemaker or doing all things without complaining or disputing." -- she was correcting Jonah with Scripture!

Then, on Friday, we were driving home from the mall and she asked if I wanted to hear about the story she drew. I said sure and she begins to talk about a little girl with a soccer ball who is in heaven and is playing with God. She said that God wanted to play hide-n-seek and that they went down a big slide together. At that moment, I didn't know about the Sandy Hook shooting, but it made me think about Elijah and Jonas and when kids die and I thought about God playing children like games with them. When I found out about the school shooting, I will admit it was a little weird what Havana had drew about, but oh well.

Yesterday one of her toys was broken and I couldn't fix it and so she said, "Mom, what time will God come to our house so he can fix it?" 

I love her sweet faith! She has such a beautiful heart.

Funny and Responsible Jonah! (and an injury)

Jonah is saying some funny things these days. He still loves to play David and Goliath - he loves playing David, but really loves playing Goliath!

At Thanksgiving Dinner, in front of everyone, he passed some gas and then yelled loudly, "It's okay, mom, I just have some gases."

He loves to pull up my shirt, tell me how big my belly is getting, and then ask to see baby Coop.

One day he sat on my lap, stuck out his belly, and said, "Baby Coop is in my belly."

He always talks about Baby Coop and tells us how when baby coop comes the baby will cry and we will say, "It's okay baby coop."


He has also become super responsible. All on his own, he began taking his dishes to the sink after meal times. Now, he can even throw away any trash on his plate before putting it in the sink. He makes my job easy. ha.

The other day he got a "boo-boo" -- this one was pretty bad and it was totally my fault. I had the fireplace on in the morning and then when the children got up I turned it off, but forgot to warn the children the  glass would be hot. Jonah ran down and put his hands on the glass and got a 2nd degree burn on both of his hands. It was so sad. He shook and cried and cried for over 4 hours. I ran his hand under cold water for a while and then gave him just a bowl to keep his hand in... I was on the phone most of the morning with Jason (who was at work) and our doctor. Our DR told me that if I saw blisters to take him to the ER... there are many blisters on his hands, but Jason is just treating him here at home. They haven't popped yet, but apparently soon they will and so I'm working on keeping his hand as clean as possible. My doctor told me that it is actually a good thing that he feels the pain because if he didn't have pain the burn would be worse, but still, this mama feels soooo guilty!

Love my little man!

Potty Training!

Well, I wrote out a blog post to go with this picture, but just realized that the post was deleted when I added the photo. Sorry about that. Last Thursday Jason and I attempted, again, to potty train Havana. This was not the first time... we approached this time very prayerfully and as hard as that day was Jason kept saying he wasn't convicted over how we were training her (unlike in the past when we would give up by 3pm because we didn't have a peace we were handling it correctly). She FINALLY went to the bathroom at 8pm that night and was treated to play-dough! That is the photo below... it was a reward after a very, long and emotional day.

 

The next day, went slightly better, but it was still hard. What was hardest on my heart was to see how happy she was at the end of the day to put on her pull up diaper for bed. Still, a week later, she sings a little song about her diaper when we put it on. But, she is doing well - not having too many accidents and getting the hang of it. She was given treats of special shows, play dough, stamps, a trip to get ice cream, and a trip to the mall. I think she is proud of herself, but she doesn't have a lot of interest in actually going to the bathroom and so will only use it 2-3 times a day. Which seems like a long time to hold it in, but whatever.

 

So, I now have two children potty trained! Strange to be change so few diapers. My big pregnant belly misses the ease of diapers (getting them on and off the toilet and cleaning up accidents don't go well for baby). But, new phase. Children growing up. Can't believe it. I am so proud of my little H for working so hard!

 

Ice Cream treat on day 4 of no diapers!



2 year old con man!

Yesterday at lunch Jonah randomly said out loud, "Daddy, I love you." Jason was taken aback because Jonah just doesn't go around saying this. His voice changed (you could tell he was moved) and he said, "I love you too, Jonah. I love you very much." Jason and I looked at each other with eyes that expressed that we were both touched. About a half a second later, Jonah changes his tone and says, "I have that?" and he pointed to Jason's lemonade.

HAHAHAHA.

Both Jason and I started laughing as we realized we were just "played" by a 2 year old. He wanted a drink of "Daddy's drink" and thought the best way to get it was sweet talk. Sneaky boy!

Belly pool

Havana just asked me if Baby Coop was swimming around in my belly pool! So sweet! :)

Sweetest Moment

Today the kids were playing out on the deck and I was in the kitchen, but the back door was open so I could hear everything... Havana began calling to God and said this, "God! God! How can I obey?!" "God, God, when will you come back down here riding on a white horse?!" (At this point she saw me watching her) and so she asked me when God was going to come back and when would we hear the trumpet sound! I told her how we don't know and so we should always be ready- she then said she thought she heard a trumpet sound right then.

Over dinner I asked her to tell her Daddy what she was talking to God about- she told him but then said, "But, God didn't answer me." So we talked about how God doesn't always use an audible voice.

She loves The Lord so much! Praying her heart always stays so in touch with Him!!!! I am honored to be her mommy!

Wow, I am really pregnant...

Yesterday (Thanksgiving) I was having a horrible case of third trimester morning sickness. I woke up at 1:45am and thought I was going to vomit - thinking it was the dreaded stomach flu I camped out in the bathroom for a few hours - no vomit ever came. I took a zofran around 3am and went back to sleep until 4:30 and then awoke feeling sick and stayed that way until a little after 6. Finally, I feel asleep, but when I woke up at 7:45 the sick to my stomach had returned. It came in waves all day... so for Thanksgiving I ate a little, but not much. I had not eaten all day and just wasn't feeling super great. Today, Friday, I felt fine and was looking forward to leftovers - sadly, we didn't have as many leftovers as I thought. We had some stuffing (which is my favorite) and some meat, but no mashed potatoes, corn, bread, etc. So, what did I do? I broke down and cried. I tried to hide it at first, but Jason finally said, "are you crying?" I said yes. He asked why... I said it was a stupid reason and I'm just pregnant. He asked if I was upset with him and I said no. But I couldn't stop crying. I really wanted all the food and since I didn't really eat much yesterday I felt so sad. Ha. Finally, I pulled it together enough to eat the stuffing and ham and eventually got over it. As my sweet husband was leaving for work this afternoon he gave me a kiss and told me he would try to stop somewhere on his way home (10pm) to buy some mashed potatoes and other sides that I liked. Isn't he the best?! :) Hormones! Ha.

Lines

The other day Havana had just gotten out of the bath and she was sitting on my lap so I could comb her hair. Suddenly, she grew concerned and said, "mama, what are these lines?!" She was taking about the prune look that happens when your fingers get wet. I explained it to her, but it made me realize how new the world still is to her! :)

Jonah's words...

Yesterday we went to a park and Jonah was trying to climb up a ladder by himself. I went to help him and he said, "no, no mom, I can do it by myself!" And he did! Such a big boy!!!!

Date #10

Last month, Jason and I celebrated our 10 year dating anniversary. We began exclusively dating on October 19th, 2002 and as I say, "have been dating every since." -- I always like to celebrate this date and Jason usually humors me in the matter even though he is content only celebrating our wedding anniversary now. (To read more about that night, read this old post).

Anyway, so my goal was to find a babysitter for Friday night October 19th, but sadly, no one could do it. Nor could they do Saturday. We didn't really have any other times we could go on a date and it was looking like there was not going to be a date in October. I was very sad about this. On Thursday, October 18th, I was at the zoo with the children when my phone texted and one of the people I asked to babysit said that she could do a lunch date on Friday... by then, however, I had already made plans with friends from Indy and so couldn't cancel on them, but I asked her if she could do Thursday night... she could! As soon as I got home I rushed to tell Jason the good news - we were going on a date! Woo hoo.

Here is what my preplanned note said,

October 19th, 2002... we went to a wedding at the Louisville Slugger Field. Hard to believe that was 10 years ago. Let's celebrate by going to "against the grain" - you might remember it well from all the time you spend in their bathroom. :) Thank you for making these last 10 years so amazing.

The bathroom reference is an inside joke between us and "against the grain" is a sports bar at slugger field - so we went back to where we were 10 years ago. Neither Jason or I drink, but we ordered some fancy "house sodas" and both tried new foods. It was alright in terms of food, but fun in terms of memories. On the drive home we stopped by steak-n-shake. We had texted our babysitter to see if she wanted anything and she didn't respond by the time we needed to place our order -- so we ordered shakes for ourselves and then, about a minute after pulling out of the parking lot, she texted with her order. So we turned back around. I offered to switch Jason so that it didn't look like he was going through the drive through again (I get embarrassed about that stuff easily) and he said no... then, the lady at the drive through recognized him and said, "Oh, you're back already." And jason told her all about how much his wife loved milk shakes and we had to come back and get a third one. I was dying laughing because that is so like my husband! :)

I'm so thankful for my husband and even more thankful that the Lord gave us a date night at the last minute! It's fun to date! :)

October 18th 2012 - I wore the same outfit I wore on October 19th, 2002!

How do I respond?!

Last week, Jason was at work and I was helping Jonah go potty... Havana comes charging into the bathroom at full speed and with a wooden toy in her hand and she runs up to me, hits me in the back (playfully) with the toy, and says in a deep, pretend mean voice, "you are going to die on the cross!"

At the moment I had no idea how to respond- play along? Talk about Jesus' death on the cross, Etc. I think I just said, "what?! No way!"

Later that same day she told me the same thing again! Ha!

That night as I was trying to tell Jason about it I couldn't help but laugh the entire way through the story! What kid says that?! Hahaha!

Lots of Growing Up!

Over the past 48 hours there has been lots and lots of changes around here and I'm not sure my mommy heart can take much more.

On Thursday, November 1st, Jonah (2.5) woke up and asked to go potty in the "big boy potty"  and asked to wear his big boy underwear. He potty trained himself instantly. I was shocked by it all because we have tried almost everything with Havana (4 years old) and she still isn't potty trained so the fact that he just decided he was no longer going to wear a diaper seemed too good to be true. He has had only a few small accidents and is very good about saying he has to go. Pooping, on the other hand, he hasn't mastered yet, but he still won't wear a diaper so that means messy underwear, but honestly, I can live with that. For two days straight he has peed on the potty, we've gone to playgroup and the grocery store and no public accidents. We will see what he does tomorrow at church, but I am so very proud of him.

Then, on Friday, Selah decided she was done sitting in her high chair and she wanted to sit at the table with a plate and fork like everyone else. She has been a challenge during meal time lately and so I figured "why not try." She loves her new booster seat and has eaten more in the past 24 hours than she has for the previous week. (We also bought her a stool for the bathroom so she can brush her teeth herself and she loves to stand on her stool while her siblings stand on theirs). She basically grew into a toddler overnight.

Today, Saturday, at the dinner table Havana asked me if she could have her milk in a "big girl cup" and not in a sippy cup. She did spill about half of it, but as I sat there at the dinner table I couldn't believe that my children were getting so big and making all of these changes so quickly. Ah, somebody stop time!!!!

Shining Moments!

Dear Havana,

Today, November 3, you have had some incredible moments! This morning, you climbed up our built in bookshelf and threw all of Tucker's toys on the floor. When I asked you why you said, "I thought Tucker would like to have a surprise of his toys being on the floor." How could I get mad at that answer?

A few moments later, I heard you give a care bear toy to Selah. You said, "Here you go, Selah, this is friendship bear and he can be your best friend."

Later in the morning, you were playing with your toys at the kitchen table and Selah climbed up into the chair next to you... normally, you would try to hoard your toys and tell her she can't play with you, but today, you gave her a few of your toys without her even asking.

Tonight at the dinner table we went over our family rules and when I asked you which thing you wanted to work on this week you said, "Tell the Truth."

You did an amazing job at obeying and being respectful. Today, you were a super star. I love your heart and pray that you will continue to obey the Lord as you grow to love Him more and more!

Much Love,
Mommy.

Songs to Jesus

Last night Jonah sang himself to sleep by singing Jesus Loves Me. This morning I woke up to him singing 1,2,3 Jesus is Alive! My little worship minister. :)

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch...

Last weekend we decided to take a family trip to the pumpkin patch! It was a beautiful day and the kids seemed to enjoy it! Here are some highlights:

 

 

H loved the tractor ride out to the field.

Selah trying to find the best pumpkin!

Handsome dude!

Mama and her babies!

So beautiful!

Daddy and his girls!

The Dugger Family!!!!

Back at home - showing off their pumpkins!

Stay in the kitchen!

Havana was playing quietly in the playroom while I was in the kitchen... I called in to see what she was doing and her response was, "oh nothing, just stay in the kitchen!" With that I knew she was up to no good. I walked in and she was cleaning all the toys.. With real cleaner she reached on the counter! Sneaky girl!!!!

Nap times

Well, nap times are changing around here. Over the last two weeks Selah has dropped completely her morning nap time - which is fine- because she will sleep a good three hours in the afternoon during the "rest time" of Jonah and Havana...

I say "rest time" because Havana has decided that she doesn't need her afternoon naps anymore. She will stay in her room for 30-45 minutes, but then will begin to call loundly for me and once I open her door she will ask to come out. I've tried to tell her no, but she keeps calling loudly for me and I worry she will wake the other two up. To her credit, she has never opened her door or gotten out of her room without permission, but I'm starting to feel like a real mom without any breaks during the day. ha. We are still trying to figure out what to do with her during this time. Once a week or so i will let her watch a show on my phone, but since I don't like her watching that much TV that isn't the norm. Sometimes we do school work or she "helps" Jason or I with whatever we are doing... but no real solution for what to do with her during the 2-3 hours that the other two are down. Today I tried to tell her that she could play by herself in the play room, but that ended up with her getting a marker and drawing all over a lot of her toys... so, back to the drawing board. :)

Heart Warming and Heart Breaking

A few days ago, as part of our homeschool lesson, I was to give Havana a blessing like Jacob did to Joseph's sons in the Bible. I had her put her head in my lap, I put my hands on her hair, and I prayed to the Lord asking Him to bless her, to use her, and thanking Him for her specific purpose. As soon as I finished, she said, "now it is my turn to bless you." and with that she put her hands on my head and said, "Dear God, thank you for this mommy. Thank you that she is such a sweet girl. Thank you that you are using her and for all the people in the world... " she went on and on, but I can't remember all of it now, but I don't ever want to forget that sweet moment! Very heartwarming.

Then, there is the heart breaking things that can come out of her mouth. Jason was getting her ready for bed the other night and she said, "Daddy, I like to play with you." He responded that he liked to play with her as well. Then she said, "I like it when I play with just you." He said that he likes to play with all of his children... then she said, "do you remember when you used to play with only me before Jonah or Selah or Baby Coop was born?" "Yes." "I wish you would still play with only me like that."
Talk about a knife in the heart...

Don't want to forget...

It was a long day in the parenting world, but I was paid today... As I was tucking Havana in bed she said, "mom, I like that you stay home with me when daddy goes to work."

My heart couldn't be happier!

Date Number 9!

On September 29th we had our monthly date night! Here is what my note said,

Almost every time we go to the Oxmoore Mall you point out J.Alexanders. You always say that you want to try it... that you hear it is nice... well, let's go! I love being your date at any restaurant... I'm always so proud to be seen with you. I am looking forward to another new dining experience with you!

We originally invited friends to meet us there, but the day of they had to cancel due to their babysitter being sick. We were disappointed for a minute, but then quickly enjoyed our little date night. We stopped by the mall so I could pick up some things at Archivers. Then, we went and enjoyed our dinner. The place was not crowded which was nice, and we acted nerdy at sat on the same side of the booth! We ordered one big salad for us to share and then two meals - the food was very, very good! Certainly we were both impressed. It is always nice not to have to sahre our food with little ones and to talk without being interuppted. I love our date nights. As we were leaving we saw Peyton Siva at the bar with his girlfriend. I wanted to say hi, but Jason perferred not to... but it was fun to be star struck for a minute. ha.

Loved going out with my man! He's simply amazing. :)

DATE NIGHT!!!!

Family Photo!

Frost

This morning there was some frost on the ground and when H ran downstairs and saw it she stopped and said, "why is it now winter?" - she thought it was snow! Sweet girl!

Living Room

Today Jonah was disobeying by knocking over his little basketball goal. I told him that if he knocked it over again I was going to take it away. Jonah then said, "go to the living room." I told him that sure we could go play in the living room and he said, "no, mama, you go to the living room!"

Hahaha! He wanted me to go away so he could disobey! Hahaha! Don't worry, I didn't leave! :)

H getting spiritual! :)

H loves learning about God and recently she has had some profound thoughts!

In the car she randomly asked, "are God and Jesus the same person?" - which led to a conversation about the trinity!

She has been memorizing lots of scripture between her Awana class and our home weekly memory verse! She loves quoting the Bible and it makes my disciplining much easier!

Our verse this last week was, "do everything without complaining and disputing." And I was asking her of she knew what complaining meant an he said, "hm, let me think..." And she was quiet for a few minutes. I asked if she wanted me to help her and she said no. She was quiet for a few more seconds and then said, "like grumpy from Care Bears when oopsie didn't Help with the pillows." She explained a scene from a Care Bears show where grumpy was upset at another bear... I was really proud of her for coming to that example all on her own! She also pointed out that grumpy should pray to Jesus for a happy heart!

Love my big girl!

Turtle!

Last weekend we were driving home and as we pulled into the driveway I saw a turtle crossing the street. I stopped the car and got the kids out and I picked up the turtle and brought him to the sidewalk! The kids got a huge kick out of playing with him and they were fairly respectful towards the turtle! We moved him to our yard (but where Tucker couldn't get him) and I finally had to drag them away from their little friend. Jonah still asks if he can go out and play with the turtle! :)

Nose ring...

The other day I was snuggling with H and she said, "where did you get that?" (As she pointed to my nose ring) My answer, "Clair's"
"Oh, I like Clair's! Do they have lots of nose rings there?"
"Yes"
"I like nose rings"
"I like them too"
"Can I have one? When I'm a mommy?"
"Yes, honey, when you are a mom and still want one... You can have one."

Elijah and Jonas!

This past Wednesday was the anniversary of the date we lost our sweet Elijah! I still miss him daily and often think about him. He is burried up in Indy and I really wish I could visit his grave site more often. I love him!

Elijah!

Next week will be the anniversary of when we lost my Jonas, Jonah's twin. I often think about him and wonder what he and Jonah would be getting into. I love him! I can't wait to squeeze him in heaven! I love my babies both here and in heaven! Life is a gift.

My babies are in heaven!

Dates 5-8!

So, in playing catch up on this blog, I'll go back and recap our dates from the past few months:

Date Number 5:

In May our date was to a rock climbing gym... here's what my note to Jason said,

This month let's do something for our bodies. A day of rock climbing at Rock Sport. This will be a fun a day where we get to experience something new and be together. I'm looking forward to scaling walls with you.



H getting her photo with us!

Practicing for the big event. :)



At Rocksport!

We spent several hours at the gym and enjoyed the physical challenge as well as the time together doing something different. Jason really seemed to appreciate it as well. We had each been rock climbing in the past before we began dating (I was really into it when we first met), but Jason and I never had done it together. We had to take a "ropes class" before they would allow us to climb on our own - we were the only two in the class. The rest of the night we took turns scaling walls and belaying. We encouraged each other, laughed with each other, and over all, had a great time! We didn't leave the gym until after 10pm and by then I was STARVING, so we grabbed some drive through food and then headed home!

Date Number 6:

Photo on left: Marraige Rocks. Photos on Right: Mayan Cafe!

June was an interesting month - I had a preplanned date to the Mayan Cafe because Jason spent a month in Guatemala once and I thought that he might enjoy that food. Plus, it is on the list of "must eats" in Louisville. Here is what my note said,

About this time 9 years ago you were in Guatemala! How was the food? Ready to relive it? This month let's go on a date to the famous "Mayan Cafe" - I'm excited to experience this with you!

We asked our babysitter if she could do the 8th or 9th of June and she said either. We looked at the calendar and saw that "Marriage Rocks" was going to be at church on the 8th and we considered going to that, but then, figured we should just stick with dinner by ourselves and so we chose the 9th. The Lord, however, really wanted us to go to Marriage Rocks because we were asked if we could perform in a drama that night. So we switched our babysitter back to the 8th and went to marriage rocks and then to dinner at the Mayan Cafe at 9pm! It was a fun night where we didn't get home until after midnight. :)

Date Number 7:

July was, yet again,  required some flexibility. There are some risks that come with planning out 12 months of dates in advance. This was a month I thought we could have an "at home" date, but seeing as I was trying to plan things Jason would enjoy, I bought him some sheet music to one of his favorite classical songs and I gave it to him along with this note:

Since we will be out of town for the Douglas Family Reunion this month... let's havea date inght at home! A music night. Here is some sheet music for you to practice with and one night you can put on a concert for me. I love how talented you are!

a great family shot before we left!

date night at melting pot!

My idea was this would give Jason a reason to go down and play his piano every night. He enjoys doing it, but between spending time with me and other things, he doesn't always feel like he has the time. So I wanted to give him a break, let him be by himself doing something he enjoys, and then I would let him play all sorts of songs for me on whatever night our "date" night was going to be. However, I planned this out in December and I didn't realize that we would finishing off our basement during July and so his music studio was not set up yet. So... he appreciated the sheet music but said we could still go on a date outside of the house! So, we went to the melting pot! One of our favorites. It was a great night to just be out and it gave me time to ask Jason questions like, "How can I be praying for you?"

Date Number 8:

Here was my 8th note to Jason:

You Choose! I ended up with more ideas than there are months... so, this month you can pick whatever you want, but these were a few of my ideas: 1) Dancing at Jim Porters (they have an over 3- club which will be me this month - eek!). 2) Dinner at Sam's "Food and Spirits" 3) Quiet night at home with a Red Box movie. 4) Anything else... 

August ended up being a very celebabratory month between my 30th birthday (where Jason went above and beyond), a family vacation to Seabrook Island, and finding out the gender of our baby! At first, Jason just chose the red box movie option since the rest of the month was pretty full, but on the 31st we had our 20 week ultrasound and so we grabbed a quick lunch at a Mexican Resturant on the way home which counted as our date - although we didn't get any photos from that date. :)

September's date is coming up on Saturday so I'm sure I'll be posting about it soon! I love dating my husband!