Take these moments

as they come.  Whew ... sorry it has been so long since I blogged last.  It has been a busy, busy last few weeks.  I am trying to take each moment as it comes, breathe it in, thank God for it, and then bask slowly in the memories that are being made.
The first week and a half (11 days CR reminds me constantly) Kirby and I spent time away from Bishop with my side of the family.  I had been really looking forward to this trip.  I missed CR terribly, but it was no wonderful to wake up every morning, walk with my daddy, Kirby and sometimes my mom, go swimming, and just enjoy the days as they played out.  Not many plans set in stone ( I did end up working 2 photo shoots while there, but hey -that paid for the trip!) and just sat back and enjoyed Montgomery.  I have not been able to do that since I left there 7 years ago.  Every time we go it is jam packed with plans and usually only for about 3 days (at most).
We met my mother, sister, Kyleigh, Brayleigh and Brody in San Antonio to go to Sea World.  This was so much fun.  It was hot, yes, but I took it as easy as I could.  We went later in the evening the first day and then got up and there when it opened the next, so we weren't ever there at the hottest time of the day.  My sister was the one with her camera so once I get some pictures from her I will share.  Kirby was a little young, but she still enjoyed it.  She loved the shows and learned a few new words (Shamu, penguin, dolphin, stop it - oh, she picked that up from Kyleigh!).  She was too small for even the kiddie coasters, so I think we will wait until she is about 5 to try it again.  And maybe in April.
Dad loves taking Kyleigh fishing.  They haven't been in a really long time because the lake had been so low.  It came up over the last few months, so Kirby got to go too.  And Brody was still in town, so he enjoyed catching some Blue Gills (Blue Belles as dad calls them) as well.

Safety first!  

She got tired of fishing (what girl doesn't) so she rested with grammy.

 Kirby finally caught one but didn't want to have anything to do with it, so dad took a picture with Kirby's first fish!

 While there I did get to catch up with some friends.  One day we met up with some of my teacher friends from Magnolia at a splash park and had a blast!  It was shaded and not too warm at all - even at 3 in the afternoon!  It was a quick trip, but so much fun to catch up with the girls and their beautiful, HILARIOUS children.

 Kyleigh and Brayleigh enjoyed it more than Kirby!

She was more interested in snow cone ice and smiling for the camera!

 I also got to meet up with my best friend Bethany at her mother's house.  We got to play with Nathan and google at precious baby Daniel.  Kirby, Nathan, Kyleigh, and Brayleigh enjoyed the pool tremendously.  Nathan was showing us how to jump off the rocks!  Kirby wanted to try, but that ended up not so good.  She was fine, but we aren't ready for that adventure yet!  She is getting very used to the pool, though, which was what I was hoping for on our trip to Montgomery.

I will get some of the pictures up on my Route One blog soon of my photo shoots I have done recently.  I have gotten busy again, which is such a blessing, because the Lord knows we need it.  I feel like God's hand has been upon this business since before I even started it.  He led me to His plan, and I pray  before every shoot that I would continue to do it all for His glory, never my own.  He has blessed me with wonderful customers who have referred me over and over and that is the best compliment anyone could ever give me.

Update on baby P
18 weeks along
gained 3 pounds from last visit - CR has gained about 10
heartbeat was nice and strong - found it right away right after I told him "I really don't even feel pregnant right now"
have been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the last 3 weeks - dr. says its hot and I need to slow down
still don't know boy and girl names ... we think we love our boy name, but then again we go back because we aren't sure about it with our last name.

We are working on potty training with Kirby.  She is doing much better now (day 7) than she was on day 2.  I had been suggested to use "3 day Potty Training" by a number of people who had great success with it.  I wouldn't say we didn't have success with it, but it has been much rougher than my friends said and than the book suggests.  The other day I broke down crying and told CR I must be a failure as a mother.  Then Christ calmed my heart ... while I was praying with Kirby about the situation, He reminded me that caring for His child takes time, nurturing, and sacrifices.  The small sacrifice of never ending patience, loss of sleep at night, and being worn plum out all the time is nothing when it comes to a life long lesson you are teaching a child.  When I shared this with CR he said, "Lauren, I never thought about it that way, but it is something that once you learn, you know for life."  After I saw it through His eyes, everything seemed so much better.  Not the least bit easier, but with more of a purpose.

Proverbs 22:6  "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Stay tuned for Kirby's birthday post ... you know, she turns 2 on Thursday!