A Common Occurrence: Livin' Large

So many things have happened in these last few weeks. Our lives have been very full. Not in the how-you-view-the-glass kind of way, more like the after-a-chinese-buffet feeling. You know, extremely satisfied and maybe slightly uncomfortable. As the title suggests, we view this fullness as "living large." Now onto the good stuff.

Harper is almost 6 months old. 6. Months. Half of a year. We really are in shock. She is so fun right now! Her little personality is starting to show itself. She does not prefer being cold, taking baths, or being stuck on her stomach. She loves singing (hers or anyone else's), chewing on her toes, grabbing everything, and Ruby! She had her first sickness, a little cold. It was so sad hearing her tiny cough, BUT it made her a snuggler which she is not normally. So it was sweet. We took advantage of it. No shame.

And she's teething. Chewing on everything, clearly.

Another thing growing bigger by the day is our church! As you probably know, 9 of us moved here from Waco. We started getting to know people in the city, inviting them to church, lifegroup, LSU watch parties, and pretty much anything else we were doing. We now have two lifegroups, good friends, and a growing presence in the city. The real story here though is that we have people coming to church whom the 9 of us have never met! And we love that. Our friends are bringing their friends and their friends' friends. It is FUN.

My birthday was this month. I now feel like a twenty-something mom. Because that's what I am...
I felt so celebrated. Harper surprised me by waking up at 5:30. AM. Yes, welcome to my first birthday as a mom. It really was a great day, though. Friends brought me coffee, lunch, and gifts. I got mail, phone calls, tweets, and texts. LSU beat South Carolina. And Jake gave me this awesome gift:

A new bed! A friend of ours, Jacob, designs/builds furniture and made this headboard. And Anthropologie supplied the bedding (after I paid them...) Have I mentioned that we have an Anthro here? It is fantastic. And Jake is incredible. A few days later I, also, had a birthday party (with the lovely Jillian, whose birthday is 3 days after mine), complete with firepit and s'mores bar. It was perfection.

This last part is that slightly uncomfortable feeling of being full. Our family lost a very important man at the beginning of the month. Don "PawPaw" Hart, Jake's grandpa, went to be with Jesus unexpectedly. We traveled to Houston to be with family and to celebrate his life. He was a fighter, so loving, and never met a stranger. He left a legacy of faithfulness and kindness. We obviously feel deeply saddened by the loss of PawPaw, but God is always faithful and gives beauty for ashes. What feels painful and hard to understand now, we know to be temporary. We believe in the unfailing and eternal goodness of God and gratefully receive every reminder of that. We miss you PawPaw and can't wait to see you again!