A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer...

Thanksgiving is always fun because we get to see friends we haven't seen in a while, like Texas Jane.  And we spend a lot of time with family.  And lots of time shopping.  This is Cayden with her 5th cousin, Ella, at Thanksgiving at my parents' farm.

Because I miss my friend Beth... And because it's good to remember that even when we are sick, we can still be happy.  And very cute.

Daddy's back!  And he came bearing gifts! I love Cayden's new hat. She might hate wearing shoes but she loves hats!  This was where Bryan stayed in the city of Huanmantanga, Peru (13,000 feet in Andes Mountains). They had low pressure running water for 6 hours a day, and rock hard beds, but survived!  City streets  Eating dinner.  Pig head  The whole group.  Clearing a field so the school teacher can plant crops to feed the school children, who are very undernourished. The group bought her $500 of seed to plant and helped clear the land.  Little one watching the older girls play volleyball.  Bryan and a little friend.  The view from their room. Matching hats from Peru!

To tell the truth, this week flew by....like most other weeks in our house! Sunday was super busy with church, Monday I can't remember - except I made an amazing dinner that Bryan would have hated and I tutored, Tuesday I worked and Bryan's parents brought dinner (thank you!), Wednesday Lauren had friends over to work on a project and I tutored.  We did get to visit with the Bartruffs on Thursday.  They love getting to see Cayden, and we love seeing them!  While we were up in their neck of the woods, we went to the outlets to get some basketball shoes for Joe. Cayden wanted to try on some shoes too...we found some purple ones, but they were Kobes! Also on Thursday, Alicia came down after work to keep me company and Kyle and Kari brought dinner (Thank you!). Then of course, there was youth group Friday night....  Where Cayden discovered ice. Very exciting, but very hard to hold onto!  She also worked on crawling...pretty fr...

Height: 28 inches (80th percentile) Weight: 17 pounds, 1 ounce (40th percentile)  Oh fall, how I love your fleeting colors.  These next pics show Cayden wearing the sweater Great Grandma Hunter made her and the skirt Grandma Julie made her. She is also sporting some wicked poofy after-bath hair.  This is what happens to Cayden's hair if we don't put a barrette in it. This month, Cayden worked on swim crawling, and even pulled herself up to a standing position next to the couch (once). She is eating like crazy, anywhere from 3-6 jars of baby food each day! The last three nights I have been letting her "cry it out" to see if I can get her sleeping through the night because 8 months of no continuous sleep is KILLING me! The first night she cried for an hour straight, the second night she cried on and off for an hour, last night she let out one big cry, and I cuddled her and she went back to sleep all night! So I'm hoping tonight is the night for the m...

This is one of those moments. The moment in your life when you feel helpless. The moment when you realize this world does not revolve around you. The moment when you have to cry out to God, pleading with him to do what he is already doing.  The last time I had this moment, it was probably close to this time of night - 3:30 am....but I was laying in a hospital bed next to the most precious gift I've ever been given, straining my eyes in the dark to watch her tiny chest rise and fall. Sometimes I would wake in a panic, placing my hand on her swaddling to feel her tiny movements. I couldn't bear the thought of her leaving me after she had just begun. Amidst that sleepless night, I finally gave up.  I gave up my power, I gave up my control, I gave up my daughter to Him. I realized I cannot keep her breathing without Him. I cannot make her live a day longer than He ordains. I cannot .  He decides . So I...

Over the course of 24 hours after Halloween,  Cayden has developed two strange quirks. When she eats, she now makes this monkey face.  And Nov. 1 also was the day she started constantly sticking out her tongue. Pretty cute for 5 minutes but pretty weird for the past 3 days. When she was born, the doctor said she was mildly tongue tied (short frenulum), which is why she has a little butt tongue. She also now likes to attack her bib in the middle of eating.