Jocelyn here, for my monthly blog post about how old I'm getting.  
   Sometimes Daddy and Mommy are so hard to understand.  Daddy puts me in the swing and says, "She looks SO big!!" and almost sounds a little sad, but then later he says, "I can't wait until she's a little older and can ride in the truck with me."   And then Mommy calls me "Little Miss" and "Mama's Big Girl"  so I can't for the life of me figure out if they wish I was smaller or bigger, or if I'm just right. Well, hopefully they don't mind it if I grow bigger, because I sure am!  I'm eight whole months!

   A little info about me and what I'm up to these days:

•  I've finally doubled my birth weight!  I am 14 lbs and 1 oz. and 28" tall.  That puts me in the 75th-90th percentile for height, and below the 5th percentile in weight.  I wouldn't know any of this if I hadn't peeked at the baby book as Mommy was writing it in. I can't figure out why Mommy gets so excited when she loses weight, and equally excited when I gain some.  Big people are so confusing!

• My eyes are still blue, so maybe they'll stay that way.  My hair is getting light and lighter, and now is a medium brown with just a touch of red in it when the natural light hits it.  Mommy likes to think it's auburn, which is a fancy name for brown. 

•  My feet are still looong like Mommy's, and I don't have many shoes that fit right now.  Mommy has been trying to find some, but she can be pretty picky when it comes to shoes and as daddy likes to say, "indecisive".  I don't know what that means, I just know I don't hardly have any shoes right now.  So I go barefoot most places.  Good thing it's summer!

• I am quickly getting a mouth full of teeth, as teeth #5 and #6 are peeking through.  I like to try them out on Mommy but she never seems to enjoy it as much as I do.  Here I am trying them out now!

• Daddy and Mommy keep putting me on my tummy to see if I will crawl, but I'm not having any of it.  It's just not nearly as fun as sitting up nice and tall and playing with all my toys.  I'd much rather lean way over to try and reach things than lay on my belly like a beached whale, flapping around getting nowhere.  No thanks, guys.

• This talking thing sure is tough.  I have all these thoughts and ideas and feelings and emotions, but when I try to express them, it just comes out "Ai-ai-ai-ai-ai", or "Ppppbbbbtttthhhhhhh", or "RRRRRrrrr", which I think should be real words, but I guess they're not.  Sometimes I say  "Da" and Daddy gets pretty excited, but Mommy not so much.  She keeps saying, "Say mama! Mum. Mum. Mum. MUM."  But I don't get it.  I talk to her all day long and tell her I love her all the time!  

• I'm starting to get pretty bored with my toys, and I'd much rather play with big people things.  Things like spatulas, spoons, wire whisks, packs of gum, brush and comb, hand sanitizer, and pretty much anything that's not a little baby toy.  I am 8 months, after all.

• Mommy and Daddy still go on dates without me, so I guess I'm not the center of their universe like I thought.  But it's o.k., I like staying with Grandma and Auntie Stephanie.  They have lots and lots of cool toys and feed me yummies and then when Mommy gets back she kisses me all over and says "I missed you! I love you so much Little Miss!"  And it makes me feel pretty special.  I guess I'm maybe not the center of their world, but pretty close.  
  
  
     Well there you have it folks, a little bit about me and this time of my life.  Mommy's already starting to think about (Daddy calls it worrying about) my first birthday party.  I can't wait!  1 YEAR OLD. Doesn't it just sound so grown-up?  I'm sure I'll get to do all kinds of things by then.  Like drive a car and run for President and stuff.  I'll just have to wait a few more months.
  
  It's Saturday! Go out and play in the sun, big people. 
  
  I plan to.

    My deepest apologies.  I'd be amazed if anyone even still reads this blog after how badly its been neglected over the past few weeks!  There was just too much wonderful activity crammed into my waking hours to spend even a few moments on blogging.  The things that have kept me occupied as of late:

•  Wonderful, splendid, fantastic visitors from the homeland: my mom, my brother Shawn, and my friend Lindsay.  We had a terrific time, but that will need a blog post of its own, and that will have to wait until I can get some pictures. :(
• A wedding.  A beautiful, breath-taking out-door wedding with great music, a fairy-tale setting, and perfect weather.  That will also require a post of its own.
• Spending time with Byran & Amy & Xavier while they were out for aforementioned wedding.
• Other things that just seem to fill in all the cracks of an otherwise busy schedule.

Things like playing with cousins......



 It's very hard nearly impossible to get those three looking at the camera at the same time.  Or even just looking up at the same time for that matter.  Oh well.  They're still adorable.  And in that last one, Xavier's hair reminds me of Randy's!

   Summer days are for lazy times too, like blowing raspberries in the chub rolls of a loved one.



  Somehow I married a ripped, handsome hunk of a man, (I mean seriously check out those biceps in the first pic!) and was blessed by a darling little cherub straight from Heaven.  Not taking credit here folks, just feeling awed and blessed.  So blessed.

   And sometimes, when hubs is singing at the prison on Sunday mornings and it seems like it will just be too much to get myself and baby girl out of the house and to church on time, I stay home.  In my defense, I really needed to sleep in that morning.  And it turned out to be a lovely morning!  I love going to church, I truly do, but I think sometimes the best "church-time" can be found on a long walk down to the banks of a quiet river, surrounded by nature, listening to the quiet and to God, and re-charging one's spirit.  And that's just what I did.

   Joce played contentedly on a blanket, and I re-charged.  It was lovely.


   It's official, Joce rocks a hat.  Arrgghh she's so cute I want to eat her!  There it is, a phrase that never made any sense to me whatsoever until I was a mom.

   Well there you have it folks, just a little glimpse and I mean, teeny tiny peek into our lives this summer.  I finally figured out how to get pics from my iPhone onto my blog *thunderous round of applause* and so those will give a bigger peek into our summer, when I get around to posting them.  Grace, mercy, patience, understanding.  These are the attributes needed in readers of my blog. ;)

Thursday is drawing to a close folks, it's all downhill from here!

   Good morning world!  I would like it to be known that I am trying to remain upbeat and positive, even though it's cold and drizzly outside.  See? I don't always complain about the weather. :p

   I was inspired yesterday.  Maybe it was because it was a Sunday, and I rather enjoy Sundays.  Or maybe it was because I helped sing on the praise and worship team, and that always seems to kick-start my week in a good way.  Or maybe it was because of a combination of different things, but whatever the reason, I was just struck with gratitude for my many blessings.  If you're a worrier like me, that is a welcome change, trust me!

   It occurred to me, that out of all the situations,  bad life choices, unhealthy environments (physically and spiritually) I could have ended up in, I have:

•  A wonderful husband who loves me and shows it daily.
• A beautiful, healthy, sweet little girl that has changed me forever.
• A healthy mind, body and spirit.
• Family who care about me.
• Friends who add depth to my life.
• A God who desires a relationship with me.
• A place to live.
• Money to spend.
• Food to eat.
• Clothes to wear.
• A car to drive. (not right now, it's in the shop. But usually!)
• Dreams, goals and visions.
• Gifts, abilities and skills.
• Passion.

   The list could go on and on.  And the best part is...it is all God's doing!  I could have been born any place on the earth, or not born at all.  I could have been born blind, or deaf, or severely disabled.  I could have been born into poverty and suffering. I could have been unable to have children.  I could have married the wrong guy.  I could have turned my back on God.  I could have alienated myself from family and friends.  I could have ended up so many different places, but by God's grace, I am here. I am here in this life I call my own, and it's a good one.  And  I am THANKFUL. 

   I think so often we are just gobbling up whatever life can serve us, with an attitude of, "I deserve all this and more.  I only want what's coming to me, and it's the best of everything, of course."  Or "I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and made myself into what I am today.  I got no help from nobody and the only person I can count on is me."  Or how about, "Embrace your beauty and the strength from within yourself.  Because the power inside of you is the only thing that can bring about all of your hopes and dreams for your future."  

RUBBISH.
  
   I am here to tell you folks, that without God, I would not be a shadow of the person I am today, and the only things my life would have yielded would be shame, selfish emptiness, vanity and sorrow.  all glory goes to HIM who made beauty from ashes, and has poured out gallons of blessing upon me, until I am drowning in it, wondering at his mercy.  He is good!  He is good when things are good, and He is good when things aren't.  But I can honestly say, He is good. 



What are you thankful for on this Monday?

   Let's see if I can drum up a little post from the hazy fog and foggy haze that is my brain right now.

•  Jocelyn is teething.  For some reason, her top two teeth have been worse than her bottom two, making for some very long days for all of us.
• I feel stretched thin these days.  Like I'm going in too many directions to give myself fully to any one thing, you know?
• My brain is too full to process.  I've got house-hunting/craft-making/child-rearing/family-visiting/baby-dedicating/friendship-connecting/food-cooking on the brain, and a lot of other things.  

      I was going to do some "snapshots of summer from my iPhone", but I can't get it to work and let's just be honest, I'm running on empty to start with so that's probably not such a good idea to try and tackle.  So what do we do when we have no photos?  We use other's peoples!

Random things..............
   I just want to reach the point in life where I'm sewing together darling little outfits for Jossie and taking fabulous pictures of it all.  Pretty please?
 
    I'm off.  Enjoy the weekend lovelies.