countdown

Josiah is 8 months old.

We leave for China (after 3 weeks in Colorado) in 6 months.

Wowzers. It's still not setting in, no matter how many times I say it. Watch me lose it the entire last month. Yeah right--we'll be packing and selling like crazy--no time to lose it!

Josiah is a moving machine. He's a master crawler and pulls up on almost everything..with minimal falling. Oh, and let me mention his grasp. I'm not sure if it's normal or not..but it is ridiculously strong. I'm sure I have bruises on my arms because he pinches me while he nurses. Sometimes I have to jerk him away because it hurts so bad. He's going to have one, mean handshake.

He's eating more food, thank heavens. His favorite now is acorn squash. He'll eat 2 servings of it in about a minute. Love it. The other food..even the fruits..we still have to shove into his mouth. I guess it's all a process.

Michael's little cousin, Levi (10), passed away last week after fighing leukemia. He's now with Jesus, which is sweet. But his funeral yesterday was hard. I cried. A LOT. And I didn't even know him that well. I think it was just the fact that he was a child. But the funeral ended in a celebration of music and preaching. The gospel choir brought the house down...it was awesome.

So I stalk a few very creative people. They have been posting some very cute projects that I only wish I could embark on. Every time I see something I want to make or buy, I get sad because I can't buy it! What's the point of buying/making it when I'll just have to sell it or give it away in 6 months! Soo..hopefully China has the resources I'll need to make all these fun things. I can't wait to decorate. And I sure hope they let me paint (hopefully without lead.)

randoms

boot camp is over. the boy sleeps well at night with no feedings and takes great naps during the day. yay!

however, he doesn't like to eat food. I thought for sure he'd be all over it. not at all. we've tried acorn squash, sweet potatoes, apples, and pears. he likes none of them. sometimes I'll shoves bites in his mouth, other times he spits them at me. I know he's getting a bigger appetite...why won't he eat?!?! it's a mystery to me.

he IS getting much more active and mobile. in the past 2 weeks he has really gotten the hang of army crawling and yesterday he pulled himself to his feet using the coffee table. holy buckets...he'll be walking in no time.

I did have a birthday last week. I am 26 now. yikes..closer and closer to the dreadful 30. we celebrated on new year's eve when my friends surprised us with a night out at a very nice restaurant and babysitting josiah through midnight for us! they made it very special. :)

the turning of the new year really wasn't a huge deal to me..perhaps because we have been planning in the new year for months now. however, reality is setting in a little more. 7 more months and we're outta here. WHOA. get your webcams ready, please.

at church, we're starting a new series based on the book Hope Lives. I'm really excited about this. it's tied to compassion international and is really making me think more about the poor. about how stinkin spoiled we are in america even though we may say we're "struggling." I'm interested to see what God will do in my heart...how he will encourage me to love on those who have less.

here are some pics from the festivities the past few weeks...