Two Birthdays

August 4th marked one year that Cohen has been a part of our lives and we have had fun, this week, reflecting on his birth, our first time meeting him and all the 'firsts' that we have enjoyed over the last 12 months. This child has been a true joy and we feel blessed to be his mom and dad. There has been much room for sanctification along the way and we have certainly been made aware of just how 'us'-centered our lives were prior to this gift of a son, but there has been much more room for joy, fun and laughter. This kid is a riot and we couldn't imagine life without him!

Here he is in his first football jersey...Thanks Uncle Chris and Aunt Amy!



Our second 'birthday' of the day was celebrating Michele's first day as an American citizen. We were sort of bummed when we got the notice to say that Michele's federal interview and American History exam were on the same day as Cohen's birthday, but as the day unfolded, we started to see how this could be sort of cool - every year we'll celebrate two birthdays on one day!



Oh, yeah, and there was a swearing-in ceremony that happened to fall on Monday, too, meaning Michele got to complete the process in one day, which almost never happens...boo yah! The coolest part about this: with all the countries in which Michele now claims citizenship, she has more passports than Jason Bourne.

Wobbly World of Walking

It seems our little guy discovered his legs in a new way this week. For a while now, I have thought that perhaps Cohen would just crawl into Kindergarten, but it would appear that he is going to walk, as others had suggested. Don't get me wrong, I am not typically one of those parents whose child has to perform certain tasks at certain milestones to be assured that he is normal. In fact, my desire for him to walk was entirely selfish - I can no longer carry him without feeling like my arms were going to fall out of their sockets. Those of you who know Cohen, know that looks are deceiving and while he does not look much bigger than the average 11-month old boy, he did in fact, reach 30 pounds by the time he was 2 weeks. (okay, slight exaggeration)

So, back to the walking. I was pleasantly surprised at how awkward this looks. Those of you who have kids are probably thinking this is old hat, but it never occurred to me that Cohen would not think to bend his knees, at first. The result is what looks like an attempt at a Mixed Martial Arts demonstration...much kicking into the air and showing us that, lest we have not noticed, he truly is big man on campus now...

Silly Mommy...

Every good parent and babysitter knows that unless it's time for naps, a quiet baby is not always a good thing. Today, I was working on some admin work for overseas and I suddenly realize that I haven't heard a peep out of Cohen in a while. I walk in to the kitchen and here is what I find...









Silly Mommy!

A Year of Watching Things Grow

As we have already mentioned, we are growing our first garden this year. What started out as little plants and seeds are now sprouting big, healthy, green leaves with little vegetable buds; promises of delicious treats to come.

It's also been a year of watching our first son grow and become someone that we enjoy more and more everyday. A little 'bud' who started out as my 'little burrito' in a receiving blanket has become a 24-pound ball of energy, after whom we find ourselves chasing and running, just to keep him out of trouble.

We have watched Cohen find his hands and feet (and subsequently learn to suck on both), we have watched him learn how to point at moving objects (especially the garbage truck each week) and learn how to smile, giggle and wave at all his favorite people.

Next month we plan on celebrating his first birthday and feel so blessed that we were chosen to be his parents - what a joy to experience these last 11 months with him. Bring on the next year of fun!

Missionary Pictures

So, part of becoming a missionary (other than all the godly stuff, like Jesus asking you to go across the world), is a bunch of media stuff, like making prayer cards, brochures and all sorts of other things that you distribute to people who are interested in your ministry.

In order to do this, you need to make sure that you have a good family picture. JD and I are so seriously pathetic when it comes to taking pictures, that we decided to hire someone to do that. (I like saying things like that because it makes me feel rich and fancy, like I "have people" - only thing is, our friends, the Moseleys did it for free, because in all reality we aren't rich or fancy and we don't have any people.)

Anyway, below are the pictures of our most recent photo shoot...on another note: it's not easy to get a 10-month old baby to care about your prayer card pictures.

Double Fistin'

Folks, there comes a time in everyone's life when you're looking at your baby, wishing that you could be a kid again. One such moment happened for me yesterday. We are currently in Colorado for training on how to be missionaries, cross-culturally. Each meal, we sit with other almost-missionaries and talk about very godly things, of course.

At the end of dinner last night, I went to clean up after Cohen and began by pulling his high-chair out from the table. Below is a video of the next minute of my life in which I truly wished that I was, once again, 10 months old. At what other time could you get away with this kind of refined behavior?

Rocky Mountain High

Currently, our family is in Colorado Springs at 'Mission Training International.' MTI is an organization that trains those of us who hope to be missionaries, cross culturally. MTI aims to fully equip missionaries to deal with stress, choas, transition and the adjustments that may arise from moving your family overseas to live in another culture.

One of the cool things about mandatory training in Colorado for three weeks, is that you get to be in some of the most beautiful creation in the United States. Today was our walk through The Garden of the Gods, which is majestic to say the least. Cohen especially enjoyed yelling at the rock climbers all morning, who of course were completely ambivelent to his existence, but, as you may have guessed, it deterred him none.