10 years and a New Song

Somehow it's December and I haven't even blogged about the most significant event of the year for me. August 4, 2010 marked ten years of being married to Kyle McKillip. What a journey it has been together. We were 19 when we got engaged and 20 when we married. I think maybe we were both too young to be scared. I can only remember feeling a mix of total calm and bubbly excitement. The Lord has blessed us everyday since August 4, 2000. Sometimes the blessings were hidden and came wrapped as hardships. Sometimes they were compeletly evident as blessings and as direct gifts from His hands. On two precious occassions, they were wrapped in pink blankets and covered with little pink hats and I remember looking at Kyle both times in amazement that He allowed us to be a small part of His miracle making. Oh, how good He has been to us and to me to give me Kyle. Kyle is a constant compass, pointing me towards the Lord. He is the Lord's hands and feet as he walks hard roads with me, holds me in his arms and reminds me who our Father has created me to be. He lives out daily the Lord's tender affection for me and is a physical reminder that the Lord loves me dearly and accepts me just the way I am. He was precious when I married him, and has allowed the Lord to grow him and mature him into an amazing spiritual leader, father and husband. He simply gets better each year. I am so thankful that he's mine and even more that our sweet girls have him as an example of what love looks like. I think back to who we were - the young people we were when we got married - and like the song says, it is harder than we dreamed. Those young people never imagined marriage and life being so hard, throwing us so many curve balls. They also never dreamed of the how good the good days could be and how 10 years in, how much richer and fuller love and life could be. I think they probably could never have grasped all of the growing that the Lord would do in them and through them, all the hard work it would take to get there, the deep peace, happiness and contentment that could come with an ordinary, extraordinary life. I can't wait to see what the 70 year old uses and 50 years married uses think about how much more they know of love and the Lord than the 30 year old, 10 years married uses do.
I still love "our" old song by Keith Whitley (When You Say Nothing at All), but the one above brings tears to my eyes everytime I hear it and makes me love what I have in Kyle and in the Lord.

Summer's Blog

My friend from church and YCW, Summer, is on a journey to adopt a baby girl from Ethiopia. We are so excited to be a small part of the journey as we pray for their family and anticipate welcoming a new member to our church family. This month, if you visit http://www.goseeklove.com/ you can buy a super cute shirt that supports their families' adoption. I've already gotten mine in, worn it, and loved it. If you are looking for a unique and meaningful Christmas idea, I would so recommend getting someone you love (or yourself) a go seek love shirt and help a great family and a great cause. You can get to know Summer, her family and her journey better at coxragamuffins.blogspot.com

First Day of School

We had a great first day of school this year! It is always a fun, crazy day and a great reminder of why I love my job so much. I LOVE bringing my babies to work with me.

Lorelai and I are very spoiled this year - Ms. Brandi moved from the nursery to the toddlers this year, so of course we are at her table. I love how much Lorelai loves her "Bandi" and know that she gets loved on so much in class. She never even cries to go in when her second Mommy is there!

Playing at the playscape and looking super cute

It was Gracie's first day, too! We are loving having her at YCW to love on and play with Lorelai in class.

On the way home...

This year was a little bit sad for me, too. This is Maelie's last first day of school at YCW. I'm really not sure how that happened, but somehow in the blink of an eye we went from this...

...to this!

So proud of our big Pre-Ker! She is with two precious, godly women this year, Ms. Denise and Ms. Terri and she is doing wonderfully under their care.

The whole family

Mommy and her girls

YEA!

I finally figured out how to download pictures to our new laptop! Here's to three months of catch up - one month at a time :)

For the second year in a row, we had the world's greatest intern. We love our Shelvy (or Shelby if you're not Maelie). Lauren, Cam and the McKillip girls took her on a going away playdate to Central market and a yogurt place. We love her and I hope my girls turn out just like her - she loves the Lord and is one of the most mature, confident young women I've ever known.

One of our favorite things about summer - popsicles!


Okay, have you ever seen anything cuter?

Two of my three favorite people relaxing before fireworks.

On the 4th of July Lorelai learned a new word - CHEESE! Here she is practicing.

We had our very first sleepover!

With who else - our sweet Elizabeth

Making ice cream sundaes at our sleepover

Looking back, it was such a quick summer, but we had so much fun. We spent so much time together as a family. I think after a super crazy June we were all in the mood to just hang out at our house together. Except for trips to NRH2O, Maelie's "favorite place in the whole world."

Chatterbox

Lorelai has turned into quite the talker lately and we have loved hearing what's on her mind. She does a lot of jibber-jabbering, which I don't really remember Maelie doing. I feel like she went from pointing to five word sentences. Lorelai has a language mostly all her own, but there are quite a few words that the rest of us recognize, too.

Here's what she says:
Mama
Dada
Mae mae (this is her favorite and most used word)
bye bye
up (usually tripled - up, up upie!)
down
jump (gump)
outside
Papaw
Papa
Gigi
shoe - I love this one because she always says it with a shoe in hand trying to shove it in your hand so you will put it on her. She loves wearing shoes! The other day she got really mad because I would only put one pair on her at a time.
Yum! - when she's eating something good, she says this everytime she takes a bites and with a lot of enthusiasm. The other day I gave her a donut hole and I thought she was going to choke she was saying YUM! YUM! YUMMY! so energetically
Fufa - this is making me feel a little like a slacker, especially right after the donut hole incident listed above, but this girl loves her some Yo gabba Gabba and Fufa is her favorite.
No
Uh Oh
More - love this one because you get half of the sign for more, too.
baby
book
ball
go
nose - double points for this one, you usually get an unexpected finger up your nose with it.
duck
quack
woof
ooh ahh - the monkey sound
hello

It makes me laugh because so many of these are action words. She is a very active girl, so it makes sense! She is also the sweetest baby I can imagine. So laid back and happy. She just sings to herself all the time and she loves to dance and snuggle.

June so far...

Maelie stared dance class. She was so excited and asks me everyday if it's dance day. She loved the outfit and special dance bag to carry all of her shoes around in.

Sitting on her square waiting for class to begin.

Doing her own made-up scarf dance. Afterward, she got to practice her bowing, which was one of her favorite parts.

We celebrated one great Daddy! We are all so lucky to have such a precious man in our lives. I mean, look at that guy - does it get any cuter? And he does an amazing job taking care of his girls. They swam all afternoon, and then the Burchfields came over so we could celebrate together. It was a great day!

About a week ago while brushing Lorelai's hair I thought "I could probably do little pigtails." It took me a little while to work up the courage, but she actually loved having her hair sprayed and brushed and played with. I actually do not love the fact that she looks like such a big girl, but it sure is cute!

Back view. Those little flower clips were on her hat in the hospital - time really does fly!

Maelie got new glasses. I didn't think she could get any cuter, but there ya go

Uncle Drew came over to hang out and spend the night. Lorelai was pretty fascinated by his XBox skills.

She's thinks Uncle Drew taught her some skills, too :)

Catch Up

These are just some random things I've been meaning to post about. We have been so busy lately - but with lots of fun things! We rocked Baby Dedication in the usual McKillip style - acting like a little maniac. I was stunned - I've never seen Lorelai act like that, but she was a wild, wiggly woman from the reception and prayer beforehand to the stage. Until she saw one of her very favorite people, Ms. Brandi, in the auditorium. This is what she did for Brandi....

...and this is what she did for us. I'm trying not to judge my parenting skills too harshly :)

We had a Mother Daughter Tea Party at church that Maelie still talks about. It was so much fun! We got dressed up, had a cupcake and some lemonade and even got an etiquette lesson from Ms. Mindy. All her friends were there and it was so girly.

She was a little scared she was falling off the tall stool.

Lorelai got a new swing. That girl loves to be outside and is never happier than in her swing.

Kyle turned 30!

We had a party at our house with a lot of our friends. We are so blessed to have so many good friends. I'm thankful for each man in this picture and the fact that my husband surrounds himself with godly men. I'm most thankful for that handsome guy in the middle who has been a blessing in my life for almost 10 years!

We went to Ham and Eggs in Lewisville for a special birthday breakfast, then came home and Kyle and a couple of the guys went to the shooting range. This is Maelie and Daddy at the "new pancake store." (as opposed to OC Burger where we go every other weekend.) Their food is out of control - Maelie, Lorelai and I shared two pancakes and still left about 1/3 of them on the plate. These two have gotten to be really close lately, which is something else I'm very thankful for!

Princes, princesses...and Pharoah

Okay, I know I desperately need to update some pictures, but my camera is not cooperating. In the meantime here are two funny exchanges I've had with Maelie lately.

One morning Maelie woke up and told me she'd had a long, funny dream. I asked her to tell me about it and she told me all about the kids in her class being princesses, fairies, princes and "King Ty." I was really excited about that one because Ty has an identical brother in class, too, so I asked Maelie how she knew which brother was the King. "Oh, I just picked one."

Later I told her to tell Ms. Kelli her dream. She looked at me in all seriousness and said, "I dreamed there were 10 fat cows and 10 skinny cows, but the skinny cows ate up all the fat cows." I crack up, and she interrupts me to tell me there were also "Helfy corn and skinny corn but the skinny corn ate all the helfy corn." Don't worry, we're working on the number thing...

Funny for the Day

Conversation as we're leaving church today:

Maelie (singing) "I say no to the devil, I say no to the devil" Mommy, why do we say no to the devil?

Mommy: Everything he does and says and thinks is bad. We say no to everything about him.

Mae: Mommy, the devil's tricky.

Me: He sure is!

Mae: The Easter bunny's tricky, too. Maybe they're friends.

Me: laugh til I cry...

ONE Sweet Girl!

I can't believe we've had this little ONE for ONE whole year! What a joy it has been to watch her grow, to see her little personality emerge, to love her and care for her, to "get to know her" and be her Mommy. The Lord has used her precious spirit to bless my life, to teach me and show me His love for me in new ways. It is such a priveledge to have her entrusted to my care. It has been one of the best years of my life! We celebrated with a cupcake party at our church with lots of friends and family.

Sweet little face

The closest we got to a picture with her "cake"
She loves this cozy coupe! It's the first thing she goes to each morning and she was in it for 90% of the party. Luckily, she had lots of people to push her around :)

The party!

Checking out a present - with a pizza face

Tiny hiney!

(P.S. Your hiney could look this cute, too! Or your bib or your onsie - check out my little pumpkin designs on etsy or facebook! Thanks, Donna Jo!)

Opening presents

Playing with her main man

Not a big fan of the cake

We had a great day!

Maelie-Moo

Here's a little bit about what Maelie has been up to these days. She has been SO GOOD lately it has amazed us all. She went on an 11 day streak of not one spanking. Her previous record was 10 hours. And she was sleeping :) She's still cracking us up all the time and doing a really good job as a big sister. She and Lorelai have so much fun together. She even "babysits" sometimes while I'm in the shower, etc. and does a really good job. All she talks about is turning four and her Candyland birthday party - I can't believe it will be here before you know it!

Here's a funny conversation we had the other day
M Why is King Herod so mean?
E I don't know - some people just are
M But WHY?
E I really don't know - all I can think of is that they don't know Jesus
M Well, I know Jesus
E Yup
M Yeah, I saw him
E Huh?
M Yeah, when God was making me. He was there, so I've seen him
She does have a freakishly good memory...:)

Riding the golf cart with the Daddies

She is LOVING the snow!

(Yes, she's in a skirt - don't judge. We only wear dresses because pants are for BOYS!)


Having a little pizza at Micah's birthday party. This girl is definitely her Daddy's daughter - the other day we went to Chuck E. Cheese and she ate 4 pieces of pizza!

Painting on her easel - doesn't that look on her face say "come look at my masterpiece?"

We love this girl!!!

Lamby-less 11 Months

Well, unfortunately due to a little chaos in our lives lately this months pictures will be a little different. Sweet Lorelai spent a few days last week at Cook's being treated for what we think is an MRSA infection. It has been pretty rough watching the sweetest baby ever in so much pain, but I think we're finally on the road to recovery. She is back to her happy playful self, with just a little touch of spoiled added in after all the days in a row of being held - but we're okay with that!



At 11 months, she is our little trickster. She's been giving fives for awhile, but over the last month she's learned to blow kisses, play peek-a-boo, say "shh!" with her finger on her mouth, hold her little arms out to play a game with Daddy, bonk her own head when Grammy says "ow!" do her little fingers like the itsy bitsy spider. This is a pretty cute age! She really loves a bath - which is a good thing since she's taking three per day these days. She is getting more expressive, too. Her facials crack me up! She snarls her nose when she's not happy, etc. She and Maelie are having more fun than ever, too. She wakes up every morning and lets me rock her for a few minutes, then sits straight up and either says "da-dee" or "mae mae." She also loves to sleep! I've never seen a baby who will finish her bottle and immediately just wants you to put her in her bed. As soon as you lay her in there, she snuggles up into a little ball and you never hear a peep out of her for at least 9 hours. Gotta love that!

Poor sick baby!

These are when we started feeling a little better.

By Friday, she was in the mood to play a little. This is her laughing at the bubbles Kyle and I were blowing at her. Even when she was really sick, she would still try to smile and say thank you to the nurses. Such a sweet girl!

Funny for the Day

Today on the way to church Maelie said from the backseat "Mommy! If I'm not Jewish, then I'm not an Israelite!" This whole heritage thing is just not working out for her...maybe we should try to read more from the New Testament...

Big Lessons from Little People ...and double digits!

I've always assumed that the Lord would use my children to teach me things about life, myself and Him. It makes me laugh the way he does it, though. It dawned on me the other day that it is in the best moments - moments of my heart bursting with love, pride, joy at them - that he quietly reveals himself to me. Pricks my heart that the love pouring out of me when I look at a sweet sleeping face as I rock her, pride over a new accomplishment, joy at just being their parent is just a small taste of the feelings that He has for me. It is in their not-so-best moments that He chooses to reveal things about myself. For example, the other day I was doing my best bear-wrestling imitation getting a squirmy ten month old dressed. I said aloud to her, "You know this would be a lot easier if you would just sit still." I was a little awed at how immediately and clearly He said to me "Yes, I know that feeling. It would be so much easier for me to clothe you in righteousness and joy, fill you with that wisdom that you keep asking for, etc. if you would just be still and let me." So thankful for the lessons I'm not sure I would've learned without the blessings I know I don't deserve.

Also, I can't believe our "Sweet Little Treat" as she has come to be know is already in the double digits. She is truly a light in our lives - the older she gets the more joy she brings to our family. Her sweet presence is such a blessing and we are loving getting to be a part of her life and watch her personality bloom.

This month is the month of talking! She started saying "Daddy"which I think is precious. She doesn't say dada she says "da-DEE" and gets really excited to see him. She also says "bye" - usually just once, not bye bye, with a wave. She finally started saying mama, too, which she usually does in a fierce way as she fast crawls to me. She learned to shake her head no, which I shouldn't think is funny because it looks like she's mocking me sometimes, but it cracks her up so much and makes me laugh. I don't think she really knows what she's saying, anyway!

Things she loves at 10 months:
Cereal - much better than baby food
Any type of fruit in her net paci
Her sister - she and Maelie love to play together and she thinks Maelie is hilarious
Standing up and jumping
Playing with big kids
Her teacher, Ms. Brandi. She would rather play at Ms. Brandi's feet than be held by another teacher - it's pretty funny and very sweet.
Playing in curtains
Being outside
Her Mommy - she has turned in to a huge Mommy's girl. It wears my arms out sometimes, but I love it!

Things she's not crazy about:
Baby food - we're pretty much over it
Having her clothes changed - she doesn't mind the diaper, but can't handle the clothes coming off and on.
Getting into the carseat, still
That's about all I can think of!