summer summary

i'm not sure why it surprised me, but i was shocked when i realized i haven't posted a single picture to our blog since april. this may be picture overload for some of you ... but here's a few of our summer highlights! enjoy!

joshua LOVES to bring shoes to you, especially if you aren't wearing any at the time. he always seems so proud of himself upon his deliveries.

we had our roof replaced! it had been quite some time since the hail storm damaged the existing roof, but we finally got around to having it fixed.

we ventured out to east texas in april to visit mark's parents. granddaddy joe loved taking joshua out on the tractor ... joshua wasn't too sure what to think about it.

joshua makes the silliest faces these days. i've never met someone who could make me laugh so much, but he's a HOOT!

look at all those big boy teeth!

we bought joshua a turtle sandbox to play in, and he loves it. his favorite thing to do is to throw the sand out into the grass.

we took daddy/mark to going bonkers! joshua really loves that place -- he is definitely ALL BOY! he is a bundle of energy these days, too.

a toothy grin. :)

someone's hair was getting long, but mommy couldn't stand the thought of cutting it!

the kidz choir of ppbc performed the musical "under God's sea in 3-d." i served as the director. this whale was one of the props we used in the show.

joshua met this pony at vbs. he really wasn't thrilled about sitting on it, but he seemed to enjoy this! this picture is PRICELESS!

with joshua at the saddle ridge ranch (vbs).

we ventured back to east texas again. joshua and i are all dressed up for church!

our sunday school class had a swim party. my little boy was quite the fish!

forget the nice pile of toys sitting in the next room ... a box is much more entertaining than they are!

judging from this face, i don't think he really wanted to help me clean the kitchen. i think he just wanted to play with the gloves.

our sunday school class went to the air hogs game. we had seats on the lawn, so mark and i were constantly chasing after our little man.

we also had our fence replaced! i forgot to take a final picture, but the end result was great!

joshua went to funshine at the park, a 6-week mother's day out program, at church this summer. he was never happy when i dropped him off, but he seemed to do fine once he realized how much fun the activities were.

it looks like we're having joshua-legs for dinner tonight!

our church went to the rangers game on july 4. joshua's making this goofy face because the fireworks were going off and he wasn't sure what to think of them. when we covered up his ears, he was more interested in them.

joshua and i went to several local water parks this summer. he loved the slides and especially the large buckets of water that came crashing down on his head!

i went to ga camp with our church while my mom kept joshua. we had a good group of girls, so we had a good time.

here's another toothy smile!

we took our annual trip to creede, colorado, in august. joshua is holding his very own bow rod ... he was very interested in throwing rocks into the river and in shooting off the bow rod. he didn't seem to get the point of actual fishing. when we showed him a real fish, he wasn't that enthused.

mark attempts to fish ... with his special helper.

with my baby on the banks of the mighty rio grande.

joshua loved to wade in the river. i can't believe he could stand it; that water is COLD!

our little family.

when joshua's hair got to the point that it was falling into his eyes (and when a couple of people commented on my baby "girl"), i decided it was time for the dreaded hair cut.

i shouldn't have dreaded the cut at all ... look at this after picture! he looks precious!

joshua started preschool at the end of august. you can tell how excited he was about it in this picture.

mark and i went to arkansas for a weekend getaway. this picture was taken at the garven woodland gardens.

we also went on a trail ride and had a steak dinner on a mountain! mark's horse was named jake.

an arkansas sunset.

just me and my baby.


joshua is ready to leave for preschool! it was school picture day, and he was looking even cuter than he normally does!

tweety bird, mark, joshua, and yosemite sam at six flags.

the six flags "after" picture.

joshua at the dallas arboretum. it's starting to feel like fall, y'all!

i hope all is well with you and yours! thanks for looking at all of our family photos -- hopefully it won't take me quite so long to post again!

just me

a short while ago i found a journal i wrote during my first semester of college. i was surprised at how many things i had forgotten. i've been recording joshua's milestones since he was born ... and it occurred to me that i should record a few things about myself, too! i don't want to forget what i was like in my 20's -- especially since they're almost over! in honor of my birthday (i will be 29 at 9:31 p.m.), here's just a little bit about me:

i love the smell of gasoline. i love the scent that wafts in the car when you open the door at a gas station. please don't think i'm addicted or crazy, though ... i only take a whiff when i'm filling up the tank.

i am the worst patient. luckily, my lupus has been in remission and i rarely get sick. if i have a headache, i will put off taking tylenol for quite a while. when i'm working at the hospital, i always offer pain medication early to my patients. i'm not sure why i don't follow my own advice. maybe i'm just sick of taking so many pills for so long.

i still bite my nails. it's a filthy and disgusting habit, and i can't tell you how many times i have quit. i don't even have much to be nervous about any more, because my life is pretty close to perfect.

i am cheap. i don't like to spend money unless i really have to. i really don't shop that much at all, either.

i am very stubborn and opinionated. but i often keep my opinions to myself. when i do share them, it's usually only with mark and my family. i don't like to be wrong. i am realistic and practical, but i like to daydream too.

i have no sense of direction. thank goodness for our gps! i'm not quite sure how i ever managed without it.

i tend to run late. this problem has only gotten worse since joshua daniel came into my life. mark is so used to this that he will tell me we need to leave earlier than we do, just so we will make it on time. he hates to be late.

i may have ocd. i do the "checks" (the doors, plugs, oven, etc.) when i leave my house at least 3 times. this is one of the reasons i run late -- it wastes a lot of time! but i don't feel secure unless i check everything before i go. i'm not so bad about it when mark is leaving with us. then i only do the "checks" a couple of times. he humors me, but only because he doesn't want to hear, "did i check the oven? was it off?" 47 times while we are gone.

i have problems finding clothes. having joshua daniel really changed my body, and i can hardly find anything that fits. when i do find things that look good, i buy several of them. i recently bought 5 shirts in the same pattern (different colors, though).

in college i stopped capitalizing letters. it was easier and quicker to take notes in all lower case text. i'm a big grammar nut, but this doesn't bother me.

but here's something that does bother me: i can't believe high schools across the country allow people to graduate without knowing when to use they're, their, and there. the same thing goes for you're and your. there's no excuse for this now that we all have spell check!

i am not a patient driver. i tend to yell at people while driving. i get really ticked when people cut me off or drive recklessly, especially when joshua is in the car with me. and why can't people use turn signals any more? is it really that difficult to drive well?

i like my life to be ordered and fairly predictable. i hate making last-minute plans. i hate surprises. i like to know what's coming far, far in advance.

when i get a new book, i read the last paragraph or the last few pages so that i can see what happens. this lets me be more prepared; i know more of what to expect, and i don't have to worry about what might be coming. even though i know how things end up, i like seeing the progression the characters make to get there.

i love harry potter and the twilight saga. i have read twilight several times ... and i've lost count of how many times i've read harry potter. seriously. sometimes i want to escape into their worlds ... to leave for just a few hours and immerse myself into the "familiar" places i've never been. i also love pride and prejudice, the lord of the rings, crime and punishment, and so many more! i tend to re-read my favorite books over and over and over and over ...

i could eat mexican food every single day of the week. and i could live on carbohydrates alone. bread and desserts are my big weaknesses. luckily, i just started working out again. hopefully my resolve to get in shape will last!

i usually get the same thing every time i go to a restaurant. i don't deviate from my favorites very often.

i am not worried about turning 30 next year. in a way, i'm looking forward to it. i'm hoping that people will start taking me more seriously then. and maybe i'll start looking older ... i can still pass for someone in high school.

i have a fear of falling. i don't mind heights if i'm certain i won't fall.

i think all people should take a "stupidity test" before they are allowed to procreate. some people were not meant to reproduce. i can't tell you how many sad cases i have had at the hospital ... and some people blame their children for inconveniencing their lives. it's not the child's fault that his parents were irresponsible. it also makes me ache for my friends that want children so badly, yet cannot have them.

i think people need to be held responsible for their decisions. i truly believe in the "you made your bed, now you can lie in it" philosophy. i am worried at the lack of morality so apparent in our country today. i worry about the kind of world that my son will grow up in.

i am a Christian. i love my Jesus more than anything, but i know i disappoint Him all too often. i am a deacon's wife, just like my mother. i even look like my mom ... we're more similar than i would care to admit. if i can do as good of a job as a mommy as she did with me, i'll be doing well.

i love my family. i have the best husband. he works so hard to provide for us, and i am so proud of him. and i love my joshua daniel so much that it hurts! i had no idea i was capable of this kind of love before i had my son!

that's probably more than you wanted to know. i'll be surprised if anyone decided to read this far! but at least now i'll be able to remember what i was like on the day i turned 29!

Just Humor Me

It's been a very long time since I've updated our blog, but I have some good excuses ... Joshua and I survived a long stomach bug and he now has all of his molars. In the midst of all of that mess, we managed to have a ball! I know there are about 40,000 pictures in this post, and that not everyone is as crazy about my son as I am ... but just humor me. Enjoy our month in a nutshell!

In March, we met the Easter Bunny. I wasn't sure how Joshua was going to do because meeting Santa Claus was rather traumatic for him. But he ADORED the Easter Bunny.

He even toodled right back to him after his turn was over.

At home, Joshua has been up to his usual antics of mayhem and destruction. He loves to rip toilet paper. And he was so proud of himself for putting his duck in the water. I just wish he had found the bath tub, not the toilet!

We went to the Lewisville Easter Egg Hunt. All Joshua wanted to do was throw the eggs. Luckily, I got all of the candy. :)

Our red bud tree was absolutely gorgeous this year. And here are my two gorgeous boys right in front of it!

Just a mommy and her baby.

Joshua LOVES LOVES LOVES Lily. Lily tolerates Joshua.

My parents and I took Joshua to the Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park to see the butterflies. He really enjoyed it ... and it was cheap and fun! Here's Granddaddy Richard and Joshua looking up at a butterfly.

At a fountain at the Texas Discovery Gardens.

Every day at noon, new butterflies are released. The handler gave this one to my mom, who put it on Joshua's leg (so that he wouldn't swat at it). He was very, very disturbed by this. However, it was also nap time, so maybe he was just cranky.

On our way out, we stopped at one of the fountains inside the fair grounds. I had an extra outfit with me, so I decided to let Joshua play in the water. He is definitely a water boy!

Joshua was SOAKED, but it was worth it -- the look on his face is priceless!

Trying to eat lunch is very difficult when you are sleepy.

It's bath time!

Our neighborhood also had an Easter egg hunt this year. Joshua had started walking (yes, WALKING!) just a couple of days before, and it was so neat to watch him walk to an egg, bend over, and pick it up and put it in his basket. I'm wondering what happened to my little guy ... a big boy's taken his place!

At church on Easter Sunday. HE IS RISEN!

Me and my favorite little man! Happy Easter!

Joshua and his uncle Michael.

This is one of my favorite photos of Joshua. I'm not sure why I love it so much, but I do.

Whee! On a slide in our neighborhood park!

These feet were made for walkin', and that's just what they'll do!

Joshua at his 15-month check-up. He'll be 15 months old tomorrow! Here's his stats: He weighs a whopping 27 pounds (81st percentile), is 31.5 inches long (64th percentile), and has a head circumference of 49.5 cm (96th percentile). This confirms what I have known for a long time ... my baby likes to eat, and he has big brains!

Thanks for humoring me by looking at all these photos. Hopefully it won't take me so long to get our next update out!

Words of encouragement for mommies ...

One Heartbeat At A Time by Steven Curtis Chapman

You're up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
Like the beautiful woman you are

So you fall in bed when you run out of hours
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Well, maybe you just don't know
Or maybe you've forgotten

That you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

With every "I know you can do it"
And every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
They're just like the drops of rain over time
They become a river

And you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

You're beautiful
So beautiful
How you're changing the world
Yeah, you're changing the world

You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
Oh, I believe that you
You are changing the world
One little heartbeat
At a time

And you're changing the world

Where we've been ...

Have you been missing us? It seems like we have had so much to do lately. Christmas and New Year's Eve came and went in a blur of excitement and activity. As soon as the celebrations were said and done, it was time for someone's BIRTHDAY PARTY!


Yes, my sweet Joshua Daniel is ONE. We celebrated his special day with family and friends (see below). Initially I thought Joshua didn't like his cake, but he seemed to enjoy it a lot more when he wasn't the center of attention. Apparently he wants the world to revolve around him, but he doesn't want to do it with a bunch of goofy people staring at him. Go figure.

Joshua received an amazing array of presents ... I was so thankful for the generosity of the people who came to celebrate with us. Joshua was really lacking in "big boy toys" before the party, but he isn't now!

As soon as the balloons were popped and the cake was eaten, it was time for our annual trip to Park City, Utah. Joshua did very well on the plane (he slept both times!), but wouldn't sleep at night very well. I guess he didn't appreciate the Pack 'n Play provided by the condo. He enjoyed sledding outside for a maximum of 10 minutes each time but wanted to spend all day in the heated pool we took him to. I didn't ski as much as I normally do, but I quickly realized that I am more sedentary than I thought I was. I am really starting to get ready for Spring and long walks outside! I don't have pictures from the trip loaded onto my computer yet, but I will try to post some soon.

Merry Christmas, Joshua!

We had a WHITE CHRISTMAS!

Just hanging out in January.

Joshua's new funny face ... it really cracks me up!

Joshua showing off his new car (his birthday present from us).

HOPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSHUA!

A game and party favors for the kids.

Sign-in table, games, and other decorations.

Joshua's birthday cake! My mom and I made it
using a special duck-shaped cake pan.

It's smash cake time!

Joshua really didn't get all that messy. Mom and
I forgot to take the cake out of the fridge, so it
was still a little cold when we gave it to Joshua. (Oops).

Our family photo.

Joshua's hair is starting to get CURLY!
He is too adorable for words. (And I'm not biased at all!).

All I want for Christmas ...

... is JOSHUA'S two front teeth. MY poor little one has his left front tooth, but is working on his right one. He normally sleeps very well, except when he's teething. This tooth is no exception. He has awakened once or twice a night for the last 7 out of 8 nights. Needless to say, mommy and baby are a little tired and cranky!

Our Christmas season has been filled with Sunday school parties, shopping, and time with friends. I truly love this time of year, and it has been so exciting to share it with Joshua. He is mesmerized by the Christmas tree and doesn't seem to mind the flurry of activity in our home.

Here's what Joshua has been up to:

Yes, this is a picture of my child in a roasting pan. No, this was not my idea. I do, however, think it's adorable! Joshua blows raspberries ALL THE TIME.

Joshua is really, really, REALLY excited about the Christmas tree!

I just thought this picture was totally cute.

Yes, my child now has another reason to consider himself "scarred for life" when he grows up.

And here's another. He actually seemed to enjoy these photo shoots. Mimi (my mother) is thinking about making a calendar out of them.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
Denise, Mark, and Joshua

Random Musings

I really, really dislike the weather we have been having recently. Although I don't mind the cold, I hate looking out at a gray sky. It makes me feel so dreary.

Our little family is still doing well ... despite the fact that it took five days for Joshua to cut his fifth tooth, and neither he nor I slept very much those days. I found myself wondering how on earth we survived the newborn months. It's so nice to have a little boy that sleeps through the night again! I'm starting to get caught up on my rest.

It seems a little weird to be posting Thanksgiving pictures in December, but I'm a little behind the times these days. So here they are:

Me and my baby, celebrating with a Thanksgiving BBQ at
Aunt Gigi and Uncle Chuck's house.

The two of us again, this time at Granddaddy Joe
and Granpeggy's house.

Our little family. I am so thankful for these boys!

Thanksgiving wore Joshua out! He was such a sleepy little guy.

I have been feeling so guilty lately. Joshua is such an active baby, but he is also a bit on the clingy side. He will play by himself, but not for long ... and I have had to "neglect" him a little while I try and get the house cleaned. I know that he should be the priority and that often the house can wait, but I cannot allow my baby to be raised in dirtiness. I feel selfish, and I cannot seem to find the balance between being a good wife and being a good mother. And I guess there's not really a place where one ends and the other begins.

Also, two of my friends have had to bury their babies in the past couple of months. My heart just aches for them. Both of these babies were born with conditions that were not compatible with life. When I was feeding Joshua in the middle of the night (his poor little toothies!), I realized that my friends would probably give ANYTHING to be right where I was then.

I don't think I will ever understand why my friends had their babies taken from them. I feel so guilty that my baby is alive and their babies are not. And although they will be reunited in heaven, it must be little consolation here.

In my work, I have taken care of so many children that were neurologically devastated. I've changed diapers on teenagers who have virtually no cognitive function. I have been guilty of saying that their parents just need to "let them go to Jesus" in the past. Almost 11 months ago, I became a mommy. So now I understand why their mothers don't want to let them go. All these things just make me want to cling to my Joshua even tighter.

He's growing up so very fast. Joshua is adventurous and independent. He likes being the center of attention and having an audience. And I am loving being his #1 fan. I don't deserve the blessings I have been given. I just wish I could get over feeling so guilty.