Rugged Maniac

Ryan and I ran in a Rugged Maniac race at the beginning of May. We had a blast and I am pretty sure I have never been so filthy. It is a great first race for anyone just starting out running because no one is too serious about it. There were times when you had to walk through the woods or when you had to wait your turn for the obstacles.

We are already talking about doing it again next year and getting a ton of people to do it with us.

Interested???

Mother's Day

A lot of holidays fall on a Sunday and we are learning what that looks like for a family in ministry. Ryan did and does a wonderful job of making me feel special and celebrating here and there the entire week-end.

Saturday

Ryan and the kids took me to a fabric store to pick out some material to cover a chair I am working on. Sounds boring, but I was really excited!

Here is a sneak peek of a project I am working on...

Next, we headed over to the Farmer's Market and bought lunch at Pie Pushers. I have a slightly new obsession with food trucks and want to eat at as many as I can!

Across the street from the Farmer's Market is Durham Central Park. It's not a large or exciting park, but Samuel loves it. They have a fun bridge to run on and a statue of a bird and turtle that can be climbed on.



 That afternoon Samuel took me to a movie. We had a blast. I love movies and he was so stinkin' excited. He kept telling me, "Mommy, we are on a date!"

We watched Chimpanzee, the Disney Nature movie. It was good, a little slow... so if your kid does not LOVE animals, it might not keep their attention.

Sunday

 Was celebrated with an afternoon nap and pancakes for dinner at Cracker Barrel.

What a sweet family I have.

New hobby?

I truly love refinishing furniture. I have noticed as I get older, my taste in furniture and decorating has changed. I love big bold painted pieces and could not wait to get my hands on this one.

I especially love this piece because it belonged to my grandmother who passed away in March.

 It definitely needed updating

Here it is all finished, minus 2 locks that were still drying. I am so happy with how it turned out. I have been looking for something to place in our bathroom and it fits perfectly. Samuel takes a bath in our room now since Corrie goes to bed earlier than he does. This will help with all the running back and forth between the bathrooms looking for towels, washcloths, soap and toys.

Corrie, 

  Last month you turned one. I know everyone says this, but we really can't believe you are already one...the year has flown by...where did the time go? I'm so sorry for your lack of pictures, lack of a baby book and lack of blog updates. If my fetal attempts at capturing every moment with you is any indicator towards future children, I might forget they even exist. Thankfully, you are amazing and I am sure with your good natured personality, you won't even care. Here is why you have been such a joy in our lives. 

   I'm pretty sure your daddy and I repeatedly say you are perfect throughout the day. You are the sweetest little thing and we adore you. I love your smile and how your whole face lights up and your nose even crinkles. Everyone who meets you falls in love with your easy going nature. You are already social, fun, quiet and relaxed. At the end of the week I will ask your daddy if you have cried at all and most of the time the answer is no. Nothing ever really upsets you. You just go with the flow and we are so grateful for you. 

  I'm so thankful at what a good eater and sleeper you are. You will eat anything! We have not put one thing in your mouth that you did not like. You impressively take down more food than Samuel. Thank you for being so easy to put to sleep. Most nights it just involves saying "night night" to your sheep, a quick cuddle and into your crib without a fuss. I think you know how much attention your brother demands and you feel sorry for us!

  I love that you are taking things at your own pace. I know that you will not be rushed to do anything, so we don't push you. You love the mobility you have with crawling and I can't imagine you ever walking. I am sure you will surprise us and just pick yourself up and start walking. Content is a word that is often used to describe you. Whether you are in your car seat, on the floor, outside or being held, you are content. We pray that one day you will be content in knowing God's presence is enough. 

  Your brother adores you and I think the feeling is mutual. He is often affectionately calling you sweet girl, baby girl, sweet pea or Corrie girl. He always wants to hug and kiss you (sometimes a little too rough) and he needs to know where you are at all times. You light up when you see him and even squeal when he comes near. We pray that your relationship with Samuel would strengthen as you age. We pray that he would be one more person to deepen your relationship with the Lord. That you would bond over a mutual understanding of the Gospel and will always strive to encourage, uplift and love each other. We pray you find true biblical community in your brother. 

One verse that we have been praying for you is, " The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace" Numbers 6:24-26. I specifically pray that nothing would capture your heart except the love and grace of God.

Corrie, it is a pleasure to be your mother. You are an absolute joy. 

Up and running

We have a new look!

Thanks to my sweet friend Nicole, who helped me re-do the blog (and when I say helped, I really mean did it all).

I love the look and appreciate all of her hard work that went into making it mine.

Hopefully, I will be inspired to post more... fingers crossed.

I couldn't find a picture of "Cole and "Ron" as Samuel calls them. But here is a picture Nicole took while they were babysitting. Rob taught Samuel to play dead....

3...2...1

BLAST OFF!

Merry Christmas

from the Doherty's

Ryan, Morgan, Samuel and Corrie

Way to go Corrie!

You are now sitting all by yourself. And it only took you 8 1/2 months!!

We love you and your laid back personality.

Tacky Christmas

Aren't you glad you know us?

How's your week?

Wow. We have had a crazy few days in the Doherty household!

It all started Saturday with cough and colds for the kids. No big deal, just another cold for the 150th time this season.

Come Monday, Corrie is getting worse and starting to wheeze. As a professional lung listener, I do not like to hear wheezing, especially in my 8 month old baby girl. So to the doctor we went, only to be told to keep watch.

Come Tuesday, Corrie is having episodes of shortness of breath. I called several people and put Corrie up to the phone so that she could breathe into it and everyone told me to get her to the doctor ASAP. I like to think of myself as a calm and collected person, but I was panicky. I drove up to the doctor without an appointment and demanded they see Corrie (I was that mom). They whisked us back and checked Corrie's oxygen levels, which were great, and told us to wait for the doctor. I was beginning to get mad at Corrie because she was not doing the shortness of breath thing and of course she was smiling at everyone. Making me out to be a liar! Doctor came in and sent us home with inhalers and an antibiotic for a double ear infection (although you would never know it because the girl smiles all the stinkin time).

Come Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, Samuel cries on and off the whole night. He wakes up complaining of his ear hurting. To the doctors we head for the third day in a row. He also has a ear infection and what do you know... antibiotic.

Come Wednesday night, Ryan tells me he feels "funny". His hands are itching and they begin to swell. Then his feet begin to itch and swell. Next thing I know Ryan's neck, lips and tongue are swollen. I am running frantically through the house searching for Benadryl and thinking to myself... I am a nurse, why don't I have any medication! I run next door, get some meds and by the time I get back Ryan feels like his throat is closing. Awesome. I call some friends and they pick him up and take him to Urgent Care to get a Benadryl shot for who knows what allergic reaction.

I sit in here in peace as 2 kids and 1 big kid are sleeping upstairs.

After everything that has happened, one song kept coming to my head. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. I am so thankful for that Rock, knowing that is where my hope and peace lie. These last few days when I have wanted to fall apart, I can cling to the cross and be given more grace than I ever could imagine. So many times I felt as if I wasn't in control, and you know what, I was okay with that. I knew that the God who overcame death on a cross was in control of my family, and I could trust that. I could trust Him.

Photo sessions with a 3 year old BOY

Samuel, smile please.....

No.... smile.

That's not smiling. Give me your best smile.

Really?? That's not a smile. Please smile so we can have a nice picture of you and Corrie.

Okay. You're done. Can you just get out of the picture please.

(I may or may not have said please)

Go Blue!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we headed to Ryan's parents house for the annual Michigan/ Ohio State game. Ryan and I have been married for 7 years and dated for 2 and I have only seen Michigan beat Ohio State one time (ouch). We were ready for a change....

Samuel waking up from a nap finding himself in "the BIG house"

Corrie proudly supporting her daddy's favorite team.

We are so proud of our kids in all they do... but I am pretty sure Ryan boasts a little more than usual that our son knows all the words to Hail to the Victors.

Halloween rewind

Yes, Samuel is milking his dad.

Yes, this is Samuel's "I got to pee" move.

Yes, this is the cutest duck I have ever seen.

Mountain retreat

A few weeks ago Ryan and I took Corrie to the mountains for a few days. My favorite season is fall and for the past few years I have wanted to take a trip up to the mountains. But with young kids a four hour drive in the car is not appealing to me.

This year we decided to do it. Thanks to some great friends who have a beautiful house in Bat Cave and were so generous to let us stay there and thanks to my parents for keeping Samuel for a few days. Ryan and I really enjoyed being able to spend one on one time with Corrie and be able to reconnect with each other without a 3 year old interrupting every 2 seconds.

The cottage was adorable and the view was incredible! We loved sitting outside on the porch, playing scrabble, reading books, taking naps, drinking coffee, snuggling with Corrie and my favorite, apple picking! I guess I will just have to get over the long drive (you might be thinking 4 hours is not that far, but with 2 young kids, 20 minutes is far) and make this a yearly tradition.

Step 3

Decorate for the party

Simple menu- sandwiches, chips, veggies and fruit kabobs.

Ice Age dinosaur. I took one of Samuel's toys and froze it in a 9x13 pan, then popped it out right before the party. Great way to help keep the drinks cold. Samuel was only slightly concerned about the state of his dinosaur.

The dig site was ALL Ryan, his own little birthday project. I think he nailed it.

I had a lot of fun making this pennant banner. All you need is twine, scrapbook paper and double sided tape.

Have I mentioned that I love birthday parties???

Step 2

Plan party

I knew I wanted to do a dinosaur theme this year since Samuel has a slight addiction. One project was to create dinosaur bones using sand molds and Plaster of Paris.

Another project was to make dinosaur eggs with a dinosaur in the middle. Samuel and I had fun one morning making these eggs out of sand, dirt, flour and salt. A little thanks to all his friends for helping him celebrate his big day!

Organize and plan the scavenger hunt. Ryan tackled this project and for that I am grateful. My rhyming skills end with roses are red....

I should have prefaced the birthday posts by explaining my love for birthdays. I tend to go overboard but I just can't help it.... birthday love is in me and it's in there deep!

Step 1

Invitations

I picked up these dinosaur cutouts for a whopping .99 cents! I painted them, made a leaf cutout for the wording and popped a magnet on the back.

So easy. So simple. So cheap!

Happy Birthday Samuel!

This will be the first of many birthday posts. Be prepared.......

First birthday craft... making this balloon wreath.

Oh how I love Pinterest.

Welcome Fall

Need I say more?

5 months

Corrie, you are such a joy. We can't believe that you are 5 months old already. Your daddy and I always say we feel like we are missing you grow up right before our eyes. It probably has something to do with the loud but adorable boy that is always around.

You are the sweetest baby. You are so content wherever we place you or whatever you are doing. You love to lay on your back and kick your feet. This is when I can get the best smiles out of you. You have the BEST smile. You smile with you entire face... your nose scrunches up and your eyes crinkle. I love it.

You are such a great sleeper. You go to bed without making a peep, sometimes you fight it when your daddy puts you to sleep. You can be picky. You fight the dinner time nap but are so content to sit in our laps while we eat or play. You constantly surprise us when you have been up for 3 or 4 straight hours and go to bed without a fuss. You have been sleeping from 7p-7a for about a month now. Except the last week you have been waking up at 8:30 pm screaming. We are not too sure what is wrong with you... please stop. =)

You have just started rolling over from your stomach to your back. We never thought you would roll over because if we gave you tummy time and you became bored, you would just place your forehead on the ground. Pitiful.

You are loved by so many people and we can't imagine our lives without you!

Preschool

Samuel started preschool this week. He is getting too big!

Topsail Beach

We just got back from a great week at the beach with my parents. It was a fun but exhausting trip with a young baby and a 2 year old boy who has more energy than 4 adults.

Enjoying some family time on the beach. Don't worry, Corrie was in the sun for approximately 35 seconds.

How sweet is a daddy with his daughter

Taking pictures with a 2 year old is a blast....

I love this little girl.

He's pretty cute too...

I think this is her 3rd dress she has ever worn. The girl doesn't know she has feet because of all the sleepers she wears.

If you can't get a good family pic.... take a wacky one. Corrie is so embarrassed of her family she hangs her head in shame.

Melt. My. Heart

Thanks Mimi and Pop-pop for a great week! Here's to hoping a hurricane doesn't send us packing early next year....