Just catching up

I've been feeling overwhelmed at the thought of writing a new post because I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll just start with what has been heavy on our hearts this holiday:

1. Two of our dearest friends here in Abilene are Zach and Kara Sheets. A few days before Christmas, Zach's younger brother, Tyler, died in a car accident. He was a freshman at ACU and an amazing guy! You never saw him without a smile. It's hard to write about, even now. I feel like my words are so inadequate to express the deep sorrow we have felt with and for the entire Sheets family. Tyler was one of 10 siblings in an incredibly close knit family. Over the past few weeks, we have cried and prayed and laughed remembering Tyler. His life, though short, was lived fully and authentically for God. Please continue to offer up prayers for family and friends of Tyler in the coming weeks and months.

2. Nothing seems like a good follow up to that, but I will share a few Ava stories some of you might enjoy:

Over Christmas, I got in the mood to rearrange so I had Chad help me move the couch. Ava had been out of the room at the time and when she walked back in to the new furniture arrangement, her reaction was priceless," Mommy, I love it! It's awesome! It's cool." She went on and on about the room with more excitement than she expressed on Christmas morning. Chad and I were cracking up. His comment: "She definitely takes after you!"

This morning Ava told me that Dotty (our dog) is her granddaughter.

Ava is almost entirely potty trained, except for night time. We are very excited about this new phase of life, but I find myself constantly looking for bathroom signs and mapping out the fastest routes when we are out. She is pretty good about telling me when she needs to go, but I have short window of time to get her to a potty, so I have to think fast and run hard.

3. We had a great holiday with family in both Fort Worth and Austin. We enjoyed spending time with my new great-nephew, Bryson. I feel much to young to be a great-aunt, but I loved holding him. Ava had so much fun with her cousins. She talks about them constantly. In her mind, she relates anything funny to Kallan. So if she's trying to be funny, she says," I silly like Kallan!"

4. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to be more laid back. I like laid back people, and would love it if someone used this term to describe me, but I unfortunately tend to lean towards the opposite personality descriptions-- high strung, uptight, and the ever popular "OC" (obsessive compulsive,) none of which, by the way, are endearing terms. On more than one occasion I have been compared to Monica on Friends. Seriously, am I that bad? I hope that I can learn to let the little things go and enjoy the moment. I really am working on it, but I have to confess that I did iron my newly washed sheet today-- only the top of the sheet though, not the whole thing. I hear that Oprah likes a crisp sheet, so maybe it's not so bad. Now I'm embarrassed I even admitted that, but rather than deleting it, I will be laid back and let you all know the real me. . . even if I am a little more like Monica than I'd like to admit.


Hope you enjoyed this, Nicole. Peace!