Faith Like a Child

... They say that love can heal the broken
They say that hope can make you see
They say that faith can find a savior
If you would follow and believe
With faith like a child
-From "Faith Like a Child" by Jars of Clay


Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay's lead singer) signed his book for Cate this morning. (Well, not just Cate, but anyone at the local Christian book store this morning.) He's in town because Jars is opening for Third Day tonight. Two of my favorite bands together ... for a Christmas concert. Fun times.

So, she's almost seven months old, and this is her second celebrity moment. But most of the moment involved her reaching for the book about to be signed. "That's a good sign," Haseltine said.

Joys of the Season

I'm loving Christmas music, particularly Third Day's album, and candy canes, especially these that I bought at Cracker Barrel last night. Also, I am pleased with my stocking purchase, which I made because I am excited to celebrate Christmas this year with our daughter.

Playing with the large, orange ball

Cate was really into this large, orange ball this weekend at Grandma's.


Of course, she tried to eat it!


But she also liked kicking it.




It was especially sweet to watch Uncle Zac play with Cate. She seemed to enjoy herself!

Be thankful ... at least 50 times

I was planning on posting this picture and blogging about how blessed I am. But Shelley inspired me on the format of this Thanksgiving post. Pardon the delay, we were visiting with my family in Louisville and I only briefly touched a computer.

So as I reflect on 2007, I am thankful, in no particular order, for ...

1. Cate
2. Cate's birth mother who is brave and generous
3. Greg being my complement
4. Greg's company that is doing well ...
5. ... well enough I am able to stay home with Cate
6. Supportive families
7. Old friends
8. New friends
9. E-mail
10. Blogs
11. Diet Dr Pepper
12. Insulin
13. Our house
14. Books
15. My camera
16. The creative outlet that is scrapbooking
17. My unfinished yet live-able basement that provides scrapbooking space
18. Central heating and air
19. Mature trees in our yard
20. Cate's good sleeping and eating habits
21. Cate's laugh
22. Greg's sweet spirit with Cate
23. Murray's small-town charms, like less traffic than cities
24. Murray State and the entertainment (aka basketball and football) it provides
25. ABC's growing number of good television shows
26. Settlers of Catan
27. Facebook
28. A brother-in-law that takes care of my sister
29. Our church
30. Music
31. ... in Murray ... like the Dierks Bentley concert last week and the Third Day/Jars of Clay concert later this week
32. My cell phone
33. The joys that come with decorating and giving at Christmastime
34. Seasons
35. A yard full of leaves
36. Traveling
37. Soft blankets
38. Peanut butter
39. Crock pots
40. Coupons
41. Books, especially the ones by James Patterson, Catherine Coulter and Lisa Gardner
42. Sharpie markers
43. Google
44. Cards for no reason
45. Talks in the car with my husband
46. The grace that comes with new days
47. Butterflies
48. Toys that teach
49. My car's automatic locks and windows
50. My hair straightener

On an unrelated Thanksgiving note, Cate tried ... I can't decide whether to say "table food" or "our food" ... cranberries and mashed potatoes. It was the first time she had something other than her formula-filled bottles or baby food. As you can tell in the picture, the cranberry sauce was a hit. And she tolerated the potatoes.

One at a time ...

I love watching leaves fall. There's something graceful about their movement to the ground ... something refreshing about the bare branches that will one day grow leaves again ... and something beautiful about the colors.

I am always amazed when I look at a branch and there's just one lone leaf. How did all the others fall, leaving just a single leaf behind?

One at a time ...

... blanketing the earth.


Looking out from my back porch, I can't tell where the driveway stops and the grass begins. The leaves are a beautiful distraction and perfect symbols of the changes of the season.

Sitting pretty ...

Oh, no, need the arms to balance ...


No longer sitting. But fairly content anyway!

another popular "toy"

Who needs toys when you have a Diet Dr Pepper bottle and a straw?!




Even when she starting falling to the side, she held on to the bottle.

$5

The bargain of the day while shopping at yard sales on Saturday morning ...




I'm going to take it to Greg's office later so Cate has some entertainment when I go over there to do my bookkeeping duties.

Oh, boy, a straw ...

Well, I mentioned Cate enjoyed playing with straws ... now you see what I mean!

Go Racers! and other weekend moments

Cate attended her first Murray State basketball game last night. And she enjoyed being around all those cheerful people and hearing the band.



And, in case you're wondering, the whole crowd probably enjoyed it. Murray State won by a point after a Rider player fouled a MSU player with .2 seconds left. MSU's Kevin Thomas hit the first free throw to give the Racers the lead. He missed the second intentionally so Rider wouldn't have time to set up a shot.

The rest of the weekend also was good ... Friday night Greg and I rented "License to Wed." Funny. But glad we just rented it. Then Saturday morning I went to some yard sales and found a couple of bargains before we went to Paducah to Christmas shop. Then this morning, Greg let me sleep in! I didn't wake up until 9:20! I was a bit rushed for church, but it was worth it. Since church and lunch, we've just been hanging out at home. We watched the Titans game (which left much to be desired) and then the two-hour "CSI" and "Without a Trace" collaboration from Thursday night.

baby shoes

Cate wore shoes (these shoes) for the first time today.

Some of you are probably thinking ... Gosh, Kristin, she's six months old and you're JUST NOW putting shoes on the girl.

Then others of you are probably thinking ... Goodness, Kristin, she's only six months old. Why are you putting shoes on her?

Well, first, it was a hot summer. Why would I put shoes (or socks for that matter) on her? So the weather is cooling off, and socks seem necessary. And, well, Cate likes to pull her socks off. I think it's the challenge. And then once she has them off, she decides they are good to chew on. These days EVERYTHING* is good to chew on.

So I figured shoes would help keep her socks on, mostly just when we're out in public. Yeah, good idea ... until she realized about 10 minutes into our day that she could push one shoe off with the other foot.

Then there was that sock. Yep, it came off.

But only one.

She hasn't figured out how to get BOTH shoes off yet.

And, hey, the shoes are quite cute. I purchased them at a yard sale this summer for a couple of dollars.

* In addition to socks, Cate especially enjoys chewing on my drinking straws. Hey, at least she knows where the straw is supposed to go. She also enjoys reaching for cell phones and remote controls. Are children just programmed (ha, PROGRAMMED ...) for things with buttons?!

Six Months

Seriously, a half a year! Can you believe it?


She's 27 1/2 inches long, putting her in the 95th percentile. (Do I say "long" until she can walk, then say "tall"?) And she weighs 16 pounds and 6.4 ounces (60th percentile). (That's more than double her birth weight, and that makes me think we measured her wrong at five months. Guess I should leave those technical things to the professionally trained!)

This picture from our little photo shoot yesterday cracked me up ... It's like Cate is enjoying an attack from the stuffed bear. But that's only after she pulled it toward her.

I'm not sure my monthly pictures with the bear are going to turn out just like I planned, but it'll definitely show Cate's growth by how she responds to the stuffed animal.

Cate & Katie

I think they enjoyed seeing each other on Saturday. What do you think?