Happy Thanksgiving!!

We're off celebrating with our families! Hope you enjoy your holiday weekend!

monday, monday

I have to tell all you Kittermans and those who know Nolan, Emery has inherited more than her daddy's dimples. That girl finds the most enjoyment from pushing the same sound button over and over and over..and then over again. God love her but I wanted to throw everything that made sound out of the window today. Hope you all can appreciate that and feel pity for me! just jokes! She was Captain Destructo today though. All books off the shelves, all the baking essentials out of the cupboard, all the toys out of the basket, and almost all of the washclothes/towels out of the drawer.
Luckily today was a bright, warmer, sunny day! Who could stay angry on a day like today?!
Also, we got news that our dear brother is an 'official' lawyer! Congrats, Ian on passing the bar! We're proud of you and hope things go well in Thailand! (also, we miss you and Beks!)
Sorry about my writing deficiency...the thing is that I've been overwhelmed by thoughts/challenges and instead of writing them out, I shut down. I've just had a lot of challenging sermons, lessons, songs, books, and anything else you can find inspiration from. Hopefully all the thoughts in my head will find an outlet soon and I'll be back to writing!
I can say we are super excited about Thanksgiving this Thursday!
My quiet writing space is about to be invaded by Cpt. Destructo so I'm going to go. Plus, small group is starting soon (yes!) so I bid you all adieu!
Much love!

Simple Sunday

Just wanted to share a few things on my mind that I'm happy about...
1. Em is getting really good at eating with a spoon! It's fun to watch even though today at lunch her spoonful was made up of ketchup. That was it and that grosses me out. But on the good side, she is using the spoon on her own and saying "ketchup" so I'm going to call it a win.
2. My wonderful hubs is doing a mountain of dishes right now. Love that guy.
3. laundry is in the washer. I love that we have a washer/dryer and I love doing laundry in general because it's so orderly.
4. Mark gave a great sermon this morning about giving our best. That was after I had morning meltdowns about my wardrobe and lack of sleep. Thanks, Mark for whipping me into shape.
5. Em is asleep right now without fighting me!
6. Derek & Ashley are going to be at our house for a few days starting this evening! Can't wait to see them!
7. Next week starts the holiday season for us and I am super excited to spend time with our families. Some of my uncles from down south will be meeting Nolan and Emery for the first time and I will be meeting my cousin's wife for the first time as well. I love family! (and delicious food) 8. life is good

What are you happy about today?

this is what happens when you say, "Emery, can you blink your eyes?"

We were playing with her magnetic ABCs and she decided she wanted to read about them too.

quick note

hey guys!
as you may have noticed, I changed the blog again. I'm just learning how easy things like this are and I decided it'd be fun to change the look of the blog for the season we're in. Normally, I like consistency but that's the fun of a blog! It can change while the rest of your life stays constant! How can you not take advantage of all the great FREE stuff?!
Our Monday was "a case of the mondays". Unfortunately, Nolan didn't have a great day at work but he'll keep plugging away and hopefully problems will find a way of working themselves out.
I woke up this morning praying for patience. When will I learn not to do that? If you pray for something, the Lord gives it to you. That's great when I'm asking for problems to go away but when I ask for patience (my arch nemesis) I also have to accept that I'll be given opportunities that will try said patience. Fortunately, all's well that ends well and I can go to sleep knowing that God is good, I love my husband, we have a beautiful daughter, and life will go on (despite the fact that I've done dishes in the dishwasher and by hand and there's STILL dishes in the sink. how does that even happen?!)
much love to you all, especially on a monday!

catch up

Oh blog! I have missed you! It's only been a week but previously, I'd been a roll so a week-long absence now seems like forever. So what is new in these Kitterman's lives? Glad you asked...
My delightful mother came to visit us last Sunday/Monday to get her grandbaby fix and Em & I decided to go home with her. I'd been feeling homesick the past few weeks so I thought I'd take the opportunity to see some of my extended family. Emery and I had a great time visiting Great Grandma and Grandpa, hanging out with cousin Christopher, visiting Grandma at her school, and being near Aunt Beffy. On Wednesday evening I even got to go to a MOPS group and make a CRAFT! I love crafts! "It just so happened" (aka, Thank you Lord for being in control of even the smallest details) that my mom's singing group practice coincided with the MOPS group meeting and childcare was being provided. How much more can you ask for, really? It was a great week surrounded by people I love even though I had to leave the hubs at home.

Speaking of that great man, he has had an opportunity to shine this weekend and boy did he take it! On Thursday evening (as soon as I got home, of course) I got really sick. Nolan stayed home on Friday (even though it was an extremely busy week at work) to take care of Emery and basically waited on me hand and foot. I was supposed to leave Friday evening for a Beth Moore conference with the church but I was too sick to go. Nolan did laundry all day Friday and provided Emery with meals and entertainment. Then Saturday I felt up to heading to Springfield so I was able to attend the conference. Nolan took care of Em and went grocery shopping!! I thought that when I got back from the conference he'd expect me to be back in my normal role but I still wasn't feeling 100%. He didn't miss a beat. He made supper for us as well as breakfast and lunch today! He's a machine!

I don't mean to make this blog a shrine to my husband BUT he's just been so good to me so I had to share my joy with you all. Thank you Al & Sue for raising a great man and Thank you Lord for giving him to me!

These pics are from our week in Hoopeston. Emery enjoyed being doctor/chef and she enjoyed wearing Papa Rick's bike helmet around the house! Also, I'm resonating what C Jane wrote on her blog about the hardship of motherhood. Em turned 16 months this past week..where has the time gone?!

Sweet Treat

Hey guys! Hope you had a great Halloween. To be honest, I've never been one to get super excited about Halloween. I don't do scary things. Ever. However, I have no problem with cute little kids dressing up--I love it in fact. Also, for some reason the thought never crossed my mind that if we take Emery trick-or-treating, Nolan and I get to eat chocolate! What's not to love about that?! The other good news was that we got a hand-me-down ladybug costume--what's not to love about that either?! Em wore the costume all day long and LOVED it. She was a treat to watch all day yesterday. Plus, the rain FINALLY let up so we could go outside. We went to our beloved Kickapoo Park and enjoyed a little sunshine.

We didn't know how she would react to going to stranger's houses to get candy but she was a pro. The first house (which handed out full-size goodies!) she was a bit nervous but after that she just held the bucket on her arm and went right up to the doors! I can't imagine what goes through "first-timers" heads. "So now it's okay to talk with strangers and they will give you cookies?!"

Here's a couple pictures for you of the evening but I encourage you to check out our Shutterfly (I've added a link on the right hand side of this page for your convenience) because I also added a video from the park. She is hilarious! Sorry that you also will have to listen to me breathing heavily in the camera..I have a cold.

How was your Halloween??