Ok, so we're officially settled. Settled into our 5th home since being married in our 3rd state, and yes folks, we've only been married for 4 years. I can honestly say "God is so good." When I allow myself to stop and think about the many blessings that I have, the hundreds of things I have to be thankful for, I don't have as much time to complain. Didn't Paul say that he "Learned to be content in all things."? Well, that's what I'm doing. It's definitely a learning process.

Justin made his treck from AZ to WA state 2 weeks ago, just him and Mason. Talk about a tough trip. No big deal that he lost his wallet in the airport, which thankfully was returned but only after I had called and cancelled our bank and major credit cards. Some where in Nevada he got a flat tire on the moving truck. Then, after being in WA for less than 2 days, lost his cell phone, which was also graciously returned and had 2 flat tires on his bike, his only means of transportation. All I had to do was fly across the country with a toddler, who did do great by the way. Oh, and speaking of thankfulness, you learn to appreciate the small things when on your 5 1/2 hour flight from Atlanta to Seattle you get an open seat beside you and a wonderfully sweet grandfather of 7 sitting by you. It makes your life truly so much better!

Sorry the quality of this isn't great but yes, this is Jude's first day of "school". We've had a hard transition so far...some may think it's a normal transition but it's been hard for me. We were so blessed for Jude to not start any kind of care until 5 months old and then he went to a person's home with only 1 child. And of course we had sweet Ms. Debby who came to our house every Wednesday. To have 3 teachers and 15 other toddlers in the room with lots of stimulation was hard on my little man. The first 3 days, he refused to eat for them and took awkward timed naps but thankfully, he no longer screams when we pull in the parking lot and is doing much better.

I too am starting school again and I am so excited to be at an AWESOME SCHOOL. I have moved from high school to a middle school but I am really looking forward to working with some truly great professionals. Though my heart longs to be home with Jude, if I have to work, I'm glad I'll be working where God has opened this door.

Justin is doing great with his new project and we both have fallen in love with the scenery in this area. We live within a 10 minute walk to a great park on the lake that offers a playground and swimming area, as well as a fantastic dog park for Mason.

Lastly, I do want to through in a 17 month shout out to sweet Jude man. Though I'm bias, this kid is pretty awesome. His vocabulary continues to soar. He has learned several new words this month, including balloon and moon. He wants to see the moon every time we go outside, including first thing in the morning. He can tell you all kinds of animal noises/associations, but my personal favorite is when you ask him what a skunk does, he'll hold his nose and say "shew". Too cute. His new favorite books are the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" series and Justin is totally stoked that in the "Panda Bear, Panda Bear" one there is a red wolf. :) Jude has become less picky, knock on wood. He's never really been picky but kinda strange about textures, but so am I. However, this past month he's started to try new textures including rice, beans, and green beans. He has started stretching out his night time hours from 9 to 9.5 hours to at least 10, sometimes 10.5, which has really been nice. He still sleeps 2-3 hours every afternoon after lunch. He is a very strong willed little guy with an intense personality, but he is so sweet and will always give hugs and kisses when asked. He still enjoys and prefers to be outside. His favorite toys, other than his animals, are his Race car slide thing and his helicopter. It's really fun to watch his personality form. He still sleeps with his Lamby and/or Monkey and we've moved to only have his Bap (what he personally named his Paci) to his crib. When he wakes up, we tell him to give his bap to his animals in the crib and most of the time he willingly drops it in and says "Bye bye bap".

Any who, that's what's been going on...the last few weeks have been a whirlwind, but a good one. Students start back on Wednesday and a "new year" officially begins for me...yep, my 5th year teaching...whew...

Thankfulness

This summer has come and gone far more quickly than I ever imagined. I have spent the last few hours spending time praying and writing to Jude and thinking about the many things I have to be thankful for. The list is so long. Just about more than anything, I am thankful for time. Time with family and friends, time to be still and rest, time to make priceless memories with the people I love the most.

This summer has been filled with laughter, comfort, accountability, great conversations, time spent basking with my sweet little man, all day, every day and rejoicing in the things the Lord has given me.

I am so excited to say that we have another new blessing being added to our family. We found out last night that my sister and her husband will be adding me my first nephew, Elijah Mason Ball "Eli", sometime around January 13th. We had a fun revealing party last night to share the news.

To be thankful just doesn't seem like enough. I am so blessed, it's hard to think this place isn't our home. This Earth doesn't even begin to touch what our eternity will be like with our Lord.

Good Ole Rocky Top

 Over the 4th of July my Mom, Jude and I took a road trip to Tennessee to visit my Mom's side of the family. Even though we've always lived 5 1/2 hours apart, I am still very close to this side and always look forward to spending time with them. While there, we enjoyed just catching up with family and spending quality time with everyone. Of course, we did venture out to the lake a few days to let Jude play with his cousin Jamen. They're only 4 months apart and I really wish that we were closer so they could grow up together.

 My cousin Jeff is a personal trainer and actually does lessons on the paddle board. I paddled around the small island and played around a little on it, but of course, my adventerous son wanted to try it too. Surprisingly, he stood up on it alone for a few seconds.

 The 4 cousins chillin'.

Jamen and Jude

Whenever we go to TN, we always stay with my Mamaw. She is such a hoot and I love spending time with her. She is my only grandmother living and I think we all have a lot to learn from people of her generation. She grew up very poor, got married at 15 and was a mother of 4 by age 23. She survived stage 4 cervical cancer at the young age of 27 and has had 2 heart attacks on her 65th birthday. She is such a fighter and talk about a lady who loves her family and adores her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I am so blessed to have my Mamaw in my  life and I am thankful for the time Jude was able to spend with her this summer!

We had a great time with family and I hate to think it may be next year before we see this side of the family again. :( I can't think of that now though...we'll focus on the wonderful things happening now!

Trip to Auburn

 I want to start this blog with a short history of why Justin and I moved to Auburn. When we got engaged in November of 2007, Justin had already applied to several schools to pursue his Master's degree. With that said, once we got engaged, he totally got me involved in making the decision of where we moved. In case you don't know, getting a Master's in Wildlife Biology is much different than some Masters programs. It's not just taking the GRE and getting into a school. You must have a professor accept you into their personal lab with funding for your field or lab research. With that said, Justin had gotten accepted to several programs, but had to wait to see who had funding.

It came down to Virginia Tech and Auburn University. Justin and I took road trips to visit both professors, campuses, and communities. When we left Auburn, I told my Mom "This is where we'll be moving." Justin and I had no doubt that God was calling us to move to this area. Doors opened, including me being offered a Special Education Position at Auburn High School in February of 2008 before I even graduated from UNCW. I could go on and on about what led us to Auburn, but bottom line, God's plan was being revealed and the Holy Spirit spoke directly to our hearts.

We moved South the day we got back from our honeymoon. Us two 22 year olds, starting brand new stages of life with jobs, school, and a marriage, all in a new town. Well, let me tell you. We were embraced. Not only did I have a great community at Auburn High, but the people in our church and community were amazing. After our 3 years in Auburn, it had truly become our home. Justin and I developed friendships and made memories that have impacted our lives and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.

I am so thankful to have the flexibility to be able to go visit this summer. Most friends I have not seen since we moved, nearly a year ago, and talk about a wonderful reunion! It was like I was never gone and the time I was there was such an encouragement and blessed experience. It was also wonderful to see friends' babies who I had not met and let everyone see the little boy Jude has grown into. Most of our time was having play dates, letting our kids get to know one another and girl time just chatting, catching up. Of course I was able to get some of my favorite food from our favorite eateries, but the best part of course was diving back into our relationships.

I know that over time, sometimes friendships fade away, but I honestly don't know what I would do without some of the people in my life from Auburn. Their prayers were coveted during our short season in Arizona and I am so thankful to have these people in our lives!

 2 of my best friends with the babes, minus Asa who was napping.

Our sweet neighbors on Dumas Dr....the are our adopted grandparents.

Big Week

 As usual, time is flying by this summer. I have several things I want to post about, including our trip to Auburn, our visit to Tennessee, and some good girl time thoughts, but for some reason, I can't seem to find time. Any who, this week is BIG for the Dellinger family.

First of all, this little man above turned turned 16 months old on July 15. It is unreal to me to think that he's such a big boy. Over the last month, his vocabulary as soared tremendously. He will attempt to say just about anything we say, but still needs to be prompted to say the right words. He LOVED our zoo visit as well as our trip to a Bouncy House. He is becoming super independent, but when he is unsure of something, he'll still hold his hand out and ask for help. He eats pretty much everything we do. He doesn't love green veggies, so we keep veggie/fruit pouches on hand. His favorite foods would have to be fries from Chick fila, blue berries, and frosted mini-wheats. He enjoys reading books, playing in water, and snuggling in the mornings. His favorite songs, still including The Wheels on the Bus, include This Little Light of Mine and Bingo, but we change the name to Mason. He cracks up every time. Good news is, for about 3 weeks, he has started going to bed by 9:30 (It will go back to 8:30 or 9 when school starts) and sleeping until at least 7:15, usually 7:30 am every morning. Talk about one happy Momma.

I may be a little bias, but this little guy has one cute personality. He's also all boy, meaning when he poots, he laughs, and can be rough while playing. We're really working on "gentle hands". 1 week before Jude turned 16 months, he weighed 25 lbs and was 31 1/4 in. tall. Both are between the 25-50% so he's kinda small. He eats like a horse but is super active, going non-stop so he's burning calories! He naps great, usually going down between 12:30-1 and sleeping til 3-4.

Every day I realize how much I love him more and more. I am so blessed to have been given this little one to be my son.

 The second thing to celebrate this week is Justin's 26th birthday, which was July 17th! We celebrated with his family, grilling out steaks and having cake and ice cream. He used his birthday money to buy new boots for his PhD program and some cold weather gear, so he's ready for our move in August.

Justin's parents were 16 and 18 when Justin was born, with Justin's Mom still having her senior year of high school left. They chose to keep Justin, in spite of how difficult it would be and the sacrifices it would take, and I am so thankful they made that choice. I know God placed Justin in my life and I pray that the Lord blesses Justin with many more birthdays.

Lastly, tomorrow, July 19th, Justin and I will be celebrating 4 years of marriage. Look how young we look in this picture! Looking back, we were so young and naive at times, but we've grown tremendously and I am so thankful to be living life with this man.

I've wrote on my blog before about the trials Justin and I faced his past year while living in Arizona. While celebrating our wedding anniversary this year, we plan to focus on the vows we made to one another, to our families, and most importantly, to the Lord. This past year, there was more than one occasion when it would have been easier for both Justin and I to walk away, but we know that's not what God has called us to. I am so thankful during those hardest moments, mostly times of selfishness, financial strain, and simply figuring out life, that the Holy Spirit led Justin and I back to a place where we know we called to love, no matter how difficult it can be.

Happy Birthday and Anniversary to the love of my life. May the Lord bless us with many wonderful years together.

Summer Fill In

We have already had 3 full weeks of summer and are 1/2 way through our 4 week. It's going way too fast, as to be expected. We have enjoyed almost 2 weeks with Justin's family; time at home, trips to the library, and me enjoying being a stay at home Mommy. Above is a picture of Jude playing with his first worm. He found it outside of the restaurant on Father's Day and thought it was hysterical.

 Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's and Papaw's. (My Dad/Pop was not able to be there obviously, but we're looking forward to lots of time with Mo Mo and Pop to come.)

 We spent a great week at North Myrtle Beach to start the summer off with my family. Jude has been to the beach once before when he was 10 weeks old, but this was the first time he had the chance to really play and experience it. He isn't too fond of the waves, but he loves playing in the sand and in the tide pools. He'll splash, dig, and run all over.

 We enjoyed a night out one night to Calabash to enjoy amazing seafood. Jude loved spending daily lunch and nap time with Mo Mo and I enjoyed a few hours of quiet talking with my siblings and reading on the beach.

My little beach bum!!! We had an amazing time at the beach. It was so great to see that Jude did in fact enjoy the beach. He also enjoyed feeding the sea gulls.

During our transition to the Eastern time zone, we used this time to back up Jude's normal bed time of 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm (making it only a 2 hour difference) and moving to 1 nap a day. Since Jude was about 7 months, he had been taking 2 naps, 1 from 9:30-11:30 in the morning and another around 2:30 or 3 until about 4:15 or 4:30. He had been backing up his morning nap a little every week or so for about a week, so I thought it was time. Since June 3rd, he's been going to bed around 9:30 pm, getting up between 6:45-7 am (an occasional 7:30 sleep in day has been thrown in) and naps from around 12:45 to 3:30'ish. He has also cut 3 of his canine teeth which has been hard on him. Bad poos with terrible diaper rash, but he's been a trooper. I'm a littler nervous about transitioning him back into his normal crib in his own room once we move to Seattle in August. By that time, he will have been rooming in with us in the pack and play for almost 2 1/2 months. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Last week we spent our time in Auburn, which was wonderful. (Blog post to come later this week.) While there, I realized that for the first 5 weeks of summer, Jude will have been in a different place every week. North Myrtle, Shelby, Auburn, back to Auburn, Athens, TN, then to Asheboro for a little while.) Our sweet man has really been awesome with all this moving. I am so thankful that he is flexible and willing to let his Mommy see all these people she loves.

It's going quickly, but there is still lots of summer to come!

Already?

 Yes, this sweet man is ALREADY 15 months old! I can't believe it! He is truly a joy! He will give so many hugs and kisses if he knows you. He's all about giving anyone a high five.

 He continues to soak things up like a sponge. His spoken vocabulary has flourished just over the last few weeks, adding tree, horse, tractor, and JJ, Zach, and Papaw to people words. He can perform lots of "tricks", when he wants to of course, but my favorite one is to ask to see his "teeth" and he'll give you the biggest grin ever. Priceless.

Jude weighs 26.5 lbs and I have no idea how long he is. We have not had his 15 month check up yet. It will be a little late due to vacay in NC. He loves animals, reading books, playing outside, and trucks and tractors. He's definitely all boy. He is also a Momma's boy and I'm ok with that. I know the days of him reaching for me and crawling up in my lap won't last forever.

On a not so light note, we have really had to be persistant and consisten with disciplining Jude. He is very strong willed. He usually obeys when we tell him "no" to something but if we take something away that he wants and already has, for example, picked up a stick yesterday and started to run with it...Justin simply took it from him and said "That's dangerous Jude. We don't run with sticks." Jude flailed himself on the ground and had a coniption. He doesn't even want to give up his toothbrush until he's ready. It's a process though and with God's grace, we'll be just fine.

I'll have a summer update soon. We spent last week at North Myrtle Beach with my family and we've been in Shelby this week. Jude and I are visiting Auburn next week!!!