Remembering Our Hero.

Today marks six months since I lost my brother, Derek. To say that I "lost" him is an interesting statement, since he's not "lost"...I know right where he is. So I'll say instead that six months ago, Derek made his appearance in Heaven. In another sense of the word, I (we) lost his keen wit, courageous smile, and warm concern for others. With Easter right around the corner, I'm so thankful for the reminder that new life awaits those who believe. Thank you, Jesus, for Your resurrection that makes it all possible.

On our trip to California, we had the opportunity to visit Derek's memorial in Turlock. It was Kendall's first visit with Uncle Dizzle since he tenderly felt her kicking in my belly. We adorned his marker with a few flowers, reminded him of how much he is missed, and snapped a few pictures.

March Madness!

Last year, a friend of ours from Vineyard invited us to play in his basketball bracket. It was a generous, yet stupid, move on his part since I've lorded my victory over him for the last year. It's my turn to defend my title- and I'm hoping my completely random picks pan out like they did last time.

I chose Kansas to win the whole thing...I'm not partial because of this, I just thought they looked good this season- along with everyone else. Fortunately, because I wasn't the only one banking on KU,, it didn't hurt my bracket much when they bit it in the second round.

This may come as no surprise to you, but I'm in FIRST PLACE.

And I hope that by posting this, it doesn't jinx me, because my Fantasy Football team sure took a turn south after this post!

Moments So Dear.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year...

...so the song goes.

I've been thinking a lot about time this week.

Chris will officially start a new year on Friday, Kendall will grow a week bigger, I'll pull out yet another gray hair (yes, they are there, though in much smaller supply since I stopped teaching!).

Last week, my Stockton church family lost another young person tragically. Unlike losing Derek, this came unexpectedly and there is still a lot of confusion. For some reason, Amy was called back to heaven. And for some reason, I am still here.

While I'm horribly embarrassed to share this, it was a wake-up call for me: After playing a game of Boggle on my iPhone today, I glanced at the accumulated time of play (yes, it records this so you can see how pathetic you are...). It currently reads "2 DAYS, 20 HOURS, 10 MINUTES." 2 DAYS! (Anyone dare challenge me to a game of Boggle?)

Now, in my defense, that has almost exclusively been time I've spent nursing in the middle of the night. But it's time I could definitely be reading...or praying...or gazing at my baby who is growing right before my eyes.

There are no time-outs from life. Every moment counts- and I'll be the first to say I need to be a better steward of my time.

West Coast Meet-and-Greet

Yeah, it was back in February.
Yeah, that was over a month ago.
So sue me. I've been slightly busy changing my clothes every ten minutes due to projectile spit-up.

Miss Kendall made her first cross-country trek to meet, oh, all kinds of fun family and friends. Our concerns about her airplane etiquette were quickly put to ease as she slept- literally- through both flights.

We were greeted in Portland by Chris' Aunt Bev and Cousin Sarah, who transported us to their home in Vancouver, Washington. We enjoyed a nice weekend and visit with Kendall's Great-Grandparents, a special time.


An unexpected treat was an impromptu coffee date with my former roomie, Juliann! Now that we are both mommies of little girls, it gave us good fodder for conversation- not that we would ever be at a loss for words!

A quick flight to Sacramento and we were soon home in Stockton, CA with the Petersen grandparents. Hugs from Grandpa Keith were reserved, however, due to a cold he was trying to contain. His sacrifice was worth it, as none of us ended up sick. Grandma Donna, on the other hand, had LOTS of time to snuggle and smile with baby K.


There are many special people to see when we visit Stockton, most of whom we see on our visits to First Baptist. We did have a special night out at BJ's with some of our must-see friends!

Unfortunately, my Grandma lost her husband the week prior to our visit. It was a blessing in timing to be able to attend his memorial service while we were in town. This Great-Grandma enjoyed loving on the baby...and it allowed us to get some four-generation pictures, too.



Thanks, all, for making our west coast tour so exciting! Have baby, will travel...

Things That Never Annoyed Me...Until Now.

Shirts that don't button up. Doing the whole lifting-up-three-layers business to allow Kendall to "get her milk on" is getting really old. If I could, I'd live in the easy-access nursing jammies that I'm quickly wearing out.

Lack of drive-thru coffee shops. Starbucks, Caribou...I'll pass if it means I have to unload the baby and reload her- with coffee in hand. I can just see the scalding hot coffee burns across her face.

Venues with no place to nurse. Ugggggghhhhh! Xcel Energy Center, I'm talking to YOU!

Diapers with brightly colored waistbands. Purely for vanity's sake, I'm sure that seeing your diaper through your clothing is the baby equivalent of panty lines. I'm not down with that. Must they all have big bird, Winnie the Pooh (although this one is slightly appropriate), or Muppet Babies strewn across them? Whatever happened to white diapers?

High heels. I've thrown fashion to the wind in lieu of practicality. I tried getting back into the heel this weekend for church, but my feet do NOT thank me for the 20 extra pounds of baby stuff I'm carrying while walking on a Bic pen...and they made me pay for it all night long.

The garage door. Baby's nursery is right above the garage. Baby is usually sleeping when daddy leaves for work...need I say more?

Snaps. I do realize they make the diaper-changing process much more convenient, but I feel like I spend hours of my life just snapping things up! Snapping up her clothes after changing, snapping up after laundry...I'm all snapped out. Bring on the zippers!

Teenagers. Okay, they annoyed me a little. But my annoyance has been amplified by the thought of my daughter becoming one of these self-absorbed, socially retarded creatures. An excursion to the mall the other day had me asking twice for teens to move out of the way since they were blocking the path for the stroller (to which they were totally oblivious). I was greeted with the famous look of disgust, as if I just told them that Zac Efron is NOT the "most gorgeous boy on the planet". Yes, I'm a grown-up now. Those darned kids!!


Here's your chance to add to my list, you cranky old scrooges!

She Keeps No Record of Wrong.

Let's review shall we?

I clipped Kendall's finger with the clippers. Not her nail, her FINGER.
I locked my baby in the car.
I've bumped her head on the handle of the infant seat multiple times.
I held her down while the doctor pierced her skin with a sharp metal needle three times.
Last night I scratched her chin with my wedding ring (I'll blame this on Chris for giving me such a big, fat diamond ;)

Before you call CPS, let me say that each of these instances absolutely broke my heart. And, obviously, continuing to keep a tally on every mistake I make as a mother will keep me discouraged.

When she looked up at me this morning with big blue eyes and scratched chin, I knew she had forgotten about it. And if I'm going to count anything, it should be all the smiles I get that assure me that she loves her mommy.

The spiritual parallel to this illustration may be obvious. As we enter this Easter season, I remember the wounds that Jesus bore on my behalf. And while I didn't deserve it, he forgave me and has kept no record of my wrong-doing.

Kendall will not always be so forgiving (the teenage years, after all, are only 13 years away...). But I'll always be her mommy, love her unconditionally and never hurt her intentionally.

Meet The Cousins

Technical difficulties delayed this post, but we thought Marcus and Mallory's first meet-and-greet with the baby in February was pretty funny. Mallory has a new favorite playtoy, and Marcus took great pride in his self-proclaimed soothing skills. Maybe a little overwhelming at times for Kendall, but we can tell these three are going to be the best of buddies as the years go by.

They Start 'em Young

This weekend we trekked to St. Paul, Minnesota for the annual High School Boys State Hockey Tournament and let me tell you...it's a BIG deal. The Excel Center was packed with 17,000 crazy hockey fans awaiting some exciting championship games, and they did not leave disappointed. One semi-final game was approaching the longest game in tourney history, seeping into 4 overtimes and well after midnight (Kendall and I enjoyed the end of that one in our jammies back at the hotel). Chris enjoyed sporting the Baby Bjorn, to which Kendall has taken a liking, even using it to nap from time to time!

Of course, the highlight of our trip every year is hanging out with that crazy Stavenger family. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents made Kendall's first hockey experience extra special! Now, if we could just avoid massive baby poop explosions during the game, Mommy's experience would be much more enjoyable!

The cousins are totally into it...the band, at least.

Kendall had a good pre-game thumb-sucking session before...

...she went to sleep. Unbelievable what babies can nap through!

Her first hotel room, and she found the mirror quickly! A little obsessed with it, actually...I hope that's not a sign of things to come. :)

For The Ladies...

Jimmy Kimmel put together a fine-looking cast of gentlemen for this hilarious sketch. It's like he jumped inside my brain and assembled all the good looking men in there...minus Chris Stavenger (who really should appear in this skit). Enjoy the eye candy, and a good laugh!

Yummy.

That's Right...I'm Calling You Out!

Blogging...it's become much more difficult finding time to write with the little munchkin around, but I still read quite a few on a daily basis. With that in mind, there are a few friends who I think would make GREAT bloggers- so I'm officially throwing out the invitation to a few people I find intriguing. Or, at the very least, acknowledging their extreme coolness.

Michelle Watkins- We had a divinely-appointed (coincidental) meeting on our flight back to Minneapolis, on which she and her hubby were in transit back to their current home in New Orleans. Michelle is both charming and witty, two qualities that would make for excellent blogging. Plus, she's a Navy wife and probably has some killer stories to share. Get on it, Michelle!

Keith Dickson- Keith is one of the most amusing human beings I've ever met. He's got the sarcastic edge and keen observation skills that could make his blog one of the most fantastical works of comedic genius in history. The day his equally-entertaining wife started blogging was one of the greatest days ever. Speaking of...

Liana Dickson- Liana already HAS a blog. However, she abandoned it a while back and ever since, there has been an empty hole in my blog-reading heart. Being a mom now, I'm calling on you, Liana, to bring back your hysterical mom experiences for our reading pleasure. SURELY you have time!?!

Heidi Snavely- Oh, Heidi. You may think your life isn't interesting. But you live in Southern California! And you have a great eye for finding weird situations (especially in the company of Karen). Why not pen them for the world?

Mikey and Christa- On a serious note, these two also already have a blog, but have not updated it since returning from Haiti recently. Their ministry with Haitian orphans has surely been amplified in the wake of the recent earthquake. Pictures, stories and testimony are due!

There you go, friends. Get on it! And, since spring cleaning is upon us, I'm going to be fixing up the ol' blogroll. If you have a new blog you'd like me to include, or want me to remove yours because you are utterly embarrassed by your lack of activity, let me know.

This post has been brought to you by the Baby Bjorn.

Everyone's A Show-Off!

Kendall wanted to share with all of you the new skill she's working on- standing up with her strong legs! However, she's not the only one who wanted to get on camera...

So, we tried it again. This time, uninterrupted. :)

The Mom Diaries

Kendall is now two months old. It has been the most exhilarating and challenging two months of my life. Admittedly, for the last few weeks I've felt like my entire body is a clenched fist. To an extent, I've felt imprisoned in my home or under a sleeping baby. I've had no motivation to venture out into the world- it's just too much work. This feeling, I know, is nothing short of normal for new mommies.

Sunday night, I decided to intentionally regain some of my freedom. Yesterday, the sun was shining and enough incentive for me to get out of the house. So I packed up Kendall and ventured to the mall with stroller in tow. I spent about an hour just walking around- grabbed a coffee along the way and enjoyed my stroll. Kendall is a great traveler...the lull of the stroller quickly put her to sleep. I loved it so much that I decided to do it again today! With the weather warm-ish (high thirties...I can't believe this is my new warm....) but not yet warm enough to walk outside, the mall is a great option for me. I could spend hours at Barnes and Noble alone- that store is a drug!

I've also been putting Kendall "down" more often, letting her learn some self-soothing methods on her own. This is mutually beneficial, as I can then complete much more work at home. The Baby Bjorn has also gotten some use, although Kendall hasn't decided that she loves this apparatus yet, and never fails to let me know...very loudly.

Yes, I'm slowly getting the hang of this mom thing. And accolades are due for typing this whole thing with one hand. :)