Party Time!

My whole family was in town this weekend to celebrate two special birthdays! My grandmother turned 85 yesterday and my step-dad's birthday is tomorrow! So in true Crenshaw/Lewis/Sestili/Lin fashion...we had a party!!! It was so fun having all the kids together and try to have "adult" conversations. Ok, so we really didn't get much chatting in that held tons of significance since our window of chatting was about 2 minutes at a time. But we had so much fun watching the kids play and dance. And Grandma just watched it all fly by as they ran laps in the house!

Our honorary guest: Grandma!!!
Our other honorary guest: Jim!!!!!
Yummy Publix cake!! The kids had their eye on it from the minute I brought it in the house. I am quite surprised it was fully intact when we cut it Sunday afternoon!
Ayda having fun Sunday morning. She loved playing with her cousins!!!
Jack showing Ayda the jingle bell doggy!
My awesome Brother and Seester-in-law, Allison!
Isabel showing us her famous "CHEEEESE" face! I could not get enough of that face all weekend!
My clone and me. Ha! Abby is Josh and Allison's oldest and we have joked from the beginning that she looks just like me. I can't deny it, nor would I even try! I was around their place ALOT when Abby was born since I lived 10 minutes away at the time. She and I have always had a close relationship. I love that she looks like me and TALKS as much as me!!!
Ayda sporting the birthday cap! I cannot believe it will be her birthday in three short months!
No weekend is complete with the grandkids at my mom and Jim's house without some dancing to the Wiggles. Isabel was showing us her new moves!
It used to be the two older girls that would boogie to the music but now Jack, Isabel, and Michael have joined in and it is quite a dance party! Oh yea...Grand-Pam jumps in from time to time as well!
Aunt Allison teaching Ayda how to dance. Won't be long before she is dancing with her cousins! I just hope Ayda can learn Aunt Allison's Lumbar Jack dance one day!!!
Taking a break from dancing to say "CHEEEEESE!"
Kevin and Ayda taking a breather from all the excitement
This was the only way to get a picture of the 6 grandkids age 5 and under in one picture! I just don't know how much luck we would have had in getting them to sit still for a nice little picture. So here they are from top to bottom: Ayda, Abby, Jack, Michael, Natalie, and Isabel!
Angie and Natalie!
Ayda decided she was done learning to dance and thought she would get caught up on this week's ads and sales! She is a shopper!
Isabel and Michael tuckered out and decided to just watch the Wiggles!

Something a little different

I have decided this post is going to be a little different. I usually just throw a picture up here and tell about how wonderful and fun Ayda is (which of course is so easy to do!). But today I am going to share some other stuff. I don't usually type out my feelings or more personal stuff I am going through because, let's be honest, I am not the greatest writer out there. But as our family begins the many changes that are about to take place I feel like sharing a little about the journey that got us here. Kevin is down in Florida right now taking care of the beginning stages of his business. I am so beyond excited to begin watching his practice grow. This year has been tough. My personality is not one to sit and just wait. Kevin was so huge in keeping me grounded and in prayer to wait for God's answer. I even tried many times to pray "God if you will just tell me where we will be I'll keep it quiet till you reveal it to Kevin". I mean really, how silly is that?!? And of course, God stayed quiet, especially with that prayer.

With our pregnancy last year I learned so much about faith. Kevin and I went against the grain in everything (ie no ultrasounds, no testing, home birth, etc). We got a lot of questions, a lot of judgements, and a lot of "I'll be interested to see how this pans out" comments. But we knew we were listening to our hearts and doing it all for our unborn baby. Though I was 100% at peace about our decision I still had fear creep in and doubt. I work in a NICU, of course it was there at times. But God really taught me about trust and faith those 9 months. There was nothing about the pregnancy I could change. I prayed God would just take care of that sweet baby and deliver her in His perfect timing and safely. And He did! So I learned what faith was like and not to lean on fear.

So begins 2009...the year of testing that faith. We found out in January that the job we were pretty much banking on fell through. That night began many months of us praying for direction and getting nothing back. We stayed still for a while and then we just began moving. Not sure where to go but Kevin started pursuing things here in Atlanta. And after several weeks of not feeling true peace we decided to put things on hold again. And then finally God made his will clear to us. Florida it is!

I don't know that I have ever had to wait so long on an answer before. Kevin and I both said several times in the past we just seemed to know what God wanted and we would do it. But this time we were clueless. There were many nights I would be feeding Ayda crying out for some kind of answer. My job was on the line and I wanted to move forward. And though God didn't give us answers on demand (because that's what He should do, right?), He sustained us through the wait. My job was given back for the few more months we needed and I learned more and more about myself, marriage, God. I have learned patience. I don't have a 5 year plan like I held so tightly to. I don't know what next year will hold. We are just moving forward now to the next phase of this amazing journey. And God is showing us how to make that happen. He is also increasing my desire to be home with Ayda more everyday. My last night at work is next wednesday and I cannot wait to be 100% hers. No more extreme fatigue from being up two nights a week, no more making bottles before leaving for an entire night. I know many woman long for this same thing, but I have always wanted to be home with my kids. And Kevin and I both feel it is time for that to happen. Again another area that I just have to trust that God will provide. We will sacrifice what we need to in order for it to happen.

So I sit here sharing all this to simply say, patience brings peace and peace brings the comfort in knowing God is truly the author of our lives. What better place than to be in His will? Kevin's practice is more than a business. It is our desire to serve the people that come to him and to see them get well. I am so excited to serve and be a part of Clermont. Kevin's hometown!

Doing the Laundry!

So of all the chores I have adopted since living on my own and being married, laundry is the one that I absolutely dread. I don't mind getting the dirty clothes to the washer and then transferring them to the dryer. It is the folding process that I hate. But the other day, Ayda made the chore so much better. She didn't really help much but her enthusiasm for the dryer and all her clean clothes was enough to make the task enjoyable! Maybe she will enjoy the folding process more than me one day and I would not mind one bit!!! But for now her sweet smile makes it worth it!

Yay for clean clothes, mommy! THANKS!!!

Officially in my late 20s

I have to say I had a most wonderful birthday yesterday! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE my birthday! I used to start counting down 6 months before, but now with Kevin's birthday being almost exactly 3 months before mine I now count down from the day after his. Don't want to steal his thunder in any way! I'm nice like that!!! So anyway, yesterday was my day and it was perfect. Kevin arranged to have the whole day with me doing whatever we wanted. We went for a run with a friend of ours and her kiddos, lunch at my favorite place, hit golf balls with the clubs he got for me (and had a little lesson from him), nap time!, a wonderful dinner out sans baby, and then a little dessert party with my mom and Jim. It was busy but perfect! And by the end of the day I was sufficiently stuffed!!! Ayda had fun going with the flow and had a blast at my mom's house while we were at dinner. We even spent the night there so she could just go to bed at her normal time...which was bumped back 30 minutes because she and Grand-Pam were not done playing yet! Have I said the day was perfect?!?! It was!

Thanks to everyone who sent a card, called, text, etc. I am officially in my late 20s and could care less! This past year has been such a blessing becoming a mom, seeing Kevin graduate and pass boards, and begin this journey together of him starting his practice. I hope I never look at a birthday with dread (I can't imagine I ever will since I love them so much), but as a way to look back at the year and be thankful for health, love, happiness, lessons, and growth!

8 Month Pics of Ayda

My very talented sister-in-law has taken Ayda's pictures at birth and 4 months (www.allisonlewisphotography.com) . We decided to take some again at 1 year but I wanted a few of her at 8 months! It is amazing how much she has changed in only 4 months! My friend Lauren came to help "spot" her and I got some really cute shots. I am glad to finally be putting our nice camera to use other than around the house pictures of Ayda doing her random things! Enjoy!!

Upcoming Changes:

As you know Kevin graduated in March, took boards in May and got the results that he blew it out of the water in June! For about 7 months now we have been trying to figure out where we should set up his practice. It has been a journey of patience, faith and, well, patience!

We wanted desperately to make Atlanta work for us. This has been my home since birth and his the past few years. My mom and step dad are here, our church family, and an amazing small group. We searched for office spaces in the area that would keep us close by. And we found one that we liked and had actually gotten a pretty good deal on thanks to our broker. But we just didn't have peace about it. It was hard for me to see Kevin, who is such a rock for me, to wrestle with the decision. There was not much I could say to help him but I just kept encouraging him and staying patient. Trust me that was an answer to prayer because if you know me you know I am not always the most patient person. Sure standing at the check out line I am quite content to wait but when it comes to life decisions I like to know what we are doing, 5 years ago! So we finally decided to look at other areas around Atlanta, branch out and hit up some small towns. We visited Madison and loved it but still no peace.

We were planning to go to Florida to visit Kevin's family and decided to look at properties down there just to know our options. We really didn't expect anything to come from it. Well before Kevin even headed out to look at places we already felt peace about being there. For me it was very strange. Like I said, Atlanta has been my home for 27 years. I just felt at peace and at ease for the first time in months. Kevin went with a Broker in FL to look around last monday and found a few places he liked. By the time we left monday afternoon we were both pretty sure we knew what our direction was. And by Tuesday we knew for sure. We are moving to Florida!!! We are both excited and thrilled that we feel like God is leading us down this path. It is still very bitter/sweet because we are so happy with our life here in GA as well. It will be hard to say goodbye to my mom and Jim and our church family. And for me, to say goodbye to my NICU family will be sad! But we also are excited to know there are people there excited about us coming.

So the plan: I resigned from my job this past Thursday morning. It was a one month notice so I have four weeks of work left. Our lease is ending on September 30 so we will pack up and head south around then. Kevin is planning to go down in a couple weeks and continue nailing down plans for his location. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we make this transition! We finally don't feel scared about the whole thing...we are excited. I know Kevin will run an amazing practice and we are both excited to get started. It has been a wild ride so far but it has only brought the two of us closer together as we have reached this place. Thanks so much and I'll keep you posted as details unfold!

Tommy the Monkey

Here is Ayda's 8 month picture with Tommy the Monkey! I posted a few to show this month was definitely the hardest to get a good one. She was being very silly and not very still. But we managed to get maybe one good one with a lot of funny ones! And had lots of giggles doing it!

Quick trip to FL

Kevin, Ayda and I hit the road last friday for a long weekend in FL to visit his family. Ayda always seems to pick up where she left off with them and had quite a weekend. She basically could care less if Kevin and I were there. She would spend hours out on the deck being passed around by each family member! I looked out at one point and Kevin's Grandpa was walking around the front yard with her in the stroller. It is fun for me to watch! So here are a few pictures I took of her playing and doing her thing!

Smiling up at Kevin's mom
Playing in the baby pool Kevin's mom got her! She loved it regardless of if we put water in there or not!
I loved that I got this face because I get it multiple times a day. It is her "Momma, can I please eat this?!?". And of course before I could say no, it was in the mouth!
Playing in the water and loving her water toys. Kevin even got in for a little while to cool off. Of course Ayda ate that up!

Stay tuned for an update on the Lin family! Lots going on around here...and of course the monthly Tommy the Monkey picture is coming soon!