twirpy twirp

sometimes....i tell you what....this cute kid of mine leaves me flabbergasted. he has me cracking up one moment and then about to pull my hair out in the next. he's 14 months now and at the moment is whining, standing on top of a box because he can't get down. he's got a strawberry breakfast bar smeared all over his Lakers pjs, and now that he's down from the box, he's mischieviously pulling out little screws and keys from a drawer in our computer desk. all the while he's keeping an eye on me, in case he sees me coming and planning to ruin his outlawed fun. sometimes....

but he's so much fun. so silly and so sweet. and he hands me those beloved screws and keys without a second thought. he's a very good sharer. he's just uber mischievous, adventurous, curious, and busy, busy, busy.

his latest accomplishment: walking! i love it. i love to see his little legs move so mechanically and penguin-like all at once. he took his first couple of steps right before he and i left for california a few weeks ago. scott had tears in his eyes when he took those shaky first steps. love that man. he had been so nervous that jake would walk in california and he'd miss it.

jake's favorite foods: grapes, chex mix, freeze-dried yogurts. favorite show: Curious George and the theme song/intro to The Office. favorite hand motion: waving bye-bye because he wants to go outside. favorite toys: car buggy and any ball. favorite word: ball. favorite thing about life: ball.

ball. ball. ball. ball. loves to say it. loves to play it. he applauds basketball hoops on our daily walks. to say he loves to play ball is an understatement. last night, after dinner, i thought, "hey, we should bounce the ball outside on the pavement. jake would love that!" so we go outside. we bounce the ball against the garage. and then jake spies a step. the one little step up to our porch. and he decides that going up and down this one, solitary step is way cooler than a ball at the moment. a step. sometimes....

there are the days when jake has found some black craft paint and ate it and smeared it all over my closet floor and there are the times when he pulls out all the socks from the drawer or the time when he pulled off a strip of wood from our kitchen table. yeah. that was pleasant.

but there are the sweet moments where he jumps down the couch and falls into my arms giggling or the nights where he wraps his little arms around my neck as i put him down to sleep or the sweet smirks he gives me that make his cheeks puff like a squirrels.

i love his twirpy guts. 

six years

jake with a babysitter

me and my love holding hands

uptown charlotte

high rise building

27th floor

Bentley's 

jumbo shrimp, ribeye, filet oscar, chocolate torte, creme brulee

view of sunset over charlotte

candlelight and little kisses

love that charming, romantic man of mine

forever

xoxo

the bertie is engaged!

"do you hear bells, baby?" why yes i do! cardon ellis proposed to my sister brittany a couple of weeks ago and the date is set for november 24th! we are so excited to have another wedding to plan and to add another guy to the family. bert and cardon are so in love. these two dark-haired, quirky, silly lovebirds belong together. congrats sista. i love u.

newport beachhouse//part one

wowie. we are finally back from a two week long vacation in california. it was tons of fun as always! this year we tried out a beachhouse in Newport Beach. we. loved. it. it was right on the sand--no boardwalk--so we could open the sliding doors and step out to the beach. with a little one in tow it was the perfect situation. i think Newport may just be the "it" beach for the family here on out. (not to mention the shopping in Newport is fantastic :)

all week long we sunbathed on the beach--whilst under the ez up--and dug giant holes in the sand--which jake once fell into headfirst--and lathered jake up with sunscreen like a greased piglet--but he got a titch burnt on our walk to the Stuft Surfer for breakfast the last day--and we snacked and snacked and snacked. i must have gained 10 pounds that week. but if you give a Cristine a bag of pretzels and a jar of cheese whiz she will eat it all. and in Cawley family tradition we played International every night til, watched the Olympics till our heads ached, and just relished time together as a family. thank you mom and dad!

***and silly me. i forgot my camera, so all pictures were taken with my iphone/instagram. enjoy.

what a whirlwind life has been. new town, new house, new store for scott, new ward, new state, new experiences.

wednesday and thursday of last week the movers came and packed us up. boy is that wonderful. i could never move without them now. and i couldn't have stayed sane over the process if it wasn't for some awesome people in good ol' Cookeville. My friend Kara helped me pry our cat out from inside my mattress box spring because he was so freaked out by all the boxes and noises. My wonderful visiting teacher Alyssa watched Jake for almost five hours while Scott and I cleaned like mad (she even changed two poopy diapers which makes her a gold star visiting teacher and instant access into heaven.) My friend and fellow YW leader Mandi brought over treats for the car ride. And the awesome, beautiful and incredible Riches sisters, Lindsay and Rachel, my adorable--and very capable might i add--young women, let us use their family's work truck and hose to haul trash and boxes and paper to the dump. Lindsay even climbed on top of the dumpster to get a work line going more efficiently. They ding dong ditched me a couple of times with treats and notes and I most definitely may have cried.

the service and love shown our family in Cookeville is just...i don't know even know how to express our gratitude. the people there are amazing. hard-working, kind and giving. truly special people. and we are so blessed to have known them. 

friday night, around 8 pm, after an exhausting day of moving and cleaning and goodbye-ing, we left the Riches house and headed for our new home. 6 hours away. we were beyond tired but figured Jake would sleep the whole way if we were lucky. scott was a trooper and drove the whole way there. i offered to switch, honestly! but i think his mind was in the, "i just want to get there," and "you drive too slowly" mode. which is true. i'm a stickler for speeding laws. 

but i was grateful he did drive, because holy hannah, it rained hard most of the time. and if it wasn't raining, there was thick fog. if there wasn't fog, then there was wind. and it was pitch black on a windy, mountain road known as "the dragon's trail" that snakes its way over the Blue Ridge Mountains. i tell you what, it was fun. not.

but scott was great. the babe stayed asleep. and we made it in around 3:30 am. i blew a kiss to emily and "jef with one f" as we passed Charlotte. ;) we went straight to our new little house, brought in some blankets (the movers packed our air mattress! doh!) and slept on the floor. it was not comfortable. but it was only for a couple of hours and then the movers showed up to move our stuff in.

wow it's exhausting just to remember everything that's happened. i've been unpacking all day every day. cleaning and also laying on the couch because i'm tuckered out! jake's sleep schedule has been horrific. but it's getting better. (just in time to screw him up even more when we leave for california next week. oi.) 

and Albemarle? whether its pronounced al-ba-mar-ul or al-buh-mar, it is tiny. smaller than Cookeville. which is crazy. restaurant choices here is pretty much Applebee's or Applebee's. take your pick. in Cookeville, i had TJ Maxx as my saving grace. here in Albemarle, i got...hmmm....zilch. but...looking on the bright side, i'm only 45 minutes away from Concord which boasts everything my heart could desire. so, the glass is half full i guess.

tune into my next post, The Hmong. it's quite a surprise and an interesting tale.

xoxoxo

my littlest sister, Lina Lou, is amazing. and talented. and has lightning-fast hands. she attended EFY last week in Santa Barbara and was the star of the Talent Show when she performed Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" in sign language. she is one awesome sista. a beautiful, christ-like young woman. so proud of her and her talents. (you can watch the video on my facebook :)

***she's the one that looks like me and is wearing sexy, red pants :)

"mother dear, i love you so! your happy smiling face is such a joy to look at! you make home a lovely place!" i thought about this little song all day. my mother is a joy. and she does make earth a better place. happy birthday mom. so glad i have you. (and i'm glad that macaroon you ate in solvang was amazing. :)

 xoxo

deenie

(and no, that's not me with my mom. that's lina. but we look the same pretty much. mom, i think we need to take more pics together.)