November

Well you can all sit comfortably knowing I will not be reiterating yesterday's sermon to you. Last week I thought they weren't preaching to me but was wrong; this week I'm sure of it. The sermon was on David and Bathsheba. The idea, I think, was to show that the same man who defeated Goliath was also capable of committing adultery and murder - and none of us are free from that. Ok, yeah, I get it. And like the rest of us I sin daily. But I don't QUITE fit in with the sexual deviation and lies and deceit and all of the snow-ball sins that we focused on. So, God gave me a break. Whew! And you all probably breathed a sigh of relief to learn I am not caught up in sexual immorality...I'm sure you were sitting on pins and needles with curiosity.

So, without church to really write about what do I possibly have for Monday's blog? I can't tell you about my weekend cause that will pretty much be William Wednesday in its entirety. And that's my life! Hmm.

November! Ahh, November. Probably my second favorite month of 2011. August was my favorite, and september ranked pretty low on the list...maybe beating out January by a hair. But November has been awesome. It snuck up on me, swooped in, packed its days full, and it's almost gone before I even had time to realize it was here!

One of the things I've most looked forward to in 2011 was the birth of my first niece. I hope not my only niece! I have waited and waited and WAITED for her birth. I almost think it was more grueling than waiting for William! At least when you're the pregnant one #1 you get to carry the baby with you wherever you go, and #2 you are so busy preparing that the 9 months flies by. (or am I the only one who spends 9 months organizing closets and drawers and painting and washing clothes and organizing diapers and...you get it) but when you're the aunt...and you live 1,200 miles away...all you can do is wait. And SHOP!

I can't believe this is the first I've blogged about my precious niece, but I attribute that to the fact that November is my fleeting friend. So here she is on her birthday!




And here she is 3 short weeks later



She has grown SO much and her face has changed and I have missed it all. But not this week! This week I finally get to hold her and read her 'you are my cupcake' and sing to her and love on her. I'm pretty much obsessed with her and I've never even held her. I had no idea I could love someone that much without even really knowing them, but I do.

So what does an aunt do when she can't sing to her niece or rock her or feed her or kiss her? She shops for her! We bought her 4 new dresses and 2 new pajamas this week (some are from yaya since apparently my target has more baby clothes) So add all that to her Christmas presents and books and the clothes I already had for her and I practically have a Kelli suitcase! I am so excited to show her all of her presents, I know she will be just ecstatic about it :)

And then I suppose the only thing a mom can do with an empty suitcase is go shopping some more. What to buy what to buy...



- manda