Actually, Seth Meyers doesn’t do Weekend Update on SNL anymore – he has his own show now…just one of the many things that happened during the “February Fog.” But I liked the announcer-style title. It goes.

First, for those that inquired, dad is continuing his reign as Miracle Man and is doing fantastically well. I apologize for the lack of information regarding his condition – I assume everyone can hear my thoughts and thus know that he’s getting stronger and more active by the day. There are still some small bumps along the way that are frustrating for he and mom, but hopefully those will also begin to iron themselves out and he will be on the golf course next month. Please do continue to pray for his progress – he needs to gain some much-needed muscle weight and that seems to be slow-going, so your prayers have been and are still welcomed. Regardless, when we stand back and think about everything that has happened, we’re always amazed and blessed that we had the privilege to witness this miracle.

As his progress continues, the rest of us are also sort-of finding our new ‘normal’ and are all a little anxious for spring (now that the Big Snow is behind us, of course.) Personally, I feel like I’ve sort of come out of a coma – the winter coma I suppose. Or as I mentioned before, the “February Fog.” Apparently this is something that plagues many: our pastor began his sermon a few weeks ago saying that he had once heard that God made February so people that don’t drink would know what a hangover feels like. AMEN to that. My lack of feeling like I accomplished ANYTHING during February must be attributed to said hangover. We just sort of shuffled through the days. A lot happened in February – well, to be clear, a lot happened on TV  – the Super Bowl, awards shows, Jimmy Fallon took over the Tonight Show, and of course, the Olympics (I watched every possible minute of the Games like it was my JOB.) But, like a great awakening, the calendar flip has led to a lot of activity around here.

I attribute at least some of this activity to the beginning of Lent. Not only did I give up shopping on Zulily, but I added doing a Bible study and both are going very well. In spite of the fact that, according to my Facebook feed, some of my MOST FAVORITEST brands have been featured on Zulily just in the last week – Vera Bradley (this only happens once a QUARTER), Athleta, Ugg – I’m sure the list continues, but I just avert my eyes (that are no longer bleeding) when I see the listings and go read my daily Bible selections. It’s amazing how quickly perspective is restored when you add just a little bit of discipline.

Something else that’s keeping me disciplined (and very busy) is participating in the “40 Bags in 40 Days” movement for Lent as well. I stumbled upon this on Facebook just a couple of days before Lent began and was immediately hooked. Even though we have just moved and I try to stay “on top” of keeping things decluttered, and “decrapified,” the inevitable stuff of life still manages to take up residence quicker than we realize. I loved the ‘challenge’ and that even though giant contractor bags are pictured in the post, she states that ‘bag’ can be loosely interpreted to mean just about anything as long as an area of your home (or related ‘area of life’) is dejunkified in some form or fashion. I started small and either cleaned out areas that just resulted in trash or just filled a grocery sack, but have since graduated to trash or contractor bags for larger places. It’s freeing. I’ve even got mom in on the action and we made progress in her attic the other day completely unexpectedly. Once you get a mindset, it’s actually kinda fun! (Yes. FUN!) It’s also a great way to refocus on contentment and sacrifice for the season of Lent and I’m so glad this crossed my path.

Facebook is good for something after all.

So that’s about it for this update. There’s more to come and I hope I can stay dedicated to all I’ve committed to.

I wish I could remember how Seth Meyers used to sign off…

Our precious Ellyson Rose, 

 We can’t believe it’s already time to celebrate your first birthday. We can’t believe the amount of joy that entered our lives a year ago that has only multiplied every day. We can’t believe our petite, helpless baby is quickly growing into a tall, independent toddler. And sometimes? We can’t believe we survived. 

 Your first year was filled with excessive fear and worry, episodes of trial and error, and lots of experimental parenting. We had a lot to learn. The first of which was that everything we thought we were prepared for was evidently just an exercise in silliness on our part. 

 In your sweet little state, you taught us more in a year than either of us had ever learned. We learned how to adapt to change quickly.  We learned that it’s a necessity to take one day at a time. We learned that our desires had somehow overnight morphed into only meeting your needs and wants. And while we’re still learning how to do most of those things on a daily basis, we didn’t need to learn that we could love more than we ever thought humanly possible. That was instant. 

 We have discovered that exponential joy can come in the smallest packages, the tiniest moments, the briefest breaths. We were elated every time we succeeded in a peaceful feeding, a clean diaper change, a smooth bedtime. We were heroes. Then we were humbled every time you had a tummy ache or had teeth coming in. We briefly put aside our hero capes and sometimes just cried with you until we could get to a better day, which always came. 

 We found a new meaning of trust – a trust that you showed us by being fully and completely dependent on us for everything. It’s that same trust that God expects of us and the only way we can be a good mommy or daddy is to trust in our heavenly father, daily. This is a life lesson that it took far too long for both of us to learn and pray you will see quickly the peace that can come from this trust. And be proud that you showed us that. 

 We treasure every precious moment with you and wish we could bottle up a little piece of you at every stage, just so we never forget anything. Our hearts overflow with these memories and burst at the anticipation of what’s to come. You light up our lives every single day and we don’t know how we were ever so blessed to be called your parents. 

But enough about us, today is YOUR day! 

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our feisty, kind spirited, beautiful-beyond-words baby girl! 

Love, Momma and Daddy

So we partied!

[We partied a little before Elly’s actual birthday. You know, because Duck Dynasty is going to be in town the weekend closest to her birthday, and heaven forbid we impede on that! :)]