The Update

Well, friends, it's been a while hasn't it? Not that I could help it really - we don't have internet at our new place yet, and up until last Friday, we didn't have a computer yet either. Whatever scraps you've had on Arthur's blog have been made on Jarrod's phone camera.

We are now residing in Monroe, Louisiana, in lovely house we're renting in the garden district. After the cramped feeling from three and a half people in a not-enough-square-feet apartment, we are feeling quite spoiled. It's a 3 block walk to our church/Jarrod's job and about 14 blocks down the road from my bro and sis-in-law. Fabulous. Gas prices have never seemed lower. With the move came a feeling of finally being "real adults" with an actual table our guests can eat around. It's as if our life in Monroe has really started, social life included. I didn't realize how lonesome I was for "girltime" until it became a possibility. Arthur and I walk in the neighborhood several times a week, and I always see someone I know. I can stop by my aunt's house, the church office, the school, wherever, and find someone with a moment to chat. I can have someone over for coffee on a whim, and they don't have to drive for an hour to get to my place! My niece and nephews can come over for wading pool time in the yard. The list really goes on forever. Our life has begun.

Jarrod, of course, is now a college graduate and working full-time at our church. I think the structure has given him a great deal of sanity. He enjoys coming home to his little family with plenty of time to enjoy dinner and chase Arthur around the house rather than rush through to his next responsibility and only get to peek in on the sleeping baby like before. Arthur squeals more for his daddy than anybody else. They've really bonded much more since the move.

I, of course, am still pregnant and heading into that final phase where even rolling over in the bed is quite a feat. "Little brother" is not nearly as active in utero as Arthur was, so I have to poke him quite hard to feel that satisfying slump. He's a genius, of course. I know.
Motherhood is going well at the moment too. The sin nature of my little munchkin has begun to show some challenging features, but nothing a good spank and cry won't handle for the moment. Sometimes both of us with the crying part. If he wasn't so darn cute!
We enjoy a wider variety of entertainment than before as he's grown so much these last months. Pool time, walk time, pull-out-all-of-momma's-tuperware time, bath time, chase, etc... The boy loves to play hard. Although, I've begun to see that he needs his own space once in a while as well. He has to have "crib time" when he sits with his music and a stack of books for an hour or more! I have not forced this upon him. He practically begs for it some days and immediately quits whining when he see he's about to get some "space." I understand because I'm just the same way in that area.

In wifery, having a fabulous kitchen sure doesn't hurt. Jarrod can have his sweet tea and ice cubes without too much of a production on my part. Apparently, big kitchens aren't always the hardest to manage. Going from a tiny one to a medium sized one has been wonderful. I had no room to do anything at the apartment. Now I feel like making a pie is a possibility on any given night. Hospitality is easier too. Jarrod and I both have enjoyed that, as evidenced by the fact that we've had company a couple times a week since we moved into the house. It's fun to give him a number and turn him loose at the church to see who he'll invite for lunch on Sunday afternoon.

Well, I think I'll call it quits for now, but hopefully, this is the restart of something more regular again.