Back in June, our new family of 6 made the trip to Tennessee. We celebrated a dear friend's wedding reception and my dad's birthday, and got to show off Beckham to dozens of friends and family. Besides much of our family being in middle Tennessee, the golden light, the lush landscape, the open fields... there's no place quite like it. Tennessee hasn't been our home for 6 years now (hard to believe!), but it will always be a place of rest and respite for us.

Weekend at Washington

For weeks, we'd planned to spend a sunny Labor Day weekend with our dear friends in their hometown of Washington, NC. And then Hurricane Hermine decided to blow through. So instead of taking the boat out onto the river or spending the day in the hammock, we resorted to other things. Simpler joys. Walking out onto the pier as it drizzled rain. Slow lunches on the screened-in porch. Chocolate ice cream in downtown Washington. 

Our friends, the Watsons, have been true friends since the moment we landed in Raleigh. They have loved us lavishly with their time, their incredible cooking, their wisdom. So to be in their hometown, staying with their family, was a privilege in and of itself. We certainly hope to be back one day soon, maybe when the sun decides to shine.

Three.

With the help of both grandmas in town (one from Tennessee, the other from Germany), we had the sweetest party celebrating our newly 3-year-old boy. The theme was, quite clearly, dinosaurs. Dinosaurs that Liam is absolutely passionate about.

And we are absolutely passionate about Liam. He is so full of life: joy just exudes from him. He is opinionated, articulate (he has been correctly using the word "versatile" in a sentence recently), compassionate, and loving. His intelligence scares me a little and he's certainly a challenge, but he's ours, and we are up for that challenge. 

On the morning of his birthday, I told Liam the (edited) story of his birth. How Daddy and I weren't sure if he was coming, but we hopped in the car in the late hours of the night and headed to the hospital just in case. How we hit a speed bump just as we entered the hospital parking lot and my water broke all over the seat. How I walked into the hospital and everyone knew our baby was on his way and we wouldn't be leaving without him. How the moment I held him, I felt like I had known him all my life. 

Liam, I didn't think it possible to love you any wider or deeper than I did three years ago. But you've dug an even deeper hole in my heart and I know my love for you will continue to grow roots and shoots. I pray that this year, you understand Jesus' love for you and how it far surpasses how much Mommy or Daddy could ever love you. You are our treasure.

I'm crazy about you, my little man,

Mommy