No One Gave Me an Instruction Manual!

Promised video of our "crawler."

Just Why Do People Sell Their Homes, Anyway? (And crawling)

We're 0 for 2 here, people. As of yesterday, we have now accepted two offers on our house, from two different couples, and both times the buyers have reneged. The only difference this time was we actually signed a contract and saw a copy of a check for earnest money, so we were hoping we were a little closer to being "homeless" for awhile. No such luck. After a call yesterday afternoon from our realtor, we realized that we are just not the right people to sell a home. So, third time's the charm, right? We are in the process of negotiating with another couple. Hopefully this will be the one. Yet again, God is so good to remind us to trust HIS plan, not ours.

Ben and I had an absolutely fabulous anniversary. We went to a brilliant little Bed&Breakfast called The Woodward in Topeka, KS. It's actually a series of historic houses that have been renovated into these B&Bs. My mom and dad kept Sophie overnight (our first night away from her at the same time). We got spiffied up, and enjoyed a nice Italian dinner out in Topeka. We then went back to The Woodward for our free chocolate ice-cream-cake, which we enjoyed on the front porch with some peach ice tea while reading a good book. Late that night, I was having a tough time sleeping, so we stayed up giggling and talking into the wee hours of the morning. Norman Rockwell couldn't have painted a more flawless portrait in my memory.

Here we are at the restaurant:

And this is the Woodward Executive, the house we were in (we had the whole house to ourselves!) Make sure to check out their website to see the other houses - the main one is especially phenomenal.

In another bit of news, Sophie is finally crawling! She started this on Friday. It is a really funny little crawl (we call it a gimp crawl; I know we're mean)... she doesn't want to put both knees down so she crawls on one knee and one foot. Not the most efficient means of getting around, but hey, at least she's a little more mobile, and that makes her happier (which makes me happier). I've attempted at least three times to post a video (sorry if you're using a feed and keep getting new post updates), but Blogger is having serious problems (or else I am). SO, video will come in the future. Make sure to check back for it, because she's a stinking cute gimp-crawler, if I can say that as a totally biased Mommy.

Happy 6th Anniversary, Ben!

Oh, my Benny. After six years, you are still my world. Being married to you has been an incredible journey, and what great adventures we've had together!

Remember...
Oklahoma Christian University... God chose it while He was still forming us as the place where we would find each other.

Our very first date. We celebrated our birthdays together (at Walmart, ha ha), in 1999!

A. The first night we became an "official couple," Feb 2, 2000. B. The night you won Homecoming King (remember how I planted a big smacker on you when they announced it?!)

A. Intramurals B. Spring Sing 2000 (Good thing you let me keep my head!)

A. Our engagement pictures (you proposed in October 2001... I can still see your sweet face as we stood at "our" stop sign and you got down on one knee) B. OC Graduation, 2002 - 3 weeks until our wedding day!

Remember...

May 18, 2002 - the day I became your wife! I couldn't cry for smiling all day long. I can still feel your warm (sweaty) hand around mine; I can see your stunning blue eyes telling me there's nothing more you want in the world. (I know my roomies were just as excited as me, since they no longer had to watch me practice signing my new name!)

Remember...

A. Honeymoon in Vegas! B. Our first house, August 2003

Our last big "Hoorah" before starting our family! Europe, May 2006; what a beautiful time of exploration, adventure, snuggling and PIZZA.

Remember...

All of the times you've made me laugh until tears streamed from my eyes and my belly ached. Even now, when others might say we're too old, I never get tired of being silly and crazy with you. You have taught me how to truly let go and grasp hold of all life brings us.

The day you snuck into my grad school class, dressed as a nerd, WITH our dog (with a balloon tied to him) and a bouquet of roses, to wish me happy birthday!

A. The fort we built in our first home together (our apartment). B. Boomer Sooner!!

A. Your surprise Roman "costume" while we were in Rome. B. Our first anniversary in Florida.

Remember...

Our first babies. Even though I tend to ignore them a little now, you still have a soft spot for Brady and Hurley just like you always did.

Remember...
In October 2006 we found out there was a little one coming. We were so excited (and scared), but had no idea the ways she would mold and grow us!

Watching you be a Daddy to our little girl is unlike anything I ever imagined. It melts my heart every night when you sneak in to peek at her while she sleeps. I want to capture the image of you holding her on your lap, reading to her; I never want to forget the gorgeous, huge smile on her face when you get home from work or the way you sing silly songs to her and make her laugh.


After six years, two states, many jobs, two dogs, and a baby, I am more in love with you now than I have ever been. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us and our family in the years to come. You truly are my "real life fairy tale."

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BABY!

I have another WHAT?!

Listen up, ladies. It's time for a visit to your friendly, neighborhood dermatologist.

About two months ago, I realized that a funny little spot on my shoulder was not going away. I went to see my dermatologist, and he informed me that I had a basal cell carcinoma and needed to have it removed. For those of you wondering, yes, that is a type of skin cancer. While it is a pretty harmless type, it's a little unusual at my young (ha!) age of 28.

So, I had my shoulder sliced up and a big chunk of skin removed. Fast forward one-and-a-half months. I'm standing in our bathroom peering into the mirror at another spot on my shoulder. "This looks kinda like my carcinoma," I say absentmindedly to my husband, as I point at the bump that is less than an inch away from the long, red scar of my last surgery. "Hmmmm..." is the response from his corner of the bathroom.

The next day I'm on the phone, scheduling an appointment with a dermatologist here in Wichita. Today as I sat in that office and showed her my shoulder, I have to admit that I was pretty prepared for what she was going to say. She didn't say with absolute certainty that it was another carcinoma, but she said, "I'm afraid that might be another basal cell." She took a biopsy and will let me know soon.

Not much concern to me. She said even though I'm young, I'm a poster child for sun damage (fair skin, strawberry-blonde hair, tons of freckles), so it's really not much to worry about. I just need to "lather on the sunscreen."

So why the heck am I writing this, then? I WANT YOU ALL TO GO SEE YOUR DERMATOLOGIST AND HAVE YOUR SKIN CHECKED. I'm 28 years old and this could be my second skin cancer in two months. I never would've thought it would happen, so you probably don't either! GO SEE A DERMATOLOGIST!!! PLEASE!

Once you see your dermatologist, send me a note letting me know you're in the clear, and I'll make sure you don't have to go see the Principal.

Sophie, my Hearing Impaired baby?

Well, some of you may be awaiting an update on Sophie's hearing loss. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't one (not really). I still haven't found an audiologist here in Wichita. In the meantime, my sweet little girl with borderline mild hearing loss is verbosly growing by leaps and bounds. Not that this is anything new, because God has always whispered reassurances in our ears by her love for talking (babbling, chatting, whatever you want to call it). But lately, she has picked up some new habits. I will attempt to get video of it in the future, but here is a list of the new things she says.

1. "NO" - it sounds more like "NA," but she knows exactly what she's saying. Her favorite time to say it is when she throws her sippy cup off the high chair, and then looks right at me and says, "Na Na!" Guess I've said that a little too much.

2. DaDa and MaMa - she's babbled these for months, but now she really means them. She started with DaDa about a month ago, so I guess that was her first word (forget the woman who nursed you, takes care of you all day, and wipes most of your poopy diapers). But within the last couple weeks she has also started to mean MaMa. What an incredible feeling to hear her say that.

3. "Aaaaa" (in a deep grumbling voice) and "Nay" - these two animal sounds she does really well. The first is the lion - it is the cutest little growl ever. The other, of course, is the horse. If she's asked "What does the lion (or horse) say?" she answers with the correct sound. SO CUTE.

What an awesome God we serve!

The Family is One of God's Masterpieces

The whole family has been together this weekend. Today we had professional pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. We've used them before and they did a great job. Enjoy!

The whole fam!

Troy and Katie with Delaney and Nolan; our family (Ben, Kelly & Sophie, ha ha):

Uncle Jeremy with his nieces and nephew; Grandad and Grandma with their babies:

Nolan and Delaney; all 3 cousins:

Sweet little Nolan; big-girl Delaney


Sophie doing one of the hilarious new smiles she has (her smile is evolving; not a baby, big open-mouthed smile all the time anymore).

Hope you got your fill of the "Eroh" family!

Our New Look

I'm so excited about our new title bar. Major props out to my hubby for his help late last night. I downloaded everything I used for free off of: http://www.shabbyprincess.com/ - they have some great digi-scrapbooking stuff and it was so easy to use (I did mine in Microsoft Publisher). Thanks to my friend Abbie for sharing the idea.

The Hike

So often my faith is so small. I see a mountain looming and mindlessly allow fear and doubt to consume me. "It's too big." "It will take ages to climb!" "Wouldn't it just be easier to re-route?" Oh Lord, please help me to know and believe that the mountain before me was chosen for me as a precious gift. Help me not to overlook my opportunities to grow: to build muscle; to increase my endurance; to breathe some fresh air; to feel my lungs burn with the thrill of exertion. Let me not forget the magnificence that awaits me at the summit, and the chance to "be still and know." Holy Father, remind me to praise you at the first glimpse of each new mountain. Delight my soul with the anticipation of what that new journey brings.


**Click on "gift" to access the article "Don't Waste Your Cancer" by John Piper.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Friday evening found me, Sophie, and my mom and dad in Nebraska. We were visiting my sister, Katie, and her two kids, Delaney and Nolan. Her hubby was MIA, so we went to see the kiddos and help out a little. (J/K, Troy was busy making some extra dinero). We got there on Friday night, and even though Sophie hardly napped a wink at all on Friday, and should've been ready to pass out at 9:30 p.m. when we arrived, she was KEYED UP when she saw her cousin Delaney. Oh, she loves that little girl. Here they are reading together.

Grandad and Grandma had a great time with all their grandbabies together in one place.

This is me, Kate and all three kiddos.

It was so fun to get to see Nolan again; it had been over a month since we'd last seen him and he'd grown so much!! He's such a little scrunchin-head.

On the home front (home-selling front, that is), they say no news is good news, right?

For the grand finale, here's a video of Sophie and Delaney dancing to an "Elmo potty" DVD. Notice how Soph keeps snapping her head around to look for Delaney. I repeat - oh, she loves that little girl.

Infatuation

I just had to put on a video of Sophie with her main love in life: books. One of my favorite parts is right at first when I start reading, and Sophie looks at me with a big smile. I also love how she makes little comments to me the whole time. I just know she's telling me her favorite part of the story. She usually loves to turn the pages, but we didn't get that in this video. Don't you all find my little girl as cute and funny as I do?!