Monday, December 5, 2011

Unless God Gets a Shovel...

and uproots us!

Is my answer to the question: "so, are you staying in Mount Vernon or will you be moving again?"  Mount Vernon is our home, we have taken root, and we are flourishing.  We love our new community and hope that it will be our forever home, but only God knows for sure.

We are still living in the temporary housing, a fourplex, on the edge of campus.  Two of the other apartments are also families, so between the three families we have 8 children!  They are all under 10, our next door neighbors have an 8 yo boy, 6 yo girl, and almost 2 yo girl and our downstairs neighbors have three boys: 5, 3, and 1.  The older kids all play well together, and they love to come over and play with our trains (which were greatly expanded thanks to the generosity of my cousin Chris and his family).  Kaitlyn loves the little boy downstairs and squeals and dances when she see him.  We haven't gotten to spend as much time yet with our next door neighbors, but I'm sure they'll all become really good friends as well.

So, the girls and I are on our first major family road trip since before Kaitlyn was born, it's just the three of us as Josh needed to work.  We started in Mount Vernon and went south a little ways for my cousin's funeral (he was 40 and tragically killed by a semi while working in a construction zone).  Then we headed down to Louisville (KY) to spend time with my parents, sisters, nephew, and brother-in-law.  We even had an early Thanksgiving supper with the whole group--yay!  Then we headed further south to Somerset (KY) to spend time with Josh's parents and brother, and had a very yummy Thanksgiving lupper (our term for a meal eaten somewhere between lunch and supper).  Now we're even further south in Tuscaloosa spending time with my aunt, but soon we'll have to head back home and resume our daily life.  Here's some pics of the girls from our road trip thus far... I've only taken a few via my phone...  Enjoy!








Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Cunninghams: 10 Years Later


Ten years ago, as a nation, we were still trying to pick up the pieces from the aftermath of 9-11.  Patriotism was soaring, people were turning to God, and we were striving to find normalcy in our day-to-day lives.  As for the Cunninghams, we were preparing for the first big event of our family, our marriage.  On Saturday, October 6, 2001 at Freeman Lake in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, the Cunningham family was established in a small ceremony by the lake's edge.  Six months later, our family would be transplanted in Colorado where we would stay for over five years. After that, we were transplanted back in Kentucky for a few years and our family expanded to four.  Then a few month ago, we were transplanted, hopefully for the last time, in Ohio.  Through our journey as a family, our love has grown to be more strong, deep, and pure.  The years have been marked by many wonderful friendships, and we want to say "Thank You" for being a part of our lives.  Without those friendships, we wouldn't be the family that we are today.  "Thank You" each for being a part of our journey!











Saturday, September 10, 2011

Kaitlyn: A Year in Review

Hard to believe that a year has gone since Kaitlyn entered our world.  She has grown and changed so much during that time.  Here's her first year in pictures....

2 weeks

 

 
2 months
 
1 month


 
3 months

4 months

       

     
    5 months
    
    6 months
    7 months
     
    8 months
     
    10 months
    
     
    9 months
     
    11 months
    
    12 months
    

    My baby girl is not so much a baby anymore, she's officially moved on to being a toddler.  She can feed herself most foods, knows a few signs, says a dozen or so words (some parental translation needed), and is officially a walker for the last two weeks.  She loves to laugh and smile, adores her family, is full of energy, and a joy to be around. (I'm not at all biased, of course!)  As of a month ago, she's no longer nursing, and as of this week has moved to whole milk.  Her eyes are showing hints of brown, but are still mostly dark gray.  She's gone from being a skinny baby to being our "chunky monkey", weighing in around 23 pounds, if the home scale is right.  She has four teeth and loves to feel around for more--fair warning: don't try to feel them, she'll bite!  She seems to love baby dolls already and enjoys reading.  She's started helping cleaning up at the end of play-time now.  Amazing that one year ago, she was a helpless baby fully dependent on our care and now look at her!
    
    
    
    

    Friday, July 29, 2011

    Moving In...

    Finally posting after working on this blog on and off for three weeks.  There's several links to pictures or more info if you are interested...


    Where:  Northeast of Columbus by about 45 minutes

    Population:  Around 17K

    Shopping:  Dollar Tree, JC Penny's, KM, Kroger, Peebles, WM, local businesses

    Dining:  Standard fast food places, Ruby Tuesday's, Ryan's Steakhouse, several local restaurants including those specializing in Chinese, Indian, Mexican

    Attractions:  Oldest opera house in U.S., Children's garden (with water fountains, miniature buildings, a secret garden and more!), water park, city parks, one of the largest art galleries in OH

    Affordability:  Quite so, compared to most U.S. cities, definitely less than Colorado Springs

    Housing:  Currently, there's an abundance of housing, average price is probably around $120K, unless you want a huge place or lots of acres, and then you're starting price is around $350K


    
    MVNU
    
    Another Part of the stream
     
    Stream running through campus
    
    







     
     Student Population:  around 2.7K

    Campus Size:  406 acres
    
    Mascot:  Cougar

    Local Nickname:  The Naz


    Our Place of Worship

    

    Size: 600ish when school's in session

    Kid's Programs:  Yes, in multiple age groups
         Kaitlyn has been in the nursery several times now
         Hannah's first experience with the kids' programming was a Wednesday night, and despite a very rocky start she had a great time and met lots of new friends.  She's been in the Sunday morning little kids' worship several times now and always has a great time.

    Small Groups:  Wednesdays, there's a young couples group, most of the couples are mid-20s, and resuming this fall, another small group on Sunday night


    Our Temporary Housing


    Where:  MVNU's Glen Road Apartments, a fourplex on the southeast side of the campus and town

    Which:  Top, southeast facing...  all day sun and only a tiny bit of morning shade
    How long:  we can stay for up to a year, so through April of next year, but probably just through winter


    Size:  2-bedroom, probably 800 square feet, bigger than the one in CO, has a deck off the kitchen

    A/C:  Yes, a small unit in the living room was provided, and our portable a/c in our bedroom

    How's it going:  If we can survive the heat of summer, we'll be golden!  (The indoor temp, by the a/c, have been in the low 80s most of the day)


    The Girls
    Thanks Granma Smith for the cute clothes!









    Dipping in the campus stream
    
    
    At the Children's Garden's Train Ticket Booth
     
    
    Here's your ticket!
     Hannah:   Seems to be adjusting to life in a new town, her stress levels have definitely gone down now that the unpacking is mostly done for now.  Decided on our way home after Memorial Day weekend that she was ready for potty training and did really good for a couple of weeks, but the stress of the move caused her to revert for a while, but she's back on track and accident-free!
    I found my tongue!
    
    Kaitlyn:  The move didn't seem to really affect her, except that the busyness of the first few days caused naps to be off, but she's back on schedule now!  She's almost walking, she took 2 small steps the other day. 
    The water is cold, but I love it!
     
    In honor of Aunt Carol Sue...
    
    
    
    
    


     

    Jobs

    Daddy:  Still lovin' his job and they love him!  He's in the middle of a huge deployment of hardware and software, so he's been really busy and a bit stressed at times.  But the good news is that the biggest part of the deployment is done!  


    Back from an interview
    Mommy:  Almost to the end of her contracting work for Focus on the Family.  They have been a wonderful, meaningful part of her life over the last 8.5 years but that chapter is about to close.  So, she's looking for a full-time position outside the home, but childcare is quite expensive so we may need to look for unconventional jobs. .
    
    
    

    Sunday, June 5, 2011

    Another BIG Move and more...

    So I promised pictures from last summer, and well, life got very busy after having a second baby and has not slowed down much!  But here I am finally updating everyone with news and pictures...   Pictures first because most of you know you want to see some cute kids, right?
    
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
     
    
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
     
    
    
    

     
    
    

     
      
    

     
     
    
    Hannah and Cousin Jason
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
      
    Mother's Day 2011
    
    
    
     
     
        
    Fort in St. Augustine, April 2011
    
       
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
    

    
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
    
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
     
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
    

     
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
    
    In Mommy's Old Baby Dress, May 2011


    
    
    
    
    Spring Break in Florida, April 2011
    
    Thanksgiving 2010
    

    I've sat down to work on this blog several times, but I just didn't have enough time, so I apologize!  Here's the news in brief:

    Another "Big" Move
    • From:  Somerset, KY (where we've resided with Daddy's parents since April 2010)
    • To:  Mount Vernon, OH
    • Why?:  Daddy got a new job at his "dream" school... Mount Vernon Nazarene University, locally called "The Naz"
    • How long?:  Maybe permanently, we can dream, right?  Definitely not another short-term move.
    • When?:  Daddy's already there.  Mommy and the girls will move up after we get our things sorted and packed, hopefully
    Daddy
    • 1 month now in his new IT position at MVNU
    • Staying in "transitional" housing on campus
    • LOVES his new position!
    • Has made several new friends in Mount Vernon
    • Attending New Life Nazarene
    • Still teaching online courses for Somerset Community College
    • Looking forward to teaching courses at MVNU down the road, perhaps this fall
    Mommy
    • Just finished her last week watching Kathryn, 3 months, while her mommy and daddy work
    • Is doing some contracting work for Focus on the Family, helping them as they transition to a new tool
    • Mentally ready for the BIG move, but hasn't tackled packing
    Hannah
    • Is unofficially 3!  She was born on Leap Day, so her first official b-day is Feb 29, 2012
    • Has grown soooo much!  34 1/2 inches tall, 26 pound at her 3-year checkup
    • Currently knows 6 Bible verses, we're working on the 7th
    • Her vocabulary and knowledge have grown by leaps and bounds
      • Knows her ABCs, can write several
      • Can count to 20 and can count the number of objects
      • Working on telling time
      • Knows her colors, many objects and animals
      • Knows LOTS and LOTS of signs (American Sign Language)
    • Says her own prayers (they're really cute!)
    • Helps with chores (dishes, laundry, trash, watering plants)
    • Rides her tricycle
    • Is almost completely potty trained.  She has suddenly decided she want to potty train and does good except that she still wakes up wet because she's gone in her sleep
    Kaitlyn
    • 9 months, 27 inches, 18 pounds 3.9 ounces
    • Like her big sister, had GERD (GastroEsophogeal Reflux Disease, aka Reflux)
      • Had poor weight gain
      • Was on Prevacid until March, then on Nexium
        • Nexium is awesome! 
        • She went from soaking several burp cloths and bibs daily to just a few to rarely spitting up
        • Gained 4 pounds in about 6 weeks after starting Nexium
      • Now is reflux-free!
    • Crawls, officially as of last night! 
    • Stands, almost by herself
    • Walks some when you hold her hands