authentic community

Hanging out in the park one evening this week. Our daughter is pretty content outside!
Her new favorite thing- being put on a blanket in the grass.
Love the smiles!
Gazing at my baby lovingly- so happy to have such a precious family!
Hanging out with daddy!

At church on Sunday, the sermon was about one of the principles that our church believes in- Authentic Community. In our pastor's words, this is sharing real life together. Our pastor spoke to us about who our 2am people are. You know, those people whom you can call at 2am when something goes wrong or you just need to talk. Ryan and I realized that we need to reach out so that we can be more peoples' 2am couple, just as we can have some more people that would be our 2am people. We know we can call Josh and Claire, and both sets of parents. And, that is a huge gift and blessing, and have always been there for us. Yet, it seems important for us to connect with some more people that have young kids and are on a similar page in their lives. Not that we want to give up spending time with our friends that don't have kids- because we certainly don't. We just want to try to get more hooked in with our church and community and build some strong relationships. So, this week was about seeking that out. On Thursday, I met with a stay-at-home moms group through our church. Most of the mothers had at least 2 kids, but it was fun to get to know some other moms in the area and hear their perspective on babies, kids, growing up, stages, etc. One of the pastor's wives was there with her 3 kids- her youngest only a few days younger than Coranelle. I enjoyed spending time with them and think I will continue to try to make it to this group. Last night, we went to a backyard BBQ with other families that go to our church and live in Broomfield. It was really fun and we enjoyed getting to know people in our community of all different ages. It makes our church feel a little smaller and feel a little more like a family. We have another couple that lives in Broomfield that has an adorable 5 month old boy. We are hoping to try and find 1 or 2 more couples with young kids so that we can start a bible study. If we have other young parents, it will be okay when a baby breaks down in the middle of study, or needs a diaper change or a walk around the block!
Last weekend, we went up to Estes Park for Stefan and Rachael's engagement party. It was fun to be up there and celebrate with them. They make such a fantastic couple and we are so happy for them! They are also a great uncle and aunt to Coranelle. Coranelle decided she didn't want to be at their party and cried for over an hour before she finally wore herself out and fell asleep on Grandpa Steve. She definitely has her good and bad days. I don't know if there were too many people there and too much stimulation, or if she was in pain. Always a guessing game. She does have more "happy" periods, but is still a fussy child. Wednesday, she spent the morning with me and Grandmadele in Boulder. She did great as we walked up the canyon and she nursed by the river. But, as soon as we put her in the stroller so that we could go for a walk down Pearl St. and do some shopping, she had a melt down. So, I went in the store by myself and mom hung out with Coranelle- who was fine, once she was out of the stroller and lying on a blanket in the grass. That seems to be her new thing. Looking around outside, playing on her back. Then, she was all smiles. Then, today at "mom-and-me" stroller class, she screamed the whole time she was in the stroller. It is hard, because all of the other babies were either content, or sleeping. So, I finally took her out of the stroller and just walked her around the track- and then she was fine. But, I couldn't do any of the running or skipping- as I was holding her. I don't want to skip the class because she cries, because that is my chance to see the moms I met in my yoga class and all 3 other May babies. But, Coranelle cannot seem to take the class. Frustrating! I hope she grows out of it soon.
I think Ryan and I get a date night tonight, as Grams and PopPops have agreed to come over to hang out with Coranelle. I have 3 ounces of pumped freedom (milk) so that we could go grab dinner and see a movie. I am excited to spend some time with my hubby! But, as always, I'll miss my little girl!
I hope that you are all doing well. Thanks for reading!