November

Life has been beautiful lately, and it seems that when life is the most beautiful, I am the least likely to document the moments with a camera and a spilling out of words. Charlotte and I are in good habits of reading together every morning out of a hardback version of the Book of Proverbs, which excites me, as I feed Truth to myself and to her. I've been making a purposeful effort to sit outside with her some every day, so she has the chance to smell flowers, crush leaves, and feel the grass against her bare feet.

This month, for the first time, I have jury duty. Though my group was called to jury duty, I was not called to next step in the process, and I spent four hours sitting in a room with fifty or so other Norfolk residents. I was thankful for boldness in my conversations, and I was able to speak Truth, actual words from the Bible, in effortless conversation. It is the most important thing I can think of, to have God's Word memorized, hidden in your heart, so that when you speak, it can be Truth. That's what everyone needs: Truth. At the end of the day I gave a seventy-two year old woman a ride home so she wouldn't have to take the bus, and I don't know if I'll ever see her again, but it was a victory of unselfishness for me. A battle I rarely let Christ win.

Matthew and I went to the Adventure Park this week on a date, and my arms are bruised and muscles throughout my torso are sore, but we enjoyed our time together, pushing our bodies physically. He amazes me with his agility. The way he takes to new obstacles, flying through difficult, taxing feats, left women (and men) buzzing about how talented he is, and I couldn't agree more.

As I continue following Trim Healthy Mama's diet plan, I continue to reach new lows in my weight. This week, I am 136.4 (with the ultimate goal of 128 before my next pregnancy, though we're not necessarily waiting to reach that goal). I started the year at just over 200 pounds, as pictured on the left side of that picture. That was nearly one month after giving birth to Charlotte, and I'm hopeful to never reach that weight again. In a couple of short months it will be January again, and I'm excited to take a picture in the same spot in the same shirt and compare the changes.

It's November. Charlotte is almost eleven months old, Christmas decorations are already popping up around Hampton Roads, and yesterday we had to turn the air conditioning back on because southeast Virginia is confused.