Being Set Up

Lately for obvious reasons, I don't have time to post much besides pictures (which are obviously the most exciting and important part of this blog), but several things have happened the past few days that made me feel compelled to share. Not only do I not have time to POST, but sometimes it feels that I don't have TIME. Period. I know things are still adjusting, and routine will come. Eventually. So with the rush of life, I sometimes feel like God gets the "short end of the stick." Shockingly, I am still on track with reading my bible through for this year, but I will admit that it's been at night with my eyes rolling back on more than a few since May.

Anyway, I digress. As I was saying, here I am doing my thing: feeding, changing, transporting, disciplining (the 4 year old), loving, and so on and so forth. Sage comes in one morning while I was still asleep to wake me up for the day. She's talking for a second when all of a sudden, she goes, "Mommy! A bug!" This could be a number of things: lint, a shadow, a fly...you just never know. But this time, crawling on my headboard right next to where my head was, was a wasp that was alive and well. I got it, and it occurred to me, "Wow. Had she not come in there right when she did, there's a very good chance that I would have gotten stung. Thank you, God." Small? Not to me. I've never been stung by anything, and I didn't want to start, especially in a dead sleep.

The next day, 2 days before Travis was to leave for Michigan, Sage wanted to play in her playroom. We hadn't been in there in quite a while, so we all went to play. Actually, Sage was playing while we were talking. She was "cooking" in her kitchen, and she brought Travis a tray with play food on it. That's when I saw IT. Let me say here that the weekend before, Travis goes, "I don't want to scare you, but this morning when I brought Mayer in, he started growling at the fish tank. He NEVER does that, so he saw something. I looked everywhere but couldn't find anything, but we might have a mouse." I was like, "WHAT?!"

Fast forward back to the playroom. What I saw was mouse droppings. Then I started to see it more. I started to cry. I said, "You've got to find this thing NOW. You cannot leave this house with that thing in here, or I'm out of here. I will NOT stay here with a mouse." It actually caused quite a fuss. He said that he'd do the best he could, but he HAD to leave on Saturday. I even brought Mayer in to see if he could find it. He was just happy to be inside, but Travis did find evidence of its roaming through our home. Thankfully and surprisingly, the mouse did not go upstairs. Travis even tried to say, "You know, there's not a ton of stuff everywhere, so maybe he just wandered through and left." I said, "Um, nice try. I know it's still in here."

So, Travis and Sage went to Walmart to get traps. I refused to take my shoes off. I was so paranoid. So I prayed, "God, I know that your word says for us to 'cast our cares on you because you care for us.' This is a trivial matter to some, like TRAVIS, but this REALLY bothers me, so I'm asking that he catches this thing while he is still HERE. So that has to be tonight. Please don't let me see it, touch it, or have to be a part of it in any way, shape or form." Travis came home and set 10 traps with cheese in them all through the house. That night, I googled about catching mice, which was a bad idea. It talked about all the diseases they carry, how they can get the food out of a trap without being killed, how they breed within days, how there is more than one usually... I was panicking. I slept HORRIBLY that night thinking it was crawling on me and imagining it running all through my dishes and food. I prayed ALL NIGHT. Was I afraid of the mouse? No, not really. It was just gross. I like to be clean and sanitary, and mice just aren't either of those things.

So, at 6 the next morning Travis walked into the bedroom (he leaves for work early), and said, "Are you getting up?" I was still half-way asleep when he goes, "I got your mouse, BABY!" and held up a trap with a very gross, very dead mouse in it. I only saw a shadow and why he thought I'd need to see it, I don't know. But I IMMEDIATELY thanked God. He answered my prayer EXACTLY how I prayed it. I didn't have to see it (no thanks to Travis on that one), touch it, dispose of it, or worry about it anymore. I'm so glad that God isn't like a judge that says, "Get that case out of my courtroom." for what would be considered trivial requests by some people. I had 3 cats on the way if it wasn't caught, haha! And had Sage not mentioned playing in her playroom, who knows when we would have realized it was in our home! The thought of that makes me shiver. Gross.

Okay, lastly and most recently was just 2 days ago. Travis was still in Michigan; Sage was at school. It was just me and Jaggar at home. He had been asleep in his carseat and had just woken up, but I had a bill to put in the mailbox. Let me say here that I leave him in his seat or swing ALL THE TIME when I run outside for just a second. It's just easier that way when he's content. For some reason, I picked him up and said, "Want to go to the mailbox?" Off we went and as soon as I shut the door, I said, "Oh my god" then immediately, "THANK YOU, GOD, that I have the baby!" I had locked myself out of the house. I have NEVER done that in 5 years of living here and of all the times I could do it, this was the worst. My only other key was in Michigan.

I walked to the back of the house wondering if maybe, just maybe, I'd left one of those doors unlocked, but I knew I hadn't. With that confirmed, I went to the neighbor's house, who happened to be home because she was sick. She let me use her phone and had given me the number to the police station, who told me that they don't break in houses. I'd have to call a locksmith. I called the locksmith. Voicemail. Not to mention, they'd charge me a pretty penny to open the door. I had no windows unlocked, no extra key hidden, no car key, no cell phone. Nothing. I was on the verge of tears. What in the world was I going to do? So I called Travis, who was in a live video shoot. He whispered, "Call my mom and Tim. They have that key they borrowed." WHAT?! When we had gone to Kentucky for the fair, Travis's mom and Tim had gotten our mail so they had a key. But I could have SWORN we had gotten it back. Travis said, "No, they were going to give it back, but I just told them to hang onto it 'just in case.'" Again, I could have cried tears of relief this time. REALLY? Are you SURE? I kept asking. So I called Tim. They live about 20 minutes away in Heflin, but they both work here in Oxford. I explained what had happened and not only did Tim have the key, but he had it in his truck HERE in Oxford. How awesome is that? Each and every little thing that day (and for weeks really with Travis telling them to keep the key) was God setting things up for me to have the best outcome, the most important one being that I had carried Jaggar out with me. After all, I was outside for a good 45 minutes to an hour. All this just made me think, "Wow, the Lord is really setting things up in my favor." It makes me wonder what all is happening or sometimes DIDN'T happen to protect me and get me in the right place at the right time. You just never know, but I do know He's always setting me up in the right place at the right time for the right thing. Very cool.

New Trick

Can you see what it is? Yes, Jaggar has found his feet. He gets irritated if he's in his bumbo seat because he can't reach them. As soon as I get him out and his feet are accessible, he's content again.

My Baby

I thought this picture deserved its own place. This is Jaggar Cruiz all of the time minus when he's not feeling well or hungry. I get to wake up to this everyday. How blessed am I?

4 Months Old

Get ready for picture overload! This isn't our usual "photo shoot" setup, but hey, we're taking pictures, okay? I can't believe 4 months have just flown by, but they definitely have. Jaggar is actually starting to take a bottle now. Isn't that nice of him? It's not his preference, but if he has to, he will. He's smiling and laughing and lately has begun to sound like a screech owl with his sounds. He can also roll from his stomach to his back and can sit up well with support. We must be having fun because time sure is flying.





He loves his mommy.



Nope, he's not walking yet, but he can stand with support...not so much on the floor, but I thought it might be a cute pic.
He's just starting to hold his toys if I put them in his hands.

I think he's actually rubbed some of his hair off in the back. Travis said something about it the other day, but I didn't think so. When I was uploading these pictures, I looked at his 1 month pictures, and sure enough, he had quite a bit more in the back then.
The four of us♥

Long Days+Spare Time=....

Moments and photos like these! Craaazy hair.

So, we're a little crazy, but we're okay with it.

Baby Boy Lately

This was last week, so he's a bit more than 3 1/2 months. He'll be FOUR months old in 4 days. That's just not right. Mr Man is growing fast, but he's so much fun now. He's so vocal and expressive, and he just thinks that everyone is wonderful. He really does love everyone, but no one can make him laugh quite like Sage. She can just walk by and I hear him start to giggle. It's so cute.

Isn't he adorable?

His hands are always in his mouth.

He can give kisses now too.

Kentucky State Fair

This is backtracking almost a month (August 24th), but when you see the amount of pictures and know that I had to upload them one by one, you'll see why it's taken so long. We went to Kentucky for the fair, and it was the most amazing day. Normally, the fair has less than ideal weather in August and with a new baby, I was less than thrilled with the idea of walking around in 100 degrees. However, that day was about 80 degrees at the hottest point with zero humidity. Perfect! This was also Travis's first trip to the fair, which was cool, because it's something my family went to every year when I was growing up. So many things are just the same: mainly and most importantly, the sinfully fattening food. We had a blast, and Jaggar was absolutely perfect. Sage and Travis rode rides from the time they opened until the time they closed. Thanks, mom, for treating us to another great year.

This display was for Lynn's Paradise Cafe's ugly lamp contest. That's their theme there: terribly, tacky lamps. People could enter lamps, and the winner's lamp (I'm assuming) went on display in the restaurant. However, one lamp won 1st place in Sage's heart: the MICHAEL JACKSON lamp. I haven't really blogged about her love for the king of pop, but ever since he died and they've played his music videos, she's fallen in love. I bought her a 2 disc set that she has practically worn out of his greatest hits. She's actually not been able to sleep today because of the Oprah special that's about to come on about him. No kidding. I'm quite proud really. Who didn't love Michael Jackson? So here we are by the lamp dedicated to him.The fair is the only day you get to eat icecream for breakfast.
Sweet baby still asleep. Notice he sleeps with his eyes partially open. I've tried to shut them, but it doesn't matter. They immediately come back open.
Dog show--they were really cool, and believe it or not, YOUR'S TRULY took that picture.
This is the "I'm ready to ride rides" face, but it wasn't time yet. They didn't open until 2.
Had to have a picture on a horse.
The fair has had this "traffic safety" program for kids since I was little. Sage was able to do it this year, and Sage actually DID it this year. She's not the shy, clingy kid she was last year.

Can you see Jaggar in this picture? This is how he spent the majority of the 12 hours we spent at the fair: perfectly content in this sling. Sometimes he sleeps in it; other times, he's wide awake but perfectly content. Of all the shows and attractions the fair offers, a baby in a sling is, by far, most popular for passers-by. Everyone wanted to peek in and couldn't believe that he was tucked away yet wide awake. So sweet.

Happy again
Food...the roasted corn was probably my favorite food at the fair. I can say that because I ate almost everything it had to offer....
LIKE Corndogs and lemonade shake-ups
A girl lounging on a cow. There's something you don't see everyday.
The mules and jacks are one of my mom's favorite things about the fair. They are massive. They were actually being shown when we went to see them, but this one remained to be seen.
RIDES! These two rode everything there was to be ridden multiple times. There was NEVER a line. Awesome. The people working the rides would even let you just stay on if you wanted.
Ferris wheel and also Jaggar's first ride. :) The workers at 6 Flags wouldn't let him ride anything, but the workers at the fair are MUCH more lenient.
I think that the clouds and the sky look so pretty that they look fake in this picture.
This was the merry-go-round, and it was a FAST merry-go-round. Jaggar didn't mind.


Sage had fear of NOTHING this year.
We all rode this together, and you turned the wheel in the center to make the car turn. I looked at Sage at one point, and I could tell she was getting sick. Ha, we slowed it down a little bit after that. The overeager, bigger kids (us) toned it down a bit.
She refused to ride this little roller coaster last year, but THIS year she's not only riding but riding with a kid she's never seen before and SMILING.
She loved it.
Last year she hated these bumper boats and still did this year. Haha. She said that she couldn't drive them, so she just got mad and ended up sitting angrily on the side waiting for a worker to come and get her. Those moments are proud moments for us. :)
I think this was a moment of exhaustion.
These swings are exactly the same as when I was a kid. The seat is a bit more snug, but nonetheless, it's the same.
This fun house was one of her favorites. There was a spinning wheel you had to walk through to get inside, which was VERY intimidating to go through. The worker helped her. and me. ;)


The pictures don't do the size of this ferris wheel justice. It's massive. So massive that I opted to pass on it. I've been there and done that with it, and each time I have regretted it. Travis had never ridden it, and he wanted pictures at the top of it. He definitely got his chance since he was left at the top while they were loading other riders. He was elated to be back on the ground when it was over. He said that Sage had NO fear though, that at one point, she was up on her knees looking over the side.
The view is spectacular though.
You can see downtown Louisville in the background.

Sage on the merry-go-round. This was at 6 flags, but they wouldn't let me ride with Jaggar.

Travis and I wanted to ride a roller coaster, so I told Sage that she could ride these swings while she waited if she'd ride them alone. My mom was sitting on a bench right beside them. I never really thought she would. Not only did she do it, but she rode them about 4 times by herself.
It's so odd seeing her like that, so independent. I'm wondering who this kid is these days.
Here are the Kenya Safari Acrobats. Mom and I remembered them from the year before and wanted to see them again. They are pretty amazing.
I don't really have a "final" picture because it was dark and security was closing down the buildings. I was actually more than ready to go home as it was a long day, but we really all had a great time.