The Newest Member of The Stock Family

Yes, it's true.

My Itenerary

Got my Greencard. Greencard = Travel. YAY!
Here's my itenerary if anyone cares:

October 1st - Fly from Tallahassee to Charlotte
October 7th - Leave Charlotte and go to Denton to CWJ
October 9th - Leave CWJ and catch a plane out of Charlotte
October 9th - Arrive in St. John's, Newfoundland
October 23rd - Leave St. John's, Newfoundland and fly to Syracuse, NY
(Jason flies to NY on the 24th to meet us at his parents house)
October 26th - We all fly back to Tallahassee
Dang, I'm So nervous about flying alone with the baby. Please, please keep us in your prayers. To all you Newfs out there....pray against the fog!
Can't wait to go home. WOOHOO!

Love is a choice you make from moment to moment.

The Famous Leader Test

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Good news

I, Kathy Stock, have been approved for my greencard! WAHOO!
It's not here yet but will be within weeks...not months....weeks!
This is a huge answer to prayer since my dad has not yet met Caden and being trapped in this process has left us unable to travel outside of the USA...As soon as I have that card in my hands I am set to go! Next flight out! I'm so excited. I haven't been home in a long,long, time. Well, since May 2005...that feels long to me.
On a different note, I went to my first football game ever last night. Florida State Univeristy VS Clemson. It was pretty fun. I understood the game a bit better but it's much more fun to watch in person then on TV. It was an exciting game....even though I was surrounded by alcohol and body odor, I still enjoyed shaved ice, funnel cake, a corn dog and a large diet coke. Mmmm, starches....
I am travelling to Charlotte, NC in less than 2 weeks! I get there on Oct 1 and leave Oct 9. I'll be staying with my fabulous friend Julia Osteig and her new baby girl, Ava Elizabeth. For everyone who prayed for them, thank you. She is a cutey patooty and I can't wait to love on her.
From Julie's I must find a way to CWJ for the long awaited union of Sarah and Jeff....so if there's anyone who wants to come to Charlotte on the 7th, pick us up, bring me and Caden to camp and then drive us back to the airport for 7am on the 9th please let me know! Also, if anyone with kids who is going to this wedding has a playpen I can borrow for the little one to sleep in while at camp, that would be awesome too.
I can't wait to see everyone. Caden will be my date because Jason can not leave work. I should have known better then to buy a black dress because my 'date' has a bit of a puking problem which will stain my dress with white spots, making me look like a cow...I can see it now...but we'll just pray against that.
Caden is getting cuter and cuter everyday. He likes to yell as loud as he can and then laugh at how loud he can be. This probably won't be acceptable during the vows but I'll quickly remove him if he feels like being a clown. He is the best though. So strong and happy. He has taught me more then I feel I could ever teach him. He has completely re-organized my priorities and turned my heart to mush. Mmmmm...he's the best.
Well that's all for now. Until next time, Adios!

My Camera is broken, so excuse the messed up pics...focus on the cuteness!

Baby jail

"It's all about me."

This picture cracks me up...because Caden is SO not impressed.

Mmmmmmm, yummy baby kisses.

So much it hurts

This is a spin off of Stephanie's comment on my last blog. I was thinking of writing about this the other day but never got around to it. Stephanie's comment reminded me that maybe I should share my thoughts on this subject. Thanks Stephanie.
I love my family so much that it literally hurts my tummy sometimes when I think about it. Almost like nervous pangs in the pit of my gut when I think about how lucky I am and how wonderful they are. When I try to actually fathom the love I have for them, I either physically hurt or want to cry because I don't think my body can handle focusing in on all of that love.
I put my baby boy to bed early tonight because we have to get up really early for church and about 2 hours after he went to sleep I wanted to wake him up again because I missed him so much. I think I'm addicted to him. He is amazing. So sweet and pure and innocent and calming. When I put my face next to his he smiles and touches my hair and face gently and softly says, "Whooooooo, Awwwww." Which translates into: "I love you mommy." Everyday with him is more fun, beautiful, memorable, cherished and treasured then the one before. Every beautiful moment has a tinge of sadness to it, knowing that everyday he gets older and more independent...everyday brings him closer to saying, "Gross, don't kiss me in front of my friends mom!" But it's the same in reverse. Every moment of stress and fatigue is overshadowed by the joy of being his mother. Everyday brings me closer to hearing him call me 'Mom' and to hearing him say 'I love you'.
Everyday Jason and Caden grow closer and develop a deep bond that is strictly thiers. They look at eachother with an understanding. You can see in Caden's face that he knows Jason is like him. He watches him intently all of the time as though he is studying how to be a man. It makes me happy to know my son has a wonderful role model of how a Christian, husband and father should be. It also warms my heart to see my great big husband pick out baby toys at Target.
When I think about how amazing my marriage is and how much love and respect we have for eachother I can't contain it. I praise God with every fiber of my being for it. Some people are not as fortunate as me to be married to their best friend. Others are not as fortunate to have healthy, happy children.
We may live in an apartment for a long time, we may always be a one car family, we may never have the things that other people have but we have something much, much greater.
Thinking about it overwhelms me.

Melissa Mae

I've decided to write a blog about my sister. I only have one sister. Her name is Melissa. She is 3 years older than me. Melissa and I shared a bedroom for the first 10 years of my life. These were fun and excruciating years. We played hard, we fought hard. There was plenty of hair braiding and hair pulling. We would act silly, and beat eachother silly. Brothers had nothing on us. We were rough.
I wouldn't characterize Melissa and I as 'friends' growing up...and I don't know that she would either. I was the annoying little sister who hated doing chores and was content to live in a dirty, clutter filled room....Melissa was slightly more anal when it came to our living quarters. She purged her things every Spring and had a yard sale. I could never understand why I never got any of the money...not recognizing that I refused to sell any of my stuff and did none of the work.
Whenever we played "Jobs" (a game in which we picked whatever profession we wanted and acted it out) Melissa would always pick a secretary. The girl lived for organization. Funny that she ended up getting a diploma in Business Administration. Melissa and I were polar opposites. Night and day.
It wasn't until Melissa moved out that we became friends...I know that sounds terrible, but it's true. Melissa moved to the big city and suddenly I found myself really wanting to visit her. I'd go in on the bus and stay at her house. We'd watch movies and eat and hang out and have an awesome time with eachother. We changed from being sisters, squatters in eachothers territories, to being friends. When I moved away from home, Melissa moved back in...so the opposite happened. Melissa would come into town to stay with me and I always looked forward to it. Eventually we ended up renting together for a couple of months and it was a really great time. We'd be the best of friends...but funny enough when we'd go home to our parents house for visits we would fight like cats and dogs again...i guess for old times sake.
As we get older, we get closer...physically we couldn't be further away, but we appreciate eachother more with each passing year. Melissa treats me better then I deserve after pestering her within an inch of her life as a child.
Melissa is hysterically funny. She makes me laugh, usually without realizing what she's saying. She always remembers every birthday and anniversary. She loves my Son more than I could ever ask her to. She is always faithful in calling me and checking on me. When Melissa came to visit me after I had Caden, she worked her tail off for me the entire week she was here. She washed and made every bottle, she stayed up with him at night, she changed him, bathed him, dressed him up...all out of love for me. She re-organized all of his drawers, his closet, she cleaned everything twice over...her love language is helping and working to make life easier for the people she cares for.
Why am I writing this? Because I don't like saying this stuff in person...and my life has become so busy that I rarely get a chance to talk to my dear siser. I want Melissa to know that I think about her everyday, I pray for her, I appreciate her and I thank God for her.
I miss you and can't wait to see you. Don't ever think my absence is a lack of caring...it's more like a lack of quiet time to actually make a phone call. When life slows down, we'll chat more. I promise.
Thanks for being you.

Football smells bad

Football season is back. Ugh. I am now a football widow.
I have decided to wear black nail polish. No, I'm not turning goth....I promise you it's the new look in Hollywood. I'm not usually one to buy into the latest trends, or even know what they are, but this one caught my attention and I really like it. I sported my new nails for the first time yesterday at church and they were a hit....mostly with pre-teen girls who aren't allowed to wear nail polish but hey, I'll take whatever compliments I can get!
I got to lead a song in worship yesterday morning. There's nothing quite like the sound of people's voices being raised towards heaven. God showed up as usual and the services were amazing. I'm so thankful for my church. So purpose driven. I can't say enough about how thankful I am to be able to raise my child in this type of environment.
Caden is fabulous. He turned 6 months today. He'll be crawling anyday now. Right now he frog leaps from place to place. He's the funniest, happiest, smartest baby I've ever seen...but of course I'm slightly biased. He has discovered green beans and carrots...we will be doing peas soon...oh the excitement. Now when he throws up it's not so easy to conceal. Such is life.
Steve Erwin, the Crocodile Hunter, died today in a freak sting-ray accident. Made me sad. He has three small kids. Pray for them.
I was watching 'Tyra' today...Tyra Banks' new talk show...made me ashamed of being female. Then I changed the channel.
The pretty camera that our friend Dean Dugger gave us about a year ago has died. Makes me sad. This camera was beautiful...but now it must go to it's techno-grave. We're getting a new one this weekend. It will be a Nikon like the other one, but much smaller with less bells and whistles. It's a pretty one though. So teeny, tiny yet packed with features. I'm excited.
Ok, this is getting very long and random so I will close with this. Everyone who reads this needs to pray this prayer right now on behalf of my friends John and Julie Osteig.
"Dear Jesus. Please let John and Julie's baby girl arrive very soon, safe and sound and perfect....tonight or tomorrow preferably. Your will be done. Amen."

Folding Laundry

Folding laundry made me smile today. Not only does my hamper consist of men and women's clothing belonging to two people who love eachother dearly, but now in the mix there are hooded towels, blue onesies and socks the size of finger puppets. It's funny how something as simple as folding your laundry can make you so thankful for your life.