Baby Crib, Hairstyles, and Other Shenanigans!

      Time has indeed been flying!  Those of you on Facebook may have seen a recent update about Ransom turning 6 months old.  He did.  I blinked, and he's 20 lbs., has two teeth (Working on his third!), and almost, almost crawls!  I meant to do a blog update several weeks ago about his crib, but never got around to it.
    We (Mostly Joel and Papa Cropsey) built his crib from a basic pattern we found on Pinterest.  Of course, it was altered some in the process, and we made it almost entirely out of two-by-four slats of birch wood.  That thing is solid as a rock!  We made it such that it is easily taken apart and re-assembled, for less transporting issues.  We chose to paint it in a Distressed style, gray being the base color and white for a white-washed-barn effect.  We are incredibly happy with how it turned out!  Also, we are in love with the thought of having an heirloom to pass down to our kids one day.
    Joel never wanted me to have bangs, but apparently post-natal hormones cause hair loss which causes new hair growth which causes itty-bitty crops of new hair to appear around one's hairline.  Being totally unprepared for that, my wonderful husband reluctantly agreed to making an appointment with a hairstylist.  Because that plus a recent badly done haircut equals a desperate Heather.  I have to say, my hair is shorter now than it has been in over ten years, but I love it, Joel says it's "growing" on him (Pun intended), and I finally feel less frustrated with too much hair and too little time to deal with it.  
    Lately we have been finding all kinds of fun ways to get involved in Church ministries.  Joel and I are planning to write a proposal together for a pregnancy center as part of our church's outreach program.  Because of Ransom's teething issues and such, we have had to put that on the back-burner for now; but we look forward to taking it up again soon.  Additionally, Joel has been seeking out ways to help launch an ESL program, particularly for speakers of the Arabic language to improve their skills.  I'm also looking forward to joining the Music Ministry at church in the near future.  Life is full! 
     Some recent activities Joel and I have been enjoying include:
1). Getting to know our neighbors (If you have never read The Art of Neighboring:  Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside your Door by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon, I highly recommend it!).  It amazes us how kind our neighbors are, and we are getting to know each other a little more all the time.

2). Reading, both together and seperately.  Together we have been reading Whatever the Cost by Jason and David Benham (We highly recommend that, too!).  Because I am such a mystery buff myself, and we choose not to celebrate Halloween, I have declared October to be "Mystery Month".  Yes, I have been losing myself in some excellent mystery novels.  And I don't regret it!  Also on my reading list has been Financial Peace and Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  Soon we will likely begin his other book, EntreLeadership, as well.  And Joel just recently devoured a fabulous "who done it", The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart. It's an oldie, but a goodie!  

3).  We have been enjoying cooking lately.  Now that some of the proverbial dust has settled from being pregnant and having a baby, we have slowly begun to find a better groove of cleaning, cooking, etc.; but of course, we have to learn a whole new style of baking, since we are gluten, egg, and dairy free (Though we can occasionally compromise a little on the egg and dairy, depending).   It is a new art entirely, for sure!  Last night, we enjoyed throwing together an Apple Crisp.  

  So that about sums-up life out our way!  God is good, life is interesting (Sometimes down-right crazy), and we are thankful.   Enjoy the pics!

What are YOU reading this month???
Joel, Heather, and Ransom 

It occurred to me that when we let God lead us
through hard times together as Husband and Wife,
What is built is as sturdy as this baby crib; nigh unbreakable.

The Finished product!

We love it.

I love these Two!

My Men!

Our Six-Month Old!