Kieren hanging out

We're just hanging out tonight in the kitchen.... she is too much!
Love,
Sarah

Life in Mom World

Hello all!

Mid-week here at the Prince casa and it's definitely been an interesting one so far. It's another milestone for me - my first time being sick as a mom! Evidently you still have to be a mom when you get sick and you lose the privilege of moping around and feeling sorry for yourself. No time for that! I have had a bad cold since the weekend, and besides my quick panics that I might have swine flu (not having the symptoms related to the pandemic have someone quieted my fears), it really doesn't make a difference because this is still Kieren's world and we are just living in it! The crazy thing is that she has been AWESOME all week - really great at taking her naps, in a fun and happy mood most of the time, and even making lots of fun new sounds. She is going to have a lot to say to us all! So I feel like God has been really gracious to me to give me a sweet daughter this week even though I feel rotten. We are still so blessed! Life continues to move at a hectic pace as we juggle so many balls in the air with family, work, friends, soccer, and preparing for Africa. The days fly by, but I feel like we are getting stuff done and enjoying the ride. What more can you ask for??

Another blessing of the week - the Kelly family. Dan, Suzanne, Katie, and Shannon Kelly are a family in our church who have been such a blessing to us this year, and each week Suzanne (mom) watches Kieren for me while I work or get some computer time at Panera. Her daughters Katie and Shannon love on Kieren too - and it's so wonderful! This little girl has so much love - and we do too.

Lots of love,
Sarah


Kieren with Shannon and Katie

A Happy Day in Kieren's World!

Nelson Mandela Talk about Ubuntu

Good morning! Just thought I would share a video I found today. It is Nelson Mandela explaining the concept of 'Ubuntu,' which is the name and spirit behind the organization Casey is creating. Enjoy!

Sarah

Cute Kieren!

Life with KJ

Hey everyone!

Wanted to update you on another week with beautiful Kieren (you can call her KJ if you want... it makes her sporty!). Life has been good and this week ended with a couple BEAUTIFUL days here in Raleigh, so we have really been enjoying the weather. Still growing, eating, and sleeping well - all things that continue to evolve each day. We take it one day at a time around here! One fun thing she started to do in the last couple days is to giggle at people! At two different parties with lots of people, someone was talking and playing with her and she started to laugh at them! Too fun!! Today I spent the day in Chapel Hill with her enjoying friends and the beautiful weather, it was just a blissful day. It's days like today that I am really going to miss - there is nothing like spring in North Carolina. We are blessed and soaking up the wonderful moments!

Love you all!
Sarah

Great Book

Hey friends,

So I just wanted to share a wonderful book that I recently finished (that's right, I'm actually finding time to read again!). It's called 'Grace Eventually' and it's by Anne Lamott. I have read another of her books and I love her style, whit, authenticity, and incredible stories. It's a bit autobiographical; just different stories in her life and how she saw God through them. She is definitely at 'unconventional' Christian woman, but so refreshing and life-giving. I really recommend this book!




Love,
Sarah

A Happy Easter Weekend

Happy Easter everyone!

We had such a wonderful weekend as we spent time with both Casey's family and my family. On Friday we traveled to New Bern to see Casey's sister Kara and her husband Tim and kids Hannah, Henry, and Ward. Kieren went to her first easter egg hunt and met the Easter bunny! We had a great time hanging out with them as Kieren got to meet her cousins. Then on Sunday my parents came in from Charlotte to spend Easter and Monday with us. We had GREAT meals, fun walks, and wonderful time together. We even learned that Grandpa is the baby whisperer and could calm overstimulated and overtired Kieren late at night! He has the touch! We are just soaking up these precious moments with family while we are here. Great times!

Love,
Sarah

Kieren and Mom Update

Hey everyone!

Well it has been a busy week in the Prince house with Casey gone for two days for the UNC game. I was so excited for him to get away and see the game, but I must admit that I was a little nervous to have Kieren all by myself for two nights. Casey is a HUGE help with Kieren - and with me!! I had some help during the day on Monday and Tuesday which really helped, and we made it through both nights! Kieren regressed a bit on her sleeping at night (or decided basically not to sleep at ALL those night), but it helped my decision to move her to her own room to sleep! :) She had been sleeping in a bassinet in our room and now she is in her own room - so we'll count the sleepless nights a blessing. Kieren is back on track with sleeping at about 8 straight hours a night and her naps continue to get longer and deeper during the day. Both mom and baby are slowly figuring this thing out! Kieren seems to be so much happier during the day because of her good naps and her stomach problems are working themselves out too. I am so proud of her! For me, I have been thinking a lot this week about motherhood because of a show Oprah did on mothers this Monday (yes, I OCCASIONALLY watch Oprah... hope we can still be friends...). I thought it was awesome because it was moms telling it like it really is and sharing funny and crazy stories. It was just encouraging to hear from other mothers and both the joys and hardships of this new role I am growing into. Nothing can prepare you for this new world and the enormity of the things both gained and lost. I think it's healthy to recognize both and then move forward as life changes. It's a beautiful thing, but motherhood is something that I am definitely still growing into. I bet that's how it will always be.

I found this quote this week and it really captures what I am feeling lately:

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh

Thanks for being a part of our journey!
Love,
Sarah

Kieren Pictures

Hey everyone!

We took some pictures with Kieren this past weekend and I just wanted to share. Isn't spring lovely?!?

Love,
Sarah

SURPRISE of the year!

Hello!

A couple weeks ago I blogged about a surprise visit from my college friends from Florida - I'm still reeling from it! Well here is a video of their preparations and the surprise. You can see that I FREAKED OUT! I have the coolest friends ever!

Love,
Sarah



Chanda Raleigh from amy paul on Vimeo.

What an Experience...

What an amazing experience!! I'm so excited that Sass and I headed to Detroit for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game.
Here is an update of our adventure. We eventually got a car downtown and parked at the UNC team hotel. There we met two of Sass' old roommates from college Bill Robinson and A.J. Critelli. (Bill was there for my Rose Bowl experience in 1998, ask me about it sometime.) A.J.'s wife Janet and another friend Kevin were also with them. We went over to the MGM Grand and did some gambling. I'm not very good at anything and don't have any money, so I played the video poker machines that cost a nickel and a quarter a hand! I only lost $15! Eventually we made our way back to town, had a LATE lunch, and just hung out waiting for the team departure from the hotel about 7:45pm. They looked sharp in their suits!
We were very close to Ford Field from there so we just walked down.

I was so excited about the game, but it got even better when I was able to sneak in my Mike & Ike's! It was just amazing being such a vast minority for the game. We were drowning in a sea of green & white. It was such a weird feeling. We had great seats, about halfway up the bottom level.
Here is a view from our seats!

Then, the Temptations sang the National Anthem, so I was really pumped!
As everybody knows the Heels jumped on them early and really took the crowd out of it, which actually took some of the fun out of it. In the 2nd Half it was fun when we'd let them cut the lead by 5 points or so, the crowd would start to awaken, and then we'd just put them back to bed.
When it was all over I just couldn't believe I was there. As the confetti rained down and the fireworks went off we all jumped around, screamed, and took tons of pictures.

A was there when they won their 5th National Championship. I was there for Tyler's last game! I was there in Detroit when the hopes of a state were dashed! I was there with Michael Jordan, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Julius Peppers, George Lynch, and many other former players. It felt like you were really a part of something important. Oh, I even met Rob Stone, who works for ESPN and does a lot of soccer games.
Eventually we cruised back down to the hotel and decided to head back out to MGM for just a little while. We faded fast there (thought we saw Hasheem Thabeet) and headed to our hotel. I think we hit our pillows about 3:30am and had to get up at 8am so we could return one rental car and pick up our new one. And then we drove to Pittsburgh to fly home.
All in all, it was such a great experience. I'm thankful for the opportunity and know that I will ALWAYS remember being there for UNC's 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!

Go Tarheels!

A Snowy Adventure

Sass and I are off to the NCAA Basketball championship game today. We have arrived in snowy Detroit. We were originally supposed to fly into Pittsburgh and drive into Detroit, but we got AirTran to move us to a Detroit flight and we EVEN GOT STUCK IN FIRST CLASS. You know you are traveling with Sass when that happens! But we had no hotel or rental car reservations in Detroit. We found a hotel that would pick us up and are now here at the Best Western.
But we still aren't sure how we are getting down to the game and then back to Pittsburgh for our flights!! I'm sure Sass or Betty Rock will come up with something awesome. I'm just riding their coattails. And, in the end, all that matters is that the Heels win!
Hopefully the snow will stop soon!
Go Heels!

Beautiful Weekend

Hello!

We have had a wonderful weekend as I have had the privelage of marrying my friends Ashleigh King and Patrick Cullnan tonight. Ashleigh is a dental hygenist that has traveled with me two times on my Mexico dental mission trips with Grace and we have grown to be great friends. It has been so wonderful to work with her and Patrick on putting their wedding together and watching them grow as individuals and as a couple. The wedding tonight was at the Angus Barn (yum!) down at their beautiful pavilion that overlooks a lake. It was a special night! Congratulations Ashleigh and Patrick!

Love,
Sarah

Great Video: Cool Dadz

OMG, I saw this video a couple weeks ago and it is AWESOME. Casey is such a cool dad, obviously, but I also love the heelys, which I have a pair of :)

Sorry, there is a 'commercial' at the beginning of the video, and it will continue to replay after it's over unless you pause it. SO worth it.

Enjoy!
Sarah

Sleep Update...

Just a PRAISE for this Thursday morning - Kieren is still on the sleep train headed to happy Mom town! She slept 8 hours Tuesday night straight and 8 1/2 hours Wednesday night. I know not to 'count my eggs before they are hatched' and that it can go back to crazy, no-sleep world in a second, but I am thankful for three nights of good sleep. I am just SO PROUD of Kieren. I am also proud of my friend Carolina for encouraging me to help Kieren take better naps (duh!). They are really helping too! We are all growing and learning :)

Love,
Sarah