Elijah is 3!

I'm still not finding the time I wanted to for blogging. Life has taken some unexpected twists and turns lately, and I'll blog on that later. Today though, I have to write about one of the greatest blessings of my life. In May of 2007, we were shocked with the news that we were going to become parents again. For those of you who know the story, Elijah was a long-hoped-for baby. God surprised us with him when we had finally resigned ourselves to not having more kids. The sweet baby to the left is one day old in that photo, and turns three years old today.

Like all of our children, I cannot imagine what our lives would be like without Elijah. He has a special place in our hearts, with his chocolate kiss eyes that disappear when he smiles big, chubby cheeks, and extremely lovable self. I often say that Elijah is an aggressive snuggler, because he attacks with hugs and kisses and wraps those he loves up in tight snuggly arms. He is smart and witty, and really easy-going in general. He loves to play Legos with Isaac, read with Abigail, and play with Owen. He was only 18 months old when we found out we were having another surprise baby, but accepted the idea of a little brother without a hint of jealousy. His main concern when Owen arrived was just that I could hold him too.

We are so thankful for precious E. He brings joy today, even with a 102 degree fever and feeling puny, because he is still snuggly and sweet and himself. We celebrated him Sunday afternoon, and I'm so thankful we had the party then, since today he would not enjoy it nearly as much. He loves being on a farm, and playing with heavy equipment, and has asked for a 'tractor birthday' since last spring. So, we rented a John Deere tractor for the weekend, and he loved riding on it so much. He was less than thrilled when the man came to pick it back up and cried, "Why they take my birthday tractor away?!" When we reminded him that we'd warned him it wasn't ours to keep, he settled down pretty quickly, but boy, that sad face would make a person want to go buy a tractor immediately....Someday, sweet E, someday, we're going to have that land and a tractor of our own. Here he is in one of his first rides with me on the lawnmower. It's still one of his most favorite things to do. He even sleeps with the keychain that holds the lawnmower key sometimes, in anticipation of cutting grass the next day. Oh, I love him and his passion for the simple things.

Elijah's name means, "The Lord is my God." We chose this name carefully, because God had clearly shown who He is when he decided to gift us with this child. He is a loving, generous Father who has temporarily given us a little boy to raise, love on, and teach, and we take the responsibility very seriously. The fact that Elijah was given life, then born healthy despite a rough delivery, and has been sustained to this age is all due to the Lord's sovereign plan for him. We don't know how long we will be entrusted with him, but cherish every day. Thank you Lord, for unexpected blessings, in your perfect timing. Many moments in these three years have been savored, but they become more precious as we have friends who have lost children at young ages recently. Every milestone, and special occasion, are treasured even more than they would normally be, when we realize what a gift they are.

This is the verse we used at Elijah's dedication at church 2 years ago. It's so fitting today, when we need a reminder of hope there is in God, because of some weighty things going on in our family. We pray that E trusts the Lord to guide him all his life, and that we are an example by doing the same:

Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Isaac10

Just about a year ago, we were dealing with this:























God, in His great mercy, gave us a great year of healing, and many reasons to celebrate Isaac10 this month. Here are a few glimpses of how far our boy has come from another club foot surgery, and eight LONG weeks in casts, this time last year. Thank you, Lord!!

The Week of Elijah: Reminiscing

I've been pondering a lot these past few days, recalling memories of the past year with Elijah's birth, and the events that led up to it. There are a lot of details that are already fuzzy in my brain. I'm so thankful that I documented so much of the pregnancy and the journey toward becoming a mama to 3. Re-reading his birth story tonight again reminded me of the blessing we've been given, and how truly amazed I am that God chooses to answer our prayers so beautifully. The picture of grace that our children are in our lives overwhelms me again and again.

Seeing those pictures that we took just over a year ago, with the word hope meaningfully included, so clearly parallels and illustrates the other Birth that we are celebrating in this season as well. Both lives began with a surprising pregnancy, a difficult entrance to life on earth, and both children were born into a world that is full of fear, beauty, wonder, and disappointment. However, I'm even more grateful for that other Baby's birth, that gives us HOPE through the triumphs and trials to come for my little ones. I think I disagree with those who say it's a shame to be born at this time of year, due to the "competition" with Christmas festivities. What an honor to share a birthday season with the time we focus on celebrating Christ's birth. I pray that Elijah, whose name means The Lord is my God, will live up to honoring the One who has given him life. Happy birthday eve, sweet son. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for you and all God is teaching me through you.

The Week of Elijah: Birthday party!

What a fun day we had! Family and friends gathered to celebrate Elijah's birthday, and it was great. We are so thankful for the many people who love us and enjoy life with us. Here's a slideshow of the fun. Click on the frame to enlarge it.

The Week of Elijah: The celebration begins

My baby boy is turning 1 on Monday. When we ask him, "How old is Elijah?" he does this. So smart! :-)

We are beginning the celebration early, and having his party today. With the holiday festivities, it's a hard time to devote attention to one more thing, but Elijah is definitely worth it. I'm so excited to have friends and family come and enjoy treats with us, and view a slideshow of his life thus far, as we thank God for this precious blessing.

Dearest Christina, my first college friend and former roommate, volunteered her time and talent to help create the most amazing birthday invite ever. It's a spinner card, so the little plane "flies" across the card, with the weight of 2 pennies that are attached to it. Amazing... We had great fun choosing colors, patterns (I love this paper so much), and embellishments, and putting the cards together. She also got more than she bargained for with my demanding requests for extra help with letters and punched items I wanted to use on a banner. I am so pleased with how it all turned out and am forever grateful that such a longtime kindred spirit was part of this momentous occasion. Gracias, mi querida!!

If you're in the area, come on by today, and enjoy a cupcake and some other sweets and salty stuff too!

Birthday Week

I've had a wonderful, several days-long celebration for my birthday, courtesy of family and sweet friends who spoil me rotten. We went to see my parents on my actual birthday, and enjoyed my first meal at a Japanese restaurant. It was fun, and the food was great. The next day included a trip to a far that is open to the public only once a year, and we were able to see lots of historic farm equipment in action, a museum of antique appliances, vehicles, and collections of materials used on a daily basis back 100 years ago. It was very reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie with blacksmiths, a working sawmill, dairy farm, weavers and quilters...we felt like we were in Walnut Grove. After the farm, we met up with Jacob and Caroline at Hurricane Creek and hiked several miles. It was a gorgeous cool fall day, and I was able to backpack Elijah the whole time! I was so proud of crossing some rough terrain with my almost 25 pound baby on my back. I felt like Sacajawea! He loved the jostling around too.

That night, my sweet girlfriends took me to dinner and we had a wonderfully fun time together. We're so blessed to have such deep, enduring friendships. God has really put us together and our faith is the common thread throughout our lives, so we have a precious bond. They had contributed notes to a scrapbook sweet Amy put together. It's a treasured gift.

The weekend ended with our church fall festival, which was a blast. We then had a dinner with another couple Monday night, so have partied hearty for days now. I am so thankful for your many sweet words of encouragement, phone calls, and emails to wish me a happy birthday. It truly was!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So much to blog...so little time

I'm behind - way behind - on blogging. I miss it terribly, and think daily of things I want to document or share on here. Life is good for our family, but right now our youngest member isn't keen on my sitting at the computer. I even have to check email in record time, while standing! The only reason I'm blogging now is because he is asleep and I'm not falling over asleep myself - yet. :-)

This past week was James' birthday week (40th!), and I wanted to at least acknowledge that. I made a carrot cake at his request on his actual birthday, which we enjoyed, and Elijah especially loved the cream cheese icing with orange zest. I'll have to share a video of that. We decorated our house with handmade signs, had an outing to go bowling, and Abigail scored a strike on her first try!

Friday night a few couples met up with us for dinner, which was a blast, and it was so fun to have a rare night without children, (except for Elijah of course). We also enjoyed a visit to Aldridge Gardens with my parents and yesterday was a visit with James' parents, sister, and brother-in-law. We are so thankful for the family and friends who love and celebrated my well-deserving husband. He is a treasure and though he's not the type to want a big ol' celebration in his honor, he sure is worthy of one. I wonder if I can list 40 reasons I love him...that would be a great post. I'll have to work on it. There are even more reasons than that, but I'm not sure if there is adequate time...

Anyway, in the meantime, here a few pictures of the highlights of the week, and the aforementioned video. Hopefully, I'll be back soon.

Question.

Does this lady look like a senior citizen to you?

I don't think so either. :-)

We celebrated my lovely Mom's birthday this past weekend. We spent the morning with my cousin's son's first birthday, saw my grandmother, and did a little shopping. Then, she, Dad, Jacob, and his friend Caroline, joined us Saturday afternoon for a little fun playing in the creek, looking for crawfish, building a dam, and splashing around. It was quite refreshing to be in that freezing water on a warm day. We had dinner afterward and enjoyed talking, eating, and listening to the AU game. I had to document her youthfulness in photos, and say what a treasure she is. Mom is a kind and encouraging woman of God, who has become a dearer friend to me as we have gotten older. She is also very wise and dependable - character traits that go back to her godliness I'm sure - and ones I would like to be known for as well.

Here are a few more photos from the creek and dinner.

A girly celebration

I'm sure if you're a mom, you agree with me that it is very powerful when a person really "gets" your kids. I'm blessed with some precious friends, who do love my kids as their own, and it seems like God has given each child a special person or two who really identify with them and bring out the best in them. Abigail has a special place in the heart of my friend Jenn. We couldn't get together a few weeks back, closer to Abigail's birthday, but last week, they had a playdate that went beyond just making up for lost time. It was a precious day, filled with details that Abi truly enjoyed and loved.
Abigail loves Susan from the Chronicles of Narnia, and Jenn planned many details to honor that passion of my daughter's. From their very own "Mr. Tumnus' tea party", to personalized gifts, Abigail was totally treated and adored. What a special memory!

Abigail is 6!

I was beginning to wonder if I could ever find time to blog about my sweet girl's birthday. It's been a busy last week and a half with two baby showers, Elijah cutting teeth and feeling poopy, festivities for Abigail on a couple of days, some family time, and VBS preparations for next week. I have to at least do a quick recap, because we had such fun celebrating Abi, and she is such a precious daughter and sister and blessing to our family.

We started her birthday morning-June 5-with a small gift: a Susan figurine, from the Chronicles of Narnia. Susan is her current favorite character, and she longs to be Susan, live in Narnia, be an archer like Susan, etc. You know, similar to the Laura/Mary Ingalls obsession of a few months' back. Anyway, she loved her Susan and Reepicheep from Isaac, and then we quickly got out the door to go blackberry picking at Petals from the Past in Jemison. These gardens are one of my favorite places anywhere, and Abigail is a nature lover like me, so enjoys going there and we planned to meet up with the Cottons and Gramma and Granddaddy. It was warm that morning, but we beat the worst of the heat, and had a great time gathering lots of huge, delicious berries. After that, we met up with some friends for a pizza lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. The girls played games and danced, and were silly and happy. And, we adults were thrilled to be in the air-conditioning, even if it's a crowded, loud, overstimulating environment. :-) She received some sweet gifts there and had doughnuts for dessert, which was big fun for her, and a break for me, since I had lots of cake to make later in the weekend.

We had time with just family Saturday evening, and ate dinner at Habaneros, like Isaac chose for his birthday dinner. As we were waiting on our food, Abi confessed she actually chose it because unlike her brother, she wanted the servers to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. After a few moments of waiting after our dinner, the band arrived with a shout, nearly startling us to death, and had us all giggling with their quick rendition of "Feliz Cumpleanos." She was very happy to be serenaded and we then shared a DQ ice cream cake for dessert. (Note to self: In the future, pick the cake up early so it can thaw to at least some, and enable the slicing of the cake to not break the mama's hand). There was an antique car show in the same shopping center, and we got a picture of an awesome old firetruck, but then looked at the rest of the cars from afar, since it was just too blasted hot to walk around on asphalt with bellies full of Mexican and ice cream cake.

I still remember many details from the day Abigail was born, and can't believe it has been 6 years since that day. She is such a passionate, joyful, creative little girl, as you can tell from the many "Kid Quotes" on my blog's sidebar. Her brain is always going, and she is very much a people person, with many strengths that will hopefully be molded by the Lord to glorify Him. She tends to be a child of extremes, and can be obstinate and overzealous at times, but also extremely giving and servant-hearted at others. Thankfully, she has a desire to love on people and please God, which is overriding some of her other not-so-great personality traits these days. It's awesome to see her maturing as a child, and also as a child of God. I usually use the word 'exuberant' to describe her. It means "joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic" and pretty much describes her 90% of the time. She is such a light in our lives. Abigail means her father's delight, and though she's always been sweet and wonderful, we are so thankful that she is learning to be even more of a delight to her Father, who gifted and shaped her to be who she is. Thank you Lord, for loaning us our precious Abi-girl!

Isaac9

Last Tuesday, my eldest child turned 9 years old. He hasn't let us forget it either, since we've heard a few times, "Hey, you know what? I'm 9 now." The title from this post comes from a cute thing Isaac started when he was 7, as he signed everything that year (notes, schoolwork, logins on computer games) as Isaac7. Then, it progressed to Isaac8 last year, and he immediately made the upgrade this past week to Isaac9. It makes me giggle. And, I guess that is how it should be with a child whose very name means "laughter." The son I didn't give birth to, but who made me a mama, sure has brought a lot of joy to our lives. I think that sometimes it's incredible how I love him so much and forget he doesn't contain one shred of my DNA - so much so, that we have at times made comments about quirks or personality traits, saying, "Well, he must get that from you." Then, we chuckle at how we don't know where he gets anything from that's like us, but because God is just cool like that, He makes similarities, habits, likes, and dislikes remind us of ourselves. We even hear how much he physically takes after us at times. None of that really matters, but it sure is sweet to hear. They're just bonuses, we say.

We tried hard to make this past week a happy one, full of fun memories for Isaac. It being his birthday week was only part of the reason. The other part is that this Thursday he'll have yet another surgery to help correct the ever-frustrating club feet that his particular set of genes have determined as his lifelong (so far) struggle. We'll be at Children's for a few days, in the care of our very capable Dr. K, the orthopedic surgeon who knew Isaac even before we did. This surgery will be nothing compared to the last one, which was nightmare-ish in its severity. Only his left leg will be operated on, right at the ankle area, as Dr. K will remove a section of bone in a wedge shape, so that his foot will finally rest flat. Because of the nature of a club foot defect, the body continually wants to revert back to its original form, even if it is incorrect, so his left foot is the stinker, and has always been the one to turn in the most. Now bone has fused together where it should be a flexible joint, so that will have to be undone, with this section removed and pins placed in to keep it at the right angle. He has no range of motion in that ankle joint currently, so it will be a great thing to see him eventually walk normally, not on his tiptoes, and to run without that left foot causing him to occasionally trip and stumble because "it's not working right," as Isaac says.

I could get emotional and worried, I guess, over seeing him go under anesthesia again, facing more pain, and dread the weeks in casts where he'll be pretty limited in activity. But, I'm actually looking forward to the end result enough that I'm ready to get moving on this next phase of his life. He is too. It's so cool to hear him calmly ask questions, admit his nervousness, but say he "want(s) it to just be better." What a brave, precious boy he is. As much as I've hated it for them, it's been helpful to us to have Graced's family walk through a similar pain/healing time too, with their son, so we've had some good conversation about how both boys are facing some physical trials, but how God knows and is able to meet our needs. What good reminders for these adults too.

Anyway, I'll update later in the week on his progress, but we do appreciate your prayers for the surgeon and our family as we'll all be kind of crazy for a few days. It's James' work week, so I'll be in the hospital with both boys, James will check in on us when he can, and my parents will take Abigail home with them till we are ready to all head back home.

We went bowling on the 15th, Isaac's actual birthday, with my family, and that was hilarious. Next time, a few of us adults may bowl on the kids' lane with the bumpers! We had a yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill and it was a really enjoyable day. Then, on Saturday, we had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant with family and friends, and then went to play at a local park and have dessert. It was a gorgeous day, and was extra fun to watch the kids run and play, knowing that activity will be limited for our son for a while. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and we were touched by all the sweet folks who shared the evening with us and are very special to our family. The highlight of the party was when we brought out a toy that Jacob and I had enjoyed many years ago, and James just found in our attic. Let me just say, the little General Lee has even more power than I remember. We all agreed toys aren't made nearly as well anymore!

Thank you Lord, for Isaac9!

My Daddy

To somehow sum up in a post on a blog how much I love my Dad is exhausting to think about. But, since it's his birthday, I'm going to make an attempt.

My father has shown me what God's unconditional love is like, every single day of my life. It wasn't hard at all to accept Jesus as my savior, because of his modeling Christ-likeness. Because of his consistency, I haven't struggled like many friends who don't grasp God's merciful side well.

He is affectionate and warm, and people who meet him for the first time later comment on how he makes them feel loved after just a single conversation.

He's the middle of 5 kids - the youngest son, and has 2 younger sisters, who think he hung the moon.

He is a gifted writer, and loves to give me stories from his childhood. It's so great reading about his life and the events that shaped him to be who he is today. He gets how important it is to preserve that history of our family, and I love it.

He is physically strong, and works hard to be in really good shape for a 55 year old, riding his bike several mornings a week, for dozens of miles at a time.

He fell in love with my Mom at first sight, and was so smitten, he hitchhiked on weekends from Auburn to Pensacola to see her whenever he could. This enabled him to win her heart, but also caused his grades to suffer terribly. He says she was totally worth it, though.

Because of previous point, he quit school, got a job, they were married, and parents to me, all within a year and a half of meeting. He was a dad at 20, mom was 19. Whew.

He accepted Christ as a new husband and father, and has been striving ever since to model godliness for his family and all those who meet him. He lives the life. Really.

He went back to college and got his bachelor's 8 years ago, while working full-time, being a husband, dad, and foster parent to our precious Isaac. I was, and am, so proud of him for that.

When the company he'd given 30 years of loyalty to decided to "let" him retire early, he didn't panic, or whine, or despair. It was hard and scary, and hurtful, I know. But, he assumed and responded as though God had a greater plan, which He did. Now he's the CEO of a non-profit, impacting folks' lives daily, and able to really make a difference he can see.

He is a great teacher, and has taught classes in church basically his whole adult life. People love to sit in on his lessons, because they are so relevant, and his passion for the Word, and for people, shines through so clearly.

He has an amazing grasp of history and how it relates to current events. I have sent emails like, "What's the big deal with Gaza?!" and gotten back an explanation that fills me in from Biblical times to today's news, and makes perfect sense. I love it, since apparently I learned nothing in school about world history.

He loves my sweet Mama faithfully and completely, and treats her as though she is the most amazing, beautiful woman in the world, and happily tells everyone how gorgeous and wonderful she is. It embarrasses her, and is very precious to me, because he's totally sincere, and correct.

He appreciates great music, and introduced me to so much of what I listen to and value to this day. He also loves The Office, and first exposed me to that silliness, for which I am eternally grateful.

He loves Auburn and so I always have, even as a little girl, surrounded by Alabama fans at school. I never liked feeling like the oddball, but loved being for my Dad's team, so it was worth the harassment.

He loved my sweet son before we ever knew he'd be a perfect fit for our family forever, and they share a bond that brings me to tears. He lights up when he sees our kids, and is the best grandfather ever.

He's so much fun! He pulls pranks, shares jokes, remembers funny details, comes up with funny nicknames, and is a blast to be around.

He and I have always been very close, sharing the same humor, love for nature, words, music, chocolate and coffee. We are also a lot alike in personality, according to my organized Mom, who has patiently put up with our laid-back and haphazard ways for many years.

Garrison Keillor, Pink Panther, Lawrence of Arabia, Car Talk, Fiddler on the Roof, Seabiscuit, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Les Mis, Rich Mullins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash - what a diverse bunch of great stories and culture he's exposed me to!

He entrusted James with me, and has encouraged him as a husband and father, which means so much to both of us.

He generously gives the greatest gift of his time - to serve, love on, listen to, and just have fun with our family. He is a man of godly character, and compassionate, but uncompromising, integrity.


Dad, I'm so grateful for your life, and the honor it is to be your daughter. I praise God for how He uses you to touch so many people with His love, and that I've been blessed by your life for almost 35 years. I love you so much! Your froglet, Jennifer

Birthday weekend for Gramma

We had a great time visiting with the grandparents this weekend. We haven't been to see them in weeks and weeks and so tried to do some fun things and just enjoy their company. We were quite successful, especially seeing as how Abigail cried like her heart was breaking as we pulled out of the driveway, because she was going to miss Gramma and Grandddaddy so much she just couldn't help the "tears just keep coming out of my eyes!" Isaac agreed, saying tonight at bedtime, "I sure miss Gramma and Granddaddy already...." I'm so thankful for precious family we hate leaving! Here are a few pictures from the visit.

There was the usual car-washing, bike riding, and then a new surprise for Granddaddy - a new vehicle. He took the kids to pick up the pre-ordered SUV while Gramma and I visited the farmer's market. We returned home, and then they arrived soon after, with Isaac bursting through the door saying, "We helped Granddaddy buy a new car!" They were quite proud of their "assistance." :-)

Then Mom and I showed off the great veggies we'd gotten at the market and the kids helped us put some gorgeous peppers in jars. Though we're not crazy about eating peppers, we couldn't resist the unusual variety one of the vendors had. I'd never even seen most of these: lemon drops, mushroom, Chinese lantern, and orange habaneros. They were so fun to pick out and fill our jars with.

We also enjoyed playing in a splash pad during the hot afternoon, and then visited with Mrs. Martha and Mr. Bill, dear friends of my parents' who own some fun animals. When we arrived Martha was rescuing a tiny hummingbird from the spider web it had gotten tangled in, and we watched in amazement as it lay still in her hand as she gently worked the wispy trap loose from both its feet. We all feared it may be more dead than just stunned like she said it was, and then watched happily as it rested a few moments on a bush and then flew away! The miniature donkeys, Hermie the sheep, llama-boy, and chickens are all a great source of entertainment, and of course, our nature and animal-loving family just couldn't get enough of them. Abi was determined to hold Teeny, the youngest little Cochin hen, and though Martha said she'd never been caught, it only took a couple of minutes before Abi said, "Look at this!" and proudly displayed her captured quarry. It was hilarious; she was so satisfied with herself. There were a couple of funny roosters that Dad said looked like rockstars. I think one was the Keith Richards of roosters. You'll know which one when you see the picture. :-)

The evening ended with great steaks Jacob brought and we had razzleberry pie for dessert before watching, and enduring, the Auburn game. Thankfully it ended well, and we could all rest that night. Church was also awesome, but will take a separate post, later in the week.

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

I've been pondering an impossible thing the last few weeks. I wanted to compose some great post on how incredible my mom is, and how to convey her lifelong impact on me. Though it seems easy to write about friends and meaningful things they do, summing up a lifetime of devotion to one's family is a pretty daunting task. So, I'll just share things about this wonderful lady, in hopes you can catch a glimpse of the gift she is.

I love you Mom. I'm so happy to be your daughter. It's an honor to celebrate you.


She...is the baby of 5 girls...grew up all over the place as a result of her parents' divorce, remarriage, and her stepdad's Navy service: AL to FL to Germany to CA to FL to AL...graduated high school early...worked hard to become independent at 18 with her own place, Pinto, and job...self-motivated and driven...met and married my dad...became a mom to me at 19...stayed home in a new town with a newborn and very few relatives anywhere around to help out...became a mom again at 23...was always disciplined, with a weekly schedule of ironing day, laundry day, grocery day....sewed clothes for herself and me...is a meticulous, detailed person...skilled and talented...bravely helped clear over an acre in the woods with my dad so we could build our own home...the hardest-working lady I know...kept that land landscaped, and weeded, and in beautiful condition, with only our family's help...prepared nearly every meal we ate my 18 years at home, with eating in restaurants being a treat that happened only about 1 time a year...supported my Dad in his job...managed what was for years a tight budget without complaint...taught my class at church...remains faithfully committed to Christ and a relationship with Him...made our family her priority behind following Jesus...devoted herself to relationships, even difficult ones, to be an encouragement to others no matter whether they deserved it or not...unconditionally loves...is the picture of Southern charm and grace...is often mistaken for my sister, due to her youthful appearance...gave of her time and energy and emotion to take in foster children and love them as her own...loved our Isaac first, as his first real mom, then lovingly entrusted him to us as our son...is not self-seeking...never had a babysitter, daycare or girls' night out...wisely gives advice and shares experiences, when asked...corresponds with multiple friends across the world, and maintains close relationships through her letters...is no technical guru, but awesome at email...is not proud..loves documenting our lives with photographs, but with 35mm film..is fiercely loyal to her family and proud of our accomplishments...is a interior decorator extraordinaire...is sensitive and kind...willingly uprooted with my Dad to move to a new town 2 hours from the home they'd had for 30 years...never gossips or speaks unkindly of others...always hopes...immersed herself in a new church, neighborhood and community and made new friends that are dear kindred spirits...always perseveres...bravely confronted cancer, and chemo, and won that battle...is a tender, loving Gramma to our babies...
and an inspiration to many for her godly testimony.

The Week of Abigail

This is very late, because I have been a loser mom, and have spent the majority of the last 2 weeks on my couch. Finally, I think the all-day sickness of this pregnancy has abated somewhat. So, here's a photo recap of Abigail's birthday fun, which we stretched over a week. There were celebrations before the birthday, at the mall with Ms. Autumn and Mr. Terrence, and Visionland/Alabama Adventure with Graced and her boys, where Isaac and Abigail rode their first roller coasters. Then we had Build a Bear fun 2 different days, since one of our dearest friends couldn't make the birthday party. Abi received lots of sweet gifts and had some special treats and times with friends and loved ones. One of her favorite gifts were sweet pink roses from Daddy, just like he brought us the day she was born. Awww!! :-)

5 years of Abigail