The Chavers Family

For the Sake of Remembering

2010-02-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

I decided to start writing this post after I picked Luke up from Mother's Day Out. We'll see how far I get. I have needed to record something, somewhere, about cute little things he's doing, but I just cannot make myself do it.

Anyway, since his first birthday, his vocabulary has really exploded. My favorite word that he says is 'pizza,' which sounds like 'tee-tah' spoken really quickly and high pitched. It started out meaning pizza and evolved into the word for cheese. Or bread. Both of which are components of pizza. Wow! Do you think he figured that out?? What a genius!! Totally kidding, of course.

He still loves, loves, loves to be outside. To the point that I think we are going to sell the house and just live in a tent. It would be more peaceful for me that way because now, if he is not bringing me various shoes saying 'shis' and 'ah ssssss,' he's rolling around on the floor kicking, screaming and crying huge tears until I say 'shoes' and 'outside!' Sheesh.

He loves to play in the little car Granmama and Grandaddy gave him for Christmas. He has a word for it that doesn't sound at all like 'car.' I can't remember what it sounds like, so I'll try to get him to say it for me later when we go o-u-t-s-i-d-e to play with it...

He gives a little grunt that sounds like 'ruh' for 'truck' and I think he is starting to pick up on the word 'light.' For 'hat' he says 'at' and he has been seeing a lot of those on mommy lately who doesn't usually have time to fix her hair. 'Nuh' means something to him--he points and says it all the time--we haven't figured that one out yet. You know how, whenever you finish doing something, like changing a diaper or putting on their shoes, you'll say "Now!" or "Now, then"? He always repeats that in a deep little voice and it sounds like "Naaah!" He will even say it on his own when he finishes something! It's so funny to hear him use that one appropriately. He'll repeat lots of things, but these are most of the things he knows and will say on his own.

Bathtime is his new favorite and he seems to love water, in general, which is a nice change from his early infant days. Playing in the toilet is double fun because when you get done with that you get to wash your hands.

The mimicking stage really is cute, as well as, should I say, enlightening? It's like having a mirror at times when you usually don't, like meal time. Apparently, we make the refreshing "Ah" sound after drinking a lot because he does that constantly. We didn't intentionally teach him, so we figured he just learned it from watching us. I started paying attention and I do find myself doing that a lot more than I am comfortable with. He now uses that sound to let you know he's thirsty if saying 'juice' doesn't produce the goods fast enough. You'll never get by with smacking around here either. He points that out right away.

About a month ago, we decided it was time to stop the 'uh oh' game. That didn't go so well. I can imagine it was confusing, since everytime in the past he would 'drop' something from his highchair we would happily say "Uh-Oh!" When I suddenly began to give him a stern "no no," it became a fun game of 'Get a reaction out of Mommy." He would pick up a piece of food and hold it up over the side of the chair and just look at me. When I would say "no, no" he would simply open his hand and let it fall to the floor. Of course, that was hilarious, so our reaction to that only encouraged it. After a couple of weeks we just started to ignore it. Now, when he is finished eating, he just throws the food wildly as hard as he can, so that is much better.

Probably the cutest thing he is doing right now is, when we go o-u-t-s-i-d-e and walk around, when he gets to a spot that he thinks he can't walk through (like the gravel driveway) he will stop very suddenly and stick one hand straight up in the air. He doesn't take his eyes off the ground, just stands there with that hand up in the air until you take it and help him walk across. It is hilarious! I have got to, got to, got to try to record that or take a picture this weekend.

So, there it is. The high points written down to be remembered forever. I hope you are somewhat able to imagine the way he is saying these things. I have got to try to get some video! Sorry for no pictures. Maybe I'll add some next month!

Gettin' into Trouble

2010-01-18T16:26:00.001-08:00

Not much else to do today!

Take a nap?? Certainly not!

12 Month Check-up

2010-01-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

This was a big one!! Thanks to Mommy forgetting to go back for the flu booster, little Luke had to get FIVE shots today. Yes, that's five sticks. Poor baby. He was such a big boy though. He screamed really loud at the time, but got over it quickly and was all smiles when we went over to visit Daddy at work.

We're still in the 75th percentile for height and weight--30 1/2 inches tall and 23 pounds, 6 ounces. Walking--and running--is our main mode of transportation now, really for the past month. From 10 months until then he would walk until he fell then just crawl the rest of the way. At around 10 months we taught him the sign language for "more" and "all done," which helps a little with his frustrations at meal time. He gives high-five like a champ and signals for a "touchdown." He still loves music and dancing.

"Mama" is in his vocabulary, but he refuses to use it. Aparently, it is funny to come back with a loud "DADA" whenever anyone encourages him to say it and you know the snacks called "Mum-mums?" Those are called "Da-das." Cute. Real cute. Ha ha! I do think it is funny. Some of his newer words are "juice," "cheese," "hot," "shoes," and "see it!" "See it" is his favorite thing to say as he points wildly to whatever he's trying to get his hands on. Thankfully, he is starting to say "I see it." This is better because it sounds less like profainity, depending on the inflection. Sometimes it just sounds like "Ah, {beep}!" if you know what I mean. He loves to play with toys he can ride and makes the "buuuuuuuudin" sound as he pushes them and he will sometimes tell you what a cow says. ("Moo," in case you were wondering.)

The bottle is officially out and we are phasing in whole milk. If we give him straight milk, warm or not, he spits it right out. Half and half with formula and he drinks it just fine. The 12 month info sheet from the doctor says he won't be eating much right now, but I think he is a good eater. We usually give him eggs, toast, cheese and fruit for breakfast, something like Progresso soup (thanks, Rachel!), cheese and fruit for lunch, and whatever we are eating for dinner. Cheese is his favorite and he is a big fan of pizza. For snacks he still loves biter biscuits and Mum-mums, (excuse me, Da-das), yogurt, more cheese, Ritz crackers and Yogurt melts. Even if we can't get him to drink a lot of milk, I think we're good on calcium!

Most days he still takes about an hour nap in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. Bedtime is anywhere from 7:00 to 8:30 (and has been for many months) and it is unusual for him to sleep less than 11 or 12 hours. This is what has gotten me through, so far. When the naps stop or if he stops sleeping that long at night for some reason I will most likely be checking myself into Bryce. This child is truly "Wild at Heart" with not a moment of stillness or peace when he is awake. Don't misunderstand, I love him for it and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I would not have survived this long if he was not such a good sleeper! What a blessing!

My Party!

2009-12-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! This is Luke. I am pretty good at writing, but I don't do it very often since electronics don't mix very well with drool. Anyways, I just wanted to show you all my bestest friends who came to my party to help me celebrate turning one.

This is my friend Canon Moss. He is really fun. His birthday is in March, so he is the closest to my age. He doesn't get in trouble as much as I do, but I will teach him once he learns to walk. Sometimes he likes to steal my toys. That's ok, though, because he lets me take naps in his crib. He thinks this party is a little out of control. Thanks for letting me use your house, Canon!

Here's my friend Ava Grace Yates. Her birthday is in April. I think she could be my girlfriend because she goes to my school, but on different days. That is good because I have a girlfriend in my class named Millie. She would get the boot, though, if Ava Grace was there!

Adeline Nichols' birthday is in April, too. This could get tricky with two girlfriends having birthday's so close together. I better start saving my allowance.

This is Colt Parrish. His birthday is in May.

He is a very sweet friend. Look how horrified he is that my girlfriend is making a move on him:

Hey! Stop that Adeline!!

My friend Collins Carter plays with me at church. He is so nice and smiles all the time!

Julia Blank was there, too! She is just a baby so she can't play with us yet. But I was glad she came. Her big brother Alex was sick and had to stay home. :(

Mary Selwyn Nichols is even older than me! She can do lots of stuff and was so sweet to help me open my presents and to show me how to use my new toys. Thank you MSN!

Anna Clare and Owen Thompson and Ava and Rafe Jones couldn't come, but they gave me cool presents! I missed you guys.

Everyone brought lots of mommies and daddies and there were even regular people who aren't mommies and daddies!

It was so much fun! Thank you all for my presents and for coming to my party.

The first, First Birthday Party

2009-12-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

The only thing I hate more than shopping, is last minute shopping. Well, I guess I can't say all shopping, because I do enjoy browsing for items for the house, or kitchen, in particular. Anyway, most of my Christmas shopping was done by the second week in December, but those few little things left to do were killing me. Thankfully, my parents were able to come help me out. Luke was battling the 17th cold of the year and had to miss Mother's Day Out, so I never would have made it if they hadn't. Thank you!! And since they did come babysit and help clean my house I had nothing left to do six days before Luke's Dothan birthday party than to begin creating an elaborate birthday party set-up.

First of all, let me say that Barry and Deborah Moss are the best friends ever! They let me throw the party at their house. Our house is beautiful and I love it. It just doesn't give you a very good birthday party atmosphere. Plus, they live right next to a park. I was hoping it would be warm enough to be outside during the party, (I was trimming shrubs and gardening on the day Luke was born, afterall.) but that was not the case. Even though those two love being around lots of people and are some of the most laid-back folks I know, it is stressful to have a large group of people at your house. At any rate, THANK YOU BARRY AND D! I promise I will repay you by helping to create an even more elaborate first birthday party for Canon!**

After searching every party store in town, I came up empty-handed. There was only one place to turn: the Google Webs. I found a blog called Kara's Party Ideas. She had tons of pictures of parties with various themes and somewhere in all the madness I came across the cutest little birthday banners. By little, I mean quite large and elaborate. They were obviously made with a Cricut machine, which I became an expert at during our Halloween crafting session. So, you guessed it. I went out and got myself a Cricut Expression. On Tuesday. Six days before the party. The hardest part for me, was choosing the paper for the banner. That and figuring out the sizes of all the letters and designs I was making with the Cricut. My OCD and perfectionism did not help to make that process any easier. I think I was very close to having a stroke on Saturday. Kyle was helpful and understanding, though certain that I had completely lost my mind.

This was the invitation, that Denise (also one of the best friends ever) helped to pick out and was the inspiration for the theme of the party:

Here's Barry and D's house, fabulously swiffered by Sam Dean. If he and his fiance, Alisha, had not been there that day, the party would have never happened. She kept Luke and Canon totally occupied while we set everything up.

The food was wonderfully displayed by Deborah.

I was so excited about how everything turned out.

Luke was very confused about what was going on that day. He desperately needed a nap. We tried to get him to sleep for 3 hours before the party started, but too much was happening and he wasn't in his own bed. He finally gave in, fifteen minutes before everyone was supposed to arrive! We let him sleep for the first hour of the party. It was better for everyone that way.

He was still sleepy at cake time, so I didn't quite get the response I had hoped for. I think he got a pretty good taste, though!

In the end, it was as close to perfect as it could be in my mind. Totally worth the near-stroke and ten years it took off my life.

This post is getting a little long, so I'll do another one to show you Luke's friends who came to help him celebrate.

**Barry, I know this repayment is mostly geared toward Deborah, however, please note that a first birthday party should be considered an "experience." I know the babies will not remember it, but it will at least be a couple of hours of entertainment for them. The experience is for the parents, mostly Mommy, who enjoys crafting, photos, blogging, eating, and lots of babies. There will be plenty of your friends there to hang out with. Elaborate does not necessarily mean expensive and I have promised D that she can use our house for staging so you will not even have to know what is going on, ok?

SEC Champions

2009-12-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

What fun to watch the Tide roll over Florida to win the SEC championship!

Doesn't this just look natural? Could this be in his future?? Kyle says remember your demographic and stick to baseball, little man.

Dancin' Machine

2009-12-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

Isn't it amazing how much babies can learn so quickly? Every time we visit with someone who hasn't seen Luke in a while they ask about any new things he may be doing like "peek-a-boo," clapping, or giving "high-fives." I forgot to mention in the Thanksgiving post about Luke's newest achievement. The car he borrowed from Kate has a little 'radio' in it that plays a few tunes. When he kept playing the music over and over, my mom asked if he knew how to dance yet. I realized that I had never thought to teach him. (Not surprising.) She gave a quick demo (that I am dying to post for you, but no, I'm not going to, Mom.) and he caught on right away. He hasn't slowed down since. He loves to dance. To anything. If you tap your foot more than twice that can be considered a beat worth some moves. And he has got some sweet moves. It usually starts with the head (picture Night at the Roxbury), then some shoulder action (like Chris Rock in Rush Hour) and finishes with some good old-fashioned booty dancin'. It is so cute! Granmama taught him everything he knows.

When we got back to Dothan, it didn't take long for me to get out the Christmas decorations. Kyle wanted to wait until the first weekend in December, but I didn't quite make it. At least I waited until December 1st!

It seems like a bad idea to put the Christmas tree in the only room in which I can safely corral Busy Baby, but right next to the fireplace, in front of that middle window, is just the perfect place. So I did it anyway. So far, so good. He's not sure what to think of it just yet. Fortunately, I think he is still a little frightened by it.

This is his new Little People Nativity. I never knew "Away in a Manger" had such a good beat.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 'round here...and somebody's birthday, too!

Shout for Joy!

2009-11-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

Know that the Lord is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

we are his people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations."

--Psalm 100

This was the thanksgiving message Bro. Johnny delivered this year. How wonderful! SHOUT for JOY! Why shouldn't we? I must admit, though, that joy is something I have had to pray for specifically this year. It's not that something happened this year to make me lose my joy. Quite the opposite, really. Sure, there are plenty of reasons to be stressed with a new baby around, but how awesome is it to be a mom? (Most of the time...)

For Thanksgiving this year, Kyle took a couple of extra days off and we decided to drive up to my parents' house on Tuesday night. Luke was still sometimes going to bed between 6:30 and 7, so I thought he would sleep like an angel all the way. He did sleep until just north of Birmingham, which was a really good nap to get him energized.

After the excitement of driving the rest of the way home and of seeing Granmama and Grandaddy when we got there, he didn't cry himself to sleep until about 1:30! Driving at night was a bad idea.

On Thanksgiving, his cousin Kate let him borrow her pink car. Kids love these things. His other cousin, Dirk, wouldn't let him drive, but he was nice enough to let him ride along...

More cousins, Dylan, Charlie and Reid, playing a game of 'shirts and skins' in the front yard:

It was cold, but a nice day to play outside.

And for learning new tricks:

And for feeding Sophie pickles:

Later on Thursday we made it to Albertville for more Thanksgiving fun with grandparents and great-grandparents.

Luke and Madelyn say: "These people are crazy!!"

I love this picture. Love the hair, love the outfit, love the belly. Madelyn's, not mine, of course.

On Friday, Luke spent the whole day and night with Grammy, Paw Paw and Aunt Kim while we watched the Iron Bowl and had another Thanksgiving feast with the Rodens.

This is their living room. How cool is that?

We made it back to Dothan on Saturday, exhausted. So much to be thankful for this year. And that night, we kicked off the Christmas season with big boy flannel PJs. So cute!

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

2009-11-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Mitzi made this for our family on Luke's Dedication Day. Delicious! Looks really fancy, too.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Cooked chicken(rotissere works great); if you cook your chicken, save broth for cooking rice
Boxed wild rice mix, cooked as package directs, using chicken broth for part or all of the water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1-8 ounce sour cream
Finely chopped celery

Grated onion( I keep it to about 3 tablespoons, but you can do more)
Sliced almonds, lighty toasted

Mix, pour into greased casserole, bake at 350 until bubbly.
Can top with crushed cornflakes dotted with a little butter.
I have used both cream of chicken and cream of celery, also. Freezes well.

For the large pan we had on dedication day, Mitzi used 3 Sam's rotissere chickens, 3 boxes wild rice, a large can cream of chicken soup, large container of sour cream and the 6 ounce pkge of sliced almonds.

"Unless the Lord builds the house..."

2009-11-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

Psalm 127 says that anything we do on this earth is in vain, unless God is the foundation for it. Life's work is senseless without Him. That is why we are to dedicate our home and our children to the Lord.

This past Sunday, with the help of Brother Johnny Fain, we committed to raise Luke in a Christian environment and in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the fellowship of Christ's church. We promised to share Christ with him, with the hope that he will one day trust Christ as his Lord and Savior.

The gown he wore was made by my mom, the first project she had ever done of this kind. It was gorgeous! Absolutely perfect. It will definitely be an heirloom.

His bib was smocked by Mitzi Chambers. (Click on the picture below to enlarge it so you can see the detail of the bib.) She is wonderful. I am so glad to have gotten to know her through Apples of Gold. Her husband, Mark, is Kyle's mentor. They were paired up in a bible study they did last month called "Real Men Matter." It was like Apples of Gold for men. I don't think they did any cooking, though...

Mitzi also was so sweet to coordinate our dedication day lunch. She made us a Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole that really was superb. (I will post the recipe for you later, when Mitzi sends it to me;)). Debbie Fain brought us an awesome loaf of homemade bread and Paula Coleman made a yummy, gooey, chocolate cake. I need to get that cake recipe, too. I don't know if I'm ready to make homemade bread, do you think? There's no way it would be as good as Mrs. Debbie's! Denise made us a strawberry congealed salad that was a HUGE hit. (An Apples of Gold recipe. I already have that one.) She also brought the flowers for the kitchen and dining room and a big jug of sweet tea.

On Friday, Luke's Grammy, Paw Paw and Aunt Kimberly came down and kept him for the evening so we could have a date night. They kept him the next morning while we did a hunter's safety course, too.

Granmama, Grandaddy, other Aunt Kim and cousin Kate came Saturday night, just in time for the Bama game. We made a huge pot of Taco Soup (need to give you that one, too. It's another AOG recipe. So easy.) Luke and Kate had so much fun together.

Luke said he missed his Uncle Colby, Aunt Rachel and cousins Brooklyn and Madelyn. And Uncle Shane and cousins Reid and Charlie :(

Everyone stayed at our house, which worked out really well. We finished up the apartment above the garage just in time. I think it is comfortable. The hot water heater is just a little small. Sissy Kate does not like cold showers!

How many grandmoms does it take to give a bath?

They must have been doing a good job because he didn't want to get out!

On dedication day, we miraculously made it to church early enough to get Luke dressed on time. He was not too happy with the process of getting dressed and he was fussing and kicking while we were waiting to go into the sanctuary...

but once we got out there he stole the show. He had all the appropriate responses: clapped and smiled when the congregation clapped, he waved and he babbled and yawned when the preacher was talking :). Everyone said it was the cutest baby dedication ever!

It was a great weekend and we are so thankful for the time we got to spend with our families.

We had some wonderful friends there to support us, too. This is Jordan, Alicia and Ava Yates; Barry, Deborah and Canon Moss; Ed and Leslie Cox; Shay, Denise, Mary Selwyn and Adeline Nichols; and Josh, Mary and Colt Parrish. Thank you guys so much for coming! We missed Will, Tuan, Alex and Julia Blank, but they were getting ready for Alex's third birthday party!

First Baptist is such a huge blessing. We were excited to join on the day of Luke's dedication. It is a loving and friendly, Christ-centered church that has helped make being so far from home a whole lot easier.

Luke is a wonderful blessing and a gift. We will do our best to raise him in a Christian home, according to God's standards.

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him."
--Psalm 127:3

Apples of Gold

2009-11-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had our celebration dinner after completing the program Apples of Gold. I am really behind at getting this in here, but better late than never!

Apples of Gold is a study started in 1995 by a lady named Betty Huizenga. It was created as a way for the older women and younger women in a church to connect and is based on two passages of scripture:

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." --Proverbs 25:11

"Bid the older women likewise to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be sensible, chaste, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, that the word of God may not be discredited." --Titus 2:3-5

It is a six week program and the lessons come from that passage in Titus.

Kindness

Loving Your Husband

Loving Your Children

Submission

Purity

Hospitality

The lessons have been incredible, but it has been so much more than that. The mentors involved are so obviously kind, generous, hospitable and virtuous and definitely love the Lord with all their heart.

The lesson each week was held at a different mentor's house and we were pampered and spoiled beyond belief. We were always greeted at the door with a nametag, drink and appetizer. We usually then had a cooking demonstration before the lesson. One week, we had a flower arranging demonstration. The ladies' houses were so beautiful and they always had fresh flowers and candles. After the lesson, we had a sit-down dinner and were served wonderful meals by the mentors and previous "Apples" graduates. I am so grateful to everyone involved in this study. They all gave so generously of their time, effort and money and I hope they know how much we appreciate it! One of the greatest things about it for me is that through it, I have gotten to know so many wonderful people at our church.

Thanks, Denise, for encouraging Mitzi to get this together for us! And thank you, Mitzi, for all your hardwork and organizing. I hope to share some of what I learned in the lessons with you, but you see how long it took me just to get this much posted. We'll see...

So Cute It's Scary

2009-11-03T08:02:00.001-08:00

This Halloween several moms got together to take the cutest picture ever of 6 infants and a toddler in their costumes. It didn't go quite as perfectly as we had hoped, but it was memorable nonetheless. After the photoshoot on our elaborate backdrop involving about a ton of candy, we spent the afternoon creating picture frames using Deborah's cricut machine. Our friend Alicia pasted "So cute it's scary" on hers, so that's where my title came from. I love it. It is so Alicia!

I'm sure everyone driving by thought we were insane.

This is about the best we could do. We've got Luke (headless monkey), Colt Parrish (bear), Ava Yates (ladybug), Julia Blank (peapod), Jack Peacock (puppy), Canon Moss (lion) and Alex Blank (spiderman).

We spent the entire day at the Moss's house in Grove Park. We got there around 10:30 to get the pictures done and really didn't leave until 12 hours later. It's a good thing we got there early, though, because at trick-or-treat time it took an act of Congress to get into that neighborhood. They had cops at the entrance checking ID's to be sure you really lived there. Otherwise, you were not allowed to drive in. I bet there were about a thousand kids! We were actually toward the back, so we didn't see quite as much action.

Overall, the babies did pretty good in their costumes. Luke still refused to wear the monkey head and since he was actually pretty entertained by looking at all the candy, I had to use it to get him to join in the fussing for this shot:

Here is the finished product of our entire day's work. The dad's were so sweet to babysit while we crafted, even though they thought our project was ridiculous.

Speaking of dads, Kyle joined in the fun, too. He was dressed as someone from the 60's and always likes to sport his 'stache. Julia and Alex's dad, Will, dressed up, too, but I don't have a picture! Didn't you take one, Mary??

By that night we didn't even try to get the babies in their costumes again. They were much happier without them, for sure.

Halloween at this age is much more fun for Mom than baby!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

It's Luke's first Halloween! We went with the monkey costume, though there is no way he is going to wear that thing on his head. Why do they even make costumes like that for babies? We're getting together this morning with some of his baby friends, so there should be some more pictures for you later.

I wanted to show you the scary house in our neighborhood. These pictures really don't do it justice. I had planned to take some better ones today, but it's raining!

Yesterday we went to the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens to see their annual scarecrow exhibit/competition. Denise and the girls and Kristen and Owen went, too. Luke is not really popular with the ladies, yet. I guess he is still in the stage of having more fun with the guys. We'll see today, I guess, when we hang out with Canon and Colt.

This was one of my favorites. Notice that it is called "Desperate Housewife." It reminds me of something...

On the way home from the Gardens, Luke started saying "mamamamama" out of the blue and that has replaced "dadadadada" as his babble of choice. It kind of makes me feel more like a mom than I did before!

Why haven't we done this before now?

2009-10-28T19:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight we gave Luke his first bath in the sink. That is so much easier because you don't have to bend over and you can rinse him off with the sprayer! Well, Kyle is the one who actually bathed him, but it looked easier, for sure. And Luke loved it! He was drinking water out of the faucet and clapping and splashing. He screamed bloody murder when we took him out. So, baths will be in the sink from now on. Oh, and by the way, he's TEN months old today!

I also have some pictures from the weekend. Friday night our sunday school class went to the Corn Dodgers Farm in Headland. We had a really good time and it was an excuse for Luke to sport his new Carhartt overalls! We had fun getting the babies together, but I'm afraid this bunch is not helping to encourage the childless members of our class to get started. (Well, Luke isn't, for sure!)

This farm had two corn mazes. We thought we were so smart when we made it out of phaze one, but not so much when we came out in that same spot when we tried to go through phaze two. After the maze, the guys took turns with the corn cannon (hence the name Corn Dodgers Farm?). Except for Kyle, because the loud noise was too scary for Luke. We went over and played in the pumpkins instead. This is Luke with Abby Bancroft and Collins Martin.

On saturday night we went over to the fall festival at Grove Park with Eddie and Emily Jones and their kids Ava and Rafe. Emily is one of Kyle's partners at Primecare and Rafe was born about 12 hours after Luke.

Rafe is Darth Vader and Luke is supposed to be a monkey. He will NOT wear the head part, though. Sitting next to Darth he looks like Yoda. Both of these guys look older than 10 months to me.

We'll try to get some pictures with the whole monkey outfit this weekend. Some of Luke's other friends are going to be animals, too. It should be an interesting Halloween.

Random thoughts

2009-10-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is kind of random, but has anyone else noticed the madness that has been created in the supermarket world since Publix decided to come to town?? Every grocery store in Dothan has had a total make-over complete with hardwood flooring in at least one section. And this includes Wal-Mart. I mean, I thought the manager at Southern Family Markets was going to hug my neck before I got out of there. I'm not complaining. I just think it is an interesting phenomenon. It just goes to show you what a little competition will do in a FREE MARKET economy! When is Publix going to be built, by the way? I still think it is a myth.

Also on a random note, does anyone else like to assign a letter grade to your child's report you get from Mother's Day Out? For example, today, Luke gets an A+ (and a high-five) because he pooped while there and his nap was less than 45 minutes. That means one less poopie diaper for me to change and a longer afternoon nap at home! Maybe this is just me...

Here is a random picture for you, too. He can really fly behind that thing! Oh, and he will sometimes let go and take several steps on his own now. I really need to get a video, but my camera memory is full :(

Aplin Farms

2009-10-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

Denise has a long list of places that she wants us to go before she moves...or is it my list? Anyway, I know Aplin Farms was on her list, so last week we went on the search for pumpkin shirts for Luke and the girls to wear to the pumpkin patch. And after 3 trips to Wal-mart, 2 trips to Target and 3 trips to a little shop in Headland, we didn't even get a picture of the three of them in their matching pumpkin shirts. I think the picture above is as close as we got, but I forgot to take off the bib. How cute is that? From left to right is Mary Selwyn Nichols, Luke, Owen Thompson, Anna Clare Thompson, and Adeline Nichols. (The Thompsons are in the sunday school class that Denise stole us from.)

When we got to the farm, we first went to see the animals. Luke seemed to like the cows, but he was much more interested in climbing the fence than petting any of them.

After the animals, we looked around the market then loaded up on the wagon and headed to the pumpkin patch. Luke's grandaddy will be happy to know that he loved the tractor ride! There were tons of pumpkins of all shapes, colors and sizes in the patch. We decided just to pick one up in the little market when we got back since we had so many children to hold on to. Kyle did manage to cut a pretty bouquet of sunflowers. Steve (Thompson) was very impressed that he has such a knack for creating a bouquet...

It was a big day for Luke. So tired!

Kyle didn't miss an opportunity to build a fire when we got home.

My First Real Boo-Boo :(

2009-10-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

I guess it just comes with learning to walk, or climb actually. And I'm sure it is only the first of many. He was trying to climb on the basket filled with magazines and it tipped over and he smacked his head on the baseboard. Thankfully, Kyle was working this morning because if Matt Krista had been there, Luke would have probably gotten his first set of stitches. Probably just one stitch. But since it was just Kyle and me, we cleaned it up and stuck some steri-strips and a band-aid on it. Good as new!

Maybe the bump on the head triggered something, because today was also a big day for milestones. For some reason, while I was trying to get a picture he figured out how to clap and he's been clapping all day. He also took TWO WHOLE STEPS, all by himself!! He's still not doing that consistently enough to catch on video, but I did get the clapping:

Babypalooza and a Sneaky Peek

2009-10-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm taking a break from ironing because I just have a couple of things to share. I know this is a mistake because Luke is going to wake up any minute and I'm just 4 shirts away from having everything Kyle owns ironed. Oh, well.

First, I wanted to put this on here before I forget, because I never get a chance to post pictures of these guys:

Don't be mad, Alicia! You look very cute. This is Luke with his friends Canon Moss, Colt Parrish, and Ava Yates. We had a Babypalooza the other day when Mary (Colt's mom) was sick with a stomach bug. (Kyle pointed out that Luke is the oldest and is the only one wearing a bib. The spitting up just won't quit). What a lot of babies! And lots of opportunities for cute pictures of babies with Halloween coming up!

Speaking of cute pictures, take a look at my friend's blog (www.kaydeeroden.com/blog) for a "sneaky peek," as she calls it, of Luke's nine month pictures. They are wonderful!! And speaking of Halloween, there is an impressive display in our neighborhood that I have to show you. I'll take a picture this weekend and post it for you, or if you are in Dothan, go by the corner of N Park and W Powell street. It really adds a certain charm to the Garden District...

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth

2009-10-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

The title of today's lesson in My Utmost is actually "Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth," so after yesterday's post I had to share. The last two days have talked about getting into "God's stride" and Oswald says that this is summed up in these words--"I AM WHO I AM...has sent me to you." (Exodus 3:14) This is from Exodus when Moses was sent to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Moses just knew that he was going to be the one to do that, but he went about it the wrong way. He first needed to learn true fellowship and oneness with God.

Apparently, Moses was a little discouraged when he was sent to the desert to tend sheep for forty years, but by the time God came to him in that burning bush he was a little more ready to depend on God rather than his own strength. At that point he actually told God he couldn't do it, send somebody else (Exodus 3:10-11). God had to remind him that he wouldn't be doing it..."I AM" would.

This lesson also says, "We must learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him--our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God so that He may be 'well-pleased'."

I take from all this that God doesn't want (or need, for that matter) me to do anything for Him. He just wants me to focus on my relationship with Him and He will do things through me.

The lesson ends by saying, "If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead."

God's Silence

2009-10-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

I have felt so discouraged for the past several days and I'm really not sure why. I guess the news that my kindred-spirit-co-worrier-encourager-stay-at-home friend (Denise) is moving helped bring it on, maybe? Anyway, since I've been staying home with Luke I have had more time to spend with the Lord. Things were going really well. The entire process of med school and residency had really just crushed my spirit, but now that I am away from all that my joy is returning. But for whatever reason this past week it was gone again. I really believed it was an attack from satan and maybe that is part of it.

I picked up my copy of My Utmost For His Highest (by Oswald Chambers--wonderful daily devotional book. I highly recommend it.) this morning and opened it to where I left off, which was October 10th. That day was about how to know God's revealed truths. They are sealed until they are opened up to us through obedience. You can't philosophize, think or worry your way into them. You just obey. But isn't that what I've been doing? I have quiet time every morning (when Luke lets me), I pray for guidance, I read my Bible, go to church, confess my sins. I mean, I know I could do even better, but I have told God that I need help. And it only seems like things have gotten worse.

Back in August, Brother Johnny Fain gave a message on knowing the will of God. He pointed out that we always seem to be wondering if we're carrying out His will, when there are a lot of things we should do that we already know are His will:

For unbelievers that is to accept Christ as your savior.

As believers we know we should:

Live a sacrificed life

share the gospel

be baptized

tithe

do missions

learn and study His word

put off the things of your old life--anger, bitterness, anxiety

love one another

go to church

raise your children in the ways of Christ

He said that we should use what we already know and God will show us what we need to know.

I certainly have a lot of room for improvement, more places to be obedient, but maybe this is a time of God's silence. The October 11th lesson in My Utmost talks about God's silence as His answers. Oswald says, "God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is a sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself."

So, I'm going to try not to be immature and say, "Let me hear you, Lord!" I'm trying to praise Him for His silence and wait for something even more wonderful.

First Steps!

2009-10-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Luke finally took some steps today! He still hasn't actually initiated the steps by himself, but we were holding his hands and letting him walk back and forth between us today and once he got started we let go of his hands and he would keep going. Usually he just leans forward when we let go. Good thing he got his first real pair of shoes 'cause he's going to be ready to go!

We had a great weekend. Saturday morning Kyle ran and Denise and I walked a 5K for the Medical Center's Breast Cancer Foundation. Good thing I didn't decide to run because I would have never made it! I ended up carrying Luke and Denise pushed the stroller.

Last night we went to a dinner at Kenny and Rita Cox's to celebrate Kyle becoming a partner at Primecare. Yay! We went to our Sunday School class this morning, then to Big Church at Covenant for Colt's (Josh and Mary Parrish's son) Christening. He was great! I didn't hear a peep out of him and he stayed for the entire service.

Time to rest up for another busy week!

Bowties with Sausage Cream Sauce

2009-10-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

Kyle and I love Italian food. My favorite restaurant in Tuscaloosa was always DePalma's, mainly for the meatball and onion breadsticks with pizza sauce. So good! Sadly, the last time we went it just wasn't the same. The owner committed suicide several years ago, but for a while it didn't change. I think they've taken some shortcuts because of the economy. Very depressing.

I got distracted. That has nothing to do with this recipe and I'm sorry you will have to read that anytime you look at this post. The point of the post is this pasta recipe that I discovered a couple of weeks ago that is delicious. Just ask our friend Shay!

Bowties with Sausage Cream Sauce

1 package Bowtie pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced onion

1 28 ounce (or 2-14 ounce, duh) can of Itialian style diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil (optional)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente: drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender. Add tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Nine month stats

2009-10-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

We went to the pediatrician yesterday. Still in the 75th percentile for height and weight. He weighed 22 pounds and is 29 1/2 inches long. Had to get a Hep B shot. I wasn't ready for that. We didn't give shots at 9 months in residency, but he only cried for a second and wasn't even fussy that afternoon (much unlike with 4 and 6 month shots). I would also like to take this opportunity to say that, yes, he is still spitting up enormously. We started giving him zantac again so he doesn't seem to cry as much, but the output has not slowed down.

His favorite toys right now are a baseball and a basketball and he loves to point out the eyes on all the animals in his books. He still loves to go for runs in his stroller and anytime we get near a door he starts saying "dog, dog!" (Ok, it sounds more like "dodt, dodt," but I know what he means.) This is my favorite age, so far, though I think Mother's Day Out has played a role in that. Did I mention that I decided to let him go two days a week instead of one?

We had a great time getting 9 month pictures made. Can't wait to see them!!

Mother's Day Out

2009-10-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Just dropped Luke off for his first day of "Mother's Day Out" at First Methodist. I'm sorry, "Parent's Day Out." (We Baptists aren't very PC). The church is only a block from my house so I loaded him in the stroller and walked up to drop him off. Looks like he is the youngest one in the class because when I got to the door there were two other little boys running up to the baby gate. He wasn't excited when I handed him over, but he wasn't very upset, either. I expected a little more emotion from him since they had to call us out of sunday school this week because he wouldn't stop crying.

At any rate, I thought I would feel freedom after dropping him off, but I was really sad pushing home the empty stroller. Um, I think that is a bit dramatic considering he is basically just playing at church a block away for four hours. Oh, well. I have to go do laundry and pack for picture weekend. Hope I remember to pick him up on time...

I have to share this with you...

2009-09-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

Denise sent me a link to this blog today. This is a girl named Callie who lives in Birmingham. She was recently diagnosed with a Grade 2 Astrocytoma, a brain tumor. Please be prepared to cry tears of laughter and sorrow.

www.calliesjourney.blogspot.com/

I have only read a few entries and it has already put a few things in perspective for me. (Like not being a baby about Kyle giving me a flu shot). Her attitude is incredible and honestly, it scares me a little. For the past couple of months I have been working on my walk with the Lord. There have be some small, but significant, changes in my life that have been direct and obvious answers to prayers. I have been learning so much through sunday school and Brother Johnny at First Baptist and through our study of the Praying Wife and now Apples of Gold. (More on Apples later...) Part of my fear is--what if I get too close to God? What if He thinks I could handle something like that? And then part of the fear is like a ride at Six Flags. Just knowing you're not in control and you can enjoy the ride...

In John Williams sunday school class this week we talked about where we are as a Christian on a scale of 1-10. Shay said that most of us are right in the middle, where it's comfortable. I agree with that. I don't want to be too bad, so I don't get punished or too good so that I am chosen to be an example of how a Christian should react in tough times. I'm not saying this is correct reasoning. I know that bad things happen to all of us, lost or saved, "good" Christian or "bad." I'm just saying I can't help thinking that way.

You know the Dare Devel Dive at Six Flags where they strap you in and pull you way up high then you pull the cord and do a free-fall toward the ground? I feel like I'm at the top. I just need to take the plunge.

9 months old

2009-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Our baby is now nine months old! Definitely a milestone age so we are having some pictures done this weekend by an AWESOME photographer. I am so glad we found her just as she is starting her business, because I really think she will be famous one day and then we wouldn't be able to afford her! Fortunately, she is also one of our best friends and she and her husband have a nice 'guest suite' in their house for us to stay in. Usually she travels to your house to do the photos, but then we wouldn't get to stay in the guest suite or watch Bama football on one of their three flatscreen TVs.

Anyway, since the last post Luke has become a much faster crawler and puller-upper, but he still hasn't taken that first step. I've already had to fence in the living room, so I'm not encouraging it! He has been working on a few other things, like THREE top teeth. Ouch!

In addition to "da-da," he has now said "bottle" and "dog." ("Da-da" is for both Kyle and me). When he drops his spoon he says "uh!" or "uh-uh," but he hasn't mastered the "-oh." He has also figured out how to growl and wave "bye-bye."

Have I mentioned that it goes by really fast??

It won't be long...

2009-09-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Denise Nichols, Kerrie Reed, Lindsey Lee, Jacqueline St. Pierre, Deanna Brannon and I finished a study of "The Power of a Praying Wife." If I haven't told you already, I highly recommend it! When we were done we were supposed to have a celebration dinner at the Nichols' house, but her husband Shay and their two girls came down with a stomach bug. Since that got cancelled, it was rescheduled for this weekend and combined into a baby shower/sunday school social/celebration dinner/football party. There were a ton of people in Shay and Denise's house and they fed us all some awesome barbeque. Thanks again, guys! Luke had a blast playing on the carpeted floor with the other rugrats and was not shy around our friends he had not met yet (who do not have kids themselves)!

He must have thought it was cool to watch the older kids run around, because he decided he wanted to stand up by himself. He stood by himself with everyone watching for about 5 seconds! I didn't get a picture at the time, but this is the next day:

Now he has started letting go when he pulls up on the furniture, all by himself. Such a big boy. When he tries to walk he leans forward before moving his feet and just falls over. He's still got some things to figure out, but it won't be long now.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day Kyle took a couple of days off so we could make a trip to north Alabama. Our families both live in the same vicinity since his parents moved from Memphis to Mentone, so it's now possible to see them both in one weekend. One long, action-packed weekend, that is...

On Friday morning, we drove up to Mentone, stopping in Springville to see Colby and Rachel's (Kyle's brother and sister-in-law) new house along the way. It is a beautiful house in a great area with an awesome deck overlooking a big field. Lots of adjectives! I should have taken a picture of the house. Anyway, that was the first time Luke had seen his cousin Brooklyn in a while and he thought she was hilarious! It must be funny to see someone so close to your size running around and playing! She had fun with him, too, and kept calling for "baby Luke" to come to her room. That's Brooklyn's sister, Madelyn, in the picture.

His parents and sister are staying in a cute little old farm house in Mentone and while it only has one bathroom, it really didn't seem that small to me. It has been updated, but since the owners found a Civil War uniform in the attic, I guess it is pretty old. There were also tons of old books dating back as far as 1897 and stacks of pictures from WWII. The most interesting (or disturbing) one needed no description, but was labeled "Brutswald(?) Concentration and Annihilation Camp." I just can't wrap my mind around that.

On a lighter note, after dinner that night, we went up to the Ponderosa Bible Camp to see where they have been spending the summer. It is a really neat place with horses, swimming, an archery and shooting range, cabins for campers, you get the picture. Just a good old-fashioned summer camp. We also visited DeSoto Falls.

The next day Colby, Rachel and the girls came up to have some family pictures taken. What a challenge to get a 2 year-old and two infants to cooperate. I'm not sure we could have found a more patient photographer than Ann Nelson. Click on this link--Ponderosa Bible Camp--and go to the staff page. Just take a look at the Nelson family. They have ELEVEN children. All good-looking kids, too!

This weekend was also the beginning of football season. We took Luke to Albertville on Saturday to visit his great-grandparents, then we met my parents and handed him off for the night so we could watch Bama beat up on Virginia Tech in peace! Another great time hanging out with the Roden family (we missed you Kaydee!) and the Warrens (for a little while).

The next afternoon we were off to my parents' house for the next leg of the journey. (We did a LOT of driving this weekend!) Luke got to see his other Aunt Kim and his cousin Kate. We were happy to see that they love each other, too.

Kyle and my dad had a two-man dove shoot before we were back on the road to Dothan. It was a fun and busy weekend. This is how we all felt when we got back home:

Can't wait to do it again soon!

Daddy's Home!!

2009-09-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

I remember one day in Tuscaloosa while driving with our windows down, Kyle and I passed a house where Dad was obviously just getting home from work. All the way to the road and over the sound of traffic we could hear, "DADDY, DADDY!!" and we saw a little boy and girl who appeared to be between 5 and 8 running out to meet him. So cute! I never dreamed that excitement would happen this early.

I wish I had kept the camera going the whole time. He immediately had a melt-down and soon as Kyle walked away.

While we are on the subject of Daddy, looks like he is going to have to rearrange the nursery.

"What? I'm not doing anything..."

We have some fun, too!

2009-08-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

I know I complain a lot about the fussing, but we do have some fun, too! This is from the weekend. Who knew it was so much fun to have Mommy blow in your face? Those of you with babies, have you ever done this? Just blow in their face and see what kind of response you get.

We tried some big boy chunky babyfood. That is lasagna sauce all over his face. He's still freaked out by textures, by the way. He spit out all the little noodles.

It's always fun when Mommy comes to get me up from a nap! (And when Daddy comes home for lunch, but I didn't have the camera ready :( Talk about excited!)

Speaking of fun, what should Luke be for Halloween? Here are some choices, so try to vote in my poll the the right of this post.

Eight Months Old

2009-08-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Luke is eight months old today. What a day it has been, so far! He is not a happy camper. I just can't seem to do anything to please him. He has changed by leaps and bounds over just the past couple of weeks, so maybe he just wants to do something different. Unfortunately, I'm not doing a good job of figuring out what that is. I have already tried new teething biscuits, banana puffs, milk in a sippy cup, watching Aladdin, and letting him tear up some magazines. We even went for a car-ride and to the store. He has cried through every activity. He just went down for a nap, but only because I physically held him down and rocked him for about 15 minutes straight. I hope he sleeps at least an hour, because I need a break!

Here's some crawling footage from this morning:

This does make him happy, but he usually tries to pull up and falls over and bumps his head. Then the crying starts all over again. This look really sums up how we are both feeling about the situation:

It's Official...

2009-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Luke can crawl and pull up!! Today we had to get out of the house because we were both about to go crazy, so we loaded up to go see Denise, Mary Selwyn (MSN), and Adeline. He was chewing on a little basket that belongs to MSN, so I took it away from him and put it in her toybox. He apparently did not appreciate that because he immediately got up on all fours and crawled belly-off-the-floor to the toybox, grabbed the edge, stood up and got the basket. And continued to chew on it, of course. (Unfortunately, I did not have my camera). Oh boy, am I in trouble. As you can see, it looks like he is going to be into everything.

I can't figure out why he is so grumpy. He has fussed and whined and cried all day long! I have a few theories...teething, ear still hurting, hungry for real food? Who knows? And I guess I can forget Crossfit. Gone are the days of just sitting in his stroller and watching us workout. He has to be moving at all times.

Yesterday was much better. He watched the Baby MacDonald video all the way through twice. And he had his first real food...an egg yolk separated in my handy-dandy new egg separator I won playing Bunco. (Thanks, Jenn!) He wasn't sure about this new texture, but he did a good job of picking it up and shoveling it in!

We have our good days and bad. I wouldn't trade any of it for a second. Okay, except for maybe a "Mother's Day Out" or two...

At the end of the day, no matter how bad it's been, it's always better when Daddy comes home!

Changing Fast

2009-08-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Pipes are fixed! We're back in business. It is SO great to have water again. I can't tell you how many times I put soap on my hands before I remembered there was no water. We were really shown a lot of goodness and lovingkindness in this situation, though. For one, our home warranty was going to expire this month and if the pipes had not busted I would have forgotten to renew it! It has covered almost every repair (including this one) that we have done since we moved in, which is not a lot, but you never know in an older house. Also, while the guy was under the house fixing the plumbing he discovered a live wire that could have been bad news for someone. Like the termite inspector who also came yesterday and was walking around under the house in the water. On top of all that, we really didn't even get upset about it. We just filled a few containers with water for the toilet and took showers at Barry and D's (thanks again, guys). If you know me very well, you know that I can get a little bent out-of-shape over things like this, which only makes the situation worse, so this way was much better.

Aside from the busted pipes, we had another great weekend. Saturday night we went to a concert, I guess you would say, at the art museum, although I'm really not sure of the name of the band. Someone local, K-something? Anyway, it was a great time and we met some cool new people. I still can't get over how many young couples live in Dothan!

We had a great visit with my parents last week, too. I don't think Luke is any more spoiled now than he was before they came. I guess that's really not possible, though...

While they were here, I tried to work on my landscaping again. The only new addition was a Chinese Evergreen Wisteria vine that we planted next to the front porch. I have visions of a cute little vine covering the ugly columns and that scalloped overhang thing, but we'll see.

Yesterday was an especially fussy morning for Luke, and I tried everything to keep him entertained. He loves to stand up, so this worked for a little while. And I know this is awful, but he is finally starting to watch TV a little more. He seems to like that Little Einstein video.

He hasn't quite mastered crawling yet, but he does pretty good with the army crawl. He has perfected sitting up on his own.

He just seems to be changing so fast. He went from just learning to sit up without support at 6 1/2 months to dragging himself around, getting on his hands and knees and then plopping over on his butt. Now it's not just dadadadada. There are all kinds of noises that sound like words. The other day my dad was asking him "where's Dada?" and he started looking around saying "Da! Da!" He's been cruising around on the furniture for about a month now, but yesterday he pulled himself up without my help. Now he gets up on his knees and grabs onto the edge of the crib and cries when he wants out. Time to lower it even more! That didn't last long.

I don't even know when he grew all this hair. We just started noticing that he has enough to spike now! He's working on growing more teeth now, too. (Probably part of the fussiness. That or the unexplained hives he has had for about 4 days...) I can see the very tip of a top front tooth coming in.

When we got back from Mexico, he started grabbing for the spoon while I'm trying to feed him. Now feeding him is almost impossible. He has to do it himself. It's not messy at all.

I know everyone says it and we'll say it a million more times, but it just goes by so fast! He'll be eight months old in 3 days!!

Bearing Fruit

2009-08-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't read my last post, John Riddle is the minister who married Kyle and me. I don't know him as well as Kyle does, but I do know that he is an awesome person and disciple (Diane, you need to figure out how to set up a google account so you can post corrections to my terminology...) Anyway, I promised I would share with you what I learned from him during dinner last Saturday, so here's what I got.

One of the biggest things we wanted to know was what in the world should we do about all of the craziness going on in the country today. For me (and I know it goes back MUCH further than this), but for me, it goes back to my senior year in high school. That year, one of my best friends and I were SGA president and vice-president, which really just meant that you got to do announcements and the devotion over the intercom every morning. Except...that year, no devotion. We were allowed to say the pledge of allegiance, but no prayer and no "Wind Beneath my Wings" or "El Shaddai." I remember being a little upset and angry, but I guess I was too young or naive to think about what was happening on a bigger scale. I wish I could go back and do something then, but at the very least I want to do something now.

I am a very honest person, even if to my own detriment, so I will tell you the reason I decided to go to Mr. Riddle for advice. I love to watch Glenn Beck. Think he is great. He suggested that if we wanted to get involved, the first thing we needed to do was go to our pastor, minister, spiritual counsellor, etc. You may think Glenn is crazy, but that is some good advice. (You should try to watch him this week, see what you think).

Here's what Mr. Riddle said:

1. You must be a good sheep first! You must be abiding in Him and bearing fruit. If you try to accomplish anything without doing this first you will be unsuccessful. The enemy will knock your legs right out from under you!

2.Be at peace and know that God is in control. He knew this was going to happen. Realize that our time here is just a "parenthesis in eternity."

3.Once you have established your abiding relationship and are bearing fruit, then you may be called to do something on His behalf--spiritually, politically, whatever. And if He calls you to do something, you will know it.

Makes perfect sense, right? Mr. Riddle actually wrote a discipleship series that included steps to an abiding relationship. I can get you a copy of that part if anyone wants it. Also, he wants to come back to Dothan to do a workshop for us. I'm not exactly sure what all that would include. He said he wrote it for men, but would be glad to give the workshop to couples. Let me know if you are interested so we can get it set up. It would probably be sometime in October, I'm guessing. The workshop takes 9 hours and he is willing to break that up into two saturdays. I'll get more details for you, but I think at least part of it will teach you how to invest, rather than spend, your life here.

Also, girls, since it came up several times during our study of the "Praying Wife" about how many times you are supposed to pray for things I asked him about that, too. There wasn't really a direct answer (i.e. pray 7 times and in 3 days it will be revealed to you...), but here's what he said.

First of all, if you are praying for something that you know is His will, then go ahead and thank him for it because He's going to give it to you.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. If we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have that which we asked of Him." --1 John 5:14,15

When you are praying about a problem or in times of trouble:

1. Thank him for the problem. He allowed it to be there for a reason, for you to grow from or for you to be enriched by. We benefit from negative circumstances. From Mr. Riddle's Discipleship Series..."Negative Circumstances are usually for one or more of three reasons: Discipline, Deployment or Development. Probably 80% of the time they are for our development and if handled correctly develop our Christlike character and we are protected from the negative impact of them."

For example, right now I am very thankful that a pipe underneath our house busted this weekend and we discovered that all the pipes under the house are rotten and need to be replaced. We turned the water on to take a shower for church yesterday morning and found that the leak is so big we have zero water pressure. I'll let you know how it turns out...

God will not let any circumstances into your life that you can't handle. It is comforting to know that "anything that happens to you today has gone through God's filter and he has said 'yes' or 'no.' You can either depend on Him to get you through and benefit from it or struggle through on your own and waste that opportunity to grow. Mr. Riddle said that he went through a 10 year period of time in his life that was the worst he has been through, but it didn't seem like it because he had figured this concept out.

"Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long." --Psalm 25:5

And, of course, "...all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. --Romans 8:28

2. When having problems or negative circumstances, know that we can always count on Him for goodness and lovingkindness, and thank him for it.

"...no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly." --Psalm 84:11

"..he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him." --Psalm 32:10

Ask God specifically to show you goodness and lovingkindness in these difficult situations. Write it down when you do, so you can go back and remember all the times He has. Just remember that this has to be done within the context of an abiding relationship!

Please let me know if this does not make sense. Being a clear communicator is not one of my gifts!

A Very Good Day

2009-08-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Before bed last night Kyle and I were talking, and we decided that we had just had a very good day. Well, a pretty good weekend, really. Friday night, instead of going out to eat, we had leftovers. Since we ate kind of light and didn't spend any money, we treated ourselves to ColdStone!! That right there would be enough to make the weekend great for me. (And don't get too excited, because while it does get a little better, it's still pretty ordinary...)

Saturday morning, since we went to bed at 10:30, we were up and at 'em around 6:30. We (I) have decided that sleeping more that eight hours a night is just a waste of time, especially on the weekend. We made a good breakfast, straightned up the house a little, then went outside to work in the yard. This part was surely not very exciting for Kyle, because he HATES yardwork, but I think that when he saw how good it looked (relatively speaking) he was glad we got it done. Besides, he knows how excited I get about things looking good around the house. It had been several weeks since our last yardwork day, so it took most of the day. The two hour lunch to hang out with our friend Ed set us back a little, but that's ok. I think Ed was procrastinating...he's supposed to be studying for an exam. We didn't mind.

I have been trying to decide how to landscape the side of our house for about 6 months now. For some reason, I have the desire to be creative. Unfortunatey, I'm not. I've been riding around the Garden District for months to try to come up with a landscaping design, but the only thing I'm sure of at this point is that I want some Crepe Myrtles. So, when we finished the yard, we loaded up Luke and went to Dothan Nurseries. Before we left, Kyle says, "We're just going to run in and buy a couple of trees, right." Oh, yeah, shouldn't take long. That place is like a botanical garden. We were only there for about an hour, but it would have been longer if we weren't supposed to meet someone for dinner. Which brings me to the next great part of our weekend.

John Riddle is the minister (is that what you call him?) who married Kyle and me five years ago. He has his own discipleship ministry and Kyle's family first met him when they worked at the Big Oak Ranch many years ago(right?). He has counseled Kyle and his family a lot over the years and me a little. I think he has God's cell phone number. Such a neat guy. He came through Dothan Saturday night on his way home from St. George Island where he has been working on writing a book this summer. We met him at the Old Mill Restaurant where he bought our dinner. (We will have to physically restrain him so we can pay next time.) He always has encouragement and advice for us and this time we wanted to talk about all of the craziness going on in our great nation these days. He, of course, knew just what to tell us to get us on the right track. I'll just say here that what he said made perfect sense, so I can continue telling you about our weekend. I'll give you his advice in another post...

After dinner on Saturday, we came home to put Luke to bed. We kept him up late the night before, so we were sure he'd be exhausted when we got home. Not so much. Lots of screaming when we put him down. I'd like to think it is because he has had an ear infection this week, but I think it was just because he wanted to play:

He has really gotten the hang of that walker! Loves to crash into things and is already rolling up to the cabinets and trying to open them. Oh, boy. I'm going to have my hands full! At sometime after 9, I finally gave him an extra bottle and had to hold him down and rock him to sleep.

Oh, yeah! Forgot to say that before dinner we got in a Crossfit workout. I finally got the hang of Kipping pull-ups and I did 45 in nine minutes!!

On Sunday morning, we took Luke to the nursery for Sunday School and big church. It was the first time for both. He was fussing when we came to pick him up, but they said he did great. Since we started going to First Baptist, we have been going to Dr. Ken Clark's class. He is such a great teacher and we love the group. I recently did a study of "The Power of a Praying Wife" with my friend Denise and some girls from her class. We decided to visit that one this week and it was really great, too! So now I think we have decided to join First Baptist, but we're not sure which Sunday School class to join. There are more couples who have just started having babies like us in the new group we visited. Maybe we should stay with those guys for now and move up to Dr. Clark's class together later...

One thing about Sunday that made it so great was the food we ate. For lunch, we used leftover rotissere chicken and made it into wraps with tomato, turkey bacon, lettuce, avacado, feta cheese, bruschetta (got it at Sam's, it is SO good) and greek dressing. Oh my gosh! We decided that we need to open a little Italian Bistro one day. It was that good! Our dinner could be on the menu, too. We just took everything in the refrigerator and pantry that could be considered Italian and mixed it with some whole wheat noodles. We had artichoke, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, bruschetta, italian seasoning, garlic and chicken strips in there. YUM!

After lunch, Kyle was so sweet to plant my new Crepe Myrtles. Just as soon as we got started, though, we noticed a huge dark cloud coming our way. Wouldn't you know that the only rain shower all weekend was while he was planting those trees. And it stopped just as soon as he was wrapping it up. The rain didn't slow him down though. Here was my and Luke's view:

When that was all done we took Luke for a run at Westgate. I've been running a little lately, so this time was much easier than the last. I think I'm ready to do a 5K! Barry was at our house waiting for us to do Crossfit when we got back. Five rounds of 7 muscle-ups and 21 Burpees. Needless to say, after running 3 miles, I decided to sit that one out!

By then it was dinner time and we got Luke to bed a little easier. That's when we decided that it had been a very good day and that we needed to start assessing every day at the end. We only have so many! That may sound a little depressing, but as Mr. Riddle put it, our time here is just "a parenthesis in eternity." What a great parenthesis it can be, though. Every stage of Luke's life so far has been so much fun. Trying at times, but fun. And I feel like every stage will be. Lots of coloring and drawing, reading, doing math, playing sports, college years, getting married, then start it all over with grandkids! So much to look forward to. Even on the short-term. Our friend Josh Parrish is the offensive coordinator at Northview, so when we go to his games we can get a little preview of what highschool will be like. Also, my parents are coming to visit this week and we plan to go see Kyle's parents in September to see their new place in Mentone. We hope to get to see the Roden's and Warren's in Albertville next month, too!

Speaking of stages, we lowered Luke's mattress last night. He just didn't realize that he could have climbed out for a while now!

ADHD Housewife

2009-08-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

This post is for you, Denise, not only because we were talking about it the other day, but also because you are the only one who reads my blog! Ha ha!

Tell me if this sounds familiar. So I'm folding clothes on our bed and I come across the bathmats. Even though I'm in the middle of the load I go into the bathroom to put them down. Before I can put them down, though, I have to sweep the floor. When I get back with the broom I notice that the sinks and mirrors are filthy. I put the broom down and go get the Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles. I cleaned the mirror and sinks then realize I need to take Luke's bouncer that he sits in while I'm in the shower to his room. When I get to his room I see that the trash is overflowing with dirty diapers, so I of course have to empty that, which reminds me that I should empty the trash in our bathroom and laundry room while I'm at it. At least now I'm back to our bathroom, so I sweep the floor and put down the mats. When I look around, our bed looks like the dryer exploded, there are cleaning supplies scattered around every room, Luke has peas all over him and on most of the clean laundry and the den could be a showroom for Toy's 'R Us. About that time, Kyle comes home. He doesn't say it, but I'm sure he wonders what I have been doing all day. Well, at least when he brushes his teeth tonight he will be standing on a clean bathmat!

Thanks for the sweet verse earlier!

Just as lotions and fragrance give delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul. Proverbs 27:9

Our 5th Anniversary...in Mexico!

2009-07-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

This July 16th was our five year anniversary. Can you believe that?? FIVE years! Time really does fly when you are having fun. Our gift to each other this year was the trip to Mexico. What a great time! We have been on all-inclusive vacations before, and every time we say that we wish we had some friends with us. Well, this time we did and it was everything we hoped it would be!

We stayed at the El Dorado Royale, just outside Cancun. The resort was awesome. The last time we were in Mexico we were at the Royal Porto Real in Playa del Carmen. The facilities were equally nice, but the El Dorado was much bigger (which is not necessarily a good thing, you had to take a shuttle if you didn't feel like hiking). I loved being in Playa, because we were only one block away from 5th avenue--a cool little area with lots of shops and restaurants. The food at the El Dorado, however, was much better and they even had a sushi restaurant!

When I say that there were friends with us, I don't mean just a couple...there were 10 of us in all. That really threw them for a loop at this couples resort, although I don't know why it was such a big deal because they have weddings there all the time. At any rate, it was next to impossible for us to all sit together at a restaurant. Interestingly enough, they did set us up for a romantic candlelight dinner for 10 on the beach, the night of our anniversary.

I guess the only "adventure" we went on was a van ride to the shops in Playa. We were a little nervous at the checkpoint we went through along the way where we saw Mexican military guys with machine guns, but they were there the last time we went and apparently it is like the road-blocks we have here.

It was a great trip that included a lot of eating, laying by the pool, massages and the occasional pool volleyball game. Can't wait to see what our next trip will be!

At the time of the trip, Luke was 6 1/2 months old. Part of the week my parents stayed with him and part of the week he was with Kyle's. When we got home he was sitting up like a big boy without any support! For a few weeks before the trip, we would hear an occasional "dada", but when we got back it was "dadadadadadadadada!" By 7 months, he had discovered "mamamama" and "babababa", too. I tried several times to get a good video of "dadadada," but he wouldn't cooperate. He's a little angry in this one:

Mediterranean Cravings

2009-07-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hola! Just got home from Mexico on Sunday and we're still trying to recover. I'll have some pictures for you soon, but I wanted to wait until after we all get together to share all of our pictures so you don't miss out on any really good ones :)

In the meantime, I got all the laundry done and the house in order (somewhat), so I had a little time for a project. Lately, I have been craving hummus and pita bread (and no, I am NOT pregnant). Kyle and I have commented several times since moving here that Dothan needs a Purple Onion, (or better yet, a Hooligan's, if you've spent any time in Tuscaloosa). Since I enjoy cooking and baking and since the pita you buy at the grocery story resembles cardboard, I decided to try to make my own.

First, let me say that you need not a lot of skill for this undertaking, just a LOT of patience. And that is not only if you have a teething six-month-old at home. I will say, however, that I (not surprisingly) made this a little more complicated than it had to be. The only health food store in Dothan (that I am aware of) was out of tahini, so I decided just to make it myself. It wasn't that difficult, but I would have been happy to save a few steps along the way.

I'm not sure why, but I started by making the hummus. Once I was knee deep in sesame seeds I looked at the pita recipe and realized it would have to sit at the very least for an hour and a half, overnight for best results. Next time(if there is a next time), I plan to start with the pita, so I'll start with that here, for you.

Pita Bread
(recipe from smitten kitchen)

3 cups plus a scant 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (I used half white and half whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature

1. About 1 1/2 hours before shaping, or for best flavor development, 8 hours to 3 days ahead, mix the dough.

Mixer method: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients. With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed (#2 if using a KitchenAid) just until all the flour is moistened, about 20 seconds. Change to the dough hook, raise the speed to medium (#4 KitchenAid), and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should clean the bowl and be very soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary.

Hand method: In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for a scant 1/4 cup of the flour. With a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until all the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together.

Sprinkle a little of the reserved flour onto the counter and scrape the dough onto it. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding as little of the reserved flour as possible. Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it. At this point it will be very sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 5 to 20 minutes. (This rest will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with--and believe me, you will need all the help you can get.)

My counter is uneven, so I tried to do this on wax paper. The dough is VERY sticky, so I do not recommend this. The cutting board worked much better.

Knead the dough for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it is soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary.

2. Let the dough rise: Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough into a 2-quart or larger dough-rising container or bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil. Press the dough down and lightly spray or oil the top of it. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 3 days), checking every hour for the first 4 hours and pressing it down if it starts to rise.

3. Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 475°F one hour before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone, cast-iron skillet, or baking sheet on it before preheating.

4. Shape the dough: Cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. On a lightly floured counter, with lightly floured hands, (lightly floured?? Only if you also want to eat the cutting board!) shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Cover the dough with oiled plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4 inch thick. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before baking.

5. Bake the pita: Quickly place 1 piece of dough directly on the stone or in the skillet or on the baking sheet, and bake for 3 minutes. The pita should be completely puffed but not beginning to brown. The dough will not puff well if it is not moist enough. See how the pita puffs, then, if necessary, spray and knead each remaining piece with water until the dough is soft and moist; allow to rest again and reroll as before. (However, those that do not puff well are still delicious to eat.)

Proceed with the remaining dough, baking 3 or 4 pieces at a time if using a stone or baking sheet. using a pancake turner, transfer the pita breads to a clean towel, to stay soft and warm. Allow the oven to reheat for 5 minutes between batches. The pitas can be reheated for about 30 seconds in a hot oven before serving.

Paula Wolfert’s Hummus (--who is Paula Wolfert?)
(recipe also from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 4 cups

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste (aka tahini, see recipe below)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, and more to taste
Cayenne, hot Hungarian paprika or za’atar
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Rinse the soaked chickpeas well and drain them before putting them in a saucepan and covering them with plenty of fresh water. Bring to a boil; skim, add one-half teaspoon salt, cover and cook over medium heat, about 1 1/2 hours, until the chickpeas are very soft (you might need to add more water).

2. Meanwhile, crush the garlic and one-half teaspoon salt in a mortar until pureed. Transfer the puree to the work bowl of a food processor (this one was my mother's day gift!), add the sesame seed paste and lemon juice and process until white and contracted. Add one-half cup water and process until completely smooth.

3. Drain the chickpeas, reserving their cooking liquid. Add the chickpeas to the sesame paste mixture and process until well-blended. For a smoother texture, press the mixture through the fine blade of a food mill. Thin to desired consistency with reserved chickpea liquid. Adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. The hummus can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.) Serve, sprinkled with paprika (or za’atar) and parsley and drizzled with oil.

Tahini Recipe

For about 2 cups of tahini, you'll need:

2 C sesame seeds
1/3 C olive oil

First, you'll need to toast the sesame seeds. Heat a heavy, wide-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat.

Add the sesame seeds and toast lightly - about 2 minutes, stirring constantsly so they toast evenly. Keep a careful eye on the sesame seeds as they go from toasted to burnt really quickly. As soon as they start to brown, they are done. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.

Next, you'll process the toasted seeds with the olive oil. Put the toasted sesame seeds in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil.

Pulse for 3-5 minutes, or until it's as smooth as you can get it. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Apparently, store-bought tahini will be smoother because they remove the hull from the sesame seeds. Mine looked like that natural peanut butter. Smelled a little like it, too!

I pulsed mine for longer than stated, but only because Luke was terrified of the food processor and I had to try to distract him in between pulses!

Remove from food processor and store in the refrigerator. (The tahini, not the baby).

It was quite an ordeal, but I must say it was worth it. It was all delicious! I would definitely only recommend this to those who LOVE hummus, though, because otherwise the storebought kind would be fine. We ate ours with greek peppers and Kalamata olives. YUMMY! Kyle even dipped his ham sandwich in it.

Just a few tips so that your experience may be a little easier than mine:

1. Some kitchen tools you can do without (like a rolling pin), but that little plastic scraper was a necessity for me. And again, don't try to make these on wax paper!
2. When you roll the dough into balls and flatten them into disks, make the disks as even as possible to avoid funny shapes when you roll them out. (I am somewhat of a perfectionist, but by the end even I didn't care that they looked like amoebas!)
3. When making the hummus, don't forget to keep the liquid you cooked the chickpeas in. (I actually did not forget, but it would be just like me not to realize this until it was too late!)
4. I love garlic and I tend to use more than called for. Just don't forget that it is RAW in this recipe. The 3 cloves I used were HUGE. It was almost too much. Almost.
5. The hummus recipe calls for 1/2 c. of lemon juice. It seemed a little lemony at first, but I think I like it. You might want to start with 1/3 c. and add more later, if you want.

If we can pull this off...

2009-07-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

When I was about 4 months pregnant, my mom and I bought outfits at Strasburg for Luke and his cousin Kate. Luke's was a little one-piece deal, solid white with a little sailboat and Kate's a long white dress with bows on the shoulders. Perfect for photos on the beach. At the time, almost a year ago, I really didn't realize what had to come together to make this happen. The outfit for Luke was for 6 months and when he began to wear that size around 4 months that was my first concern. When I realized that I needed to book a room and coordinate a photographer with our trip only about 6 weeks ago, it was almost time to panic. And of course this was all supposed to happen around the fourth of July, the busiest time at the beach. I decided to start with booking the photographer. In my email to them, I asked if they had any Fridays or Saturdays available in June or July. (Kyle has already taken off a good bit of work, so he was only going to drive down for the weekend). He replied back, "How about June 9th?" I said sure and began looking for a condo. We wanted a three bedroom for less than $200 per night, so I spoke with a realtor to speed the process along. We settled on Maravilla, which is on scenic 98 in Destin, across the street from the beach. (It wasn't until after we arrived that I realized it was only two bedrooms). After the room was booked and the deposit paid, it hit me. Let's see, July 4th is on Saturday so that means...July 9th is a thursday! I was a little nervous about telling my sister and her husband, because I was afraid they couldn't take an extra day off work. They live in Oxford, so it would be a fairly long trip for them. Thankfully, that was no problem, but poor Kyle would have to drive from Dothan to Destin Thursday evening, then back for work on Friday, and back to Destin again Friday night. He was a good sport about it, though.
As it turns out, Kim and Shane were able to get off for Wednesday, too, so early that morning we were off. The weather was beautiful. Not a drop of rain to be found...that is, except for Thursday evening as we were driving to the beach location for our pictures. We planned to leave the condo at 6:00 to give ourselves plenty of time to get there by 6:45. At 6:20 when Kyle and I pulled out into traffic, the horrible, horrible traffic, we were immediately separated from the rest of the fam. When I tried to call my sis I realized I had left my phone in the room. At about 6:30, with phone in hand, we were back on the road. The traffic was comparable to Hwy 280 in rush hour traffic. And it was not just sprinkling. It was POURING. I was actually on the phone with the photographer as we turned on the road to the beach access, discussing whether or not we wanted to reschedule for Saturday (he'd had a cancellation). As I told him I would have to talk to my sister, I thought about trying to get that crew ready again...NO WAY!! The photographer told us to go ahead and go to the beach, he would meet us there. I was picturing lovely pictures of us all playing in the rain. No need to discuss rescheduling with Kim--that wasn't happening. But, as we pulled into the parking spot the clouds parted. You could actually see the sun. It was a miracle! We quickly got Luke dressed in the car (had to wait until the last moment to end up with the least amount of spit-up on the white outfit, and by the way, if we tried to put that on him one day later it would not have fit.) We all rushed out to the beach and hopefully got a few good shots.

When the pictures were done and we were eating dinner at Gilligan's (next to Harbor Docks in Destin. I recommend) I said to my sister, "If we pulled that off, anything is possible!" It seemed to have been doomed from the start, but somehow it all came together. I think we even had a little fun, too!

You know how you always say you need a vacation after your vacation? Well, Mom and Dad are on their way right now to stay with Luke and we are headed to...Mexico!!

Update!

2009-07-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the doctor a little while ago and Luke weighs 18 pounds and 6 ounces! What a big boy! He is in the 75th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. And when we got home he had a date with Adeline Nichols so her mommy could take her big sister to the doctor, too!
Ok, back to packing. I need to get done so I can begin a study of "The Power of a Praying Wife" tonight. Unfortunately, my praying husband has to work late so I'm afraid I will have to call in another favor from the Moss's...now I'll owe them TWO movie nights!!

Fourth of July...Friends AND Family!

2009-07-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

For the past six years, we have spent July 4th with our friends, Jon and Kaydee Roden. In med school, each new year started in July, so the tradition began in 2003 as a way to blow off steam and mourn the beginning of our third year (which for me was by far the worst). That year, the four of us sat on the dock at the end of our neighborhood in Northport and shot fireworks over the lake, trying not to think about the misery that was ahead. Over time we picked up several new friends and this year we celebrated with much lighter hearts...and a lot of babies!

Jon and Kaydee were such great hosts! They themselves do not have children, so I know it was not easy to have them all over for several days. Their house in Albertville is incredible and as you can see, there was no shortage of water activities! We even had a grown-up slip 'n slide!

While we wish our friends lived closer to (or in) Dothan, having them in Albertville makes it easy to visit family! July 6th is Gramma's (Kyle's grandmother) birthday, so on Sunday we celebrated with her and we got to see Nana and Poppy, too.

A busy weekend, but so much fun! Don't worry Mom and Dad, we're coming to see you SOON!
Now off to take Luke to the doctor for his six month check-up and shots :( Then time to get ready for our next beach trip!

Chukkers for Charity

2009-06-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Barry introduced to us his method of convincing himself and his friends (mostly his friends) to be adventurous. He told the story of a man who, assuming he would die in his 80's, estimated how many Saturdays he had left in his life. He placed marbles in a jar to represent this estimate. After each Saturday that passed he took a marble out. As the years went by, he watched the number of marbles grow smaller and smaller and he used this as motivation not to waste a single one. So, when Barry asked if we wanted to go to Chukkers for Charity he said, "You don't want to waste your marble!" When we considered it, we realized that the alternative would have most likely involved laundry, cleaning and mowing the grass. Don't want to waste a marble on that!

"Chukkers for Charity" is a polo match/event in Nashville benefiting the Rochelle Center and Saddle up!, both of which are programs that support people with mental and physical disabilities. Barry's aunt and uncle have been a part of this for many years and were generous enough to allow us to tag along. (FYI, a chukker is the name for a period in a polo match.)

After a late start and a long drive Friday, we arrived in Nashville at about 1AM. We had initially planned for Luke to make the trip, but when his Grammy and Paw Paw (Kyle's parents) agreed to pick him up along the way it was hard to refuse. Things are so much more difficult with an infant! And besides, he wouldn't have had fun out in the heat anyway, right? We left Dothan with Canon, Luke and me in the back of the Moss's Sequoia with Deborah and Leslie in the front. At one point, I had a bottle in each hand. That was a small price to pay, though, since Deborah kidnapped Luke for the afternoon so I could get packed and ready! (And I'm still going to keep Canon for a night at the movies, BTW).

Thankfully, the match didn't begin until later so we were able to sleep in. When we did get up we gathered our food and supplies and headed for the fields, passing Alan Jackson's place along the way. The weather was beautiful and HOT! Hearing the horses thunder by was awesome! They rode Thoroughbreds and they were incredible. Before the match we wandered around the fields, looking at the horses and old cars that were there. I wonder if this is the most famous person I will ever have my picture made with...

In case you don't know, that's John Walsh. You know, the guy from America's Most Wanted! Apparently, he is a polo player himself. We're thinking he was named MVP because of his generous donation...

When the match was over and after a good footrace on the polo field, we had dinner in downtown Franklin at the Red Pony. Then, unfortunately, went back to the hotel and went to bed at a decent hour.

The drive home went by much more quickly. Luke caught a ride down with Granmama and Grandaddy (my parents) and when we got home this is what we found:

Click to enlarge and look really close.

It's his first tooth! He is six months already. I just can't believe how fast it goes by.

What do YOU want to do, Daddy?

2009-06-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

Kyle's first Father's Day as a new dad began as most weekend days around here have for several months. Luke woke up early, so Kyle got up and brought him to me to be fed. We made it to worship service at church in time to take Luke to the nursery for the first time, but only because Kyle got him ready while I was getting dressed.

I got off to a slow start, but for the rest of the day I tried to do what Kyle wanted to do. I have always known that he is a very selfless person (He spent his whole saturday off yesterday babysitting while the girls went shopping in Destin), but this became all the more obvious today when making an effort to do what HE wanted to do. More than once I had to stop him from folding clothes or straightening the house. Finally I asked, "What do YOU want to do, Daddy?"

Lunch was at Mildred's Tea Room, where you'd better fix your chocolate pudding and brownie dessert when you get your main course or it will be gone. (That won't happen to me twice!) When we got home he opened his card and his gifts from Luke and me.

Making the footprints was fun and a lot easier this time than when he was a newborn. He's kind of a little wiggleworm, but since I had help from Josh and Mary it only took two tries. It might have only taken one, had it not been for a little spit-up!

Luke fell asleep on the way home from Mildred's, so we were able to squeeze in a little nap before he was up and ready to go again. After the afternoon bottle and babyfood we loaded up the stroller and went to Westgate for a jog. Me jogging with Kyle is definitely a sacrifice, because I haven't run 3 miles since before Luke was born! Kyle would work out all day long if he could, so I know that he enjoyed the run. Looks like Luke did, too!

Even with all my efforts to make this day about Kyle, he still ended up giving Luke his bedtime bottle, as he always does, and while I took a shower he made dinner and helped with the dishes when we were done. I don't want to say that I am spoiled:), so lets just say I am very blessed. Never would I have dreamed of having such a wonderful, thoughtful, loving and trustworthy husband and father of my child. The love and sacrifice he gives are rivaled only by that I have experienced from my own father through the years.
Happy Father's Day, Kyle, Daryl and Daddy!

The Beginning of a Blog...

2009-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Social networking is not something I ever thought I would be a part of. It's not that I am against it, it's just that I am the type who gets embarassed by people reading what I write. My mind will go blank if you are standing over my shoulder watching me type. It's akin to the feeling I would get during my medical training when asked a question in front of a room full of people. (Picture tumbleweed in my head and that music you hear in westerns). That being said, I have several people to thank/blame for the beginning of my blog. Ty Blackwell and the Bivonas are most responsible for my debut on facebook. There's a lot of pressure there, though, because I don't want you to get too many of my thoughts involuntarily. My friend Deborah suggested a blog because apparently you can print this out and save it like a scrapbook. Perfect, because the only time I ever get out Luke's baby book is to write down a new milestone and honestly I'm not very good about doing that. So, with D's encouragement and a little inspiration from Abby Maddox and Denise Nichols' blogs, here I am. Feel free to stop by at your leisure.