I Love My Pillow

Luke loves his pillow. It doesn't take long for him to pull it off of his bed in the morning and take it to where ever he decides to play. It isn't like a security item, though. Just something to take and make his life more comfortable.

I guess I have to say that I don't blame him. We have very hard floors (tile over concrete - perfect for little babies who spend so much of their lives on the floor - not!) Hannah is beginning to adventure out more with her crawling. I even saw her hesitate this morning before going from the nice cushioned carpeting in her room to the hard tile of the hallway.

Like Father, Like Son

Just like his Daddy, Luke is becoming computer savvy. Just a little over a week ago, Luke's Grandpa showed him pictures of "big trucks" on the computer. So now, he's really into sitting on your lap and just looking at all the pictures you can find of those ever impressive "big, big trucks". So, this week, Chris put together a folder of pictures of big trucks & some of Luke's other favorite things -- balls, animals, trains and planes (of course!). I couldn't believe it yesterday although I should have known that it was coming, Chris showed Luke how to sit at the computer and hit the "big button" (space bar) to scroll through the pictures. Luke loves it and thinks that he's pretty big stuff.

Will Crawl for _________

It's official: Hannah is now crawling.

This afternoon we saw Hannah crawl all over the living room and her bedroom. However, she has to have a reason. She was crawling for the remote (a no-no), the camera (another no-no) and food. It won't be long until she's crawling all over and getting into other things that aren't allowed. I think towards the end she was getting a bit tired. Plus, her little knees were turning red. I don't blame her for wanting a rest. Our floors are hard as a rock.

Little did I know when I wrote the "Hannah Update" earlier this morning that today would be her crawling day. Plus, Luke is busy playing keep away with her.

Hannah Update

I know some of you have been wondering how our baby girl is doing. I haven't updated you recently because I was waiting for her weight check-up, which was today. She weighed in at 14 pounds 3 ounces. That means in about a month she's gained one pound four ounces. I was pleased as well as her doctor. All of her blood work also came back normal. We can even cancel her appointment with the specialist that is coming up - yeah!! We have to go back in another month to continue her weight checks, but that is fine with me. I'm just thrilled that our tiny little girl is doing better.

By the way, she is moving a little better and a little faster these days. She can now do a slow, awkward army crawl. However, she can definitely get where she wants. Usually, she wants to play with Luke's toys (yes, Luke's life is changing). The other day I left her in her room and went back a few minutes later to find her in the room across the hall. It won't be long until she's really on the move!

Benefit (& Maybe Another Soapbox)

OK, I guess there might be a benefit to moving. We used to have to take a nice chunk out of our day from a former state that we've lived in just to go to the license branch to update driver's license or renew our plates. Obviously, when you move & your plates come due, it's time to make the "dreaded" trip to the bureau of motor vehicles. I put "dreaded" in quotes because I use to hate to go to spend five minutes on business and two hours people watching while I waited (No that is not an exageration. It happened at least once that I remember & there's a good chance that it may have been more). I think I still may be a bit perturbed about that.

Anyway, I think there is hope for our license branches. We have now lived in a couple of different states since the extended wait and I have to say that I've been quite impressed. If there is a wait, it is usually not long. Today, we had to renew the plates on one of our vehicles. I went prepared - books for Luke, snacks for both of the kids & if that failed then Chris & I could take turns walking the kids around. I essentially didn't need any of that. We were in and out in probably less than 15 minutes and that included waiting in line. Yeah! I'm glad that mission was so quickly accomplished and now we're legal for another year.

A Soapbox

Maybe if I was in retail I would have a better understanding of an annual fall phenomenon. Just last week, I was shopping at the base grocery store and found (OK, you couldn't miss it) a very long table stretching the entire length in front of the cash registers heaped high with candy. Can it already be time to load up on the seasonal halloween candy already?! Today, I was in a craft store and they had several rows filled with Christmas items -- more aisles of Christmas than fall. I kind of understand finishing those Christmas crafts before the holidays get here, but a lot of it was not to finish crafts, but instead, things to decorate our homes.

I'm generally not a procrastinator, but do I really need to buy those items now?! Today, it is 100+ degrees. I can't even begin to imagine shopping for winter items already. Those of you who do shop early, kudos to you as you don't have any crowds to conquer.

It Doesn't Take Long

It is hard to believe that Chris & I were only gone for about three days, but I feel like our little ones changed in just that short time. Luke continued to slowly add words to his vocabulary. He now says "big truck" and the words he does know sound a bit clearer. He also can work the wood puzzles (not the jigsaw kind). Before we left, he could put the pieces where they went, but he couldn't get them exactly in the hole. He was still working on turning them until they fit. Today, he precisely places the pieces in their proper places and does this as quickly as he can (is he going to be competitive? we didn't teach him to do it quickly!) Hannah can now sit up on her own. I'm also sure it won't be too long before she'll be able to crawl after all of Luke's toys.

Well, it doesn't take long, but what a joy it is to see them grow and learn!

Weekend Getaway

Chris & I just got home from a 3 day, 3 night getaway to Atlanta. Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Robey, we got to leave Luke & Hannah with them and we got some time to ourselves. It was much needed after all the changes we've had in our lives recently. Plus, it was a great way to celebrate our 5th anniversary even if it was a couple weeks overdue.

We would have normally gone on a trip like this to a place with not quite so many people. However, I think most of you are aware that it's been hot in the southeast for awhile. So, we decided to go to Atlanta and do some inside things. It was nice because we stayed downtown and walked to most of our destinations. The first evening, we just walked around downtown to get our bearings and just to see where we needed to go the next day. It was a success. The next day, it was an easy walk to the new Coke museum, Georgia Aquarium and Centennial Olympic Park. At the Coke museum, we got to see Coke artifacts through the years and around the world and at the end sample Coke products from around the world. In my opinion, North America has the best Coke products. If you make it there yourself, try Beverly from Italy if you want a good medicine after taste. We were then off to the Georgia Aquarium, which is known as the largest aquarium in the world. It was neat, but very busy. The most impressive part was a huge aquarium that housed hundreds of fish and four of the largest fish, whale sharks. The window to view these through was 67 feet long, 27 feet high and 2 feet thick - massive!! Later that evening, we headed to Underground Atlanta for dinner. It was a nice walk, but this area was probably in its prime during the Olympics. The next day, we headed out early to make a tour of CNN. It was neat to watch CNN as it was broadcasted. Plus, Chris got to be a weatherman in front of the green screen and help hurricane Dean along its way. We then enjoyed lunch at the CNN complex before enjoying an afternoon matinee and just relaxing for the evening. The next day we headed back to see our little munchkins that we had missed. However, they had a great time with all the attention from Grandpa & Grandma.

Disclaimer

I just have to say that the house pictures were taken over a period of time. I don't think all the rooms were clean at the same time. That would be quite an undertaking and absolutely no fun for Luke if he couldn't move anything!

Welcome to Our Home

Welcome to our home. I've been wanting all of you to "visit" for some time. However, I wanted it to be clean and put away for your virtual visit just as if you were each able to actually visit us. Enjoy!

ps. The pictures are over three blogs because I could only put five pictures in each one.

Entrance

Living Room

Hallway with Guest Room at the end

Luke & Hannah's Room

Guest Bath

Welcome to Our Home - part 2

These three pictures actually make up one very large room making a kitchen/toy/office combo.

Kitchen

Play Area

Office (this is the desk Chris & I assembled)

Welcome to Our Home - part 3

Laundry

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Girls Day Out

Today was a rare occasion when Hannah & I had a little outing all by ourselves. We went to get Hannah's hair cut. I think in a previous blog I told about her actual first haircut, but this one was special. It was her first visit to a salon. I couldn't get the nerve to trim it up myself. Actually, I didn't really have too much of an idea what I was doing either. Anyway, she did really well for them. She really enjoyed holding the spray bottle and the comb. I loved the outcome and I can now enjoy her baby blues! It was a lot of fun & I look forward to more one on one time with her in the future.

By the way, I think the before and after is rather obvious.

Answered Prayers

Thanks to many of you who have prayed for a church and friends for us as we've moved. I am overwhelmed. We tried one church and it just stuck with us. We are now in the process of finding a small group that fits our family. However, I had the privilege of meeting some ladies last week at the small group that we visited. Later this week, they invited me over so our kids could play together. I was so thankful to spend time with other ladies and see my kids get to play with others their own size. I also got to go to their kick-off for their women's ministry yesterday. What a blessing to know that I get to fellowship with other ladies once a week. They have been so friendly here and have welcomed us so warmly.

Words can not express how much we love your prayers and see God answering them. Thank you!

Just a Tiny Glimpse

Since we've been moving around the country quite a bit in the last several months, we've had the privilege of visiting various churches in various denominations. One of our first Sundays here at our new location, I was struck with how neat it is that hundreds of Christians are worshiping our Lord at the same time. This is something I obviously knew, but never had really thought about. I was once again astounded this morning during a very meaningful time of worship what a tiny glimpse of heaven we have here on earth as we worship with the multitudes.

Visions of the Redneck Retro Rocket Train Ride

OK, that title may be only funny to my parents & my sister's family so let me explain. Not too long ago my nephew thought it would be a great idea to wear his hillbilly teeth (aka bubba teeth) and ride his retro rocket off of his train table. Even though he suffered a slight injury of a busted lip, I cannot help but laugh at the descriptive word picture my sister painted. That brings me to my vision. Luke has just recently taken a very keen liking to his own retro rocket. He rides it all over the house. He even thinks it is fun to ride it on the treadmill. Now, he doesn't have bubba teeth nor a train table. However, when he rides it up there, I can't help but think of my nephew. Thankfully, the treadmill provides a drop of only a few inches and no injuries have been suffered.

Heat Wave

I know it's quite hot in a large part of the US, but I'm just going to write about our perspective - just for the record. You know it's going to be a hot one when at noon it is 97 degrees and the heat index is 110. I think later this afternoon it was over 100 (I heard one report of 104 with a heat index of 115). Now, we've lived and visited hot weather. We were out west about four years ago and had the privilege of experiencing an actual temperature of nearly 120. I think we had 30+ days of 100 degree weather last summer in Oklahoma. However, the heat here is more wet and it even felt a bit suffocating. Anyhow, we'll survive and get to talk about it for years to come.

I also have to add that my husband is such a trooper. He had to fly this afternoon. They went to the plane around 1:00 and didn't take off until 3:00. You can do the math and I have to add that he was in his flight suit that is hot on a comfortable day and the plane is not air conditioned. Plus, the temperature in the plane and the runway is well above the actual air temperature (probably 120-130 or more). All Chris had to say was that it was H-O-T! Plus, when he is actually flying at altitude, it is quite cool up there. So, now he is wet and steps into a very cold air conditioner -- doesn't sound pleasant to me. Thankfully, Chris enjoys what he does.

Picking Locks

I don't think we would have ever guessed that we would become so good at breaking into things. For some reason recently, this skill has come in quite handy. It first came in handy when our neighbors inadvertently locked themselves out of their home. It was a bit scary to Chris as to how easily it was to get them back in their home. I do have to admit, though, that we are most skilled at picking the locks to rooms in our home. For some reason, several of these locks have been enabled recently without anyone on the inside to unlock them. (I won't name any names here, but we're pretty sure people of the smaller variety are responsible). Anyway, we are getting quite skilled at unlocking our bedroom, the guest bathroom & the kids bedroom. So, if you need help on these types of doors, you'll know who to call if you need help.

Growing Up

I have really enjoyed the baby stage for my kids and even the toddler stage hasn't been bad either. It will be fun and amazing to see how they grow through each stage of life. There is one stage that I wish I could entirely skip, though, -- potty training. I feel so incompetent right now as I want to begin working with Luke. His knack for liking things in their proper places and wanting things to always happen the same is a kid after my own heart. However, it's biting me right now with this potty training thing. This morning the only thing that we really did differently was put a pull-up on him instead of his diaper. Let's just say that he was NOT fond of this change. I've decided that each child is unique and no amount of reading and following the opinions of all the experts will potty train him. I think creativity and persistence in baby steps (no pun intended) on my part will do the trick. However, if you have any hints, I'm quite open to suggestions!

5 Years!

Chris & I have been married 5 years today! The journey God has brought us on is one that I didn't really expect, but I have to say that we are exactly where God wants us to be. We have been so deeply blessed: with God's provision in so many ways that we can't possibly count, two beautiful children and loving friends and family.

I have to also sing the praises of my husband. God knew what He was doing when He blessed me with Chris. Chris is my compliment, friend and blessing. I love you, Chris!

Toddler Safety

Most of you know that we are blessed to live in an age where we keep safety first. There are quite a few products out there for us to use to keep our toddler out of things, in things and away from things. We've used a few in our home, but not too many. Our philosophy is to teach them what they're allowed to do and expect them to do it. For the most part, Luke does a really good job with this. However, there are a few places I do use child locks because under no circumstances do I want him in medicines or cleaners. So there are two rooms in our house that we've put adult only door handles on. (I can't think of their name, but they consist of a plastic cover for the door knob & then the adult just slightly pinches it to actually turn the knob). When I put them on, I hoped they worked and they have for the 3 weeks that they've been on. I did wonder if Luke would ever figure out how to use the newly designed knob. I got a bit of a surprise tonight, though. Not only did he get in the "forbidden" room, but he also removed the plastic cover from the knob. I might add that it didn't really take him too long. Ugh! I did put the cover back on in case it was by chance that it came off. Otherwise, what's a parent to do?!