Happy 30th Birthday Kevin!

Today is Kevin’s birthday, not just any birthday. It is Kevin’s 30th birthday but more importantly his first birthday as a daddy. Saturday, Anna had her ½ birthday. 6 months, wow! Today we celebrate Kevin’s life. He has blessed my life for many years but these past 6 months have been some of the sweetest moments with my husband as we have cried, laughed, struggled, celebrated many firsts, had long days and nights as well as watched the days fly by. But above all we have experienced love in new ways. I have watched as Kevin has demonstrated 1 Corinthians 1:13:4-7 day in and day out.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Although we long for many things for our precious daughter, Anna our greatest hope is that she would come to know Jesus as her Savior, that one day she would call him Father. As I have watched Kevin selflessly love on Anna I can see how easy it will be for us to explain God’s love for her because of the example she has in her earthly father.

We often sing praise songs with Anna. She loves to have her quiet time where she is in our arms dancing or sitting rocking. She nestles her head right on your shoulder where her ear is right there to hear the words we have to say to her. One song that often plays on the iPod is Bebo Norman’s, “A Page has Turned.” This was a song that was sung at our wedding. Here are just some of the words….

A page is turned in this world to reveal a little girl

With a heart that's bigger, as it is unfurled

By the language in her soul, that's teaching her to grow

With a careful cover of love that will not fail
And the God of second chance

Picked her up and He let her dance

Through a world that isn't kind

And all this time, preparing her the one

To hold her up when she comes undone

Beneath the storm, beneath the sun

And grown up tall, here you are Your day has come

It is sweet music to my ears to hear Kevin’s voice singing to Anna these words. I am so thankful that we have a God of second chance. Each time I listen to the words I envision Anna at different stages of her life dancing through life but more importantly I see Jesus by her side. People often come to know Jesus through the relationships they have with others. Often a relationship with a believer ultimately leads someone to a relationship with Jesus that changes their life forever. Young Life is a perfect example of this. We develop relationships with high school kids. We love them to Jesus by spending time with them and winning the right to be heard.

Often in Anna’s life it will be Kevin who will be picking her up and who will be by her side as she dances her way through a life that is not kind. I am so thankful that is the case. He has already won her over. She trusts him implicitly, which is evident in the way she is calmed in his arms, the smile that is brought to her face when she hears his voice over the phone and the way her face lights up when he walks in the room. Anna is our little princess. Her daddy often tells her this but just being told you are a princess doesn’t make you a princess. However, her daddy treats her like a princess and hopefully one day because of the way her daddy loves her (and her mommy) she will decide to be a child of God’s, a princess that has a heart that’s bigger, as it is unfurled and a language in her soul that can only be Jesus. We pray the ending words of the song for Anna as she watches our lives. We pray that there is no secret to the source of this much life. May she know Jesus is the giver of abundant life and may she know that the grace that falls like rain will wash her over and over.

Kevin, I am so thankful Anna and I are dancing through life with you! Thank you for the grace and love you show us. We love you!

Happy 30th Birthday! (It must be a special one, if it is worthy of my first post!)

I'm a Big Girl Now

I am continuing to grow up more and more each day. I have learned how to soothe myself by sucking on my middle two fingers, they are my favorite. Mommy puts me down for a nap during the day and I fall right to sleep on my own. I still like to make daddy rock me to sleep at night, it's our special snuggle time. I've just recently learned how to roll from my back to my stomach. I've had the other roll down pat for a while, but I'm proud of myself for learning to do it the opposite direction. I'll roll back and forth on my play mat. My second tooth is officially in. When I smile big, you can see two big white teeth. I've recently moved on to some new foods as well. After eating rice cereal for a few weeks I've just tried oatmeal, peaches, bannans & pears. I'm not so sure about the fruits, they taste funny. When I eat, I've progressed to my big girl high chair. When mommy & daddy aren't feeding me, I like to chew on my toes which I've learned to put in my mouth. I've also been enjoying walks & jogs in my jogging stroller. Not to mention going to my first YL club!

My first YL club! Enjoying some rice cereal.
Check me out in my big-girl chair.

It's a tie between oatmeal & rice cereal. They are both YUMMY!
I'm ready to go for a walk.

Ocean Isle Here We Come!

Anna took her first trip to the beach this past week.

We went to Ocean Isle with some friends.

It was very relaxing. Anna did great.

She didn't play much at the beach, mostly slept at the condo,

but she did get to put her feet in the sand/water and loved it.

She also got in the pool for her first time.

Anna also had another round of shots on Monday.

She cried hard, but settled down quickly. She's a good patient.

She's definitely sore, and has been sleeping it off.

She is up to 13 lbs 11 oz (50%) & 25.5 inches long (75%).

And.... her first tooth just popped through this AM!

We also gave her first round of rice cereal tonight (pictures to come),

which she thoroughly enjoyed.

It has been a busy couple of days for little Anna.

Enjoy the pictures from the beach...

Vacation=Quality time with Daddy

I loved rocking on the porch, especially when there was entertainment.

Telling daddy a bedtime story

Soundly sleeping on the BEACH!
What the future holds...

Headed to dinner
There was even a spa where we stayed...
well, daddy pampered me!
Headed to the pool
Relaxing before my first dip
Hmmm...a little chilly
Hey Maddie! What do you think?
Kicking
Mommy I told you it was cold!
Day 2 at the Pool
All SMILES!
I surely love my fingers
and my mommy
and my daddy
and the sand!

ready to jump the waves
here it comes

what a day!
those eyes make mommy and daddy melt!
I can't wait until next year!

Summer's almost over

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Anna has been sleeping well through the night, up to 11 hours straight! We are soooo thankful for that. We've had a few events recently. We went to a Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game this past week. We went to a family reunion in little Washington 2 weekends ago and spent the night in Rocky Mount. Granny & Granpa came for a visit this past weekend. We were at a wedding/rehearsal dinner this weekend, in which Amy was the wedding director. We got to celbrate MaryBeth's 25th birthday. I'm sure I'm leaving out other events, but the pictures are what you're really here for anyways. :) My first ever Grasshoppers game.

TARHEELS!- now that's what I call a cake. Up past my bed-time, partying at the wedding
Meghan's wedding (L to R- Laura, Elissa, Liza, Meghan, Mommy, Me, Anna B., Kaitlyn, Anna H.)
Happy 25th B-day Aunt MB

Grandpa
Granny

Playtime is always better with a little drool.
Showing my arm strength with a few pushups
Charlie Potts
Cousin Anna Carol

Cousin SimmonsCousin Rachel
Cousin Jimmy (We were not able to include pics of all the family members I got to see. Sorry, blame mommy & daddy. Those not shown in pics Great Uncle Jesse, Great Aunt Carol, Cousins Sharon Grace, Seth, Mary, Jessica, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Kim, Kevin C., Paige, James, Nicholas)

Davis Bryant

How sweet it is...

All smiles in her nightgown.
All snuggled up in her sleep sack, which we've just started using.
She'd be smiling even bigger if she didn't have her diaper on. She loves to be naked.

We have certainly learned to appreciate sleep since Anna's birth. Thankfully, we have regained full nights of sleep starting about 3 weeks ago. Sweet Anna has consistently been sleeping from 10PM to 7AM. It is sooooo nice not having to wake up in the middle of the night. Prior to that we had over a week of her not sleeping at all during the night. Now she is doing very well though. She has started cooing, making lots of noises when she gets excited. She has also learned to roll from her stomach to her back, which she did twice this weekend. This past week we did get a bit concerned after she had discharge for several days. The doctor recommended we do an ultrasound, which we did last week. Everything turned out fine. We're still not sure what caused it, but she seems to be fine. It always makes you a bit nervous, especially with your first child.

She's learned to soothe herself by sucking her hands. She hasn't quite figured out just the thumb yet.

Plumbing 101

Who ever thought replacing a shower could be so time consuming? Over 2 months ago my dad & I began the demolition process of our shower, which we found out had been leaking for some time. It was finally completed last week with the installation of the shower door. My dad & I spent a full day knocking out all of the tile, etc. We had to call in the hired guns for the tile work and plumbing. I'm not as skilled as I like to think I am. In the midst of replacing the shower, the water heater decided to go out on us.

Showing off a little sweat during the second day of work. We looked MUCH worse on day 1.

The finished product.

Back To Work

Amy started back to work this week, working half-days on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. She was a bit sad to leave Anna behind, but I think it has been good for her to be back. Anna is in good hands with her grandmommy.

Shameless Plug

In less than 2 weeks I will once again be shooting in the annual sporting clays tournament for Young Life. This tournament has been named in honor of Daniel, a high school kid who died in a car accident about 2 years ago. He was a neat kid that I had the privilege of taking to Mexico on a Young Life trip. Our team is responsible for raising $3,000. If you are interested in sponsoring us, your donation is greatly appreciated. If so, you can click on the following link to donate by credit card, or you can mail it to 1840 Pembroke Rd., Greensboro, NC 27408 (all donations are tax deductible).


http://sites.younglife.org/sites/greensboro/Open%20Content%20Pages/Sporting%20Clays%202006.aspx