Tuna Peas!

Sometimes I think Caroline must feel like she is in prison. She is still not moving around a whole lot and I can see her getting frustrated. I must say I have been a little anxious about her moving around but I'm trying to relax and enjoy this time. I know once she starts crawling and walking I will be chasing her around all day and then I'll wish she would slow down!



These next pictures are for Grandma Taylor. Caroline has been eating bits of fruit, pastas, potatoes, and meats for the past couple of weeks. Tonight she had her first real "meal." One of Mark's favortie meals is tuna noodle casserole, a recipe that his Mom gave him. I made it for dinner and Caroline enjoyed it too!

I love the pea in her smile!

Water Aerobics

Most people laugh when I tell them that I teach water aerobics but it's a great job. My class is getting so big. I think it has to do with warm weather and people wanting to get in shape before the real swimsuit season begins. Tonight I had 21 people in the water! The pool was almost too crowded!

Another great thing is that I have been able to watch people lose weight. There are several people in the class that only do water aerobics for exercise and they have lost mega amounts of weight. My English friend has lost 101 lbs!! I told her tonight that I had never known anyone in real life to lose that much weight. She has been a regular every week since I started teaching. I'm so excited for her! I wonder what I could accomplish if I was as dedicated as her?

Cousins

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend of the girls.

I love this picture of Lindsay. :-)

What precious girls!

Love note

Caroline has been feeling a bit down lately...


She misses her daddy!

Thankfully, he is on his way home tonight!

She's just a little excited about it!

Something new everyday!

In Sunday School the other day, I was talking to some of the other moms about our blogs and how they are really just a place for us to brag on our kids. I certainly think Caroline is special and I love to brag on her but I'm really just amazed at how she does something new each day. The process of growing and learning is so fun to watch! Just today I went to get her from her nap and she was sitting up in bed! It's really shocking that this morning she didn't know how to go from laying to sitting and now she can do it. I know that before long she will be standing when I go to get her!

Another first...Caroline has been eating baby food for several months now but the past few weeks we have been giving her bites of real food at dinner. As you can see from her size, she is a great eater. She is like a little bird! You bring your hand anywhere close to her face and she opens her little mouth right up! I had been getting a little frustrated though because I kept trying to get her to feed herself. She is capable of picking up all sorts of things and putting them in her mouth. However, she just would not pick the food off of her tray and eat it. I was beginning to think that she was spoiled rotten (which I still think she is)!

I dropped her off at day care with some little puff snacks. I told the daycare workers that she did not know how to pick them up by herself but if you fed her she would eat them. They said they would teach her (you know where this is going). I pick her up from daycare and they don't say a word about her eating. I get home and as I'm cooking dinner I drop a few puffs on her tray. She immediately picks one up and puts it in her mouth, like she has been doing it for years!!! How does that even happen?!?! At breakfast this morning she would have nothing to do with eating on her own. At dinner tonight, she can feed herself. Is it daycare magic? Did she just make the decision to do it? I'm really baffled by the whole thing. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal. I'm glad that she can feed herself but I'm really just amazed that it was a complete 180 in a day.

She still has some work to do! This picture shows the leftovers from todays lunch (the snot running out of her nose just adds a little extra kick to her lunch)!

Sophie has now staked out a spot next to her high chair too! Maybe they will become friends at last.

Sin

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how much sadness there is in the world. In the past couple of weeks I have known two men who passed away. There seems to be constant news of sickness or earthquakes or fires or a myriad of other things that we can't control.

Tonight the sadness came with a reminder of an old truth. There is a lot that we can control. So much of the sadness in the world has to do with sin. As I was reading my email tonight I read about one of my old youth who is pregnant and getting married this weekend. She is just a senior in high school. I feel sad for her. How could she make such a decision? She has chosen to live in contrast to God's desires for her and now she is reaping the consequences. It sounds so harsh! I don't mean to sound harsh. My heart is breaking for her.

How many times have I broken God's heart when I have chosen to go against him?

Masters

Friday, Mark and I were able to go to the Masters. I'm so thankful that Mark has started to enjoy the Masters tradition. It's always fun to get out and see the golfers and The Augusta National is beautiful. However, I think one of my favorite parts is the people watching.

A couple of funny people stories for you...

On the way to the tournament there was a ton of traffic. We had been sitting in traffic for about 30 minutes when all of a sudden we look behind us and there is an old, southern (buttoned sweater, pearls and hat) lady banging on the window of the car behind us. The car behind us had apparently pulled out in front of her and her husband. She must have been a serious golf fan because she was ticked that this car had pulled in front of her. She was banging on the window and yelling at the young guy driving. I mentioned to Mark that we should say something and before I could say anymore Mark had rolled down his window and told her to get back in her car(this is sooo unlike Mark)! Of course, she then felt the need to come and fuss at us. The funny thing is she really didn't have anything to say. Mark told her she was being silly and should get back in her car. Her only response, "Oh really. Really?" Umm...yes. The conclusion of the story....we made it into the course before they did. :-)

We also got to overhear some great old men conversations! Two old men sitting in front of us. One telling the other that his first Masters was 1958! WOW! He made sure to point out to his friend that he missed 1960 when Arnold Palmer won because his daughter was sick. He must have been a good daddy.

We then had two old men that were sitting behind us. One of the young golfers was wearing pink pants and they just couldn't make enough jokes about the pink pants. "How many penalty shots do you start with for wearing pink pants." "No one wearing pink pants can make a good shot" (the guy overshot the green after this comment). "God would never let someone wearing pink pants to win." "There isn't anyone who can wear pink pants...except for my Dad." They also had a conversation about Sandy whom one of the men had dated. "Whatever happened to Sandy? Did you show her how dirty you are?" "I really liked Sandy. She was a modern woman." I wish that I could have met Sandy! I could barely control my giggles.

We had a great time people watching, sitting in the sunshine and chatting with one another. Thanks to Mom and Vern for the tickets!

Swimming

On Sunday we were looking through the circulars (is that what they are called?) and we saw that they had swimming pools for sale. I immediately thought that we should get one for Caroline. This afternoon while Caroline and I napped Grinny went out to the store and bought Caroline her first pool (and some really stylish sun glasses). :-)

She loved it. She has been a bit slow to get around "on land." She is not crawling yet and is pretty hesitant about moving too far. However, in the pool she just wiggled around. She kept pulling up on the edge so I had to keep my hands close by.

She also loved being on her belly. She looked like a little frog. I wish I had my video camera with me. She kept sticking her tongue out like a frog and drinking the water!


Sorry about the naked baby pictures! I have a swimsuit here with us but I decided naked was just as good! Who can resist a baby butt? She'll just be embarrassed in ten years. :-)

I forsee many hot summer days in the pool.

Happy Easter!

I have been so excited about this week! Yesterday morning we got everything packed in the car and headed to Augusta! Caroline and I are spending the week here with Grinny and Grandude, while Mark brings home the bacon!


On the way out of town we stopped at East Cobb UMC, where I work, for Caroline's first Easter egg hunt. I am proud to say that she successfully snagged ONE Easter egg!

Caroline was a sweet pea and slept the whole way to Augusta. We enjoyed a peaceful night at home and then headed to church this morning. There is something about being on "vacation" that just makes my spirit peaceful. I'm glad to be here!

I also love visiting my parent's church in Augusta. My old youth pastor is the pastor and the church is full of young, couples many of whom are just beginning their walk with Christ. It makes for a vibrant worship service!


Warning...cheesy Mom brag. When I went to pick Caroline up in the nursery I got two great compliments. There were about 6 babies in the nursery and just as many adults. Caroline was chilled out relaxing in the arms of another Dad! One of the adults said, "She wins the best baby award! She didn't make a peep the whole time." Several other parents agreed! Then the wife of the man who was holding Caroline said, "I think he's in love. He's now ready for a daughter of his own!" I was one proud mama. :-)


Here are a few pictures from after church...





Our family pictures are few and far between these days so I always have to post them. Hopefully, we can start being more intentional about getting family pictures!

Answered Prayer

This mornings Easter sermon was not the typical Easter sermon. John preached on how sometimes God is silent in our lives. I have experienced God being silent once or twice in my life and it is such a bummer (although John did point out some positive things about silence). On the other hand, I am thankful that one of my most recent prayer requests was not answered with silence. I clearly heard what God wanted me to do! Yipee!

I have been struggling for awhile about whether or not to keep my job screening babies hearing at the hospital. The job is super easy, really fun and pays really great for a part-time job!! All of that is great, except for the fact that we started having to pay for daycare. Financially the job just wasn't worth it anymore. I prayed about it and talked with Mark and we made the decision that I would quit. I don't like to quit but I knew it was the right thing to do. The crazy thing is that after I quit, my boss told me that due to some changes that corporate was making they were going to have to change "my" screening day to Monday, instead of Thursday. I can't work Mondays because that is the day that I work at the church. Hearing about that change was good confirmation for me that I had truly heard God. It doesn't happen often!