Thanks Pop-Pop & Julie

We have to give a HUGE thank you to my Dad, Alathea's Pop-Pop, and my sister, Aunt Julie. They watched Alathea tag-team style from Wednesday-Friday of this week while Joe & I attended the Leaders Conference at CLC. We have left Alathea a number of times before, but only for a few hours. I was kind of nervous at to how she would handle not seeing Joe & I for such an extended peroid of time. Let's just say I was the one who wanted to cry :)...when we would come home, she would give us a quick glance & maybe a smile and go right back to Aunt Julie & Pop-Pop (and Uncle Billy, Great-Grandma, Uncle Rocky and Julie's friends Katie & Ellen...all of whom pretty much live at my Dad's house). She was SOOOO happy! Once I dealt with the selfishness in my heart of wanting Alathea to always need me and miss me, I was thanking God that she was enjoying herself so much. She was getting spoiled with love, fun and food! Thank you Daddy, for taking off a whole week of work to be with us...and to change so many diapers, and thank you, Julie, for giving up your Spring Break to serve us. I love you!! Alathea obviously does too! You are true servants!

Hanging with my Buddy's

We had CJ & Avery over this afternoon before their Aunt Tiffany's wedding. The three kid's had tons of fun together- as usual. I got to take a few cute pictures of them. They moved in a herd around the house, always sticking together. Alathea is blessed to have best bud's who are twins! Anyways, we are leaving at 6am in the morning for MD. See you all in a week!

Easter

Nana giving Alathea her "Bunny"




Our Family last year at Easter. Alathea is wearing her pretty pink Easter dress from Nana too...



More pictures with Nana & Bunny...who'd have thought Bunny would become her favorite thing in the world...maybe it reminds her of Nana...




We will be driving up to see my family in Maryland early this Saturday morning. We'll spend Easter with my extended family and maybe even Nick & Reba and the Seavers. We'll stay in Maryland a whole week, until the following Saturday when we drive home so Joe can speak in Greensboro again on Sunday. (pray for him...he's got three messages in one week again..Greensboro, M28 and then Crossway the following Sunday). Joe & I will be attending the Leader's Conference Wednesday night-Friday night, which is held at Covenant Life Church. My Dad & Julie are going to watch Alathea for us during the meetings. This will be by far the most I've ever left her in a week...I'm kinda nervous. Although, I know she'll have so much fun and be spoiled rotten by my dad & sister. They've already told me of their grand plans with her (french frie dates, going to park, getting milk shakes...). Fortunately Alathea has been feeling much better since yesterday. I guess maybe she did have a virus that just needed to run its course.

Pray for my family during Easter. There is nothing like a holiday to remind you of the loved ones who are no longer with you. We ALL miss Mom terribly. I guess we thought it would get easier with time, but it hasn't really yet. Just longer periods of time between crying :). Last year my Mom bought Alathea her first beautiful Easter dress (which I still have hanging in her room), and her beloved "Bunny"!! Who would have thought that Easter Bunny would become her favorite thing in the world! So those things remind me so much of Mom. Last Easter was when we learned she had less than six months to live. Both sweet and painful memories. I'm also going to visit Mom's grave for the first time on Easter. I've kind of avioded it so far, but I think its time. Please pray for that too! It won't be easy.

These are pictures of Easter last year.

I hope everyone enjoy's the most important day of the year...celebrating what our Savior's done for us!

What a difference a few hours can make...

Alathea has been going up and down the past three days in how she feels...One hour she'll be running around exploring the outdoors, and the next she'll be lying in our bed, looking pitiful and not moving at all. Actually, she'll be crying. I'm not sure what's going on. I guess that's part of Motherhood. Maybe she's fighting a virus, maybe it's due to her molars popping up? Any sugguestions on what may be going on?? Anyways, by God's grace I am enjoying the good times as well as the difficult. She's fallen asleep in my arms five times the past three days. With her energy level and indepenence, that never happens anymore...so I count it as a blessing :) Oh, and the first picture is her first time eating speghetti last night. She really liked it. The last two picts are from this morning...she laid in our bed for three hours!

This Week

SO...after the topic of Time Management coming up in our Women's Ministry at Church lately, I have been trying to seriously evaluate how I spend my time. Am I really giving myself to my priorities? Am I saying "yes" to too much? Well, this has been another one of those weeks where I barely make it out alive :) Although it was very busy, and there were times I was in tears because I had, once again, said yes to too much and not given myself to what was most important. Despite ways I need to grow in Time Management, by God's grace there were still many highlights from the week. I was amazed as I loaded my already full memory card onto the computer that every picture was taken just this week! And there were many other things that happened that I don't have pictures of! Here are some of this weeks highlights (starting from the end of the week and ending with the beginning)...


Joe spoke in Greensboro on Sunday. This is Alathea in the car snuggling bunny on the way home. It was an all day event. Good friends Steve & Lizzy came with us too! It was a fun day.


This is a picture of Alathea at home after Greensboro (actually at the end of the week...this picts go from the end of the week to the beginning :)...she was exhausted!! Some good family snuggles before bed that night!


Alathea falls down on the sidewalk and scrapes up her entire face (as shown here)

Playing with Wesley & Savannah...they are both fighting for attention here :)


Reading stories with Daddy...an all-time favorite activity


"Aunt Jeanie" with my nephew Andrew at 10 months old (we had a play date with him too)


The Seavers are in town and come over for dinner (This is Alathea trying to kiss Sarah Evelyn)


Grandpa, Grammy & Uncle Aaron come over to play & eat dinner


With the gorgeous weather we were outside almost every evening. We'd eat dinner and then play soccer while Alathea played with her baby doll (sometimes she'd join us too)


The Abernathy's came over to visit (and Paul played soccer too). They live 2 doors down from us. This is Oliva at 5 weeks!



We went to the Asheboro Zoo as a family on Joe's day off! Alathea loved it. She's really into animals so this was a treat. The only thing she didn't like was when we'd stick her back in the stroller...she'd much rather run free!!

Well, Praise God for so many blessings this week. And hopefully I will grow in not saying yes to so much this next week...

I love Grammy

Alathea loves her Grammy. We usually see Joe's Mom at least once a week. This week Alathea had Grammy over for lunch on Sunday (along with Grandpa and Uncle Aaron). They explored the great outdoors of our backyard together (which is Alathea's new favorite thing to do). Then we saw Grammy on Wednesday and played with her at the playplace in Northlake Mall. We also saw Grammy, along with Aunt Heather and counsin Andrew on Friday morning to play together at Andrew's house. Wow! Lots of Grammy in one week, what a lucky girl! Alathea absoultely loves her Grammy, and so do her Mommy & Daddy. Grammy is the best!

"Mommy-Alathea Date"

Once a week I plan into my schedule what has become a "Mommy-Alathea Date". Next to my date with Joe, it is my favorite time of the week. It birthed out of my own experiences growing up with my parents. My Daddy started taking me out on "Daddy-Daughter" dates before I was two. He would take my to "Montgomery Donuts" up the street and we'd eat donuts and drink choclate milk and I felt like the most special girl in the world. My Mom and I would have special mother-daughter time together every Friday morning. We'd sit in our sunroom early in the morning and talk about Everything! I can see how my parents stratigically used the one-on-one "dates" as we called them, to not only have fun and build special memories, but also to disciple me, to care for my heart and soul and to be more than an authority in my life, but also two of my best friends. They faithfully carried on this tradition with me and my siblings up until this very day (or for Mom, until the end of her life). I cherished every time my Mom and I had together and thank God for blessing me with a Mom who made this time a priority. I still look forward to getting time alone with my Dad (now he takes Alathea on special dates too :) They have changed from donut-dates to starbucks-dates (for all of you who know I love Starbucks...this is largely why), and they aren't every week, but now every visit, but I look forward to them the same!

That is why I started taking Alathea out on dates when she was 6 months old :) Kinda silly, but to me very important. It gives me time to really focus on her, making sure I am not caught up in the busyness of life and missing out on creating special memories with her. So I plan an afternoon each week for our special time together. I sometimes plan special things to do at home, but have found it hard to ignore the ringing phone or laundry that needs to be folded. I want this time to be focused on her. So lately we go to Starbucks and get me a chai and her a chocolate milk (she LOVES their chocalate milk. As soon as we walk in the store she runs to the counter and grabs one :). Then we go to the Davis Lake park across the street to play on the playground and then to feed the ducks in the lake. Its become a sweet ritual that I hope to keep up for life!

"Ju-ee" was in town

My sister, Julie, was in town since the day after Rekindle until Wednesday night. We had a fabulous time together, as always. Julie makes even the simple tasks of life, like grocery shopping, laundry and dusting (which we did a lot of) fun. Despite having to do a lot of "recoup" from being gone all week, we did manage to have some fun adventures out of the house too. We took Alathea to feed the ducks at Davis Lake, went out to lunch every day (thanks to our very generous dad blessing us from Maryland), went shopping lots and enjoyed last weeks gorgeous weather. Just as I do, Alathea absolutely adores "Ju-ee", as she began calling her. Julie taught Alathea to go down the 10 foot tall tube slide at the Chick-fil-a by our house...all by herself. It's really hysterical watching this little 13-month old baby flying down the slide with her hands in the air & laughing hysterically. People probably think we are crazy-at least at first- until they see how much fun she has. Joe & I have taken her back a bunch of times since she loves it so much! Anyways, I hate the day that Julie gets on the plane to head back to Maryland. I sure wish I could see her every day! I love my Goober so very much!

Daddy Love

Joe is an amazing father! Despite having to not only lead Rekindle, but to preach, counsel, administrate and be sensitive to the Lord's leading, he still made time for his girls. I was really struck by this as I was looking at the pictures from Rekindle. There are so many sweet ones of Alathea & Joe. Being that my Dad & I have an incredibly close and sweet relationship (the ultimate "daddy's girl"), it's so meaningful to me to see how Alathea & Joe are the exact same way. Lately she's been following Joe around the house "copying" everything that he does...from "brushing" her teeth, to dipping her food in hot sauce (I'm serious), to digging in the garden outside and even going "ummmm" when she eats. This girl loves her daddy. And it's no wonder why...her Daddy adores her. Joe was watching her the day of Lizzy & Steve's wedding as I had a lot to do to get ready for it. I came in the house unexpectantly, to find her laughing hysterically as they were dancing together to some Reggea music...those are memorie's I will cherish forever :)

The best thing of all is that I win out more than anyone. I get the pleasure of watching Joe adore our little girl, while still being treated clearly as his "#1 girl". I'm a blessed woman!

We're Home!

Thanks to all who prayed for our trip...it was certainly blessed! Three people were saved and about 7 people baptized. God is so good! We had a fabulous time...wonderful weather every day. Alathea traveled very well, as always (although 12 hours in a bus is still a very long time). Alathea falls more in love with the beach each time we go. She also ate up all the attention she got from 81 college kids. She was a happy girl. Kerry Malament blessed me so much by coming with us for the week and babysitting Alathea during the meetings each day. That meant I was able to worship undistracted and hear wonderful teaching for the first time in months! That was a highlight of the trip for me.

Other highlights: I LOVE hearing my boy preach. I also LOVE watching my boy lead (he does so well leading the conference...not an easy task, but the Lord always enables him). I loved seeing how much Alathea loves people. I loved watching how much fun Alathea had on the beach. She'd stay out on the beach for sometimes six hours! Alathea & I had many special memories together. Most days we would take a walk on the beach, play in the sand, go in the water, eat breakfast, chat with a few people and then go swimming in the pool all before 9am.

We returned home from Rekindle late Friday night. I then learned I had lost my car keys. I also left a whole drawer full of some of my favorite clothes in our room and my camera battery charger still plugged into the wall (Oh, and my camera broke while I was down there- a major sin revealer for me!!). All this is just a small showing of how tired we all were by the time the week was out :)

Well, I have many more pict's I want to post, but my computer isn't letting me. I'll add them later...

Heading to Rekindle '07

It's that time of year again for M28 to head to Rekindle '07 in Laguna Beach, Florida. These are pictures from last year.We will be staying at the beautiful beachfront retreat center from today until late Friday night. This trip has historically been the pivotal week for M28....getting campus kids plugged into the church, many people getting saved, and last year we baptised 10 people in the gulf of Mexico. There are 81 people going this year! Please pray for us....

*Pray for safety traveling (and that Alathea will do well on the 10 hour bus ride)
*Pray for Joe & Mickey as they preach throughout the week
*Pray for people to be saved and relationships to be built
*Pray for good weather...this really helps!

Thanks! I will miss having Eileen, Carolyn & Kristin there (they've come in years past). We'll see you all next week. And my little sister Julie will be in town!!!! YEAH!

12 Month Doctors Appt

I took Alathea in for her 12 month doctors appointment (I'd say "well visit", but I recently learned unless you are a Mom, you may not know what that means :). Anyways, she's certainly slowing down in the growing department. While she used to be in the 90-100% for hieght she is now just an avarage 50% (maybe my genes did contribute something). Her wieght is the most drastic change...now at just 10-25%. She's only gained 2lbs in 6 months. I've noticed that before she could really move she was quite chunky, but once 6 months rolled around and she took off crawling, I guess she can't eat enough to keep up the chunky girl look. She sure doesn't look that small to me, but she is light when you pick her up (a blessing on the back, I know). It seems like the "Mom" thing to do, so here are her stats:

18 lbs, 3 oz (10-25%)
29 1/2 inches long (50%)