Road Trips and Grins

Well, I promised a better smile picture and here it is! This month has been filled with lots of trips, lots of smiles, and lots of weight gain. We are so enjoying the cuddly plump phase of babyhood. Sarah had her 2 month check up yesterday and is doing great. She has grown 3 inches in lenght and now weighs 13 lbs. She is in the 95th percentile of the growth chart but is actually light for her height. Praise God that everything is going well and for our healthy, happy baby.

We were out of town for 3 of the 5 weekends since I last blogged. We enjoyed visiting everyone but are glad to be home for a bit. Brian's brother will came in from Iraq on Sept 14 so we drove to Greenville after church to see him. The next weekend Brian and his brothers all went to Knoxville so Will could go to the Tennessee game. I took the opportunity to go to Georgia and see my grandmother, Eleanor. Mom drove to Charlotte from Knoxville to help me on the trip. It took 2 hours longer than usual but I guess thats not too bad for traveling with a 6 wk old baby. Right: The trunk ended up being the ideal changing table on the long trip. Good space for her to stretch out in for a bit after being in the car seat for so long. Left: Sara and Great Grandmother Eleanor.

The next weekend we were back in Greenville to see Will and to see Melba and Lloyd (Jim's Parents). And the next weekend to see Will off and travel on to Knoxville and Chattanooga to see more family.The last trip was exhausting but well worth it.


Our car started having trouble Friday night but by the grace of God didn't "break" until we were almost home on Sunday.
So I guess you could say Sarah has been in more states as an 8 week old than most adults have. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee - And if you count pre-birth, California. Well off to church. There is promise of more news soon as I am sure with the holidays approaching life will not slow down much.
Above Left: Sarah & Uncle Will
Below Left: Sarah, Brian, & Great Grandmother Katherine
Right: Sarah and Great Grandfather Tom

Next Day: We had our parenting class at church last night and learned some great things I just really wanted to share. I was particularly struck by 3 applications of giving your kids love and purpose in life. The teacher was saying that it was NEVER too late to give these things to your kids. In my mind these are things that all people need regardless of age so it is NEVER too late to apply these things to all our relationships. They are:
1. Give regular affirmation - this is verbal - not to be confused with physical affection.
2. Give focused attention - let them know you care about the details of their life, spend one on one time with them and look them in the eyes when you talk.
3. Give graceful admonition - practice self-control and do not punish out of anger, but discipline out of grace. Punishment for sin was paid for on the cross, but consequences still remain.
The last one may seem odd in an adult to adult relationship but really we are called to hold each other accountable to scripture. It all comes down to Love as Christ Loves. We are called to a difficult task. I know I need to work on this and that I in and of myself can not do this, I need God's grace to extend His grace to other. This is my prayer.