Happy New Year!

We hope that everyone had a safe and happy end to 2008 and pray these things for 2009!
New Year's Eve Day is Brian's birthday so we always celebrate that too! We had a few friends from church over and had a great time. New Year's Day we headed to Greenville so Brian, Brad, and Jim could all meet up and go camping. Here are some beautiful photos Brian took from Cheoah bald. It was very cold, but they all had a great time. Sarah and I stayed in Greenville with Monica and we had a great time too - shopping, watching movies, visiting Melba, and just hanging out!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We hope that everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday. Here are some pics for you to enjoy!










Sarah was so fun to watch! She loved to rip the paper (and chew on it)!





Christmas at G. Monica's & G. Jim's

Aunt Coy Beth held Sarah while I helped her go through her stocking. Brian was taking pictures.





Our Christmas at home. Mommy and Sarah going through her stocking and Daddy and Sarah (right).
My family came in to spend Christmas at our house. We had a wonderful time. Sarah with G. Darrie & G. Scott.

Toes,Toes, Toes

Sarah's latest passion seems to be her toes. She is changing so fast. We are now beginning the transition to her nursery. She is really only eating once during the night now and when Brian gets up for work it is starting to disturb her sleep so we decided it was time. She is doing great too, except this week but that was because she had her shots. The doctor report is good she is 16lb 3oz now and about 25 1/2 " long and we believe she is in the beginning stages of teething. Hope that everyone is enjoying the Holidays. We will definitely have a Christmas update. There is definitely something about having a baby all the time that makes you really appreciate Mary and the fact that Christ humbled himself so much so that He could become man and take our place on the cross. Merry Christmas!

She loves to hold and feel things now. What a grin.

Momma and Sarah.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sarah is smiling so much now. This is her first attempt at sitting on her own about 3 weeks ago.
She is working on it but doing so much better. She also is beginning to stand with support. Along with that sometime this week she found out she could scream and has been letting us know it.


Left: All bundled up for the cold, we had just run outside to the mailbox real quick and when we came back in she fell asleep. Just a precious picture in her adult sized hat. Right: Aunt Coy Beth and Uncle Brad came up for the day to spoil their neice. We had a good time.


We spent Thanksgiving in Birmingham, AL with Brian's dad and family. We ate so much good food and I had lots of willing babysitters. Below: Sarah is chewing on everything now and found this Mountain Dew bottle. She love bright colors and anything that can fit in her mouth so she found the perfect toy. And no, she did not get a sample of the Dew.

Three Months Old Today

Happy 3 months old, Sarah!

This is Sarah's 3 month birthday. It is amazing the change in just 3 months. She is so vocal with coos, caas, goos, & gaas. She is so much more alert and interactive. When I am on the phone she really likes to join in the conversation too! She is trying to sit up though she can't balance on her own yet (but she is close). Today she figured out how to pull the cord on one of her toys so that it makes a noise. In late October we went on another trip to Knoxville where Sarah got to meet her Great Aunt Laurie and Great Uncle Kelly. It was so good to see them. It had been so long. She also dressed up in her TENNESSEE Orange - still a loyal fan regardless of performance. Well, that's it for now - more later.

The Great Outdoors

Fall is in Full Swing Here and We are Loving It!
The weather is cool and the leaves on the trees in our yard are changing bright red!
It is such a great time to be outdoors - alot!
*Note: Last blog I listed that Sarah had been in 5 states already. That's not true - she has been in 6. Before she was born she went to California and Texas!

Sarah's First Hike

Sarah enjoyed her first hike on Oct. 12th. We went to a small state park near where we live to hike about 3 miles. Sarah looked around at the trees for a while but then fell asleep. I don't blame her as it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take a nap outside.

CORN MAZE
This past weekend our Sunday School class went to a corn maze and bonfire. Of course, we took Sarah along too! She was great! She is such a laid back baby!
Right: Brian is holding a very bundled up Sarah. It was cold!
Left: Brian is enjoying every last bit of his S'more.

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.