Date 2

While Jonathan's parents were here, we went out together again! We went to watch a movie on Saturday night. Did I mention it was the late show? It didn't start unitl 10:05pm. ok I'm usually FAST asleep by then, but we really wanted to go and circumstances didn't allow us to go to the earlier show. We saw Inside Man. It was really good and even worth not getting home until 12:40am. Leaving the house so late made me feel like I was in college again! Thanks Husband for a wonderful birthday!

Our weekend...

Jonathan's parents came to visit this past weekend. We enjoyed having them here and I know they enjoyed playing with Emma! It was my birthday on Saturday and we went to Moe's for lunch. I had a free meal coupon! Barbara made homemade lasagna for dinner. It was delicious! Thanks for everything this weekend, Grammie and Grampie!

 

Small Groupies...

Of the 10 people in our small group, 6 of us celebrate our birthdays within a 2 week period. So, this past Wednesday, we celebrated the girls' birthdays (Lisa, Stacey and me) by going to eat at La Paz and then to the Miser's for dessert. I have to say that La Paz is my new favorite Mexican food restaurant in Charlotte! I really enjoyed it! The Todd's joined us as their small group was not meeting. We enjoyed seeing them in our group again! The Lanier's shared some good news with us! We are SOOOOO happy for you guys! I think we are supposed to celebrate the guys' birthdays (Dee, Scotty and Albert) this week. Small groupies - we love you guys!

 

Nursery duty...

I've started volunteering in the church nursery. It will more than double in size in the next few months with all the new babies that have been born and that are on the way. I'm not sure what is in the water that we have all been drinking, but it seems EVERYONE has recently been or is pregnant. At last count there will be 15 new babies by August (this includes some members who are serving overseas.) Anyway, I thought I would share these few pictures that I took while working on the 12th.

Date Night 1...

We received a gift card to Upstream last Christmas that we had not yet used. "WHY NOT?!?", you might ask... Well, right after we (well, really Jonathan) got the gift card, we found out that I was pregnant. I wasn't much feeling like eating, so we waited. By the time I felt better, my busy time at work had begun leaving little time to do anything else. After my busy time at work was over, it was Jonathan's busy time. Not to mention that I had gotten so large and the baby was pressing against my stomach that I was eating several small meals throughout the day. We felt it would be a waste, so we waited. Then the baby came, and well...those of you with children understand why we didn't go use it after Emma was born. Well, finally we had an opportunity to go out without Emma. My mom offered to keep her while she was here so we could enjoy a night out.

I had never been to Upstream, but I was fairly certain it was a REALLY nice restaurant. This meant that I would have to dress up, which I like to do. However, this is currently a problem! NONE (and I truly mean NONE) of my clothes fit. (I could blame this on the pregnancy, but won't since it's been almost 7 months since I've been pregnant - I've had ample time to lose the baby weight...) Anyway - I found something to wear and got ready. Jonathan came home and we were on our way! Jonathan had called and made our reservations. We were a little late, but they still had a table for us! :) We had 2 waitresses and beverage guy. It was really nice! Jonathan and I both really enjoy a nice place like that. I enjoy it more for the food than Jonathan does, but we both really appreciate and enjoy good service. We opted for a glass of wine instead of a bottle, so we could have an appetizer. We got the tower appetizer that had three different things to try - crab cakes, calamari and mussels. I really liked all three...Jonathan passed on the mussels! For our entrees Jonathan had halibut and I had steamed crab, mussels, mahi mahi and shrimp with jasmine rice (sounds like more than it was...it was a little of all those things). We skipped desert for a variety of reasons! The best thing of all was spending alone time with my husband. I'll admit that I did think about Emma while we were out, but not so much that I didn't enjoy the evening. Thanks husband for a beautiful night out! I love you!

Mom's visit

We had a great visit with my mom while she was here. She was very generous and bought Emma several new outfits, including a bathing suit! Thanks mom! Emma laughed so much while she was here! We were so busy that the time flew by even faster. The first full day, Emma had her 6 month check up. The second day was spent shopping (which I LOVE to do, even when nothing is bought!)! The third day, Emma had Easter/6 month pictures taken. When we got home, I took some more. I actually like the ones I took better than the ones we had done! (You can see some of those on Emma's blog.) And then all the sudden it was Friday and it was time for mom to leave! We enjoyed having you here, Mom! Emma had a great time too! 

Must apologize...

So, it's been more than a week since I posted last... I said we'd try to post at least once a week... Well, today I'll make up for not posting in so long. We've been busy with company, church obligations, birthdays, etc. Instead of writing everything here, I'll make several entries...Enjoy, and again, I'm sorry it's been so long since we've posted!

6 month well visit...

Emma had her 6 month well visit this morning. Her Gigi was here and got to go with us (which was kind of nice...I didn't have to carry the diaper bag, my purse the infant seat and Emma after she got her shots!). I'll start with her stats first. She weighs 12 lbs 11 oz (3-5 percentile) and is 25 1/4 inches tall (25 percentile). Her doctor said she is doing great and as long as she is growing, she is doing fine! We also got the go ahead to begin introducing fruits and veggies. The doctor said there is no reason to start one before the other. She had to get 3 shots today and did much better with them than the last shots! She cried for about 10 seconds and then got distracted by the pinwheel in the nurses office. After getting her bandaids, she went to her Gigi while I got everything together. She was happy...not crying...fine...until I looked at her and smiled. She looked at me, got a big frown and started crying, as if to say, "How could you let that mean lady do that to me?! My feelings are so hurt!" It just about broke my heart, but then she was fine again. Can we say DRAMA QUEEN? :) She was so tired after the appointment that she fell asleep on the way home. Mom and I just drove around for an hour or so to let her sleep. It was nice to visit with mom and Emma was able to sleep uninterrupted. Anyway, that's an update on the doctor's visit. She's a healthy, growing (albeit slowly) baby!! We rejoice and praise God!

"It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man." Psalm 118:8

I've been reading Morning and Evening Daily Readings by Charles Spurgeon. The evening verse for Monday was the above verse. Spurgeon says, "If you cannot trust God for temporals, how dare you trust Him for spirituals? Can you trust Him for your soul's redemption, and not rely on Him for a few lesser mercies? Is not God enough for thy need, or is His all-sufficiency too narrow for thy wants?" What a reminder of how big our God is. How often do we put Him in a box and assume we can handle the things of this world, if only He will tend to our spiritual being? And often we do not even allow Him to do even that! I forget who my Creator is. I forget who my Father is. I forget the great Love He has for me. I forget the pain and suffering that took place on the cross for my sin. I forget to 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord'...all my burdens, both worldly and spiritually. What a reminder this is to look to Christ for all my needs.

Toenail Season

It's official... it's toenail season! The first coat of paint has been applied and as always it's green! I always give my toenails a break in the winter and then start the "season" with green for St. Patrick's Day. It's the precursor to Spring. I know when the green polish goes on, it's almost Spring...my favorite season in the Southeast! Some may feel the green toes are a little too much, but hey...it's what I do and part of who I am! :) If Emma were older, I'd paint hers green too!

I'm not biased;

we do have the cutest baby in the whole wide world! These are some pictures of Emma from playgroup today. She was getting tired in this picture with me, so she was rubbing her little eyes! She showed off by turning over and pushing up on her arms. Just wanted to share these pictures!

 

Cotton dish cloth? Are you sure?

Before you decide to use your dish cloth as a hot pad, make sure it is made of cotton!!

<--- This is what happens when it's not cotton and synthetic fiber instead! Unfortunately, my dish cloth is likely not the only casualty! The Calphalon 8" omlette pan is probably going to have to be buried as well. This makes me incredibly sad! It was perfect for cooking for myself during the day, not to mention it was Calphalon! :( Learn from my mistakes grasshoppers!

Driving & misc. other things...

Since Emma was born, I'd like to say that my driving has improved, or at least I drive more defensively. I think so anyway. It's not just me in the car. I have this little life that I'm responsible for. Today, I was driving home from meeting a friend for coffee and this SUV almost pulls out in front of me. I slow down and get my hand on the horn ready to lay on it. But alas, he hit his breaks and decided not to pull out in front of me (actually, I don't think he would have made it front of me, he would have made it into my passenger door.)

Well, the warm weather is taking a break. It was 80 degrees here yesterday and a mere 55 today. It's still nice though - a bit windy - but nice. My daffodils are coming up and so are my magic lilies. My hydrangea is also budding. I hope we don't get a one last hard freeze! I'll be so sad! Other people's daffodils are blooming. Mine only get morning sun, so they bloom later than most. This spring-like weather is also causing my allergies to be bad already. Yay for allergy medicine! I didn't notice that I had allergies before moving to Charlotte, but now my ears, nose and throat really itch when the Bradford Pear trees bloom (which is right now). After they have finished blooming and have leaves, my allergies seems to be MUCH better.

So, Emma is taking a nap. We got a little off today by going out. We were on our way home during her nap time and she fell asleep in the car. She woke up wide awake when we pulled into the garage and wouldn't go back to sleep. So, I fed her and we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. She then fell asleep in the car again! :) But this time, she was so exhausted that she went right back to sleep when I put her in her bed. Hopefully she will sleep for a little while so I can get a few things done. Speaking of getting a few things done, I should go and use this time more wisely!

Until next time...

Zech 1-3 and Matt 26:20-35

Lord,

This morning I read of Zechariah and his visions of a horseman, a man with a measuring line, and Joshua as the High Priest. Zechariah also makes another call to the nation for them to return to the Lord. The Lord says for them to not be like their fathers who followed evil, but to turn to the Lord and do what is right. Honestly, I had a tough time with the scripture this morning. I really didn’t get a lot out of the text. Usually, when I read something just jumps out at me, but this morning there was nothing. Perhaps it will come to me later in the day.

I also read in Matthew (26:20-35) about Judas betraying Jesus and Peter saying that he would not fall away from Jesus. What could have been the response when Judas asked ‘will it be I’ and Jesus saying ‘you have said so’? The room must have been very quiet. Jesus then says that they would all fall away and even though Peter says he would give his life for Christ, he didn’t.

Lord, enable me to hold fast to your word and help me to have the faith of these saints. Help me to look back at their example, and when necessary learn from their mistakes to bring exceeding glory to your name!