A World of White!

Here is our little Snow Angel. She has been dying to make one of these and she really had a good time doing it, as you can see!


Laura decided to help out by clearing the car of snow for me. This is her first time to really be around any snow at all. By the time we got inside she was soaked through and very cold. But she was ready for some more.

Well, we woke up this morning to much more snow than expected! I heard that the groundhog saw his shadow, so this must be what our six weeks' more winter looks like! They said it would quit snowing by morning, but as you can see, at 9:30 central time, it was coming down pretty hard. This may not seem like much to you winter veterans, but for a girl from Houston, this is a blizzard!

Laura is looking out the window in eager anticipation of getting out and IN the snow! No, she isn't wearing a shirt, and yes, it is snowing outside. I figure she'll ask for warm clothes when she gets cold enough. Her favorite outfit right now is a purple bathing suit/skirt that she considers her ballerina outfit. I actually had planned for these photos to be posted first, but I'm still learning how to do this. At any rate, you can see how the day looked. This snow is the perfect kind for skiing. As I've given my word to two different doctors to never ski again, after ruining my knee, I can only dream of those happy days going down mountains on narrow slices of metal at speeds beyond what is probably reasonable....At any rate, it has been a beautiful, cold morning. I'm sorry that Kevin isn't here to see it and play with us!

I got a new toy!

So, I finally decided to join most of the rest of the modern world.....I bought a digital camera. With some reluctance, I must say, but I got one. These are two of the first images I took with it, and in spite of myself I'm really pleased with them. Of course, having a good subject makes it easier to have good pictures, doesn't it? One picture is of Laura and Grandpa (Kevin's dad) playing together. They are big buddies! In this one, they are making a train out of the Connect Four checkers. Laura likes to play "Let's go to the ball" with Grandpa, and has him dance her all over the room. What is really funny is when she gets him to dip her, like they are doing the Tango or something. As I post this, it is snowing outside our house. We aren't expecting any accumulation, but it is really pretty. Kevin is in Memphis with work for a few days, and we already miss him. He goes down there at least twice a month for a few days at a time. He is doing really well in his job and I am very proud of him and grateful for his hard work. If the Lord wills, we are planning a trip to Knoxville this weekend for a wedding of Kevin's former roommate. We can't wait to get there and see people we love and miss. Next week I'll post some of those pictures. This digital camera thing is actually kind of nifty. Instant gratification and instant sharing. We decided we wanted to get one before Melinda is born and before Laura's birthday. I thought it might be good to not be fumbling around with a brand new camera in the delivery room. My hesitation comes from the fact that I am a big snob about how clear the pictures are with my SLR film camera. But do I go and process those pictures as often as I take them....at $10 a pop? No. Do I take pictures as often as I'd like, knowing I'll have to process them and wait for them? No. So I decided I'll use that camera for my portrait type pictures and use this one for everything else. Until I learn how to do portrait types with this one. That should be fun. It is a cute little thing, a Panasonic.

25 Weeks!

Well, I finally remembered to have Kevin take a "belly shot" of this pregnancy. I think we did this at least every month with Laura, but this is the first one with Lindy. Poor thing. They say subsequent children don't have as many pictures taken of them as the first one. The way I organize photos (I don't really much), both girls are going to be looking through Walmart bags to find pictures of themselves as they grow up. I admire people who are able to scrapbook and beautifully document their children's lives.....maybe when they are teenagers I will at least get the pictures in shoeboxes. Maybe. We've spent the bulk of the last few weeks in and out of Kevin's parents' home helping as Mary Rose recovers from her surgery. Thankfully she is doing really well and getting back on her feet. We are grateful they found the blockage and were able to take care of it before she got too sick. Now I'm working on planning a party for Laura's fourth birthday. I can't believe she is turning four. She is such a joy and a delight. Our house is decked out in pink and Princess garb, and with another girl on the way I suppose it will stay that way. Kevin tonight was able to identify the specific Princess Laura was "tatending" to be by her song. I'm sure growing up he didn't think he'd be naming the Princesses individually at any point in his life. Superbowl quarterbacks, maybe, but not the Princesses. On that note I'll close tonight. We love and miss you all!

This and That

I thought I might give a dictionary, of sorts, of some of Laura's key phrases and mispronunciations. Kevin and I think they are so cute, I just have to share them!

1. puz-(because): "I don't want to go to bed puz I am not tired anymore."

2. peelut buller-(peanut butter): "Mama, can I have a peelut buller and jelly sandwich?"

3. Beggie Tales-(Veggie Tales): "It's time fur Beggie Tales!"

4. fur-(for): "It's not time fur bed yet!"

5. fank you-(thank you): "No, fank you, I don't want to go to bed."

~This substitution applies to most of the "th" words

And my favorite thing she says when Kevin is out of town and she's unhappy with me:
"I WANT KEVIN!!!!!!!" I just tell her to stand in line!

Belly Dancing

It's been an eventful week for those of us who live in Middle Tennessee. We started the week with the largest tornado outbreak in more than 20 years and lost around 30 people in our part of the state to the storm damage. Our county, Sumner, is now a Federal Disaster Area, with many homes and businesses destroyed late Tuesday night. It was eerie at our house that night as we heard the wind and saw the hail coming down. Storms at night are always a bit more scary to me because I can't see what's coming. We had three different sets of tornado warnings through the late evening and into the early morning. I am thankful that our family was not directly affected by the weather and we pray for those who were. One thing I love about these trials is the stories of hope from people who survive. We've already heard many stories of bravery and selflessness of so many. At the same time, Kevin's mom, Mary Rose, has been in the hospital all week with an obstructed small bowel. She had surgery to repair it on Wednesday afternoon, and hopefully will be able to come home by Monday. The night of the storms was not very restful for her as they brought all the patients in the hospital into the hallways when under tornado warnings. We are so thankful that she is okay and should make a full recovery. I titled this entry Belly Dancing because the baby in my belly gives us a show every night these days. I could run a clock by her movements. She is pretty still through the days and early evenings, but at 10:00 every night she goes into overdrive and keeps me awake late into the night. She gets the hiccups very regularly, which just cracks me up. The movements are still small enough that Laura hasn't been able to really see them, but Kevin and I marvel to think that there is a precious little person growing in there. We can't wait to meet our little Lindy Grace and see what God will do with her. I love being pregnant, and savor the miracle that God has allowed me to take part in, not once, but twice. We're through the first 23 weeks and only have 17 more. I like being on that side of the hump. I thought since I posted a photo of our first girl in the last post, I'd post our most recent "portrait" of Lindy. In the first picture you can see she is sucking her thumb. And the bottom one is of her tiny feet. We can already count ten toes! What a blessing and sacred responsibility we've been given. Thanks to our family and friends, we are surrounded by love and support and humor as we rear these children to grow in God's image.

Technologically Challenged!

Okay, I'm trying to figure out how to upload photos to this blog.....my pregnancy hormones nearly got the best of me while working on this, but I think we have success!

Life is just so.....daily......

.....Which is why I thought a blog would be a good idea. When I thought at first about starting a blog, I thought, "Our lives aren't interesting enough for a blog." But as days go by, I think of our friends and family and think how I'd love to share a funny story, or something sweet Laura says, but rarely get on email to share. Following my cousin Jenni's lead, I'm going to start posting events in our daily lives. Most everyone knows what has been going on in our lives lately, but just to update, we're living in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a suburb north of Nashville. Kevin started a new job he loves last August, and I get to stay home and tend to Laura, who will be four on March 16. We are also expecting our second daughter, Melinda Grace (Lindy), at the beginning of June. Life is sweet for us and we are blessed beyond measure. Every good and perfect gift truly is from the Father Above, and we can't thank Him enough for what He does in our lives every day. The photo of Kevin and Laura was taken while they play Laura's favorite game, "Let's get married!" The effect isn't quite the same because she took off her "veil", which was a washcloth situated diagonally on her head, but Kevin's top hat speaks volumes for how much fun they had. The other one is one of Laura's Christmas portraits. We didn't order one of these to send in the Christmas cards, but they really caught her true personality with this one.