Seeing the World Through A Child's Eyes

Abe is getting better at assimilating information from all five senses. He will suddenly stop to listen to the sound of a dog barking, squat down to get a better look at the ants crawling in and out of cracks in the sidewalk, and he takes great delight in running sand through his hands. For the first time in years, I have been getting down and playing in the grass, peering at an anthill or poking at a baby frog with him. Just doing those simple things had helped me to remember what it's like to see the world through the eyes of a child.

The funny things they say

Abe is only 16 months old but he is already saying things that need to be shared. This weekend at the lake, Abe and I were up early to take the dogs out. He saw the moon and starting saying "ball ball ball.." How cute, he thought the moon was a ball. Also, when he started to wake up Monday morning (while still half asleep and not knowing we were in the same room) he said "mama basketball." We bought him a basketball goal a few weeks ago and he obviously loves it. Abe has also starting associating things with his daddy. When he sees the lawn mower he says "daddy daddy daddy..." When he was playing with an Auto Trader magazine yesterday he saw a seadoo and said "daddy daddy daddy..." because he rode one with his daddy this weekend. At least once per day he brings me the phone and says "daddy daddy daddy...", so I can call his daddy. I call TW and Abe just jibber jabbers, kisses and head butts (it's a father/son thing) the phone. It is so cute. At about 5:00 every night (no joke), Abe starts asking for his daddy. He knows it is getting close to time for his daddy to be home. ABE LOVES DADDY!!!

Hometown Play Date

Yesterday we had our 1st hometown play date. We meet at First Baptist FLC and just let the kids run around and play. Everyone had a really good time. We plan on getting to every Tuesday morning through out the Summer. Check out the twins. They as so cute:)

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent the weekend at the lake with friends from church: Jennifer, Jason and their two kids JP and Avery. Alisha was also able to join us for the fun. Saturday and Sunday was spent on the lake riding the sea doo and hanging out on the pontoon. The weather was perfect for the occasion.

Fun with Friends

Our dear friend Rachel and her daughter Celia were in town this week. We were able together today for a play date. Jody and her girls (Kinley and Kallen) joined us. It is just so wonderful to spend time with such great friends. When we all met 41/2 years ago, we were all childless. Look at us now.

The kiddos: Celia, Kinley, Kallen and Abe

Sneaky Sneaky

I have been wanting to do this blog for a few weeks now. Abe is Mr. Sneaky. He loves to go and hide and wait quietly until you find him. The bad thing about it is that we are not playing hide-n-seek. He hid from my mom the other day and she could not find him anywhere. She started to panic and then she heard him breathing. That is the only way she was able to find him. I keep most of the rooms in the house closed off but he still finds the best hiding places.

Abe also hides when he is doing something wrong. The only thing that is a "no no" that is usually within his reach is the remote control. When he sneaks it off of the sofa he will immediately go and hide. He always makes sure I am not looking first. We have a DVR and if the TV is on you can hear the annoying noise that I can't describe as he pushes the buttons but I can't ever find him.

In Loving Memory of Maria Chapman

At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman, was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannah’s Hope.
More than five years ago Chapman and his wife MaryBeth founded The Shaohannah’s Hope Ministry after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. The ministry’s goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, and has provided grants to over 1,700 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world.

Please keep the entire Chapman family in payer during this difficult time. We too will be praying and asking God to extend His healing hand to the Chapman family. May He keep them in the peace that passes all understanding, and restore them in His mercy.

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Steven Curtis Chapman - Speechless Album (1999) - "With Hope"

This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you, we had so many dreams
And now you've gone away and left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say and nothing we can do
Can take away the pain, the pain of losing you

But we can cry with hope, we can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end oh no
And we can grieve with hope 'cause we believe with hope
There's a place by God's grace there's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again

And never have I known anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more the wisdom of god's plan
But through the cloud of tears I see the Father smile and say 'Well done'
And I imagine you where you wanted most to be,
Seeing all your dreams come true 'cause now you're home
And now you're free and

We have this hope as an anchor 'cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true so

We wait with hope, and we ache with hope
We hold on with hope, we let go with hope

King of the Hill

We had a load of dirt deliverd yesterday to fill low spots in the yard. Abe had a great time getting dirty.

Happy Birthday Anderson!!!

Anderson turns 2 this month and we celebrated his birthday today. Here are some pictures from the party.

Anderson on his new John Deer Tractor

Abe is checking it out.

Luke and Abe playing in the sandbox.

Tractors were every where at this farm party.

Basketball Anyone?

New Fish

We have a new member to our family. I ask Abe what he wanted to name him and he just keep saying fish fish fish. So his name is Fish Smith. After a long week of high fever, red throat, and teething, Fish is a nice pleasant addition to the Family. Abe has had a tough week but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. T.G.I.F

The Ever-Ringing Bell...

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17 )
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth ( Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant ( Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God( Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor.. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10 )
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven(Col.1:14).I have been adopted as God's child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
who you are!?

Happy Mother's Day

It has been a wonderful weekend. Yesterday our church had a Tea honoring all of the mothers. My mother was in charge of the talk and she did a wonderful job. She shared John 15 about how we are the vine and He is the branches. Just like the grapes hang on the vine to grow, she talked about how we need to have "hang time" with Jesus through out our day in order to have a life that bears much fruit. I am very thankful for my mama today because 3 years ago this month she was diagnosed with cancer. God is healing her body daily as she seeks Him for her strength. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

We also had dinner with my whole family last night at Erwins. Afterwards everyone came to our house for desert and for the tornado watch. The women and the children ended up going to a house that is being built the next lot up to get in the safe room (tornado shelter inside the house). It turned out to be a fun and crazy adventure. Can you picture Abe, Mama, Granny, Jesssica, Bentley,Macauley, and I locked in a room with just a cell phone for a light.

Me with my Mom and Grandmother

Today we took TW's parents to dinner to honor his mother. Abe took care of the entertainment, he is cutting teeth and was not on his best behavior.

Maw Maw and Abe

As for me, I have truly found my calling in life and that is to be a mother. I absolutely love it!! I am very thankful for the gift of motherhood.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."1 Samuel 1:27

John Deere or Cub Cadet?

It does not matter to Abe as long as he is on it and it's moving. He is all boy!

Paw Paw is taking Abe for a ride.

Cookout

My dad just started a new family tradition of having a family cookout one night a month. I think it is a wonderful idea because we would never be all together at once otherwise. Here are some pics.

Swing that bat and hit that ball...

Just hanging out :)

Missy (Ben and Jessica's Dog) cleaning off Abe's face.

Mama's Home...

Praise the Lord! For those if you who may not have known, I have been in Las Vegas since Monday on a business trip. This was my first time to to leave Abe for 4 days. Surprising enough we all survived, including TW. Our Family was a huge help. Since I have been gone Abe has starting saying "thank you" within context, thanks to Maw. He also can climb up his kangaroo climber and slide down all by himself. He is such a big boy.