Thursday, November 12, 2009

Go Climb a Tree!

In preparation for the hunting Robert will do in IL later this year, he already received his birthday and Christmas gifts so he could practice... a new bow and a tree climbing stand. He has been practicing shooting in the backyard and you can see that he is a pretty good shot!

And here he is practicing while he is ~15 feet up in a tree. We spent last Sunday at his dad's place so he could practice climbing, shooting, and falling. He and his dad devised a way to make the stand more stable while in the tree, which makes me happy.
The day after he got the stand, he put the fall arrest system on, went in the front yard, and "hung" himself from the tree to see what it felt like. At the same time, a neighbor was getting in his car to leave. I'm sure they were wondering what this crazy guy was doing!


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

God is LOVE!

The first Bible verse I ever memorized was 1 John 4:16, which is "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.". When I memorized it as a freshmen in college, the fact that "God is love" was real to me but not nearly as real as it has become since entering motherhood. I'd heard from friends in the past that I would get a glimpse of the love God has for each of us when I became a parent and it's true. I now really grasp the fact that "God is love" because God loves EACH person in the world infinitely more than I love Anna right now, so He can't be anything other than complete love!

4-1/2 Months & Halloween Fun

I had a goal of posting an update by the time Anna turned 4 months old. She is now 4 1/2 months old. Guess I can't complain about only being 2 weeks late since my time is not my own these days.

Anna is doing wonderfully! Each day I thank God for her and for being her mommy. This experience of motherhood is such a joy! Anna is becoming more and more aware of her surroundings. She is now very easily distracted while nursing. If Robert is nearby and talking to me while she is eating, she is constantly looking around to try to find him. She is pretty vocal. This morning she was singing up a storm while I unloaded the dishwasher. She is very interested in the dogs. When they walk past her while she is in her exersaucer, she reaches out for them. Her favorite position is for us to hold her up so she can stand. I need to find a stroller that I can strap her in standing up b/c she's starting to stiffen up like a board when I lay her in the stroller. Anna is sleeping well through the nights and is starting to take predictable naps (granted, they typically aren't very long, but at least I get a few minutes to myself).

This past weekend for Halloween, Robert, Anna, and I enjoyed spending time with Robert's cousin's family. Louis and Kathy's little ones, Cameron (5) and Louis (aka Buddy, nearly 3), are so sweet to Anna and they have fun interacting. All the kids got dressed up and we took them around trick or treating while Robert and Louis handed out candy. Boy, does that bring back memories. Can't believe I have a little one now to dress up for Halloween - it wasn't too long ago that I was the one dressing up!

Our little ladybuy with her pumpkin (a little girl and her 2 dogs, for Anna, Cinder, & Spade - I wanted to get the dogs in the picture, but I figured I would have been pushing my luck to get them all posed well)

Anna with Daphne (cousin Cameron) and Thomas the Train (cousin Buddy)

The temperatures have finally cooled down and we are enjoying 70 degree days, so we are getting outside whenever possible to enjoy these days. This is when I'm thankful to live in the South!