Wedding Fun!

The wedding is over and now I can finally rest at home on the weekends :) My friends Jessie and Daniel had a beautiful outdoor wedding on Lake Badin. It was raining all weekend, but it just happened on Saturday at Badin Lake, there was no rain! So it ended up being perfect weather! My mom and Zach took care of Ellie while I was doing all the wedding festivities, but I did get a few moments with her on Saturday morning and at the reception. Here are some pictures from the wedding:
Here is the bride and groom in their first dance as husband and wife:

Zach and I and the back of Ellie's head:

Nana and not too happy Ellie:

Papa trying to make Ellie happy:

A good shot at my hairdo, which I loved:

BANANAS!

So as you know from a previous blog, we are introducing solids to Ellie. We started with rice cereal, which went great. She hasn't had any problems with eating the cereal, the only trouble we have had is that she wants to suck her thumb while she is eating! So after we introduced cereal, we went to apples, bananas, and sweet potatoes! We caught the bananas on video, watch how much she enjoys it:

Fall Begins...

Yesterday was the first day of fall and what a beautiful day it was! It has been almost a month since the last post so we definitely are overdue. Ellie is growing like crazy and sleeping wonderfully 12 hours each night! She has also been teething, drooling through her bib and onesie leaving her soaking wet... I think her teeth might be coming through very soon since her gums are getting white and she has been extremely grumpy these past few days, getting frustrated when she is trying to bite things. Recently she has been saying her first mama's and dada's... of course only when she is upset most of the time.

This month has been extremely busy for Zach and I. I am in a wedding this coming weekend so I have had to travel home almost every weekend for wedding festivities. I cannot wait for this wedding to finally be here since it will be an outdoor wedding on a beautiful lake. This couple, Jessie and Daniel, have been together longer than Zach and I and it will be so special to see them finally get married. This is definitely the wedding season, we have had 10 invitations for these three months! Two of our friends tied the knot on September 13th at Duke Chapel, and it was GORGEOUS. Ellie did extremely well, thankfully since the littliest bit echoes in there. Zach and I were able to dance at the reception as soon as Ellie went to sleep... we had so much fun!

So I have to leave you with a video and a couple of pictures:
This video is of Ellie laughing at Kayla... she absolutely loves her and we can always rely on Kayla making her smile!



At the end of August, we went to the last Durham Bulls game... here is a couple shots we took. One of Zach in his free hat from Moes... and then one of Ellie in it :)




Here is a picture of Ellie in the cutest outfit ever (thanks to Nana):



After church on Sunday we go to Barnes & Noble to read before our Bible Study. Ellie take her nap during this time, last week she fell asleep on her daddy and we caught the special moment in this shot:

And last, here's a picture of me giving Ellie a kiss (notice her cute overalls and bow):


Hopefully we'll get some cute shots at the wedding this weekend! Tata for now...

It's My Job To Brag

So I have to share with you how smart our little girl is! She is only 20 weeks old and she already knows what words mean and how to listen to mommy and daddy! Oh how proud I am to have such a smart little girl :) just watch and see for yourself...



ok maybe it was just a coincidence, but I'm still proud...

Rolling Around

Ellie has been rolling from her front to her back for a few weeks now. We finally got it on video and wanted to share:

(don't worry Edward scissorhands didn't attack the back of her head, her hair apparently grows that way)

Not Quite Wheaties

Today Ellie got her first taste of "solid food." We gave her an exact concoction of 1 tbls. rice cereal and 2 oz. millk...this lead to a substance that had no solid properties what so ever. We had no idea how she would respond b/c she is only 4 and a half months old but she has shown all the standard signs for being able to take that next step. Apparently she has been studying us at the table because she was a champ. She took the first few spoon fulls without a problem. We aren't positive about how much she actually ate (read drank) but she seemed to have no problem with the spoon or the high chair. Watch the videos to see how it went!

4 months!

Ellie turned 4 months old August 11th! We went for her four month check up on August 13th... she is still perfectly healthy! She weighed in at 14 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 24.5 inches long placing her in the 70 percentile! We have been so blessed to have such a happy, beautiful, and most of all healthy baby! She did have to get a few immunizations at the check up. Here is the result:

This time Zach went along to the doctor and he was heartbroken to see her reaction to the shots. She barely cried, but Zach had a hard time seeing such an innocent baby intentionally getting hurt. What a sweet dad...

Visit to the Sunshine State!

Ellie and I went to Florida to visit my sister Ashlei. Ashlei hadn't seen Ellie since she was born, so it had almost been 4 months! Ashlei works at a primate sanctuary called Jungle Friends. It is a place that rescues monkeys and lets them live in a more natural environment. These monkeys are mostly ex-pets, but there are some that come from research labs. It was a great experience to see monkeys and interact with them... even touch them! Ellie definitely was very interested in them. Here is one monkey Jack, that was one of my favorites:

Ashlei had to work while we were there, so whenever she could she would come in and visit with Ellie. Here is a shot I got of Ashlei playing with Ellie (she gets so dirty she put on a robe so Ellie wouldn't get all the dirt on her!):

Ashlei did get a few days off, so we visited St. Augustine. It was a beautiful historic city that we didn't get to see much of since it rained almost the whole time we were there, but the few hours it wasn't raining we headed to the beach right outside the city. Here are some great pics of the family at the beach:




Ellie and I had a great time, we were so glad to see Ashlei! Ellie slept well every night and loved flying (she was asleep the whole time in the air every time)! We hope to get to go back soon!

July 11- 23 years and 3 months!

July 11th was Zach's birthday, as well as the day Ellie turned 3 months old. We celebrated his birthday with a few of our friends. Here are some photos to enjoy:

Madison rocking Ellie... she even got to hold her :)

Singing happy birthday to the birthday boy... I made him cookies

Then he blew out the candles and got the hot wax all over me!

Daniel and Mikel are good friends celebrated with us

Along with John and Kelley our neighbor's (with Daniel and Mikel's little girl Madison)
What great friends and wonderful memories!

Ellie's First Baseball Game

Today we went to the Durham Bulls baseball game. Ellie did so well... she slept at first, then woke up and watched a little baseball. It ended up getting rained out in the 6th inning, but we still had fun :) Here are some pictures from the night:

Finger Lovin'

Ellie is just way too cute to not share these photos of her sucking her thumb while she was sleeping. She loves her hands in her face, so sorry about not being able to see her face...she's still super cute though :)

The New House!

So here are some pictures of our new house, I haven't taken pictures of the living room or kitchen... those will come later.
This first picture is of the hallway to all the bedrooms. The first door on the left is the second bath, then the green room is Ellie's room, next (last door on right) is the office, and then last (first on right) is the master bedroom.

Here is the second bath:

Ellie's nursery:


The office:

The master bedroom:

A year goes by so fast...

This past month has taken us for a whirlwind. We were home for a week for Justin's funeral, which was extremely exhausting, physically and emotionally. We got back to Holly Springs on Friday June 13, just in time for Ellie's doctor appointment and my own doctor's appointment. Ellie weighed in at 11.5 lbs (70 percentile), measured 23 inches long (70 percentile as well), and a head that measured in the 50 percentile (not too big, but not too small :) just right!). Everything looked great! She also got a few vaccines which she had a mild fever from, but otherwise did great! Here's a shot of Ellie with her band-aids from the doctor:

We left that Sunday for Zach's IBM graduation in Washington, D.C.. Zach had classes and such during the day, so Ellie and I just hung out in the hotel or went walking around the city. It was on this trip where she actually slept 8 hours one night and started sleeping 7 hours every night after that. She had her first visit to the White House, on the metro, and to the Capital (well maybe her second visit since she was in my belly in February when we went... I guess this was her first time seeing it). Of course she went many other places, we actually went on a tour Saturday where she got to see all of the monuments and important buildings. Here's a few pictures from the trip:

Oh and I can't forget that Ellie got her first sunburn (just on the top of her cheeks)! Yes, we are terrible parents... I didn't bring sunscreen and I forgot her hat for the tour! So here's the result, terrible but very cute :)We got back from D.C. on Sunday and headed to Winston on Monday for our 1 year anniversary! Zach and I stayed at Graylyn (where we got married) and had a romantic dinner at Fourth Street Filling Station (where the rehearsal dinner took place and many memories while we were dating). My mom took care of Ellie for the whole night! Ellie didn't even cry while we were gone, I guess she didn't miss us :( It wasn't very hard for me to leave her, Zach had a little bit harder time but after she was out of his sight, he barely thought of her! I on the other hand missed her extremely by the morning! It's so fabulous to have some time for just the two of us, especially on our anniversary. I will have to say that I am not surprised it has been a year... it's been one heck of a year. Let me just recap what has happened this past year: first we graduated on May 12, got married on June 23, got pregnant sometime in the beginning of July, started our jobs in July and August, bought a car in November, had Ellie on April 11, moved on May 31, and lastly had a brother pass away on June 8. I hope we won't have this much going on for a very long time all in one year. The Lord has given us strength and sanity and we are praising Him for all that he has given us. We are ready for this next year as a married couple and hoping for many more!
Here's Graylyn a year after we tied the knot... looks empty...
We also were sad because we couldn't get the room we stayed in our wedding night...

Now we are finally back at home, got back June 25... gone for 17 days! It is so good to finally be back into our new house (which we have only been in 1 out of the past 3 weeks)! We did buy new couches in IKEA on the way home from Washington. We are excited to have something to sit on finally. I'll try to take some pictures of the house and post them now that we finally are home. Look for them soon :)

When Sorrow Like Sea Billows Roll

This is the blog you never expect to write. There are few words that accurately explain the emotions my family feels right now but after a few days I have come to terms with the reality of God's plan and wanted to share this with those who read about our lives.

On Sunday morning I was notified that my brother had committed suicide by hanging himself. The pain pierces deep into your soul. It is a sad reality that always seems to happen to "other people."(This is a picture of Justin)

The grieving process is difficult because emotions seem to change so rapidly, sadness and sorrow quickly turn into resentment and self loathing, anger to depression, and confusing to frustration. Perhaps the most difficult part of this situation is that there are so many questions that will not and cannot ever be answered. We have cried many tears, we have hugged many friends and family member and we have sought to understand this situation as best as we can.

Laura and I are so thankful for our friends and family that have supported us and we firmly believe the peace we are experiencing right now is a direct result of the prayers on our behalf from people like David Baber, Danny Franks, Bobby Farr, and many others. These prayers and condolences helped set our perspective early and encouraged us to pursue God and cherish Christ rather than allow this to drive us into isolation and sorrow.

It seems that the sudden tragedies are the ones that hurt the most. While I have been going through this I wanted to use this event to make a few points and give words of encouragement to anyone who reads this blog.

1) Don't waste the death of a loved one by taking comfort only in each other and not in God. Entrust your souls and your comfort to a loving God who Hebrews tells us we can approach with confidence to receive mercy to help in a time of need. (Heb. 4:16)

2) Don't waste the death of a loved one by refusing to think about your own mortality. Psalm 90:12 tells us to number our days so that we may get a heart of wisdom. How sweet a face-to-face meeting with the creator of the universe will be, we should meditate on the glories of that day.

3) You will waste the death of a loved one if you don’t understand that it is on the very edge of what appears to be a curse that we receive God’s greatest gifts. That we have peace and comfort and salvation and joy not just in troubled times but for eternity because one man accepted a curse on our behalf.

4) The manifestation of sin is different in each of our lives believer and non-believer a like, but the reality is that apart from Christ, in this world or the next, we face a dark, lonely, desperate situation. The idea of eternal death is not scary because of what we might encounter but rather it is terrifying because of what we won’t encounter. Apart from Christ death is a spiritual separation from God and there is nothing more sorrowful than that.

5) Take opportunities like these to renew ties with friends and family, if we loose a loved one and don't value the relationships we have more, what have we learned?

6) Understand God loves us and has a plan for us but we are sinful and separated from Him. Gods word tells us that we have all sinned, whether it is the little white lie or the blatant active rebellion and the wages of those sins is death. This death is not merely physical death that we will all encounter one day but a spiritual death. Spiritual death is eternity remaining separated from God, there is no pain or suffering imaginable worse than existence in a world absent of God.

7) Understand that as God love you so much that he doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves, he doesn’t leave us to try and be holy. You see, our sins place a divide between us and God so great that no man can cross it but he has provided a way through his son Jesus. God sent Jesus to live a perfect, holy, blameless, selfless, righteous life on this earth and then having no sin Christ gave himself as a suitable sacrifice to God for our sin.

8) Understand that there is hope and peace and grace and mercy in Christ and that by placing faith in him as payment to God for our sins then you too can experience those things.

9) Understand that by individually placing you faith in Christ you can stand before a dead loved one and savor 1 Corith. 15 when it says O death, where is your victory, O grave, where is your sting? This is something Horatio Spattford understood when he wrote the hymn, It is Well With My Soul...


When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul

We have moved!

We are finally in a house! We moved on May 31st into a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house! It definitely has been tough moving with a little baby, but it is done! I will post pictures of the house as soon as it is decent enough to take pictures of. We are pleased with it, although we have had to do some small repairs. Kayla absolutely loves having a yard and being able to roam around our neighbors' yards.

So an update with Ellie... she is now 8 weeks old! She will be two months old June 11th, it seems like it has flown by so fast! Her 2 month check up is on Tuesday, I'm looking forward to seeing how much she weighs and measures... I'll definitely post that as soon as I can! So Ellie definitely smiles now and has been a lot more interested in her surroundings. I have a few videos of her that I thought I would share:

This first one is of her on her play mat, she is extremely fascinated with the musical star light.



These next two include Ellie smiling:

Cute as a button :)

Ellie is now 6 weeks old! She is definitely more aware of her environment and she loves to look around. She still is keeping mom and dad up at night, but we are excited that she has dropped her 2am feeding the past two nights... going 5 hours between the 11pm feeding and the 4am feeding, which means we get to sleep 4 hours straight! It's crazy how excited you get about sleeping only four hours.

This past week I went home for a few days to spend some quality time with my mom, especially since she hasn't stayed with us at all since Ellie was born. It was so nice to get some help from her, and I know she loved spending some time with Ellie. The picture to the left shows Kayla looking after Ellie on the drive to Winston, what a fabulous dog we have!
We went to a boutique baby store in Winston-Salem called Gazoodles and purchased a little pink bow. I just had to get on here to post a picture of her in it. She is just too cute... nobody better ask us now if she is a boy or girl!

P.S. I created a new album on facebook, you can go to it using this url: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2199121&l=fe33f&id=11802813
I also updated the album with some new photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196073&l=41bbb&id=11802813