Potty Traning

Abby made the next huge step in toddlerdom... she has started potty training.

We took the extended Labor Day weekend to focus on this new uncharted territory. We provided Abby with tasty drinks and salty snacks to help increase her opportunity to practice. We spent most of the weekend sitting on our hardwood floored kitchen in case there were any accidents (which there were many).

At the end of the weekend, Abby had a lot of successes and her fair share of failures. She isn't "Potty Trained" per se, but she is well on her way.

Preschool at Home

This past month Andrea has started Preschool at Home with Abby. She is using Joyful Heart Learning, a theme based, basic Bible concept curriculum for 2-3 year olds. They have "school" two days a week. This month they learned about the ocean.

For those of you who are interested, you can view the details of Abby's Daily Preschool Program for the month of August.

For more pictures go to my Preschool at Home Picasa Web Album.

Abby's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Abby's second birthday this weekend.

We had a friend’s birthday party in the morning and a family birthday party in the evening. A bunch of her friends came to the morning party. Several people offered to bring some fun toys to play with. There was a moon bounce obstacle course (thank you Becky), two pools (thank you Barbara), a slide (thank you Stephanie N.), and a ball pit (thank you Stephanie C.). In addition we had water balloons, bubbles, and various other yard toys. All the kids enjoyed licking the frosting off the cupcakes.

I created several videos to celebrate Abby's second year. You can view them online...

Disney Cruise 3 min	Friends 2 min
Dancing and Laughing 2 min	Blueberry Muffins 2 min
2nd Year Video 7 min

For more pictures go to my Abby's 2nd Birthday Picasa Web Album.

Fellowship Bible Church

You might think that after living in Nashville for over 1.5 years we would already be members at a local Church. We too are surprised that it has taken us as long as it has.

We are glad to say that we are finally members of a local church!

After much prayer, searching, and the guidance of God's Spirit we are now members of Fellowship Bible Church in Nashville, TN.

Some of you might be surprised that our choice is not a Church of Christ. We highly value our heritage and did not take this decision lightly. We are confident of this change and we look forward to seeing God work through us and this Church.

Fellowship Bible Church is not new to us. As you might recall, we have been involved with the church in one way or another for quite some time. Back in Little Rock I was involved with a ministry they started called Men's Fraternity for the past 5 years. The ministry has helped mold me into the man God had called me to be. Since we've moved to Nashville Andrea has been involved with the Mom's Together program and A Day of Rest ministry for the past year or so.

Talley Cookout

The Talleys invited us and several other families (Bosquets and O'Haras) over for a cookout at their house.

We all brought different dishes and they grilled some delicious hamburgers. We enjoyed playing in their backyard while the meat was being cooked. It was nice being able to eat all together at one large table. Afterwards the kids had a blast playing upstairs in the bonus room. Then we adults played Catch phrase until it was time for the kids to go to bed. We look forward to spending more time with these families.

Thank you, Talleys, for your hospitality and opening up your home.

Knoxville Manor

My parents came to visit on their way to Knoxville for an Archeology seminar. We were excited to see them both. We haven't seen both of them together for quite some time. Lately, one of Abby's requests is for me to draw pictures of Papa and Grandma. I draw them on the bathtub wall, in her coloring books, and anywhere else there is a writing surface.

While in town, Abby enjoyed showing Papa and Grandma her play centers up in our bonus room. Later we went to play at the indoor area of the Bellevue Mall and then Abby rode the electric cars. It was good to see my parents and for them to interact with Abby. They will be back on their way back from Knoxville just in time for Abby's morning birthday party!

For more pictures go to my Knoxville Manor Picasa Web Album.

Jackson Week

Andrea's oldest sister, Alissa, and her family came down to visit from Maryland.

They all went to Jackson to hang out with their parents for the week. The kids all had a great time playing together. Abby had her first hot chocolate. Dad and Mike setup a large tent in the backyard to provide shade in the day. They had a baby pool setup and lots of toys to play with. Moni and Pawi also came for several days. They played croquet and dominos with the kids.

They made several arts and crafts projects with paint and made homemade play dough that smells like pineapple. Pops and Nana got three huge boxes from the furniture store and make a huge fort out of them. They also went to play miniature golf and to the train museum in Jackson.

They had a great time together and we look forward to seeing them all at Thanksgiving.

For more pictures go to my Jackson Week Picasa Web Album.