Belated Father's Half Birthday

Today is a special day. It is my belated Father's Day and my Half Birthday! The above picture is a finger painting that Abby make special for me :)

Since Andrea was out of town helping Anna on Father's Day she wanted to make it up to me, so today was filled with wonderfulness.

It started out with sleeping in, which is a rare event with a toddler. Then we went to Cool Springs to get some Racquetball equipment for my half-birthday. Later in the day I took a nap and went to workout at the gym.

Thank you Andrea for showing me appreciation. I love you so much and enjoy being your husband and the father of our daughter.

Farrar Day Visit

Byron, Bertie, Mike, Donna, and Joann Farrar stopped by our neighborhood passing through on their way home from Kentucky. Carole and Moni made a wonderful lunch for everyone.

Joann and Abby enjoyed being together. They went to the neighborhood park and played on the swing, slide, and money bars.

I wasn't able to make it because I was at work, but I'm glad that everyone had a great time together.

For more pictures go to my Farrar Day Visit Picasa Web Album.

Paris Landing

Our friends, Josh and Melanie Cooper, invited us to join them for the weekend at Paris Landing State Park.

After having a little trouble finding the place (which is an understatement), we had a great time once we got there. The weather was quite hot, but while it was still cool we took a hike and we went to the pool. The rest of the time we mostly stayed inside relaxing and playing games. The Coopers brought their dog, Maggie, and Abby had fun watching and playing with her.

Thank you for thinking of us. We enjoyed the great outdoors with you all. I hope we can do it again sometime.

Barbara Sitting

While Andrea was out of town helping her sister with Joshua, Abby and I stayed at home. While I was at work a friend of ours, Barbara O'hara, offered to take care of Abby. I dropped her off in the morning and picked her up in the afternoon.

Abby, Barbara, and Jamison (Barbara's son) had so much fun together. They would go on fun trips to Publix, Costco, and Vanderbuilt, they would take walks, play hide and seek in the curtains, feed and walk Poker (Barbara's dog), and much more.

It was so great to have a friend take care of Abby during the day. We didn't have to worry about Abby and we felt comfortable leaving her with Barbara. Thank you so much Barbara for your time and energy.

In addition to Barbara's help, Abby and I went to see Pops and Nana (Andrea's parents) for the weekend. They helped me a lot too. I appreciate all you did!

We sure did miss Mommy while she was gone. I don't know how single parents do it. I did well keeping Abby fed, bathed, and alive. Other than that, I didn't feel like I had much more to give. I sure have a better respect for what Andrea does. Thank you Andrea.

For more pictures go to my Barabara Sitting Picasa Web Album.

Baby Joshua

Andrea went to help her sister, Anna Neal, in California with her newborn son, Joshua.

While she was there she did laundry, helped with cleaning, changed a lot of diapers, gave him bottles, put him to sleep, babysat while Ron and Anna went on a date, etc...

Ron took care of Joshua one afternoon which allowed Anna and Andrea some free time to go out and relax by getting their nails done and going shopping.

I think it is great that Andrea went out to help her sister. I remember how much we appreciated it when we had help come shortly after Abby was born.

For more pictures go to my Baby Joshua Picasa Web Album.

Atnip Visit

Ashley and Alana Atnip came into town for a brief visit. They recently moved to Texas for a new ministry opportunity. Andrea and Abby had a great time getting caught up and playing together.

Other moms and kids came too for the reunion. They had fun playing with water on our back porch and using the toddler swing-set that Andrea purchased from a garage sale.

For more pictures go to my Atnip Visit Picasa Web Album.

Flower Girl

We drove to Springdale, AR for Health and Caitlin's wedding. Andrea was the maid of honor and this was Abby's first experience as a flower girl.

Before we left Andrea checked-out several books from the library about flower girls and we even practiced several times in our living room (we set up chairs and had stuffed animals as guests).

Abby's great aunt, Beth, made her dress and boy was it beautiful. The day of the wedding came and everything seemed fine, however, I think it upset Abby to watch Andrea walk down the isle moments before her big moment. When it came time for Abby to walk, she was not happy. She threw down her flowers and was not going to budge. At that moment, my role as a flower girl assistant became very important. I proudly picked her up, held her flower, and carried her down the isle.

We enjoyed seeing family and supporting them in this special event. Congratulations Health and Caitlin! May God bless your marriage and draw you closer everyday.

On our way to and from Springdale, AR some of our friends let us stay with them to break up our trip. We stayed with the Wrights in Memphis on our way to Springdale, and we stayed with the Moores in Little Rock on our way back home. Thank you both for your hospitality. It was good to catch up with you all again.

For more pictures go to my Health and Caitlin's Wedding Picasa Web Album.

Arkansas Odyssey

We just got back from visiting my parents in Searcy, AR. Other than my allergies, we all had a blast this past weekend.

You could tell my parents had a great time interacting with Abby. We all had fun at Berry Hill park, played with play-doh, made homemade ice cream, and Abby and her Grandmother made blueberry muffins together. My parents recently got a slide in their backyard and Abby loved sliding down it over and over again.

The car trip to/from Arkansas was a little hard on Abby, but fortunately our friends, the Talleys, let us borrow their portable DVD player to help out with the end of the trip. Thank you... it made the trip more bearable for Abby.

For more pictures go to my Arkansas Odyssey Picasa Web Album.

Strawberry Patch

This Saturday we went on a morning excursion to the Vine Hill Farm in Franklin, TN to pick strawberries!

Abby enjoyed picking the strawberries, picking off the stems, but I think she most enjoyed eating them the best!

You can find Vine Hill Farm and many other places to pick your own fruit at the Pick Your Own website.

For more pictures go to my Strawberry Patch Picasa Web Album.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

I want to thank you for being such a wonderful Mommy!

I have so much fun with you playing and learning my letters and colors.

Thank you for teaching me how to be kind and that God made me and everything else.

I am so glad that you stay home with me during the day.

Your loving Daughter,

Abby

P.S. I made this card for you!

Jello Jigglers

Andrea is teaching Abby the different colors of the rainbow and she started with the color red.

One of the activities Andrea did to reinforce the color red was to make Jello Jigglers with Abby. Abby had fun mixing the Jello, making the jigglers shapes, and most of all eating it!

In addition to the Jello Jiggler activity, Andrea made a red box filled with numerous red items such as a red car, a red YoYo, a red crayon, a red apple, a book about red, a red spoon, red Legos, etc... I thought that was a really neat idea and Abby loves it!

For more pictures go to my Jello Jigglers Picasa Web Album.

Super Fort

Andrea created a massive super fort for Abby that spans our whole living room.

There are places for all of us to sit in the fort, to read books, and a tunnel to crawl through.

Abby gets very excited about the fort and refers to it as the "Nunnal" ( in reference to the tunnel ).

For more pictures go to my Super Fort Picasa Web Album.

Papa's Sabbatical Visit

My Dad came to visit us for a while.

He is currently on sabbatical from Harding this semester. He and my Mom just got back from touring Israel together.

He is in the process of writing an Archeology book. While I was at work he went to Starbucks and was able to write 6 new pages in his book. Now that’s the way to work :)

We enjoyed hearing about his and Mom’s adventures as they trekked through Israel together.

We were very pleased to see Abby warming up to my Dad. She has been in a phase where she is scared of all men other than me, so it was a really big deal for her to open up to him like she did. He is very sweet and gentle with Abby.

For more pictures go to my Papa's Sabbatical Visit Picasa Web Album.

Easter Lunch

This Easter we had Andrea's parents and paternal grandparents over for a special lunch after church. As you can see, we were well fed and full by the end of the meal.

While we were waiting for dessert to finish cooking we each took two Resurrection Eggs and went around the table telling the Gospel. We started this tradition last year and Andrea and I plan to do this every year with our family.

We're Debt Free!

As we mentioned in an earlier blog entry, we have been attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University since the beginning of the year.

On behalf of our family, I am proud to say that we are DEBT FREE (minus our house)!

We are now working on Baby Step 3, which is saving up 3 to 6 months of take home pay for a fully funded emergency fund.

I'd like to thank Dave and his staff for their ministry, Marshall for teaching our class, our fellow classmates for their encouragement, and our good friends and financial counselors the Crowleys.

Resurrection Eggs

Abby, Andrea, and I have been opening a couple of Resurrection Eggs each day this past week. The Family Life Resurrection Eggs are a special collection of colorful plastic eggs that tell the story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

Abby gets so excited about opening the eggs that she can hardly wait until bedtime. The eggs are a tool to help teach Abby the true meaning of Easter in a fun and memorable way.

Easter Egg Hunts

This year Abby has gotten into the whole Easter Egg hunt activity. We started her off in our house to get used to the whole idea.

Then she progressed to the outdoors and then into the realm of candy filled eggs. We haven't really given Abby any sugary or chocolate sweets, so this was indeed a real treat!

By the end of the Easter Holiday, I think Abby will be a seasoned egg hunter.

Weekend with Pops & Nana

While Andrea and I were at the Weekend to Remember marriage conference, Abby had a weekend away with her Pops and Nana in Jackson, TN.

They had a great time together. While she was there they went to see a model train display, visited an artisan well, and had a picnic at the rotary park.

Thank you John and Freda for taking such good care of Abby while we were investing in our marriage. It is truly appreciated!

For more pictures go to my Weekend With Pops & Nana Picasa Web Album.

A Weekend to Remember

Andrea and I went to A Weekend to Remember marriage conference in Franklin, TN.

Family Life put on another great conference combining both great lectures and most importantly many opportunities for us to communicate and grow in our relationship.

For any of you looking for a great way to grow your marriage I would encourage you to find a conference near you.

The Graceful Zoo

Andrea and Abby went to the Nashville Zoo with Crissy and Grace.

Abby enjoyed the Zoo much more this year because she could recognize a lot of the animals and imitate many of their noises.

Grace is one of Abby's little girl friends. They ware so cute together.