Grandma & Papa Visit

Shortly after my dad came back from his archeological dig in Israel, he and my mom came to visit us in Nashville. Thankfully, I was able to take some time off work to spend with them while they were here.

We all at breakfast at the Loveless Motel and Cafe located near our house. It was my first time to experience the cafe. Apparently, it is nationally known for its southern cooking and country charm.

While were were at the cafe we snapped a cute picture of Abby Wearing a Cowgirl Hat inside the motel shop.

For more pictures go to my Grandma & Papa Visit Picasa Web Album.

Greetings from Israel

Indiana Jones...

I mean, my Dad has been in Israel on an archeaological excavation for the past several weeks.

My dad has been field directory at Tel Beth-Shemesh since 2000. He goes to Israel on an excavation during the summer while he is not teaching Bible and Archeaology at Harding University.

I am very proud of my Dad and his work. Through his work and teaching he has continued to strengthen the faith of many people by showing the accuracy of the Scriptures.

For more pictures go to my Tel Beth-Shemesh Picasa Web Album.

4th of July

This 4th of July we spent the weekend with some friends ( Matt, Ashley, and Alana Atnip ) from Western Hills Church of Christ.

We drove to Cookeville, TN and hung out with Matt's family. His family is very warm and made us feel like we were at home. We went fishing in the river behind thier house and shortly after Matt's Dad showed me how to fly fish, I caught a HUGE carp! Unfortuately, the fish was so large that it bent the hook and got away. I know, I know, it sounds like a fish tale, but I had witnesses :)

The next day we all had a delicious lunch together and then spent the evening watching the fireworks show over the lake.

For more pictures go to my 4th of July 2006 Picasa Web Album.

First Father's Day

I just experienced my first Father's day.

It is a joy to be Abby's father. I have so much fun playing with her and it's a great pleasure to watch her grow and learn things.

Abby, with a lot of help from Andrea, made me a very special scrapbook with pictures of Abby and I together. I will cherish this piece of artwork with all my heart.

We had Andrea's parents and paternal grandparents over for Father's Day lunch this year. Andrea made an outstanding meal to honor the fathers present at our meal. She is quite the cook :)

Thank you Andrea and Abby for making me feel special and honoring me on this special day. It has been a joy to be your husband and father.

Abby @ 10 Months

Abby is now 10 months old.

In addtion to pushing toys around ( see Infant Walker ), Abby is standing for up to 10 seconds at a time ( as depicted in the picture to the right )!

At the rate she is progressing, she is bound to be walking in the very near future.

Abby enjoys climbing our stairs ( supervised of course ), going to the neighborhood pool in the late afternoon, swinging on our back porch, pulling books off most any shelf, playing around the house, and eating finger foods.

For more pictures go to my Abby @ 10 Months Picasa Web Album.

Grandma's Chorus Line

We drove to Searcy, Arkansas to visit with my Mom. Unfortunately, my Dad wasn't there because he just left for his annual Beth-Shemesh Archaeology excavation in Israel.

Abby had a great time playing with her Grandma.

My mom babysat Abby one night while we went to Little Rock and watched A Chorus Line at The Rep Theatre. We met up with Brandon and Hannah Siegel at Vino's and enjoyed eating and catching up with them.

For more pictures go to my Grandma's Chorus Line Picasa Web Album.

Infant Walker

For a larger version of this video go to Google Video

Note: Since this is video, you may have to wait some for your computer to start the clip. Also, you may be prompted to install Macromedia Flash if you do not already have it installed on your web browser.

We went to a neighborhood garage sale and racked up on several toy bargains for Abby. We captured some video of Abby pushing one of the toys in our living room.

We only paid 50 cents for the push toy, but the moment watching Abby push it around is priceless.

6th Anniversary

Andrea and I celebrated our 6th year anniversary.

We stayed in Nashville and did some touristy things like visiting the Hermitage and cruising on the General Jackson Showboat.

Andrea's parents (John and Freda Hall) took care of Abby while we enjoyed our anniversary weekend. This was Abby's first weekend away from us. Although we missed her, it was good to have an extended weekend date.

It has been a wonderful 6 years married to my beautiful wife Andrea. I am blessed by God to have found her. Thank you, Andrea, for being such a loving and caring wife to me and mother to our daughter.

For more pictures go to my 6th Anniversary Yahoo! Photo Album.

Papa's Visit

My Dad came to visit from Searcy, AR for several days shortly after Harding University's graduation. My Mom wasn't able to come this time.

While Dad was here he helped us out with several projects around the house such as flooring a large section of our attic with plywood and installing a new electrical outlet in Andrea's Stampin' Up closet.

Much of the work helped make our bonus room more spacious and livable. We were able to move a lot of storage into the attic, which opens up more playing room for Abby.

Thank you Dad for helping us out. It was so good to see you and I'm glad that you were able to visit our new home.

For more pictures go to my Papa's Visit Yahoo! Photo Album.

Abby @ 9 Months

Abby just turned 9 months old!

In addtion to babbling, she has started to say "Dada", which I am quite excited about.

She has also been experimenting with standing up on her own for a few seconds at a time. Its probably not too much longer before she starts walking.

One of the toys that she enjoys pushing around (as seen in this photo) plays an upbeat song and she has started to dance to the music when the song plays. Its so funny and cute to watch her move her hands and legs with the music!

Abby really enjoys feeding herself finger foods. She is experimenting with drinking from a sippy cup.

First Mother's Day

This was Andrea's first real Mother's Day.

I gave Andrea ( on behalf of Abby ) an 8 x 10 framed calendar picture of her and Abby and also a picture album filled with pictures of just the two of them. Andrea strives to give the best for Abby no matter what it is. I appreciate that quality in her very much. Andrea, I thank you for being a great Mother to our child.

Western Hills Church of Christ also honored Andrea and all the other mothers by passing out flowers to them. I want to thank Western Hills for that very kind and touching gesture.

Several hours after Church we got together with Andrea's Parents, Paternal Grandparents, and her Aunt to grill and home cook an early dinner. We had a great time, although I think I ate way too much :)

Unfortunately, I was unable to be with my Mom this year, but I was able to call her on the phone and wish her a happy Mother's Day. Mom, you have blessed me greatly. I pray that God will continue to bless you as well.

Flying Picnic

It was such a beautiful day out that we had to get out and enjoy it.

We drove out to the Edwin Warner Park in Bellevue. We had a picnic from Subway at the Benefactor's Grove and flew a biplane kite while the wind was blowing!

It was a great day out in God's beautiful creation. Abby didn't really notice the kite when it was high in the air, but she did enjoy being outside. She particularly thought it was funny when I was running around the park maneuvering the kite.

For more pictures go to my Flying Picnic 2006 Yahoo! Photo Album.

Teawood

Abby, Andrea, and her mother ( Freda ) had a special tea time at Freed-Hardeman University's Associates Victorian Tea Party. They had a fun outing drinking tea, eating crumpets, and dressing up in Victorian wear. I hear that Abby was a star at the event. Some of women were so enamored by Abby that they were unable to fully appreciate their tea :)

While the girls were out John, my father-in-law, and I made 2 large shelves for our laundry room. John has a fine shop in his new garage. He is a very talented wood worker and I enjoyed working alongside him.

For more pictures go to my Teawood 2006 Yahoo! Photo Album.

Vic Zoogirl

Abby and I went to the Nashville Zoo with the Stricklands. This was Abby's second time to the zoo. Andrea took her several weeks ago while I was at work with Gere Acevedo and her boys.

During most of our zoo trip Abby was more interested in the people and nearby plants than the animals. I think the animals were just too distant and lackadaisical for her to notice them, however, the Ring-Tailed Lemurs ( as seen in the above picture ) were very active and caught her attention. You can't see her face in this picture because she is very focused on the lemurs. If you want to see her face you can check out my photo album below :)

You might be wondering where Andrea was during our zoo trip. She was feeling under the weather. She is now feeling better after taking some antibiotics.

For more pictures go to my Zoo with Daddy Yahoo! Photo Album.

Searcy Family

This weekend we drove to Searcy, AR to visit my parents. Abby had a good time playing with my Mom and touching my Dad's beard.

We also visited my paternal Grandparents two doors down the street. My Grandmother is healing from surgery that she had about a week ago. Please keep her in your prayers while she is recovering.

On Sundy we drove to Melbourne where my Dad preaches. The members of the church were very excited to see Abby for the first time.

For more pictures go to my 2006 Searcy Family Yahoo! Photo Album.

Abby @ 8 Months

Abby is now 8 months old.

She has started to creep on all fours, pull herself to a standing position, and eat finger foods!

Andrea and I have enjoyed walking with Abby to our neighborhood playground and watching her swing. Abby seems to really enjoy being outside.

It's a good feeling when I come home and watch Abby's reaction when she first sees me. Her legs start kicking for joy! She has started doing that when she gets excited or happy about something.

For more pictures go to my Abby @ 8 Months Yahoo! Photo Album.

Easter

Like many other firsts, this was Abby's first Easter.

Western Hills Church of Christ had an Easter Egg Hunt after services on Sunday morning. They let the youngest children go first before letting all the other kids. Abby isn't old enough yet to walk so she sat down and played with the eggs around her.

We invited Pawi & Moni Hall, Carole McDonald, and Andrew Stewart over for our first official lunch guests. After we ate we passed around Resurrection Eggs and told about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. The exercise was good to focus our mind's on the True Meaning of Easter ( which often gets overpowered by a bunny and lots of candy ).

For more pictures go to my Easter 2006 Yahoo! Photo Album.

Washington DC

Andrea and Abby went to Washington, DC for a week to visit her older sister and family. Andrea's parents went to visit at the same time so that made traveling with Abby much easier and more enjoyable.

During their trip they experienced the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival at the Title Basin, our nephews flew a kite, they all went to a pottery store and made platters with Abby's footprint and our nephew's handprints, and much more.

It is good to have Andrea and Abby back home, but I am glad they had a good time. I surely did miss them both.

For more pictures go to my Washington DC 2006 Yahoo! Photo Album.

Home Sweet Home

Hooray! Our house has been built, we have closed, and we have moved in!

We are very excited to be out of the apartment and in a much roomier space! It was difficult going from a house in Little Rock back to an apartment, however, it did make the move into this house that much sweeter.

I would like to thank our family, Andrew Stewart, and the Western Hills Church of Christ for helping us move in and unpack. You all were life savers!

Also a special thanks goes out to our realtor, Molly Edmondson. I highly recommend her services for anyone selling or buying a house in the Nashville area. She is great at what she does!

Impromptu Hall Family Reunion

We had a unexpected Hall family reunion in Nashville.

Clayton & Cara Sedberry, Heath Parnell & Caitlin, Paul & Megan Mitchell, and John & Freda Hall all showed up in Nashville at the same time.

We had such a crew together that we had our own services on Sunday morning at Carole's house.

While we were together some practiced the piano and/or sang songs as seen in this picture and others in the following photo album.


For more pictures go to my Impromptu Hall Family Reunion Yahoo! Photo Album.