First Fort

This is just the first of many forts to come.

Abby and Andrea had a great time building, crawling in and out, and laying under this fort looking up at the ceiling.

I look forward to branching out and making bigger and better forts as time goes on. Speaking of that, we will have to have a family camping trip soon! That'll be a blast.

Boy, I tell you... being a Husband and a Dad is great and it keeps getting better.

Little Toy Train

I drove Pawi and Moni ( Abby's Great Grandparents ) to Andrea's parents home to visit my Father-in-Law ( John a.k.a "Pops" ) after his car accident and to pick up an Entertainment Rack that we built. Thankfully John is recovering well. Praise God for protecing him!

While we were there Abby enjoyed playing with a train set that her Nana bought recently. Although the train is meant for children most all of us got down and played with her too :)

Time To Move On

And she walks... on film!

For a while now Abby has been experimenting with walking. She has been taking several steps at a time and getting further and further.

At first it was hard to get footage of her walking, but the better she gets the more opportunity I get to film her.

So, without further ado... watch and enjoy her walking.

Nashville Symphony

Andrea's parents honored us by purchasing tickets for us all to experience the Opening Weekend of the Nashville Symphony with a performance by Amy Grant and her Special Guests LeAnn Rimes, Vince Gill, and Michael W. Smith.

We all got dressed, got a baby sitter for Abby ( Thank you so much Melanie ), and headed off to the Symphony. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is breathtaking! They sure didn't cut corners while building the center.

During the performance Amy Grant was honored for the contributions she has made to the Nashville Symphony over the years. The "...symphony President and CEO Alan Valentine came to the stage and announced that it was being named the Amy Grant Performance Platform, in recognition of Grant's generosity." You can read more details about the annoucement on Amy Grant's website.

It was a great time had by all. Thank you, John and Freda, for treating us to this special evening. We will remember and cherish the time we had with you. We look forward to going to more performances in the near future. There are many to choose from and several of them are FREE!

Sedberrys Visit

Clayton and Cara Sedberry came to visit Nashville from Springdale, AR.

We don't get to see them very often because they live 9 1/2 hours away, so it was very good to hang out with them.

We are excited for us all to get back together again this Christmas.

Abby's 1st Birthday

Believe it or not, Abby is now 1 year old!

I've said this before, but its amazing how quickly she has grown up.

This weekend we had a huge party to celebrate Abby's life, to thank God for blessing us with the gift of raising her, and to give the party guests an opportunity to write down blessings for Abby's next year.

I put together some videos to capture Abby's first year with us. You can access these videos from Google Video...

• Let Them Be Little


• Isn't She Lovely


• Father and Daughter


• Mother and Daughter


• Walking on Sunshine


• Bathtime

For more pictures go to my Abby's 1st Birthday Picasa Web Album.

Abby @ 11 Months

Abby is now 11 months old.

It is hard to believe that she is almost 1 year old!

Every now and again I'll look at her and notice how grown up she looks. Before I know it she'll be leaving for college. It's a good reminder for Andrea and me to cherish every moment we have with her.

Just the other day Abby took her first 4 steps! We are in the process of trying to capture it on video. Once we get her walking on film, I'll post a new entry.

We have enjoyed going to the community pool during this hot summer. Sometimes we meet at the pool after I come home from work.

For more pictures go to my @ 11 Months Picasa Web Album.

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.