Salute to Troops

Today Tim, Emma and I went into Downtown Raleigh to support Bill, Tim's brother (my brother-in-law) during Salute to Troops. It started out with a parade and then moved on to an area where different sections of the military were set up displaying equipment, etc. Here are some pics:

On the way to the parade

The parade

This was one of the vehicles Uncle Bill drove while over in Iraq

Our state Capital



Uncle Bill and Aunt Debbie

They were doing some fancy foot work and twirling around their guns

The cousins were worn out. Emma is in her carrier with her hat on

Christian feel asleep still holding his flag...so cute!

The cousins giving each other a kiss :)




It was a fun day and it was great to see all those people out there supporting our troops.

Emma Grace enjoying some sweet potatoes :)

Sort of long....but SO cute!!

It is so easy to take good pictures of flowers. They are just naturally beautiful. They don't require make-up, lyposuction, tummy tucks, etc. Just naturally beautiful...made by God (a lot like babies) :) Here are some pictures of some flowers from around our house.

Bella "cleaning"

This is a video of Bella "cleaning". She usually does this when she is stressed out. Tonight it was thunderstorming when she did this. She takes food out of her bowl, puts it on the floor and then pushes it with her nose. Her nose squeaks on the floor. It is the funniest thing Tim and I have ever seen. (Don't mind EGD crying in the background. Tim went to go get her.)

One of the best purchases so far

Today Tim and I went out to buy a back pack to carry Emma in on the cruise. We wanted something with a sun shade to protect her from that Eastern Caribbean sun and something that held her away from our bodies so she would not get too hot. Well, we totally lucked out and found one on sale at REI....of course when we got home we had to test it out! Emma loves it! These pictures are on the horse trails behind our house. This is something we can use many more times then just on the cruise.

Along with spring comes baby lizards

So I was outside working on the pool a little bit this morning and I happened to notice two lizards on our swing. One was just hanging out, but the other had his dewlap puffed up and it was red...he was also bobbing his head up and down. I realized he was trying to woo that little lady lizard on the swing with him. Emma got her first lesson on the birds and the bees...(just kidding). Here are a few pictures:

I interupted his little dance :(
He said "See ya...I'm outa here!" (You can see girlfriend there behind him)

He is the one hiding under the cushion and she was a little more brave.

Maybe we will see little baby lizards soon :)

I found this little blurb online.....just an educational side note:

Reptiles, most notably the anole species of lizard, have large skin dewlaps under their neck which they can extend and retract. The dewlaps are usually of a different color from the rest of their body and can be enlarged to make the lizard seem much bigger than it really is, especially when warding off predators. Males use the dewlap to intimidate rivals and to attract females during mating season. Despite the male lizard dewlap being much larger in size, female anoles do indeed possess a dewlap as well. These uses for the dewlap work much in the same way as the neck frill on a frill-necked lizard, with the lizard extending its neck frill for much of the same reasons. However, it is not known if the dewlap is used in thermoregulation like the neck frill is.
Lizards who have dewlaps usually accompany their dewlap enlargement with head bobs and movement. Scientists are unsure about what this is meant to communicate, but it is prevalent when the lizards are courting.

A nice day for a dip

It is just georgeous here today in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is in the 80's...what a great way to start our spring. We decided to put Emma in her bathing suit and go for a dip. Our pool is still too cold but not the hot tub. We just turn the temp. down a little bit and it is just right. Here are a few pictures of Emma in the hot tub...she loved it!

Check out the dimple....she has one on both sides. SO cute!

Emma testing out her new rainforest jumperoo...she loves it :)

Emma's first laugh :)

I am sitting here at work and Tim just called me. He got Emma to laugh for the first time! She has been all smiles...but now, we get a laugh. I was lucky enough to hear a laugh over the phone! If you could try to tell me what spring time and sunshine all bottled up would sound like...it would sound like that little laugh I just heard!!! So sweet!!

I love my Tim and I love my Emma :)

Is There a Cross in Your Life?

I was sent the words to this song from a woman in my BSF group. She sent them to me via e-mail and it was such a blessing to open up the e-mail and read this. What a wonderful song!

What do you say about Jesus?
Is He a liar or is He truly God's Son?
We all have to answer, with a heart of conviction.
Is this man the Holy One?
We must determine that the gospel is true-
That when He died on Calvary
He died for me and you.

Chorus:Is there a cross in your life.
A place where Jesus turned your wrongs to right?
Is there a moment in time
When Jesus turned your darkness into light?
A day of revelation, when you became a new creation.
Because you realize that Jesus is the Christ?
It's a question only you can settle-
Is there a cross in your life?

Many believe in His birthday.
Many believe Jesus died on a cross;
but do you believe that He arose on the third day
Securing hope for the Lost?
Oh, now is the hour to answer the call.
To trust in Jesus once and for all.
(repeat chorus)

Just to believe is not enough.
Empty words will turn a heart to stone.
We must receive Jesus and make our heart His home.
(repeat chorus)

Monarchs everywhere

We were outside the other day enjoying the beautiful weather and we probably saw a dozen monarch butterflies. This one was hanging out on the ground and I was able to get a few pictures. He was very sweet and let me take as many pictures as I wanted. I could not believe he did not fly away as close as I got. They are just so pretty!

Emma and the sock monkies...

So Emma decided to sleep in this morning so I have some time to kill. I promised y'all a post on the adventures of Emma with the sock monkies. For Christmas, we received hand made sock monkies from my mom, Gram. They are the cutest little things and Emma had fun playing with them for the first time. Here are a few pictures.

As you can see, Emma was approprately wearing her sock monkey outfit to play with the sock monkies. :)

32 days until the cruise!!

So Tim and I are going on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean this year. We have, specifically, 32 days left until we leave the port. We can not wait and we are so excited to have Emma with us. Here is a dress we got for her to wear one day on the cruise. She will be stylin'. Yea!!

Here is a picture of us last year on our very first cruise. We went to the Western Caribbean. I was three months pregnant with Emma on that cruise. :) In this picture we had just finished up swimming with the dolphins and eating some yummy Costa Maya Mexico salsa. Yes...it was amazing!

Shout out to the Rooster

Aunt B is watching EGD this morning and she e-mailed me a picture of Emma sleeping and Rooster is getting in some good cuddle time. So cute! It is great to see a picture of Emma while I am at work. It makes my day so much better!

(Hopefully Emma is not allergic to cats!!)

No more oatmeal, peaches or prunes!!

So yesterday afternoon Emma woke up from her afternoon nap covered in red splotches. As a first time mommy...I was very worried. I called her doctor and they wanted me to bring her in. Dr. Auman looked her over and determined she was having an allergic reaction....she had eaten oatmeal, peaches and prunes. He said it could have been a reaction to those or something else. There is no way to really determine. So...no more oatmeal, paches or prunes...for the next couple weeks at least. Emma loved the oatmeal too...oh well. (I think she will be fine not having to eat prunes for a while) :)

With all that hoopla yesterday, God still gave me the provision to make it to my Bible study...and I am so glad He did. We are studying Matthew and we are in chapter 24where Jesus talks about the end of the age. Boy....what a wonderful day when we will see Jesus coming in the clouds for all of His children!! I pray that everyone I know will be joining me in going home with Jesus :)

Check back for my next post....you will read about the adventures of Emma with her sock monkies :)

Emma's Dedication

What a wonderful day today! Emma was dedicated at church. It was so great to have our family and friends there to watch. Here are a few pictures. They are not in order because I am still getting use to how to do all of this.

This picture is at brunch afterwards....Emma was sleepy.
These are the Bibles she got as gifts from the church.

The happy Aunts....Aunt Jess and Aunt B

The happy cousin....Jack :)

Our friend Tim Le and the other happy cousin, Matthew.

Yea....fun times at Cafe Carolina!

On stage getting dedicated :)

The happy fam before church.

Daddy buttoning Emma's dress...so sweet.

Emma's certificate of dedication. Now you can see kind of what a dedication is all about (if you did not know).