You Reign

Lord,

As we look around our environment today, it is easy to observe many frightening things all around us. From natural disasters like hurricanes and devastating flooding to the uncertainty of Wall Street, our national & now global economies and the housing market, it is easy to feel mortal & helpless very quickly. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, powerless and scared. It is more important than ever that we continue to build our faith in these uncertain times.

We ask only one thing from You, Lord. And that one thing is not that You snap Your fingers and "fix" these desperate situations. That one thing is not that You would protect or insulate us and our families and friends from the hurt that others are experiencing. That one thing is not even that You would help us feel safe and secure.

The one thing we ask of You is that you would continue to allow us to learn to place our trust in You at all times. As a human being, it is very easy, and sometimes natural, to feel as though we have complete control of a situation. Help us to realize the reality of these assumptions, Lord. The reality that we do not have control of anything. We need to learn to trust that You are in control. Help us to place our trust IN You.

Also, help us to realize that it is not all about us.

We know that You use painful situations to change people - to change perspectives - to change priorities - to change thought patterns. We know you use scenarios to provide opportunities for us to think about others. We ask that You would open up our hearts and minds and switch the gears in our minds from a "Hope that doesn't happen to me" gear to a "How can I help someone out" gear. We need You more than ever, God. Please soften our hearts, clear our minds and allow us to hear Your voice and see Your guiding light in these troubled times.

Amen.

A Leafy Family Promise

Yahoo - Fall is here! The sun is shining and the high is supposed to be 53 today! What a great time of year this is, especially if you can take the time and go on a leaf sightseeing tour! Every year I say that I will plan a trip for us and every year I find myself remembering that promise when the leaves begin to change. Oops.

Well, this is it! I am putting my foot down (not too hard - the baby is asleep!). I am planning a tour for us next year! Mark the calendar and save this post, because next year I am taking the family out on a weekend getaway. Now, mind you, with a baby on board it may not be the original all-weekend-long-drive-the-perimeter-of-our-state kind of trip, but even an afternoon out would be nice, right!

I feel great today, which is very ironic because I am fighting a cold and stayed home from work today. I'm running the gamut, fever, headache, stuffy head, hotheadedness, congestion, but feeling great! On the inside that is.

Here's what drives me to feel positicve and heal: I just feel like we have so much to be thankful for. My thank you prayers to God could fill an entire day! (They usually fill an entire commute to work in the morning!) I look at my wife and daughter and just feel a sense of calm and mixed wonder. I truly am the luckiest husband around. These are some of the the things that give me hope today. Hope that tomorrow will bring us a renewed faith and hope that we will enjoy today, while its here!

A Girl Of Many Expressions

Just a quick entry tonight before we bed down. I thought I'd share some of the latest pictures from the camera's memory card. One of the greatest rewards God has given us, as Ellena's parents, has been her sweetness and her smiles.

Oh, the smiles. They are priceless.

Would you believe we sometimes actually race down the hall to be the first one to wake her up, I mean pick her up, from her naps. That is one of the times when her smiles are more potent. She is just so happy to see us. (Well, at least I tell myself that it is us and not just SOMEBODY, right?)

Little E is becoming very, very good at her rolling! Example and side bar: I left her on her play mat tonight for a moment (only a moment!) and when I came back - oh yeah - rolled over and watching television! Hmmm, perhaps it was the television that motivated her to roll so quickly! Perhaps not. We also put her down tonight for a 30 minute nap in her crib. When she woke up and announced to her baby monitor that we should free her from her room, we we surprised to find her on her stomach. BOTH times she was not only right side up, but in the yoga "upward dog" pose. Palms to the floor, arms extended, back arched, neck poised (She needs to work on the legs though - she's screwing the entire position up!).

At this rate, she is going to allow her upper body strength to improve (something that she's needed to work on a bit anyway - her legs have always been stronger than her arms!) We've already noted improvements.

Along with the smiles and strength, there have been improved grasping techniques for holding objects. She has actually reached out deliberately and taken things from us offered to her. I know I sound amazed, don't I? Well I guess it is because I really am! I mean, she's our first, so we have no idea when ANY of these skills are supposed to happen! It seems like every time she does something I say to myself "wow, I didn't know that would happen at THIS age!".

The expressions are creeping in there too now. Here she is below, apparently a bit concerned about what I'm doing. She really doesn't know what the camera is yet! It's quite humorous - as soon as she sees it, she freezes up. What ever she is doing is on hold, so I have to be crafty sometimes and hide it while trying to capture her.

That's How We Roll

Pop the champagne corks and cue the falling confetti! That's right LwH followers, this is the post you have been waiting for prompted by Ellena, finally able to accomplish the milestone we feel like we have been waiting countless days for, the roll over!

And in your FACE naysayers, know-it-all coworkers, strangers, other kids' parents, all the people who said it wouldn't be caught on camera and the like because here it is!

Near the end of a very long work week, S was playing with E on the mat Thursday night while I was nearby. She said "Quick come here, I think she's gonna do it!" I grabbed the video camera and sure enough, I powered it on and moments after I hit 'record' (and remembered to open the lens cover!), E did it!

It all played out in slow motion. She lifted her legs, listed to the left, let the weight rock her to the side, she lifted her shoulder while working the hips and with grace and amazement, she was over. Time. Stood. Still.

The video above was actually taken moments later with our point-and-shoot camera as I wanted to post some footage, but still do not know how to download off our video camera. Now the real amazement, for us at least as new parents, happens in the video below.

If your volume was turned up, you heard me state that shortly (and I mean SHORTLY) after she rolled over, she rolled back the other direction and ended up where she started on her back, then rolled over to the left AGAIN. Congratulations Ellena, you are now mobile! - well, somewhat. We can't wait to see what you are going to amaze us with next!

Found Friday Quote...

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.
~Joyce Maynard

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A good friend of Sheri's sent this to her after a warm-hearted lunch discussion as something to remember as we navigate our busy lives. Though everything may not always be exactly as we would have it, we continue to try to give Ellena the best examples we can to learn and grow by. Thanks to all of you for also being a part of that process.

Mid-Week Word: Flashbulb

Recently, Ellena saw many of these flashbulbs go off in her big blue eyes (yes – still blue!) as we braved the elements and took her out to a professional photographer for her first time.

She was in a very happy mood the entire time we were there and it was interesting to observe her at the beginning of the shoot because she had no idea where we were or what all the photographing equipment was for.

It has always proven to be interesting taking her to new places (and sometimes places she’s been a lot, like the grocery store - She really does love it there!).

Back to the studio - eventually a small break was required mid-shoot to feed her a bit more milk, but it was worth keeping her in good spirits!

The team at Kiddie Kandids was very polite, professional and, perhaps most important, patient with us as we were photographer newbies. Needless to say we will definitely be back soon!

Here are the results from our “evening out”:

Nice capri pants baby!

Ellena & Horton
(from the Movie Horton Hears a Who; a gift from Uncle Pickett)

The girls were absolutely adoreable together!

Love the smile she has here!

Coat & Hat Season Is Almost Here!

What is it about babies and hats! Why are they so darned adorable?

Sorry for the poor resolution here, but I took this with my cell phone camera just before leaving for day care! It was a bit chilly out and I thought it would be best to bundle E up in one of her two new coats (I know, she's soooooo spoiled!) that S bought her!