Good News!

Our camera is being repaired!! I submitted the payment on-line late yesterday so Canon has gone ahead with the repair. Hopefully, we will have it back before we leave for IL on Wednesday, but if not, we have our old one that can stand in and capture all the memories of the wedding. I am excited to get our smaller one back, though, as we don't have very many pics from this month. Here is one of Charlie trying to warm up!!

One more week!

In less than a week, we will be traveling back to IL to celebrate the wedding of my brother, Bobby, and his fiance, Alisa. They are set to be married next Saturday, October 4th! It is sure to be a fun event ... they will be married at the church in the afternoon and then a party is planned for that evening out on our family land in the country. So, far all of my brothers have been married at the same church, as well as myself, my parents and my grandparents. It has become very special for us all!

We are heading home to IL next Wednesday evening. We decided that is would be easier to leave on Wednesday night (as opposed to Thursday morning) so that Charlie can sleep during the ride. With it being dark out, it will be a little bit easier to get him to fall asleep because there will be less to look at. Surely, it will be a long drive for Eric and I (about 7 hours), but I would much rather be there late in the night than drive all the next morning. My family will have some time to spend with Charlie before Me-Maw Eva gets there and wants Charlie too. It is ok to say that he will get lots of loving next weekend!

Alisa and Bobby are just about ready for the big day. Alot of planning has gone into the big event and it is sure to be wonderful! I am a bridesmaid and Eric is a groomsmen so we are involved all day long. It will be a TON of fun though! I am really excited.

To check out more about the wedding, feel free to check out Bobby and Alisa's wedding website ... http://www.bobbyandalisa.com/

Happy Birthday ....

TO ME!!!! Yes, it is my 29th birthday. Thank you to all who have called, emailed or sent text messages. It has been a busy day filled with work, but I am going to head out early so that I can spend some afternoon time with Charlie at home today. This evening, then, we are going to dinner with some friends who have a son a few months younger than Charlie.

I can say that I have already gotten the best gift in the world ... here he is!! This was taken last night after his dinner. The boy loves to eat now!

Camera is DEAD!

Unfortunately, our camera is out of commission for the next few weeks. It was dropped in the sand this past summer while we were on vacation and it appears that a small particle is still stuck in the lens and has caused a malfunction. We cannot even use it :( I have sent it off for repairs to the Canon Service center, but it will be a few weeks till we get it back. Too bad the warranty is out!!! We have our old camera still so I will be digging it to use for the time being.

I have been able to get some photos of Charlie using my camera phone, and to my surprise, they are actually half-way decent quality. Here is one of Charlie at the tailgate this past weekend before the KU football game.

Lauren's Testimony

Many of you are familiar with Eric's cousin, Lauren Futrell Hicks. For those who are not, she is one of the sweetest people. Those of you close to us know of Lauren's tough year after suffering a brain aneurysm in summer 2007. Lauren was home alone with her 16-month old daughter, Lilly, when the pain in her headache got so intense that it caused her to become physically sick and need life-saving help. She was taken by ambulance and spent nearly 20 days in ICU as doctors worked to save her life and that of the 11-week child growing inside her.

This past week, Lauren was able to talk with her church members for the first time about her faith and how it has been strengthened over the past year. I invite you to listen to her story by clicking on the link below and then going to the 9/14 sermon. It is a broadcast of Lauren's words.

http://www.goodhopechurch.org/mp3s/

Yeah for BRANDY!!

I knew this picture would come in handy someday! Happy Monday, Brandy!!



I have to give a shout out to one of my best friend's, Brandy!! She finally communicated with me via the BLOG :) Ha, ha!! No really, I do love Brandy as she is one of the sweetest people I know. Brandy and her family (hubby-Chris and son-Paul) went with us this summer to Myrtle Beach and it was a blast. I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked "catching up" with her because I pretty much always had a baby on my hip. We had a great time none the less and I can't wait for Christmas as that will be the next time we will see them. Here is Brandy with Charlie lounging on the couch at the condo in SC. She is itching for another one (I know it!!)


In other news, the rain has FINALLY stopped. Everything is very green out here right now, but also very mushy. We spent the weekend catching up on chores and relaxing. Our computer is out of commission for awhile. It appears the hard drive has crashed so it is being worked on this week. Hopefully they can work quickly as it stinks not having the Internet at home. We were smart enough to buy an external drive so luckily all of our pics and music is safe and sound no matter what happens with the computer.

Media Guide Family Picture

Here is the picture that will be used as our family shot in the media guide this year ....

Starting to Play!

Charlie is really starting to enjoy these nice toys that are crowding our house. Here is is in his exersaucer. I guess this toy has taken the place of the "walker" as they were found to be unsafe for kids as they allowed too much freedom. Geesh!! He will sit in this thing and is able to turn 360 degrees to see what is going on. He has really started to grab at the toys and will even "bang" a little bit.

Five Months Old!

Charlie is FIVE months old today!! Hard to believe. He has grown so much and is really starting to develop a personality. He is now "attempting" to eat cereal (mixed with formula) from a spoon each day. We started off with banana flavored thinking the sweetness might be better. WRONG!! He hated it. Bloody murder screams!!! This little guy is pretty even tempered, but not when it comes to banana cereal. Today I tried just regular rice cereal and it went better. We got about 6 bites down before he had enough. It is going to take some time to get used to the consistency, but it gets better everyday.

We are also starting to get our fair share of giggles. Each day we get more and more from him. Today, he started to giggle for no reason. It is absolutely the best sound in the world. He has also started to utilize his jumperoo this week. We put it together a few weeks ago thinking he was ready for it as it said to use for 4+ months. He could not touch the floor when in it so we waiting a few weeks longer. We put a pillow beneath the toy this time and he really enjoys it.

I think that our days of being in the swing are pretty much over. He is almost too big for it and he would rather be in the jumperoo or exersaucer now. Charlie is really starting to pay attention to the world around him so he likes to spend his time upright as opposed to lying down.

He is off to bed for the night so I am going to get ready for tomorrow!!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my husband of THREE years!! It has been a wonderful ride so far and it continues to get better everyday ..... we are incredibly lucky!