J.A.M

Fun Art Work (by Anna & Me)!

2011-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

Anna loves to color and draw. This is what her people look like (see below).They all have a round body/head with arms, legs, a face & hair. So cute--it makes me smile. She also loves to write. She can only spell a few words Anna, Emma, mommy and hot (don't know how she learned this one but I think by accident). She can write most of her letters but still needs work on some of them. She doesn't like much help from me unfortunately (but some days I can catch her wanting me to help)!

I've wanted to do this for a long time but after seeing a tutorial from my friend's blog I was motivated to get started. I love all the new wall art that you can just rub onto the wall but most of it is very expensive. Instead I learned how to do it myself using word processing, transfer paper and a paint pen. It's pretty time consuming (especially since I chose a long verse) but I enjoyed it and like the result. We are really trying hard to learn more scripture in our family. My goal is to have scriptures all over our house. Our kitchen now has two verses on the wall. One from a wall adhesive that I found at Life-Way for $14.99 which I thought was a great deal and the other is the one I painted on. Pictures of both are below. I plan to do my next one in mine and Jonathan's bedroom. If I get to it I'll post pictures :)

This is the wall art I purchased from Life Way (Numbers 6:24 &25). It is 4 separate stickers. I liked the verse but I also loved that it has the colors of my kitchen (teals and even a litte yellow).

It picks up the color of my favorite little cabinet that I painted when we lived in Rome, GA.

Here is the one I painted (Galatians 5:22 & 23). I also recently painted my door the color blue that is in my den and am really loving it!

Close up of the verse.

I printed the letters off of the computer after I chose the font and size I wanted and then taped them to the wall.

Next I used transfer paper to copy the letters to the wall. It left this turquoise writing. Finally I used a paint pen to paint each letter (see pictures from above of the final product). Yes, this took a really long time and since it was so high on the wall my right arm and shoulder got a workout :)

I did some painting in Anna's room awhile back that I will have to post pictures of. For that one I wrote my own letters and made stencils out of manilla folders and then painted it. That was a much more difficult way. I'm thankful for my creative friend Amy whose ideas I'm constantly stealing. Take a look at her blog sometime Amy's blog for great ideas! You're so talented Amy!

Quick update for 2011

2011-02-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

Since last time I posted...Emma is talking so much more. Anna quizzes her everyday on what words she can say. She will repeat most anything but of course some words are more recognizable than others. Anna is getting more & more independent and is such a good helper. She loves her little sister and most of the time likes to include her in everything she does. I haven't been doing a good job of taking pictures lately but I've included a few from January and February. Jonathan is doing great too by the way...he never seems to get in our pictures (of course I don't either). His basketball season is in full swing but he manages to still find lots of time to make his three girls (including me) feel special. He has a young team and has lost some games that he was disappointed about but there is still a good chance that they can do well in the rest of the season and tournament and go into post-season play. That would keep him busier for longer but I really hope they can!! Here are the pictures :)

This was taken the morning that the girls had pajama day at school (January). I thought it was hillarious that Anna wanted to wear her Buzz Lightyear pj's and Snow White Socks. Emma wore her sister's hand me down princess pj's.

I made the flowers that the girls have in their hair by using a link to a tutorial that I got from my friend Amy's blog. It was super easy! I made pink flower pins for all of the ladies at my MOPS group in honor of one of our members who just finished radiation for breast cancer; I think everyone enjoyed them. Anna's is a pin attached to a cloth headband and for Emma's I used a clip (I think they are called alligator clips) like I use when I make their hair bows. Here's the link for anyone else who wants to try http://jonesdesigncompany.com/tutorial/flower-pin-tutorial

These pictures are of the girls dressed up in their Tangled t-shirts the day we went to see the movie. They had the t-shirts and books long before we ever saw the movie; Anna loves anything to do with a princess even is she doesn't know the story. My mom came for the weekend and Jonathan had a Friday night with no basketball so we took the girls to the movie last weekend. Anna got a little scared in parts (why does Disney have to put creepy looking characters in all of their movies?) but she enjoyed it. Emma sat still in parts and enjoyed jumping from lap to lap and eating popcorn :)

Before picture (well kind of...I stopped to take it as I was getting started).

After. This is the door from our kitchen into our laundry room. It was desperately in need of painting and my sweet friend Amy suggested I paint it the color of blue that is in our den. Our kitchen is yellow with touches of this color. It's taken me a few days to get used to but I think I really like it! Anna was thrilled and asked if we could paint her bedroom door blue too (her favorite color). I told her having her walls blue was enough color in there :)

Thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying your family as much as I am mine! Don't forget to count your blessings :)

Christmas Blessings 2010

2011-01-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

Hope all of you had a blessed Christmas! We certainly did. Life with two sweet little girls brings so many smiles and blessings! I think I appreciate being a mother more each day and am trying to savor each moment with my girls as they are passing by so very quickly. Anna is so grown up and wants to help me with everything (including being a little mother to Emma). Thankfully, most of the time, she is very loving and sweet to her little sister (although sharing her new toys from Christmas is not something she does easily). Emma is talking and learning new words each day--I guess Anna probably talked this much at 18 months as well but it's amazing what you forget! Emma is also our little cuddle bug. She loves to be held and cuddle which of course just melts our heart. I hope this never ends!

We went to our parent's houses the week before Christmas to celebrate with my mom, brother and grandparents; Jonathan's brother and parents; and then my Dad and Marty. We are blessed to have lots of family who love us and I'm so thankful that my girls are even getting to know their great grandparents. We came back home on Christmas Eve so we can have our own traditions with our girls and let them be in their own home on Christmas morning. Church on Christmas Eve was supposed to be one of these but we had a sick baby so we missed this year. The girls played with toys from Santa on Christmas morning, big breakfast, birthday celebration for Jesus, and then lots of playtime. My favorite part was going to look at lights Christmas night...it started snowing while we were driving around with the Christmas music playing and all the pretty lights outside. Great way to end a special day with our sweet little family! Here are just a few pictures from our Christmas.

Our biggest blessings this Christmas-Anna (4) Emma (18 months)

Happy Birthday Jesus! Anna decorated the cake; she was quite pleased :) it was purple, pink, turquoise and green with all of those colors of sprinkles. She picked 3 candles for Jesus :)

Christmas at mom's was a little crazy. We were supposed to celebrate with her on Thursday but Anna got strep so we post-poned to Christmas Eve morning (Fri). Emma woke up that morning with a head to toe rash and I had to take her to the doctor before we were able to head to mom's. We got there around lunch time and all of the kids were ready for a nap by then. We tried for pictures with everyone but that didn't go well! Here's one with she and my brother and I after the presents were open.

Christmas with Dad and Marty. Dad was decked out in his tacky sweater from a work contest. I should have posted another picture I have--he had lights all through the front of the sweater that lit up in the shape of a tree (battery operated of course). Very creative Dad; he won the contest at work.

The Norton family. We had fun posing for pictures on my mother in laws steps. Rachel arranged us for this picture and we used Ursula's camera with a timer to get everyone in. My neices are also growing up too fast as you can see. Rachel is 14 and Sarah is 12 (but both have birthdays coming soon). My girls loved playing with their cousins!

Family Photo Session 2010

2010-09-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well I had more pictures to post than I thought! We had our family pictures taken about a month ago. We haven't had a family picture taken since Anna was one! She is now almost 4 and Emma is one. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next one :) I feel truly blessed to have a healthy family!

Off to school!

2010-09-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

I didn't get any pictures of the girls on their first day back to school (they go to a mother's morning out on Tuesdays & Thursdays). Yesterday I managed to get a couple of pictures of them before they headed off for the day though. It was fall picture day at their school. Anna LOVES going and Emma is getting more adjusted after lots of tears for the first few weeks. I'm teaching three online classes this semester so I'm thankful for the time they are there so I can either work or run errands. Jonathan is busy with basketball workouts and conditioning; practice officially starts October 15th. We are getting more involved with our new church and are feeling more connected. God amazes me with each move we've made and what He teaches me through the churches we've been a part of. I also feel very blessed because there are about 4 new young couples with children who have also recently just moved to Columbus from other areas and who have joined the church. I know this is not a coincidence and am excited about how God is going to grow all of us as we serve Him together and hopefully grow closer to each other as well! Anna has her 4th birthday coming up next month so hopefully I'll have more pictures to post soon :)

A few summer projects

2010-07-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy doing little projects but rarely find the time to do them. I managed to find time for a few this summer so I thought I'd post a few pics.

When we lived in Rome, GA Jonathan had an idea to hang an old window box we weren't using on our swingset and it looked really cute. The old one was red and I painted Anna's garden on it. It was falling apart so my father in law made a new one. Anna wanted it painted blue and of course I had to add sweet little Emma's name to this one. I liked the red color better but this blue matches the swings and the canopy on the fort and is Anna's favorite color. The letters are not perfect but I hate stenciling so I do my letters free hand :)

I found a board in the scrap pile at Lowe's for less than a dollar and painted it black and then hand painted this Bible verse from Joshua on it in a cream color. I used eye hooks and black wire to hang it above the chair you'll see below. It's hanging next to the door on our front porch.

I found this ladder back chair at Goodwill for $7. I cut the seat out and painted the chair black. I had a wire basket I wasn't using so I wired it in the seat part and planted some flowers. I'm disappointed that the begonias I planted on the sides of the sweet potatoe vine haven't spread out; next summer I'll use different flowers for a fuller look. I love the chair on the front porch though...it helped fill an empty spot near the front door.

Another sale--found this little bird house on sale at Michael's and thought it would look cute next to my chair. Wish I could take credit for painting it but not me :)

Here's the finished product. Again, fuller flowers (and ones that weren't wilting for the picture) would make this look much better but it works for now :)

I made this no sew window treatment for Anna's room (actually made two, one for both windows). I don't have a sewing machine (nor do I sew) so a hot glue gun came in handy for these. I got the idea from my friend Amy and an ad for JoAnn's fabrics. I had to leave the blinds down to take the picture because there was too much light otherwise but they look better when the blinds are up. I used a white ilet fabric because it's light and airy looking when the blinds are up. The ties are just made with blue/white polka dot ribbon. Pretty simple which is my style!

That's it for the projects so far!

Emma is ONE!!

2010-06-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

My baby is a year old! It's amazing how fast life passes by but I've enjoyed every moment with this sweet little angel. It was hard to imagine that I could love another little girl like I love Anna but she has made it easy. Emma has the sweetest little personlality and is my cuddle bug. When I pick her up she always puts her little head on my shoulder like she's hugging me and pats me with a big smile on her face. I think that's her way of saying she loves me :) I'm looking forward to watching her grow into a beautiful little girl but I am sure going to miss this sweet baby stage!! Thank you God for blessing me with my sweet Emma!

I couldn't believe she left her hat on! I couldn't capture a smile because Emma seemed so shocked that everyone was staring at her and singing to her. She was so cute and such a good sport. She enjoyed the cake and later some ice cream too :)

Anna just LOVES her little sister; what a blessing to have two sweet little girls. I hope they'll be best friends!

My favorite people in the world!

My first birthday cakes. I wish I would have done this for Anna. It took longer than I expected b/c I cut the number one out and did two layers. Crumbs everywhere but nothing LOTS of frosting couldn't fix. I'm hoping to try to make Anna a birthday cake this year in September too; it was fun!

This one shows the colors better :)

Emma watching her big sister open her presents; she didn't mind. I couldn't hold Anna back. She was opening faster than Emma could look at them. Of course as you know a one year old doesn't really care about present opening anyway so I just let Anna take over!

My dad & Marty got Emma a really neat tricycle that converts 3 times so we can push and be strapped in now, later push without the harness and finally she'll be able to ride the tricylce on it's own when she older. She loved it (and I love the big, long handle so I don't have to bend over to push her)

Anna's friends Jessie & Kendall doing some crafts at the party.

My sweet nephew Tyler!

My mom with her grandkids.

Waiting for me to fill up the new water table. Lots of fun!

Tyler thought so too :)

Cousin's Wedding

2010-05-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend in Tallahassee, FL for my cousin Matt's wedding. The wedding was outside by a pool so needless to say it was HOT!! The girls were troupers and had a great time with extended family that we don't get to see often. Anna danced her little heart out. She cracked us up asking to dance even when noone else was on the dance floor and then even dancing right in the center of a group of adults and loving the attention. After the ceremony we stripped Emma down to her bloomers (you'll see in one of the pictures below) which made her much happier--and cooler. She was a sweet girl as usual and tolerated the heat and long evening much better than I expected.

My handsome cousin Matt; the groom.

His bride, Kristin.

Jonny & Anna

Kevin, Tyler & Abby

Uncle Jonny & Tyler

A sweaty pic of the 4 of us!

An attempt to get a picture of all of us--hate that you can't see Emma's face. She was more interested in the pool and probably wanted to jump in to cool off!

My cousin Brad's girls, Rachel & Rebecca, with Anna. Wish we lived closer to them; Anna had lots of fun following them around and playing!

Anna dancing in her daddy's arms.

Emma cooling off in her bloomers :)

Wish I had a video of Anna dancing. Here she is in action. She was soooo cute!

Me and the girls with my great grandma. What a blessing that my children have three living great grandparents!

My dad and the girls on the day after the wedding (they were looking into the sun).

End of the year teacher gift idea!

2010-05-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

Anna goes to preschool two mornings a week and tomorrow is her last day. I found some fun things at Target and put together a little gift for each teacher and thought I'd share the idea! I couldn't get my pictures in the reverse order so it starts with the finished product :)

This is the finished product. I rolled the towel up, put the nail files and polish in the make-up bag and tied with this lime green ribbon I had. I added a little card to each teacher and had Anna decorate the back of the card. I thought it turned out cute and fun for summer time!

For the lady that does art a few other special teachers that helped in Anna's room occassionally I did just the nail polish and files.

Nail polish on sale at Target for $1.83, pack of 6 files for $0.50 and the make up bag $4.99. Not trying to be cheap but we are on a tighter budget these days :)

Beach towel at Target for $5.99

Family Reunion

2010-05-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Young Harris, Ga this weekend for a family reunion for Jonathan's side of the family. How absolutely breathtaking the mountains are! I think I'd have a hard time living in the mountains though--I can't look to the side for a second around those curves without getting car sick! Anna had a fun time playing with second cousins at the park. Emma was happy to push her shopping cart around the grass. Emma with her shopping cart. My favorite toy these days because she can have a little freedom walking and not have to hold both of my hands everywhere she wants to go :)

Anna with Ashley & Betsy

My little sunshine's

2010-05-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

Kind of a silly picture of Anna but I haven't done the best job lately of taking pictures of the girls. I snapped this one while we were out playing on the swings after nap time the other day. She was in the mood for a picture :) Both girls are keeping me busy and bring me great joy each day. One of our favorite songs to sing with Anna is you are my sunshine...she and Emma truly are our rays of sunshine! Anna is my little artist these days. She spends a lot of time at the kitchen table coloring, drawing, tracing, writing (or attempting to), gluing, etc. If she's not doing that she's reading (or telling what she remembers the story to be) to her pretend class or singing. She keeps us entertained! Emma does not stay still for a minute! She does not like to sit. She can crawl but doesn't like to. She'd much rather be standing or holding onto something and walking. She can pull up on anything, even the wall, and if she can reach it with even a finger she'll grab onto it and walk. It's kind of scary at times and keeps me on my toes! I keep waiting for her to just let go and start walking without help--it's coming very soon! Emma is also jabbering a lot more lately. I think she's trying to keep up with her big sister :) I'm so thankful for happy, healthy children!!

Mother's Day & Jonathan's Birthday

2010-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jonathan's 37th birthday on the Saturday before Mother's Day. His birthday is usually on or very near to Mother's Day so he has to share his celebration. This year he asked if our mom's would come to us for Mother's Day so he could be home for his birthday; they agreed. Mom came earlier in the weekend and his parents on Saturday night. We had a relaxed visit with everyone and mostly just stayed around the house playing with the girls. We are so thankful for both of our mother's! I'm blessed to have a mother who would do anything for me as well as a mother in law who treats me as if I'm one of her own. We love you both!! (Didn't get a good picture with my mom so I'll have to post one in the near future).

Dad's birthday

2010-05-16T18:41:00.001-07:00

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday with him on April 10th. It's hard to believe that my parent's are entering their 60's and Jonathan and I are getting closer to 40--my how time flies! We spent the afternoon at my Dad & Marty's house and then out to dinner. My dad is banker by day and a Harley rider by weekend. He wears a suit and tie all week long so when the weekend rolls around he is all Harley gear! It's been fun to see him so into his bike and have something outside of work that he enjoys but I do worry about his safety. We don't see enough of each other but I'm thankful for the short visits we get! Anna especially loves to go visit and eat goldfish with grandpa because he'll give her as many as she wants :) Love you dad!! The girls and I with my dad.

Dad & Marty.

Kevin, Abby & Tyler

Jonny & Anna

Easter (and before)

2010-04-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

We've been celebrating Easter at our house for a couple of weeks! Anna's preschool had a picnic and egg hunt to start us out. It was cold! We all had long sleeves and coats on but still had a fun time. A family from Anna's school had everyone come to their farm for the morning. The kids hunted for eggs, rode their bikes, could take horse rides (Anna didn't want to do this), sat on the tractor and then had a picnic lunch.

Last weekend we had an egg hunt at the Isaac's house. Anna really got into finding the eggs that day and it was fun to watch them run all over the yard looking for them. We dyed eggs at our house with these same friends this past Friday. Anna had blue dye all the way up her hands :)

For Easter weekend Jonathan's parents came to stay with us. We had fun playing and relaxing on Saturday. On Sunday we all enjoyed church together, lunch and more playing.

We also had an unplanned event thrown in the mix last week. On Anna's first trip to the dentist (just a routine appt) we found out that she had an abscessed tooth. She had to have it pulled. You will notice in the bottom pictures of Easter morning that she is minus one front tooth. We were very concerned but she did better with it than we expected and looks really cute!! She is very proud actually and talks about her big girl tooth coming in quite frequently (she doesn't understand that it will be a LONG time before she actually gets that big girl tooth)!

God is so good to our sweet family. Easter is only celebrated one day each year--what a shame-- Jesus gave his life for us and three days later rose from the dead. HE LIVES! HE LIVES! HE LIVES! This is reason to celebrate EVERY day!!

Jonathan and Anna on the tractor on the day of her preschool egg hunt.

Anna just after the preschool egg hunt, showing off the eggs she collected. She could have had an overflowing basket but after a few minutes she looked at me and said she was finished :)

Anna with her friends Jesse & Kendall after the egg hunt at their house.

Can you tell she is enjoying herself?!

Proud egg hunter!

Easter morning--my happy, sweet Emma!!

Anna was so cute looking at all of her Easter goodies! Look closely and you can see her missing tooth :)

Loving my Emma!

Family shot--impossible to get everyone looking in the same direction!

Papaw & Mamaw with the girls. Their second set of granddaughters. Our neices are already 14 & 12 years old--wow!

The Latest with Emma...

2010-03-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Emma is 8 months old! The time is just flying by with her but I'm trying to soak up as many of those sweet baby kisses as I can. She is such an easy going little thing and happy most all of the time. She loves to squeal and is making more sounds. She started with dada and now will even say mama sometimes. I don't know that she associates it with me yet though but I like to think so anyway :) . She's not crawling or walking yet but she loves to stand up (as you'll see in the bottom pictures). If we are playing on the floor and she's near one of us she grabs on and tries to pull up. She'd much rather stand than sit. She will roll some if she's on her stomach and looks like she's about ready to crawl when she's on her belly but mostly ends up sliding backward (which frustrates her). I'm posting a few pictures from today. She road in the wagon for the first time and the others are of her playing inside. I did include one with Anna in it. She's doing great as well and growing up way too fast. She wrote a letter A all by herself the other day and I was so shocked. I'll have to start recording some of the things she says and do a blog just on her. She has some pretty good "one liners" and keeps us laughing around here! Emma's first wagon ride! Not a very long one though...it was pretty windy and chilly outside today :)
Our future basketball star (daddy hopes) with little sister.

One of her favorite toys to play with these days. It was Anna's and is getting great use for the second time around. Anything she can stand and play with is a hit!

I thought this was funny. Another new thing Emma likes to do is to stand at the toy chest and play. I think she likes the standing part better than any of the toys. Here she is picking something out to play with.

Looks like she's waving :)

Snow 2010

2010-02-13T05:41:00.001-08:00

We finally got snow!! Anna has been waiting all winter for it! Jonathan and I laughed that we had to move south to get it. We lived in SC for 3 years and then in Rome, GA for 4 and didn't have anything like this...just kind of funny that we got so much in south GA. The girls and I went out as soon as it started to catch some snowflakes (in our hands and mouths)! After nap time Jonathan, Anna & I went out to play and made a snowman. We came in for a break when Emma woke up from her nap and then went out again with her. This was both of the girls first real snow experience. Anna has seen flakes but not had enough to ever play. Lots of fun--hope we get some again next year!!! The girls when the snow was just beginning to fall (you can't really see it in the picture). Anna & I had to get out and taste the snow as it was coming down!

Emma under the jogging stroller cover. We let her get out in the snow some with us but during the snowball fight I put her in here to stay a little warmer!

Jonny helping Anna make a snow angel. She got the arms but wasn't so good with her legs :)

Anna's snow angel.

Jonathan's snow angel.

Anna was so thrilled that we were able to make a snowman! He looks kind of silly but it was fun!

Jonathan and the girls.

Me with the girls.

Anna and I during the making of our snowman.

Jonathan and Anna getting ready for a snowball fight.

October 2009

2009-11-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

The last few months have gone by so fast! Having two little girls is so much fun but the days are non-stop!! Basketball practice started officially on October 15th so Jonathan's schedule has gotten more hectic recently. We are adjusting to our new home and being back in Columbus. Anna LOVES her preschool and goes two mornings a week. It gives me a little extra time with Emma and time to work on my online classes (also a chance to go jogging with only the single stroller two days a week). Anna is really into playing pretend these days. It's quite entertaining to watch and often she wants her daddy and I to play right along with her pretend friends. Of course we join right in! Emma is such a blessing! She is a very happy and content baby. Thankfully she is ok with just going with the flow. I drag her around with me on all my errands, jogging, chasing Anna around, etc. and she doesn't seem to mind at all. She's a chubby baby and really looks more like a 6 month old than a 4 month old but I love all of those little rolls and could just eat her up--she's a doll. Anna loves her too and thankfully is really sweet to her and not showing much jealously even up to this point. We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy family! Our sweet little pumpkin, Emma (4 months).
Anna dressed as Snow White; not the best picture of Emma but the only one I got with Anna smiling.
Sweet sisters!
Jonathan loving on his baby girls. He is such a sweet daddy and takes every moment he can to love on these two!! This one was not on Halloween but Anna loves to dress up like a princess :) we think she makes a beautiful one!
A rare picture of me with my babies!

Anna's 3rd Birthday

2009-11-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to play catch up a little with my blog. Anna's 3rd birthday was on September 20th. She had a princess birthday party this year (that she'd been planning since last year)! We rented an inflatable for her and her friends to jump in. The origninal plan was to have her party at our house but there was rain that weekend so we ended up having it at CSU upstairs in the basketball gym. It really worked out great and since Jonathan ended up having a stomach virus that same day it was ideal not to have everyone at our house. The one glitch was that the blow up we rented was supposed to be princess but the company gave us the wrong one. We were all disappointed at first but it didn't stop Anna and her friends from jumping their little hearts out! I still can't believe how fast three years has flown by with her. She is a beautiful little girl but not so little anymore. I don't know where she gets her height but she looks more like a 4 or 5 year old. She's already outgrowing the new fall/winter tops I bought her. Not b/c she's big around but b/c she's so long in the waist. I guess if she keeps her height she'll make a great basketball player at some point :)

Anna with her cousin Sarah and a couple of friends who came to her party.

Anna (sweaty after jumping) in front of her cake.

Our sweet little angel. This was the morning of her birthday party at her pre-school.

Meet Emma!

2009-08-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Emma Kate Norton was born June 29, 2009. I'm finally getting around to posting a slide show of her. I will have to post new pictures soon since she's already 5 weeks old and of course already changing so much. She has dark hair and blue eyes and we aren't sure who she looks like yet. Anna had dark hair as a baby too so we're thinking there's a good chance she'll be blond like her sister!

Tyler Jacob Miller born June 3, 2009

2009-07-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

My brother and his wife Abby welcomed their sweet baby Tyler on June 3rd. Jonathan and I were able to take Anna to the hospital to see him the day he was born. She was very excited about holding him; great practice for her new sister! He is adorable and we are so thrilled about our sweet little nephew!!

Creative Discovery Museum

2009-05-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

We took Anna to the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, TN a few weeks ago. We all had a really fun time! Anna's favorite part was the water play area. We went back to it several times while we were there. The pictures show all of the other fun areas we got to play in as well!

Pictures of Jonathan's Press Conference

2009-05-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

The proud new coach of the CSU Lady Cougars!
Jonathan and his close friend (now boss/athletic director), Jay Sparks. Coach Sparks started the women's basketball program at Columbus State and was the coach for 20 years. Jonathan worked for him as an assistant for 7 years.

Our sweet little family.

More family--with Jonathan's parents. They are so supportive!

It's official!!

2009-04-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm finally able to share officially that Jonathan is now the new head women's basketball coach at Columbus State University. He will finish his contract at Berry College until the end of May and then get started with his new responsibilities. We are very sad to be leaving Rome. We've made some really sweet friends here, love our church and our home, my job, Berry College, Anna's pre-school, etc. However, we have prayed about this for quite some time and know that God is leading us to Columbus. I am so thankful for God's word and the peace he has given me as Jonathan and I have been making this decision. This will be our third move together as a couple and it's always a challenge for me to get readjusted, meet new friends, settle in a church, etc. but each time we've moved the blessings just get better and better so I have no doubt that will be the case again this time. Jonathan and I both graduated from Columbus State with undergraduate and graduate degrees so we are very excited about seeing old faces and reconnecting there again. I'm very proud of Jonathan and all that he has accomplished to get to this point. There are really nice write ups on him on both Berry's website (www.berry.edu) and Columbus's website (www.colstate.edu); both are under athletics and then women's basketball. I will post pictures from his press conference soon. I wish I had a copy of the video of that. He did such a good job of speaking! Anna did great too and sat quietly during the entire speech!! We spent all day today looking at houses. I'm exhausted!! We didn't find much but crossed several areas off of our list so I guess that is progress. Please pray for us as we try to get our house sold here in Rome and find one in Columbus--preferrably quickly since we only have 10 weeks before sweet little Emma gets here (yikes!)!!

Happy Easter 2009!!

2009-04-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

What a fun Easter morning! Anna woke up to a trail of easter eggs the Easter bunny left from her crib to her easter basket in the den. She was so excited and really enjoyed looking at all of her goodies this year. We went to church this morning, out to lunch as a family (plus Amy), naptime, and then had egg hunts outside and played this afternoon. It's been a wonderful family day. Of course we haven't forgotten to include Jesus in our Easter tradition. We've tried to make sure Jesus was mentioned just as much, hopefully more, than the easter bunny as we've prepared for today. How thankful we are that we serve a risen Savior--that He lives and we can look forward to eternal life in heaven with Him. We are truly blessed and so grateful for salvation. Thank you Jesus!! The "trail of eggs" started at Anna's crib.
Here she is after picking up the first two eggs!

Checking out her goodies.

I think she was pleased!

Ready for church!

What a cutie!

Me and my girls (can't see the other one yet)!

Daddy's little angel.

Amy tried to get one of all of us.

End of the Year Banquet

2009-04-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we attended the end of the year basketball banquet hosted by Berry's president. The banquet was outside behind Martha Berry's house on the lawn and was catered by the Varsity (french fries, onion rings, hot dogs & burgers). The weather was pretty cool but it was nice to be outside. We toured Martha Berry's house and the grounds which we hadn't done in the 4 years we've been here. It's beautiful especially this time of year with all of the trees and flowers starting to bloom. Anna had a blast playing with the girls and Coach Haarlow's little girl, Molly. The award ceremony was simple but it was nice to get to see the players again after the season. We are going to miss all of them very much! The FOUR of us!
The Lady Vikings

Jeff, Molly & Casey Haarlow.

No more cysts!!!

2009-04-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Emma's brain looked healthy today and the cysts were gone! God is so good and we are very thankful!! She is breech right now but the doctor said there is still time for her to turn. So turn Emma, turn!! I'm 28 weeks so we still have a little while for her to get into position before we have to worry. The 2 week appointments are beginning--can't believe we are getting this close. Thanks for all the prayers up to this point!!

I'm being outsmarted by my 2 1/2 year old!!

2009-04-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm laughing tonight at my own failures as a parent but I'm at least doing it while my sweet Anna is asleep. We took the front piece off of her crib last week to convert her bed into a "big girl bed". Ever since it has been a nightmare trying to get her to sleep and stay in her bed. We've tried spankings (she began asking for them last night to get us to stay in her room--don't think that's working too well), reward charts, and finally I thought I had the best idea tonight...making her sleep in a baby bed (the pack and play). I threatened with it last night and she finally calmed down and she went to sleep. Tonight after she got out of bed twice I got up in the attic (with mom's help since Jonny is out of town), took the pack in play in her room and set it up. My thought was that she would be really upset with me and get in her big girl bed for the night. NOT so! She got really excited and gathered her pillow, babies, etc as if we were having a camp out in her room. I continued to set it up and explain that this was not playtime and that she was sleeping in the baby bed tonight b/c she disobeyed...yada, yada, yada...I don't think she soaked any of that up. I told her she didn't earn her sticker tonight for the choo choo train ride and she just said, "that's ok mommy I'll try again tomorrow night". Mom and I laughed hysterically after I came out of her room. She went sound asleep. Not exactly the way I planned but she's sleeping! I think the crib front will be reattached tomorrow. She may just not be ready for becoming a big girl quite yet!

We've picked a name!

2009-03-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

We've decided to name our sweet little girl on the way Emma Kate (probably will just call her Emma). We debated between Emma and Ashleigh (my middle name is Leigh) for a long time but decided she'd have a much easier time spelling her name and finding things with her name if it was Emma. Plus I really liked it better!

My OB appt this morning went well. I had the glucose test done but won't know the results for a few days. Hopefully my blood sugar levels are fine. Emma's heartbeat was strong, and my weight, blood pressure and measurements all were fine too. Next month I will have another ultrasound to check the cysts but we've had lots of prayers going up for Emma and I'm confident they will be gone.

God is so good and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be the mother of two precious little girls!

National Tournament Time!!

2009-03-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

After an 0-7 start to the season the Berry Lady Vikings will be playing in the National Tournament next week in Jackson, TN. They played in the conference tournament finals on Saturday but lost to Lee University in a tough game. We were so proud of their effort! I'm very excited for the team and especially for Jonathan and Amy (his assistant). They work so hard for such a LONG season and this is quite an accomplishment. Please pray for them as they prepare this week and especially for their saftey as they travel next week (and for Anna and I as we have two more weeks of missing daddy after a busy season). GO BERRY!!

Little Miss Sunshine

2009-03-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Today was absolutely beautiful here! I've been sick this weekend so I stayed home from church so I could rest but this afternoon we all went outside to soak up some sunshine. Of course, even on the cloudiest day this little face lights me up whereever I am; she truly is my little sunshine!

Just being cute!

2009-03-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

I was having Anna try on a new dress I got her for spring this evening before bed and she was quite the little model. She said she was a princess and starting dancing all around and then asked her daddy and I to take her picture. Of course I dashed for my camera and was happy to honor her request! She's showing off her pink finger nail polish in the first picture. This is another new thing for her. She begged me to paint her nails on Saturday and has been showing them to everyone; she's so tickled with herself! She's becoming quite the miss priss lately but I love that she likes to be pretty and girly. She is growing up so fast and we are loving every minute of her precious personality!! Look at my pink finger nails!

I feel like a princess!

Family Moments

2009-02-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

My mom was here for a visit this weekend so she was able to get a rare family shot of the three (actually 4) of us before church Sunday. Anna is so full of personality and I just love her smiles and facial expressions. She is really interested in my belly lately and asks constantly where my big belly is. I show her and then she sweetly says "it's just a little belly right now mommy". Guess I better enjoy that while it lasts! She is also so sweet about patting my stomach and giving sister hugs and kisses. I'm hoping she loves her sister as much when she actually gets here. She has also been asking to hold her and I've been trying to explain that she'll have to wait a few more months before she can do that. We use a baby doll as a substitute for now!
I finally got Anna to wear her new dress coat to church on Sunday; blue is her favorite color! It's too big but I bought it that way on purpose so she'd have it for next year. She looked like a little princess!

Another GIRL!!!

2009-02-12T19:48:00.000-08:00

I had my ultrasound today (I'm 20 weeks). We're very excited to be adding another girl to our family (due on July 4th)! Anna was convinced all along that she was having a sister so no surprise to her! She did go to the appointment with us and when we left the ultrasound lab to wait to see the doctor she asked me where the baby was. Guess she thought we'd be bringing her home today! Wish it was that easy!!

The baby looked good but they did find two choroid plexus cysts. These are fluid filled cysts in the brain that are markers for trisomy 18. Fortunately, the doctor said that most of the time by weeks 28-32 they will disappear with no negative consequences to the baby. They will do another ultrasound in 8 weeks. Please pray with us for a healthy baby girl!

Sunday morning photos

2009-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

It was such a pretty day here on Sunday! We were a few minutes late to Sunday school (of course that's not really new for us) because we went outside for pictures before church. Anna was very cooperative and I was pleased to get a few updated pictures. I didn't think the ones of she and I turned out well but I included one anyway.

My little sunshine! She's growing up way too fast!!Jonny is having to squint b/c of the sun but I thought this turned out good anyway. Aren't they sweet?!

Big squeeze from mommy! I could do this all day long!!

Princess Anna

2009-01-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

Anna got a Snow White dress up outfit from Santa for Christmas. This morning she decided that she would try it on for the FIRST time for her daddy & I. She looked adorable and I think she thought she was quite something herself. She posed very willingly for these pictures and then immediately asked to take it off. She's not really into dress up yet but I can't say that I'm too anxious for it. I know she'll be wanting to get dressed/undressed all day long when the time comes!! We did enjoy seeing her pose as a princess for a short time this morning though. She is such a blessing and more fun each day!!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Jonathan was able to spend a few days here with Anna & I just hanging out without basketball practice before Christmas. That's always my favorite time! We headed for our parent's houses the Monday before Christmas and Anna & I stayed until the following Sunday evening. We were busy while we were there seeing all of our family but did have a few relaxing days which was nice too. My dad, Marty, my stepsister Leslie & her family & Kevin & Abby came to our house for an early dinner and then to J's game the Tuesday after Christmas. We had J's basketball team over to the house for breakfast on Jan. 2nd and then more company that Saturday for another basketball game! Our life rarely slows down during basketball season but we certainly can't ever say we are bored! Anna & I left this past Thursday to join Jonathan's team in SC for games on Thur & Sat. On Friday we made a stop in Greenwood, SC (where we lived prior to Rome) and got to visit with several of our friends. The trip wore me out and I was glad to have a few minutes to rest on Sunday after church before starting a new semester of teaching this Monday. That about wraps up what we've been up to lately! Here are the pictures from Christmas!!

Ginger Bread Houses

2008-12-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our friends Casey, Molly & Will came over this afternoon to make ginger bread houses. We used graham crackers instead of ginger bread so I guess we should have called them graham cracker houses. Anyhow, it was the first time Anna has done something like this. She enjoyed eating the candy of course and helped a little with decorating. Molly really got into decorating hers (she's 4)! We had a fun time but thankfully our house won't be entered in any contest...it kept caving in and I tried to "glue" it back together with icing. Thanks for suggesting this Casey; lets do it again next year! Anna & Molly hard at work!

Anna pausing for a smile before eating another piece of candy!

Molly putting on the finishing touches!

School Christmas Party

2008-12-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

Jonathan & I went to Anna's class Christmas party on Wednesday. One of the little girls in Anna's class was having her 2nd birthday so her parents brought in cupcakes. We were expecting some Christmas songs or other festivities but they sang happy birthday and ate cupcakes and that was the end of the Christmas party! We just laughed! Anna loved the cupcake!

New wake-up call

2008-12-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Last week Anna woke me up with a new greeting: "Mommy, come here! I want you!" She started off quietly and then worked her way up to a volume she was sure I could hear. It was 6:30 am on the weekend at my mom's house. I rolled over, laughed to myself, and smiled and thought she sure is getting smart! What mom can resist that kind of a wake-up call? I actually resisted for about 30 more minutes while I "rested my eyes" and let her sing and talk in her crib. She has continued to give me similar wake-up calls but thankfully not all at that hour.

Time with Grandpa

2008-12-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday Anna and I got to visit with Grandpa Miller (my dad). This was a special treat for both of us as we don't get to do it often enough! Anna is still pretty shy around her Grandpa but gets a little better each time she sees him. She got really tickled with the pictures he drew her on the doodle pro of minnie mouse and of herself (I got a good laugh too). She also enjoyed sharing goldfish with her grandpa--more than mom would normally let her have. We love you dad and wish we could see you more!! The three of us.

Anna watching Grandpa draw Minnie Mouse.

Anna and Grandpa.

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

I did a terrible job of taking pictures this week when we were with our family. I didn't get any of my side of the family but we did stop to take a few with Jonathan's (Anna would not get in any of those pictures though)! We had a great time with both sets of parents, our brothers and family & my grandparents. Anna and her daddy doing the twist on their knees. It was quite funny to watch. Anna not only twists her little body but she swings her head back and forth too--you can tell by looking at her hair!

The Norton boys and their mama (Rachel & Sarah too).

Wish Anna would have gotten in this picture!

Jonathan's brother Chris and his girls.

Our nieces, Sarah & Rachel. Anna had such a good time playing with them this week. They were so sweet to her and gave her lots of attention!

First Hair Cut!!

2008-11-29T18:39:00.001-08:00

I finally decided that it was time to get Anna's hair cut. Several people have made good comments about a kid friendly place called Pigtails & Crewcuts which is right down the road from our parents. We took her Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The place was very cute. There was a playroom with lots of toys, coloring books, etc. to play with while you wait and the chairs for Anna's age were little cars that they could sit in. Unfortunately Anna didn't think they were as cute as I did. She screamed and refused to sit in one. The lady helping us was very patient and moved us to the regular hair cut chairs and had me sit and hold Anna but that didn't work either. Anyhow, as you can see I ended up standing and holding Anna while the lady trimmed her hair. Anna was fairly cooperative but was definately not thrilled with the process. She has, however, been talking about her haircut and showing everyone. It didn't make too much difference b/c her hair is pretty wild and does it's own thing. At least it's even around the edges now though! Always an adventure with a two year old!!

ICE CREAM!!

2008-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

This was taken several weekends ago at one of Jonathan's basketball games. Anna and I ate at Chick fil A on the way to the game and I got her an ice cream to take to the game. A girl after my own heart--she loves ice cream!!!

A Purr-fect Halloween!

2008-11-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

Anna dressed up as a black kitty for Halloween. I dressed her up earlier this week for the Fall Festival at the library and she did great; she was not as cooperative on Halloween. She didn't want me to paint her face and kept saying "no tail". She didn't realize that I had pinned her tail to the inside of her pants and she wore it all evening! This year we decided to try trick or treating at the mall. It worked out great for us. It was warm inside and there was plenty of candy. Plus, as unsure as Anna was the whole evening I'm pretty sure knocking on doors in the dark would not have gone over too well. She wanted me to carry her at the mall but we soon got smart and rented a little red car to push her in. She was happy with it and it made it much easier on me. We couldn't get her to say trick or treat to the people giving out candy but it didn't take her long how to figure out to hold her little princess bucket out for them to drop the candy in! We ended our evening by going to the first half of the Berry Men's basketball game. Jonathan's team was there and all of them dressed up too. Anna usually goes right to his players but she was very shy with them all dressed up!

Various things...

2008-10-21T18:46:00.001-07:00

Anna in her trick or treat outfit. I asked her to pose for a picture so I could send it to my mom today and she was so cooperative!! I loved her smile in this one! A friend of mine got Anna a princess wand and halo for her birthday. Anna was being silly one morning last week playing and let me get some pictures of her. She's been so into the Disney Princesses lately! You can see in the picture that she had on her princess nightgown (with pants underneath b/c it was chilly on the morning we took this).
More of princess Anna!
Anna with her cousin Sarah and one of Sarah's friends. They got to play together a couple of weeks ago while we were visiting at Mamaw & Papaw's house. I forgot to include it in one of my other posts and thought it was cute. Sarah is so sweet to Anna but we don't get to see much of her since she lives out of town. Anna thinks she is great though!!

Fun at Grandma's!

2008-10-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Anna stayed with my mom on Saturday night while Jonathan and I were away in the mountains. She had lots of fun with Grandma and her Mamaw & Papaw got to join in on the fun too. Saturday morning Grandma & Mamaw took Anna to the pumpkin patch, the park and then lunch (where they met Papaw) at Chick-fil-A. The afternoon was filled with lots more playing at Grandma's and another trip to the park on Sunday before we came back. Mom said Anna was perfect while we were gone. While I find perfect hard to believe, I do think they had a great time! Anna got to pick out her own pumpkin to bring home from the pumpkin patch--here it is!
This one is a little to big for me!
Mom had lots of new toys for Anna to play with including this tea set (the tea pot plays "I'm a little tea pot"--too cute) and a doggy doctor playdough set. Spoiled by Grandma!

Mountain Get A Way

2008-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I had the opportunity this weekend to spend a night away in the mountains. We stayed in a little red cabin in the NC mountains between Franklin & Highlands. It was a simple cabin but the property and the view were absolutely beautiful! The front porch was full of rocking chairs where you could sit and enjoy the view of the mountains and Christmas tree farms. Near the creek there was a hammock that we enjoyed relaxing in. The leaves have started to change and everywhere you looked were beautiful orange, yellow and red leaves. On Saturday afternoon we drove into Highlands and stopped at two waterfalls on the way. Jonathan and I love waterfalls and like to hike to them whenever we have the chance to go to the mountains. The two we saw were visible from the road but the walks to them didn't look up our speed (down a steep, rocky bank). We just enjoyed taking some pictures this time. The mountains are so breath-taking and peaceful and full of God's glory!The cabin where we stayed.
The view from the front porch.

A view from just up the road of the pretty mountains and Christmas trees!
Jonny in the hammock next to the creek.
We didn't have anyone to take a picture of the two of us so we held the camera as far out in front of us as our arms would reach!
Cullasaja Falls
The name of this waterfall is Bust Your Butt Falls. When we went to look at this one some parents were letting their kids climb on the rocks and wade at the bottom. We overheard someone saying that their child fell in. Another person said, "Guess that's why they call it bust your butt falls". Guess you had to be there--but we thought it was pretty funny!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-10-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Anna and I went to my mom's for part of the weekend to celebrate her birthday. Jonathan was busy at home with basketball practice and Abby (my sister-in-law) was out of town for work so they didn't get to join in on the celebration. My brother, Kevin, and Anna and I took her out to dinner for Italian food on Friday night and then went out again for lunch (Mexican) on Saturday before Anna and I came home. We had a fun weekend!! Happy birthday again mom--love you!

Anna's 2nd Birthday!!

2008-09-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on my posting...
Anna turned TWO on September 20th! The last two years have flown by! We had a birthday party here at the house for her. The weather was absolutely beautiful for her party and we were very thankful because we'd never have fit everyone inside. We had lots of family, a few friends and many of Jonathan's basketball players come by to celebrate with us. Anna chose Barney for her cake this year and was very pleased with it. She actually helped herself to some of the cake before her guest arrived for the party! It was cute but I stopped her after a few bites so there would be some left for everyone else. Present opening was an adventure. Anna was not at all interested. She would open one and then wanted to go play with her friends. We got a few opened before her friends left and then continued opening after nap time and well into the evening. We finished by dinner time! She does love all of her new toys and plays with something different almost everyday which is fun for her (and for me)! She is such a blessed little girl and such a blessing to those of us who love her!!

Do you have your free ticket?

2008-09-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are used to my normal blog entries, mostly pictures with a few words, you will find this one much different. Our Sunday school lesson today and several recent sermons over the past month have placed a burden in my heart for those that I love and even those that I don’t know who are lost. I’m not a Bible scholar but I do understand that heaven and hell are very REAL places. I’m confident in my salvation and do not have a fear of hell for myself but my heart aches and I feel sick to my stomach for those who don’t know Jesus—He is THE ONLY way to heaven “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The great thing that so many take for granted is that Jesus, through his death on the cross and resurrection, has already paid for our ticket into heaven. It’s absolutely FREE!! All we have to do is be willing to ACCEPT His gift. So simple, yet so many have turned Him away. The Bible tells us that this gift is for everyone, you don’t have to be anywhere near perfect because we are all sinners. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). With God we don’t have to fear death but can look forward to an eternal life in heaven “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God loves us so much that even though we are sinners he sent his son to die for us “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). To receive Christ we need to admit that we are sinners and ask for His forgiveness. Next we need to believe that Jesus died for us, was buried, and rose from the dead. Finally, we need to say a prayer and invite Jesus into our lives to become our personal Savior. “If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10: 9 & 10). If you’ve just prayed to accept Jesus CONGRATULATIONS--you’ve just received the greatest gift you can ever imagine!! Please tell someone that you love! If you’ve already accepted your free gift of salvation please copy this idea if you are a “blogger” so that those who may be reading and may not know Jesus will have the opportunity to accept His gift (we never know who is reading our blogs).

Playtime with Mommy!!

2008-09-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

Anna and I had some fun playtime on her swingset yesterday afternoon before we went back to church. It's been awhile since I've taken pictures of her so I brought my camera when we went out to play. I'm glad I did because she was in the mood to do some posing for me!

Back to School!

2008-08-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today was back to school day for Anna and I! Of course Barney and paci (she hasn't given it up yet) had to go to school with Anna too. Jonathan takes her to school and I pick her up so we started that today even though I really wanted to go with them this morning. This year was a much easier start for both of us than last year; no tears from either of us. Her teachers said she had a great day and she seemed to be happy when I picked her up. My classes got off to a good start too. So far, so good!

Cutie Pie

2008-08-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Anna starts back to her two morning a week preschool on the 18th (I start teaching again that day too). We got a letter from her school asking us to a bring a close up picture of our child to orientation so after church today I took her outside to try to get one. Picture taking is always an adventure with Anna but I managed to get a couple that I thought were cute! I can't believe how fast she is growing up but a what a precious blessing she is to her daddy and I--God is soooooooooooooo good!!!

Bathtime with Barney!

2008-08-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

As you've probably read in one of my other posts, Anna LOVES Barney! The only thing Barney that we have owned up until today are a few DVDs but today at Toys R Us I found her a Barney doll that can go in the tub or pool. She loves him and has not put him down all day! I was afraid she was going to have a melt down after her bath when I told her Barney had to stay in the bathroom until the morning to dry out--she of course wanted him to sleep in her crib. Fortunately Barney also came with a little Baby Bop figurine that could be dried off easily so she settled for her for the night. Here she is in the tub with her new Barney doll...

Weekend Fun!

2008-08-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

Anna got to spend some time with her Mamaw and Papaw this weekend. They met us at church on Sunday and we all had a relaxing day together afterwards. On Monday the girls went to the park while the boys worked on some projects to help update our guest bathrooms. I think we got the better end of that deal! The picture below is of Anna and Mamaw playing with the bubbles. The bottle was almost empty but Anna was determined to get some more bubbles out of it!!

Team Cookout

2008-07-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had a cookout for Jonathan's basketball team tonight at our house to help kick-off their team building retreat for this weekend. They are having a "lock-in" at the Cage Center tonight through Saturday night and have many surprise activities planned for the weekend (I can't mention them in case one of the players reads this before they take place). Anna had such a great time with everyone being at her house and was quite the little show off. I think she could get used to having several rooms full of people to play with! We missed two of our players tonight though; K.B had a prior commitment to work camp and Brittany C. was supposed to fly in last night but her flight was cancelled. Guess we'll have to do it again soon--Anna would be thrilled! T.J., Holly, Kate, Kendall, & Laura G.
Kayla & Alex
Keta, Amy, Carol, Briana, & Brittany
Sally, Nikki, Laura M., Erica, & Keta
2008-2009 Berry Women's Basketball Team (minus two)

Pray for Jobs

2008-07-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I have a family member as well as two of our friends who are without jobs right now. They all have children so as you can imagine this is a very difficult time for them right now. Please pray that they each find the job that God has waiting for them and that in the meantime they will have a peace in knowing that He will take care of them and their families.
"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jermiah 29:11

Florida Vacation--Stop #3 (the end)

2008-07-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Last stop on our Florida vacation was at my Grandma Miller's house. Anna seemed to be right at home at grandma's and especially loved going in the kitchen because she knew grandma would give her a snack! Grandma took us to the zoo while we were there which was Anna's first time. We all really enjoyed it but it was very HOT and we didn't make it very long. Grandma was a trooper walking to all of the exhibits in the heat. We did get one ride on the train and I think we were wishing we'd hopped on a few more times for the breeze! Anna with her daddy and great grandma on the train at the zoo.
Anna pointing out some of the animals to daddy.
The elephant exhibit. Anna does a great elephant impression so we had to get her picture in front of these.
Me & Anna in front of the giraffes. This was our last stop and you can tell by the shine on our faces that we were hot and tired by this point! I thought this was the best exhibit at the zoo because we were able to stand almost face to face with the giraffes and even feed them (didn't do this but it was fun to watch).
Me, Anna & Grandma Miller. I cherish the times I get to spend with her and am so thankful that Anna can too!

More of Stop #2

2008-07-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Cousins at the beach. Not easy to get this group to be still for a picture as you can see.
My grandparents with their three great-grandchildren.
Aunt Abby and Anna with their sunglasses on. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of Anna with her aunt & uncle. She has started trying to say peoples names now. She calls Aunt Abby "Addy" and Uncle Kevin "KK". It's so cute!

We attempted to get some family shots on the beach on the second morning we were there. What an adventure! I guess all of the running I have done with Anna is rubbing off because all she wanted to do was run up and down the beach. Lots of fun but not so good for pictures! We did manage to get a few good ones though.
Here she was a little calmer.

A still moment.
Our little angel!
Love Anna's face here!
Off to the races!
Playtime with daddy.

Florida Vacation--Stop #2

2008-07-09T19:55:00.001-07:00

After a short visit at Grandma & Grandpa Henry's we all (mom, brother & sister-in-law, grandparents & the three of us) headed to the beach for 3 nights. We only got to go to the beach 2 days b/c it rained the first afternoon we were there but we had a great time! Anna loves the pool but also enjoyed playing in the sand on the beach. She didn't really like the ocean though. I don't blame her because I feel the same way. I'll get my feet wet but don't like being out there with things I can't see--guess I'm a scardy cat!! Anna and her new "say cheese" face!
Grandma and Anna.
This is about as far as Anna would go in!
She liked having a bucket of water nearby for her toys.

Florida Vacation--Stop #1

2008-07-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

To keep with tradition our family vacationed in Florida this year. We have two sets of family that live there so it provides us with lots of entertainment each summer! Our first stop was at my Grandma and Grandpa Henry's. It was my Grandpa's 82 birthday while we were there. He is so full of life and we are blessed that Anna has the opportunity to get to know her great-grandparents. I'm sure it's a little confusing for her to have so many people to call grandma or grandpa though! Anna with her Great Grandpa Henry. He was opening his birthday presents and got quite a laugh over the card we got him. He's always telling jokes and teasing so I got him back with a silly card this year!
Anna also got to spend time with her cousins Drew and Colin. This is Drew in his car.
Drew was nice enough to let Anna take it for a spin.
Anna and Colin playing blocks.
The train table was quite entertaining--we don't have anything like this to play with at our house!

Father's Day Weekend

2008-06-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

The three of us headed out of town to see the dads on Saturday for Father's Day weekend. We celebrated at my dad & Marty's on Saturday evening. Anna had some playmates while we were there--my stepsister's boys, Jack & Drew, were in town too. Anna had fun crawling around with Jack. The biggest delight was that she finally warmed up to her Grandpa Miller! Anna has been so shy around him (most men actually) but Saturday she sat on his lap, helped him open his presents, and played on the couch with him. She even gave him a big hug and cried for him to get in the car with us as we were leaving.

On Sunday we spent the day with Jonathan's dad and family. I didn't get any pictures of Anna with Papaw (sorry Papaw!) but got a few at the pool with her daddy and Uncle Chris.

Anna and her Grandpa Miller.
Grandpa got his ear full on Saturday. Don't know that he understood any of it, but Anna sure enjoyed telling him her stories.
Anna helping Grandpa open his present.
Playing with the Seasame Street magnet board; Jack looks like he got tired of it and decided to crawl away!
After seeing Jack crawl around the kitchen and den Anna decided she'd join him. I'm pretty sure Jack would beat Anna in a crawling contest; she never learned to crawl very well.

Anna and her daddy playing at the pool on Father's Day.
It's such a pleasure to see Anna having so much fun in the pool this summer. She was so afraid last summer and even before we began swim lessons in May. Now she doesn't want to get out!
Whee! Uncle Chris throwing Anna up in the air. He and her daddy had to take turns so their shoulders could rest because she wanted to be thrown up constantly.

Jonathan, Anna, Rachel, Uncle Chris & Sarah. A rare still moment in the pool!

Saturday at the Park

2008-06-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Jonathan, Anna and I spent our morning Saturday at a local park. God blessed us with a beautiful sunny day and fortunately the park had lots of shade which made it even more pleasant. We spent some time at the pond first letting Anna chase and then feed the ducks and fish. We were cracking up at her because as she was feeding bread to the ducks & fish she would take a few bites for herself. Later we played on the playground. I say we because as you'll see in one of the pictures below I'm not sure who had more fun on some of the equipment, Anna or her daddy! Hey, wait up ducks! I have some bread for you!
Anna & Daddy getting ready to feed the ducks. Mommy and Anna trying to feed the duck. This one wasn't too interested in our bread though.

Check out the face--what a goof ball! Like I mentioned above, I'm not sure who had more fun on the playground Anna or her Daddy!
Anna's not too sure about this. The ride was pretty short since her Daddy's body took up over half the slide!
Anna swinging her baby doll.

Family Fun!

2008-05-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Mamaw & Papaw came for a visit Thursday and Friday of this week. We started off Thursday morning at swim lessons. Anna was excited to have an audience just for her! While they were here Papaw fixed LOTS of things for Jonathan and I and also put molding up around our bathroom mirror. I'm surprised they keep coming back to visit us because everytime they come we put them to work! Mamaw and Anna played outside most of Friday while I started on my newest project for our bathroom, an antique cabinet that I'm painting. Anna and Mamaw watching Barney together. Anna has ditched her old favorite Boz for now. I don't know how she got on Barney but I'm hoping she's going to find a new favorite soon!
Anna dancing with her Papaw. She loves to dance!
Anna with her Papaw & Mamaw.

Mother's Day

2008-05-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

We spent Mother's Day with--you guessed it--our mom's! We all went to church together at Jonathan's parents church on Sunday morning. We had lunch with my mom after church and then played for a little while at her house before heading to Jonathan's mom's for the rest of the afternoon/evening. These pictures are taken while we were at my mom's house. I think we took some at his mom's but she has them on her camera. It was a fun weekend! Anna looking up at the bubbles that Grandma and Aunt Abby were blowing for her.
Sweet girl!
Don't really know what she's doing here; thought it was cute though.
Almost impossible to get a picture with all of us smiling these days...
Me, my mom, and brother Kevin.

Swim lessons!!

2008-05-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

We signed Anna up for swim lessons at the YMCA. She goes twice a week for 4 weeks. The first lesson was quite an experience...she cried the entire time! The pictures below are after she got out on the first day. The second lesson went much better. She cried a little at first but by the end she was laughing and having a good time. Jonathan and I are both able to get in with her during the lessons and are hoping that this week she'll start to really enjoy it. We'd love to be able to get her in the pool this summer without tears!!

Funny Faces!!

2008-05-12T12:15:00.001-07:00

It's been so fun to watch some of the funny faces that Anna comes up with. It's hard to capture them on camera but we tried to get a few of them. Sure would love to know what she's thinking sometimes!!

Helping Daddy

2008-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Anna loves to do whatever her daddy is doing these days. Even if it takes him twice as long to get the job done Jonathan lets her join right in!

Basketball Banquet

2008-04-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

Jonathan's team had their end of the year banquet at a local italian restaurant on Thursday night. Anna thought she was the star of the evening of course and really enjoyed "hanging out" with the team. Here she is with Amy's credit card and keys! I thought we had a few more years before that happened...

A rare picture of the three of us!
Coach K (Amy) and Anna. You notice that Anna is eating bread. The best way to get her on your lap is to bribe her with food; she loves to eat! She loves Amy though. Amy spends lots of time playing with Anna when we're up at Berry (usually so mommy can go run--thanks Amy).

A big hug for Anna's buddy Coach K (Amy).
Erica and Anna. Anna is more shy around some of the girls than others but she always seems to go right to Erica. It helped that she had bread too!
Jonathan and his two assistants, Amy & Keta.
Part of the team (plus some parents). It's always fun to see the girls out of uniform; they looked very pretty.

The rest of the team; ya'll looked beautiful too!

Spring Pictures

2008-04-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday were Anna's spring pictures at school. We got her all dressed up only to find out when I picked her up that she wouldn't let them photograph her. Evidently the photographer was a male and most of you know that Anna is very shy around men. I was able to get a picture of her with her daddy outside before he took her yesterday (not without Elmo and the bottle of mouthwash in the picture of course)! Fortunately the school had pictures again today for the Tues/Thurs classes so they let me bring her and we were able to get her to cooperate this time (they let the female photographer take the pictures for us). Anna looked beautiful!

Easter Sunday!

2008-04-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

We came back from Kevin's birthday party Saturday night so that we could be home for Easter Sunday and go to our own church. Although the Easter bunny did visit our house Sunday and the egg hunt was fun on Saturday we were thankful to get to church Sunday morning to celebrate the resurrection of our precious Savior, Jesus. I am reminded constantly as I watch our sweet 18 month old grow of the awesome giftS God has given us; first His one and only son and secondly our beautiful Anna! We are truly blessed!! Not the best backdrop (the garage floor ), but that precious smile makes up for it!

We didn't get any pictures of Anna's Easter basket before she got a hold of it. The Easter bunny brought a new Boz book, a stuffed duck, stickers, bubbles and eggs filled with raisins, animal crackers & cheerios (the healthy Easter bunny this year)! Anna loved the stickers!

Egg Hunt at Grandma's

2008-04-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

We spent the Saturday before Easter at Grandma's house before we headed to Uncle Kevin's & Aunt Abby's for his surprise 30th birthday party! Grandma got out all of mine and Kevin's plastic easter eggs so we could let Anna participate in her first egg hunt. Daddy & Uncle Kevin hid the eggs (in very obvious places of course). Boz was along for the hunt and it was difficult to hold him, the basket, her new Boz book and load the eggs in the basket. She was really more interested in carrying the basket than finding the eggs but with some encouragement from all of us she managed to find a few!

This was at the end of the egg hunt. We put all of the eggs back in the basket for her and she dumped them all over the ground. She wanted her basket to be empty! She hasn't learned the difference between a basket and a purse...

She found some!
.

Mamaw Norton, Anna & Grandma Miller.
Grandma pulled Boz up on the internet. As you can see this was quite entertaining!

National Tournament Game

2008-03-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Jonathan's team lost their final game (75-68) in the National Tournament last Thursday. They played a great game and we are proud of the wonderful season they had; their record for the year was 26-8. Anna had a great time at the game despite the loss. Her friends Chase & Eli were there and she had a ball with them! Eli reading with Anna. He was so cute reading with her and telling her all of the animal sounds.
Chase, Anna & Eli. Chase got a teddy bear that they threw out to the crowd and let Anna keep it. She was thrilled (but she also wanted the ball he got too)!
Anna talking to Eli.
Anna got so tickled playing "try to throw the ball past Chase or Eli". They were very sweet to run after the ball and give it back to her everytime. She thought it was a great game!

Region Coach of the Year! 3/12/2008

2008-03-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Jonny has recently been named Region 6 Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)! Read more on Berry's website by clicking on the link: http://www.berry.edu/athletics/story.asp?ID=2130&sport=WBasketball

His team will play in the National Tournament next week on Thursday, March 20 in Jackson, TN. They will be playing Langston (from Oklahoma) at 11:45 am (EST).

Please pray that all of us who are traveling will get there safely and that his girls will play well!

Wagon Ride

2008-03-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

I finally decided to bring my camera along today for our daily wagon ride to see the cows! Anna loves her wagon and gets so excited about getting to go for a ride in it. So much so that when I try to go jogging with her I usually have to bribe her first with a wagon ride and then switch her to my jogging stroller. I'm ready to get in the wagon and get rolling!
We're on our way! Hey cows, can't you come a little closer?
The grass seemed to be more interesting than the cows today!

Mommy's little helper

2008-03-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

Anna is my new helper when it's time to unload the dishwasher. She started showing an interest in helping me several weeks ago. I was putting the silverware away and she started bringing spoons over to me one at a time. Ever since then when it's time to unload I always ask if she wants to help and get the huge head nod and smile yes! I quickly grab the clean knives and forks and leave the spoons for her to help with. She gets a little side-tracked sometimes when she finds one of her own spoons so I usually have the bottom emptied before she ever finsihes with her spoons. It's been fun having her so interested in helping!

It's a girl...but not mine!!

2008-03-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Crystal & Lee, had their baby girl, Cailin Elizabeth, on the 19th of February. I was so thrilled that it worked out for me to see her last week. Jonathan's team played two games in SC so Anna and I traveled to Greenwood, SC for the day between the games to visit the new baby. Anna wasn't too sure about her mommy holding another baby. I think she thought she was a babydoll at first. Lee, Caitlin & Crystal
She's beautiful and so tiny! It's amazing how fast you forget how little new borns are...
Our friend Lori & Caitlin.

Boz the bear & pigtails

2008-02-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

Anna (17 months) thinks that she is now in charge of our tv. As you can see, she knows where the on/off button is and whenever she isn't interested in what's on she turns the tv off (including Daddy's basketball games)! Her new favorite character is Boz the bear. She doens't quite understand that he isn't on the tv all day long. She thinks if she pushes the button to turn the tv on that he is supposed to show up on the screen (even though he can only be found on DVD). It's kind of funny to watch her! Mom's new thing is putting Anna's hair in pigtails (bottom two pictures). She's getting more hair now & it's been fun to play around with it. Turning the tv on in hopes that she'll be able to watch Boz!

Anna with her favorite bear, Boz. For those of you who don't know about Boz you can find his DVDs at a Christian book store. The videos are really cute plus they teach kids about God!

Watching Boz...

Opening of the Cage Center

2008-02-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Thursday (1/31/08) was an exciting day for Berry College Basketball. It was opening night in the new Cage Center. Fortunately, Jonathan's team was able to squeak out a win to make the evening have a happy ending. Check out Berry's website (http://www.berry.edu/) for more pictures of the Cage Center--it's very impressive! Bob & Kay Williams (big Berry supporters) had jerseys made for their grandchildren several years ago. Now that they've outgrown them, their daughter is letting Anna borrow them. This one said Berry on the front with the number 1/2. Here's Anna getting ready to cheer her daddy's team on!
Dancing before the game...if there is music, Anna is dancing. She puts on quite the show!
Anna (with her serious game face) and Mamaw.
Sam Rutland and his dad, Judd. We tease that this is Anna's future husband. Sam and Anna are in the same Sunday school class at church. When I drop Anna off for church Sam will come over and say Anna's name and gives her a kiss. He's so sweet to her and a real cutie!

Jonathan, Mr. Cage, and Berry's president in a pre-game ceremony for the Cage Center opening.
Jonathan in action with his team!
I was trying to get a picture to show a little of the Cage Center. I think Berry's website has some better pictures though!

Congratulations Jonny!

2008-01-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of Jonny and his accomplishments as a coach. On Thursday evening Jonathan's team beat Southern Wesleyan 75-52 to give Jonathan his 100th career win. This includes wins from 3 seasons as a head coach at Lander University and the 2 1/2 seasons he's been at Berry. There was a nice article in the paper on Friday about him and also on Berry's website (http://www.berry.edu/athletics/story.asp?ID=2027&sport=WBasketball) & the SSAC's website (http://www.ssacsports.com/article/978.php). His assistant, Amy Krach, had a plaque made for him and gave it to him after the game Thursday (thanks Amy). His team was also recently ranked in the top 25 in the NAIA National Poll (http://www.berry.edu/athletics/story.asp?ID=2026&sport=WBasketball).

Most of you know about the passion that Jonathan has for the game of basketball. He loves to watch and study the game and truly enjoys his job. Coaching college basketball is demanding of his time with juggling practices, scouting, recruiting, film watching, weight work-outs, etc. I'm so glad to be able to say that his job and winning basketball games is not his first priority though. Jonathan is committed to serving God and to making time for Anna and I. He is also very concerned about the impact that he has on his player's and is continually striving to be an example to them on and off the court. We're proud of his wins, but we're even more proud of the man that he is! Congratulations Jonny; we love you!

More pictures (a few days after Christmas)!

2008-01-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how fast life passes by--Anna is looking so grown up these days!

Anna and Great Grandma Henry in their matching pink outfits.

A big hug for mommy!

Christmas Day at Mamaw & Papaw's

2008-01-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

We went to Mamaw & Papaw's for lunch on Christmas day after Anna played with her toys from Santa.

The whole Hee Haw gang!

Mamaw, Anna & Jonathan.
Anna and her daddy open her gifts from Mamaw and Papaw.

Rachel, Chris & Sarah.

Sarah and Chris take a break from throwing the football to pose for a picture!

Sarah and her new American doll.

Rachel had a big hug for her daddy after opening her new ipod.

Christmas Eve at Mom's

2008-01-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

We opened gifts with mom, Kevin & Abby on Christmas Eve this year so we could enjoy Santa Christmas morning and then go to the Norton's to open some more! A rare moment with Grandma Miller when Anna was still!

Anna wasn't too into opening her gifts but with some persuasion she would eventually look in the gift bags or help tear paper off of the package.

She was more interested in carrying the bags around than finding out what was in them; that will change!
Dad would be proud of his son; Kevin gets some new socks for Christmas (BORING)!!

I think everytime Abby got ready to open a package Anna would do something to get everyone's attention. Aunt Abby was very patient though!

Christmas with Dad

2008-01-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

Dad and Marty went to Lexington for Christmas this year so we celebrated early with Kevin and Abby at our house. Unfortunately, Marty, Leslie, Mike & Jack got a stomach virus and couldn't join us. Grandpa & Granny Miller got Anna a radio flyer wagon for Christmas. I took some video of her in it but don't have pictures yet. She has lots of fun riding to see the cows down the street! Me, Anna, Dad, Abby & Kevin. Anna has milk all down her chin!

Two peas in a pod!
Dad, Abby & Kevin posing for another picture.

Picture with Santa

2008-01-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

We took Anna to get her picture made with Santa before Christmas. As we expected she was not at all excited to see him! I bought a picture anyway; it will make for a fun memory she can laugh at later!

Thanksgiving time

2007-12-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on my postings! Here are some pictures from near Thanksgiving time.

Anna playing in the leaves at Grandma's house.

Anna with her Great Grandma and Grandpa Henry.

4 generations, Mom, Anna, Me and my Grandma Henry.

A visit to Dad and Marty's before Thanksgiving. Me, Anna, Dad and Jack.

My stepsister Leslie and her little boy Jack. He has a little brother on the way; they'll be 13 months apart!!

Anna and her cousins, Sarah (9) and Rachel (11).

Papaw and Anna on Thanksgiving day.

Aunt Abby and Anna on Thanksgiving day.

Anna and her favorite baby doll; she loves to cuddle!

Halloween 2007

2007-10-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

Anna was a Lady Bug for Halloween. Isn't she adorable??? One of my nicknames for her is "deedle bug" because one of the first sounds she made was "deedle, deedle, deedle". Guess you'd have to be there to hear how cute it is! Anyway, our little deedle bug turned lady bug for the evening and was lots of fun to watch!
Checking out the neighbors...Anna has loved looking at our neighbor's (Mrs. Jennifer) pumpkins and scarecrows this season. I've been so tickled over how excited she gets everyday to go outside and look. She stands on our front steps and points and squeals for me to take her to wave at the scarecrows.
Ok mom, can we go get some candy?

We went to Jennifer & Jeff's first and they had a little treat bag made for Anna with M & M's, pencils and tootsie pops made into ghosts. She's really trying hard to get into the M & M's in this picture!

Pencils??? I can't eat these!!

Anna with our neighbors boys Cade & Cason.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. I meant for it to be at the end of the Halloween pictures...oh well!
Anna and her Daddy at the Fall Festival at Church.

Anna at the Fish Tank game at the Fall Festival (she didn't ever play but did enjoy looking around).
Isn't my Daddy cool?!?

Messy Eater!

2007-10-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what other 13 month old enjoys eating black beans and chicken but ours sure does! As you can see Anna not only loved putting it in her mouth but all over her face and in her hair as well! I was not very pleased but the mess was already made so I had to grab my camera and capture the moment--they are passing by so quickly!

Grandma's latest visit!

2007-10-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Grandma Miller came for a visit again while Jonathan was busy with recruiting. As usual Anna was happiest outside playing in the yard with her basketball and on her swing set!

What are you doing Grandma?

Who's having more fun, Grandma or Anna??

1 year check-up

2007-09-21T07:40:00.001-07:00

Anna had her one year check-up yesterday (9-20-07). She weighs 20.14 lbs and is 30 inches long! The doctor says that she is right where she needs to be...

Note from Michelle

2007-09-19T19:55:00.001-07:00

The birthday pictures are all up but in the wrong order! I'm still trying to figure this blog thing out...

Scroll down to the end of the page and work your way back up to view the birthday party in the order it really happened---sorry!

Cruising around the yard...

2007-09-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

After lots of swinging Anna was ready to explore. She is walking pretty well on her own now although she still takes quite a few tumbles, especially when she gets excited and goes too fast.

Ready or not here I come!

Look at me...I'm the birthday girl!

Yes, her daddy is already getting her prepared. She may be ready to step in and play by next season...

Anna's new swing set

2007-09-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Anna's big present this year was a swing set. She absolutely loves being outside! She really loves the swing and is also getting more interested in the slide too. You can see the swing set from our kitchen & den windows so everytime Anna gets a glimpse she points and squeels for me to take her outside. We are averaging 3 to 4 times a day on the swing this week!

Whew hew!! I got a new swing set for my birthday!!!!!!!!!!

Look at me in my swing--this is so much fun!!!!!

My friend Molly & I are taking a break for a hug.

This swing set is just what I always wanted!

I'm so happy to be ONE!

Anna's new lady bug sandbox.

Anna's new "castle"! She loves her swing set. Thanks for all the hard work in getting it to our house Mamaw & Papaw (they spent hours taking it apart and then Papaw hauled it to Rome on his truck)!

Cake????

2007-09-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

I really thought Anna would love the cake; I was sure wrong! She poked at it with one finger a few times and then her daddy smashed her hand in it and stuck some in her mouth. She took a few tastes but didn't seem to be very interested. I also tried giving her a few bites of the homemade chocolate ice cream I made; that was no hit either.

Happy Birthday to you...

Hmmm...what do I do with this??

I have some on my hand--now what??

Does someone else want some? I don't really like this!

Time for presents!!!

2007-09-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

All these presents--which one should I open first??

I still can't decide...

The little people farm from my Uncle Kevin & Aunt Abby--help me get into this!

This puppy from Mamaw & Papaw sure looks fun!

How does this work Grandma Miller?

Help! Mommy's trying to dress me up!

It's almost party time!

2007-09-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Anna decided to take an extra long morning nap the day of her party. We had to wake her up early to feed her lunch and get her dressed in time. She wasn't quite sure what to think when we brought her out of her room and let her see her presents, balloons, & cakes for the first time...

LOTS of presents for Anna!!

Anna's smash cake.

Mommy picked the Pooh theme. Jonathan's been giving me a hard time about choosing Pooh for me and not for Anna. Maybe so--he's my favorite; she can pick the next one!

What is going on out here?

Sure looks like fun!

Can I open one early daddy?

Daddy's Girl!

2007-09-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

These pictures are a little older...from July. We took a day trip to Noccalula Falls Park in Gasden, AL. They have a petting zoo, train ride, gardens & of course the waterfall. It was a fun trip for the three of us. Here are a few of Anna with her daddy...

Face to face with a ?? (can't tell from the picture); Anna's not so sure about it!!

Anna meet the donkey!

Anna & her daddy with a view of the falls.

That's one cool baby (I guess daddy is too)!

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Dacula for Labor Day weekend. It was a busy weekend (as most there are). We stayed at Grandma Miller's but got to see Mamaw & Papaw, Uncle Kevin & Aunt Abby & even made a stop at Grandpa & Granny Miller's before we left for home.

She's starting to love Princess things very early! Here's Anna "reading" Cinderella in her rocking chair.

All this playing is wearing me out!

Another pose for Grandma!

Mom saved some of Kevin & my toys from when we were little. Her favorite right now is the Sesame Street playhouse!

Look at my muscles!

Grandma's here--time for pictures!

2007-09-07T18:42:00.001-07:00

Grandma came for a visit and took some pictures of Anna while she was playing (11 months old)

Anna in her new "castle". Our neighbors passed this on when they were cleaning out their garage. Lots of fun!

Another view of the "castle"!

Anna loves to walk around the coffee table and play with daddy's basketball coasters.

I like to make bubbles with my lips!

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!!

Time for bed!

2007-09-07T18:36:00.001-07:00

I've just had my bath and I'm ready to chill in my rocking chair!! Doesn't she look long? She is growing up so fast!!