I'm going to be an aunt!

For those of you that haven't heard yet, my sister-in-law leaves tomorrow for Russia! Sarah and Christian have been in the process of adopting for nearly 2 1/2 years now and they finally got their call. They fly out tomorrow and will meet their baby on Monday. Until then, we don't know any specifics. I am so happy for them and super excited for Ryan to have a cousin! We'll be praying for a safe trip and a quick adoption process. We can't meet wait to meet our little one!

Launch Video

MyChurch

Yesterday Coleson and I went down to Columbus with about 30 other Mountain Lakers, including our friends Marie David and Matthew, for the launch of MyChurch. I had gone down there in November to help them get ready and start promoting the church. It was awesome to be back and support Jeff's team and see how far they'd come.

Unfortunately their building was not completed, but I think it ended up for the best. Jeff launched in a tent and it was wonderful. The tent was very nice with a full band, heaters, tvs, and chairs. And the crowd was huge! The people of Columbus showed up in masses! We would never have fit in his building. The back flaps of the tent came off as we continued to add chairs. Total number - 625 people!! It was awesome!! We ran around like crazy filling in where needed - inflating balloons, welcoming people, adding chairs, doing headcounts, and I even ended up holding babies in the nursery for a few minutes (27 babies in the 0-2 room!). God showed up big and His presence was certainly felt. Jeff even announced that next week they are already moving to two services to accommodate everyone.

Not only was the sheer amount of people amazing, but it was neat to see the diversity. Young, old, every race, sophisticated and well dressed (some in suits), to old men in overalls. I loved seeing all of God's people come together to give God and Jeff and MyChurch a try. Congratulations MyChurch on all the great things you're doing and for allowing God to use your lives for His glory! We're hoping to make it down again in the near future; we can't wait to see how everything is going and to be able to offer our help and support again.

PS - after the service we cooked out hotdogs and as you can see behind us there were lots of inflatables for the kids to play on. It was a whole morning of fun!

big boy stuff

Last night we ordered Ryan his very own meal for the first time. He had a cheeseburger and we figured we'd bring half of it home for leftovers. Boy were we wrong! He ate the entire burger including the bun. He ate some of the fries, esp once Nana showed him how to dip them in ketchup! Yummy!

Tonight we brushed Ryan's teeth for the first time. (Yes, we were probably supposed to have started doing this a while ago, but we didn't think about it until the dr mentioned it at his checkup). Anyways, he did really well with it and seemed to enjoy it.

Sick

This was sure a crazy weekend for us. Coleson had a tennis match Saturday morning over in Canton and shortly after that his stomach started bothering him. So we vegged on my parents' couch for a while, but it just wasn't passing. Coleson got an all out stomach bug (I'll spare you the details!) and we're stuck in Canton. My dad drove with me back to our apt Saturday night to get the dog and a few odds and ends. We ended up camped out in Canton until about 10:00 this morning. So our tennis match plans turned into a 48 hour visit. While it was nice to be with my parents that long and have extra help caring for both my babies, it sure is nice to be back home. I took a wonderful shower and have all clean clothes on! Hooray! And Coleson is doing much better today, still weak but he's at least able to eat again and somewhat function. Please pray that I don't get it next!

date night

Thursday night my parents called to ask if Ryan could spend the night Friday night. After thinking about it and trying to decide what we would do, we agreed. And Coleson and I had a date night!

We started the day with a family breakfast at Waffle House. Friday mornings used to be our special time, but we've gotten lazy and frugal. So we braved the 14 degree weather and headed out. It was a really nice breakfast.

After we met Grandpa and dropped off Ryan, we headed to Target. We had a few things we needed, but then we had a nice time browsing the clearance section. Apparently they need to make room for spring dresses and bathing suits already (?!?), so we got some good deals on clothes for Ryan.

We had a nice dinner at Outback (Christmas giftcards, hooray!). And then we headed to the Cumming Playhouse. I've always wanted to go, and we've just never made it. The play was performed by three guys from the North Fulton Drama Club. They were hilarious. It was the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Now I'll admit I don't know much about Shakespeare, but we went for the experience. I don't know if this is the norm for the playhouse, but there were only 25 of us in the audience. About 1/3 of them were friends of the cast, and another 1/3 was a large group of smart high-schoolers. Now I should preface this by saying that Coleson was hesitant to even go, because he feared a small crowd and interaction. So not only were we there, but he was on the aisle. And yep, that's right, he was picked in the second half to participate!! He was dragged on stage!! And not only that, he played an ego!! During the Hamlet portion, they got super silly and turned it into Hamlet with a Freudian twist. So Coleson was plucked from his seat to play Ophelia's ego. He ran across the stage a few times symbolizing Ophelia's ego run amuck. Priceless. I would have given anything for camera, but I left it in the car, as well as my cellphone. The friends of the cast did take pictures and they will post them on their website. So when they do, I'll snag one, but until then you'll just have to use your imaginations.

Anyways, it was a really fun evening, complete with lots of laughing. It was nice to let down for a little bit and be silly. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for inviting Ryan over and making us go out as a couple!

15 Months

Ryan had his 15 month checkup last week. He's doing great, other then a bit of a cold that he can't shake. The doctor listened to his lungs and checked his ears and said he was okay. And then he threw up right there in the office, but they still aren't concerned. He's sleeping fine (even more then normal) and still drinking. Today he's finally started eating again - a hot dog and a chocolate chip cookie for dinner! We're ready for him to be back to his old self and happy and not quite so fussy!
Ryan weighed in at 21 pounds, 4 ounces and is 31.5 inches long. He's still skinny for his age, probably even more so now that he hasn't eaten in a week. Long and lean with a big head! Still in the 92nd percentile for his head circumference.

Genetics

 

Okay, granted one is Santa Claus and one the Easter bunny, but it's the same idea... So here's Ryan in 2008 scared of Santa and here is his Grandma in 1958 freaking out with the Easter bunny...

Thinking too much

My mind's been on overload the last few days, so I haven't given much thought to something fun and light-hearted to post about. So I'll just post a cute picture of my baby and call it good for another few days! Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I promise to be better soon! Love ya'll!

Love!

This year starts another round of weddings in our life. We are excited to be a part of so many special days. We are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends and we're happy to see them happy.

Last weekend we went to our first Jewish wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony. Congratulations Jacob and Michal! We love you both and we wish you a lifetime of love and happiness! Thanks for inviting us to share your special day.

I also spent a few days over Christmas break dress shopping with my sister. Laura is getting married in August and she found the dress. Lolly, you are going to be a beautiful bride! Thanks for allowing me the honor of being your matron of honor. I love you and am thrilled that you have found the love of your life!

We are going to another wedding at the end of the month for our friends Courtney and Samuel (yay!), followed by Coleson's cousin's wedding in July. And Coleson's brother is getting married in October. We are looking forward to their wedding on the beach in Destin. It will be a perfect, dream wedding and we are excited to be in your wedding. We love you and we wish you all the best!

So congratulations to all our upcoming brides and grooms! Weddings are so beautiful and special, and we wish each of you all the best.