Emma's First Christmas

I really like my fingers. Amazing things.

This is my talking face.

Playing with my new toys

Wishing I could eat that food up there

Aren't I pretty?

Here we are!

Look at that pretty tree! Are any of those presents for me?

Well, we had a great first Christmas with Emma. Lots of Bryan's family came in and we enjoyed the food and fun together. Although we were very excited to have Emma among the holiday gathering, being 4 months old, she wasn't able appreciate all the excited of Christmas yet. However we had a good time and below is a list of the things that Emma did at Christmas time.

- Lay under the tree and talked to the lights and the shiny ornaments

- Gagged at sweet potatoes and squash (We feed babies what we would never eat on our own, and I think she is catching on.) She enjoyed licking my fingers and tasting the real potatoes and gravy.

- Stared at her cousin Laney and dreamed about a time when she can get up and walk around

- Wore a really pretty, glittering dress and made lots of people go "AWWWW!"

- The usual: ate, drooled, cried, slept, napped, took at bath

- Smiled at her Mammaw and Pappaw

- Played with her new rattle and blanket

- Tried to sit in her bouncer, but she is just a little too small. Give her a couple more months.

- Amazed her mom and dad with how much she has enriched their lives these past four months. This was my best Christmas, by far, even if Emma never remembers it! I look forward to the many more to come.

Blessings beyond Belief

As I sit here thinking, a few days before Christmas, I keep dwelling on the fact that this time last year we were just finding out about the upcoming arrival of our wonderful Emma (except we didn't know she was a she yet). I have been married four years to a wonderful man who is a kind husband and a loving dad. God has blessed me with Christmas presents that will outlast the slippers that I treasure at the present moment.

Even when we are not sure we can handle what were given, which is how I felt this time last year, God blesses our hearts and lives with the unexpected. Emma's personality brings joy and fun to our family.

Every time I look at this beautiful baby, I am overwhelmed with the amazing responsibility that has been given me to guide and raise this girl to love and trust a God she can't see.

I may not be able to see him face to face, but I see him moment by moment in Emma's smile, Bryan's kindness and understanding, a stanger's kind response, my pastor's words, and a friend's loving gesture. I pray that Emma will have a life full of experiences that show her the reality of God and His wonderful goodness.

As she leans back and rests on His goodness and grace, even when she makes mistakes and hits bumps, I pray she will know that it is God's strong arms that are catching and holding her.

I am facing this new year excited about the fun times and the challenges that lay ahead of us. I know life is not all roses. Thorns will show their little ugly head. I ask God to take those thorns and use them to strenthen my character and my love for Him and my family. My heart swells with joy as I watch Emma and her daddy play and exchange smiles.

I can't not stop smiling when she looks at me with those big eyes and trusts every word I say (I know that will not happen 13 years from now, so I relish those times now). At the same time I feel pride, I am scared to death and plead with God to give me the grace and the wisdom to guide her according to His will and catch me when I fail miserably.

My heart breaks when she experiences pain and sickness. I am so glad she lets me hold her and comfort her now. I pray that she lets me give her comfort when she falls down, has an argument with a friend, and when she gets her heart broken.

Excitement fills our home when she experiences something new (like sweet potatoes) and we eagerly anticipate the next time she will learn something exciting.

Thank you, God, for my wonderful Bryan and my sweet Emma and help me to be the wife and Mommy that you created me to be.

Conversations with Emma

Yes, I am 18 weeks old today. Don't I make a pretty present. My mommy and daddy say that I am their Christmas present. That makes me feel good. But this wrapping thing is going a little bit too far. I am starting to wonder how long they plan on keeping this weekly tag think up. I don't see my mom putting a sign on her shirt that says 1,472 weeks. Grown-ups do some awfully funny things sometimes and then they sit around and laugh at us. If they only knew what we thought of them!

This is me helping my Daddy wrap presents with the kids from his school. They didn't let me help much, but it looked boring anyway. The bows were much more fun!

Everything is not always fun and sometimes I get upset and try to tell my Mommy what I need, but sometimes that doesn't work, so I cry. I have seen adults do this too, so don't judge me. Somehow...even though Jesus was perfect, I don't think Mary had much of a silent night. People just wanted a pretty song to sing. But I bet Jesus had rough nights too.

Hey, we need to talk! I like these pretty clothes. Where did this bow come from? Why doesn't Mommy have one? I like getting a rest from that bib.

But I guess I understand her reasons. All of God's children got to drool a little, some us do it when we are awake.

Yeah, thanks for helping on that spit-up. Much appreciated! I ahve a pretty good Mommy, I really need to let her know more often. This Daddy guy is nice to have around too. Can we play now?

Hey! Hey! I said let's play! Oh, church. O.K. There are lots of fun people there. Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!

Here's my cute face. The people at church like to see this one. I practice a lot so they don't know that I sometimes like to cry.

OK, thanks for chatting. I have had a wonderful time. Let's do this again sometime! Have a nice day and a wonderful Christmas time!

Random Musings

Hi, this is Emma. I am very old now. I get bigger everyday. I bet it takes a long time to get as old as my Mommy and Daddy.

I go to church every week and now I get to sit up and listen like everyone else.

I like church, but I don't know why I have to wear stockings. They are not my favorite.

I had food for the first time this week. I think they call it rice cereal. Boy, this is good. Why have they been holding out on my all this time. I hope it gets even better than this. I can't wait. When can I try a cookie?

Hey! This is our Christmas tree. I am not real sure why we have a tree in the house and why my parents insist on decorating it, but who can understand adults anyway?

This is my chair. I still have some growing to do to fit in it properly.

Emma's Mommy speaking now : I have been thinking lately (which is always dangerous) and there are a few (yes, I said few) things I don't understand. Maybe some other mothers will agree with me. First of all, why do some baby socks have tread on the bottom. They are not going anywhere, much less even keeping them on. I have a better idea, put tread on the inside of the sock so they can't kick them off. My second question has to do with clothing. Many of Emma's pants and jackets have pockets. Why do babies need pockets. Is it to hide the candy that everyone is always trying to take from them (that saying never made sense either, who gives candy to babies?) ?I find that many of my clothes don't have pockets and I need them, but Emma has them in abundance, maybe she can hold my keys. My last statement will be about baby shoes, again they are not walking. I think they are just to punish the child to make them feel as uncomfortable as we are. They also punish the parent who has to squeeze them on wiggly feet and try to make it home with both shoes still in possession! Just a few thoughts while you are sitting at home with nothing to do but think (ha, ha)! Last I will leave you with a random question that plagues my friend, Norman. Why does Goofy (who is a dog) wear clothes and talk, but Pluto (who is also a dog) wears no clothes, doesn't talk, and has a master? Think about it.

What a Thanksgiving!

Sitting up in my new Bumbo seat. I look like such a big girl!

Looking in the mirror-those neck muscles are getting stronger everday.

When we got home from our big Thanksgiving vacation, we went to the church for a cookie baking fellowship. Emma loves to help. You know this is not her first evangelism project.

We had such a good vacation and time with my family over Thanksgiving. We met my mom, grandma, sister, aunt, and uncle (and Santa Claus) in Pigeon Forge. The flollowing pictures are representative of the great time we had. Emma did so well on her first big trip. We were so proud to have such a wonderful little girl. She was equally adored by all.

Strapped on to Daddy while exploring Dollywood.She just was happy to lay back and enjoy the ride.

The whole motley crew- Emma conked out just in time for pictures. The excitement was too much!

What a feast and Emma at the head of it all! Too bad she just had to watch us all feed our faces.

Grandma has the magic touch.

Watching t.v. with Daddy. Good quality time.

As you can tell we had a big time and now are trying to recuperate and finish up a weeks worth of laundry! Hope everyone had an equally exciting Thanksgiving. Thank you God for family and friends to enjoy!

My turn now

My momma always gets to say what she wants to on this thing. So now, it is my turn. I think there are a lot of people out there who want to know what I think. I have just learned that this week we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to remember what God has done for you and tell Him thank you. My momma already got her turn. I want to tell God that I am thankful for formula. My momma couldn't feed me herself because she was sick, so I thank God that people made formula. I am also very glad that my momma isn't sick anymore. I am thankful that you can turn the flash off of the camera because that light is so bright and my parents take a lot of pictures. See this pretty bedspread I am laying on. It is in my room. Thank you God that I have a nice comfortable room (even if I don't sleep in it yet).

I have just been introduced to this thing called a Snugli. I sit in it and ride around and get to see everything my Daddy is doing. I thank God for a nice Daddy who carries me around with him and sometimes lets me help. I hope everyone has a Daddy like mine.

Thank you God for my wonderful wardrobe. My momma won't let me pick out my own clothes yet, but I am very thankful that they have picked out very pretty clothes. I like this hat especially, it makes me look really cute, don't you think? See that blanket? I thank God that I have blankets that keep me warm.

This is me just hanging out with my parents. I thank God that I have an easy life. Sometime it's hard when I get really hungry or dirty and have to be patient. But most of the time I don't have to worry about anything and that makes it very nice for a girl like me.I thank God for all the family and friends I have that have prayed for me even before I was born and still look on this blog to see how I am doing. Before I was born, the doctors said I might have some problems, but God took care of all of that. I am doing really well, says everyone. Thank you God for loving me and sending Jesus to love me too. I love you.

Heart-bursting Joy

This past Sunday our church had a Thanksgiving service where we all stood up and gave thanks to God for the things He has done in our lives this year. I knew this was coming and had been thinking about it all week, almost with dread. I knew the many things I had to be thankful for and I was positive that when I tried to put those into words, I would crumble in front of everyone. Thank God for a loving and understanding church family.

God knows our hearts before we can even speak our first words. He knows the desires of our hearts when we don't know what we want for dinner. I am amazed at how far God has brought me in the last 10 years. I came to Charleston carrying a backpack and knowing and not even caring I would never find a man to marry and now I walk beside my husband carrying a diaper bag. If given the opportunity, I would not know how I could change my life to be any better than it is now. God has given me the

most beautiful girl on the planet and the kindest husband I could ever imagine. He did all this without me even knowing it was what I wanted! I didn't pray for this. I prayed that God would help me know Him better and love Him better. By knowing the love of a husband and feeling the love for a child I can come one step closer to understanding the love God has for us.

I was blessed with a healthy pregnancy and a tumultuous birthing experience. Emma Grace arrived safely and I became very sick. Praise God He allowed me to get the help I needed and recover quickly. God only knows how many times we come face to face with death and He allows us one more breath. Thank you God! Everytime I see Emma smile, hear her coo, or even change her diaper, I am filled with love I cannot even explain

to you. Being a wife and mother makes my heart sing and I am so grateful to God for blessing me with the opportunity to serve Him by serving my family. Praise God for His indescribable blessings!

Things that make you go Hmmmm

Little philosopher or rapper depending on which neighborhood you are from

This is what happens when Daddy watches Emma.

Admiring the lights in the bedroom (by the way, this is how she wakes up in the mornings)

Taken seconds after the picture above (something did not make her happy)

Emma telling us about her day.

The following is the interpretation of the above video (to the best of our knowledge).

Today, I woke up and felt hungry. So I told Mommy and she thought I wanted my pacifier. So I had to try again, this time she got the message. Sometimes it takes a couple of times for her to understand. She gave me something to eat. She was really sleepy and she wasn't doing a very good job of holding the bottle in my mouth. Once she actually tried to feed my ear! When I finished, she was very happy and we went back to sleep. We woke up again and had to go to Jack and Isabella's house. Mommy helps them and I try to be good and just watch, but sometimes I want her attention too. We always get to watch the Wiggles. I am not sure what I think about them yet. I couldn't wait to come home and see my Daddy. I don't know what he does during the day. I think he just waits for me to come home because he is so excited to see me when I get there. Now we are relaxing at home, one of my favorite things to do. When's dinner?