The Sound of A Whipperwhill

Have you ever heard a whippoorwill? I assumed I had. I mean I am from a small rural town in south Louisiana. The majority of my childhood and teenage years were spent outside. Over the past few months my father in law has been speaking of the whippoorwill at Camp D. This past weekend I had the joy of accompanying him and Matthew as we ate dinner on the porch and listened to the whippoorwill. What a simplistic song composed of a babbling creek and a whippoorwill. How could one not delight in nature?

This past week my father in law, "Papa", blogged about the whippoorwill and technology. He is a very gifted writer and wanted to share with you.

Happy Easter..... a little late

Family shot at church Sunday morning.

(Yes same dress in the last post & this one, at this point in pregnancy my selection is slim! Also sadly you can't notice this, but guess how giddy I was when on our way to church I realized the 3 of us coordinated. Mary Stewart's dress had pink & yellow smocking!)

What a sweet Easter we had! As I tried to reflect on Christ death and resurrection, (despite my excitement of MS Easter Egg Hunt and festivities) one of my favorite hymns came to mind. I often pray this hymn for Mary Stewart, that she will know Christ and in HIM alone her hope will be found. The words so perfectly capture Christ purpose-


In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a lifes first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

I hope these words can resonate with you! We were blessed with a sweet weekend! Matt has been traveling so I covet our weekends together! Saturday we had a wonderful time with sweet friends as Mary Stewart hunted Easter eggs. I am proud to say she caught on to the concept rather quickly and had a ball!

Sweet friends that sadly we don't see enough!

Discovering the candy inside the egg!

Mary Stewart & Mary Francis

In the past week Mary Stewart has rediscovered her tongue! So funny!

And she gets the egg......

Sunday morning we celebrated Christ resurrection at church and then enjoyed a meal at home together. I think this was the first official holiday meal I had prepared all by myself. Matthew gave me a sweet compliment, "Besides crawfish, this is the best Easter meal I've ever had." In Louisiana we would have been eating boiled crawfish (one of our FAVORITES) for Easter Lunch.

Another Birthday

We have another birthday on our calendar! May 31, 2011 we will be meeting the newest addition to our family, Anna Caroline. I was thrilled today when my doctor put my on the calendar to be induced. It seems in the business of life I really haven't blogged about this pregnancy or the excitement we have for another little girl. Mary Stewart and Anna Caroline will be 20 months, almost to the day apart. Yes I know our life will be crazy. Yes I have two cribs in my house. No my child isn't potty trained. No I haven't taken her pi (paci) away from her. And yes I will have two girls with two double names. The best part, I am not worried. I know the Lord will meet us where we are and help us get through the days. After all his mercies are new each morning!
We have moved Mary Stewart into her "big girl" room. Matthew is building my window cornices next weekend and then I'll post pictures. I am thrilled that one day She and Anna Caroline will share a room! I kept my nursery the same and have been tweaking it for a new baby to be in there again.
As many of you know I have prayed for a sense of "community" here in Marietta. The Lord has been ever so faithful to bring me friends who are in similar stages of life. It is so nice to know a handful of people with little ones, many with or expecting their 2nd as well, in just a few mile radius of our house.
Expecting a 2nd and another girl at that, I wasn't expecting a shower! I was so surprised when some sweet ladies in my bible study held one for me. What a sweet blessing! Anna Caroline received some really sweet gifts. More than anything, it was again God showing me, he is meeting me where I am and so abundantly with friends and relationships!
Here are a few pictures, thanks to Kasey my wonderful photographer!

Farin, Melissa, Me & LeAnn

Everything was beautiful & so delicous!

All of Anna Caroline's "loot"!

Hard to believe we will be meeting Anna Caroline in 5 short weeks! Please join us as we pray for protection over this baby as well as a safe delivery!

What A Weekend!

Our weekend was full!
We played in the dirt!




We ate the dirt!




We enjoyed "George" cookies!




We played hard & skinned our knee. Our first official bo Bo!





We went to church & enjoyed lunch outside!





Our weekend was full!

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Lions & Tigers & Bears Oh My!!!

We celebrated the end of a great week with a trip to the zoo!

I was so glad our friends Emily & Durham could join us for our fun morning. It was an absolutely perfect morning to see the animals. I was surprised by how much Durham and Mary Stewart really enjoyed seeing the animals. There was lots of waving and blowing kisses to the the animals & of course the bigger the animal the better!

Emily & I heard quite a few comments on the cute twins!

I have to say my first outing with my new stroller was a success! So excited to have it.

After the zoo and before the car ride home, we needed to stretch our legs. Durham found all the sticks

while Mary Stewart ran around checking things out.

Thanks Emily & Durham for a wonderful Morning & Thanks Ya Ya & Poppy for the zoo membership!!!

Savoring the Sweetness!

Recently my mom asked me if I realized how often I used the word sweet. I thought about it and then she reminded gave me some examples about how sweet is all over this here blog! However I can't think of another word/ adjective to describe this season of life with Mary Stewart. So bear with me as I savor the sweetness of an 18 month old! Just tonight Matthew said, " I can't believe she is a year and half. That sounds so old!"

The last few weeks have been delightful. This is such a fun age. Her vocabulary is expanding and I love watching her get tickled. It is so neat to watch her make connections and put things together. Her new word is "Choo Choo" as she says it whenever we hear the train pass by. The other day we were on the square & I heard it coming so I took her to watch the train pass & it was so fun to see her get so delighted as she finally saw the "Choo Choo" she has been hearing. Several people have commented on how she is so active! Mary Stewart is either non stop, or sleeping...... that is the Donald in her! I hate to say that it seems she is pretty fearless. Mary Stewart doesn't think twice about climbing, sliding, or running despite the height or distance!

It also continues to amaze me how well she can understand simple commands. She loves the bath and I am excited to see her this summer in the pool. Curious George continues to amaze her. There is something about that cute little monkey. "George" is one of the words she is saying these days. Lately she has become very affectionate giving lots of love to her favorite dog, Maggie. Mary Stewart loves to give kisses and hugs to all and it is the sweetest thing. I am so thankful for the loving personality and the sweet nature the Lord has blessed Mary Stewart with. I pray that she will continue to grow in these traits and that we will nurture her in these areas. I look forward to seeing her love on her little sister in the months to come.

It is so hard to get a picture of her these days as she is constantly moving, but her daddy tried and we got a few!

She is constantly on the move exploring!

Maggie dog is never far from us......

Yesterday I was talking my friend Kasey whose little girl is the same age as Mary Stewart and pretty much her body double, about how fun and enjoyable this age it.

I just want to savor the sweetness of it......

It wasn't a fad....

Yes I'm still couponing & saving lots! CVS has some great deals this week. Look at what I got for $20!!!!



Notice the 2 boxes of diapers!!! First time I've bought 2 different sizes!
So for $20 I got:
-170 diapers
- 2 dawn dish soap
-1 crest pro health toothpaste
-1 contact solution
-1 Loreal blush
-2 bags of Starburst Jelly beans ( stocking up for the Easter baskets)

I walked out on a coupon high.
It's definitely not a fad.....

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