Where do I begin?

It has been a while since I last posted. In that time our little family has been to Ohio and back. My sister came for a visit, and Scott had bronchitis. It's been a whirlwind of a couple weeks to say the least. So I think I'll just give the highlights from the last couple of weeks.
UPDATE: Natalie's stitches came out on Friday, September 2 while we were in Dayton. She did really good this time and only cried a bit while the doctor snipped them off. We were very proud of her! The wound has healed nicely. It is hard with scar tissue, but in time that will soften and fade.
We had a nice time in Ohio. Our vacations there are never really vacations because all we ever do is run from one place to the next visiting friends, family, and the malls. Natalie thoroughly enjoyed her time spent with mamaw and Papaw. She loved to run around their huge backyard and play with mamaw's exercise ball. She spent lots of time with her Great Aunt Debbie playing at Maw's with dolls and anything else she could find to play with (i.e. the new broom, Paw's cane, etc.). At Brooke's birthday party on Saturday night she had a blast with Brooke, Kristina, and everybody else. It was a very busy trip, but it's always good to go "home." I think we will always consider Wausau and Dayton "home" to a certain degree just because that is where we each grew up. (I will post some pictures from our trip if I can get them off Scott's computer.)


We were home a couple days before my sister came for a visit from Tennessee. We picked her up in Philly and spent the day sightseeing. Wee visited the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It was fascinating! Definitely worth the time to see it. On Monday we packed up the car and headed to the beach. The last time we were there Natalie wouldn't dip a toe in the sand or the water, but this time, not only did she dip her toe in both, but she was up to her nose in the sand and drenched in the water. She had the time of her life! Aunt Jecca and Natalie spent a lot of time digging in the sand and playing in the waves. And of course we ate the whole time. We basically ate non stop the whole week Jess was here.

So anyway, life is busy and we love it. Our senior pastor and a bunch of guys from church went to Mexico on a missions trip last week which left Scott in charge and preaching 6 sermons! Ha! Can you believe it. He kept saying that he has exceeded his once a year quota for the next half dozen years! He was sick as a dog too! He could barely talk much less sing or preach at three services in one day. But the Presence of God was with him and he did fabulously! I am so very proud of that guy! Not only is he the best father in the world, but he is so good to me. I can be difficult to live with at times, but he loves me in spite of myself. I am so blessed! He even got up with Natalie this morning and lay in bed for a few minutes before getting up. At lunch today (every Tuesday after story time at the library we meet at McyD's for lunch and play) I was telling him about my fantasy fashion team and how with the my picks for the Emmys I had pulled into first place. I was super excited about it. (I'm not generally a competitive person, but the Fantasy Fashion League brings it out!) I didn't think he'd care too much, but then he started telling me about his fantasy football team and we both got so excited for each other. It was so cool...kinda dorky, but cool.

I guess that's about it for now. Keep me in your prayers. I am speaking at a Ladies Get-Together on Thursday night. Pray that I speak only what the Lord has to say to the women there. Here are a few more priceless pictures of Natalie.

GOD BLESS!

Natalie's favorite thing to do is walk in my shoes. She walked around all day in these spending most of her time in the kitchen where the shoes made noise.

I had moved Natalie's bed away from the wall because I was tired of listening to her pound on the wall when she couldn't get to sleep. One day I found her like this reading the books that are stored in the drawer below her bed.

I changed her diaper one day and went to throw it out only to find this...a crayon and the case to my iSight (my webcam). Hmmm...I wonder how it could have gotten there?

Natalie was sad because Daddy wouldn't pick her up. She insisted on ALL her babies and had her arms so full Daddy couldn't have held her if he tried. She was mad...
...And this is how she handled it. She threw down the babies and jumped into Daddy's arms! Ha ha ha! There are some spiritual insights into that...