The Hills

Six Months...

2012-01-29T18:37:00.007-06:00

What a busy, but wonderful month we have had! I absolutely cannot believe our little man is already 6 months old. That's half way to one year...yikes! Where did the time go?! This has been SUCH a fun month with Watson - he is developing so much every day. I can honestly say that every morning I wake up looking forward to playing with W and seeing just how much he has developed over night. Between the talking, playing, grabbing, watching, laughing, eating and sleeping...this boy stays busy all day long...and consequently, so do I! I would not have it ANY other way, though!

Weight: 17lbs 11oz
Height: 26 1/2 in
Size diaper: 2
Size clothes: 6 months, 6-9 months (some 9 months)
Eating: 6oz 4 times a day, with a fruit after his morning bottle and a vegetable after his evening bottle
Sleeping: We have a wonderful nighttime sleeper on our hands - he sleeps anywhere from 7-8pm to 7-8am...we are so thankful! He has a morning nap (1-2 hrs) and an afternoon nap (1-2 hrs).

W hit a big milestone this month: he can now sit up all by himself! We first noticed it the day after Christmas...he still needed a tiny bit of assistance then, but within about a week or so from that day he was sitting up like a champ! He still topples to the side...or front...or back after sitting for a little while, but we are so proud of him!

We began rice cereal with Watson at 4 1/2 months, but he began his actual baby food at 5 1/2 months. The first food he tried was sweet potatoes - and he LOVED them! He now eats a fruit in the morning and a vegetable at night - all of which are Stage 1 baby foods. His favorites are pears, sweet potatoes, squash and prunes. His least favorite is peas - we have seen the dramatic side of our boy come out when eating peas! Overall, though, W is a great eater and loves his baby food - he gets so excited when he sees me walking towards him with it!

This little boy LOVES to play with his toys and books. It is so cute! When we put him in his exersaucer, he acts like it is his command center. He always gets so focused on what he is playing with and just goes from toy to toy - it is a wonderful thing for me when I am trying to get something done around the house as well :)

W is trying so hard to crawl. He will get up on his knees and stick his little hiney in the air and try to move, but it's just not happening quite yet. He still manages to get to whatever he is reaching for though, usually by rolling back and forth until he gets it!

This month we had our niece, Abby, over for a spend the night party! She loves Watson and helps us take good care of him...always making sure he has his paci and kissing on him...so sweet! W loves watching Abby and usually that includes a big smile on his face.

Before bath time...

Before movie time...

Several months ago, Graham, myself and 2 other friends started a small group that has since grown to include some wonderful people who are quickly becoming great friends! We meet at our house each week - and it is always a highlight of our week to fellowship and study the Word with this group of people. This month we had everyone over to watch the National Championship game.

We love our sweet boy so much and are cherishing this precious time with him.

Memory Lane...

2012-01-27T11:25:00.005-06:00

I finally found the charger and cord that go with my point and shoot camera! I had no idea that there would be pictures from all the way back in 2010 on that little camera...guess it has been a good while since I connected it to my computer...whoops :) It was fun looking through all of the pictures though and remembering such great times...

Summer 2010 on the road with Student Life. I am so incredibly thankful for this time in my life!

Fall 2010
Trip to California and lots of quality time with Briana!

Fun visits from great friends - this sweet little boy, Mattox, is who made me so excited about possibly having a boy some day (I was not pregnant at the time)
Waiting on Watson...

Three year anniversary...

Watson's first bite of solid food (rice cereal)...

Christmas 2011...
Picture with Santa

Christmas in Tuscaloosa...Watson loved cuddling with Stacy...
Sweet time with the Mattocks' - so thankful for this sweet couple and the strong influence they have had in Graham's life!
Story time with Janza and Grandpa

Christmas...

2012-01-10T17:05:00.008-06:00

I have just been doing monthly posts for Watson on our blog lately, but I wanted to do a separate post for Christmas due to all of the pictures that I wanted to include :) I will say that I have been holding off on doing this post because many of our Christmas pictures are on my point and shoot camera, which I cannot upload right now because the battery is dead and I cannot find the charger anywhere...oops. Really hoping it shows up soon!

Our Christmas decorations this year...

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years break - it was busy, but great! We stayed in Birmingham until the 23rd, so we celebrated Christmas with my family a little early, which was lots of fun.

We headed to Oklahoma on the 23rd and stayed there until the 31st. It was fun getting to spend Watson's first Christmas in Oklahoma. I was VERY nervous about flying with him, but it was honestly not bad at all! He did great, for the most part...I think we successfully avoided being "that family" with the screaming baby on the plane :)

On the plane...

We were able to spend lots of time with Graham's mom and stepdad, as well as his dad and stepmom. Let's just say that between both sets of grandparents in Oklahoma, and my parents, Watson was very well taken care of this Christmas. My goodness!!!

Kisses from NannieCuddling with Grandpa

...don't worry about how long my hair is in these pictures...I got it done while I was in Oklahoma, but my appointment just happened to be after all of these pictures were taken :)

We had to come home on New Years Eve because Graham had to be in Atlanta on January 1 to work at the Passion Conference. I know I talk about it every year, but it is truly amazing the way God is using the Giglios and everyone else on the Passion team to make eternal impact on the lives of thousands and thousands of people around the world. These are some of the most amazing people that you will ever meet - I promise you can trust their leadership. I was so sad not to be there this year, but look forward to making it to the dome next year :) Thankfully, they were streaming the sessions live on their website so I was able to watch them. Each year they have the Do Something Now area (which is where I have worked with Compassion the past two years). This year, the entire Do Something Now area focused on slavery and trafficking - to read more about the organizations that were represented, click here. Between the 40,000+ college aged students that attended, as well as the generous donations from others, Passion 2012 raised over 3 million dollars - every penny of which will go towards the organizations that were represented and the city of Atlanta, which is the hub for trafficking in the United States. Praise God for the ways He led people to give to this cause.

I hope everyone had a wonderful break!

Happy New Year!

Five Months...

2011-12-21T22:01:00.007-06:00

How is time flying by so fast?! I know I say it in every month's post, but I truly feel like Watson is changing so much every day. He is at such a fun age - we love watching his sweet little personality bloom more and more each day. He is an incredibly content, happy, and easy baby - we are truly blessed beyond measure.

We did not have a 5 month appointment, so we do not have W's weight and height for this month.
Size diaper: 2
Size clothes: 6 months (some 6-9 months)
Eating: 6oz 4 times a day, sometimes 7oz. We have started adding some rice cereal to his bottle since spoon feeding it did not go over so well with his little tummy. We are going to start that back up this month, though, so that he can be ready for actual baby food at 6 months.
Sleeping: 11-12 hours at night. Napping two times a day, about 1-2 hours each. He almost always falls asleep in the early evening before his nighttime bottle as well, but I wouldn't exactly call this a full nap..maybe a cat nap :)

To say that we have an active baby is quite the understatement! This boy LOVES to roll all over the floor and scoot himself around. If one of his toys is out of his reach, he is bound and determined to get to it...and always manages to do so! He almost always rolls immediately to his tummy when you lay him on the floor, but the past week or so he has found his feet and decided that he loves having a built in paci. Not his thumb, as you would think...but his toes. Yes, his toes. He is trying so hard to sit up on his own. If he is in his swing, bouncy, car seat...anything that has him in a reclining position, he tries so hard to sit up. Graham and I always joke about how strong his little abs must be with the positions he holds :) He was doing pretty well in the bumbo seat, but the past week or so he has decided that he does not like it...at all...always calls for some tears.

Watson love, love, loved his Johnny Jump Up! I put him in it for the first time and he squealed, laughed and smiled the entire time. So precious!!! He plays so hard in this that it always calls for a nice long nap :) Win for both of us!

We tried starting some rice cereal at the beginning of the month, but it did not go over so well so we took him off of it. We are having such a difficult time getting his reflux under control. He is on a different medicine for it now, but it does not seem to be helping much at all. If anyone has ANY suggestions, please let me know!!! We are so fortunate that he is not a fussy reflux baby, but it is just constant spit up. All. Day. Long.

He still talks, smiles, laughs, and squeals all the time - I love the sweet noises that he makes...they melt my heart! He loves toys, rattles, stuffed animals and books..and does not like for something that he is playing with to be taken away from him!

Watson's first Thanksgiving was so much fun. We stayed in Birmingham and spent the day with my parents and my mom's side of the family. Watson and Abby showed up in matching outfits (this was not planned, actually) so we had to get lots of pictures of them together :)

This past week (I feel like I keep saying that...guess it has been a week of changes for our little man!) Watson began responding to his name. He always gets such a surprised look on his face when he turns towards you...always good for a laugh from his parents!

W met Santa for the first time this week - as you can tell from the picture, he wasn't too impressed :) (Don't mind the fact that it looks like he has on capris...Santa's elves were really rushing things along so I couldn't fix his little outfit before the picture was taken...)

This just might be my most favorite picture...ever. Our friend Jared was shooting some pics for us to use on our Christmas card - I had looked on pinterest (of course) for some picture ideas and dad decided to jump in on this one. I love this man so much - he can make me laugh just about harder than anyone. So thankful for him and the wonderful dad and Poppa that he is to his grandchildren!

It has been such a wonderful month with our precious boy. We could not be more in love with him! This is such a special time of the year and it is our prayer that even from 5 months of age, Watson will know and believe that Christmas time is not about Santa or gifts or Christmas trees, but about the miracle birth and precious gift of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope that you and your family have a joy filled Christmas and a very happy new year!

Merry Christmas!

Four months...

2011-12-01T16:03:00.005-06:00

This month has brought so many changes in our precious little boy - he is growing up so much, I can't believe it! He is incredibly alert and aware these days - he always seems to keep a close eye on me...probably because I'm always singing and dancing for him?! Hey...I'll do anything to see that big gummy smile :)

W got an A+ at his 4 month check up...

Weight: 15lbs, 9 oz
Height: 25in (though she said there was some discretion here in the way this was measured because he has definitely grown more than 1in in the past 2 months)
Size diaper: 2
Size clothes: 3-6 mos
Eating: 6oz 4-5 times a day
Sleeping: 10-12 hours at night with an occasional middle of the night bottle, napping 2-3 times a day...W is very consistent with is morning and midday nap (though the length varies), but his late afternoon nap is hit or miss. Sometimes he can't stay awake, other times he is wide awake. Still, though, he is sleeping great at night so I'll take it! Daylight Savings was quite the adjustment for us...for a good couple of weeks he was waking up at 4 or 5 pretty confused whether he wanted to go back to sleep or not. That has finally worked itself out!

We stopped swaddling at 3 1/2 months and transitioned in to the sleep sack. Such a big boy! It was a pretty rough transition, but he loves having his arms free now. For whatever reason, this was so hard for me to take him out of the swaddle...I feel like that was the first big change from the newborn stage to infancy!

W babbles, laughs and smiles all day...he is the most content baby which Graham and I are incredibly thankful for. He has started doing some full out belly laughs which is precious :) We love to sing and dance...it pretty much guarantees smiles and laughs...from both of us!

He has been working so hard on rolling over...he usually lands on his side. He did, however, right before he turned 4 months, roll from his tummy to his back. He is also rolling over from his back to his tummy, but cannot quite figure out what to do with his shoulder once he is over...I have a feeling he will figure it out soon!

I love to watch him play with little rattles and toys now. He is so active when playing on his play mat and in his swing. What used to be a place to where he would sleep is now a place where he plays with the mobile the whole time with an occasional nap. We are trying to get used to napping in the crib, though...so I've tried to get him out of the swing before he falls asleep.

We pulled out the Bumbo seat for the first time and Watson was not sure what to think! He has pretty good head control but is still a little wobbly after a while, so he can only sit it in for a few minutes at a time.

Halloween was in Watsons fourth month as well. He was the cutest pumpkin in the world :) We stayed at home to pass out candy on Halloween night, but he did get to dress up for the trick-or-treat party at Student Life. I cannot believe I actually had a child in this parade this year...after sitting through it for 3 years I was now walking around with my own baby...so crazy!

Of all the things Watson enjoys right now, I think his absolute favorite is chewing on his hands... this boy LOVES to have his hands in his mouth. In fact, he will put anything he can get his hands on into his mouth. We already see that we are going to have to be extremely careful of anything sitting around the house that he can reach!!

It has been a wonderful month. Graham and I always say that we never knew our hearts could love like this. What an incredible blessing and joy it is to be a parent. We praise God for putting Watson, His child, in to our family and in to our responsibility. May He guide us daily as we strive to be examples of Him to our sweet boy!

This month, on November 8, Graham and I were able to celebrate our 3 year anniversary. I am beyond thankful for Graham and the incredible husband, father, and man of God that he is. The way that he loves, provides for, and takes care of me and Watson is something that I appreciate more than he will ever know. It has been a wonderful three years...I look forward to many, many, many more!

Paleo...

2011-11-11T21:39:00.004-06:00

Graham and I have turned a new leaf: eating healthy at home. We never ate all that unhealthy, but there was much more processed food in the pantry/fridge than veggies and fruit. So now, a common term around the house is Paleo. This diet consists of lean meats, veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds...pretty much lots of protein and no dairy, carbs, or gluten. Gluten is already out of the picture for our meals, so all we had to cut out was dairy and carbs. Now before I go any further, let me explain that we are not adhering strictly to the Paleo diet at all times...we still eat out normal meals where we get plenty of carbs and dairy, but thought we could make a small change by just eating healthy at home and then making wise choices when eating out. This pretty much means I spend much more time in the produce section of the grocery store, rather than the chip/cracker/pasta aisle. So far every meal has been a success! Our taste buds are being stretched, but so far so good! Below are some of the meals I have made so far. If you are like my sister who wants to throw up every time I tell her what I am making for dinner (I blame that on her pregnancy, though!)...just trust me...the meals have really been good!

Sun-dried tomato chicken bake...Chicken breasts, sun-dried tomatoes with the seasoned oil, garlic, seasonings

Cauliflower rice...Cauliflower, celery, onion and seasonings sauteed in olive oil

Collard greens...Greens, red pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil

Portabella-Chicken sandwich with baked sweet potato chips

Stuffed zucchini and squash...ground beef, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, seasonings, zucchini

Roasted garlic brussels sprouts

There are many good websites out there with Paleo recipes - some of the recipes are a little too out there for us, but you can usually find some good ones mixed in! Here are the sites I have been using:

- www.paleodietlifestyle.com
- www.thecookingphotographer.com
- www.elanaspantry.com
- www.everydaypaleo.com
- www.multiplydelicious.com

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Three months...

2011-10-28T14:44:00.006-05:00

Wow, I cannot believe that Watson is already three months old! Time is flying by and our precious buddy is growing so fast! We have had a wonderful month. I feel so incredibly blessed to stay at home every day with Watson - being a mommy is definitely a full-time job, but the best in the world!

I don't have weight/height stats for this month because our next appointment is not until 4 months, but little man has definitely grown!

Size diaper: 1
Eating: 4-6 oz 4-5 times a day
Sleeping: 9-11 hours at night, napping about 3 times a day for 1-2 hours (if and when deciding to nap...) Still swaddling at night (though he is breaking free of them almost every morning)
Size clothes: 0-3 months, 3 months, and some 3-6 months

Here are some pictures from the past month...

My favorite moment of each day is getting Watson up in the morning. He always flashes a huge smile and kicks his legs like he is so excited when he sees us in the morning! As I said above, he is really beginning to break out of the swaddle (as you can see below...) Still trying to figure out what to do with this because he definitely sleeps best while swaddled. For anyone who may be looking for a swaddle, I HIGHLY recommend the Miracle Blanket. Watson loves it - he will not fall asleep in any of the other kind!

On Graham's birthday we went for a family hike at Moss Rock Preserve. The weather was beautiful and Watson loved it! I bought this Baby Bjorn carrier this past month and it has been incredibly useful already!

Watson does great during tummy time for about 3 minutes, then it is all screams from there! He can hold is head up for a good amount of time and is pushing up really well on his arms. He is trying so hard to roll over...his little legs are about there, but his upper body is still pretty stationary. I have a feeling it will happen soon, though!

Both Great-Grandfathers were able to spend some time with Watson this month. This is precious time for me as I know how rare it can be for someone to meet two of their great-grandfathers!

Still loving the swing - though we are transitioning from napping in the swing to in the crib. I can't blame him for wanting to sleep here though...look how cozy he is!

The 21st was also Graham's 30th birthday! We had such a fun day celebrating Graham and the incredible husband and father that he is to me and Watson. The night of his birthday we went to eat at Melting Pot - this was our fist time there and we both loved it! Thanks so much to my mom for keeping Watson so Graham and I could have a date night!

Still such a mama's boy...and I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Our little angel, Abby, turned 2 last weekend! We had a blast at the park for her birthday party!

Two months...

2011-09-26T14:37:00.007-05:00

I absolutely love watching Watson grow and develop his little personality more and more every day! It is amazing how much he changes from week to week!

At two months Watson is...

Smiling all the time! He is especially smiley in the morning when he wakes up. There is nothing better than seeing his sweet smiles first thing in the morning!

Still loving the car seat...as long as it is moving :) We go on walks every day which he loves. He usually sleeps through them, but sometimes stays awake to look around. Either way he seems very content!

All about some mommy-time! When I found out I was having a boy, everyone told me that there is nothing quite like the way a little boy loves his mommy. I am seeing that more and more everyday...and loving every second of it :)

I would say Watson smiles most with Graham. He absolutely loves his daddy, and I love watching them together! It melts my heart to be in another room and hear the conversations that Graham has with Watson...nothing sweeter than that :)
Cooing all the time. I LOVE to hear him "talk" all day! He will lay on his play mat and coo and smile for forever..he loves it! (When he is on his back..still not so much a fan of tummy-time, but doing great at holding that head up regardless!)

Loving being read to every day. He will lay there and stare at the pictures and coo and smile as I read to him. Such sweet times in the mornings :)

Sleeping great! Watson sleeps anywhere from 8-10 hours a night. We are truly blessed with a great sleeper! For about the last two weeks he has decided that he is not interested in napping...which calls for some pretty fussy and overtired afternoons for him...but with as great as he is sleeping at night, we'll deal with the fussy afternoons! When he decides to, he will take about 3 naps that are 1-2 hours each day.

Two month stats:
Weight: 12lbs, 8 oz
Height: 24in
Size diaper: 1
Eating: 3-5 oz 5-6 times a day
Sleeping: 8-10 hours at night (most nights...still an occasional night of waking up once in the middle of the night), napping about 3 times a day for 1-2 hours (if and when deciding to nap...)
Size clothes: 0-3 months

One Month...

2011-09-08T12:12:00.009-05:00

This post is a little late...in fact, Watson will be two months old in two weeks, but hey...at least I'm posting this before then, right?!

What a month it has been! Our sweet baby boy is growing like a weed and is bringing more and more joy to our lives every day. I absolutely adore him and cannot imagine life without his precious presence in our family! Our family has been through a lot in this first month, but I trust and pray that it has only grown us stronger and am honestly thankful for all that the Lord taught me through everything. Let me catch you all up.... (this is going to be LONG...I am including details for my own record)

Six days after Watson was born, we noticed three small abscesses on him that we decided to watch over the next 24 hours or so before calling the doctor to make sure it was not a type of diaper rash. The next morning, they had grown significantly, so I called our pediatrician and they had me bring him in. They were able to drain the sites, send them off to be cultured, and send us home with some cream to apply three times a day. Later that night I received a phone call from the doctor saying that his cultures had tested positive for MRSA. The only thing they could think, due to its location, is that he somehow acquired this form of a staph infection during his circumcision. After talking with the doctor I did what a newly postpartum mom should NEVER do...I got on google. Well, if you google newborns and MRSA the one recurring word that continued to stick out in everything I read was "fatal." It makes me feel sick again just typing that. We prayed. And we prayed. And we prayed some more, that God would heal these spots and the MRSA would not get into Watson's bloodstream. The spots quickly disappeared with the cream. However, that Saturday night, as I was changing his diaper, I noticed that one of the spots looked like it was coming back so I called the on-call pediatrician. They said to watch him over the weekend and come in to the office first thing Monday morning. I felt better that they did not seem too concerned. Fifteen minutes later, my phone rings with another doctor on the other end of the line saying that a couple of the pediatricians had consulted one another and I needed to take Watson straight in to the emergency room at Children's Hospital. Again, NOTHING that a newly postpartum mom needs to hear. I was a wreck. Since Watson was only 9 days old at this time, the last place I wanted to take him was a hospital. My mom and dad went ahead of us to make sure that we could go straight back and not have to sit in the waiting room. Once we got there, we were thankfully sent straight to triage and in to a room. While we were in triage I ran in to a friend of mine from high school who is a nurse at Children's. Though we had lost touch over the years, she had seen on facebook that I had named my son Watson and then saw "Watson Hill" on the ER board and put it together that I would be coming in. I am so thankful she was there - seeing a sweet, familiar face at that time was exactly what I needed to help calm me down. I love how God works! We saw two doctors while we were there. The first said we were good to go home (the spot had disappeared by this point as well, thank the Lord!) so we got all ready to go home. The second doctor came in and said that she wanted to keep him for at least 48 hours and they would have to do their routine tests for a newborn...which included a spinal tap. I could not even let my mind go to thinking about my 9 day old son having to go through that. Both of those doctors then consulted a third doctor who thankfully agreed with the first that we could go home as long as we followed up with our pediatrician on Monday. Praise God, the spots are gone and we have not seen any sign of them since that night! Watson never had any fever, fussiness, lack of appetite, lack of sleep..anything that would be sign of an infection. The Lord is good!!! The whole time he was going through this I continued to say and think, "I wish I could take this from him...I would do anything to take this from him." I meant that with all of my heart, and it is a good thing that I truly did mean it because...

The same day that we originally took Watson in to the doctor for his abscesses, I started feeling really sick. I thought I was just extremely tired from getting up with a newborn all night, but I knew when we got home from the doctor that there was more to it. I was achy all over like I had the flu, I felt like I was going to fall out at any second, and my fever was quickly going up to 100...101...102... My mom was still at my house, thankfully, so she and Graham sent me to bed while they took care of Watson and called my OB doctor. Putting it all together, I had a classic case of mastitis. I cannot even begin to explain to you the pain that comes with mastitis! My doctor called me in some antibiotics and said that should take care of everything. Ten painful days later, my prescription was up and I was still not any better. I called the doctor again and they put me on another round of the same medicine saying that sometimes it takes two rounds to knock it out. I had a few days of relief, but nine days in to the second round of meds, I began feeling the same way as before...achy, extremely tired, my entire chest had changed from bright red to purple at this point and my fever was 102.7...so we called the doctor again. Of course, it was a weekend (I only get sick on weekends. Convenient.) The on-call OB sent me to the ER at St. Vincents. My OB called while I was getting ready to go to see what all was going on and warned me that I would probably be admitted. She was right. Turns out I was resistant to the antibiotics that they had given me for mastitis because I was now infected with MRSA. We guess since I was breastfeeding Watson while he was sick, I contracted it from him and it showed up in the form of MRSA and Mastitis. I was in the hospital for four days with heavy IV meds given four times a day. I cannot describe the pain I felt from being away from Watson during those days. I can say, though, that I have never been more thankful for Graham and the incredible husband and dad that he is. He stayed at the hospital taking care of me, while my family kept Watson. Knowing that he was in good hands made it somewhat bearable for me to be away, but thankfully I had sweet nurses who understood my incredibly emotional state of mind while in the hospital! On the fourth day of being in the hospital, the doctor said I could go home but I would have to get a PICC line put in (a line that runs from my arm to right above my heart) and I would have a home health care service set me up with IV meds at home that would be administered twice a day. Not ideal, but at that point I just wanted to hold my baby. Given that I was incredibly weak...and still very sick...my mom moved back in with us to help take care of me while Graham and I took care of Watson. I was on the IV's at home for twelve days when my PICC line clotted, sending us back in the ER. Luckily, we did not have to stay overnight and were able to come home. At this point my OB said that I was no longer able to breastfeed and needed to go ahead and let my milk dry up so that we could distinguish between MRSA and mastitis. Having to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula was incredibly difficult for me. I had always envisioned breastfeeding Watson for the first year. God, however, had other plans and I have to trust in Him and know that His ways are perfect. Two days later, my fever spiked again to 102.3. When this happened, Graham was on his way to Atlanta for the wedding of two of our best friends, my parents were in Chicago for an anniversary trip, my sister and her family were at the lake, and it was just me and Watson at our house. I called my OB and Infectious Disease doctors (both of which had been keeping tabs on me since my first time in the hospital) and they both said I needed to go back in to the ER. Thankfully, my mother in law had come in town a few days before to help us during the nights, so she came over to take care of Watson while my aunt took me back to the hospital. Though they are not exactly sure what caused my fever to spike while on such heavy medicines, they suspect that I was having a drug fever and/or an infection in my PICC line. They switched my meds while in the hospital, but eventually decided to take me off all of the medicines, take my PICC line out, and monitor me for 24 more hours to see what happened. Three days later, I was able to come home...medicine free, PICC line free, and hopefully infection free!

I have now been home for a little over a week, and other than a few remaining side effects from the meds they had me on, I am feeling MUCH better and gaining more strength with each new day. I pray that this is the end of that crazy road and that we can now focus all of our attention and strength on our precious little boy!

So, needless to say, our first couple months of parenthood looked quite different than we ever expected, but as I said before, we trust that we are stronger from it all! Even though we are beyond exhausted...as all new parents are...we are incredibly thankful to be home and be able to wake up in the middle of the night with Watson. Those are such special bonding moments that we would not trade for anything!

Speaking of our precious boy, let's now focus on him :) Watson is an incredibly easy baby so far! He really only fusses when he is hungry...and boy does he let us (and all of our neighbors) know he is hungry! He LOVES to cuddle and be held by everyone, but especially his mommy :) He would be perfectly content in my arms all day long! The swing has been a huge help as it always works to calm him down as well. We did tummy time a little during his first month, but mainly starting at 4 weeks. He seems to be a very strong baby as he loves to hold his head and neck up while being held on his stomach or on someones shoulder. He sleeps very well for his age. We are trying to do Baby Wise, so we put him down at 7 and he typically sleeps for about 3 1/2 - 4 hour increments at night, and eats about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day. At his one month appointment, he weighed 9lbs 12 oz (50%), his head was 15" (50%), and he was 22 3/4" long (90%). Looks like we have a tall, skinny boy on our hands! He got a big A+ at his appointment! He is having some acid reflux issues, though, so our pediatrician put him on some medicine for that which seems to be helping some, but not as much as I would like. We will re-evaluate that medicine at his two month appointment...in two weeks... :)

This precious boy is a JOY and and BLESSING to me and his daddy...we love him so very, very much!!

Tummy time...sometimes turns in to sleep time :)

This boy LOVES riding in the car. He instantly falls asleep when the car starts moving.

He is a miniature Graham - it is scary how much they look alike!!

First real bath :)

We get this concerned expression a lot!

Watson's nursery

And for some more exciting news.....this precious girl is going to have a little BROTHER in February!!! We cannot wait to welcome another boy to the family! :)

Introducing...

2011-08-09T12:04:00.006-05:00

Watson Alan Hill

July 21, 2011
7lbs 4oz, 21 3/4" long

The past 2 1/2 weeks have been..well...there is not just one word to describe it! Amazing, overwhelming, emotional, tiring, filled with learning experiences, and most of all filled with caring for the most incredible blessing Graham and I have ever experienced! Being parents is hard, but I would not trade one second of it for anything in this world! Watson has already blessed our lives so much - our little family now feels complete :)

My original due date was July 27. I had full intentions on waiting until my due date before being induced because I so badly wanted to go in to labor naturally. I wanted to experience that moment where I look at Graham and say, "This is it!" For some reason I had looked forward to that from the day I found out we were expecting. When I went in for my 39 week appointment, however, I was measuring behind what I had been, which made them think I may be leaking some amniotic fluid. They did an ultrasound and a test to check for that, and although both came back looking okay, we were encouraged to go ahead and induce while everything was still okay with both me and Watson. At that point, though I wanted it to happen on its own, I was so uncomfortable and ready that it did not take much convincing! So we left the doctor and went home to get ready to head back up to labor and delivery at 6am the next morning.

We got to the hospital at 6am, checked in and settled in to our room, then they began the whole process around 7am. First they started me on a Pitocin drip, then my doctor came and broke my water. This was extremely painful - I was not ready for that at all!!! Once it was broken, my contractions really began to pick up in intensity, pain, and frequency. I was already 4cm along when I got to the hospital, so I luckily only had to wait through 20 minutes of bad contractions before I got my epidural. Yet another painful experience...but oh so worth it! I went from screaming out loud through contractions to looking at Graham and asking if I was having a contraction! God bless women who go through labor naturally - from the contractions I experienced I'm pretty sure I would not survive with no meds! I progressed relatively quickly to 9cm which is when my nurse put me in a funny position to open up the pelvis to prepare for delivery, and help me progress to 10cm quickly. She left the room and said to call her when I began to feel pressure. It was probably only 5 minutes after she left that I began to feel immense amounts of pressure! My mom, sister, and Graham were in the room and I told them it was time to call the nurse back in the room...I was afraid Watson was about to deliver himself! Our nurse came back, checked to see if I was at 10cm, and said, "This is it! Time to start pushing!" Such a surreal moment. Immediate tears from me :) I was so fortunate to only have to push through 5 strong contractions before his little head began to make an appearance! After that 5th push, my nurse looked at me...while holding Watson in...and said, "Do not laugh any more...Watson is about to come!" (I guess I had some nervous laughter going...I don't remember!) Luckily my dr came in right then and after two more pushes, Watson Alan Hill was born into this world :)

He immediately began crying which at the time was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I was able to hold him for about two seconds before they took him over to the warmer and to clean him up. I cannot even being to explain the feelings that came over Graham and I at this time. Lots of crying took place out of extreme, immense, JOY for this blessing in our lives. Laying there, watching Graham hold Watson for the first time, was a moment that I will absolutely never forget. Such a precious, precious time for me (and of course for Graham!)

Since we have been home we have had some hiccups along the way landing us in the ER at Children's Hospital, and a pretty bad infection for me, but God is faithful and has brought us through those times and healed our precious little boy! We are now adjusting to this new-normal that is our life and loving every second of it - yes, even those sleepless nights and tired days that we are walking through right now :) Any time it gets overwhelming, all we have to do is look at Watson's sweet little face and we are instantly reminded of the blessing and honor it is to be parents. The Lord has blessed us with this responsibility and I pray that we will continue to look to Him for guidance along the way.

There will be plenty more updates to come, but here are some pictures from the day Watson was born!

Introducing Abby to Watson - such a sweet moment!

My mom stayed with us for several days after we got home - I cannot even begin to describe the BLESSING this was! I could not have made it through those first few days especially without her. She is amazing!

Poppa - I love seeing my dad with his grandchildren!

So close...

2011-07-01T09:08:00.007-05:00

I cannot believe we are only 4 weeks away...max...to meeting our sweet little boy! I am READY for this little one to make his entrance :) I am 36 weeks along and feeling well, all things considered. I am definitely uncomfortable 99% of the day, but learning that is just my new normal until our buddy decides he is ready to meet us!

Graham and I have been keeping ourselves busy this summer which has helped the time fly by! He is traveling a lot with his job and with speaking engagements, so I have LOVED having him home the past week...a whole week straight of him being home is a rare occurrence these days, so I am thankful!!! The other night we spent some time assembling all of the strollers, swings, seats, etc. to officially make our house baby ready :) Everything in the nursery is ready as well...except for the glider. It has been put on back-order twice now. I'm just hoping it's here by Christmas at this point! For the time being we are going to use a good old-fashioned rocking chair. I will take some pictures and post them soon.

A couple of weeks ago our friends Ryan and Heather were passing through town so we were able to catch dinner with them which was lots of fun. Ryan and I met in Mexico in 2003, so we have been friends for a while now! He and his wife are expecting as well, so we had lots of good baby-prep talk over dinner :)

Last weekend we had 4 of our favorite people come in town for the weekend and stay with us. You will not meet a more fun group of people than these 4. I think I laughed nonstop the entire weekend - we had a blast! We had originally planned to go to the lake, but decided it would be best to stay in Birmingham - it was just as fun! We will definitely have to make it to the lake next year, though. Jeff and Jourdan Johnson are worship leaders who are INCREDIBLY talented and gifted. Find them on iTunes...you won't be disappointed. Graham and I had Jeff as the worship leader at one of our events a few years ago - we are so thankful for the friendship that has developed since that time! Brad and Brittany soon-to-be Jones are engaged (yay!!!) and getting married in August. We could not be more excited for them. Brad and Graham have been friends for years now, and I have gotten to know Brittany through that relationship. They are absolutely wonderful :) I am so glad it worked out for them to come in to town.

This picture isn't from this weekend, but it's from about a month ago when Brad and Brittany got engaged. Graham and I went over to Atlanta for the night to celebrate with them right after the engagement at a surprise party Brad had put together. Can you tell it was taken with a phone?! :)

I also found a few pictures on my mom's phone from my baby shower that I never posted on here so I thought I would go ahead and put a few up!

So for those of you who have been asking me to put up some pregnant pictures...there you go :)

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Reminiscing...

2011-05-31T18:31:00.008-05:00

For the past few years, this time of year has been filled with 15 passenger vans, Penske trucks, dorm rooms, coin laundry, lots of random gas stations throughout the country, packing, unpacking, tough-bins, and making some of the most fun memories of my life. This is the first year that Graham and I have not gone on the road as Event Director and Event Coordinator for Student Life. I had no idea how much I would MISS it! I'm thankful that we are still involved in different capacities, but I so badly miss being on the road and cherish the memories we made over the years with some of my favorite people. As I was looking through my pictures, I decided to compile some from the past two summers that summarize our camp experience...

One of my favorite, if not my very favorite, part of being an Event Coordinator was getting to spend time with some amazing college girls and walk through the summer with them. This is such a formative time for girls and I am so thankful that I was able to love on them during this time. I can promise you one thing, though, I learned SO much more from them than I even dreamed possible!

This is typically where you would find me. In the office. On the phone. Behind my laptop. There is lots of work that goes in to making camp happen!

All of the work is completely worth it, though, when you see thousands of students gathered in worship every night of the summer. These were some of my most precious moments of worship...

I absolutely LOVED getting to know so many Compassion LDP students and learning so much from them. I'm thankful to have brothers and sisters all over the world.

I'm grateful, too, that I had the opportunity to speak on behalf of children living in poverty around the world. Compassion International is an extremely important part of mine and Graham's lives. I am so thankful for what the Lord is doing through this incredible ministry.

There were always fun outings that I definitely miss!

And celebrating the 4th of July was always...well...interesting :) And lots of fun!

It's funny how used you get to wearing matching shirts in public without thinking twice about it!

Both years Graham and I were blessed with wonderful teams. I am so thankful for every single person that I had the privilege of serving alongside of!

The best part of it all, though, was getting to do it alongside this incredible man...
So yes, I miss it like crazy. But at the same time, I could not be more excited for this next phase of life that Graham and I are embarking on...

8 weeks to go!!!

So in love!!...

2011-05-19T20:46:00.005-05:00

The past few weeks have been full of baby-fun :) Three weekends ago was our friends/family baby shower, which was a blast! What a humbling feeling to have so many people support, encourage, and love on Graham, myself, and Watson. We were showered with more than we could have ever imagined - Watson is one loved little boy already!! That next week was my work baby shower, which again was so much fun. My best friend, Leigh, was so sweet to throw this for me - I feel so blessed to work with the people that I do. So many of them have truly become like family to me over the past 4 years. I have pictures from these showers, but not on this computer so I will have to add them later.

Today, we had our 4D ultrasound - wow!!! I never thought that I would do this because, honestly, I always thought every baby looked the same in every picture I'd seen. However....when given the chance to see OUR baby, Graham and I didn't even think twice about the option. OF COURSE we wanted to see him! It was truly amazing to see our little buddy up close and personal. (as up close and personal as we can get right now, at least!) I am so in love with this little boy already - I absolutely cannot wait to meet him!!!

So they have a "baby alarm" they can buzz if the baby is sleeping and it will sometimes wake them up. It did not get Watson to open his eyes, but we did get this reaction... Poor baby!

He must have heard his daddy telling jokes :) I love this!

So if you are anything like I was, then these pictures look just like every other 4D you have seen. To us, however, they are one of a kind..the most precious little boy I've ever seen :) These next couple months better hurry - I'm ready to meet our boy!!

27 weeks...

2011-04-26T09:36:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe that I am already 27 weeks along! It really has flown by...surprisingly enough! I hear that these last three months are the ones that really drag, but there is still lots to be done to get ready for our little man's arrival, so that is just fine with me! (I say that now...ask me again in July and I may have a different opinion...)

I have really LOVED being pregnant! To be honest, I have felt better pregnant than I have in a long time which is just crazy, but I am beyond thankful to have had such a healthy pregnancy thus far. We did have a scare a few weeks ago when I failed my first blood sugar test, but thankfully I passed the 3-hour test so no gestational diabetes here!

This past week Graham and I went to Destin with my family for the week - it was an incredibly relaxing and fun week of vacation! This was actually our first time to go to the beach together for vacation. We've been for work many times but never for a week of relaxation...it was wonderful. We tried to soak up every moment of freedom knowing that this was really our last trip to do whatever we wanted and not have a little one to care for 24/7. My sweet niece was on the trip with us, though, and it made both Graham and myself SO incredibly excited for when we will be making those same sweet and funny memories with our little man!

I am still completely blown away with the fact that God has blessed us with the responsibility of raising a son. I feel like there is so much "mom-wisdom" that I need to gain within the next three months, but I trust and continue to pray that the Lord will grant us His guidance and wisdom as we raise our son and strive to live as examples for him. I have never been more thankful to be married to an amazing man who loves Jesus Christ above all else, and desires that for his children above all else.

Today, our 6-year old buddy, Sterling Davis, is having his 5th brain surgery....the 6th is scheduled for 7 days from now. If you have read my blog over the past couple of years then you have read much about this amazing little boy. You can read updates on his progress here: http://sterlingdavis.wordpress.com/

Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, strength for Roger and Becca, courage and healing for Sterling, and understanding for Sterling's three little sisters as they walk through these next couple of weeks.

Have a wonderful Tuesday! :)

Beautiful...

2011-04-25T16:13:00.002-05:00

Finally...

2011-04-06T15:08:00.003-05:00

In just a few minutes I will be going to the airport to pick up this amazing friend coming all the way from LA...

I have been looking forward to her visit for so long and it's finally here! Here's to a fun rest of the week/weekend with friends!

Here For You...

2011-03-09T09:58:00.002-06:00

If you are looking for some new music, let me recommend this cd...

This is the new Passion cd and it is absolutely wonderful! Graham and I have had the privilege of working alongside all but one of the artists on this album at events we have directed...and let me just tell you, not only are these people incredibly talented and gifted, but they truly love Jesus with all that they are...and that is reflected in these songs. All 12 of these songs are filled with beautiful truth. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Bump...

2011-02-23T21:24:00.004-06:00

Okay, I always said I wouldn't do this, but I've had several requests for some belly pics...so here goes! ...I didn't realize that all of my pictures show my bare stomach..yikes! I know people post these as their facebook pictures and don't think twice...but I'm a bit on the conservative side I guess :) Anyways...here's the progression so far!

8 weeks...I thought I was really beginning to show here...HA! Little did I know...

13 weeks...

15 weeks...

18 weeks...Hello!!

Weekend Recap...

2011-02-21T10:21:00.005-06:00

This weekend my very dear friend, Blair, came in town from Atlanta. We had a blast catching up and spending time with each other...as we always do :) I had not actually seen her in a year, so it was wonderful being able to talk face to face and spend lots of quality time with each other. She was a great sport and went with me to try and find some maternity clothes...what a trip that was!

...ignore what I am holding...it is somewhat of a joke between us, but this is the only picture we took all weekend!

So thankful for fun weekends and great friends!
Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Step Sing...

2011-02-18T10:08:00.010-06:00

This past weekend was the weekend I have looked forward to every year for the past 8 years...Step Sing weekend! The first four years were filled with excitement because of the rush that comes over Samford's campus during Step Sing season...there's nothing like it! The past four years have been special on this weekend because this is when all of my friends from college come in to town and we get our annual weekend together! It truly is so much fun and so refreshing to pick up where we left off the year before! Don't get me wrong...we talk throughout the year...but considering we are spread out all over the country, it makes it difficult to actually get everyone together!

Step Sing 2004 - Freshman Ladies Show. Anyone in this show knows how much courage it takes to even put these pictures up...all we can do is laugh about the fact that we got out in front of the entire school and thousands of others dressed like this (blue dickies, french braided pig tails, bright blue eyeshadow, bright red lipstick/stain, white...oh so white skin!) and dancing in...well...not the best of formations...!

Sophomore year...ADPi...I think the name was ADPi's Got The Beat...or something like that...this was by far our best year! A huge improvement from freshman year :)

Junior year...I went through all of the practices for this show, but had to drop out at the last minute due to a small, you know, brain tumor...no big deal :)

Senior year...ADPI's Rag to Riches...so fun! I am so glad I could be a part of this event each year - it was a blast every time! No sleep, tons of practice, keeping up with school...it got overwhelming at times, but was worth it every year!

Our first post-college year get together...

Our third post-college year get together...

I don't have pictures from this year, yet, but will post them when I get them! This year we had Christina's lingerie shower on Saturday before Step Sing, which was so much fun! It's funny how our conversation has shifted to weddings, babies, med school residencies, work...so much has changed in the past 4 years, but I am so thankful that we can get together and still enjoy time with each other each year. I hope that this is a tradition that continues!

It's A...

2011-02-08T20:26:00.004-06:00

BOY!!!!!

We actually found out about 3 weeks ago or so that we are having a little boy, but because it was so early we decided to wait to share with everyone. We are beyond thrilled to be having a son! I have had so much fun looking at little boy clothes, bedding, toys, etc...in fact, this could get dangerous :) I LOVE baby things...always have...and now I have the best reason in the world to buy them!

We have picked out a name...and most people who read this probably know what that is...so I'll post more about that soon :)

House for sale...

2011-01-28T17:19:00.005-06:00

My sister and brother-in-law are selling their home! If you know of anyone looking to buy a home in the Inverness area (Hoover schools) please tell them about this house! It is listed on a few sites, but I am going to put the information on my blog as well...just in case :)

__________________________________________________________________
You don't want to miss this beautiful townhome in Hoover's Inverness Cove!! This 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home looks great and is ready to show! Nice, open floor plan with the dining room, living room, and kitchen flowing smoothly on the first floor. A main level garage adds to this incredible layout. The kitchen features granite counter tops, electric appliances, hardwood floors, and a large pantry. The large master bedroom easily accommodates a king size bed and has two walk-in closets!! A garden tub in the master bath with separate shower and large vanity make for a beautiful master bath! Lots of storage throughout home, with a security system already installed. The hardwoods, carpets and paint are in GREAT condition throughout the home!

Hoover schools (Greystone Elementary, Berry Middle, Spain Park High)

Charming neighborhood with lighted sidewalks, large cookout area, and beautiful pool!

Owner is ready to show home, so hurry over!

$182,000

For more information, or to see this home, please call 205-834-6780 or send an email to anderson.reynolds@gmail.com

__________________________________________________________________

We Are...

2011-01-04T21:55:00.005-06:00

HAVING A BABY!!!!!!!!

...and we could not be more excited!!! I am 11 weeks along and we are due on July 27!

Anyone who knows me knows that I have prayed for the day that I would become a mom. This has been my hearts desire all my life. We were unsure if this would ever be a possibility for me, but God is faithful...oh how He is faithful...and has blessed us with this little miracle!

About 6 weeks ago I started feeling a little funny, but just thought I caught a stomach bug from my niece who had recently been sick when I was keeping her. A couple days later, though, when the feeling did not go away, I decided I should take a pregnancy test...just in case... Well, pregnancy tests are expensive so I had recently bought some test strips off of Amazon that my sister had told me about. Without really saying anything to Graham, I took one of the tests...waited 5 minutes...and saw two lines...POSITIVE. I waited 5 more minutes...I guess thinking that maybe that second line would disappear...and when I checked again I saw two lines...definitely positive. Well...these test strips were incredibly cheap, so I thought maybe they weren't working right...maybe they gave false positives (apparently, though, this is not possible...)! I came in the den where Graham was watching tv and said, "Hey babe...I think I need to go get a pregnancy test." Considering he did not know about the previous test I had taken, he was convinced I was crazy for wanting to take ANOTHER pregnancy test (...so maybe I've taken a few over the past couple of years...wishful thinking at times, I guess?!) Now..before you think I'm a bad person for not telling him about the first test, I wanted to be 100% positive that we were actually pregnant before I said anything! So, we went to CVS, bought another test, came home, I took it and had Graham time it before we checked. When it had been the allotted amount of time, I said, "I think you should go check this one...I have a feeling it is going to be positive..." Still convinced I was crazy, he went back and asked what exactly he was looking for. I told him that if it is positive then there will be a + in the circle. Well...there was a + sign in the circle!! We were completely shocked and surprised...but elated with the news!!!

It still seems so surreal! I am so thankful for a God that is sovereign over all things and whose timing is absolutely perfect. Graham and I feel so humbled at the fact that God has entrusted us with this precious blessing...it is our prayer that during the next 6 1/2 months the Lord will work in both of us and in our marriage to fill us with His wisdom and prepare us to be the best possible parents to our child.

Here's a picture of our little peanut at 8 weeks:

We told my family the next day, which was SO much fun!! We went to dinner with Melanie, Reynolds and Abby that night and brought a gift for Abby (not unusual for this little girl to get a random gift from her aunt and uncle!). When Mel opened the box for Abby, this was inside...

Their reaction was priceless. Graham videoed everyone's reaction on his phone..I am so glad we have those videos!!!

We then put the shirt on Abby and went to mom and dad's house. Graham and I walked to the front door with Abby, rang the doorbell, and were standing there when mom and dad came to open the door. Again, priceless reactions! I am so thankful for a family who shares in our joys!

It just so happens that all of this happened right before Thanksgiving and we were already planning on spending a week in Oklahoma over Thanksgiving...the perfect time to tell Graham's family! Before leaving for OK, I wrote a poem for his parents that started off as more of a poem of thanksgiving..thanking them for being wonderful parents to Graham and myself..and then transitioned into why this trip to OK was even more special than any other trip we have made... Here is what the end of the poem said...

This trip is even more special, though,

You may be asking, why?

There are many ways we could tell you,

All of which would come as a surprise!

It’s time to plan a trip to Birmingham,

Please come in July!

This is the month that we will be welcoming…

Yes…a little angel to our lives!

We just found out about this blessing,

And couldn’t wait to share!

The joy we have felt is overwhelming,

Keeping it from you any longer just would not be fair!

So be prepared to replace this poem

With a picture that will always make you smile,

For in nine months you will receive

A precious baby grandchild!

Just the same as my family, their reactions were full of pure joy!

Here is a picture of the framed poems...

So there is our exciting news! Thank you for sharing in our joy!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T17:36:00.009-06:00

This Christmas season has been absolutely wonderful! We have spent lots of time with friends and family..which makes every holiday that much better!

Graham and I stayed in Birmingham this year so I just loved being able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my family...such a blessing and sweet times. We were planning on going to Oklahoma today, but a little over 2 weeks ago Graham had surgery on his shoulder (a surgery I would not wish on ANYONE) and due to his therapy schedule we had to stay here in town. We will most definitely miss seeing all of our friends and family in Oklahoma this Christmas season, but we are very thankful for the long amount of time we were able to spend there over Thanksgiving!

This is the first year in I don't know how long that I have not made Christmas cookies...that will NOT become a trend! My sister and I did, however, make gingerbread houses one night. It was a lot of fun...for me...but I'm not so sure how much Mel ended up enjoying it. Let's just say her house had a few unfortunate run-ins...resulting in what Dad said looked like a crime scene. Take a look for yourself...

{Mel's is on the left...}

I was able to take Abby's Christmas card pictures this year...I had so much fun doing so! Here are some of my favorites...

For Christmas Eve, Graham and I had everyone over to our house for lunch. I loved being able to host my family on such a special day! We had my family, my grandfather, Graham's grandmother, and her nephew join us. Here are some pictures from that day...

...Have you picked up on who the most photographed person in our family is?! Yes, our lives revolve around that precious little girl these days!

Christmas Eve night we went to the Christmas Eve service at church then all came back to mom and dad's to spend the night (yet another tradition that I love). We spent some time with Abby, then after she went to bed mom, dad, Mel, Reynolds, Graham and I played the game Wits and Wagers...if you haven't played it I recommend it...it was pretty fun! We ended the night the same way we do each year...with Dad reading the Christmas story to us and spending time reflecting on the one and only reason that we celebrate this special day.

Christmas day was perfect...we finally, after all of my dreaming this would happen in Alabama...had a WHITE Christmas! It snowed off an on all day...although it did not stick, it was beautiful to watch and enjoy! We spent the day at mom and dad's and enjoyed a late lunch with mom's side of the family. I only have a few pictures from Christmas morning on my camera and they are all of Abby enjoying her Santa gifts :)

{I think it is safe to say that this chair was Abby's favorite gift! Once she sat in it she would not get up. The rest of her gifts were enjoyed from the chair only!}

So there is a quick recap from our Christmas! I just realized Graham and I did not get a single picture together...sad! It was a wonderful time, though, celebrating the birth of our Savior, and reflecting on what that means in my life. I think the thing that has astounded me so much more this year than ever before is the fact that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for ME. Christ put Himself where only I should be...beaten, mocked, ridiculed, and brutally crucified...so that I can one day be with Him for eternity. Praise Him for His grace and mercy....oh Praise Him!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

2 Years...

2010-11-18T17:18:00.005-06:00

Earlier this month...November 8, to be exact...Graham and I celebrated our two year anniversary! I can't believe we have been married for 2 years already! I can honestly say they have been two incredible years filled with so much adventure, travel, laughs, and great memories. I am beyond thankful for my husband and the blessing that he is in my life. I look forward to many, many, many more anniversaries to come :)

{November 8, 2008}

{November 8, 2010}

Month of Birthdays...

2010-11-05T08:00:00.009-05:00

I love this time of year...the weather is cooling off (albeit a little too cold today..), it's football season (especially fun this year - War Eagle!), and the leaves change to the most gorgeous colors! This just might be my favorite season each year.

October is Graham and Abby's birthday month, so it was a busy, but very fun month for us! We celebrated Graham's 29th birthday and Abby's 1st birthday. Can you guess who got the most attention? :)

Here are some pictures to recap this month...

{Happy Birthday! The big 2-9!!}

{Melanie and Mom at our family birthday dinner for Graham and Abby!}

{My handsome hubby showing off some new clothes}

{Abby tearing in to her presents - she was way more interested in the boxes and paper than what was inside!}

{Melanie spent hours upon hours making this scrapbook of Abby's first year}

{All of the ladies checking out the scrapbook}

{The love of my life}

{Love these two!}

{We are best friends :)}

{Poor thing had to be tired of her aunt making her take pictures with everyone in the room!}

{One more...definitely over the picture thing at this point...}

{So thankful for this man. It is a JOY to celebrate his birthday!}

{One of my most favorite people in the world - Marco Vallejo! This man and his family have been so important to me and my family for 10 years now. So glad he was able to spend a few days in Birmingham before heading to Cuba with Brook Hills.}

{Dad and his girls}

{Happy Birthday Precious!}

Abby's Birthday Party!

{My beautiful parents}

{Mom and I painted these pumpkins for Abby's birthday...and Melanie helped :) Mom came up with the idea that turned out so cute!}

{Andersons celebrating their baby girl}

{Me and mom...love her so much!}

{Abby's first experience with cake...I think she liked it...don't you?!}

Okay, so this is probably the most pictures in one blog post I have ever done - but I love pictures and think they can capture moments in such a stronger way than me just trying to explain them!

Other than the birthday celebrations, things have been pretty quiet around our house. We are still seeking what is next for us and trusting that God will reveal that in His perfect timing. I am learning more and more each day just how impatient I am, but even more just how faithful God is. He has shown that to my family this month in a powerful way and I am beyond thankful to Him for that.

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
Psalm 62:1-2

The Mercy House...

2010-10-20T14:22:00.004-05:00

If you read my blog, then you have definitely read about my precious Kenyan friend, Maurine Owino.
I had the joy of talking with Maurine this afternoon and all that God is doing in her life since she returned to Kenya in August. Her heart for the hurting children of God is more than inspiring...I always walk away from my conversations with her feeling so encouraged by her life.

We always joked this summer about how she had more friends in the States than anyone else on our team...seriously, she had so many people wanting to visit her! But one very special friend of hers was able to come see us in Oklahoma and spend some quality time with Maurine...time that I think changed both of their lives. God was working heavily in both of their lives and has led them both to start an amazing "God-sized dream" called The Mercy House. The Mercy House, which is set to open in 2011, will be a maternity home in Kenya for women who are pregnant and needing a place to live. Proper care, education, and Biblical counsel will be provided for these ladies in a loving, nurturing and safe environment.

I encourage each of you to take some time to read about this special place. There are many ways to get involved...many of which I am currently praying through myself...but all of which will support the work of The Mercy House.

The story of how this began is beautiful...please take some time to journey through the following links and read about how God has created a beautiful friendship between Kristen and Maurine, and ultimately how He is using their friendship, gifts, abilities, and callings to reach out to His daughters in Kenya...

The Mercy House

The Mercy House Shop

Kristen Welch- Kristen and Maurine first met in Kenya when Kristen was sent by Compassion International to blog about the amazing work they are doing in the name of Jesus Christ!

You can also follow them on twitter: http://twitter.com/mercyhousekenya

Hilarious...

2010-09-15T11:53:00.003-05:00

So I just found this blog today thanks to a friend at work and it is hilarious! I love looking at home catalogs just about as much as anyone I know and have therefore noticed just how non-practical so many of the pictures are. Apparently this lady thinks the same...but just adds a caption to each picture. If you're bored at work today...or just have some free time...take a look at this blog. I promise you will laugh!

catalogliving.net

Abby...

2010-08-29T13:57:00.004-05:00

I just realized how long it has been since I have posted some pictures of my precious niece, Abby! I love this girl so much - she brings so much joy to her Aunt Beth Ann and Uncle Graham!

Here are some pictures I have taken of her this summer...

BATH TIME...

POOL TIME...

Sterling...

2010-08-26T22:53:00.004-05:00

This little guy right here is the strongest kid I know...

In fact, I would say one of the strongest people I know...not just kids! I wrote about Sterling last year here, here, and here but my precious 5 year old little buddy is now in the process of recovering from two more brain surgeries that were done on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Roger and Becca have again amazed me with their faith, courage, hope, and strength throughout the past few days. Their love for the Lord and trust in Him is an incredible testimony to me and I thank the Lord for blessing me and Graham with their friendship. The way they love their son is beautiful.

Please join Graham and I in praying for this incredible family. The picture below is what Roger and Becca put together for people to know how to best pray for Sterling and his surgery/recovery. All prayers are appreciated!

Update...finally...

2010-08-06T07:53:00.008-05:00

I really did have great intentions of blogging every week this summer - doing a recap of all that had happened so that my family could keep up with us from back home. Clearly, this did not happen! This summer has been absolutely incredible, but definitely busy and filled with some pretty important life decisions for Graham and myself. More on that later...

Blue Team 2010...BT10...Blue Magic...whatever you would like to call them...I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend the past 2 1/2 months with. I am so thankful for all of the HARD work they have done to make each of the 11 events we have had a success. We have traveled all over the country...when we counted it up I think we have been in 16 states in 10 weeks (AL, TN, GA, FL, MO, AR, OK, IN, IL, OH, NJ, WV, NY, PA, MD, VA)...whew! We have made some incredible memories...some funny, some sad...but all of which will last a lifetime.

We were all incredibly BLESSED to get to know one of my new very best friends...Maureen Owino. If you have read any of my earlier posts you have heard about Maureen. Words cannot express how amazing this lady is. There were many tears shed on Tuesday when Maureen had to leave, but we are excited for her to return to Kenya to minister to, love on, and care for the people of Kenya who have her heart. This gorgeous face will most definitely be missed...

Below are some more pictures and memories from the summer - these are the faces of some of the people who have made a lasting impact on my life!

We also spent the night in NYC this past weekend...which was SO much fun! Our great friends Brad and Brittany, and Jeff and Jourdan were in NYC at the same time so we were able to spend time with them...which we always love! We watched the movie, "Friends with Benefits" being filmed in Grand Central Station with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis (from Modern Family) which was pretty cool to see! I have not uploaded my pictures from NYC yet, but here a couple from Brad's phone...

[Excuse this last picture...we had been driving for 10 hours that day... :)]

Today is our last full day of camp...ever. Yes, I said ever! That will deserve a whole other blog post, but for now I will just leave you with that.

We will be headed to TN tomorrow, then to AL on Sunday...it is always a bittersweet time when you get home and have to say goodbye, but I know that many of the friendships I have made this summer will last past August 8...and for that I am thankful!

Comfort...

2010-07-07T07:13:00.002-05:00

I will update in more detail how the summer is going, just wanted to share this Psalm with you for now. This has provided so much comfort to me over the past month...

O Lord, you have searched me and
known me!
You know when I sit down and when I
rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying
down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it
altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your
presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are
there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall
cove me,
and the light about me be night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my
mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made.
Wonderful are you works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the
earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of
them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts,
O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more
than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

Oh that you would slay the wicked,
O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious
intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!

Do I not hate those who hate you,
O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up
against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies!

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way
in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

-Psalm 139

BT10...

2010-06-13T14:23:00.007-05:00

Here they are...meet my family for the summer! These people are seriously some of the most amazing people I've ever met - it is a blessing to serve with them!

We unfortunately do not have a whole team picture with us, but we do have department pictures, so here we go...

Our fearless leader...my amazing husband...our Event Director. I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to serve alongside my husband in such an incredible job. Very few people realize all of the work that he does to make camp happen - I am so thankful for his humble leadership. He is the BEST!

Graham Hill

Our wisest teammate...my birthday twin...our Compassion International Representative. Like I said in my last post, Maureen is truly one of the wisest, most amazing woman of God that I have ever met. She has an incredibly beautiful story of how God used Compassion to change her life and turn her to Jesus Christ. The poverty-stricken conditions that Maureen grew up in are worse than most Americans can even begin to imagine. Yet when asked what she thinks of poverty, Maureen's answer is, "I thank God for poverty. Without it I would not know Jesus the way that I do."

Maureen Owino

Our behind the scenes yet making camp happen Office Staff. This group of people is who I have the joy of serving alongside every day in the office. Their dedication in their jobs is such a blessing to me! These people work so hard to make the logistics of camp happen and I am beyond thankful for each of them!

Austin Farmer, Alicia Bailey, Me, Alicia Corona, Jamie Riddle, Mary Margaret Collingsworth

The most awesome group of techies I have every worked with...our Production Staff. These guys allow God to use the incredible talents that He has blessed them with to lead the students in worship each week. From lighting, to sound, to video, to acting, these guys are the ones behind the scenes in the worship center day in and day out making sure that all technical aspects of worship come together. I am so thankful for the servant hearts in each of them and the many ways that they help us out in the office each day. They are a blessing!

David Morgan, Nick Murray, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Short, Ben Knaus

Ben Baker, Erica Smith, Shara Lewis

Our workhorses on the team...those who spend hours outside each day...our Recreation Staff. These guys work so incredibly hard each day. Though most of their time is spend ministering to students on the rec fields, these guys also end up with so many of the responsibilities requiring them to be outside and work so hard. Each of them have such a great attitude through it all, though, which is appreciated more than they will ever know!

Stephen Wright, Lindsay Judy, Madison Terry, Marissa Brokaw, Clay Butler

Our redheaded stepchildren on the team...just kidding guys...our Missions Team. These guys are awesome! We kid them about being the stepchildren because they are not with us all summer, but that could not be further from the truth! They will spend 6 camp weeks with us this summer and any time they are away from us they are GREATLY missed! They spend their days traveling to mission sites and ministering to students who are out serving in the local communities. They, too, work so hard and I miss them so much! We are ready for them to return to THEIR team!

Sean Gallagher, Joey Farrington, Caroline Sweatt, Meredith Day, Shea Lentini

So that's my team! They truly are so wonderful! When I say that Graham and I are blessed to lead these people throughout the summer...I mean it. I could not ask for a better job!

Here we go...

2010-06-10T08:34:00.004-05:00

Summer has begun, which means that three weeks ago Graham and I packed up our bags and headed out on the road for three months! We have been and will continue to be traveling all over the country this summer - from Tennessee to Missouri to Pennsylvania - we will be making our rounds! Our schedule for the summer, along with the personalities for each week, is:

Lee University
Cleveland, TN
Speaker - Adam Robinson
Worship Leader - Aaron Ivey

Windermere Conference Center
Roach, MO
Speaker - Afshin Ziafat
Worship Leader - Unhindered

Windermere Conference Center
Roach, MO
Speaker - Adam Robinson
Worship Leader - Jeff Johnson

Gatlinburg Convention Center
Gatlinburg, TN
Speaker - Louie Giglio
Worship Leader - Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redman

Lee University
Cleveland, TN
Speaker - Wade Morris
Worship Leader - Aaron Keyes

Lee University
Cleveland, TN
Speaker - Jeremy Kingsley
Worship Leader - Matt Papa

Lee University
Cleveland, TN
Speaker - JR Vassar
Worship Leader - Brett Younker

Ocean Center
Daytona Beach, FL
Speaker - Louie Giglio
Worship Leader - Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman

Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, OK
Speaker - Wes Hamilton
Worship Leader - Aaron Ivey

Branson Convention Center
Branson, MO
Speaker - David Nasser
Worship Leader - Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman

Tuscarora Convention Center
Mt. Bethel, PA
Speaker - JR Vassar
Worship Leader - Aaron Ivey

This job is such a blessing. Getting to watch thousands and thousands of teenagers worship week in and week out brings so much joy to my heart. I seriously cannot describe it.

We are currently in Roach, MO at the Windermere Conference Center. Luckily the sun has decided to come out and hopefully dry up the rain for a little while! It has been an amazing week with many students coming to know Christ as Lord of their life. Praise God for His ways!

Last night was our Compassion night of worship. Maureen, the LDP on our team this summer, is an incredibly inspiring woman of God who has a beautiful story of how God saved her through Compassion. I will write more about Maureen later...she deserves a post all to herself :)

That is all I have time for now...Celebration (our morning worship service) starts soon so I need to head that way...

Thank you for your prayers!

Mothers...

2010-05-12T21:13:00.005-05:00

This Mother's Day was much different than any other in years past for my family. Saturday afternoon, the day before Mother's Day, my Meme (my dad's mother) passed away. Though she had been sick for a long time and was suffering greatly, it is always hard to see a loved one leave this earth. We rejoice, though, because we know that she is healed. She is in the presence of the Lord...the exact place that Christ-followers long to be. Please keep my sweet grandfather in your prayers. For many, many years he served my Meme as she was unable to do so due to illness. I know that there are lonely days ahead for him and that breaks my heart. He is an amazing man, and such an example to Graham and I of what it looks like to truly serve, respect, and honor your spouse...in all times.

Mothers play such an important role in a family. With the passing of my Meme this weekend, and my other precious Grandmother last year, I have learned so much about the impact that a Mom has on a family. I am thankful for both of my Grandmothers and what God taught me through their lives about being a mom.

Each of the beautiful ladies below are also incredible examples to me of what it looks like to be a loving, caring, gracious, servant-hearted, and selfless woman - especially pertaining to motherhood. This Mother's Day I had lots of time to think about how special each of these ladies are to me and all that they do for Graham, myself, and our families. I love each of you very much!

Los Angeles...

2010-05-02T23:31:00.009-05:00

Last weekend, Graham and I were able to do something that I have wanted to do for the past year...visit one of my very best friends, Briana, and her husband, Brandon, who recently moved to the LA area. It was one of the best weekends I have ever had!

Though Graham has been to LA several times, this was my first...and I LOVED it! It is absolutely gorgeous. Mountains and the beach...all in one. You can't get much better than that!

We arrived Thursday night and went to dinner at a place right on the shore...I don't remember the name, nor do I have pictures (Briana...will you send me those when you get a chance?!), but it was FABULOUS!!! There were huge rocks right outside of our window, the the ocean was on the other side of the rocks. I just stared out the window and watched the waves crash on the rocks...it was beautiful! A GREAT way to start the weekend!

Friday morning we headed to Hermosa Beach for brunch and a walk along the beach. I could live there. Easily. Here a couple of pictures from that morning...

This sidewalk runs for 26 miles along the beach...the houses along it are beautiful!

This is appropriate for me and Briana :)

We then headed to the Americana mall, which was just as gorgeous as everything else I had seen so far. The best part about it, though, is the Tiffany's store. Now granted, any Tiffany store is going to be amazing. But...this one is especially special....you get to try on EVERYTHING in the store. Incredible! We walked in and Briana started opening up these drawers and saying I could try everything on. I didn't believe her at first...but I quickly caught on and a good half hour later I had tried on everything in the store. I love jewelry, so that was a dream for me!! We also visited Downtown Disney that afternoon which was lots of fun as well! We tried to get in the park for a little while, but after realizing it would be $90 a ticket...we opted out. Sorry Graham...I'll introduce you to Mickey soon! That night we hung out at Brandon and Briana's apartment...and I loved every minute of it. I have missed my friend so much so it was great to catch up and spend quality time with each other.

Saturday morning we woke up and headed towards Hollywood. It was much different than I was expecting, but so much fun to be there! I had no idea that people dressed up as movie characters and stood along the street...I was a little confused at first :) Here are some pictures from our time there...

I couldn't help it. He's one of my favorites...

Notice the people dressed up...Tinkerbell had fairy-dust that she was sprinkling everywhere with her wand. Strange.

I made Graham take this :)

After Hollywood, we went to Beverly Hills and spent a long time on Rodeo Drive. There is no way to even describe this place that would give you an adequate idea of what it is like. If you haven't been, go. It is worth it just for the experience! A few of my favorites...

There was a movie being filed on Rodeo Drive while we were there.

A small home in Bel Air.

We had such a great time and are so thankful to Brandon and Briana for being such great friends, first of all, but also hosting us for the weekend. We look forward to coming back...hopefully sooner rather than later :)

Ouch...

2010-04-29T22:29:00.005-05:00

This is killing me. But I LOVE it!
8 weeks down...4 to go!!!

He is Worthy...

2010-04-07T11:46:00.003-05:00

Spring is my favorite time of year - I love everything about it! It is warmer, it stays light outside longer, I can wear flip flops, sundresses, shorts (all of which I prefer over cold-weather clothes..), the flowers are pretty, everything is green, we can go to the park, hike, run, play tennis (anything outside!), things get exciting/crazy busy around the office as we enter the "ramp to camp" - so many fun things all in 3 months (or so..)! The one thing I love best about Spring, though, is Easter. Easter always has been my favorite holiday. I love Christmas because it is a fun time, an incredible celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and I LOVE Christmas music (year round...), but there is something about Easter that is so special to me...

It is a time to reflect on the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. If you are anything like me, you don't enjoy thinking about the crucifixion. It's pretty uncomfortable, actually. Recognizing the fact that Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, took the punishment of sin for ME. He was beaten, mocked, received a crown of thorn on his head, and forced to carry his own cross on which he was nailed - all for ME. All so that I can live eternally with my Father. But it doesn't end there, it gets better...three days later Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead! This is an incredible picture of the power of God! It demonstrates God's power to not only bring His Son back to life, but also to resurrect the bodies of believers into eternal life with Him when He returns. Yes, I said when He returns. That's the best news of it all - Jesus Christ is coming back! There will be a day when He returns and all believers on earth and those who have already passed, will receive new, glorified bodies and rise to Him, to sit at the feet of our Father, worshiping Him for eternity. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more worries, no more crime, no more hurt, no more poverty...imagine that. How worthy of praise He is!

You hear all of that and our human reaction is to think, "What do I have to DO to repay Him?" But the beauty of it all, is that we do not have to DO anything. It's not about what we DO. Think about it...do you think you could ever DO anything that would make up for the sacrifice that He made? I don't think so. The gift of eternal life is for all who believe in Jesus Christ. It is a commitment in which you acknowledge that you are a sinner and recognize the truth that there is nothing that you can do to change your ways without a Savior in Jesus Christ. You turn TO Him, AWAY from your sin - you repent. You believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead through God's power, which paid the full penalty of your sin. You surrender your life to Christ and put no one and nothing before Him - you accept Him as your Savior. There is no joy comparable to the joy that is found in Christ.

This past Friday, Graham and I went to Atlanta to visit some friends of ours and go to the Good Friday service at Passion City Church. Over the past years as we have been with Student Life, we have worked with many of the people involved with this church and developed relationships with them, so it was wonderful to see them, catch up, and witness their God-given abilities to communicate the love and Good News of Jesus Christ. Their Good Friday service was absolutely incredible. Chris Tomlin sang a song of his called, "I Will Rise." A perfect song for this past weekend as we celebrated Easter. The lyrics are below...

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victor is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When the darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

I love this song - it is wonderful and full of truth!

After the service, we stayed in Atlanta that night and spent Saturday with our friends Brad and Brittany celebrating Brittany's birthday. What started as a day trip to Chattanooga, ended up as a road trip to Burnt Mountain, Amicalola Falls, and a really cute little town north of Atlanta. I can't remember the name...probably because all of these adventures were by accident. And by accident I mean that we just decided to drive and see what we ran into! It was a really fun day - so great to spend time with precious friends that we do not see nearly enough, and celebrate Brittany's birthday :)

Easter Sunday was great as well. I signed Graham up to help me in the nursery during the early service...he loved it. It was precious seeing all of the kids dressed up in their Easter clothes. One little girl, though, stole the show. She was the cutest of all....

This is a picture after church, but trust me - she was just as adorable at church that morning! Here she is holding her new Bible that she received for Easter - I pray that she will study this Book and hide it's truth in her heart. The outfit that she is wearing was my first Easter outfit as well...thanks Mom! (Mom made it...)

The weeks to come are busy as well - lots of weddings, traveling, and hopefully a lake trip here or there before heading out for the summer. I will update soon with pictures from Abby's baby dedication...I am officially her paparazzi :)

Story of Love

2010-03-30T14:38:00.003-05:00

My Precious...

2010-03-09T16:03:00.000-06:00

No one can understand the joy that a niece or nephew can bring to your life until you experience it. Especially for those who do not have kids of their own quite yet. Graham and I have had a BLAST with Abby! She is almost 5 months old and gets more and more precious every day. I have LOVED watching her personality bloom - she is smiling, laughing, and talking so much recently! Above are a few of my favorite pictures of Abby. We went to the park with her this weekend so as soon as I get the pictures from my camera to my computer, I will put them up!

Ohh Samford...

2010-03-03T16:20:00.000-06:00

The weekend that we returned from Kenya, I had the most special treat ---- my friends from college came in town and stayed with me for the weekend! I cannot even begin to say how much fun we had and how great it was to see them! I miss these girls so much and although I'm thankful for phone calls, emails, facebook, etc. that help us stay in touch, nothing compares to spending face to face time with each other! We went to Gilchrist (our favorite lunch spot) in Mountain Brook, walked around Samford and visited the ADPi house, had dinner at Cocina..of course...went to Step Sing, talked about life, and laughed the entire time. So pretty much..we pretended like we were in college again! It was wonderful and such a reminder of how blessed I am with precious friends!

Overwhelmed...

2010-03-03T14:43:00.000-06:00

One month later and here I am finally getting back to the blog. Needless to say, it's been a busy month! Kenya was an absolutely amazing trip. It was such a blessing to see the beautiful faces of the people we met last year, and just as great to meet new people. To explain the people of Kenya in just a few words is near impossible. They are the most gracious, beautiful, joyous people...in the midst of the most oppressive, dark, poverty-stricken circumstances. They are truly amazing.

I put together an album of pictures on facebook, but there are way too many to post on the blog. If you would like to see pictures, feel free to visit that album here.

Being honest, I struggled so much more in Kenya this year than I did last year. Everywhere you turn in Kenya there is poverty. Even on the cleanest of streets, it is dirty. Even in the most developed of areas, there is a slum on the borders. Now I realize that there are areas of Kenya that are not like this...but for the most part this is how it is. The emotional burden that I felt while I was there...and continue to feel right now...is so heavy. I felt overwhelmed the entire time I was there. Now don't get me wrong...I LOVED being there and cannot wait to return...I'm just being honest here. But I'll tell you what hit me the most while I was there. While I felt this heavy sense of sorrow and helplessness...the beautiful people of Kenya were smiling, happy, laughing, playing, holding my hands, playing with my hair, wanting their picture taken...this is all they know and they are thankful for the little that they have. Not thankful in the way that we as Americans are thankful; they are TRULY, TRULY thankful for EVERY little thing that they have. Nothing is taken for granted. I learn more from the 7 year olds I play with in Kenya than I almost ever do while sitting in Birmingham, Alabama.

God is doing mighty things through Compassion International - He is changing children, their families, their communities, and ultimately their countries. He is showing them that their hope does not lie in the slums in which they live, but their hope lies in the fact that they have a Lord and Savior in Jesus Christ who is passionate about the poor and who loves them immensely.

Andy Blanks, who went on the trip with us, kept up with his blog while we were in Kenya and seeing that he is a writer, he articulated everything beautifully while we were there....If you would like to read more details about our trip, please visit his blog...http://andyblanks.com/...even if you're not interested in our trip to Kenya, his blog is worth visiting!

Here are just a few pictures from our time there...

TOMORROW!

2010-02-01T20:23:00.000-06:00

Graham and I leave for Kenya tomorrow with Student Life and Compassion International. There are 16 people from Student Life going and 2 from Compassion - we will be gone for 9 days...and I cannot wait!!!

These are the precious faces that I get to see...

These are the heart-wrenching sights that I will see...

And this precious little girl - I cannot wait to hold her! This is Esther - the adorable 4 year old that Melanie and Reynolds sponsor through Compassion International. We got to meet Esther last year and it was one of the most special moments of my life! Mel, Reynolds and Abby have packed a bag full of goodies for us to take her - SO excited!!

Mike and Mary (Graham's mom and stepdad) also sponsor a 6 year old little girl, Dorcas, in Kenya. I cannot wait to meet her for the first time and take her a bag full of surprises from the Hinkles! Don't worry...we will take lots of pictures!

Now with all of the excitement that comes with this trip, I have to be honest and admit that there is a little bit of anxiety as well. I know that I handled 18 hours on an airplane last year...but I cannot for the life of me imagine doing that again!! I know it will be okay, but for some reason I am so nervous about that this time around! Also, Graham and I have both been sick for the past few days - and although our doctor nursed us up pretty good today, please pray that we will feel much better when we wake up in the morning! The most anxiety, though, comes from knowing some of the sights that I am about to see. Knowing the extreme poverty that I am about to walk through and experience and observe children and babies living in...it is so overwhelming. Please pray that God will shine through each of us and that His presence will be felt by all that we come in contact with. God is doing an amazing work through Compassion by providing children and ultimately their families and their communities with HOPE - praise Him for that!

Pictures to come when we return!

One Year...

2010-01-21T21:29:00.000-06:00

One year ago today, my precious Grandmother passed away. I cannot believe it has been an entire year. One year ago from Saturday was my Grandmother and Graham's Grandfather's funerals. Yes, in the same day. That morning we had Graham's PaPaw's funeral, which Graham did, and that afternoon was Grandmother's funeral. Definitely one of the hardest and most emotional days of my life thus far....if not THE most. I wrote a card to my mom this morning saying this same thing, but I woke up this morning with these lyrics in my head:

"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!"

What comfort and JOY these words have brought to me today. To think that my sweet Grandmother and Graham's PaPaw are in their eternal home with Christ...that they are in constant worship at the feet of our Father...that they are experiencing eterninty where there is no pain, no sorrow, no worries, no sadness...that they are with Christ! Praise God that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us...to become sin for us...so that we might have eternal life with Him. Hallelujuah, what a Savior!

Help Haiti...

2010-01-13T11:33:00.000-06:00

I am in the process of putting together another blog post of pictures from our Christmas break and our time at Passion 2010, but this is much more important.

As I'm sure you have already heard, an earthquake hit Haiti yesterday causing immense amounts of damage, and costing many their lives. Haiti is the most poverty-stricken area in the Western Hemisphere. Not that any country needs to be hit with a natural disaster, but if there was ever a country that had absolutely no resources to survive a disaster to this scale, it is Haiti.

To view some pictures of the aftermath, click on the link below:

Earthquake hits Haiti

Compassion International, who is heavily involved in Haiti, has set up a Disaster Relief Fund to provide the following items for families effected by the earthquake:

Food and clean water
Temporary shelter
Basic sanitation and personal hygiene items
Medical attention and preventative health care
Family reunification and/or counseling

To donate to this fund, please visit Compassion's website. Compassion's mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. Please join us as we pray for the people of Haiti, the Compassion office in Haiti, and the many families who are effected by this disaster both here in the US and all around the world. Though times like this seem beyond hope, we know that God is in all things and that He is faithful.

White Christmas...

2010-01-10T23:21:00.000-06:00

For the first time in my life I had a WHITE Christmas! It was absolutely beautiful!!!

Graham and I spent Christmas in Oklahoma this year. We headed up there on the 23rd, and luckily we did because a blizzard hit on the 24th! I have never seen so much snow before! I love snow. Snow and fireworks. Both fascinate me. The fireworks were a random insert just then, but I always lump them into the "Things That Fascinate Me" category. Anyways... it was a wonderful Christmas! This was my first Christmas away from home - except for one in Mexico, but Mom was with me then - so officially, this was the first. I was a little emotional, to say the least, but once I got there I was A-Okay :) Well..except for when Graham got stuck on Christmas Eve. That story to come soon...

I should warn you before you read this...I got a camera for Christmas. Like a real camera. I am SO excited and cannot wait to learn more about photography! I have had so much fun with it so far...especially in OK with the snow...so get ready for lots of pictures on the horizon....

Okay, so Christmas Eve...the blizzard begins. Because of this, I could not go outside and therefore took a picture of just about EVERYTHING in Graham's mom's house. No, seriously. Everything...

It was a wonderful day...but ended with, well, tears. Ha. Graham and Mike (his stepdad) braved the snow to take Car Car home and..well..got stuck. Due to the fact that half of Oklahoma City was also stuck on the roads in the snow, no tow trucks were able to make it out that night, resulting in a slumber party...that's Graham, Mike and Car Car in her apartment, at her retirement home. Funny thought now...not so much then. So after calling my parents and crying to them...missing them so much at this point...Graham finally called (his phone had been lost in the snow) and we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 together. He promised he'd find a way back on Christmas morning, and sure enough, he did! ...after hitching a ride with a stranger at the retirement home. Seriously. That is the only time I will not care that my husband is practically hitch-hiking! Christmas day turned out to be absolutely wonderful, though. It was a beautiful day and an incredible celebration of the gift of Jesus Christ.

We were able to spend lots of time with Graham's dad and stepmom, as well, which was wonderful! I was afraid we were not going to get to see them on Christmas day, but it all worked out for us to make it over to their home that afternoon!

The rest of our time in Oklahoma was spent going back and forth between family and friends - loving every second of it! It was a wonderful week!

Continuing Traditions...

2009-12-22T16:22:00.000-06:00

This weekend Graham and I made our annual Christmas Cookies! I have to say...it was much more of a success than last year. I actually had all of my Grandmother's cookie cutters that we used each year growing up - it was so much fun reflecting on all of the fun times that we had at their house making cookies each Christmas season. Though I did not have as many fun things to decorate with as she had...it will come eventually!

If you know me, then you know I am pretty particular about things. Some may call it type-A, others may call it a perfectionist, I just like to think of it as being thoughtful :) Because of this trait of mine, I could spend HOURS decorating cookies. I have always been like this. Every sprinkle needed to be in it's exact spot and every drip of icing needed to look good. My sister, however, always liked decorating the first 2, but then got sick of it. She would throw the rest of the icing on, toss the sprinkles on top, and head on her way. I don't know why, but it would frustrate me so much as a child! I guess I just thought everyone should be as particular about their Christmas cookies as I was. I mean...they were going to Santa, of all people...right?! Well, I quickly learned this year that Graham has this same approach to decorating cookies. And by same I mean the same as Melanie...not me. For him, it is all about the taste of the cookies and since he does not like sprinkles, then he only used the icing. For me, it is all about the look of the cookies, and since I can't eat the cookies..ha..I use as many sprinkles as needed to make it look pretty :)

Here are some pictures to recap the night...

Graham so excited about making cookies.... :)

Mixing the icing...

Baked, pre-decorating...

Graham's final products...

My final products...

The final mess...

Ta-da!

We are headed to mom and dad's tonight to have our Christmas with my family, then we fly to Oklahoma tomorrow to spend Christmas this year with Graham's family. We are so excited to see all of them and spend such a special time of the year with them!

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and that it is FILLED with the JOY of Christ!

Merry Christmas!!
Graham and Beth Ann

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

2009-11-30T22:50:00.001-06:00

CHRISTMAS!!!!

This is officially my favorite time of the year. Anyone who knows me is well aware that Christmas is not only my favorite holiday, but one that I celebrate all year. Who says you can't listen to Silent Night and Jingle Bells in May? Okay...lots of people would say that you can't. But...I do. Oh well.

We decorated our house this past week (calm down...I waited until AFTER Thanksgiving)! So thankful to mom for helping me get my tree together. She had gone with me to Old Time Pottery to get all new tree decorations a few weeks ago because I wanted to do a silver/blue/green tree this year...but once I pulled all of my other decorations out I realized that everything is gold..or has warmer tones. So to relieve me from my sadness, mom came and helped me. She can decorate like no one else...SO talented...I was incredibly thankful for her help!!

Here are some pictures of our house. I'm not sure why all of my pictures are showing up a little blurry??

Our den...

Christmas Card holder...we always had this in my house growing up :)

Table Centerpiece...
Kitchen decorations...
Our tree...

My grandmother always told my mom that every Christmas tree HAS to have a bird on it. Mom surprised me with this ornament today :)
One of my favorite ornaments... I love Christopher Radko!
Front door...

Thanksgiving...

2009-11-30T22:44:00.001-06:00

This Thanksgiving was wonderful. We stayed here in Birmingham and spent the day with my entire family - both my Mom and Dad's side of the family met at my parent's house for a Thanksgiving lunch. It was great and a nice reminder of what a blessing family is.

Melanie and I braved Black Friday this year. I always say that I'm not going to fight the traffic/crowd the next year, but I always give in. I have to admit, though..there's something about it that is fun...well, stressful and fun at the same time...

The rest of the weekend was spent watching football and decorating our house for Christmas...see the above post for pictures!

Friends...

2009-11-22T19:28:00.000-06:00

I miss my friends. Plain and simple...I miss them. There is so much to be said for your time in college where all of your best friends live with you - and though I wouldn't trade where I am in life right now for anything, I miss those days! Atlanta is guilty of taking my friends. Los Angeles and Nashville, too. As far as I'm concerned...Birmingham is in the middle. So that clearly means one thing...a reunion needs to happen soon. In Birmingham. Sound good, girls? Here are some pictures of these girls I miss like crazy and look forward to seeing SOON!

Spring break cruise our senior year...so much fun...

Mollie Ann's wedding...

In Birmingham...
Heather and Molls...
Another picture from Molls' wedding...Birmingham reunion before Step Sing...

Katie's wedding shower...
Katie and Heather...
My wedding :)

These girls truly are amazing friends and I am beyond thankful for each of them. It's hard that life has us spread all over the country right now, but it is exciting to see how God is using each one of us in our jobs, marriages, and friendships to spread His Name and bring glory to Him.

I love you girls :)

Celebrations, Reflections, and Thankfulness...

2009-11-17T22:09:00.000-06:00

Graham has been in Israel for 8 days now...3 more to go and he will be home! His step-father decided to take him to Israel for his graduation-from-seminary-gift...what an incredible opportunity! I cannot wait to see all of his pictures and hear all of his stories. It is a dream of mine to visit the Holy Land... To walk where Jesus walked... Wow... How incredible. I will get a hold of some of his pictures when he returns and put them on here...so be on the lookout for those.

During his time away I have had lots of time with my family, my friends, and by myself. It has been a good time to reflect on the past year and spend lots of quality and much needed time with Jesus. As I look back over my life and see where He has taken me to ultimately bring me to where I am today, I am truly overwhelmed by His grace in my life. Every friendship, challenge, relationship, and experience I have walked through has molded me into who I am today. There are many hard times that I have walked through that I can now look back on and see God's hand in it all and truly be thankful for the lessons I learned; and while there are other hard times that I still find myself asking, "Why?" to this day, I trust that those times happened for a reason and that they have taught me a little more about myself and more importantly about who I am in Christ. HE IS FAITHFUL. I can't say it enough. On November 8, Graham and I celebrated our one year anniversary (hence all the reflection over the past year!). We had such a wonderful weekend celebrating God's grace in our lives and thanking Him for blessing our marriage in the many ways that He has. When Graham and I married one year ago, I knew it would be incredible. I had no idea, however, just how incredible it would be. I didn't think I could love him any more than I did that day. Little did I know that I would fall more and more in love with him every day thereafter! He is such a blessing in my life. Here is a picture from that weekend...

I just realized today that I never posted pictures from Graham and Leigh's birthday party! First, let me introduce you to Leigh :) Leigh moved to Birmingham last year from West Palm Beach, Florida, and works as another Event Coordinator at Student Life. Her friendship truly is such a blessing. God knew that I would need her friendship at the exact time that He brought her to Birmingham and I am thankful to Him for that! This is me and Leigh...in Kenya...

So anyways, Leigh's birthday is just a few days after Graham's, so I decided that we should celebrate...with a Pumpkin Carving party :) ...let me interrupt here and just say that Graham and I are blessed to have such great community with the people we work with at Student Life...it's not often that people find themselves hanging out with their co-workers almost every weekend...we are blessed. Okay...back to the pumpkins. Although my mom says that I carved a pumpkin when I was younger, I have absolutely no recolection of it whatsoever - therefore, I considered this my first pumpkin carving experience and was so excited! Unfortunately, no one told me that I might want to start with an easy pattern... Thanks guys... My cat turned out...well...I'll let you see for yourself:

Don't laugh. And don't worry about the toothpicks. They became necessary to hold him together after I made one cut too many...

Here are some other pictures from this part of the night:

Callie's pumpkin. Yes, it is better than mine. She has obviously done this before...

Spread out in our garage...hard at work...

KFarr and Trey...soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Fondren :)
Matt deciding which design to choose...Matt's final decision :)

One of Graham's best friends from Oklahoma, Mike, happened to be in town that weekend. It was so good to see him!
So after everyone finished their masterpieces, we had to celebrate Leigh and Graham's birthday!

Wondering why Graham's candle is crooked? Don't worry about it. Let's just say that the picture above was preceded by the pictures below...

So after the pumpkin party turned into a birthday party, it then turned into a Rock Band party...as always...

Fun Times :)

What Life Is All About...

2009-11-03T16:44:00.000-06:00

Do you ever have days that you miss someone so much that it hurts? Today is that day for me. About 10 months ago my precious Grandmother passed away. She was the most elegant, classy, lovely, kind, compassionate, and Godly woman I have ever met. She exuded Christ in ALL that she did...I have never met anyone like her. Grandmother played a huge role in my life growing up and I am beyond thankful for the 23 years that I had with her. However, today I am having a harder time looking to the good times we had and am instead feeling burdened with missing her. My family has been through so many big milestones over the past two years and anytime that I sit and reflect on those years I find myself craving a conversation with Grandmother. She had such a beautiful way of listening, talking, and sharing wisdom - I need that right now. I praise God that she was able to be at both mine and Melanie's wedding. Even though she was very confused at my wedding, she was there and I was able to celebrate a very special day with her which meant the world to me. Her love for her family was such an example to me and as I watch my family now welcome Abby into this world I am constantly reminded and reassured of the example that Grandmother was to each of us. She was truly a blessing - a huge blessing - in my life and I praise God for the time that we had together. Pain is to be expected, sadness is sure to come and go, but more than that is the rejoicing that comes in knowing that she is finally home with her Father whom she spent her entire life devoted to. What an amazing thought that she is worshiping at the feet of the God she always told me about and the God who is now my personal Lord and Savior. What a beautiful picture. Here is a picture of my Grandmother and the love of her life, my Dabado :)

Abby is continuing to do well and is just as gorgeous as ever! I love that we live only 5 minutes away from Melanie and Reynolds and therefore get to see our little niece very often. It is in times like this, when I am thinking about my Grandmother and Abby at the same time that I am reminded of what life is all about. I think about my Grandmother in her last days who although she was unable to articulate much or make sense of much, she always took time to pray - blessings for her food, prayers for her family, and thanksgiving for all the ways God had blessed her life. It was truly inspirational to watch. Her life was completely devoted to loving God and sharing His love with everyone she came in contact with. And then I look at precious little Abby who is just beginning her life here on earth. She has her whole life ahead of her - such a journey to go through. It is exciting to think about because she has incredible parents who deeply love the Lord and desire nothing more than for their daughter to live a life devoted to Christ and furthering His Kingdom. For that is what we are here for...that is our purpose. To bring glory to God and to make His name and His love known throughout the nations. Grandmother made that her life goal, and it is my prayer that my life can mirror that and be an example to little Abby as she grows as a daughter of Christ.

Here are more of the pictures that I tried to upload last time...

I am an AUNT!...

2009-10-28T15:37:00.000-05:00

This past Thursday at 11:45am, the most beautiful baby girl in the world was born...Abigail Kendrick Anderson. She was 7lbs 4oz and 21 inches of pure beauty :) The past several days have been so much fun as we have welcomed this precious blessing into our family. Melanie is already the best mother...I could not be more proud of her and Reynolds. They are going to be wonderful parents. They recognize the blessing and responsibility that was born into the world on Thursday, and they continue to look to the Lord for guidance on how to raise this child in the love of Christ and always point her towards Him. I pray that my entire family can do this for little Abby and all other children that come along....sometime....in a long time... :)

There are more pictures to come, but here are some that I already have on my computer...

My computer won't let me upload anymore for some reason right now, so I will update again soon :)

October...

2009-10-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

I never would have called myself a big U2 fan. In fact, when we were dating Graham had a poster of Bono in his room and I asked him why he had a picture of Robin Williams on his wall. I should be ashamed, I know...in my defense, though, they really do look alike...

See...??

Anyways... Graham and I went to the U2 concert a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta. Seeing as this is Graham's favorite band, he was ecstatic. I, on the other hand, was just looking forward to getting out and having a good time with some friends of ours! The concert opened with Muse and then what seemed like 5 hours later.. :) ..U2 came out on stage and I have to say...they were absolutely incredible! Turns out I am quite the U2 fan...I just didn't know that so many of those songs were theirs! I kept looking at Graham saying, "I didn't know this was a U2 song!" or "I love this song!"...I'm sure it didn't annoy him at all :) Although I don't have any pictures of me and Graham from the concert, I have some pictures of the stage which was amazing...

We are still on baby-standby with my niece. Melanie's doctor has said that Abby could come at any minute now...ahhh the anticipation! :) Her nursery is absolutely beautiful and ready to go...here are some pictures...

Amazing...

2009-10-19T10:47:00.001-05:00

Don't you love when God does things that doctors can't explain? Take Sterling Davis for example. The Davis' were told to expect at least 7 nights of recovery in the hospital post-surgery (see posts below). Sterling made it through surgery successfully with only 15-20% of the tumor remaining and was out of the hospital by FRIDAY. Seriously?! This brave little boy only had to stay in the hospital 3 nights!! God has done a mighty work in Sterling and we pray that He continues to do so as recovery and healing continue to take place. Sterling is doing amazingly well - thank you so much for all of your prayers and concerns. It truly is amazing how many people are praying for this family all over the world. All glory to God for His work in Sterling's life!

Please continue to pray as they wait for the pathology report on Sterling's tumor. There is still a journey ahead, but it is more than evident that the Davis' faith is carrying them through this time.

Here is a picture of 'Super Sterling' on his way out of the hospital:

The Power of Prayer...

2009-10-11T13:48:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for your prayers for Sterling. I have had many people ask to be updated so I want to take some time right now to do just that.

Sterling had an MRI Thursday night and an EEG Friday morning. The MRI was to see if the tumor had spread to his spine, which is apparently the first place that this type of tumor spreads to. A huge sense of relief and praise came when the MRI came back CLEAR, meaning that the tumor has not spread. Praise God!

Surgery is set for this Tuesday morning at 7:45am to remove the tumor. It will take about 7 hours to complete the procedure and the doctors have said that they should be able to get at least 85% of the tumor. Apparently the other 15% is in a "blind spot" meaning they are not sure if they will be able to get to it or not. Sometimes the part that is in the blind spot will come out with the rest of the tumor, so let us pray that this will be the case!

Sterling has been so incredibly brave throughout this entire process - what an inspiration he is to me! Who would have thought a 4 year old could be such an example to so many on what faith looks like! Roger and Becca are continuing to amaze me in the way that they are handling this entire situation. God has blessed Sterling with 2 incredible parents.

There have been so many times in my life where God has made known to me the power of prayer. Even in times where I feel that my prayers are hitting the ceiling, God never fails in His faithful ways of making Himself known to me. He answers prayers. Sometimes in the ways that we desire, and others in ways that we don't "want". We know, however, that even when prayers are answered in undesirable ways for our minds to comprehend, God is in control. His ways are PERFECT. What a comforting thought and reminder to have.

I know this is true in the life of Sterling Davis as well. Roger continues to say, "God is for us." How true those words are! There are people all over the world...literally... praying for the Davis family. Prayers have been answered in so many ways, already, and I am confident that God will continue to hear the prayers of His children and take care of Sterling in His mighty and perfect ways.

Sterling was given clearance to play in his soccer game this afternoon so we are off to cheer our little buddy on!

Thank you for praying and remember that there is power in prayer.

Please Pray...

2009-10-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

Please join us in praying for our little buddy, Sterling Davis. Sterling is 4 (almost 5) years old and recently found out that there is a one inch mass in the center of his brain. After having an arteriorgram today, they were able to determine that this mass is a low grade tumor. Sterling will have more tests run this Thursday and Friday as they determine the plan from here. Please pray for his health, his understanding, his courage, and his parents (Roger and Becca) as they face this journey together. Their faith has been such an example and encouragement to so many - may God continue to be glorified in this entire situation. We are trusting in His faithfulness, provision, comfort, strength, and healing as He makes Himself known to the Davis family in every way. We rest in His sovereignty.

Many of you may remember sweet Sterling and his sister, Landry, from our wedding. They were the ring bearer and flower girl :)

What does it look like...

2009-09-28T17:03:00.000-05:00

So I found out a couple of weeks ago that I will be returning to Kenya with Compassion International in February!!! Words cannot express how excited I am to go back to the place that forever changed my life. I do not know details of the trip, yet, but I absolutely cannot wait. I don't think that the sights that I saw while in Kenya this past year will ever leave my mind. The faces of the children, the sights of the slums, and the smells of the shanties I visited, haunt me to this day. They are ingrained in my senses...in every way possible. I cannot escape the overwhelming feeling inside of me to reach out to these people...

...But what does that look like? We are talking in church right now about James and have focused, in particular, on James 1:27. What does it look like to reach out to orphans and widows? What does it look like to change the life of a person living in poverty. I know that lives can only be changed through Christ Jesus - but what can I do to bring them to Christ as I live on the other side of the globe? The same goes with my other love...Los Mochis, MX. Again, what does it look like to reach out to these people living in poverty when I am so far away from them? Is it short term missions? Long term missions? Prayer? Financial support? A combination of those?

This is the reason that I love Compassion International. They are providing answers to the questions mentioned above. They are providing a way for people, just like you and me, to reach out to those living in poverty and bring them the one thing that they so desperately need: hope in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They are providing them with their basic needs and then raising them to find their hope not in their current circumstance, but in the fact that they are a child of God. Praise God for the work that he is doing in 26 countries around the world through Compassion. I cannot wait to return to Kenya with Compassion and see the impact they have made in even the year it will have been since my last trip there.

I recognize that there are so many ways to help those in poverty. I continue to search out what that looks like for me. But for now...I am confident that the work that God is doing through Compassion is a reflection of James 1:27.

This has always been something that I have firmly believed, but it was confirmed that much more when my church (The Church at Brook Hills) decided to focus much of their resources on funding Compassion International's Child Survival Programs in India. And by programS...I mean the ENTIRE COUNTRY of INDIA! Seriously?! When David shared this last Sunday my immediate reaction was to of course tear up...ha...but then just sit in awe of God's glory. What an amazing opportunity for Brook Hills! To read more about Child Survival Programs through Compassion International, visit this website: http://www.compassion.com/contribution/csp/faq/default.htm.

Natural Overflow of Faith...

2009-09-14T00:29:00.001-05:00

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
-James 1:27

www.compassion.com

Let the planning begin...

2009-09-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

This was a huge week for the Events team here at Student Life...we found out what teams we will be on for the Summer of 2010! This may not seem like a big deal to others, but it is incredibly important to us as it tells us which events each team will be hosting next Summer so that we can begin to plan. Graham and I have an incredible schedule that includes...Lee University in Cleveland, TN, Windermere Conference Center in Roach, MO, Gatlinburg, TN, Daytona Beach, FL, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK, Branson, MO, and Tuscarora Conference Center in Mt. Bethel, PA. We could not be more excited! If you live near any of these locations, please come this summer!

For more information about these events, as well as any other Student Life 2010 events, visit:
https://www.studentlife.com/events/home-camp.php

http://www.studentlife.com/events/theme-video.php

Back to The Real World...

2009-09-03T11:07:00.000-05:00

After several weeks of vacation/recuperation we have finally re-entered the real world. We started back to work on Tuesday of this week and things are back in full swing as we prepare for the year to come! It feels good to be back - the people that Graham and I work with are truly like family to us. We are blessed.

To catch you up on what we have been doing...

We started with a 4 day get away to the lake. We strongly considered going on a cruise during this time, but with the ones that worked with our time schedule we decided it probably wasn't the best of ideas considering the only boat that was going during that time and had space available was super cheap...scary cheap...since this was their farewell cruise. That ship is being retired this month... Enough said. We also decided it would be more fun to go on a cruise with another couple and experience it with them! Anyone interested?! So, that being said...the lake it was! You can't beat a free vacation! Melanie and Reynolds joined us for the first two days, then we stayed down for two more - it rained most of the time, but considering we slept most of the time anyways it didn't really matter to us what the weather was! It was so nice to have some days away...free of responsibilities...decisions...work...ahhhhh...so nice :) We returned to celebrate the birthday of my beautiful mother and had a wonderful birthday dinner at Melanie's house. Reynolds is a grill-master, so we always love going to eat at their house. We left a few days after that to spend a week in Oklahoma visiting Graham's family. As always, it was so great to be with them! We got to see most of his friends too which was lots of fun - they are all so sweet and so much fun to be with. Good times :)

Now we are getting back in the swing of things...and I'm loving it. I started in a new Bible study last night with some ladies of all ages from Brook Hills. We are doing a precept Bible study on the book of James, and I cannot wait. I have never done a precept study before, but I have heard that they are absolutely amazing. I will also start teaching Sunday School next Sunday which I could not be more excited about! I guess 'teaching' is a relative term when the kids were born between May-July 2008 :) Precious. It is good practice for my litttle niece who will be here SO SOON!!!!! The nursery is finished and ready to go...I will put some pictures up just as soon as I have them. It is beautiful!

I got to talk with one of my very best friends, Briana, last night for almost 2 hours. It had been a while since we had been able to actually catch each other...so we had lots to catch up on :) It was wonderful hearing her voice...and since she recently moved to California we of course had to plan a trip for me to come visit her...right Rae?! :)

One other exciting thing... Fall is well on it's way which not only means incredible weather...but it also means college football is about to kick off! I just know that Auburn is going to take it away this year :) .....

That's about all that is going on here with the Hills. Life is good and we are blessed!

Clarification...

2009-08-13T00:35:00.000-05:00

...Graham and I are NOT moving to the North! After my last post I believe that I made it sound like we are packing our bags and moving to New York. Wrong. We are loving life in the South right now and will stay here until God calls us elsewhere :) Whether that be Alabama, Kentucky, New York, or Alaska...who knows...but for now, we remain Southerners. My apologies to all of those who called with questions about our Northern-bound plans. No worries :)

The Northern Ways...

2009-08-05T13:57:00.000-05:00

We are in our last week of camp right now. It is such a bittersweet time. Part of me cannot wait to be home and get back to the normalcy of everyday life, but another part of me aches at the fact that I will not be with these 24 amazing people every day. Well, except for Graham of course...and thankfully I get to be with him every day for the rest of my life! :)

I was able to go home last weekend for my dear friends', Alan and Amanda Bates, wedding. I love these two so much and was so happy to watch them as they begin this journey called life together! In typical Beth Ann fashion, I ended my night in Birmingham with a trip to the Emergency Room...with a sweet case of Bronchitis. Thanks to a shot and some good meds, I am beginning to feel better, but can tell that my body is in need of some serious rest. Please pray for renewed energy and rest for me and my team as we finish the summer!

I am currently sitting in Mt. Bethel, PA...and it is gorgeous! I always pictured this area to be more city-like (don't make fun if that is completely crazy of me to think...my geography skills are not the best), but it is the most green and lush place I have ever been before. Absolutely beautiful!! After pushing our team to finish load-in quickly, we surprised everyone with a quick trip up to New York City for the night! It was incredible. There were many people on our team, including Graham, who had never been to NYC before, so it was so much fun experiencing this with them for the first time. We started off having dinner in Little Italy at La Mela...this food was incredible! It was a family-style restaraunt with amazingggg food. They bring out different courses...5 courses...and you share it with your table. Our meal included tomato/mozerella cheese, vegetables, pastas (including a wonderful potato pasta for us gluten-sensitive folks :)), meats, and dessert....all cooked Italian-style...all amazing!! We then got on a subway (which was quite an experience for many of us southerners...) and headed to Time Square! We could only spend about 30 minutes here taking pictures and gawking at the lights/billboards/people...but it was worth every second! Here are some pictures:

Office girls...

La Mela...

Waiting on the subway...

Leadership in Time Square...
BT09 girls waiting on the subway...
Incredible...
Little Italy...

So here is the conclusion that I have come to as I have spent time in the North. I love it. It is different. Very, very different. People look at you a little crazy if you smile or say hi to them as you pass them on the streets. Sir and Ma'am are not in the vocabulary. Loud. GORGEOUS. Fun. Exciting. Fast-paced. Green. Big City. Lights. Peaceful. Corn fields. Eccentric. Traffic. Fashion. Chilly. Culture Shock :)

I was talking with Graham tonight...and although there are so many contrasting ways to describe what I have seen of the North, the one thing that sticks out to me the most is the fact that it is very unchurched. As we were driving up to Pennsylvania and then through New Jersey on our way to New York, I saw maybe 2 churches. Maybe. As I talk with the Youth Ministers of the churches that are attending camp this week, it is amazing to me the situations that they deal with as ministers in the north. In the South, if someone is sick or if someone loses a family member, what is the first thing that happens? A phone call is made from a local church to see what meal they can bring to their home to help take care of them for a night. One of the first phrases thrown out is, "I will be praying for you." Although those of us from the South know that this is, unfortunately, not always the most sincere or genuine statement because it is what you are supposed to say, it can at least serve as a comfort during trying times. From what I can gather from conversations here, this just isn't the case. For example, we have four students here this week who have never heard of Christianity. They have never been around christians, heard about Christ, never been to a church, never known that a camp existed for people their age to go to during the summer and spend time away from smoking/drinking/abuse/parents. They signed up for this week of camp seeking a refuge, and just two weeks before coming they surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Christ. They are meeting in a home in New Jersey with 9 other students, learning who God is and who they are in Him. They are here, for the first time, experiencing worship. They are loving it. They have never been reached out to before or asked if they can be helped, or told that someone is praying for them. Graham and I were talking with the man whose house they meet at during the week and he was telling us all about these students and their experience this week. Praise God for His sovereign ways of bringing people together and showing Himself in mysterious ways. These students' lives are being changed and they are excited to take this in to their homes and their communities. Praise Him!

It is because of stories like this that I cannot get the thought out of my mind of coming to a place like New Jersey or Philadelphia or New York City and ministering to these people. Reaching out to these people who so desperately need to be loved and need the love of Christ in their lives. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone... It would be a HUGE transition. But it is definitely something that Graham and I see the need for and pray about. I mean, let's face it, who ever said that I deserve to live within my comfort zone?

One of my best friends growing up, Katie Furr, now lives in NYC teaching and ministering to students through a Teen Center. After spending some time up here, my respect for her has grown tenfold. Not that it wasn't there before...but praise God for people like her who throw out what they know as familiar to them and go where they see a need.

We have a few more days left in PA then we will begin the drive back down to Alabama. Our worship leader this week is Brett Younker...amazing...and our camp pastor is Sam Bhatt. It is great to be back with Sam - he has such a special way of reaching students and encouraging them (and myself) to dive deeper into the Word of God.

Summer Update...

2009-07-21T07:19:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have been able to update you guys on what is going on...my apologies! The past few weeks have been rather eventful...to say the least! We wrapped up our week at Lee University and headed to the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, GA to spend a week with Ed Newton and the Jeff Johnson Band. This was a very small week of camp, but still God did huge things in the lives of the students who were at camp that week. It is pretty refreshing to have such a small group sometimes...it is a time for the staff to truly pour into the students and spend quality time with the camp pastor and worship leader. We celebrated the 4th of July that week and what started off as picking up the worship center after worship on the 4th, turned in to a 2 hour dance party with BT09 and the Jeff Johnson Band. So fun! Nothing, though, topped Graham carrying on his tradition of singing, "God Bless America," during celebration on the morning of the 4th...

What a proud moment. .....

It was a great week...but unfortunately ended with almost half of my team being sick. Very, very sick... The next week of camp was at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center again with Adam Robinson and Matt Papa. This was a wonderful week for the students...the feedback we heard was so encouraging...but for our staff, this week was pretty tough. With 8 people being out due to being sick, the rest of our team had to step up and take on two or three extra jobs in order for the week to run smoothly and hopefully not allow the kids to realize that anything was different. It was a challenging week, but a good bonding experience for our team as we realized that in order to get through the week we had to lean on each other, and most importantly God to have the strength, energy, and health to carry on. It was funny because the week before everyone got sick we had Jeff Johnson as a worship leader. Jeff has a song called, "Ruin Me." Our team LOVES this song so while he was here we sang it constantly. Funny how that played out in our team over the next week..! Still such a great song though :) I don't believe any pictures were taken this week...

By the time that we finished at Georgia Baptist, everyone was feeling much better as we headed down to our largest event of the summer...Student Life @ Daytona. This is the event that has consumed most of my time in the office leading up to the summer. With 7,000 people attending the event, there is much preparation involved!! It was, however, definitely worth every second of work. Our camp pastor for the week was Louie Giglio and our worship leader was Chris Tomlin. We had concerts on two nights with Leeland and David Crowder, as well. It was great being back with these guys and getting the chance to learn more about our Father through them. Praise God for the gifts He has blessed them with! I can honestly say that there is not one that I walked into the worship room and did not get chills or tear up. 7,000 students worshipping the Lord....7,000 students learning more about Christ and who they are in Him....7,000 students sitting on the edge of their seats as they learn what it means to live for Christ and ways that they impact the world for His glory. Amazing. During our time in Daytona, we had 753 Compassion children sponsored! That means that 753 more children around the world are now able to be released from the chains of poverty and introduced to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God! Here are some pictures from this incredible week...

We are now back to where we started the summer off at Covenant College. It is good to be back! I can't believe we are on our 10th week and only have 3 more to go. This time has flown by! Our camp pastor this week is Sam Bhatt and our worship leader is David Odom. I am looking forward to a great week with them!

Here are some other pictures from the summer that I just haven't had time to put up...they are in random order, but regardless...here they are.. :)

Ashley Turner, a precious girl on my team, was baptized one night of our first week at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center. This girl is amazing and has committed her life to the mission field. Praise God!

Out to dinner in Chattanooga!

On the sky lift in Gatlinburg...maybe I had to beg to go on this... :)
At the top of a mountain in Gatlinburg

Our team mascot...Hoot!
Some of my favorites!
Dinner with Lindsay and Justine
Welcome to Late Nite...
Shea! This girl is amazing.

On the road...

2009-06-30T07:12:00.000-05:00

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far a it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
~Romans 12:9-21

I love this passage of scripture and just wanted to share it with you before I went any further!

The past two weeks of camp have been incredible! Last week we were in Gatlinburg with 4,500 students - it was unbelievable the amount of students there! It brings chills to me just thinking about the sight of 4500 students worshipping the Lord. Wow. Those are images that I will never forget. We had a wonderful week with Louie Giglio and Fee - such great guys with a huge heart for the Lord and bringing others to know Him. I was so encouraged by them. We also had two concerts throughout the week with Leeland and David Crowder Band - both were great and seemed to really draw in the students who were there to a genuine time of worship. This was my first time working with any of these guys...I look forward to being with them again in just a few short weeks!

Gatlinburg is quite an interesting place in case you didn't know. There are more Old Time Photo Shops (which maybe we did one as a team...), fudge, candy apples, taffy, souveniers and tank tops that any one person can handle. The week that we were there was Student Life week as well as AARP week...interesting combo of people, that's for sure...! There was something just so special about that week though - the people who were there for Student Life @ Gatlinburg were wonderful - so excited to be there and so encouraging to me and our staff. It is amazing how far a "Thank You" will go! Oh how much I am learning this summer...

We loaded out of the Convention Center beginning at 11:00pm..yes..pm..the last night of the event and finished up around 8:00 am..yes..am..the next morning. An all-nighter of coiling cables, undoing trusses, gathering chain motors, packing up an office full of computers papers, printers, office supplies, and packing 4 penske trucks...big penske trucks...full of all of this stuff! It was a looong night, but I was so proud of our team as their attitudes stayed wonderful for all 8 or so hours of loading out and packing trucks. We ended up staying in Gatlinburg that next night in order to allow everyone to rest - it was a much needed break for the team and served as a great time to catch up on sleep!

We are finishing up our week of camp at Lee University tomorrow. It has been a wonderful week here as well. Ed Newton has been our speaker for the week, with Pocket Full of Rocks as the worship leaders. It has been great :)

Each week I sit in on meetings and listen as youth pastors share prayer requests for their students. I am amazed at the things that go on in this world. And I do not mean amazed in a good way... There are teenagers all over this world dealing with more struggles and difficult situations than I can't even begin to imagine having to deal with. Students come to camp every week dealing with broken homes, other troubles at home, abuse, addiction, deaths in the family...the list could go on and on. It is heartbreaking to hear. But...more than that...is the AMAZING ways that God works in the lives of these students...especially while at Student Life Camp. Nothing brings me more joy and there is no greater miracle than when youth ministers or Family Group Leaders come tell me that one of these students, that we have been praying for, comes to know Christ throughout their time at camp. Praise God!

Headed to the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, GA tomorrow...need to go pack the office truck now! :)

Let Your Kingdom Come...

2009-06-15T07:11:00.000-05:00

We are wrapping up our 4th camp at Covenant College - Jeremy Kingsley and the Stephen Miller Band were wonderful! We leave tomorrow afternoon to head to Gatlinburg for one of our largest events...ah! I am excited about it, but have to admit that it's a little nerve racking at the same time :) 4,500 students is a lot...but it is exciting that they are all coming together to spend a week worshiping our Lord and Savior. Our speaker for Gatlinburg will be Louie Giglio, and the Worship Leader will be Fee. We will also have two concerts by David Crowder Band and Leeland. I am looking forward to a wonderful week!

Last week with Aaron Ivey we sang a song called 'Let Your Kingdom Come' that has continued to stay in my head...the words are so incredible...

Give us a love for peace
Move us to brokenness
Our generosity,
Release from poverty

Your Kingdom here and now
To the least of these
Distribute what we have
That all may taste and see

Let Your Kingdom come
Let Your will be done
All the Earth will say
and echo angels' praise
That You are God

So, let the sick run free
The orphan find her home
The captured man will know
Release from slavery

Your Kingdom here and now
To the least of these
Distribute what we have
That all may taste and see

We pray and ask for hope
We pray and ask for peace
We pray and ask for justice
We pray and ask for You

Let Your Kingdom come
Let Your will be done
All the Earth will say
and echo angels' praise
that You are God

BT09...

2009-06-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

For the past three weeks, two times a day, I have found myself sitting in corporate worship with teenagers from all around the country. Interacting with students day in and day out is such a blessing! Sitting in the back of an auditorium and watching students encounter Christ is more than powerful. In just these past three weeks, God as taught me so much about myself and who I am in Christ. I have been challenged in my job, challenged in my walk with Christ, and challenged by my amazing team and their hearts for the Lord. I praise God for blessing me and Graham with an incredible team of college students and college graduates. These people are beyond wonderful! Their love for Christ and desire to serve in His name never ceases to inspire me. The Blue Team...also known as BT09...is a blessing to me!

I truly love my job. I love the fact that I am able to play a part in making camp happen for students across the country. I pray that my work makes the work of every Youth Minister attending Student Life this summer easier so that they can spend more of their week at camp pouring into their students. My favorite part of my job, though, is getting to love on and encourage 11 of the most incredible girls I have ever met. Take a look at them:

Aren't they gorgeous??! These girls are some of the most passionate ladies I have ever met when it comes to talking about Jesus Christ. They have truly challenged me, more than ever, to dive into the Word and strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I praise God for each of them and for giving me the opportunity to love on them.

Covenant College has been such a fun place to 'live' for the past several weeks. It is on top of Lookout Mountain - the view is INCREDIBLE!!! The weather here is crazy - there are times where we are literally in the midst of a cloud. This is what it looked like the other day...

That's about all that is going on right now! We have a camp that ends tomorrow morning, and another that starts tomorrow afternoon so things are about to pick up once again around here! After this coming camp, though, we're off to Gatlinburg for our Student Life @ Gatlinburg event! I am really looking forward to it. I will write more later...for now it's time to shower and get ready for Youth Minister's meeting and worship tonight. Have a wonderful night :)

Oh...and an exciting update on this summer...throughout our 3 weeks at Covenant, we have had a total of 95 children sponsored through Compassion International! Praise God!

The Simple Things in Life...

2009-06-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

A swimming pool. Pretty common thing, right? Almost everyone in the United States, by the time that they are 5 years old, has spent time in a swimming pool. Probably several times a year, in fact. Many people have them in their backyard, in their neighborhood, at their Country Club, at the condo they stay in while visiting the beach. There are indoor swimming pools, outdoor swimming pools, infinity pools, lap pools, Olympic-size pools – none of which really impress people here because we are so used to seeing them day in and day out. (…well…except for infinity pools, those are pretty amazing to look at!) Would you agree with all of this?!

Well let me tell you someone who would not agree with this. Hezron Ongode Aidi. Hezron is a native of Kenya who grew up as a sponsored child in Compassion International. His story of God's faithfulness, grace, and compassion in his life is truly amazing. When I went to Kenya back in February, I had the pleasure of meeting Hezron, an LDP student with a heart of gold. LDP stands for "Leadership Development Program" - this program is part of Compassion International and allows students to interview in order to be accepted into the program. Once in the program they are able to attend a university as well as participate in classes through Compassion on how to be a leader. Hezron, who grew up in the most poverty-stricken conditions, is now a college graduate with a Computer Science degree. Amazing! This summer, Graham and I have the privilege of traveling from event to event with Hezron so that he can share his story of how God used Compassion International to break the cycle of poverty in his life.

One of the first days that Hezron was in the United States, Graham and I were able to steal him away for the day and show him around Birmingham. We started the day by going to my dad's office so that Hezron could see not only what an American business office looks like, but especially all of the technilogical components in Dad's law firm. Hezron walked around constantly saying, "Oh my...oh my...oh my..." He is so amazed at how BIG everything is and how COLD everywhere is! Later that afternoon we asked Hezron if he wanted to go see a movie or go bowling, or what all he wanted to do. He hesitated for a while, but then finally said, "I think I would like to take a swim." Now let me just remind you that Birmingham went through a week in May where it was just cold - not swimming weather, that's for sure. He continued saying, "I have always wanted to get into a swimming pool. They look so pretty and I have only seen them in the movies." Graham and I looked at each other and there was no more question of what we were going to do that afternoon - Hezron was about to take his first dip into a swimming pool! Our neighborhood has a pool so we let Hezron borrow one of Graham's swimsuits and took off to the pool. I felt like such a mom - I was thrilled to witness Hezron experience this! He absolutely LOVED the pool!!! He splashed around and practiced his "swimming" the entire time. Graham and I asked him if he had ever swam before and he said, "Yes, but only in Lake Victoria, not a pool." Lake Victoria...not an answer you hear to that question very often around here! When he got out of the pool he started walking towards one of the chairs next to the pool...I asked him if he was done swimming and he said, "Yes, but now I need to bask. That is what you do when you get out of a pool, right? You bask?" So he proceeded to "lay out" for a while after swimming :) On our way back to the Student Life office that afternoon, Hezron looked at Graham and said, "What is the date today?" Graham told him and he said, "I am going to write that down in my journal because this is the best day of my life!"

Wow. A swimming pool - this memory will always stick out to Hezron as being one of the "best days of his life." Graham and I could not move past this. That night Graham and I went to a Coldplay concert with some friends of ours and yes, we had a blast, but at the same time we could not stop thinking about the fact that for us to be entertained we have to pay over $100, have lights, music, and incredible talent in front of us. And even still we find ourselves complaining that our seats are not close enough. Seriously?

I'm so thankful to Hezron for reminding me that it is the simple things in life that we should be thankful for...

Here are some pictures (and a video) from Hezron's experience in the pool, as well as our pictures from the Coldplay concert...

This is what we call, "basking" :)

At the Coldplay concert...

One of my favorite people... We were freeeezing...!!

Relaxe and Celebrate...

2009-05-11T21:54:00.000-05:00

Work is in full swing as we are headed out on the road in TWO WEEKS. Wow...I cannot believe the summer is already here! Over the next couple of weeks Graham and I will be working to finish up all of the details necessary to prepare for our camps this summer. Although it is a fun time of the year as we are beginning to meet some people on our team, it is also a time of year that causes...well...Stress. So...in major need of some relaxation, Graham and I joined my family at my parent's lake house at Lake Martin this weekend. This is most definitely one of my very favorite places on earth. There's nothing like spending the day playing outside...on the boat, wave runner, grilling out, laying in the hammock, fishing...it's the best!

Here are some pictures of my heaven on earth :)...

It was a wonderful weekend and a very special time as my family was able to be together for a very important day....Mother's Day! This Mother's Day was particularly special because not only did I get to celebrate the blessing of my incredible mother, but this was also my first Mother's Day to celebrate my husband's mother and stepmother . These three women are so wonderful - they have been and continue to be an example to both Graham and myself. I am so thankful for the example they are to me in so many ways. What a blessing they are! Here are these beautiful women...

We are so blessed.