Growing Up!

I haven't posted pictures of Lorelai lately, so I should probably update on how much she's growing! She's almost sitting up now. She actually got pretty close one morning this week...she was sort of propping herself up with her hands in front of her. If she could just get her balance to keep from falling to the side, she's have it down for sure! Lorelai weighs a little less than 13 pounds and is probably about 24 inches long. She's started to really like "standing up" and her little legs are getting so strong!

Lo loves to laugh and grin. She'll get so tickled and then hide her face from you. It's pretty fun to play her version of Hide-and-Seek! Yesterday when I picked her up from P-Pop and D-Dar's house, she was in such a happy mood! Everytime P-Pop would talk, she would show off all of her gums. She'll grin really big and pull her bottom lip down so you can see all of her bottom gums...it just melts my heart!

These are just a few of my favorites from yesterday's shoot with Cindy Martin. Lorelai was all smiled out by the time we actually got where we were going! Maybe we'll get to see those dimples next time:)

I just love this dress! I got it at Best Dressed Kids online. It's one of my favorites. I can't wait til it actually fits!:)

This is as close to a smile as we got yesterday! Can't keep those hands out of her mouth!

Lorelai loves being on her belly! She'll talk and laugh and play her "Hide-and-Seek" game!

This is one that I took in the front yard before church Wednesday night. I couldn't find her headband that I needed to clip this bow to, so I just clipped it in her hair, and it actually stayed! She was in such a good mood, and I was so proud of her bow, so I just had to take pictures! This is one of her bows that Candy Lineberry made. We'll be making another order VERY soon:)

She's blowing lots of bubbles lately! All of that time that her hands spend in her mouth makes for lots and lots of slobber:) I think teething is just around the corner for us. Oh what an adventure!

Stupid Cute!

Tyler & Abbie had their engagement pictures done a few weeks ago. Yesterday, they were posted online. Their photographer was Rachel Blackwell in the Fayetteville area, and let me just say that she is AMAZING! Her ideas for pictures were so unique and fun! They fit Ty & Ab so well! I just had to share this link to her facebook page so that you can have a taste of their pictures. I know I'm a bit partial because I love these 2 so much, but they're still incredibly beautiful pictures. So go look at them! Now!

Something to think about...

" 'Joy is a great ingredient in praise ... Praise is the most joyful work in the world.' Therefore, if God is truly for us, if he would give us the best and make our joy full, he must make it his aim to win our praise for himself. Not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can only be found in knowing and praising him, the most beautiful of all Beings." - John Piper

"God is for us, and therefore has been, is now and always will be, first, for himself. I urge you not to resent the centrality of God in his own affections, but to experience it as the fountain of your everlasting joy." - John Piper

I'm spending a small part of my morning reading a sermon by John Piper from 1984, and my spirit is stirring to share the truths of God's Word. John Piper is a man of God. I believe he preaches the truths of the scriptures with accuracy. His messages are challenging, and definitely not watered down! He doesn't preach a flowery gospel, or a feel-good gospel. He preaches the truth, and that seems to be a rarity in today's evangelical churches.

But this shouldn't be a post about a man. Piper is a godly man, but he's not a god. My God is the only true King...the God of all Creation. Everlasting, He is the only One to be praised. The sermon that I'm referring to can be found here. It probably takes 15 to 20 minutes to read, uninteruppted. It's worth the time it takes to sit down and read it, or listen to it. I know that I exist to glorify God, but have I ever really considered primarily why God exists? Does He exist, first, to love me? Does He exist, first, to save me? Does He exist, first, to take care of me? No! Sure, He does all of those things in His existance, but that is not the primary purpose of his existance. His ultimate purpose is the same as my purpose, and that is to glorify Himself. It would do me good, and you as well, to learn and believe this truth. It would do us all good to learn that God is not God for us first. He is not who He is simply for our pleasure and enjoyment. He is God for HIS pleasure, for HIS glory! We just get to reap the benefits of His existance!

Thank You, Lord, that You allow us to boast in You. Thank You, God, that You are gracious enough to allow us to praise You. May I never go a day without giving You all glory and honor and praise. Help me to understand that You chose me as Your child when I was so undeserving, so filthy! Forgive me for failing to glorify You as I should. Help me be better, Lord. Teach me to love You and praise You in a way that would be pleasing to You. Thank You for saving me and calling me into Your presence. You alone are God!

It's Been a While

Seems like forever since I've posted an update on my baby girl. Since I have a few minutes, I thought I should try and let everybody know how she's growing and changing!

Every day with Lorelai is such a blessing and a wonderful adventure! Lately it's like she changes overnight. She's so much more vocal. She discovered last week that she can scream...and she really seems to like it! Usually it's cute, but sometimes it's a bit much. Especially when she's throwing a fit. Her favorite sound to make for the moment is a throaty "g" sound. It's so funny! She'll raise her eyebrows and look at you like she's saying something VERY important. Lo's also learned to blow bubbles, which is pretty entertaining! She's of course started to drool like a maniac. Occasionally she wears a bib, but I usually just let her go to town on her clothes. Baby clothes aren't supposed to stay perfectly crisp and dry, right?

I love watching her learn about her environment and about what her body can do. She's slowly starting to figure out that she has control over those limbs that we call arms. She'll grip a toy if you put it in her hands, and she's really great at bringing stuff to her mouth. *cue the slobber* She loves tummy time and is so good at sitting up on her hands! Looks like she'll be crawling everywhere in no time at all! She's rolling over really well now. She actually rolled from her front to her back for the first time on March 31...her 3 month "birthday!" We were so incredibly proud of our baby girl! I'm sure if anyone could have seen us making such a big fuss over her, they would have been highly entertained. She's managed to roll from her back to her front a few times, which is much harder, but I'm not quite sure she actually understands what she did.

Lorelai's very close to sitting up on her own. Her head control is pretty well established, and she does really well in her Bumbo seat. She just hasn't quite gotten her balance down. Won't be long though! And she smiles that beautiful gummy smile that I absolutely adore! It melts my heart everytime I see it! She cracks me up...when you go to give her kisses on her face, she opens her mouth REALLY wide and just grins and grins!

This little girl has everyone in her life wrapped around all of her tiny fingers! I just love watching everyone interact with her. It makes my heart happy to watch Jeremy be a daddy to her. And watching all of her grandparents oooh and aaah over her every move is absolutey precious. These days are days I will treasure forever. I know that it's SO true when people tell you that they grow up too fast! So I'm holding on to today and enjoying every moment I have with my sweet Lorelai Roxane!

A Challenge

I just left Julie Walker's blog feeling incredibly challenged, and I couldn't help but share. Julie's a mother of 3 beautiful kids; Judd is 5, Adley is 2, and Nolan will be 1 at the end of the month! She's got her hands full, that's for sure! But in the midst of her crazy schedule, she finds time to post something so challenging that it cannot be ignored. You would be remiss not to read it. Julie isn't looking for praise, she's simply sharing her heart. I'm so thankful to my God for giving me friends like Julie Walker. Check out her post at Until HE Comes.

Beautiful Flowers

Just in case it's not totally obvious yet, I love taking pictures. And of course I have the perfect subject in Lorelai! A couple of weeks ago, a great opportunity for pictures presented itself, so I had to take adavantage of it.

Mrs. Kay Hall passed a way almost two years ago after a long battle with breast cancer. I loved Mrs. Kay. She was a precious, beautiful, inspiring woman. I watched her fight the battle with constant courage and faith. She leaned on her Savior when she faced challenges, and she never stopped praising her King. This year Mrs. Kay's sister-in-law, Mrs. Barbara, who also battle breast cancer, planted beautiful pink tulips in memory of Mrs. Kay. She invited people over to see them and take pictures in them, and since tulips are some of my favorite flowers, I had to take advantage of them! Here are just a taste of the pictures we got of Lorelai in her Easter dress in the beautiful tulips. The flowers were much taller than she is, so it was a challenge, but we really enjoyed it.

Posing with Nanny & D-Dar in front of Mrs. Kay's sign

So happy to be outside in the sunshine!

Thank you, Mrs. Barbara, for this wonderful memorial to Mrs. Kay. I thought about her the whole time we were taking pictures. The flowers were beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as Mrs. Kay and her sweet spirit.