One year ago today, Brian and I read the vows that we had written to one another. Vowing to love, cherish, support, pray for, and honor one another, until the Lord calls us home.
What a wonderful celebration it was!!! Truly blessed by God and designed by His hand. I am so blessed to call Brian my husband and now to watch him as he grows into a wonderful father for our precious little girl.
The year previous had been so trying for me. After losing Daniel, I never thought I would have the ability to love again. I didn't understand what God was doing when Brian stepped back into my life. I spent much time in prayer and weeping to the Lord, feeling as though I was hurting so many people by falling in love again. The Lord assured me this was what He wanted for my life and I am so glad I listened. Brian is the most amazing husband! I truly am "Blessed beyond Measure".
Lord, Thank you for Brian and his wonderful love! Thank you for his leadership in our home and for the faith that he has. I pray that we will only continue to have many more years together, blessed by you!
Our last morning together, Sierra gets a wake up call (and good morning kisses) from cousin Pierce. What a great week we had! So many adventures and blessed moments together. I am sad our time together has come and went. I have so many pictures to share. I will create a slide show over the next few days and hopefully post it soon. Now back to a very quiet house....
I might be out of the blogging world for a little bit this week. My sister Katie and my nephew Pierce are coming on Monday to visit us for a few days. To say the least, I am SUPER excited! Being the social girl that I am, I love having people around. I have not found a Mom's group yet, so during the day, I get a little stir-crazy with no one to talk to or hang out with. Not to say that I don't LOVE hanging with just Sierra, but at this age, adult interaction is a bit more appealing to me.
Also, I just love sister time and my nephew is the best kid in the world (sorry all other Mama's out there). I love playing with him and doing fun things. At 18 months old, he is so curious and he loves to learn new things - totally my element, hence the pursuit of a teaching degree! :)
This upcoming week we have plans for the zoo, the beach, the pool, the playground, (probably the shopping mall :)), photo shoots, fun, fun, fun, and above all fellowship! Can you tell I am excited? You can come visit me too and I promise I will be excited for that as well! We love visitors! It stinks living away from family, especially now that we have a kiddo of our own.
Anyway, with my sister here I might not get a chance to blog that much (can you blame me?), but I will be sure to post a slide show of pictures of all our fun after she has left! :)
Also, my cousin Sissy is flying in on Friday morning and staying with us. :) We can't wait to see her too! Yah for lots of family visitors!!!
I was reading on my little development chart that by 4 months of age a child can hold his/her head up at a 90 degree angle. Of course I think Sierra is wonderful and based on her tummy time yesterday morning, she is a bit above average; and she isn't even 3 months old yet! :) Although she isn't holding toys yet or grabbing at things, she definitely has strong muscles! This mommy isn't wishing for the crawling stage just yet though. I still like that she is immobile. :) This way, I know where she is at all times. :) But we do believe God created her just perfect and oh, so beautiful; as you can tell by some of the looks she gives in the photos, she has real personality too!
And...of course...I took a ton of pictures and video. :) Enjoy!
(Sorry about the cat jumping on my head in the video! It caught me off guard. Also in the video, you can see we have a "drool monster" on our hands. :) )
A couple days ago we had really bad storms in the evening and the wind gusts were so bad, they blew the cover off our bird feeder. Well, the squirrels took this as an invitation to enjoy the birdseed. This little guy, however, found himself in the feeder to enjoy a snack, but then had a little trouble getting back out. I tried to take video because it was simply hilarious. Brian and I both stood there laughing at him trying to get out of the feeder. The video didn't come out though, so the pictures will have to do! :)
Most of Sierra's wake time these days consists of her with her hands in front of her, near her face, or in her mouth. She is definitely trying to figure out what these things are that she has so much control of now (instead of just punching herself in the face like she was doing for a while with all her jerky movements). It is fun to watch her explore and learn. She is not yet grabbing anything or holding onto toys, but that motor control is probably just around the corner.
Two years ago today I sat by Daniel's hospital bed in our living room and watched him peacefully go Home to Jesus.
So much has happened in those two years and God has truly blessed me. But there is not a day that goes by that I do not think about Daniel and how much he meant to me. Our 6 years together were short, but there are so many memories.
The video below was created by me and our friend Jeremy Pickwell. It was watched by many at Daniel's memorial service on June 24, 2006. The second song on the video was picked by Daniel, himself before he passed away; he chose this song hoping it would be a reminder to all those that he loved what he "wished" for them after he was gone. Daniel asked Jeremy to sing it live at the memorial service for him. Jeremy learned the song in less than a week and did an incredible job singing it in memory of Daniel. Unfortunately, all video cameras at the memorial service stopped working prior to Jeremy's performance, so this video has the original artists version on it.
This video is hard to watch, it brings tears and laughter - every picture has a story behind it. But it is so comforting to know that we do not grieve like those who have no hope, as Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13. As Believers, we will be reunited with the Lord one day soon.
*Thank you to my Sister and Brother-in-Law, Kate & Shaun for working to get this video up on You Tube for me so that I could share it with you all. I hope you are blessed by it.
Last year I posted this poem by Mrs. Lyman Hancock and I believe it is only fitting to post it once again. For I know, "His Best" is what Daniel always wanted us to remember.
Thank you so much for letting me borrow your "Bumbo Seat"! I love it! It has been fun sitting in it and learning to hold my head up. I am trying to get stronger so I can play with you real soon.
Daddy really likes the Bumbo seat too and he wants to put it in the bathtub to help me sit up during bath time. Mommy told him that wasn't really a great idea, even though it would make bath time easier, we don't want to ruin your Bumbo seat.
Mommy took some video and LOTS of pictures while I was sitting in the Bumbo and I think she is going to post them below. Thanks again for letting me borrow the seat. You are such a great cousin and a wonderful sharer! Can't wait to see you really soon and "talk" to you in person.
I love you lots. Love, Your cousin, Sierra
Boy, my head is heavier than it looks!
Sitting up with a little assistance.
I love this seat so much - I am laughing out loud!
Here I am just chillin'
This is the relaxed position that Mommy taught me. :)
Sorry the following video is sideways...this is how I filmed it and my computer won't let me rotate it (at least I haven't figured out how). Sorry!
We had a wonderful time in Richmond for Father's day weekend. We spent most of the day Saturday at Short Pump Town Center shopping with my mom, looking for a dress for my brother's upcoming wedding. Brian found her an awesome dress and she looks wonderful in it! Can't wait for the wedding now! We walked around, enjoyed lunch together, checked out my brothers' wedding registry at Crate and Barrel, and did a lot of window shopping. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time together.
Saturday evening we enjoyed baby back ribs with ice cream cake for dessert (requested by dad) to celebrate Father's Day and we all sat around and watched the US Open together (a perfect end to the day for both the fathers in attendance - my dad and my hubby).
Sunday morning was exciting, as Brian and I traveled north to Fredericksburg to attend church service at my home church - Lifepoint. What a blessing it was to see my in-laws (Daniel's family) and many friends whom we love and miss dearly. It was especially great to see my Pastor and his wife and son. Although our time to visit was very short and that was sad for me, it was great to introduce them to Sierra. I wish we did not live so far away, hopefully we will see them again soon.
Here are some pictures from the weekend. Sierra got her first bath in Mimi and Papa's kitchen sink (which Daddy took video of) and had a blast spending time with Uncle Keith and Aunt Kirsten. She especially loved snuggling up with her daddy though, on his very 1st Father's Day! He is a wonderful daddy and I can already tell she is going to be a daddy's girl (if she isn't already)!
