It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks unto Him and bless His name." Psalm 100:4b

18 months

Andrew is 18 months old today! Time flies when you're, eh, having fun! Just kidding. We ARE having fun with our precious boy. And he is ALL boy. Despite all the "girly" stuff floating around our house, he is still obsessed with anything that has wheels--fire trucks, cars, school buses, tractors, etc. We have those little toy cars/trucks all over the house...he even keeps one in his bed! He loves books and enjoys being read to. About 99% of the time he picks a book about trucks, cars, or buses. Imagine that!

Andrew still loves to play ball but we are having to discourage that in the house. He now thinks he can throw any object. He enjoys watching Sesame Street, and has a particular fondness for Elmo (original, huh?). He's still busy chewing on his binky and carrying around what we like to call "blankets with heads". He has about 5 of those and doesn't seem to have a preference for a particular one. We probably should work on limiting the binky but when we take it away he chews on furniture, shoes, people, etc. So we're sticking with it for now.

He is starting to climb and is quite proud of himself when he can get into a chair by himself. He is not saying much--well, at least that we can understand. His most-often used word is "okay". That's his answer to pretty much any question. When he's whinning he says Mama. When Rick leaves he cries and says Dada. Every now and then we'll hear him say Abby--usually when he's got something that belongs to her. He does say ball and occasionally something that sounds like car. He has recently started to point to his nose when you ask him to. It is very evident that he understands what we're saying. I have to be careful because if I say anything about food he goes over to his high chair and is ready to eat!

Andrew loves taking a bath and screams when you take him out. He is still napping well and going to bed around 7. He wakes up around 6:30 and enjoys going with Daddy and Abby to the bus stop in the morning. Some mornings he gets a real treat and sees the bus AND a trash truck!

On his most recent dr visit (allergist) he weighed almost 30 pounds. I think Abby was 3 before she weighed that much. He has been in 24 months clothes for awhile now. He still has that head full of reddish hair and needs a haircut every 5 weeks, just like Mom!

We love you, Andrew!

At this moment....

....there is a family in another state that has taken their 3 year old off of life support and are waiting for him to be with Jesus.
....there is a mom with her one year old son in Boston, awaiting a very risky heart procedure on Tuesday.
....there is a family in North Carolina who are grieving the loss of their daughter, who lived for just 63 minutes.
....there are families of the victims at Fort Hood who are mourning.
....there are many, many families, including two that I know, whose lives are being torn apart by divorce.
.....there is a family here in Richmond who just got bad news regarding their daughter's cancer.

But, at this moment.....
God is with them all. Thank you, Jesus.

My heart is heavy tonight.

Please Pray

My heart is aching for the Reynolds family right now. Little Charlotte Reynolds, age 4, was diagnosed with brain cancer back in January. She has had several surgeries, chemo, and radiation. Lately they have been noticing more tremors, and she has been in some pain. Charlotte had an MRI today and the news was not good. The tumor is growing and causing many problems. They have few options left. I cannot imagine getting this news about my child. Please pray for them, that our God of peace and comfort will hold them in His loving arms.
More info here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charlottereynolds/journal

Halloween 09

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