The Egypt Obsession Continues....

Ever since we had our Egypt-themed Vacation Bible School this summer (story of Joseph) Abby has been absolutely obsessed with all things Egypt and Joseph. She had this paperback book about science from a Chick-Fil-A kids meal and she saw on the back that there was a book in that series about Egypt. She talked about it so much that I finally tracked it down on amazon.com and got it for her. When it arrived I thought there was no way she would be able to read it, but sure enough within 10 minutes she was telling me about pyramids and mummies.

We went to Target and strolled down the Halloween aisle and she sees a Cleopatra costume. Well, she just has to have it. I told her she would be an Egyptian Princess since I really didn't want to get into who Cleopatra was. She is now very excited about Halloween. I am glad we have a few other Halloween events she can use it for.

Getting her Egyptian hair at VBS

Showing off Egyptian make-up

Dinner and a Book

Some of you may know that I lead a Christian Fiction book club at my church. We're starting up a new "year" of great book discussions and fellowship. We would love to have you! We meet on the first Thursday of each month, at 6:30 PM in the Pusey House located at the back of First Baptist Church in the fan. Bring your favorite dish to share (hence the name, Dinner and a Book!) Here is our list.

September 2, 2010 My Life as a Doormat(in Three Acts) by Rene Gutteridge

October 7, 2010 Abigail: A Novel (The Wives of King David) by Jill Eileen Smith

November 4, 2010 Breach of Trust (Call of Duty Series, Book 1) by DiAnn Mills

December 2, 2010 Dogwood by Chris Fabry

January 6, 2011* The Shepherd’s Prayer:A Christmas Novel by Richard M. Barry

February 3, 2011 Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins

March 3, 2011 Her Mother’s Hope: Marta’s Legacy by Francine Rivers

April 7, 2011 Journey to the Well: A Novel by Diana Wallis Taylor

May 5, 2011 Limelight: A Novel by Melody Carlson

June 2, 2011 Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

July 2011 no meeting due to holiday

August 4, 2011 Stirring Up Strife:A Hope Street Church Mystery by Jennifer Stanley

*location TBA

Vacation Bible School

Last week was Vacation Bible School at our church. Our theme was Joseph: From Prison to Palace. Abby had a great time in "Egypt". Andrew did, too. He loved his little class. I had a fun week with 6 sweet little babies.

Easter 2010

Click here to view these pictures larger

Upward!

Abby is cheering, Rick is coaching, and Andrew is longing (to play ball with the big boys!) We are having a great time participating in the Upward program at church.

Daddy being introduced as the coach of the Hokies

and running through the tunnel.

Cheerleaders in action.

Andrew snagged the ball at halftime.

Slam dunk!

And for your viewing pleasure, click on the link for a video of Abby the Cheerleader!

http://www.vimeo.com/9885766

It's been awhile, I know! We had Bible School at our church last week, which was fun but made life busy and tiring.

This past weekend we celebrated my Grandma Low's 80th birthday. My aunt/uncle and cousins were here. After the party we went swimming (thanks Morgans!). Abby really enjoyed playing with her cousins.

Grandma and her family

the birthday girl with her wine

Grammy and Andrew

Abby with cousins Bailey and Amber

Bailey jumps in!

Abby jumps in!

cutie pie

Abby and Uncle Stephen

More Birthday Fun

Andrew's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, so we ate dinner at church and had a cake to share with some of our friends.

Did someone say there's cake?

Elmo's World cake

Miss Sandra keeps Andrew while Mommy is in Bible Study on Monday mornings. She gave Andrew this turtle which he loves!

Dinner and a Book!

I lead a once a month Christian fiction book club at my church called "Dinner and a Book". (We have a potluck dinner and discuss a book at each meeting). Susan sent me this picture we took at our last meeting...we are going to send it to the author of the book we read (Mindy Starns Clark) in the hopes of winning some free books! I absolutely love my book club friends!

Back row...Anne, Ann, Theresa, Barbara, Rena, Wendy, Lori

Front row...Susan, Steph, Karen

Testimony of a Bookworm

Several months ago I was asked to write an article about Christian fiction for our church's monthly magazine. It never made the "cut" but since I worked hard on it, I thought I would share it here!

Testimony of a Bookworm
By Stephanie Whittington

I have always loved to read. I remember getting “in trouble” when I was younger for bringing a book to the table and trying to read while eating dinner. My parents were great about always making sure I had good books to read. When I hit my early teen years, though, it was tough to find books that I enjoyed that were not too graphic for my age. At that time, my Sunday School teacher introduced me to Janette Oke. I devoured her whole Love Comes Softly series! This was my first experience with Christian fiction, and it was a good one. However, I didn’t have the benefit of a large church library and did not realize how much good Christian fiction was out there. I kept reading secular books, but I was always bothered by some of the things I read.

A few years ago, I was excited to see that FLO was offering a Christian fiction book club. I loved all the books we read in the first few months and would read more by those authors. I couldn’t believe all the wonderful and interesting Christian fiction that was out there—contemporary and historical, humorous and profound, thriller and romance. As time went on, I became the leader of that group. I really enjoy researching books for us to read and finding new authors. I continue to be amazed at the fantastic stories and characters, and how great it is to read books where God is recognized and praised! I still read some secular titles, but much more Christian fiction. They lift my heart and spirit while engaging my mind!

Our church library has many great Christian fiction selections. My all time favorites are Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin, Magdalene by Angela Hunt, Last Light by Terri Blackstock, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and Front Porch Princess by Kathryn Springer. I would encourage all those who love to read to consider looking for these books in our church library. I also hope you will consider joining us for our “Dinner and a Book” book club, which meets once a month for potluck dinner and book discussion. We have a wonderful time enjoying fellowship and talking about the books. The list of titles and dates can be found at www.fbcrichmond.org/flo.

Abby's Christmas Program and Birthday Party for Baby Jesus

Getting ready to go.
Abby singing.

She LOVED the angel wings she got to wear.
The crew....Ryan, Hannah, Abby, Sarah Jane, and Richard.

Christmas Tea

FLO (For Ladies Only) sponsors a Christmas Tea at our church each December. It is a HUGE hit and almost always sells out! It is a great ime for the ladies to sit back and enjoy an afternoon of fun and fellowship. Take a look at some of these gorgeous tables:

Each table has a hostess who bring her own china and centerpieces.

I love this! The centerpice was dolls having a tea party!

This hostess used pictures of her kids with Santa as her centerpiece.

Fun with a hat centerpiece. Many of the ladies wear hats to the tea.

Beautiful!


Me with my table hostess and friend Barbara.

The men wait on us at the tea!

Servers include husbands, sons, and staff including our pastor Jim Somerville.

This year our entertainment was "Staff Harmony" who gave us a stirring rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas, First Baptist style. Our speaker was Christy Somerville who gave a moving talk about her grandmother and the things she and her daughters learned from her.

Our Weekend

We had a nice but busy weekend. On Friday night Abby's friend Mahaley came to play while her parents enjoyed a date. Mahaley is only two but they played very well together. Abby did a great job sharing! One funny thing that Abby told Mahaley. She showed her Andrew and said, "my mom had me a brother".

On Saturday I was lucky enough to go to an all-day scrapbooking event. I got so much done and it was great to be with other ladies. My friend Julie was there, too. I used all the pictures I have of Andrew so far! So his book is caught up. I'm so excited about that! Afterwards I went to Target and enjoyed shopping and browsing in peace. Then I went out to eat by myself and read. Rick took the kids down to Emporia to visit with his family. Judy and Becca took the kids to the pumpkin patch. I understand that Abby was scared of some scarecrows, but she said she had fun and was proud of her pumpkin.

On Sunday we went to church, and (this is very rare) I actually got to go to a grown-up Sunday School (I'm usually teaching a babies class) AND to worship! I watched most of the race, but I'm so sick of the same people winning. It's getting boring!

We won't talk about the Hokies or the Cowboys.

What We've Been Up To

I haven't done a real post lately, so I thought I would update ya'll on what we've been doing. On Saturday Rick, Abby, and Dave went to the Hokies game. Abby had a wonderful time, of course! I was here with Andrew. Since Andrew's two favorite things are being outside and getting pushed in the stroller, I decided to take him to Short Pump Mall ("the short mall" according to Abby). We stayed almost the whole day and he was great. He dozed some and looked around some. I shopped a little and browsed a lot.

On Sunday we went to church, but I never made it out of the baby hall. I taught my Sunday School class (the Ducks) which are the babies who are crawling and just walking. Then during the worship hour I moved over to the Bunnies ("lap" babies, Andrew's class) to take my turn as a TLC (tender loving care) volunteer. In both rooms there were fussy babies, so it was a lot like being at home! Rick asked me how it went and I told him "Andrew was the good one, believe it or not!". But it was fun anyway. I love babies, especially when I can give them back after an hour! That afternoon I took Abby back to the short mall and we got the kids' Christmas outfits (the store was having a big sale). Then I took her to the grocery store, which is always an adventure. I got home in time to see the wreck-fest, I mean race. I was really hoping someone would win who doesn't usually, but Tony Stewart took the checkered. I think one of the reasons I haven't been all that interested in NASCAR lately is that the same people always win.

Andrew hasn't been sleeping or napping well the last few days. He has a lot of congestion, so he spits his binky out to breathe through the mouth. Then he decides he wants his binky back because his gums hurt and he wants to chew. I feel sorry for him. The dr wanted us to stay on the special formula another week, but I ran out Monday night and just didn't feel like buying it again because we see no difference. I guess I'll talk to her again on Thursday and find out what plan B (or is C, D, or E?) is. This morning he had another blow-out then peed everywhere while we were cleaning him up. Are we having fun yet?

Nice Naps and the Month in Pictures

Could we be making some headway with Andrew??? For the past two days he has taken nice, hour long naps. In his crib. By himself. I actually was able to take a shower, do hair, do makeup, and a few things around the house in PEACE! Yippee!

One of the things Jill talked about at the retreat this weekend really inspired me (well, many things inspired me but this one is do-able right now). She talked about taking a picture for each day and keeping a picture diary. Pictures of good things that happened, things to remember, simple things that make each day a gift. So, I have deemed October the month in pictures. I am going to post a picture for each day on this blog. Now, I might not post each day, so some posts will have multiple pictures, but there will be a picture for each day. Enjoy!

Weekend

I had a treat this weekend--getting a little grown-up conversation and spiritual inspiration at a ladies' retreat at my church. It was called "Recreation and Re-Creation" and it was all about recognizing the abundance that God has for each of us and how to tap into that. The speaker was Jill Baughan, a Richmond native who actually lives close by. She was a total hoot. We had a lot of fun and learned some valuable lessons. I am a member of the FLO Crew (FLO stands for "For Ladies Only") at my church and we organized the event. I thought it went great. We were disappointed in the turnout, but God knows best and I have no doubt that the women in attendance were touched by the message.

Andrew continues to cry and spit up. We actually took him to the dr on Thursday evening because he screamed (I mean WAY above and beyond his normal fussing) for several hours and I could do nothing to console him. We saw a great doctor who was very thorough and very understanding of my concern, but he couldn't find anything wrong beyond what we already know...severe reflux and possible milk allergy. We are still giving him the "liquid gold" formula and not seeing much of a difference. I am giving him until Thursday, which will be a full week from when we started giving him 100% of the new formula. If we still don't see a difference I will talk to Laura (nurse practitioner) again.

This week we don't have a lot going on. Which is a good thing!

Another Wednesday

Abby had a great time once again at church tonight. She talked about it the whole way home! She now has an imaginary dog, which makes conversations quite interesting.
Andrew has been very fussy (fussier than normal, and he's a pretty fussy baby all the time). We can see two little bumps on his gums but no teeth have popped through. I'm hoping that is the reason for the fussing. He screamed most of the night at church. Unfortunately Rick is out of town, so it made for a tiring night. That is life with a four month old! As we always say, "thank goodness he's cute!".

A Sad Day

9/11 is always a really hard day for all of us, most of whom didn't know anyone personally affected by the attacks on our country 7 years ago. I can't even imagine what it is like for those who lost a loved one. I, like everyone else, remember exactly what I was doing on 9/11/01. I was at school, teaching, without access to TV so I didn't know anything until I went to the teacher's lounge at lunch. Everyone was talking about it, but since I couldn't SEE anything it didn't really hit me then. When all the kids were gone we crowded around a TV and watched in horror. Our principal sent everyone home early. Rick came home early too, and we just sat and watched everything unfold. I'm sending up many prayers today for those who are mourning. Our God IS a God of comfort.

On another note, Abby had a great time at church last night in her new choir and Mission Friends. On the way home she asked if we could come back tonight! Well, she won't be going back to church tonight but I will. I lead a monthly book club for ladies and tonight is the night. I have a feeling we'll have a small group because several regulars saw me last night and told me they couldn't come. It's always a fun time, though, because there are ladies of all ages there. We have a potluck dinner and discuss the Christian fiction book we read each month. This month we read Heavens to Betsy by Beth Pattillo. It's a really fun book.

Back to Wednesday nights at church

Tonight we will be back at church for Wednesday night activities. We really love our church, First Baptist Richmond. Abby is particularly excited to be able to eat dinner with her friends, then go to choir and Misison Friends. I will be keeping the babies in the nursery, something I have done for about 3 years now. It's fun because I'm there with my friend Barbara and we get to chat while we are loving on the little ones. Andrew will be in there with me. Rick teaches 1st and 2nd grade boys in Missions Force.

Is there such a thing as retirement for sports figures anymore? I heard today that Lance Armstrong is going back to "work". First Mark Martin, then Brett Favre.....do they realize how dumb they look when they can't make up their mind?