2 years...(sigh...)

Today is our 2 year anneversary. I know I usually put tons of pictures of Bella up and always talk about her - well, today is OUR day! These pictures are all old - but Here's the picture version of our story (the very brief version)...

We met at the Louisiana Tech Wesley foundation. We had coffeehouses on Friday nights that sometimes meant open mic nights. that was this night. Neil and these guys were all singing, and Neil asked me to take part. I think it was the first time he had ever asked me to do anything with him, instead of there just being a mutual understanding that we would see each other for dinner in the upstairs cafateria with our huge group of people...
oh, and the guy in the red shirt is Neil's brother Kyle. we actually got an award at the end of the year banquet for this night. Probably because Neil busted out with a crazy, scream-your-head-off POD song and caught everyone offguard!
We didn't date for 2.5 more years...
This is the day that we both knew that God wanted us to get married. We met in Birmingham, AL, and neither one of us wanted to go - and both of us assumed that we would be leaving single people. We followed through on our word though, and God showed us that He had different plans. We just saw each other and both of our hearts changed. I guess it was love at first sight - only we were already dating...

This was about a month after we were engaged. I flew into Charleston to visit Neil and go to the "Dining out" for his Power School class (I was really over-dressed).

And this was 2 years ago today. our first kiss. our first day as a married couple. Such joy! such wonderful memories - that just get better and better with time.

And our first dance to our song...
Making Memories of Us

I'm gonna be here for you baby.
I'll be a man of my word.
speak the language in a voice that you have never heard.
I want to sleep with you forever.
and I want to die in your arms.
In a cabin by a medow where the wild bees swarm.

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you
and I'll earn your trust making memories of us.

I want to honor your mother
I want to learn from your pa
I want to steal your attention like a bad outlaw
I want to stand out in a crowd for you
a man among men
I want to make your world better than it's ever been

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you
and I'll earn your trust making memories of us

We'll follow the rainbow
wherever the four winds blow
there'll be a new day coming your way

I'm gonna be here for you from now on
this you know somehow
you've been stretched to the limits but it's alright now
I'm gonna make you a promise
if there's life after this
I'm gonna be there to meet you with a warm wet kiss

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you
and I'll earn your trust making memories of us.

Funny Face

This is what has come to be known to us as Bella's "funny face." She'll even do it on command...funny girl...

If you look really close, you may be able to see her first tooth - it's the bottom left middle tooth(looking at her).

Reflections

Strange Sleep Habits

How does she sleep like this?

Toilet Times

Bella has been obsessed with the potty lately. any time I change her diaper, when I go to rinse it out, she follows me to the bathroom, gets right up to the toilet to watch what I do, then watches as it all flushes down. She loves it! So lately, I've been letting her flush the potty after I rinse her diapers out (of course, I have to help her...it's too hard for her to do herself). She watches it all go down, and wants to do it all over again...
She's not even walking, and she's getting introduced to the potty.
I guess it will just make it that much easier to start potty training once she's walking :)


And if you thought I was kidding about that last statement, here's an interesting fact for you: Before disposible diapers were introduced in the 1950's, 90% of kids were completely potty trained by 18 months. my, how things have changed. Yet another reason I love cloth!

Waddlin' at the Waterfront

We met up with Mendy and her clan Saturday afternoon for lunch at the St. Marys waterfront. (yay picnics!!) Mendy's sister, Rita, went crazy with her camera and took some really cute pictures of Bella (who could blame her?). If you see a random black dot -it's a gnat. they were everywhere! - Gotta love SE Georgia... And yes, she's a little rashy again. Teething+never-ending drool puddles+sensitive skin=rash. but she's still a cutie. Enjoy!!


This is my favorite!! (below) Maybe you should expect to see this again on a birthday party invitation... or a J Crew catalog... too bad they don't sell baby clothes.


... And here's our cute family! (stray hairs and glares accepted here)

Getting into everything...and scars to prove it

If I've learned anything since Bella started getting around, it's this: Bumps and bruises happen.

I think I have a dare-devil on my hands too, which makes for even more bumps and bruises.
This morning was rough.
we were playing on my bed, and she started crawling around (typical). she usually stops at the edge, gets onto her tummy and looks down and around the bed, then scoots back. I saw her going to the edge, and didn't think much of it, until she just kept crawling right off of the bed, doing a sommersault thing onto the carpet floor beneath.
of course, to me, it was all in slow motion - me yelling BEEEELLLLLAAAAAAAAAA as I'm trying to grab onto her before she falls. yeah, didn't work so much.
after we got over this bump, then about 10 minutes later, she found something to pull down on top of her...
I don't think it will ever end.

I guess as parents we just have to do the best we can, and understand that we can't protect our kids from everything. even if we did everything we possibly could to protect our kids, bumps will happen. bruises will come. hearts will break. feelings will be hurt. scars will stay. we just have to be there to comfort and direct with love when we can, and teach our kids that yes, bumps and bruises, and scars happen. However, bumps will go down, bruises will turn to yellow, then go away, and anything broken will heal with time. there may be scars to show what we've been through, but it reminds us that we have overcome, and can overcome again.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Phillipians 4:13
"...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." - Romans 5:3