Milestones.

No, your not crazy. This is the second post in two days. This week has been a week of milestones, and I was so excited that I couldn't wait until next week to post pictures of them all...

Abigail is now holding her head up! She and Justin had a lot of fun during tummy time the other day, and she pulled her little head right up!






This was Abigail's first attempt to sit in her Bumbo seat, and she did it! In fact, she really likes to sit up like a big girl and look around.










Fall has arrived. As many of you know, fall is my favorite time of year, and how could it not be when your little girl looks this cute in a hat!






Abigail loves to sit in our laps. She is no longer content to look at the back of the couch. As a result, she has discovered the television. I caught she and Justin watching a little football.









Abigail and I get the joy of waking Justin up in the morning. As you can see, Abigail is dressed and ready for church and Justin still has bed head.

Our first family vacation.

Justin, Abigail and I just took our first family vacation to Williamsburg, VA. I must admit that I was a little nervous. You just never know what to expect with a little one. But, we had such a great time. Justin and I had to stop and laugh on several occasions at how different it is to travel with a baby. Our 3 hour road trip was more like four, and Justin has let go of his expectation of going as far as we can without a bathroom break. I think we could have made it around Colonial Williamsburg three times in the time it took us to see it once with Abigail. However, we wouldn’t have traded the experience of all three of us being together for anything. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Abigail surprised us on Tuesday by saying “ahh-goo.” Although not a “real” word, we were so excited. Justin was playing with her on her activity mat saying “ahh-goo, ahh-goo” and suddenly she replied “ahh-goo.” I wish you could have seen the look on our faces. Oh, the simple joy’s of being parents.

You would never know by her sweet smile, but Abigail has been behind bars.








A family shot outside of the Colonial Williamsburg Post Office and Printing Press.








A picture of Abigail taking a break from the stroller. This was one of many stops that we made along the way.








A picture of Justin behind the pulpit at the Presbyterian Meetinghouse.









A few additional shots of us: the three of us in the Govener's Palace Garden, Abigail and I with a street vendor, and Abigail and Dad having some hangout time.

Another trip to the pediatrician.

These are pictures of Abigail on her activity mat. She loves the bug that is hanging down from the top of the picture. She really wants to talk to it. Lately, she will open her eyes really big, take a deep breath, open her mouth and stick out her tongue all in effort to talk to her bug, but nothing comes out.

We have started a nightly routine with Abigail. After she eats, we give her a bath, clean and ointment her neck, give her her medicine, read her a book and put her to bed. This is a picture of her right out of the bath in one of her hooded towels. She loves her baths.

Well...it's official - Abigail wins Wake Forest Pediatrics award for "best attendance." After almost a week of poor feedings and two days of fussiness, we went back to the pediatrician today. This time the diagnosis is that Abigail has "thrush." Here is a little of information about thrush for those of you, like me, that have never heard of it before.

What is thrush?
Thrush is a yeast infection that causes white patches in the mouth and on the tongue. Thrush is most common in babies and older adults, but it can occur at any age.

What causes thrush?
You get thrush when a yeast called candida, normally found on the body, grows out of control. In babies, candida causes thrush because babies' immune systems are not yet strong enough to control the growth of the yeast. Some people get thrush when they take certain medicines, such as

antibiotics.

I suspected thrush when we went to her two month check-up because it is common in babies who have been on antibiotics. But, the doctor said that it assumed it had to be reflux because Abigail didn't have the white patches in her mouth as mentioned above. However, when the symptoms returned last week while Abigail was still taking Zantac I knew that it had to be something else. I am still amazed at the discernment the Lord has given me as a mom. We haven't completely ruled out reflux. But...they are treating Abigail and I for thrush and hopefully the symptoms will subside for good. Please pray that the Lord will heal our precious little girl and restore her health completely. I praise the Lord for the doctor that we saw today, Dr. White. I have been told by several other mom's, namely Stephanie Lyon, what a great doctor she was. Well...I officially second that. She was very thorough, and down to earth. She probably asked 20 questions before starting her exam. And, she was patient to answer all of my questions (as a new mom you can imagine the list). Before I left, she gave me her pager number in case I needed her for anything or if anything changed. What a blessing!

As for Justin and I, we are looking forward to fall break. Justin has spent much of his free time preparing for the sermon tomorrow. I can't wait to just hang out with my husband all week. By the way, if you would like to get on and listen to the sermon, go to http://www.northwake.com/ and you can download tomorrow's service. Tara Jones, my former co-worker, and I will be spending the next several weeks making wreaths in preparation for a craft show in Wake Forest. She and I always seem to come up with "little projects" that become "big projects" when it is all said and done. This all started last year after we both made our wreath's for fall and were discussing how much fun we had at work one day. A year later we are making close to 50 wreath's and planning to do one of the largest craft shows in the area. We may be in over our heads.

Lastly, I want to wish my father-in-law, Charles, a happy birthday!

Surprise Visit...

Abigail's visit with

Grandmother & Tommy

As you can see, we had a surprise visit from Justin's Grandmother and her husband Tommy. They were on vacation in South Carolina and called us late Thursday night to see if they could stop in on Friday. We were so glad to see them! Plus, Abigail was able to meet her Great-Grandmother and her Great-Tommy for the first time. Although the visit wore her out (she slept most of the time), she woke up just in time to get some great pictures and see them off.

All the faces of Abigail

Abigail is starting to interact with us more and more each day. Not to mention, she is becoming more fond of the camera. How many cute faces can a two and a half month old have? This week the weather has been so beautiful. Justin and I took Abigail to a park not far from our house to stroll on Thursday afternoon. I think it is going to be a regular spot for us. Justin has been quite busy with school and work, but next week is fall break. So...we are off to Williamsburg, VA. Our dear friends, Nathan and Andi, have talked about Williamsburg so much that we finally decided we had to go and see what the fuss is all about. It will be a great opportunity for us to get away, and for Justin to relax. Matt and Sarah Roger's, a couple from our small group that has moved to South Carolina, were in town this weekend. We had a reunion, of sorts, for them on Friday night so that we could all catch up. It was so good to see them. It has been difficult to watch so many of our friends graduate and leave Wake Forest. I can't believe that Justin and I will be crossing that bridge in a couple of months after he graduates in May. It's hard to believe that we have been here for three years. What a sweet season it has been. To all of the faithful Wake Forest readers - you guys are truly a blessing to Justin and I. Thanks for being our "home away from home." Justin is playing his last season of intermural football. Their team is undefeated. Abigail and I get to spend our Saturday mornings cheering on "dad" in the family cheering section. (Although, this past Saturday she was dressed in the opposing teams colors.) The cheering section used to be wives only, but just since last fall we have added four new fans - Abigail, Emma Claire, Leah and Boone. (There are three more on the way! There has to be something in the water.) Lastly, Justin will be preaching at our church this Sunday. I know he would covet your prayers over the next few days as he prepares. We will share a link to the church's website in our next post if you would like to get on and listen. We love you guys and miss you all.

Two reasons to celebrate.

This week has been an eventful week. Tuesday Abigail turned two months old, and Justin and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. Over the past few days, I have reflected on two of the most important days of my life and my immediate response is, "What a gracious God. He has not only given me the gift of eternal life, but He has also blessed me in ways I don't deserve." What a privilege it is to be a wife and a mother! I praise the Lord for Justin and Abigail, and the oppertunity I have to love and serve them daily. One of the ways we "celebrated" Abigail turning two months old was with yet another trip to the pediatrician. As I am sure you can all tell from the pictures, she is growing like a weed. They weighed and measured her at the doctor's office and she is now 13 pounds 11 ounces and almost 24 inches long. That puts her in the 95 percentile for her height and off the chart for her weight. To say the least, the doctor's are pleased with her growth. They also said that she is developing well. They want her to spend more time playing on her stomach so that she can learn to hold up the big head she inherited from her dad. But, other than that, they said that she is doing great developmentally. The only not so good news is she may have "reflux." Justin and I were shocked at the news because she is not a fussy baby, or a spitty baby. But, they said that all of the other symptoms are there. So...we are trying her on Zantac for a month to see if that makes any difference in her behavior. I am attaching some of the lastest pictures and working on a video. So... keep an eye out for that.

Lastly, Justin has spent the last few days at the Acts 29 Church Planting Boot Camp in Raleigh. It is an event that provides helpful information for individuals considering North American church planting. I think it has given him alot to think about and possibly some much needed direction about what the future holds for us in ministry. I know he is still processing all that he learned, so I will let him share more about it in a future post.

We love you all and miss you very much.

The update that you all have been waiting for...

I can't believe that Abigail is 8 weeks old! I don’t even know where to begin. Since the last post, Abigail has had an eventful few weeks. At five weeks old, we started to notice that she was not herself. After two trips to the pediatrician, we ended up in the ER. Come to find out she had a urinary tract infection. For a little one, any bacterial infection can be extremely serious. So, they decided to keep Abigail in the hospital for 48 hours to administer antibiotics and run additional tests. The hardest part for Justin and I was watching them place the IV. It took 13 attempts for them to place the IV, and the only vein in her body they could get it to tread was in her scalp. It was the most pitiful thing you have ever seen. However, we praise the Lord that all of the tests came back normal and we were able to make it home in time to celebrate Justin’s birthday. They put her on amoxicillin for 12 days, and we are happy to share that her body responded well to the antibiotics and she is now doing great! In fact, she has had several exciting “firsts” since we have come home from the hospital. Abigail is now 13.5 pounds and 24.5 inches long. As a result, she is already in 3 month clothes. Needless to say, she has her dad’s stature. She has become so much more alert. She has an array of facial expressions – our favorite it a smile that takes up her whole face. She also has a few noises that she shares with us on occasion. (However, she grunts and moans all of the time – even in her sleep.) Her favorite thing to do is play on her activity mat. She loves the lights and sounds. When we put her on it she will just kick her legs, swing her arms and grin. It has been so much fun to watch her personality develop. I think she is going to be laid back like her dad. There is rarely an occasion that she cries without reason. In fact, there have been several times that I will wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of her sucking her hand, rather than crying, to let me know that she is hungry. Last night was the first time she slept “through the night.” I am going to enjoy this stage. I can’t tell you the last time I got 7 hours of sleep. Justin has been working at Wal-Mart for 3 weeks now and is doing great! He is still adjusting to the schedule, but other than that I think he is going to like his job. It is the ideal job to have as a student – it allows him to continue to go to school full-time and still be at home with us almost all day on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We are praising the Lord for his provision! We thank all of you for your prayers and support. We will do better at posting updates. We love you all!

Justin and I have been amazed at the generosity that our friends and family have shown us during this season of life. We also have been overwhelmed at the thoughtfulness and generosity of those we have never met before - namely my mom's co-workers. These are picture's of Abigail on Sunday in one of the outfits we received from Linda, one of my mom's thoughtful co-workers.

High speed what?

Ok, ok, ok....we are sorry for just now posting on our blog. Many of you have probably given up on this little blog, but do not lose heart-WE JUST GOT HIGH SPEED INTERNET! That being said, Jackey will be posting a lot more frequently with updates on Abigail. For now, enjoy some pics of her. These are not in any order so we hope this gives you a glimpse of God's grace in our lives. We love you all.