To the Park

The weather FINALLY cooled down enough so we could all go to the park. We are very excited for the fact that fall is here and we can now spend more time outdoors. Maggie loves to be outdoors and she had such a good time at the park, even though she was so tired it wore her out! Just thought you might like to see these though. . . :-)

I was very impressed that Maggie would go down the big slides. . .for some reason it always surprises me to see all the things that she can do. I guess I ought to raise my expectations. :-)

Maggie Tries on Shoes

On a recent visit to Grandmother's and Grandaddy's, Maggie pulled a pair of shoes out of Grandmother's closet - her old work shoes. Maggie had a blast trying them on and we had a lot of fun watching. Click here to see a short video.

Summer Time has come and gone. . .

And nary a post to our blog. I guess we've been having a busy summer! Hopefully I can start keeping this updated again. The main reason this blog has been so neglected lately is probably the fact that I have two good friends in my life now that I enjoy spending a lot of time with. One is a neighbor who recently moved to the area. She has 3 young kids who Maggie enjoys spending time with. They also have a dog who Maggie refers to as "woo woo" - it's really cute. The other friend is a lady I met at church in our Bizzy Moms ministry. She has a son that is just 3 months older than Maggie and they are very good friends. It's nice to have some close friends here - Mobile is starting to feel more like home.

Water Fountain Fun

Today our play group went across the bay to the Eastern Shore Center - a big outdoor mall. In the center of it is this great fountain that kids can play in and they have table all around with umbrellas so the adults can relax in the shade while your kiddies have fun. This was Maggie's first chance to wear her new swimsuit from Grandmother and Aunt Peggy, and I also splurged and picked up some water shoes for her since I figured this might be something we do more than once. :-)

I really didn't expect much from Maggie. . . I figured the water would scare her but she really did well and had fun just walking around the fountain. She never got IN the water much but she did get wet. . . mostly unintentionally. But she had fun and after lunch went back for some more. Several more experienced families had brought water toys - buckets, balls and cups - which quickly became communal toys for all the kids to play with and generally everyone did quite well. Maggie liked this particular bucket quite a lot and carried it around for about half an hour. :-)
She also enjoyed washing her hands in this bucket. This is definately a fun way to beat the Gulf Coast heat!

Practice makes Perfect

Maggie is improving in her walking skills. Over the weekend she got up to 5 or 6 steps, and then 10 steps on Sunday. Click here to see a video.

First Steps!

Maggie took her very first unassisted steps Wednesday. . . while she was in the church nursery! Ben assured me that didn't count since neither of us saw it. However, yesterday she made her Mommy and Daddy very happy by showing off her new skills. She's not doing much yet - just 2 steps at a time. Click here to see the video.

Highly Recommended. . . .

Those of you who know us probably know we are big fans of Veggietales. So imagine my great delight when Ben came home from National Sales Meeting with a copy of Phil Vischer's autobiography, Me, Myself and Bob. An easy read, this book would be great for not only Veggie fans everywhere, but for anyone who has ever experienced the loss of a dream or ministry and wondered "Why?" "What now?"

The first third of this book is very entertaining as Vischer describes his childhood, and how he started down the path of Veggidom. The middle of the book tells of the rise and fall of Big Idea, Inc, home of Bob and Larry, but it's the end - where Phil tells "What We Have Learned" that really got me. The lessons God taught Vischer applied so well to my life as I struggle to figure out what I'm suppose to be "doing" for God when the most important thing is really that we just BE with God. If God hasn't told me what I'm suppose to be "doing" for Him, than all I need to focus on is being with him! What a relief!