Payton's Baby Dedication

Getting a picture of these three wiggly-worms was VERY interesting!!!


My handsome little nephews...so glad they could be here for the big day!


Robb's family on the left and mine on the right...we are so blessed.


Payton was very good during the whole ceremony. I was so relieved!


Checking out her very first Bible, a gift from her Nana and Papa Waits


What an incredible privilege and awesome responsibility to raise this precious baby girl...


Robb, Payton, and I with my parents...


and with my brother and his family...


and with Robb's family...


and with Robb's mother...


Posing in Aunt Mary's yard...just before the big rainstorm!!!


I loved this picture in the sepia tones! Payton's smile is truly infectious!!!


Payton with her "Uncle" Jon (Stratton).


Getting ready for a yummy dinner...


Our pastor's wife was a big help in the kitchen!


My sister-in-law, Jennifer, and Talitha...lots of catching up to do!


As usual, the guys headed for the living room...

Robb and I feel so blessed to have wonderful support from our family and friends. We are more aware than ever of the huge task that lies ahead of us as we strive for our ultimate goal...to help Payton make it to Heaven some day.

I was trying to post the powerpoint and song that we had played at Payton's dedication, but I can't seem to get powerpoint transfered to my blog...does anyone know how???

SeaWorld with Zach and Jake!!!

We were so excited to have Chad and Jennifer and my two nephews visiting for a few days. Here are some pictures from a fun day at SeaWorld in Orlando! We were laughing...the last time all of us went together was before any of us had any children...this was definitely more interesting!!! All the kids did so well and made us all proud!


Nothing better than a Dove's chocolate ice cream bar to cool you off!


And nothing cuter than this little, dirty face!!!


One tired baby girl! She took four shorter naps just like this one, and was very content the whole long, hot day!


Nana keeping Zach entertained while we waited for Shamu's big appearance.


We had a great time watching Payton enjoy all the new sights and sounds.


Yes, this is a different outfit...we had a huge blowout all over the stroller...(smile!)


Zach loved the penguins!


Uncle Robbie is always good for something!


Sweet little Jake...he just went with the flow with no fuss! What a good baby! I got several smiles out of him this trip!


You can't see him here, but my dad was keeping Payton highly entertained, obviously!

Happy 6 month birthday, Payton!!!

It seem impossible that 6 months have passed since Payton entered our lives! She is truly a joy and SO much fun! She continues to be a very good baby. Honestly, I have taken care of quite a few babies during my college days, especially, and Payton is one of the happiest babies I've ever been around. I don't say that in a prideful way at all; simply with a feeling of gratitude and thankfulness!!!

It's pretty obvious from the pictures below, but Payton smiles and laughs more than she doesn't! She is sitting up on her own now, and trying out lots of new sounds! She is a little busybody and is acutely aware of everything going on around her. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do!




A big thank you to my mom for Payton's beautiful dedication dress...what a special way to remember an important day in our lives!

Beautiful Evening at the Beach

Friday evening, Robb and I took Payton to the beach to get some pictures. She was pretty fascinated with the sand! Here goes...(they in a very random order...sorry!)








(trying to eat the sand!!!)

Wooden shoes and guest rooms...

Our guest room has unfortunately started looking more like a storage room than a place to have guests. Between the many boxes of VBS decorations stacked in there and the redecorating project in the family room that left many books and decorations homeless, it was pretty scary looking. So, now that VBS has arrived and the decorating has been done, those boxes disappeared and Robb made time to help me get things back in shape. We moved in a bigger bookcase (formerly in the family room) and put the small one in mom's attic for future use. This gave us room for all those books. It was kind of fun...we found pictures of me in high school, pictures of the two of us before we even started dating...and I even found an old "love" note!!! The other thing that Robb discovered was his wooden shoes that he got in Holland the summer before we got married. He proceded to clump around the house in them for the remainder of the evening...very annoying, and yet SOOOO funny!!! Here he is posing...(don't the shoes go great with his sweat pants???)






Look at this huge mess!!! So glad it is all cleaned up and ready for company! (I even have the closet almost completely cleaned out!)