Christa is 11 Months!!

Hello friends! I have thought about blogging for a few days now, but we have been so busy catching our breath from the crazy past couple of weeks, that I haven't had a chance. Here are some pictures I just took. This scenery has been right outside my apartment the whole time we've lived here, and I just discovered it yesterday! Can you believe that? Oh well. Christa is much more interested in eating things on the ground than posing for pictures right now, so we did the best we could squeezing these in before it started thundering.

Quit eating those sticks!! (I can't get her to enjoy chopped fruit or fruit snacks, but paper, lint, and grass are IT! This morning, Cline caught her trying to eat the hair I'd pulled out of my hairbrush and thrown in the trashcan. Gross!)

This is her latest face. She makes it all the time.

I just thought she looked sweet in this picture.

Not sure what she's looking at. Notice how she's un-velcro-ed the tops of her sandals. That's how she likes to wear them.

I can't believe we are only one month away from her first birthday! (I also can't believe how little hair she still has. Cline and I both have mops on our heads!). This year has gone by so fast. We are officially going to party here on June 28th and move the 29th. We are excited to begin our new lives back home. But at the same time, I'm savoring these last weeks of measuring Christa's age in months. This whole year has been such a mix of emotions - looking forward to the end of residency, yet not wanting to rush through Christa's babyhood. It's truly been the best year of my life, so far. I'm excited to have a house, live close to our family, and revive some old friendships, but I am quietly dreading the end of my first year as a mom and the changes that this new phase will bring to our friendships here. I have a friend who is also a resident's wife and who is also packing up her house to move back to her hometown. She mentioned a great quote on her blog (http://www.theiveyleague.com/) that perfectly describes our family right now:

“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you begin to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.

Thoroughly enjoying the moment just before the honey... stacked boxes, doubled housing payments, and all!

Shout-Out to Shanda

Greetings friends!! I just received permission to release some very exciting news. My good friend, Shanda, who comments frequently on this blog, is expecting her second baby sometime in January!! I am oh so excited that our family will be close by to properly welcome this little one into the world. Shanda has a beautiful little girl named Gracie, who will be 4 on Christa's birthday. Congratulations Chris, Shanda, and Gracie. We love you!!
Christa and I are currently in Atlanta spending some more time with Maggie Beth while Bethany continues to heal. Bethany is doing amazingly well, but can't lift Maggie Beth for a while, which makes life more difficult. Baby Charlie is doing great, also. We'll be here until Thursday, then will head over to the new house to choose nursery colors (I think I'm going with pale pink for her room and gray-blue for the bathroom - great suggestions, guys!). We hope to get back home Friday before Memorial Day traffic gets too bad, and then we're not planning to leave home again until moving day. However, I don't think I'm going to know what to do NOT traveling for 5 weeks straight, so please come visit us!

Welcome to the World, Baby Charlie!

Hello all! We had a very exciting weekend around here. Chas and Bethany had their second baby on Friday at around 7:19 p.m. Charles Frederick Jackson IV, a.k.a. "Charlie," weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches long. His arrival into the world was a bit more dramatic than we all would have liked, as poor Bethany required an emergency C-section, but both mom and baby are doing well now. Christa, Cline, and I arrived at the hospital just after Charlie was born, and Christa and I hung around through the weekend to take care of Maggie Beth. Christa had a blast playing with a whole houseful of "new" toys and enjoyed her favorite playmate. Last night, as I drove them back to the house after being at the hospital for the evening, Maggie Beth started saying "Ba" and laughing. Christa thought this was hilarious, and before long they were cracking up at each other in their car seats. It was one of the cutest things I have ever heard! Here are some pictures. (You can double click on some of them to get a better look).



This is Cline's twin brother, Chas with cousins Maggie Beth and new baby Charlie!

Maggie Beth loving on her new little brother. What a great big sister!

Christa and Maggie Beth had a blast together this weekend. Here they are holding hands during Christa's breakfast!

Welcome home!

Charlie has a head full of blond hair (it looks lighter in person).

Proud new momma, Bethany. Doesn't she look great at 2 days post-partum??

We love you Chas, Bethany, Maggie Beth, and Charlie. (We missed you, this weekend, Chris - wish you could have been there.) See you soon!

Proud Aunt

And Now for Some Pictures

Not much news to report, so I'll just give the people what they came for... Pictures!


Mother's Day 2008. We had lunch at Outback, which is a new favorite of mine since I tried their new Scallop Pasta Alfredo. The scallops are as good as any I've had at the actual beach! Christa's hair is finally long enough to accommodate bows... barely!!

Exploring a rose.

Mudd and Dandy enjoying their great-grandchildren! (Maggie Beth is going to be a big sister any day now!! We can't wait to meet baby Charlie!)

I love this picture. Christa is such a girlie girl and is already into shoes. Her feet are pretty tiny, so I have to try them on her, and she screams if they don't fit and I have to take them away. Here, she fell asleep clutching a new pair!

Oh and one last thing. Does anyone have a suggestion on a good resort on a nice beach?? We're trying to think of a new place to go to celebrate the end of Cline's residency. We're looking for somewhere to just relax for a few days with a nice pool area (with kiddie pools) and good restaurants. We have been to Hilton Head and Gulf Shores, and although those are great places to go, we'd like to try something different.

Have a great week!

How To Lose A Pound In 10 Days

1. Willpower - limit your eating to 2 meals a day and 1-2 nutritious snacks.
2. Perserverance - Since walking for 8 months hasn't done much, integrate some jogging during your 2 mile stretch, and prioritize this joyful experience at least 4 days a week.
3. Optimism - throw in some crunches and leg lifts for good measure.
4. Starvation - be hungry 80% of the time.
5. Integration of Absence to Grow the Heart's Fondness- cut out all chocolate and dessert. Get one Dairy Queen hot fudge brownie sundae that daytime TV relentlessly advertises in a moment of weakness, and only eat half of it.
6. Torture - replace your beloved cherry coke with sewage water. Goodbye faithful friend. (Should you not be achieve this very difficult feat in full, one cherry coke a day can be allowed, but it counts as 1 snack or 1/4 of a meal).
7. Strategy - optimize your weigh-in day to correspond with the day of the month when your body retains minimal water.
8. Wastefulness - forget about the starving kids in Africa. They will not be served by you finishing that BBQ sandwich. Toss it.
9. Conservatism - eliminate grocery shopping. Less food = less desire to eat. This will also improve your attitude about the growing food costs you've been trying to budget around.
10. Finally... Frustration - step on the scale with an empty bladder, an empty stomach, and a clotheless physique fully anticipating the fruits of your labor. Realize you've lost 1 measly pound, which means you have to continue this routine for 9 more freaking weeks to return to your pre-pregnancy weight (which is still about 5 pounds above your ideal weight). UUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Mother's Day Reflections

Hello all!! We are just over an hour from Mother's Day - my first Mother's Day that I am oh so excited to be celebrating! Little Miss Christa is not wanting to go to sleep tonight. We've been trying for a while, but she just won't give it up. So while I'm doing my best to resist the urge to go pick her up, hug her, and play with her for another hour, I thought I'd blog. I found this on another site, and thought it was just beautiful.

A newborn's conversation with God

A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?' God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.

'The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.' God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.

'Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?' God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.''

And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?' God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.

''Who will protect me?' God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.

''But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.' God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.

'At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.'God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mom.'


Tonight, I feel thrilled and abundantly grateful to be Christa's mother. She has just started saying "ma-ma," and it is the sweetest sound I've ever heard (other than my husband's "I do"). I literally wake up every morning in complete disbelief that God chose to bless ME with such a great husband and baby girl. In a way, I sort of keep waiting for the bubble to burst. I just can't comprehend why God would bless ME so much. I don't deserve it; I have so many failures and shortcomings. What I deserve is death in He**. And God, for one reason or another, loves ME so much that he watched HIS little miracle be tortured for 3 days, only to die. I don't get it. If people were treating MY perfect little baby like that, whipping her and spitting on her and laughing at her while she starved and bled to death on a cross, and I had the power to stop it, I would yank her down in a second and let everyone else go where they deserved. And yet, not only did God let HIS baby suffer and die because that's how much He wants ME to be with him, he gave me a husband who loves me every day and a girl who thrills my heart every time I look at her, every time I think about her. In the midst of my joy, my heart hurts so much for those mothers who are either still hoping for their little miracles or whose children have beat them to heaven. It also hurts for those sons and daughters out there whose mothers aren't here to celebrate with anymore. So tonight, I thank God again for his grace and mercy, and for the incredible gift of motherhood. Every day I get to have it, is one more than I deserve and one that I am humbled and thankful for. I pray with all my heart that God will somehow comfort those mothers and children for whom tomorrow will be especially difficult, and that they will tangibly feel the incredible love that He has for them.

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

I hope my mom, my mother-in-law, and all of my mommy friends have a wonderful and blessed day!

It's Official - We're Homeowners!

Finalizing our purchase!

Our new home!!

Our new front porch! (Sorry - I had to crop most of the porch out, because either the picture was taken at an unflattering angle, or I don't need to be wearing this outfit in public!)

Hello all! Here are a few pictures from our closing last week. Everything went quite smoothly, and we are now thrilled to be the new owners of a nice house and a nice debt! The quality of the pictures isn't great - sorry about that. I had to scan in these pictures because I forgot both of our cameras. Thankfully, my mother-in-law let us borrow hers for the day, and she even sent my father-in-law to the closing to be our photographer! We are anxious and excited to move, and I am busily searching catalogs for rugs and shelves, and comparing paint samples for Christa's nursery! We like the colors that are in the house already, so we've decided to decorate around them. But I haven't gotten to truly decorate a nursery for Christa, yet (her current room doubles as the guest/"junk I don't have room for anywhere else" room), so I've decided to add a splash of color to her walls. I'm thinking a very pale pink - something almost neutral, because her bedding has very little pink in it. Her bedding is multi-colored (I think there's a picture of it in the previous post) - off white background with brown teddy bears, pink picnic blankets, green trees, and blue birds. Her curtains are yellow with green, blue, and pink stripes. If anyone has any other suggestions besides pale pink or peach, please let me know. I don't want to do yellow or green, because there is already a lot of that in the house. Also, I was thinking of adding some color to her bathroom, but don't have a clue what color to go with. I want something neutral, so we don't have to repaint if we have a boy in the next few years. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Anyway, life is speedily moving towards June for us, and it's a fun and exciting time. Christa just woke up, so I've got to run for now. Have a great day!