John Parker at 10 months

Wow! Only a few months until our little man is a year old.  I can't believe it.  I was just telling my friend Lindsey this morning that I remember so clearly the first few months of his life thinking, "Will I ever sleep again?" It goes by so fast.  Here are a few things about our 10-month-old:

• A few weeks ago, we were sitting in the living room one night talking.  All of a sudden, John Parker took his first steps from the couch to another chair.  Fred and I looked at each other and said at the same time, "Did he just take his first steps?" Since then, he's gained confidence and ventures out a little more all the time.  I think he wants to be able to chase Kate and Alli around the house.
• He's a fantastic eater.  He's making up for not taking a bottle very well by eating everything in sight. 
• He continues to be a happy little boy.  He has such a pleasant personality, except for when you change his diaper or clothes.  He really hates having to be still.  
• He has two teeth now, both on the bottom.
• He loves playing in the bath.
• He's babbling more each day.  

It's crazy to think that this time last year we were getting ready to celebrate Christmas and John Parker wasn't even here yet.  It's hard to imagine what life was like without him.  

Lately, when I've been rocking John Parker before bed, I can't help but think about Mary.  As she rocked her sweet baby Jesus, I wonder if she was able to just enjoy the moment or if she was already filled with dread thinking about the future.  I can't imagine.  It's a challenge, little man, but I'm trying to enjoy every moment with you without thinking of how soon you'll grow up.  It will be fun to watch, but I know I'll miss those sweet moments rocking you and rubbing my face in your hair and smelling your sweet little baby skin.  Maybe I'll even miss the sleepless nights :)

Making new Christmas memories

I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas with my family growing up.  Although it's hard to be away from our families at Christmas, it is so much fun making new memories with our children.  Here are some of the things so far from this Christmas I'll remember:

• Making cookies with Kate for the first time.  
• Hearing her learn Christmas songs that are so familiar to me and so new to her - Jingle Bells, Rudolph, etc.
• Dora's Christmas adventure.  Somehow, I don't think this one will always be a part of our Christmas tradition, but it's a big part this year!
• Seeing four stockings on the mantel for the first time.  How did we become a family of four? What a miracle to have John Parker with us this year!
• Bringing Kate into "big church" for the Christmas musical.  Watching her eyes light up in amazement at the music and decorations. 
• Kate and John Parker in their Christmas pajamas. 
• Doing the advent calendar with Kate each morning.  Teaching her what Christmas is really all about.  

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I love Christmas and receiving Christmas cards is one of the best parts!

If you haven't ordered Christmas cards yet this year, Shutterfly has a great selection.  You can do cards with or without photos.  I keep cards with photos up all year on a bulletin board in our kitchen.  It's a fun way to see our family and friends who live far away (and nearby).  Here are a few of my favorite Shutterfly designs.

I love that this card lists some of the highlights of the year for the family.  It's the updated family Christmas letter!

This is so cute.  I love that they not only included the dog, but he's in the middle :)

I love tidings of "peace, love and joy." This is similar to our Christmas card.  

I really love cards that are simple and feature a great picture.

Shutterfly also offers some great products.  They have photo calendars which are great presents for grandparents.  You can also design cute birthday party invitations which, as you know from my previous post, I am currently working on.  If you're planning any holiday parties, you can order great invites for those too.  

Can't wait to start seeing everyone's cards in the mail!

Birthday Invite Dilemna

Okay friends, I need some help picking out invitations for the kids' birthday party. Because they are so close together, I'm doing a joint party. But I'm not sure how to do invites for a joint party for a one-year and three-year old. If you will, give me your feedback on which of the ones you like below from Shutterfly. They are doing a special right now where they are offering 50 FREE CHRISTMAS CARDS to bloggers who blog about the special giveaway. An added bonus :) You can read more about it HERE.

Okay, here are the birthday options. With any of these, I'd include pictures of both kids and adjust the wording to include both of them.

1.

2.

3.

4.

John Parker at 9 months

I'm a few days late on updating since John Parker was 9 months on Monday. Here's some of what he's up to these days.

• Crawling up a storm, but not quite walking yet. He stands on his own for a few seconds and then sits down. I think he'll be crawling before Christmas, but I'm in no hurry.
• No more baby food. Just like Kate before him, he ate baby food for a few months but quickly lost interest. He eats all kinds of table food now. His favorite thing is grilled cheese.
• Using a sippy cup more and more.
• One little tooth, finally poking through on the bottom. We can't see it too well yet, but we can feel it.
• Much, much better sleeper! Goes down about 7 p.m. and usually takes a bottle around 5 a.m. and then goes back down until 6:30 or 7 a.m.
• We're learning that he loves music. The other day he was listening to Fred's brother play his guitar and was captivated.
• Loves his buddy Louis at school. They were born just a few weeks apart and they are inseparable.
• Loves his big sister. His face lights up as soon as he sees Kate.
• Loves Alli. Our kids are animal-crazy. Neither has ever met a dog they didn't love.
• He's such a charmer. I think it's partly the hair, but everywhere I take him people (ladies in particular) stop to talk to him. He just smiles :)

Little man, just like with your big sister we can't imagine life without you now. You've captured our hearts. As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, I am so thankful for every minute of your life. I can't wait to see the plans God has for you unfold.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

For the lives of your children...

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner. Lamentations 2:19

In the past year, one of the books I've really enjoyed reading is The Power of a Praying Parent. In this book, Stormie Omartian talks about a group of her friends who gathered together to pray for their children while they were growing up. God has given us a great opportunity recently to start a similar group with some of our friends. We meet one Sunday night a month to eat dinner and pray for our children. The ladies pray together while the guys watch all the kids and then we switch. It's been a great experience. It's so neat to know that your friends are praying for your children. We're thankful to have a group of friends with kids the same age as our kids and to live life together.

A few of my favorite things

I’m sitting at a conference in New Orleans today about the Gulf Oil Spill. Although I’m passionate about the topic, the conference is less than riveting. So, as I drink my first red-cup Starbucks coffee of the season, I’m thinking about the coming holidays. Here are a few of my holiday favorites:

• The red cup at Starbucks. If it’s possible, Starbucks tastes even better to me in a red holiday cup.
• Christmas music. I love it. I try to resist listening to it in May, but once I pass Thanksgiving I listen to Christmas music nonstop through December.
• Advent. As a believer, I love the anticipation of Christmas and all it means. As a child, we often had an Advent calendar in the house during the Christmas season. I looked forward each day to opening the compartment and enjoying a treat. I got a calendar this year so I can introduce Kate and John Parker to the joy.
• The smells of the season. I love smelling Christmas trees, fresh-baked cookies, candles, etc.
• The atmosphere of giving. It seems like as much as people want to receive gifts, most people are also looking for opportunities to give at Christmas. Like many other churches, we are doing Operation Christmas Child. Seeing all of the empty boxes lined up for people to take makes me excited to think about families shopping together to fill a box or two for a child in need.

What are some of your favorite things about the holiday season?

John Parker at 8 months

John Parker will be 8 months old tomorrow! I can't believe it. He is such a joy to us all. He and I are actually in Florida now for a few days. I have some work to do at UF on Friday, and my mom is hosting a sip-and-see for him on Saturday. He's doing great for his first time traveling. He slept during most of the flight from New Orleans yesterday. Here's a glimpse of life with little man at 8 months:

He usually gets up around 5:30 am for a bottle and then goes back to sleep until 6:30 or 7. He's getting a little more consistent with naps; usual a shorter nap in the morning and longer in the afternoon. He usually goes to bed about 7:30, and I still give him a dreamfeed around 10:30 or 11 pm. He still doesn't drink big bottles, but he eats well. He loves baby food and YoBaby yogurt. He's an expert crawler and pulls up on everything. I don't think it will be too long before he's walking. He's a very physical baby. He's a happy, playful boy.

We can't imagine life without you little man!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The privilege of voting

I voted today in Baton Rouge. The crowds and the stakes were seemingly small. An early home game for LSU did not help turnout. We weren't voting for president, or senate or a constitutional ammendment. We were voting, primarily, for our local school board. In my view, this is a crucial election in Baton Rouge. Contrary to the small town I grew up in, most people we know in Baton Rouge send their kids to private school. We've heard since we moved here that the state of the public schools is, for the most part, pretty poor. Voting is a chance to change that. Voting is a chance to listen to the ideas of those who are willing to serve as public officials and choose which ones you want. Voting is one of the primary rights we enjoy as Americans. It puzzles me that while we seem more entrenched in our views as Americans, we are less likely than ever to vote. This is especially true for local elections like the one in Baton Rouge today. If you aren't happy with the way things are, if you want to make them better...Vote!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

One for working moms

The 10 Secrets of One Unflappable Working Mother

by Michelle Slatalla, Real Simple Magazine

Last Thursday, as I walked into the house after a business meeting followed by a 30-mile round-trip car pool, I smelled something delicious wafting from the Crock-Pot. On my way to the kitchen, I looked in the mirror, gave a thumbs-up to my dependable black pants, and thought, There now, being a working mother isn’t so hard. That day, like most, involved a lot of working and a lot of mothering, often at the same time. Ever since giving birth to my first daughter, 20 years ago, I have intentionally blurred the lines between work and home. That’s just what the experts tell you not to do. But I credit the overlap with helping me stay reasonably calm. Here are my tried-and-true ways to keep domestic (and professional) chaos at bay.

1. Do work at home; do home at work. You need to accomplish a certain number of things during a 24-hour period. Where you complete those tasks is beside the point; you just need to check them off the list in order to free up time for the things you want to do. Pedicures come to mind. And reading. So go ahead: Pay your bills at the office during your lunch hour, and check your work e-mail at home while you’re waiting for the kids to show up at the dinner table.

2. Juggle strategically. Sure, try to accomplish A and B and C simultaneously, but don’t do it all by yourself. Instead, get A to accomplish B, so you can take credit for C. For instance, I like to sit at the kitchen table and work on a laptop next to a child of mine doing algebra. While A does worksheets (and I write my newspaper column), she is being mothered by me. Also, I can change gears fast to Google the “quadratic equation” if A gets stuck. Child aces her math class, and I meet my deadline. Score two points for the working mom.

3. Make your home office a command center. Those pesky experts say that to get any work done at home, you have to be cordoned off in a room far away from anyone who can nag you. This makes me wonder how many experts have children. Instead, figure out which location in the center of your house provides some privacy, while reminding everyone you are a presence to be reckoned with. From this spot, you should be able to stir a pot of simmering soup or assist with a history project that involves the use of glitter (by nixing the glitter).

4. Ignore the latest parental fear-mongering literature. I don’t want to catch you reading anything with a title like Either I Should Be Drinking More or Less Chardonnay Out of Sippy Cups at Work and Home. Instead, stick to the classics that remind us, with great wit, what we like about this business of being an adult with a complex life. For example, Shirley Jackson’s Raising Demons will help you decide whether it’s more fulfilling to spend the weekend doing housework or playing cards with the neighbors.

5. Getting out the door in the morning (without anyone in tears) is the only thing you have to achieve before 8:30 a.m. Stop trying to organize everything. Your only goals are to leave the house looking good and without your first-grader sobbing because she hates getting dressed in the morning. If that means you put her to bed in her school clothes to avoid a 7 a.m. tantrum, I think you’re a genius.

6. Arm yourself with secret weapons. Mine include a ream of copy paper (hide it in your underwear drawer so no one can cut it up into snowflakes), an instant thermometer, and emergency high heels (keep a pair stashed in the car).

7. Go with your gut, and don't second-guess it later. If you’ve spent days preparing for a meeting that starts in an hour and the school nurse calls to report a painful, though not hospital-worthy, monkey-bar injury, there’s no one right thing to do. On any given day, your instinct might be to skip the meeting. Or suggest that the nurse apply an ice pack and send Shorty back to class. Make a snap decision and then―this is key―don’t question it later. Let it go. Really. I mean it.

8. Leave your kids (and the stories about them) at home. While I’m sure your coworkers love hearing about Sophie’s ballet recital or poison ivy, you can keep them begging for more by limiting updates on family life to one per week (unless your kid gets a perfect score on his SAT, in which case, keep the good news to yourself forever). Remember―bragging about your kids is what family parties are for.

9. Don't obsess over things no one will remember in five years. Come 2015, no one, not even you, will still be angry that the PTA insisted on scheduling meetings during the workday. Or that your child was the last holdout against potty-training at preschool. I learned this from a nursery-school director named Susie Meisler. She used to peel screaming 3-year-olds off their parents, carry them into her office, and call over her shoulder to the fretting parents, “Get a cup of coffee. Everything will be fine.” And Susie was right.

10. Stop thinking of yourself as split into separate but equal roles: mother, worker, me. Listen to philosopher John Locke, who said that a person recognizes himself as the same being throughout his life, in different times and places. You are one person, indivisible, who just happens to wear many hats. And while I get that the weight of all those hats can wear you down, at least be happy you’ve got something important to do.

Rejoicing in the husband of my youth...

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife (husband) of your youth.

Proverbs 5:18

When you get married young (22 for me), you have a lot of growing and a lot of changing to do together. It's not always easy, but there is no one I'd rather do it with than my amazing husband whose birthday I celebrate today. Things I love about Fred:

• His sense of humor.
• The crazy good dad he is. I never see smiles on my kids faces like I do when he wrestles with them. It takes talent to wrestle with a 7-month-old.
• The way he takes care of us. He is always looking for ways to serve and do things for me to make my life easier.
• I love that he sees people for their value to God, not for what he can get from them.
• I love that he enjoys the simple things - walks to see the chickens in the evenings, playing in the backyard, riding with the windows down.
• I love that we've lived through different seasons together and can remind each other of God's faithfulness through each one.

I never saw you coming sweetheart, but then that seems to be how God bestows his greatest blessings. I love you!

At 7 and 30-months

John Parker will be 7-months-old this week and Kate is now 2 and 1/2. Time for an update!

Little man is doing great. He got tubes last Friday after a long run of ear infections and he came through the procedure well. He's already sleeping and eating better. He's completely off the reflux meds now and we're getting ready to switch to a less fancy (i.e. less expensive) formula. Things are looking up! Some things about John Parker at 7 months:

• He sleeps generally about 7:30 to 6ish, with a dream feed at 10:30-11 p.m.
• He continues to be one of happiest babies there ever was. His smiles are really contagious.
• He is so, so physical and active. He's crawling and working on pulling up. When he's awake, he never stops moving. No more bouncy chair for us. I looked over yesterday and he was about to flip it over.
• He loves Kate and Alli. If they're in the room, he wants to be wherever they are.
• He's eating more and more baby foods - bananas, apples, mangos, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkin and a few others.
• His hair is getting thicker and it's still very red. Everyone who sees him says how much he looks like Fred.

Kate is doing great too. She's sleeping really well in her toddler bed. She sleeps later than she ever did in her crib. She's got potty-training down now. We've had a few minor accidents, but she does great for the most part. We can do so much with her now. It's a lot of fun. Here are some things about our nearly 3 (WHAT?) year old:

• She generally sleeps from about 8 to 7 a.m. She loves to take books with her to bed. Usually we put her to bed with one and when she wakes up she has a different one.
• She loves to be silly. She loves laughing and giggling at everything.
• She loves her school and her teachers. There's a little girl she's been in school with since she was a baby named Isabella. At her old school, they called her "Bella," but at their new school they call her Isabella. Kate somehow heard this as "Buzzabella," so we get daily accounts of what Buzzabella was up to.
• She loves to boss John Parker around already. "John Parker, you can't have any goldfish!" She comes by this honestly on all sides (sorry Fred, it's true :), so we know we'll have to work on being bossy.
• Her hair is still wild and curly. She doesn't like to keep it up, so I took her for a hair cut this weekend. I was worried they'd cut her curls out, but it's curlier than ever. Her hair fits her personality to a T.

So that's what is up with the kiddos. Sorry to be so slack in updating. Thanks for checking in on us!

New Blog Adventure

I'm beginning a new blog adventure. Check it out!

http://lifethroughlyrics.tumblr.com/

John Parker at 6 months

We had John Parker's 6-month checkup on Wednesday and he's doing great. He weighed in at about 18 pounds, so he's growing like a weed. We working on a plan over the next month to ween him from the hypoallergenic formula and reflux medicine. He's getting closer to sleeping all night, but we're still not quite there. He's doing great at daycare and charming all the teachers.

Kate's doing well too. She's doing great with potty-training and recently transitioned to a toddler bed. No more crib! We're wishing we would have made this move earlier as she sleeps better and later now.

Life is crazy, but good!

At 5 months...

John Parker's 5-month birthday was yesterday, so I thought you all might like an update on what he's up to:

EATING: He still has pretty bad reflux. We've switched reflux medications and he seems to be doing a little better with the new one. He still spits up a good bit, but it's not as bad. He's still on the hypoallergenic formula. He's started eating cereal and now eats it three times a day. He does really well with that. We're going to get some fruit baby food this weekend and start trying that a little at a time. He only takes a bottle about every 4-5 hours during the day. This is so different from Kate. She was on a 3-hour schedule, like clockwork.

SLEEPING: This is still a work-in-progress. He's definitely doing better. We usually put him down around 8 p.m. when Kate goes to bed. He'll sleep really well the first part of the evening. He wakes up anywhere from midnight to 3 a.m. ready to eat. He'll eat a full bottle during the night. Sometimes he'll go back to sleep, but lately we've been having to move him to the swing to get him to go back to sleep. He was doing really well on his stomach for a while, but he doesn't seem to want to sleep that way now.

EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN: If you took away eating and sleeping, this child would be the best baby ever born. He is so happy and content. He has the neatest personality. Very laid-back, but very personable and engaged too. He's doing great at daycare - all the teachers love him.

Little man, you are such a blessing to us. We know you'll get the hang of sleeping soon, and before we know it you'll be slinging spaghetti around the kitchen like your sister. But you're sweet little smile will remain. We can't wait to see you grow up into all the plans God has for you. My heart aches with love for you!

I can now post updates from my phone. Should be interesting!

Blog Changes

Hi all! The password protection turned out to be too confusing, so you'll notice the blog is back to open access. You'll continue to see updates on the blog about what's going on with us here in Baton Rouge, but we won't be posting any more pictures of the kids here. This is to protect their safety and privacy. We hope you understand. I will be posting pictures on Facebook, so feel free to friend me if we're not friends on Facebook already. Hope everyone's doing great!

Back to school...for everyone but Fred!

Fred got his grade (an A!) for his final seminary class, so he is officially done! Yay!! We are all excited that he won't have to worry about school anymore. He is enjoying his expanding responsibilities at Istrouma and is excited about being more involved in all the church's ministries.

Kate and John Parker started their new preschool yesterday. They had a great first day. Kate ran right in and started playing. I think she's going to love it there. John Parker's already charming the teachers and slept better last night than ever! I think he was exhausted.

We're looking forward to a laid-back weekend of silly family time. Happy Fourth of July!

Better than a Hallelujah

Lately I haven't posted too much about how we're doing here in Baton Rouge. We've had a lot of big events (graduations, anniversaries, etc.), so you haven't heard much about the day to day of our lives. Truthfully, life's been a little tough lately. John Parker is the world's sweetest (and I do mean sweetest) baby, but we're still in the tough stage of babyhood where we get up many, many times during the night. Mostly due to his reflux, he can't eat large meals. So we usually feed him a few times during the night. Some nights are easier than others, but we've definitely had many moments of frustration. I heard this new song by Amy Grant the other day and it really spoke to me. Maybe to you too? In church, we sing beautiful songs to God that I love, but sometimes He wants our worship in the form of an honest cry from the deepest parts of our heart. Are you hurting, frustrated, tired, mad? Tell God. Cry out to Him. He can take it. He created us and He knows what we're feeling, but like a loving parent who wants to comfort his child God wants to hear it straight from us.

Better than a Hallelujah

-Amy Grant

God loves a lullaby
In a mother's tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.
God loves the drunkard's cry,
The soldiers plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah.

The woman holding on for life,
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what's been done,
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

Getaway Weekend

After a busy graduation/ordination weekend, my parents were sweet enough to stay with Kate and John Parker for a few days so Fred and I could get away for an early anniversary trip. Our 10th anniversary is next week. We had such a wonderful time in Gulf Shores at the beach.

Graduation/Ordination Weekend

Warning: This will be a pretty long post because we had a BIG weekend in the Lundy house last weekend. Fred graduated from seminary and was ordained into the ministry at our church here in Baton Rouge. Fred's mom, brother and aunt (Vada) were here and my parents too. Here is a photo recap of the weekend:

Granny and Earl with the graduate

What a journey!

Such a serious Biblical scholar

With one of Fred's great professors, Dr. Butler. He's been so great to us.

Visiting after the ceremony. Fred's cousin Stephanie and her friend Bob joined us for the ceremony.

With the Jarrell clan

The whole Lundy group

Ordination at Istrouma Baptist Church. Fred was ordained with his friend, Dwayne Pitre, who is also on staff. Dwayne and his wife, Kim, were some of the first people we met at Istrouma almost 6 years ago. It's really cool that they were ordained together. Our pastor, Matt Surber, is on the left.

Ordained men of the church praying over Fred. It was a sweet ceremony.

So many nice greetings from church members

My littlest loves

I found this poem the other day that I wrote to my future children when I was teaching in London the summer of 2006. I am so blessed to now know and hold the sweet babies I wrote to before I even knew them:

My Littlest Loves,

As I journey through London,

I look to the future and hope to walk these streets with you one day.

I will take you to St. Paul's Cathedral

and we will reflect on God's glory and his goodness to give you to me.

We will visit museums

and I will take your picture as you stand by famous paintings and monuments to the brave and wise.

I will buy you an ice cream cone,

and if you drop it as we walk through the park,

I will buy you another one.

I will grab your hand when we cross the street.

They drive differently here and we have to be very careful.

When we go to Buckingham Palace, I will make sure you get

the audio tour for children because I hear it is more fun.

I will let you climb all over the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park.

He reminds me of the immortality of your laughter and your amazement at the world.

At St. Paul's with two of my favorite students ever. They are like my children too :)

I am filled with love and gratitude today for my sweet babies and my two great moms - Dottie (my amazing mothers) and Granny Ni (my sweet mother-in-law).

My cup runneth over!

Two months already?

Dear John Parker,

I can't even believe you're already two months old. You are growing so fast. Here are some things about your life at two months:

-You are much happier than you were at one month! You are on medicine for reflux and a hypoallergenic formula and you are doing great with both.

-You have the sweetest smile. Usually after you eat and you've had your diaper changed, I sit and hold you for a little while before you fall asleep. I can see you smiling behind your pacifier and when I take it out you are all smiles.

-You've rolled over three times! You seem to like being on your stomach to play, but sometimes you roll right over.

-You love watching your big sister to see what she's up to.

-You eat every 3 hours. You usually give us one long stretch at night after your 7 o'clock feeding. You'll make it until 1:30 or two before needing to eat again.

-You love to take a bath and you love to be outside.

-We have your two-month appointment on Wednesday, but I know you've grown a lot. I can't wait to see how big you are.

I worried before you came that we wouldn't be able to love you as much as we love Kate. My heart keeps stretching to hold all the love I have for you little man. You are such an incredible blessing.

Treasuring Up

My friend Julie's leading a 4-week Bible study at our church about treasuring up special moments as a mom. It's based on the scriptures that tell of the birth of Christ. Everyone else was running around, but Mary treasured up all these things in heart and pondered them. What does that mean for moms? I think it means we have to appreciate the small, seemingly insignificant moments God gives us with our children that might not be important to anyone but us (and Him :) I'm trying to do a better job of that.

Spring has sprung!

Baton Rouge is beautiful right now and Kate is loving all the azaleas everywhere. She also wants to ride with the windows down in the car everywhere we go (even at night). As soon as we get in the car she says "Mommy, opee window?" Happy to oblige. John Parker's doing pretty well. He had bronchiolitis earlier this week, so we have a nebulizer and we've been doing breathing treatments. I think he's doing better.

The Grotes stopped in Baton Rouge this weekend on their way back to Florida. They brought a John Deere hat for JP and these glasses for Kate. She wears them all over the house. I think we're all ready for summer sun and warmer weather!

Easter

Happy Easter everyone! We've had a great weekend. John Parker's doing a lot better and we got the chance this weekend to visit with some dear friends. We also had great worship services Friday night and this morning to worship our Savior and His sacrifice for us. Here are some new pics:

Kate's school party - not too sure about the face painting

More sure about the bounce house

Kate her buddy Bella

Ready to hunt for eggs

The girls checking out their loot

Kate's class chilling after the egg hunt

John Parker did so well. He slept through most of the morning.

Mini Fred

Hey guys!

Checking everything out

Kate and Granger. Mollie and Steve stopped by for a visit on Saturday and we loved getting to see sweet Granger. He just turned a year old.

Happy Boy

Go Gators!!

Daddy and Kate on their way to Easter service. Fred wore a suit - so handsome!

Egg hunt with the cousins. So much fun!

Lundy Update

So you've probably noticed I haven't been updating too much lately. John Parker's a pretty high-maintenance baby and we're just keeping our heads above water around here. He's got a lot of feeding and digestion issues. Our current approach, after seeing the pediatrician this week is a hypo-allergenic formula, twice-a-day Prevacid for reflux disease, and a non-dairy diet for me as I am still feeding him breast milk in addition to the formula. We're also putting cereal in his bottles to help with spitting up. Needless to say, no prayers would be wasted on our family right now. I realize in the grand scheme of things, we are extremely blessed that John Parker is a healthy baby. He's gaining weight and thriving in many ways. But these feeding issues and the lack of sleep are taking a toll on Fred and I. We're worn out. We know this is a short season, but it feels long when you are in it :) I am taking John Parker with me this morning to Kate's Easter party at school. We are really trying not to make her feel sidelined right now. So hopefully he can hang in there this morning and not get too fussy. Here are a few recent pics:

Kate before church on Sunday.

John Parker in a rare moment of bliss :)

Kate with her baby. This is before she took all the baby's clothes off :)

Kate's Birthday Party

Yesterday was Kate's birthday party. We were so blessed because the rain held out and we were able to stay outside. With as many toddlers and little kids as we had, that was a definite plus!

Birthday girl!

In the thick of things...

Elmo party for his biggest fan

Leah's awesome Elmo cake!

Getting ready to party

Happy Birthday Kate!

Dear Kate,

Two years ago today, you came into this world and changed our lives forever. You are the sweetest, funniest, most kindhearted little girl I've ever known. I love watching you grow up and learn new things. Right now, you are learning to count to ten and sing the ABC's. You still love Elmo, but you're fond of other Sesame Street characters now too. You love to sing songs - Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, The Wheels on the Bus and many more. You love to color. You love to say "Na na na na....Go Gators!" You love your little brother a little more every day (I think you're convinced now that he's here to stay). You love watching older kids play and mimicking what they do. You love playing dress-up (see below). My sweet girl, I know the plans God has for your life are good. I can't wait to see how He's going to use your life for His glory. I'm just blessed to be in the bleachers for the show He's putting on. I love you Kate! Happy Birthday!

Pictures of the kids

My sweet friend Ashley Beth is a great photographer and took pics of the kids the day John Parker was first off the bili-light. She's posted a few on her blog at http://ab-photography.blogspot.com/ if you want to check them out.

Meet my little brother

Each day, Kate seems a little more interested in John Parker. This morning, she got to hold him for the first time and she was SO excited. She did a great job. Here they are in their Big Sis/Little Bro shirts (Thanks Granny and Peggy!)