Wordless Wednesday

On To Our Next "Journey"

Back in November of 2006, in one of my very first blogs, I wrote about a church that Hannah and I tried out. It was called Journey Church and it was a quick mention in that blog - basically I just said that it was new to the community, we tried it, and we liked it. I could have never imagined back then that Journey would end up meaning so much to us. That service we went to was the very first preview service. In Feburary, we went to the launch service with Rob in tow. We liked it and decided to try it again that next week. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. We loved our church and our church family. It was our first "family" church - our kids were dedicated in that church and we made what I hope to be lifelong friends there. I had never felt like such a part of a church and I know they are as fond of us as we are of them. Today, things were forever changed. The Journey we began as a family back in Feb 2007 has morphed into something else as Journey has decided to close it's doors and join up with another church in the area called Heartland Church. Some of our Journey friends went to Heartland ahead of us, so I am looking forward to reuniting with them, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was at least a little sad to see this chapter coming to an end. However, as I was reminded today in our great last service as Journey: our church may not look the same and it may not feel the same, but nothing can change how we feel about our church family. I believe God just has a new chapter for us to start and I'm looking forward to it!

New Do

It's spring and time for haircuts (for those of us who need them in this household at least, LOL).

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

So Funny (And Cute)!

Sleeping Beauty

Hannah has always been a big sleeper. She was 18 months before she dropped her morning nap and she still takes a long afternoon nap at almost 4. Hailey doesn't seem to need quite the sleep that her older sister does. She dropped her morning nap at 6 months and although she takes a respectable afternoon nap, I do notice her fading in the morning occasionally. Usually this happens when Hannah is in preschool, prompting me to believe that the real problem isn't so much that she doesn't need a morning nap as it is that Hannah is just too exciting (reading that another way, maybe Mommy is just too boring, LOL). Anyway, I dropped off Hannah at preschool this morning and Hailey and I ran a few quick errands and then came back to the house. Hailey was acting tired so I tried to get her down for a morning nap but she was having none of it. I finally admitted defeat and put her in the exersaucer we keep in our bathroom to contain her while I hopped in the shower. When I got out, I found that she had finally given into the nap. The funny part of course is that it looks like she fell asleep right in the middle of playing. I considered trying to move her but decided instead to let her sleep. She actually slept like this for almost an hour before I had to wake her to pick up Hannah from preschool. Guess when you are a kid, you really can sleep anywhere!

Walking Along

Fresh Air!!!

I have been hesitant to go outside even though it has been a bit warmer. Hailey has had a month-long runny nose, which led to an ear infection that was diagnosed last week. It's often difficult to tell when she feels bad since she is a very happy and content baby, which makes me hesitate even more when considering outings. However, both kids have been bouncing off the walls recently. I admit, I have too. I am over winter. I am ready for flip flops and tank tops and nice long walks around the neighborhood. With the warmer weather, we have attempted a walk around the neighborhood a few times this past week, only to be foiled by longer-than-expected naps or rain. Today, though, we were finally able to make a trip to the (wet) playground. Hannah really wanted to go in the wagon and I told her we could as long as she kept Hailey on her lap so Hailey wouldn't fall over (or out) on our bumpy ride. She was a great big sister and happy to hold Hailey the entire way there and back. Unfortunately my camera must be on some weird setting because the only shot I got that didn't come back blurry was this one. Hannah's new cute haircut (just in time for class pictures this week) is also visible in this picture, although the wind was blowing a bit so it doesn't quite do it justice.

Both kids immensely enjoyed the fresh air and so did I. Come on spring!!!