Play Date with a Valentine

Although we didn't do a whole of celebrating on Valentine's Day due to our home inspection occurring on the 14th, we did invite one of Judah's Valentine's, Kennedy, over yesterday for a little mid-day fun. So thankful for making memories with good friends on beautiful Carolina days!

Kennedy thought the heart-shaped muffins were "yummy!"And she really liked Judah's chair :-)

Meanwhile, Judah thought his fire truck was yummy :-) 

They play so well together!

We took advantage of the weather and went to the neighborhood park. Judah wasn't sure about his first swing experience, but he and Kennedy sure did have some great times just "hangin' out"...as well as some invigorating conversations.

Sleepy babes in their Bobs.

What a fun day!

Belated Birthday Wishes

Okay, so I'm a little late (are you noticing a theme?!) but my amazing husband had a birthday exactly one week ago~when this post was originally intended to be published. Well, a lot happened last week...the major event....drum roll, please....we have a contract on our house! Huge blessing that I will write about in the near future. For now, I'd like to focus on Jeff, the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. Thus, I am forever grateful for the day of his birth. His positivity, joyfulness, and wisdom inspire me each and every day, and I am a better woman because of it. He is honest, communicative, forgiving, and terribly funny...for all these reasons, our marriage is beautiful. He truly is my better half, and this birthday is extra special because it reminds me how awesome it has been to see him father our precious son. Jeff's love for Judah makes my love for Jeff stronger and our love for each other deeper.

Truly. Grateful. For. This. Man. 

Love this pic that was taken on the way out the door for our DC weekend to look for a new place to live...excited about the next chapter in our lives!

Unfortunately, after leaving for work at 5am, Jeff arrived home on his birthday around midnight. After a hard day, we still managed to celebrate with some cake, bubbly, cards and gifts.

Here he is embarrassed by my solo performance of the "Happy Birthday" song while taking pictures of him.

And I love this one, too, because he is sentimental reading his card from Judah.

On most days, however, Jeff makes it home to feed, bathe, and rock our little one to sleep. These two boys are crazy together! And crazy about each other, I might add...can't you tell?!

Post-bath kisses

Pure Sweetness

Happy Birthday Dada!

Get It Sold!

I cannot believe this is now in our yard. 

We've been in this home for almost 5 years now. In some ways, it seems like the blink of an eye and in some ways it seems as if we've lived here forever. While it's been far from my dream home, I feel like in a way Jeff and I have grown up here....our first huge purchase together with lots of responsibility; our comfort after long, tough days working our first "real" jobs; a place of refuge and escape during our darkest days of grief and loss; and now a place with new life, filled with crazy love and loud laughter; and most importantly, our first son's first home. Although Judah will never remember this place, his mom and dad certainly will~with the fondest of memories. For now, he's just excited about getting. it. sold. Wish us luck!

Catch Up!

Well, it seems as if our life as we know it has been put on hold during the entire month of January. We are listing our home on the market to sell next week, and who knew it would be so much work to "declutter" and stage?! Judah has been a trooper, though, and seems to not realize that much of anything is going on. What has he been up to? Let's see...for starters he is now 10 months old?! Can you believe it? I mean, look how much he looks like a big boy now!

p.s. He LOVES that yellow ball (thanks Aunt Amy!) and I LOVE when he crosses his ankles/feet when he sits...so. cute.

J-man still seems to be loving life and I'm pretty sure he'll be loving it even more soon because he is so close to walking! He received a few toys for Christmas to help him walk, and he is really on the move with those. (video to come :-) He still loves to give kisses and clapping is his new trick (whew! we worked on that one for so long). As you can see from the pictures below, we've had many pajama days this month~as it has been cold and all I've been doing is working in the house. And just for the record, I love PJ days :-) Below are a few of Judah's favorite past-times on these days:

Sorting shapes. Although he hasn't mastered it, he certainly knows the concept. He gets so excited that he squeals right before the shape drops. Here he is placing a shape in the side of his "Mickey Mouse Airplane."

 
Climbing. That's right, my boy is trying to climb up shelves! Thankfully, he hasn't mastered this one yet, although I'm pretty sure one day I'm going to walk in a room only to find him near the ceiling :-) Here he is climbing up one of his toy shelves, then trying to climb up my leg.

Studying up on his urology. Yes, he likes to "read" his daddy's urology journals. Never too young, right?!

And that's about it! Here's hoping to more fun adventures after our house lists next week. Wish us luck!

Christmas in Dixie

Ok well, it was the week after Christmas but we were indeed in Dixie! With Allie-dog, a million bags, and Christmas gifts in tow, we braved the 9.5 half hour drive to Alabama to spend time with my family during the holidays. Let's just say that Judah endured the car ride much better than his mommy and daddy :-). It was well worth the trip, though, and Judah seemed to have a blast hanging out with his family, especially his two cousins~Marlee and Maggie!

Poor little guy began to teethe again~BADLY~ while we were there. He was a happy baby (as always); however, he was a drooling and chewing baby! It was really difficult to capture a picture without something in his mouth!

 

Although slobbery and very tired from all the festivities, this little man still managed to help open a few gifts.

Yay! Disney movies from KK! (These were for me also :-)

How cute is this hat he got!

And Mommy and Daddy did a lot of opening because Judah couldn't handle them all! This was Daddy's favorite gift, and I'm not sure he knows it's for Judah ;-)

 

Along with my family living in Alabama, many of my dear college friends also live in the area. One evening, we had a gathering in Birmingham (thanks to Rachel and Bart for being amazing hosts!). It was so wonderful to celebrate with friends and get our children together. As I looked around the room, I couldn't help but think of our same group ten years ago and how we all first met at The University of Alabama~and I was so grateful that our friendships have endured and our families have grown.

Scarlett and Truman helping Judah open his gift

The group minus Stephanie's sweet children but including its newest addition~Anna Barton~scheduled to arrive in February!

On New Year's Eve, we headed even further south to Auburn (NOT to cheer on the team!) but to visit another dear friend who lives there, Nancy and her precious family (whom you've seen on this blog a time or two before ;-) Although the visit was short and all the sleepy parents had great difficulty staying awake til midnight, it was wonderful to ring in the New Year with some of the people we love the most. Can you tell Nance and I love our little men?!

One more time for good measure~Happy 2011~from BB and J!

Melkam Gena!

Merry Christmas! (in Amharic, Ethiopia's official language) That's right~while some of us are busy still removing and storing our Christmas decor, Ethiopians are celebrating Christmas TODAY, January 7th! To read more about their celebration, click here.

Across the pond here in the States, the Nix family had a great time on our Christmas day celebrating in North Carolina. Jeff had to work the week of Christmas, so fortunately some of his family from Kentucky and Alabama came to visit us! It was a joyful, relaxing day and a memorable first Christmas for Judah!

Seeing Santa's first gift...his very own chair! (Allie is also curious:-)

 

Now what is this thing again?!

Almost standing by himself...he can do it now!

Hey, I think I like this thing!

 

Helping Granma open gifts

Getting the hang of unwrapping

 

Uncle Trent's favorite gift ;-)

Melkam Gena Everyone!

All Things New

Happy New Year! 

Most recent family pic, taken on New Year's Eve

It's 2011 somehow and although I'm a few days late, I've kept one of my resolutions and given the blog a "face lift" of sorts. It desperately needed updating and although "Baby E" will always be remembered, that baby does have a face and a name now :-) This site still has a long way to go, and there so many more "bloggie" tricks I want to learn but just haven't had time...one day, I guess.
Why the title? Well, I was just thinking of a phrase to describe the purpose of the blog and "All These Things" immediately came to mind, along with one of my favorite Bible verses (Matthew 6:33). Initially, I thought it was too simple--besides, all-these-things may be three of the most commonly used words in the English language. However, what it signifies to me is actually very complex. You see, in this world it is so easy to get swept away by turning to anything but God when you're faced with decisions. There's Google, Facebook, Twitter, texting, coffee talk with the girls...you get the point. Not that any of those things are inherently bad but I've been guilty of overusing those things and "underusing" God...know what I mean? One (big) area of my life that I am so grateful for seeking God first for is when Jeff and I decided to expand our family. Although it may have taken us a while to take the leap into the adoption world, we sought Him and trusted His righteousness with each decision. I believe that it's because of that seeking that we've been blessed with the most amazing child and this precious story. All these things have been added unto us, and by things I don't mean anything of material/worldly worth. It's the eternal things that really matter~like love that makes your heart ache, faith that can move mountains, and joy that permeates your soul. I hope each of you (if anyone is still reading) had an amazing holiday, including a fabulous New Year. We certainly did, and I'll tell you all about it on my next post. Stay tuned...