One year ago today, Channing and I received the wonderful news that we'd been waiting two weeks to hear. Shelby's lungs had cleared and she'd developed an acceptable appetite. We were allowed to bring her home to Searcy. I remember thinking that Channing and I would lose it whenever we brought her home, that we'd cry our eyes out; however, when the day finally came, we were too overjoyed to cry. This picture was taken soon after she came home. (Thanks to Todd and Casey for loaning their sweet Moses basket for Shelby to sleep in those first few weeks at home!)

Shelby and the Johnson Girls

Before returning to Arkansas, we had to pay a visit to Wendy and her girls, Chloe and Kameryn. Shelby sure does love playing with those two. I am glad they now live really close to my folks so that we'll see them more often. The Johnson girls are pretty sweet!

Father's Day at the Tennessee Aquarium

All three of us enjoyed this great Chattanooga attraction. Shelby loved all the colorful fish. Daddy's favorite parts about the aquarium were the sea turtles and the sharks. Mommy liked being able to touch the sting rays. There was one bad thing that happened that day. Somewhere on the way from the car to the aquarium, Shelby lost one of her sandals. We retraced our steps and were unable to find the cute pink flip-flop sandal. We have got to keep her from kicking off her shoes!!!

Family Reunion 2006

Here is a picture of everyone who was able to make the family reunion in Chattanooga last weekend. My mom has two sisters and two brothers. All the siblings and their spouses were able to come. Several of my cousins and their families were there too. Not everyone was together the whole weekend, but we did all meet for lunch on Saturday. Shelby, Aunt Barbara, and Nick were surprised with cards and a cake since their birthdays were all in June. It was so good to see everyone! Too bad others weren't able to make it.

C is for Cookie

As I've posted earlier, Shelby turned one on June 14. We had a little celebration that night after church, just the three of us. As you can see from the picture, she really loved the chocolate chip cookie and made quite a mess.

Taking a Look Back

These pictures were taken on Mother's Day at the Little Rock Zoo. Shelby loved watching the animals. The chimpanzees and the tiger were her favorites. She even waved at the tiger while he was relaxing in the shade.

This past weekend was spent in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were there for a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. Friday and Saturday, Shelby and Daddy were able to spend some time in the pool. We have a little blow-up boat for Shelby and she loves it. Saturday we visited Ruby Falls. Shelby enjoyed that some, but the tour was a bit long for her. The highlight of the trip was Sunday when we visited the Tennessee Aquarium. Shelby LOVED all the fish. We had a blast watching her reactions. The trip was good, but we were very happy to pull into our driveway this morning! I will post some pictures of the trip after we get them developed.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister Nunda and her son Morgan came for a visit. Shelby loves Morgan. He thinks she's pretty neat, too! He says she's better than Cartoon Network. That's quite a compliment coming from a nine year old! Morgan is a great cousin for Shelby! He loves to play with her and read her books. When he's not playing with her, Shelby will just sit and watch him. I bet she's thinking, "Wow, what a cool kid!!"

Happy Birthday, Shelby!!

It is amazing that Shelby is a year old! She has been such a blessing to us. Time has flown! Tonight she will get to open a present or two from Mommy and Daddy and enjoy a yummy chocolate chip cookie. Next weekend, after we're back from our trip to Chattanooga, we will have a party for Shelby here in Searcy. Shelby has received several birthday wishes today. Everytime she hears the birthday song, she claps. She is enjoying all this attention!

Shelby's First Kiss

Actually, there was more than one kiss. She and I were visiting a friend who happened to be babysitting a couple little boys, both under two years old. Connor was the first to kiss Shelby and Reed followed. Shelby didn't like it very much - she started screaming. The little guys looked so hurt that she didn't appreciate their affection! I bet Channing didn't think he would have to worry about boys this early! Ha ha ha.

So Shelby has developed quite the ability to scream. If she doesn't like something that Mommy or Daddy does, not only does she cry...she screams. Loud. We are ready for this phase to end!!

This picture was taken in January. I'm just practicing. :)

We got another roll developed today that was actually a surprise. So now we're missing a roll of the pictures from the Little Rock Zoo. Hmmm....

It is hard to believe that Shelby will be a year old on Wednesday! As the day draws near, we keep talking about how fast time has flown by. The last year has been full of so many blessings...We have so much to be thankful for! We got two rolls of film developed over the weekend and once we put some on our computer (no digital camera!), I will post some on here. I hope to keep this blog up! I'll do my best!

This is just a test for our blog!