Talking to God

One day last week, as we were sitting down to dinner, Channing said, "Shelby, are you ready to talk to God?" She leaned over in her highchair, looking into the kitchen. I asked her if she saw God and she leaned over again. It was quite a special moment!

Tonight, also at dinner, I said, "Shelby, let's talk to God," and she put her hands together. I am not kidding. I watched her while we prayed, and those hands were together the whole time. That is not something that we've ever had her do before, and I look forward to telling her Bible school teachers about that!

Words

Shelby is really doing a lot of talking these days. She says a lot of things that I don't understand, though it is obvious she's trying to tell me something. But there are things that are definitely coming out clearly. Let's see...she can say daddy, ma-ma, Papa, baby, puppy, bottle, up, bye-bye, bubble, and ball. When I tell her that I'll be right back, she repeats me and it sounds like she's saying the right thing. It is such a delight to hear her talking to her toys as she plays. She jabbers all the time. I have no idea where she gets it! :)

Mothers' Morning Out

Yesterday there was a Mothers' Morning Out at the church building. Channing and I had breakfast at IHOP and then spent some time relaxing on the porch at Midnight Oil. After Channing returned to the office, I went home to get some housework done. It was so nice to have that time with Channing and get stuff done at home! While I absolutely love being at home with Shelby all day, it is nice to get a break from time to time. Thanks to the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) program for providing the break yesterday!

Church Directory Picture

Yesterday Shelby and I stopped by the church office and picked up our disc with pictures we had made for Downtown's pictoral directory. Here is one of the pictures, taken March 21. I am not sure if this one is in the directory, but it is my favorite because of Shelby's smile.

Getting Better

Just wanted to update and thank those of you who prayed for our family after reading my last post. Channing and Shelby are still suffering from their summer colds, but they seem to be on the mend. I am still feeling good.

Summer Colds

Well, I am officially the only member of the Channing household that does not have a cold. My sweet husband is not usually one to complain about feeling bad. That means that he can be in the early stages of a cold without my knowledge. Now that Shelby is on the scene, that isn't a good thing! We figured out Shelby wasn't feeling well last night around 9:00. She had fallen asleep and woke up screaming. Not just crying, SCREAMING. This happened every few minutes. We decided that it would be best for me to sleep in the guest room with Shelby last night, since Channing has to work today. Not that it helped much; Shelby's crying woke up her daddy anyway. She and I were up many times throughout the night. It was pitiful last night. Shelby obviously was feeling really really crummy and of course could not tell me about it. Hopefully we will both be able to get a nap or two in today.

If you're reading this today or in the next couple of days, please say a prayer for the health of our family. This is the second round of summer colds for us. We hope it's the last!

Parents' Night Out

Friday night, the Children's Ministry at Downtown sponsored a Parents' Night Out. Channing and I got together with our friends Sean and Sarah Tappe for a double date. We had dinner and played a game of Spades (girls vs. guys). Sarah and I beat the guys, despite all their efforts to turn the tables in their favor. Thanks to the Tappe's for cooking dinner for us. We had a great evening with them.

4th of July

We spent the day together as a family, hanging out around the house. Channing cooked hamburgers, tater tots, and corn on our new grill. A couple of hours later, we headed over to the football field at Harding. The University and the city of Searcy put together some fun festivities. We met friends Lauren & Silas Orbison, Lance & Heather Kemper and their families for the fireworks. Shelby loved the fireworks!! We weren't sure how she'd handle the noise, considering she doesn't like to hear us sneeze... :) So we put some cotton in her ears just to be sure. She did great - didn't seem to mind the booms at all. Shelby clapped and ooohed and aaahed over just about each one. And wouldn't you know it...we forgot the camera!

We hope that all of you had a wonderful day with friends and family.

Happy Birthday, Channing!

Yesterday was Channing's birthday....the big 3-1!! I decided to throw him a little surprise party, and invited another couple over to celebrate with us. It was a different scenario than the usual. Sean and Joanna came over and Channing was already home from work, as I knew he would be. But the surprise element worked, because he certainly wasn't expecting anyone. We had lasagna, salad, and bread for supper. I fixed Channing's favorite - chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I also got stuff to write on the cake...going back to my days working in the bakery at Sessel's grocery store. Everyone was impressed with my cake-decorating abilities!

So, Channing, Happy Birthday! May this year bring many blessings from God. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father. We love you so much and thank God for you every day.

Date Night

Last night, Channing and I were able to go on a date! It had been two months since the two of us had some time out of the house. We stayed in Searcy, so that limited our options. But it was still very good to have each other's undivided attention. We had dinner at Doc's Grill, did a little browsing at a couple stores, and had dessert over a game of Phase 10 at Midnight Oil. Thanks to our friend Lindsey for babysitting! We agreed that, next time, we would go to Little Rock and wouldn't wait two months either.

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.