OUCH!!!

Parker got his first boo-boo! He fell at the Splash Pad last night while trying to walk too fast like a big boy and scraped the side of his face on the rough concrete. As you can tell, he is fine--still happy and it hasn't stopped him at all! But it's just in time for his first birthday! Doesn't it always happen this way? Pray for quick healing for my Little P!

O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2

Father's Day Hike

All Jonathan wanted for Father's Day was for us to go on a family hike together! So Saturday morning we got up early and headed to North Carolina to hike the Big Creek trail. The kids loved being with their Daddy: The girls had fun looking at everything and collected lots of nature items on the hike, but they were especially excited about all of the horses we saw along the way:Here are my girls under a big rock:We hiked 1.5 miles on the trail and stopped at Midnight Hole. It was gorgeous! The girls had so much fun wading in the cool water:

Parker was glad to be free to do a little exploring on his own!

and to eat a snack:and to quench his thirst:

and to give Daddy hugs:

The most exciting part of all was when Jonathan jumped off into the ice cold water:

The girls clapped and cheered for their Daddy! We had a wonderful time celebrating Father's Day by hiking in God's awesome creation. I thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful husband who is an amazing Daddy to my 4 sweeties! I love you, Jonathan!

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers... Malachi 4:6

Parker's First Steps

Parker is walking now...and he is so happy about it!Parker had made several attempts to walk since May 23rd, but would fall after 1 or 2 steps. Then on Monday, June 15th he started taking 3 or 4 steps in a row, and by Wednesday, 4 steps turned into 7 or 8! The girls and I couldn't believe it at first, but he continued on for the rest of the day. We were so very proud! We went to the Splash Pad out in Farragut after Maddy's Gymnastics lesson, so I took some pictures of him walking while we were there:

He still mostly crawls because he can get around much faster, but he is getting more and more confident as the days go on. It is such a joy to watch a baby learn to walk! We love you, Little P, and are enjoying your newest milestone!

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

A Boy After His Dad's Own Heart

Parker has really gotten attached to his little football! He wouldn't put it down while I fed him his bottle, and since he was so tired from playing at Kids Klub, he fell fast asleep with it in his arms! Won't Daddy be proud?

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. Romans 15:1-2

Our Little Son Shine!

Little P turned eleven months old on June the 4th. He brings us so much joy and is sure to put a smile on all of our faces several times a day!He has gotten another tooth and it is on the top left, but it is over to the side! We are hoping that his middle teeth come in soon so he won't look like a vampire!
Parker is getting so big! The other day I took him back to the Doctor to get his ears rechecked and he weighed 24 lbs.! Unfortunately his ear was still infected and so we are off to see an ENT (Dr. Little) on July the 8th to get him evaluated for tubes. Even though he has been so sick, he is such a happy baby and loves to have fun. He was so proud of himself when he climbed up onto our little play table in the Bonus Room:He likes to play peek a boo:

The girls and I got him a cool Tonka truck a couple of weeks ago since he is always surrounded by girl toys, and he just loves it! We have it set up as a walking toy right now, but when he gets older, he can sit and ride on it and scoop up shapes.

We took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese last night and Parker had a blast! He loved all of the rides:Especially the kiddie roller coaster that he rode with Maddy!

They are so sweet together!

Parker is still having trouble with table foods, and we found out recently that our insurance will cover 90% of Parker's Speech Therapy, so he is going for his first appointment today. They are so sweet at the East Tennessee Children's Rehab Center, so I know that he will be in good hands and make lots of progress! Hopefully he will be all ready to dig into his Birthday cake on the 4th of July! I can't wait! Love you, little buddy!

For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. Psalm 92:4

Go, Devils, Go!

On April 18th, I signed Maddy up for the Halls Flag Football Cheerleading Squad. She takes gymnastics at Premier Athletics in West Knoxville where they also practice for Sharks Cheerleading, so she has been asking to be a cheerleader for several months. I was never a cheerleader myself, so this is all new to me, but she is really excited about it, so I am really excited for her! Friday, June 5th, she had Cheer Camp at Halls High School where the HHS Cheerleaders worked with them for 2 hours on cheers for offense, defense, and anytime, and they even taught them a couple of cheer dances! They were given a Red Devils cheer T-shirt to wear so they would all match: All we had were denim shorts to fit her little body, but I am hoping to find some cute cheer shorts for her real soon! Maddy had lots of fun, but she was so serious about trying to learn all of the cheers (I think there were 12 different ones!) that she was forgetting to smile! Once she started catching on to the cheers, she started really enjoying it and having fun: Her favorite part (besides playing Duck Duck Goose with the HS cheerleaders!) was learning the moves to the cheer dances.

She really got into the twisting during the Twist and Shout part of the song!I had so much fun watching Maddy and am looking forward to taking her to cheer practice once a week this summer starting tomorrow. And then she will be cheering on Saturday mornings in the Fall for the Halls Flag Football teams. They are making custom fit cheerleading uniforms for all the girls, and I can't wait to see her in it! Go, Devils, Go!

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Our Little Mermaid

Lily took her first set of swim lessons last week (May 25-29). I took the advice of Lily's Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Bounds, and enrolled Lily in the Super Kids Beginners class at Adventure Swim. The lessons are taught by Mr. Ed at his home and he uses the Fast and Fun Swim System to teach kids to swim. Lily went five days in a row from 10:30-11:15 and she loved it! Before the 25th she really hadn't been under water much, and by Friday she was jumping off the diving board! We were thrilled with all she learned and would highly recommend Adventure Swim! Here is Lily on her last day in her cute hot pink swim cap! Mr. Ed had her jumping in off the side and using a kick board to swim to the other side

Lily was taught how to hold her breath under water for 5-10 secondsand also the skills to do a back float

At the end of her fourth day of lessons, Mr. Ed had the kids jump off of the diving board! Here is Lily showing Mr. Ed that she is going to "climb" with her arms to come to the top of the water: She was so brave jumping off the diving board into the 10' water!

At the end of class each day Mr. Ed had the kids race on the mats in the water. This was one of Lily's favorite parts of the class: We are so proud of you Lily and can't wait to see you swim all summer!

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8:22