Thursday, May 29, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mommy!



Amy's 29th Birthday

the 2 Roccos: Rocky with Great-Grandpa Rocco


Can we have cake yet?

Daddy and Rocky

Lou surprised me and took the day off work to be with me for my birthday. We decided to drive out to the Outer Cape, the very tip of Massachusetts. I hadn't been in years, and Lou had never driven all the way to the end. Here is Nauset Light in Eastham...very Cape Cod.

Gracie at the boardwalk at Nauset Beach. It's really beautiful. Lou got me paints, brushes, and an easel for my birthday because I'd mentioned I'd like to learn to paint. (I have a friend who does it and gives lessons). If I can learn, I'd love to be able to paint some of these places instead of taking pictures!

Gracie and I looking at the Three Sisters lighthouses: They used to be along the middle part of the Outer Cape in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The three lighthouses signaled the middle while there was one lighthouse near the tip, and two lighthouses near the bottom in the Lower Cape. Now each location has just one lighthouse, each with a different flashing pattern so boats can identify where they are. These three are preserved in a park near Nauset Beach. Just a little history for you...

More scenic pics from our drive

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Catching Up

Gracie waiting to go to church
Finally, a picture of them together!
Tummy time!
Roses for Mother's Day..and two white roses (I don't know if you can really tell from the picture), one from Gracie and one from Rocky
Gracie wearing Mommy's shoes...I'm amazed she can walk in them. And, of course, she's carrying one of her Biscuit books. She loves Biscuit; we read those books over and over and over. I think I can recite all of them! She also loves the Sandra Boynton board books, especially Hippos Go Berserk! and Pajama Time!--very cute and enjoyable for adults, too
Gracie on her cell phone. She's a riot talking on the phone. She'll babble on and on and then pause like she's listening to someone talk back to her. Then, babble, babble, babble, with an occasional "Mommy" or "Ocky" thrown in...so cute!
Rocky has started his solids! He's having rice cereal in the morning and at night. He's still working on learning to eat from a spoon. We put a bite in his mouth...and then put in back in about four more times. It's teaching us patience. =)
Gracie in her pretty dress that her great-grandmother knitted for her.
Gracie sporting her hood. Anytime we put a sweatshirt or jacket on her, she pats the top of her head to indicate that she wants to wear the hood. I thought most kids didn't like hoods???
I'm trying to make up for not blogging in two weeks and for finally uploading more pictures to my computer. We are all doing well. Last week, we had our friends the Risers come and visit. Lou and I enjoyed the fellowship with Chris and Alisa, and Gracie enjoyed playing with Johanna and getting Josiah to read books to her--one of her favorite pasttimes. My dad started his chemo today, and he began his radiation yesterday. He'll have radiation 5 days a week and chemo once a week for the next 6 weeks or so. Please keep him in prayer and my mom, too, of course. We are grateful to the Lord for good doctors; hopefully, we'll all be a testimony to them through all of this.
Please continue to keep Lou in prayer as he ministers to the church. There is always so much to be done, and we thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve. We pray that the Lord will be glorified here, and that we will find more ways to reach out to the community. We continue to pray that the Lord would raise up another elder to come alongside Lou. We are looking forward to having Phil and Darlene Johnson here with us in August; Phil will be preaching a few times at the church. We hope the Lord would use this as another means of outreach to our community. Thanks for all your prayers!