enrique, cutest thing ever, some cakes and another new friend

one of my niece's has a birthday this weekend and she had her first spend the night party to celebrate! my sister and I made individual cakes for each guest ... they all brought their sleeping bags and so the cakes are replications of each girl in her sleeping bag with her initial on each one. cute! it was so fun to decorate them.

this one was for my nephew

the birthday girl

cutest thing ever

henry had another friend born yesterday ... congrats to Craig and Julie on the birth of Jackson Hodges Melton, 8 lbs, 13 ozs, 21 and 1/2 inches long. Both are doing great! Julie and Craig are friends from junior league and our sunday school class.

last weekend before the Art Walk/Run fundraiser ... Henry wanted his own sign, which says "me llamo enrique." ha!

the fundraiser went well-on the day of we had 145 runners and 176 walkers. In year's past we had 90-120 total, so we were very pleased! the weather was perfect and there were so many fun activities that day of ... it was a neat experience. I will say that though, that I look forward to participating in (instead of chairing) the event next year!

happy birthday mom!

we love you lots!

fifteen months

fifteen months old today ... time is still flying by at a rate I never realized existed. love for this sweet boy keeps growing at a depth I never anticipated either.

a few 15 month updates:

• about three to four weeks ago Henry dropped a few things ... his morning nap and his pacifier. while it was nice to have some time in the morning to catch up on housework and other stuff, I must admit I enjoy this "no nap time freedom" so to speak. we have more play time in the mornings for activities and such. no rushing back to the house for a nap. I like it. as for the loss of his papsy, the first couple of days he had a little trouble with it, but after that it was totally fine. now he just chews his poor little dog and tiger blankets to pieces!
• he is eating most of what we eat at meal times. while he will still eat a good variety of fruits and veggies, he now has an opinion and eating has become a little trickier despite my hard efforts in getting him to eat anything and everything. I keep telling myself my expectations are too high. some of his favorites are: yogurt, waffles, bread, any kind of bean, fish (LOVES fish), chicken, sweet potatoes, spinach, bananas, applesauce, and crackers. we try to get him to taste new foods as much as we can. Funny story ... I am overprotective (and I know and admit this) about what he eats ... one day at church I packed him a snack and when I picked him up, they told me he ate his snack AND had a pop tart. A pop tart-he'd never had a pop tart and there was a reason for that! For a few minutes I was not happy about this at all, but didn't say anything to anyone at church. Several minutes later I found myself laughing ... I mean really, one pop tart, is that going to hurt him?!? In the grand scheme of life this was nothing to be concerned about ... so that was one parenting lesson learned that day ... (*note: for anything I might post on here, just because we allow or disallow certain things for H or ourselves, this does reflect us being judgemental about decisions other parents make that might differ with ours - every child is different and every parent is different. this does not mean any one parent is better than another, so please don't misunderstand our thoughts/decisions/comments)
• he is a happy guy most of the time but he can get mad. he has a temper. we are just starting time out. he really hates to put on pants too ... not sure why. he will get mad at times if he does not get his way. the fun begins, right?!
• he loves to be outdoors. he loves animals, except for some reason he is afraid of my sister's dogs and I am perplexed about this.
• he is signing many new signs (am trying to get these all on video to post).
• he can say "night night," momma," "dog," and "da-da."
• he has the best laugh ever.
• he loves to "waller" around in your lap, on a bed, on a couch and be tickled. he could do this for 30 minutes or more.
• he loves riding in his stroller.
• he has started to cry when gary or I leave him ... sometimes worse than others. he usually stops soon after we leave, but it still is sad!
• he is still a picky book reader -loves to be read to, but only those books he "likes." not sure when this will change ... hopefully soon! :)

one year ago ... three months old. what a difference a year makes! they change so much the first year or so!

last Easter

happy 15 months Henry!

happy easter!

we made a bunny cake! it was really cute.

too sweet for me, but we all enjoyed looking at it and starting a new easter family tradition. my sister also shared some really neat "resurrection eggs" that she found. we didn't get these in time this year but are looking forward to using them next year. check out this link for more info:

http://store.familylife.com/detail.asp?id=10851&p=&c=&g=

what an informative and fun way to share the meaning of easter with your children!

the easter bunny brought a few goodies ... a wind up chick, a slinky, some bubbles, some chocolate covered pretzels (that bunny knew that was the extent of henry's "candy eating," ha ha), and a book about the story of and reason for easter.

blowing bubbles with dad

let the egg hunt begin! the easter bunny also hid a few eggs for henry to find out in our back yard. it took a little longer for him to find the eggs since he isn't walking on his own and is still a little wobbly, but he seemed to enjoy it.

he didn't seem overly excited abut the $1 for his piggy bank, but I assured him that one day he will ...

found another one in mamaw's lilies!

he seemed most excited about putting the eggs in the basket. he didn't really care about opening them.

egg spotted ...

... the reach ...

... the eating of the egg!

all done egg hunting and on to being a ham ... then it was on to being whiny and tired and ready to take a nap. hope you all had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed this gorgeous weather on this most special day!

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

Phillipians 3:10-12

more babies and a fun weekend

congrats to megann and david on the birth of Catherine Ellis Cain, born last night, 7 lbs 12 ozs, 20 inches long. exciting! this past week FOUR babies on the "expecting" list at the bottom right corner of our blog have been born. wild!

Catching up from last weekend ... it was a fun one! Last Friday we headed up to Birmingham and made several stops (I only have a few pics though). First we saw my grandmother. Then we went by my Bham office and saw the crew up there. Then we had lunch with Gary's mom. Then we headed to Allison's for a visit. That night a group of us celebrated Allison's birthday at Iguana Grill. Saturday morning Allison and I went to visit Jessica in the hospital. After that we all went to celebrate Tram's first birthday. Then we headed back to Auburn where the

busy-ness continued but will spare you the rest. It was so nice to see everyone!
happy birthday Tram!

sweet Madeline and H

reading to maddie and henry playing the piano

L-R: Allison/Maddie, Tricia/Cole, Catherine, Megann (a few days before the baby arrived!), & Jen

henry giving madeline smoochie kisses. his newest sweet thing.

playing in the hello kitty tent.

ah ... story time with Gary. not sure which Vaughan boy loves Madeline the most - Gary or Henry!

here's to those that encourage us

my friends joy and heather always write such meaningful, uplifting and thought provoking posts. after reading their posts, I always come away with a new perspective and time for reflection.

I tend to steer clear of these types of posts for the most part; I've had a few, but I rarely feel as though I can successfully relate the Biblical thoughts, sentiments, and prayers that I might be experiencing. why is this? I think it goes back to how my faith and walk with God have changed throughout my life. for a long time I held a narrow and lacking in understanding viewpoint of what it truly means to be a Christian. don't get me wrong, I don't have it all figured out yet by any means, but I am eagerly learning! then, for a time I drifted far away from study, faith and all things Biblical. I don't feel as though I ever completely lost my faith, but I definitely put it on the back burner and did not try to be an imitator of Christ. since then I have been rediscovering and redefining my walk with God ... and my attitude and heart have changed. part of this was a result of turning away from some things and some people that were distracting me; part of this was turning TO the points and people in my life that were more important; part of this was being given the incredibly amazing responsibility and charge of raising a child that loves and serves the Lord; part of this was seeing family members and close friends struggle with health and personal trials; and the list goes on ...

I say all of this because I felt as though if I publicly shared certain sentiments, discoveries, and lessons from Scripture, that I wasn't "qualified" from a knowledge and experience perspective, to have an opinion on such matters. Some time ago, I also had the erroneously cynical and judgemental thought about people's motives for publicly sharing such things. However, as time has passed, I have come to realize that whatever Biblical experiences are written on a blog, whatever words of faith are shared by a celebrity, whatever letter is received by an organization, and so forth, we are to always view these in a positive light. For I am no judge of any person's heart. And, how encouraging it is to read something that is joyful, meaningful, and hopefully shares the goodness and grace of Christ rather than another news story about crime, abuse, greed, and poor decisions?

So, as I attempt to find God's purpose and love in each small daily event and experience, I pray that I keep Galatians 5:22 close to my heart and my lips, so that my actions and thoughts represent the fruits of the Spirit ... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. And I pray that for every person that might read this post and roll his/her eyes and maybe even think "what a long and rambling post!" there will be another who might find encouragement in thinking about the fruits of the spirit and how those fruits are so wonderful! And, when I find myself struggling with clothing myself in any of these, I can turn to Him and ask for His help ... for this is what He intended. Not for us to do this alone, but only with and through Him. And when I fall short in this effort which I most certainly will each day, I know that it doesn't matter how much Biblical knowledge I possess, how many times I ask for help, and what my "old" state of mind was, He is unchanging and His love for us endures forever.

so here's to joy and heather, who have unknowingly helped me get out of my "comfort zone" and realize that sharing God's love, in word or action, can never be "uncomfortable" in God's eyes. you are both such great encouragers!

babies babies everywhere!

Update on Jessica-she had the baby yesterday. Cotton was 4 lbs 3 ozs, 17.5 inches long and both mother and baby are doing great so far! He's able to breathe on his own and is doing well.

Congratulations to Andren, Lauren & Carson-Brooks Phillips Hess was born on April 11th, 7 lbs, 18 3/4 inches long! He shares the same birth time as his brothers, how special! All are doing great.

Also, Janelle had some news over the weekend ... baby Willow was born Saturday morning and was 7 lbs 4 ozs, 20 inches long. Both are doing well!

Lastly, Embree's baby girl (Kealy) is trying to make an early arrival. She is due at the end of May and is at home on full bedrest. She is having lots of contractions and is on the pump to slow down/stop these contractions. Hopefully Kealy will stay put a little while longer. Hang in there Em!

Not surprisingly there is a full moon this week ... :)

prayers for the Murphy family

please keep one of my college roommates and friends and her family in your prayers - Jessica (Jenkins) Murphy. Jessica is about to deliver her second child, a fighter of a little boy to be named Cotton. At 20 weeks she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. She spent months in the hospital and has had an extremely trying pregnancy. A couple of weeks ago they found out her husband has cancer, that which they are hopeful can be treated and removed by radiation. She also has a 16 month old boy, William, who seems to be handling everything really well. This past Thursday her water broke; she's around 34 weeks. She went back into the hospital and is waiting to deliver the baby any day now-they are wanting him to stay put as long as her fluid levels are sufficient. So far the baby is doing just fine, but it is truly a miracle after everything she has gone through with the Crohn's. Allison and I went to see her this past weekend and she and her husband Murphy have the best and most positive attitude. It was very touching to hear her tell of her trials with a smile and high hopes.

Hang in there Jessica! Many people are praying and thinking of you.

JLLC Art Walk/Run for Children-Saturday, April 11th

This coming Saturday the Junior League of Lee County is hosting a 1.5 mile walk/5k run to benefit the various children's organizations we support within Lee County. Registration starts at 8:30am, timed run at 9:15am and the walk at 9:30am. We will have inflatables for children, live music, Chick Fil A biscuits along with other tasty treats, and all participants have free admission to the museum after the event. It will be a great way to get some exercise, spend time with friends and family, and enjoy the nice (hopefully) weather. So if you haven't signed up yet, come on out! You can download registration forms at www.auburnrunning.org or www.leecountyjuniorleague.com

I am chairing this event and I am hopeful that we reach our fundraising goal . . . we are close, but we need your help. I am thrilled to say we have 350 pre-registrants! We hope to see you this Saturday, April 11th, at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Thanks!

someone help my mum dress me ... please

H: I mean really, mum, what am I wearing? I've got chicks on my outfit!

H: Mum, the man at Sam's Club told me I look like I just got out of a "tiny jail." That's what the man actually said. Unbelievable.