Happy 1st Birthday, Faithy!!

We can hardly believe it!! We have a 1 year old, now!! Just two days ago, our little baby celebrated her 1st birthday....where did the time go???? Here are a few highlights from her friend party last Saturday!! (P.S. We missed having you with us, Rachie!! Hope your party in Berlin goes well!)

This picture speaks for itself...Faithy really enjoyed her birthday partyl!!!

The cute little birthday girl!!!
Faith collected books for our local children's hospital. Her party was a bath time theme which is why the books were in a bathtub and the party favors were bottles of shampoo. (FYI--Faith's FAVORITE place to be is in the bathtub!!)
Mommy and Daddy with the birthday girl!!

Faithy with good friends, Reagan and Mady.

Mrs. Mindy showing Faith her special birthday balloon.

Faithy playing "catch the duckie" with Reagan, Jacob, Mady and Nelson (he actually found a more interesting toy under the piano).

Faith showing Nelson how the Boo Boo Bunny works. Thanks Mr. Chris and Mrs. Mindy for the cute little bunny!!

Faithy and good friend, Laney!

This is a picture of Faithy eating her 3rd birthday cake. We had ANOTHER celebration on her actual birthday (this past Wednesday) with her Granddad and Granlyn. She has gotten the hang of eating cake!!

Happy Birthday big girl! We love you so so so so much!!!

Santa Baby!

What a difference a Daddy makes.... Faithy got all dressed up in her BEAUTIFUL Christmas dress. We put a red bow in her hair and headed off to meet Santa. Murray met us at the "North Pole" and Faith was ALL SMILES!! You've never seen a more happy and delightful child. That was until we placed her on Santa's lap. Here was her reaction to the big jolly fellow....

We set Faith on Murray's lap and snuck her as close to Santa as we could without her noticing. Much better. We couldn't get a big smile out of her but it seems that Daddy's lap made all the difference.



Hope you all enjoy your holiday season!

Tomorrow is Faith's 1st birthday!! We can hardly believe it! I'll be posting pictures of her birthday party from this past Saturday soon. It's amazing how fast a year can go!! This time last year we were T-28 hours and counting....we couldn't wait to see if we would be holding baby Lincoln or Faith!! Now it seems as if she's always been with us!! Thank you God for this precious baby girl!!

Sarah

This past Thursday night I attended the most amazing worship service. It was simply incredible. Over 1,300 people came to celebrate the life of Sarah Bergquist and witness the fruits of her profound faith. It was an experience you carry with you and remember for a lifetime. It was an experience that changes you. You suddenly realize that it's possible to be that person you've always wanted to be. You see an example laid out before you and because it came from someone so approachable and kind, you begin to feel that you too can start making an impact for Christ just like Sarah did.

Thank you, Sarah!!!

No words...

I am feeling so very sad. We found out this afternoon that our sweet friend, Sarah passed away. She was 37 years old. Just two months ago she was diagnosed with leukemia. She was so many wonderful things to so many people. Most importantly, she was a child of God and lived each moment reflecting His glory. I haven't met many people like that....ones that truly embody the sweet spirit of Christ nearly every waking minute. She was the beloved wife of Scott, blessed mother of Hannah, Noah, Jonah and Rachel, precious daughter to Becky and Allen, mentor to many new moms, and treasured friend to countless ladies.

I just can't find words or even feelings to help me understand or explain her passing. Hundreds prayed and prayed for her miraculous healing. Many days we felt we were on the cusp of it as things were looking up. I am not questioning God's decision. I just wish she was still here.

Please say a prayer for Sarah's family and friends.

Jaime

Faith's first 1st birthday party...

We celebrated Faith's 1st birthday a little early when Murray's family was in town for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to see her enjoy such a special occasion. She LOVED hearing Happy Birthday sung to her. I'll have to post of video of that soon. Her face lights up as soon as the song begins! Here's a quick recap of her first 1st birthday party. (Her "friend" party will be held closer to the actual day)....


Nana went all out and bought me this bounce and ride zebra. I LOVE it. There were a lot of other Nana gifts that I enjoy too...animal cards, Madame Alexander statue, and a light up book! Thanks, Nana!!
Aunt Mel, Uncle Brad, Bennett and Briggsy got me my first Radio Flyer bicycle. It has a really cool bell on the handle bar. I love to push it around. Pretty soon, I'll be able to scoot around on it! Thanks so much!!
Uncle Michael, Aunt Darla, Stone and Sterling got a me a Little People school bus, magnetic drawing board, and a fun ball maze toy. I've really enjoyed playing with all of these really cool toys. Thank you!!
Aunt Darla is so creative. She iced my birthday cake for me! I LOVE taking baths so we made it a bathtime themed party. I LOVED this rubber ducky most of all!I wasn't sure what to do with the icing once I grabbed the cake. I kept shaking it off my fingers. Mommy finally just put some in my mouth.

Wow!! It tastes really good! I love birthday parties!!

How weird am I???

I don't think I'm all that weird but Ellyn "tagged" me which "forces" me to confess 6 weird things about myself....Hmmm...

1. I LOVE every kind of tomato product but I HATE HATE HATE raw tomatoes. (This may not be all that weird as I have recently discovered a few others who feel the same).

2. I like to sleep with one foot out of the covers. I sorta freak out if I can't get one foot out.

3. I like to make up "weird" terms of endearment for my loved ones. The more I love you, the weirder your pet name.

4. I love to eat most every kind of vegetable but I don't like to eat many fruits. However, I like the flavor of almost every fruit, I just don't like how if feels in my mouth when I eat it. Therefore, I rarely eat fruit.

5. I can remember random commercial jingles from a decade or so ago. I.E "For that chocolate coated ice cream loaded big and thick, no room for a stick, what would you do whoo hoo for a Klondike bar?

6. I can wiggle my toes (which closely resemble baby fingers) and make them "talk". It's more ridiculous than weird but I guess it's weird that I discovered this and actually tell people about it so it made the list.

Now....let's find out how "weird" my friends are. I'm tagging.... Monica (can't WAIT to see what makes her list...she'll have to narrow it down to 6 for sure :) Laura, Candice, Chelsea and Becky.

Curly head....

Faith's hair is beginning to have a mind of it's own. These aren't the best pics of "her" but the shots of her hair make me chuckle! Her curls are coming in at full force and the thickeness of her hair keeps coming in as well. We get SO MANY comments on her hair. At first it was because of the color (I didn't realize how much attention redheads get). Then, her sweet little curls started forming. Now it's more like "Wow, she sure has A LOT of hair." One lady stopped us at Costco and said, "Look at her hair. It's so perfect. It looks like a toupee." Murray and I weren't sure how to take that. It doesn't seem like a compliment when someone compares your hair to a toupee but she seemed so genuine and sweet about it. And then another lady, said "Wow, look at all her hair, looks like it's time to get her hair cut!" Uhhh....not really long enough to cut, it's just very full and fluffy!!

At what age is it appropriate to start using styling products? Water isn't cutting it these days. Once her hair drys, the poof is back and it's just so irresistible....albeit, ridiculous looking at times!

O'well. She's a cutie either way.

Wonderful Thanksgiving....

We had a full house this past week. It was SUCH an incredible blessing to have Nana, Melody, Michael and their families come stay for a week! We packed in as much together time as possible and made so many fun memories this week. Little Faithy was beside herself with so much attention. Now that she's gotten older, it's fun to watch her actually play with her cousins. Thank you all for making the trip up here. We LOVED every day of your visit!!
Look how big, Faith is getting!! I just can't believe it!
Nana and the grandkids. From L to R: Stone, Sterling, Briggs, Nana, Faith, Bennett
Faith wasn't too sure about the cousin stack.
Faithy and Nana. She ate up all the special attention and gifts from Nana. It's so sweet to watch her light up and recognize her loved ones!! She sure loves her Nana!!

Bennett & Brickman

We just found out that our nephew, Bennett, was selected as one of the 15 finalists in the Piano Sensation Competition created by Jim Brickman. Each contestant had to send in a video of himself playing the piano. The grand prize winner (who will be announced on Jim's website www.jimbrickman.com this Friday will be flown to Chicago and will get to play WITH JIM DURING THE CONCERT!).

For those of you who attended our wedding, you got a little sampling of how musically talented Bennett is!! He REALLY IS AMAZING!! Especially considering he is 14 years old.

We are so proud of you, Bennett!! Check the info below which came off of JB's website. Bennett is the first one named!! Whoo Hoo!!!
Here's a pic of Faithy with the famous, Bennett back in July....(the TX heat was a little much for our little one!)

Here's the info from JB's website....

PIANO SENSATION FINALISTS11/14/06
We were overwhelmed by the response to the Piano Sensation Competition. Almost 200 entries arrived at the office over the past few weeks. Hours and hours were spent listening to each one, reading the bios, and judging who will be "The Next Romantic Piano Sensation". This is not an easy task. Every performance was wonderful! Entries came from talented pianists ranging in age from 13 to almost 60 years old . They are students, teachers, church organists, engineers, truck drivers, doctors, nurses, - well you get the idea. They've been playing since they were small children, inspired to sit down at the piano a few years ago, studied with professionals, are self-taught, and some even play by ear!We hope this competition encourages everyone to share their talent and love of music. Everyone is a sensation! CONGRATULATIONS!

GOOD LUCK TO THESE SENSATIONAL FINALISTS

Bennett Burt, Texas Age 14
Amber Kaye Colangelo, New York Age 28
Alexis Cutting, Colorado Age 21
Elliot Dawson, Illinois Age 16
Chris Hogan, Washington Age 14
Partick Hughes, Kentucky Age 18
Noelle Kelly, North Carolina Age 16
Jason Klingler, Idaho Age 16
Kelly Koch, Michigan Age 15
Todd Lupher, Ohio Age 37
Todd McLaughlin, Indiana Age 18
David Naffie, Michigan Age 13
Dustin Provenzano, Florida Age 13
Brenda Usher, Washington Age 32
Kody Willnauer, Kansas Age 20

The winner will be announced by November 17, 2006

Picky Eater

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Meal times are bringing us lots of laughter. We never know what Faith will eat. Her food often gets to hang out on her tongue in hopes that it will fall quickly to the floor. Occasionally, she's stuck with it and ends up eating it.

Sickness

Our sweet little one has been sick this week. She's doing much better now! Just wanted to post a quick update. Thanks for your prayers! We'll post a cute video of our "picky eater" soon!!

Hope all of you are doing well!

One more Halloween pic..

 

Isn't she the cutest thing???? Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween as much as we did!! 

Our sweet baby chick!

  

 

Our sweet little pumpkin! 

 

Here's another pic from our visit to the Shenandoah Valley. Apparently, brown isn't a very "girly" color because we kept hearing, "He's so cute! How old is he?"

Do boys wear pink shoes and monogrammed t-shirts??? O-well! You can't get everyone to notice. So we just smile and say SHE's 10 months old!! 

 

Faithy loved the inflatable slide!! 

Happy Halloween!

 

These "farmers" sure enjoyed taking their little chick out trick or treating!!! 

Halloween party

  

Faith hosted her 1st Halloween party this week. As you can see, it was rather difficult to capture the "picture perfect pose" so we opted to just get everyone in the picture. From L to R: Baby Pumpkin (Delaney), Baby Chick (Faithy), Grumpy Bear (Aidyn), Scrappy Doo w/o his ears (George), Daphne (Gillian), Cowgirl on horse (Bailey), Indian girl (Briley). Sure was lots of fun!!

Bounce House!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Our church had a block party last weekend. It was so much fun! Faithy got to enjoy some great food and lots of time in the bounce house...she loved it!

Pizza and lemonade!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Nana Time!

I've gotten to log a lot of Nana time these last few months. It's been so fun to hang out with my Nana. She's always so good to me. Mommy, Daddy and I greeted her at the airport with some balloons!!

Nana let me play with this little purse that was inside her big purse. It was fun to chew on! Later, she bought me some really fun toys!During Nana's stay, we discovered this little fox living under our back patio. He loved to come out and look around the deck. We even caught him napping. Nana and I could'nt take our eyes off him!
We met up with Nana in Nashville earlier this month! We had so much fun playing together!

Thanks, Nana for all the time you spent reading to me, playing with me and taking me shopping! I love you so much and am thankful for you!

More visitors and traveling...

We were blessed with an EXTRA special visitor this week. Mrs. Kelly came to Virginia to visit her brother, Sam, and his family. Mrs. Kelly lives in Benin West Africa. I've read about her family on their blog but this was my first time to see her! She sure is pretty!!
These are our friends, The Goldsons. They recently moved to Daddy's hometown of Memphis. It was fun to stop buy and see their new place. Mrs. Missi decorated it so well! From L to R: Nehemiah, Mrs. Missi, Mr. Jason, Titus, Daddy, me, Mommy. Next time, we want to visit you guys longer!!
My Great Aunt Debbie and her family came to stay with us last week. She had never been to D.C. before so I had fun playing tour guide. My cousins, Jeremy and Jordan held most of my attention. Uncle John was nice enough to stay with me so Mommy could go up in the Washington Monument with everyone else (I was sleeping).

Well, we've got one more special guest coming to visit this week (one of Mommy's friends from High School!). Then, our house will be empty until Thanksgiving when it will be packed at the seams as Daddy's whole family is coming to stay with us!!

Hope you are enjoying the fall! I sure am loving this weather. I ALWAYS want to be outside!!