He is Faithful!

Well, it's been a few days here so there is much to catch up on! The most important being Paiger Raiger's 1st Birthday! Our baby turned 1 on Saturday and we had a wonderful celebration on Sunday with family & friends. For my record, she has just 2 bottom teeth, gets anywhere she wants to by scooting on her bottom and can pull up if she's very motivated. She loves her big sister and is a little more tenderhearted than Morgan. She just had her one year check up and weighs 20 lbs and 6 ounces. I can't remember her height but she's in the 35% for height and weight. She can wave, blow kisses, shake her head "yes" and "no", feed herself, show you where her nose, ears, eyes and mouth are, and she can blow her nose in a kleenex (sounds a little bizarre but true!)!

Ok, now for the collection of pictures above. These are pictures of some precious friends of mine. After being in Tallahassee the weekend before last I returned to Dothan a little sad and depressed. I was feeling a little sorry for myself and wishing that I had my Tallahassee playgroup & church friends here with me. Thankfully my dear and most precious non-biological sister, LA Hanlon, came to my rescue on Thursday! It was such a treat to just hangout with her like old times. We did some major monogramming, a little sewing, and lots of catching up. (ps- LA, I've completely revamped the sewing room... you wouldn't recognize it. Clean Sweep came through and you'd be so proud!) A big thanks to LA for her visit and a big thanks to Tami for putting her up for the night. One day soon I hope to have a spare bedroom for you!

Speaking of Tami, you will also see my dear and precious walking partner and friend, Tami Stanford pictured above! She also came to my rescue last week. We had kids meals together and had a couple "we feel sorry for ourselves because our friends are elsewhere" moments. Thankfully they were short-lived and we do both feel blessed to be near our families... we can just relate to leaving our "big cities" behind! :) Tami, Neal and Judson joined us for Paiger's 1st birthday on Sunday night!

So, after having a 2 day pity party for myself. The Lord sent some wonderful women to me. You'll see several of us pictured above at a very fun restaurant in Abbeville. I was truly honored to be included and had so much fun and laughed harder than I have in a long time. We went to Amanda's parents lake house for the night and stopped for special birthday dinner on the way up! I think I need to do this once a month. I actually stayed up until 1 am (on purpose-- not the result of a diet coke) and enjoyed getting to know these girls from First Pres better! The Lord knew exactly what I needed and when I needed it and for that I am so grateful! Justin held down the fort and of course Paige slept all night for him!! Why can't she do that when I'm home?

Next you'll see my most precious biological twin sister, Erika. She's sporting a 26 carat diamond on her hand. This was purchased at Party Time (or something like that) for a few dollars but it sure could sparkle. And if Erika only looked like Oprah she might could pull it off. Anyway, the Lord sent her to my rescue too. (I might want to add that none of these people knew I needed to be rescued... I was having a personal "pity party" not a vocalized one!) She's the only person on the planet who would be so thoughtful as to bring the mother a gift for her baby's 1st birthday! She bought me a coffee maker I've been drooling over for months but haven't been able to justify the price tag. So she comes in Saturday evening with a few little toys for Paiger and one big toy for me! Even more important than my new Keurig Coffee Machine, she was here to help us celebrate. Chance had been gone for an entire week and instead of being home when he returned she chose to spend it here in the rental house.... a tremendous sacrifice!! Thank you sister! I love you! And never step foot in Justin's bathroom again... especially not barefoot. I thought you had read on here that he doesn't even go in there barefoot!

The 23rd Psalm is replaying in my mind as I reflect on my week last week. I truly feel restored and I can give myself no credit for that, but only my Heavenly Father, who knows me better than I know myself!

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me besides quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23

Here is a link to both Erika's album and mine...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b5enhlt.1jh3m3o1&x=1&y=-a6zhqs