Daily Life

So often I post about special events or milestones, but here are some recent "normal life" pictures:

Charlie and Dad watching a the new "Very Hungry Caterpillar" DVD while I was cooking one night

Happy boy after stuffed shells!

a full tummy = smiley Charlie

In case you're wondering, the scab on his forehead is from falling down the other day outside, trying to chase a neighbor... our little neighbor was riding his bike and Charlie tried to keep up (only he can't run...). Obviously, he tripped and fell on the concrete. He had a goose egg for a while that went down quickly, and he only cried a little bit. I anticipate many more of these type things...

Milk before bedtime

You can't really tell here, but Charlie was walking around the kitchen waving his arms to one of his CDs that was playing. I was washing dishes, and he was "dancing" and drinking his milk! I love that he really seems to enjoy music. Also, in between sips of milk and dancing, he would investigate the cabinets he likes to play in. 

Charlie's new chair! A friend whose children have outgrown this passed this fun chair along!

Charlie grinned every time I helped set him in it tonight.

Other fun daily life tidbits:

*Sunday afternoon Jimmy and I let Charlie get in our bed for a few minutes because we were all getting ready to take a nap. Charlie grinned like he was really pulling one over on us! : )

*In the bathtub these days Charlie splashes... and splashes... and splashes! He likes to crawl around and splash too. Tonight he was waving around a soaking wet washcloth. Good thing it's just water!

*Charlie has recently tried yogurt and likes it. It was strawberry "Dora the Explorer" yogurt...

*Today Charlie and I shared a chocolate chip cookie in Target- I love that he's big enough to share a treat like this with me!

*He has recently learned to wave, and it is really cute. He has even waved to Jimmy as he was leaving for work!

*He is walking well in his new shoes, and even though he knows how to un-velcro them, he hasn't yet figured out how to get them all the way off. When we come home from running errands and take his shoes and socks off, he grins at his "free" toes!!

*Charlie loves to look at his books, and he is able to listen for a pretty good while as I read to him. He especially likes books right now where he can feel different textures.

*He loves "brushing" his teeth (this involves walking around chewing on his toothbrush) and gets really excited every time I get ready to give him his toothbrush.

*He gets really excited whenever he realizes I've put a Baby Einstein DVD in for him, and then he sits there virtually spellbound until the credits come on.

*He likes going to the store and riding in the shopping cart, and he always tries to turn around so he can see where we're going! Usually there are always some people in the store we're in who like to stop and talk to him. Sometimes he smiles, sometimes he doesn't.

*He thinks it's fun to open and close doors.

*Jimmy generally does a lot better with Charlie in the early morning than I do (big shocker, I know...).

I also wanted to give a "daily life" update on Jimmy and me...

Jimmy is still working hard at Home Comfort and seems to enjoy it. His day off is now Tuesday so he can take a class on that day.

He has Hermeneutics on Monday nights and Old Testament II on Tuesday afternoons. So far he really likes both of them and appreciates his professors' senses of humor. : )

Jimmy has been attending the Dave Ramsey "Financial Peace University" class at our church for the last couple of months, and it has been well worth it. We have learned so much that we are eager to apply (I've been listening to the CDs).

I am still working part-time at Girasole several nights a week but feel like my "real job" is right here in our house! I love staying with Charlie, cooking our family dinner each night, and helping Jimmy make our house run smoothly. There's no English class for me this semester; we're just focusing on getting  Jimmy through his classes, and well, I'm having a baby before the end of the semester. For fun though I am currently reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and will break out a new Charles Dickens book once I finish that. 

I am also getting ready to start up my Beth Moore "Daniel" Bible study again! I wasn't able to continue the classes last fall, so I'm going to the leader's house to watch one lecture a week until I finish! Can't wait to see what I'm going to learn!

We still have small group on Wednesday nights, which we love. Big group is two weeks out of each month, and then men's accountability is one week and ladies' accountability is one week. Accountability is both refreshing and challenging; we love the encouragement our brothers and sisters in Christ give us in our walks with the Lord. On Sunday mornings our pastor is preaching through Deuteronomy, and the theme our elders want the Body to focus on this year is "Loving Obedience to a Loving God." So far the series has been good but sobering. I love sitting under our pastor's teaching- he is gentle but uncompromising in the way he shares the truth of God's Word. 

Right now Jimmy and I are serving in church in the Young Toddlers class. I dreaded this hour of the week for, oh, the first couple of months of our time of service but am enjoying it now! The kids have grown on me. Jimmy has enjoyed it since day one.

That's about it for now!