The Byrds

The Big 3-0!

2012-02-11T23:53:00.000-05:00

Well, my 30th birthday was wonderful indeed! I feel very thankful for the 30 years I've been given so far and had a great time celebrating.

The first celebration was a pre-birthday family dinner with Mom, Dad, and Daniel on January 27th. My restaurant of choice was La Foresta here in Wake Forest. I've thought for years now that they have the best bruschetta around, and I also loooove their rum cake. So, we had bruschetta to start, then I ordered salad and pizza for my meal, and we shared rum cake and tiramisu (another of my favorites) for dessert! So, so yummy.

Me and my man

A birthday kiss

An attempt at a family picture...

Charlie loved his penne pasta and meatball!

And Daniel loved his pizza! This was the first piece he had eaten since March 2011.

Happy grandparents and happy grandson!

After dinner we came back to our apartment to visit and open presents. Mom and Dad gave me a fire-proof lock box for our important documents and Daniel gave me black trouser socks (both of which I had asked for!). Mom and Dad also surprised me with a Target gift card! I had fun spending that on some decor for the house!

Getting a snuggle at home from my little man!

The night before my birthday Jimmy brought home my cake! I had asked him to pick out a small one from Lowe's, and this is what he ordered:

It was delicious, and I loved it!

We reasoned that if I went ahead and blew out my candles the night before my birthday, we could have cake for dessert that night AND on my birthday... no, it didn't really take much for us to talk ourselves into having cake two nights in a row. Charlie was excited too- he got a little sliver and thoroughly enjoyed it!

The morning of my birthday the three of us had cinnamon rolls before Jimmy headed to work, and I got to open my presents. I had just asked for Jimmy to surprise me with another Charles Dickens book from our local used bookstore, but he saved up some tips and got me TWO Dickens books and then another gift! Here's my stash of presents:

Jimmy didn't want to wrap my gifts in baby wrapping paper, so the only other choice was Christmas paper!

My new books, Great Expectations and The Pickwick Papers

I've been reading Great Expectations and love it so far!

My man did a great job picking out two new shirts for me!!! I love to get surprises from him!

I was so excited that I didn't have to work on the night of my birthday. I spent the evening just how I wanted to- at home with my family. I wanted to cook for my boys, and then after dinner and Charlie went to bed I was able to soak in the tub, finish the book I had been reading, and paint my fingernails! I finished the night with a cup of hot tea watching a movie with Jimmy. And we both fell asleep not even halfway through...

The last celebration I had was with my small group girls at The Olde English Tea Room on Feb. 4th! It was a really dreamy afternoon with friends- I felt like I had some great conversations, and we all enjoyed tea and some other treats. I had English Garden tea, the chicken divan platter, and magnificent coconut cake (I guess it's obvious from this post that I love cake... I don't eat cake this often under normal circumstances....). And I got an orange cranberry scone to go that I ate that night after work! It was a really sweet afternoon, and oh how I wish I had brought my camera and taken pictures!

Finally, I received a really nice birthday package in the mail from Bettra, Granny, and Marilyn. We do a lot of celebrating via the postal system since we are separated by 12ish hours. It's always fun to open their boxes- we got a big one for Christmas and Jimmy's birthday, Charlie got one for his birthday, and then I got one for mine! My birthday box this year came with some pretty jewelry, a Willow Tree figurine, a Cracker Barrel gift card, some chocolate (which I might have demolished as I opened the package), and some other goodies.

Obviously 30 is treating me well so far!

H.W.B.

2012-02-08T00:10:00.000-05:00

These are the initials of our second baby boy, who will be named

He has two namesakes, my Papa, Henry Elmer Barker, and my Granddaddy, Earl Woodrow Marshburn.

Both men passed away when I was growing up (Papa when I was in fourth grade and Granddaddy when I was in tenth) but left behind godly legacies. We will be proud for our son to carry both names!

Papa was born in Scottsburg, VA, a beautiful bit of country next to my hometown. He actually went by the name "Elmer" and had two brothers and two sisters. Papa served as a soldier in WWII, and while over there, received a picture from some hometown girls (modestly) posing in the river. He spotted my grandmother (who I call Kacoo) and decided he would get to know her when he got back! They married and raised Dad and his two sisters, Jane and Rhonda. He was a hard-working tobacco farmer and was also a mail carrier for a while, later in life. All of my memories of Papa are from when he and Kacoo lived at the farmhouse. He attended Fork Baptist Church as long as I can remember, played the guitar and loved to play and sing gospel music, and was a hunter. He also brought me my first and only pair of chickens when I was in third grade (and I lived in town with no place to put chickens!!). : ) I saw them at a farm store we went to one day and could not resist these little darlings. He decided that I should have them, and it was a deal!

I have memories of big family dinners at the farm and weekends where we would spend a lot of time out there- especially when my aunts, uncles, and cousins came to visit (and I remember his snoring when Katie and I would be in bed upstairs above him!). I remember his blue truck and his the green Freshen-Up gum he would give me. Somehow, I still remember the way he laughed, the way he said my grandmother's name Katherine, the way he smelled, and the way he tickled us.

I love that he made his living from the land, and I love that he never knew a stranger and was friendly and

good-natured.

I really love the son he raised.

And I love that he faithfully followed God and taught his children to do the same.

Granddaddy was born into a big family in Richlands, NC, and I know virtually nothing about his childhood except that he went to Adams Schoolhouse (and I only know this because a portrait of it always hung in Grandma and Granddaddy's house). He went to Wake Forest College here in Wake Forest, before the school moved to Winston-Salem and later became Wake Forest University. It's neat to think that during my time in college and seminary I walked some of the same sidewalks he did! He then attended Southern Seminary for his graduate work. He was a preacher hard at work in his life's calling when he spotted a picture of my grandmother in The Religious Herald and decided he would need to meet her! Ten years her senior, I think he impressed her with his car (Ha!), his distinguished demeanor, and his faithful walk with the Lord. They married and raised two girls, my mom and Aunt Sallie, and my mom has told me precious things about the way he was such a nurturing and doting daddy. Years later they ended up in Scottsburg, VA, where Granddaddy pastored Scottsburg Baptist Church and Mom and Dad's story begins.

Anyway, as far back as I can remember, he and Grandma lived in the house where my parents live now and attended Dan River Baptist Church, the church where I grew up. He drove an orange truck called "The Orange Blossom Special," watched wrestling on TV (and he and my brother would sometimes play wrestle in the floor!), and always called me a "Good Egg."

What is particularly dear to me, though, is that he was even-tempered and wise, that he faithfully walked with and served the Lord for decades, and that when he forgot everything else at the end of his life, he still had the presence of mind to pray. His love for his Savior Jesus defined his life.

We pray baby Henry Woodrow will one day love the Lord just like his great grandfathers did!

A Fun Tuesday

2012-02-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

Well, folks, the Byrd fam had a FUN day that included some yummy breakfast, refreshment, relaxation, as well as some study/class time for me.

Since Mam-maw (my mom) sent us a gift card to Cracker Barrel, we spontaneously thought it was a good plan to go there this morning. (It's especially fun and carefree when you don't have to PAY for it.) So, we went to the location by the RDU Airport. As always for us, we thought our food was, as the saying goes, smack yo' momma good. We even got to sit next to the fire, which we both think is a cozy perk to the experience.

the food scoop: Rebecca got the wild blueberry pancakes with cheesy eggs and bacon, and I ordered the rockin' sweet potato pancakes with eggs over easy and turkey sausage patties. The sweet potato pancakes are the BEST that I've ordered there. They even put a dollop of brown sugar cinnamon butter on top that makes it out of this world. Mmmmm! Hurry, if you want to try them because they are only a winter special. Charlie ate some of both and drank his whole apple juice box.

this is the actual picture from the CB website

I had fun with Charlie letting him walk through the gift shop afterwards. He is SO outgoing. He met this other little boy who was probably about 3 years old. At first, Charlie was a little shy, but then he warmed up. It was really funny because the other boy kept saying, "Yeah, babies love me." After a couple of minutes Charlie started exploring other areas, but then found that boy again. The little boy says, "Oh no, not you again...yeah, babies just love me."

For supper, my wonderful, hard-working wife cooked some imperial chicken, roasted potatoes, and fresh, steamed green beans. I told her that this meal was a Home Run! Really, folks, if I brag too much on her, then you might get jealous. :) Charlie loved the potatoes the most. He shows this by shoving them in his mouth while saying, "Mmmm!" After dinner, Rebecca gave Charlie a bath and had a great time reading to him before he went to bed. She had a brief sad moment, which has occasionally been followed by her saying, "He's getting so big," because he didn't want to snuggle in her arms like he did when he was a little baby. Alas, it reminds us to savor all of the little moments.

my classes this semester
After we got back into Wake Forest, I went to the library to read for a few hours before going to class at 3:30. I got a good bit of reading done. Some thoughts on class: I appreciate the content in both classes. The first on Monday night, Hermeneutics, is the preferred class of the two. The professor, Dr. Merkle, goes to our church. I think he has a good demeanor and good sense of humor. Dr. Moseley, my professor of Old Testment II, also has a good sense of humor, but it is definitely of a more dry nature. But I appreciate dry humor, too.

After running errands this afternoon, Rebecca came home to discover a loaf of cinnamon bread that her friend Dawn had bought for us. We have great friends. Also, Rebecca had some good family phone conversations with her cousin Meredith and both grandmas. Good times.

- Jimmy

Charlie's Birthday Party!

2012-01-31T14:23:00.000-05:00

Sunday afternoon, January 22, we had a wonderful time celebrating Charlie's "turning one" milestone.

When he was about 2 months old, we found Very Hungry Caterpillar plates, napkins, and invitations on clearance at Target that we excitedly bought for his first birthday (that would be ten months later...)!

His birthday party afternoon was very special to us, and most importantly, Charlie seemed to have a great time.

Here are some pictures we took before everyone started arriving:
The food table

A close-up of his cake!

The basket of party favors (little bags of gummy worms and gum drops) and the Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Byrds, pre-party!

The party was from 1:30-3:30 PM, and we just visited while everyone was arriving. The kids had a good time playing together.

Charlie trying to hug Ashlyn

Our cute little neighbor Breckon!

Dad and Breckon- looks like serious laptop business!

Uncle D and Charlie

Then it was....

Cupcake time!!

I think he liked the cupcake!

Our neighbor Kian enjoying his cupcake too! He will be turning one very soon!

Ashlyn (she picked a good spot to eat- right beside the cheese doodles!)

Stephanie and Anna Kate (we were sad that Abby and Larry didn't get to come!)

Mandie and Jason

Mom and Dad

After everyone ate Charlie got to open his presents:

Here he is holding some finger paint that he can use when he is a little older! This goodie bag from the Lyons came with playdoh, a coloring book, crayons, and some books. I can't wait to do art projects with him later on this year!

A new tractor from Jeni!

A cute little puppy and Bible Promises from the Porters!

Bryson picked out this basketball for Charlie all by himself! We were also sad he and Zane couldn't come.

A cute shirt and Baby Colors from Granana and Granddaddy

Here I'm holding a really cool set of Baby Einstein CDs the Joneses gave Charlie! He has had fun dancing and clapping to them!

A set of musical instruments from Uncle D!

The kids decided to pass out the musical instruments among themselves (and eventually they involved the adults too) and made a great Birthday Band!! See for yourself:

Charlie is mostly watching in this video, but he had a great time trying to hit the xylophone and waving the mallet all around!

Daddy showing Charlie what to do with the xylophone

After a while eeeeveryone had something that would make noise! (Since most kids' toys make some kind of noise...) It was loud but the kiddos had fun! It was a great way to wrap up Charlie's first birthday party!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar became the Very Little Caterpillar by the end of the party...

Charlie with Granana and Granddaddy- as you can see, he would not give up his xylophone mallet!

With Uncle D
We were excited for Daniel that he had a cheat day and got to eat a cupcake, green icing and all! Even better, there was no reaction to it! Woohoo!

The Byrds, post-party. Worn out but happy!
Happy 1st Birthday, Charlie!

Daily Life

2012-01-31T01:28:00.000-05:00

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!

Bye Bye Bottles...

2012-01-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

Well, this was the last load of bottles that were sterilized for Charlie (yesterday), and they are now going up in the cabinet.

Today was the first day of his life that he did not drink anything from a bottle.

Kind of makes me sad. And it's kind of surreal.

This morning when he got up I gave him some whole milk in one of his sippy cups. He didn't want to snuggle and take it all at one time like he would a bottle; instead, he sipped on it while he played in the floor. He drank water throughout the day as usual, and then for dinner tonight I gave him some more whole milk. No bedtime bottle. It makes me feel like Charlie is not a baby anymore...

One plus, though, is that we don't have to sterilize bottles every day!

Charlie Turns One!

2012-01-19T23:35:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but a year has already gone by since our little man was born! We had a great time today celebrating as a family.

We started off the day with a birthday cinnamon roll:

He loved it!

Then it was on to presents:

Here he is trying out his new carseat that he is now old enough to use:

We left for Charlie's one-year check-up around 9:15 this morning.

Rookie Year-End stats:

Weight: 22.15 pounds

Height: 29.5 inches long

Head Circumference: 19 centimeters.

He is in the 50th percentile for height and weight now, but the 95th for his head! : ) Ha! They also checked his vision, and he has 20/20 vision in both eyes. Woohoo!

Waiting for the doctor - I keep him in his stroller because otherwise he would be all over the place.

We found out that Charlie's most recent cold was turning into an ear infection, so he prescribed amoxicillin and delayed his vaccines until we follow up in two weeks. He is acting like his normal self, though. I was secretly glad he didn't have to get shots on his birthday...

We then had some business to take care of in Durham, and afterward we met Daddy for lunch! He has been on express this week, which means he goes in later in the mornings and doesn't have his usual route everyday. We went to a nearby Chick-fil-A.

Charlie had his first kid's meal there- a four count pack of nuggets, a fruit cup, and some apple juice.

When they discovered it was his birthday, they brought him a cow, a birthday balloon, and some ice cream!

He had fun trying to feed himself! (He even pushed Jimmy's hand away earlier when he tried to give him his juice box! HE wanted to hold it!)

Stylin' in his new shoes

He had lots of birthday cards to open this afternoon- thank you family! He enjoyed carrying them around.

Here are some pictures of the cards he opened yesterday:

At 12 months Charlie is...

*saying mama (said it the first time on January 4th!...he's been saying Dada for a while)

*getting another tooth in (he has 7 total now)

*taking baths in the BIG tub!

*walking, walking EVERYWHERE!!! (he's a bit unsteady but loves practicing his new skill)

*eating all big boy food, including his favorites - bananas, cheese, black beans, and bread

*giving his own version of hugs and kisses - I love them and can't get enough!

*wrestling with Dad (this involves Charlie throwing his arms up and coming down on Dad's stomach and sometimes saying "Huh," and cute snuggling)

*learning how to roll/drive his various cars and trucks

*making ALL sorts of babbling noises and other sounds, especially when he is concentrating on something or walking

*beginning to drink whole milk- he had his first 4 oz. tonight and pretty much sucked it down

Bath time fun:

Practicing walking:

This was a couple weeks ago; he is quite a bit steadier now. For some reason he likes to walk around holding washcloths...

We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday with a small Very Hungry Caterpillar party on Sunday afternoon! Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Three Years!

2012-01-18T21:29:00.001-05:00

This Tuesday, January 17, marked three years of marriage for Jimmy and me. It has been awesome, and

we are thankful to God for the life we have been able to share so far.

I wanted to post several pictures from our wedding for nostalgia's sake:

Getting ready to cut our cheesecake! We had a whole table full of delicious, homemade cheesecake in the place of a more traditional wedding cake. So, every anniversary we now have cheesecake as part of our celebration.

Our Willow Tree cake topper

Our first dance was to Michael Buble's song "You and I." We found this song just a few days before the wedding!

Leaving to start our new life together! (Everyone was ringing tiny little bells instead of throwing stuff on us.)

We left for our honeymoon the next morning after brunch at Brig's. : )

We spent a cozy, wonderful week in the western NC mountains in a little town called Sapphire.

I loved our wedding day. I had spent the previous night at my apartment by myself so I could enjoy some solitude before our big day. That morning I spent some time with the Lord before Jimmy picked me up for our breakfast at Bruegger's. Then he dropped me off at the hair place, where I met my cousin, friend, and matron of honor Meredith, who chatted with me while Danielle did my hair. Next it was back to my apartment where Mandie, my friend and bridesmaid, did my make-up. Finally it was on to the church to get dressed, take pictures, and get married! By the way, it was a super cold but beautiful and sunny day.

Once at the church and dressed, Jimmy and I had a moment to see each other in our wedding clothes, and then it was on to pictures. Pictures were interesting. They were taken by the talented Blakeley Swanson from my hometown, who was definitely a hippie back in the day and remains so. He kept us laughing!

We almost forgot the wedding rings before the ceremony. As in, we were lined up ready to head in and remembered them. Good thing Noah Joyner had a key to the nursery where we changed!

The whole wedding party came in to "Fairest Lord Jesus," including my Dad and me (during the last verse). My friend Rachel sang it beautifully.

Our ceremony was performed by Nathan Knight, and it was a sweet time. Jimmy and I shared a bit of our testimonies and sang together. I had been praying for so much peace on our wedding day that people would wonder what was wrong with me, and the Lord answered that prayer more than I could have imagined. By His grace I felt relaxed all day, even as we were singing in front of our guests. We exchanged vows which we had written, shared communion, and tried to communicate the Gospel to our guests.

Right after the wedding, we had a receiving line in the back of the sanctuary, and I'm pretty sure we got to speak to everyone! We had John Coltrane playing during this time, and everyone ate the reception food.

After we ate, we cut our cheesecake, did toasts, and started the dancing! Jimmy and I danced, then I danced with my Dad to "My Girl," then Jimmy surprised his Mom and danced with her to "Boogie Shoes!" Jimmy and I had hand-picked some of our favorite oldies and love songs to dance to, especially some good Motown, and my cousin Nick dee-jayed.

The only time I cried all day was one point when some family friends and my Dad and I were all sitting at a table together. I can't remember the song that was playing, but I looked across the table at him, asked him to dance, and then cried in his shoulder. (Like boo-hooed, not just a pretty little tear or two...)

We left our wedding reception around 6, to the tune of another Michael Buble song and lots of tiny bells.

It was a great day with many more memories than I have room to write here, but I wanted to chronicle some of this since we will eventually print our blog our into a book. : )

And on to pictures from the other day....

Here we are before we left for our night out. Mom, Dad, and Daniel came to baby-sit!

The first place we stopped was the jewelry store! My sweet man had saved some tips to be able to get me this pearl necklace:

The earrings were an anniversary gift from Helzberg (they are good to their customers). I love the set and can't wait to wear it!

Then we had a great meal together at Chili's, including paradise pie for dessert! It was really nice to be out on a Tuesday night- the restaurant wasn't too busy, and we got to enjoy our meal in our own little quiet corner. Jimmy had fajitas and I had the cajun chicken pasta.

After dinner, we spent some time reviewing this past year and setting some goals for our family for this upcoming year (the sheets for this conversation came from our small group leader Larry, and we worked through them last year, too). It was fun to read what we had written last year and see that we had met many of our goals! It's also good to talk about ways we want to grow and things we'd like to do this year. We decided we would keep our sheets from each year!

After dinner we headed home for cheesecake and a movie! (Yes, we had two desserts that night.)

Here is the amazing cheesecake we got from Whole Foods (I'm not sure there's any better cheesecake than what they make...):

This awesomeness is two pieces of chocolate peanut butter cheesecake! We shared the first piece the night before during the movie Moneyball and shared the second one on our anniversary during the movie Courageous (a gift from Jimmy's Mom, and an excellent, God-honoring film).

Obviously we recommend it if you haven't seen it! (Especially for dads!)

We had a great night together, and look forward to many more anniversaries!

Three Little Byrds Now Become 4!!!

2012-01-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

We are expecting our second son the first week of May! We are 24.5 weeks into the pregnancy and as far as we can tell, we have a healthy, growing baby. We are beyond thankful!

- Mom & Dad

The Mashed Potato Incident

2012-01-10T01:17:00.002-05:00

Well.... we made our first trip with Charlie to the Emergency Room at WakeMed North on 1/6/12. After microwaving a plate of mashed potatoes, we could not get it out of Charlie's reach before he slid his hand almost entirely into them. As you can probably imagine, he screamed and writhed in pain until he was given a shot of morphine at the hospital.

He burned his left middle and ring fingers- one finger blistered badly and a layer of skin came off the other one. Anyway, he wore the most adorable baby hospital gown while there, and they wrapped his hand up in Silvadene cream and gauze to soothe it.

We had to come back the next night (doctor's order) just so they could check it again. Our little "check" turned out to take 3 hours..... very frustrating. Charlie got a good report, though, and we followed up with his pediatrician that Monday.

He found so many ways to pull his gauze off that I finally just started putting band-aids on his fingers. They are healing nicely!

Here is Charlie having some adequately cooled mashed potatoes several nights later:

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T01:11:00.000-05:00

Well, the new year came without much fanfare in the Byrd household. Jimmy and I both worked, but we were still able to watch the ball drop in NYC and share some cheesecake and sparkling cider.

A few minutes later I went to bed....

Jimmy had that Monday off since New Year's Day was on a Sunday, and we had a good time watching the movie "The Help" and having dinner with friends.

We're looking forward to all that 2012 will bring!

Christmas in Virginia

2011-12-27T23:44:00.002-05:00

Friday night we (finally) got out the door to travel to Mom and Dad's house. After we unloaded the car we gave Dad his tiramisu and this is who he picked to share it with:

I suppose Granddaddy gets spoiling rights, though. : )

One fun thing about our Christmas weekend is that Mom and Dad had rented a big van so we could all ride together! The next morning, Christmas Eve, we packed up and headed to Lynchburg for the day to celebrate Christmas with my Mom's side of the family. We hadn't all been able to get together since right before Jimmy and I got married, 3 years ago!

We had homemade enchiladas, Mexican rice, and black beans for lunch and sopapilla cheesecake for dessert. This year us grandkids got to do the planning and cooking!

After lunch it was present time, and then the adults got to play a game of Dirty Santa.

Jimmy helping Charlie unwrap his gift.

Darla helping Great Grandma Virginia open her gift

Grandma with her purse we gave her!

Darla gave Charlie this stroller since he likes wheels so much!

Playing with another set of new "wheels"

The Dirty Santa gifts

The pink feather wreath my Dad opened! Unfortunately, it got stolen from him. I was hoping he could put it on his door at work (he's a juvenile probation officer).... I ended up with some new perfume that I really like!

Family Pictures:

Nick and Stephanie

Mom, Dad, Sallie, and Mark

Dennis, Jimmy, and Daniel

Grandma and Gene

Meredith and Charlie

Me with my baby!

Baby cousin love!

******************************************************

That night we made it back to South Boston in time for the Christmas Eve service at the church where I grew up, Dan River. It was a reflective, meaningful service.

After church Mom and Dad hosted the traditional Christmas Eve party that switches back and forth between their house and the Davis' house. It was great to see folks I haven't seen in a while and eat some yummy dessert!

Charlie wore a one-piece velvet outfit with bowtie for the evening..

Lookin' so cute!

Dad sneaking Charlie some tiramisu... AGAIN.

After all our friends left, we put Charlie to bed and decided to open all the Christmas gifts (usually we do this on Christmas morning)!

Mom wearing the necklace we gave her

Daniel with his book and CD from us

Dad sniffing his new office candle from us. We also gave him some homemade granola bars (and tiramisu).

Daniel and Jimmy sporting their new Griswald family t-shirts..... (insert eye roll....)

********************************************************

The next morning we had the Bowens over for Christmas breakfast before we went to church. The church service was wonderful- the pastor performed a monologue for his morning sermon!

Here is Charlie in his Christmas sweater and corduroys opening his dump truck riding toy from Granana, Granddaddy, and Uncle D:

That afternoon after church we headed to Eden, NC to celebrate Christmas with Dad's side of the family. Jane cooked an excellent dinner, as always, and then it was time for presents.

Baby Dylan and his Uncle Bruce! He was watching Angry Birds- this was the only thing that seemed to keep him calm!

Close up of baby Dylan! He is sooo precious!

Kacoo reading the Christmas story before opening gifts. She had some special things to say that helped set the tone for the evening. She is a godly woman of deep faith!

Blair, Shayna, and Charlie playing "Don't Break the Ice"

Sweet boy!

Loving the bear he was given!

********************************************************

The next day we got to have lunch with Grandma and Gene again. Everyone else on Mom's side was supposed to come visit too, but Darla had developed a cough and Stephanie had a stomach bug.

Charlie in his Christmas PJs "churning butter"

Granddaddy Gene & Great Grandma Virginia

We all know who to blame if Charlie gets spoiled... ; )

Playing with Granddaddy

That evening we left to come back to Wake Forest. Even though we had a busy several days, the week after Christmas was relaxing. Our normal evening activities were not in session, so we just got to relax and enjoy some family time together.

We are thankful to be able to celebrate such a wonderful Savior over such a lovely holiday!

The Byrd Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-23T22:59:00.003-05:00

On Friday, December 23 Jimmy, Charlie, and I celebrated our family Christmas together. It was fun to watch Charlie open gifts for the first time, and we enjoyed just being together. As an added bonus, Charlie took his first several walking steps in the kitchen that morning! I'm glad he waited until we were both home!

This is Charlie's Christmas "spread" from us.

Playing with his new cars!

Jimmy wanted this Garmin GPS for a LONG time, so we decided to save for a while so he could get it! It has been really useful to him, especially at work when he's delivering furniture!

Playing with his new toy, the GPS

This was my gift! It now has a special place on our living room wall, and this first official family portrait is precious to me. This picture was taken back in March when Charlie was 2 months old, and Jimmy had this and several others printed for me. What a treat!

Having fun with his new refrigerator letters, which shortly thereafter we took away... he could get entire letters in his mouth, and we didn't want him to choke! Maybe in several more months he'll be ready for them.

Figuring out his popper

Charlie got a toothbrush and toothpaste in his stocking. So far he loves "brushing" his teeth!

After a lazy morning together, the three of us took the scenic route to Cracker Barrel out at the airport for our Christmas dinner. It was gorgeous day for a ride through the country.

For the past two years we have cooked our Christmas dinner, but since Bettra sent us a Cracker Barrel gift card and we were heading out of town that afternoon, we decided to enjoy someone else's cooking. It was delicious!

Charlie enjoying his grilled chicken tenders and green beans. He also devoured a biscuit and a whole juice box!

Rocking on the porch after lunch

Merry Christmas!

Tiramisu for Dad!

2011-12-23T13:00:00.001-05:00

My Dad is a faithful tiramisu lover, so I made him some as part of his Christmas present this year. I made individual servings that he could put in the freezer and pull out one at a time when he got a taste for his tiramisu. So far he has really enjoyed it! (And I certainly enjoyed making it!)

I used one of Charlie's medicine droppers so I wouldn't over-soak the lady fingers with coffee!

The finished product! Each serving was put in a nifty, disposable "individual serving" dish.

And beside the tiramisu is my double boiler, after its first use! I registered for this when Jimmy and I got engaged, specifically so I could make tiramisu. At last it was used, and it will be used lots more in the future!

I really enjoyed being able to cook this Christmas... I made the dessert for the Christmas lunch with my Mom's family and also got to make quiche for our Christmas morning breakfast. Fun times!

11 Months!

2011-12-19T01:03:00.001-05:00

Somehow the year is flying by and Charlie is now 11 months old! I can't believe that we'll soon be celebrating his first birthday!

Well, Monday the 19th was an interesting (but fun) day for sure. Charlie started off his 11 month birthday festivities by falling off our bed. Yep. I freaked out, Jimmy kept his cool, and Charlie was fine. Just a little surprised to hit the floor and annoyed he momentarily lost his bottle. Anyway.... here are some pictures from the day!

Cruising with his walker that morning!

I had a doctor's appointment that morning, so he and I headed out of the house earlier than normal. We got back in time for lunch, and I decided to take him to Chick-fil-A for the 11 month occasion. He had his first four-count chicken nugget meal and loved it!

Here he is watching the leaf blower man. He thought it was hilarious!

Having a good time unrolling the toilet paper...

I have now learned to put the toilet paper roll on the other way....

Walking some more

Swinging! He really loves to swing. I think it's one of his favorite things to do.

Some things I want to remember from this period:

*butt cannonballs in the bathtub (this did not last long- we nipped it in the bud)- he would stand up, plop down in his duck splashing water everywhere, and laugh in delight

*his snorting thing when he gets excited (which he stopped doing, only to adopt this thing where he sucks in air and makes a noise at the same time when he's excited....)

*he loves playing peek-a-boo

*his best buddy is Ashlyn, who he plays with regularly- he is always so excited to see her!

*he is doing a great job eating big boy food

*most of the time he uses a paint bucket in the kitchen as his "walker"

*he still loves wheels of all kinds and loves going outside

Walking with his paint bucket

Fun with Granddaddy, Granana, and Uncle Daniel

2011-12-18T23:00:00.001-05:00

While Jimmy and I spent time together over his birthday weekend, Charlie was busy with Granddaddy, Granana, and Uncle Daniel! Here are some pictures from his weekend adventure:

Mom's pretty Christmas decorations

Charlie loves to push this lion around their house.

For some reason Charlie likes to chew on socks (we make sure they're clean, mind you) and play with them...

Investigating the tree

Laughing with Uncle D! So cute!

Snack time with Daniel

Lovin' those wheels!

"Typing"

Crawling around the house with Granddaddy- these blurry guys were men in motion!

My sweet boy

Playing with Granddaddy!

Yes, the duck traveled to Virginia too!

There are no words to convey how much I love this picture:

Dad and Charlie drinking coffee! Well, Dad drinking his coffee and Charlie playing with an empty cup! Charlie would fuss to have some of what Dad was having during his morning coffee, so this is how they solved that problem. Sooo sweet!

Just for the record- Granana was there that weekend!! Who else do you think took the pictures?!

Christmas Music

2011-12-18T00:42:00.000-05:00

Like most other people, I absolutely loooove Christmas music. Usually I start listening either around Thanksgiving or right before. It's exciting to get out the CDs (or iTunes...) and listen to songs you haven't heard in a while! Well yesterday, while taking Charlie to Oxford to meet Mom, I got out my Amy Grant Christmas album for the first time this year. Yes, the one with "Tender Tennessee Christmas," that I can remember listening to every year since at least 4th grade. It was the first time this season I heard "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," and the rich theology and real meaning of Christmas hit me fresh. I sang it over and over again (thankfully the boys were asleep in the back...) and just relished what our God came to do so many Christmases ago.

Here are the words to the Amy Grant version:

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King;

Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies,

With angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Mild he lays His glory by, born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the Incarnate Diety!

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.

Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace, Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings, Ris'n with healing in His wings.

Christ, the highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord,

Come, Desire of Nations come, fix in us thy humble home,

Come, Desire of Nations come, fix in us thy humble home.

Amen.

Jimmy's Birthday Weekend

2011-12-18T00:19:00.004-05:00

For Jimmy's 27th birthday we celebrated all weekend! We started off with a family trip to Moe's for lunch on Friday the 16th. We love that place!

Dad and his boy

Then we headed home for cake and presents. As you can see, Jimmy picked carrot cake, and it was delicious!

Jimmy opening his card from Charlie

My favorite people : )

Then Charlie headed to Granddaddy and Granana's house so Jimmy and I could have some weekend QT together! That night we did some shopping at the mall.

Although he had to work on his actual birthday, we still got to have a date that night! This time we headed to Red Robin for Jimmy's birthday burger. It was a great meal!

After church the next day my parents treated us to a birthday lunch for Jimmy at the place of his choice. He chose Chili's, and man it was good! Afterwards we headed back to the apartment for cake and presents.

Blowing out his candles on cake #2!

Charlie had some of Daddy's cake too!

And while we're on the topic of Jimmy...

I just have to say that I am repeatedly astounded at the wonderful man I got to marry! He is a huge servant around our house, easily forgives my mistakes, is quick to encourage me and a lot of fun to be with, and my best friend. Not to mention really good-looking...

Just to give an example of what I'm talking about...the other day before going to dinner with some friends I wanted to take a walk. While I was gone (for less than an hour), Jimmy straightened up our living room and washed the dishes in the sink, fed and bathed Charlie and got him ready to go, and then packed our car with the things we were taking for the evening. When I came back from my walk I was able to just get myself ready in peace and get in the car- he had taken care of everything else!

I love him and am so glad to be his!

Finally- Mom wanted us to take some pictures that afternoon so she could have one for her annual Christmas card. Here is the one she ended up using:

Love this picture!

Being Thankful Every Day

2011-12-02T17:54:00.003-05:00

The holiday season is a special time of year for a lot of people. It's the time of year for spending time with family, eating awesome food, decorations, celebration, festivities, activities, Christmas shopping, more eating awesome food, sharing in the "Christmas Spirit," being especially giving/charitable, being thankful, and the list goes on.

From that list, I want to focus in on the "being especially giving/charitable and thankful" part, both of which I am in full agreement. We must remember that the holiday seasons can be really tough for many people, certainly those without food and shelter during these cold winter months.

For those called to love God and love people, Christians should really seek to be examples of servanthood. I think it is really cool and meaningful that my local church has a tradition the Sunday after Thanksgiving to share testimonies of thankfulness to God during the service. Like last year, this year's service was meaningful, and I was encouraged, but it also made me realize how much I take for granted every day. So, where is my thankfulness? I might say to myself, "Okay, I need to be more thankful every day," but that doesn't work very well. In fact, if you try it, then you will realize that it's really hard. REALLY hard. The same is often true for thankfulness' counterpart, complaining. Lately, I've been trying to watch what I say and to make sure that I'm not complaining, but it seems harder when you're actively trying not to complain. Honestly, I need for Jesus to fight more of the battles for me. Also, if I just focus on being thankful in all circumstances, the complaining has no place to come in and wreak havoc.

The following is a great verse, but it is difficult to consistently obey:

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 ESV)

I've been realizing that thankfulness is really a profound concept the more I meditate on it, and, in fact, the Bible has a lot to say about it. One good way to cultivate thankfulness is to remember what God has done, either in your life or in the lives of others. Let that be a healthy challenge to you. I would encourage you to think about ways that your are thankful or want to be thankful in your life. Use them to build up others.

p.s. The following video illustrates an aspect of what I mean regarding being thankful. Actually, all of the videos on this website are encouraging and powerful testimonies (www.iamsecond.com)

Sincerely,

Jimmy

Decorating for Christmas

2011-11-29T15:29:00.000-05:00

Well, since Charlie likes to explore everything within his reach, and since we don't really have extra room in our apartment, Jimmy and I decided to decorate a little tree this year!

We always decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. On this particular decorating occasion, we listened to our "Baby, It's Cold Outside" CD, drank hot chocolate and ate pumpkin pie cheesecake from Girasole, and decorated the mini tree in pretty much 10 minutes flat!

The tree pre-decoration

With lights and some snowflake garland

The finished product, with a few ornaments, on top of the entertainment center. Little hands can't get to it there!

Here are our Willow Tree Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.

Charlie's Nativity!

Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and the Angel (on top of the stable, ha!)

This was given to him by Granana and Granddaddy. He loves playing with it!

The Magi and Mr. Camel

(Sorry about the color of the picture- there is poor lighting in this room, and the flash made it too bright.)

Mr. Cow, Mr. Donkey, and Mr. Sheep

Here is our Christmas "Welcome" door hang.

Here is Charlie shaking a bell ornament that we let him have. I'd say he likes it!

Here's to a great beginning of the 2011 Christmas season!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T23:31:00.001-05:00

Since we'd had our big trip to TN the weekend before, we decided to stay in town on Thanksgiving and were able to spend the day with some of our dearest friends! Jenny and Daniel Jones, Jeni Sinclair, and the Byrds all went to the Porters' house for yummy food and super relaxing hang-out time together. It was a great day!

Here is the magnificent spread of food!

We all contributed food to put together this menu:

turkey and gravy

green beans

sweet potatoes (w/ marshmellow topping!)

broccoli and cheese casserole

hashbrown casserole

stuffing

deviled eggs

cheddar biscuits

red pepper cheese dip (an appetizer!)

ooey gooey pumpkin cake

pecan pie

hot apple cider

The kids!

Dominoes!

I love this picture! Charlie is just laying on Daniel's arm, content as can be! Daniel was watching football.

Jenny and Tara :)

Jeni, Charlie, and Jimmy

The day included visiting with each other, the Macy's parade, watching football, quasi-napping (i.e., laying on the Porters' sofa after lunch too full to move), Dominoes, poker (the guys played several games!), and a walk around the neighborhood (the girls and kids did this while the guys played cards). Also, Jenny dominated on the Playstation Friends trivia game!

Our Thanksgiving was leisurely and relaxing and spent with friends we love!

Two funnies:

*Despite Zane and Tara telling Bryson to stay out of the kitchen after lunch, he kept going in there and sneaking deviled eggs! (Can't say I blame him!) I giggled every time they caught him with his mouth full. ;) I was sneaking food too, I just didn't have anyone telling me not to...

*At one point in the afternoon Charlie was gazing at Zane, when he suddenly said, "Boo!" This scared Charlie, who then proceeded to stick out his bottom lip and cry. As his mom, it was both sad and funny. The rest of the afternoon, whenever he saw Zane, he would start crying again! What makes this doubly amusing is that Zane is great with kids and pretty much a big teddy bear. Apparently Charlie remembered this incident though, and he is just now starting to warm up to Zane again! (I'm writing this several weeks after Thanksgiving) They had a moment at the Christmas party the other night when I think they bonded a bit. :)

Tennessee Trip 2011

2011-11-22T16:48:00.003-05:00

Jimmy, Charlie and I had the privilege to meet Granny, Bettra, and Marilyn in Pigeon Forge, TN for a nice, long weekend trip Nov. 17-21! With the time we have off from work this year, we can't make it all the way to west Tennessee during the Christmas holiday, so this trip was basically our "holiday trip" for 2011. We are very thankful that we had four complete days off work together that we got to spend with family. We are also thankful for Bettra's provision in treating us to the cabin and to all the meals we ate out. We were obviously spoiled well that weekend!

We got there laaaaate on Thursday night (2:30ish am?!) and walked right into a beautiful room with a gas log fireplace and TV/DVD mounted on the wall! The adjoining bathroom had a huge tub. The neatest thing about the cabin was that the front deck was built right on top of a creek! You could open the bathroom and bedroom windows and hear the water slipping by. Needless to say, my husband did an awesome job picking out a cabin!

The creek under the deck!

Friday we spent the morning relaxing and hanging out at the cabin. That afternoon we headed to Huck Finn's Restaurant for some catfish.

Catfish are just ugly.

Mam-maw and Marilyn

Granny playing with Charlie

My husband posing as Mark Twain's unforgettable character Huck Finn. :)

Saturday we spent the morning relaxing at the cabin again. It was fun to have the freedom to watch movies together, play with Charlie, lounge around and talk, or soak in the tub and read (my activity of choice). That afternoon Granny, Bettra, and Marilyn watched Charlie while Jimmy and I got to have a date! Woooohoooo!

We got a quick lunch and then headed to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Jimmy wanted Krystal (that he was excited is an understatement- we don't have Krystal in our area) and I got Chick-fil-A.

Being able to hike in the Smoky Mountain National Park was a mini dream come true for me, and being with my husband was awesome. We hiked up to Laurel Falls and a bit beyond that.

The top half of the waterfall

The beginning of the bottom half of the waterfall- the walkway was over some huge rocks through the middle part of it.

My very handsome husband!

A tree coming out of the hillside?!

We took this picture coming back down the mountain. The water was far below us- the picture doesn't do it justice!

A beautiful mountain view

Part of the trail we hiked is so well travelled that the Park Service paved it to prevent erosion. But still, it just seems wrong to have pavement in the woods...

The pretty sunset and some trees ready for winter

I love this picture of the clouds just above the mountains. This was after sunset as we were heading down the mountain and back to Pigeon Forge.

After our afternoon date, we met everyone at Tony Roma's for dinner. This was Jimmy's favorite meal- the ribs lived up to their reputation!

Here is a picture of our handsome boy on the day he turned 10 months old!

Back at the cabin after dinner we celebrated Bettra and Marilyn's birthdays (both in November) with cake and ice cream. They also got to open their Christmas gifts from us. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of the festivities.

Sunday morning Jimmy and I took an early morning hike in the area surrounding our cabin. Then we all got ready to head into town for some breakfast at The Old Mill. By the time we got there, though, it was time for lunch! We thought it was neat that they served complimentary corn chowder to everyone. After a great lunch we headed next door to their general store.

Jimmy and I took turns taking a picture of the family.

Granny lookin' sassy!

The picture we used for our Christmas card this year- I absolutely love it!!!

We were headed to some nearby caverns after lunch but alas, they weren't open. So we turned around to head to Gatlinburg for some afternoon fun. On the way there we had to stop and change a poopy diaper. This seemed the perfect time for a photo shoot, according to Dad:

That afternoon in Gatlinburg we spent time going in shops and riding the Sky Lift. Bettra strolled Charlie around while the rest of us rode up the mountain- she is not fond of heights. Jimmy and I actually rode it 4 times... it was good alone time since the ride lasted about 20 minutes each time! The last time it was dark and we got to see a lit-up Gatlinburg! We had a really good time looking at everything and talking and laughing together. Almost like a second date for the weekend! : )

At the top!

The panoramic view from the top was just amazing, but our camera just couldn't do it justice. Here is part of the view on the way down.

At the top after it finally got dark.

One of the Sky Lift attendants who had seen us just about every time finally said, "Have a good night... or I'll see you next time" instead of just "Have a good night!" Ha! I guess that's when you know you've been riding more than most people...

All the lights down below

How Charlie spent his afternoon/evening- love how his feet are kicked up!

We topped off the day with the delicious restaurant Partridge and Pear Tree. Soooo good.

Charlie had his first "big boy" restaurant meal that night- mac n cheese! He loved it!

The next morning, Monday, we all got ready, packed the cars, and headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then we headed our separate directions! Our trip home was the first time Charlie had been on a long car trip while awake, and it was quite an adventure. We stopped several times, once to let him play in a hotel lobby and get some energy out!

Well, we met in the TN mountains in 2010 and 2011... who knows, it just might become a tradition!!

Entertaining Himself

2011-11-10T15:23:00.001-05:00

I love peeking around the kitchen wall and watching him play! Here he is watching Baby Mozart and playing with his zoo.

In His Favorite Chair

2011-11-10T15:07:00.000-05:00

Happy boy! I love that smile!

During lunch one day Charlie sneezed with a mouth full of baby food peas. I thought it was funny and couldn't resist a few pictures!

Sleepy boy!

Cousin Time!

2011-11-07T15:02:00.000-05:00

In the past week we have had the opportunity to spend time with extended family! First Charlie and I got to meet our new baby cousin Dylan and spend time with my cousin Blair. For the record, we did not mean to dress them alike! But they do look cute together...

When we got to Eden, Blair and I had lunch with Kacoo and then let the boys play a while at Kacoo's house. It was great to get a whole afternoon to visit!

The newest member of our family- Dylan Samuel Barker, born Oct. 1, 2011

We met him when he was exactly one month old on Nov. 1!

He's such a sweet little boy!

Charlie was really curious.

The boys in their matching outfits! Ha ha! I can't wait to watch them grow up together and play together at family gatherings! I'm sure they'll find plenty to get into together...

Getting to hold my precious new cousin. So tiny and huggable!

Kacoo and her great-grandsons!

Charlie's favorite toy while we were there- Kacoo's walker (because it had wheels...)

Both boys fell asleep going the few miles from Kacoo's house to Blair's house!

That evening Charlie and I got to visit with Jane, Frank, and Johnny as well. Blair and Jane fixed grilled cheese and brunswick stew for dinner, and it was nice to just have a leisurely visit. Charlie and I left about 8:00!

Charlie with his Great Aunt Jane and Great Uncle Frank

The Barkers as a new family of three!

Then, on Saturday (Nov. 5th) we got to visit with Dennis, Sallie, Meredith, Darla, and Grandma (and of course Granana, Granddaddy, and Uncle D)! They came down to Mom's house and we had a nice lunch and afternoon visit with them. Mom fixed baked spaghetti- yum!

Playing with Aunt Sallie and Darla

Charlie and Darla!

The kids are obviously blurry- they were constantly on the move! They seemed to have a great time playing together.

Meredith and I are about a year apart in age, the same amount of age between Darla and Charlie! (This was not planned...) Though we've been quite a few miles apart for years now, Meredith is like a sister to me. I hope our kids will have a special relationship as well!

Charlie and Darla with their Great Grandma Virginia

Darla had just given Dad some sugar!

Together on the back porch swing

Darla giving some sugar! Love it!

Though I love family gatherings around the holidays, these unexpected gatherings are so special as well. I love extra chances to visit with family and just hang out!

Random pictures I've been meaning to post...

2011-11-01T01:43:00.000-04:00

Watching a ballgame with Dad

Of course he is a Braves fan! Daddy has taught him all about the tomahawk chop!

Snuggling in the couch

"Reading" his books (he also chews on them)

Some fun places to sit

Our Big Boy

2011-11-01T01:21:00.000-04:00

We have one growing, busy, and friendly little guy on our hands! He is getting increasingly harder to keep up with, but he is so much fun. Here is an update on Charlie from the past several months.

7 Months

On August 19 we were only a couple weeks moved in to our new place in Wake Forest. Apparently we were not too concerned with the "7 Month Pictures..."

Here it is, folks. The 7 month picture.

Sugar from Mom!

8 Months

We did better at the 8 month mark! Love these pictures!

A bit blurry, but he was sitting so nicely! That lasted about 1.2 seconds.

I love seeing that smile every day.

Can I see the camera, Mom?

Hey everyone!

9 Months

I currently cannot find his stats from his 9 month well-baby doctor's visit, but he had actually lost weight since he went in a few weeks prior for an ear infection! The doctor said it was fine, it's just because he's moving around alot! Charlie weighs in at just over 22 pounds. This particular visit was not a regular vaccine visit, but he did get the final part of his flu vaccine. We'll do our best to stay away from the flu this fall and winter!!

In this picture he is technically 9 months and 1 day. We were headed to the state fair! I love the toboggan.

Can you tell I'm a first time mom?! I had him bundled up so much he couldn't really move... I put a blanket on top of him after this picture was taken. Gradually a few layers came off as I saw other parents with children who had light jackets on...

***************************************

During these three months of babyhood Charlie has done a lot of growing and changing!

*Charlie learned to sit up, first with the help of the boppy and them by himself!

He frequently sits like this now, with his little feet crossed. So cute!

*He has grown out of this baby swing:

The last time I put him in it I was afraid he would tip forward when he sat up!

*He got his first two teeth, in the center of his bottom gum.

Can you see his teeth?! (Also, I'm sure you noticed the drool on Tigger that accompanies teething...)

*He transitioned to the big blow-up duck bathtub (he quacks when you press his beak!).

He still loves bathtime and splashes a ton. Sometimes I just hold my own towel in front of me while he splashes so as to not get soaked...

This picture here is a rather tame moment in the tub.

*He has learned to drink from a sippy cup with a straw. We tried several different cups, none of which worked. We finally bought one with a straw, and he does great! He likes diluted pear juice and apple juice a lot. Plain water... not so much. When I try to give him water, he makes a face and pushes the cup away!

*Charlie is learning how to chew food. We have been giving him Puffs for a while now, and within about the last week he has learned how to get them in his mouth, chew them, and swallow them (almost every time without making a face or gagging...).

Trying to eat Puffs. As you can see, they are stuck to his shirt, hand, mouth, etc. Now, a few weeks later, he's doing great with them!

Eating LeSueur peas as his first "real" food. He didn't really pick them up, but when I put them in his mouth one at a time he would generally chew and swallow them.

Charlie eats three meals a day:

oatmeal and applesauce for breakfast

a jar of baby food meat and baby food veggies for lunch

a jar of baby food meat and baby food veggies (or two veggies) for dinner

He still has a 6 oz. bottle in the morning, a 6 oz. bottle before he goes to bed, and a 4 oz. bottle here and there as he seems to want it (sometimes mid-morning, sometimes with dinner).

Being a big boy is tiresome work!

*Charlie learned to do the "army crawl" on his belly and is now crawling completely off his stomach. He's fast, too! Now that he can move around, he does not like to sit in the exersaucers anymore.

*He has learned how to pull up on things and STAND! Whoa! Our little baby is getting so big!

Standing and playing with a walker.

A fun little table he likes to play with now. He can pull up easily and play with all the "food" on the table!

He also plays on his knees a lot these days.

Here he is looking pitiful after nap one day. It still shocks me to walk in his room and see him standing up!

His crib is now on the lowest setting! This seems to be his favorite sleep position (bum in the air!), and has been for some time.

Though I've also gone in and found him sleeping like this, which I think is precious:

*Finally, we have noticed some waves in the back of his hair! I even spied a curl one day and tried my best to capture it on film (memory card...).

Here's where I tried my best to capture the curl! Can you see it?!

It has been nothing short of amazing to watch our son grow and change right before our eyes. I am astounded at the genius and creativity of our God as I have watched Charlie learn different things. How incredible that God designed little ones to gradually become more mobile and independent and to gradually learn how to eat solid food and not need as much milk (among other things!). It is so humbling to think about Christ who created this child within me and designed him to grow in these ways.

We pray that as he grows into a little boy that he will have a heart that is sensitive to the Lord. We pray that Charlie would love God's Word and that Jesus would capture his heart at a young age. I pray that Charlie would come to know Christ as his Savior and that a passion for Him would define him more than anything as he grows up. What a privilege and sacred task we have to be Charlie's parents. Though we know it is impossible to raise him up in the ways of the Lord on our own, we know that by the grace of God and with the Holy Spirit's guidance we can teach our son about the One who knit him together and loves him more than anyone else. We also take comfort in this promise:

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." -2 Cor. 12:9

As we parent our son, Lord, let Your favor rest upon us, and "establish the work of our hands...yes, establish the work of our hands!" (Psalm 90:17).

The Great Grass Adventure

2011-10-31T22:57:00.000-04:00

As I'm sure most children do, our boy loves being outside! Case in point:

I put him here...

and he went here!

So we took a blanket and a few toys and went to play in the front yard. The grass proved more interesting than the toys, though!

Happy to be outside

Going for the green stuff! (I looove the dimples in his hands right now...)

He really loved patting the grass and pulling it up. He also tried to eat it...

Two handfulls of grass! Woohoo!

He threw it on himself?

It's the simple pleasures in life!

After leaving the door ajar several times to bring things in from the car, and finding Charlie sitting on the welcome mat waiting for me, we decided we needed this:

(Okay, so we also didn't want him roaming over to the stairs, but it's helpful to prevent him from escaping!) Every time the door is open he heads for the great outdoors! We do take him out often, especially in the afternoons. He loves to go strolling and swinging, and he likes to play in the front yard too.

Another recent discovery he has made (in addition to grass...) is wheels! He watches the wheels on his stroller, on shopping carts, on play trucks and cars... anytime there is a wheel, he is fascinated that it goes round and round! A couple weeks ago when he made an escape for the outdoor welcome mat, his umbrella stroller was sitting there. He headed straight for it and started to play with those wheels! So here is what we did for fun one chilly afternoon:

He would spin the wheels again... and again....

He then moved on to the dirt and mulch in our front yard and played in that awhile. This turned out to be as much fun as the grass!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:17:00.000-04:00

Introducing Charlie, our cute little puppy:

Getting ready to howl like a puppy! Can you see his ear poking up?

The only puppy I ever want.

Precious. The little bone on his hat says, "Dog-gone cute."

That's our boy!

Our big boy puppy playing with his toys.

Yesterday after church the three Byrds met Mom, Dad, and Daniel at Cracker Barrel in Henderson so they could see him in his costume. Tonight we had a party with our small group at the Porters' house. Everyone brought awesome food (as always) and some of the kids went trick-or-treating despite the chilly rain!

Happy Halloween!

Yes, We Still Count the Months

2011-10-17T23:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, so maybe this is cheesy, but we still like to acknowledge the 17th of every month since we got married on January 17th. Today marks two years and nine months! : ) In honor of the occasion Jimmy brought home some Moe's for dinner and surprised me with a bowl of queso dip! Woohoo!

Since we are on the subject of "anniversaries," I should mention that three years ago tomorrow (Oct. 18, 2008) Jimmy proposed to me!!!!!

He asked me to marry him on the front porch of my apartment. We had spent A LOT of time out there watching movies and talking after he would get off work from UPS (due to seminary housing stipulations- he could not actually be IN the apartment without a third party, but security said he could hang out on the porch....).

So, he arranged for some friends to set up a dozen roses, cheesecake, sparkling cider, and a beautiful red candle while we were at a coffee shop studying. We then went back to my place to meet some friends- we were going to the Ale House to watch baseball as the playoffs were in full swing. The TB Rays and the Boston Red Sox were playing game 6 with TB up by one game. Anyway, as we walked to the porch to wait for the Bruners, I saw the pretty display! At this point, I just thought someone had set up a lovely dessert for us... stupid me. Obviously when he got on one knee I knew what was going on! Afterwards I tried to eat my cheesecake but I was just too excited! And unbeknownst to me at the time, Nick and Ashley were sitting in their car by the dumpsters in the apartment complex watching everything!!

Jimmy had told Mom and Dad to stay in town that day because he was about to propose, so after we got engaged we all got together and took pictures in our apartment.

Then we still went to watch baseball. :)

Awesome night.

My porch!

My bling! I wanted to wear Jimmy's birthstone, so this is my beautiful topaz!

The friends who took part- Nick and Ashley that we had dinner with,

one of my good friends Charity, and Jimmy's roommate Alex.

Couldn't help but smile with such lovely parents and an amazing fiance!

This is the beautiful painting my uncle gave us of our engagement scene the Christmas before we got married. I love it soooo much. Outside of the rehearsal dinner Bettra gave us and the wedding my parents gave us, this was the most special gift we received during our engagement. It will always be displayed in our home.

...And, here we are three years later!

Hoopin With Charlie

2011-10-17T21:44:00.000-04:00

Well, Charlie Byrd might be the next Larry Bird. I'm just sayin'. This is the first time he understood the object of the game. He exploded with offensive power, going 11 for 13. Yeah, I think I hear the phone ringing now. I guess we should wait a few years before negotiating with agents. :) jk

In the zone...eye on the rim

Going up for it

Tearin' down the rim like Shaq!

and again...in the words of Dick Vitale, "Boom-shocka-locka!"

-Dad

Something Tickled Charlie's Funny Bone

2011-10-03T01:34:00.000-04:00

We just had to share this one. :)

6 Month Doctor's Visit

2011-07-21T23:33:00.001-04:00

Well I haven't ever recorded a doctor's visit in pictures before because I just never thought to. I don't think I'll take pictures of doctor's visits in the future either, but because Susan was visiting at the time, she offered to take pictures! I'm really glad she did, too, because we love Charlie's doctor and 6 months is a big milestone. We take Charlie to NC Pediatrics in Oxford (they also have practices in Henderson and Butner/Creedmoor). When I went to the hospital to have Charlie, the nurse told me to pick a doctor to check out our baby once he was born. I randomly picked the on-call doctor from NC Pediatrics, and I am so thankful we did! Dr. Cornelius Cathcart was the one on-call the night of January 19th, and he has been the one to see Charlie at all of his well-baby visits since then! He has a friendly, warm bedside manner and is very gentle with our boy. All the other doctors we've seen at that practice have been great so far, too.

Getting his head measured

Weight

Happy boy waiting for the doctor

Having a snack

Tearing up the paper... he could not be stopped...

Seeing Dr. Cathcart's PA first (Charlie did flirt with her a little, but we did not catch this on camera.)

Dr. Cathcart examining our boy

Dr. Cathcart had a man-to-man talk with Charlie in response to one of my questions...

He was very attentive! (Clearly I thought it was funny...)

Here I was having to hold Charlie back because he wanted to type on the laptop.

Of course we wouldn't take pictures of the vaccination ordeal... but Charlie handles it like a champ every time! He only cries a few seconds, and then he is okay.

Our next well-baby appointment will be 9 months!

Sleeping In on Dad's Day Off

2011-07-21T22:48:00.001-04:00

(Jimmy) While Bec was sleeping, I laid Charlie beside her to nap and snuggle. (a few Fridays ago)

L, M, N, O, Pea! (A flashback to last month...)

2011-07-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

We let Charlie get used to rice cereal for a month before we introduced anything else. So, right after he turned 5 months old we started him on his next solid food, peas. Here's how he felt about them that first day:

He made this face after just about every bite, but oddly enough he kept eating! I figured they just tasted weird to him after being used to formula and cereal, so we kept at it. I think day 5 of the pea adventure was the first time he actually gobbled them up!

Before he realized I was going to feed him more than one spoonful.

Thinking about it...

Maybe this was a bad idea, Mom.

Seriously, who eats these?!

Ewww....

What a cute mess...

We are happy to report that now Charlie is also eating carrots, apples, and a spinach/potatoes combo. He seems to be enjoying his food! Just yesterday he graduated to three solid food meals a day and still gets three bottles as well. He's growing up fast!

6 Months!!!

2011-07-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

Yes, Charlie is 6 months old today!

- Dad

Vin Rouge, Finally!

2011-07-16T22:44:00.001-04:00

So, anyone that knows me (Rebecca) really well knows that I've been trying to eat at a French restaurant, for well, several years now. Seems like every time we've tried to make arrangements to go, it never works out. BUT, it finally worked out on July 15th!!!!! We had a special date night to celebrate being married 2 years and 6 months. Jimmy brought me "roses" in the form of a beautiful candle, and we got all dressed up for our special night out.

Getting ready- words could not describe how excited I was!

Vin Rouge is a small French bistro at the corner of Hillsborough and Ninth Street in Durham. I've driven by it for years now!

When we got there we were given crusty French bread and an olive oil mixture with Kalamata olives in it. I started off with an amazing glass of Reisling- different from "normal" Reisling, it was actually dry and very refreshing (don't judge- I wasn't officially accepted back into Southeastern at that point....).

We decided that instead of "committing" to two large entrees, we would have a good time trying appetizers. So, we had the...

3 Cheese Selection of French & Local Cheeses (with fruit and sugared walnuts!)

Carmelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart (Our favorite selection!)

Chicken Liver Pate (with onion marmalade that was to die for...)

Oyster Gratinee (with bacon, leeks, and gruyere cheese.... sooooo creamy and amazing)

We finished the meal off with coffee and creme brulee. Mmmmmm.....

Thank you, France, for your awesome food. And thank you Jimmy, for making a mini dream come true. : )

Tennessee Family Visit, Part II

2011-07-06T21:47:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday while Jimmy was at work the girls and Charlie hung out together! We started by having breakfast together at the hotel and swimming a little bit. Then we headed to Wake Forest for lunch and shopping!

At Charlie's Kabob Grill in Heritage (the new one!)

So yummy... we all had a great lunch and then baklava for dessert!

We headed to the Wakefield GCF and had great luck! Here is Granny with all the loot!

Marilyn with her Starbucks!

Charlie was a great shopper but was tuckered out afterwards!

Tuesday night Jimmy and I served Bettra and Granny a belated Mother's Day dinner of quiche, fruit salad, muffins, and chocolate mousse for dessert. We wanted to honor them in person since we didn't get to be with them over the actual holiday. Then we all vegged out and watched a movie together. They all spent the night on Tuesday!

Wednesday Bettra and I went to the mall because I wanted to buy this:

This version of Good Night Moon is one of those recordable books! Mam-maw recorded her voice reading it and even added "Good Night, Charlie. Mam-maw loves you!" to the end. Charlie is able to hear her voice regularly this way, even though he doesn't get to see her often. He LOVES this book. He grins every time I open it! (The other day he wouldn't drink his bottle unless I played it over and over again... I think this is one of those books I'll have memorized soon...)

That evening we put together some leftovers and made Shepherd's Pie! I had a great time in the kitchen with Bettra.

Charlie hangin' with Granny

After dinner, they had to start their journey back to Tennessee. It goes without saying that we were sad to see them go- but we had a great time making new memories and hanging out together!

Loading the rental car

The family! Thanks for driving all the way out here to see us and for spoiling us! Thanks also for loving us so well, despite the distance. We love you and miss you!

Our Tennessee Family Visit, Part I

2011-07-01T19:00:00.001-04:00

At the beginning of July Mam-maw, Granny, and Marilyn were finally able to come visit us and meet Charlie! We are so grateful that they drove all the way here to see us and were able to stay a week. It was really precious to see Charlie and his Mam-maw get to know each other. He LOVES her! Of course he also enjoyed his Aunt Marilyn and his Great Granny. In addition to spoiling our boy, they spoiled us as well.

They got here Thursday evening, June 30, and came to the house to visit. Charlie was sleeping by the time they arrived, though, so they didn't really get to "meet" him at that point. The next day, Friday, we met them for lunch at a restaurant in downtown Durham called Parker & Otis. It was special to watch Bettra see her grandson for the first time, tear up a little, and proceed to immediately love on him!

The fun and eclectic Parker & Otis

A very happy Mam-maw!!

We had a great time together!

The girls

On Saturday they got to have Charlie all to themselves while Jimmy and I were at work.

Mam-maw and her boy!

On Sunday we all went to church together. Afterwards we took them to brunch at Girasole so they could see where I work.

Here is what Charlie had for lunch:

Charlie didn't waste any time in going after the table! We thought he would bang his hands on the table, but no, he preferred to teethe instead!

Three pretty ladies

Sunday afternoon we went swimming in the pool at their hotel. Charlie had a blast! (We did too...)

We all enjoyed the hot tub too!

Mam-maw helping Charlie swim!

Splish splash!

Sunday evening we went to the Cosmic Cantina in Durham- goooood eats!

Monday was the Fourth of July, so we all grilled out at our house. We had grilled corn, hamburgers, chips, potato salad, watermelon, and flag cake. Yum!

Marilyn's outfit for the Fourth- her shirt had fireworks on it, and her jeans had red, white and blue paint!

Jimmy got to try out his grill for the first time with some grilled corn!

We set up our pavilion in the front yard so we could eat outside. It was sooo hot, though, so we ate came back inside right after we ate!

Charlie in his new Fourth of July bib from Mam-maw, Granny, and Marilyn!

That evening it stormed, so we couldn't go watch fireworks like we had planned. Instead, we hung out together at the house and relaxed.

5 Months!

2011-06-20T23:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Charlie was 5 months old! In the midst of all the Father's Day festivities I forgot to take a picture of him. So here he is at five months and one day!

We don't have weight and height stats this month since we didn't have a well baby check-up, but he is a happy growing boy and such a wonderful blessing! In addition to making all kinds of noises with his lips, he loves to be outside, he still has fun splashing in the tub and now in his baby pool, he does a great job eating his rice cereal and is getting ready to start string beans, and he is getting better at sitting up with support. He loves being around other people (and tries to contribute to the discussion during small group...), he does his Tigger Jump Up every day, and he likes to play in his exersaucer, especially if he's sitting in front of the storm door (so he can look outside).

Well, this is the tray to Charlie's feeding seat. He seems to have recently discovered that is has colorful pictures and likes to look at it and bang on it while waiting for cereal. Actually, he likes to bang on everything now. Case in point:

The computer! Steph Lyon gave this to Charlie since her kids had outgrown it, and he loves it! Of course he has no clue how to actually work it correctly, but he does like to practice his "typing."

Behold the new exersaucer below! Meredith found a good deal on this at a tag sale. Thank you so much!! He LOVES it and we were finally able to give back Granana's that we were borrowing! It has a mirror that he loves, as well as a puppy that has captured his attention, and buttons that play music.

He also loves his monkey that cousin Susan gave him! He smiles at it lots! Thank you!

As you can see from the picture, his cheeks light up when he plays a song!

Our precious little guy who is just irrestible to me! Oh, I have a FULL heart.

Father's Day!

2011-06-20T23:56:00.000-04:00

Well, Charlie has an awesome Dad!! Jimmy is so proud of his son and is a very hands-on Daddy, as he has been up with Charlie in the middle of the night at least as much- if not more- than I have been. He often does his early morning feeding, changes many diapers, and loves to play with him and entertain him with silly faces and silly noises. Jimmy and I can make the exact same noise or face to Charlie, but Dad often gets a BIG smile! Mom, not as much. This Dad just seems to have that awesome playful touch!

I also have an awesome Dad! He has been loving me well now for over 29 years!!! I am so thankful that the Lord picked him to be my Dad. I love that he makes me laugh a lot, knows how to savor the small but sweet blessings in life, and that after more than three decades of marriage he is still crazy about my Mom. What a great example! He is very dedicated to loving and taking care of his family, and it has been so sweet to watch him become a Granddaddy this year! He is precious with Charlie. He is Charlie’s only Granddaddy, but he loves him enough for several granddaddies!!

We tried to make Father’s Day last all weekend, so I spread out small treats throughout the weekend. After enjoying worship together at North Wake on Sunday morning, we met my family at Texas Roadhouse for a Father’s Day celebration!

Later in the afternoon we ate homemade Father's Day cheesecake!

(With lemon sauce and raspberries!)

Charlie wore this shirt to tell the world how he feels:

So glad we got to celebrate Dad and Jimmy!

OBX 2011

2011-06-20T23:54:00.000-04:00

Oh, we love the Outer Banks. In my book, there is just no place like it! This year was fun, too, because we got to take Charlie and show him the ocean and a big pool for the first time! We had a great weekend with Mom, Dad, and Daniel. We all relaxed together, walked on the beach, and went to the pool. The guys fished as usual! Jimmy and I also got to have breakfast out at Bob's Grill, one of our favorites, and got to go out for ice cream too. Three cheers for their creative flavors that we enjoyed- rum raisin ice cream and coffee oreo ice cream!

Our family of three!

Letting him feel the sand

Sweet sandy feet!

Strolling with Dad

Snuggling with Mom

So glad to be together and be here!

Charlie had fun strolling lots of places! He especially liked the "nature strolls" that Granddaddy took him on!

Visiting Dad and Daniel while they were fishing at the pier. They were really focused!

Seeing the ocean from the end of the pier with Granddaddy- I LOVE this picture!

Gettin' some sugar!

Fun in the pool!

We chew on everything these days...

We love staying at the Lobster Cove condo where they have this pool, and we love the Outer Banks!

One thing I must say…. I think every year before I’ve gone on vacation to do lots of stuff. This year, I was at the beach almost 24 hours before I even saw the ocean!! And I. did. not. care. I took a nap both afternoons I was there and woke up to dinner that Mom had cooked each time! Jimmy and I both felt very relaxed after our two days there! What a blessing to get away for a weekend!

A Really Long Update on Jimmy and Rebecca

2011-06-20T23:52:00.000-04:00

Well, we love to blog about our growing boy. But we decided to do a post to write about what we are doing these days, too!

Disclaimer: This is obviously a long post. We don’t think people are this interested in our goings-on, but we are hoping to print our blog at the end of the year (yes, you can make a book out of it!) so we have a copy of all these memories in our hands! I wanted to record for memory’s sake what Jimmy and I are doing in this season of our lives.

While these past five months have provided many precious times of being with each other and our new son, there have been many difficult times as well. Besides what I think would be the normal selfishness issues and “culture shock” of going from “married-couple-on-the-go-doing-whatever-time-and-money-would-allow,” to “married-couple-responsible-for-another-human-life-who-depends-on-us-completely,” I experienced some postpartum depression. Counseling from a wise elder from my church, great support from Jimmy and the ladies in my small group, and a low dosage of daily medicine helped things tremendously. I am feeling much better and Jimmy and I feel like we’ve had a fresh start together. We are thankful to God.

[Jimmy] I started a new job in March at Home Comfort Furniture, and I really enjoy it. It is definitely less stressful than my previous job. I’ve had a great time getting to know my co-workers and supervisors. My main task is delivering furniture to customers’ homes, but I also do my fair share of driving the delivery trucks, assembling furniture, and setting up and rearranging the four stores. We moved to our new warehouse a few weeks ago, and now we are right next to the RDU Airport.

[back to Rebecca] I started a new job recently too! I am now employed as a server by both Girasole Trattoria and Gatehouse Tavern in Wake Forest! They are owned by the same people, so I will work both restaurants. Last night I finished 6 days of training, and the night before I had to take a very detailed test on both menus. I was glad that I passed and now have the go ahead to work my own shifts!! I have really enjoyed waiting on tables again and meeting new people, and I am hoping that I can love my co-workers well. I pray that they would see Christ in my actions towards them and that I would have chances to share the Gospel with them. To back up a bit, I pursued this job as a way to simultaneously help our family make the money we need and to be able to stay home with Charlie during the day. I have very much enjoyed hanging out with Charlie! To back up even more, I quit my job at the church prior to pursuing this job. The several weeks surrounding this situation were some of the darkest for me since having Charlie. I actually walked off my job one day and did not go back. I tried to cast blame on another person for this decision… and the situation at hand when I left... I tried to blame it on my hormones… I tried to justify myself… but the Lord kindly and gently helped me see that I had been wrong in the situation and then led me to repentance. He showed me patterns of sin in my life I needed to see, and he softened my heart towards the person I wanted to blame. He led me to call the pastor I worked for to ask for his forgiveness, and then I sought the forgiveness of the church as well (through an e-mail to everyone) for leaving in a manner that did not honor the Lord, and leaving them without a replacement. Thankfully, Christ gave me some sweet encouragement during this time. The pastor and the people at Gorman were very forgiving, and since then, I have had several sweet conversations with one lady that goes there. They have given us until August 1 to stay in this house before moving back to Wake Forest, and they even paid an outstanding bill we had without telling us until after it was done. What sweet Christian love in the midst of the mess I made. I am so appreciative for the Lord’s grace in this situation and for their grace as well.

Now, on a lighter note, here are some fun things we have been up to….

A few weekends ago, Charlie went to Granana and Granddaddy’s house for the weekend while Jimmy and I had some awesome time together! On Friday night we went to Girasole. We had a leisurely time together eating artichoke and spinach fonduta, baked ziti, and an amazing flourless chocolate and hazelnut torte! Woohoo for good food! Saturday Jimmy worked some overtime hours at his job. I took him to work that morning, came home and slept in until 11 AM (oh, it was amaaaaaaazing…), caught up on some blogs I like to read, and cleaned the house. After I picked him up from work that night we went to Moe’s to grab dinner and then had a great time at the airplane observation deck at RDU!! Then we came home and vegged on the couch. Sunday we went to church together, spent a fun afternoon at Burger King after lunch reading the Word together, encouraging each other, and talking about stuff, then went to the Bruner’s Open House/Baby Gender Reveal!! Ashley had a friend make these amazing cake balls, and when everyone bit into them at the same time, we all saw PINK cake! It’s going to be a girl! How fun! We are excited to be able to watch them become a family of three! We had a great time together that weekend!

Ashley watched Charlie the following weekend while Jimmy and I had another date. Jimmy’s job had been pretty demanding for the prior two weeks, with his warehouse moving and then just the normal deliveries, so I wanted us to be able to relax together again while having some inexpensive fun. We ate Cook-Out burgers and shakes in the car in their parking lot and then went to the $1.50 movie theatre to see Rango. We were able to relax together, but we don’t recommend watching Rango…. we do, however, HIGHLY recommend the peanut butter/chocolate shake from Cook-Out!

Every other Tuesday night we’ve been participating in a marriage Bible study. It has been so helpful and practical, and we’ve gotten to know some great people from Gorman! The youth pastor from Gorman, Joel, is hosting this study. We have all laughed a lot during this study as well as learned a lot! Jimmy and I have also enjoyed some great conversations about our marriage as we prepared for each session by doing the homework. We still have a couple meetings left.

Precious time has been spent with small group friends too! We love hanging out together on Wednesday nights and also like the various times we get to hang out outside of small group as well. Jenny and I had breakfast together on Saturday and I get to see Sarah on Wednesday night! The next several months will provide some opportunities to celebrate with and serve some of our peeps as our group will be helping the Kielsmeiers pack for their new adventure in California (while we rejoice that they are following the Lord’s direction we are SOOO sad to see them leave NC), packing the Porters so they can move into the new HOUSE they just bought, and as I mentioned earlier, celebrating with the Bruners in the pregnancy and birth of their daughter! We love doing life together with these people… fellowship with them is encouraging, edifying, and just downright fun.

For several months now, I have been enjoying trying new recipes for dinner and getting into a groove of menu planning and grocery shopping. Oh, this is (usually) SO much fun! I really enjoy cooking, and I’ve never had so much fun eating at home!! (I didn’t have a pattern like this of regularly cooking at home before we had Charlie.) Jimmy is sweet to watch Charlie while I have fun in the kitchen. Jimmy still likes to cook when time allows. We also like to read when time allows- I'm currently reading Emma and Jimmy is reading Shepherding a Child's Heart.

Memorial Day

2011-06-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

After a relaxing day together, we went to Wal-Mart to buy hot dogs for dinner and to get Charlie a baby pool. Who knew the store could be such fun?!

His first time in the pool, however, was not as successful as riding in the shopping cart. Here is our man in his swimsuit before the pool.

Preparing for the plunge...

When we finally set him down in the water he wasn't crazy about it. So we took him out.

Pooped.

I'm happy to report that we have gotten in the pool a few times since then and Charlie now enjoys splashing and looking at everything outside!

Four Months!

2011-05-26T22:38:00.000-04:00

Our little man is getting so big! Here is his four month picture:

His stats: 17.3 pounds and 25.25 inches long! The doctor said he was doing great!

Another cute couch picture:

The rest of the post is a variety of pictures about what Charlie is up to these days....

Watching Baby Mozart

Enjoying the baseball season with this awesome outfit from Mamaw!!

Playing on his belly

Reading books... this one is Sesame Street Colors. It was comical to hear Jimmy read this book.

The first page went like this:

Jimmy reads, Big Bird is yellow. What else is yellow? Your poop, Charlie!

Sporting cute summer clothes... who doesn't love baby clothes with stuff on the butt?!!? Thanks, Granana!

Snuggling with Dad and watching sermons.... this one was Matt Chandler

Licking everything in sight and playing in the exersaucer on loan from Granana.

Watching movies with Mom and Dad... I think he knew something fun was going on in the living room, so he was not about to go to sleep!

As of 5/24/11, Charlie decided he was going to start sleeping on his stomach. Here he is in his bassinet peeking at us before going to sleep!

Being Mr. Mischievous

...and starting to eat solids!

Day One: Not so good. He cried and did not want rice cereal. This picture was taken before the solid food chaos ensued.

Day Two:

Experimenting...

All done.

Day Three:

Helping Mommy put the spoon in. "Mmmm! I like it!"

Anticipating the next bite.... later we'll work on manners....

"How does this go in again?"

Two bowls later....

All done! Happy and messy! (I think he looks like Uncle D in this picture...)

Today:

Just like Dad... I fall asleep after eating....

Next step, veggies! (But not until we get the rice cereal thing down.... which will be a while....)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:25:00.001-04:00

My very first Mother's Day was memorable indeed. Poor Jimmy was sick with a stomach virus!! Charlie and I played together in his room early in the morning and then went to church later. Mom and Dad surprised me and met me there for the second service. Then we went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. While we were there Charlie had a blow-out diaper, which we had to change in the back of Mom and Dad's Sante Fe, and then I got super-claustrophobic in the corner where we were eating. Not to mention that my chicken was undercooked and was sent back twice... I ended up leaving before everyone else was finished because I felt very anxious and panicky! Later on Jimmy gave me a very sweet card from him and Charlie as well as a cute Thirty-One apron I had been wanting.

Of course the important thing about Mother's Day is that I was able to celebrate being a mom! While it has turned my world inside-out in every imaginable way, and while it has been quite the adjustment, it has been the most wonderful thing. I LOVE being Charlie's mommy! It is a high privilege and calling from God to be a mom, and I wouldn't change it for the world!

I must say that my mom has definitely set the motherhood bar high, and I am very thankful for her! If I can love Charlie half as much as she loves Daniel and me, then I'll be doing fine. She is also a magnificent Granana and does an awesome job loving Charlie! Thank you Mom!!

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T21:02:00.002-04:00

Easter Sunday was warm and gorgeous! Jimmy was very sweet and let me go to church; Charlie was still a little under the weather from his first cold, so Jimmy stayed home with him. The service at our church was a wonderful and refreshing celebration of the resurrection of Christ- the foundation of our faith.

The afternoon was great as well, since we got to spend it with some of our favorite people! Charlie was well enough to put on his Easter outfit and visit. Granana & Granddaddy and Mandie & Jason came over for lunch and a leisurely visit.

Our handsome little man in the outfit Dad picked out!

The table all set- obviously I had fun with green. For appetizers we had cream cheese and sweet pepper jelly with Triscuits and baby cucumbers with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. For lunch we served ham, potato salad (with red and sweet potatoes!), deviled eggs, green beans with artichoke hearts, fresh pineapple and Sister Schubert rolls. For dessert we had Mandie's awesome homemade red velvet cake! That was the first time we entertained people since having Charlie, and it was great fun!

Easter treats for our guests!

Charlie's Easter gifts from Mom & Dad- new pacis, a teething ring, baby sunglasses, and a

Jesus Loves Me book.

Charlie sporting his new and first pair of sunglasses!

Goodies from Granana and Granddaddy- Let's Count with finger puppets and Charlie the Chick.

Sunday afternoon nap with Granddaddy

Easter Monday afternoon with Granana (Charlie's daycare was closed, so Granana came to play!)

Charlie's First Photo Shoot

2011-04-20T06:41:00.001-04:00

Recently, we had these family pictures taken by Melissa Pearce of Tesoro Photography. We thought she did a great job!

http://tesoro-photo.com/blog/?p=2440 - Slideshow w/ cute theme song

http://tesorophotography.smugmug.com/Portraits/The-Byrds/ - gallery of all of the pictures

(The first two pictures on the right column are examples of her work)

These Are a Few of His Favorite Things!

2011-04-19T23:06:00.001-04:00

So, at three months Charlie is having a lot of fun cooing and talking to us, trying to eat his fists, and soaking in the world around him. He repeatedly flashes his amazing smile at us, loves to snuggle, and is an all-around good natured little guy.

He's getting stronger! He's doing a really good job now up on his arms.

He gave the bumbo a quick try. After about 20 seconds, he decided it wasn't for him. Oh well. Maybe later!

Here are a few of Charlie's favorite things:

First up, his milk. Our man is quite the guzzler.

Next is the bathtub.

More specifically, this is the "Whale of a Tub." Charlie is in baby bliss every night during bath time! He waves his arms and kicks his legs like a wild man, splashes everywhere, and coos/tries to giggle.

WE LOVE WATCHING THIS!!!!

It is one of the highlights of our day!

I mean seriously... who doesn't love a tub with eyes?!

A rare peaceful moment in the tub.

Okay, next favorite thing: his bassinet with his jingle-y toys.

Once he has had his bottle and morning playtime on the floor, Charlie rides around in his bassinet while I shower and get ready. Apparently, he thinks this is really cool. As he does in the tub, he waves and kicks and tries really hard to talk to the animals hanging above him. He gets so excited!

And while we're talking about his morning adventures, here is another favorite:

Our boy loves to rise early! Unlike his parents, he is all smiles at such an early hour. He might make morning people out of us if he keeps this up! (We are trying to work towards a wake time of 5:30, or even 6:00! but we have not achieved this regularly yet.)

Now for the "Woodland Friends" mobile.

You probably can't tell what these animals are, but they are a super cute fox, racoon, owl, and hedgehog!!

He is fascinated by this, especially if we wind it up for him.

Finally, pretend there is a picture of his stroller here. It is in the trunk of the car right now, and alas, I cannot be coaxed to go out there, bring it in the house, and take a picture.

Anyway, I am ecstatic that he finally stays awake now when we take him on walks and seems to really enjoy them! On two occasions we have taken him to Duke Gardens, and he has looked around very attentively each time. He even seemed to chuckle a bit when we were strolling him over gravel near our house one night (a future ATV-er?)!

Last night, while I was fixing dinner, Charlie started to get fussy. He had taken his bottle, been burped, etc., and we didn't know what the problem was. I took him outside, and BAM, he was quiet. Well, he did burp again, but instantly he stopped crying and started looking around (Okay, so I'm sure the constant hum of the interstate traffic had something to do with it too, but I like to think he already loves being outside...). The sun was setting, and he looked in that direction for quite a while! At one point when Jimmy tried to take him in he cried again... so the boys went back out to the porch. And yes, you guessed it, he was quiet again! He sat under a little blanket in Daddy's lap and watched the sun go down!

Who can blame him for wanting to do that?!

We hope he will grow to treasure God's creation and love being in it as much as we do!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!!

2011-04-19T22:20:00.000-04:00

Wow... time flies. Our boy is three months old today!

But first- because we're slacker bloggers- here are the super-belated two month pictures!

So this is how we started out on 3/19/11- Charlie was having a ball in the early morning as usual, and I fell asleep watching! I love playing with him in the morning, but apparently sleep overtook me on this day.

And here is our precious taking his morning nap, two months old!

Two month stats: 13 pounds and 13 ounces

23.25 inches

Now... here is our happy camper this morning before going to school!

Check out the big boy clothes!

Oh, I love that smile. Can't get enough.

Morning napette before school.

Charlie didn't have to go to the doctor for a well baby visit at the three month mark, but he did get a minor eye infection. So, we went to the doctor's office last week at 12 weeks to the day. He weighed in at 15 pounds! Whew!

We are so thankful for a growing, healthy son!