Charlotte's First Boyfriend

Charlotte may be starting with the boys a bit early, but I guess she's in a position that most girls only dream to be in. At a baby play group we go to every Sunday morning (church is on Friday here and Sunday's are our Monday), she is the only girl out of four babies. She has the pick of the litter, and she's chosen Cade as her "favorite". He's a fine choice, but we'll be supervising her dates with Cade until she's at least 18. ;-) When they're together, they like to hold hands, smile at each other, and "talk" to each other in the form of coos. It's absolutely adorable. I didn't get great pictures this morning, and I'm sorry for that. I meant to bring my camera and totally forgot, so the camera on my cell had to suffice for today. Maybe I'll get better pics next week!

3 Months

Charlotte turned three months old on the 6th. I wasn't able to take her 3 month picture until tonight. Things have been C-R-A-Z-Y around here! Chris has been working long hours, I've been busy taking care of Charlotte, cleaning the house, and socializing with new friends. The only time I've had to sit and be still is during my devotional and prayer time - until tonight. Chris is working late and so I'm enjoying some much desired down time! After writing this, I'm going to do one of my all-time favorite pastimes that I never get enough time to do: read.

Charlotte is growing strong. We'll find out how long she is and how much she weighs at her upcoming doctor's appointment. She's sort of in between sizes. She's outgrown many of her 6 month outfits, but she's also too big for some of her 9 month clothing. She still smiles almost all the time but she's learned how to let us know when she's tired. When she gets a little fussy, into the crib she goes! She takes 3, 1-hour naps per day, but on the days we're out and about, I can tell it gets to her. Since she wakes up fairly easily with loud noises, she doesn't usually nap well if we're not at home. I went to an American Women's Assocation meeting today, and she fell asleep in my arms fairly early on, but then it was time for a presentation by a lady who runs a gym here. She thought it would be a good idea to get all of the women on their feet to do some "aerobics". On a side note, I've never seen such weak aerobics in my life. It was more like swaying. Anyway, they blared the music during this little swaying session, and it woke Charlotte up. To make up for it, she slept for over 2 hours when we got home! :-)

2010

Happy New Year! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for 2010. 2009 was an amazing and hectic year. I truly grew closer to God this year than I have in previous years, we moved from Nigeria to Bahrain, we went on an amazing road trip through Canada and the east coast, I got to spend 7 months in the states, we had two new nieces added to our family, and the most special aspect of 2009 was welcoming our daughter, Charlotte, into the world. God is good (and I would still say that even if 2009 was a rotten year)!

We spent New Years at home with our new friends, Mark and Rebecca. By the time midnight rolled around, we were so tired that we groggily said "Happy New Year" and went to bed. Ha! I felt so old. I remember the days that I used to stay up ALL NIGHT and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I also remember how excited I got when we started counting down at 11:59 and 50 seconds. My heart would start beating fast and I'd get those excited butterflies in my stomach. My how things change.

I'm excited to see what 2010 has in store. I know of one thing it will bring so far. I'm going to start selling jewelry through a Christian-owned company! It's a direct sales business, and I know there's quite a stigma that can go along with that. To be honest, I have bad feelings towards the direct sales market even though I'm about to enter into it! It's usually over flooded with sales people, and there can be too much pressure to buy from family or friends who are either hosting a show or selling the product. I am by no means a salesperson, but upon seeking counsel, my opinion was changed enough that I was willing to consider it. Chris and I have been prayerful about this for the past few weeks and believe it's where God is leading us.

Happy New Year, everyone! If we make any resolutions, may the first be that we grow closer to God this year than we did the last!

Christmas in Bahrain

Christmas in our home was full of fun! On Christmas Eve, we went to a candlelight service at our church and then we came home and watched White Christmas - a yearly tradition of ours. On Christmas morning, Chris and I enjoyed opening a few presents before Charlotte woke up, and then we opened the rest after feeding Charlotte and eating homemade cinnamon rolls (our traditional Christmas breakfast). After opening presents, we went to church and then came home to relax and play with all our new toys. It was a wonderful first Christmas in two different ways: our first Christmas with Charlotte and our first Christmas in our new home, Bahrain. Merry Christmas!

Charlotte woke up around 9am. As you can tell by the picture, she can't wait to get out of bed and open her presents.

Charlotte in front of the tree

A close up of Charlotte - "I'm ready to open my presents, Mom!"

"Well, I'll be ready to open my presents after I eat!"

"Nevermind, I'd rather nap. Can you open my presents for me?"

Charlotte with all her gifts...and we didn't get her anything! She is certainly loved by her extended family. We don't want her to be spoiled, because we desire that she would grow to have a sacrificial heart. And as her parents, we want to help develop that type of heart in her life, so Christmas will pose a unique challenge for us as she gets older and starts to figure out what's going on!

Charlotte and I before heading to church on Christmas day. She's wearing a dress that was made out of a vintage pillowcase. Charlotte's grandma gave this beautiful dress to her

Charlotte's Christmas Photos

Merry Christmas everyone! Come, let us celebrate the birth of our Savior and King!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." John 3:16-18

Christmas at the Ambassador's

This morning, we went to a Christmas party for children at the Ambassador's house. While Charlotte is only an infant, she's still a child, so we decided to take her to it. We had a nice time and enjoyed the nice spread of American breakfast food that was prepared for all the guests. They also had a jewelry making booth, a bookmark making booth, and a temporary tattoo booth. Santa was even there! He gave all the kids a present after the Ambassador read a Christmas story. Well, we all know the gifts weren't from Santa himself. Instead, they asked all the parents beforehand to buy a gift under $35 to put in Santa's bag for their child/children. After Santa passed out all the gifts, Charlotte was able to get a picture with him and we also got a family picture before the guy playing Santa decided to put on something more comfortable than a heavy suit and thick beard. :-)

This is Charlotte's grumpy face. She got a little fussy after we put the fake tattoo on her. I think she wanted a mistletoe tattoo instead. She is a little love bug after all.

The Ambassador reading to the kids.

Santa handing a gift to a child there.

Charlotte and Santa. Look at that big smile!

The three of us with Santa.

Our good friend, Terry, holding Charlotte. Terry works with Chris and he and his family attend the traditional service with us at the base.

Our good friend, Steve, holding Charlotte. Steve is the guy who encouraged the base to start the traditional service we attend, and he's also "in charge" of the music during that service. I think it's funny that we got pictures of Terry and Steve holding Charlotte but we forgot to get pictures of their wives holding her. Oh well. Maybe next time!

Hungry? We Deliver!!

Here in Bahrain, everyone delivers...even McDonald's!