Visits from aunts,evil bananas, and more!

Last week we got a surprise visit from Melissa (a.k.a. "Aunt Lala") who was flying standby through ATL heading to Managua. She didn't make it onto the Tuesday flight, so I got to spend almost 24 hours with her, and it was such a special time together! I am always for grateful for the little unexpected visits that God gives us!

Then Wednesday and Thursday "Aunt Lauren" came to visit James, and we had a great time! We had brunch at Cracker Barrel (where James learned to "play" checkers... haha), then we did some shopping that I had to do. It was so nice to have someone to share the time with! We even got to splurge for 1/2 price shakes during happy hour at Steak 'n' Shake! Yummy!

It was an all-around great week! And then Jim came home Friday afternoon, and it was so nice to know that he didn't have to go back out of town for work this week! What a treat it's been to have him home every evening!

Life has been so wonderful right now that I'm almost afraid that I'm enjoying it too much! I love being a stay-at-home mommy watching James grow and change, and even selling the house hasn't felt stressful recently. I really believe that if God is in this move (which I feel he is), then he will sell it in his own time. I am praying that he bring the buyers that will be most blessed by this house! The pressure to "sell it" myself is gone, and all I have to do is keep it clean, pray and wait! That's easy, right?! Haha!

Thank you, dear friends, for your prayers for our family. They are definitely not falling upon deaf ears. God is good, and his faithfulness to us never ceases to amaze me! I am eagerly awaiting the time when I can share with you the exciting, new plans he has for us in Spartanburg! Please join us in praying that he will be at work (now even before we sell our house and start looking there) preparing a family of believers up there for us. We will be farther away from both of our families there, and we are hoping that the distance will help us to plug into a church more quickly and find ways to serve and share.

We love you all very much! Thank you for you faithful prayers and friendship as we walk out our journey.

And without further a-do, here are the newest photos of James!

With love,

Jim, Ally & James-z ;) (that one's for you, Lala!)

"I like my Aunt Lauren!"
"She's funny!"

"And she lets me play new games!"

"Look at all the red circles! Can I hold one?!"


"Or maybe I like the black ones better?"

"Yumm! Cereal is tasty, and it doesn't leave those itchy red places all over me like bananas!" (We've discovered that James is alergic to bananas! Sad! One of my favorite foods!)

James likes bananas, but bananas don't like James... and this wasn't even as red as he got before it was all over.

Yep, definitely not going to be eating any more "monkey food"!

Fun at the park

Look at me! Keeping up with posting two weeks in a row! Watch out world, here I come!


So to catch everyone up... last weekend was crazy! Friday morning I went to McDaniel Farm Park, my favorite photography spot here in Duluth, to do family pictures for one of Tania's friends who is also a photographer down in Florida and of course doesn't get to be in her "family" pictures much because she's usually behind the camera like me. So those pictures turned out great (They'll be up on my photography blog soon.), and since she was there and we had a few minutes, she got some cute shots of James and me that I had to share! (See below!) I wish Jim had been in town because we still need family photos!


Then Friday afternoon was the rehearsal for the wedding that I shot on Saturday. I ran home from the park, got a shower, ate lunch, and headed to Sugarloaf to meet up with the Bride. I ended up taking James with me, and he was a little angel the whole time! Even though we were in the sun for over an hour.


Then Saturday morning Jim and I had to run out and get a new external hard drive for my photos b/c I'd already filled up our 300G drive! Crazy! So we bought a 1 terabyte drive designated for photography! Hopefully it will take me a little longer to fill that up. :)


Then I left James with Jim, and headed to the wedding at 2:30. Let me just say that Sugarloaf is a gorgeous place for wedding photos! It was really hot though, and I was sweating like a.... well... sweating a lot. But we got some great shots (check out my photography blog for a peak), and everyone was really nice to work with.


Now I'm back home trying to keep the house looking nice for interested buyers, being mommy to my little guy and editing wedding photos. It's a crazy but fun life!


Lots of love from us all,


Jim, Ally & James

Random photos...

Can you believe I'm posting so soon after my last post?!! These pictures are just day/hours old! Go me! Haha... I promise I'm trying to get better. Plus I'm shooting a wedding on Saturday, which means personal stuff will get pushed to the back burner for a while. (Look for those shots sometime in the upcoming weeks on my photography blog.)

James keeps changing every day. He's laying on the floor talking to himself as I write. I just can't get over how verbal he's getting! It's so fun to watch him change and to see his little personality develop. Thankfully it looks like he's going to be have a happy demeanor like his Daddy. :)

Enjoy!

I found him sleeping like this the other day during his nap. It was too cute to miss!

James and I were playing while Daddy worked outside.

We have also started our journey into the world of cereal. Nana was right... it's a full-body experience (for BOTH of us)! haha!

This last one is just a collage I made from a few shots I took today while practicing with my new lens. The blanket he's laying on was made by some sweet girls from my church back home. We are so loved! :)

James' first pool trip!

We spent Father's Day weekend with Jim's parents in Tampa, and James got to go to the pool for the first time. Here are a few shots from our little outing... Enjoy!

He was so adorable! The "surfer shirt" is from a friend in Nicaragua. Nana and I picked out the cute bathing suit to match. :)

When he finally got in the water, he wasn't so sure about it at first...

but then he got used to the water temperature and decided that he liked it.

He was so cute, kicking his little legs like a frog. :)

Nana was so proud of her little man... and Pa G was too!


Daddy helped him dry off...

Then he told Daddy all about it! :)

Oops I missed the 3 month post!

I'm posting some pictures from James' 3rd month to catch everyone up since I've been a slacker.

I spent my first Mother's Day in Tallahassee with my mom! And I managed to get a photo of James and his Grandmom in his "Grandmom" onsie. (see explanation below)


James with his Uncle Tim at graduation! He's wearing his "I love my Uncle Tim" onsie. I made onsies for everyone in our immediate families, and I'm trying to get pictures with everyone. :)


With Aunt Sara in "her" onsie. Of course Noelle had to be in the shot too... that's what you get when your sister's a vet. :)




Sorry, Nana. I know I caught you in your nightgown, but when I looked up and saw Pa G. sitting down by James like this and talking to him, I just had to have this picture! :)



Tia Tania (a friend and fellow Spanish teacher from when I taught at Grayson) comes over every Monday to hang out with us!

4 1/2 months and couting...

Well, I'm even later with my post this time. James is 4 1/2 months! Oh my! Time flies so fast when you've got a little one that changes so much everyday! He got his four month shots on Tuesday and did fine. He's growing like a weed! He was 74% percentil in weight and 87% in length! Of course head was only in the 20% percentile, but it doesn't seem to affect his little mind. He's sharp and keeps learning new things everyday. I love watching him change and devevlop. What a blessing motherhood is!!

Below, I'm posting a random assortment of pictures from the last month (newest to oldest) to catch everyone up. I'll post captions below most of them to explain.

In other news, Jim found out a few weeks ago that we're getting transferred to Spartanburg, SC. Yep, you read right. We just put our house on the market (less than a year after we bought it), and we're praying for God to send us some buyers quickly and that we can get a decent price so that we'll at least have something for a down payment in Spartanburg should we decide to buy there. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated! While we're sad to leave our friends here and to be moving even farther from our families, we both have a peace that God is in this transfer, and we are excited to see what plans he has for us in this new chapter.

Thank you for your prayers! More to come...

Love to all,

Jim, Ally and James

Yesterday, James decided to "help" mommy fold his diapers. He loves to grab and chew on everything now, and it was so cute I had to snap a couple of shots. (Yes, I know the Bumbo chair is pink. We're borrowing it from a friend.)

Daddy was feeding James before he left on his business trip, and mommy used the opportunity to practice with her new lens!

Jim's cousins and his grandmother (Olliemama) came to visit James last week. He had a great time playing with them. :)

Last time that Pa G. and Nana came to visit, James decided to help Nana with his bottle (for the first time!!).

Bigdad bought James a shirt in Nicaragua, and he wore it proudly! :)

We finally got a pictures of James with Aunti Em in his "I love my Aunti Em" onsie just before he outgrew it.

Two months already!

James is two months old already! I can't believe it! I know you have all been asking me for more pictures of James, and I've been a slacker. But there's only so much free time in a house with a colicky baby. :) I think we're finally on the upswing though (hope I'm not jinxing us). James slept 8+ hours for the first time Monday night and repeated it again last night! And we reached another sleep milestone in the last several days... he's sleeping in his room! Yay!!

In other news, yesterday was shot day, and neither mommy nor James had much fun with that! Bless his heart... he was so good through the whole check-up, and then they gave him the three shots and he just cried and cried. It broke my heart. :( But when we were done, he got some snuggle time with mommy and went fast asleep. I'm so glad that he's feeling better today, and I'm glad that we don't need to do that again for two more months.

Jim and I are also doing well although work is a little slow for Jim. We would really appreciate your prayers that new jobs would come in so that they won't have to cut back on his hours. With all the medical bills we have right now, it would be a God-sized task to make ends meet with a cut in pay. But we trust Him for His provision.

Well... I'm gonna cut this a little short since I've still got to finish washing clothes and packing for our trip to Tallahassee for Mother's Day this weekend. My first Mother's Day! And I get to spend it with my mom! It's going to be really special!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Love,

James' mommy

"I love sleeping in Mommy's arms"

"Oh..."

"Sometimes I'm a whiny boy."

"I have Carharts just like Daddy!"

"I'm gonna be just like Daddy when I grow up!"

"Can I help, Daddy?"