Breaking Him In

To say Matt doesn't have much experience in caring for babies/children might be an understatement. Growing up, he was the baby, so he was always the one being cared for and then later in life (like most young men) he just didn't take a special liking to kids.

Fast forward to today. We are three months away from having a sweet little baby of our own!


I have been keeping the babies in the nursery at our church during the 8:30 service and then go back home to get Matt and we go to the late service together. I've done it without him for over a year....until yesterday! I got to thinking on Saturday that I would probably have more babies than normal on Easter, especially during the early service because families would have lunch plans and such to get home for. I managed to convince Matt that I could really use his help in the nursery and would really appreciate if he would be willing to come with me just this once. He agreed on Saturday, and then after some more coaxing on Sunday morning, we were on our way!


At first it looked as though my assumption was terribly wrong, we only had one sweet baby girl for the first few minutes. In typical Matt fashion, he was already trying to get out of staying. My persistence won out, thankfully, because a few late comers showed up and we ended up with five babies, all nine months or younger. I know it doesn't sound like a lot....but please try to imagine me handling all of them by myself, with a baby of my own in my tummy. I definitely needed Matt's help.


In the beginning, he kind of hung out in the back of the room, surveying all that was going on as I took instructions on how to care for each baby from their parents. Then it was just the two of us, and before long three of the five were screaming their heads off! I thought Matt might start crying too. It really was a sight to see. It was mass chaos for a little while, but Matt pulled through like a trooper. He kept an eye on the "happy" babies and made sure they didn't fall over as they pulled up on an exersaucer or didn't get stuck as they crawled under the exersaucer or didn't choke on the cheerios they were eating. I did my best to soothe the "unhappy" babies, as this was the part that seemed to get the best of Matt. I really tried to assure him that when Hannah Cate was here, that she would be much more easily soothed by one of us. I think he was skeptical though!


In the end he did really well and was a huge help. He was really glad to see that last parent come and hand over those babies! I just might have ruined Hannah Cate's chances of ever having a brother or sister, but we still have some time to work on that! By the end of the day, after he had time to process his time in the nursery, I do think he decided this parenting thing was going to be an adventure and one that he's ready for! It's a good thing......

We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our Easter Sunday. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing as we sang Chris Tomlin's version of Amazing Grace during worship.

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace


Blessings to you and may you rest in the hope and peace we have in Christ because He is risen indeed!

Clive and Gabby

Before the blog is completely taken over by all things baby, I wanted to make sure to get in a post about our first "children". I have had a dog my entire life, at least for as long as I can remember. I just love them and I can't imagine not having a dog in my family. So, when Matt graduated from Auburn and started talking about wanting a Lab to be his buddy while he was living in Atlanta, it seemed like a good idea to me. So, I went and found Clive and he has been a part of our lives ever since! I gave him to Matt as an early Christmas present in 2001. I'm not sure that he knew what he was getting into by even mentioning to me that he might want a Lab, but they did quickly become the best of buddies! Clive has turned out to be a great dog....he started out a little rough. But after some training, he's really a great dog that loves to play and that loves us and anyone else that will pay him some attention!

When Matt and Clive made their way back to Birmingham from stints in Atlanta and Dallas, Clive came to live with me because I had the better fenced in yard at the time. In the summer of 2003 we decided it was time that Clive had a friend to keep him company, so we went to find Gabby. She was the cutest puppy, with the sweetest face that I have ever seen.

And without a doubt, she immediately fell in love with her big brother! Matt and I always used to laugh because Clive was obedient to us, but Gabby was obedient to Clive. She just did (and still does) whatever he did. It took him awhile to feel the same way about her as she did about him, but in time he grew to love her too and they are the best of friends!

So that's the story of how we became the owners of two Labs. I love them more than you could probably imagine and the best part is that they love me too! I really cannot imagine our family without them and I know they will quickly become best friends and protectors to Hannah Cate. I fully intend to instill my love for dogs in her, so I know she will love them too!

Just a few updates

I've been promising my Mom for well over a week now that I would post some pictures of what we've purhcased for the nursery lately. So, without further adieu....


Here's the crib (just the crib, not the other furniture). It should be here in another 5-7 weeks.
And the rocking chair. It technically hasn't been ordered yet, but will be soon. Matt's Dad and Bobi have so graciously offered to buy the rocker for us, so we're making a trip to Akin's in Fort Payne in March to pick out the fabric and order the chair. It's a bit of a trek from Fairhope to Fort Payne, but the prices there are incredible and they have 500 more fabric swatches than the other stores where I've looked at the chair.

And the changing table. It will be here in about two weeks!