The Vermilyeas

2011-09-03T08:36:00.001-04:00

Check this out! We love our mill and would love to share with you all the wonderful things you can do with your own!

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/nutrimill-giveaway-from-paulas-bread/comment-page-20#comment-108866

2010-08-03T13:36:00.001-04:00

Please Vote!

Please Click on this link to vote each day this month for our sweet little guy, Carter, to be the next Gerber baby. :) Or at least win the monthly prize! Either way, we hope we can share his story/God's story, through this experience!

VOTE HERE

2010-07-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

2010-06-30T18:55:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-19T09:39:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-13T14:47:00.002-04:00

How neat to watch Carter play. What an awesome Creator we have!

2010-05-13T10:55:00.006-04:00

Thankful Thursdays

I am so thankful today for the fact that I am so rich. Yes, that's right. I'm rich. And it's the greatest thing ever.

Am I rich by the world's standards? Probably not. We drive a car that is 10 years old and one that is 12 years old (we like our cars and they're both payed off!), our kids share a bedroom (and love it!), and we mostly eat at home.

But I am rich. Why? I have a husband who I love and he loves me no matter what and cares for me and our children. I have an almost 3-year old daughter who is a joy. She loves to talk, sing, and dance and is so happy! She wants to be a Mommy when she grows up. I have a 5-month old son who loves to smile, laugh, and give hugs. Really, he does hug us! It's great. We have a wonderful time together as a family. I am also blesssed by our decision and desire for me to be home with the kids, raising them to love the Lord, even if that means we don't have the newest cars and the biggest house. That's okay, because these things make me rich, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Proverbs 10:22
"The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."

2010-05-12T11:00:00.003-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-03T16:24:00.002-04:00

Monday Meals

So, I usually plan my dinners out for a two week time period to help me keep budget and be more productive with my time at the grocery store. I don't always follow the plan exactly, but at least I have what I need for two weeks of inexpensive, tasty meals. I thought I would post what our plans are on a weekly basis, not because I know of any one is who interested, but because I thought it would help keep me accountable and keep us from spending money eating out! So here goes...

Monday: Tacos

(I usually make a pound of meat at a time and freeze it in 1/2 pound servings.)

Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

(I made a super easy big batch of meatballs and froze them.)

Wednesday: Dinner at Church

Thursday: Pot Roast

Friday: Dinner for Ten

(10 youth will be coming to our house for dinner)

Saturday: Grilled Pork Chops

Sunday: Chicken in the Crockpot

2010-04-21T14:33:00.000-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 21

So, where are we today, you may ask?
Looking back over the past 5 months since Carter was born, it is amazing to see the growth I have gone through emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Emotionally, I have gone from crying often because I didn’t know how Carter would do things with only one hand, to crying tears of joy and amazement when I see him ALREADY using his arm to do many things. Mentally, I have gone from constantly thinking about his missing hand and concerning myself over what that means, to rarely thinking about it and being unable to imagine him any different. Spiritually, I have always known that God created Carter with only one hand. But the change has come in the way I trust God’s plan. In the beginning, I worried a lot about how he would do things (from crawling to holding his wive’s hand one day), but now I am excited about what God is going to do in Carter’s life and how he is going to use him for His own glory.

Do I still get emotional sometimes? Do I still cry? Yes, there are times it is still quite emotional. A little while ago I looked at Carter taking a nap. I saw his arm, and many emotions came flooding back. There are times now that my heart breaks when I see him playing with his toys on his highchair tray, and he gets frustrated because he can’t reach them. He doesn’t know why he can’t, but I do. These things are emotional and sometimes leave a little lump in my throat, but I have no doubt that God created Carter the way he is, that it was no accident, and that the Creator will take care of him always.

We are excited to see how God will use Carter’s life for his glory and hope that maybe, through sharing this journey, He already has. We look forward to the day that Carter attracts attention because he is doing something “one-handed” and he then shares about God, who created him that way.

I remember a conversation I had with my mom a few days after Carter was born. (Did I already share this?) Things were still so new, but even then I told her that I felt like maybe one day I would stand in front of others, maybe a MOPS group or something else, and share how God had used this situation in our life and Carter’s. That I could encourage others who may be going through a difficult situation. The specific thing I told my mom, though, was that I HATE to speak in front of people. But I could see how he was already changing me to one day be able to share. I may never have opportunity, but to feel that change in my own spirit is neat.

As far as Ryan’s thoughts at this point, I am going to let him share. I will put it up as my next post. He wants to write from his perspective. Maybe I can also get Caroline to share some things – that would be awesome!

2010-04-19T15:22:00.002-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 20

We are so thankful for a program called Early Steps. It is actually a state-funded therapy program for children ages 0-3 who qualify. Through this program, Carter will receive an hour of Occupational Therapy every other week in our home. We know that Carter doesn’t need the therapy to learn how to use his arm. He uses it in amazing ways already. However, having a therapist come and observe how he is growing and using his arm is a great way to monitor everything and helps us as parents know we aren’t missing anything. The therapist has been very nice and is great with Carter. We look forward to all we will learn in the process and can pass on to others who may not have the opportunity to see a therapist.

2010-04-13T14:38:00.000-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 19

Not long after Carter was born, we began to hear people talking about Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. We had several parents tell us their children were sponsored there. I didn’t know what that meant and begun to research it. After not really finding any information, we just so happened to find out that a church member’s good friend was a Shriner. Within days, he called us and offered to sponsor Carter at Shriner’s Hospital. We didn’t really know what that meant at the time, but later found out that they will be a great support to us as Carter grows up.

We were signed up for an appointment with Shriner’s in Tampa the beginning of March. It was an emotional time for us. As we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital it just hit me all over again as to why we were there, that I never imagined we would be. It also overwhelmed me that we could be there, at a very special place, because other’s care about kids. As we sat in the waiting area we watched many other children run around, read books, play, or sit with their parents. There were children of all ages there. I was choked up pretty much the whole time we sat there. I realized Ryan was pretty quiet too. I asked him how he was and he said, “I was just thinking how everyone here actually kind of knows what we have been thinking and feeling. Here people understand.” It was interesting to think about how in that waiting room, Carter wasn’t so different.

There were children there with all kinds of orthopedic things going on, some with more than just orthopedic. How wonderful to realize that God was using that place to minister to us and other families.

We met with a Care Coordinator first, who basically will be a contact person for us if we need anything! She was so kind and helpful, ready to help with anything. We saw a nurse practitioner who checked our Carter and looked at the x-rays we brought. We were able to meet another little boy (around 9 years old) who has the same limb difference as Carter. It was great to meet someone else, who seemed happy and doing great.

Shriner’s will provide Carter with care (in regards to his limb difference) and prosthetics through the age of 18. Isn’t that wonderful? (We don’t necessarily want him to have them, but we want him to have the opportunity if he chooses to do so. Most kids don’t want them and as adults don’t really use them either.) They are going to see him again when he turns 1 and see how he is progressing. Our time there was a wonderful experience. We are so thankful!

(On a side note, we were told while we were there that because of funding they may not always be able to provide this service free of cost. (Prosthetics are very expensive.) So, let me encourage you to give to the Shriner’s you see when you are out and about! It is a wonderful service to support, and so many kids they are reaching (in more difficult situations than Carter).

2010-04-12T16:19:00.002-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 18

At some point in those first few weeks after Carter was born, I was reading Psalm 139:13-14. I had read it many times in those weeks, and several people had written it down in emails or messages. But, for some reason it really hit home and made sense to me that day.

Psalm 139:13-14
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

You see, it wasn’t until that day that I really thought about the fact that God MADE Carter. I mean, I had said it and all, but it was the first time I had really thought about how He specifically made Carter with one hand. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a mistake. It was His plan. When God was knitting him together, He made him with one hand. There is a reason. There is a plan. Isn’t that wonderful?

So, I have two children. Caroline, 2 years old (very soon to be 3) was born with two hands. Carter, 4 ½ months, was born with one hand. Both were created by God. Both were fearfully and wonderfully made. God’s works are wonderful. I know that full well.

2010-04-11T14:25:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 17

It is so interesting to hear things Caroline, and other children, say about Carter’s arm and lack of a hand. I thought I would share a few of them.

Caroline was sitting beside me holding Carter not long after he was born. She was looking at a little book which he happened to touch with his arm. She said, “Carter, you can’t have a book! You don’t have a hand!” It was the first and only negative-type comment she has said. It took me by surprise, and almost made me cry, but then I realized that she was only saying what she knew. In her eyes, she thought, “He can’t hold this book without a hand.” So, I talked to her about how he will be able to do just about anything he wants to with his arm. That God will help his brain to know how to learn to do things without his hand. And that was that.

One of Caroline’s little friends, Nathan, looked at Carter one day and pointed to his arm and said, “Hand? Where hand?” This was after having been around Carter for quite some time. It took awhile for him to even notice.

Caroline was in the nursery one Sunday with Carter (only 6 weeks old) and a little girl, Madison, just a few months older than Carter. The teachers kept referring to Madison as a baby. Caroline corrected them several times by telling them she wasn’t a baby. When they finally asked her why she thought Madison wasn’t a baby, she said, “Because she has two hands.” So, obviously Caroline thought (or thinks maybe still) that all babies start out with just one hand, and eventually you get the other. On the way home from church we talked to her about how Carter will not grow his other hand. We reminded her that God made her with two hands, and Carter with one.

Another friend’s little girl, Carly (4 years old) was talking to her mom one day about something she did when she was a baby. She said, “Hey mom, when I was a baby, you know, when I only had one hand, did I…..?” She said this several times to her mom in those months after Carter was born.

My nephew Connor (2 years old) was at our house (along with his siblings and my sister-in-law) for a week helping me out around the house and with the kids. One day I was holding Carter, and Connor pointed to him and said, “Hand?” It took me a second to realize what he was referring to, then he said it again, “Hand? Broke?” He knew it wasn’t there, but didn’t really know why. So, I told him the same thing we tell everyone who asks about it – God made him with only one hand.

These are the ones that stand out in my memory right now. I’m sure there are more, and I am sure there will be many others!

2010-04-09T14:48:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 16

It is amazing how quick God was providing encouragement for Ryan and I through other parents. My mom quickly found out that a neighbor of hers had a 7 year old grandchild (I think it was a grandchild) with an arm just like Carters! She passed along my email and she sent me a very nice note encouraging me in many ways. She talked about how their son was sponsored at Shriner’s Hospital, how she sewed his clothes to make them work better for her son, and how he did anything he wanted to do. That was neat. I also met a lady on facebook who has a son about a year older than Carter and he is also missing his left hand. She was a Christian and sent me several notes, sharing with me things that I felt, but couldn’t put into words. My sister-in-law’s friend had a son born a few months before Carter with down syndrome, and she even felt a connection. She got my address and mailed me a wonderful card. How encouraging! Of course, all of these things made me emotional, to experience God’s faithfulness to take care of us and to provide us with others who understand. You see, until you have been there, you can’t really understand, and there is nothing wrong with that. But it is nice to know others who do.

Several of these ladies shared the same poem with me. I would like to share it with you.
(I would like to say before you read it that there are a few things that I don’t like about the poem. First, it talks about a disability. I believe Carter has a “difference,” but if you look up disabled in the dictionary, you will never think he has a disability. Second, the poet says she will never, ever get over the pain...I have to disagree with that. Other than those two things, it’s a sweet poem that allows you to imagine what it feels like, at least in the beginning.)

Welcome to Holland
By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

2010-04-08T15:02:00.002-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea -Part 15

Thanksgiving was just a few short days after Carter was born. What a wonderful thing to be thankful for! We had a great celebration with my parents and enjoyed the day. When we all sat down to eat, Carter was napping. As soon as I took my first bite of food, he woke up and was ready to eat! Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to happen? It was quite funny.
The next day my brother, Jeff, his wife Christy, and their three kids (Caleb, Claire and Connor) drove up from Florida for a visit. They wanted to meet Carter and just love on us. It was quite special to me (and Ryan) and it meant so much that they could make it up to see us during this time. I can still remember watching Christy hold Carter. I didn’t know how to “start” the conversation about his arm. I knew we would talk about it, but how? I remember just asking her, “Do you want to see his arm?” I pulled back the blanket and we talked about it for a few minutes. It was quite an emotional time for me. But at the same time, it was good to open up the conversation and let people know I could talk about it.

Christy, Jeff, and the kids all seemed to enjoy meeting Carter and loving on him! Caleb especially loved holding him. Carter would sit with him for long periods of time, and Caleb would hold him as long as he possibly could. I loved having the kids around. In conversations with Jeff and Christy, and my other brother Andy and Lauren, I still remember asking them how their kids reacted. Each of my sister-in-laws sat their kids down and explained to them that Carter was born and how exciting that was. They also explained to them that he was missing his hand and part of his arm, and that God made him that way. That he was okay, just born with one hand instead of two. It meant so much to me and always makes me emotional to think about how the kids responded. It wasn’t a big deal for them. They might have asked questions, but they just were excited to have a nephew! Praise God for the eyes of a child. We specifically asked my brothers to let their kids ask us whatever they wanted, and not to tell them not to say anything. We wanted to hear what they had to say.

I had said several times over that first week at home that I just felt like I really just needed to cry. That everytime I started to cry that I would just stop myself. I just needed to let it out. One night, while sitting and talking with my family, someone asked us, “How are you doing Kim? Ryan?” Well, we started to share, and I just lost it. I remember sharing how worried I was for Carter, how I hoped it wasn’t my fault, that I don’t understand why he would have this happen to him, and I just cried. I remember I couldn’t even control myself. Ryan just held me and I think we all cried. It was a good time for me. And Ryan too. And the family. Looking back, although I don’t think it was really said much outloud, I think my family was worried that I would deal some with postpartum depression if I wasn’t encouraged and focused on the right things. Even my brother Andy and his family that couldn’t be there, they called and checked on me too and showed their love for us. I love them all, and it meant so much to have them all on my side, rooting for me. Ryan’s family and all our grandparents also shared their love for us and Carter during this time. I can never thank them enough for loving me, loving Ryan, loving Caroline, and loving our precious new son, Carter.

2010-04-07T15:30:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 14

We loved having Carter at home and, along with Caroline, had a great little family! Those first days were sweet, yet challenging at times as well. Carter was such a sweet, easy baby who just seemed to go along with everything. He definitely was held a lot by his Mommy, Daddy, sister, Grandma, and Grandpa a lot! There were times Ryan and I felt like we were adjusting well to what our new normal was going to be, then there were other times that I just couldn’t help but cry. We would be overwhelmed with all the what-ifs of Carter’s future. I sometimes caught myself worrying over how he would crawl, or eat, or pick up things, hold his kids one day, and lots of other things. I would worry about how to teach him to tie his shoe with one hand, or do other things with just one hand. Where would he wear his wedding ring one day? Would kids make fun of him?
Ryan and I would talk about things and I would cry some. But Ryan always reminded me that we had to take it one day at a time. That it would be okay.

Sometimes, I just cried watching someone dress him. You see, those first several days after Carter’s birth Ryan or my parents changed his diaper and dressed him. When I saw him laying there with no clothes on it was such an obvious reminder of his missing hand/forearm. It is not like we were used to seeing a baby with only one hand, you know? It is hard to explain, but it was difficult. And still today, even though it is so normal and I don’t think about it much, it is still sometimes a big reminder when I see him without his clothes on. I wish I knew better how to explain this.

I forgot to mention an important moment for me while in the hospital. When the nurses first dressed him right after he was born in the little onesie, they didn’t roll up the sleeve on his left arm or anything. It just dangled there. It stayed that way for maybe the first day. I hated the way it looked. I didn’t know why, but I knew I didn’t like it at all. At one point, I remember folding the sleeve up so that his arm was showing. I think I realized then that the reason it bothered me while it was hanging down was for two reasons: 1. I felt like it was kind of trying to hide what wasn’t there, you know? And I didn’t want to hide anything. 2. To me, it made him look like something was wrong. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just didn’t like the way it looked with his shirt all dangly. That probably doesn’t make sense; it’s hard to explain.
I felt like this was a pivotal moment for me. When I really was beginning to accept the fact my baby didn’t have a left hand and part of his arm, and then move on from there and do everything the best we can.

I know I have said it before, but those first days were hard at times. I cried a lot, or at least stopped myself from crying a lot. I felt so bad about crying, especially when I knew I loved my son so much. I didn’t know why I cried sometimes, except that I was sad for Carter, because I didn’t want him to have anything difficult in life. I remember hearing several people tell me that it was okay to cry. It isn’t that I didn’t love Carter, it was just that your mind has to fully grasp what you didn’t expect.

I hope it doesn’t sound like I didn’t love Carter. It was never an issue of that. I LOVED him from the moment I knew I was pregnant, when I first felt him kick, and even more so the moment I saw him for the first time. He was my son. Our gift from God.

2010-04-06T14:01:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 13

We headed off to our appointment with Dr. McMath, the pediatric orthopedic doctor. We had seen him once before when Caroline had a possible leg length discrepancy, so we were somewhat familiar with him. I cannot say enough about how wonderful our visit with him was.

I was holding Carter when he walked in and he just sat in front of us and took a look at Carter’s arm. I was emotional right away, but did my best to not cry. Dr. McMath was gentle with Carter. He was kind to us, and had wonderful bedside manner. He right away told us a few possibilities as to why he was born missing his hand/forearm, generally referred to as a limb deficiency. First, it could have been something called Amniotic Band Syndrome. We had heard about that in the hospital as a possibility, but we didn’t really think that was it. Basically, there are bands that sometimes pull away from the uterine wall and float around in the amniotic fluid. Occasionally, those bands can wrap themselves around parts of the baby, and in turn stop blood supply to whatever is beyond the band. That part of the body just stops forming and basically unattaches. Dr. McMath did not believe that was what happened with Carter. Carter’s arm stops a little below the elbow and there are a few fingers that had begun to grow. If it had been an amniotic band, those fingers would not have been there at all.
The second thing that could have caused this is basically just a stop in growth. For whatever reason, sometimes growth just stops. There was a better word for it, but I can’t remember it. As Dr. McMath said, “It doesn’t matter how it happened, it won’t affect anything now or in the future. We just know that here is Carter, and he’s going to be just fine.” The doctor continued to talk to us about Carter’s arm. He took a few x-rays and found out several good things:
1. Carter’s humerus bone (upper arm) was completely there. It was the same as the other arm, and the shoulder joint was normal, also. This means that Carter should have normal growth in that bone, and normal range of motion with the shoulder.
2. The elbow joint looked normal.
3. The radius and ulna (lower arm bones) were not fused together, which means that he can rotate his elbow. Also, this might allow for some continued growth in that part of his arm, also.
4. Carter has 2 fingers, one a bit smaller than the other, and the bud of another finger that had started to form. It is amazing because these fingers, all 3, actually grow fingernails! Wow.

Dr. McMath said that all of these things were great signs that Carter was going to have a lot of use of his arm. I told him about Carter holding my hand in the hospital with his elbow joint, and he thought that was wonderful. He said we would be amazed at what he would be able to do. He also said that most kids like Carter don’t want prosthetics and that they would rather use their own arm to do things. He also said that some parents, when tiny fingers are present, sometimes want to have them surgically removed. He encouraged us not to, because they may be what allows him to do something later in life he would not have been able to do otherwise. This really comforted me. To be reminded that everything has a purpose.
Dr. McMath also told me never to worry that it was my fault. There was nothing I had done to cause this. I needed to hear that…I thought often in those days, “What if it’s my fault?”
Before we left, he encouraged us to come back in 6 months so he could monitor Carter’s growth. I asked him what we needed to do. How will he crawl? How will we teach him to do certain things and who is going to teach us how to teach him? Dr. McMath said, “All you need to do is love him. He will teach you way more than you can ever teach him. Just go and give him lots of love.”

2010-04-05T14:31:00.000-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 12

Carter was born on Friday and he had his first pediatrician’s appointment on Tuesday. He had shown some signs of jaundice and we were just going in for them to see how he was doing. Ryan didn’t go with me because he had come down with a stomach virus overnight. My mom gladly went with me though. As we waited to see the doctor, I remember asking my mom, “So, do I tell them about Carter’s arm before I unwrap him from the blanket, or do I just let her see and see what she says?” I knew I was going to be emotional about it either way.

Dr. Rice and the nurse came in and when they were oohing and aahhing over him I went ahead and told the doctor about his arm/hand situation. She was SO loving! She checked out his arm and was just real encouraging to me. I cried while she shared about her college roommate who had an arm just like Carter’s. She shared about how she became so adept at using her arm, that most people didn’t even notice she was missing anything. It wasn’t that Dr. Rice was trying to tell me people wouldn’t notice, but she was trying to encourage me that he will use that arm and be able to do most anything. I was amazed that our pediatrician had a close relationship with someone like Carter. Wow. I have no doubt that God ordained that appointment. It was encouraging.

Dr.Rice said that somewhere down the road she would put us in contact with a pediatric orthopedic doctor. I told her we had gone ahead on our own and made an appointment with someone we knew of for the next morning. I asked her if we should go now, and she encouraged us to keep the appointment. She said that it would be good for us to hear what the orthopedic doctor had to say and be encouraged by him also.

So, I left there emotional and encouraged. Amazed that God had placed Dr. Rice in our life for a day such as this. We were really excited for our appointment the next day.

2010-04-04T15:16:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 11

A lot of talking, prayer, and crying went into the preparation for going home from the hospital. Ryan and I were both excited to take Carter home. We were especially excited for Caroline to get to meet her baby brother. With this excitement came the uncertainty of what she would say about his missing hand. We had not talked to her about it yet, because we wanted her to see his arm at the same time we were talking about it. Would would she say? What she be scared of his arm? Would she not love him because it was “different”? Would she think something was wrong with him? What if she asked why he was like that? How would we talk to her about it without becoming emotional? We knew we wanted to be honest with her about it and we would not hide our emotions, but we know that whatever we portrayed to her would be how she would react too. Caroline might have only been 2 ½ years old, but she is quite observant and verbal!
So, we headed home from the hospital, very excited yet a little anxious too.

I can still see Caroline come running out the door when we got home. She couldn’t wait to see Carter! We were excited to see her and ready to explain to her about her brother. My parents were there, but they just allowed the four of us, our new little family, the time to sit and talk. All Caroline wanted to do was hold Carter! Before we got him out of the car seat, Ryan talked to Caroline.

Ryan: Who made you?
Caroline: God. Can I hold baby Carter?
Ryan: Well, God made Carter too. You know how he made you with two hands?
Caroline: Yea. Can I hold him?
Ryan: Well, he only made Carter with one hand. (And we showed her Carter’s arm.)
Caroline: Oh, ok. Well, can I hold him now?

So we finally let Caroline hold Carter.

Pretty special to us that Caroline didn’t care that he only had one hand. It wasn’t a big deal. She just wanted to hold him. Isn’t that neat? She wasn’t concerned with what we found ourselves worried about. She just wanted to love on her sweet baby brother. My prayer is that that will always be our attitude. That we will try not to worry over the what-ifs, or over how Carter will do things. But just love on him and allow him to be who God made him to be.

2010-04-03T07:03:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 10

Carter was born on the Friday before Thanksgiving. Our church was having a big Thanksgiving banquet on Sunday night, as they always do. It is a time of sharing good food, worship, and then a time with opportunities for people to share what they are thankful for. My mom stayed with me while Ryan went to the banquet. He felt like he wanted to share with the church family about Carter. We assumed most had probably heard by now about his arm, and he wanted to share with them personally. He wanted to share with them so they would know how we were doing as a family. He wanted them to know it was okay to talk to us about it. We wanted them to know that it was okay to let their kids ask questions. We wanted them to know they could look at his arm and not feel like they were bothering us. More than anything, Ryan and I wanted them to know that we didn’t want them to ignore it and act like it didn’t happen. You see, at church that morning, no one really said anything to Ryan about it. They congratulated him on Carter’s birth, but said nothing about his arm. We were not hurt by that. He knew it was only because people didn’t know what to say, and didn’t know how we were doing emotionally. But, we also needed people to ask about it, so we could talk about it with them. We welcomed that, and that showed us people cared about Carter almost as much as we did!

While Ryan was gone to the banquet, one of the nurses came in to go over a few things with me in preparation for our heading home the next morning. When she was finished, she asked, “How are you doing with everything?” I knew she was referring to Carter and his arm. I was then able to share with her how it was hard at times, but that we also have the hope that God made him, that he is perfectly formed, and how we can trust in that. Of course, I was crying through all of that. The nurse just stared at me, as her eyes filled with tears. I was pretty sure that was such a foreign concept to her – that she had trouble understanding my faith. She said nothing else, but nodded, and left the room. God impressed upon my heart in that moment that He would use Carter’s lack of a hand to open doors for us (and later for him) to share His love with others. I cried, realizing that, only days old, Carter’s life was already being used as a testimony to the Lord.

2010-04-02T17:43:00.000-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 9

I was so impressed with how quickly I was able to do things after the c-section this time around. I know everyone says you heal faster after the first one, but I believe it was all part of God’s plan for those days. Instead of being sick and hardly able to move, I could move and didn’t feel sick at all! I could focus on Carter and just loving him.

Within a day or so after Carter being born, Ryan and I were better able to grasp all that had come as a surprise to us. Although still quite emotional and dealing with all sorts of feelings, we both knew that God was not a God of mistakes. This was part of His plan for Carter’s life, and the path we would all take as a family. Would it always be easy? Probably not. As humans, we assume things about the future and can so easily worry about situations that are to come. But, knowing that God loves us and purposed all this to happen, we knew we needed to take one day at a time, trusting Him completely. Would we always do that, without moments of doubt? Most likely not. But it was what we needed to strive to do.

2010-04-01T15:46:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 8

There were many joys those few days in the hospital.
I was reminded of what a wonderful husband and father Ryan is. I know it was a wonderful and tough day for him. I remember thinking how exciting yet difficult it must have been for him to call our families and close friends and let them know that Carter was born, but also explain to them that he was born without his left hand and lower part of his arm. It also made me so happy to see him thrilled to go meet Caroline at the nursery to introduce her to her brother! When we talked about all the what-ifs in regards to Carter, Ryan was also quick to remind me that we had to take one day at a time. He shared his emotions, and was just an awesome guy to be with! I loved watching him with Carter.

On the day of Carter’s birth, one of the many times that I just was sitting and holding him, I was looking at his arm. I was thinking about how I had pretty much neglected to touch his arm or hold it. I had held his other hand and felt his fingers over and over, just like every new mother does. But, I realized in that moment that I had not really touched his other arm at all. I think I was nervous, or something…I don’t really know how to describe it. As I sat there and stared at Carter, he moved his left arm (the one without a hand) over and hooked my fingers in his elbow and held it tightly! It got my attention so fast. He was holding my hand. It was like he was saying to me, “It’s okay, mommy. I’m okay. Just hold my arm.” I just wept. In that moment I knew that God was using the experience to let me know that it was all ok. I had been thinking about how I would never be able to hold that hand, and instead, Carter showed me that I could – because he held mine.

These are just a few of the joys from those first days.

2010-03-31T14:41:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 7

Due to the flu being so prevalent that time of year, the hospital had a strict visitors policy. Ryan and our parents were the only ones allowed in the room. Before the birth, I remember feeling so disappointed that Caroline couldn’t meet Carter right away, and that we couldn’t have other visitors those days we were in the hospital. But, by the end of our hospital stay we knew that God had even a purpose in this, too.

You see, those days were so important for us as a couple and a family. We were in shock, to say the least, for awhile. We also needed time for Ryan and me to process all that we were thinking and feeling. We had so many questions…some for God, some for each other, some for nobody in particular. How did this happen? What did I do wrong while I was pregnant? Is it my fault? I knew they said it was nothing I did…but still, what if they were wrong? Is Carter going to be sad? Is he going to be okay? What will Caroline say? People are going to make fun of him, aren’t they? How will he crawl? How will I teach him to tie his shoes? How will Ryan play ball with him in the yard? Is it going to be okay? Why? These are only a handful of what all we talked about. Questions we asked ourselves. I won’t lie and say it wasn’t a tough couple of days. Yes, we were overjoyed with our son. Our son…a precious gift from the Lord. We were just unsure of so much and trying to pray our way through it all. We were really leaning on the Lord. This was/is the hardest thing I have ever gone through.

As I was saying before, if we had been allowed to have visitors, there would have been friends and church members showing up at the hospital right away that morning…not realizing the situation they were coming into to. I would have felt bad for them, because I know it would have been difficult for them too…they had walked through the pregnancy and all the ultrasounds with us…praying along the way too. And I know they would have felt uncomfortable because of all we were dealing with as a family.

Also, Ryan and I needed those days to have privacy…a time to talk together and begin this journey together. We spent the nights (and days) thinking, talking, crying, and praying through everything. We needed to talk about all that had changed in just a few short minutes…or at least what had changed to our knowledge. It was always part of God’s plan for us. We needed to leave the hospital together…in more ways than just physically, but also spiritually and emotionally. And we needed to just love on our little boy.

I also cherish the days I got to sit in the hospital room with my mom or dad or both of them, and talk about Carter and what God had planned for him. To just sit quietly, or cry with them. Whatever emotion came at whatever time.

So, as I said before, God had a plan in even the little things. If we could have had visitors, it wouldn’t have been a quiet time away for us…a time to do all that I mentioned above. This time was so special for us.

I am also so grateful that my parents were there for Caroline. They took care of her, brought her up to see Carter, had lots of fun with her. That allowed us not to worry about that aspect of life at that time. We knew she was taken care of. And instead of Ryan trying to coordinate her whereabouts, he could be with me and love on sweet little Carter.

We also had the opportunity to have conversations with my siblings and their spouses during those days in the hospital that were very special and meaningful, as did Ryan with his family. They were nothing but encouraging…and it was so good to know that they loved our son so much.

I can also remember walking out to meet Caroline at the nursery so she could see Carter. She was such a big girl now. She had only seen Carter in the nursery window, so I wondered what she would say about his arm when we brought him home.

I appreciated friends' emails and phone calls. I can still remember one dear friend calling not longer after he was born and saying, “Kim, I just wanted to call and say I love you.” And that Ryan and I were going to be awesome parents for Carter. Then, she cried on the phone with me. How meaningful this was for me.

Those days were so important.

2010-03-30T10:02:00.002-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 6

Ryan and I just spent the day loving on Carter. My mom hung out with Caroline during the day and visited with me and Carter some too. Ryan and I had some time to begin to talk, work, and pray through all that had changed so quickly (to our knowledge, but not the Lord’s, of course). It was so emotional at times. It is hard to explain. Maybe in the next post.
There were lots of joys during the day. All the nurses said Carter was the cutest little man they had ever seen. Carter nursed way better than Caroline ever did. The nurses were the best ever…and really took wonderful care of me and Carter. (And they were never there unless you needed them!) It really allowed my mom and Ryan to care for Caroline and be there for me emotionally.

My dad was supposed to come up the day after Carter was born, but when he heard about Carter’s arm, he left right away. It was a blessing to us to have him with us, and meant so much to me to hug my dad that day. He got in around 10:00 that night and came to our room to meet Carter. What a special time. I can see it so clearly in my mind.

Oh, and Ryan took Caroline out to dinner that night. She got to choose where to go…and where did she choose? Waffle House. Yea, that was odd. But, it made for a good laugh. And yes, that’s where they went.

(read more tomorrow)

2010-03-29T14:48:00.002-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 5

Ryan headed off to the nursery to be with Carter while I was stitched up. I sat there trying to figure out how this was all mistaken on the ultrasounds. I realized the first technician had her lefts and rights wrong the whole time. Before I was taken to recovery the doctor talked with me for a moment. I cried through all he had to say. He just apologized for all the mix ups on the ultrasounds, but assured me that Carter seemed healthy in all other ways. He said he would be just fine, that he was a beautiful baby.

My mom had come into town the night before and was at home with Caroline. Ryan had called her after Carter was born so she and Caroline could come up to see him. I was taken to the recovery room and minutes later my mom showed up. They brought Carter in right away also. I can still remember holding him, all wrapped up in the blanket, and just crying with my mom. I don’t know how to explain what I was feeling, really. I feel bad to say I was crying, but it wasn’t a sad cry necessarily. It was a cry of joyfulness at this birth, yet also being scared of what was ahead, and partly sad, wondering why he would have to deal with this. My mind was racing…will he be okay? How will he do things with one hand? Is this real?

I can vividly remember pulling Carter’s blanket back to look at his arm. It was so hard. My mom cried with me. I was so worried for him and scared. Why did this have to happen to him? His arm stopped about a third of the way between his elbow and where the wrist would be. This is when I noticed that he also had a few really tiny fingers on his arm. That worried me too…why did he have to have those fingers there? Wouldn’t that give something else someone could make fun of him for? I felt bad for him. My heart ached. But overall, I felt such a strong love for him.

(I'd love to know if you are reading this and God is using it in some way!)

2010-03-28T11:27:00.002-04:00

SWAGBUCKS

Many months ago I posted a link asking everyone to sign up for swagbucks as a referral from me. I thought I would give some more information in case you are interested! I have already earned over $130 in Amazon gift cards by cashing in my swagbucks, and have 5 more to purchase the first of the month.

Swagbucks is a website that is just a search engine like google or something else. (It's actually powered by google.) However, as you use it to search the world wide web you earn "swagbucks", which can then be used to purchase gift cards to places like Amazon or Starbucks (lots more to choose from.) You can also shop at a lot of online stores through their website and earn 1 swagbuck for every $5 you spend. When you sign up using my referral link I earn swagbucks every time you do. Plus, you can have someone sign up under you and earn more swagbucks for yourself! Since starting this, I have already earned tons of swagbucks for doing nothing but what I usually do! When I get to 45 swagbucks, I can buy a $5 Amazon gift card! They add up quickly, and I have bought lots of things we need and want but couldn't otherwise buy. It's pretty cool!

And here's a tip....if you sign up, you can make swagbucks be your search engine on your internet page, and then even search the things you know the web address for. That is what we do and it is how we earn the most bucks. (like facebook, weather.com, etc.) I type it into the search box, then clikc on the website that shows up below...it is just as fast and I earn bucks every day!

Consider doing it....

If you are interested, sign up at Swagbucks.

2010-03-28T11:23:00.001-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 4

I had to have a c-section on November 20. Minutes before his birth, Ryan and I chose a name for our son, Carter Luke Vermilyea. We loved it! While the c-section was taking place, I was asking Ryan what he was seeing. I could tell from the light in his eyes that he had seen our son! Within seconds, I thought about the hand/arm situation and asked, “Ryan, does he have both arms?” Ryan couldn’t see yet, but within seconds they were holding Carter up for us to see. Dr. Ralsten said, “Here’s Carter Luke! He is a beautiful baby boy!” They held him up and I saw right away that he was missing his left arm and hand. My heart stopped I think. I can still remember it like I was still there. I thought, “But wait, they saw his right arm. They said that it was all there.” Then I realized that it was his left hand/forearm that was missing, not the right as had been suspected originally.

Despite the shock, he was the most beautiful baby boy I had ever seen. I was excited, yet overcome with all kinds of emotions.

I held Ryan’s hand. We talked about how beautiful he was and briefly mentioned his missing arm. We thanked God for him. The doctor was so gentle and kind and the nurses couldn’t have been more wonderful. They were all talking about how beautiful he was. And he was. He is.

2010-03-27T10:58:00.001-04:00

It was two weeks later when it came time for the Level 2 ultrasound. We went into this ultrasound with the same ideas as before…trusting that God was in control and was Creator.

An assistant began the ultrasound before the doctor came in. She spent a lot of time looking and finally asked, “Does anyone in your families have birth defects?” We answered no. She said she was having trouble finding it too. When the doctor came in, she said right away that she could see the right hand and forearm. We were quite relieved! She checked the rest of his body, and said she couldn’t see the left arm and hand, but that she was not able to get him to roll because he was so big! Her words were, “I can’t see both arms, but I can see the right arm and hand, and if they saw the left, then it is all there.”

We left, relieved about the news. Not because we didn’t want a child with one hand, but for all the same reasons as before. Life can be hard enough at times, and we didn’t want any extra struggles for our child. However, we both said that there was a part of us that wouldn’t believe it until we saw him for ourselves. We still trusted God to be growing and forming our child.

After that day, we never really talked about it again because both hands/arms had been seen. That was at 35 weeks or so. A few days before our son was born, I never even thought about it at all.

(read more tomorrow)

2010-03-26T11:27:00.000-04:00

Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 2

Week 32 arrived and we went back to the doctor for the follow-up ultrasound. I was a little hesitant, but felt like we would find out everything was normal with our son’s arm. Once again, the technician could not see the baby’s right hand and forearm, but said it was unclear whether it was actually not there, or just hidden under the baby. Ryan and I talked about it with the doctor and decided we wouldn’t do any more ultrasounds, since the baby was getting too big to really see well anyway. We knew the ultrasound wasn’t going to change anything, so we didn’t plan another one.

We left the doctor that day feeling differently than we thought we would. We thought for sure that we would leave having seen both his arms/hands. Instead, we left more unsure than before. But, once again, we knew that God was in control. We continued to pray for God to heal him if it was true about his missing limbs, but also prayed with the confidence that no matter what, God was forming a baby in me the way He planned him to be. He was being created by THE Creator. We still hoped for him to not have to deal with extra difficulties in life, but we trusted in the Lord. The next day we talked with the doctor again and decided to have one more ultrasound, a Level 2 (just more indepth) to see if it would be more clear. We just wanted one more opportunity to have some clarity. So we scheduled a Level 2 ultrasound.

(read more tomorrow)

2010-03-25T22:30:00.000-04:00

I have had several people ask that I share more about Carter, his situation, where our family is at this point in time, and how God is working in the life of our family. For many months I have wanted to share, but haven’t been able to put into words all I want to say. I still don’t know that I can, but I thought I would never know until I try. It’s a lot to share, so I will just do what I can whenever I have a chance. Some of you know that I can be real wordy, so it may get long. But, I have wanted to write it out because I don’t want to forget anything. I’ll just post a little bit of it each day, until I get caught up. And something tells me our story will continue for many years to come. I pray through our story, through Carter’s life, that someone will come to know the Creator. That God will use our family for His glory.

So, here goes.

Just about a year ago we found out we were pregnant with baby #2 for our little family. We were so excited and couldn’t wait to find out what we were having and to welcome the sweet baby into our (then) family of 3. The pregnancy progressed nicely and we were excited as the appointment came for the 20 week ultrasound. We found out we were having a boy! At this same appointment, the ultrasound technician and doctor let us know that they were unable to see the baby’s right hand and forearm, but that they were sure it was just because of the baby’s positioning at that time. A follow-up ultrasound was planned for 32 weeks.

We left the appointment a little concerned, but pretty confident that the baby’s arm was there and all was fine. We prayed that it would be okay, and that God would heal the baby if there was something not quite right. Of course we didn’t want him to be born missing a hand/arm, but only because we know life can be hard enough and we didn’t want him to face extra struggles. However, Ryan and I both said that no matter what came about, that we knew that God was forming the little one, and that he would be perfect no matter what.

Even despite all this, I never really thought it would really be true.

(Read more tomorrow!)

family

2010-01-06T14:08:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

2009-07-10T10:40:00.002-04:00

Cow Appreciation Day

2009-05-14T11:37:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Caroline!

You are 2 years old!

It is hard to believe that two years ago today you were born! Your daddy and I talked last night about our memories of that special day! We love the little lady you are becoming and can't wait to see all that God does in and through your life. You are so special to us and we can't imagine life without you in it! We love you!

2009-05-10T20:57:00.003-04:00

Our Little Singer

Caroline's new favorite thing to do is sing! She sings all throughout the day...and it really seems like it's all day long! At lunch today, she even sang, "I'm so happy. I'm so happy. Mommy's here today. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. Daddy's here today." I guess they sing it in Sunday School! What a wonderful thing to hear her sing!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Jesus Loves Me

2009-04-10T12:30:00.002-04:00

Our little girl is getting so big!

We can't believe how much older she looks in her new jommies(as she calls them) and headband.

Thanks Gram and Gramp!

2009-04-09T21:36:00.001-04:00

In case you haven't heard, Caroline has some news...

2009-04-09T21:14:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009-03-29T10:00:00.000-04:00

Picture Update

Caroline helped me make some bagel pizzas earlier this week! What a big helper!

She loves to play with playdoh these days!

Caroline also enjoys coloring. It is a big treat when we put her pictures on the fridge!

2009-03-28T16:21:00.003-04:00

Spring Pictures

Here is the first flower that Caroline picked for her mommy!

I was so excited and she was too!

Here is a picture of Caroline when we were heading to church last Sunday! She looked good in her spring dress!

2009-03-28T15:55:00.003-04:00

A Big Girl Bed

This week Caroline started trying to get her legs up over her crib, so we decided to go ahead and move her to her toddler bed. (We are so thankful for the family that gave it to us!) We took her to Target last night and she picked out her own set of princess sheets and a princess blanket. She picked it out herself and loves it! She told everyone in Target she was "sleeping in her big girl bed tonight." :)

She did quite well. She didn't even get up one time! She fell asleep right away and seemed to be doing well. Ryan checked on her about 2:30 and she was laying on the floor on her pillow! We don't know if she fell out, or just decided she'd rather sleep there. She slept there the rest of the night and didn't call to get up until 8:25! She actually layed in there for 30 minutes just talking before she called for mommy! So sweet to hear her in the monitor.

Here is a picture of her showing off her bed. Her eyes are closed, but I thought it was cute.

She layed on her bed right away to try it out!

This is how we found her this morning. She doesn't sleep on a pillow, so we had layed the pillow on the floor beside her in case she fell off. So, she either fell off, or just decided to lay there instead. We didn't here her in the monitor either way.

2009-03-18T14:15:00.005-04:00

We dressed Caroline in a "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" onesie today. Well, lets just say that it is too big! Ryan was laughing after he dressed her and said she looked like a circus performer with the big poofy sleeves and tight green pants! I guess we won't be wearing this to church tonight...at least not with the pants. Maybe with jeans will be better...

This past weekend we had a fun visit with Jeff, Christy, and Claire. Caroline had fun hanging out with her cousin and we had a good time going to the ACC tournament with them all! We loved our executive sky box! Go heels! (Don't forget to watch the game tomorrow...2:50)

Also, this past Friday we had the opportunity to meet Sarah at the Georgia Aquarium. Caroline looked forward to going to the "quarium on Friday" all week, and getting to see Aunt Sarah and Bobby and the "fishies." We even ate dinner at the Varsity with them and all their friends! We loved getting to spend time with them! (P.S.-take a look at the the HUGE freaky crab next to Caroline. It was as big as her!)

2009-03-12T14:23:00.003-04:00

Picture Update

Enjoying a nice warm day outside

I found this table at a consignment shop for $6 the other day.

I am working on cleaning it up, but Caroline was dying to sit at it!

Ryan and Caroline playing on his lunch break!

Caroline didn't want to slide down her slide until Daddy did it.
She went down the BIG slide at church last night and was scared to go down this one today.
We don't get it! She said, "I scared, Daddy."

Caroline's new thing is that she is also afraid of bugs (or at least pretends to be) or anything that could be a bug, like a crumb on the floor, fuzz, dirt, etc.
She freaks out and starts saying, "I scared! I scared! Get it!"
She loves to play outside and we are doing a lot of it now that we have had some warmer weather. She talks all the time and is even using complete sentences a lot. Sometimes she talks so much that we have to tell her to stop so that we can talk to each other. We didn't think that would happen this early. :) At this point in time, some of her favorite things to do are take her shoes on and off, play with her dolls, and hook buckles together (like on her highchair.)
When we get in the car she wants to do the buckle on her car seat and says, "Close the door." because she wants to do it COMPLETELY independent without you standing there. Oh well, we stand there anyway. :)

2009-03-07T10:11:00.003-05:00

Picture Update

Isn't this a beautiful picture? It reminds me to be thankful for everything God has made!

Caroline loves climbing into the big chairs to sit.

Yesterday afternoon Caroline came down with a 103 fever. Poor thing, I know she felt bad.

And here she is this morning! She slept until about 9:30 and is fever free this morning.

She wanted all of her friends around her on the couch.

I hope she stays feeling well.

2009-03-01T22:25:00.002-05:00

More Snow Pictures

We went out into the snow and played for awhile again this afternoon. It was great! This time it wasn't snowing, but it was freezing! Enjoy the pictures...

Senoia Snow March 1, 2009

2009-03-01T17:27:00.003-05:00

SNOW in SENOIA!

A look out our front door...

Caroline was not quite sure what she thought when we first went out in the snow.

She stood still for a long time, just standing there. We had to convince her it was fun!

Still standing there...but soon after found out that sledding down our hill was fun!

Ryan and I had a small snowball fight!

It was fun, although Caroline kept saying, "Daddy, you okay?"

2009-03-01T17:17:00.003-05:00

Picture Update

Getting her hair fixed...

Helping mommy with the laundry! She loves to take clothes out of the dryer!

Attempting to blow bubbles

My favorite shot of the week! What a beautiful girl, if I do say so myself!

2009-02-24T21:53:00.003-05:00

To see pictures from the month of February, take a look at the top right hand corner of the blog. You can look at the slideshow or click on it and see the pictures up close.

2009-02-24T21:30:00.004-05:00

Enjoying her ice cream cone cupcake

First pigtails for church on Sunday

Feeding Mona some breakfast

Cooking with Mommy

Family picture at the Georgia Aquarium this past weekend

Long time, No see...

Well, it has been a long time (almost 3 months!) since I last updated the blog! So, let me say Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday to Ryan, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, and Happy Today! :)

An update on how we are all doing:

Since the last post we had a wonderful month of December. We spent Christmas in Gatlinburg Tennesee with most of my family and enjoyed some cold weather. We had fun celebrating the birth of Jesus, and Caroline's second Christmas.

Ryan celebrated his 27th birthday the end of December.

In January, we traveled to Orlando and enjoyed time with Ryan's family and my family. Ryan, his brother, my dad, and my two brothers all ran the Disney Marathon. We had the pleasure of cheering them on and celebrating with them at their BIG accomplishment! After the marathon we stayed and spent a week at Disney. It was a blast, not only for Caroline, but for Ryan and I too!

Caroline has been doing great. She is growing so fast and is talking up a storm. All the time. All day long. :) Her vocabulary grows every day and there are many times we have to tell her to stop talking long enough for us to get a word in to each other. She says please and thank you (most of the time) and I love you and Goodnight. She prays "Dear God," and talks about the youth in the youth group all the time. She loves for them to come over to her house. Today she put on her shoes by herself and said, "Look Mommy! I did it, Mommy!" I said, "yea," and she in turn said, "Clap, Mommy!!"

2008-11-24T18:14:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

2008-11-19T22:38:00.002-05:00

We need a caption!

Can you think of a good caption for this picture? We are looking for some funny captions. We rarely get any comments on the blog and thought this would be a fun way to get a few! We are shooting for at least 10 comments. Have some fun!

2008-11-19T22:28:00.002-05:00

Caroline and I took a few self-portraits this evening. She loved it and we had fun! Just us girls!

This is Caroline and her good friend Cameron! She talks about him all day long.

Thanks for my new outfit, Grammie! My parents think I look so cute!

Wearing my mommy's shoes...

2008-11-18T16:31:00.004-05:00

Our Camping Trip to Stone Mountain

Me and Caroline on my birthday!

First time playing putt-putt!

Coloring in the camper one night...

The beautiful scenery!

2008-11-18T16:16:00.002-05:00

A Trip to Chuck E. Cheese

Last week we took our first trip to Chuck E. Cheese for Caroline's friend Cameron's birthday! What an experience. Luckily it was a Tuesday night so it wasn't very busy. She had fun, as you can see from the pictures. She still talks about Chuck E. (as she calls him).

(No, that isn't me in this picture, it's Cameron's mom.)

Waiting on cake and pizza!

2008-11-18T15:47:00.002-05:00

Recent Pictures

Thanks for my shoes, Uncle Tim! I can finally fit into them!

Caroline is eating things with a spoon these days. So, I let her try chili one night. What a mess!

This is how I found Caroline when I went to check on her during a nap. She was usually awake at that time so I just peeked in her door. This girl loves to read!

Just a cute one!

2008-11-18T15:37:00.002-05:00

Playing Dress Up

Visiting local shops with the story time group and my friend Cameron

Posing with Daddy

Coloring at story time at the library

Playing at Chickfila

My friend Nathan!

2008-11-18T14:31:00.003-05:00

An Early Christmas Message

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2008-11-17T14:42:00.002-05:00

Swagbucks

I don't know if you have heard of Swagbucks or not, but I wanted to share it with you. Swagbucks is a search engine that allows you to earn swagbucks (points) while you search the web for things you usually search for. As you earn points, you can use those points to purchase gift cards for anything from Starbucks to Amazon. It is great!

If you are interested in signing up, it just takes a minute. And if you register through the link below then I will get swagbucks for referring you. Then, you can refer to your friends.

Check it out....maybe you can use the bucks for your Christmas shopping!

http://swagbucks.prodege.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=176935

2008-11-07T06:00:00.003-05:00

It's my Honey's birthday!

Okay, okay, I know that Kim is usually the one that posts on this blog. But today I’m taking a crack at it because this is a very special day. Today, Kim is turning another year older. Now, I’m not going to tell you exactly how old that is because it is not polite to tell a woman’s age. I will tell you that she was born in Phoenix, AZ, in 19—oops, almost gave it away there. She went to UCF like I did and graduated in –ahh, it almost slipped out again! I know: I will tell you one reason I love her for every year of her life. I will let you do the math should you so choose. That shouldn’t get me in trouble…right?

*She loves the Lord with all of her heart.
*She is really creative and knows more than a thing or two about interior decorating.
*She has a beautiful singing voice.
*She loves staying home with Caroline.
*She knows to order my CFA sandwich with no pickle.
*She introduced me to Cheerwine (don't worry, it's a soft drink).
*She is completely loyal to UCF football and UNC basketball.
*She would totally rock an “air drums” competition!
*She is the best cook in the world. (If you know her at all, this goes without saying.)
*She still reaches for my hand every time we pray.
*She leaves her phone alarm on “Everyday,” but forgets it when she goes to bed (picture hide-and-seek with the phone at 6:15am)
*She has coupons for practically every store in America, and she knows how to use them.
*She is a good running partner.
*She makes sure that I am color-coordinated before I walk out the door.
*She keeps me laughing.
*She has a pretty crazy laugh herself.
*She supports me unconditionally in the ministry.
*She does great impersonations of some Southern Gospel singers.
*She is okay driving a nine-year old CR-V, but dreams of a new Odyssey some day.
*She can spot a good deal at a garage sale from a mile away.
*She secretly gives me sweet tea (ugh!) just to watch me wince from the unexpected taste.
*She is organizationally gifted (which is good for a pack rat like me).
*She worked hard to support us while I was in seminary.
*She surprises me with chocolate milk when she goes to the grocery store.
*She encourages me when I get discouraged.
*She does not mind getting Caroline up by herself so I can go run sometimes.
*She knows how to fold my socks.
*She asks for the phone when the telemarketers call.
*She has a gorgeous smile.
*She loves me…in spite of me.

Happy birthday, Kim! I love you more each day.

Yours…

2008-10-27T22:58:00.003-04:00

Caroline playing outside after church in the new dress Gram sent her! Thanks Gram!

Last week Caroline made a pumpkin craft during story time at the library. It's now hanging on our fridge!

2008-10-24T23:06:00.003-04:00

Go Indians!

Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally

Last night the local high school had its homecoming parade and pep rally in downtown Senoia. The streets were closed early in the afternoon and excitement filled the little town! Because of the possibility to reach hundreds of teenagers and their families, Ryan set up a booth for our youth group/church. A few weeks ago he designed cups in the school's colors and put church information on it. We gave away free drinks and it was a blast! The community really responded well, especially the teenagers! It was great to see them so excited about us supporting them. The football team was so excited about "that cool guy that keeps bringing us drinks" that they gave him a homecoming shirt! All in all, it turned out to be a great outreach for our church! We look forward to having some visitors and pray for families that were touched.
As you can see from the pictures below, Caroline had fun too! She hung out with the youth girls who took her to see the parade, local doggies, and the football team. She even had a trip to the library with the pastor's wife.

2008-10-24T22:58:00.003-04:00

Here are a few fun pictures from today. Caroline kept us laughing at lunch today. When she napped this afternoon, she decided to read instead of napping! (Her book baskets are beside her crib.)

2008-10-21T22:43:00.004-04:00

Going to the chapel...

A few weekends ago we had the opportunity to go to a friend's wedding near Savannah. We got there and helped a little before rehearsal, went to rehearsal and dinner, and then the wedding the next day. It was great to be at Ellen's wedding! Here are some pictures a friend took while we were there.

Intently watching the rehearsal...
Grandma and Grandpa made the trip too!

2008-10-21T21:57:00.003-04:00

Kissing a Scarecrow and Playing Outside

2008-10-18T16:26:00.004-04:00

Caroline has been loving to play outside these past few days. This is a picture of her on her car her Uncle Tim gave her awhile back.

Here's a video too! We thought Uncle Tim would like to see Caroline playing with it! If you listen closely, you can hear the engine, radio, and car alarm.

2008-10-16T22:42:00.002-04:00

Recent Pictures

She LOVES brushing her teeth! I don't think we'd ever remember to do it if she didn't remind us!

I just thought she looked cute in this outfit, and its the only pictures I could get! Once again, the only picture I could catch of her before we headed to church on a cool morning!
Caroline always climbs into the rocking chair in her room. She loves being BIG.

2008-10-14T13:13:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-10-04T18:28:00.004-04:00

Oops, I forgot the Georgia Aquarium!

Yesterday we visited the aquarium. Caroline had fun seeing the fish and the sea otters!

If you look closely you can see the sea otters. Caroline kept barking at them. They reminded her of dogs I guess!

Caroline's first trip on a moving sidewalk. It was surrounded by fish and sea creatures.

2008-10-04T18:17:00.003-04:00

Callaway Gardens

Today we went to Callaway Gardens with a family from church. We had such a fun time and we're thankful for their invitation to join them! Click on the album to see (or download) pictures from our day. We also included our favorites below!

Callaway Gardens with Feltons

2008-10-04T18:05:00.002-04:00

Recent Pictures

Caroline LOVES to brush her teeth!

This is the first time I have been able to get pig tails or a pony tail! It makes her look so big...

She was checking out the bag I was packing for a picnic lunch.

Taking a picture with a pumpkin in her pumpkin pajamas!

2008-10-04T17:53:00.003-04:00

Nashville

Nashville October 2008

We went to Nashville for a youth pastor's convention/conference last week. Ryan learned a lot at his conference, and we had a great time together as a family. Click on the pictures above to see our pictures. (And grandparents, remember that when you click on the pictures there is an option on that page to download any you want to print or save! If you need help, let us know.)

Here are a few of our favorite pictures:

2008-10-04T17:49:00.002-04:00

We have had a lot of these AVON boxes floating around lately since I am selling again. Caroline loves them and I can't keep her out of them. She sits in the lid, the box, and puts all her toys in and out of them. It is a fun toy for her!

2008-09-15T20:04:00.002-04:00

Some funny stories!

(at least funny to us)

So last night we put Caroline to bed in her crib. She cried for a minute or so, then started saying, "I thirsty! I thirsty!" We laughed because we realized she was starting to make those excuses for getting out of bed! She had JUST had a drink, so we knew she wasn't thirsty. She only asked a few times, then went to sleep.

Today Caroline and I went by a doctor's office to pick up a few Avon orders from a lady from church. As soon as Caroline saw her, she said, "Cookie, please. Cookie?" This lady is her Sunday school teacher who gives her animal crackers at church, and Caroline hadn't forgotten that last time we were at the doctor's office she gave her a baggie full. She doesn't forget important things like cookies!

She also didn't forget that last time we were in Publix a lady in the bakery gave her a cookie. We were in there today, and when we walked past the bakery section, Caroline screamed "cookie" when she saw them! Of course, they gave her a cookie!

Ryan took Caroline to a volleyball game at the middle school this evening. She had fun watching the game and actually sat on his lap for awhile to watch. She got excited every time they served the ball.

2008-09-13T10:08:00.003-04:00

Recipe Sharing

I thought I would share a few recipes that I have made recently that were so good! The first one is a recipe for Peanut Butter Cups. I found it on a website and made it for a women's meeting at church. They were so good! Ryan especially loved them. I loved that they were easy and looked neat. The second recips is a recipe for Broccoli Cheese Nuggest. Yea, I know it doesn't sound that good, but I had all the ingredients and so I made them for lunch the other day. Ryan liked them, as did I. Caroline wouldn't try it. We will make them again.

Peanut Butter Cups

Broccoli and Cheese Nuggets

I hope you enjoy them like we did!

We are doing well here in Georgia. We went walking as a family last night and it was a nice time together. Caroline LOVES to hear dogs barking and says "ruf, ruf" every time she hears it. Caroline and I went walking again this morning and it was neat to listen to her notice everything around her. She saw a dog and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Ruf! Ruf!" She was so excited. She saw birds and squirrels and didn't know how to contain herself. She said hi to an old man sitting on his porch. He said it made his day. I am thankful this morning that her smiles were special to him.

2008-09-10T14:24:00.008-04:00

Caroline had her 15 month appointment (Even though she is almost 16 months) this week. She is getting so big! She is 31 inches long and weight 25.5 pounds. (No wonder she is so heavy when I am carrying her!) The doctor was pleased with her growth. We also saw the pediatric orthopaedic doctor last week and he was not concerned with her leg length discrepancy anymore. It was gone! Praise the Lord! She has figured out how to stand on a stool, climb on the couch on her own, and loves to pretend play in her play kitchen. Here are some recent pictures:

Happy after a restful nap!

Wearing Daddy's shirt!

Helping mommy clean...

Last Friday we went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain. It was so nice! We had a beautiful day and it was the biggest and best arts and crafts festival I have been to. We had a good time. Here are some pictures:

Here is a audio clip of Caroline talking one night a few weeks ago. She was talking non-stop for awhile. You can't understand everything she is saying, but it is an example of what she does all day. She says a lot of things we do understand, but a lot we don't. I thought I would put the clip up! You can tell when she first starts talking that she is a little concerned.
Click Here for Video

2008-08-26T11:03:00.002-04:00

My Publix Deals

This past week a friend introduced me to a website that I now will share with you. It is http://fiddledeedeeblog.blogspot.com/

This website has a written out list of the Publix sales and BOGO (buy one get one) deals each week, along with links to printable coupons to get those items even cheaper. It also lists non-printable coupons that you can find in your Sunday paper. It is a great resource for good deals. I rarely shop at Publix because it is more expensive, but even I was impressed with the good deals I got this past week. Ryan was proud! (By the way, Publix takes competitors coupons, and doubles up to 50 cents. I believe this is true at all stores.)

So, what good deal did I get? Everything in the picture above only cost me $21.00. And at Publix! Amazing to me. To get this deal I used manufacturers, Target, BJ's, Rite Aid and Publix coupons. For example, I bought 6 boxes of Cheezits for $2.21 total. I had to buy all 6 to get that price, but that's a steal!

The following cost $21.00:

3 Big Publix paper towel rolls

2 Motts Apple Juice

2 Juicy Juice

parsley

6 boxes of Cheezits

2 boxes of Cookie Crisp

2 boxes of Ritz

French's mustard

Butter spray

I can't Believe its not butter spread

2 boxes of ziploc quart-size freezer bags

2 bags Marie Callendar croutons

2 6-packs Motts unsweetened applesauce

Pillsbury pizza dough

Check out the website and get some hints for your shopping!

2008-08-26T10:44:00.002-04:00

Family Update

I posted a lot of pictures yesterday but thought I would update you on how we are doing here in Senoia, Georgia!

Ryan is starting off the new school year with the youth group. He has already been to a school volleyball game, had a few visitors at the youth group, a trip to Steak and Shake, and we had the youth sunday school teachers over for dinner. Things are going well. He is hoping for continued growth with the youth this year and has lots of great things planned to help guide and direct them toward the Lord. He started a discipleship class on Sunday afternoons and the youth that attend are very excited about it. It is exciting for him to see them have fun learning about the Lord.

Ryan is a great daddy to Caroline and wonderful husband to me. He even tried to take Caroline to the library last night (ended up being closed) and on a walk (started raining) so I could update pictures on the blog in a quiet house. Caroline cries when he leaves for work in the morning almost every day!

Caroline is growing so fast! She is 15 months old now and we will go for her 15-month appointment in a couple of weeks. She has been walking for a little over a month now and loves it! She is busy each day playing with toys and exploring everything around her. Reading books keeps her the most busy, as she will sit for 20 minutes at a time just looking through them. She "reads" them and it is so cute!

Caroline is a big talker. My family says that she gets that from me! Some of what she says includes: cookie, shoes, crocs, dropped it, mommy, mom, daddy, momma, doggie, tree, flower, bath, cheese, turkey, cracker, etc. She talks non-stop throughout the day! She'll even talk on the phone if someone will listen to her. :)

I am doing well. I enjoy being at home with Caroline and she really keeps me laughing some days. As I mentioned earlier, I started selling AVON again to just be able to make some extra savings money. I enjoyed selling it before, and hope that it will do well this time. I am preschool director at church and that keeps me constantly looking at ways to improve things for our children and visitors. I love looking for good deals on things we need and have recently found great deal at Publix. I will share those in a later post.

That is what is going on with our family. Our desire is to give God glory in everything we do. We enjoy our time together as a family and thank God for who He is and what He has done in our lives.

2008-08-25T21:49:00.006-04:00

Grandma's 100th Birthday

A few weekends ago we went to North Carolina for a quick weekend (if you can call Thursday pm-Sat pm a weekend!). It was my great-grandma's 100th birthday and we attended a fun party for her! We also got to spend some time with my grandma and at my grandpa's house before it was sold. We will really miss the backyard.

Here are a few of our pictures, but you can also find more on my brother's website at http://www.flwards.blogspot.com. He even has some video of Grandma Snider playing the piano at 100 years old! Praise the Lord for the live she has lived and the christian legacy she has passed down.

Caroline and Connor

We were so glad to get to swing in that back yard one more time!

MawMaw, Caleb and Claire enjoying Dairy Queen!

Grandpa holding the babies, who aren't quite babies any more!

Andy, this picture is for you! Mom and Uncle Rufus

Great Grandma Snider

Our family with Grandma

5 generations. My MawMaw is the only one missing. We wish she could have been there!

Grandma with her 7 of her 8 children.

Grandma and her grandchildren that were at the party.

Grandma with her great-grandchildren who were able to be there.

Grandma with her great-great-grandchildren who were at the party.

2008-08-25T21:43:00.002-04:00

Recent Pictures

She figured out how to get into our tub! (without falling on her head)

Eating her snack on our bed, so I could clean our bathroom!

Messy, messy!

Just a picture to show her hair getting longer! Caroline LOVES books! She can be found doing this most of the day!

2008-08-25T21:07:00.005-04:00

The first video is of Caroline dancing. You have to be patient as the funniest dancing comes at the end. It's not the best video because it is with my camera. The second video is Caroline making some animal sounds. She loves it!

2008-08-25T20:59:00.003-04:00

Our Garden

Some of you have asked how are garden has been doing. We have enjoyed having fresh green beans (although few), grape tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and zuchini. We even have one bell pepper growing right now! For about 6 weeks we harvested a dozen or more tomatoes a day. We made spaghetti sauce with them, gave them to friends, and ate them on salads. It was great! We are still getting tomatoes every few days, with lots more to harvest if they don't get eaten by animals by then. Here are some pictures of our harvests over the past few months.

2008-08-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

Some Pictures from July

Caroline cracks us up with this face. She makes it quite often now. She knows she funny.

Another funny face...

What a cutie!

Ready to leave for church...

Up to something...see the toilet paper on the floor...trying to get my brush.

Napping...

2008-08-22T23:35:00.003-04:00

Your AVON Lady!

Well, I am back selling AVON again! I enjoyed it when I lived in Orlando, and decided to do it here again. It is something I enjoy, although I am not the go-getter pushy sellsman. I just like to get orders from those who need/want something, and put it all together. I like the organization of it, I guess. Anyway, all this to say, I'd like to be your AVON lady. :)

You can order from my website at www.youravon.com/kvermilyea and get FREE SHIPPING all the time! Just enter the COUPON code: REP10. My favorite things to buy are gift ideas, stocking stuffers, lotions, and small items to have on hand for encouragement to friends. If you check the website out, the best thing to do is click shop now, then online brochure, and pick one to look at. Thanks for checking it out!

www.youravon.com/kvermilyea
free shipping coupon code: REP10

I will get more pictures up soon I hope! In the mean time, check out my brother's website for pictures from our visit to North Carolina for my Great-grandma's 100th birthday! www.flwards.blogspot.com

2008-07-23T22:13:00.006-04:00

We have had a very busy July so far, but it has been good! Here is just a glance at our summer fun!

Cow Appreciation Day!

We have a blast getting ready for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a. We are even going to save our stuff so we are ready for next year's event. We all had fun meeting another family up there for a free lunch.

Georgia Aquarium

We visited the aquarium with our Orlando/PC friends, the Jarvis'. We had a great time watching Caroline and Hannah have fun together. Caroline seemed to like the fish and other animals, especially the sea lion. If you want to check out a video from that day, see the Jarvis' website .

Georgia Aquarium July 2008

Farms!

There is a family in the church that has had us over several times to get fresh fruits and veggies! Everything from watermelon and cantaloupe, to squash and corn! Yummy! We went back over this past week because they had saved some peaches for Caroline to pick off their peach tree. She kept saying "ball" and throwing them. (Not exactly great for peaches!) When we tried to stand Caroline up under the tree she wouldn't stand in the grass. You will see in the pictures! Ryan also got a picture of me in the corn rows. Looks like a scary movie!

Picking Peaches and Corn

Cousins' Camp

Our pastor and his wife hold Cousins' Camp each summer for a week. They had 10 grandchildren here with them for this summer's camp this week! Today Mrs. Anne invited me and Caroline to join them for lunch at the Chick-fil-a headquarters (YUM!) and to swim at a nearby pool. We had a great time and not only were able to help her drive the kids, but also got to spend some time getting to know her grandkids! They LOVED Caroline and argued over whose turn it was to hold her. It was quite funny. The picture in the pool shows Mrs. Anne with Caroline and all the kids that swarmed over to her when she got in the pool! Caroline had fun getting some extra attention today.

(Truett Cathy owns the Batman car and costume from Batman Returns.)

2008-07-20T21:42:00.002-04:00

Myrtle Beach Vacation

Caroline and I went up to North Carolina for a few days before going on to Myrtle Beach with my parents. Ryan came up later that week to begin our trip. Here are some of the pictures, along with a link to the whole album. There are a few more I'll add later when I get them from another camera.

Caroline enjoyed the beach. She was a little unsure when she put her feet in the sand for the first time, but before long she was playing in the sand and putting sand all over me. (Did I mention that I am not a fan of sand sticking all over me? Oh well, guess all that changes now. :) ) She liked to walk holding our hands down to the water and back to our umbrella. Unfortunately, we didn't find out until the end of our trip that she absolutely loved the lazy river! She would float along holding her shoes. And speaking of her shoes, they are her new favorite thing! Thank goodness for Walmart! :)

Myrtle Beach 2008 Our Camera

2008-07-20T21:02:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been over 2 months since I posted on the blog! Wow...so much has happened since then and Caroline has grown so much! Wait until you see the pictures. We have been so busy with youth camp, vacation, VBS, and so much more. Check the blog often, as it will take me some time to get everything updated.

I'll start with...

Memorial Day Weekend and Cousins Birthday Party

On Memorial Day weekend my family came to visit us in the small town of Senoia! (Andy did not get to come because he was on a mission trip.) We had a fun time visiting with them. It was great to see the cousins play together. We even had a combined birthday party for Connor and Caroline, who are only three days apart! Check out the pictures below, then, click on the album to see even more!

Yes, Jeff still wears his high school t-shirt! They just don't make shirts that last this long anymore!

Memorial Day-Mom and Dad's camera

Memorial Day-our camera

All the family left on Memorial Day morning. Ryan, Caroline, and I watched the Senoia parade, walked through the arts/crafts booths, and went to the fireworks celebration that night! We had a great time.

Memorial Day 2 2008

2008-05-20T10:30:00.002-04:00

Vacation

We have a great week with Ryan's family here. We had a vacation! We went to the World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium, The Varsity, and the Chick-fil-a headquarters (where we had free Chick-fil-a lunch and a tour of the awesome facility). We even had a great time just hanging out here and celebrating Caroline's birthday. Thanks for the visit! (Click on the box below to see the rest of the pictures!)

Vermilyea's vist May 2008

2008-05-20T10:07:00.002-04:00

Happy First Birthday, Caroline!

Caroline turned one this past Wednesday. It is hard to believe that our little girl is already a year old! We had a great day celebrating her big milestone. Ryan's family was here to celebrate with us. It was a special time! We thank God for Caroline and her sweet spirit. She is such a joy to us!

Here are some pictures to check out! We are also going to try to post a video later of her eating her cake. It is quite funny.

Caroline's First Birthday

2008-05-03T22:34:00.003-04:00

Thankful to the Lord

For those of you who don't know, I have been pretty much couch-bound for the past week or so. About two weeks ago I started having some pains and found out last week that I had a pilonidal cyst w/abcess. Because those are on your tailbone, it hurt to move in anyway and to sit down. This past Monday, I had to got to the doctor and have it taken care of, and am now healing from that procedure and the healing process that comes along with it, called "open healing." I won't describe it on here. Nonetheless, it is a healing process that requires not much movement on my part, and a daily visit by a nurse.

I write all this to give praise to the Lord. Throughout this process, which has not always been easy, He has shown His mercy to our family. He has reminded us how much people at our church care for us as they have provided a few meals this week, watched Caroline each day since I cannot, and provided our pastor's wife to be my nurse each day. People have cared for each of us and we are especially grateful to those who have kept Caroline. I am grateful to Ryan for all he has done, from working from home, taking care of Caroline, keeping the house in order, to taking care of me

We are not sure how long the healing process will take, but continue to pray for God to provide people to help watch Caroline this coming week if need be. We are hoping that I will be able to keep her, but we will have to see how things go tomorrow. We also are praying for little to no pain as I have my time with the nurse each day. We are praying for complete healing of this cyst, as it has a chance of returning. I don't want to go through this again. We are also praying that Caroline will continue to go with the flow as she has been in new situations all week. Pray with us, if you would, for these requests.

Pictures of the Day

Caroline looked so cute in her capris. This is what Ryan dressed her in this morning.

Caroline's new entertainment is standing up to play with the straps in her highchair.

Caroline's dinner turned out pretty messy tonight!

Recent Videos
(for those who aren't grandparents, sorry there are so many. but we knew they'd want to see them)

Caroline sat in her highchair on the floor during her dinner so that I could feed her from the couch. Sitting in this new place must have made her really talkative.

A family from church gave Caroline this Winnie the Pooh rocking thingie. Something doesn't sound right when Ryan asks Caroline, "Do you want to sit on Pooh?"

Caroline loves standing in her crib. Every time we go in to get her up, she doesn't come out without a struggle. Isn't she supposed to practically jump out when she has the chance?

Caroline's always loved dancing, and just because she is pulling up to her feet now doesn't mean that has changed one bit!

2008-05-03T21:06:00.003-04:00

Garden and Rose Bush

Look how it's grown in a week...you can check out last Saturday's post to see the difference. We love it! I love seeing the rose bush out our living room window. Since I have spent most of my time on the couch each day, it is nice to have something beautiful to look at. If you look closely, you will see too different color roses. There are a lot more blooms on their way too.

2008-04-27T20:34:00.000-04:00

We have the MOST amazing baby! She can do pull-ups! However, she gets mighty hungry when she works out. Watch the video below...

Yesterday Ryan took a two hour nap on the living room floor. When Caroline got up from her nap she played all over him, but she didn't get him to get up! When he did get up, Caroline loved laying on his pillow.

Caroline wore this pretty red dress to church today. She was sitting with me when she got home from church and Ryan got her picture. We both looked at the pictures and couldn't believe how big she is getting. Her face looks older to us. Enjoy the pics of our growing girl.

2008-04-26T09:53:00.004-04:00

Our rose bush, garden, and strawberry plant!

Look how different they look from last Saturday!

The roses even smell pretty!

Our garden is doing well, except for the cucumbers. I think we are going to have to replant those.

Our strawberry plants are doing well. You can see there is one ready to be picked in the picture. I even ate one yesterday!

2008-04-24T20:48:00.003-04:00

Caroline's exercauser turns into this fun s-shaped table. Now that Caroline is pulling up she is enjoying it!

She is pulling up and getting into everything.

I love the face she is making here!

2008-04-22T18:30:00.006-04:00

Caroline is pulling up and playing ball!

Caroline started pulling up at random times a month or so ago. However it wasn't until today that she did it over and over again. Ryan would sit her down and she would do it again. She loves it and is obviously proud of herself at being able to do it. We are proud of her too! Here is a video of it, and a few pictures to follow. They are both of her so happy after standing up!

We also took a video of her playing with the mini soccer ball that Ryan got her a few weeks ago. She loves to sit in front of you and roll/throw it back and forth! It is fun to her, and to us.

As I write this, she is trying to stand up all over the room!

2008-04-20T22:00:00.004-04:00

Our Rose Bush, Our Garden, and Our Yard

We have a pretty big (at least to us) rose bush in our front yard. This is our first spring here so we had no idea if it would actually bloom or not. For the first time yesterday we saw that it had blooms!

See the blooms on their way!

Our first rose!

The rose bush is just outside our front window. I looked out today and saw that we had more roses opening. It was kind of exciting! These are some pictures I took today. It is amazing to see God's creation and how it changes so much, even overnight.

I really wanted to experiment with a garden this year. Since we are renting, we decided to do a raised garden. Ryan got it all set up and ready last weekend, and this past Friday we got everything planted. We had started with seeds in some peat pellets, and planted what had grown these past weeks. This will be a trial and error year with our garden, but hopefully we will have some success!

Here is a picture of the garden, a neat stake that I got a pack of at the dollar spot in Target, and a strawberry plant that I transplanted from someone else's yard.

I also wanted to share a picture of the tree behind Caroline's swing. About three weeks ago the tree was completely bare. Then, when my mom and I were out about two weeks ago with Caroline we saw the beginning of leaves on the branches. Now look at it! I wanted to post a picture so my mom could see how quickly it changed! Once again, I have been so amazed by all God has created.

2008-04-20T21:19:00.004-04:00

Thanks, Uncle Tim!

Caroline looked so cute dressed in this fun outfit that Uncle Tim bought her when we were in Orlando in March. We had to get a picture to share.

Being Silly!

Here are a few shots of Caroline this week when I was trying to take her picture.

2008-04-17T21:25:00.004-04:00

11 Months Old!
Caroline turned 11 months old on Monday. I can't believe she is almost one!

My good friend Rosemary visited this week and we had a great time! She flew in Sunday night into the craziest airport we had ever seen. It was so busy with it being the end of spring break here in the Atlanta area. We had a fun, lazy day on Monday, went to the library and Target on Tuesday, and went and acted like tourists on Wednesday! We went to the World of Coca-Cola and the Varsity before heading back to the airport. Thanks for coming to visit, Rosemary! Ryan and I, and especially Caroline, enjoyed your time here!

Rosemary and Caroline smiling in front of a foreign Coke machine.

We got to get our picture with the Coca-Cola polar bear. There was a real person under that costume, and Caroline didn't know what to think when it was moving and waving to her.

2008-04-17T21:18:00.000-04:00

Reality Check

Ok, so I've been thinking that there were certain things that Kim does with Caroline while I'm at work. Things like: building with blocks, reading books, and crawling. However, I came home early one day last week and was in for a real shock! I taped the scene as I went inside:

At least their snack was nutritious and whole-grain!

2008-04-17T20:49:00.003-04:00

Here are some recent videos of Caroline.

Caroline made us laugh here! I was trying to video her talking because she was talking up a storm! Then, when she realized the camera was on her, she stopped and stared at the camera!

2008-04-17T20:37:00.001-04:00

I just loved this picture so I thought I would post it! She is precious!