Monday, January 14, 2008

My First Post!

Well, I'm finally posting my 1st entry to our blog after almost two years! Austin has been encouraging me for awhile; however, I just haven't gotten around to it. The past two months have been a whirlwind with Thanksgiving and Christmas; we've had lots of food, lots of fun with family, and definitely lots of laughs! There never seems to be a dull moment with Caleb these days! He is talking up a storm, putting three and some four word strings together to make sentences. In the last two months he has become a parrot, repeating what we say all the time! Just the other night I was upstairs checking my email and Austin called up to me and said, "Nicole!" Caleb ran to his daddy's side and yelled up, "Nah-tole, Nah-tole!!" We got the biggest kick out of it- and because we laughed, Caleb just kept on saying it!

Christmas was very fun this year with Caleb being a little older. He loved all his toys from his rocking horses (yes- two!), his Thomas the Train set, to his "Little People" Barn set; he has definitely entered the pretend play stage of childhood! It is precious to see him play. Caleb also got an early Christmas gift, a "Little People" Nativity Scene. We were excited to share with him this year the true meaning of Christmas, and even though we new he wouldn't fully grasp the meaning of Christmas, we were hoping for him to talk a bit more about Jesus after we played several times with his figurines. However this was not the case. Instead, he took interest in only the camel figurine, carrying it around everywhere and making the camel "spit" sound! We weren't too surprised though since it seems to be his main interest in his toddler Bible as well! Whenever we try to sit down to read him a story from his picture Bible, the only thing we hear is Caleb saying over and over, " find pamels, find pamels, find pamels!" So, we inevitably spend our time looking for the pictures that have camels in them! He is a delight; however, and we thank the Lord for the rich blessings He has given us through our son!

Also, we truly enjoyed our visits with friends who have moved away this past year. One of my best friends in the whole world, Meghan, moved to London, England! If you don't know her, she and I danced together for years growing up and have stayed close friends ever since. And, our very dear friends who just moved to California 6 months ago also came in for Christmas, Kevin and Virginia! They have been a close part of our lives for the last 7 years in Murfreesboro. It was very hard to let them go. So, Christmas was that much sweeter to have these three visit!

Lastly, we want to update you on Caleb's condition. We had another eye exam at the end of November with Dr. Donahue. He said his eyes looked great! There had been no change over the previous three months. We were relived and praised the Lord again! We don't have any other appointments until March 3rd for Caleb's next MRI. Thank you all so very much for your continually concern and prayers for our son. We are humbled that you remember him and us. The verse that keeps coming to mind for me is this, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me." Psalm 13:6 - grace and peace to all of you; we love you!

Be sure to check out our new photo gallery here.