Neighborhood shower

You have met the Garden Club before. They are the best group of neighbors I have ever heard of. We have been here for 18 months and these ladies offered to throw us a baby shower on Tues night and it was very special. Our little girl will have a neighborhood full of "grandparents" who are so excited about her. Some of them handmade things for her like a beautiful white afghan, handmade burp cloth, and Barbara is cross stitching on a quilt. These ladies shared some great wisdom with us that was of great encouragement and humor. Dot Ford reminded me that "there is a short time between diapers and thongs so I'd better enjoy the process"! Mom got to be there with me to meet these special ladies. It brings to life Proverbs 27:10 - :"{it's better to have a neighbor nearby than a brother far away." A special thanks to Jo Ellen for her prayer for us that night. There's something very special about a prayer from a mom who has recently lost a daughter as she prays for us who will soon bring a daughter into the world. Sincere and powerful is all I can say! We are so blessed and encouraged. I hope you have good neighbors. If not, be one!

Father's Day Weekend

We had the unique joy of having all our immediate family in the same town since our wedding just over 2 years ago. After the baby shower, we had both dads together. We spent time visiting at our house and enjoyed barbeque at our house with Robert, Andrea, and Brodie all around the table together. Dad's are special and we are thankful for ours and have much respect for both. A man told me last week, "Dad's tend to get slippers, ties or cologne on Father's Day - they don't even had dad's stand up in church like they do the Mother's on Mother's Day". Dad's do get overlooked a lot. They are usually the ones' who get wet when someone needs an umbrella, get sunburned when someone needs a hat, and sweat like a faucet when a kid is playing ball in the blistering heat. Somehow dad's can stay up late until a child gets home, say a lot in a few words, and be strength when needed. It's a gift!

Mine has taught me everything from how to throw a softball, how to plan for retirement, and to keep things simple! People will hurt you but love them anyway. "Do your best and forget the rest." He continues to quietly serve the Lord wherever he feels he should. I have grown in great respect for him and appreciate how our relationship has grown in the last few years. I also love watching my brother be a daddy to Brodie. He's all about Andrea and that little boy! No doubt about it. He's doing a great job! Family is so special and hope you enjoy seeing a few pix of ours and growing!

Baby Shower with Friends

What an incredible group of friends to throw our first Baby Shower. Hosted by Heather Hinton (her home), Celeste Burton, Alisa Sprayberry, Karen Royal, Jennifer Crawley and Paige Allison. The food was excellent and decorations were personal and well done! The fellowship was priceless. I truly enjoyed visiting with each person who brought a gift. Baby gifts are so cute and fun! We are off to a wonderful start. My mom passed along my baby ring and locket that I wore and is on my Mammaw's chain. Wow! Jeff's mother was with us and got to see lots of people from our wedding and enjoy our friends. While we were being showered with gifts, Jeff, his dad and brother were putting together the baby crib. They knocked it out in 45 minutes! Thanks, men!! The love and support we have received is amazing! Thank you everyone! More to come on our Father's Day weekend and the Garden Club Shower!

Baby Carver at 32 weeks

Here's a 4D image of our little girl's face on June 9. Amazing the detail! She looks like Jeff's baby picture. She weighs 3 pounds 8 oz. according to the ultrasound and we are right on track. Thank you Lord! She wiggles a lot and really kicks up when she hears music. We either have a Beethoven or an acrobat developing! I continue to grow steadily and feel fine. The rolling over in bed thing is a little more difficult now. We are definitely in preparation mode at the house and at work. We have much to be thankful for!

2 Year Anniversary Trip/PreBaby Trip - Amsterdam

So one of my perks to marrying Dr. Jeff Carver besides unconditional and patient love is travel benefits! He had a conference in Amsterdam and I got to meet him over there at the end and spend 4 days and returning home on our 2 year anniversary. Highlights included a visit to the Anne Frank Huis, the Tulip Museum, a Diamond Museum, The Rembrandt House, Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark, a few old churches, a flower market, flea market and the Botanical Gardens. We did lots of walking taking in the beautiful architecture, dining at sidewalk cafes, and enjoyed a boat cruise around the canals. Lots of great people-watching to be had. We would walk around most of the day checking out what sites we wanted to and make it back to the hotel late afternoon for a nap before going out to dinner. We enjoyed some great Italian food and an Argentina steak house. We did not eat the typical dutch dish which had something to do with a smothered meatball and mashed potatoes with something mixed in with it...didn't sound appetizing to me at the time. The weather was perfect in the 70s during the day and low 60s at night with the only rain on our last night. We loved strolling through Vondelpark coming and going from our hotel. That's where we took some time out to do our annual assessment of our marriage and relationship and set some goals for the coming year. We have talks throughout the year mind you but it's a great idea to do a year in review! We have learned a lot and experienced a lot in the last year and both agree we love each other more now than 2 years ago. What's it going to be like in 50 years?!? We also noticed the post-modern culture with very little sign of Christian influence. There was a Bible Museum and some old churches as museums but not much sign of "Life"! We noticed a ministry tucked in an area of the Red Light District. We wondered what Paul of the New Testament would have thought if he walked the streets of Amsterdam. I think he would have had a broken heart for sure and likely cried out, "wake up, o Sleeper!! There is hope, there is purpose, there is life, there is a Savior! You don't have to do this life on your own! Repent and come to Christ!"

We had a great time together and great time away! Enjoy some photos.