Reflections from a 6 month check up.

This week has been a challenging week for the Walkers. Isabella started off not feeling well and after a visit to the doctor we found out she had a viral upper respiratory infection, which is a fancy way of saying a cold. I tried desperately to keep the girls away from each other but to no avail Abigail is now sick as well.

Thursday Abigail had her 6 month check up, and it was a rough one for mommy. Not only did she have an ear infection, the doctor prescribed me something for a skin irritation on her legs, and they sent me to Children's to see if she had Congenital Hip Dysplacia. Neither of which were terrible diagnosis, but all at once hit me pretty hard. Everything is fine. The x-ray's came back normal, she's on antibiotics for the ear infection, and her skin condition is now clearing up.

However, the trip to Children's and the few hours that it took to get the test results back got me thinking about suffering. Why is it that children, such precious creatures, are made to suffer? What would I do if one of my girls were diagnosed with something serious? Would I be strong enough for them and the family?

We're reading a book by Lee Strobel called The Case for Faith, and I wanted to share a few captions from the books fist chapter that have given me comfort.

"To quote C.S. Lewis 'God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.'"

"Suppose we had drugs for every pain, free entertainment, free love--everything but pain. No Shakespeare not Beethoven, no Boston Red Sox, not death - no meaning. Impossibly spoiled little brats-that's what we'd become"

At the end of the day true evil & suffering exists, but I believe for a purpose. To make us appreciative of what we do have, and to draw us closer to God. If and when we're faced with it, I pray that I will try to make something good of it as our God did putting his son on the cross. That's easy for me to say now that were not in the storm, but I hope to be able to draw strength for these words when the time comes.

Getting back to the visit. Abigail weighed 14 lbs and 2 oz, making her 13%, 25 inches @ 16%, 63% in head circumfrence. She's a little thing, but there's no concern. She's remains consistent and is on the growth chart. :) She got out of her shots, as I didn't want any more discomfort. We have to go in for a follow up, so she'll get her vaccinations then.

What is new in Ms. Abigail's world? Well I cleaned off Isabella's old high chair and now she's being introduced to the world of solids (more pictures to come). She's also starting to sit up & lover her little toes...oh how fast they grow.

Walkers visit PDK

After a couple of long weekends in the basement and week snowed in, we started our Sunday at Peachtree Dekalb Airport. It's Tim's favorite playground, as it over looks the runway and has an observation deck. As we watch the planes come in and out, Isabella learned the difference between a prop & jet, the definition of a runway, and improved on her plane sounds.



Isabella on the big girl swing & looking out at the planes.

Our basement kitchen

My sister Aimee has lived in our basement since May, and we've wanted to complete our income suit for sometime now. Tim has worked pretty much every waking spare minute down here since the holiday, and I must say he did a great job. We still need to add one more flood light, run the vent for the stove, and a few minor cosmetic issues; however, it's fully functional. Since it's all new from top to bottom, it might be the nicest room in our house. Thanks to Randy & Melissa, who gave us their old sink, it really worked in the space. Tim, you did a great job, we appreciate your hard work.

Happy Winter!!!!

We couldn't believe how fast the snow came down last night. One minute Tim was saying he might be going to work the next, there were inches of snow on the grown. Tim convinced me to throw caution to the wind and bundled up for a little fun in the snow. We made snow angels and tossed a few snow balls. All that was missing were our sweet girls.

Here we are all bundled up, but not for long. It started sleeting pretty heavily so we gave up & took Abigail in for a quick nap.

Isabella enjoyed the snow so much more this year; however she was not a big fan of the mock sled Tim made. It's ok, next year we'll be better prepared.

Auntie Aimee was a great sport out in the snow.

We went out again after lunch and Isabella enjoyed helping Auntie Aimee and I build a snow man.

Some people from Prime, the restaurant Aimee works at, challenged each other to a snowman building contest. Here is our finished product. For the record both the hat and belt buckle are mine.

I am so grateful for days like these. It could have been like every other Monday where Tim quietly steps out to work, but instead we had him here at home with us. I wonder what tomorrow has in store for us. Happy Winter everyone!!!!

Costco has made an impression

I just wanted to share with you a little something funny that happened to us today. We had to run a few errands, and as we drove up to the Costco/Home Depot I heard Isabella say in her own little way, "Cusca". It took us a while before we realized she was saying "Costco". I then asked her, "What do you like about Costco?" She says "FOOD!!!". I am sure this fascination has something do with the trips she's taken with various members of the family. We never say no to a sample, and neither does she. :)

A fun day

Nothing special today, just wanted to share a few pictures of my girls.

Here is Abigail (5 1/2 months) grabing her feet. She's been doing this for a week or so, but I haven't had a chance to document it. As soon as we set her piggies (feet) free, she is quick to grab them.

Isabella picked up her sombrero and put it on Abigail, now she looks like a little Mexican. :)

My parents got us a Kareoke machine for Christmas, personally I think they missed it so much when they come to visit that they wanted one here in Atlanta. Regardless, I am pretty excited and so is Isabella. Below is a picture of her testing out her Kareoke skills. Thanks Grandpa Chendo & Lita!!!

New Years 2011

This New Years rather than stay at home, we decided to head down to our family ranch in Monticello, GA. I was a little bummed that it was just going to be us, but looking back I couldn't have asked for more.

We tried to leave as early as possible, but still got there until just after lunch. We walked down to our favorite spot on the property. The previous owner harvested most of the property, leaving just a few pockets of hardwoods like this one (see picture below).



Isabella was so excited running around, and I even more so by trying to capture every waking moment of our holiday. I am sure Tim is kicking himself for getting me a camera for Christmas.

Isabella, as she often does when in an exciting environment, chose to skip her nap. Finally taking her out of her pack and play around 4ish, Tim took her for a ride on the tractor. Abigail and I had fun snapping pictures.

When we first toured the property it was a hot summer day, I remember thinking that we wouldn't get much wind. How wrong we were! The entire time we were there we had a very pleasant breeze. My favorite aspect of the wind is being able to hear it rustle amongst the tree tops in the distance and then make it's way to a loud roar as it approached us. It's just not a sound that we are privileged to here in the city.

That night, we ate a typical ranch dinner: hamburgers, asparagus & cookies. We realized too late that we were out of lighter fluid; however, Tim was determined to grill out! After significant delay & my insistance that he give up, he eventually got the fire started thanks to a bottle of rubbing alcohol. In the spirit of the New Year, Tim put on a fireworks display with fireworks purchased at WalMart. A bit lame, compared to what I am use to back in Texas, but just the right level of boom for our sweet girls. Once the girls were down, we opened a bottle of Costco champagne to ring in the New Year. We both realized that the higher the rating of the champagne the less we like it. It's just too bitter for our taste, we like the cheap stuff. :)

New Years day we played around the ranch: Isabella with her hammock swing, Tim with his skeet shooter, and I with my camera. Our intention was to leave after Isabella's nap, so we spent her nap time packing up as it began raining pretty heavily. Tim kept saying that we would be fine getting out, so I didn't rush. We'll let's just say we weren't ok getting out. We got stuck and when I say stuck, I MEAN STUCK. After several failed attempts, Tim finally decided to walk (in the rain) across the property to our only neighbor that isn't the Federal Government. The girls & I stayed behind in the Escape. After nearly an hour, I was relieved to see the lights from the neighbors truck coming to pull us out. Not sure how to get home, we decided to stay another night to figure things out. Fortunately we had just enough food to get us through the night.

After talking to my dad and sister, we figured an alternate route that got us out the following morning. It was a day longer than we intended to stay, but what an adventure.

As we say goodbye to 2010, it was a year that brought us so much joy. Joy in welcoming Abigail to our family & in watching Isabella grow into a vibrant, sweet, smart, and beautiful little toddler. We are excited to see what blessings we have in store for us in 2011.