Our little sick Olivia

So, today is the third day of sickness with Olivia. It all started on Sunday and it has been a slow road from then. Sunday when she woke up, she just wasn't herself. At one point on Sunday, she had a 102.2 temperature. By the time, Sunday had come to a close we had changed clothes six times and had two baths. Needless to say, it was an exhausting day. Her fever broke Sunday night about 9 p.m. and slept like a normal night.

On Monday morning, her temperature was down, she was happy as normal, so we headed to her childcare thinking we might just have some aggressive teething. However, I had to pick her up early because she had started running a temperature again. Last night, she ran a low temp all night. Thankfully, she has been in good spirits just a little sleepy.

This morning, I decided not to chance it so I took off of work. She has been a sweet little girl again, but you can see that she just isn't feeling 100% and her temperature has come and gone all day. The doctors say that as long as she is continuing to drink plenty of fluids, they say this will run it's course. I am hoping today is the last day of yuck. However, I am thankful this is our first round of sickness in her lifetime. Continue to keep her in your prayers. We are thankful for them.

I wear my sunglasses at night

So this is how we spent our day.... trying on Olvia's new shades and listening to her make poot noises. You gotta love being parents. : ) She actually loved the glasses and didn't try to remove them at all.

You're gonna love this!

First Hair Cut!!! AH!!!!!

The mullet is gone. I am not sure that everyone will agree with me cutting her hair. I have heard from endless people that I am not supposed to cut her hair until she is one, but I just couldn't take it anymore. She is the only 6 month old that I know that truly needed a blow dryer and a flat iron. So this morning before church we made the cut. She is now sporting one adorable little bob haircut. I am attaching a before and after picture. I hope you all like it. I am sure it will be long again before we know it.

Valentine's Day

Rob and I wanted to share with you our funny Valentine's. We both agreed that we weren't going to do anything fancy for Valentines this year, so we simply exchanged cards. However, on Saturday morning we realized just how alike we are when we opened the exact same card from one another. I thought you all might like this story.

Rock Climbing... First Date

Last weekend Rob and I went on our first date again. Our wonderful friend Jessica babysat Olivia so that we could have some fun time together. SOOOOO, I surprised Rob with a fun night of rock climbing. He had NO idea what we were doing. I kept him in suspense until we were on our way there. The best part of the night was right before we left the house, Jess asked Rob if he was wearing underwear. She wanted to make sure he was before we left. Of course he was, but it simply added more suspense to date. I loved it! We had an awesome time. I hope we get the chance to do it again. Here is a picture of Rob on one of his climbs. Neither of us had ever been, but I think we both did okay for the first try.

Surprise Party and More......

I wanted to take so time out of my day and tell all my family and friends...thank you. I am thanking you for all your support of Summer, Olivia and I while I have been gone, and as I returned. When Summer and I finally had the chance to go back to Kentucky Dec.31-Jan 4th, I was reminded of how much family and friends mean to us. If you were unable to attend the surprise party, I know you were all there in spirit. But for those who did, I want to thank you very much. Carrie, Selena, and Martha thank you specifically.

What an amazing blessing was it when I walked into the Snappy Tomato and the room was filled with family and friends. Wow, how amazing is that! Once again thank you.

Now that i am home and transitioning back into the civilian climate, I must admit it was tough at first. The toughness is not out of some dangerous experience that keeps me up at night, or out of fear that I will be targeted...it is much more than that. The hardest part has been to be able to allow myself vulnerable, or show emotion again. You see, in all your briefings you are told to be aware of your emotions, the list they give is so long it covers almost every emotion I can think of. Saying that I felt like I could show none, for fear that someone would judge me or be overly concerned. But, after getting back into church and spending time with Summer, Olivia, our church, and friends it has been the perfect transition. I feel free to drop the warrior mentality and be the Father, and Husband that God wants me to be.

Summer, Your strength and determination is so unbelieveable. I find encouragement in you every day. Thank you for being the wife, best friend, and amazing mother that you are. Martha and Jim and the rest her family and friends....thank you for helping mold her into who she is, years and years before our eyes ever met.

Olivia....what can I say about you that everyone doesn't already know. You are so fun and I have enjoyed days where you and i have gotten to hang out together. I love your piercing blue eyes and your laughter that is contagious to everyone in earshot. Your personality is already developing and you are already learning how to cut at my heartstrings. Tricks on dad you play that mom does not fall for. I love it. I pray that God will continue to find favor in our family and thank him for allowing us to be your parents.

To everyone else once again thank all of you. I had an easy transition and I thank you for it.

Feed One Another

Another one for my KY folks: So this is, yet another, website from my church. Well kinda. It's for you to. http://www.feedoneanother.com/ I can't tell you how often I have sat down with the Bible with great intentions of digging right in and realizing I need a little more direction than that. So this helps me. It is a online devotional written by real people... actually Rob and I have both written one in the past. These are all members of our church simply addressing the Bible from an average person's perspective. They each give their idea of what the scripture(s) means, then allow you to respond. I encourage you to check it out. Feel free to respond even if you live three states away.... you are a part of this. Most of you that I know read this probably have the best of intentions like me.... but somewhere along the way.... we forget... we don't understand... we don't have time... whatever. So this is an easy way to get started. This is the living, breathing, life-changing Word of God.

Faith in Action

For those in KY : Faith in Action is something our church, Cumberland Community Church, does once a quarter to reach out the community and give back. We have decided to become more actively involved in serving Smyrna as opposed to expecting everyone to come to us, the building of CCC. Previously, we have worked at a local elementary school making improvements and fed the homeless. Once members went to work for a senior community to help them wherever needed (I didn't get to do that one). So this time, our staff and elders decided to do some work within our building. Rob and I have been at CCC for over 2 years now and it has grown so much. So it was decided that if we were going to welcome people to the building, we should probably clean the place up a little. So that is what we did. Everyone worked from 8 until 4, well most did. We were served a wonderful lunch, with dessert (yummy!). Rob ended up pulling up some pews in the auditorium and the floor underneath was painted. I sanitized toys all day, not my favorite but it has to be done. I am attaching a picture of Olivia. She basically just hung out and inspired us with a beautiful occasional shout out. My goal for her and our family is to keep Olivia involved in serving so that she understands how important it is. Remind me of this please as she grows and I become more busy. This is definitely something I don't want to forget. Below is the church website if you want to check it out.

http://www.cumberlandchurch.org/

FOOTBALL!!!

So last night was the super bowl and of course you have to watch. Anyone that knows me well knows that I care very little about any sport. However, I will say that last night was an exciting game. Rob, O and I went to our friends, Don and Sue Adams, to watch the game. This is my third consecutive year to watch the game with them. Obviously, Rob missed out last year with his tour and I was super prego. We had a really good time with everyone, most of whom we didn't know or barely knew. However, it is always fun to meet new folks. Olivia even met a cute little boy named Finley. They were making eyes at one another. Watch out Owen. : ) The best part of the night by far was Olivia screaming along with the fans in the room. She has started mimicking others. It sounds as though she is screaming at the game... but really she's screaming at you. It so fun to hear. Also, for those of you that aren't around regularly, I wanted to report that she is such a giggler now. We have found the tickle spots and she will just crack up. Rob and I have decided that we each need to hear that every day in order for the day to be a success. So that's that. I hope that you all had a wonderful Superbowl day.