Emmanuel's First Christmas...and other things

This was a Christmas of many "firsts" for Eli and me!  

It was our first Christmas in Baltimore in our first home.  Since we were here for Christmas, we we were able to go to Baltimore's "famous" Miracle on 34th street to see the lights.  (For those of you who are from the South--this light display is nothing to write home about...but it is a very special Baltimore tradition and something that I have wanted to experience for years.) 
It was our dear friends, Davin and Won-Jung's first time meeting Emmanuel and our first time meeting their 9 month old son, Daniel.  Won-Jung and her daughter, Zoe (age 2 1/2), are below with Emmanuel. Davin and Won-Jung came over for brunch the Sunday after Christmas as they passed through Maryland on their way to see family. 
This was so sweet...Emmanuel and Daniel holding hands.  It doesn't get much better than this.  I do pray that they will be friends even though there is distance between them...and I do hope that Emmanuel and Zoe will get married--I keep telling him that it's ok that she's a little older!

This was Emmanuel's first time using a sippy cup!  For weeks now he has been grabbing at our cups and reaching for our food.  We experimented with this sippy cup for him.  We start solids on Friday (he will be 6 months then).  My mom and I were busy making homemade baby food for Emmanuel (I got a book from my sister-in-law, Heather, about the best baby purees).  This leads me to our next "first...."
My mom flew up to Baltimore to spend her first Christmas with us in Baltimore!  This was a pleasant surprise.  I guess she was a little worried that we would be up here all by ourselves. Below is a pic of mom and Emmanuel.  He really loves people and wasn't upset to be left with Granny when Eli an I left on our first date without him.

A pic of me and mama.

Another "first"--Emmanuel is beginning to open his mouth and blow on my cheeks because that is what I often do to him.  

Here is a picture of his "first two teeth" (I hope that you can see them!)  Yes, not one, but two teeth, folks!  How many teeth will he get in all...someone should have warned me about this! We had a great Christmas of "firsts" with our Little E.  I will post a hilarious video of Zoe and Emmanuel as soon as I get it downloaded later this week.  Zoe is a genius, by the way....you will see in the video!  

Good News of Great Joy!

"But the angel said to them,  'Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord." --Luke 2: 10-11

As we embark upon Christmas Eve, may you ponder what it meant for Jesus to come and be among us...what great love...what great sacrifice...just for you.  We live in uncertain times, but we are told not to fear because on THAT day more than 2,000 years ago when Christ was born....he was the fulfilled promise of "good news of great joy."  The birth of Christ brings us a hope and eternal joy that cannot be matched by anything here on earth.  

We hope that you embrace this "good news of great joy."  Merry Christmas.

Jesus Lullabies

I sing to Emmanuel...a lot.  Probably too much!  I was one of those girls who would hold a hairbrush and belt out Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey tunes when I was younger.  Now, one of my greatest joys as a mom is holding Emmanuel at bedtime and singing my "Jesus lullabies" to him.  Regular lullabies are great, too...but there is nothing like singing to your baby about the sweet love of Jesus and praying that he would hunger and thirst after the righteousness of Christ. 

This week's lullaby:  I love you, Lord 

I love you, Lord 

And I lift my voice 

To worship You 

Oh my soul, rejoice 

Take joy, my King, 

In what You hear! 

May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear. 

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We headed to the Christmas Tree Farm to choose our first Christmas Tree as a family. Emmanuel was all bundled up for our family outing! 

I didn't remember where the farm was.  I knew it was off Exit 27, but after that...my memory was a little bit cloudy.  So, we followed signs to "Doyle's Christmas Tree Farm" even though we were looking for Mt. Carmel Christmas Tree Farm.  Thank God that Doyle had some advertising.  We found the farm--here's a picture of a piece of it below.

We ended up with this Douglas Fir!  We call him "Fat Daddy."  This tree is HUGE!  I think it is the biggest one we've ever had.  Here's Fat Daddy all decked out!  (You can't really see the lights in this photo.)  There is an assortment of blue, gold, and purple ornaments.  I had some gold beaded garland...but Fat Daddy is too big...I didn't have enough to fit.  I used almost 90 ornaments, and didn't decorate the back side.  This is a serious tree! It will just be us for Christmas Dinner.  We're planning the menu now.  We might also do a Christmas brunch.  We are having fun thinking of all of these traditions to implement with Emmanuel.  

Fast from...Information?

After people tell you how cute your baby is...the next, inevitable question is:  "How does he sleep at night?"  I have learned that this question is the standard by which all new moms are measured.  If your baby IS sleeping "through the night," then you are congratulated and told what a "good child" you have.  If your baby isn't, then you are given "the look of pity," and then people proceed to tell you how to "correct" the problem.  

1.  You should make him scream for several days and then he will sleep through the night.  

2.  You should give him formula because your breast milk is watery at the end of the day.  

3.  You should let him stay up really late and exhaust him so that he sleeps longer.  

4.  You should establish an early bedtime so that he sleeps longer.  And, then, they proceed to tell you what they are doing with their child or what they did with their children to get them to sleep through the night.  

I have been an "A" student my whole life, but if I am measured by how well my child sleeps at night, then I receive an "F" as a mom.  Yes, I am one of the few moms in the universe whose 5 1/2 month old is not "sleeping through the night."  I've read all the books...I know the philosophies by heart...I've gotten "the look of pity" so many times from so many moms...but we are doing just fine.  Emmanuel is a happy and content baby.  No, he's not sleeping through the night, but he's rolling and almost sitting by himself and he's cutting his first tooth.  He's looking at me with those big, brown eyes and smiling and drooling when I go to get him in the morning. He's talking constantly (he is a Foster...). He's doing great, and we are so thankful to be on this journey with him. 

No, I'm not sleeping through the night (and haven't since, like before college), but I still do laundry and cook and clean and have perfected the art of walking, typing, and pushing a grocery cart while nursing.   

So, this week, I am going to take a fast from any information about babies...especially babies and sleep!  No internet articles...no picking up Babywise or the No Cry Sleep Solution or Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby.  No asking my "mom friends" how their baby is sleeping...I'm taking a fast from all that people say is "the right way" to do sleep. 

And now, I am going to catch some zzz's before my beloved son wakes up.

I'll post picture of Emmanuel's little tooth later! 

James' 40th Birthday

So, I love my big brother.  I've always thought he was the coolest guy in town.  He's handsome, athletic, intelligent, domestic (the man cleans and does laundry!), and loves Jesus!  I am so blessed to be his little sister.  As a part of his 40th birthday present, I made this video for him of his kids.  Enjoy.

Catching up!

Hi, friends.  It has been a few weeks since I've written.  We had a Thanksgiving celebration at the MacIver's house, Mia turned 4 years old, I turned the big 27, my brother turned the (really) big 40, and I started decorating for Christmas!  Below is a picture of Emmanuel in Bella's jumperoo.  

A huge thank you to the MacIver's (Martha is below with Lil' E) for inviting us into their home for Thanksgiving.  Martha and Doug's teenage boys, Peter and Daniel, are involved in our Youth Ministry at church (Peter was in an earlier post--he went with us to Miami).  Mia's birthday was on Thanksgiving Day and when I talked to her, she said, "I'm having a party today (meaning:  the family dinner).  I wish that you could be here."  My heart broke.  My mom said that Joshua comes into the house and takes Emmanuel's picture down from the refrigerator.  He does that so that he can "hold" Emmanuel.  Precious!

The day after Thanksgiving was my birthday.  Eli was so sweet to let me "sleep in" (I'm still getting up through the night with Emmanuel), he cooked me breakfast in bed, I went shopping (for the first time in forever)....and he did all of these other "present-like" things for me.  The BEST PRESENT that he could give to me:  Tickets to the Chris Tomlin and Israel concert in January.  So, I LOVE to worship God through song and dance...I mean...when I hear a Chris Tomlin song (Indescribable, Holy is the Lord, How Great is our God) or an Israel song (He Knows My Name, Friend of God, I Know Who I AM)...I really feel bathed in the presence of the Lord...I get so excited about heaven when I worship.  So, Eli found out that they are coming in concert TOGETHER...and we are going to go!  Hooray! 

Below is a picture of the flowers that Emily got for me!  They are so fragrant.  Thanks, Em.  Thanks to everybody for the cards and emails and phone calls and text messages and presents.  (Sweet Julia even sent beautiful earrings all the way from Germany!)  It was a fantastic birthday! 

Our little man is getting big!  He weighed in a 15 pounds 3 ounces when he went for some shots last week. (He's still in the 25th percentile for kids his age).  We also think he had his first small cold...just congestion, really.  We are so thankful that he's pretty flexible and likes people because we continue to take him everywhere.  Today (if weather permits) we hope to go to a Christmas Tree Farm and cut down a live tree!  We're a little late this year (I like to start right after Thanksgiving), but better late than never.  Emmanuel will get to experience his dad using a saw to cut the tree down.  These first memories are the best.  

Thanks to cousins, Morganne and Daphne for the blanket that Emmanuel is lying on in this picture.  They handmade it! 

Have a great week.  Check back soon for a new post!

High School Retreat!

This year's high school retreat was really amazing.  Never before have we had a high school retreat at FCF where the Holy Spirit moved so powerfully...to God be the glory!  It was a great time for rest and renewal for both the high school students and the leaders.  After our last talk, the youth had an opportunity to share what God did in their hearts...they did...and it was powerful!  People were being vulnerable and transparent...there were tears...apologies...and hugs.  Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

I thought this picture was real artistic...Emmanuel did a lot of hanging out in my sling over the weekend.
And...I couldn't resist--this is by far my favorite picture of our boy. 
Have a great Thanksgiving!  We are going over to a family's house for dinner.  Lil' E doesn't like riding in the car too much...so asking him to ride for 10-12 hours is too much (and that doesn't include the many times we will have to stop for me to nurse him).  So...we are hanging around for Thanksgiving, which is Mia's birthday (she'll be 4 years old!) and my birthday (hello, 27), which is the day after.  

Enjoy your family.  

Happy 33rd Birthday, Eli.

Eli's 33rd birthday was last Friday! 

Well, I was having difficulty coming up with a present for Eli's birthday.  We do the "traditional" thing of going out to eat, but we also get each other a creative gift each year.  My dear sister in Christ--peer mentor--co-social worker--and role model, Won-Jung Hong, gave her husband a homemade hardback book for Father's Day two summers ago.  I thought to myself, "What a perfect idea for Eli!"  Eli just loves being a daddy, and his 2007 birthday was the day that I told him that we were pregnant...so I thought this was an appropriate way to reflect on the past year of pregnancy while looking forward to our future life with Lil' E.  Thanks for the idea, Won-Jung!  (By the way, Won-Jung' husband, Davin, is an architect by day and an amazing photographer by night...check out his sight:  www.flickr.com/photos/zoesappa).

Here is Eli's birthday book.  It is called "Just me and my daddy!" (I wrote the story as if Emmanuel was telling it...so technically it was a gift from Emmanuel.) 

After Eli read the book for himself, he read it to Emmanuel.  If you look closely, you can see one of the pictures in the book of Eli and Emmanuel.  

Eli gave Emmanuel a big kiss and thanked him for his thoughtful present!  

Later that night, we headed to Red Lobster for Eli's Birthday Dinner...now we chose Red Lobster because we had a coupon and we thought that they had an item on the menu that they no longer had...anyway...it was almost going to be a disappointing birthday dinner, but then our waitress brought over the other 15 waiters and they sang Happy Birthday to Eli and hung out at our table (business is slow these days, so they just hung out with us).  Business is real slow and that's why they gave Eli this jacked-up "dessert"--it was whipped cream with chocolate and a candle...business is slow.  

All in all, we had a great day!  Now my man is 33...I can't make any "old" jokes because my birthday is in a couple of weeks and the closer I get to 30, the more I realize I'm not a teenager anymore.

We are taking the high school kids on a retreat this weekend.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in a powerful way--and for the weather--we don't want to get snowed in! 

Playdate at Bella's house!

My friend, Courtney, let me borrow her baby's Exersaucer.  Emmanuel has really started to love it.   Thanks, Courtney!

Earlier I wrote about my friend, Jamie, and her baby, Bella.  We had a playdate a while ago at Panera.  Well, let me tell you this amazing story...

After Eli finished running his 7 miles in the Baltimore Marathon Team Relay, we walked passed this lady with this cute baby.  I stopped to talk to her and we introduced our babies...

Well, a week later, I was in this yoga class for moms and their babies (it was free!), and the lady from the marathon walked in with her baby.  

Well, then Jamie sent me pictures of Bella and her friend, Stephanos, at a pumpkin patch, and lo and behold...it was the same baby and lady that I had run into twice!  I immediately called Jamie, and it turns out that they were friends...so the natural thing to do was to all get together! 

So, now Jamie, Shirille, and I get together once a week with our babies for a playdate, Bible study, and prayer.  We encourage one another in the Word.  It is so much fun!  Emmanuel is the youngest kid in the bunch, but he holds his on!  Since he is the youngest, I also get to pick their brains about the latest toys and milestones.  We are all learning together! 

Below are the kids:  Stephanos (9 1/2 months), Emmanuel (4 months), Bella (8 months on the 14th), and Roan (6 months--he is the neighbor's little boy, Jamie watches him).

Emmanuel is also starting to sit on his own a bit--he falls over pretty fast...but we are getting there.  We need to get there soon because Emmanuel has started to escape the bumbo (that is the baby seat he is sitting in).  I will put him in it, then he arches his back to get out of it! 

Eli's birthday is tomorrow...I'll be sure to post pictures.   Love you all!

First Black President...

The first two pictures are from our visit to Nashville--and they are especially for Mia and Joshua who come to the blog "on the regular" to check up on their baby cousin.  Mia and Joshua, Emmanuel loves you very much and we hope that we get to see you soon.  

This is Mia and Emmanuel.....

This is Joshua and Emmanuel.  **Might I add that Joshua is not even 2 yet--isn't he such a tall boy!  I think he'll do a fine job protecting Emmanuel when they get older! 

Emmanuel and I headed to the polls early Tuesday morning.As we approached the long line outside of the church, I thought to myself...hmm...I don't know how long this wait is and Emmanuel will probably need to take a nap in about an hour.  As soon as I thought that, the election judge came out of the church and said, "Hey....lady with the baby...come on in!"  I got to have a seat with the senior citizens while they all goo-gooed and ga-gaad over Emmanuel.  We ended up getting through the polls pretty quickly because of the grace that was shown to us.

As I sat down with Emmanuel in my lap to vote...this wave of emotions came over me.  I thought about my granddaddy who was a sharecropper--whose own dad was a freed slave--I thought about the many times he has faced discrimination in his life...in Tennessee...in America and how he gracious he is.  I thought about my dad, who was an avid political follower, who marched during the civil rights movement, and who participated in demonstrations...I thought about how I wish that he could have been there with me to vote...

I thought about many others who long awaited a time in our country where African Americans could not just run for president...but could run and win...I thought about Dr. King and his courageous battle for equality...I am often humbled when I think of the many who have gone before, even in the face of death to fight for justice and equality.  I thought about how Emmanuel would know a different America than my granddad, my daddy, and even myself...yes, he will still experience racism because we live in a sinful and fallen world...but he will have more opportunities because a minority, a black man, a bi-racial man, a "mutt" just like him is President of the United States of America.  It is a new day in America.

As I watched and waited like everyone else in America to see the electoral votes...tears began to form as the numbers for Obama began to increase.  When he exceeded 270--I bawled...those were tears for my grandparents, my parents, my great-grandparents....for all of those who worked so hard in the face of extreme racism and adversity so that we could have better...so that we could do better...so that we could still hold our head up high and achieve when we were called the "n" word on the playground at 7 years old...so that we could believe that God had a plan for our lives even when teachers told us that "our kind" would not make it...those were tears for me.  

Below are some great pictures of Emmanuel from this week.  He has been laughing and rolling over.  This kid loves to smile at folks. (Thanks Mona and Ms. Brenda for the outfit!)

Emmanuel looks like he is going to beat someone up in the picture...it's how he is poking his lips out...
Back to the silly pictures...

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  Eli turns 33 on Friday, Nov. 14.  Happy Birthday, Eli!

Youth Sunday and Miami

Hey, friends and family!  Emmanuel is 4 months old now.  

(I tried to get another smile...but the red light on my camera is distracting to my boy!)

A couple of weeks ago we had our annual Youth Sunday at church. The youth led the service and Eli preached on 1 Kings 19.  It was a wonderful worship experience, and it made me look forward to worship in heaven.  I LOVE worship--I love to sing, I love to dance, I love to praise the sweet name of Jesus.  Below is a picture of some of the youth in Sunday School. 

Our Youth Group is called "YOU KNOW"--it stands for "Youth of Unique Knowledge Now Overcoming the World."  Our "unique knowledge" is Jesus Christ. 

Here is a picture of Pastor Stan with Emmanuel.  Pastor Stan preaches, plays guitar, sings, and he and his wife, Terri, have raised 5 kids (including a set of triplets)...I know, crazy, right!  

Emmanuel fell sound asleep after the 2nd service.  The poor kid was in church for 6 hours!!!  

After youth Sunday, we packed our bags and headed to the Christian Community Development Conference in Miami.  (No wonder Eli came back from Miami sick...we barely recovered from Youth Sunday when it was time to go again).  Below is a picture of three students, Sarah, Michelle, and Peter that we took with us to Miami--they were a part of a student intensive leadership conference that was being held in conjunction with the larger conference.

Emmanuel loves hanging out with his daddy.  It was his first time on a light rail!

Here is a picture of our team!  

Well, Miami was fun, but we were exhausted afterwards!  Eli got some antibiotics, and he is doing much better.  

Tomorrow is the big election day!  We will all stroll over to the church to vote.  

Until next week, folks.  Thanks for reading :) 

Baltimore Running Festival and Youth Sunday

Sorry it's been a while since I've written.  Our internet has been moving slowly, and it won't allow me to upload all of these photos!

Lil' E has had an action-packed last couple of weeks!  From visitors to running to spending several hours at church...it has been non-stop.  We are so thankful that he is flexible with us.   Joe Ella Darby, a dear friend of Eli's from the University of Tennessee, came to visit us.  I say that she is a dear friend of Eli's, but Eli says that I have stolen her from him because Joe Ella and I hit it off like we've known each other for years.  I just love her so much!  As an aside, Joe has 9 brothers and sisters (and they're all from the same two parents)--so she knows how to handle a baby!  She's also from West Tennessee like my daddy.

Early on Saturday morning, Oct. 11, Eli and I got ready to run in the Baltimore Running Festival.  Our church used the Running Festival as an opportunity to raise funds for our Christian School and our non-profit that provides one-on-one tutoring, sports leagues, and community advocacy to people in our neighborhood.  (By the way, Eli and I both ran in the event, and we are STILL LOOKING FOR SPONSORS, so if you want to sponsor us, you can make a check out to Faith Urban Works and mail it to me--it is 100% tax-deductible--but no worries if you forget, we will send you a letter).  Eli was on a relay for the marathon where he was slotted to run 6.8 miles.  Anybody who knows my husband knows that he is super competitive, but he hadn't trained in two weeks for this race because of pulled muscles.  We weren't quite sure he was going to make it!  I told him to make sure he filled out the medical information on the back of his race number just in case!  Well, to make a long story short (I am sure that Eli will tell this one for years to come), Eli and his relay team beat the other two relay teams at our church...but one of the girls on the other relay team passed him about 3.5 miles in and tapped him on the shoulder.  He couldn't believe how fast she was going!   He said that she was the Road Runner and that he was Wylie Coyote (long story).  He finished the race and ran pretty fast, but he was exhausted afterwards.  

And, yes, I ran the 5K--I ran faster than I thought I would...but I wish that I could have run 7 minute miles.  I ended up running 8.10 minute miles.  Well, let me tell you that having a baby changes everything!  Emily and I were supposed to train together, but I didn't have the strength to wake up at 6:45 every morning and run because I was waking every 2-3 hours with Emmanuel.  As a matter of fact, the night before the race, I woke at 2, 3, and 4AM and finally decided that I might as well get up.  I guess it's not the smartest thing to do (running in a race while you are sleep deprived), but it was fun...God had mercy on both Eli and me by allowing us to finish the race.  Next time I won't sign up for a race that happens 3 months after I give birth.    

We also had more visitors from UT that weekend.  Eli's dear friend, Rodney Lee and his girlfriend, Jessica, came to see Lil' E and so did their friend Desmond.  We went to church, grilled out, watched football, and played games all night long.  It was the girls vs the guys in Taboo--unfortunately, the girls lost, but we had a lot of fun!  

There is so much more to write, but I will save that for another post.  We had Youth Sunday at our church and we just got back from a CCDA (Christian Community Development Association, www.ccda.org) conference in Miami.  

I will post more later this week!  Thanks for reading.