Justus' First Words

Justus added a new word to his vocabulary of sounds today. I dropped his sippy cup at breakfast and said, "uh oh!" He replied with a very intentional, "ah, ah, AH, ohhhhhhhh."

Here are some of his other adorable "words":
"buh"-he'll put his hands on his forehead (he has the right idea), take them off and say "buh!" (boo)

He can also growl! One evening the kids were playing and wrestling around with Scott on the living room floor and Titus and Scott were growling at each other. Justus did not want to be left out of the fun and "tackled" Scott and gave him a deep throated, "aaahhHHH!" Hysterical! He'll do it for you if you growl at him!

Christmas Choir Concert

Tonight Titus and Audra had their very first choir concert. Every Wednesday night they go to University Baptist Church where they have choir and then "Cubbies." (Awana's Bible memory program for pre-schoolers.) Tonight was their Christmas concert and it was so precious. I really wish I had been able to capture it on video, but our video camera is broken.

Audra did such a good job. I have to confess that I was relieved that she didn't cry through it! She was so sweet up there! She was delighted when she saw Scott and me and waved to us through most of the performance. Her favorite song was "Away in a Manger." She's been singing it daily at home!


Titus doing the ASL sign for Jesus. Titus also did such a good job! He sang all the words to his songs...except when he first saw me and turned around to his friend behind him and said, "Hey, that's my mom!" He waved and gave me the ASL sign for "I love you." Justus also did a great job watching his big brother and sister. Have I mentioned how much I love this stage of life?

Brother and sister after their performance.

Christmas Parties

Tonight we had our New Heights community group Christmas Party at the home of Clay and Kathy Bell (pictured above). We had a white elephant gift exchange. My personal favorite gift was a Stretching for Seniors VHS tape with a half-used bottle of vitamins!

Qiana and Brayden

Last night Cari and DJ Harris hosted a party for the ladies in our Bible Study and all the husbands. Unfortunately, Scott started to get a migraine right before we were planning to leave, so he stayed home and slept. I went ahead to the party and had a great time! Thank you, Cari and DJ! We played guys vs. girls in Trivial Pursuit. I have to say that we were at a slight disadvantage because the guys' team had four doctors, a math teacher who graduated from Yale, and a walking sports encyclopedia/Financial Advisor!!! Jeff Bell even managed to come up with the name of some scientist who invented magnetic levitation in the 1800's or something. Ridiculous! We did somehow eek out one victory and tied one to one. The difference was that the guys were able to have these long brainstorming discussions about each of the questions and we would just throw out a wild guess if anyone had one. Next time we are playing Charades!!! Thanks again, Cari & DJ! Great party!

Baby Shower for Qiana

"For unto us a child is born..." Isaiah 9:6

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." James 1:17

During this season when we celebrate the birth of our Messiah, we've also had the privilege of celebrating the birth of Mia Alexandra Kenny! What a "good and perfect" gift she is! Congratulations, Qiana! Tonight we celebrated with a baby shower. Mia arrived early, so she got to come!



My sweet friend, Becky, helped me host Qiana's baby shower and made this gorgeous floral arrangement! She use to work for an event planner in LA and is so talented at making tables and food look beautiful! She is an incredible cook and also has such a servant's heart.

More Shower Pictures

Mia and her Grandma

Qiana and Mia with Charley Beckman and Sarah Watson

Qiana received so many thoughtful gifts. This one is from Becky. Becky sewed this incredible quilt to match the crib and bedding that she found for Mia. What a beautiful labor of love!

Noel holding baby Mia.

Ashley, Qiana, Mia, and Becky

Decorating for Christmas

We love the Christmas season! Typically, we put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but we've been moving a little slower this year. I've been working on getting our Christmas decorations up a little at a time over the past week. My wonderful mother came up today to help me finish getting the house clean and decorated for Qiana's baby shower this weekend. She has loved me so sacrificially throughout my life and I've frequently told her, "I hope I become half the mother that you have been to me."

El Sol

This morning our Bible Study (Beth Moore's study on Daniel) had our Christmas brunch and last study for the semester. Afterwards, some of us took our kids to lunch at El Sol. I can't decide if we were brave or just crazy to take all those kids in there, but it was fun! Great spontaneous idea, Beth! Pictured are Kristen, Cari, Melanie, Jennifer, Beth, Kathy, and kiddos galore!

Handel's Messiah

We took Titus and Audra to the Handel's Messiah Sing Along at the Walton Arts Center this afternoon. (Justus stayed home with a babysitter so he could take his nap.) It was the first time we have taken the kids to a performance at the Walton Arts Center and we weren't sure what to expect...but we thought the "Sing Along" version of the performance would be safer. They did really well through the first few songs and both sat very still and intrigued. After that, they began to lose interest quickly. Thankfully, it was a chorus and time to stand. Audra really wanted to dance (a.k.a. hopping up and down) so I let her during the choruses when people were standing to sing, but made them sit still during the solos. After a few more songs this became more challenging and I was paranoid that my kids were distracting other people. We decided to go up to the top of the balcony, so our kids could experience Handel's Messiah without distracting people around us. I let them dance during the choruses (to get the "wiggles" out) and it was pretty adorable. At one point, they were holding hands and dancing in a circle and Scott noticed that one of the soloist was looking up at them and smiling. (Other than that the four soloists stared straight ahead with pan faces. I'm not sure what the point of that was. ???) I think their favorite part was the crecendo of the "Hallelujah Chorus" at the end. Titus and I attempted to sing it together--which was pretty amusing!

Titus' Last Soccer Game

Titus had his last soccer game of the season this morning. Here is his team before the game: McKinzie, Titus, Travis, Aaron, Ian, and Clay. His favorite part of the season was getting to "play goalie and kick their goals away" the last two games. The boys must have all loved that because in their last game this morning Titus, Clay, and Ian (they play 3 v. 3) all three ran to the goal and built a wall in front of it each time the opponent got near. It was so funny, but I had to give them credit for a good strategy. The hard part was getting them out of the goal to go kick the soccer ball!

Jill brought Kate to watch the boys' soccer game this morning. Thanks for cheering us on and for taking these pictures!

Add Another Place Setting

These are two of my friends, Kim Petrone and KC Pummill. I met both of them through our Beth Moore Bible Study and am so, so thankful that God has given me several good friends here in Arkansas. They are both examples to me of giving, Godly women...who are also so much FUN!


Tonight KC hosted a party for the Junior League's new cookbook, Add Another Place Setting. We got to sample yummy food from the cookbook and there were also lots of tips for hosting parties. Many of the tips are from KC and you can see from the pictures that she has an incredible talent for decorating and adding beautiful details to everyday life. She also has a unique gift for making guests in her home feel special and like they are worth celebrating. Her house has looked this great EVERY TIME I've been there. I have no idea how in the world she does it! And where does she hide the clutter and stacks of papers on a daily basis? My friend, Jill, informed me that papers go in files. Oh. People really use those?