Lydia ~ 37 Months

Lydia at 37 Months, with her cousin, Karolina!
Cherokee, NC

Lots of Cousins!

Just had to include this one ... double rainbow we saw one afternoon ... reminder that we can be doubly sure that God keeps all of His promises!

Ready for the Harvest Festival!

Showing off her facepaint and her treats!

Lydia and Daddy one afternoon after church!

This month and Lydia's third year started off with even more traveling! We went to a Winstead family Gathering in Black Mountain, NC, and also visited Cherokee, NC while we were there. Lydia had a blast meeting cousins that she had never met, and playing with all of the children there! Lydia also attended her fourth Harvest Festival ... as a princess! She had a blast playing the games and facepainting, and going through the Trunk-or-Treat and on the hayride! In addition, we have enjoyed the warmer days of this fall season, and Lydia is loving collecting brightly colored leaves, acorns, etc. She continues to love "learning time," and is doing such a good job sounding out short words with short vowel sounds. We are enjoying this beautiful time of year and this amazing time in our little girl's life!

FREE Photo Christmas Cards!

I was so excited to see that Shutterfly was giving all bloggers 50 free photo cards! I have personally been impressed with Shutterfly's service and products and thought it just might be too good to be true :) Not only have we gotten prints from this company which have been great - but I have done large collages for my daughter's birthday which have turned out wonderfully as well! Here are some links to check out their great products and get more information about the photo cards and other great photo gifts ...

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

And here is some information about this great opportunity: http://bit.ly/sfly2010


Hope all my other blogging buddies have a great experience with shutterfly and a blessed Christmas season! :)

Lydia's Third Birthday!

Happy Third Birthday to our Baby Girl! It's so hard for Mommy and Daddy to believe that it has been three years since God blessed us with you! We hope you had a fun birthday and party! :) We love you so much!
Lydia with her Ladybug birthday cake made by her Nana

Lydia and her friend Rebekah playing at the park on Lydia's birthday!

Probably Lydia's favorite activity! :)

Her Daddy wanted to take her fishing on her birthday!

and while we were there, Lydia got to feed a [pet] baby deer!

Making a little craft at her birthday party!

Gifts!

Singing "Happy Birthday"!

Enjoying some cake!

Playing with friends!

Lydia ~ 36 Months

Wow! In addition to our little girl celebrating her THIRD birthday this month [see next blog for birthday pics], we have had a busy month! Basically, every weekend during Lydia's 36th month was spent out of town ... due largely to some opportunities that Daddy was given. We participated in a wedding in Midland, NC; Mel was the speaker for revival services at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC [which also allowed for some time with family and even a fun trip to Tanglewood Park!]; and Mel spoke at an Apologetics Conference in La Grange, NC [which also allowed us to spend some time with some dear friends]. We also traveled to Gatlinburg, TN, with some members of our church, and Lydia's PawPaw and Nana, and as always, that was a beautiful (although busy!) trip! Here, Mel was asked to lead the prayer in front of 5000+ people (at the "Jubilee") and to bring "the beautiful little girl on stage with him!" What an experience for them! Lydia was a "trooper" through all of the traveling, though, and for that we are so thankful! Our travels will continue for one more weekend next month and then lots of traveling for the holidays ... so maybe this was just preparation! :) We are thankful for the opportunities and for our little traveling companion - who is now THREE years old!!

Lydia and Mommy at Ryan and Carri's Wedding

Daddy and Lydia at the wedding

Feeding a baby goat at Tanglewood Park

Swings!

Sliding with Brittany ...

The Girls!

... and the girls!

Happy Fall ... take one ...

and take two ... :)

Daddy and Lydia in Gatlinburg, TN

Mommy and Lydia in Gatlinburg, TNDaddy and Lydia on stage at the Jubilee

Lydia ~ 35 Months

Lydia - ready for church ...
Another Sunday ...

Off to Play!

One of her favorite activities ... playing outside!!

Hanging out with a little friend ... Dawson!

Although nothing really "major" occured during this month, we got some pretty cute pictures of our little girl ... It is SO extremely difficult for me to believe that this time next month she will be three years old! With me starting back to school and Mel's semesters - both teaching and as a student - beginning, our month was busy, but not with a lot of activities ... if that makes sense! The fall and holiday season will be very busy for us this year, so this "slower" time is much needed!

Lydia ~ 34 Months

Myrtle Beach ~ July 2010
Peek-A-Boo!

A Ride on Thomas the Train with Mommy!

Driving the "Firetruck" all by Herself ...

Fun in the Ocean!

This is fun, Daddy!

Heading Out to Vacation Bible School ~ 2010

Ok, so I am really behind on blogging, but will try to update Lydia's monthly updates as much as possible ... :) During this month, Mommy, Daddy and Lydia enjoyed a relaxing trip to Myrtle Beach, thanks largely to PawPaw and Nana Anthony and the use of their beach home. It was nice to get away for a few days and just relax! :) Lydia FINALLY enjoyed getting in the ocean this time! In fact, she had a blast!! She also enjoyed a trip to the "new" Pavilion, with lots of rides for younger children ... she even experienced her first ride alone, and loved every minute of that, as well!

We also had Vacation Bible School at our church this month. Lydia enjoyed being old enough to go to all of the different activities this year ... especially crafts! Mommy started back to school during this month, also! I will be teaching just two classes American Literature and British Literature [grades 11 and 12] - first thing in the mornings - at South Pointe Christian School. For the remainder of the day, I will be blessed to do the thing that I love most - hang out with my girl! We have decided to keep Lydia home for at least this next year, and I plan to work with her to introduce some preschool skills. She has already mastered the upper case alphabet and nearly all of the lower case letters (as far as recognition), and we will continue to work on numbers 1-20. It is such a joy to watch her learn, especially since she is so eager!

Mother's Day and Father's Day

Father's Day ~ 2010
Mother's Day ~ 2010

Not sure how I missed out on posting a photo from Mother's Day and Father's Day this year ... but better late than never! :) Parenthood is such a blessing and privilege, as well as a huge responsibility! We endeavor to never take our time as parents for granted, because it passes so quickly! We thank the Lord daily for choosing us to be Lydia's parents and for the wonderful blessing He has given us in her!