Watch Out Destin...Here Comes Emma Grace

We are leaving Sunday to go to the beach for a couple of days...just me, Ben, and Emma Grace. I know what your thinking...I've heard it several times already..."ya'll are taking her by yourselves??"...The answer is Yes...we are the brave parents of an 11 1/2 month old adventurer. These days Emma Grace is "walking" everywhere...when I say "walking" I mean holding on to anything and everything and "walking" from place to place. What this means is...she doesn't want to be held or helped very much anymore. This new found freedom of hers has also led to some new personality traits...if you know what I mean...So watch out Destin...here comes Emma Grace! The following are pictures of Emma Grace trying to learn to feed herself and her on the move...

Emma Grace's 1st Easter

Emma Grace had a great first Easter. We spent Saturday with Ben's parents and Sunday we went to church and to my parents house for lunch. Emma Grace had a blast both days. She received 3 Easter baskets, 6 Easter bunnies, 6 books, and some candy...oh wait...that was mine and Ben's :) We read her a book to tell her what Easter is really about...she liked the pictures! We know that right now she doesn't really understand what's going on...or the difference between the easter bunny and Jesus...but we will continue to read this book to her year after year...and one day she will understand.

Here are a few Easter pictures...to see more click on the picures to the right. We hope you all had as nice of a Easter as we did!

A Mover And A Shaker...

That is what I have been calling Emma Grace this week. In one weeks time she has gone from crawling a little and cruising some to crawling and cruising everywhere. The days of sitting her in the middle of the floor with a toy are long gone...I tried it...she ended up right behind me! The following are some pictures that I took this week. The first one is the view that I see the most of these days...

A Mother and Her Daughter

Someone once told me that being a mother was one of the greatest gifts God could give someone. I have to say that I agree. Emma Grace is quickly approaching her 1st birthday which means I have been a mother for almost a year now. It has been the best year of my life. I've smiled more than I have ever smiled, I've laughed more than I have ever laughed, and I've cried more than I've ever cried. Being a mother has also given me a new appreciation for my husband. There is something about watching the man you love be so kind, gentle, and sometimes down right silly because he is so in love with his little girl. As we grow up most of dream of having the "perfect" life with the "perfect" family. When we are grown we realize "perfect" doesn't exist, but in my world I've got all I've ever wanted.