5 Years

Today we celebrate 5 years of marriage, of committment, of love (no mattter what the cost), of friendship, of learning, growing, frustration, joy and all the in betweens! I am so thankful to be HAPPILY married to such a wonderful man.

On another note...this same day last year (our 4th anniversary) was the day that we went to my first doctors appointment and saw his little heartbeat for the first time and found out I was only 6 weeks pregnant! What an anniversary gift!

Just Pics

Happy Anniversary!

Andrew and I will celebrate five years of marriage on the 29th of July! I can't believe that we have been dating and married almost ELEVEN YEARS! CRAZY!

My mom came and kept Riggs on Thursday night for our first night away:). We left Thursday about 2 o'clock and went to Lenox mall to walk around. We checked into the Marriott Grand Marquis Hotel about 5 o'clock and got ready for dinner. We went to Two Urban Licks and enjoyed a great dinner before going to the Fox to see Fiddler on the Roof. After a late show we went to Cafe Intermezzo for coffee and cheesecake and then headed to the hotel where we stayed in bed until 10am on Friday morning! We ate breakfast at a little place called the West Egg! We had a great time and really enjoyed eating at some new resteraunts and just being together.

Andrew asked what I have learned about him over the past five years that I didn't know going into marriage?!?! LOADED question! So I tried to list the first positive thing that came to my mind:) and that would be what a GREAT DADDY he is! He is so attentive and willing to do whatever. He longs to be with Riggs when he is gone and is always quick to keep him for me to go to the gym or grocery shopping or whatever! I asked the same question and got a little bit of a different answer (could have been taken positively or negatively). He said he didn't realize how protective I was going to be as a mother. He didn't say OVER protective, just protective in how I take care of Riggs:) and also how patient I am with him. Which I am surprised by in myself as well, as I usually am the impatient one of the two of us but I think my impatience just comes with actually waiting on things, not with my sweet sweet son. All that to say five years has flown by and I'm sure the next five will as well. I can't wait to see what our future holds and what the Lord has in store for us.

Yum yum

Riggs had his first little meal of rice cereal this past week! We were told by the pediatrician that we didn't have to start with rice cereal, that we could give him anything as long as we waited three or more days before introducing another food. She also reminded us that he doesn't NEED solid food, that breastmilk is still his main source of nutrition ect. I found this odd because everything I read says to start with rice cereal!? I'm curious what other mommies have done?

All that to say, he didn't love or hate it! He did what I assume is typical...held it in his mouth for a second and then

thrust it out of his mouth. I love watching him learn and try new things.

How we told our family...

I am linking up with Kelly at www.kellyskornerblog.com for show us your life Friday. I thought it would be fun to document how we told our families we were pregnant with Riggs since I haven't written it down anywhere!

We found out the week of July 4th while on vacation with Andrews family that we were pregnant. Andrew refused to believe it or even get excited until we went to the doctor! I, on the other hand, was already trying to plan how we would tell everyone, calling the doctor ect. All that to say, on July 29th (our 4th anniversary) we had our first doctors appt at about 6 weeks along. I had my first ultrasound and we were able to the little peanut and the little heartbeat!

All this time we knew we would be going home (or visiting Augusta) the friday after this appointment which was on a Thursday! So I had planned a birthday dinner for Andrew (his birthday is the July 28th, the day before our anniversary:) with my parents and brother and his parents and one of his brothers (his oldest brother and his wife live in Savannah) and their families. We were going to all meet up at T-bonz for dinner. I was getting a "surprise" cake for Andrew to have while we were there. To make a long story short, our waitress brought out the cake with candles, plates, ect. and Andrew and I awaited everyones reaction! No one said a word! My brother across the table from me started tearing up but didn't say anything. My mom apparently couldn't read it and Andrew's mom had the Susan shocked face on for a few seconds, or maybe minutes! Once everyone realized what the cake said the reactions were great and mostly expected! We are so thankful to be able to look back to almost a year ago and see how the Lord has brought us great joy from this little life!

Riggs is 4 Months!

We fall in love with you more and more every day little boy! And the older you get the harder it is for me to leave you:(

• You are our little string bean, you weighed 14 lbs 7 oz (33 percentile) and are 261/2 inches long (90th percentile).



• You are still in size 2 diapers.



• Wearing 6-9 month clothes.



• You are still nursing every 4 hours during the day and sleeping through the night from about 8:30pm to 7 am.



• We are going to start you on rice cereal this week! Can't wait to see if you like it!



• You found your feet and it's so cute to see you stare at them in amazement and play.



• We got you an excersaucer and you are enjoying having a new toy!



• You are finally on somewhat of a schedule and will stay awake for 2 hrs after nursing and then nap for 2 hrs...I am so thankful for this.



• You are enjoying bath time more and more and like to splash all over.



• We are thankful that daddy and Grana are still able to keep you so that you don't have to go to day care just yet.



• You love your fingers but still have a hard time getting just the two you want in your mouth...so cute to watch!

3 Month Pictures

We attempted to have Riggs' 3 month (a month late) pictures taken today! Attempted is the key word! We tried this morning and he did good for the first 30-45 min and then we went to a field to do the ones I was really looking forward to and all he did was scream! I don't blame you little buddy it was HOT even at 10 am....So, here are the ones that the photographer has posted so far. She said she would try to pull out any half decent ones and this may or may not be all that there are as she is still working on editing. Thanks Laura R. Taylor photography.

*I don't know why I can't make these other pics any bigger!

In the Potters House

We have been going to a new Sunday school class, not because we didn't LOVE our previous class, because we DO, but because it's time for a change for us and this class seems to be where the Lord wants us right now. The first week we visited we found out that they would be studying through the book of Jeremiah! I was immediately excited because alot of the time, on my own especially, I am intimidated by the old testament and honestly probably try to avoid it. All that to say, this past Sunday was no exception and was a great lesson and very applicable to my life right now.

In Jeremiah 18, Jeremiah is commanded by God to go to the potters house and he is told that there is where the Lord will give him a message. I could share all the points with you but I will try to minimize it and just post what spoke to me where I am right now! But first, let me write out what each thing stands for...
The Clay - that's us
The Potter - that's our Heavenly Father
The Wheel - Our circumstances
The Vessel - What is being made, shaped, or formed

Okay, Okay so I can't list just one point but I will try to make it short! I just want to be able to look back on this for encouragement and hope that maybe it will encourage someone else too!

• The wheel is NEVER out of control of the potters hand.
• To curse the wheel is to curse the potter.
• ALL my circumstances are filtered through the sovereign hand of my potter.
• The potter never abandons the clay. Jer. 18:4 "But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him."

Those are just a few points that were great for me to hear and be reminded of but this next one is where I am right now and how God is reminding me and teaching me!

*** THE VESSEL RESIDES IN THE MIND OF THE POTTER.

What does that mean?

• Any action/plan/circumstance is in His mind LONG before it is made, changed or an event or circumstance even happens. Just as the potter knows what kind of pot, or vessel he is going to throw.
• His actions as potter are ALWAYS consistent with His nature!
• He doesn't play games at the wheel, He is CONSISTENT, regardeless of my actions.

Why is this important to me right now? If you look back a few posts about what is coming in this next year for us you will see that I already have some worries and slight anxiety about where we will be and what God has in store for our family! This is such a simple truth that I know I have always been taught, but it is a totally different ball game when it comes time to trust what you say you believe and live that out on a daily basis. HE IS FAITHFUL! Long before now he knew that Andrew and I would marry, live in Statesboro and now Kennesaw, that we would have a baby boy and that Andrew would STILL be in school:) and so many other small, minute details! It is His plan and as the potter, he knows what kind of beautiful vessel he is trying to make out of us on this wheel called life and in the circumstances that are leading up to this next year! There are so many promises that he gives us to hope in and this is a GREAT truth for me to cling to and trust in on a daily basis as I long to be clay in the potters hand!

Riggs' First Vacation

Obviously it was a BIG FAIL for me to blog every day while on vacation. Our down time was from about 1:30-4:30 when all the kids were napping and all the adults chose to nap everyday too, so needless to say there was no blogging going on!

We had a great, relaxing time. Every morning we were up by 7 and at the pool or beach by 9 or so. Riggs would eat, play for a while and then nap wherever we were (beach or pool). He did really well. Then, we all came in for lunch and nap time and then went back to the pool in the afternoons. Riggs was so loved by his cousins! I love that we were all able to be there together for a few days and really hope that they will all be close growing up:)

I will let the pictures do the talking and I will probably do a few different posts on pics from the beach for memories sake!

Frippin' It

We decided to drive to Appling Friday afternoon because Andrew got off of work early, so we arrived in Appling about 4 in the afternoon. We were planning on leaving this morning when Riggs woke up around 7. But, when he woke up at 3:45 we decided we would pack up and go ahead and leave! May sound crazy, but it was a good decision. We left about 4:45 and got to Fripp at 8 am and Riggs slept the WHOLE TIME!:) What a sweet little boy. We unpacked and waited on the rest of the family and all the cousins to arrive! So here we sit now while all the kids nap and then we will go to the pool or the beach! I am going to try to up date when I can with pics from each day to keep account of Riggs' first family beach vacation. Georgia and Rod LOVE "baby Riggs." I think that name may stick for him, maybe longer than he would like! Rod is sweet to be only 3 and will stop whatever he is doing to come over to "baby Riggs" and touch his little head gently or kiss him. So sweet! I hope that all the cousins will grow up and be close. Looking forward to the rest of the week:) So long....