Four Wheeler

Lily knows how to push the button to make the four-wheeler go, but we're still working on holding the button so it will keep going. Just wait until I get a picture of her standing on the seat of this thing... She's quite the daredevil!

Palm Beach at Moody Gardens

We had tons of fun in the water at Moody Gardens. This was Lily's first time playing with sand, and she loved it! I know there are lot of pictures of it, but I was trying to get a smile. She was just concentrating too hard on filling up her bucket to take the time to smile at Mommy!

Inflatable Fun

This was Lily's first big inflatable. She was very curious, so we let her get in.

She seemed to enjoy it, but of course it was hard for her to stay standing. She came running right away when Daddy asked if she wanted to get out.

Clown

There was a clown at the Moody Gardens Hotel, painting faces and making balloon animals for the kids. Lily couldn't have an animal balloon for fear that she would choke on it, but she got this pink balloon with yellow polka dots instead. Lily loved her balloon, but she insisted that it was a ball, not a balloon.

Moody Gardens Aquarium Pyramid

Papa Doug and Grandma Dixie came for a visit last week, and we spent the weekend at Moody Gardens in Galveston. I didn't even know Moody Gardens was there, but it was so much fun! It was really nice that some of the attractions were indoors, because the weather was pretty rainy most of Saturday. Sunday was nicer, so we were able to do the outdoor activities. Here are some pictures from the Aquarium Pyramid.




Lily has really enjoyed every aquarium she's been to. Daddy thinks that's a reason to have a fish tank in Lily's room, but I really don't foresee that happening. We've done the aquarium thing before, and it was very pretty, but it was way too much work.


Lily wanted to climb into the penguin exhibit.


These paintings of penguins on the wall were fun. Lily's about the size of a Macaroni penguin.

Lily didn't quite understand that she wasn't supposed to grab things out of the water, only touch.

New Word

"Stuck." Lily is repeating almost everything these days, but "stuck" is a new word that she seems to have come up with on her own. I don't remember teaching it to her; she just started saying it one day. Today she played with bubbles at church, and I heard her squeal "bubble!" as we walked up to the door. She is learning new things all the time.

We're having so much fun these days. Everything is an adventure for Lily, and it's fun to see how she gets excited about little things.

My Little Fire Chief

We visited our local fire station a couple of weeks ago. Lily didn't really care about looking at all the cool stuff on the fire truck - she just wanted to climb up inside it. I'd have to say that her favorite part of the trip was the hat, though!

Lily's Playhouse

Such a simple toy!

Lily Playing Upstairs

Here is a video of Lily in the playroom. I wasn't filming anything in particular, just Lily playing. (The video is really long.)

One more Sea World picture

Isn't this one of the cutest pictures EVER!?!

New Toys!

Lily's friends have outgrown some of their toys, so they passed them along to her. Lily didn't know that I had brought them inside the house from the car. I can see how it would be very easy to spoil a child, when you get excitement like this from something new!



Oh WOW!

Check out this zebra!













It's kind of like the one upstairs, but this one doesn't bounce...


















Look, there's a clock on this little table!














Yay, I like this chair!



















Is Mommy looking?



















Mommy, I want to stand on this chair!



















Oh all right, that's a good idea, I will sit on my bottom.

Faith

My faith has grown in the most amazing way in the past year and a half. While before, if asked about my religious beliefs, I would have responded that I believe in God, I would not have been able to elaborate much. I didn't have a relationship with Him. But then my world changed. Faced with the crisis that we were, Dusty and I needed comfort and support in a much deeper way than we could each provide for the other. We realized that there's something bigger going on in our world than what we could control. So we turned to God. And He was there for us.
Having God in my life has changed everything, and I want to share my joy... So I will be baptized on Sunday after church. I was baptized when I was very young, but I don't really remember it; so I am very much looking forward to this! It does not at all mean that my early baptism was insincere or not good enough. This is simply a way for me to express my faith now, as an adult.
Baptism is an outward expression of something that has taken place in the heart of a believer the moment they are saved. I do not believe baptism is a requirement for salvation. At River Pointe, baptism takes place outdoors, in a baptismal pool. We identify with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection by actually being immersed in the water. Take a look at Romans 6:1-14 for a great explanation of how we are united with Christ through baptism.