Jude & Ellie: Then & Now

My friend Ginger just sent me a few more pics from New Years Eve and I just had to post one of her son Jude and our little daughter Ellie.  Baby friends for life, yo.

Ellie around 2.5 months and Jude around 3 months.

Ellie (10 months) & Jude (10.5 months) on New Years Eve.  I love the little hand holding going on!

Concert Recap (Tazza 1/20/11)

I played a concert at a venue in Tyler, TX called Caffe Tazza on Thursday night and had the best time!

Jar of Clay
Right before the concert, I was really anxious about my voice... just a few days before, I had no voice to speak of (literally and figuratively!) and could only whisper.  I was nervous it wouldn't play out so well with a 4 hour concert!  Much prayer and prescription drugs were had prior to the big event.  Pulled out the big guns, I'm telling you.

I often remind myself that I am just a "jar of clay," and little cracks and creases like a weak, croaky voice only make the treasured message that I'm trying to sing about shine the brighter, even if my reputation decreases a bit.  Turns out, the concert went fine.  My voice held out throughout the concert - all 4 hours of it! - and I only croaked once or twice. :)

The Support of New Friends

So many friends came to the concert that night... friends I see all the time, friends I've only met in the last few weeks, and new friends who are more like friends of friends, really.  I love sitting in my little chair, singing into the mic, and watching all of these friends talk and laugh and drink coffee and have a great time together.  There were babies and parents of high schoolers and 20 somethings and grandparents and little kids... and even our head pastor and his family were there.  What really amazes me is this... just a few months ago, I didn't know any of these people.  And now we are surrounded by supportive friends.  I am grateful. 

     

And a big thanks to my friends the Heatons who took some amazing pictures at the concert.  Just for fun.    But it still made me feel like a rock star, ya know?  Anywho, I big THANKS to all of you who came out.  I hope you had a great time!  I definitely did.  Thanks for all of your support.

Ellie is 10 Months!

Ellie turned 10 months on Jan. 6.  So hard to believe she's only a month and half away from being one.  Woah.  When did this happen?

This month, Ellie celebrated her first Christmas, played with lots of cousins and friends, got to see old friends, laughed and talked a lot, and has started to learn how to "walk" with lots of support.  Her favorite toys right now are her bouncy balls, her bath toys, and anything else that's not really a toy at all... like a pile of Christmas cards and things that she can pull out of the drawers... or even out of the trash (yuck).  She definitely knows who her mom and dad are now, and that makes us feel great.  I've been trying to sing hymns to her at night as part of her bedtime routine.  My new favorite moments with her are when I'm comforting her after she's been crying or wakes up in the night, and she leans her head on me and falls back to sleep.  Wow.

Here's a little video of what Ellie has been up to this month....