An Easter Feast & Poor Plumbing

This Easter was the first one that Aaron and I were able to spend at home since we met and married. Our first Easter was spent packing and leaving for our honeymoon. We attended church that evening, but then drove to Atlanta to board our plane the next morning for Mexico. Last Easter, I was in Mobile working with a client on coordinating plans for a June wedding I was doing the flowers for while Aaron was in B'ham working on a case. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be together this year with our little family. Our friends Christy & Chris joined us for a delicious Greek themed feast at lunchtime. Christy made a roasted lamb with potatoes and strawberry shortcake for dessert, while I provided a salad with strawberries, steamed asparagus and appetizers of hummus, baked feta and artichokes and pita bread for dipping. The lamb was fabulous! I enjoyed having the opportunity to host guests and decorate the table. I pulled out our silver for the first time (a wedding gift from Aaron's parents!) It was just beautiful! The meal was absolutely delightful, as was the company!

The amazing thing is that we managed to pull off this lavish feast despite having been without the use of our plumbing since early Saturday morning!!! We have had a downhill battle with our sewer lines backing up since the week before Christmas (at which time we spent two nights in a hotel just three days before we left for Mobile & Atmore for the Christmas holiday!) Two weeks ago, just two days after our bathroom was completely remodeled, the problem came back. We had the plumbers out here to fix it, but last Saturday it began stopping up again. We only have one bathroom, so this makes for very long days and nights every time it happens. After showering at our neighbor's and a friend's house and using public bathrooms all weekend, we finally were able to get the plumbers back over here on Monday. Unfortunately, we found out that we will now have to have some of our back deck cut into and the ground dug up to fix the problem for good. Of course, all of this is taking place just as we were getting ready to put our house on the market. We haven't decided what our plan with that will be yet, but buyers can be sure that they will be getting a well cared for and renovated home once we finally get to sell it! I love our little house, but we just need a lot more room than the 845 sq. feet it provides! :)

Our Big Boy

Today James had his 6 month check-up. I hate these visits because of all the shots he has to get, but I do enjoy seeing how much he's grown while we're there. We also LOVE our pediatrician! She is great and always answers my crazy questions. Our baby boy is getting BIG! I'm guessing it's because we started him on solid foods at 5 months and he loves to eat everything we give him! This week we tried peas and took to them immediately...there really isn't any veggie or fruit that he hasn't liked so far! :) He weighs 17 lbs., 6 oz. (50th percentile for his age) and is 27 inches long (75th percentile). I was shocked that he weighed so much, because we were in for a cold just a week and a half ago and he weighed 16 lbs., 9 oz. then, so he gained nearly a full pound in just 12 days! It's amazing how fast these babies grow! He's also starting to sit up a little better on his own, and his favorite activity is still seeing just how much of his foot he can shove into his mouth. He's such a little monkey! I don't think I was ever as flexible as he is right now! :)

Bitten off a little more than I can chew...

Recently, several of our friends and Aaron's coworkers have had babies. In our church, we are always given the opportunity to provide a new mom and her family dinner. These meals go on for weeks, and it's wonderful! I've been preparing meals for families for years, mainly because I like to cook and also because I know how helpful it is having come from such a large family. (As the oldest child of six, I did most of the cooking for many years.) I've always thought it was easier to prepare meals for several families on one day rather than one meal for one family at a time. Now that I have James, I'm starting to second guess my theory. I attempted to cook for three families, as well as for Aaron and myself last Tuesday and then deliver those meals to Aaron's office and one other house by 5pm. I haven't tried this since I had James. The last time I did it for this many people was when I was 7 1/2 months pregnant, and I think I might have said then that that would be the last time I attempted to cook for so many on one day again. Fortunately, despite many set-backs, I managed to get everything prepared and delivered by 5:30pm. AND, it all turned out tasting delicious. I was really worried about the dessert. It was something called "Blueberry Delight" that a friend brought Aaron and me when we had James, and I hadn't made it prior to this attempt. It ended up taking me 4 hours to make it and despite running out of sugar I managed to produce 5 desserts, allowing me to take one to Community Group the following night. (I doubled the recipe and even had to use some small packets I had for coffee drinkers when they visited.) I do believe I have learned my lesson and will not attempt to cook for this many families on one day again. It was nice to know that I was able to help some new moms as people had so generously helped us when we had James, but my poor child's face and the state of my kitchen at the end of the day, proves it's not worth neglecting him that much in a day again! I'm beginning to learn my limitations as a new mom! I am not and will never be my mom--Superwoman with the energy of Speedy Gonzalez or the Tazmanian Devil--and I'm okay with that!! :)

Good Friday & Easter

Good Friday And Easter

By CD Mohatta
Jesus died on the cross. Jesus was nailed on the cross. Yes, He was nailed. How many of you have taken injection shots? Do you remember the feeling of pain that comes with a very thin needle? That also is taken away within few seconds. Now imagine getting hit with a nail and the nail crossing your palm, a thick nail and you are left to bleed. Now imagine the pain.
Pain, intense pain, yes, death by intense pain and Jesus died with that. By laws of science, I don't know how much of His weight was taken by His palms, but even if the weight taken was a fraction of his body weight, the pain would been much more. And Jesus died on the cross, bearing his own weight with his palms, bleeding. Left to bleed in the afternoon sun.
Good Friday was the day He died. I read somewhere that earlier it was called God Friday. And He resurrected on Easter Sunday. If one goes through the work and the teachings of Jesus, one finds nothing but selfless giving and miraculous cures. Jesus could cure miraculously because He was Son of God. But did He enjoy any material comforts? Any pleasures? His life is nothing but a chronicle of a man who suffered, but took away sufferings of others. Even His death was a very painful death.
What does Jesus' life teach us? It teaches us not to give suffering to others but take it ourselves. It teaches us to comfort others. It teaches us selfless giving. It teaches us to forgive even if extreme pain is inflicted upon us. It teaches us to love all and hate none.
Let us celebrate Easter Sunday. Let us remember the teachings of Jesus Christ. Let us spread peace in the world. Let us start giving selflessly. Let us live selflessly. Let us all spread goodness, happiness and cheer in the world. Let us all work to remove hatred and vice from this world.

For Sale By Owner

516 Baker Drive
2 bed/1 bath
$205,000

Although we're still working on a few small projects (i.e. new exterior paint next week), we thought we'd get the word out that our house is officially on the market. We're going the FSBO route to start, so I'm shamelessly soliciting on my blog. It's an adorable cottage in Crestline Park with hardwood floors, a wood burning fireplace, a brand new chef's dream kitchen (with stainless steel Frigidaire Professional Series appliances, Kraftmaid cabinets, and LG Hi-Max Corian countertops with a seemless sink) (2007) & brand new bath (2008). This house is perfect for young business singles, newlyweds, a retired couple or individual, or single parent. It is a 2 bedroom/1 bath and has a nice large grilling deck off the back. It is in a FABULOUS location with great neighbors! Crestline Park and The Open Door Cafe are with in walking distance, while Publix, Chic-fil-a, Wal-Mart, Winn Dixie and several other restaurants and shopping are just minutes away in either direction. We're starting the price at $205,000. If you know of anyone who'd be interested, please pass our info along. You can call Tally at (205) 613-9378 or Aaron at (205) 515-4624 or email us!

Through the eyes of my husband...

It seems like every day I can easily pick out at least 10 things that are wrong with me or that I don't like about myself and wish I could change. Tonight I sat down to write about something entirely different but changed my mind after stumbling across some old photos my husband took of me, many of which I was unaware he was even shooting at the time. And I realized that I needed to take a moment to stop and celebrate the fact that he doesn't see what I see and I must once again thank God for bringing this precious man into my life...for he sees me as my my Creator sees me. Although he knows I'm a sinner and filled with filth, he still manages to capture that fleeting moment when the beauty of my inner spirit and love for someone other than my self intertwines with my outer appearance. It's through these photos and this realization that no matter what I think about myself, I will always know that at least one person on this planet thinks I'm beautiful and daily tries to help me recognize that too.

James - A Few Days Old

I stayed up until midnight last night, and can finally say that I have updated all of our photos of James to our Shutterfly account. The only ones not on there yet are the ones Aaron took at my sister's wedding in December. Other than that, enjoy browsing...you'll be doing so for quite some time if you attempt it! I uploaded photos dating as far back as Thanksgiving, and between Aaron and me that makes for a lot of pictures. Now here it is almost midnight again and what am I doing but uploading more photos...hope you enjoy! These are some of my favorites from James first days here on earth.

Birth Day Photos of James

These are some photos from James birthday. He's changed so much since that first day! We can't believe how lucky we are to be blessed with such a sweet baby boy!

Making up for lost time...

So...it's obviously been a while since I wrote on here last and apparently a lot has changed in our lives. Our sweet baby boy was born on September 21, 2007 (just 11 days after my last entry) and has kept us busy, but so happy and blessed ever since. He changes and grows every day and is always learning something new.

Looking back at these photos, I can't believe he was ever that small! His name is James Gadsby Dettling and he weighed 6lbs, 15oz and was 20 inches long at birth (even though he was born 3 weeks early.) I can't believe that he'll be 6 months old in just a week!

I've been updating photos on our Shutterfly account, but I'll try to get some more on here too--starting from the beginning and working my way to the present. Please bear with me! We probably have one of the most photographed children ever, thanks to Aaron's amazing talent and fabulous photo equipment. His talents remind me so much of my own childhood and my father's gifted talent in photography. It is such a blessing to have these memories of our sweet James preserved forever.