4 Months old already!

Noelle is a healthy four months (and 1 week) old. She went for her checkup Friday, and weighed 14 lbs, 9 oz, and was 24 3/4 inches long. That charted her right at the 50th percentile for height and 75th for weight. I followed the advice from many friends and her doctor, and gave Noelle some infant Tylenol 30 minutes before her shots, and every 4 hours until bedtime. Boy did that make a difference! She was not fussy like last time, and we sailed through the day and night.

Now that the weather is so nice, Noelle & I enjoy getting out for walks, so any of you who are local, let me know if you want to meet one (late) morning for a walk!

One day we'll get around to taking pictures of the rest of us, but Noelle is the most frequent object of the camera because she is changing so much! Here's a current picture of her:

Fear Not

What is death? What happens after death? What exactly happens immediately after we die? How does God answer those questions in the Bible?

As you can imagine, I have been thinking a lot about the topic of death. A very dear relative of mine attends First Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Jackson, MS, and amazingly they are currently doing a special series on this very subject. They have something called podcasts of this series on their website, and I have been listening to them. They are so wonderful.

Here is the link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/FirstPresFearNotHeaven

As of today, there are three sessions posted:
1) What is Death?
2) What Happens After Death?
3) What Happens When Christ Returns?

The second session - What Happens After Death? - was as if God heard my questions and sent this message just to me. I wish everyone who has ever lost someone could listen to this. It has made me so happy for my dad, for where he is, for what he is experiencing right now.

Listening to these podcasts is as simple as going to the link and clicking on one of the the mp3 files. It will play for you right over your computer. You can also right-click on a file and save it to your computer.

My heartfelt wish is that you set aside time to listen to this short series. I promise it will be worth it.

A Sudden Loss

Most of you who read this blog already know that last Wednesday I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my dad. All the sadness and troubles I've experienced previously in my life cannot compare to this. He was so young and healthy. He had so much energy and life. I am still in shock. The waves of intense sadness and grief still wash over me. I love him so much and miss him so much. He has left a huge, gaping hole in our family, as well as our church and his office.


I am so thankful that I moved back to Chattanooga in August of 2004. My main reason for moving was to be near my family, but I never dreamed something like this would happen. I am so thankful that I got to spend so much time with my dad, and that he was able to spend time with us. Here are some wonderful pictures of my dad with Connor when Connor was just a year old, at the Hamilton County Fair. As you can tell from the pictures, my dad thoroughly enjoyed showing all the animals to Connor.