We Survived the Holidays!!

Well, I am glad to say we survived the holidays. Although Christmas has ALWAYS been my favorite time of year, it is also the most stressful time of year as well. With all the social gatherings, family get-togethers, shopping frenzies, driving MANY MANY hours to see family and friends, and general holiday stress, it can become somewhat daunting! However, we journeyed to my parent's home both on Thanksgiving and Christmas and both trips were safe and fairly un-eventful (Thanks be to God!)... All I can say is Car DVD Players are AWESOME!!!! I don't see how I (as a child) survived long car rides without them)...

Lucas had a wonderful time at my parent's house playing non-stop with his PawPaw, MawMaw, Uncle, Aunt, and cousins. He is greatly loved, and we are grateful. Santa was VERY good to all of us, especially to Lucas! His favorite toy from Santa was his GeoTrax Train, which he plays with NON stop! He also received MORE CARS THAN WE CAN COUNT as well as a Cars Racetrack, which he loves! We have already had to replace the batteries on it once--a true sign!! We are looking forward to this new year. 2007 has been a challenging, yet rewarding year, but we are looking forward to the many adventures that 2008 will bring!

Happy New Year!!

Visiting Santa Claus

Well, we finally did it! We made the pilgrimmage to see good Old St. Nick at the infamous mall! Lucas did so great with Santa. We had to wait in line for 45 minutes, however, luckily I had the forethought to bring a juice box and fish crackers! When his turn came, he went right to Santa, sat in his lap, laughed and smiled, and told Santa he wanted a train for Christmas! The only time he got upset was when he had to leave! What a cutie! We are traveling to my parent's home for the holidays. Hopefully Lucas will travel easily! We have many DVD's for viewing, so hopefully all will go well!! Happy Holidays to everyone!!

LUCAS IS TWO YEARS OLD!

Well, it has finally happened. Our boy turned two years old this past week! Wow, the last two years have been a whirlwind! I have learned so much and yet feel so often as if I know nothing at all about motherhood. It is a perpetual cycle of new beginnings for us as parents--and yet I wouldn't trade any of it. We have Lucas's birthday party at the Children's Museum of Atlanta, which is an AMAZING place for children. We had cake (CARS Movie cake of course) and did a few activities in the party room before heading out into the museum for much fun! There were a variety of activities and play areas, but I believe by far the most popular activity was the Water Table! Luckily was was 78 degrees outside, so we didn't have to worry too much about them getting too cold! What a great time everyone had! I feel so blessed to have such dear friends who came to share Lucas's special day with him. My cup runneth over--boy, does it ever!!

Words to Live By...

Just some words which came from the Reinhardt College Virtual Chapel today...
Definitely some words I NEEDED to read today!

Matthew 6:25, 33
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, that you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Lucas's 2nd Birthday

Well I can't believe that Lucas will soon be turning 2 years old!! His birthday is December 4th, so it will be here before we know it. We will be having a party at the Children's Museum of Atlanta which should be great fun!! We took Lucas there over the summer and he loved it. I have created a photo montage to celebrate his second year of life. It is amazing to go back over all the old photos and see how much he has changed--even over the last 2 months alone!! I can't believe how much things have changed since this time last year!! Those of you who know me well remember I created a montage for his first birthday last year. The one I just finished for his 2nd year is below. At the very bottom, you'll find the one from last year!! Needless to say, I haven't slept much this week. I can hack away at this sort of project for hours!! But those of you who KNOW ME already know that as well!! Enjoy!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is the montage from his first Birthday!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fun in the Fall!!

Well, we had so much fun taking Lucas to the North Georgia Mountains this past weekend! We took him to the Pumpkin Patch as well as to the Apple Orchard. What a wonderful time we had. This year, Lucas is so much more animated and excited about new things. We made many special memories together, and I am continually amazed at how fast he is growing and changing everyday!! God has truly blessed our lives with this little one, and I am humbled by the honor I feel in just knowing and loving this little person...

After Bath Cookie Break

One Sunday evening I made fresh home-made cookies--a rare treat in our household these days since I took on this full-time job! Lucas LOVES cookies. That evening Justin gave him his evening bath, and tehn he came downstairs and had some cookies. What a special time that was!!! We also bought him his own "Lucas-size" table and chairs which sit in our kitchen. He uses that table to eat, have snacks, color in his coloring books, do puzzles, and play with his cars. He is a busy little man!!

Boy on the Farm

Last weekend we took Lucas to Cagle's Dairy Farm!! What a fun time we had. Lucas had so much fun playing on the toy tractors. This boy loves everything with wheels!! He is currently in LOVE with cars (including the Movie CARS). His loves also include trains (new obsession), police cars, school buses, and big trucks!! He is definitely all boy!!

Lucas is in a Music Video

Several months ago, Justin worked on a music video for Mark Schultz (a contemporary Christian Singer). He sang this song called "Everything to Me" which is a beautiful song about adoption. Well, at the beginning and ending of the video, the main character is looking at a picture of a baby. It is our Lucas!!! He is a celebrity!! Is is such a beautiful song!! You can see the video by following the lonk below!! If you are unable to click on the link, just cut and paste it into your browser window! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhqJYOYcnAU

Taking our "monkey" to Monkey Joe's

Well we ventured out to a place called Monkey Joe's which is a huge room with many many inflatable bouncy "thingies". It is basically an indoor playground which is lots of fun!!
Check out the website at: http://www.monkeyjoes.com/

Lucas had a blast!!! It was fun to get out and expend lots of pent-up energy!!

FIRST DAY OF MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Well, the fall is coming and school is starting for many kids around town! Our household is no exception! This year, dear hubby and I decided to enroll Lucas in a Montessori School. We are very excited about this new learning opportunity for Lucas. He started the new school year with fresh, crisp new uniform shirts (navy or white polo shirt) and khaki shorts/pants. Of course I cried. He looked SO grown up in his uniform. I guess Lucas is REALLY a little boy now and no longer a baby...*sigh*

For more information on Montessori, you can go to the following link!

http://www.woodstockmontessori.com/

Mr. Clean

Lucas is a great helper around the house! Now if only I could get him to use a broom and dustpan.

Breakfast with "Baby"

Lucas has adopted his little stuffed doggie/blanket as his "Baby." Since the child's birth, his crib has been adorned with a variety of "lovies"--none of which he EVER showed any intereest. Going into his room each morning, I would generally find all the babies had been ejected from the bed throughout the course of the night. Dear hubby rationalizes that Lucas was merely "sending the troops out on a mission." I just think he didn't care to share his bed with these stuffed creatures who only "hoarded" the blankets!! Alas, over the last month or so, one of the "lovies" has made its way into Lucas's favor! Known as "Baby", this little stuffed dog/blanket was the first toy I bought Lucas when I was barely pregnant with him. During the early months of my pregnancy,I was afraid to buy any baby regalia for fear that something would go wrong with the baby. I'm so glad he has developed a special bond with this toy. He MUST have it before he can nap for go to bed. It is SO CUTE to see him snuggle up with it before bedtime, and give "Baby" hugs and smooches. What a cutie!! This morning, he was feeding "Baby" granola cereal for breakfast. So Cute!

Independence Day 2007

Well, we had a wonderful time visiting with friends on the 4th, as well as walking down to our little downtown Woodstock and watching the local parades. We also walked around the local festival which included face painting, a cake walk, plenty of fair food, and local live music. We had a great time! Our friends Nichole and Ken, along with their little boy Xander and new addition Zoe (2 months old) came over and we all went together. What a wonderful day! It was SO HOT, however. We managed to keep the kids cool with lots of popsicle and water! But barely...

Our first Family Vacation

Last week we went on our first family vacation to the beach in Florida. We, along with another family, rented a beach house near Seaside, FL. It was an amazing week, and Lucas had a blast playing in the sand at the beach and swimming in the house pool everyday! Every morning we went to the beach to play in the sand, swim in the waves, and build sand castles. Lucas loved running the toy cars and trucks over the sand bridges and houses! Around 10ish, we would go swimming in the private pool at the beach house. It was wonderful having a swimming pool all to oursleves! Lucas enjoyed splashing around the pool as well! After lunch, we ALL had nap/siesta time. Yippy. I spent my resting time napping and reading books (yeah for some leisure reading time)! I actually got TWO books read over the course of the week! WOW. This was a wonderful vacation because most of it was spent WITHOUT an agenda! That's MY kind of vacation!! Lucas and Ben (the other family's little boy) loved playing cars and watching "Bob the Builder" and "Cars" during our time spent at the house. What a wonderful time we had!!

Visiting MawMaw and PawPaw

We just got back from visiting my mom and dad for a week! What a great time Lucas had! Of course he was spoiled rotten, so we'll have a bit of detox to go through this week, but he had such a great time, and it was wonderful to visit with family again!!

Peek-A-Boo

Lucas loves to play Pee-A-Boo. A church down the street has a neat Toddler Play Area which is very Lucas friendly! Here is some video of him and Justin playing Pee-A-Boo.

BATH TIME FOR LUCAS

Lucas loves the bath tub! He has recently learned about splashing the water and WHAT FUN that can be....well, at least for him!! We are truly blessed!

Trip to Children's Museum of Atlanta

We took Lucas to the Children's Museum of Atlanta. They were having a special Sesame Street Exhibit. Lucas had a wonderful time, and we will definitely be getting season passes to this awesome place!

EASTER MORNING

We had a wonderful Easter holiday! The Easter Bunny brought Lucas lots of treats, and we had Justin's family (along with two special friends) over for a wonderful Easter meal! What a special day it was! We also had an Easter Egg Hunt at our home for Lucas. He is finally getting the idea of what to do with the eggs!

Cool Slideshows

2007 Easter Egg Hunt!

Our neighborhood hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. It was so cold outside; however, Lucas had a great time playing with all the plastic eggs. He has finally officially gotten the hang of: seek egg, find egg, and place egg in basket. His sequence, however, goes a little more like: seek egg, find egg, take egg apart and let contents fall to floor/ground, ignore contents of the egg, put egg in mouth, throw egg, pick egg back up, throw egg again, and finally, place egg in basket. Ahhhh, we're learning. They also had cupcakes, which Lucas (as well as mom and dad) greatly enjoyed!

I AM A DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKER

Here are some of my latest digi scrapping pages. I absolutely LOVE scrapbooking!

Thomas the Train is EVIL

No one can ever REALLY understand the potential evil which lurks in small children's toys...that is UNTIL he/she has children who receive these evil toys as gifts from other well-meaning (yet childless) friends. My dear friend in Nashville WARNED me about a particular Thomas the Train toy when I was pregnant with Lucas. "Sure," she said "it seems completely harmless and actually cute when you first see your sweet bundle playing with the 'harmless' toy."

The train has little record-looking devices which play cute songs, similar to a record player, but totally toddler friendly! The problem is this: the thing never stops playing...yeah, that's right, it NEVER STOPS PLAYING. So our beloved son will play with the toy for about 10-15 minutes and moves on to other more intriguing toys, and the train JUST KEEPS PLAYING THE SAME SONG...over and over and over and over again. It would be great to have the song play once, or hey, even twice in a row, but then stop. Give us a break. Keep us comin back for more...no that's not the case... well, imagine my surprise when lulu received the Evil Thomas the Train for Christmas. Of course he loves it, and I am glad...but alas, I have grown extremely weary of the Thomas theme song...it plays over and over again in my head...and I suppose it will continue to do so...until....I mean unless Thomas accidently gets "lost" at some point...and What a SAD day that will be!

I AM PERFORMING

Well, I have a big performance coming up in a couple of weeks! I will be performing with the Reinhardt Orchestra. We are performing one of the FEW 3 Piano Concertos written by J.S. Bach, and it will be an amazing performance. The work is FANTASTIC, and I am honored to get the opportunity to perform it with two fine pianists from Reinhardt. Our artist in residence, Dr. George Lucktenberg, and one of our accompanists, Fabia Smith will play the other 2 parts. Please see the following link for more details on the upcoming performance on April 16th.

http://www.reinhardt.edu/fpac/news/orchestra_concert_p07_041607.htm

BUNNY PHOTOS ARE COMPLETE

Well, the bunny photos from last weekend are available for all to VIEW! Feel free to go to the website

http://www.lisamahoneyphotography.com/

Enter into the galleries and Click on March BUNNY Portraits to get to the photos. There were several which turned out pretty good. I am SO glad.

Our friends Arica and Lance also came with us that day and brought their little girl, who is 3.5 months old. She was so beautiful and I am sure they have tons of photos to choose from!

Here are a couple of photos that Lance took with his Canon digital camera.

I LOVE this pic of lulu! He is really thinking about something! Probably...how to get away from the bunnies!

In this photo, it is hard to tell...who is trying to get away from WHOM? The bunny is not too keen on lulu either!!

This is Sophia, who belongs to our friends Arica and Lance. She wasn't bothered at all by the bunnies hopping all around her! Ahhhh...the Golden days of immobility!

Spring Has Sprung

Well, Spring is officially HERE! There is a thick coat of Yellow Pollen Everywhere! Lucas has had so much fun getting outside to play. We have recently purchased a new purple ball that he loves to kick around outside. We enjoy taking him to the new park that has been built recently here in Woodstock. Lucas definitely loves to be outside. I love to see him run around giggling as he tries to kick the ball around!

Attempted LIVE Bunny Photo Shoot

Well, we have an OFFICIAL TODDLER on our hands! Last Saturday, we drove to Suwanee, Georgia to have a photographer take photographs of Lucas with LIVE bunnies. I thought this would be more entertaining and beautiful than standing in line at the mall attempting to get photos taken with the "Easter Bunny." Well, Lucas was completely terrified of the bunnies--who would of thought! He cried every time one of the assistants tried to put one near him. He was however mesmorized with the plastic eggs and large prop eggs! So mesmerized that he would jump up, run around the room with them in his hand, and attempt to throw them at the "evil" bunnies. If it would not have been my own child, I would of been laughing my behind off. But of course, it was MY child, and I was desperately trying to corral him just to get ONE photo...one DECENT photo of my beloved son with some cute LIVE bunnies...However, I had forgotten that when one is parenting a TODDLER, you NEVER know what the day will bring. So in two weeks, we will get the proofs back and see exactly what the photographer managed to capture. I wonder if she managed to capture my general angst in the background?! Ah well, it was cute (in a sad sort of way) and I am sure that I will laugh about it, maybe next year...