Joel & Joanna's Journey

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Weekend Snow!

We got almost six inches of snow this weekend and we were so excited! Of course we stayed in our pajamas all day, had a fire going in the fireplace, and just enjoyed our time together. We live at the top of a big hill, so we brought the girls outside to experience snow for the first time, plus see all the brave people with their sleds, going full speed down our hill. Natalie was happy to be in the snow and check it out; Kennedy cried when I put her down, so she clung to me and watched everyone else having a good time. Here are a few pictures and some video of daddy taking Natalie "skating" across the snow (which was covered in ice and quite slippery). The other video is of Kennedy dancing, which she does every time she hears music. It's the cutest thing. I am so glad we captured it on video. Enjoy!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Christmas with Mimi & Grandad

We had a fun and memorable Christmas this year, full of lots of family, laughter, and toys galore! We headed to Mimi and Granddad's house on Christmas morning, where we had homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee. We celebrated Christmas with them, and then Laura and Justin and family came over, and more Christmas presents to open! It was a sweet day, ultimately to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to give all glory to Him for his many blessings to us!!!!!

Anna Kate is glad it's Christmas!

Cousin Caroline with the workout carebear

Natalie is working out with her too

Ken says "Merry Christmas!"

Trying out the new ice cream truck - fun!

Ooooh, her first baby doll

Opening more presents!

The family at our church for the Christmas Eve service

Christmas with Nana & Papa

The week after Christmas we headed down to Georgia to visit my parents for a few days, to celebrate Christmas with them. Both Natalie and Kennedy did great being at my parents house and really felt comfortable with them, which was good for all of us. We had a great time visiting with them and of course Nana and Papa just love being around their grandchildren and seeing how they've grown, changed, and what new things they are getting into! :-)

Here is Natalie looking out the window - she loved watching my parents dog, Crimson,
as she went outside. It was so cute

Papa & Kennedy

Papa giving a ride on the ice cream truck

Natalie also likes to push Kennedy on the ice cream truck

Daddy and Natbug

Nana & Kennedy

Dinner with the Heads

Joel's sister Laura and her husband Justin invited us over to their house last weekend to grill out some steaks and roast marshmallows in the fire pit. We had lots of fun hanging out with them, and the girls enjoyed some play time with cousins Caroline and Anna Kate.

Caroline just loves her cousins and was being so sweet giving them
hugs and kisses!

Playing Catch Up!

Yippeee, we finally have a working computer! I am very thankful for that :) Now I've got about a month's worth of photos to post for you all. Here we go!

Here are some cute pics of our girls playing in their pajamas :

N & K really play well together (most of the time... ha ha)

They have this Rose Petal Cottage with a changing table and cradle for their baby dolls
Of course, both girls thought they should climb up on the changing table and just sit

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Computer Down

Hi everyone! I am sorry, it has been waaaay too long since I have written a post. Well, that is because right after Christmas, both our laptop and desk top computers gave out on us. Ugh! It is interesting how disconnected you can feel when you don't have access to a computer. And I feel especially bad for those of you who keep up with us and the girls by way of our blog. And unfortunately, I have no pictures to post right now, as I am using another computer. We are hoping to have our laptop fixed, as it was the one that had all of our pictures on it (and thankfully we had just backed up everything on an external hard drive!) So apologies again for pictures. Hope to post some soon.

It has been a very busy four weeks, and a month of transition as well. Some of you may know by now, but I started back to work on December 14. I work for a non-profit agency called the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee. I am part time (30 hours) and basically my job is to travel to schools in Davidson and surrounding counties to do presentations on topics that can affect your mental health, like anger, bullying, stress/pressure, body image, anxiety, depression, etc. We have a mascot called I.C. Hope, who is a puppet that I introduce to only the younger kids. Here is a picture of him -

Although my first choice would be to stay home with Natalie & Kennedy, I am confident that God opened this door to work here, and even though He had to do some work in my heart for me to be content in this place that I may not be so comfortable in, I am thankful for this job. It is truly a wonderful place to be, the hours are nice, the pay is good, and the people I work with are really nice. The job is also really fun and not too stressful. I had done classroom groups in the past, so it was something I was already familiar with, so it wasn't too tough of a transition. Right now, Joel has been staying home with the girls, which has been a huge help and a big blessing. We are currently looking for a nanny to come to our home and watch the girls once Joel's business gets busy again around March. So it has certainly been an adjustment after being home with the girls for six months and loving my stay at home mom status. But since I am part time, I leave work before most everyone, so hardly any traffic, and I can get home at a decent hour to have some quality family time before the girls go to bed. So for now, things are good. We certainly are grateful. God does work all things for our good and His glory. He hears our prayers and answers in His own way, in His own timing. There is still much for us to learn, but we take it day by day. Thanks for checking in and we hope to be able to put pictures up soon! :)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Natalie & Kennedy's First Birthday!!!

Saturday afternoon, we celebrated Natalie and Kennedy's first year with our family. We decided not to do anything big, but just wanted our families around us, so we gathered at Mimi and Grandad's house and had a sweet little party. Joel's grandparents were also there, so that was very special as well! The girls wore pink tu-tus and bibs that Mimi embroidered with a cupcake and their name. My parents were not able to travel due to my mom's recent hip replacement surgery, so we plan to go down to Georgia next weekend, and will celebrate Christmas and birthdays with them.
As I wrote in the Birthdays post, Natalie Joy & Kennedy Faith have been one of the greatest joys in our lives! We are amazed watching them grow and learn every day and love being their mama and dada. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweet daughters!

Family picture