Solid Food!

Lelia had her first try with solid food last night. She seemed to enjoy it, kicking her legs and eating as much as I would give her. I think it was more fun for me than it was for her :)

Jak n Lelia

Jak and Lelia just officially met yesterday. Jak just turned 1 and is walking around like a champ. It was so strange to see him toddling around and thinking that Lelia is only months away from doing the same. With all of the changes we are watching in Lelia it seems like her life is just going to fly by. I am doing my best to enjoy what each stage has to bring and really take it all in, as I know it will be gone before I know it. It can be hard not to wish for the next stages...the grass is always greener!
Kelly is Jak's mom, pictured, and is pregnant with #2...she is due in 6 months so the kids will be 18 months apart. She'll do great with the 2 little ones but I imagine an adjustment period is on the way.

Father's Love

Tom and I have been through a tough time recently. With the new lives as parents, Tom's new job, striving to get a budget together, going to Boston for two weeks for Tom's training, the holidays and heading out to Arizona after Christmas for Beth's (Tom's sister) wedding things have been a little out of control. All of the things that are going on are great but when they begin to pile up stress is a given. Tom and I have been through some tough things in the past as well and so far we come through more in love than we were before. Now that I feel we have come through the hardest part of this season and are in a place of togetherness again, I look at those flowers and they remind me of his love and forgiveness of my part of our struggles. I look at them and feel blessed to have a man with such a beautiful heart; one that is soft, compassionate, loving, full of grace and mercy. As I think about that I realize that what Tom is demonstrating to me is how God feels about us all. God knows we are imperfect yet he loves us and accepts us just the same. I hope all of you women who are reading this feel the same love and admiration for your husbands that I do for mine. Sure, he is just as imperfect as I am but the way that he deals with his imperfections and failures is so respectable in my eyes. I feel so grateful that my daughter is going to have the opportunity to grow up with a father like Tom. Lord, may we always come through our struggles in the ways that we do today and I ask you to give Tom the strength to love me in the midst and in spite of my difficulties and weaknesses. I love you, Tom.

Lelia's Talking!

It is such a joy to have the privilege to watch our little girl grow. As you can see she is very chatty...we aren't sure what she is saying yet but before long she will be able to communicate with us more clearly. Lelia is also becoming more coordinated with her arms and legs. She still isn't able to make them do exactly what she wants them to but she is getting much better! She is pretty consistently able to get her fist in her mouth and most of the time able to reach out to hit a hanging toy. We fell like God has really given us the ability to seem more of Him through the joy we experience in Lelia. We feel so blessed!

Lelia's First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving yesterday was wonderful. Lelia had her "meal" before we left as you can see from the above picture. We went to Grandpa Toomey's house for brunch and then went to Paul and Lonnie Hinchey's for a turkey dinner. The meals at both places were fabulous...the best part was spending time with friends and family on our first Thanksgiving with Lelia. She is the main attraction it seems no matter where we go! All day we thought about our thankfulness for our beautiful daughter!

DC with the Theils

We met the Theils in a small group at our church and became friends instantly. The pictures above are from a trip to DC with them (Theil, Rose and Thomas-Dhel Theil). Thomas-Dhel (aka Dreams) was born 2 weeks before Lelia...we are already calling the Theils Lelia's in-laws :) Rose and Theil are from Sudan and have lived through some amazing circumstances in their lives. We love learning about each other's cultures and encourage each other to honor God and our spouses in our marriages. I know one of the most important things that we have learned from our friendship with them has been how much God loves us all. It doesn't matter if we look the same or come from the same background, God's standards, truths and love are the same no matter who you are. Thankfully, we have become life-long friends with Rose, Theil and Dreams.

2 1/2 Months!

Lelia just had her 2 month appointment with the pediatrician. She is in the 99th percentile for height (who would have guessed??) and the 95th for weight. They said her head control was spectacular...maybe because of her time on the tummy time mat (shown above) from her uncle Bob Wee.

Grandpa Toomey

Meet Mr. President

We had the honor of meeting President Bush about a month ago for Tom's service as a Mission Director for Air Force One. He extended his gratitude to Tom for his service which was great timing being that Tom was leaving the Air Force entirely, not just Presidential duty. It was a pretty incredible experience...intimidating for sure! We also got to tour Air Force One itself. Both were one in a lifetime opportunties that neither of us are expecting to have again!