Doing ministry with Dad

Yesterday (Saturday) we had the opportunity to participate in a Super Summer Adventure (SSA)! SSA is the VBS program that Providence does. Different families in the church host SSA in their backyards for their neighborhood. It's a great tool for families to use to get to know their neighbors and have a witness in their community. This weekend the Singles hosted one in an apartment complex behind the church.

The SSA team

They led a Bible story (Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead),

played a game (rolling each other in toilet paper like Lazarus),

had a snack and made a craft.

For kids that attended the whole program, we had a slip-n-slid afterwards!

 Hailey and I came along for the fun! We couldn't do a whole lot to help except talk to some of the parents and older siblings of the kids, but we had a blast doing ministry with Dad!

Don't you just love her hat?!

How Hailey spent most of the day. She loved the carrier!

Trip to Charlotte / Tennessee

Last week Hailey and I traveled to Charlotte to see Grams and then all three of us went to Tennessee to see the Great-grandmas and other family that hadn't met Hailey yet.

Our first stop was in Banner Springs to see Granny and several of my cousins. She got to see my cousin Cailin again, who loves her "baby Hailey".

sleeping on Granny before traveling to Nashville

Granny, Cailin and Hailey

Cailin and Hailey

Then we traveled on to Nashville to see Gigi, Mitsey, Jacob, and David. Hailey did lots of playing and loved being held by everyone! Mitsey made Hailey lots of cute monogrammed things including the bibs for her picture each month (shown in my last blog).

I hate that this turned out so dark...sleeping on Gigi

with Jacob

playing makes me SO sleepy!

Grams and Hailey at dinner one night.

On our way home we traveled back through Banner Springs to see Granny again and then back to Charlotte to hang out with Grams for a few days so I could clean out my classroom for the move to Raleigh. (I didn't clean it out before the move because school was still in session.) Julie showed me how to use my birthday present from Mom and Dad...a sewing/monogramming machine! I was pretty proud of how my first few projects turned out!

Playing at Grams' house

Grams loving on Hailey, loving on her baby

While we were gone, Hailey decided she liked her paci. Yay! This time she was holding it in herself!

First few monogramming/sewing projects...with Julie's help!

 We had a great time on our trip! Can't wait to see everyone again!

3 months...a little late

Hailey turned 3 months old on June 8th. We were in Tennessee visiting the great-grandmas and family so this post is a little late.

At three months, Hailey weighs about 12 and a half pounds. We just started using size 2 diapers and she is in 3 months clothes except for sleepers. She outgrew the 3 months ones so we are wearing 6 months.

Like my cute bib that Aunt Mitsey made?!

She discovered her hands and loves to chew on them! She has started to hold toys but not for very long. She loves to sit up in her bouncy seat and bumbo seat. I don't think it'll be long before she is trying to do it alone. A lot of times if she is laying on the bed or floor and grabs our fingers, Hailey will try to pull herself up to sit or even stand.

Hailey generally goes to sleep around 9:00 and sleeps until 4-5 in the morning. She will then eat and go back to sleep until around 10. She doesn't really take consistent naps during the day...I think she's afraid she will miss something!

Love my happy girl!

Daddy dressed me...Can you tell?!

We love you Hailey Grace!

First time at the beach

Memorial Day weekend was Providence's annual Singles Beach Retreat at Fort Caswell (near Oak Island). We had a blast spending time with the singles, getting to know them and experiencing Hailey's first time at the beach! She did pretty well with all of the changes to her surroundings. Ryan's parents, Mimi and Poppi, came down to the beach to help take care of Hailey so she had lots of fun hanging out with them.

We never actually took Hailey out on the beach because it was super windy most of the time we were there. There was a tropical storm off the coast so that made it more windy than normal. Poor Hailey couldn't quite figure out how to breathe with all of the strong wind. She kept losing her breath when the wind blew!

Here are a few pictures from our trip...

Sink bath! Our room on the first night didn't have a tub, so Hailey got a bath in the sink!

Hanging on the pier with Mommy...can you tell how windy it was?!

Hanging on the pier with Daddy

Toes in the sand for the first time!

Aren't I cute in my beach hat?!

Spending time with Poppi

Love my Mimi!

We had a great time on our first beach retreat and can't wait for next year!

2 months old

Hailey is officially 2 months old! We went to the doctor and she weighs 11 lbs 5 oz (65%), is 22 in. long (30%) and her head circumference is 37.2 cm. She also had to get her first round of shots. That broke my heart because I knew she was hurting but I know they're good for her.

Hailey has started "talking" to us a lot lately. She'll look at us so intently and just starting cooing and babbling at us. It's so cute. She loves to talk to her friend, Mr. Fan (the ceiling fan in our bedroom). She'll lay on our bed for a good 15 to 20 minutes just staring and talking to it. It's so funny! Here's a video of her "talking" that we sent to to Ryan at work.

She also loves to just lay on her back and kick and flail away. She loves to be moving!

She's trying so hard to roll over. She can easily get to her side but can't seem to get her arm out of the way to make it all the way over. I'm sure it'll happen soon!

First day at Providence

Didn't my girl look sweet for her first day at Providence?!

Yesterday was our first official Sunday at Providence Baptist Church. It was exciting to meet even more of the singles that we will be serving. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly to us. I know this is where God has called us to be and He has continued to confirm it through little things as we've began meeting people and getting involved in the church. They've brought us dinners, given us encouragement, reminded us of their names numerous times and shown us that they want to get to know us and be involved in our lives and Hailey's. I'm excited for the beach retreat in a few weeks so that we can get to know them even better and continue forming relationships!

I love Fridays!

But not for the normal, end of the work-week reason. Now that I'm staying home with Hailey (HUGE blessing!) it's the start of our weekend. Ryan has Fridays off, since he technically works on Sunday. So, Fridays begin our wonderful weekends as a family! I love how Ryan gets up with Hailey for the early 6ish shift on Fridays and lets me sleep a little longer. I love how we can put her back down after her feeding and just relax and watch TV or spend time together while she sleeps. I love my little family!

This week was Ryan's first official week at Providence. Wednesday night they had their Singles service called The Gathering. We were officially introduced! It was so neat to meet some of the people that we had prayed for for so many months. We have prayed that the singles in the ministry would be open to us and the change in leadership. It was so exciting to finally meet some of those people. They were all so nice and welcoming. Tonight we have an event called The Oasis. It's kind of an outreach event that they can invite other singles to; there is dinner, a dessert contest, and swing dancing! How fun does that sound?! I'm excited that I'll get to meet more of the people involved in the ministry.

Plus, Grams is coming to keep this cutie! Yay for weekend trips to Raleigh!