Monday, May 16, 2011

Mother's Day Weekend

It seems like we have started a tradition of taking a trip Mother's Day weekend. Last year we went to Auburn to visit our good friends Casey and Katherine. This year, we took a much needed family vacation to Chattanooga. We planned it kind of last minute and then 2 days before we were set to leave, Avery started getting sick. She had a high fever and just didn't feel well. The doctor said it was a virus so there was nothing we could do. We decided to go ahead and go to Chattanooga because Avery started acting like she felt better. She ended up having a good time, but you can kind of tell in the pictures that she wasn't 100%. Also, she refused to let me brush her hair while she was sick and she refused to wear a bow or a clip...so her hair was a hot mess!

She loved riding the escalator!

Posing with the parrot



Petting the stingrays

Avery liked the penguins as long as they didn't get too close to the glass.


Jellyfish art







Touching some more fish.  I don't know if she actually touched one...she just loved playing in the water!



At the hotel room.  She immediately got comfy on the bed and snacked on some Sun Chips!  She loves to sit with her leg propped up.
We also went to the Chattanooga Lookouts baseball game while we were there.  We didn't stay for the whole thing because Avery was winding down but it was a lot of fun.  We were glad that they weather was so nice that weekend and we were able to spend some time outside. 

On Sunday morning, I could tell Avery really was not feeling well.  She hadn't really eaten anything since she had be sick (except the Sun Chips) so I got her some cereal and milk and she ate it.  Then a few seconds later, she threw up on the hotel bed (oops!).  We Adam cleaned it up and Avery seemed to feel much better afterwards.  Don't worry...we told the lady at the front desk about it when we checked out to make sure that the cleaning people knew.  Since Avery was feeling better, we decided to have lunch and walk around downtown Chattanooga before we drove home.  We had a great time and definitely plan on going back. 

On Monday, Adam and Avery met me for lunch and Adam surprised me with this beautiful plate!

He took Avery to a place that paints pottery and got this plate made with her handprint and footprint.  You can see in this picture that her handprint is on the left and her footprint is on the right.  I love it!

Avery is now back to normal and is as happy as ever!  I am also happy to report that she has starting asking to wear her "bow bows" (hair bows) again!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

April 27th

One week ago today, April 27th, tornadoes devastated the state of Alabama as well as other states in the South.  We watched them live on television as they destroyed Cullman, Tuscaloosa and areas near Birmingham.  It was absolutely horrifying.  They also destroyed many areas close to us as well as areas around the entire state.  Our family is extremely fortunate that we did not have any damage or injuries.  My heart goes out to the many people across the state that lost loved ones and lost homes.  There is a huge relief effort going on across the state and people are really stepping up to help those in need. 

The video below is from a family in the Huntsville area (you have to log in to Facebook to see it).  They are members of The Brook Church where Adam and I were members when we lived in Madison.  It is unreal to see the before and after video of their neighborhood.  We do not know this family personally, but have been following their story through our friends at The Brook.  Please keep them and all of the many tornado victims in your prayers. 

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2000731544766&comments