Downtown adventures

We had quite a busy weekend! Saturday we got up and decided to head downtown to the Farmer's Market. And once you're downtown, it's just sensible to make a day of it! So we wandered past all the vendors at the market and then hopped on the trolley. Caroline loved the "pond". Then we had a bite to eat at The Flying Fish. Caroline insisted on fried shrimp. Then she refused to eat it. If she didn't look so much like me, I'd swear she wasn't mine based on that little incident. We walked across the street to see what the ducks at the Peabody were up to and checked out their new palace on the rooftop. Then we headed back to Midtown for a restful afternoon.

Memorial day pictures and Helen's 2-month stats coming soon!

Baptism

Helen was baptized last weekend. It was a very special day. We felt so blessed and honored to have so many family members and friends celebrating with us. In the words of our pastor, the fact that our home was filled with people who love us is a symbol of how much we are loved by our Father. How humbling! Our daily prayer is that Caroline and Helen would know and love our redeemer Jesus Christ all the days of their lives.

²⁴To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
-Jude 1:24-25

After everything got quiet Sunday night, I lamented that I couldn't remember everything that was said and prayed for Helen Sunday morning. I was wishing we had videoed the baptism. And I consoled myself by remembering what I could remember. Well, Tuesday I got a CD in the mail from church. It was an audio recording of Helen's baptism! I was so happy! God provides... Now if we can just find some copies of the bulletin! :-)

Helen's dress is 60 years old this year. It was made by my great-grandmother Zimmerman for my Aunt Suzi's baptism. It's been worn by my mother, me, Erin, Caroline, and now Helen. It is a treasured family heirloom! I made Caroline's dress. It was my first heirloom-style dress. I drew a sketch of what I wanted the dress to look like and then picked out all the lace. I pieced together the lace on the yoke with my machine and hand-stitched the lace around the sleeves and neck. It was a very fun process and I know I will be making another one.

Caroline goes to the dentist

Today was Caroline's first trip to the dentist. We've been talking about this day for weeks and she was so excited to have Leslie and Dr. Edwards look at her teeth. She let Leslie count her teeth (20), brush her teeth with chocolate chip cookie dough toothpaste, and floss her teeth. It was a great checkup and I am very proud of her!

Merry sunshines

Caroline entertained Helen while I made breakfast this morning. She is the best big sister. I didn't realize how sweet these pictures were until I uploaded them. I see the beginnings of a beautiful relationship between these two. I'm feeling very humbled today. God has blessed me more than I ever deserved and I'm thankful beyond words.

Is that a hint of a smile I see?

This is Caroline singing a little good morning song to Helen that Erin and I heard every morning from our mom. And I'm sure she heard it every morning from her mom. Now I'm passing it on to my girls...