Like a John Deere Tractor (an actual song by the Judds back in the day...)

January 3 pictures

Daddy and Ruth on our trip to Virginia over the New Year's Holiday.

This is Brian's Aunt Karen. Her family was cutting wood.

This is Brian's Aunt Sharon. You know Ruth wanted to pull that hair!!!

This is Ruth with Brian's Aunt Dee and her two new adopted children. Dee makes great crafts and should really travel around to craft fairs.

This Brian's uncle Junior and his wife Mildred. Brian's father is pictured far right. We didn't get any pictures of his mom on this trip, can you believe that!!!! Next trip we will have to take lots.

This is Ruth with Aunt Karen's husband. I think he thinks that because we live outside of Atlanta that I am a city girl. But I am NOT. I was raised on a farm and although escaped having to learn how to drive a tractor, I have hauled hay, cut wood, chased cattle, gathered eggs, planted entire fields of burmuda grass by hand, picked up rocks and dug catcus. And more. And many times. Although Ruth has yet to be on a tractor on the farm (too little last summer, too cold this winter) she is here. Don't worry, Mom, the tractor was not even turned on at this moment.

Video Killed the Radio Star

This video says it all....if you can't watch this due to dial-up, you MUST have somewhere to watch this.

More, More, More

Ruth with her cousin Christian. (These set of pictures are from the Virginia trip - Brian's family)

Ruth beating up her cousin Christian.

Ruth winning.

Ruth as a spider in the game "Guess Who I Am?" Notice, one sock on and one sock off.

Ruth with her aunt Lori (Brian's brother's wife). Ruth is thinking "she has a lot more teeth than me. I bet she can really bite things"

I just thought this was a great picture of both of them.

Jesus Loves Me

Let me take a break from posting holiday pictures and tell you about today. Today we woke up early to get ready for church and baby dedication day. We have waited ever since last spring to dedicate Ruth waiting for the 10am service that is so hard to get on the baby list but the service we wanted since that is our service. And here the day finally arrived. And we were all sick. Ruth, as you have read, has been sick for a week and now has a double ear infection. Brian and I have the full fledged cold. If it had not been baby day we all would have rolled over and gone back to bed (we actually had to wake Ruth up this morning).

But we got up and I am so glad we did. What a great day we had.

Our dear friends Connie and David Schnuelle (picture to be added soon) who used to live here drove up from south Georgia to be with us and watch Ruth. And after the service the Scott family (Kathy, Rick and Emily --Laura Liz and Will both off to college) met us in the nursery. The Scotts would have joined us for lunch but Emily had rehearsal. Dang it. Those dancers!!!

Also some of our friends who normally go to the 9:50 service (contemporary) came to our service to watch Ruth.

Ruth did great, although she was the loudest baby. Ruth decided that during prayer she would give me kisses. Now, for those of you who know what Ruth's kisses on mommy sound like, you know what this means. For those of you who don't, go back to September and watch the video of Ruth giving my mom kisses. Very loud. So I tried to stop her by giving her a toy which she promptly THREW on the marble floor (echoing throughout the church). My husband whispered a cuss word when he picked it up. I imagine him showing up on all the videos of the sweet families and them reading his lips like a football coach who cusses out his players on television.

But Ruth is dedicated and her name means Faithful. I thought it meant friendly. But not matter. Also, the theme verse the pastor picked for her is Ruth 3:11. It is a nice verse. They also gave us a small bible and a letter from the pastor that Ruth is to open and read the day she accepts Christ. Brian says he is going to read it now but I want to read it with Ruth. I look forward to that day.

Ruth is feeling much better. After a nice long nap this afternoon, she was in great spirits. After dinner, Brian and I chased Ruth around the house on our hands and knees. We all three laughed and giggled until tears were running out of our eyes.

So as we each go to bed tonight, I hope you remember the song that gives us today's title. Know that it is true. And if you have children, look at them and you see the proof.

Gonna Party Like It's 2009

On the way to Virginia on New Year's Day we stopped in Johnson City, TN to see my friend Erika and her two kids and husband Matt. This is Ruth with Aylin, who is about 6 weeks younger than Ruth. Don't they look so sweet together.

Ruth and Aylin not paying any attention to Ashur. Yes, he is wearing a Sooners jersey. Erika and her husband both went to undergrad there and Erika was getting her masters there at the same time I was. We went through ballet boot camp together.

Virginia Tech played that day. This is Erika, me and our kids. I love the kids' faces.

Just the girls.

It's Been A Long Day's Night

Ruth has a double ear infection we learned yesterday. She has had a cold all week and we thought she was getting better on Thursday. But Friday morning at 4am she woke up screaming and did so for a better part of an hour. Then she woke up again at 6:15am screaming again. The poor little girl looked so pitiful half crying and half falling asleep and not being able to suck a paci because she couldn't breathe out of her nose that it almost brought Brian to tears. Brian had to staff on Friday (12 hours) the first day he has had to staff in three weeks. He is staffing today as well (actually behind the counter all day giving out drugs). So I loaded Ruth up in the car and took her to the doctor. By the time we got to the doctor she was in great spirits and played with the moms and kids I knew (I saw three people I knew at the doctor, that is a first).

Poor little Ruth happens to be a wax producer so the doctor had to scrape out her ears before he could look into them. He gave us two prescriptions and since Brian was working and Ruth needed to sleep and sleeping propped up is best for her, I just drove the hour to the store and we had lunch with Daddy. Ruth was great that afternoon and helped me pick out shoes and a dress for Sunday and slept all the way home. But last night was the worst.

I went to bed shortly after I put Ruth down at 8:45pm. I heard her cry at 11pm and Brian got up with her. I relieved him at 12:30am (I think they both had cat napped). I was up until 1:30am when I realized Ruth had fever and needed medicine. So I woke up Brian and he helped me dose her and clean out her caked over nose. The poor kid pretty much screamed for an hour. Since she has been poked and prodded so much now she won't let us even wipe her nose without a fight. It was after 3am before my whimpering daughter finally went to sleep and I slept with her in the guest bed so Brian could get some sleep since he had to go to work today.

She seemed better this morning and is napping now. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow since she is getting dedicated at church.

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

We spent Christmas Day here at our house. It was so nice to get up, cuddle with Ruth and feed her in bed and run down the stairs and open presents and then have a big breakfast. Yes, there were a lot of "and's" in that sentence. So what, this is my blog and if I want to have a lot of "and's" I will. And I do.

Here are some pictures of our day.

Ruth in her new "jazz pants" and Christmas top. I thought she looked so much like a dance teacher in this outfit. I used to wear stuff like this all the time. She is stretching in second position. We are still working on jazz hands...Elmo is trying to help her.

Please excuse my outfit and how I look. This was in the middle of the afternoon after a walk and playtime. Ruth is holding on to the "barre" and showing off her extension a la seconde. Wish some of my students had her extension.

Ruth bouncing with the zebra. She can get off the zebra by herself but mostly just wants to stand in front of him. I thought I would be one of those moms who wrote down every milestone the day it happened. But life just got busy, and I didn't. She started pulling up sometime after Thanksgiving and now cruises everywhere and all the time.


Ruth with Daddy on Christmas morning.

This is a dress my sister Malory wore when she was Ruth's age back in 1971. Ruth is pictured here on December 28 waiting on Mommy and Daddy to get ready for church.