Tiny new nieces!!

I'm not "caught up" on blogging, but this post can't wait till I am! =)
Sunday night (June 8), my sister Lydia gave birth to twin girls - Isabella Faith and Lydia Grace. The girls were 5 lb 2 oz and 5 lb 0 oz respectively. Monday evening my brother Caleb, Nathan, Abigail and I drove to visit them at the hospital. The girls are little but healthy - praise the Lord! - and were able to come home Wednesday. This afternoon/evening, Abigail and I got to spend several hours with Lydia and girls. . . what a sweet time. We didn't want to leave them. More pictures will certainly follow. =)

She said it!

Two-year-olds say such amusing things. . . and Abigail's no exception. Here are some from the past few months that make us smile:

About 9:30 one chilly night in February, a little, but very distresssed voice calls from Abigail's room: "Black socks doesn't match, Mommy! Black socks doesn't match. Sniff. Sniff." (She was wearing pink fleece pajamas and I'd left her black socks from the day on.)

While dropping a trash bag off at the dumpster one morning:
Abigail: Sometimes Abigail's friends stinky. We frow them in the trash.
Mommy: You mean your friends sometimes have stinky diapers and we throw the diapers in the trash?
A: Uh huh. Sometimes Abigail's friends stinky. We frow them in the trash.
M: We throw the diapers in the trash. But we don't throw friends in the trash, do we?
A: No.
M: Why not? (recent discussions about how God made people special)
A: They too big!

During Nathan's busy semeseter of work and MBA classes:
Abigail says to Daddy as he leave for class after being home from work only 30 minutes: "Thank you [for] coming, Daddy."
(By the way, we're loving spending most evenings with him now!)

11:00 p.m. Mommy pushing Abigail's door farther open for better circulation during the night: A sits up in bed and says, "Pwease cwose da door, Mommy," and then conks back to sleep immediately.

Abigail loves to "mother" little children and babies and can't wait till she's a mommy. On the way home from church in late April: Abigail tells us: "Abigail keeping all the children at the nurs-ry till their moms come get them. Lady holding one boy -Abigail taking care other boys." (By the way, there are currently mostly boys in her nursery and Abigail is older than the majority of them. . . by 2-3 months. =)

As part of conversation about names with a friend:
Mommy to Abigail: "What is your name?"
A: "Abigail"
M: "What is your last name?"
A: "Kae is Abigail's middle name."
M: "That's right! And what's your last name?"
A: "Stinker Binker!" (A nickname Daddy used on Abigail primarily in her baby days)

Days in our lives (April 8-24)

Early in the month, Abigail and Julia undertook a long-awaited project - painting the master bedroom! We had fun and the room looks much better (and more colorful!). Abigail was thrilled to try her hand at painting, but found the roller a bit heavy. She and her friend Emmalein enjoyed several visits and pretended to nap together. . . they're both growing up so fast. Another night I found her bouncing on Daddy's shoulders when he was "tucking her in" for the night. And one morning, she'd moved too much in her sleep and was hanging off the end of her bed! We had a surprise visit from former neighbors and couldn't believe how much Stephon, Gretchen, Lindsey and Timaria had grown. One Sunday night while Mommy was getting supper, Abigail called to us, "I'm having a baby in my tummy" and we saw that she'd discovered a new trick with her ball - and was very proud of herself! One full morning, Mommy and Abigail took friend Ree and baby Desmirion shopping for setting up housekeeping. Later that day, Uncle Cablet, Uncle Daniel and Aunt Charlotte joined us for a local "siblings supper." =)

Riverbanks Zoo

April 4 Abigail and Julia drove to Columbia and met (Aunt) Lydia and (cousin) Gabriel at Riverbanks Zoo. We loved the time together and enjoyed watching all the animals - so many that we had to leave before finishing. Afterwards we had a picnic lunch and then got ice cream at Chick-Fil-A. Abigail was asleep just a couple of miles down the road! And she talked for days (weeks?) afterwards about the noisy monkeys and the hippo sleeping in his big puddle and the giraffe who got too close for comfort. Amazing creations of a creative God!

Easter and afterwards with Grandma Johnson

Easter was the day after Lydia's shower and Mom and Grandma Johnson got to come back with us for a couple of days. We celebrated Christ's Resurrection together and enjoyed several meals with Caleb. Tuesday Abigail and I rode in "GramMee's new red car with Great-grandma Johnson" to Knoxville and spent a couple of days with the Mees. Abigail loved seeing her aunt and uncles there and both places Abigail and Grandma Johnson enjoyed reading lots of books. The night before the generations were to head our separate ways, Dad Mee took some pictures of the four of us (yep, we looked tired =). It was special to have been able to spend four days together! Thursday we took Grandma to the airport for her flight back to VA and then Mom took us part way home and Nathan and Caleb met us. One little girl was overjoyed to be reunited with her daddy (her mommy was pretty happy too =).

Lydia's "babies shower"

The day before Easter we had a baby shower for Lydia and Tom in expectation of their daughters' arrival. Local friends (including Army friends, police friends, and neighbors) and family (from VA, TN, and SC) came and others sent gifts. Tom and Lydia were very happy to receive a double stroller, car seats, highchairs, a bathtub, clothes, baby equipment, and lots more - nearly ready for Isabella and Lydia's arrival! The shower was for guys and girls - a first for most of the guys present. We had lots of fun.

Spring! Early march snapshots

Warm days are so exciting this year. We enjoyed a trip to the local zoo with several friends the beginning of the month and for days afterwards Abigail talked much about the noisy monkeys and the snakes. Abigail's friend Emmalein has a new baby sister and it's been fun to spend time together again (splashing at the sink with Emmalein or holding Celia). Picnicking is another joy of spring -- we ate lunch by the river with long-time friend Ree and her son Desmirion.

February highlights

We started on the month with a big day trip to Virginia for Julia's cousin Scott's wedding. It was great to see all the cousins, aunts and uncles on Dad's side. Abigail survived 12 hours in the car that day and enjoyed the festivities of her first wedding (infant cousin Amaya and the cake were her favorite parts - oh, and the guitar music). A couple of weeks later, friends visited from Virginia and Alabama. Abigail quickly fell in love with "Miss Emily" who stayed for three days. Then we enjoyed a brief visit with Amy, Anna, and Barbie. Nathan took a quick trip to San Antonio a couple of days later and got to do a bit of site-seeing in addition to attending a work-related class. Julia joined her Mom (a.k.a. GramMee) for a ladies' retreat at the Wilds Christian Camp at the end of the month and Abigail and Daddy spent their first daddy/daughter overnight (without Mommy). For weeks afterwards Abigail talked about riding in Daddy's truck (since she was in the "front" she thought she was driving) to attend a friend Sean's first birthday party.

For six dollars!

This morning I (Julia) took part in a local (Sav-Mor on Wade Hampton across from K-Mart) sidewalk sale for the first time. And I got a LOT (maybe $75-$100 retail) of food for six dollars. Here's how it works: Everyone arrives before 9:00 and grabs one (or two or three or ten) banana boxes, lines up around the rows of food in the parking lot, and waits for the person in charge to yell "Go!" Then everyone (200 plus?) rushes in and starts filling his or her box. Yep, sounds like a game you played at camp! The food available comes from several area grocery stores (including at least one whole food/organic/health chain) and is comprised of scratch, dent, and past expiration date items (mostly dry goods). I got whole grain cereals, crackers, and granola bars, salad dressing, mustard, salsa, tahini, Manwich, fruit snacks (a.k.a. potty treats), salad Crispins, and more! Yep, everything in the picture. For six dollars. All you can fit in a banana box with the top level. (For potential shoppers: The sales seem to come about once a month and are posted on the marquee out front the previous week.)

January's highlights

In January, 3/4 of the Swillum family (friends in California) visited and we helped celebrate Rose Marie's third birthday. She and Abigial are still best buddies (like their mommies and daddies), despite the long distance and time between visits. It was such fun to see all four little girls together (Abigail - 2, Rose Marie and Autumn Swillum - 3 and 1, and Emmalein Merkle - 18 months. Mom/Grandmama Garner also came for a special weekend visit (while Dad Garner was in Kenya for a two week missions trip!). And "it" snowed! We got several inches. . . Abigail was delighted to see snowflakes falling and was eager to go out to play the next morning, but got nervous after the first crunchy step. Her snowman received most of his admiration from the safety of the back window. Abigail began sleeping in a "big girl bed" (no more crib) in January. Aunt Lydia (Julia's sister) came for a day to make preparations for the TWINS she's expecting this summer. And the our friends the Merkles welcomed a second daughter - Celia. We closed out the month celebrating Nathan/Daddy's [true] 29th birthday.

Christmas 2007 - coming later, maybe =)

Just reserving a spot in the hopes that I'll catch up one of these days!

Garner Christmas letter 2007

Dear family and friends,

Greetings in the Name above all names—that of Jesus Christ, our Lord! Certainly we have reason for joy this Christmas; in the fullness of time God fulfilled His promise and sent the Savior. Can it be that God planned and brought about such a redemption of His sinful people—through sending His own Son to earth to fulfill all righteousness as a man, to suffer and die in the place of the guilty, and then to rise victorious over sin and death? Oh, the mercy of God who then credits the righteousness of Jesus to those sinners who hope in Him alone!

A few days ago, we celebrated Abigail’s second birthday. The whole experience delighted her: Uncle Cabet’s (Julia’s brother Caleb) visit, candles, frosting, ice cream, and then the surprise of presents! Abigail can jump (up off the ground now) and turn summersaults and is turning into a little chatterbox. For awhile her vocabulary seemed stuck at, “Dada,” “no,” “uh-oh,” and “ruff, ruff.” But just before 20 months she started repeating words and now she’s trying to communicate all the time. Abigail counts from 2-16 (skipping 8, 13, and 15 faithfully), knows everyone’s name, loves colors and animals and especially people! She’s Mommy’s helper and imitates lots; putting in contacts, cooking for Daddy, caring for and disciplining her babies, and taking them shopping in the stroller. She is learning of Jesus and can tell you that He came as a baby, but now He’s the King in Heaven. She knows that He loves her and that He says, “Children, obey parents in Lord—This right.” She knows that He can make things better that no one else can.

Nathan’s finished five years of full-time work at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and is as busy there as ever. His primary responsibility is managing the airport’s Geographic Information System. He also directs the charter handling service and occasionally fills in as an operations supervisor. He’s about a third of the way through his MBA program at BJU. We’re grateful for the opportunities and experiences God is providing through the airport.

Julia’s happy to be a full-time homemaker and mommy. Last winter/spring, Julia worked part-time from home making phone calls to a local company training new employees. However, mid-spring, we decided that babysitting is a better “job fit” for us (and provides great opportunities for Abigail to learn to interact rightly with other children).

We’re still thrilled to be part of the local body of Christ at Heritage Bible Church and love our class of seven and eight year olds. Our new Shepherding Group—made up of those who work with the children and youth—blesses us often.

We travelled a lot this year . . . to Georgia visiting Mom and Dad Garner and Nathan’s grandparents, to Tennessee to spend time with Mom and Dad Mee and family, and to Alabama to see the Talleys (Nathan’s sister Talitha, her husband Stephen and their four children—Abigail’s beloved cousins) who are now in a new home with their own land surrounding it. The first weekend in May, Julia and Abigail met Nathan in Orlando, FL after a conference and we took our first “family-of-three vacation” –two days at Sea World. We also travelled to Virginia several times for events including a 60th anniversary celebration for the Julia’s (Johnson) grandparents and a last visit with Mimi (Julia’s Grandmother Patteson) and later a memorial service for her. July 4th, we all flew to California and spent five days with our friends the Swillums. Mid-July, Julia’s sister Lydia (who, by the way, was married last spring to Tom Dever and is expecting twins next summer!) graduated from the Police Academy in Columbia. The following weekend we joined Mom and Dad Mee and clan in Charleston for a weekend at the beach and staying in KOA camping cabins.

The times in between and since have been full with work, school, Sunday school lessons, visits from friends and family and lots of babysitting (good thing Julia and Abigail love children and babies!). “Chris-is li-ights” are a delight to our little girl and her face lights up every time we turn the Christmas tree lights on. We pray that one day soon Jesus will bring a much greater joy and light to Abigail’s heart.

Our hearts are often weak and doubting and fearful as we face the questions and hurts of life on earth, but we rejoice to remember that God is mighty and that He will accomplish all His good will. We stand on the present and eternal hope of Christ Jesus’ perfect work in our stead and His loving orchestration of the details of our lives for the glory of the Father. May Jesus be your great hope and joy this Christmas! We love you.

Nathan, Julia, & Abigail Garner