The Garner Family

Quick visit from Mom and Karen

2009-07-14T15:46:00.003-04:00

We enjoyed having Mom and Karen (Julia's ten year old sister/Abigail's playmate aunt!) for an overnight towards the end of June. Mom and Dad had just returned from visiting Luke and Charlotte in Texas and Mom had met up with Lydia and Tom one day. . . and brought lots of baby things back from Bella and Lydee for Hannah. Abigail was delighted to have the "jumparoo" for Hannah to try (wanted to "help" her bounce). The girls and GramMee loved being together. =)

Teeth and toes

2009-07-14T15:08:00.004-04:00

Hannah cut BOTH lower centrals June 22! All that gnawing was not in vain. And around the same time, she found her toes. Great to have something handy to wrap your fingers around!

Father's Day

2009-07-13T17:10:00.004-04:00

Nathan worked first shift operations at the airport on Father's Day (getting up at 4:30 a.m. is a rough start to a day!) and we were excited to welcome him home that afternoon. (He was happy to get a nap on the couch while the girls finished their nap/rest time.) Abigail helped shop for Daddy's gifts this year and actually kept them a secret! So grateful for a husband/father who loves God and loves his family!

Ice cream and hayrides!

2009-07-13T16:15:00.005-04:00

June 19 we made a spur-of-the-moment (the most fun kind, and a rare treat when Daddy's in school!) run to a neighborhood ice cream parlor with our wonderful next door neighbors. Abigail and Sam kept us laughing and had a blast together. Abigail says she and Sam are "kid married" and prays for her "husband Sam" and their many kids - her dolls - every day. She's quite serious, but it's hard for us to be! In any case, we're a bit sad that Sam and his family just got a contract on their condo and will be moving to a "real house" one day soon. Happy for them though!

And the next day was our church picnic - complete with face paint(Abigail's first such experience), hay rides and great friends from the Heritage family!

Life in June

2009-07-09T15:43:00.009-04:00

Random fun pictures from the month! We got the girls matching turquoise shirts on clearance at The Children's Place and Abigail was ecstatic to wear them together. Abigail feels very grown-up to have "jobs" of her own to do each day: one of these is unloading the silverware basket from the dishwasher. Hannah really enjoys her play mat (thank you cousins Bella and Lydee!). It's great for exercising and as launching pad for blowing raspberries in the face of whoever's paying attention to her. =) One evening we got some fun pictures of sister time - with Hannah in her very silly green ladybug pajamas. Think the girls like each other? Bathtime is lots of fun these days - Hannah is facinated by the water and Abigail still loves bathing her baby dolls at the same time. And our baby "house finches" grew up! The first picture is of one at nine days old. A week later, I stepped out the front door and looked up to see a baby bird perched on the edge of the basket and was a little concerned about his falling out. Three minutes later, as I was buckling the girls into their carseats, Nathan watched another baby bird fly out of the nest with its parents close behind. Very shortly afterwards, it was an empty nest (excepting one egg which never hatched and caused Abigail great concern).

Hannah often sits in her Bumbo seat on the table when we eat dinner. Mostly, she watches and laughs at Abigail. But whenever she notices Nathan or me lift our glass for a drink of water she gets very excited and holds out both arms and tenses her legs waiting for one of us to share a sip with her. It’s quite funny.

Raspberries, baby birds and Uncle Caleb =)

2009-07-05T14:18:00.004-04:00

How's that for a combination?! Well, I'm a month behind on pictures and all three were exciting parts of the same week. =)
Hannah perfected a new skill early in June. She can blow some very wet and quite noisy raspberries when she's happy. We can't help laughing, so she laughs and does it some more.And our baby birds hatched June 6 (five laid between May 21 and May 25)! Here they are newly "born" and then five days later.

Uncle Caleb spent the evening of June 11 with us to the great delight of our eldest. He and Hannah are getting to be buddies now too. And all three enjoyed a game of hide and seek (quite amusing - since Abigail usually gives away her location and since there aren't many places for a 6'2" uncle to hide in the two rooms on the lower floor of our condo. =)

Hannah's four months old!

2009-06-23T09:47:00.007-04:00

Our sweet baby is growing so fast! She's cheery and chatty and blows some great drool bubbles.
Did I mention cheery? We love this grin and Hannah's not stingy with it!
The real baby has SO much personality!
And Hannah's way ahead of "Rosie" and "Stephanie" - she can stand up!
Love those little feet!

Hannah went down for a nap after pictures, and Abigail asked if I'd take pictures of her. Of course! =) (She really has done well with the jealousy issue.) So, we had some more fun and I took pictures of my beautiful big girl with her curls and bubbles and dandelions.

Growing-up girls

2009-06-23T09:00:00.005-04:00

While Mommy and Daddy were unpacking the van after the Gatlinburg trip, Abigail decided to read Hannah a book and to teach her colors. What a great big sister!
And Hannah paid pretty close attention - she adores Abigail.
Abigail loves to hold Hannah.
Hannah's getting more difficult to hold these days. . .she arches her back and starts sliding away. Of course Abigail squeals.
So big Hannah - she loves standing up!
Our happy baby!

Gatlinburg May 09

2009-06-22T15:35:00.007-04:00

Near the end of May, we enjoyed three days at a cabin with Mom and Dad Mee and Nathan, Andrew and Karen (several other family members had been through earlier in the week). It was a great change of pace and time with family. Thanks Mom and Dad! Ice cream downtown, a hike (easy - since we had a toddler and a baby!), a bear siting (yep, in our front yard), the hot tub (Abigail's personal pool), and a real nap (thank you GramMee for babysitting!) rank in the favorite memories listing. Check out the slideshows below for a full review. =)Four month old Hannah - "standing" in her new swimsuit
With the family in Gatlinburg

Hike

Black bear

Of baskets, birds and eggs

2009-06-02T15:16:00.003-04:00

On Mother's Day, Dad and Mom Garner's church in Georgia gave me this hanging basket (a prize for being the youngest mother present). When we returned home after Hannah's final hearing, we hung it outside our front door. A few days later, we noticed a bird building a nest in it! And a few days after that, we found three little eggs tucked inside.
Four days later there were more!
Now for the wait. Abigail is one excited little girl. What a fun science lesson!

Strawberry picking

2009-06-02T14:51:00.003-04:00

May 20 the girls and I picked strawberries with our friends Bekah, David and Will (two years in a row, except that Will and Hannah hadn't been born last year!). It was a happy reunion for David and Abigail especially (I haven't been keeping David and Will since Hannah's arrival), and the strawberries, though small this year, were delicious! Ask Will. Abigail did a very good job this year of picking only the red strawberries - and of putting and leaving them in her basket! She didn't eat nearly as many this time. . . probably because she and David were so busy having adventures!

Hannah's formal dedication

2009-06-02T14:50:00.004-04:00

Sunday May 17 we dedicated Hannah to our Lord publicly. We pray that God will pursue the heart of our little girl so that she might seek Him all her days. Pastor Sipe (our pastor of evangelism) held Hannah during the baby dedication while Pastor Brooks prayed for Hannah and Elyssa (the seven-month-old daughter of our friends Adam and Danielle, also dedicated the same day). Having GramMee and Grandpa present was an extra blessing. Immediately afterwards Grandpa took pictures of our family and of Danielle and I with our baby girls. (We weren't able to get pictures with the pastors after the morning service. During the afternoon's lunch with GramMee, Grandpa and Jennie Lue, Abigail managed a significant collision with the corner of a wall in our house, so the poor girl had a large bruise and lump on her forehead for pictures that evening. Now, two weeks later, the colors are nearly gone. Grateful God makes children so resilient!)

May 11 - Official and permanent!

2009-05-20T15:30:00.007-04:00

The finalization hearing for Hannah's adoption was Monday, May 11 at 11:00 back in Alabama. Three of her grandparents were able to come for the much anticipated event. . . which was amazingly short and sweet. Our attorney met us there and once Nathan and I were sworn in, he asked us few questions and then the judge said "All done, now for the fun part!" The judge came down from his bench and asked to hold Hannah and Mr. Whitmire (the attorney) took pictures for us. Then we ordered Hannah's new birth certificate - which will list her as Hannah Elisabeth daughter of Nathan and Julia! Afterwards, our family ate lunch together at Cracker Barrell, took more pictures, and headed home. We thank the Lord for placing Hannah in our family and for giving us a greater appreciation for His adopting us into His family!

May 9-10 with the Garners in Georgia

2009-05-18T20:31:00.002-04:00

Mom and Dad Garner held supper for us Saturday evening and we enjoyed grilled burgers with them and Grandmother Lane that night. The next morning, we went to church together (Dad Garner is the pastor) and then over to Aunt Connie's for Mother's Day lunch with Grandmother Garner and the rest of the family. We were a house full! After lots of eating, catching up, and taking pictures (that would be me), we headed back to Mom and Dad's to pack up and drive to Alabama. . . for a very important event the next morning.

May 8-9 with Mees locally

2009-05-18T09:25:00.006-04:00

Very full weekend begins! Congratulations, Charlotte!
Friday afternoon (during Aunt B.A.'s visit) my sister Charlotte's nurses' Pinning Ceremony took place. All the family in town met for a picnic supper that evening. It was great to spend time with Jonathan and Ellen (from FL) and Daniel and Jennifer (from TN) as well as Luke and Charlotte and Mom and Dad Mee and Caleb, Nathan, Andrew and Karen. During graduation (Gharlotte got her B.S.N.) the next morning, we packed our bags and car for the next phase. But first, a celebratory lunch at a Japanese steakhouse! We left immediately afterwards for Georgia. . .

Special visitors

2009-05-14T16:16:00.003-04:00

May 7 "Miss Carolyn" came for lunch. She and her husband Mack are good friends of ours from Maranatha (the small church we were part of for five years). It was fun to catch up on God's working in our families and for this sweet Grandma (several of her granddaughters used to be in my Sunday school class) to get to know my girlies.
And the next afternoon, my Aunt Beverley Anne (Dad's sister), Uncle David, and Emmy stopped for a visit (their first to our home!) on their way to Alex's graduation. What a special treat to have them here, even if only for an hour. Aunt BA was the first of my aunts to meet Hannah. (We're eager to travel to Virginia. . . but Nathan's got to get through this MBA independent study first!)
Umm. And Ian. Abigail posed one of her dolls and "borrowed" my camera so she could take Ian's portrait. I found 8-9 shots of him on the camera. =)

Sisters smile, Luke and Charlotte

2009-05-14T16:00:00.004-04:00

Love these girls!
Luke and Charlotte came for supper Tuesday night caught us up on God's leading in their lives. . . possibly moving to Texas the next week!
Abigail loved the time with Uncle Luke and Aunt Charlotte and they looked at albums of pictures from when our families first met nearly four years ago.

Sunday visit

2009-05-13T23:12:00.003-04:00

Sunday May 3 Ree and Desmirion came for an afternoon visit. Dez and Abigail were delighted to see one another and 19 month old Dez was amazingly sweet with Hannah. Afterwards, Ree took a family picture for us (it had been several weeks).

Fun with our friends

2009-05-13T23:11:00.003-04:00

May 1 the girls and I visited Marjeana and her boys Anthony and newborn Nate. Anthony and Abigail enjoyed riding trikes, swinging, pretending in the playhouse. . . and a tractor ride with Anthony's grandddad (also the former Dean of Men at BJU) who was working out back. This was Abigail's first tractor ride and she was beyond excited. =) Thankfully, baby Nate survived the attention of our two three year olds.

20 years

2009-05-13T22:29:00.004-04:00

May 5 (the date of my last post) marked twenty years since my (Julia's) dad died. A few recurring thoughts:
- I wish he could meet his sweet granddaughters.
- I wish he and my dear husband knew each other.
- I wish I could know him as an adult. . . my childhood memories are so fuzzy and simple.
- I'm so grateful that Dad loved and trusted Jesus!
- We will spend eternity together with our Savior (what are twenty - or fifty - years in light of forever?)!
- My eternal Father has been more than sufficient and completely faithful to meet all of my needs! Praise His name.

Hannah's three months old!

2009-05-05T15:06:00.004-04:00

April 29th marked three months since our little girl's birth - and Friday will make three months since Hannah joined our family! What sweet times the Lord has given us already with our precious baby!

Hannah's expressing her enthusiasm and joy in life and in those who love her much more these days. Her smiles come readily and are so broad we often have to laugh in response. She's also trying to talk and does lots of cooing. But when she's excited, those coos are more like calls and squeals. And she's found her hands! They're together or in her mouth (or both!) most of the day now. Enjoy these pictures from last Wednesday.

Curly heads at the park

2009-05-02T13:53:00.004-04:00

Last Tuesday we girls met up with DeAnna and her two girls for a picnic and play at the park. Abigail had a blast with her new friends Isabella (5) and Amelia (3), we mommies had fun watching them and talking and Hannah enjoyed all the "holding." Amelia was fascinated with Hannah who has the same color skin she does. =) You can read her DeAnna's account here.

Happy sisters

2009-05-02T13:42:00.002-04:00

From the last week of April. . . so grateful that our girls love each other so much!

Girls' lunch visit

2009-04-30T12:06:00.003-04:00

We celebrated "tax day" by having lunch with Jill and baby Tirzah at Jill's office. Julia and Jill met in 1996, spent a good bit of time together (mostly in Dallas) in 1997-1999, saw each other once around 2001 and then not again till last fall when we met randomly while now living in the same town! It's been so much fun to renew our friendship and enjoy each other's little girls too.

Russell Moore on Transracial Adoption

2009-04-30T11:58:00.002-04:00

When Your Parents Don’t Approve of Your Transracial Adoption

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