An Amazing Discovery!

It is amazing to watch Karis learn new things and grow. She is discovering new things everyday, and so am I! This is a pic of Karis in her car seat with her fun little friends hanging down from the handle. Usually, they just hang, and Karis just lays there and maybe looks at them. But, just recently, Karis discovered that she can use her hands and knock the little toys around! She is partial to the blue rabbit on her left other than the orange pig on her right. It is so neat to see her reach out and play with it now. She is also in the stage where everything is going in her mouth, so she likes to grab the blue rabbit and try to bite its head off! It's too cute, and I'll try to get a pic of that too!


Now for my amazing discovery! This picture was taken while me and my sweet girl were shopping at our favorite spot, Target! We were strolling around, and usually Karis is quite happy there! She looked so cute all bundled up in the car seat so I took this picture with my cell phone. Now, I like to think that I am a little electronically inclined, but I have never known how to get pics from my cell phone onto the computer. My phone is over 3 years old and doesn't have a usb hook up on it. Today though, I thought maybe I could send it like a text message to my email, and it worked!! I was amazed, and now I have this cute picture of my little baby girl on the computer! It doesn't take a lot for me to get excited!

New discoveries, whether your older or a new born, open up your world for so much more. Karis now knows that she can use her hands, and soon she'll learn that she can roll her body over and move around. I am amazed at her, and amazed at the God who created her as He did. My prayer is that one day, sooner than later, she will discover the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that through the work of the Holy Spirit, will place her faith in Christ alone. That discovery will open up her world and her eyes to so much more than anything else, in this life and the one to come in eternity!

50 years

In 1958 Earl Grindstaff married Gwen Padgett and went on to have a little girl and three little boys. Their little girl, Julie, went on to marry and have two little girls, one of whom is me! I am blessed to have a Nana and a Pawpaw who stuck to their wedding vows and have been together for 50 years. This weekend we celebrated their marriage by having a big anniversary party and so many family and friends came to show their love. I am thankful for my grand-parents and for the example of commitment and love that they have given me and all of my aunts, uncles, cousins and everyone. It is not common now-a-days to see people who have entered into the sacred union of marriage to make it to their 50th anniversary. Sadly, divorce is rampant in our culture. Blake and I were having a conversation today about how not much is sacred anymore to the world. God, life, and marriage aren't viewed as the sacred things that they are. However, I am so encouraged when I get to see glimpses of God's grace in lives that do hold the sacred dear. My sweet nana and pawpaw are an encouragement to me, and I am thankful for the grace of God that has kept them together all these years. Marriage can be difficult, and when based on feelings and not truth it is much more likely to dissolve. I love my husband, and I made a commitment to him 3 years ago to be his wife until death parts us. With God's grace, and our marriage built on Jesus Christ, we'll get to celebrate our 50th anniversary on June 4, 2055! I'm looking forward to that day!

Here are some pictures of my grandparents, taken by my wonderful husband!


My nana and pawpaw and their wedding party back in 1958


Nana and Pawpaw 50 years later

And so it begins.....

For sometime now I have wanted to start a blog, and today seemed like a great day to do so. Today is my birthday, and so starting this blog is a sort of a gift to myself. I have put this off due to this being my final semester in seminary, and there is still studying to be done (and this will more than likely prove to be a slight distraction for me). However, I do feel that I can be disciplined. So with that, there probably won't be posts everyday, but hopefully every couple of days. This is just an intro, and I am excited to share what's going on in our lives!

On a different note....this has been a wonderful birthday weekend! Great friends, old and new, made it wonderful! My husband made it so special, and having a 3 month old daughter this year made it unlike any birthday I have ever had! It has been a fun, but very long weekend (2 very late nights). So, this will be it for my very first post on my very first blog!