At home.

"Sugar" [my nickname.] Coca-Cola [in the glass bottles.] Fish Tanks. Black Labs. Suspenders. Slacks. Slippers. BB Guns. Huntsville. "Blue Money."... These are the things that will forever remind me of him.

Gracious. Giving. Undying love for his wife. Provider. Class. Dignity. Respect. Honor. Integrity. Sense of Humor. Servant's Heart....These are the words that I will always use to describe him.

William Yarbrough, Sr., my dear grandfather, went home to be with his Heavenly Father last month. Pop Pop was proudly the oldest member of his church. He was a handsome man...dressed "to the nines" everyday, every hair combed to perfection. All the ladies swooned to him, and I am sure he didn't mind the company. :). He had a warmth and gentleness about him that I was drawn to. I wish I had known him better. Whenever we had the opportunity to visit with him, he and I always hit it off. I remember walking through the store, hand -in-hand, a couple of years ago. Laughing, talking, sharing. That was a special time.

Pop Pop missed his wife terribly, and i know it brings him joy to be reunited with her for eternity. I am sure he is looking down at his family in complete peace. I hope he is proud of me, as I was certainly proud of him.

We love you and miss you, Pop Pop. Give a hug to Granny for me.

just a glimpse.

When I look in her eyes, I can see just a glimpse.
A glimpse of our yesterdays, when she was warm in my arms.
A glimpse of her little body, dependent on mine.
A glimpse of her toothless smile, her peach-fuzzed head.
When I look in her eyes, I realize how quickly time flies.

When I look in her eyes, I can see just a glimpse.
A glimpse of this baby of mine becoming a little girl.
A glimpse of her blond curls, which one day she will make straight.
A glimpse of her little chubby feet making long strides.
When I look in her eyes, I see my baby becoming a little girl.

When I look in her eyes, I can see just a glimpse.
A glimpse of her first day of school, her hand holding mine.
A glimpse of her asking Mommy to please stay behind.
A glimpse of her marrying the man of her dreams.
When I look in her eyes, I see all of her tomorrows, waiting to unfold.

Forever. For always. My baby girl so dear.
I look in your eyes and let go of my fear.
You have made me a mother,
So proud and so true.
Anna Grace, my joy, I will forever love you.

*****
all,
I'm back. I am hoping to do updates throughout this week. No explanation why the blog was on hiatus....I have been doing my best to soak up every minute with Anna, as the reality of how quickly this time passes has really set in. By the end of the day, I need time to relax and regroup. (don't we all). I have missed my time of reflection that I was able to have while blogging. So, here I am again.

Sorry if you have been checking in during my absence, but thank you for remaining faithful readers. More to come.

love, shan

and...she's off...

She did it! My baby learned to crawl! On friday evening (May 9th for Baby Book purposes), I was in my room straightening up, and I put Anna on the floor to play. Out of nowhere, she is on her hands and knees crawling into our bathroom. I could not believe it!!!! Of course, the video camera was nowhere to be found at the time...isn't that the way it always works! She has been on the go ever since! i am hoping to catch it on film, so i can share it with you all.

This week will be crazy busy as we try to finish the basement, unpack all the boxes we left down there, get the house ready for Anna's party, make decorations, get all the necessary supplies, etc....all this by Saturday morning. I will update one more time, probably today, before the craziness begins...hopefully I will have a crawling video to share! till then.

photos.

Here is what happened while Mommy was on a "blog break." (Not in any particular order.) Enjoy....

Mommy made my pack 'n play into a ball pit. I enjoyed it for about 5 minutes, then, i was bored with it. thank you, mommy.

I really enjoyed playing with my stuffed animals. I have quite the imagination already.

Mommy and I spent a lot of time at the park. I love to swing, especially while sticking out my tongue :).
Daddy took off from work on his birthday so we could all go to the zoo together. Mommy put these sunglasses on my face....I let her take a picture, then ripped them right off!
Mommy kept trying to take my picture, but i was too busy looking at all of the animals.

these pictures are from the day I woke up with curly hair. Mommy was so happy. Silly Mommy.

And, finally, i learned how to hold and use a sippy cup all by myself....although, I still won't drink milk, no matter how many times they try to sneak it to me!

a blogger's predicament

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit...in my case, that is about how long it takes to break a habit. Like blogging, for example. I was on a roll...then, life took over. I cannot sit here and think of all the things that have happened which have taken my time away....but, whatever those things are...they are slowing down, and so, I return. I know you have missed me. Admit it.

Here is my predicament. Do I try and re-live the past few weeks and update you on all the details, or do I simply live for the moment and start over? hmm. To be honest, as I sit here and type, I am not sure. Let's just roll with the punches.

On Dan's birthday, we took Anna to the Baltimore Zoo for the first time. Boy, does this girl LOVE animals! She didn't stop pointing and staring. It was a short-lived trip, as it was probably the hottest day we have had so far this season, and apparently Anna is her mother's daughter and doesn't do well in the heat. However, we stayed long enough to see the polar bears, giraffes, elephants and penguins...oh my. Giraffes seemed to be her favorite. Luckily, we have season passes, so we will be able to visit the beloved animals whenever we choose.

Other Anna news: where to start? My sweet baby girl now has curly hair! little blond ringlets adorn her head. They kind of appeared out of the blue. (obviously the photo above was taken before the curls arrived). She always had texture to her hair, and a bit of curl....but, we were surprised to find her one morning with the curliest hair! I thought it was perhaps the humidity...but, they stuck! I adore them, but I am sure one day I will find her in her room with the straightener. ugh. I will admit, though, that I wish they made a line of baby hair care products, because her hair can be pretty frizzy. Let's see...What else? Anna has eight teeth (not sure if I have mentioned that before), and is becoming more independent. She loves to feed herself finger foods, she entertains herself in the crib for hours (while she should be napping), and although she still isn't crawling, she manages to get to whatever she wants. OH - just today, she pulled herself to a standing position while in the Pack 'N Play. Her favorite thing to do at the moment is to walk around the house holding Mommy and/or Daddy's hands. She smiles and shrieks with delight the entire time. I guess that means I better watch out when she can do it on her own. I think the Lord must be holding it off to make sure I am ready. :).

On a more negative note, my "give-me-food-I-will-eat-anything-with-a-smile" girl, is now my "ew-yuck-i-don't-want-to-eat-that-food-[enter scream here]" girl. What's a mother to do? I cannot be mad at this behavior....if you know me well, then you know where she got it. it just amazes me how quickly her tastes can change. She has been sick with a cough, runny nose and a case of the sneezes for at least 3 weeks now. I am sure it is allergies. The pollen here is ridiculous, our deck is yellow. So, we are keeping the air on, windows closed to try and reduce the allergens. Hopefully, this helps.

On the home front...we are Dan is finally getting some things accomplished around the house. The basement is getting painted, the deck has new furniture, a new hot water heater is being delivered, and the house got measured for new carpet today. Can i get an Amen? though this is all great, it leaves us very busy (and penny-less). I cannot wait until all is done and we can enjoy the hard work.

I have to upload photos, so tomorrow I am planning a "photo only" blog as a way to catch you up...and as a way to show you my beautiful daughter. Aren't mothers supposed to brag? :).

april 18th.

Happy Birthday, Daniel! To commemorate your birthday, I thought I would share one reason why I love you for each year of life you now celebrate. I love you more than you can ever imagine. You are the best husband one can ask for, the best friend one can pray for and the best father a little girl can dream of. You, my dear husband, are our everything. We love you,
Shannon and Anna Grace

[1.] i love how you put your family's needs above your own [2.] i love the way you work so hard to provide for us [3.] I love your smile [4.] i love how you (literally) drop everything when you come home to give Anna and me lots of hugs [5.] i love your laugh [6.] I love how you do silly dances to make Anna laugh [7.] i love how you help around the house, without me asking [8.] I love how you care for your brothers and sisters [9.] i love how you are driven [10.] i love how you constantly want to learn and grow [11.] i love that you massage my neck and shoulders every night, even though you have "arthritis" [12.] i love that you were able to put yourself through college, and you succeeded with honors [13.] i love that you enjoy family time [14.] i love that i miss you when you are gone [15.] i love that you give Anna a bath, read her stories and say prayers with her, every night [16.] i love playing games with you [17.] i love how you like to talk in bed every night when we go to sleep [18.] i love how you sacrifice your own desires, to give to others [19.] i love the way you make me laugh [20.] i love how you always know when i need a hug [21.] i love that you love the Lord with all your heart [22.] i love how comforting you are [22.] i love that you always help others without complaint [23.] i love your innocence [24.] i love your selflessness [25.] i love you because you are YOU. [26.] I love you because I can respect you [27.] i love you because you are mine. always.

happy birthday, i pray i am with you for 100 more...

chuckle.

(to better understand this entry, you may want to read the previous entry entitled, "thank you, Lord.")

I had to chuckle. Grandma's Bible was found open to Psalm 105...which starts by saying, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord." Like i mentioned earlier..that was her heart. Also, she had been looking at her pictures of Anna, she loved her so dearly.

Kathy, Dan's mother, was speaking to grandma on Sunday; and grandma was reminiscing about her life. She stated that "the Lord has given me everything I have asked for." I believe she knew her time here was ending. She was found in her bed, with the radio playing Christian music. Like I said, not a moment passed where her mind and heart were not focused on the Lord. I can only pray that Grandma will watch over Anna and help her to become a woman much like herself.