Toy Box

Look at our big find that we got at the yard sale this weekend:

 (Do you see what he's reaching for?!)

He's been excited to play with his toys -- even by himself in his room!  Now gets to be the chance to learn how to pick up.  I should have snapped a picture of him with everything all strewn around the room!

In order to have space to put in the toy box, we had to get rid of the bookshelf that still had many baby items on it.  We put away the baby items (sad!) to make way for the big boy stuff.  He's growing up!

Two for Tuesday

Smiling with the plants we just got over the weekend.  Since the storm was coming, we pulled them all back close to the house.  He's wearing Mickey Mouse and super excited about it.

One year ago -- not quite steady on his feet and still recovering from his fall (sores on his face).  The irises had already bloomed, but not quite yet this year.

With Momma

We took a quick picture before leaving for church on Sunday.  As you can see, the grass is green and there are some irises getting ready to bloom.  Although Nathan had been feeling poorly last week, I think that he's finally getting over it and is getting his appetite back.

Storms are threatening and the reports of what occurred west of Nashville causes great concern.  We know God's got it under control, but are praying for those dealing with the devastation from the storm.

ABCs

We caught Nathan singing his "ABCs".  Can you make it out?

He did it like 5 times.  Of course the other times were more clear, but what can you do?  Yeah, Nathan!

Opening Gifts

Nathan was more excited to open gifts than Daddy! :)

Barry had been eyeing a clock that also has the indoor temperature on it and while I'd been looking for one, I couldn't find one on amazon that was like what we had seen in the store.  Finally we saw it over the weekend and I was able to secure one! :)

Happy birthday, Barry!

[If you want to go back and catch up with what's been going on the last couple weeks, you'll want to start at the post from April 5.]

Daddy's Birthday

 Sorry so fuzzy, but you get the point! :)

We made the sign below the birthday one last week and Nathan painted and used markers on it.

They had to be twins today with their attire -- Tigers shirts and jean shorts!

Happy birthday, Daddy!

Easter Fun

Looking at his Easter basket

 Fun toys inside -- fire truck, goat, horse, COW

 Nathan was so excited each time he saw an egg - "Found it!"

 Do you see his other Easter gift? Bright shoes!

We hid eggs 3x for him to find! :)  Now, he never did open them or care that there could be something inside.  Maybe that'll be the fun for next year! :)

Who can resist?

Who could resist this cute, little boy?!

He's all cleaned up and ready for a great Easter.

Good Friday

Daddy didn't get to stay home with us, but it was okay... We got to work on some things for his birthday!

Nathan colored a card while we were lounging on the couch.

Ha ha, ha ha!

Need a laugh today?  Uncle Tod really got Nathan laughing.

It's been rough trying to get adjusted back to "normal" after vacation and then Momma being gone 2 days.  We're also anticipating Barry having to work both Friday and Saturday which will disrupt plans to celebrate Easter with family.  So, we'll be hanging out at home and trying to relax before scrambling to use time wisely and get errands done on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.  Hope your plans aren't as crazy as ours and you can reflect on this special season.

One Week Ago...

Nathan was rocking his heart out on this fun rocking horse.  The horse is over 50 years old!  Although it isn't reflected here, he would get going so quickly on it that would require someone to hold down the edge so that he wouldn't topple over.  Go, Nathan!

Trip to National Publishing

 Everything starts with an electronic file which to make a long story short is transferred to a sheet which will be inked and printed from.  A book will have many of these sheets put together.  Each of the vertical rows is considered a "signature".  This sheet shows 2 different signatures with 4 of each on the sheet.

 Here are the huge rolls of paper!  They keep so much on hand and have another warehouse that holds more paper so they don't run out.

 The printer has extra rolls of paper loaded so that it doesn't ever run out during a printing.

 The part in the middle is where the printing occurs.

 Here it's being printed.  The machine will further cut up the pieces and fold them into signatures.

 Signatures are gathered into stacks which will be later combined into the book.  The books are bound and trimmed so that they are uniform before the cover is put on it.

Covers are made in another area.  Then another machine puts the cover and the inside part together into one.

Here are boxes of the completed Bibles.

The machinery used to make the pocket New Testaments is classified and we weren't able to take any pictures.  It was very neat to see all the checks they have in place to makes sure that each book comes out right.  This company has done so much to make this a highly effective production so that people around the world can have God's Word.

Trip to Philadelphia

My office is working with the Bible publisher who produces many of the Scriptures that we provide to send us up to their plant to see how Bibles are made.  The company is in Philadelphia.  So, 5 co-workers and I flew this morning and arrived mid-morning in Philly.  We went first to get something to eat before all the touristy stuff!

 Our driver suggested that we go to Jim's Steaks for the best cheese steaks in Philadelphia.

 You could actually see the guys cooking the steak and make your sandwich.

 Independence Hall

Liberty Bell

 Inside Independence Hall 

The chair in the middle of the picture is the only original piece and is where George Washington sat.

This is a state government building which is the largest building in the world built of stone.  Secondarily, the driver told us that it also has the most air conditioning units -- over 200!

We also went to the U.S. Mint and learned a lot about the creation of coins.  It was really neat!  We learned that pennies come from east Tennessee as blanks instead of the raw materials received like nickles, quarters, and dimes are.

Baby Basketball

Look what Nathan got...

We had been looking for one, but brand-new they were running between $40-50.  We found this one for $11 on clearance.  Granted it's not the sturdiest (do you see the Powerade bottle on the base?), but it gets the job done.

Ready? Set. Go!

 

Can you tell what Nathan is doing after he shoots?  Hint:  It's what basketball players usually do before shooting! :)

Last Day Together

Playing with Travis

 Reading books with Uncle Tod

Everyone together

L to R - Nathan, Jessica, me, Barry, Uncle Tod, Brianna, Aunt Michelle, Travis

 Reading with Brianna

The Cousins

Big Toys

Check out these cool toys that they have:

 Uncle Tod was quick to help out!

You have to throw a few rocks in the pond! :)  

(But be careful that you don't fall in!)

We got to play with our good friends the Robinsons last night and also Jessica made it home from college for the weekend.  Now we're just waiting on Travis!

The Boys

We went down to the road to wait for Brianna to get off the bus.  As you can see, Nathan wasn't too excited for his picture to be made.

It's getting warmer!

We're filling our days with visiting and looking for Michigan stuff.  We got to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner last night and Tuesday night we got to hang out with Barry's sister and family.  We're still looking for a t-shirt or two to take back, but having fun, none-the-less.

Fun Outside

"Am I close?"

Nathan also got to play on the playset. :)

Nathan has been quick to notice if someone has a basketball hoop at their house.  In fact, as we're going around, he'll start calling out when he sees one.  But, he's definitely way too short to get the ball in the basket.  It didn't keep him from trying to get the ball there!  We're glad that the weather isn't as cold as we thought it would be so that we can get outside and play.  (But, you can see we're still having to wear jackets!)

Visiting Animals

A friend of the family has some farm animals and we went for a visit to see them.

 Hi, Mr. Goat!

 These are sheep and they can have either 2 or 4 horns.  Interesting, huh?!

Look at that snow!  There was still snow in various places and the little pond was still frozen over.