after three weeks away

Driving through the night worked marvelously both ways. Abigail slept 12+ hours and was generally pleasant during the few awake hours.

We started our trip in Iowa, where we saw my Grandparents. Here we are snuggling under my grandma's new blanket. She loved having Abigail for a visit, and Abigail enjoyed crawling and cruising all over the house.
We visited my Grandpa in the care center and all of the residents and nurses were delighted to see Abigail, hold her hand, wave to her (and see Abigail wave back), and watch her cruise around. I think she was the highlight of everyone's day!

We then headed on to Morton, IL to see the Hekel side of the family. Sarah and Jeff spent part of Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Eve with my whole family. A highlight of the trip was listening to people tell stories around the dinner table Christmas Eve.

My handsome hubby and my sweet baby girl (who is almost one!!!).

Grandma Joyce, Uncle Scott, plus most of the Hekel family and us Harms folk:) It was particularly fabulous to be home, since Daniel left for Africa for a two year job commitment the morning after we came home to Houston. So if you think of him, you can pray that the Lord will direct his path these next couple of years.

Abigail and my dad on Christmas morning. She enjoyed unwrapping presents, feeding the dogs her cheerios, and basking in all of the attention.

Then my Grandpa Dean and Grandma Barbara came in from Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas. We enjoyed church in Washington with my parents, ate some delicious Monicals pizza, played a lot of board games, and watched some football.

We then headed to Rockford to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Harms. This picture was taken at the Stockholm Inn, where we enjoyed brunch of Swedish Pancakes (and Abigail did too). She is now mostly eating solid foods, though I still supplement with a spoon. She loves her veggies, and willingly eats peas, broccoli, green beans and all fruits, and 12 grain bread and cheerios of course! We've also been working on drinking from a cup, as I am starting to think of weaning in the next 4-8 weeks. Her one year is two weeks away, and though I am more ready to have a nursing break for a while, I think I'm going to need some prayers on her behalf.

And last but not least, here is Abigail in the most favorite air chair at Grandma and Grandpas. She enjoyed swinging in the chair and is displaying her squinty happy face below. We did head back to Morton for a week, where we enjoyed time with friends and family... and Rodney got caught up in the home Peoria office. She is a very happy baby and is content to cruise and crawl all over the house. I wonder if her mind is more like her dads because she loves taking things apart and putting life into motion (she'd rather play with her dresser drawers and blocks that either of her new dolls or stuffed toys). But we shall see. She's also started to develop an understanding of "no" and is not fond of new limits. Rodney and I are starting to get our first taste of what shepherding a child's heart is really about.

It's good to be back in Houston. I confess that I enjoyed the warm weather yesterday. Abigail and I went for our first long walk in a month, and I even took off my sweater and ended up in short sleeves:) Bible study started back up for me and Rodney this week, and Abigail is settling back into her routines.

And now I'm off to get our home back in order and work on Bible Study. Blessings on your day!