Lathamsburg

Lamby Love

2012-02-13T20:05:00.001-05:00

It's hard when your most prized possession, your lamby that you have had since birth, is taken from you for even just a little while.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . patience." Gal 5:22

Mommy got to watch her little man begin to bear fruit.

11 Months!?!

2012-02-13T14:52:00.001-05:00

How is it possible that my little baby will be 1-year-old 4 weeks from today???? What an incredibly fast year it has been. Ellie Grace is up to all kind of things now that she is 11-months-old. She is crawling everywhere at high rates of speed, pulling up and cruising while holding onto furniture, and trying to keep up with her big brother. . . not an easy task for any of you that know Stokes. She definitely likes to explore (i.e., get into trouble, pull on lamp cords, try out dog food, etc.) and does not like to be told no (I mean, who really likes to be told no anyway???). She is still a sweet, precious little girl, and her smile just melts my heart.

Some other things she is doing: 2 new teeth in the past week; saying dada, hello, bobo (our dog's nickname), mama (which she only says when she is angry); feeding herself anything we put on her tray; trying to drop her morning nap (seems too early to me. . . we'll be discussing that one with the doctor at her next check up); drinking exclusively from sippy cups. . . no more bottles to clean!

All in all, Ellie Grace is a just a joy to our lives, and we have been so blessed by her. Enjoy these recent pictures of her.

Pardon my absence. . . .

2012-02-12T17:35:00.001-05:00

. . . but I've had my hands full.

Ellie Grace went from scooting along the floor a little to full blown crawling to pulling up and cruising while holding onto furniture in about a weeks time. Needless to say she requires a lot more attention now that she can quickly get into trouble. I fully expect EG to be walking on her own when she turns one year old, exactly one month from today.

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-26T21:37:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We celebrated Christmas this year in our new house! We closed 5 days before Christmas and rejoice that we have that behind us. We started Christmas Eve with special breakfast at a local spot in Hampton called Tommy's and then spent the rest of the day making final preparations. . . a few last minute errands, baking cookies, wrapping the last presents. Christmas morning was so much fun! I have decided that I enjoy it more as an adult than I did as a child. I love to see the excitement my children have over surprises. I love the chance to explain to them that our Savior is the greatest gift we could ever receive on Christmas day. We had a nice morning at church followed by unwrapping gifts and naps for everyone before enjoying steaks grilled by the resident grill master (aka, Dave). We concluded with a wonderful evening and early bed times for everyone.

It seems each year, a line or verse from a traditional hymn sticks with me. This year it was a line from Hark, the Herald Angel Sings:

"Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth."

Such a tiny baby with such an unbelievable purpose. Praise God for the birth of His son Jesus. Praise God even more that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Cookies for Santa

2011-12-26T21:03:00.003-05:00

Stokes was my helper boy

The finished product

I think Santa enjoyed them. He left only a few crumbs and a sip of milk

A trip to see Bob

2011-12-26T21:00:00.001-05:00

If you have followed our blog at all, you know that Stokes loves Bob the Builder (He dressed up as Bob for Halloween!). The Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton has a travelling Bob exhibit that leaves at the end of December. So Dave and I finally got with it and took Stokes and Ellie Grace to see it. Here are some of the pictures from the fun we had. Enjoy!

Stokes trying to figure out what needs to be fixed next!

9 months old

2011-12-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, but Ellie Grace is now 9 months old. Where has the time gone???? I feel like I was just bringing her home from the hospital yesterday! At her check up last week, she weighed in at 23 lb, 1 oz and measured 29 inches long. . . .both still in the 95% or greater. I have had to move her almost exclusively to 12-18 month clothes.

EG is learning new things everyday. She has been able to roll or scoot across the room for 5-6 weeks now, but has recently gotten up on all fours and is really close to crawling. Getting to her brother's toys is her main motivation for getting around. She also really enjoys eating and has transitioned well to table food. Just the other day, she had pot roast, carrots, and potatoes and ate it like there was no tomorrow. And we are currently getting rid of bottles. She takes her formula from a sippy cup!

EG has a few other tricks she is working on too. She loves to pull a blanket over her face to play peek-a-boo. She waves, only when she wants to, though, and only at herself. And if you ask her how big she is, she raise both arms in the air and waits for you to say, "so big!"

She continues to be a joy and delight to parent. People often ask us if she is that happy all the time, and the truth is that she is. She is such a sweet little girl, and we praise the Lord for adding her to our family.

Filling in the cracks

2011-12-18T14:08:00.003-05:00

I know it has been quite a while since I posted. Things in the Latham house have been kind of crazy. The end of the semester brings a lot of busyness to Dave's life as a campus minister trying to reassure students who are anxious about finals, etc. so he spent quite a bit of time at CNU the last month of the semester.

We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving at our house (the first one we celebrated by ourselves). It was a wonderful low key day, and we got to hang out as a family and stick to our normal schedule. Dave was responsible for the turkey (smoked in his very own smoker) while my big task was the dressing. Dave's turkey was quite possibly the best turkey I have ever eaten (sorry mom!). Unfortunately, my dressing was a bit of a flop. Oh well!

The other big event and the main reason I am behind is that we finally moved into our new house (I'll try to do a separate post about that soon). It has not been an easy process, and we found out 5 days before Dave left for RUF training in Dallas that we would be moving. Not only that we would be moving, but that we would move the day before Dave left for 5 days. . . the day before my parents were coming for a visit. Needless to say, things have been a bit hectic since the beginning of December. The Lord was gracious to us. I was able to get everything unpacked and put away while my parents played with the kids. We had no major mishaps while Dave was gone. And he returned home and jumped right in to help finish making our new house a home. We love it already!

We are looking forward to this upcoming week of spending some good family time together and preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Savior. May you and your family have a blessed Christmas season!

New quilt

2011-11-09T08:41:00.002-05:00

I love my mom for many reasons, but one thing I really love about her is her craftiness. She paints, sews, etc., and hopefully, one day, I can learn how to be half as crafty as she is. She recently finished a hand made quilt for EG. Gagoo, rest assured. . . .she loves it!

EG playing on her new quilt

All boy

2011-11-09T08:39:00.003-05:00

Stokes is all boy all the time. I had to share this picture that shows him in his element (we are more than a little into Bob the Builder right now.)

Two teeth

2011-11-09T08:35:00.002-05:00

Ellie Grace had her first two teeth pop in last week. Love that girl's toothy little grin.

Happy Halloween. . .

2011-10-31T21:08:00.003-04:00

. . . from my little pumpkin (Dave had Stokes so I didn't get any pictures of him).

Afternoon playtime

2011-10-31T20:49:00.004-04:00

Harvest Party

2011-10-31T15:07:00.004-04:00

Our church had its annual harvest party this past Friday. We took Bob the builder and a sweet little pumpkin.

RUF Fall Conference

2011-10-31T14:46:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago (I'm a little behind, I know), we had to opportunity to gather with the 6 other RUF groups in Virginia for our annual fall conference in Lowesville, VA. The whole Latham family along with 9 students loaded up for the 4 hour trip. We had a wonderful time. . . the weather was cold but gorgeous, and there was great teaching and fellowship. All in all a wonderful weekend.

my first 5k

2011-09-24T15:08:00.002-04:00

Running has never been my cup of tea. For a while, when I was in grad school, I became a decent runner. . . I had to find some way to relieve the stress. . . and could pretty easily muster up a 4-mile run. Unfortunately, I haven't done much running since finishing graduate school. . . in 2002.. . and definitely not since having two children.

My dear friend, Melissa, has been training for some time for a 10k trail race, and we have discussed training and running races. I told her I would love to start running again. Well, she called me on it, and found a 5k for us to run. I had high aspirations of training. . . I just knew I would be able to push the children in the jog stroller and set aside plenty of time to train.

Training didn't happen the way I envisioned (I don't know why I am surprised by this!). As race day approached, I knew I would be doing good to just finish but decided to try to keep a good attitude about it and have fun. I am happy to report that I ran the entire race without walking and did not finish last, two goals I set for myself. My finish time was 40:24, which I know is terrible, but I did meet my goals. I never could have done it without the constant encouragement of Melissa. Thank you sweet friend for sticking with me and encouraging me when you totally could have smoked me and finish much more quickly.

Now that I know that I can do it (and am beginning to feel less pain in all of my major extremities!), I really think I will get into running more consistently and hope to run another 5k at a quicker pace.

Sibling love

2011-09-24T15:06:00.002-04:00

Imagination

2011-09-24T15:00:00.002-04:00

Stokes has a very vivid imagination. Here he is in his monster car with his monster helmet and monster sleeve on going off to battle (at least I think that is what he told me). I love that boy.

Sometimes. . .

2011-09-21T21:10:00.002-04:00

. . . I like to do things myself.

6 months already???

2011-09-16T17:55:00.004-04:00

Well, believe it or not, Ellie Grace turned 6-months-old on Monday. It is hard to believe that it has been half a year since she was born! She is such a precious child. . . by far the easiest baby I have ever seen (not trying to be biased but people have asked me if she ever cries.). She is a sweet, content little girl who takes great joy in being entertained by her brother, smiling at her daddy, and cuddling with her mommy. She is sitting up now and is very determined to reach for toys, objects, etc. She loves to roll onto her tummy but hasn't quite figured out how to roll onto her back. She loves to blow raspberries and squeals when she is really happy or excited. She takes great joy in playing in her excersaucer or her jumperoo and loves to be outside. At six months, EG weighs 19lb,13oz (off the chart) and is 27 inches long (95%). She is eating three meals a day along with her four bottles and will eat almost anything (although she does not like bananas!). We love this little girl so much and are so grateful the Lord has placed her in our family. She is such a blessing! Enjoy these recent pictures of EG.

Loving on Aunt Pam

Blowing raspberries. We call it her motor boat

My smiley girl!

Beautiful in her baptism dress

That's my girl!

Ellie's Baptism

2011-09-16T08:24:00.007-04:00

September 11th now has a new connotation for the Latham family. While Dave and I both remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, we will also remember the morning of Sept. 11, 2011 for a different reason. Dave baptized our little Ellie Grace this past Sunday morning at our home church (Calvary Reformed PCA). It was a special time for our family to celebrate the promise of God's faithfulness to us and our children. I hope you enjoy the pictures (my friend, Melissa took them; thank you, thank you, thank you!).

Dave giving the explanation of baptism

Dave's sister saved the day. She came down front so that Stokes could sit with her when he decided to try to steal the show.

When things get quiet. . .

2011-09-13T16:35:00.003-04:00

you know there is trouble. . . in the form of a 3-year-old little boy.

Mornings in our house look very similar. We eat breakfast. Then Stokes has a breathing treatment (preventative for his asthma) and watches a cartoon. While he does that, Dave is usually at his desk answering email and I begin the housework (make the bed, feed the animals, gather dirty clothes, etc.). I was doing my normal morning duties and realized that I hadn't seen Stokes in a while. I looked in all the rooms and still couldn't find him. I checked with Dave who hadn't seen him either. I started to panic a little, so I called for Stokes loudly. I hear this faint voice sheepishly respond, "I'm in my room." I went in his room (having already looked there once), and this is what I found:

Stokes snatched Dave's iPad from his office, took it back to his closet (because he knows he is not supposed to touch it), made a bed out of his animals, and started watching a video on it (which he navigated to and started all on his own). He was pretty proud of himself.

Family Camp 2011

2011-09-12T07:54:00.004-04:00

Labor Day weekend marks our annual return to Camp Greystone for family camp. This was our 7th (?) family camp, and we just love the chance to go back to the place where we met, got married, and lived the first four years of our marriage. It is always such a great homecoming.

This year was great: Stokes was old enough to enjoy the activities, and Ellie Grace was introduced to what hopefully will be her summer home when she gets older. Here are some of the highlights:

Stokes and Dave going on a canoe ride.

Stokes also got to ride a horse. This is one of his favorite things to do at camp, and he is not even a little afraid to jump right on.

Enjoying the scenery at camp.

Next was ceramics

Stokes is very into Bob the Builder right now, so Dave helped him make Bob and the other characters.

Ellie Grace and I were there too

This is how Ellie Grace spent most of her time.

We also went fishing.

Stokes caught a bream (with a little help from Dave)

And of course we spent some time in the pool. What a great family weekend. We can't wait for next year!

What a week!!!

2011-09-01T09:53:00.002-04:00

Actually, what a week and a half. The students have returned to school which means Dave's schedule is crazy as he tries to meet freshmen and catch up with our upperclassman. We rejoice that we had 40 students at our first RUF of the semester!!! It was a great time, and I am so fortunate this year that we have found a consistent baby sitter so I can go to the weekly meetings too.

The Tuesday of our first RUF was interesting for another reason. We were at home; Dave was about to put Stokes down for his nap, and I had just finished feeding Ellie Grace. EG and I were sitting on the couch when I felt the floor start to roll. I looked up and saw the television, pictures on the walls, and the floor lamp swaying back and forth. I quickly shouted to Dave, who was in the kitchen, that this couldn't be a train (which will often cause the floor to vibrate; train tracks are at the end of our street). Dave, who was watching the pots and pans swing on the pot rack in the kitchen, assured me that it must be an earthquake. And as it turned out, that is exactly what it was. Sad but true that the minister (Dave) had to inform the resident geologist (myself) that we were having an earthquake. We (and our house) were fine, but it did make for a lot of chatter here in Newport News.

News of the earthquake quickly subsided as we began to make arrangements for Hurricane Irene, set to make landfall Saturday of the same week. Dave and I were not really sure what we needed to do since this was our first hurricane since moving to the coast. Dave did a great job securing and putting up everything outside, gathering flashlights and lanterns, and getting us organized (I love my eagle scout!). We are happy to report that while we did have a lot of wind and rain, we fared much better than we anticipated. . . no water in our garage (our neighbors told us to expect at least a couple of inches) and our tree kept all of its branches (we have a large tree that hangs over our bedroom). We did lose power for three days, but the kids were troopers and we had a small generator to power the refrigerator. All in all, we did okay.

Thanks to all of you who were praying for us during the storm. The Lord definitely watched over us. And I'm proud to report that the two weeks since have been much less eventful.

Future camper

2011-08-11T14:24:00.002-04:00

To all our dear Greystone friends. . .

. . . Here is our future Greystone girl in the making

The first of many firsts

2011-08-11T14:07:00.003-04:00

I am finding that Ellie Grace is growing up entirely too quickly. With Stokes, I couldn't wait for him to start rolling over, eating solids, crawling, walking, etc. With EG, I want things to slow down. I will be perfectly content if she is a late crawler and an even later walker. I just want her to stay fat and little and precious. However, we have started many of her "firsts" this week. She had her first bites of anything other than milk earlier in the week. And, or course, we have the pictures to mark the occasion.

Waiting with baited breath for her first meal to begin

Not too sure about this. . .

This stuff is pretty good. . .

but I don't quite have the whole swallowing thing figured out yet.

Nothing makes me happier than a full belly.

EG also started rolling over this week too. And when she gets on her tummy, you can see her little wheels turning, trying to figure out desperately how to move across the floor. I'll post more on that later (once I get video uploaded to my computer).

Are you ready for some football????

2011-08-09T13:13:00.002-04:00

Because we sure are. Go Tigers! Go Rebels!

Notice any similarities???

2011-08-05T14:24:00.003-04:00

Ellie Grace, 4 months old, July 2011

Stokes, 4 months old, October 2008

Entertainment

2011-08-04T12:31:00.002-04:00

Our new favorite past time is watching our children entertain each other. Stokes loves his little sister so dearly and wants nothing more in the world than to make her smile and laugh. Ellie Grace thinks that her big brother hung the moon and watches him constantly with awe and adoration. Here is a video we took the other night after dinner of what this commonly looks like. Enjoy.

4 months old

2011-07-20T10:05:00.004-04:00

Well, it is hard to believe that our little Ellie Grace is already 4 months old (on July 12th). Where has the time gone???? She is such a sweet, easy-going, little girl whose smile lights up a room. She loves to jibber jabber and raises her voice if she can't be heard above her brother. She loves sitting in her bumbo or excersaucer so she can see what is going on. She LOVES her brother. Stokes can make her smile faster than anyone else, and my new favorite sound is hearing them laugh at each other. She recently discovered her toes and takes great joy in shoving her whole foot in her mouth. Ellie Grace is a little chunky monkey. . . she tipped the scales at 17 pounds, 1 ounce at her check up (99%) and is 25.5 inches long (99%). We are moving her into 6-9 month clothes now! She is still a good sleeper at night (10-12 hours straight every night), and we are working on naps during the day (still taking 4; trying to consolidate down to 2). She is such a delightful little girl, and we praise the Lord for this blessing in our lives.

When you can't swim outside. . .

2011-07-08T16:33:00.004-04:00

You just need to have a pool party inside. I asked Stokes what he was doing, and he told me that he was having a pool party with his animals. . . they were all having fun swimming together and eating apples. Gotta love that imagination!

Happy Birthday, America

2011-07-07T16:45:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating the 4th of July. . . I hope you had a great day too. I recently told Dave how much more I love this holiday now that we live in Virginia close to Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Also, there is such a strong military presence here that it is hard to not feel patriotic.

We started the day with the Hilton parade. I've said previously that we live on the edge of an area known as Historic Hilton Village, a subdivision developed during WWI to house people who worked in the nearby shipyard. All of the houses were built in 1919, and the whole subdivision has a "Leave it to Beaver" feel. The neighborhood parade is great. . . .people dress up in their best red, white, and blue and line Main Street to see the neighborhood children ride their bikes and watch the antique fire trucks and cars. We just love it.

Unfortunately, the 4th was pretty rainy this year. We talked about going to see a big fireworks display but opted for a cookout at home followed by a laser light show at the VA Living Museum planetarium. This way we were guaranteed to stay dry and get the kids in bed on time. . . a win-win for us. Dave was a trooper and grilled excellent steaks and corn on the cob in the middle of a thunderstorm. Stokes loved the "indoor fireworks" at the planetarium, and we stayed dry (a huge thunderstorm blew up while we were there).

All in all, it was a great day. We thank the Lord for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and are so very grateful for all the men and women who have fought and continue to fight to protect those freedoms. We are truly blessed.

Stokes was VERY excited about the parade and loved waving his American flag (Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Cook!)

The Latham women

and the Latham men (Stokes was still too excited to look at the camera)

Ellie Grace was all smiles

Yes, the parade even had a man on stilts.

We love the antique fire trucks.

Paci or Thumb

2011-07-06T15:41:00.002-04:00

For Ellie Grace, the thumb wins every time

It's about time. . .

2011-07-05T21:39:00.003-04:00

After much discussion and planning, we finally decided it was time to potty train Stokes. We have been discussing it with him for over a year now, but he has always been very hesitant. . . he doesn't like change (he gets that honestly from his mama). He has often provided excuses like, "I can't use the potty, Mommy. It is too dangerous." Well, I finally had enough and decided we would give it a try. I am happy to report that he has done such an excellent job. The first day was rough, but since then we have had very few accidents, and he can even make it all night long without any problems. I know that he won't do it perfectly, but I am so proud of the progress Stokes has made. He really has turned into such a big boy.

The whole potty training experience has left me with something to think about: the difference between ability and desire. Stokes has possessed the ability to use the potty for a long time (one reason why I think it has been such an easy transition); he just never WANTED to use the potty. There are so many areas in my life where I have the ability but lack the desire. I pray that the Lord will rid me of my apathy and give me the desire to do the things He has equipped me to do.

When it gets hot. . .

2011-07-02T08:08:00.003-04:00

We break out the swimming pool. Stokes got a new pool for his birthday, and we have enjoyed playing in it quite a bit. You'll notice we got the extra large version. . . we can't wait to have friends over to play in the pool with us! Enjoy the pictures.

So this isn't the pool party, but I had to throw in a couple of cute pictures of Ellie sitting in her Bumbo.

Enjoying the pool in the shade

Venturing out into the sunshine

One last Ellie picture

Our sweet little girl

2011-06-27T16:21:00.004-04:00

Here is a small glimpse of what our little Ellie Grace is up to these days.

There's a place in old Tuxedo. . .

2011-06-26T14:29:00.003-04:00

The day after Stokes' birthday, we left bright and early in the morning to head to the mountains of western North Carolina. More specifically, we were going home. If you know Dave and me, you know that I hail from Memphis while Dave is from Greenwood, SC. . . both of which are flat and not in North Carolina. Dave and I met in the summer of 2000 while working together at Camp Greystone, an all girls Christian camp located in Tuxedo, NC. We met there, dated there, got married there, and lived the first four years of our marriage there. To say that camp holds a special place in our hearts would be a major understatement. . . it really is our home.

While we no longer work there, we visit as often as we can. . . usually once during the summer while camp is in session and on Labor Day weekend for family camp. It is such a treat to take our children there and see them enjoy a place that means so much to us.

We enjoyed a nice, long weekend in good old Tuxedo. The purpose of the trip was to visit the sweet ARP church we were members of to give an RUF update and to raise support. Thank you to all the dear people there who so graciously have supported us financially and prayerfully in our work with RUF. It is always such a treat to catch up with them and to see the Lord at work there.

While our purpose was to visit the church, Jimboy (Greystone's director) was gracious enough to allow us to stay at camp which gave us the opportunity to catch up with all of our friends. It was a wonderful visit. Stokes enjoyed riding in the ski boat and swimming in the big lake. I was able to go up to Asheville to visit all of my former coworkers. We got to enjoy afternoon thunderstorms, squeals of little girls, delicious food, and wonderful fellowship.

We look forward to our return in early September. . . I'll actually try to take pictures next time :)

Stokes' 3rd Birthday

2011-06-25T14:31:00.008-04:00

After a fun long week at the beach, we returned home for a week of birthdays: My birthday and Stokes' birthday are 3 days apart. We were leaving to go out of town again the day after his birthday, so we decided to forgo a party once again and just celebrate his birthday as a family.

Now we Lathams do things just a little differently. Special breakfast is something we love to do at random, but this year, we decided to celebrate birthdays with special breakfast. So Stokes' birthday started with a trip to Chick-fil-A. . . Stokes' very favorite place to eat. He ate twice as much food as I did! After breakfast, we went to Target and Toys R Us to spend the birthday money he got from family. He had a great time picking out Cars 2 themed cars, trucks, books, etc. After coming home to play with everything, Stokes' best buddy, Lucas, and his mom stopped by to bring birthday balloons. What a thoughtful treat! We ended the day with a birthday celebration and cupcake at home as a family. All in all we had a great day.

Birthday breakfast at Chick-fil-A. Stokes proudly showing how old he is

A special strawberry cupcake for the birthday boy

Yeah, he licked the icing off the top of it.

Beach Week

2011-06-24T18:53:00.008-04:00

The week of Memorial Day, we packed up the car and headed to North Myrtle Beach to spend some time with Dave's parents and celebrate the end of the school year (which provides somewhat of a break for Dave).We have not had a real vacation in probably a year and a half, and although we live at the beach, we have not been to Virginia Beach to see the Atlantic Ocean since we got here.

We had a great time playing on the beach (Stokes ran non stop), splashing in the water (Stokes was scared of the water the last time we were at the beach, but this time we had a hard time making him get out of it!), eating (LOTS of eating), going to the aquarium, and hanging out with Papa Fred and Nana.

I really realized what a big boy Stokes has turned into on this trip. He is so independent and wants to do everything on his own these days. . . feeding himself. . . picking out his clothes. . . problem solving. He decided during our trip that he was not going to take a nap so we decided to make the most of the day and skip the nap altogether. This resulted in several funny dinner incidences where he fell asleep in his dinner plate. . .literally. One night Dave had to throw him over his shoulder because he was so asleep.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. We sure enjoyed making them.

This is how Ellie spent most of her days on the beach

And this is how Stokes spent a lot of his time

Ellie dipping her feet in the ocean for the first time. It was a little too cold for her liking

Papa Fred and Stokes checking things out

Stokes swimming with Dave. He did such a good job in the pool. . . in the past, he has always been too afraid to get in.

Ripley's Aquarium. We love this place!

We celebrated my birthday a little early with Dave's parents. Hope you aren't blinded by the candles. The fire department was not called.

We also celebrated Stokes birthday early too !

Stokes got to ride on a carousel for the first time. He loved it.

We also walked out on the Cherry Grove pier.

fun in the sand

Loving on Papa

Radio silence

2011-06-24T08:18:00.002-04:00

Please excuse the radio silence. June has been an unbelievably busy month. That compounded by a broken camera has left me behind on updates. I hope to start catching up later on today. Thanks for your patience!

On the road again

2011-06-10T06:05:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. We spent a week in North Myrtle Beach with Dave's parents returning home on Sunday just in time for our denomination's General Assembly in Virginia Beach. Dave has been there most of the week while I hold down the fort here in Newport News. Tomorrow we leave for western North Carolina to visit camp and our dear friends at Reformation Presbyterian Church. I will post pictures once I get them all uploaded and sorted out.

50/50 Campaign

2011-05-26T07:53:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure how many people (if any!) check our blog, but I thought it might be a good idea to give a quick ministry update. We have wrapped up our first year working with RUF at CNU, and Dave has already started making plans for next year. We had a great first year with lots of learning experiences. . . trial and error to figure out what night and time to have Bible Study. . . hosting different events to find out what students like to do. . . lots of hanging out on campus to figure out where students hang out. We have seen the Lord at work in the lives of students and have been blessed by a core group of folks for next year.

So you may be asking yourself, what do RUF ministers do during the summer when there are no students around? Do they get 3 months of vacation too? While the summer is a lot slower, there is still a lot of work going on. We will be hosting summer RUF at our house for any students who are in the area over the break, and Dave will start prepping Bible studies and events for the upcoming school year. The main work we (primarily Dave) do over the summer is raise support. While Dave is an ordained minister, there is no one church or organization that pays for us to work with RUF. We raise 100% of our support money.

While we are not in a deficit yet, we are not far from it. To help with our support-raising efforts, we have started a 50/50 campaign. We are looking for 50 families to support RUF at CNU at $50 a month. This would almost cover the costs to do the work here. We ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us. If you are unable at this time to financially support us, we understand but do ask that you continue to pray for us and the work here.

For more information on how to support RUF at CNU, visit our website: http://www.cnu.ruf.org/support-donate-online

Thanks for reading about our work at CNU.

the heat is on

2011-05-24T16:47:00.007-04:00

Although technically it is still spring, today is the first day that it has really felt like summer. . . highs in the 90s and m-u-g-g-y. Dave and I started talking recently about buzzing Stokes' hair for the summer. To most this would not be a big deal, but to me it is. Hair has always been a big deal to me. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it goes back to Little Women where Jo cuts her hair off and sells it so that her mother can travel to see their injured father. Amy's response to Jo is "oh, Jo. . . Your one beauty." Anyway, I love my little boy's beautiful, thick, golden hair. But he is so hot natured that he can think about running and break out in a sweat. And he hates to have his hair washed. So we decided that in preparation for our upcoming beach trip and with the temperatures so warm, today would be the day. He was a champ and let Dave cut his hair without even flinching. To celebrate, we broke out the sprinkler and swimming pool and had a fun time in the water this morning.

Last shot of those luscious locks

let the hair cut begin!

lookin' good in daddy's shades

the finished product

look out, Hasselhoff. Stokes is the newest member of Baywatch

sprinkler time!

next, the pool

Ellie kept herself busy with a little nap

Can't forget about Zeke the wonder dog. He was a little bit jealous of Stokes' pool

Two month old. . . then and now

2011-05-13T13:02:00.004-04:00

Ellie is officially two-months-old now and went for her check up and shots (boo) yesterday. I thought it would be neat to compare her two-month stats with Stokes' stats at the same age along with a photo comparison. Here are the pictures:

Ellie at 2 months (photo taken 5/11/11)

Stokes at 2 months (photo taken 8/2/08)

At this age, people said that Stokes looked like me (Rebecca), but most people think that Ellie looks like Dave. I definitely think they look related! What do you think?

Here are Ellie's two months stats:

Weight: 13 lb., 11 oz. (off the chart!)

Height: 23 inches (75%)

She is the size of a four-month-old!

Stokes at two months:

Weight: 15 lb., 9 oz. (off the chart!)

Height: 24.5 inches (off the chart!)

Stokes was the size of a five- or six-month-old.

Most importantly, Ellie is a sweet, happy, fun, easy going, and healthy little girl. We love her so much and are so grateful to the Lord for this wonderful addition to our family.

Smiley girl

2011-05-11T15:33:00.000-04:00

Move over tiger. . .

2011-05-09T13:52:00.002-04:00

Stokes is in the house

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

2011-05-04T12:52:00.007-04:00

Earlier this week, we went the Norfolk Zoo with some dear friends and their little boy who happens to be Stokes' best buddy. We had a great time seeing all the animals and enjoying a beautiful day outside. In an attempt to get out the door, we left our camera at home (it is DEFINITELY harder to get places with 2 kids). Fortunately, though, Melissa had her camera and is a great photographer. Enjoy her pictures.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T21:20:00.010-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord. We had a great weekend together as a family. Friday night, we went to the good Friday service at our church. It was a great time of reflection of what Jesus did for us with His death on the cross.

Saturday was a wonderful family day. We started off with a pancake breakfast at church (the mission team travelling to Peru this summer put this together.). Stokes ate 4 pancakes, 2 slices of bacon, and a bowl of fruit. Yeah, he ate more than I did. . . or Dave did. I fear our food bill when he hits his teenage years. After that, we immediately came home for a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Over 1500 eggs were hidden in 5 yards for roughly 30 kids to find. Then we had games, a pizza lunch, and a visit from the Easter bunny. It was a lot of fun.

Stokes knew exactly what to do when the egg hunt started

Found one!

Some of the eggs were hidden in our front yard.

Our neighbor, Tim, helping Stokes reach one of the high ones

Daddy was a lot of help, too.

We celebrated a warm, sunny, beautiful, Easter Sunday at our dear church hearing the Gospel preached and celebrating Christ's resurrection. What a wonderful time to worship together with our brothers and sisters in Christ!

I pray you all had a wonderful weekend as well.

All Smiles

2011-04-20T10:47:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, Papaw!

2011-04-18T21:44:00.003-04:00

I'm running a little behind, but I wanted to wish my dad a happy 70th birthday. We love you, Papaw!

(This is Stokes, not Ellie. . . just to clarify. . . but this is a good picture of my dad)

Oh what a month!

2011-04-18T21:17:00.003-04:00

Our little Ellie belly

Stokes with ice cream all over his face (note: his hair is messed up. . . it does not look this uneven in the front when it is actually combed)

All dressed up for church.

Where has the time gone???? It is hard to believe that Ellie is now 5 weeks old. Where did the last month go? She is a happy, healthy little girl and has really added so much to our family. Here are her one-month stats:

Weight: 10 pounds, 10 ounces (90%)

Height: 21.5 inches (75%)

She has set her own schedule for the most part which, by God's grace, is the exact time schedule I was going to try to get her on. And I really am only getting up for one, relatively quick, middle of the night feeding which is nice. We're making progress.

Stokes is continuing to adjust to being a big brother. Fortunately, so far he hasn't tried to hurt her or be rough with her. . . he is really proud of introducing everyone to his little sister. He is struggling some with sharing Mommy and Daddy with someone else. Recently, he looked at me and said, "Mommy put her down and play with me." To get our attention, he is acting out some, but Dave and I have put out heads together and are coming up with creative ways to encourage him to improve his behavior.

In other news, we are wrapping up our first year of RUF at CNU. Our last official event is a cookout at our house tomorrow night. The students are in their last week of class, and after final exams next week, they will scatter for the summer. It is hard to believe that the year is already over. . . it went by so quickly. We feel like we have learned a lot, and Dave is already making plans for kicking RUF off in the fall. The Lord has been faithful to sustain us and guide us, and we still feel confident that this is exactly where He would have us.

We are looking forward to a break this summer to have some good family time. We will head to the beach (other than a local beach) a few times this summer and try to get in some time with both sets of grandparents. We'll keep you posted on our summer and hope you have a good spring/summer as well.

Two week stats

2011-04-01T09:07:00.002-04:00

Ellie had her two-week check up yesterday. Here are her current stats:

Weight: 9 pounds (75%)

Height: 21 3/4 inches (90%)

Head: 14 (50%)

She is healthy and doing great. She is even sleeping 5-6 hours straight some nights. Looks like Ellie is trying to catch up to her big brother!

Two Weeks Old

2011-03-27T06:23:00.003-04:00

It's so hard to be two weeks old. . .

Pictures of Ellie!

2011-03-19T07:59:00.003-04:00

She's Here!!!!!

2011-03-18T10:15:00.002-04:00

I have fallen behind blogging for a good reason. Elizabeth "Ellie" Grace Latham was born last Saturday, March 12, at 1:34 pm. At 2.5 weeks early, she weighed in at 7lb 15oz and 21 inches long. Needless to say, after all the begging I did for her to come early, she did and caught Dave and me completely off guard. We have been home since Monday, and my parents graciously drove in from Memphis (a 14 hour trip) to help care for me and the family. I promise pictures will come soon. Like I said, we are just running a little behind.

Just to make things interesting

2011-03-02T06:15:00.002-05:00

I had my 36 week doctors appointment yesterday. And while everything is fine with baby Ellie, I did receive some unexpected news. Over the weekend, I registered with the hospital in preparation for my delivery. The insurance coordinator at my doctor's office called me into her office yesterday to let me know that while their practice accepts my health insurance, the hospital where they deliver does not. My first two questions: is that common, and what does that mean? No, it is not at all common. It means that I have to find a new practice that will deliver at the insurance approved hospital here in town. The ladies in the doctor's office were extremely apologetic and worked tirelessly for two days to get me in with a new practice.

So while it's not exactly the thing you want to hear when you could go into labor any day, it is certainly not the end of the world. I am hoping to get in with the new practice next week, and yesterday's check up indicates that Ellie isn't in any hurry to make her grand entrance. Please pray we get all the details worked out. . . that I am actually able to see a doctor from the new practice and visit the hospital before Ellie comes.

All in all, this is just a little hiccup to make things interesting.

Stokesisms

2011-02-23T17:07:00.003-05:00

I have decided to share some of Stokes' sayings:

Eating a granola bar: "This canola bar is my favorite."

After receiving encouragement to try using the "big potty": "I can't, Mommy. It's too dangerous."

Playing play-doh: "I'm making maghetti, Mommy!"

After my parents' computer dropped our skype call for the 4th time: "[sigh] We lost 'em again."

Stay tuned. More to come, I'm sure.

What's your guess???

2011-02-23T16:41:00.002-05:00

Our little butterball, Stokes, just a couple of weeks old.

The debate continues to rage on just how big our little Ellie will be. We were surprised when Stokes was born; his estimated weight a couple of days before delivery was 7-7.5 pounds. Little did we know that at 39 weeks, I would deliver Stokes, the man child, who weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces. I gained 40 pounds with him and measured average the entire pregnancy.

Needless to say, I have been concerned about Ellie's size. I have to say that the idea of delivering another nearly 10 pound baby is not something that gets me excited. So there has been much discussion between Dave and me and between my doctors and me about just how big Ellie will be. I have gained almost 40 pounds again (if you see the previous prego pic, you'll notice that it is pretty much all belly) and measured average until last week, when I started measuring small.

I originally thought she was going to be a huge baby, but now I don't know what to think. My mom loves to tease me that she will weigh 13 pounds. I'm guessing in the 8 pound range. I haven't surveyed Dave lately to get his thoughts.

Now you know all the info we know. So what's YOUR guess????

No news is good news

2011-02-23T16:34:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted lately since I don't have a ton of news to report. I am still pregnant (now 35.5 weeks) and everything, so far, continues to look good. I'll try to get Dave to take one more picture of my pregnant belly before Ellie comes. Stokes continues to be a two-year-old who constantly drives us to our knees in prayer and continually shows us the sin in our hearts. We are praying that he will want to be obedient and that he'll begin to grasp the Gospel. Dave continues to minister to students at CNU, preparing Bible Studies, meeting one on one with them, and figuring out what they like to do. He is busy, but it is a good busy, and he still has time to go with Stokes and me to the museum, play at the park, etc.

So, we are still here, and just assume that no news is good news. Soon enough, we will have lots of things to report on.

Still waiting. . .

2011-01-24T15:26:00.003-05:00

Here is, what might be, the only picture of me during this pregnancy:

31 Weeks

My pregnancy is continuing well. I have now hit the point where I am ready for Ellie to come (not sleeping well, can't put on my socks, etc.). We started working on the nursery this past weekend (I'll post pictures once it is finished), and it is settling in that she will be here soon. . . . hopefully before my due date. We can't wait to meet our little girl!

White Christmas?!?!?

2011-01-05T14:45:00.006-05:00

Anyone who knows us, knows that Dave and I both hail from the deep south. . . parts of the country that don't usually see snow. In fact, I remember growing up in Memphis times when school was canceled just because there was the possibility of snow. So I was a little excited when forecasters started to predict the potential for snow on Christmas. They first said maybe a dusting to a couple of inches. This quickly changed to 4-6 inches which then became 9 inches.

The snow started falling around 7 pm Christmas evening, but it wasn't really sticking. It was still beautiful, and it was the first time I remember seeing snow fall on Christmas day. What a treat! During a rather sleepless night (I was struggling with a cold on top of pregnancy discomfort), I checked outside at 3:30 and 5:30 to see if it was really going to snow, or if this was just another poor prediction. It was snowing both times, but there was no snow on the roads. When I finally got up at 6:30, there were 3 inches of snow on the ground and roads. We had 6 inches of snow by 8:00 am, and it just kept falling. . . inches of snow per hour.

When it was all said and done, we got 14 inches of snow. 14 INCHES OF SNOW!!!!! More snow than Dave or I had ever seen. We had a great time taking Stokes out to play in it. And Zeke, the wonder dog, who, I am convinced is part polar bear, loved running around in it, scooping it up in his mouth and throwing it in the air.

What a wonderful Christmas blessing! Enjoy some of the pictures from the blizzard of 2010!

Dave stuck his level on our picnic table so we could see how much snow we got

Early afternoon while it was still snowing, Stokes and Zeke playing in the backyard.

Dave and I, sick as dogs, but playing in the snow nonetheless.

Stokes struggling to make it through the snow

Once the snow stopped falling, Dave took a walk to get some pictures. Here is our house with the buried Christmas lights on.

Historic Hilton Village, one block from our house.

Christmas in Newport News

2011-01-05T14:28:00.006-05:00

For the first time ever, Dave and I decided that this year we needed to stay home for Christmas. In the past, we have rotated between families, but because it was so far to travel and now that Stokes is getting older, we decided to start making some traditions of our own. We had a quiet week wrapping up last minute errands and enjoying family time. On Christmas Eve, we went to church for our Christmas Eve service, and then came home to get Stokes into bed. Unfortunately, Dave and I both had pretty nasty colds, so we crashed shortly after Stokes went to bed (fortunately, he never caught the cold bug floating through the house). We got up Christmas morning and surprised Stokes with a train set and a big fire truck. He was very excited.

We had a nice breakfast and took our time opening the rest of our presents. We then just spent the rest of the morning playing and hanging out. After a nap, we had a big, traditional Christmas dinner including my first attempt at Grandma Smith's (Dave's grandmother) macaroni pie. This was topped off by reading the Christmas story from the Jesus Storybook Bible. If you have never read this version, you should check it out. It is very well done. We spent some time talking with Stokes about why we really celebrate Christmas and how Jesus is the greatest gift we could ever receive.

All in all, we had a wonderful day at home, and we look forward to carrying on some of the traditions in the years to come. I hope you had a blessed, wonderful Christmas and that the Lord showed you the true meaning of the season.

Zeke enjoying his Christmas present. It was gone in about 45 minutes.

Stokes and Daddy enjoying the new train set

Helping Mommy with her stocking

Daddy, evidently, needed help with his stocking too.

New firefighter outfit courtesy of Papa Fred and Nana.

Christmas in Memphis

2010-12-27T15:04:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, we made the long (14 hour) trek to Memphis to celebrate an early Christmas with my family (the Stokes). Fortunately for us, Stokes travels very well, and with a little help from the portable DVD player, he can ride all day without any complaints. The trip was a little dicey. . . it snowed on us our whole second day of driving. . . but we made it without any problems. We had a wonderful time catching up with my parents as well as my sister and her family. We opened lots of presents, ate BBQ (Memphis style, of course), and enjoyed playing and visiting with everyone. Thanks for a great time, Papaw and Gagoo!

Stokes riding in style in the car. He did great on the 14-hour trip.

This is what day 2 of the trip looked like. Fortunately, the roads never got bad, and we made it to Memphis without any problems.

Stokes in the midst of the gift-opening frenzy.

Stokes and Papaw playing with his new dump truck and crane.

Gagoo is the artist in the family, and Stokes had a great time painting with her.

Special Breakfast

2010-12-26T21:18:00.003-05:00

One of Dave's favorite things to do is have "special breakfast" on Saturday mornings. I usually get up on Saturdays and make pancakes or biscuits or something like that. Special breakfast is when we get up, get dressed, and go out to breakfast. Earlier this month we had special breakfast at the Waffle House, a perennial Latham favorite. This was Stokes' introduction to the Waffle House. Let's just say he enjoyed himself.

Stokes enjoying his first bite of waffle.

Telling our waitress how much he likes it.

10 minutes before he polished off the rest of the waffle and part of my breakfast.

RUF Christmas Party

2010-12-04T15:34:00.004-05:00

We just wrapped up our first semester of RUF at CNU. To celebrate the end of the semester and the upcoming Christmas season, we had our first RUF tacky sweater Christmas party last night. Everyone came over to our house decked out in their Christmas worst for dessert, hot chocolate, and some games (Wii and board games) before heading to the Hollydazzle at City Center at Oyster Point. Dave and I were actually here in Newport News this same weekend last year interviewing for the RUF position, but we missed the festivities. So we were excited to check it out. It did not disappoint. There is big pond with water fountains in the middle of City Center. The highlight of the Hollydazzle is the laser light show and fireworks display over the pond. . . 20 solid minutes of unbelievable fireworks and laser lights choreographed to Christmas music. It was tons of fun, and Stokes LOVED it (although at first, he kept saying, "it's too loud, Mommy.").

Here are few pictures from the evening for your enjoyment.

Pre-party picture of Stokes. Dave bought the Santa hat for me to wear, but it was actually sized for a child. Stokes, who usually hates hats, quickly adopted it and would not take it off.

Daddy and son sporting their new hats.

Could these sweaters and mock turtlenecks be any worse???? We even sewed/wired the lights and ornaments into them ourselves. That's dedication.

Our crew (minus 1) bundled up to watch the fireworks at the Hollydazzle.

A Sneak Peak

2010-11-20T15:14:00.005-05:00

When I had my ultrasound a week and a half ago, everything looked wonderful with our little girl. So I was a little puzzled when the ultrasound tech called me the day after the scan. Apparently, she forgot to take one of the critical pictures for documenting Ellie's health. She calmly reassured me that she remembers looking at that part of the anatomy but she just forgot to photograph it. So she asked me to come back for a quick session so she could take the picture. She felt so badly about making me come back that she gave me a free 4D ultrasound picture. So here is a sneak peak of out little Ellie (It is not the greatest picture because she is so squirmy all the time, but we'll take it!).

He's on the move

2010-11-19T14:28:00.004-05:00

After much hemming and hawing and dragging our feet, we have moved Stokes to a toddler bed. Now that I am 22 weeks pregnant, I am having a hard time lifting him in and out of the crib. And, we learned just a few days ago, he is perfectly capable of climbing in and out of his crib at will. Dave took some time this morning to convert the crib to the toddler bed. Stokes was so excited when he got to try it out that I had a hard time getting him to go to our playdate. Hopefully we can make a quick and easy transition to the big boy bed. . . although he has yet to fall asleep for his nap today.

It's a. . .

2010-11-11T14:23:00.003-05:00

GIRL!!!! I am now 20.5 weeks pregnant, and we had our ultrasound this morning to check on the baby and to find out the sex. We are happy to report that our little girl appears 100% healthy and right on schedule (due date is still March 28). Although Dave and I were both pretty sure we were having a boy, we are excited that the Lord has blessed us with a girl. I know she will have her daddy wrapped around her little figure, and I'm pretty sure big brother will be her biggest fan.

Elizabeth "Ellie" Grace Latham, we can't wait to meet you in a few short months. Praise the Lord for a great report!

Happy 30th Birthday, Dave!

2010-11-10T12:11:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday we celebrated Dave's 30th birthday. It was a treat to have his parents still in town after his ordination so they were here to help celebrate. Unfortunately, it was such a busy day that I don't think I got any pictures. After Dave and his dad played golf that triggered a huge allergy attack in Dave, we all went out (without Stokes) for a nice dinner at a local restaurant in Hilton Village. It was a nice meal of adult conversation (Dave and I had a hard time remembering how to converse with grown ups) despite Dave's worsening condition.

All of that to say, happy, happy birthday to my dear sweet husband. I am glad that we are finally in the same age bracket again (yes, for those who don't know, I am 2.5 years older than Dave). I pray that the Lord will richly bless you this year, and I cannot wait to see what 30 holds for you. . . it'll be hard to top 29! I love you!

More conversations with a two-year-old

2010-11-10T12:03:00.002-05:00

On a walk late last week, I was just struck by how beautiful it was outside: a warm, bright sunny day; no clouds in the Carolina blue sky; hundred year old trees transformed by brightly colored leaves. I decided to try to use the opportunity to talk to Stokes about God's good graces to us. The conversation went something like this:

Mommy: Stokes, isn't it so pretty outside today? God is so good to make all these beautiful things like the trees and the sky.

Stokes (after a few seconds of reflection): God made the pumpkin! (This made sense since we were passing one at that moment.) God made the sun! God made cheese!

Not sure where the cheese came from except that it wasn't far from lunch time, and Stokes loves, LOVES cheese. At least Stokes realizes that the things he sees around him and loves dearly all come from a good God.

It's official!

2010-11-10T10:42:00.004-05:00

We were exceedingly blessed to have Dave's ordination service this past Sunday morning at Calvary Reformed Presbyterian Church here in Newport News. It was truly a wonderful morning of worship with our church family here, and we were honored that one of Dave's dearest friends, Rob Hamby (RUF at TCU), came to preach the service. Rob is really the person who most encouraged Dave to prayerfully consider going to seminary and full time ministry, so it was a treat to have him as a part of this service. We were also fortunate to have all of the Lathams here for this event. Dave's parents came from Greenwood, and his sister and her husband came from Charlotte. It was a wonderful weekend of celebration on the Lord's calling on Dave's life.

I still have a hard time believing that I am married to a minister. . . not because Dave is not minister material but because I never considered myself minister's wife material. It has been amazing to watch the Lord guide us through the whole process of seminary, presbytery exams, etc. and really give us a heart for ministry particularly for ministry to the college students here at CNU (9 of our students even came to the ordination Sunday morning!).

I am so proud of Dave's hard work and perseverance and am excited to see where the Lord leads us in ministry. I have no doubt that we will have difficult times and will experience, by the Lord's grace, much-needed sanctification, but I know that He has prepared Dave for this new calling. I am excited.

Thanks to all who have encouraged us along the way. . . it was not easy. . . and for all those who have prayed for us and provided for us in very tangible ways. It is with great joy, honor, and humility that I can now officially call my husband, the Reverend Dave Latham.

Dave taking his vows of ordination

The laying on of hands (I felt a little strange taking a picture during a prayer, but you do what you have to do)

Hugs all around afterwards

Dave giving his first benediction as Rev. Latham

The whole Latham crew

Our little train conductor

2010-11-02T10:07:00.003-04:00

This is the first year since Stokes was born that we have participated in Halloween. We thought it would be a great chance to meet some of our neighbors since we are relatively new to the area. After Stokes' nap, we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating Halloween cookies followed by dinner. Then it was time. It took a little bribery to get him in his costume (I had to promise him that he would get candy if he put the whole thing on and his daddy dressed up too), but once he was dressed, he was ready to roll. Daddy took him around the neighborhood while I stayed home to pass out candy. When they got back, we spent the rest of the night hanging out on the patio talking with our neighbors and meeting new friends. All in all, it was a great night.

Decorating cookies with Mommy

The sprinkles quickly started going into his mouth rather than on the cookies

The finished products

My train conductors ready to go trick-or-treating

Making sure his Thomas the Train whistle works

No more studying

2010-10-20T20:35:00.002-04:00

I am pleased to announce that Dave has finished his final round of exams for ordination into the PCA church. After laboring diligently over one of his papers and studying church history and the sacraments for weeks, he is finally finished. Praise the Lord! Flash cards have been put away, and we are making preparations for his ordination service on Sunday Nov. 7. It has been such a long road, but the Lord has been more than faithful even when we doubted His goodness to us.

What a week that will be. Nov 7: Dave's ordination. Nov 9: Dave's 30th birthday. Nov 11: Ultrasound to make sure baby is healthy and find out the sex. We are looking forward to celebrating all three events with family and friends, and I'll definitely keep you posted on things!

But for now, three cheers for Dave and all his hard work!

Anniversary Celebration

2010-10-11T14:15:00.002-04:00

Last week, Dave and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. One of our CNU students came to watch Stokes, and we walked across the street to Historic Hilton Village and had a nice, adult dinner out (I guarantee that this is the first time in a long time that we have gone out without ordering chicken nuggets). It was such a nice change of pace, and I think we did a great job of talking about things other than Stokes. We had a wonderful evening.

It is hard to believe that it has been 7 years since we got married. In the past 7 years, we have had 2 moves, 1.5 babies, and added a dog and a cat. Dave had a career change from a carpenter yearning to run his own summer camp to a minister called to love on college students. I went from a career driven, passionate geologist to a perfectly contented stay-at-home mom. It has been neat for us to look back and see how the Lord has directed every step of our path, how He has perfectly coordinated our lives according to His plan. I am so incredibly grateful for how He has blessed us and our marriage, and pray that He would bless us with many, many, many more years together. . . to His glory alone.

So this picture is not from our wedding, but it was taken 5 minutes after we got engaged at the top of Looking Glass Rock on February 1, 2003 (I do not have any wedding pictures scanned.). But this will give you an idea of what Dave and I looked like 7 years ago as we were eagerly awaiting to begin our lives together.

Fall Conference 2010

2010-09-28T14:03:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend our first regional RUF conference. All the schools in Virginia along with the University of Maryland met at Crossroads Conference Center, located in Lowesville, VA (about 40 minutes southwest of Charlottesville). This was a beautiful location situated along a bubbling mountain stream. . . it was good to be back in the mountains.

We took 8 students from CNU. And probably the highlight of the weekend (besides the fantastic preaching by our speaker) was the 90's air band competition. Our students had been a little unsure of exactly what to do, but in the end, they pulled off a fantastic performance and WON the competition. Yes, that's right. They brought home the coveted chocolate gorilla which we will enjoy with a party here at our house in the very near future.

As you can imagine, it was a little difficult to participate in all the activities with Stokes in tow. Overall he did well, although sleeping was a bit tricky. He also got to know the students better, and they were very gracious to entertain him.

We had a great weekend and look forward to next year. We are also grateful for our wonderful students' willingness to come. Praise the Lord for such an encouraging time, and may He continue to bless the work of RUF at CNU.

Here is a picture from the first large group meeting. What a great sight!

Sporting the chocolate gorilla after the 90's air band victory (sorry for the poor photo quality)

We took Stokes on a creek hike. He absolutely loved it.

Family photo op. . . Stokes would NOT smile

Our wonderful group from CNU

my little handyman

2010-09-27T16:28:00.003-04:00

Stokes loves using his tools to work on his cars, lawnmower, etc. Here is a glimpse of my little handyman.

Update on life

2010-09-27T16:13:00.002-04:00

Things have been a little crazy with school going full swing now and a fair amount of traveling. Papaw was finally able to have his gallbladder removed almost two weeks ago now. It was in such bad shape that he is having a difficult time recovering. On top of that, he now appears to have a kidney stone too. Please continue to pray his recovery.

Stokes and I were able to go to Memphis to see Papaw and Gagoo and help cheer Papaw up while he recovers. Because it is such a long trip, Dave decided that we would fly. So Stokes and I navigated the airport by ourselves and had a wonderful time visiting with my parents along with my sister and her family. And I am happy to report that Stokes did so unbelievably well on the airplane going and coming including during our 4-hour layover in Atlanta. What a blessing that was.

I am happy to also report that I am now 14 weeks pregnant. Hooray!!! I am finally feeling better, have more energy, and have a little belly developing. . . just hungry all the time. My latest craving has been Mexican food, particularly nachos. My mom continues to tease me that given Stokes' size at birth (just under 10 pounds) and my current craving, I am going to have a 12 pound baby this time around. I hope she is wrong.

We also just returned from our first RUF fall conference. While it was difficult to manage a wiggly, tired 2-year-old, we had a great time. It was such a treat to meet the other campus ministers and their families and get to know our CNU students better. We are looking forward to future conferences and continuing our ministry with these students.

So September has been crazy but good. We are eagerly looking forward to what October has to offer.

Family Camp 2010

2010-09-05T15:16:00.003-04:00

We have the privilege every year to return to Camp Greystone for Family Camp. Camp Greystone is located in Tuxedo, NC (about 45 miles south of Asheville) and is the place where Dave and I met, got married, and lived the first 4 years of our marriage. To say that we love it is an understatement. This is Stokes third trip to family camp (yes, we first brought him when he was 3 months old), and because we visited earlier this summer, he is very familiar with camp and was very excited about returning. In fact, every day for the past two weeks, he has asked if we are going to camp today. So despite the fact that Stokes had a major asthma attack this week which he continues to recover from, and mommy is in the not-feeling-great first trimester of pregnancy with a major head cold, and the arrival of Hurricane Earl while we were trying to leave Friday morning, we finally made it back to our old home to enjoy a fun family weekend. It was great to see Stokes have so much fun trying new activities and experiencing new things. And the weather could not have been any nicer. Thanks to the Hollowells who continue to let us return each year.

We took a boat ride on the "party barge" on Lake Summitt

We also went canoeing. Mommy's job was to make sure Stokes didn't jump out of the boat or flip us.

Daddy did all the hard work driving us around the lake.

We also had fun in arts and crafts. Stokes got to paint, color, glue. . . all the things Mommy is scared to try at home

Stokes even got to go on a pony ride. He is usually skeptical about things like this, but he hopped right on that horse, and after one ride, very politely asked if he could do it again.

Fun with Play-Doh

2010-09-05T15:12:00.003-04:00

We're not sure in our house who enjoys play-doh more. . . Stokes. . . or Mommy and Daddy

A good excuse this time

2010-08-26T13:43:00.004-04:00

I know that I have not blogged in roughly a month. I am well aware of that. But I have a really good reason this time. Have you ever wanted to tell something that you needed to keep a secret? That is where I found myself. I have wonderful news to share, but it just wasn't the time to share it. Every time I wanted to blog, all I could do was think about this news and sharing it.

Well, the time has come. . . I can break my silence. The good news is that there is going to be another member of the Latham family, Lord willing, in March. Stokes is going to be a big brother!!! I am almost 10 weeks pregnant, and as of now, everything seems to be progressing as it should be.

So while I have wanted to blog, I have also been extremely tired. I have found that whenever I have free time, I typically take a nap instead of doing anything else.

Please join us as we pray for this child that the Lord is knitting together, and we'll keep you posted on how things are going.

A reason to celebrate!

2010-07-26T12:47:00.003-04:00

Great news! My dad went home from the hospital today! After 10 days there to treat an infected gallbladder that ended up with him needing a pacemaker installed, my dad is home. Thank you all for your prayers and concern. We are all so very happy with this news. . . and I know that he is happy to be home.

Praying for Pawpaw

2010-07-23T13:40:00.003-04:00

One of the reasons I have gotten behind in posting is that my dad has been sick. He went to the emergency room last Saturday for severe stomach pain. They pretty quickly determined that his gallbladder was infected but because of his heart condition (triple bypass 2 years ago; stints inserted 4 months ago) did not want to immediately do surgery. They managed to get the infection under control, but because of an irregular heartbeat that developed, he will have a pacemaker inserted this afternoon. Then, we will hopefully wait for 6 weeks when he will have his gallbladder removed (it will come out sooner if he has another attack). Please pray for him and my mom. . . that everything will go smoothly this afternoon, that he will get to go home tomorrow, and that he can make it the 6 weeks for them to remove his gallbladder. We trust our Great Physician to take care of him and provide strength for my parents.

A visit from Papa and Nana

2010-07-23T13:27:00.006-04:00

We have officially now had both sets of grandparents visit us here in Newport News. We are so grateful for their willingness to travel so far to see us. Papa Fred and Nana (Dave's parents) drove from Greenwood recently to check out our new home. We had such a good time visiting with them and got to do lots of fun things: walk to the James River, go to the new outdoor mall, visit the Virginia Living Museum, and play! Thanks so much for coming to see us. We love you!

Papa Fred and Nana on the James River pier at sunset

This (and the next few pictures) is from the VA Living Museum. They have aquariums and exhibits inside and a nature walk outside with all sorts of animals that you can see up close. Here are the raccoons playing.

One of the red wolves paused for a drink.

Bald Eagles

Stokes loved the turkey

Cupcakes!!!

2010-07-23T13:15:00.003-04:00

Historic Hilton Village is the part of Newport News in which we live. There are bunch of cute little stores and shops in the neighborhood literally just one block from our house (I can see the edge of the stores from my front door). Our favorite stop is Couture Cakes by Nika (http://www.couturecakesbynika.com/), a little bakery that specializes in cupcakes. And these are no ordinary cupcakes. These are huge, delicious cupcakes in flavors like banana pudding, cookie dough, strawberry shortcake, peanut butter fudge, the list goes on and on. Once a week, we try to walk down to the bakery and get a few cupcakes or a big cookie as a treat. Lets just say that Stokes really likes this tradition. Here are some pictures of Stokes enjoying his strawberry shortcake cupcake. If you find yourself in the area, I suggest stopping by this place.

Yes, there is delicious strawberry filling inside he cupcake

This cupcake was gone in about 2 minutes

Interested in the Latham email update?

2010-07-22T14:27:00.002-04:00

Please visit this link if you would like to be added to the RUF at CNU email update list: http://www.cnu.ruf.org/sign-up-for-our-newsletter. We would love to keep you posted on what is happening with us!

2-year stats

2010-07-08T17:21:00.003-04:00

For inquiring minds out there, we took Stokes for his 2-year check up today. We love his new doctor, and it took exactly 1.5 minutes to drive to the doctor's office from our house.

Height: 36 inches (90-95% for his age)

Weight: 35 pounds (>95% for his age)

When the doctor asked about his ability to put sentences together, we told him that Stokes very easily uses 3-4 word sentences. His response: "Well, if he is the height of a three-year-old and the weight of a three-year-old, he might as well talk like a three-year-old."

Praising the Lord for a strong, healthy boy.

Paci update

2010-07-07T21:40:00.002-04:00

Just to let inquiring minds know, we are officially a paci-free house. It has not been pretty, and we definitely have had a few rough spots.

After Stokes told me that his pacies were in fact NOT broken, I allowed him to have them one more time. By God's grace alone, they all (yes, he used to get 3 at a time, one for his mouth, and one for each hand) fell behind his crib. I still have not recovered them. The next nap time, I told him pacies are all gone because they were broken.

Lets just say that day was rough. . . 1.5 hours to go to sleep for nap, and he only slept 1.5 hours when he usually sleeps for 3 hours. He went to sleep quickly that night because of the short nap, but he woke up at 5:00 am the next morning. Yikes!

Since then, we have recovered, and he really has done well. He still asks for the pacies at nap and bedtime, but I'm really proud of how he has done. . . no tears and no whining. He is turning into such a big boy. . . while I mourn the fact that he isn't a baby anymore, I am excited to see the boy he is turning into.

Up next, potty training. . . much more to come on this, I'm sure.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-07T21:30:00.008-04:00

July 4th was our first holiday in our new city and new home. Since we still don't know many people we didn't have any plans. Dave went to Columbia, SC to sing in the wedding of a college friend, so Stokes and I were left to come up with a plan for the weekend. Fortunately, we live in a part of Newport News adjacent to Historic Hilton Village. This was the first Federal war-housing project established in World War I (Here is a link with more information: http://www.shophiltonvillage.com/about.htm).

I LOVE Hilton Village, and on the 3rd of July, they had a parade go down Main Street. So I decided to walk Stokes down to the parade and stop by the local little bakery just across the street from us for some cupcakes afterward (unfortunately, no pictures of the cupcakes). It was so much fun, and we had such a good time. . . just wish Dave could have been with us. Here are some pictures from the fun.

Stokes LOVES fire trucks. He especially loves fire trucks that throw suckers for the kids. He has been talking about the fire trucks in the parade since then.

One happy little boy. This was when the fire truck was coming by. He got so excited that he flailed his arms and legs screaming fire truck. This picture is mid-flail.

Love those blue eyes. . .

2010-07-07T21:22:00.003-04:00

My new favorite picture

Colonial Williamsburg

2010-07-02T21:23:00.003-04:00

Now that we live in Virginia, we bought passes to Colonial Williamsburg, since it is only 30 minutes away. Yesterday, it was a little overcast and the predicted high was around 75 degrees, so we decided it would be a great day to spend a morning in Williamsburg. Here are some of our pictures.

**Warning: Stokes, Dave, and I are not in any of these pictures. They are all scenic shots.**

Diaries of a paciholic

2010-07-02T21:13:00.003-04:00

I have a confession. Stokes is addicted to his pacifier. He has been for some time now, and my pediatrician has told me for over a year now to get rid of it. I decided yesterday that today was the day to do it. Dave is out of town for the weekend, so why not just suck it up and get rid of the paci? Piece of cake, right?

I followed the advice of many friends who said to cut the tip off. The child sucks on it, but it doesn't do its job so the child no longer wants it. After breakfast this morning (Stokes only is allowed pacifiers when he is in his bed), Dave and I cut the tips off all the pacies in the house. . . no turning back.

I had prepared myself for a very dramatic nap this afternoon. After all, his pacies are now broken, and he won't want them anymore. I got him ready for nap and told him that I would give him his pacies, and then we would have a talk about them before nap. I gave him the paci, and he sucked away on it like normal. I asked him if his paci was broken, and he said, "no, Mommy, paci works." I asked him to try another paci, and then we exchanged the same conversation. . . "paci works."

He slept through nap as usual, and handed me his pacies when he got up. Needless to say, I was not expecting this reaction and was not ready with a plan B. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day that we say good-bye to the pacies, but for now I'll give him one more night.

More big boy pictures

2010-07-02T21:02:00.003-04:00

Stokes loves his puppy that is almost as big as he is. The face is him saying "cheese" for the camera.

"Helping" Daddy work

Could he get any cuter????

Conversations with a two-year-old

2010-06-25T13:50:00.002-04:00

Stokes has gotten so much more verbal in the past few weeks. We went from wondering if he would ever talk to 4-5 word sentences. All this time I thought he just wasn't getting it. Come to find out he was listening intently and just wanted to wait until he was ready to talk.

As we have prepared for our big move to Newport News, Stokes and I have looked at pictures of the city, our new house, and CNU, the campus where Dave will be ministering. I have tried to explain to him what Daddy will be doing at work. We haven't talked about it in a while, but when we drove past the campus this morning, this is the conversation we had.

Stokes: Daddy work!
Mommy: Yes, Stokes. That is where Daddy works. What does Daddy do at work?
Stokes: Drink coffee and talk about Jesus.
Mommy: That's right Stokes, and why does Daddy talk about Jesus?
Stokes: Because people sin.
Mommy: Why did Jesus die on the cross?
Stokes: Because Daddy sins, Mommy sins, and Stokes sins.

All this time I thought he wasn't paying attention. Praise the Lord for the simple understanding and communication of my two-year-old.

More pictures. . .

2010-06-24T21:08:00.004-04:00

More pictures for you to enjoy.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Stokes!!!

2010-06-24T20:56:00.003-04:00

Now that I am officially a stay at home mom, I will hopefully have more time to keep the blog up to date. Here are some pictures from Stokes' 2nd birthday. Dave and I unfortunately were in Atlanta at RUF staff training on his birthday, but we were able to celebrate a couple of days late with my parents who came to care for Stokes while we were gone.

It is hard to believe that he is two years old. It has been an incredibly fast two years, and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy. I will try to do a milestone update later (once we have had his 2 year check up). For now, here are the pictures.

Stokes really enjoyed his birthday cake this year. . . much more than last year

Papaw and Gagoo (The Stokes) were here to help us celebrate. Stokes is too busy eating his cake to look at the camera.

Stokes is obsessed with yard equipment, so we gave him a set that included a lawnmower, weed eater, leaf blower, and chain saw. Needless to say, they were a hit.

Fun with the weed eater

Gagoo and Papaw gave him a sand and water table.

we're still here

2010-06-18T15:51:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to let you all know that we arrived safely in Newport News on June 2nd and have been busy since then. I finished my last day of work with the NC Geological Survey, celebrated my birthday and Stokes' 2nd birthday, spent a week in Atlanta for RUF new campus minister training, and have been trying to settle into life here since then. We are still without internet in our house which is why I have not updated sooner. We should be rolling by the end of next week, and I promise to update with pictures of the house and Stokes birthday party (just family. . . hard to have a party in a new town where you don't know anyone).

We are doing well and have been greatly blessed by the local PCA church here (meals, moving and unpacking help, etc.). Please continue to pray for us as we begin to try to figure out our new lives up here. We praise the Lord for His good protection and provision for us thus far.

A series of "lasts"

2010-05-30T15:02:00.003-04:00

It is officially 3 days before we leave for Virginia, so we have been going through a series of "lasts": Stokes' last day of school; my last trip to Asheville; our last Sunday at church; Dave's last time to lead worship.

I have to admit, I am terrible at good-byes. I don't like to get emotional so I don't like the idea of leaving people that I love and that I may not see again soon if ever. So this past week has been rather difficult for me (I started crying rather uncontrollably when I had to tell my coworkers of almost 7 years good-bye for the last time). I keep asking Dave if we can just go ahead and leave to avoid it all.

We have a few more "lasts", and then we will start a series of exciting "firsts". Please be in prayer for us this week as we tie up the remaining loose ends, say our final good-byes, pack up our belongings and animals, and hit the road for Virginia. Pray that the Lord will make these good-byes easier for me and that I would not be afraid or embarrassed to show how I feel. Pray that we will quickly get settled in before going to staff training on June 7th. Please pray for my parents as they travel to VA to take care of Stokes while we are at training. This is going to be a long week, but we are excited about it.

I will post more when we get settled, hopefully at the end of the week. Blessings to you all on this Lord's day.

The countdown is on

2010-05-23T16:02:00.002-04:00

Just to update, we are moving to Newport News on June 2nd. Dave will go up that day with all our remaining stuff, meet the truck, and start unloading. I will leave June 3rd with Stokes, Zeke (the dog), and Hazel (the cat) to get settled in. That is roughly 10 days from now. The countdown is on!

Please pray that there will be no hiccups getting into our house; that we will get settled and unpacked quickly; for my parents (the Stokes) as they travel from Memphis to Newport News on June 4th and 5th; and for Dave and I as we head to Atlanta for RUF staff training on June 7th, just 4 days after we move in (that is why my parents are coming. . . they will keep Stokes while we are gone).

We'll keep you posted on things so check back soon.

Graduation Day!!!!

2010-05-23T15:43:00.005-04:00

Dave officially has his Masters of Divinity! He graduated yesterday, and we were fortunate enough to have his family here to help us celebrate. Here are a few pictures of the big day. These are the not the best pictures. . . I'll post more once I get them from our family.

Hanging out at the house before graduation

The whole Latham family

The Latham women

Dave with his proud mom and dad

The only shot of our little family (Stokes was getting a little restless)

One step closer

2010-05-16T08:12:00.004-04:00

I thought I would take a second to update on what has been going on. This past week was a big one in the lives of the Lathams. Wednesday, we closed on our house which was huge. We are now homeless and have never been so excited about it!

Also, Dave traveled to Virginia for his oral exams on the floor of Presbytery. I am pleased to announce that Dave is officially licensed now. He passed!!!!! While he will have to do a little more work to get ordained (that should happen in October), this was the biggest hurdle, one that we have been praying about for some time. He also met many wonderful men whom he will be serving alongside once we move. . . there were even offers of meals and help moving when we get in Virginia in a few weeks.

This far exceeds, once again, all of the prayers that we had for yesterday's meeting. The Lord surely sustained Dave through a very stressful, nerve wracking experience and blessed him even more than we could have imagined.

While he was in his meeting yesterday, I prayed every hour for him. I also know that it was the Lord's providence that on the wall above my deskare the following verses from Psalm 121: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. From whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Remember that we are staying in a temporary apartment, so this is not my wall hanging.

What a sweet reminder of God's provision!!! It was such a comfort yesterday to look up at that and know that the mountain of presbytery exams Dave was facing could only be overcome by the Lord. Our good and gracious Lord who made all things is beyond capable of providing all the help we need. Thanks be to my rock, my help, and my strength.