So sorry I didn't get this post up over the weekend as promised. Raia has been sick, and now I am getting it too. I usually have time to post late at night after she is asleep, but the past couple of nights she hardly slept.

There is lots going on in my/our lives right now. First, and most importantly, Sunday before last I rededicated my life to Christ! I went to the front of the church with Nathan and my sweet friends Cathy and Tammy by my side, and told the pastor that I was ready to rededicate my life. We all bowed our heads and prayed, then a lady took me and Nathan to a room to talk more. It was great! I can tell you though, it has been so hard. I have felt Satan trying to pull me down and make life hard for me. At night, before I put Raia to bed, I rock her, and we say our prayers. Really, she just says the "Dear God" part with me, and then I pray out loud and she is usually asleep within minutes. That is a time when I feel a calm wash over me and I feel completely at peace. I have been doing a lot of reading in the Bible, and I got a few books from another friend, Jenn, one called 'The Relationship Principles of Jesus' by Tom Holladay. I wanted to read that one in particular, to learn how to strengthen my relationship with Nathan, and with God. I am learning so much, it's amazing :) I am so excited about this journey! I am sad that we didn't get to go to church yesterday because Raia was sick. It would have been her first time to go and be in a Sunday school class. But, there is next Sunday! And the Sunday after...and so on! On March 26th and 27th, Nathan and I are attending a parenting conference at the church. We will learn how to raise our child the way God wants us to, I think it will be neat :) I've never been to anything like this, so I am really excited! While we are there, Raia will be in the child care classes with other kids her age. It will be good for her, and for us!

Next, I wanted to let you guys know that Raia is now sleeping in her own bed!! Today is actually 2 weeks that she has slept in her own bed (with the exception of last night since she was sick, I couldn't get her to sleep after 2 hours of trying, so I let her sleep with me). Her little bed is next to mine, and she usually sleeps in it until the wee hours of the morning, 4 or 5 am, and then she comes and crawls into my bed. Nathan has cleaned out her room, and has finished laying the carpet down, so it is only a matter of time before she is in her own room *sigh*. As much as I wanted this, it will be sad that I won't have my little cuddle bug to snuggle up with. She's growing up so fast!


Believe it or not, these pics were taken in the dark. The flash on this camera works!



Next, and this is a doozie.....we are going to Hawaii. A once in a lifetime opportunity for us. Nathan's job is taking him there to work for a week, so his airfare and hotel room and most of the food is covered. He gets 3 days off to spend enjoying Hawaii, and they encouraged him to bring his family along, as most of the other guys do, so YAY! We are going to Hawaii in April for about 8 or 9 days. I am scared to death to fly for 8+ hours with a 2 year old, so if anyone has any tips on that, I'm all ears! There are no overnight flights (we checked); that would have been nice. That way we could have all slept most of the way.

Well, I think that's about all I have for now. Thanks for checking in! I will leave you with a few more pics of Raia, she is such a cutie pie!


Pigtails!!!




This last one is Raia helping me feed Gibson. She helps every day. She just loves that dog! I took pictures of the whole process, and was going to do a blog post about it, but I never got around to it :( Maybe you will see this picture again (you know, now that I have officially made myself feel guilty for not posting about it LOL!).

xoxox~