The Fanning Four

This past weekend, Tom was the lay director for a Chrysalis Flight . It was a ton of work and he did such a great job coordinating it all. I am so proud of him!! Needless to say, all spare time has gone to directing this past weekend and now that it's over we can take a deep breath, thank God for a fabulous weekend, and look to the future! Notice the new blog name? The coming months will be HUGE for the Fanning family! Most of you know by now, that Fanning baby 2.0 is on his or her way via adoption. Estimated date of arrival? Um, no idea! First, we still need a new house. Yep, still looking! But in order to be good stewards of our money and to have the funds needed for adoption, we have to be very careful in our house hunt- this is why we abandoned the pursuit of building a new home. A new house may be nice but a new child is WAY better! So, step 1- buy a house. Step 2- make a final decision on the adoption route we will take. This is a scary one. There are so many factors ...

Bethany turned a year and a half yesterday and she's getting to be quite the big girl. Well, not big (she's still very petitie) but grown up!  :) She has 7 teeth and is working on another one. She is very talkative, even though most of it we can't understand. She is very social and loves to go to the playground and play with other kids. She still gives right out on your mouth kisses and just learned how to hug. She has stellar dance moves and will even sing a bit on occasion. She likes to brush her teeth, hates having her hair washed, and likes to figure out how things work. She likes to paint and color. She loves to take things out of the pantry. She likes to prentend she's putting on makeup and anything with a handle becomes a purse. She's also spent the last week walking around the house in momma's shoes. She still calls us both "daddy" most of the time. She does know I am momma and will say it when promted but her default is to say "daddy...

Do you ever wish you had one of these at the end of the day? I do!

I am studying Esther with the youth small group I facilitate and we just learned Sunday night about how pride comes before the fall. Haman gets so full of himself and then is totally taken down by the King. If you haven't read Esther, you should! It's like a soap opera!! Well, I should have listened to the lesson more carefully Sunday night..... I took Bethany to the play area at Chick Fil A yesterday because she has a fascination with climbing stairs and sliding down slides. She thinks she's a two year old I guess! So, after a bunch of playing, a bit of chicken, fruit, and ice cream, I took her to the bathroom for a quick diaper change. As I was washing my hands I let her wander around in the handicapped bathroom (where the changing table was) and I stood there thinking how nice it was that she could walk. "Everyone says it's more trouble when they start to walk, but this is great. I mean look at her, walking around like a big girl while mommy washes her hands. ...

There is a waterpark in Panama City and I plan on getting a season pass this summer so that Bethy and I can spend our days floating lazily down the lazy river. The reality of that may not be so lazy (10 month old, water, tons of other lazy drifters, sunscreen, bathing suits, you get the picture). Anyways, today was the day. After thouroughly sunscreening my fairskinned self and my just as pale daughter, putting on bathing suits, packing a bag, and grabbing a snack for the baby, we headed out. We pulled up into a prime parking spot (yes!!) but to my dismay there was no one in the park! It was not open today- come back Thursday the sign says! Dang it! Ok, on to plan B- there's a park near by with a fun kiddie pool area that Bethany loves. It's $10 total for the two of us but it beats dealing with the sand of the beach (I wasn't in the mood for sand today). So we drive the 15 minutes there, get out of the car, and head to the ticket counter. I hand her my credit card and she t...

Bethany had her nine month check up today. She's gained a whopping 1 pound in the last three months, weighing in now at 17 lbs. 5 oz. But she is up to 27 inches. She's a petite little girl to say the least. But the doctor didn't seem worried at all. She said she looks good and we could start giving her more big people food and even some whole milk. I haven't updated in a while so I'm not sure if you know that: 1. She can crawl. 2. She can babble. 3. She can pull herself up to standing. 4. She can take a few steps if she's holding on to something. 5. She continues to wave at anyone and everyone. 6. She has the cutest smile and laugh EVER! Ok, she's up from her nap so that's all for now

How finding a house is like finding a spouse: 1. There are many to choose from but few that seem livable. 2. You just want a place to call home. 3. You can't help but imagine your kids running around. Is it kid friendly? 4. Sometimes you like it instantly but when you take a closer look, it's just not the right one. 5. Some give you too much space, some not enough. 6. Sometimes you make an offer and get rejected. 7. Sometimes an internet search can be very helpful. 8. Sometimes you go back to tour a house you've already considered just to make sure. 9. A solid foundation on high ground means a lot. 10. A Realtor/Builder knows your needs and wants and can help you find/build the perfect house. We are trying so hard to find the right house for us. And I really can't help but compare it to finding a spouse. It's quite funny to me how similar it is, although not anywhere close to the same emotional investment. One of the first houses I found, I fell in love with instant...