it takes some work to make it work.

I love this time of year... After playing with Erin outside for awhile, I laid her down for a nap and then planted a whole row of pansies. The weather has been perfect and sunny, and I got the flowers done just in time for some good rain this weekend. Last night Caleb and I started on our spring cleaning, and its also about time to dust off the grill and start enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, and shrimp kabobs. This is the life.

there's no time like the present...

Waiting for her guests to arrive...

Cupcakes!

Erin loves chocolate.

One of her new baby dolls!

Opening a present.

Her dad decided she needed her own cell phone and car keys... She loves them!

i'm so much older than i can take.

Today is my 1st birthday, and my parents took me to Grand Rapids Michigan to celebrate! We attended the Mangione/Bechtle wedding, played with a lot of new friends, and ate a lot of good food... and my favorite new friends are Travis and Lelia Mangione. What a great weekend!

this is as close as you and i will ever get to the ocean...

The Welty family went to Hilton Head Island last weekend for a family reunion. Here's Erin admiring the ocean.

Here's Erin before being traumatized by the icy waters...


Erin and Luke

Her adoring fans.

And finally, being rescued by Grandpa after Daddy stuck her feet in the cold Atlantic waters.

Who am I to say this situation isn't great?

Carrie Ellen has been over to play quite a bit since she moved in, and now Erin Grace is not content without her playmate. Although they don't necessarily play together, they play well *beside* each other. And this is good enough for their moms. What sweet girls!!

There's the moon asking to stay.

January is like I imagine post-pardum depression must be. Taking down decorations, throwing out the tree, and seeing the Christmas lights slowly disappear from the lane is torture for me and I'd just as well sleep through the entire month so as not to be reminded daily that my favorite season is being packed away. I even dread this time well before Christmas even arrives. I dwell on how sad it will be when it is over - how sick is that? Anyhow, we're back to normal non-holiday life. Life where Caleb heads off to work every morning, Erin and I read books and visit our newest neighbors, and I get reacquainted with my kitchen and daily food preparation. Yep, this month is like the flu...

Erin is working on her second ear infection of the year. I hate the idea of keeping her drugged but I hate the idea of oozing and burst eardrums even more. She's a trooper though and I'm always surprised at how she's able to go about her normal routine despite the chronic pain. Her curiosity is growing by the day, and she is into everything faster than I can chase after her sometimes... And apparently she thinks she's more capable than I do - I find her trying to stand up in the middle of the living room with nothing to steady herself. She gets up on her hands and feets, looking much like an upside-down "V" and then fusses when she realizes she can't go any farther. Hopefully she'll be toddling soon and I won't have to worry about finding her stuck like that.

We had a fun ski trip to West Virginia with Caleb's family last week. It was warmer than normal and even rained one day, but they still got in their fair share of skiing. I only went a couple of times but because I ski so infrequently I'm not talented enough to stay upright on slush and ice. It was just as well, because our cabin was fabulous and I did a lot of resting and reading by the fire. Erin loved exploring the place and had all the attention and affection that a little girl could want. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera so you'll have to check Emily's Xanga for pics...

No sleep til Brooklyn!

Two great smiles! Erin loved all the attention she got from her Texas family, not to mention all the candy and cookies :-)

Fighting off the volatile grey skies...

It was such a blessing to see the progress Dok made from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I'm sure she'll find out more about what happened to her when she sees the specialist next month, but its obvious to everyone that the Lord is healing her and it makes us happy to see the light in her eyes again. We love you, Sis!

Don't drink the water...

Ah yes, having babies seems to run in the family... but then again, I guess it runs in every family. This is Kristen and me with our cousin Allison and her daughter McKinley. We had such a good time fellowshipping with my dad's side of the family in Ft. Worth and its always amazing to see how everyone changes (and multiplies too!). More pics to come...

Tradition, tradition!!

Carrying on yet another treasured Warren tradition, it is Erin's turn to wear the family bonnet that graces the top of our Christmas tree every year. It originally belonged to our cousin Michelle who wore it to her father's (Dad's brother Bill) funeral in September of 1976. It was then passed to my oldest sister Aubrey and has been worn by every Warren girl since.

Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow...

This is Erin having her first taste of Granny's buttercream frosting.... She liked it.

Here's Erin wearing her Mom's new hat - 9 months old and already borrowing my clothes! Frosting my first cookie and looking much more ghetto than I intended, which I blame entirely on the brother beside me.

Dok, looking cuter than ever... We're so happy she's feeling better :-)

Today was Cookie Baking Day at the Warren house!! We frosted about 10 dozen cookies and most likely ate half of them on the spot. The kids had ohso much fun with red, green, blue, yellow, and white frosting, and so many sprinkles and red hots it should be illegal.... actually, having this much fun in one day is the real crime. Hooray for cookies!!

Heedless of the wind and weather...

Here we are with our humble tree - just the right size for the amount of ornaments we have -and this is us getting ready for a church Christmas party. It was a nice break this year not to have any formal affairs to attend! Erin had TWO babysitters (Steph and Vanessa) and did very well despite being nervous about the new experience...

We're heading back to Texas this week and hoping like crazy that there are no new mutant viruses making the rounds again :-) If you're reading this from the Lone Star state, we hope to see you while we're there. Drop us an email or just stop by the Warren house and say hello!

You don't need money with a face like that, do ya?

So here's proof of thanksgiving with the Warrens/Russells/Slaughters in Texas... Abby loves her Uncle Caleb! We had a great time visiting, but eventually all of us fell victim to at least one of two viruses that ran their course over the holiday week. Caleb was tossing his cookies from Texas to Virginia (literally), Erin had the aches and fever of the flu, and I suffered the same fate after returning home. Our friend Trish ended up in the hospital with an IV and poor CJ succumbed to BOTH bugs simultaneously. Hopefully we got it all out of our systems - we're headed back at the end of next week for our Christmas visit!

winter just wasn't her season...

I'm not sure how I feel about my new winter wardrobe... Mom keeps telling me that I'll get used to feeling bulky. I reluctantly agreed to the coat and hat, but drew the line at mittens. I am obsessive about my hands (I HATE it when people touch them) and couldn't bear to have them squeezed into furry pouches that keep me from holding my toys. Mom says I can leave them behind for now but when it snows, they aren't optional. I don't know what snow is, but it better be good.

someone saved my life tonight...

Introducing Caroline Welty!! She is the newest member of our family - my sister-in-law - and she arrived on a plane from Guatemala yesterday evening. We are so excited to finally meet her! She is about 12 lbs and still feels so small and fragile, but maybe that's just because Erin is at the top of the growth charts :-) Anyway, it is such a blessing to have one more in the Welty fold and more importantly one more in the Covenant family! God is good and we know that He has plans to prosper this little girl. Welcome home, Caroline!

...I'd buy you a green dress but not a real green dress, that's cruel.

So the kitchen is finally complete... I had no idea I'd derive such joy from gaining two extra inches in sink depth, and two lazy susans (I'm pretending like we're rich), and the thought of buying new kitchen towels and oven mitts its more excitement than I can take. Sweet fancy Moses!

Its too good to be true, like a whole new you.

Well now I know for sure that my daughter takes almost all of her features from her father, with her "prominent" ears being the only exception. My best estimation is that Erin and I are roughly the same age in these pics and I couldn't resist cutting and pasting... now if I can only find one of Caleb :-)

Don't you put me on the back burner...

After more than seven months in our townhouse, we're finally replacing the "unique" cabinets, countertops, and sink that are probably original to the place. Not only are they ugly, but falling apart as well. One of the drawer faces fell off within one week of us moving in. To save money, we are disassembling the old cabinets ourselves which means dividing up the work. Caleb got to wield the manly saw and hack through the countertops, and I was left sweeping up sawdust. Not that I mind - hey, I'm getting a new kitchen. And my sweet husband already replaced my stove and dishwasher. What more could a girl want?

To one thing constant never.

I'm a last minute person. Several months ago I had highlights added to my dull brown hair and now they're grown out and I'm tired of them.... So for some insane reason I decided that Sunday morning (when we were already running late and there was no time for anything unnecessary) would be the perfect time to dye my hair. I had a box of plain brown that looked about my color, so I grabbed it and headed to the shower where I took more than my share of hot water waiting for the dye to take hold. Upon rinsing, towel-drying and brushing, I came to realize that the brown was much TOO brown and a whole lot darker than I had intended. But I'm an optimist, so I decided to use this as a teaching moment for my beloved husband. I promptly dried and styled my hair, trimmed my bangs and went in search of the poor soul who had no idea that he was beat before he even opened his mouth. The following conversation ensued:

Anne: "Do you notice anything different about me, honey?"
Caleb (glancing all over, but mostly at my clothes): "Hmmm...."
Anne (only slightly impatient): "No honey, above the neck."
Caleb (with mild trepidation showing through and looking intently at my face): "Hmmmm..."
Anne (really impatient): "No honey, AROUND my face!"
Caleb (just downright scared and frantically scanning my hair): "Oh, did you cut your hair?"
Anne (deflated, and knowing that he was partially right but choosing to ignore it, because its the principle that counts): "NO, I DYED IT - ITS DARKER!!!"
Caleb (just relieved that its over): "Oh yes it looks good!"

Caleb marched straight into the bathroom to brush his teeth and discovered my hair clippings in the trash... At that point my lesson was lost as he rejoiced (foolishly) over having guessed the "right" answer.

So much for optimism.

The rings of saturn.

This is my Saturn. She has been faithful to me for three years, and now we're getting her ready to sell. As I was taking pictures of her yesterday to post on the web, I was reminded again of how the Lord provided so much through my father when I was single. Dad went with me car shopping, test drove it for me because I didn't know a manual transmission yet, gave me the confidence to get a loan on my own (why in the world someone wanted to loan ME money at that time still baffles me), and sat with me while I signed all the papers and whatnot. What should've been a daunting and stressful experience was made so much easier - Dad never made me feel like I was on my own because I was an "adult". And I know that if I had been single at 35, he would still be doing the same for me. Its just a silly car, I know, but the significance is worth way more than anything we'll get for the car on autotrader.... Now Caleb is taking care of me (and my transportation needs), and now HE is my reminder of God's providence. How blessed I am to have men in my life who take their responsibilities seriously.