Like an old sweet song . . . We have made it to Georgia, safe & sound! Thank you for all of the prayers and well-wishes. One chapter of our lives is closing, and a new one is beginning! Since our blog is a little bit like our book to you, we decided to close this chapter and begin a new one. We know that the more pictures we post, the slower you may be able to see them . . . and we don't want you to have to wait!

This blog will always be available to view at www.lifewithlevi.blogspot.com. Our new blog address will be www.lifewithleviandlydia.blogspot.com. We decided it was about time to get Lydia's name in there! We hope you have enjoyed sharing our life experiences over the last five years, and we look forward to sharing many more happy, exciting, and funny times with you!

May the Lord bless you & keep you, may His face shine upon you & give you peace. Amen & Amen!

One last "moo" at the zoo! We've had so many wild adventures at Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens, we had to go back to visit our animal friends just one more time! (We actually went once more after this with a big group of friends, but Mom forgot her camera.) I'm not sure how many cows they have in Georgia, but Lydia wanted to brush up on her milking technique. We probably will be drinking a lot of milk at first, until we get used to that weird beach water taste (or until Mom buys a water filter). Did we mention that Hinesville isn't too far from the beach? Lydia & I really like to build sandcastles and jump in the waves . . . maybe the water will still be warm enough when we get there to do a little swimming!

I hear that our new church has a lot of cool stuff for kids: AWANA, children's choir, mission groups, "His Kids" (children's church), and more. I can't wait to meet more friends and keep learning about Jesus! AWANA is a club I will be in to learn more Bible verses. Mom has helped me memorize 12 now; see if you can say some of them!

-Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
-Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother.”
-Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times.”
-Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength.”
-Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
-Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid, I will trust in God.”
-Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
-Isaiah 49:16 “I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.”
-Luke 9:56 “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
-Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
-John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
-John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

I have learned about Jesus at preschool, too, and I am really going to miss my friends there. Mrs. Pam and Mrs. Jamy are the best teachers ever! I know God has a special place for me in a preschool in Hinesville; it's a good thing I really like to make new friends!
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With love,
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Levi
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It's Hinesville or BUST! I'm packing myself up and Dad's shipping me to
Georgia . . . we're moving to the peach state! He's going to be the pastor at the First Baptist Church in the city of Hinesville (Mom says it's about 40 minutes south of Savannah). We are all very excited! Of course, I will miss all my wonderful friends here, and all of the great times we've had at Shamrock Baptist Church. Levi & I will always be Bethunians -- you can take the kid out of Bethune, but you can't take the turkey (feathers) out of the kid! We hope to visit and keep in touch with all of our Shamrock family.

We've started packing up our things, but it seems like it will be a never-ending job! Levi & I are trying to keep an eye on our toys . . . you know, making sure they get packed safely and carefully. We are being big helpers. Mom especially likes it when I tell her that, "I CAN DO IT ALL BY MYSELF!" I know she appreciates my extra efforts. Some of my other favorite sayings are: "I'm not mad; I'm just upset"; "Let's count! 1, 2, 3 . . ." (I can go up to about 40); and "Ha-Ha, very funny!" Mom's also curious about whether or not other children growl at their parents? Because I do -- but just if there's something going on that I don't like. Some of my current hobbies are drawing & coloring, getting my toenails painted, dressing my dolls, taking off my shoes, cleaning with baby wipes, and making all kinds of faces at people. I also really like to talk on the phone, and most of the time I call my friend, Mrs. Phoebe (well, I usually do that on my toy phone). I will really miss Mrs. Phoebe when we move!

We would love it if you would pray for us during our move! For safety, for peace, for courage, and for however God will use our family in Hinesville. Look out, First Baptist, here come the Broughmans!
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With Georgia on my mind,
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Lydia
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I'm
walkin'
on
sunshine . . . We worked really hard this summer for our beach vacation! First, Mom had to go to a teachers' conference in Charleston for a whole week, and left us to tend to Dee-Da, Granny, and Gee-Gee. Now, that was a big job! We were able to hold down the fort for awhile, but Mom returned just in time. Then, we had to let Dee-Da go to Peru for two whole weeks on a mission trip. It was tough, but we knew that the people over there on the river (the Amazon) needed to learn about Jesus. While he was away, we did get to go on another short beach trip with Grammy & Granddeddy, so that wasn't very hard work. I guess going to Edventure with our friends, Steve & Patty, and swimming at Mrs. Phoebe's pool party wouldn't be considered hard work, either; or eating at the July 4th barbeque, or playing at McLeod Farms' Peach Festival. But Lydia & I put in our share; I guarantee that!

So, the week after Dee-Da came back home from his trip, we went to the beach. I had two requests: to play games at the arcade & go for a round of miniature golf. The beach is very sandy, and Dee-Da and I would rather not go there. Lydia had one request: to jump in the pool. Fortunately, we managed to at least have her arm floaties on when she jumped in this year. We both really like the pool, and I can play all around in the shallow end because I can stand up! Actually, Mom measured me this week and I am about 1-1/2 inches away from being 4 feet tall! We will measure Lydia, too; as soon as we can get her to stand still long enough.

One other hard-working thing I did this summer was join the Reading Club at the public library. I read for 15 hours (with Mom), so I was awarded a reading medal and a certificate! Mom & Dad were really proud of me. I even wore my medal this past week to preschool and told my teachers all about it. They were proud of me, too. We tried to help Lydia complete her Reading Club hours, but she doesn't really want to sit still long enough to read a book. Mom usually gets one page in at a time. But she sure is a smart little rascal!
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Love,
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Levi
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Milestones of the month: Lydia pee-peed in the big potty for the first time; she has expanded her repertoire of songs to include full versions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Happy Birthday to You", "Jesus Loves Me", "This Little Light of Mine", "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and many more (we can cut a CD at your request)

British Soccer Camp, eh? Another summer of "blokes", "blimey", "fish & chips", and "football"! Here I am with my three Challenger British Soccer Camp coaches: Myles, Ben, & Dom. Myles (on the left) was my main coach; it was his first year and first week of camp, so we broke him in. We learned all kinds of soccer skills, practiced in teams, played fun games, and most importantly, had drinks & snacks. My favorite game we played was the "monster" game. Coach Myles picked one player to be the monster, and that player was supposed to dribble the ball away from the others. He chose me to be the monster a lot because I have a really loud monster GROWL! And, maybe because I needed the most practice. But anyway, it was fun! I can't wait to see what color of jersey we get next year (I hope for red . . . it's my favorite)!

Also during June, we had "Gold Rush: Discovering the Rock of Ages" Vacation Bible School! As usual, it "rocked"! We learned Bible stories, sang songs, played games, ate snacks, and made crafts: a "Names of Jesus" bandana, a miner's journal with pick ax pen, a prospector's pouch, a Mason jar tea light holder, and a Mason jar lid Christmas ornament. People who lived back then really only had Mason jars, I guess. We got to dress up like Wild West folks (except without the guns), and ride around on stick horses. It was a rootin'-tootin' good time! If you want to learn more about this Answers in Genesis VBS, just click on our western pictures at the right!
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Love always,
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Levi
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Entertaining Levi quote (as told by Lydia): Levi always uses the word "preacher" in place of "creature"; so we hear, "Mom, did you see those scary green preachers?" or "Can we watch the Scooby-Doo with the alien preachers?"

Big wheels keep on turning . . . Here we are in the southland with Tia! We traveled about six hours straight to the left (Mom says that's "west") and we ended up in Birmingham, right where Tia lives. She had all sorts of cool things planned for us, including an Amtrak voyage to Anniston. Let's see . . . SC train ride -- check; NC train ride -- check; AL train ride -- check! Lydia & I are becoming quite well-traveled!

While we were in Alabama, we also went to a really huge & fun children's museum called The McWane Science Center. My favorite exhibit was one where I got to pilot a model airplane through a wind tunnel -- see if you can find it in the photos! Lydia had a lot of favorite activities, but I think the one she enjoyed the most was taking a nap in Tia's lap in the construction zone. Did I mention that I also rode on a zip-line? It was really dangerous! (Well, it would have been if not for the foam mats on the floor beneath me.) Tia also took us to a neat park, out for some yummy meals, and to lots of cool stores (no, wait -- that last one was with Mom; we stayed at Tia's house and watched Scooby-Doo). We had such a great time . . . we can't wait for another trip to the heart of Dixie!

About a week before we went to visit Tia, we took a trip to Granny & Gramps' house. Now, I'm here to tell you a story that you won't soon forget. Are you ready? Raise your hand if you like snakes . . . hmmm, that's what I thought. Well, we didn't think Lydia did, either. She was taking a nice walk with Gramps outside, and she ran on ahead of him a little ways. After Gramps finished admiring his yard, grass, and so forth, he looked back over at Lydia, who had just picked up a snake! And not just any snake -- a live 10-inch Copperhead!! Gramps said she was holding it up in the air, looking it over, letting it dangle from her hand like a rope. Well, he made haste, and let's just say that was the end of that snake. He was quite pale-faced by the time he got inside and told everyone what had happened. We were just all really thankful that she didn't get bitten. Our little Lydia likes to "walk on the wild side" . . . it's a good thing Jesus doesn't mind walking with her!
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Lots of love,
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Levi
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A note about our birds' nest: We watched and waited, and we did have some sweet little baby birds! But every time Mom tiptoed over to take their picture, she was afraid the flash would hurt their little eyes (it was kind of dark down inside the nest). So, no baby bird pictures, but we saved the nest!

A Very Berry Birthday to Me! What could be better than strawberries and shortcake on your 2nd birthday? Well, Strawberry Shortcake, of course! She came to celebrate with my family & friends at McLeod Farms' Annual Strawberry Festival, which made for a berry fun day!

First, we met everyone next to the tractors so that Mom could pass out tickets and armbands for all the activities. Then, we played in the bouncy castles, went on hayrides, decorated frisbees, got our faces painted, and watched a balloon man make animals, princesses, superheroes, and lots of other balloon creations! After that, we all met back at the van for a tailgate picnic complete with yummy strawberry cake, strawberry juice pouches, and strawberry ice cream cones. Did I mention that strawberries are my favorite fruit? And, I got a big "2" candle on my cake because I'm a whole year older than I was at my last birthday party!

Before we went home (a.k.a., the place where I got to open my presents), Mom picked up a big basket of strawberries from McLeod's Market so that we could enjoy even more strawberries after the party was over. And you know what? I think that God saved a few berry special sunny hours that afternoon just for me . . . right in between two huge rain showers! A special thank you to my Granny & Gramps for helping Mom get ready for the party, and to Gee-Gee who made my fruit-tastic Strawberry Shortcake outfit!
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Love you bunches with berries on top,
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Lydia
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Easter Blessings to You! We hope you had a wonderful Easter celebrating Jesus & the empty tomb! I taught Lydia the Easter story this year during Mission Friends class. Mom helped us make a bag filled with "Resurrection Eggs" so we could share the Easter story with someone who might not have heard it! Our first egg had a nickel inside to show that Judas sold out Jesus for a few lousy pieces of silver. Our second egg had a little piece of cracker inside to show that Jesus ate His last supper with His friends before He died. Our third egg had a nail inside to show that Jesus was nailed to the cross for our sins. Our fourth egg had a piece of cloth inside to show that they wrapped Jesus' body in clean cloth and laid it in the tomb. Our fifth egg had a rock inside to show that they rolled a huge stone in front of the tomb and sealed it. When you open the last egg, guess what? Nothing! That's because Jesus rose from the dead and the tomb is empty -- Hooray!

We had our annual Easter Egg-stravaganza at church, complete with egg-hunting, candy, prizes, games, hot dogs, desserts, and more! Then, we had our Easter breakfast on Sunday, followed by the early worship service, and after that, it was off to Mimaw's house! Another fun year of hunting eggs with my cousins, and discovering chocolate and other treats inside Mimaw's antique Easter eggs! I say "antique" because, for some reason, they used to put ladies' pantyhose inside of Easter eggs . . . I'm not sure who came up with that idea. Anyway, Mimaw saved all of her pantyhose eggs & that's where she hides the yummy treats every year. She says they're extra special because you can't find them anymore (maybe someone figured out something better to put stockings in). It's fine with me, though, because those pantyhose eggs can hold a lot of goodies!

Some of our other April activities and celebrations were: Going to our friend Jaime's birthday skating party (Lydia skated for the first time!), getting our pictures taken at preschool (That was an adventure filled with Lydia's poked-out lips and crossed arms!), hunting eggs during my preschool Easter party, and attending our friend Madison's very first birthday party. Overall, April was a much better month than March!


With love,

Levi


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Entertaining Levi quote (as told by Lydia): Levi was licking a sucker and went to use the bathroom. After awhile, he came out with a sort of weird look on his face. Mom asked him what was wrong, and he replied, "Mom, my sucker tasted really funny after I dropped it in the toilet."

Talking 'bout the birds &
the bees, and the flowers & the trees . . . What welcomes spring like having a birds' nest in the stroller? We've been watching the mommy wren build it, and we've tried to be very careful not to bump or push the stroller (it's parked in our carport right next to the screen door). She's one brave bird, all right! Levi helped me hang a bird feeder on the side of the stroller, and we gently placed a little water dish next to the nest. When we took the pictures, there were only four eggs, but now there are five eggs inside. Hopefully soon we'll have some baby bird pictures to post!


Love,

Lydia

Just the two of us, we can make it if we try . . . So here we are -- us and the Pop-Tarts. March blew in like a lion at our house; a lion carrying the flu virus! We were all ill (except Dad), and Mom really had the full-blown sickness. Our entire month of March was an experiment in the "Daddy-dids" . . . Daddy did the cooking, Daddy did the cleaning, Daddy did the laundry, and most importantly, Daddy did the taking care of Lydia & me (with a little help from Granny & Grammy). He did a great job, but we hope Mom doesn't get sick again, ever!

So, this is just a short post-sickness blog update to say that all we had to share for the month of March was snotty tissues, trips to the doctor, high fevers, and Pop-Tart breakfasts!


Love always,

Levi


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Happy Snow Day! And, Happy Valentine's Day! We didn't have snow on Valentine's Day, but it seemed like it lasted almost that long! Here is our gigantic sports-themed snowman, complete with soccer ball head and golf ball buttons. He may not look that gigantic in the picture, but if you could see how tall Levi has gotten, you'd say, "That's a big snowman!" We measured our snow, and it was about six inches deep. That's a lot for Bethune! We played in it as long as we could, but before long it became like an ice skating rink, and I'm just not that good at ice skating yet. But, it sure was pretty!

Levi decided that it was time for a "Lydia's Top Ten" . . . the top ten things about me that you might want to know (or might make you laugh)!

10) I know and can name all of my brother's favorite characters: Thomas the Train, Mickey Mouse, Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and so forth . . . and I love singing the "Bob the Builder" theme song. Cinderella who?

9) I can count all the way to 15, but sometimes I might skip a few!

8) My favorite past time is trying on everyone else's shoes; I can even run in Mom's high heels!

7) Even though I can hang with my brother, I love girly things like hair bows, baby dolls, jewelry, and lip gloss. Mom even lets me put on some of her chapstick when we're getting ready to go out!

6) When I'm not trying on shoes, I absolutely adore cleaning (which makes my Dad very happy). I pull the dishtowels down and clean up messes all over the house. I wipe the floors, the walls, my face, and anything else that needs a good swipe! I also enjoy helping Mom pull the clean silverware out of the dishwasher.

5) I can sing the alphabet song, but only the first half is really understandable.

4) Throwing things in the trash can is the most fun! (But sometimes I throw in things that aren't supposed to go there.)

3) I am 28 pounds of pure Daddy's girl, and I love talking with him when he gets home from work. I even have a "Daddy Dance" that I do around the kitchen when I first see him in the morning. Of all the words I can say, he always wants to hear "I love you!"

2) I had my first trip to the emergency room on my Uncle Brendan's birthday (January 23rd). I pulled a heavy cinder block down onto my poor little foot. You won't catch me touching one of those things again! No broken bones, but a yucky black & blue bruise.

1) My favorite song is "Jesus Loves Me" and if you ask me very nicely, I will sing it for you!
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Love you bunches,
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Lydia
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Entertaining Levi quote (as told by Lydia): Levi was playing trains with Dad and something happened that he didn't like. Some people might say, "Oh, no!", "Gee whiz!", or "Aw, shucks!" But Levi exclaims, "Oh, buffers and steel wheels with puffed out smoke!" Expressions of a true train fanatic.

"Then the angel said to the shepherds, 'Do not be afraid! Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people . . . a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'" Here we are in our Christmas pageant costumes! Isn't Lydia a cute & fluffy little angel? I got to play a shepherd in our church pageant, and a sheep in my preschool pageant (look for that picture on the right to see if you can spot me & my floppy ears). We learned new songs, played instruments, heard Bible verses, and celebrated Jesus' birthday! What could be more fun than that? If I keep learning and getting smarter, then by next year I might get to be a wise man!

God has given Lydia and me such a super family, and they did all kinds of fun stuff with us over the Christmas season. Gramps, Granny & Meemaw took us to see Santa Claus . . . but not just any Santa; Santa Claus on a train! We went to the NC Railroad Museum and choo-chooed with St. Nick -- I felt like I was on the Polar Express! We also got to look around at all of the old engines and train cars. So I've been to the SC & NC Railroad Museums; only 48 more to go! (Well, Hawaii might not have one.)

Of course, we had a great time opening all of our presents (we got a bunch!) at everybody's houses: Granddeddy & Grammy's, Gramps & Granny's, Gee-Gee's, Meemaw's, and at our house. And God sent us an extra present on Christmas Day . . . snow! It started snowing on us in Winston-Salem as we were leaving to drive to Columbia. My first white Christmas -- what a cool treat!
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With love,
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Levi
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We hope you had
the merriest of Christmases as you celebrated Jesus' birthday, and we pray that He will bless you in this new year!

They're 2, they're 4, they're 6, they're 8, shunting trucks & hauling freight . . .
red & green & brown & blue -- they're the really useful crew! Guess who chugged on over to wish me a happy 4th birthday? Thomas the Train & Friends! We partied at the McDonald's Playplace in Camden, and had a chicken-nuggety, french-fry-licious good time! My friends got conductor hats, bandanas, and train whistles; I got a pile of presents! I am so thankful to all of my grandparents, cousins, & friends for coming to my birthday party . . . I'm already planning for next year!

Speaking of birthdays, do you know who's having a birthday celebration soon? That's right -- JESUS! Since Jesus owns everything, He doesn't really need any gifts, so we made up some boxes for the little kids who don't get Christmas presents. I helped Mom & Lydia shop for our church's Operation Christmas Child gifts, and we picked out some good stuff. I know they will enjoy opening their boxes! The only thing I was sad about was not getting to meet the children . . . Mom kept telling me that they lived far away, but I thought they would be there to play with me when we dropped off our boxes. Bah-humbug. Anyway, maybe when I get older I can be a volunteer to deliver the gifts & meet the kids!

We also began preparing for Christmas by helping Mom decorate and going to get our tree. When we arrived at the tree farm, I asked Dad & Mom where the frozen trees were. "What?" Mom said. I knew she told me to look for the frozen trees. Finally I said, "Mom, where on earth are the frozen fir trees?" Oh, I guess I meant frasier fir trees! She laughed and pointed me in the right direction. Then, I got to help pick out the best one for our house. (The nice Christmas tree people also let me sit on their tractor!)

In the next week, I'll be a sheep in the preschool Christmas play and a shepherd in the church Christmas play. And, Lydia will be a cute little angel in the church play. We can't wait! Hopefully we can squeeze in one more holiday post before the big day, but until then, Merry Christmas!
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Season's Greetings,
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Levi
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Milestones of the month: Levi took a trip to the dentist for the first time (no cavities!); Lydia is growing like a little weed, is very independent (won't eat unless she can hold the spoon!), answers with "yes" & "no", wears everyone else's shoes around the house, loves to dance, and soon will be using our little potty

Entertaining Levi quote (as told by Lydia): We were all together at the house and a rather loud horn-like noise came from Levi's bottom area. Mom said, "What was that?!" Levi replied, "I had to poot that frog out so he could hop away!"

Fall Flashbacks! Guess what? It's not really November 1st! Mom & I figured out how to post on a past date, and since we have almost let the entire fall season slip by without an update, we invite you to join us for a Fall Flashback! At the end of our last post, we were on vacation in Garden City . . . we had a peachy, I mean, beachy time! One of my favorite things was our trip to the Nascar Speedpark. Being a racecar driver sure is fun, and, Mom said I did a great job obeying all of the traffic signals. She told me it was just for decoration, but I stopped at the red stoplight every time I circled the track. I hope we can go there again on our next beach trip, and maybe Lydia will be big enough to ride in the car with me!

We also had a lot of other fun fall festivities with our church friends this year -- pizza suppers, a campfire & wienie roast, roller skating night, and an absolutely awesome Autumn Jubilee! Our church joined forces with four other churches and we put on a HUGE free community fall festival. We had two bouncy houses, a puppet show, games, food & drinks, face painting, raffles, a hay ride . . . and most importantly, we had a way to share Jesus with our neighbors! We didn't keep a close count, but we think we had around 600-700 people. We still haven't finished all of our candy from the trunk-or-treat! Lydia & I went as Bob the Tomato & Larry the Cucumber, so we managed to get our veggies in, too!
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Love,
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Levi
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I've Been Workin' on the Railroad,
All the
Live-Long
Day . . . Can you spot me waving in front of the enormous locomotive? There's nothing like a good old-fashioned day at the South Carolina Railroad Museum to get your pistons pumping and your boiler bubbling! We took a day trip to Winnsboro last month to learn even more about our state's train-tastic history (even though I know quite a bit on the subject already). We wandered through cabooses and train cars, looked at old artifacts, played on a wooden train table, and took an hour-long ride along the tracks! While we were chug-chug-chugging, we passed all kinds of antique railroad equipment, old freight cars, quarry rocks, and other cool stuff. It was a Rockton & Rion good time . . . I hope to hear the conductor call "All Aboard!" again soon!

Do you know another exciting event that has happened since my last post? Let me give you three clues -- reading, writing, & arithmetic! Fortunately, I don't think Mrs. Pam knows about the "hickory stick" thing. I started PRESCHOOL! It has been so much fun, and I've already learned a lot, too. Mom takes me on Tuesday & Thursday mornings, and I get to stay until lunchtime. My friends there are really great, and a few of them love trains as much as I do! Mrs. Pam has a cool train building set that we work on together. We also read stories, learn at the "Listening Rug", paint pictures, play outside, have snack, use scissors, dress-up in costumes (my favorite is the firefighter outfit), and practice our colors, letters, and numbers. And most importantly, we learn about Jesus! Can you believe I have my very own bookbag & cubby hole? Also, at the end of each week, I get a sticker on my apple if I was on my best behavior. Three weeks = three stickers . . . so far, so good!

Mom and I are typing this post from Garden City Beach, so we're going to make like the ocean and "wave" bye-bye for now! We'll have another post soon to share all our vacation adventures. Be sure to look for our animal pictures at the right -- we've got swans, a turtle, and a tiger! Also, if you didn't see it last time, please click on Our Summer Slide Show!
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With love,
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Levi
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Milestones of the month: Lydia knows all the parts of her face (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.), can repeat most one and two-syllable words, and is starting to tell us when she needs a fresh diaper; Granddeddy bought me my very first real set of junior golf clubs (it was Dee-Da's birthday, but I got the big present!)
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Entertaining Levi quotes (as told by Lydia):
*A few months ago, Mom was fixing Levi a bagel and asked him if he wanted it plain. He didn't quite understand what she meant, so after thinking about it a minute, he replied, "Mom, I just want it bald-headed." So, now this is a normal saying for our family. If we're talking about anything at all that's plain or bare, it is bald-headed.
*We were walking through the mall, and Levi stopped to say 'hey' to one of the kiosk workers (aren't you impressed that a one-year-old knows the word "kiosk"?). He asked Levi his name and so forth. Dee-Da was standing next to Levi, and the worker asked Levi who that was beside him. Levi said, "This is my friend, Pastor Roy." We all got a good laugh out of that one.

Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer! What an exciting summertime we've had! It's a good thing I don't have to go to school yet, because I need to rest from my summer vacation. I helped Mom put together a slide show of the photos we wanted to share, because there were too many of them to fit on the page! Have you ever played "I Spy"? See if you can "spy with your little eye" some of these fun things in our slide show:

1) Lydia's first haircut -- Mr. Marshall's a brave fellow!
2) At the Winston-Salem Children's Museum -- Look for a rocking chair, crane, horse, & turtle!
3) Levi at Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp -- Kevin was our coach... he's a professional soccer player in Scotland!
4) At the playground in Kershaw
5) A tuckered-out Levi & Lydia
6) At Riverbanks Zoo with Kinsley & Reagan -- Look for the elephant & flamingos!
7) Fun times at Will's birthday party -- What a sweet hug!
8) Vacation Bible Schools -- The Egypt File & Saddle Ridge Ranch
9) More photos of Levi's 4 weeks of swimming lessons
10) At SciWorks in Winston-Salem -- Look for a piano, huge teeth, a dinosaur head, a robot arm, a chair lift, & the Food Guide Pyramid! Whew!
11) At KidFest in Lexington -- Look for bouncy castles & a tractor train!
12) Cooling off in the sprinkler

We also got to go to a bunch of birthday parties, McLeod's Peach Festival, Joseph's Journey VBS, a magic show at the library, and some other wonderful events that we're too tired to remember right now! Lydia also went for her one-year-old doctor's appointment . . . she was a little over 23 pounds and almost 31 inches long. She sure is growing up fast! And, Mom & Dad had their 9th wedding anniversary . . . I'll bet they never really knew the meaning of fun until we came along!
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Love always,
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Levi
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Just a few of Lydia's favorite things: Unrolling the toilet paper, giving kisses, throwing random objects into the trash can, feeding her snacks to Meli, flushing the toilet, wearing "jewelry" (anything becomes a necklace or bracelet), climbing like King Kong, singing, & walking/running all over the place

A Bubbly Butterflies Birthday! Happy 1st Birthday to me! Can you believe I'm a whole year old? Mom says the time has just "fluttered" away! I had such a wonderful time celebrating with my friends and family . . . I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Did you know that butterflies are a symbol of the resurrection? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . . " Just like a butterfly starts out as a caterpillar, and then pops out of its cocoon as a new creation! Isn't that neat? So we had all kinds of butterfly things at my party -- wings for the girls to decorate & wear (the boys made caterpillar hats), butterfly balloons, cakes shaped like butterflies, butterfly suckers & other goodies, butterfly & cocoon games, and a little butterfly baby pool for my buddies to splash in. My older friends played in the big pool, ran through the sprinkler, and slid down the Slip-N-Slide. And don't forget the bubbles . . . we blew lots of bubbles! It was a beautiful butterfly day!

Do you know what else I did on the day of my party? I took my first steps! After all the partying was done, my family was visiting in the living room and I decided to surprise them. Since then, I have been taking steps daily (my record is 4 steps in a row). I've also learned a few more words, including banana & ball (my most-used is still bye-bye), and my new favorite snack is blueberries. They are delicious!

I have been practicing my walking, but Levi has been working hard practicing his swimming. He has been taking swimming lessons for the past two weeks, and he is turning into quite the little fishy! He can dip under water, kick his legs, move his arms, and jump off the side. I can't wait until I'm big enough to splash and play with him!
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Love you bunches,
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Lydia
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Milestones of the month: Levi has memorized 6 Bible verses & I went to my first movie in the theatre, Shrek 4

Entertaining Levi quotes (as told by Lydia):
*Each time we headed out to the beach, Levi would hang his towel around his neck, grab his sand shovel, and repeat, "Surf's Up! Surf's Up!"
*One day Levi was frustrated with Mom and started to say that he was going to kick her. When he realized he would be in trouble, he decided to say, "First I'm going to buy an egg, and then a chicken will hatch out of it, and then it will bite you on the nose!" Mom tried to be a good disciplinarian, but she was laughing too hard.

Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday, Dear Lydia . . .
Happy Birthday to You!

He Lives! He Lives! Christ Jesus Lives Today! For my very first Easter celebration, I sure had an egg-cellent time! Levi shared with me a special story about Jesus, the cross, and the empty tomb . . . if I could say it, I'd shout, "Hallelujah!" (This big, wonderful word does begin with the same letter as hot dog: the only word-phrase I've clearly said other than Da-Da and Ma-Ma. Mom isn't sure if we can count that as my first word out of consideration for my Granny, the dietitian. As a side note, I haven't eaten any hot dogs, but I have enjoyed an episode or two of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with my brother. The theme song starts, "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity-dog!")

I've watched Mom crack open eggs in the kitchen before, but I never knew that some of them had candy hidden inside! During the Easter Egg-stravaganza at church, I went on a fun egg hunt, won prizes, and watched the big kids play some crazy games with real eggs. I enjoyed opening my candy-filled eggs while Levi enjoyed tossing & cracking open the real ones. It was a little yucky, but lots of fun! Did you go on an egg hunt this year?

After our Easter Sunday service, we drove all the way to Mimaw's house for a yummy lunch and family visit. I really had a great time seeing everyone, playing outside, and wriggling my toes around in the nice soft grass. Mom said I looked like a little bunny with my two bottom teeth sticking out, but now I'm growing another one down there which makes a total of seven! I'll be crunching carrots in no time!

Since our last post, I've started standing by myself, playing peek-a-boo, climbing everything, and I just had my first bottle of regular ol' milk. It's quite refreshing! I also just returned from my furthest road trip -- to Tim & Teresa's house! We packed up the van and headed north so that Dee-Da could lead revival at their church. While we were there, Teresa took us to a children's museum and to ride on a neighbor's horse! Well, Levi rode on the horse and fed pretzels to a goat while I napped. We are so grateful that the Lord has blessed us with wonderful friends like those two!
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Love,
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Your soon-to-be-first-birthday-girl, Lydia
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Milestones of the month: Enough about me . . . Levi has memorized another Bible verse (Proverbs 17:17) and is almost completely potty-trained -- I'm so proud of him

Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul . . . What a great day in the snow! Mom and I had such a "cool" time building our snowman, throwing snowballs, making snow angels, and eating snow cream! We woke up to this wintry surprise the weekend of Valentine's Day, and I was so excited I almost forgot about all of the yummy heart candy that was in my near future. Baby Lydia was excited, too, until Mom tried to squeeze her into a tiny snowsuit that used to be hers when she was a baby. As you can see in the pictures, this made for a very unhappy snowbunny. But after she had a taste of the snow cream, everything was better!

After we came inside for some hot chocolate and a rest, Dee-Da took me back out in the snow to play. I ran to show him our snowman, but I couldn't find him anywhere! There was only a watery lump of snow where he had been. And I guess he must have gotten hot, because he left his hat and scarf on the ground, too. So, the only thing left to do was make another snowman! And that's what we did. The snow was all gone by the evening, but it sure was a fun day!

There was another really exciting thing that happened right before Valentine's Day -- Baby Lydia started crawling! She can really move fast, and she wants to explore everything! I think she gets that from me. I tried to explain to her that only food is supposed to go inside your mouth, but she still likes to taste everything anyway. She's also getting three teeth on the top, so altogether that will be five! (I'm becoming a pretty good counter.) Lydia also claps, waves, blows kisses, and dances to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song. She's sure getting to be a busy little bee!

Over the past few weeks, I've done some pretty fun stuff while visiting with all the grandparents, like go to the zoo, play with the trains at the bookstore, and visit with my great-grandmoms. This weekend Lydia & I get to go to our friend Reagan's birthday party, and Mom & Dad are also taking us to a children's production of The Wizard of Oz at the theatre in Camden. Mom told me about Dorothy and Toto, and I can't wait to see the lions, and tigers, and bears . . . oh, my!
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Love always,
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Levi
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Milestones of the month: Crawling, of course, and memorizing a Bible verse (I did that, not baby sissy) -- Genesis 1:1

Our Blog Back-Log!
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Hey everyone! The last few months at our house have been a little crazy! We got behind on our blogging after the accident, and then it just piled up on us . . . so many things to report and share! I've been trying to teach baby Lydia the alphabet, so we thought that we would practice our ABCD's in the blog titles. We have three blog posts below this one, so scroll down & practice your ABCD's, too!
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With love,
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Levi

A

Beautiful

But

Crazy

Day!

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A few weeks ago we all headed out with Grammy to try and take some family photos. Boy, was that hard work! We went to the State Capital building in Columbia and took about a million pictures. It was really a challenge getting my brother & me to sit still and look towards the camera; we're pretty busy little people. But, we ended up with a few good photos and fun memories of our first trip to the Capital! Dee-Da and Levi even climbed all the way up the big steps to the very tippy-top . . . that seemed a little scary to me, so I stayed at the bottom and looked at the statue. We are all very thankful to Grammy for her patience with us!

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I have grown up so much in the past few months! I can sit up really well, I play by myself (for just a few minutes), I'm eating all different kinds of baby foods, and I even munched on my first Cheerios this week! They were delicious, and I love feeding them to Meli, too. At my 8-month doctor's appointment, I weighed in at 18 pounds, 3 ounces, and I'm almost 27 inches long! My hair is growing nice and thick, and I've sprouted two sharp little teeth on the bottom. Teething biscuits, beware! My favorite word is Da-Da, and I say it over-and-over whenever Daddy walks in the room. I'm pretty good at this heart-melting thing.

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I pray that the Lord blesses you in this new year, and that you stay toasty warm during the winter months! Please come and visit me soon!

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Yours truly,

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Lydia

Delicious

Dinners

And

Christmas

Celebrations!

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We sure had a yummy Thanksgiving & fun-filled Christmas season! (The day after Thanksgiving wasn't so great, but we had a lot to be thankful for!) All of the family gathered together at Grammy & Granddeddy's house for Thanksgiving dinner, and I ate so much I almost popped! Also, Lydia gobbled down her very first jar of baby food -- something green & squishy. She liked it a lot! We played all day with Kayden, Trapp, & Jessica, until we were all tuckered out. I am always so glad that Gramps, Granny, & Gee-Gee come for all of the festivities, too!

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Well, between Thanksgiving & Christmas, we got to do something sort of fun -- shop for a new car! Mom wasn't real excited about getting a minivan, but I sure was! I love riding in the big church van with Dee-Da, and our van is just as great! It sure came in handy over the holidays when we had to load up all of our stuff for family visits. Mom can open the doors with her special keychain, I have my own arm rests, the windows are nice & big for good views, and there's plenty of room for stretching out during those emergency diaper changes. I'm almost potty-trained, though! I totally have the #1 routine down, but I'm not quite ready to do the #2. It's a little weird to do that in the open air.

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Christmas was wonderful, as usual, and this year it was extra-special because it was baby Lydia's first Christmas! I showed her the ornaments on the Christmas trees, I helped her sit on Santa's lap, and I even let her open her own presents. I also explained to her that Christmas is not about trees or presents, but about the birth of Jesus! We even got to be in a Christmas pageant at church telling all about the nativity story. Lydia was a lamb and I was a shepherd. I tried to sing the songs, but I was having too much fun throwing straw on my friend, Reagan.

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There was something else really neat that happened this Christmas -- we found Gramp's cat, Butterscotch! We all thought Butterscotch had wandered off to the place where old kitties go, so Mom was going to get Gramps & Granny a new cat for Christmas. Well, while she was looking at available pets up for adoption on the computer, she found a picture of Butterscotch at one of the shelters in Winston! To make a very long story a lot shorter, Gramps was really surprised when Mom carried Butterscotch through the door with a big red bow around his neck! He's still perking back up to his old self, and we're all glad to have him home. We know God was watching out for that Christmas kitty!

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Love,

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Levi

Birthdays
And
Baby
Dedications!
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In November, Levi had his 3rd birthday party, and I was dedicated to the Lord at Shamrock Baptist Church! All of my grandparents came, and we had such a great time! Can you see the beautiful baby dress that I got to wear? My Aunt Faye passed it down to me . . . it's almost 100 years old! And Granny made my pretty little bonnet out of a handkerchief that belonged to my great-great grandmother. Mommy said I looked like a little baby doll! I felt very special to have my own Daddy lead the dedication service, and I even got a little Bible & framed picture with my footprint. My friend, Brooke, was also dedicated, so we had a party afterwards with all our families and a big cake! (Unfortunately, I couldn't have any, but Levi told me it was delicious.)
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Speaking of parties, Levi had a super-fun glow-in-the-dark birthday party for turning 3 years old! We had glow sticks, glow toys, flashlights, luminaries, and a campfire for roasting hot dogs & marshmallows! Our theme for the party was letting "your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). Everyone had a really great time, even though it was a little chilly. All the big kids were running like crazy with their flashlights and glows sticks . . . I can't wait until I can run like crazy, too!
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Love you lots,
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Lydia

And the lion shall lie down with the
lamb . . . Happy Fall, everyone! Lydia and I had such a fun time dressing up in our costumes this year! Mom said I should mention that the actual Bible verse from Isaiah 11:6 reads, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." I hope we have brought a reminder of Christ's peace to you this season! Isaiah also says that I'll eat straw like an ox -- as you can see behind me, there was plenty of that at McLeod's Pumpkin Farm this year! We went on a hayride to pick pumpkins, played on the tractors, climbed on the hay stacks, and just had a great time! And that was just one of the fun things we got to do . . .

The Wednesday before Halloween, we had our annual Shamrock Baptist Church Fall Festival. There were so many cool activities! My favorite was the fishing station . . . I tossed my fishing line over the wall and when I pulled it back, there was candy on the hook. I like fish, but who would throw back a peanut butter cup? After we went around to everyone's car for trunk-or-treat, we visited our church friends' farm for a hayride through the woods! I held Lydia's hand so that she wouldn't be scared (and Dee-Da held my other hand so that I wouldn't be scared). I'll bet those cows and horses didn't expect to see a ferocious lion prowling around!

The night before Halloween, Dad, Mom, and our grandparents took us to Boo at the Zoo! There were lots of orange lights, candy stations, creatures to pet, kids in costumes, and sleepy zoo animals. There was even a marshmallow-roasting station, but Dee-Da had to help me hold the stick. I rode on the spooky train, the creepy carousel, and of course had my picture taken with the lion statue! Lydia's too small to do all of those big-kid things, so she spent her time watching and just being a cute little lamb. I hope we can go back to Boo at the Zoo again next year!

Our final candy-collecting event for the weekend was trick-or-treating in Grammy & Granddeddy's neighborhood. Granny & Gramps went, too (they all came as undercover lion tamers). Sometimes I let out a big roar when folks came to answer the door! By this time, Lydia & I had enough candy to last us for years to come . . . or at least until Christmas, anyway. Even with all of the fun and excitement, an even more memorable event happened on Sunday morning -- Lydia's baby dedication! I'm handing over the keyboard, so she should have another blog posted soon! (It takes her a little longer to type.)


With love,

Levi


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Milestone of the week: Went to my first movie in the theater, Astro Boy

Surprise! It's me, little sister Lydia! I've been asking Levi for a few weeks now if he felt like I was old enough yet to share a blog entry. Once I passed the bouncy-seat test and graduated into size 2 diapers, he said I was ready. I am so excited to be writing to you (and thrilled about typing on this neat toy with all the letters & numbers)! I have had so many fun and interesting experiences lately. . .

First, on the more "interesting" rather than fun side, I went to the doctor for my four month check-up. I weighed thirteen pounds and had grown almost 25 inches tall! The doctor said that I was a very long baby (I've learned that people say "long" instead of "tall" when you spend your life lying down rather than standing up), but Mom says she just hopes I outgrow her someday. While I was there, I had to get some yucky shots in my little legs, but I was happy with the nurse's choice of pink & yellow flowered band-aids. Levi was upset about my shots, too . . . he almost started crying and told Mom not to let them hurt me. But, Mom calmed him down and then the nurse gave him a sticker, too. Didn't God give me a great big brother?

On the "fun" side, I got to meet my great-aunt Monica for the very first time! She lives all the way across the country in California, so I was very excited that she was able to visit me! Monica is a nurse and works with little babies every day, so she is a really good baby-holder (I've learned that some folks just have the knack for it). Maybe someday soon I can fly on a big airplane to see where she lives and visit my great-uncle Ken. They also have some doggies that I'm sure are looking forward to licking me!

Over the past month, I've also had many wonderful times visiting with my grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, and friends. Levi & I went to play with our good friend Sterling, and we got to meet her new baby sister. She's even littler than me! I know we will have lots of fun times in the future growing and playing together. I also have another new friend at church, baby Brooke. She's littler than me, too! I am so thankful for all of my baby friends, and big friends, too!

As each day goes by, I'm doing more and more new things. A few weeks ago while Mom was at work, I was lying on the sofa and decided to roll over for Dee-Da. I thought he might like that! It's harder to roll over in front of Mom, because that would mean she couldn't hold me (I really don't like being by myself very much). I can sit up with a little help, play with my toys, use my bouncy seat, and soon Mom's going to let me have my first bite of cereal. It sounds delicious! Watch out fruits and veggies, here I come!
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Love you bunches,
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Lydia
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Milestone of the week: Since I've already mentioned mine, I'll let everyone know that Levi can spell his first name (except the "v" sounds like "b")

Sittin' on the dock of the bay . . . Here I am just bummin' around at the pier on our trip to Garden City! We had a blast, even though God made Lydia's & my skin super-white and we couldn't stay out in the sun for very long. We took cool walks in the evening, watched lots of fireworks, played in the pool, swam in the ocean, and made sand castles! Mom was even brave enough to take me out onto the dark beach at night to light sparklers a few times. Her thumb got sore from clicking the lighter so many times, but I was willing to make the sacrifice. This was Lydia's first trip to the ocean, so I tried to set a few ground rules . . .

1) No eating sand.
2) Close your eyes when Mom puts the sunscreen on your face.
3) Only big boys get to drive the racecars in the arcade.
4) No pee-peeing in the pool.
5) Don't stick your head between the rails on the condo porch.
6) Never let go of Dee-Da's hand, even if you see a fun golf cart to climb into.
7) Nothing spoils a nice day like a diaper full of seashells.

Hopefully I helped to make Lydia's first trip a memorable one! I hope your vacation this year was fun, too. Now, where did I put my sunglasses?


I love you,
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Levi
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Milestone of the week: Started practicing with my first real left-handed golf club

Shamrock, we're
ready for lift-off . . . Vacation Bible School was out of this world! Our theme was
"Operation Space: A Close Encounter with God's Word", the new VBS curriculum from Answers in Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.org/). We learned all about the authority of the Bible and what it tells us about God's universe! Each day we were in BASIC Training:
B - Book of Books
A - Absolute Authority
S - Salvation Story
I - Incredible Impact
C - Cadet Challenge
We had opening assembly each evening (with a visit from a talking robot, I might add), class time, snacks, crafts, recreation, and singing. I learned a lot of new songs, including "This Little Light of Mine" & "Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man", and I enjoyed belting them out during the closing program. Mom led the craft time and we made all sorts of things, like cadet clipboards, glow-in-the-dark cross necklaces, cosmic comets, and shiny robots! One of the Bible verses we practiced during the week was "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" from Psalm 119:105. That means that the Bible will always lead me in the right direction!

Do you know what can float, kick, and squirt a water gun all at the same time? Me! I have been invited to a lot of different friends' swimming pools lately, and I have become a real little fishy! As long as I have my life vest and floaties on, I can make my way through the water like a speedy motorboat. Even Lydia put on her new flowery swimsuit and got her toes wet! Maybe next year I can start taking swimming lessons so that I can dip and dive all by myself!


Love always,
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Levi
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Milestone of the week: Went for my very first sleepover to Kayden & Trapp's house

Showing Baby Lydia the ropes . . . the ropes on the hammock, that is! Teaching Lydia how to swing in the hammock is just one of the important play skills I plan to share with her. When she gets a little older, she can climb on the playset with me, run in the sprinkler, blow bubbles, and dig in the dirt! If she likes swinging the clubs as much as I do, then I can teach her how to play golf, too. It shouldn't be too hard . . . as you can see in the picture, I've already taught her how to wave!

Over the past few weeks, Mom & I have enjoyed hanging out at home taking care of the baby. She really likes to be held a lot, so Mom doesn't have any hands left to do much else! Lydia cries more than I did, but it's because her tummy hurts sometimes (Mom says that mine did, too, but I don't really remember that). I try to make her feel better by singing songs, saying the alphabet, and reading to her. She even smiles at me once in a while! She's really smart.

Even though we haven't been out-and-about as much, Lydia has already had her first trip to lots of fun places -- the public library, the zoo, the park, a baby shower, a wedding, church revival, and some doctor's appointments (well, I guess going to the doctor wasn't fun, but everything else was)! And, she gets to come with me to two birthday parties this weekend. I've really been having fun showing her off to everybody!

There's another big event that's been going on at our house recently . . . potty-training! Mom & Dad took me to pick out my very own big-boy underwear (3 pairs each of Batman & Cars) and I've been trying not to mess them up! It's really hard remembering to tell Mom before it's too late, but I'm working on it. And every time I use the big potty, I get to pick out a sticker. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon, so that the only one wearing a diaper is the baby!


Love,
*
Levi
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Milestone of the week: Taking care of business, if you know what I mean

Rock-a-bye, baby sissy . . . Mom let me hold baby Lydia for the first time and she loved it! Well, I think so, anyway. I have learned to be very easy and gentle with her, and Mom showed me the soft place on her head that I'm not supposed to touch (because I tried to touch it already). She has teeny tiny toes and fingers -- they are so much smaller than mine! But, she makes messy diapers just like me, and she drinks milk just like me. She even gets baths, too! But, she doesn't have to brush her teeth because she doesn't have any.

All of my grandparents have been visiting with us and helping Mom with stuff around the house. While Granny was here, she helped me start sleeping in my very own big-boy bed! My new room is decorated with puppy dogs, and I have a really cool bedspread with doggies all over it. I guess that's why Meli thinks it's also her bed (Mom shoos her off daily). So for the past two weeks, I have slept all by myself in my very own room. I have to get up once in a while for milk; a kid just gets thirsty sometimes! Mom & Dad have told me how proud they are of me and what a good brother I've been. My next mission: conquering the big potty!


With love,
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Levi
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Milestone of the week: Sleeping in my big bed, but also working on dressing & undressing myself