back to the real world...

Howdy everyone!
We're just getting back into the swing of things since our vacation. We went to Little Rock, Arkansas to see Chris's parents, brothers, and their families. We brought Chris' grandparents with us too. Oh, it was so much fun. Some days we went out and did some stuff, like go carts and the IMAX, and other days we just hung out, played some games and relaxed. All in all we had a wonderful time from eating cheesecake late at night to the waterpark-just the fact that we could all be together was such a blessing! Preston got to meet all of his cousins-Kaylin, Amanda, Caleb, Elena, Daniel, and Nate-and he adores each one very much!! It was so sweet to see him smiling and talking to them. We were also very excited to meet our newest nephew Nate; he's only 6 weeks older than Preston. Here they are checking each other out...

We took some family pics one night, but I won't have them up for a while. My battery on my camera was dead, so I'm waiting to get some copies sent from everyone else. Preston did great on the long car ride. He had a growth spurt the first two days we were there, and some of his sleepers were suddenly on the small size. That's not all the changing he did on our trip. He can almost roll over. He rolls from his back to his side a lot. I'm sure it won't be much longer before he's rolling. He is also smiling and talking a lot now. He absolutely loves talking to his mobile. Oh, and he's found out how to get his hands to his mouth, so he keeps them there most of the time! He's up to 13 lbs. (I took Maggie to the vet today and weighed Preston while we were there). Maggie has another cancer tumor to be removed. It is on her back and very small. She also has another suspicous spot on her leg. The doc thinks the one on her leg is just a skin infection, so we're treating it with antibiotics and hoping it goes away soon. We scheduled the surgery for July. I'm including a very sweet picture of Maggie and Preston. Maggie loves to lick him, especially on his toes.

We missed church on Sunday, and I feel like we've been gone way too long. I can't wait to catch up with everyone. We're having a special night of worship out on the church property this Friday night.

I talked with my mom this past weekend. She called for the first time since she moved to Qatar. She seems to be adjusting well and was telling me about all the little details of moving to a new place. They still do not have interent at the villa, but they're working on it. Dad reads her e mail to her over the phone when he is at work. Hopefully she will be back on the net soon.

More news later...
Shell and Chris