Yes, yes, I know it's been a long time since we made a post. Yes, I also know that we skipped right over Christmas in Florida with the Matthew's family, Noelle's birthday, and the grueling 13+ hour drives to and from Tampa.

We'll get to those, never fear. I'm coming to you with a story of a scrappy rock band named "Assh@t" that was founded this evening deep in Old Hickory, Tennessee. What's that you say? "What" hat? Founded where? I'm talking about Rock Band, the video game for the XBOX 360 which allows up to 4 people to play "musical instruments" simultaneously. Assh@t? That was our band name.

Maybe I should start at the beginning. Today my boss mentioned that he was going over to the house of a mutual friend of ours to hang out and play Rock Band. Now I've been reading lots about this game, and it's parent, the monster hit Guitar Hero, but I've never had the chance to play either. When I mentioned this to Aaron, he invited me to come over. I double checked with "the home office", got the necessary requisition forms and I was off.

It's quite enjoyable actually, but pretty tough. There are 4 available instruments: guitar, drums, bass, and surprisingly the microphone. Each instrument has it's own settings, difficulty level, and buttons (except for the mike). When a song starts up, you're presented with a train track looking thing. This represents the notes you'll have to play. On each instrument (again excepting the mike), are 5 notes, or in the case of the drums 5 drum pads. As the song progresses, notes scroll towards you in the column representing the note you need to play on the instrument.

Never fear, this isn't a note for note representation, nor could it be with only 5 notes to play. BUT it is enough to give you a real feel for the song. And it's freaking awesome to play. I was able to cycle through all of the instruments tonight and liked each of them. The drums were the hardest due to the setup and the angle they were at, plus I've never played drums. I have played guitar, bass, and I sing so that's not too bad. Out of all of them I had the most fun with the guitar and the bass. They actually make Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii and I'd like to pick that up after I finish off 2 games I'm playing now.

So, until the Assh@t reunion tour, I'll see you guys later. I'll leave you with this screenshot of Rock Band in action.

Noelle is officially baptized. For those of you who don't know what infant baptism is, here's what the Presbyterian church believes about the topic along with a brief synopsis.

Both believers and their children are included in God's covenant love. Children of believers are to be baptized without undue delay, but without undue haste. Baptism, whether administered to those who profess their faith or to those presented for Baptism as children, is one and the same Sacrament. The Baptism of children witnesses to the truth that God's love claims people before they are able to respond in faith. (Book of Order W-2.3008)

Baptism, therefore, usually occurs during infancy, though a person may be baptized at any age. Parents bring their baby to church, where they publicly declare their desire that he or she be baptized. When an infant or child is baptized the church commits itself to nurture the child in faith. When adults are baptized they make a public profession of faith.

Baptism distinguishes children of those who believe in God's redemptive power from children of nonbelievers. The water that is used symbolizes three accounts from the Bible's Old Testament: the waters of creation, the flood described in the story of Noah, and the Hebrews' escape from slavery in Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. All three stories link humanity to God's goodness through water.

So we baptized Noelle, not so that she's "saved", but so that we declare before God that we want her to be set apart.

Anyway, it went really well, one of the people involved in the ceremony said that she was one of the best babies they'd had on stage in months. Yay Noelle. She was absolutely adorable and even reach out for the Carter Crenshaw (our pastor) several times.

We had a great time with family and friends this past weekend, but we're glad to be back to our normal routine. Thanks to everyone who came to Nashville this weekend and made this such a special occasion for us, and for Noelle.

This weekend, Noelle met a new friend named Ella Daugherty. Ella's mom and dad are friends of ours that were here in Nashville for the weekend interviewing and house hunting. I have known Heather since high school, and went to college with both Heather and Brad. Andy and I had dinner with them last year during our anniversary trip to New York/Boston, and both Heather and I were pregnant. Ever since then, we've been saying how great it would be if our girls could be friends. And now, there's a chance of that happening!

Andy and I watched Ella on Saturday while Brad and Heather scoured the neighborhood for houses, and we had a great time. Ella is 5 weeks older than Noelle, so it was also fun to see what kinds of things we have to look forward to in the near future. Like a baby that enjoys eating solids and can sit up on her own! And has hair.

We are excited at the possibility of having the Daugherty's living in our neighborhood. Reconnecting with friends is always such a blessing.

A few weeks ago I found out that a friend of mine from Bell Shoals Baptist church (think late 80s early 90s for me) is getting married today. That's right, Jay Wright...if you're reading this, I'm coming to your wedding.

Anyway, my mom told me about the wedding by way of telling me that Mike and Linda Adler were going to be singing during the ceremony. Mike was the music pastor at Bell Shoals during the same time period and I haven't seen he and Linda for pretty close to 13 or 14 years. I always did look up to him and so I'm pretty excited about getting to see both of them again.

It'll also be interesting to see if there will be anyone else from Bell Shoals at the wedding, other than Jay's family.

In other news, we also have some brand new photo galleries on the site. Head over to the photos section and take a peek.

Since Andy mentioned that Scott and Natalie were in the hospital to deliver Ford today, I thought I'd post a picture we received of him. He was a tiny baby - 5 lb 11 oz. That's 3 pounds less than Noelle was when she was born!

Out friends Scott & Natalie were about a month behind us in pregnancy and we just heard that they went into the hospital at 5:30 this morning to deliver their baby, Ford.

Please keep them in your prayers: that everything would go smoothly, that Ford would be born healthy and whole, that Natalie would be safe after the delivery and that Scott & Natalie would get to experience the "joys" of waking up at all hours of the morning to work for their little man, Ford.

Jaime and I are so excited for you Scott & Natalie. We can't wait to meet your son, our daughters future playmate and friend.

We're having a nephew! Jon and Mindy found out yesterday that they are having another boy. They had a great ultrasound that left no question about the gender of their baby. They also saw him sucking his thumb and playing with the cord. How exciting! His name will probably be Jeremiah. So, our baby has 2 boy cousins! And those cousins are my baby's only cousins. Knowing what Jon and Mindy are having definitely makes me a little more anxious to find out about our little one! I can handle it, though. Just 3 1/2 more months to go.

I have another appointment with my midwife tomorrow morning, so I'll try and write another update. These appointments aren't much, though. Listen to the heartbeat, measure me, ask me if I'm doing alright, and send me on my way. At my next appointment they will do another test for gestational diabetes, so I'll have to drink another "Glucola" before I go. Yum.

This weekend my parents came to Nashville to help us build a fence for the dogs. Well, and to see their pregnant daughter. While the "boys team" worked on the fence, the "girls team" made curtains, all the meals, and one of us worked on growing a baby! It's hard to tell who had the tougher job. I'll post some pictures of the fence, and my growing belly, as soon as possible. I guess I just forget that we should be taking pictures of me, because I see myself every day and don't notice the gradual changes. Some days I feel like I am showing so much, and then I realize how big I am going to get in the next 4 months.

The dogs don't understand the fence concept yet. We let them out the side door, and they run out to the yard for a second but then come back and wait on the patio. It's like they are thinking, "Aren't you going to come out with us? We can't be alone!" But yes, boys, you can be alone now. Hopefully they will start to get it soon. They are too funny.