C-Man Turns 8 Months!

Our Caleb, also known in our home as C-Man, Butterball, Pooh Bear, and Caleb Bug, turned 8 months old yesterday!  The cliche question, "Where did the time go?" can certainly be asked about this little guy.  I am trying to cherish each moment of this baby phase of life that he is in, because he is growing and changing quickly! God has given Caleb a joyful and easygoing little spirit, and he loves to laugh at his "big" brother (even though their weight difference is only a few pounds!).  These pictures should adequately describe what I think are Caleb's most evident personality traits: amiable and accommodating. 

Amiable:

Accommodating: 

The pacifier snatch is a frequent occurrence in our home...

Notice that Luke is wearing a different outfit.  This was a separate occasion than the one in the previous picture.

And yet there is no doubt about who Caleb's favorite person is:

 Every day, out of the pure overflow of my heart, I tell Caleb that he is a blessing from the Lord.  Words do no justice to the amount of gratitude to God we have for giving us such a sweet, joyful, pleasant little one.  We praise God for you, Caleb, and we pray you follow the footsteps of your biblical namesake and grow to "follow God fully."  

Farewells in Louisville

It's hard to leave a place that you love.  We loved our time in Louisville.  Paul loved residency; we loved our home, both because of its proximity to the hospitals and because of its convenient layout; we loved our neighbors; we loved our church family; and we loved the city!  There were few days that I can remember that Paul didn't look forward to going to work, despite the fact that his alarm clock rang ridiculously early.  There were few days that I didn't have something planned with sweet friends who shared our vision of raising children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Frankly, there were few days that we didn't have someone in our home!   Yesterday I was telling my friend, Mary Ellen, that there has never been a time in my life that God hasn't provided me with friends when I needed them the most.  When I reflect on our 5 years in Louisville, that's what comes to my mind: the Lord's abundant provision of friends who have become like family to us.  Not only did some of both of our very best college friends end up in Louisville, but we also made some deeply rooted new friendships in Louisville, which is why it was so hard for us to say goodbye.  And that is what will explain the sentimentality of this post.  

Here are some pictures of our last month in Louisville.

This was Luke's first time to Churchill Downs.  He loved watching the "howses."

Caleb was a trooper in the afternoon heat!

Some members of our church, Kenwood Baptist, hosted a cookout at a park to bid us farewell.  It was bittersweet night of good conversations and a game of wiffleball!

Here are some of the guys after the wiffleball game.

At the cookout, our friends from church gave us this picture that is titled "Touched by the Tennants" and now hangs in our home in Charleston.  It is a map of the city of Louisville, and it includes all of the names of those who were members of Kenwood while we were there.  What a joy it is to see this and be reminded of these sweet people on a daily basis! 

The three of us have met every other week for years now.  Both of them exemplify the truth, "To live is Christ."  Their lives prove how fulfilling life is as a Christian.  We've prayed together and seen God answer our specific requests according to His sovereign will.  Recently, we've praised him for sparing Diane's life and restoring her to excellent health...

and for providing Mary Ellen with a HUSBAND!!

And these two, Jill and Bethany, have become good friends as we have served alongside each other in our church's women's ministry.  I loved seeing their genuine love and concern for the ladies of Kenwood.  There's no better way to celebrate a sweet friendship than by doing so over cheesecake and coffee at The Cheesecake Factory.

And this guy officially became a residency graduate!  Here he is as Dr. Bumpous, the head of the ENT department, presented him with his University of Louisville chair. I would embarrass Paul if I shared that he won a few awards that night, including one for scoring in top % of the country on his in-service exam (for the third year in a row), so I'll refrain...

And here he is with the other chief resident, Laura, as they roasted the other ENT residents. 

 What a treat it was to see Ms. Marjorie on our last Sunday at Kenwood!  At 90 years old, this lady has the spunk to maintain a sense of humor despite dealing with arthritic pain every single day.

As you can see from Luke's face, he loves "Wobbie and Steppie."  We were so grateful to have lived blocks from them during our shared time in Louisville!

One of Luke's favorite people ever.  You can't mention the name "Jerod" without Luke perking up and repeating his name over. And over. And over.

And what's even sweeter is that Luke has now taken it upon himself to add Jerod's sweet fiance's name, Lauren, to the mix when he talks about Jerod.

This was our last night at Kenwood.  My smile is totally fake.  I was actually crying about 5 minutes before this because I had to say goodbye to Anna Damico.  That should never have to happen.

These were some of the friends who came to help us move!  They served us so joyfully, and because of their efficient work, our truck was completely loaded within a couple of hours!

On our last night in Louisville, Paul and I attended the general surgery graduation.  While we were having a fancy dinner at an elegant venue, these guys were at our house sweeping out our basement and washing our baseboards.  Talk about some true friends!

This was their last night at their home on Haldeman!

"Jeeed" stopped by right before we pulled out.  Luke is going to be so excited to see Jerod and Lauren at their wedding next weekend.

My sweet friend and favorite neighbor ever, Jaelithe, stopped by with her little ones as well.  I miss her dearly!   

"He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful."

Psalm 111:14

Indeed He is.  We praise God for his grace and mercy over us during our time in Louisville, and we look forward to seeing His grace and mercy displayed in our lives as He leads us according to His good and perfect will!