Saturday, August 25, 2007

BSU Choir

Hallelujah! Salvation and Glory!
Honor and Power unto the Lord, Our God!
For the Lord, Our God is Mighty,
And the Lord, Our God is Omnipotent,
And the Lord, Our God, He is Wonderful!

All praises be to the King of Kings,
And the Lord, Our God. He is wonderful!
All praises be to the King of Kings,
And the Lord, Our God. He is Wonderful!

Ha - Le - Lu - Jah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Ha - Le - Lu - jah! He is Wonderful!
Ha - Le - Lu - Jah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Ha - Le - Lu - jah! He is Wonderful!

As I was singing to my daughter while allowing her to drift off to sleep tonight, I recalled this favorite staple of BSU Choir at Samford and longed for the other parts to sing with me so we could sing the rounds as it should be. I hope Emma gets to sing it one day.

He is Wonderful!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Barney's Gone

A few months ago, I got a notion in my self to introduce you all to our fantastic and well under appreciated dog. His name is Barney and he is a black/charcoal miniature schnauzer. Barney would celebrate his 2nd birthday this November 30th, but he is no longer able to do so. Our precious four-legged friend went home to be with other doggies in heaven today as his curiosity got the best of him on an outing. We deemed his condition upon arrival to Alabama as severe sensory overload. He was just overly excited with all the new smells and new terrain here at the Anderson place and we had surrendered to chaining him up for potty breaks. However the past 3 days, he had proven to us that he could go and return without a leash and we had decided to attempt to allow him that freedom.

Barney was a great dog that we had for just over 2 years. We got him when Emma was small and had two reasons in mind. One, we hoped that his presence would calm our other dog, Scout and prevent her from harming our baby. Scout, however precious she was to us, could not handle the competition. Instead of restraining her, Barney just proved to be another threat. We let Scout go to another good home that had no children and then began raising Barney to be Emma's pet. He truly was. She was brutal with him and he graciously tolerated it. She pulled his beard and his hair and she pinned him down and shoved him out of her chair. But he loved her and she loved him. One of our favorite memories of Barney will be just before our move from Texas. Emma had crashed on the floor in the game room and Barney curled up in the crook of her legs and napped with her. I always told Jeremy that I one day saw him sleeping in the bed with her. Not today.

How is Emma? I don't think she really grasps it yet. Barney has been gone for days at a time before and she has not been confused. We shall see how it progresses. I pray this does not send her into a regression from the progress we have made in terms of her sleep patterns lately. I did not do well hiding my emotions. How do you do it Moms? I remember losing MANY animals to that road and my mother would always hold it together. I, in my pregnant state, did not do well and my daughter was distraught trying to console me. She even gave me a Dora bandaid. She will miss him greatly, as will all of us. My father raved about how good he was with Emma and was thankful for him. He feels the loss is his fault, but I assure you my ever active dog made the decision on his own.

So if you see me or talk to me over the next few days, know that I might be just fine or I might shed a tear or two. I know that it is for the best on many levels, but just the same - we lost one of our family members today. Please remember our now smaller family in your prayers.

We love you Barney!
Barnabas Aromashodu Powell
11/30/2005 - 8/23/2007

Sunday, August 19, 2007

To the Zoo


(Petrified after begging to ride the carosel)
On Friday, the Powells 3 1/2 journeyed to the Birmingham Zoo to celebrate the fact that Emma had slept in her big girl bed 2 nights in a row. I know that many of you are wondering why this is a monumental occasion, but I must preface this by letting you know the battle that we are enduring currently with our baby girl. Since Jeremy's trip to the hospital at the beginning of July, Emma has struggled with security and comfort. We decided to not really battle this challenge until we made the move and now that we have been here almost a week, we are already seeing changes for the better.
(Daddy is showing me a spider spinning a web. He still loves them.)
Emma ended our stay in Fort Worth sleeping on a palet in the floor by Mommy and Daddy's bed occassionally waking up during the middle of the night with nightmares. Before we brough her into our room, she was refusing to go down in her bed and violently fighting us as we attempted the regular routine we had maintained for 2 years before. She claimed that there was a dinosaur in her bed and would refuse to stay in her room at all, even if Jeremy and I were in there with her.

Since arriving, we are able to put her in her own bed at night, even though we have to wait until she falls asleep (about 10 minutes). I still count that as progress because we were unable to even aproach her room before, much less lay her in her bed. She went down for a nap in her bed today for the first time in WEEKS. We are still working towards the finished product and are prayerfully hoping to achieve it before Abbi gets here. So join us in that prayer.

(probably everyone's favorite exhibit - even Mommy. He really showed off for us as we had our own private time with Mr. Tiger. Daddy attempted to pet him through the glass and Mr. Tiger seemed to like that.)

In the mean time, enjoy these fun pictures with Emma and her first, of many, trips to the Birmingham Zoo.