Searching for our tree of life

*Before I write anything about my trip I would like to encourage you all to check out my friend Jillian's blog. It is titled "Committing My Ways Unto The Lord" Jillian is battling cancer right now, but growing in her love for the Lord and her relationship with him. I know reading her blog really helps me put my life and experiences into perspective. Please pray with us for her.* We went to Alabama yesterday for my Mom's 50th birthday. It took us a little over 4 hours to get there(!) It only takes 5 1/2 to get down to Florida. Atlanta really has some of the worst traffic I've ever seen. There are just so many people in this area. We keep forgetting that we need to leave really early or really late to avoid people going to work or coming home from work. When I went to Hobby Lobby the other day I bought these iron on letters and made Jakob a onesie that said "Nana's birthday present" I was really happy with the way it turned out and I knew that my mom would like it. It was good to see my family again. I talk to them on the phone, and even on Skype, but it's just not the same as seeing them. I really enjoyed sitting around with Kara and talking to her, as she's always busy with work (and Dan) and we don't get to talk that much. -Speaking of Kara- she is taking painting lessons in Niceville and she's doing oil painting right now, and she is so talented!!! I'm so glad that she's still pursuing and trying to grow her talent. Carissa and Abigail could not wait to get into the pool once they got to my grandpa's house, so not too long after we got there we took Jakob swimming. My mom was just floating him around in the float and he fell asleep. It was so sweet. Such a hard life for a baby who's loved and adored :) My dad had brought some shrimp from the bayou so we had fried shrimp and red snapper for dinner. My grandpa has a huge garden so everytime we go to his house we eat lots of fresh vegetables. We had field peas, squash and greens from the garden and they even fried up some green tomatoes...we had a great dinner!!! Today we just sorta sat around and talked. It was a nice time, just too short. It took almost 5 hours to get home because we hit Atlanta right at 5:00 and traffic was (once again) horrendous. I don't know if there was a full moon recently or what, but when I got home I had an e-mail that Sarah (the girl with triplets) had her boys yesterday. She is doing well and the boys are healthy. Then I had another e-mail from today that another girl at church started having contractions this afternoon and was on her way to the hospital to give birth. Last night my Mom got to talking about Jakob and how it seems like yesterday that we found out we were having him and I started crying. Time is just flying by. I don't want him to stay a baby forever, but I just wish I could slow down this time we have together and commit every moment to memory. God has been so good to me. I thank him for family and friends. I thank him for everything he is and all he's done for me. I thank God for showing me through parenthood the kind of love that he has for me as his child. My Life is good.