Feathers in Our Nest

Vera’s Two Months Old!

October 19, 2010 by Aliesha

Can you believe it? Baby Vera is two months old today!

Milestones:
-rolled over (at 5 weeks) and now rolls regularly when she has tummy time
-weighs approximately 12 lbs.
-enjoys stroller rides, babywearing, and lots of cuddling!
-slept for a record 8 hours straight at 6 weeks (averaging 7 hour-stretches most nights)
-loves being read to (current favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle)
-“talks” a lot: cooing, ooohing, ahhing
-smiles a lot, especially when we try to coax it out of her (and we think she’s on the verge of laughing!)
-loves being sung to and tries to sing along
-experienced her first family car breakdown on the way to the beach
-has now traveled to Virginia and South Carolina
-saw the ocean (Myrtle Beach, SC)
-“swam” in the heated indoor pool (worn in a baby sling)
-visited an aquarium

We love our sweet baby girl so much!

Blogiversary One!

October 18, 2010 by Aliesha

Today we officially celebrate one year of blogging at Feathers in Our Nest!

We love looking back at all of the posts over the last year and are thankful that we’ve been able to chronicle so many family memories and milestones.

We now have 93 followers on Google Friend Connect, which is awesome since when we started we think it was just our parents reading our blog. (Though we are super-happy that they did and still do read it!)

In the last 365 days, we have posted 340 times (counting this post). We started tracking visitors in the middle of January, and since that time we have had over 42,600 visitors and over 80,000 page views. We’ve been excited to see visitors from all over the world!

Our original blog header

We started out as two…

On our honeymoon in Charleston, SC

…and now we are three!

Here are some of our most popular posts:

–Nursery Project: The Big Reveal!
–Mantle Re-do: Fall Edition
–The Meaning of Her Name
–Love at First Sight
–Vera’s Newborn Photo Shoot
–Frugal & Fabulous: Saving Money on Groceries
–The Great Rib Debate

And here a few of our most popular recipes:
–Autumn Chowder
–Mozzarella Chicken
–Apple Crunch
–Angel Rolls
–Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes
–Fondue for Two
–Coffee Beef

Hope you’ve enjoyed reminiscing with us! Have any of you been around with us since the beginning? Do tell!

Our One Year Anniversary

October 17, 2010 by Aliesha

One year ago today, my beloved and I were married! It has been an amazing year of love, commitment, and growth. We are more deeply in love today than we were a year ago! It is hard to believe that it’s been a year already. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, the greatest being our sweet baby girl Vera (born 10 months and 2 days after we were married). God has also given us a beautiful house to live in and He has been so faithful to meet all of our needs. We are truly grateful!

I thought I would post our wedding vows today as a way of sharing part of our hearts with you.

I, Thaddaeus Paul Caldwell, covenant before God and man, to you, Aliesha Joy to be your loving husband, and to lead you, to protect you, and provide for you in the fear of the Lord. I vow to love you as my wife even as Christ also loved the church, to lay down my life for you; to wash you with the water of the Word; to love you as my own body and to nourish and cherish you even as the Lord does the church; to render unto you the affection due you, knowing that I do not have authority over my own body but you do; to dwell with you according to knowledge, giving honor unto you, as unto the weaker vessel, and living together with you as heirs together of the grace of life. You alone will be my delight as the wife of my youth. I will protect you, our sons, our daughters, and our household. May the Lord deal with me if anything but death parts you and me. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I pledge to you my life as your loyal and faithful husband.

I, Aliesha Joy, covenant before God and man, to you Thaddaeus Paul Caldwell to be your loyal wife and to submit myself under your headship. Just as the Church is subject to Christ, so I will be to you in everything. I will live first unto our God and then unto you, loving you, caring for you, obeying you, and ever seeking to please you as my earthly lord. I will be your helpmeet, and your keeper at home, diligently, industriously, and faithfully caring for the affairs of your household so that your heart may always safely trust in me. If the Lord chooses to so bless us, it will be my delight to be your fruitful bearer of children, and I will help you diligently teach them in the commandments of the Lord as we talk of them in our house, as we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. May the Lord deal with me if anything but death parts you and me. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I pledge always to be your obedient and faithful wife.