Abby in Annapolis

Happy 5th of July! As the holiday weekend winds to a close, we wanted to share with you just a few of the many memories we made with Abigail as she turned 4 weeks on Saturday. Nota bene: We've posted a lot of pictures, so there'll be less text. Hope the pictures are truly worth a thousand words...otherwise I'd be publishing this post as a chapte book!

You can tell from Abiail's face what she thought of her first long car trip! Even so, she was well-behaved for the most part, and we had a wonderful time singing to her, and Daddy especially loved taking her for her first WA-Run (a fondly-remembered nightly college ritual!). Abby was angelic, and it was wonderful to finally get out of Durham for a change of scenary.

The Rizzos' new home in the Annapolis Roads community right on the bay is gorgeous. Here's Leah, Eileen and Abigail enjoying mother-daughter moments as they stroll down the beautifully wooded roads towards the water front.

Friday morning we took Abby to the Pennsylvania Dutch (aka Amish) Farmer's Market, where we ate amazing pepperoni breads and saw these beautiful people sharing their gentle kindness and powerful witness to faithful simplicity through their crafts and cooking.

After the market, we drove over to visit Lissa and Jon at their new apartment! Lissa is only days away from her due-date, and we are eagerly anticipating yet another miraculous gift arriving into the family soon and very soon!

We thought it'd be fun to let Abby try a green bean. No logic behind it...what can we say? She LOVED it!!! She can't wait until she has teeth!

Saturday's festivities weren't reserved for America's birthday...or even just Abby's! We also took the opportunity as a family to celebrate Leah's upcoming birthday (July 9th, by the way!).

Due to an unexpected illness last weekend, we weren't able to take Abigail to church at St. Paul's in Durham for the first time, which meant that this morning, she attended her very first worship service at historic St. Anne's Episcopal Parish in downtown Annapolis where the Rizzos have found a wonderful new church family.

We stopped into Uncle Jamie's favorite sandwich place, the Big Cheese, where we took the opportunity for some family photo ops...and ate some amazing sandwiches down by the bay!

This evening we enjoyed a picnic by the beach with some neighbors. Leah took a break from bean-bag toss and horseshoes to share a first swing with her daughter...

...and then took her for her first swim in the bathtub! Abby LOVES floating, bobbing, paddling, flailing...and delighting everyone with her beautiful smiles! And just think, she's only four weeks old!!! Thanks as always for your prayers and support - have a wonderful week, grace and peace.