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Happy Father's Day!!! Okay. Before you even ask, YES! Today's pictures have been uploaded to www.babygirlalise.photosite.com.

What a day! Father's Day is always a special day for us. It's normally a sad and sentimental day. We spend most of the day thinking about Wayne's dad and reminiscing. But we cling to the hope we have in Christ. Today started like any other Sunday with us getting ready for church. Wayne made his famous cinnamon toast for Baby Girl. She ate two pieces! This morning, I told Wayne that we needed to let Alise walk into church (Wayne normally carries her in), so with us holding each one of her hands, we walked her into church and to her room. I remember thinking what a blessing it was to walk my daughter to church and I silently thanked God for it. Bill's sermon was dead-on today. It was about "How Father's can be Dad's" and it spoke to my heart as much as I know it spoke to Wayne's. It was definitly a sermon we needed to hear and I prayed that Wayne and I will be the kind of parents we need to be for Alise.

After church, we drove over to Oak Grove for a visit with Aunt Donna and Uncle Steve. Aunt Donna made lunch for us....boiled shrimp and hamburgers. It was great! Chad ended up showing up and Alise was infactuated with him. She seems to be warming up to Aunt Donna and made herself "right at home" with just her diaper on! Alise and Donna went outside a few times together and Donna shared some vanilla wafers with her. Alise brought me a yellow day lily and it made my day!

When we left Donna's, it was still raining, but not too hard and I insisted that we try to stop at the cemetary to visit Wayne's dad's grave site. We took Alise last year (when she was about seven weeks old) and I made pictures of her and Wayne. We said then that we would try to do it every year on Father's Day. The rain slacked up and we got a few pictures. My favorite one is one of the ones I posted on the photo site. It's the one where Wayne is looking at his father's grave and Alise has her head turned. It just brings tears to my eyes, because even though Alise isn't looking at the camera, she's still there and Wayne is remembering. He's thinking and it's if he's saying, "Here, Dad. I want you to meet my daughter." I wish with all my heart that God's plans had been different and Hollis could have known Alise here on earth. He would have loved her so much and would have been beside himself to have a granddaughter.

We stopped by Nana & Papaw's on the way home and after a nap in the car, Alise was in a great mood. She was sharing hugs with Papaw and Wayne as if she actually knew what day it was! Cousin Brooklyn was gone and Nana & Papaw's house was quiet. Alise had the "Ferris Wheel" toy (from Mamaw Ruth) all to herself finally. She chased those balls all over the place! Nana cut up some strawberries for her and she insisted on eating them in her high chair.

Alise is such a good baby and as long as we're not fighting an ear infection, she's in the best moods! She just plays and talks to you. I just realized I shouldn't really say "baby" anymore because she is definitly getting into the "toddler" stage. She's loosing the baby look and looking more and more like a little girl. She seems to be picking up on the "baby" idea. Tonight I was rocking her for a few minutes in the recliner and she saw her Madame Alexander baby on the love seat. I said, "You see your baby? Well, go get it." She went over and picked her up and came back to me and held the doll as I rocked her. That made me smile. Contrary to what some people may think, I want Alise to be a girly-girl and a "southern belle" (there's a story behind those words and I'll have to share it with you some day). But of course, she can still have a lawn mower and a John Deere tractor!