To Audrey (part one)

I know that you will find this hard to believe from looking at my young, boyish face (ha ha!), but my oldest daughter Audrey is about to leave home and go to college. All of us in the Early household know that this is an inevitable step in life, and that in the long run it will be good for all of us, but we are struggling with it none the less. I am going to miss her greatly. In honor of her, I have decided to do a series of posts devoted to her life in pictures. I hope you don't mind indulging a sentimental daddy for a few days.

To Audrey

Audrey, when your mother and I found out that God had blessed us with you, we were only 22 -- barely more than kids ourselves. When you did come, you loudly expressed your opinion. From that time on, you've never been shy about expressing your opinion!
When you were only four days old, I was so proud that I bundled you up, put you in a stroller, and walked you over to a friend's house that was about half a mile away, just so I could show you off!
You always laughed at my funny faces and my jokes!

From day one, you were a good eater!One of my all-time favorite experiences was watching you learn to walk. It brought me great joy to watch you progress. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it. Here you are with your uncle Forrest, who is helping you walk.


You weren't happy about turning one year old, but you sure loved the cake!
The first time we took you to the beach, you were scared to death...but you got used to it pretty quickly and grew to love it!
You loved to ride on your tyke bike (and I have no idea why this text is showing up as a hyperlink!)
And you and I loved to play together in the grass in front of our apartment in seminary.

To be continued...