Friday, May 29, 2015

Sophie: 24 Months

Sophie is two today! Can't believe it--she's getting to be such a big girl. Thankfully sweet Sophie has returned this month. :) She still loves to play baby dolls and read books. She likes helping Mama with Nora, enjoys cuddling from time to time, and prefers bread and sweets to all other foods. Her favorite phrases are "I cookie!," "I potty," and "I" anything else the big kids are doing. Happy birthday, Sophie!

13 months:
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18 months:
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24 months:
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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Couple Next Door

Andree Seu Peterson always gets me thinking. I really enjoyed her latest essay, The Couple Next Door, since our neighbors are gay and they are joining us for cocktail hour on the porch tonight. What links all of humanity together? Our need for Jesus.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

One Thousand Gifts, 261-270

261. Band-aids can heal most of the boo-boos around here
262. A fun family-oriented long-weekend
263. Alone time for Mama (pedicure and shopping for real clothes--been about four years since I've done this)
264. Working in the yard and gardens and watching order come from the chaos that reigned when we bought this house
265. Cook-out with sweet friends
266. That the older three are making progress with swimming
267. A glass of ice tea on the porch
268. Catching up on my magazines
269. Snuggling on the couch with my sweetie and watching a baseball game
270. Pizza and a movie date night at home

Friday, May 22, 2015

Beach!

We went to the beach last weekend and had a blast, as usual. Very glad Honey and Poppa came along to help out with the munchkins. It was a bit tiring to travel with four little ones and would have been exhausting on our own. :) Vacations, which conjure up images of relaxation, have been replaced by "family trips," which conjure up images of multiple duffel bags, pack n plays, coolers, and assorted sandy beach toys, umbrellas, chairs, etc. All fun and all worth it, just a high-energy and not as much rest kind of fun!

Annie and Jacob adore the beach and like to be as covered in sand as possible. Sophie was not sure at first but she came around quickly. Nora enjoyed napping to the sound of the waves. And the Gent and I even managed a lunch out to celebrate our anniversary.

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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Eight

A day late, but so blessed to be celebrating eight years of marriage with the Gent! Here's a photo of us at the beach last weekend.

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Monday, May 18, 2015

One Thousand Gifts, 251-260

251. Nora's first trip to the beach.
252. Time to reflect on each child's strengths and weaknesses and make some conscious parenting choices.
253. Planning and dreaming about future vacations.
254. Finishing a book.
255. Key lime pie.
256. Drinking my coffee while it was hot three mornings in a row.
257. Sitting on the beach watching the munchkins play in the sand and waves with their Daddy.
258. Soaking in those moments, knowing they are growing up so fast and these times won't last forever.
259. An early celebration of our wedding anniversary.
260. A fun detour to the art museum on our way home.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Jacob's Dinosaur Birthday!

We celebrated Jacob's birthday a little early this past weekend. I think his dinosaur party lived up to all his hopes and dreams--he broke the pinata open, dug for dinosaurs, and ate too many treats, so--success!

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Monday, May 11, 2015

One Thousand Gifts, 241-250

241. Dedicating Nora and Jacob to the Lord this Mother's Day
242. Celebrating Jacob's birthday with an adorable dinosaur party
243. That the cake turned out for said party
244. Our awesome family who surrounded us to celebrate so many things this weekend
245. Tessie's birthday!
246. Fun with cousins
247. Help from Nana getting all the party prep done
248. Peonies in bloom
249. The hint of the heat of summer just around the corner
250. Cake. Three different kinds this weekend. Yum.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Weekend at Nana's!

We all had a fantastic time at Nana's a couple of weekends ago. Annie, Jacob, and Sophie loved playing outside and exploring all over the gardens and orchard and lawns. Nora enjoyed all the snuggles and had her best night of sleep ever--10:30-6:30am (which has not yet been repeated...). Nana made a delicious roast, ordered us pizza, and the kids got their fill of pop-tarts. So thankful for this fun trip and family time together!

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Whenever I see the kids on this swing, I see my Papaw standing just outside the camera lens. It makes me happy.
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