Suddenly My Girls are Seven

I'm not quite sure what happened to the 11 month old baby I once held or the two 2 year old toddler I once chased. I loved them dearly. They grabbed a piece of my heart I may never, ever get back (and quite frankly, I hope I don't get it back since I gave it to them forever.) But, here in front me now, stand these two beautiful, striking young ladies that I love in a vastly different way. In a way that says "you're not just cute, you're not just cuddly, you're mine. You're mine forever. In every way you grow, in every way you change, in every season of life, in all you do, you're my child and I love you."

Moments We Cherish

This day was just one of those days I cherish and always will. All the kids, all the friends, the little talks, the games....these sweethearts all lives so far away now, but they are always close in my heart. I love each of them as my own (thankfully 4 of them are my own!).





~ meeting Jake & Emma: the newest members of 'the clan' ~

Jacksonville Museum

During our August trip to Florida, we were sure to get some homeschooling in by visiting the Museum of Science & History.


~Kya absolutely did not want to enter the Planetarium Theater, but during the show she decided it was "the coolest thing EVER." And, that is why we sometimes 'make' our children do things they don't want to do. ~



~ Autumn is not so sure about this body display as she reluctantly poses for a photo-op. ~

Blue Hawaii

A little paint brings a lot of smiles to one little girl.
The girls had so much fun actually helping to paint the walls.



Kya wanted her room painted blue. Since her and Autumn share a room, Autumn agreed and off they went with Dad to get blue paint.
BUT
...as we are painting Autumn says something to the effect of 'she'd rather die than sleep in that room with blue walls'. ~ I think she realized she missed her moment to protest the blue when purple is her favorite color. So after some discussion we decided to separate the girls into their own rooms. When we get back from Florida in a few weeks, we will create a "purple Chinese" room for Autumn.

~In the meantime, here is Kya's Blue Hawaii. ~








It's very, very bright, but so are the smiles of the little girl that resides here.

Remembering When

The day I said "I do", I meant it.

I mean it even more today.

Dale, I love you, I love you, I love you!

A blessed little visit

My 13 year old brother, Joel, visited us for just over three weeks this summer. We had such a sweet time with him. We celebrated the 4th of July, caught lightening bugs, roasted s'mores, went to the movies, fishing, washed cars, attended VBS, made a trip to Washington DC and created wonderful memories. He, Kya & Autumn all caught their first fish, rode the metro for the first time and had their first slumber party staying up late in pj's and watching movies even after mom and dad were asleep. It's hard to say goodbye, but we enjoyed our visit and look forward to next summer.

Here are the photos from our last fishing trip to celebrate Joel's 14th birthday.

Happy 3rd Birthday Son

Aaron Gabriel ~ son of my heart. He fills my day with laughter, my arms with hugs, my house with pitter patters and dinosaur growls. He loves Thomas the Train, McDonald's French Fries and Chuck E Cheese as if they were the main thing the universe evolved around. At the age of 3 he knows his ABC's, colors, shapes and can count to 13 and even 18 by skipping 14 of course. :-) He loves to read to himself but not be read to. He loves music and his guitar but can't sit still in a music class. He spends mass amounts of time digging through books and playing his guitar and using anything he can for railroad tracks. Some days he naps and other days he turns his room upside down but he always sleeps through the night. He's always happy to see me. He loves his bath and thankfully because he literally rolls (and I mean rolls) in the dirt and mud. He is all boy. He is my boy and I am blessed.