8 months already!!!

One of my good friends claimed Luke 1:14 when her daughter was born several years ago, "He (she) will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth." I have thought of that verse so many times over the past eight months...I often think her nickname should be "Joy" or "Delight" because that is exactly what she is! I love to watch the way each person in our family interacts with her...it's hard not to smile. Michael says you can see joyfulness when you look in her eyes, and she brings such a joy to all of us. My precious blessing from God--such a picture of His grace to me that I can't earn and will never deserve.

Our good camera is being repaired right now so I don't really have any good pictures, but I did take these in her second piece from the Crafty Nana line!!! It's light pink and brown if you can't tell from the pictures...she's working on some pantaloons in the paisley fabric that Collier can wear with it in the fall!!! It's just so cute I can't stand it!!!

Camping

A week or so ago my parents took the boys camping at Oak Mountain State Park for a night. They swam in the lake, rode bikes, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows by the campfire, and rode the paddle boat. They had a blast and did NOT want to come home! I think it was about like Disney World for two little boys who love to be outside! Thanks Nana and Poppy!!!

I think they could eat watermelon three meals a day!

Here they are going to sleep that night in their firetruck sleeping bags. Poppy lays on the floor beside them to make sure they go to sleep okay...what a trooper!

The Good Samaritan...

Sometimes I wonder what Griffin's perception of God is...I know he sees some of the just side of God when we discipline. I've really been challenged lately to share Christ with my kids and others by recognizing God more in our everyday aspects of life. I want to point them to the unbelievably gracious nature of God, and I always feel like it's hard to adequately express that. Today I was sitting with Griffin while he was playing with 2 little motorcycles. He was showing me one of them and explaining that it had a flat tire and there were no "tire-fixers" anywhere around. Then he said as he pulled the second motorcycle to join the first, "Mommy, look what God did! He sent this motorcycle so he could help this one that's broken down! That reminds me of the good Samaritan!" It was so neat to see him thinking of God that way and connecting a story from the Bible to his "world."

Better late than never!

I had these pictures taken of Collier more than a month and a half ago, and I can't believe I'm just now getting around to posting them! They took 83 shots and I liked about 80 of them...for those of you who know of my extreme indecisiveness you can imagine how hard it was for me to decide which ones to order! I'm sure the poor girl helping me was wishing I'd brought a decisive friend with me! One great thing about Portrait Innovations is you can have the CD if you buy a few poses, so here are a few of my favs!







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CPKids

One of our favorite places to eat is California Pizza Kitchen...highly recommend the Waldorf Salad (we ask for extra candied walnuts) and the Goat Cheese w/ Roasted Pepper Pizza--it's just hard to beat! Anyway, I discovered that you can register your kids' birthdays on their website and they'll send you something for a free kids meal to use during their birthday month! Just go to http://cpk.com/menu/cpkids_menu.aspx to register!

marvelous mentone....

my sweet hubby surprised me on my b-day a couple weeks ago with a weekend away...my parents watched all three kids this past weekend (thank you soooo much, nana and poppy!!!) and we went to mentone, al! we left saturday morning and came back sunday night and had the best time! it took us a little less than 2 hours to get there from b'ham--you forget how quiet and peaceful even a ride in the car can be! we went to antique stores (michael is so great about humoring me with that), ate at some really cute/fun places, went horseback riding to see a waterfall, drove around and looked at incredible scenery, and walked around at Desoto Falls. i wish i had some pictures to share but we didn't even bring our camera--no responsibilities!!! we stayed at a precious b and b called raven haven...the couple, tony and eleanor, couldn't have been more precious, and the grounds were so beautiful! it is on 10 acres and we had the best time exploring and relaxing on the benches/swings they have everywhere...we even got to pick some of their blueberries for a snack! it was a perfect place to go for a quick getaway--i totally recommend it! if any of you ever go there let me know and i'll tell you about the great little restaurants we went to!!!

Happy July 4th!!

We went to Granny and Papa Dave's house at Lake Martin for a couple days and had a super fun time! Nana and Poppy and Aunt Bonnye and Uncle Tom came over for awhile too to make the day even more fun! We came back Saturday night and finished off the weekend with a restful time at home! I hope you all had a great July 4th!! Griffin keeps changing and becoming more like a "big boy" everyday! This weekend he started diving off the dock and riding in the kayak by himself! Not sure I'm ready for my four-year-old to be so independent!
After he got the hang of steering the kayak he invited Anderson to join him for a cruise...
At the end of the weekend both the boys listed "watching Daddy ski" as one of their favorite things...it's so neat watching your little boys be so in love with their Daddy!
Anderson has loved dogs since he was a tiny baby...he loved sitting with Sandy!
Michael and his Mini-me!

7 Months!!!

Nana (my mom) has been super crafty lately!
She made this adorable tutu ....

...and this precious little dress! Thank you, Nana!
We absolutely love them!!!

Collier with Crafty Nana

Mommy and Collier

This picture just cracks me up...one morning I ran out to a nearby garage sale for a minute and left Michael to feed the kids breakfast. When I came home Collier had baby food all over her--even in her eyebrows! I had to take a picture! I'm not complaining though--the kids were happy and I had a minute out of the house!!!