Memorial Day Weekend

We had a whirlwind of a Memorial Day weekend! On Thursday evening, Lily had her piano recital. She played Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, and another song and she did a great job! She loves learning piano!

How is our girl getting so big!? *sniff*

After Lily's recital, we left town to drive to South Carolina (6ish hour drive) for my brother's seminary graduation. We thought we would just drive partway, get a hotel, and then drive the rest of the way in the morning, but the kids went to sleep and we were making great time, so we drove straight through.

Friday morning we took the kids to Downtown Greenville to show them some of our favorite spots from our college days. We went to Falls Park and had a great time walking across the suspension bridge, exploring, and watching the ducks. 

Such a beautiful park!

Ava loved the ducks!

It was a really hot day so after we walked around the park for awhile, we went in Spill the Beans coffee shop for some ice water. We got into a conversation with a security guard who commented on the number of children we have and said we look like missionaries. It turned out that she had been a missionary overseas and is now in a waiting period before she starts more mission work. 

We grabbed Chick Fil A and headed to another park to meet a bunch of family for lunch! It was so fun! There were lots of kiddos/babies to play with and meet for the first time. It was pretty much a family reunion!

We went to the hotel for some rest time in the afternoon before heading to the graduation ceremony. It was a very special service! My dad preached the graduation address and all of our immediate family was able to attend except one of my brothers and his family. 

We came home on Saturday morning - we had to hurry back because Jacob had a wedding in the late afternoon. Thankfully the trip went smoothly!

Early on Monday morning (Memorial Day) we heard this strange whooshing noise and we looked out and saw this hot air balloon! So fun! I ran through the house like a crazy person calling the kids to get up fast. It was a cool way to start the day!

Our church hosted a tool and gadget shower Monday afternoon for my brother in law and future sister in law who was in town for the weekend. It was a cute shower, but I forgot to take any pictures!

Monday night we went to my sister's home for a family supper - grilled hamburgers and hot dogs! Yum! My sister got a ton of water toys, bubbles, outdoor games, cool bandanas, etc for the kids! They had a blast! 

Our weekend was filled with family - immediate, extended, my side of the family, Jacob's side of the family. Family is so special and we feel like it is very important to make memories with them and cherish the time we have together. We are thankful for each one!

xoxo,

Resurrection Sunday 2016

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! It was busy because we had a moving sale on Friday and Saturday, but we enjoyed beautiful weather and a great turnout! Saturday night the kids had the best time having a glow-in-the dark egg hunt with some neighbor friends! On Sunday we had church and then a family dinner at my sister's house. 

Our little family.

Our oldest and youngest. 

Lily and Ava chatting with out of town family.

These boys love books!

Papaw and his miniature self. haha

Love these ladies but wish we had thought to get a picture with my sister in law before she left. 

This is exactly what Monday looks like after a busy fun-filled weekend! ha!

xoxo,

Valentine's Day 2016

Ok, so I don't decorate very much. Like at all. I get so overwhelmed when I go to Hobby Lobby because I LOVE EVERYTHING...but I know I can't get everything...soooo I get NOTHING because I can't decide what would look best. OH my word, it's a vicious cycle. 

But anyway. Now I have a 6 year old daughter who wants to decorate all the things! I've got to step it up in the decorating department. Thankfully I have a sister, sister-in-law, and daughter who have a great eye for decorating!

We gathered these decorations along with a heart shaped wreath and a Target $ spot banner to make the house a little festive. The sign I've had since Jacob and I got married, and the chevron print is a printable I found on Pinterest and stuck in an unused frame. The kids were so excited when we got it set up. Holidays are such a big deal to children, and I'm so glad we were able to pull together few decorations to make it special for them.

I only had a small amount time between Jacob's rehearsal and concert on Saturday to get my groceries and valentine's gifts. I was running like a mad woman and everywhere I went there were crazy long lines. Anyway, I got the 4 big kids notebooks, crayons, and stickers from the Dollar Tree, Ezra got an outfit from Target clearance rack, and Jacob got some of his favorite foods - trail mix, cream soda, jerky, etc. Very romantic, I know :) Obviously I had thoroughly planned. Not! 

Jacob got me a new griddle (the one we had was practically dead), a selfie stick, and dove chocolate. I slipped 1 dove chocolate heart in each of the kid's bags. They were thrilled! :)

5 of my sweet valentine's before church.

My main man. I love this guy! 

We are enjoying the selfie stick! I love that I can now easily get in pictures with my kids. I want to capture memories with my kids...not just from behind the camera. 

xoxo,

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Thanksgiving 2014.

This year we did a little different thankful tree. The kids loved it! It is so cute to hear each day what they are thankful for. We did lots of Thanksgiving crafts, but somehow I forgot to take pictures of them. Oops.

Our first thanksgiving meal was with my side of the family and I didn't take a single picture. :( It was around lunch time on Thanksgiving. We came home in the afternoon and let the kids take naps before we headed to Jacob's side of the family meal. 

Jacob and his brother, Judah, played some favorite hymns of Nanny and Pawpaw as well as some Christmas songs. It was beautiful!

Asher and his cousin, Luke, are just about 3 weeks apart in age. They had fun playing together!

Sweet baby Ava was worn out from a busy, busy day!

On Friday, some of my extended family (my Memaw's sister's children and grandchildren) had a mini family reunion at their beautiful home! We met family that we'd never met before! It was so fun! I must admit though, I was slightly freaked out the whole time we were there that one of my kids would break something in the huge, beautiful home! I let out a big sigh of relief when we left! HA

Lily and Levi looking at old family pictures with my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and neice (who were visiting for Thanksgiving)

Lily and Yaya.

Luke and Hannah with Lily and Levi.

The little girl cousins.

On Friday night we had a get together with my family - in order to make the most of the time we had with Jer, Anna, and Emma. They are visiting Anna's family in Colorado for Christmas this year. 

Resurrection Day 2014

We had a fun weekend with lots of memories made. On Saturday, the children and I made resurrection cookies. They loved participating in every step of the recipe and of course, enjoying them for breakfast Sunday morning! :) 

We enjoyed worshipping our risen Savior at church and then we had our traditional dinner at Memaw's house (my sister and her family live there now). We are missing Memaw so much as it comes up on a year of her illness and passing. I'm thankful for the many special memories we have of her.

Oh, these sweeties. I'm blessed beyond measure to be their mama!

How thankful I am to share this crazy life with this guy. He is the best husband and greatest daddy!

We always have to do a funny face picture. :)

4th of July weekend

Wednesday was my birthday! We went to the library and ran errands in the morning, then met Jacob's family for lunch at Panera. We had an amazing supper with my family before church. It was a fun day!

Levi is such a ham! He likes to make silly faces whenever I tell him to smile :)

Asher is a rascal. He was ready to go home and have a nap.

We made vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate syrup for our 4th of July picnic. L&L definitely approved of the syrup!

Jacob smoked ribs. So yummy!

We had so much rain on the 4th! This is a house we saw on the way to our church picnic. There was so much water over the roads, it was scary!

We spent most of the picnic under the carport at my Memaw's or under umbrellas.

I love this man!

Asher is such a fan of watermelon! He'll eat it all the way down to the rind.

The rain did finally let up about dark, so we got to watch a pretty fireworks show. It was such a change from last 4th of July when we were roasting in the 102ish degree weather!

Mr. Asher is a daredevil. He keeps me running constantly. Climbing and standing on high things are his favorite things to do. Yes, he falls sometimes, but does that stop him? Nope, not one little bit! Just this morning, he set the house alarm off by climbing on top of a high stool and getting my key chain off the table (and he pressed the panic button on the alarm). He was happily playing on the kitchen floor and I went to the living room for a mere 5 seconds to help Levi with something and the alarm starts blaring. AHH! What a kid!! :)

On Saturday, Jacob stayed with the kids while I ran to get groceries. I had a little extra time, so I did my favorite "me time" activity - go to thrift stores for children's books! I hit the jackpot for sure! 40 books for less than $15! I got lots of Little Golden books and other books that I had when I was little. Boy, were my kids thrilled when I got home! :)

Hope y'all had a great 4th of July weekend!

Our Valentine's Day.

Ok, so don't laugh at this attempt of decorating. My sister gave me some leftover fabric and felt for the garland and the other little decorations I had on hand from years past. The kids liked the decorations, so that's what matters, right? :)

While Jacob was out of town last week, I made this wreath out of a hanger and some old shirts that were in the bag to go to be donated.

I made this super easy dress with dollar section dishtowels. Lily loved it!

We made homemade valentine's cards. We shaped a toilet paper roll into a heart and stamped heart shapes onto one side of card stock. After they dried, we wrote notes on the other side of the paper.

Lily and Levi love all things crafty!

I love to make little treats to give to family. This year I made brownies, cut them into heart shapes, and added a little cream cheese frosting on top. They were really easy!

We gave the kid's valentine's stuff at breakfast - cards, squeezable fruit pouches, and silly putty - some of their favorite things! They were excited! 

My sister invited us over for a little valentine's party. We had so much fun! The kids played really well together - a huge blessing! 

One of my sweet little valentine's.

Another little sweetie!

Lily loves baby Cameron. She had the best time playing with him. 

In the evening, we had to attend a formal valentine's fundraiser event for one of the youth orchestras Jacob conducts. We enjoyed getting all dressed up and going out together. I know you can't really tell what my dress looks like, but it's the bridesmaids dress for my brother's wedding in a few weeks. I love it!