Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Best Friends and a Jump House…Life is Good!

Last week we went to play at the Buckley’s house since they got a new bounce house!  Myla was so excited to go jump, and they all had a blast.  These kids love each other so much and love playing together whenever they get a chance!

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First they ate lunch outside, then they got to get a popsicle!

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Then it was on to jumping!!  They were all squealing and loving it!

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I love this picture of Myla and Grace.  Don’t they just look so happy!!

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This might have been my favorite picture of the day.  I love how they all three have their mouths wide open!

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Selah tried out the bounce house too.  She liked sliding out of it the best…as evidenced below…

She is my fearless girl!!

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Even though she liked the bounce house, she also like playing with Charlie.  She calls him “Car Car”.  It is the sweetest thing!  We were back over there today and she kept giving him kisses over and over again!

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She also like sitting in the big chair to watch the big kids jump.

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Sweet Charlie in the bounce house!

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This was the second round of popsicles, and Myla was so sweet to share hers with Selah.

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Grace shared hers too, and Selah was loving it!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Getting Ready for Baby Luke…

This past Saturday Myla and I got to attend a baby shower for Michael’s sister, Mary Jennifer, or “Aunt Mary” to Myla.  She is expecting baby Luke around the first of July.  We are so excited to welcome a little boy into the family!!

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Myla and Mimi

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Mary Jennifer with the hostesses

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Mrs. Sandy, Mary Jennifer and Myla

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Mrs. Sandy, Mary Jennifer, Myla and me

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Mary Jennifer with the soon-to-be grandmothers!

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We played the game where we tried to cut a piece of ribbon to guess how big Mary Jennifer’s belly was.  Here is Jennifer measuring her piece.  She was really close!

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Sis Sis cut hers too big!  Spencer’s Aunt measured her piece exactly right and won the prize.

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Of course, Myla had to help Aunt Mary open her presents!

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Me with the mommy-to-be!!

We can’t wait to meet Luke!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother’s Day…

I was so excited to celebrate Mother’s Day this year with my sweet family!  My morning started out with sweet homemade cards from the girls and the sweetest note from my husband, who is always building me up as a mother.  I am so thankful for him, and he helps me so much in this journey of parenthood.  He always makes me feel so special on Mother’s Day!

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Me and the two girls that made me a mother.  I am so thankful for these precious girls.  At times my heart feels so ungrateful with the amount of complaining I do, but they love me anyway.  I never want to take for granted the blessings that God has entrusted to me in these girls.  It is an awesome and overwhelming responsibility for which I am grateful.  I long for my third baby on this day.  I look so forward to the day that he or she will be here to celebrate Mother’s Day with me.  And, I am very thankful for his or her birthmother that will make such a huge sacrifice.

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After church, we went to Batesville to my parent’s house to celebrate with our moms.  Myla was so excited to be with both of her grandmothers, of course!

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This was the best we could do with both girls!!  HA!

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Me and my mom.  I am SO thankful for my mom!  I tell her all the time that words could not express my thankfulness for her.  I wrote her a note for today, and I told her that you don’t realize how much your mom loves you and sacrifices for you until you become a mom yourself.  I know, without a doubt, that I could call her at any time, with any request and she would do everything in her power to help me.  I love you, Mom!

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Peyton, Mom and Me

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Peyton and Mom

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Sis Sis and Mom

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Peyton, Sis Sis and me

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Sis Sis and Myla – I thought they color-coordinated very well!  Both of their favorite colors are pink!

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Mrs. Sandy and Michael

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Me and Mrs. Sandy.  I am SO thankful for Mrs. Sandy in my life.  I cannot tell you the encouragement and love she has given to me through the years.  I tell her all the time how thankful I am for her since you hear so many nightmare stories about mothers-in-law.  I certainly don’t have that problem.  She is wonderful!!!

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Me and Myla

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Me and Selah

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms out there!!!  May God bless you as mother the future generations!!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Last Night of Cubbies….

This past Wednesday Myla had her last night of AWANA Cubbies before the summer break.  She will be in Cubbies one more year since it is for the 3 & 4 year olds.  She has LOVED going to Cubbies each week, and she has learned so many scriptures that she can repeat.  I am so thankful that she is hiding God’s Word in her heart at such an early age.  She has gotten pretty good at knowing what day it is, so on Wednesday mornings she will say, “Is it Wednesday?” And when I tell her it is, she says while pumping her fist, “YESSSSSSS…It’s Cubbies night!”  So sweet!

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First night of Cubbies in August.

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Last night of Cubbies in May.

Where is the time going????

She Learns Something New Everyday…

The latest thing is how to take the tops off of markers…

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She looks proud of herself, don’t you think?

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Double Decker, Birthday Fun, and 4 Year Old Photographer…

Yesterday, we had a fun filled and busy day!  This weekend was Double Decker, which is a big arts and crafts festival that our town has each April.  To be honest, we had never been, except for 2 years ago when I ran the 10K, but we really didn’t do the “festival” part, just the run.  Anyway, I thought the girls would enjoy being out since it was such a beautiful day!  First we stopped by our church’s “Family Fun Zone” that it hosts.  Myla had a blast sliding on the big, inflatable slide.  I think we could’ve just stayed there the whole time and she would have been perfectly content!

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Myla did so well waiting in line for her turn to slide!  She would usually just find an opening in the line, and I would have to tell her to go to the back!  She would go to the back without complaint and patiently wait!

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Daddy and the “wild woman” of our house!  I always have to keep lots of snacks on hand so she will be happy!  If you can’t tell, she is stuffing an animal cracker in her mouth!

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Myla in action on the slide.  She had NO fear of it!  When she would get to the top, she would jump off of the top and bounce really high about half-way down the slide.  She loved it!!

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Selah taking it all in while eating her crackers!

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Katie and Charlie…he is such a little snuggle-bunny!

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Grace didn’t mind watching Myla and Robbie slide, but she didn’t want to do it herself!

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Charlie and Selah

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I was so excited that I got to see my sweet friend, Alison!  She and her family are adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia, and she has been SO encouraging and helpful to me along our journey!  I can’t wait for their little girl, Caroline Faith, to be home to her forever family!

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Grace and Myla walking to the square.  Love this picture!

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My two girls!  I was so excited to get a picture with both of them at least looking at the camera.

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Myla at lunch at the Rib Cage.  She looks happy here, but not long after this sweet, smiling picture, she had a meltdown…  Yep, the kind where everyone was watching us until I could finagle her out of the restaurant!  Oh well, such is parenthood!

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After we came home from Double Decker and took naps, we went back to town for Myla’s friend, Mia’s, 3rd birthday princess party!  I don’t think I got one picture of Mia…but believe me, she is the cutest thing ever and she had so much fun at her party!  Myla was decorating her crown in the picture above.

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Grace decorated a crown for Selah, but she didn’t want to wear it!

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Robbie didn’t miss out on the crown making and wand bearing!  He is the cutest and funniest little boy I know!

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Selah thinks she is a “big” girl and she wanted to sit in the big chairs like everyone else to eat!

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Do you think they both enjoy cheese puffs??

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I can assure you she does!!

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I have still been trying to remember to take a picture of me and Michael together for our adoption paperwork since I couldn’t find A SINGLE picture of us together by ourselves in the last several years!  Well, thank goodness Myla has become pretty good at taking pictures!  She snapped this one of us this morning before church!  I’m so thankful for my sweet husband!

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend as well.  Please remember to keep the families in our area who were greatly affected by the recent tornadoes in your prayers.  After church today, we rode to the area about a mile from our house, Pine Flat, and it is completely devastated.  So sad to see.  I just can’t imagine losing everything in an instant.  Seeing something like that certainly helps me put things in perspective.