Catching up...

I took an unintentional hiatus for almost a year...but I'm going to try and make blogging a priority again. We'll see how that actually goes. :) There is way too much to catch up on from almost an entire year, but I'll try and hit some highlights.

We had a really fun fall...

Love these birthday buddy cousins! These two girls have two of the most precious, sweet and loving hearts of any kids I've ever known. I am so blessed and honored to be a mother and aunt to these adorable girls!

Landon is into everything. All. The. Time. He is "noise with dirt on it." (A quote I saw on Pinterest about boys. A definite fit for my boistrous son!)

Love my daughter!

Halloween was a lot of fun. We loaded up and drove to some friends houses and really enjoyed seeing everyone's costumes. Then it was back home to trick or treat in our neighborhood with some of our favorite friends!

Ava and Landon are squished into that stroller. Hahahaha...the big kids were sweet to not want to leave them behind. The daddies walked around with the kids and us Mamas had some soup, chatted and passed out candy every few minutes. It was a lovely evening.

We had a shared Princess birthday with cousin Annalise. It was a really fun day with our family. The girls had a blast and Aunt Stephanie made an AMAZING cake and all the decorations were so adorable.

I'm FOUR!

Our Christmas card photo. Pretty "classic" of our children.

We attended the annual ornament swap with other couples from our church family. This year the hostess decided to make it a costume/tacky Christmas sweater event. I was a dark chocolate Hershey's Kiss, Aaron taped some mistletoe to his head, our friend was Jack Frost (although Aaron coined him a Snow Fairy) and his lovely wife busted out a tacky outfit! It was a fun night.

Mamas of two or more kiddos family Christmas survival tip: drink coffee regardless of the hour.

Silly girls!

I think we're going to have to make matching pjs a must every year. We'll have to have a set for the boys and a set for the girls. I think I'll all it quits for now. Goodnight!

Landon's First Birthday Party

We had a Noah's Ark theme for Landon's first birthday. I made the cakes and cupcakes...it literally took me almost all day long the Friday before the party on Saturday. I love doing it, and I will continue to make their cakes as long as they want me to, but whew! It's definitely a labor of love.







He had a great time and actually really enjoyed his cake. His sister...well, on her first birthday she did not enjoy her cake, so we weren't sure what he was going to do. He was a little apprehensive at first, but once he discovered that it tasted good...well, he was sold!





On a hot Saturday, we had so many wonderful friends and family come out to spend the day celebrating our precious son. I love this picture of Aaron with his buddies and brother-in-law.



With Aunt KK and Uncle Judd



With Opa and Oma



And yes, for the record, I know the color of those pictures isn't the best...but I still like them! I never claimed to be a professional....

It was a fun day and I'm so glad Landon is in our life! He adds joy daily and is a wonderful addition to our family!

Florida Part III

While we were in Florida we got to spend time with our good friends Matt and Candee. We had so much fun with their family! After looking at each other's Christmas cards for 2 months, Caroline and their little boy finally met and had a blast together!





One of the days we took lunch to a park and let the kids run and play. The "big" slide was a big hit! Caroline cried when it was time to leave. She had so much fun playing.





Landon sat in a swing for the first time and really loved it! We took turns pushing him for about a half hour. He was so happy and relaxed.





For the record, we did not pose him for this picture. He just kicked himself back and enjoyed the ride!



The tire swing was also a big hit. Precious children.

The last afternoon we were there we headed to campus to take some pics and look around. Several new buildings have been built and it was fun to see the school grow. We looked around the bookstore and ran into one of our favorite teachers. I didn't expect him to remember us, I mean seriously, how many students has he had over the years? But, he did. He even remembered where I sat in his class and who I was friends with! Aaron wasn't with me when I ran into him and he asked me about him. He hadn't heard we got married, but he remembered we were dating. I was wearing Landon in a sling, and I enjoyed telling him that he was Aaron's son. About that time Aaron walked up and it was a fun reunion. Although it's not impossible, it's unlikely that a teacher would remember you in that way from a large school. That is one thing I love about FC...the close, personal relationships that are developed. We all serve the same Master, which goes a long way to bond people together.



Don't the little ones look a little wary of this situation?! Don't worry, we were right there and no one could have fallen. My hands are just barely outside the perimeter of the picture.

I'll try to do better about updating...I know some family members who want updates more often! Love to all!

P.S. Matt and Candee are coming to visit at the end of July! We are already getting excited to see them!

One is Silver and the other Gold

We've been having a great summer so far. I do feel the need to clarify though that we don't have a pool. It totally seemed like we did when I reread my last blog! We have some very close friends who do and we are luckily able to swim with them often. We thought about buying a house with a pool, but decided against the responsibility. I would be a paranoid mess worrying about other children falling while at our house. So, no pool for us.

At the end of May we were able to meet up with our good friends at the beach one day for shopping and dinner. It was so wonderful to see them and catch up on their life and catch them up on ours. We loved spending time with them and truly wish we could do so more often.


We have shared so much with those two over the years I could tell story after story. Good times, bad times, hilarious times, emotional times...you name it, we've shared it. She and I grew up together...then she went off to college a year before I did...met a guy...I came along the next year...her guy introduced me to Aaron and the rest is history. They fixed us up. It was a lot like that Colin Ray song, "One Boy, One Girl." The lyrics..."he finally gave in to his friend's girlfriend when she said there's someone you should meet..." are very close to what happened to us. The Lord truly blessed us with friends such as these. We love y'all...and miss you so much.

Moving here 5 years ago was a hard transition for me. There was a time I felt I would never have any friends here and I felt sorry for myself. I was wrong though. We have some wonderful friends here. People who love us and love Caroline and would do anything for us. I'm so thankful for each of these in my life.

Our collective kiddos. Caroline has so many wonderful examples to look up to!

In other news...my pregnancy is, well, somewhat difficult. I'm fine and the baby is fine, but I've had a much harder time this time around than I did with Caroline. I think having another child to look after has definitely played a part in the difficulties, but I have been struggling. Struggling to keep the house clean, the laundry done, the meals cooked. Energy has escaped me for the last 7 months, and now as I have 8 weeks left, I pray that I will be energetic and happy. I have been more of a complainer lately and I don't like that color on me. I want to milk my last few weeks with just one child for all it's worth. I want to hear each of her laughs, be melted by each of her smiles, and catch each of her falls. I pray for patience and energy.

Desk!

Some friends have been simplifying their home and offered us a desk their children no longer needed. We are very excited for Caroline to have a space like this for her coloring and books. We're in the process of planning out her "big girl room", and I think it will be a perfect addition! Thanks T & J!





T had not been gone five minutes and she was ready to use her table! She's still in there, coloring away, loving it!

Long Weekend

We had a nice long weekend! Friday morning I wasn't feeling great so I was a little concerned about our plans for the weekend, but luckily it didn't seem to carry into the weekend.

On Saturday we drove up North about 2 hours to help Aaron's sister and her husband move into their first house!



Here are the newlyweds in their new home.

Caroline was such a help to her Uncle...ok, maybe more of a hindrance. :)




Their house is really cute and I can't wait to see what all Karen does with it. I'm looking forward to them being closer now. 8 hours was TOO FAR...2 is much better! :)

Monday we had some friends over for a cookout, which turned into a cookin, because it started raining. We had a really good time. I only managed to get one picture, but it's of most of the kiddos eating around our kitchen table. We've got a great group of kids, if I do say so myself! :) Lots of great examples for Caroline!



All in all, a great weekend. Today it's back to our normal routine...but, there is something so peaceful about "normal."

Fun and Friends

We returned home Sunday night after spending a wonderful long weekend with our friends. Four years ago we moved 8 hours from these friends--boy do we miss them! The specialness (is that word?) of our relationship is such that we're able to pick up right where we left off and laugh and love each other the way we always have. It's a tremendous blessing to have such wonderful friends in our life, and we pray we never take them for granted.

We arrived on Thursday to a delicious dinner made by Lauren. We had a great dinner and a fun evening catching up with the couple who set us up for our first date. In college, my childhood friend and her boyfriend set me up with one of his friends---who turned out to be the man I would marry. They also married (obviously) and so we have a lot of memories together. After staying up later than usual, the following day we hung out and then I was able to spend time with other girlfriends, some from college and some from my childhood. We took the kiddos to the park.




Caroline definately doesn't get the concept of feeding the ducks yet. (She threw the entire piece of bread in the water.) She does love watching them though, and she occasionally quacks at them--nonetheless, she stood for a few minutes by the water with the others. I kept having to chase her down though--she wanted to go her own way. (Miss Independent)

Ever since we got the yard toys, Caroline has become a slide maniac. It is definately her favorite part of the playground.





Even through the closenes and blurriness of this pic, you can see her happy and excited face. She basically landed right on top of me since I was right at the bottom of the slide trying to get this pic. She came down faster than I expected!



Just chillin'.



Driving the school bus. (We're going to frame this one for Poppy!)







This slide was her Everest and she climbed it many, many times and LOVED every minute of it. I was nervous about her climbing it and followed her the first time, but she was great at it, the little monkey. She did, however, almost fall head first off it a few times while coming down the slide, but one of us caught her each time before she could hurt herself. She loved it though and kept going back for more! She has no fear.



By this picture, Caroline was getting whiney and tired and didn't want to sit still. Neither did Mason, so Blair just held onto their heads for us! :)



Last, but not least, a pic of the girls and me. If not for these ladies, who knows how I would have turned out. Along with parents who loved me and taught me to love the Lord, these four girls helped keep me balanced through elementary, middle, and high school. From left to right you've got: Caroline and me, Lauren and Logan, Ashley, Katie and Blair (Blair is Lauren's oldest) and Becca and Abbey. I love each of these girls dearly and in a different way than any of my other friends. When you've gone through as much as we have and know each other as well as we do, well a bond forms like no other. We're more spread out now (although I'm the only one in a different state) but, we love each other. I can count on them, and they can count on me, no matter how many miles are between us. I know you'll all read this at some point, so girlsssss, know that I love you!

Hopefully Nikki will post some pics from Sunday, because I didn't have my camera out so I can't share pics of us with the Dew's and the Rubel's. So, Nikki, POST PICS! :)

We had a great weekend--one of the best we've had in a long time. I don't think we've laughed that much or that hard in a long time and it's refreshing to the spirit to laugh like we did all weekend long.

We're home now, and tired!

(Blogger isn't letting me spell check and it's late...try not to look too closely at my spelling!)