Happy Birthday To My Biggest Boy!

Lego juice boxes, Lego decorations, and Lego party are in the books! Friday, my little boy, the first born, the one who made me a mom, and made me love it, turned 6!! He's so incredible! Amazingly inquisitive. And keeps you on your toes! He's the one to push all the boundaries and  test all the limits just to make sure you're still there and still paying attention! ;) He's my boy! He's keeps me busy and keeps us laughing! All. The. Time.  

He loved celebrating and has been looking forward to this day for many weeks! And I think he had a wonderful birthday! 

Mac Jingles came for a visit! He was super excited about this and both he and Ada had a long conversation with him before they went to bed since it will be a while before they see him again. :)

Grayson and daddy have a birthday date tradition that started several years ago. It's usually to go fishing, but this time Grayson begged to go to the shooting range instead, so they did that! 

And then we partied!! And it went something like this...

We built and raced cars, did relay races, and a mini figure zip line! It was lots of fun!

 And of course, cake and presents were up next!

He didn't stop smiling the whole day! I still can't believe I have a 6 year old!!! I can't wait to dive into first grade and experience all the other things 6 year old boys do! Happy Birthday to my baby boy forever! <3

Welcome Summer (& Complete School/Play Room)!

Happy first day of Summer! For us, it has been a complete family day! I even scrapped exercise to stay with my babies and enjoy the day! Only thing wrong with today was it passed too quickly!! We started the day with a yummy Pinterest inspired breakfast. Canned cinnamon rolls in a waffle iron...why have I never thought of this!? So easy. So quick. So yummy! Will definitely be doing this again! :)

And from there, it was just being together and getting stuff done! I can officially say, after Chris got everything hung this morning, our new school space is complete! This is exciting for me and the kids! I have spent countless hours over the last couple weeks trying to get it all straight, sorted, and organized just right for my type A personality. ;) After completing our first year of homeschooling, it was clear to all of us that we definitely wanted to continue on, so we made a more spacey homeschool space! So Powell Institute of Learning is set to reopen at the beginning of August! ;) It's perfect and the kids beg to sit and do their summer workbooks! Let's hope this enthusiasm last! So here's how it turned out...

Grayson's space :)

Ada's space!

Mommy/Group work space! :)

I wanted to have a clear division between school and play and I am pretty happy with the result!

Still have to get the dress up corner like I want it, but be did get the mirror hung up for the sweet girl, and she is so thrilled with being able to see herself all dressed up! ;)

Daddy got his Father's Day present put together...a new grill, and made us some hot dogs! Once again...Yummy! It's like 83792 degrees in June during the day, so swimming is about the only tolerable activity, so that's what they did! ;) Watching those carefree spirits enjoy the simple pleasures of life is so wonderful! 

Along with Daddy's grilled hot dogs we had some special first day of summer treats! And side note, this is my "baby" boy's last Saturday as a five year old...I can hardly believe it!!! So tomorrow, birthday week begins! You know by now how much I love birthdays!! It's going to be a fun week!! :)

Time With My Boys!

This week has been a change of pace, semi-productive one! My little girl loved staying with her Papa and Rosey for a few days and I had some time with just my boys! It was fun! Grayson is showing some signs of really maturing and was so so sweet. He really took responsibility and wanted to help with things. We cleaned several rooms (and I mean we CLEANED) and he helped me cook every night! He also thoroughly enjoyed his week at Lego Camp! He has enjoyed the opportunity to be with some kids and some of which are right on his wavelength! ;) He's a thinker! Loves to have his mind engaged! So this has been really really fun for him. :)

And my "tiny" boy! He's just growing! Loving life! Into EVERYTHING! And jabbering away! :) We had his 18 month check-up, and he's off the charts for height and still a hefty 75 percentile for weight. He's still my hunk of love! It was the first appointment he walked in and sat in the chair. He really thought he was a big boy, and I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that he certainly is getting there!!! :/ 

As much as I enjoyed a little change of routine, accomplishing a lot on the to do list, and time with the boys, I definitely enjoyed getting my girl back!! And I would venture to say, the kids were especially glad to have one another back! :) 

To Our Superhero!

I was blessed with such a wonderful man. Our paths, our lives ran together and our story began. It's been an amazing story so far, and I can only imagine what's to come.
Today is Father's Day. Father's Day, for many years of my life wasn't really "celebrated", but more filled with the wonder of what it was like to have a daddy love you and know you and want to be with you. Then I met HIM. And today, Father's Day celebrates the couple of good men in my life.

My Father-in-love is a daddy. From the very first hug many years ago, until today, he's always there. He has restored my faith in good men. Wholesome men. Men of God. He has been the only Daddy, I mean REAL Daddy, I have ever had the privilege of knowing. And what a privilege it is to call him that! He helped raise a mighty fine man that I get to live my life with, too! Almost six years ago, he became a Papa. A Papa who is absolutely adored by my three children. The littlest one, who doesn't say much, even knows his Papa's name. They all get giddy just at the thought of being with him. What a joy to watch, and oh how I can relate! :)

And then there's my father-in-love's son...my husband, my rock, and my children's superhero. I read somewhere before a quote that said in it, that fatherhood perfects a man. This. This is Chris. He was an amazing boyfriend, fiance, and husband...then he became a father. And it's true, fatherhood perfected him. I already thought he hung the moon (I mean, he did, if you ask me!), since I was 14 and first laid eyes on him! But watching him be a Daddy has actually made me love him even more! He has embraced and loved every minute of fatherhood, since the day we welcomed our very first little one. That day, when they placed that little baby boy in our arms, we changed. And although he didn't put on a cape, that man engaged super powers that I didn't even know a man had. He loves them with all he has. He protects them with all he has. He leads them with all he has. And provides for them with all he has. He amazes me. There just aren't enough words. Nothing I can say or do could adequately explain or express the amazing love I feel for my husband. What better person to do this child rearing thing with?! Six years ago we became parents, and all though we rarely get it all right, and we goof up on a regular basis, I would say we make a pretty good team! I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else! Our oldest son has a deep desire to know everything his daddy knows. He wants to be just like him. He is so proud of his daddy, and they are best buds! Our daughter...well, that's her prince charming! (yes! She really calls him that...;) ) She adores her daddy, and it's perfect! Daddy's princess! He has absolutely shown her what a wonderful daddy and husband looks like! And our precious little one...he will jump and run to the sound of his daddy's voice! Daddy's boy, for sure!! :)

Chris and I, after hearing someone speak about it, have developed a mutual love for this verse...

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth." Psalm 127:4

It's so descriptive. So symbolic. We have chosen to take this parenting thing very seriously. We want to "produce fruit" for the future. We desire to raise kids who can be a light. A small light in such a darkened world. God has placed these 3 arrows (so far!) in our quiver. And my husband, their Daddy, our superhero, stands in front...protecting, providing and leading the way, as we raise up theses arrows to launch them. You only get one launch. One time to raise them. One chance. And I am so blessed that he has chosen to take this journey with me. That we, together, will launch our arrows into this world! Happy Father's Day, to the superhero of this house! You rock! <3

Welcome To Paradise!

My little family and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a family vacation and make some memories at my favorite place...Edisto Beach! We have made the drive here many times, beginning with our honeymoon. So many happy memories. We began coming alone, then some trips with family, and of course now have begun to bring our children! Our big kids as well as we have been really looking forward to this time away from the world. Time to restore. Time to be together, fully involved with no agenda and nothing to do but hang out. And I would venture to say, that's just what we did. We did a lot of beaching, a little sight seeing and a ton of bike riding! You know if you have only been in the car two times in 5 days that it was a good trip! ;)

On the day we arrived, the first thing we saw was a sign that said, "Welcome to Paradise"...I couldn't have said it better myself! The big kids and I walked down to greet the ocean. It was fun to watch Grayson's eyes fill with that same amazement I have for the ocean. And no matter how many times I go, it still amazes me. You can not witness its magnificence and ponder if there is a God. You see it and KNOW. It was fun to walk and talk. Ada would have picked up every shell on the beach, I believe! And Grayson loved exploring!

Our first full day there, we of course made our way to the ocean ASAP! We did take an early morning bike ride to explore a little. Grayson feels very big now that he gets to ride along on his own bike and I am so proud with how well he handled himself on the road....although I will say this made me very nervous! ;) The beach trip was a blast! Ada continued her shell hoarding and Grayson set out to master the boogie board...once again, he feels like a big kid and looks way too much like one on it too! Grady was a little under the weather (okay, realistically...a lot under the weather, but we were doing our best to make the most of it!) and wasn't very impressed by the cold water, wind or sticky sand! Ha. Maybe next year! ;) The rest of the day was spent picnic-ing and hanging out! 

 Day two, we decided to check out Botany Bay. It is a natural preserve and very fascinating! You can't take shells home, so the beach is just covered in the magnificent shells and raw natural beauty. The kids were particularly fond of the marsh land creatures...fiddler crab was by far their favorite. And Grady actually did enjoy this one! Not sure what the difference was but he had fun. And loved the sticks! And then, of course, the day wrapped up back at the beach!

Day three the big kids and I had a breakfast date and then we made our first trip to the Serpentarium...really cool place! The big kids were mighty impressed and we were too! We watched a snake show and an alligator feeding. Both kids were brave enough to hold a large snake!I was very impressed!! And then dad and the big kids went down to the beach and the little one napped...and I, I was ALL ALONE...weird! But a nice little treat. I sat in the sun and read a book! ;)

The last day was nothing more than packing up our memories and heading home! But what wonderful memories they are!!! I tried, and think I was almost successful, to talk Chris into staying a couple more days...I so hated to see it end! So many precious memories made with my very favorite people on earth at my very favorite place on earth! I could have stayed forever, here in paradise...and I think they would have all agreed! <3