First Grade Already

I can't believe my little girl is in First Grade!!! This morning she was so excited to get up early (which won't last long), get ready, and head out to her first day in Mrs. Brixey's class. She is growing into such a beautiful little girl and seemed so grown up walking into the building by herself this morning. For those of you wondering, no I did not shed any tears; with two little ones still buckled in the backseat, there was no time. Luckily, Dan will be taking Eli and Lillie to their first day of preschool next week, which will leave me with three mornings of solitude every week...what ever shall I do?? Pedicure - here I come!!!

Introducing Family Member No. 9

Meet Roxy (or "Kitty" as Lillie calls her), the newest member of our family. She is a 9wk. old Boston Terrier and is one of the sweetest little dogs I have ever met. We are hoping that she will be a good companion for our other dog, Moez, who has desperately needed a friend for a long time. Maybe next picture of her we will find a bow for her! =)

Official Birthday pictures

After much delay, we finally had Lillie's Birthday party (we couldn't party without Aunt Hannah). Here are a few pictures from our celebration; despite the missing smile, I think that she had a good time. =) It is still very hard to believe that she is 2 years old, she still seems like our baby - honestly, I don't mind (and neither does she for that matter).

Summer fun

Hard to believe it, but this sweet little baby girl will be 2 tomorrow. We are waiting to celebrate until her Aunt Hannah is home.....hurry home Aunt Hannah!!

We have been lazy!! One of our favorite summer time hang-outs is, of course, Granny's house. What time we spend out of the pool is on Granny's porch swing. Lillie loves to swing, and often enjoys a little snooze on her favorite patio in the world. Aren't baby cries so sweet, I love this picture.

The rest of our time we spend hunting for fun things to do at our own home (after all Granny does need an occasional break, she's getting old - just kidding.) Today, Eli "helped" water the grass. I will spare you (and Eli) the picture of Eli doing what he considers "watering the grass"...those of you with boys will understand what I am saying.

Madison and her goggles...she loves these things, by the end of summer she is going to have permanent rings around her eyes.

And just a glimpse of Granny's backyard oasis. She is doing a little renovating, so there will be more pictures in a couple of weeks.

Clean Slate

This weekend we have the priviledge of helping transform a family's life, but transforming their home. This family has four young children and are desperately wanting a place their children can go to play. So, we will be doing an extreme makeover on their garage to provide the perfect playroom. I am so excited to see the results and am praying the impression it leaves on the lives of each individual in this family is eternal, reaching far past the physical make over of their home.

Boring is good

I was looking through my pictures tonight to see what I could post pictures of, and realized that we pretty much have not done anything for the last couple of weeks. I have to say, I don't mind one bit. I have started a new job in the Neonatal ICU that I am loving, and other than that we have just been savoring the last few days of school. This is the only picture I really liked...it is tough being a boy in a girly world. Yes, he did this himself (I was in the other room trying to keep Lillie out of the kitchen cupboard.) Happy Summer!!

She's Getting Married!!

My best friend is FINALLY getting married. And not only do I get to stand with her as she pledges herself to a wonderful man, she also asked me to take a few pictures of her and her man. We had such a great time at the park, and although this picture doesn't show their faces, it speaks volumes about who they are. Erin, James - I love you guys!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Here is a really short video of Lillie singing her favorite song. She realizes pretty quick that the camera is on her and starts acting silly, but one day I will catch the whole song....she is growing up so quick.

Just Because We Could

Thank goodness for a break in the rain. Yesterday we went to Granny and Grumpy's house to celebrate no rain....they have the funnest back yard. Lucky for us, Grumpy has thousands of tadpoles on his pool cover, so it provided some great entertainment for the evening. Here is Madison fishing for tadpoles (we are thinking about signing her up to do some good ol' Oklahoma noodling this summer.)

Here is a sample of her catch. We had some great conversation about how tadpoles eventually become frogs. How thankful we are for a God that is wonderfully creative!!
Does any one else see mischief in this sweet little face???

Eli is Grumpy's big helper. And no, Grumpy doesn't do his yard work in only his underwear.

Four Wheel Fun

One great thing about our house is that we live right next to a small dirt track that is perfect for Madison to ride her four wheeler on. Here are a couple of pictures of us riding.

Lonely Lillie has no helmet and therefore, cannot ride - this is not something that makes her very happy.