A wonderful and very talented friend, Ben Finch, was kind enough to take some pictures of our blessings when he and his beautiful family were in town. Ben was one of Kevin's roommates at University of Mobile, a close friend of mine, an incredible man of faith and love for Jesus and had a part in bringing Kevin and I together. He will always have a special place in our hearts.
Check out a few of his favorites!
http://bit.ly/ZRMGn
September 28, 2009
September 23, 2009
Catching up
There is so much to catch up on but too little time. I need to get a lot accomplished while the babies are napping. Last week was a big week for us. We came back from our rainy beach trip on Monday (hopefully a slide show of pics will be posted soon) and then Ava had her first dance class on Tuesday. She was so excited! The first thing she said to me when she woke up was, "Is today dance day?" Her class is filled with adorable little blonde girls and then here comes Ava...bouncy brown curls and hands on her hips. Sassy thing. I was proud of how she behaved and listened considering it was her first time. She won't tell us much about it though. I guess it is her little secret. Friday was kindermusik, which I highly recommend to anyone, and then Sunday, she had her first time in Stomp, the children's choir. I'm proud of her for not being afraid to try new things. She seems to love being involved. We are not adding more things to do because I don't want her overwhelmed.
Nora has slept all night all week! Wooo Hooo! We were spoiled since Ava slept all night early on. Now, I'm kinda missing those night time feedings because I enjoyed snuggling her and praying for her during that time. It was sweet Mommy/Nora time that I'm missing. But....I'll take the sleep.
This week so far is BUSY! Monday, Kevin left for TX, Tuesday - dance and dinner with Mom/Dad, Wed.- pictures with Ben Finch (www.benfinchphotography.com) and Friday, kindermusik & pchef party. Thankfully, Kevin comes home then.
Here are some fun pictures from last week!
Nora has slept all night all week! Wooo Hooo! We were spoiled since Ava slept all night early on. Now, I'm kinda missing those night time feedings because I enjoyed snuggling her and praying for her during that time. It was sweet Mommy/Nora time that I'm missing. But....I'll take the sleep.
This week so far is BUSY! Monday, Kevin left for TX, Tuesday - dance and dinner with Mom/Dad, Wed.- pictures with Ben Finch (www.benfinchphotography.com) and Friday, kindermusik & pchef party. Thankfully, Kevin comes home then.
Here are some fun pictures from last week!
September 11, 2009
Beach Vacay - day two
Thank goodness it doesn't matter to a 3 year old if it is sunny! Ava's attitude is rubbing off on me and teaching me a thing or two about priorities and perspective. Here is what it looked like all day today....gray.
It rained and is a bit windy but the girls are having a blast! Thankfully, they have a great indoor pool and hot tubs. We met a sweet family (4 little girls) and spent the day talking to them. By the end of the day, I think Ava had a conversation with everyone staying here. One person said, "I hope she grows up to have some sort of sales job because she has no problem speaking to anyone." Nora stayed in the indoor pool for a long time and then slept. She was exhausted! So, even though we won't come back with a tan (which I don't care about anymore anyway), we are still making memories and having a wonderful time spending time as a family. Just sitting on the balcony listening to the waves crash is worth every cent. I have not found anything that is more awe inspiring to me than the ocean. To my eye, it is just water crashing onto sand. But then, I think about what it holds: amazing creatures, ships, remnants of wars, etc.... There is just something powerful about the ocean. It makes me furious to think of all the trash that gets thrown into it.
It rained and is a bit windy but the girls are having a blast! Thankfully, they have a great indoor pool and hot tubs. We met a sweet family (4 little girls) and spent the day talking to them. By the end of the day, I think Ava had a conversation with everyone staying here. One person said, "I hope she grows up to have some sort of sales job because she has no problem speaking to anyone." Nora stayed in the indoor pool for a long time and then slept. She was exhausted! So, even though we won't come back with a tan (which I don't care about anymore anyway), we are still making memories and having a wonderful time spending time as a family. Just sitting on the balcony listening to the waves crash is worth every cent. I have not found anything that is more awe inspiring to me than the ocean. To my eye, it is just water crashing onto sand. But then, I think about what it holds: amazing creatures, ships, remnants of wars, etc.... There is just something powerful about the ocean. It makes me furious to think of all the trash that gets thrown into it.
September 10, 2009
Beach Vacay - day one
I think I will have to blog each day because I'm so behind on journaling and this way, I can post some details here until I can catch up.
We weren't going to be able to take a beach vacay this year but because places don't have the usual amt of renters this season, they were offering a great deal that we took them up on. So, I came with the girls this afternoon. Kevin came after work. It was definitely interesting trying to get some bags and things to the condo with just my two hands and two kiddos. Slap wore me out! I think Kevin got the point when I called every 15 min asking where he was. :) Ava didn't understand why I couldn't take her to the beach right away. She is so excited!!! When Kevin came, we went straight to Louisiana Laginappe (the best corn & crab bisque EVER)! We had a wonderful meal and were so proud of Ava. I am proud of how she eats. She was chowing down on bisque, salad and boiled shrimp. Wasn't so proud when she decided to color the tablecloth when I had turned towards Kevin. Hm... Afterwards, a band was playing outside so Ava of course wanted to dance. She turned a lot of heads when she was shaking her tailfeather in front of everyone. I wish I had had a camera or video camera with me. She's a nut! Kevin took her swimming around 8pm and she thought she was hot stuff swimming at night. I can't wait for tomorrow. Considering it is supposed to rain all weekend, we better take advantage of tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't rain!
We weren't going to be able to take a beach vacay this year but because places don't have the usual amt of renters this season, they were offering a great deal that we took them up on. So, I came with the girls this afternoon. Kevin came after work. It was definitely interesting trying to get some bags and things to the condo with just my two hands and two kiddos. Slap wore me out! I think Kevin got the point when I called every 15 min asking where he was. :) Ava didn't understand why I couldn't take her to the beach right away. She is so excited!!! When Kevin came, we went straight to Louisiana Laginappe (the best corn & crab bisque EVER)! We had a wonderful meal and were so proud of Ava. I am proud of how she eats. She was chowing down on bisque, salad and boiled shrimp. Wasn't so proud when she decided to color the tablecloth when I had turned towards Kevin. Hm... Afterwards, a band was playing outside so Ava of course wanted to dance. She turned a lot of heads when she was shaking her tailfeather in front of everyone. I wish I had had a camera or video camera with me. She's a nut! Kevin took her swimming around 8pm and she thought she was hot stuff swimming at night. I can't wait for tomorrow. Considering it is supposed to rain all weekend, we better take advantage of tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't rain!
September 9, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
We headed back to "Georgia's House" on Friday. What should take 6 1/2 to 7 hours took NINE HOURS!!!! It took us 2 hours to get through Atlanta. We were just holding our breath the whole time because Ava had refused to go to the bathroom before and we were afraid Nora would start crying. Thankfully, we made it through...only to get stopped by traffic again as we got into Cleveland. That is when Nora said, "This is enough! I can't take it anymore." So we listened to screaming for 20 minutes. I can't complain about 20 minutes out of 9 hours though. She was worn out. We all were. The weekend was amazing. We had cookout's each night with family, lots of painting time, relaxed on the porch swing and went to the 400 outlets for a little bit. We found a rug for the playroom for an amazing price at the Pottery Barn Outlet so now I can't wait to fix up the playroom. We have been wanting to since Ava was born so we are excited to get started finally. Of course we didn't leave without having Fred's Famous boiled peanuts, fudge from Hansel & Gretel, and time splashing and skipping rocks in the Chatahoochee River. We were also happy that Uncle Billie Earl, from Salem, IN, came. He is a remarkable man! His brain is a sponge and he has not forgotten one tiny detail of his life. He can tell details from jobs from 20 years ago, events that happened in any given year and other random facts. I would never want to challenge him in Trivial Pursuit.
Of course we got stopped in bad traffic on the way home too. We are thankful that we got home because the battery died right when we got home. The alternator and battery had to be replaced. Now, it is being serviced. We think my car knows it is about to be paid off. Ugh! But, we are praising God that He got us home safely. We could have been stranded at any moment.
Now, I am cleaning up the house so we can pack again for the beach tomorrow. From the mountains to the beach in one week. I think that is pretty impressive!
I'm also posting some favorite pictures. One is of Ava laying on the dryer....her new favorite past time is watching the washing machine. Weird.
Of course we got stopped in bad traffic on the way home too. We are thankful that we got home because the battery died right when we got home. The alternator and battery had to be replaced. Now, it is being serviced. We think my car knows it is about to be paid off. Ugh! But, we are praising God that He got us home safely. We could have been stranded at any moment.
Now, I am cleaning up the house so we can pack again for the beach tomorrow. From the mountains to the beach in one week. I think that is pretty impressive!
I'm also posting some favorite pictures. One is of Ava laying on the dryer....her new favorite past time is watching the washing machine. Weird.
