Slide!

This monster thing is in my backyard at the moment. It was delivered and set up yesterday afternoon in preparation for Owen's little birthday party tonight. The neighbors came over yesterday and we had to pull the children off at 8:30 last night. I think it's safe to say we have already gotten our rental fee money's worth and it's not even party time! Owen is so excited and it makes me so happy to see them going down again and again and again...

Cakes by KK

My mom dropped these off earlier (I wish this were not made with my cell phone camera...it's hard to see the detail). She has made Owen's birthday cake every year and came through beautifully again this year! I loved these Barbie dress cakes when I was little and think they are adorable!  Thank you Mom!

Here's to turning 4!

Owen is 4!

These are all cell phone pics again. I am having issues with my camera. I can take pictures but can't upload them because the thing that you plug the cord into is all jammed up. Gotta go have it checked out. We have the worst luck with our electronic gadgets.

My sweet baby girl turned FOUR today! She started it off with a bang at the pediatrician's office at 7:30 this morning. Her Daddy was a sweetheart to take her because he was afraid I might pick up something from the waiting room...thank you Steve! She has been fighting a cough all week and the only medicine we have expired last summer so he took her to get it checked out.

Turns out that's all it is...a cold, and we are so glad! They got her all fixed up, and while they were there they did her 4-year-old check-up and gave her her "school" shots. Our office gives you the option of doing them at 4 or 5 and we like to get them over with...though I hated that she got them on her birthday!

For a birthday treat I took her and her sweet friend Lydia to get their nails polished. They thought they were BIG GIRLS! They were so precious and so serious while the ladies were dolling them up.

We met Steve for dinner at her restaurant of choice...Cracker Barrel. She and Anna Clare had blackberry pancakes. I tried them and they were delish. More like dessert than anything. We have had a wonderful day celebrating her and I am so very thankful tonight. She is having a little splash/slip-n-slide/waterslide party on Friday and is very excited about spending it with some friends. Hope to be back with some better pictures soon! Happy Happy Birthday, Virginia Owen!

Field Day Fun

Easter pics

Last Easter as a family of four :)

Posing with Butterfinger the Bunny

I am obviously having some margin issues but it is much too late to worry about that now. Will work out the kinks another day..

Thanks so much for your kind, encouraging words and congratulatory messages. I wish I could describe how excited the girls are about this baby. Anna Clare is truly beside herself. Each week she wants me to go online to check the size and developmental updates and apparently she shares that with everyone she comes in contact me. A couple of weeks ago someone came up to me and said, "I hear your baby is the size of a kumquat this week." I love it.

While I am feeling great, I failed to mention I am T I R E D. Like could sleep for days tired. I am expecting that to improve soon since I am only a couple of days away from the 2nd trimester. But I'm not gonna lie...not sure I want it too. I am getting the B E S T sleep of my life! But since I'm sure Anna Clare would appreciate me actually being awake when she gets home from school, I guess it's time to move on :)

Some friends of ours were laughing at us Easter morning in the parking lot at church. I waited to put the girls' dresses on when we got there because they wrinkle horribly and they rode to church in their towel wraps. Our friends said that with a newborn next Easter, wrinkles in dresses will be the least of our concerns. I'm sure they are right. But we can't wait.

Please continue to pray for those affected by the devastating storms. We are so thankful that our family members in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham are safe but the destruction is absolutely heartbreaking. There are some great ways to help out locally, but if you aren't able to do that, please, please pray.

The girls have something to share

Hmmm...what is this?




No, really...what is this??





We're getting a baby?? Really? PROMISE???????







I'm gonna get to be a big sister too?




Oh Happy Day!!!





We are absolutely thrilled beyond words to be expecting #3! We are so grateful to God for His provision of this precious miracle due November 15th. We have heard the heartbeat twice now and I am feeling great! We would love love love your prayers for our family and appreciate them so very much! Oh Happy Day!

Easter in pictures

And if you haven't heard Carrie Underwood (with Vince Gill) singing, "How Great Thou Art" be sure to click here. You will be blessed.

Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Happy Easter! Happy Resurrection Day!

From the Mountains to the Beach

(This is a cell phone picture post:) It's Spring Break! And it's almost over! The week before Spring Break I traveled to beautiful Colorado Springs, CO, for a training conference for Community Bible Study. I left on Friday afternoon and got home Wednesday night. There were lots of ducks to get in a row before I left, but once I made it it was absolutely incredible. Several days packed with excellent information, enthusiastic, gracious trainers, precious, precious people, praise and worship, wonderful food, beautiful creation (the above picture was taken from my balcony) and quiet time with the Lord.


While I was in Colorado I missed the CBS end-of-the-year children's program. I heard they were precious and had this picture in my inbox to prove it:)




The day before we left we had a few hours of free time. Two other girls and I traveled to Garden of the Gods at the recommendation of some people who had been to Colorado Springs before.



It was breathtaking. Words nor pictures can describe what we saw. One of the girls has promised to email me some of her pictures so hopefully I can share more later. The entire trip was wonderful. I came back blessed and refreshed (and a bit overwhelmed witht the task at hand). I am looking forward to seeing God continue to work in this ministry.

I was so excited to get back to these girls and their Daddy though. A friend invited us down to the beach for a few days so we packed up and headed out.



The weather was gorgeous! Blue skies and breezy (but the water was FREEZING)! Owen begged me to get in the ocean with her but I absolutely could not do it. Just wetting my feet made me squeal!







We got back Thursday afternoon and have been pretty lazy today. We did venture out today to pick out a swimsuit and towel for this project. If you haven't participated yet, let me encourage you to do so. The girls really enjoyed picking out a new suit and towel for a special child to receive. If you are local, you can drop it off here.

Also, Steve killed turkey #4. I am told that 5 is the limit so we are holding out for that 5th one (or for April 30th...whichever comes first).



Look closely and you can see Flat Stanley in that picture. He has accompanied us everywhere on our Spring Break travels for a reading project for Anna Clare's class.


And finally, we found out Wednesday that Scott and Laura are having a GIRL!!



We are so thrilled to be welcoming Mason Ford into the world in May and then Emma Scott in September. A year full of baby blessings!