Favorite Photo Friday

With summer winding down, the cooler weather moving in and the first few leaves that have been falling - I can't help but go back and look at some of the pictures from this summer.  I know I drive my friends and family crazy with snapping photos but I love pictures.  So many feelings and emotions are brought back from some of  these.

With that said, this picture tickles me to the core of my soul in so many ways.  First, Ryan & Emma have such a unique relationship and they are alike in several ways.  He loves the rough and tumble play and she enjoys receiving it as much as he loves dishing it out.  Secondly, Ryan has finally discovered that having an adorable spunky little sister can work to his advantage in, umm ... how do I say this, in certain "situations".  Which typically means if there are cute little teen chickas around then Emma is going to somehow be involved in something!  Thirdly, Emma has the ability to even look graceful being tossed in the pool.  Please tell me all these gymnastics lessons are going to bring more value to her life than making her look cute flying toward the water!

Something New for Ryan

If you've been a reader on here for a while, you know we're one busy family with kids & their sports.  Ryan plays two seasons of baseball and then plays basketball in the winter.  He tried soccer once when he was little but it was the year we moved here and he was one sick little boy due to allergies and that season did not go well.  He started playing t-ball when he was either 3 or 4, I'm not sure which.  He also played flag football for several years as well.  This year he is trying something new & so far loves it - running cross country! And me, I've seen as many baseball games as I really care to see and am totally loving this cross country thing!  So far he has had two races, ran 41st out of 350 on his first race and then ran 17th in his race this past weekend.

Back To School

Like a month late ... again, I'm behind on this blessed blog o' mine.


Life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes.

So, school started - almost a month ago.  This year sees my baby girl Rebecca off to Kindergarten, Emma to 2nd grade and Ryan into 8th.  I still can't believe my last has started school and yes, it's been a bittersweet time for me.  She's outgrowing some of her little girl things but thankfully she was ready & happy for school to start.  Getting to ride the bus with Emma was a HUGE thing for her and each day since has been a happy day for her & she is enjoying learning all the new songs and words. 

Oh, and Rebecca's buddy "Flat Norah" saw her off to school too.  "Flat Norah" came to visit from The Netherlands earlier this year & my intention was to take her to visit a lot of sites - but a broken wrist put a slight damper on that.  Norah is one of the little girls that lived at the Starfish Home with Rebecca & her mom sent me several pictures of Rebecca when they were there adopting their daughter.

Speaking of the Starfish Home, I bought Rebecca's shirt back earlier in the year as a reminder of her time at the Starfish Home.  In retrospect, I wish I had bought several for all of her little Starfish buddies.  By the time I thought of it though the line had already sold out.  :-(

Sweet sisters!

And then there's Ryan who thinks he is too big for me to take his picture getting on the bus.  This was as close as I could get to getting a 'back to school' shot of him.  What's with these teenagers and getting their pictures made?  One day they're saying "LOOK MOM - TAKE MY PICTURE!" then before you know it they see the camera come out and they duck and hide.  I don't get it.

Happy back to school!

My Sweet Family

Banana Boat Time

This so far has been Emma & Ryan's favorite beach activity!

Greetings From Gulf Shores Alabama!

They may not always go along with my plan ... but I sho' love my kiddos!

Fun Fourth

Our 4th of July was a little more low key this year than in previous years but we still had a great weekend. The kids all enjoyed their fireworks with Brian & Ryan really being the biggest kids of all!  Some of the fireworks are still a little loud for the girls - and me. 

Wouldn't you know it though, the most fun thing we did over the long weekend & I didn't have my camera!  What is wrong with me!!!!  Friends invited us to a swim party and at one point all the daddies were going off the diving board - what a hoot!  One dad in particular had quite the moves - soooo wish I could have caught that on film.


 

One Busy Summer

Our sweet son Ryan has been a man on the move this summer, but really it's been that way the last few years too.  Since he was little he has always liked being on the go.  Likes going new places  & checking out new things.  He enjoys meeting new people and making new friends.  And me, well - I enjoy him being that way so it's a win win situation!

So far this summer he went to 4H camp, CNASA (a science/technology camp in Ada, OK for Chickasaw children), Space Camp in Huntsville Alabama and now this week he is at church camp.  Makes me go whewww just typing it!

Heading off to Space Camp in Huntsville ... Kinda hard sending your child on a plane by himself.  But to him it was no big deal!

Sweet little friend from church - they've known each other since they were 3

We have this special thing we do when we're alone ... we share a vanilla bean frappachino from Starbucks!

Prayers for the kids before they headed off to church camp

Oh I Wish ...

You have no idea how happy it made our kids to see this in town!

Ryan and His Future

I may have shared this before, but when I was first became pregnant with Ryan I wanted all kinds of things laid out. Name determined. Room decorated, everything put away. College decided on. Yes, I tend to get ahead of myself.

Funny the curve balls life can throw you ... the name wasn't agreed upon until I had already been in delivery for many hours. The crib was technically put together, but the room - don't ask. But college, now that I can decide on. Whether or not Ryan goes along with it is just another matter all together. BUT. From the time I was el preggo, I have said he is going to MIT. For my southern Oklahoma brethren - NO - that does NOT mean "Murray In Tishomingo".

All of that is completely irrelevant to this post - but may I brag on my son for just a minute? He was selected as a DUKE TIP Scholar (you can read more here) and was invited to take the ACT while in the 7th grade. I was pretty proud of his scores too - he scored a 21 composite with his highest score being 23 in science. In my opinion, not bad at all for 7th grade and for not studying.

So ... will it be DUKE? MIT?

Catching Up!

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping ... and I get further and futher behind on this blog!

So, trying to catch up - these may or may not be in chronological order - which gives me hives when things aren't in order ... but bare (or is it bear?) with me. Bear I think. Anyway - here goes.

We have:

Celebrated the birthday of our friend Doug & Marla's adorable little girl at a pool party and the water was ICE cold! Of course the little ones loved it though!



Planted flowers around the mailbox. Just to be clear, I didn't ... but Brian and the kids did. It was just what I needed too - just what the dr ordered. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE yellow - it's such a happy color. Flowers around a mailbox might not be a big thing to some people, but I grew up in the country and we picked our mail up in town, therefore no flower surrounded mailbox ... but now I have one! So it is a big thing to me.



Brian, Ryan & Emma sawed off a pesky stump that we had been mowing around. I share that for no other reason than to say how absolutely much it tickled me to watch Ryan & Emma sawing together. They were really serious about it and worked hard to get it out. Goodness I love our kiddos!



Well - that's it for tonight ... the other ones probably each need their own post. Plus, I need to start writing 'the rest of the story' on my wrist.

Monday Fun-day

It's been a while, yes I know ... I still need to do a catchup post. But, took the kiddos to the park tonight for a few photos and while they didn't cooperate to the extent I would have liked - I still think they're adorable. Even if they won't stand still.








After you've been there a while, and they have lost all interest in taking pictures ... their little personalities shine right though. Rebecca drops down and starts picking flowers. She's my "nature" child ... she could lose herself for hours on end out in the great outdoors.

And then little Emma ... she can't stand still to save her soul so she entertained me with flipovers, cartwheels and the like.,

I'm one blessed mama!

Happy Easter

From our home to yours, Happy Easter!

Way back in 2001 we moved to Kentucky and hadn't really been here that long when we received a call from a family inviting us to church. Long story, but an older couple we were really close to from our church in Texas had a daughter who was married to a pastor & they had lived out in the same county that we live in. By the time we moved here they had already moved to a different city, but our friend Naomi in Texas contacted her daughter and asked if their friends here would give us a call to help us feel welcomed and to invite us to church - this friend is who called us.

When she called, I hemmed and hawed and really wasn't sure that I wanted to go to church w/ someone who just called us out of the blue - but she went on to say they would meet us in the parking lot so we wouldn't have to go in alone. Not that going in alone bothered us one bit, but that struck me as a really nice gesture. Then she said they would take us to lunch. By the time we got to this part of the conversation I was really getting homesick, missing my family, missing our friends in Texas and really wondering if we'd made the right decision to move here and so I told her yes. We would come to church w/ them.

Needless to say, we have become best of friends with them and have somehow been adopted by their whole family. Wonderfully nice people, lots of fun, a little on the ornery(fun kind of ornery) side and very easy people to be with and enjoy. Our first meeting was probably in August or September and the following spring they invited us to their home for Easter. Now here we are 10 years later and have spent every Easter since with them!

Just goes to show, you just never know the fruit that can come forth by just one little act of kindness. Amazing if you ask me!