Chick Magnet

I recently told my husband that our son, Nolan, was one of the cutest kids ever. I even said, "he is totally a chick magnet." This picture proves my theory to be true! It seems like everywhere we go, women run up to him and rub his red hair, and tell me how adorable he is. Well, recently we were at a festival, and a girl with a camera ran up to him and said, "I HAVE to take his picture for the paper!" So, we agreed, and Nolan was more than happy for a chance to shoot someone with his new bubble gun. She got a much better picture of him than I am ever able to. He's usually running in the opposite direction, and so I have lots of pictures of his back. Maybe, just maybe the bubble gun is the trick!

"When You Are Through Changing, You Are Through"

Last Monday changed my life...forever. I know, it's only Pre-K, it's only 3 hours a day, it's only a minimal introduction to the next 13+ years. But, I couldn't help the way I felt as I took my 4 year old to school, to the care of another adult for the first time ever. I've been home with Ava since the day she was born. Yes, Paul and I have "getaways," but she is with family and close friends during those times. Now, I had to drop her off with complete strangers. As I drove away that first day, a flood of emotions ran over me. I was sad that my baby was growing up. I cringed at the thought that she will be in school every day until she graduates. There's no going back and it's like we just accelerated the growing up process! Then, I looked at my sweet boy and thought about how much I would treasure this time with just him and myself. I thought about how much I could accomplish with only 1 child (I actually went grocery shopping that very first day:)). After I got home, Nolan wanted some Buzz Lightyear mac and cheese. So, that's exactly what we did. We had a mac and cheese breakfast date.

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17
My children are two of my good and perfect gifts from God, and even in these times of change and craziness, He is unchanging...my rock and my fortress.

I have decided to embrace this time, this point in our lives, praying that I've at least somewhat done my job in preparing Ava to take a small step out into this very big world, and embracing this most precious time I have exclusively with Nolan. Two weeks into it, so far so good. :)

Disney, Disney, Disney!!!

I think we all have days when things are off. They just don't seem quite right and we know we are missing something. Well, I'm having one of those days, and the "something" I'm missing is Disney World! I miss everything about it. I miss getting excited when Mickey waves at us during the parade. I miss getting soaked on Splash Mountain. I miss Dole Whips! Oh, how I miss Dole Whips! I miss listening to my husband ask what fairies are present at the meet and greet, and then ask about each one by name as the cast member told him he was the only man ever to name every fairy. I miss trying to beat my high score on Toy Story Mania! But, most of all I miss the excitement our children had on their faces every single time we went to the parks. I have also realized just how spoiled I was to have had Disney passes for 15 months, and I know what I want for Christmas this year:) I completely took them for granted and even remember turning down a couple of trips to Disney. Never again! I guess this "time off" will make it all the more joyous when we return.

Nolan

I thought Ava needed to share the spotlight with her little brother. So here are some of Nolan's great and some not-so-great moments!

Cat Cheer Clinic

Ava and Karson

Getting down to "George of the Jungle."

Here's the little cheerleader...notice she has high hopes wearing a Gator shirt! Maybe someday she'll cheer at BHG! Or should I say The Swamp, "Where only Gators get out alive!" Muhahaha!

Resurrection of the Blog????

I'm not making any promises, but I'm going to try to resurrect our blog. I guess life just got in the way...well, not sure if it was life or the fact that we have an incredibly SLOW internet connection at our house! So here's hoping...and a few of my favorite photos just for fun!

Beach Bum

Our baby loves the beach! In the first picture, she is collecting seashells, which didn't last long. She was completely drawn to the water. We took her in for a while and when it was time to go, Paul had to pry her out of the water, which mom captured in the second picture. Another of her favorite beach activities was chasing the seagulls. That's what she was doing in the third picture. Much fun, but very exhausting for mom and dad.

A Day at the Park

This is the first picture that I really noticed my little girl doesn't look so little anymore. She was playing at the park and having a jolly time all by herself. She didn't need mommy!

Self Feeding Fun

Ava has been really ambitious about feeding herself. She loves using spoons and forks. This was our first attempt at letting her try it. She was eating yogurt and doing so well. I walked out of the room and assumed Paul was watching her, but obviously he wasn't. She decided to have fun and play with her yogurt and we got a good laugh and some good pictures.

Cutest Picture Ever

I know there must be some contest I can enter this picture in. I think it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I took it shortly after Ava fed the cow a pellet. For anyone who has never felt the tongue of a cow, they are very prickly. She found it so amusing, and mom was lurking around with her camera at just the right time!

VBS Fun

For those of you who may not know, my friend Kim and I have been enlisted as our church's VBS directors. Oh what fun! We have had an absolute blast, I think it's because we are big kids at heart. Anyway, Saturday we went to a VBS Conference in Ft. Lauderdale and got lots of great ideas. We are still learning so much! While we were there we took a picture with Jeff Slaughter who writes all the music for VBS. He and Kim actually go way back...they were on a mission team that went to Italy 9 years ago. So, here we are reliving our youth...notice the matching T-shirts, aren't we dorks?

"Let Them Eat Cake!"

I wasn't sure Ava would fully participate in the traditional cake eating with a cake of her own...boy did she prove me wrong. I started by giving her a little taste of the icing and that was all it took. She dove in, and the more people clapped and laughed, the more she ate. Once she had covered her arms and eaten until I'm sure she had a tummy ache, I pulled her out of her chair, and pulled her shirt off. Big mistake. She took her hands, covered with icing, and wiped it all over her belly. I now know that pink and black mixed together makes a grey-blue color. We finally got her all cleaned off and that night we were cleaning icing from behind her ears! What fun!

Ava's Party

I am going to post pictures from Ava's party in two separate posts, only because the cake pictures certainly deserve their own post. I have ALMOST recovered from throwing my first child's first birthday party. What an amazing event, to all you moms out there who host multiple parties a year, props to you!

A few things to note, the playhouse Ava is peeking out of was a gift from my mom. She absolutely loves playing in it, and so did the other kids at the party. Her party was on a somewhat rainy day, so everyone had muddy feet...not a problem because the playhouse is plastic and can be washed out. Until, my adorable birthday girl took a spill and wound up with a muddy backside on her beautiful new birthday outfit, which was also a gift, from Blake and Dee Dee. Luckily we had brought 3 changes of clothes...which we wound up needing all three due to birthday cake mania! Also, for those of you who were unable to attend, maybe because youre on the other side of the world:), I wanted you to see her cake so I am posting that as well. I hope you all enjoy these!

Sea World

Paul and I took Ava to Sea World last Friday. We had an absolute blast! I think it was as much fun for us as it was for her. The picture with Paul is hard to see, but we were going through the shark tank with the escalator. Ava was truly mesmerized all day. Her favorite was, of course, Shamu. The picture with the whale is actually baby Shamu, who was very personable!

What do those clouds say????

Paul, Ava, and I are in Cape Canaveral for a conference Paul is attending. Anyway, we left yesterday and on the drive over Paul looked at me and said, "the clouds say Jesus." Naturally, I thought he had lost his mind...but there is was as plain as day, the clouds spelled out Jesus. I knew it was the end of times:)...or so I'd hoped.

Eventually, we noticed that they spelled out "turn to Jesus." How interesting! Then, Paul noticed something moving and we realized it was an airplane spelling out something else. This time, he wrote "U + God =smiley face." We realized it was in fact not yet time to be called home, but rather someone who had a very interesting ministry. We truly enjoyed watching as the words loomed over Interstate 4 in Orlando, I'm sure this man (or woman, which it must have been, seeing that she had impeccable driving skills) reached hundreds or even thousands. We took pictures and wanted to share them. At the time we saw the writings, we were on Highway 27, so they appeared upside down to us, so I have flipped them over so that you might be able to read them a little better. Hope you enjoy!

Our Pioneer Park Day Adventure

When I was 12, I LOVED Pioneer Park Days. As most of you know, my mom is the coordinator. I always wanted to tag along for the show every day. Well, this year I got my first dose of Pioneer Park Days with a child. Oh, what fun! First, we rode the pony rides.

Then we got ice cream and corn on the cob. And, lastly we walked the aisles, and by walked the aisles, I mean only 3 aisles. I was completely worn out, Ava was hot and whiney (as seen by the red cheeks in her picture) and it was time to go! All that said, I managed to buy some really cool Fiesta small bowls with a handle...which I have already used 3 times. That was our "day at the park."

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Ava Grace there was plenty of love to go around! I think it was partially because she was totally spoiled on Valentine's Day. It was like Christmas all over again!

Miss Photogenic

Here's a picture of our little darling...she looks like she is posing for the camera, too bad she isn't always this photogenic.

My Little Pride and Joy

It is truly amazing how the smallest of achievements become miracles when it is YOUR baby accomplishing them. When you find yourself shouting, "Great Burp!" You know you have gone slightly over-board. Well, in light of all that, this is my little Ava learning to sit on her own! Isn't she amazing? She's a genius and she gets it from her mama! Actually, Paul does have a better claim on the genius than I do:)