July 4th 2010

Happy Birthday, America! We had a great July 4th weekend complete with lots of family time, a great church service and a trip to the lake to watch fire works.

LOVE it when I can capture real smiles and laughter. :)

We brought Abraham to the lake with us for the first time. He and Austin had a blast!!

We had a great dinner and then all the kids (12 in all including our kiddos) went outside to play while waiting on the fire works to start. Austin got WAY into the football game that was being casually played. He pretty much tackled this sweet 7 year old kid every time he had the ball. We always have known that A-town is aggressive, but he was a wild man running all over the place. I know Daddy was secretly proud and looking forward to the day our little man plays f-ball for real. ;)

We had a view of 3 different fire works shows by people around us the whole night. It was very entertaining and also very hard to get the kids to sleep since they went on until well after midnight...

Most of the crew watching the fire works.

Audrey and I decided to capture the moment :)

Austin loved doing the sparklers. He pretty much had the time of his life all night long. Something about boys and blowing stuff up...

Audrey did this mainly b/c her big bro was doing it, but would have been just fine watching from afar.

Daddy was a little nervous about sparklers, but it was a success. :)

...even with Ainsley

The next morning we got up bright and early and had an awesome private baptism service right in the lake (blog and pics to come) and then spent the rest of the day playing in the lake.

Austin loves everything about being in the water and had a fun canoe ride with Grandpa.

Audrey is not a huge fan of the lake, but she likes putting on her bathing suit and playing in the kiddie pool. :)

Cards were definitely played (Gigi won :)...

...and the go cart as my kids call it was definitely ridden...

... and these 3 were brave enough to 'get in' the lake for some swimming time.

Ainsley has found her calling as a two year old - she loves all things BUBBLES!! ;)

So thankful for this little house and to Andrew's family for making such a wonderful place for our family to retreat.

Toy Story Mania

We decided to take our 2 oldest to see the Toy Story 3 Movie in 3D. Suzanne stayed home and got some Ainsley time and we had a blast having some special time with Austin and Audrey.

These are two very excited kiddos! Notice that both Woody and Jesse are in attendance as well. :)

We don't go to the movies very often and the kids loved every minute of the 'experience' complete with popcorn and soft drinks.

LOVE this crew!! The movie was great! Both Andrew and I were a little teary in parts. NOT looking forward to sending these two off to college and very thankful there are still many more years in between!

Sporting the cool 3D glasses...

After the movie we had Chic Fil A and then visited the Disney Store to round off our fun day. I just love being a mom! Days like this you just can't beat!!

Another one...

I miscarried again last week. Nothing is easy about these times, but we are so thankful that I wasn't as far along as last time. We barely had the time to say baby. I found out on Tuesday that I was pregnant and then began miscarrying on Saturday night. I know God is in full control of our family's future. I trust Him completely. We really are doing fine and we are more in love with the 3 beautiful children the Lord has blessed us with now than ever. (If that is possible. :) Just wanted to share a song that has spoken straight to my heart many times over the last few months by Christy Nockels. She is an amazing woman with an incredible voice and love for Jesus. I don't know where you are in your journey with the Lord, but I know that He wants to meet you right where you are and heal your broken heart. Nothing can keep us from His love!

You Know You Are Getting Old When...

...You buy a dishwasher for your anniversary and you are EXCITED about it!! ;) Our old dishwasher was recently recalled, so we were able to 'upgrade' to a new and much more QUIET machine. I heart it! Thanks, Honey!!

Andrew and I have been married for 11 years!! That really sounds like a long time to me! We celebrated this year by staying at a very nice hotel in the downtown Dallas galleria area. We had so much fun eating out, taking room service, shopping and relaxing by the pool during the short time we were away. Quality time together really becomes more and more important during this stage of our life. We adore our children of course, but it is just wonderful to be together without having constant distractions. :) I am married to the most incredible man who is perfect for me. Not only is Andrew my very best friend, but he also compliments me in every way. My weaknesses are his strengths and vice versa. I am more in love with him today than I was 11 years ago and even more thankful for his unconditional love and support through the years. He is my true cheerleader and partner in life and I praise God for the gift of him! Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! I love you dearly!

Birthday Party and Father's Day Fun!

On father's day this year we decided to do something crazy and have Ainsley's 2nd birthday party. It was a Sunday and not the best day for friends and family to come, but we really had no other choice this year. June is always crazy, but maybe a little bit more this summer b/c Suzanne is leaving at the end of July and like always we have something going on every weekend. Probably sounds very familiar to some of you reading. I can't be the only person in the world that is always busy with church, family and life, right?? ;)

It was a small party and we were so thankful to everyone who came out to support us celebrate 2 wonderful years of life with Ainsley.

Love Ainsley's expression!! Sweet Ains gets attention everywhere she goes b/c she is so darn cute, so don't let this pic fool you. She was loving it. :)

Blowing out the candles with Daddy.

Ains with her Nana - thanks again for coming! We love you oh so much! :)

Big sis sporting her Hello Kitty necklace.

Cupcake on the face...again! Good thing we were at a splash pad! :)

Silliness...

Some quality time with Zuzu.

Jonathan and Brista (our fab music minister and his sweet wife) stopped by for a while. :)

Daddy and daughter time - Happy Father's Day to our favorite Daddy! How cute was it that Andrew was excited to have his daughter's b-day party on "his" day??!! He told me that he couldn't think of a better thing to do. That is just the kind of man and father he is! I am so blessed by my sweet hubby every day and our kids ADORE him. He is an amazing father and spiritual leader of our home and we all love him more than words allow!!

AND Happy Father's Day to our 2 dads:

Thanks for spending the day with us! We love you and are so very thankful for the both of you!!

That wraps up a fun birthday weekend for our youngest! I just can't believe that we don't have any "babies" in the house any more!! Babies have been our world for the last 4 1/2 years. I definitely get emotional when I think about how quickly the years are going and how big our children are getting. I truly do love being a mom and I am so thankful for every day and memory we make as a family. This is what life is about for me!! :) Thanks for reading!