Someone had a birthday...

Yep. It happened. I am officially 34. 

Pay no attention to John Adams behind me.

 My kind and sweet husband actually took pictures of me this year! (This is why my birthday even made it to the blogosphere.)

Tim went all out for my birthday~ he took us all out to Carrabba's for lunch and he picked up a strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Strawberry cheesecake was Dabney's idea. And, you guys, he got me the best, prettiest present EVER. I can't wait to show it to you! (It only came this past Saturday.)

 I had a fantabulous birthday. I got to talk to far away family, hug my closest family, eat delicious food, see friends, worship our risen Lord, and feel very loved by my husband and my slew of children who showered me with homemade cards and my very own starter collection of Matchbox cars.

I don't know why people are so down on birthdays. I don't feel any older than 17 (except when Tim works late) and I always feel like my birthday is the best day of the year. Maybe I am just especially blessed.

Back to Joshua's Birthday

Boy, does our Joshua love police cars! He goes nuts in the car when we see real ones on the road. (We live near a police station.) This one Grandma sent is his constant companion.

o"Dad, they're bases for baseball!"

I forgot to post pictures! Most of the night was a blur~ I was trying to get everyone ready to camp out before their bedtime and set up the tent with Tim and make dinner, etc, so I'm sorry I didn't get too many pictures taken. I'll do better next time!

Happy 4th Birthday, Josh!

Party Weekend

This past Saturday, we had a great time at a park celebrating 2 good friends' graduations from high school. Both of those girls are wonderful friends and also 2 of our babysitters and tremendous blessings to us. Congrats Rachel and Morgan!

And Lindy, it was so great to see you and your crew again!

Look how dirty this guy gets after an hour of 'treasure hunting' with friends.

Here's Dabney and her sweet friend, Noel.

About 30 seconds after got into the car to go home, they all looked like David, below.

On Sunday after church, we had some of Adam's favorite people over for a little party celebrating our little 2 year old.

(insert Rachel's picture of the inside of the watermelon cake here)

Rachel, I think you take more pictures of my family than I do!

2 Year Old Boy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi everyone! I hope your Mother's Day was wonderful!

My day was just beautiful~ we baptized Aaron this morning and had a great dinner out with friends. Here are a few shots of the baptism and a few extra just because I've been so delinquent this week with the lack of posts. Enjoy!

And to my own mom, I love you so much and I miss you like crazy and I'm so grateful for the love and support you've never stopped giving. I can't wait to see you soon! XOXOXO

Valentine's Day 2011 -- and 500 posts!

Ah, Valentine's Day.

However, you might notice it is after 10:30 pm, three days after the 14th. I really wanted to have a post on Valentine's Day, all lovey and sentimental. This year, Valentine's Day really didn't feel all sentimental, to be honest. It felt like the Monday to a very busy week, which it was.

My husband brought me roses and a card and chocolate and a dinner reservation (for the 6 of us), though we didn't actually make it to a restaurant. Tim saw the way that the day was proceeding, so we opted for take out lo mein instead. We love lo mein.

Valentine's for me really didn't come until last night.

Last night, we put the kids to bed and Tim snuck out to Sonic and brought back a Peanut Butter Cup Blast for us to share while we watched one of our favorite tv shows that we had on the dvr. And that's it. We sat together with a blanket and held hands and chatted. He kept my feet warm. It was delightful. Perfect. Exactly what we needed. After a long day (or two or three) with the kids, being alone with my husband absolutely refreshes me. I find myself becoming more dependent upon him for my sanity and direction in these crazy days. His hugs can take a lot of stress from my shoulders. His presence encourages me. He's my partner, my leader, my best friend and the man I love. I'm so grateful for him.

Best $3 date ever.

This votive holder was one of the things that Tim gave me for our very first Valentine's Day ever. We were about 6 weeks away from our wedding day.

Something else that has blessed our marriage immensely in the last few months has been our early morning coffee dates. Normally, Tim leaves for work while I'm still snoozing, but now, 4- 5 times a week, I wake up early with him and we enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee, read the Bible and pray together. It's also been a wonderful time to synchronize our days together.

Whether it's 10 minutes together or 30, this time together has been a huge blessing with great benefits to our marriage. A time to read your Bible is absolutely necessary, but if you can do it together with your husband, I would highly recommend it. This time has brought Tim and me much closer together and it is so worth the tiny bit of extra effort.

Hope your Valentine's Day (whenever it was) was as great as mine.

Dabney Turned 7

My dear girl is 7 now. I just can't believe it~ it seems so unreal. SEVEN. She was my first baby, born on a snowy Friday, eight days before her due date. Six pounds, 14 ounces. It was the day I became a mom.

I'm so grateful for Dabney because even at such a young age, she has a great servant's heart. She helps me and helps her brothers all the time. She is such a joy to me. She encourages me with hugs and brings me glasses of ice water "because you're pregnant". She can't wait for the new baby. She writes notes to her daddy and me just to say that she loves us. God is working mightily in her life and it's a great privilege to witness this as her mother. I can see her mortifying her sin, even though it is such hard work. She has a compassionate heart and a very tender conscience. I can see Jesus in her already doing His great work.

We love to have "girls' nights" together~ we stay up late together and paint our nails and watch a movie or be crafty together or make cookies or just read. We girls must band together in this house.

I know it sounds so cliche, but she is truly one of my greatest friends.
I love you so much, Dabney. I pray God's many, many blessings on you in your 7th year!

Ok, ok. Now to the family party pictures.

Did I also mention how beautiful she is?

Dabney asked for chocolate ice cream cupcakes, so that's what I gave her. Chocolate cupcake + scoop of chocolate ice cream + hard chocolate top. I think they were well liked.

One little Giedd wasn't feeling so great and observed from the couch.

Dabney has really enjoyed the shoe book series from Noel Streatfeild. I also gave her copies of the books in audio format since they're over 200 pages each.