Baby Girl's Birthday

Emi turned 8 over the weekend! She's halfway to legal driving age (and she let me know it!)! We had a fun celebration for her in the backyard.

There was swimming...


And we played the Make the Pie Fly game again...

Emi had a cupcake cake


Good friends to help celebrate...

Later we grilled shish kabobs with friends and family and hung out until the fireflies came around...

Trimmed

Message to GoGo

Alone Time

A few weeks ago I got to attend a conference in Orlando and it was nice to stay in a place where I could not do laundry... Instead I got to enjoy this view while I was in my room:

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

And for most of my days I was at a much swankier place enjoying a nice view in between tracks and sessions and meetings:

Outside the Dolphin

Dolphin Hotel

In the grand stands waiting for the show

And one night, the company rented out Hollywood Studios for the evening and let us conferencers eat, drink and play to our hearts' contents. It was a fun night but not nearly as fun as last year when they rented out the Animal Kingdom park (and my family was there with me!)

But we did get to see a thrilling stunt show.

I didn't ride any rides because I rode them all the previous year and there was ice cream and beer at every corner....I was like a kid in a candy shop. ;.)

I had a 7 hour layover at Dulles so I took advantage of the time and finished reading my book - Let the Great World Spin. It was an enjoyable and educational trip for sure, a much needed break away, but I was so glad to get home to my family!

Lake Fun

Birthday cake for the June Birthday kids!


Uncle Michael Blows Bubbles for the Little Ones


Chasing Bubbles


Checking out the Slippin' Slide

Father's Day

At church today the kiddos put on a funny little program for the fathers. David and Aubri were up on stage when their sister read her lines.

David really liked being up on stage again and wanted to go back!

Party of Five

Are You Here?

Life has been very full in our house lately. Lots of shifting around, playing, eating, sleeping, crying, visiting, conferencing, cleaning, sorting, praying, loving, bonding, eye rolling, bershon (yes, already!) and adjusting. We use the terms "family" and "home" a lot and I think that the new family understands the meaning now. We feel really blessed to have David and Aubri join us in this thing called "life" and we feel even more blessed by the outpouring of support by friends, family and even total strangers. The soccer moms had a shower for the new kiddos almost 2 weeks ago and Scott's work showered us with gifts a couple of weeks before that. And our kids inherited a lot of good stuff....many more items than I even imagined we'd need when we first heard about them a few months ago. Both have toddler beds and are sleeping in their own space (along with their big sister!) and they both have lots of toys and books, etc.




I have loved seeing the progress in the relationship between Emi and her new brother and sister. I mean she prayed SPECIFICALLY for a brother AND a sister, and not infants, she wanted sturdy toddlers to wrestle with and teach to sing and play. She got what she wanted, and we've all been blessed by her answered prayers. We'll try to remind her of this when she starts complaining about the Little Ones getting into her stuff! ;.)

I love to hear David with his raspy voice asking PeePaw "Are you here?" (because he can't believe his eyes that his grandpa is actually here!) and stopping to tell Daddy "I'm happy!" or "I love you!" or to Emi "I need a hug!" One time I put on a headband and when David saw me he said "Mama pretty!" ...was so sweet and I never wanted to take that headband off! And Aubri mostly sounds like a little gremlin with her one year old talk but she has a ton of new words that she uses (along with the sign)...and yes we have gotten her to say "Mogwai"


Favorite video is Jana Alayra
Favorite snack: Apple with Peanut Butter
Favorite activity: anything outside, swimming, swinging, riding bikes, running around

Saturday Morning

David is an early riser so we started making biscuits while the rest of the house slept in. He was sure to model the Future President sippy cup I got him at Dulles airport (during my 7 hour layover!) and the Mickey Mouse car case I got him at Disney World. He's my handsome boy!

And when I checked on the girls, I found that Aubri had crawled into Emi's bed during the night. It was so sweet. Sisters!

Stuff I Missed

..while I was at a conference in Orlando...

Catching Fireflies


Bike Riding

Chef Extraordinaire

Sleepy Beauty