{back to wordless wednesday... 5/27}

I have to revisit the post below of my girls playing in the rain as it brought back some very special childhood memories of my own.

I can vividly remember days of being at my Grandmother's house when a summer rain storm would come through. Almost every time, as long as there was no lightening, she would let my sisters and I go out and play in the rain. What fun that was?! What child does not love playing in the rain? It's harmless, innocent, childhood fun!

We were outside last Tuesday when a afternoon rain started. D loves the rain and puddles! But, this was Avery's first 'play in the rain' experience. I was curious to how she would react. As D slowly made her way out into the rain, Avery stood and watched. I know that she was probably thinking that 'we're not supposed to do that.' Finally, looking back over her shoulder with every step, she took off - and oh the giggles. They had the best time in those few minutes.



I strive to be a mother who lets my children have a lot of fun. I want them to have the same fun memories I have from my childhood. If they want to play in a ditch full of water, go outside barefoot, play in the dirt - or the rain, or even eat 4 popsicle's on a hot summer afternoon... I let them. Nothing tells me they've had more fun that scrubbing their dirty feet!

{wordless wednesday}

{out came the sun}

I was really excited when I woke up yesterday morning and saw the SUN.

I typically always welcome the rain, unless it messes up some fun outdoor activity. But I admit after the week long rain storm and some circumstances in my life things were starting to get the best of me. I woke up on Monday morning and saw blue skies. I was thrilled. Not long after that I found out that some of the most encouraging people in my life, some of my family, were heading to the beach. I didn't wait five minutes before I started packing beach bags. I finished my coffee in the quiet and woke my crew.

The quietness and relaxation of the beach with my family is just what I needed.










My girls are just like their Mama... they LOVE the beach. Their Daddy on the other hand could do without but he loves to make his girls happy and we love him for it! Delaney loves to get a bucket full of shells and entertain herself for hours by washing them off and sorting through them. Its obvious that Avery just loves the freedom and space to run. She also loves the waves hitting her feet.








There is nothing that makes me smile more than a photo like this of my sweet babies. I can still hear them laughing.

{wordless wednesday}

I know its wordless wednesday but there are just a few things I have to say:

the sweet on her pajamas should spell trouble

she got in this position alone

what you can't see is that she was soaking wet and had a sink full of water before I took these pictures

and this is why I'm exhausted at the end of the day!

{take me back to the weekend!}

Right now it is 7:17 p.m.

my house is messy, very messy
my children are cranky
my husband is working
i have no idea what i'm going to eat for dinner
don't worry...the girls are fed! :)
and there are eight loads of laundry on my bed

It's one of those days that gives Monday a bad name. I just want a hot bath and bedtime.

I want to go back to the weekend full of sunshine, the fun day at the river with good friends, my fearless girl riding the tube for the very first time, the look of excitement on her face, me feeling nervous thinking her daddy better not let her fall off, my babygirl enjoying a boat ride and sitting totally still for once and muncing on an apple without a care in the world.

All of that and not the first picture, I wasn't sure I'd have the time to have the camera and control the girls on the boat so we chose to leave it in the truck. Not the next time you can bet that!

{wordless wednesday}

I'm glad its Wednesday, because I don't have much to say! I'm exhausted.

{dance dance dance}

It's that time of year again for my little girl to get up on a huge stage with all of her other pretty, little friends and strut her stuff. The months September to May just seems to fly by! As we were preparing last week for the recital I was blown away at how fast time just passes. I felt like the dance year had just started... and here we are.

I'm going to start with some flashbacks! I always love to compare year by year pictures when I can. My goodness.. I mean see for yourself.....



and the you have "double trouble"





Okay- back to recital day... I'm always scared of how things will unwind that day since dress rehearsals are so early in the morning. I mean what child stays happy all day after being drug out of bed at 6:30 in the morning? Well much to my surprise I didn't have to do much dragging! I guess D's excitement kicked right in and she bounced right out of her room to give Daddy kisses before we were out the door and starting the crazy day! So I followed her with sleepy eyes, stopping to get coffee of course, and off to pick up Abby and Kendall.

I mean she was so excited that she was ready and willing to let me take her picture and actually picked the cute pose herself!



Dress rehearsals went a little slow as expected but we made it. After that things got a little crazy. I won't elaborate on the details from hours 2:00-5:00 but lets just say we caught a curve ball! What's life without curve balls, right? (I just have to keep telling myself that!)

D loves recital day for a few reasons. One of them being her time at the hair salon for her curls... or crazy hair as she calls it.





For the second year in a row she fell asleep in the car. I couldn't blame her. I thought I was going to fall asleep! I was concerned about what kind of "mood" she was going to wake up with but decided it was in her best interest to have the power nap.

The show itself went well. Of course, I had a case of the proud mommy - just like all the others with children on the stage. I'm always amazed at how she comes alive up there on that big stage. She has a tendency to be on the shy and quiet side at times but not when she's dancing. Even during ballet when her 'magic hat' fell off was she phased. She picked it up, put it on, turned it around the right way (of course), and kept dancing away. She even waved to the crowd when she heard us yelling her name, and took her bow at the end of her dance. I told her how cute I thought that was and she replied to me "well, that's what your supposed to do when your done." I love the things kids say!

Here are a few from her time on stage.







Of course, lets now forget the flowers. Lets just say I didn't need flowers for Mother's Day! She has talked about the flowers since Saturday!

{happy mother's day}

I hope that every mother is celebrated today in a very special way. Something as little as a huge hug from your child can make a mom feel so appreciated.

I am today, and everyday, thankful that God chose me to be a mother. Twice!

{sweet things from my girl}

I've started to get little treats the past few days since Mother's Day is this weekend. D has been talking a lot this week about how Mommy's Day was coming and how her teachers at school have been talking about how you should always be sweet to your mommy. So cute... the way children talk!

Today when I picked her up she had started gathering up all her goodies... "for mommy"!

Here are a few of the sweet things she had for me.






{my best attempt at a picture of us this afternoon..she was more interested in her popsicle!}

This was probably my favorite ... because this is all her perspective of things. Obviously, she knows I love to take pictures. The pizza thing kinda made me laugh, its not my favorite meal... its hers. And it has been our routine Thursday night meal. :)

{wordless wednesday}

{seven wonderful years}

Today, Bradley and I, celebrate 7 years of marriage. It seems crazy to think that 7 years have passed. Time flies when your having fun. I can't begin to express with words how very thankful I am that God blessed me with such a wonderful person to share my life with. I'm not lying when I say that there isn't a day that passes- at some point in the craziness of it all- that I don't stop and whisper a thank you to God.




I love him for being my best friend.
I love him for always making me feel so loved.
I love him for wiping my tears on a bad day.
I love him for folding laundry.
I love him for loving Jesus.
I love him for being an amazing father.
I love him for always making me laugh.
I love him for supporting me no matter what.
I love a quiet dinner alone with him.
I love him for the sacrifices he makes to ensure our family has everything we need and more.
I love his laugh.
I love the way he helps people in need, as much as he can.
I love him for kissing me good night, every night.
I love that I still get butterflies when he kisses me.
I love his tender heart.
I love his dedication to everything he does.
I love him for loving me.


Of course, there is much more I love about him but those are just a few that came to mind this morning.

{new pictures}

I took the girls out for their 4 yr and 18 month pictures Wednesday evening. You can check out a few of them on my photography blog.

More to share soon... for now I'm off to get ready for a mini getaway with my hubby tonight.