Wordless Wednesday

Just a little silly dress-up fun!

Back-to-School Busy-ness! (Watch out-picture intensive!)

So it has been back-to-school here for the last week or so & life has been hectic but GREAT! All of the kids are LOVING their classes/teachers & I am so thankful it has been a smooth transition. I think it has been a more difficult transition for Mommy to get back into the routine of signing forms, packing lunches, laying out clothes, and on & on...so while we have had MANY blog worthy happenings I haven't quite squeezed in the time to blog about them. Oh, did I mention I am REALLY trying hard to go to bed earlier this year (i.e. by midnight at least!) So please forgive the really long catch-up post & the backwards chronology again! Is it only me or does everyone have the problem with blogger uploading the pictures in the reverse order? I keep forgetting to upload them backwards...and it just gets too time intensive to move everything around! Sorry!!

This is the adorable face that now greets us when Jack smiles (which is often!) I just left him with Drew in the family room, down on the floor playing with & reading to Drew. Drew has started rolling both ways now & Jack is his biggest supporter & fan; always cheering him on & so excited when Drew learns a new skill! Last Wednesday when he came home from the 2nd day of school, Jack's remaining top front tooth was barely hanging on by a thread. The mom we carpool with suggested looping a thread of dental floss around the tooth & then pulling both ends quickly, so we gave it a try when we came home. Sure enough, out popped the tooth! Quick, easy & best of all painless! Unfortunately, Jack's lost tooth really got lost! After he washed it I believe he placed it beside him either on the floor or ottoman where he was doing Legos...a little while later, after much searching, we could not find it anywhere...I actually think the dog probably ate it! If she sees anything on the floor she gobbles it up...especially if it smells like food & Jack had just eaten a Popsicle right before we pulled the tooth! We have a very understanding Tooth Fairy around here & so Jack still got a little $$ even with no tooth under his pillow!

Here's the last photo of Jack before the tooth came out.
Earlier on Wednesday, I took Darcy & Drew to the local theme park & met some friends there. If you will remember back to the spring when we first went, Darcy was terrified of the rides! She did much better this time, but did point to the first ride from the last time (the super fast balloon ride) and said, "No like that one. Make me sick! Scares me!" The girl has a long memory!
Here she is riding the airplane ride by herself. She pushed the buzzer button which all the kids love to push for the duration of the ride...Darcy did not like the loud noise & made the cutest face!

Stop the buzzing!

The girls after Darcy's first day of school, Sophie's 2nd day. Everyone had a great day!

Darcy & her teacher agree, it's going to be a wonderful year!

Darcy & the lovely & sweet, Ms. Amy!

Darcy ready to go to school!

The girls walking in on Sophie's first day.

Jack & Sophie on Sophie's first day of school.

The weekend before school started we went to 2 school Open Houses on Saturday & then enjoyed a bit of down time on Sunday afternoon. Darcy & Drew playing. Drew is really interested in the apron on Darcy's dress.

Jack reading to Sophie.

Darcy at her Open House, lounging in her new room!

Is this a vision of the teen-age years or what...kicked back, talkin' on the phone!

Of course they found the babies right away & were feeding them...I guess clothing will come later!

Sophie's new classroom. We were a bit late to Sophie's class Open House because the one at Jack's school was at the same time. But Sophie's teachers were so kind to let the kids do the activity they had prepared...it involved graham crackers, frosting & sprinkles...

Of course, our kids were big fans!

Sophie's ready to start TK!

Sophie spreading the frosting on her graham crackers.

Drew did great being carted around to all of the open houses!

Darcy is serious about her food!

Sophie working on the craft at her open house.

Decorating her birthday crown for her next birthday.

Jack in his new 2nd grade room!

Drew looking up to his big brother!

Jack & his sweet friend Liesel.

And that's all folks! Thanks for riding on our back-to-school bus! We are so thankful for wonderful schools and teachers & we continually pray for the Lord's blessing upon them. We pray that this will be a year of learning & growth both in & out of the classroom. Most of all we pray that each of us might be a light for Jesus at school, at work or where ever we go!

Happy 5 Month Birthday Drew!!!

My how time flies! Today our baby boy Drew is 5 months old! We are still completely smitten & he really is the happiest, sweetest, easiest-going, makes the cutest little noises baby on the block! We are so thankful to have him & it is not uncommon throughout the day for the other kids to just come up to kiss & love on him. I tell you, I thought Darcy was going to try to nurse him herself yesterday when he got fussy & I said it was time for him to eat. She's such a little mama! (Side note on nursing...some dear friends who have moved away were in Charlotte so we had them over for lunch today. Of course right about the time we were serving lunch, I needed to feed Drew, so I sat down on the couch & fed him while using my nursing cover. Apparently I have some work yet to do in teaching my daughters modesty, as I looked over at the table where the "big kids" Sophie & Jake were eating to see Sophie with her shirt lifted up showing Jake exactly where a baby eats. She was very matter-of-factly explaining all about how God made mommies special so that "these things" grow bigger when they have a baby so that they can make milk & feed the baby. Thankfully this tutorial didn't come as a shock to Jake . He simply responded, "Yeah, I remember that from when Lila was a baby!")

Anyway, back to our sweet Drew! I realized tonight as I was putting him in bed that I hadn't taken a picture of him all day long. It was one of those days where I had good intentions of taking pictures & had cute things to capture on film, but it never got farther than good intentions...so I settled him in his crib with my heart melting from his sweet sleepy smile...so of course I marched right downstairs, got the camera, brought it back & snapped some quick photos of our new 5 month old! Poor thing, I think the flash was probably not what he was expecting after our bedtime routine, but he was a trooper, gave me a few smiles & now is sleeping sweetly! (After snapping pictures for 10 minutes, I was a little worried he would be wound-up or agitated, but he snuggled right in & didn't make a peep...did I mention that he's a sweet baby!

And for the baby book (since I don't actually have a baby book for Drew yet!), he has been rolling over now for about a month (back to tummy & almost tummy to back.) He almost seems like he's trying to scoot or slide now when he is on his tummy, so I think he could possibly be on the early side (for our kids) in mobility! Watch out! He coos & blows raspberries & smiles & has the best giggle I've ever heard. Seriously, the kids will get him laughing so hard sometimes that I think he's going to throw up!

We love you our little Drew, you bring sunshine into every single day!

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

Wordless Wednesday--Lake Memories!

(Sweet Zoe! She's been with us for almost 10 years, but has cancer now.)

(Last photo of Jack with his 2 upper baby teeth!)

(Jack lost his first upper tooth this weekend at the lake!)

Check this out...

Don't you just love this name artwork my dear friend Jessica painted for our sweet baby Drew!!! My mom wanted to give me an extra special shower gift, so she gave me a gift certificate to Jessica's shop, Simply Ooh La La...for a custom piece of artwork once the baby arrived. I love that this piece works great now in his nursery, but even better, I can design his whole big boy room around all of the fun colors in this painting! Jessica's attention to detail really makes each piece a true reflection of your or your child's personality...this fits me to a T! And I also think it is perfect for our super sweet, happy little guy, Drew!

Check out Jessica's blog and her website for more of her gorgeous designs...what's more, Jessica & her husband are in the process of adopting a precious baby girl, so every purchase you make helps them raise funds towards their adoption costs! Oh, and did I mention she designs whole rooms, too...stay tuned for some pictures of how she helped me spruce up the girls' room!

Wordless Wednesday

Just a few words...this weekend we celebrated Pop's 72nd birthday! Jeff's dad is such a wonderful father! All of his grandkids love him dearly & we are so thankful to have him in our lives! We pray for many more birthdays & many more years to learn from his wisdom!

Helicopter Ride!

Today we went out to Waxhaw to enjoy some of the JAARS Day festivities. For over 50 years JAARS has provided technical support services and resources to Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIL International & others to aid in bringing the Bible to all people in their own language. (Check out their website for more info on this wonderful organization!)

In the large Aviation hangar, they had many displays set up showing how JAARS works to support Bible translation.

Here are the kids "writing" their names in Heiroglyphics!

The girls playing around in one of the displays.

A large part of the function of JAARS involves jungle aviation...to get people & supplies in and out of remote locations all over the globe using all kinds of helicopters & airplanes.

One highlight of our day was taking a ride on one of their helicopters! Jeff had done this when he was younger, but for the rest of us it was our first ride! (I did have my first airplane ride at a JAARS day when I was a child!)

Sophie waiting patiently

Jeff, Jack & Sophie getting ready to board!

Boarding the helicopter

Jack gets the bird's eye view in the front seat!

(Unfortunately I couldn't get a good shot of Sophie since she was in the back.)

Waving on take-off! (Jack in front, Jeff behind)

Up, up & away!

I couldn't get any pics of Jeff & the kids coming off because my mom & I had to be ready to get on next. I quickly passed the camera off to Jeff & he captured a few shots of our ride. Here we are getting ready for take-off.

And here we are walking back after our flight. It was GREAT! I asked the pilot how the kids had done & he said they had a great time & that Sophie chatted the whole time! (We were all so tired on the way home that I forgot to ask her what she was talking about up there!)

(Okay, I have to admit I feel a little bit like a rock-star in this photo...being escorted off the runway with the helicopter whirring in the background...pretty cool!)

My mom has worked at JAARS for 13 years & has been so blessed to work there. She always speaks so highly of all of her coworkers & the friends she has made there over the years. They really are a close-knit family! So, another wonderful part of the day was getting to meet my Mom's dear friend & coworker, Aja. She has been my Facebook friend for a while, so it feels like I've known her forever, but it was our first face-to-face meeting. She is as kind, delightful, & beautiful in person as she is on the computer! It was so much fun getting to know her a bit & the kids sure did enjoy her company! She got Drew out of his carseat when we arrived & he hardly left her arms all day! He was as happy as could be to get all that lovin'! Hopefully we didn't wear her out with our crazy crew! She was even kind enough to snap a few shots of us so we could get a new family picture!

The lovely Aja with a very happy Drew!

It was a wonderful day & I thank my mom & Aja for helping us keep track of everyone. I also praise God for the work that everyone at JAARS does in helping bring the Good News of the Bible to the world! It is so interesting to hear their stories & see the amazing progress that has been made--but there is still so much more to do (almost 2,400 languages are waiting for Bible translation to begin.) Please join me in praying for their continued safety on the mission field & off, and that the vision to bring the Gospel to the world would be realized.