Claire's 5!

Gotta love a photo shoot with Auntie Karen!! We cheated a little this year because she doesn't actually turn 5 until the 21st, but we will be celebrating with Grandma Connie on the beach this year! I chose a watermelon dress this year because this child LOVES watermelon! In fact, I gave her the choice of a birthday cake or a watermelon with candles...let's just say I won't be baking on vacation!! I still can't believe my baby will be 5 in just a few days! I remember exactly what I was wearing 5 years ago because we went to dinner for my little brother's birthday and I was just SURE I was going to go into labor on his birthday!

Which reminds me...HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BRO!! Tonight we got to have dinner with the birthday boy and I was reminded again how lucky I am to have such a wonderful friend in him. Jarad, I hope your day was as special as you! Love you!!!

I Love America!

On July 3rd, we joined about 120,000 other people at our church's annual "I Love America" celebration. It is one of my favorite things our church does. It is a family friendly environment with great music and THE best fireworks I've ever seen! To top it all off...there were over 120 people that made decisions for Christ this year! If you haven't been, it's worth it. They traffic this year was NOT bad at all. They have it down to a science and we only waited about 15 minutes to get out! Even better, if you don't have little ones that need to get home the music that follows is fantastic! This year it was Leeland! Next year...you should come. Seriously.

I should have been packing...

but instead I decided to make these...

for a sweet little girl that arrived today!

Congrats to Jess, Orrin and the new BIG sister!!!

Buffet.

Well, as many of you know...it has happened again. Our family has been dealt another blow. My Uncle Gary, my mom's baby brother, has been told he has cancer. They haven't determined exactly what kind yet. Our three options are colon, pancreatic or stomach. I have been "spoiled" by the fact that Steph never truly looks sick and if she does it is because of the chemo. So it was VERY hard to see my uncle at church on Sunday. He is sick. There's no getting around it. I will continue to post "happy" posts in hopes that it will help my sweet Grammy find little bright spots in the day. We will wait for more tests and determine a treatment plan.

Am I sad? Absolutely. Am I angry? Like never before. Am I hopeless? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I have a choice here and I will choose to cling to my God with all that I am. HE brought us to this and I know HE will see us through it. But man, this sucks. My heart is aching.

Please pray for my Uncle Gary and his wife my Auntie Jay. Pray that they will be able to find strength to fight this battle. Pray for their children Amy, Angela, Amber, Andrew and Noah as they support Gary and Jay through this. Pray for my grandparents. No one should ever have to watch their child fight cancer...even in their 40's. Pray for my mom and dad. This has been so hard on both of them. Gary was like my mom's baby growing up and he has worked alongside my dad since he was a teenager. We will get through this. We always do.

I think our plates are getting pretty full here. But apparently our God thinks we are strong enough to be put in the all you can eat buffet line! I know what's for dessert...but for now I am perfectly happy struggling through the overcooked veggies to get there. I am thankful that God throws in some sweet stuff in the middle to tide me over.

Big Daddy...the romantic

Thirteen years ago today I spent an evening with my boyfriend. I remember sitting by our pool just talking about anything and everything. When he drove away that night in his 1987 Chrysler Le Baron (which we pronounced with a thick French accent just for fun) something felt different. "I love you" was a phrase I used a lot, and still do! We had said it to each other plenty, but on this particular night...I FELT it like I never had before. I still don't know what made this night any different from the others. All I know is I went in the house and poured my heart out in a note to my sweet boy toy.

Fast forward to July 8, 2001. I went on our annual trip to Pensacola Beach with the SAME boyfriend, my family, the Roberts family, the Prine/Beasley family, the Williams family (as well as Neile Hite and Kelly Weber!), the Langhofer's and our Louisiana gang. My boyfriend and I had BIG plans to build a super awesome sand castle after lunch. My mom and I headed to the Boardwalk because she insisted on buying me a new swimsuit. Of course, I was happy to take her up on the offer. We came back to the condo and had a sandwich. Everyone was REALLY getting on my nerves. My brother insisted that I make him a sandwich. Seriously?? Get it yourself DUDE! I was ready to head to the beach. Then my little bro wanted me to wait with him while he ate his sandwich. Really?? "Isn't that why you brought your girlfriend?" I snapped. As I made my way to the pool, the girls were insisting that I float with them a while in the pool. "I CAN SWIM IN A POOL AT HOME!! I want to go to the BEACH FOR SOBBING OUT LOUD!!"

FINALLY, I made it to the beach. I didn't think a single thing about the fact that my dad had a video camera in his hand. Didn't even notice that everyone on the beach was looking at me. I was ready to build my super duper sandcastle. My helpful brother decided to tell me that he recently read in Playboy the best way to build a sandcastle was to dig a hole first. Hey, if it's in playboy...it must be true...so I started digging. I hit something. It looked like a plastic bag so I didn't want to touch it. You see, at the time I worked at a drug and alcohol rehab and became very suspicious of anything in a plastic bag. But my boyfriend, who in case you haven't figured it out yet was Big Daddy, convinced me to dig some more. I pulled the bag up and noticed my picture. It was a beautiful jewelry box with our picture on the front. I pulled it out and opened it. Inside was a little blue ring box...inside the box was the most beautiful engagement ring I'd ever seen! I could NOT believe my eyes!! I looked up and saw my handsome prince on his knees (not just one...I guess he thought he was going to have to beg!) asking me to be his wife! Obviously you know what the answer was! To sweeten the deal, he told me that the sweet little blue box was the same box that his Grandpa Davidson used to propose to Grandma! AND...in the bottom of the jewelry box was a note. As I opened it up I was confused because it was my handwriting. It was the note I wrote when we were in high school telling him that he was my ONE and ONLY! Be still my heart!! Our dear friend Dan bought all the champagne from the little store on the beach and we all had a toast on the beach! If you know Marv, you know he had the perfect toast! I spent the remainder of the vacation looking through brides magazines that my mom hid in the luggage and admiring the new fixture on my left hand...and of course lovin' on Big Daddy!

Apparently, everyone was trying to stall me because Big Daddy had not buried the "treasure" yet! Way to go guys! Especially my little bro, he really took some heat from me that afternoon!

Dream a little dream.

My friend Emily asked in HER blog, "What do you dream about?" Here's what I've been dreaming of lately...besides the obvious cure for cancer.

I've been dreaming about grilling out in this backyard.

Teaching Claire to ride her bike with no training wheels in this driveway.

Painting this room turquoise to match a rainbow quilt.

Making this our master suite.

Preparing meals for my family and friends in this kitchen.

Having coffee on this screened in porch on crisp fall mornings.

Watching my kids come down these stairs on Christmas morning!

That's what I've been dreaming about lately. Can you guess why??

The house that love built....

This is our home. We moved in on a Thanksgiving day just a few short weeks before finding out I was with child. I will never forget the way it felt. I had previously owned a home (thanks to my mother and her VERY wise financial advice.) but this was different. This was OUR first home. Let me show you around.

This is the entryway. Countless times, we have welcomed family and friends through this door. Some were here for parties. Some were here to stay a few days. Some came carrying food. Some came toting new babies. Some came to the rescue when times were so very tough. Some came to take the kids so Big Daddy and I could go on a date or paint this very foyer!! Whoever they were, they were welcomed with love.

This is the living room. This is where we spend so much time. Our big orange couch has been the backdrop for many games of "talent show" and story times. This is the room where Big Daddy and I sit on our computers looking for our new dream home! It's where the kids wait for everyone to show up on Christmas morning while we read and talk about the birth of Jesus Christ. Then they head downstairs and see what Santa brought!

Here is the fireplace. I remember the first night in our house. It was cold and I couldn't wait to flip that fireplace on! There we were, no TV, candle light cozy blanket and a fire...BEEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEEP! The smoke alarms started going off because the fireplace was new and it was burning off stuff. So we opened the windows and cuddled even closer! Then came babies which brought sweet little cheeks warmed by the fire after warm baths!

The kitchen table. This is where MANY craft projects took place, cookie dough rolled out and even a little person's name was carved. This is where we sit and talk about our day and share funny jokes while we share a meal. My kitchen paint color is Irish Moss from Valspar and it is my FAVORITE shade of green in our house! We now officially have 5 shades of green in our house, but this was my first and best pick.

Here is where I have cooked a few meals, heated up water for hot tea and cocoa, made kool-aid playdough and sweet tea. This is the oven where I have baked birthday cakes, Christmas cookies, muffins and so much more. NOTHING has been burned in this oven...I promise.

Who would have thought that the laundry room would be the most inspired room in the house? I was keeping up with THIS blog after a dear friend had asked us to pray for Stephanie Vest. This girl hated to do laundry! So she decided if she couldn't make herself love to do laundry, she would make the room something she loved! So she painted her laundry room pink and jazzed it up! I'm not a huge pink fan so I chose Tiffany & Co. blue, aka robin egg blue. I want silouettes of my kids in here, but haven't done them yet. I drew that inspiration from THIS blog by Miss Stephanie Nielson. I'm still looking for the perfect Stephanie Phillips inspired piece. I'll let you know when I find it. Big Daddy put these great cabinets up with the help of our neighbor Handy Manny. It was a surprise...needless to say, I loved it!

This is the hall bath. It is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It just makes me happy! The pictures of the kids underwater were taken by Jessica Lamb and are the perfect addition to a kids bathroom that also has to be shared with visitors. This is the scene of splash...I mean....bathtime each night. This is where I scrub my babies clean, bundle them up and send them screetching down the hall to Big Daddy.

Here is our bedroom. This is where we sleep. End of story. ;-)

This is Claire's room. The room I brought her home to from the hospital. I've logged many hours in this room feeding, rocking, singing, reading and playing. We sat in this room on the floor as she walked back and forth for the first time. Oh how I love this room.

Cohen's room is all boy. I didn't finish all of the projects I had planned because we decided to put the house on the market. This is where we put our little man when we brought him home from the hospital.

I just happened to have a pic of his "old" room before we repainted. (yes, that is baby lotion all over him and the bed. Thanks Claire.) I will have to say, I didn't spend a lot of time in his room. For one thing, Cohen slept all night before he was 2 months old. We also got a new recliner and DVR before he was born! So when I did get up with him, we went to the living room to watch Desperate Housewives or something equally as trashy. But I loved the way his room always smelled like him. (Largely due to the fact we chose to do away with the diaper pail and chucked those babies straight into the dumpster. Soy based formula is WICKED STINKY on the way out!)

This is the basement. The location for MANY parties and Christmas mornings. Here you can ALWAYS find toys strewn about and probably a stain or two on the floor!


The best part about the basement is that Big Daddy did most of it with his own two hands while I was pregnant with Claire! I timed that just right!

The playroom is filled with THESE shelves and of course...TOYS! This little art corner once hosted a grizzly scene involving 2 "Baby friends" and A LOT of blue, green and brown paint. I intend on posting more about that later...but that story deserves its very own post.



The bathroom in the basement is where THIS story took place.
Big Daddy's office where he runs to hide during conference calls!!
Here is my little sewing area. I am still looking for a good sewing table, so this will have to do for now! Honestly, we have been so busy, I haven't made time for any new projects!


Our backyard. It's my favorite place to be in the mild months. This swing was handed down from my parents and I LOVE sitting here to watch the kids play. Just the other night, they were running through the yard, arms stretched high, screaming while they chased "light up bugs." I was talking with my mom and stopped her mid conversation to tell her exactly what I was watching. I was overwhelmed. God is SO good!

You can see the back of the stone fireplace that Big Daddy built...with a little help from the neighbor Handy Manny!

The pondless waterfall built by....you guessed it....Big Daddy and Handy Manny!!! (His real name is Tony in case you were wondering!)

So there you have it. Our humble abode. Why am I feeling all nostalgic? Well, it seems as though someone else likes it almost as much as we do and offered to pay ALMOST the full asking price for it. I hope that when they move in on August 7th, that they make as many wonderful memories as we have. This home will always have a special place in our history, but it's time to move on. I think I will be a little sad to leave, but I KNOW...home is where my heart is. My heart is with my husband and children.