13 Years!

Yep, our youngest just turned 13 this week!  Hard to believe we only have two teens left at home, one of which, between work and school we don't see much.

How did this cute baby-

turn into this handsome young man?

Time has flown. 

He has grown and matured so much in the past year I hardly recognize him some days.  He is a voracious reader, loves history, and can still be found messing with legos and nerf guns.  Our recent move and the pandemic situation has taken away his swimming and friends for the time, and yet his love of life still shines brightly.  He is learning to love exploring our property and is becoming quite the horse and goat whisperer.   We may just have another equestrian in the family after all!

11 years ago the Lord blessed us with Colby Jose, and we are thankful every day for that gift!

Surprise trip to see the girls and swim in the pool with some friends!

Official 13 year old "dad date"

Happy Birthday, son!  May the Lord bless you and keep you and may you serve Him all the days of your life!

We love you!

Happy Birthday, 11 Year Old!

Wishing this amazing kiddo of ours a Happy 11th Birthday!

 

He keeps us young and keeps us laughing.
He challenges us to be better parents and shows us what it means to love.

He is a joy and a gift!  He may have only been home for 9 years, but he has been in our hearts forever!

He is LOVED!

Happy 20th Birthday Princess

Our sweet Riley came home on Tuesday night- perfect timing so she could be with us for her 20th birthday yesterday!  Yes, my girl is 20!  My, how times flies!

We went from this-

 to this-

This girl stole out hearts 20 years ago.  Her sister thought we had her just to have a playmate and while they didn't always share their Barbies and Polly Pockets perfectly, they have been best friends forever!  Complete opposites, but perfect sisters.  The boys kind of adore her as well!

She was a momma's girl for years (had a fit if I went to the bathroom without her) and slowly turned into a daddy's girl who thinks he hung the moon.  She was our best baby that slept when ever you put her down and to this day can still fall asleep about anywhere.

Riley went from dance, to ice skating, to horse back riding, and eventually to the love of all things theater.  Disney is in her blood and love in her heart.

We adore her and are so proud of her.

And honored to be her parents for 20 years!

Happy Birthday, Roo!

Double Digits

Double digits!  10 years old!  Can you believe it?

 

Well, it doesn't matter if you can, I CAN'T!  It doesn't even seem possible.

While we weren't at this boy's birth, he has been in our heart for a very long time.

He makes me laugh, wears me out, challenges me, is the best snuggler, is smart as a whip, and did I mention, wears me out!?

 

I told you he makes me laugh- 

He beats me at almost every game we play,

 

Loves to swim,

He loves animals,

Loves to read and is an amazing learner,

Loves baseball,

Oh, how we love him!

Happy Birthday, Colby Jose!

Happy Birthday, Ashton!

Once upon a time there was a young Air Force couple stationed in a little Mississippi town.  They had not been married long when the young wife, she was only 22, you see, decided they should begin trying to conceive, convinced it would take a long time.  A month later she was pregnant, much to everyone's surprise yet delight!

9 months later, the first child and grandchild to a very excited family, was born.  It was not an easy delivery but two days later the young couple came home from the hospital.  Two days after that they moved out of their house for their first military flying assignment- the young pilot headed west while his wife and newborn daughter returned "home" to stay with grandparents for a few weeks. 

A month later, that sweet little girl got her first airplane ride and she and her mommy joined her daddy in a furnished apartment.  Three months later, the little family drove across the country to their new home. 

12 moves later, that little girl is now 23- TODAY!

 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Ashton Lee!

You showed us what it was to love someone more than life itself.
You have taught us to see life through the lens of joy.
You inspire us to be the best parents we can.
You encourage us to love Jesus more every day.

You are loved and admired by your three younger siblings, treasured by your friends, and have touched the world with your kindness and your talent.

We are blessed to call you daughter!

We love you to the moon and back!

A Weekend of Celebration

My second daughter turned 17 on Sunday.  Before we had her we were very serious parents.  Then God gave us our Riley, and life has not been the same.  She makes us laugh constantly.  Put her with her sister and they can entertain you for hours.  She wakes up a Disney Princess and goes to bed a Disney Princess. (Which is why she is wearing a Santa hat with a tiara!)  She will quote entire scenes of movies, sing whole musicals and crack you up with her one liners.  I love this girl!  I know the Lord has amazing things in store for her...if I ever let her leave me. ;)

We also celebrated my oldest this weekend, who finished her last college class on Friday night at 11:15.  I know what time it was because I stayed up and watched her write her last paper - on sin! (She is a Bible major)  She duel credited her senior year of high school, attended college for 1 1/2 years and the came home to live and finish her last two semesters online.  She is an accomplished seamstress and is working to build her business.  My heart swells with pride when I think about all she has accomplished, but more than that, I stand at awe at the work the Lord has done in her life.

And then there is this guy.  The littles call him plus one. They are nice like that.  Morgan was baptized at our church this weekend.  It thrilled our hearts to be able to witness such a special occasion and to have his family there as well.

And then there is my mom.  She arrived on Tuesday and is staying until January.  I am ever thankful that through the years she has been willing to travel many miles to be with us and help where needed.  Sometimes, just an extra pair of hands is a bigger blessing than you can imagine.

(You were right mom, no picture.  Sorry!)

With our house feeling a bit empty these days, it is nice to have people we love join us to celebrate.

So much to celebrate and be thankful for!

Feeling blessed,

H is for High Places & Happy Birthdays

Can you believe that I almost had a hard time coming up with a post for this week and the letter H? 

 How could I have forgotten that this baby-

turned 7 last week!

Yes, that is a birthday cinnamon roll.  Don;t judge! ;)  It is also not homemade!  Years ago, we stopped "doing" big birthday parties around here.  We stopped spending extra money on things that really did not matter and worked on making memories- special meals, homemade cakes, fun memories. 

CJ wanted cinnamon rolls, so that is what he got.  Candle and all.  And the camera in the picture- that was my mom skyping with us so she could sing too!  Yes, we are weird like that.

What a day of memories.  

First thing up was park time with our co op friends.  I did make mini cupcakes, minus all the red dye number 40, to share.  I promise there were kids there, but since I did not ask permission to post their pictures, this is the one you get.  He was practicing for the next activity!

Rock wall climbing.  The other kiddos love rock wall climbing, but somehow CJ had not done it yet. The first time he tried he made it about half way up, said it was too high, and promptly closed his eyes while he came down. After watching a few others get cheered on, he decided to go all the way to the top and there was no stopping him.  The look on his face each time he came down was priceless!  No more fear of high places!

Of course, what made it even more fun was that we took our friends with us!  (and yes, they did give me permission to post their cute smiles!)

This picture cracks me up!  They were all watching one of the dads climb.

After all that hard work, we headed off for pizza, of course.  My older kids always ask me to make a special meal that they like the best.  The 7 year old- yep, you guessed it- pizza.

Happy Birthday CJ!

We are continuing through the alphabet with Marcy, at Ben and Me!  Join us anytime!