Here is Vivi shooting baskets inside out. She cheers everytime she does it! Then we did our "fist bump" that we've been teaching her.

Thoughts

Do you ever look at your kids and wish you could bottle them up, just as they are. I wonder if there will ever be a time that their faces will be more precious. And then they grow and change so much, but their faces still capture my heart.
I look at pictures of them younger and feel an ache in my heart that the time is just going by too fast. I've heard it said that the days drag by but the months fly...and it is true. Where have my babies gone? In their faces now as their cheeks lose that baby pudge- I can almost see what they will look like in 10 years. I look forward to seeing who my son and daughter will turn out to be. Billy and I say that we are not raising children, we are raising adults. They are children for such a short time and then they are grown and go on to make their own way in the world. Not our way, but theirs. Do I want them to have only success, with no struggles? No. Because I know that trials of all kinds produce character. What I want for them most is to know how to give love and how to recieve it. To think of others and not just themselves. To learn self control, generosity, and to advocate for the less fortunate. We center our whole parenting around these concepts. Oftentimes we ourselves fail in these areas and we lean always on the strength of our Lord to guide us back. As precious as our little ones are, they have been blessed with some strong wills- and taming that will takes a TON of work. I know the effort will pay off.

But today, they are my babies. Beautiful. Sweet. Loved.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our week in Florida

We had a great week in Pensacola! The first day there the kids played in the backyard pool that the aunts bought for them. That night we went to our favorite Pensacola seafood resteraunt for dinner feauturing yummy hushpuppies in a cheese dip! :) Then we went to the beach for a live country music concert where the kids played with other kids in the sand. The next day we went back to the beach to play in the water and build a sandcastle. Thursday, we drove to Ft. Walton and Destin to shop and play on a fun beach-themed playground. Then we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and went to a science museum. On Friday we went to a great museum downtown that had a pioneer play room for the kids and a dollhouse exhibit. So cool!

That night Billy, Aunt Virginia and I took Isaac to see...

It was SO entertaining!! If you ever have the opportunity to see it...GO!! Such great writing and fun songs. Isaac was enthralled the whole 2 hours. He cried when it was over!

Our last day was spent having a girl's only shopping day at the mall and dinner with Billy's mom and sister who came in town. After that, Nana treated the kids to fun at an amusement park where Isaac drove his FIRST car!! Twice! He LOVED It!!

It was a fun-filled week. Check out the slide show!!

We are back!!

Aunt Virginia and Aunt Vicki


Pensacola Beach

We are home from the beach. We had an amazing week with Billy's aunts in Florida. It was some of the most fun we have had as a family! We didn't want to leave and when we woke Isaac up at 5:30 this morning to leave for our 12 hour car drive, he cried that we had to go!! I have posted some of my favorite shots of the week and I will do a slide show with a bunch more tomorrow. Thanks Aunt Vicki and Aunt Virginia for an amazing vacation!!

Coming Home

We are headed home early in the morning from our vacation. I will try to post pics when I get them uploaded tomorrow night or Monday. There are a TON, so stay tuned...