beach & birthday

We went down to Wrightsville for the day last Saturday. It was Andrew's first time at the beach and I'm thrilled to report that he loved it. The child really has no fear. Also, Hunter loved being in the ocean. The sand didn't bother him too much-he still doesn't want to play in it-but he doesn't mind walking on to get to the water to "go deeper, go deeper".

We got home from the beach and celebrated my dad's birthday and Father's day.

forever friend

It's not every day that a true friend comes into your life. It's not everyday when someone "gets you". It's not everyday that you are in the exact same place in life. For the past four years, I have been blessed to have a true friend that has lived here, has boys, tutors with me and also has a husband on staff at our church.

Krista.Lisa. Christi. The first time the 3 of us had lunch together there were 2 kids. Now there are 7! 6 boys and 1 girl. We've had playdates together and times of being mentored and spending time praying together. We've had conversations talking about our dreams & fears, our personal lives, and our families. I knew the time would come when one of the three of us would part ways, but when the day came on Sunday, it didn't make it easier.

Krista and her husband, Troy and their 3 kids are moving to a foreign country, I mean Boston. It is a foreign country in some ways when compared to the south. They are leaving the comfort of friends and family to answer God's call in their life to plant a church in one of the most un-churched places in the world-literally. I'm amazed at their excitement and passion and can't wait to see how God uses their family up there in a big way. I've never been to Boston, but I am excited to go this fall and visit her. Friend, you are already greatly missed.

This is a perfect picture of our time:

Sandy is with us in this picture. She is our great breakfast maker, crafter, mentor and friend!

wet & wild

It has been in the 90's here and SO humid. What a better way to survive the heat than with a sprinkler and a little pool outside. The $3 sprinkler has already provided a ton of entertainment. The Albees joined us in the fun.

8 months

These past 8 months have been filled with lack of sleep, a bit more worry, and much more joy. What a blessing sweet Andrew is to our family. If you just glance at the boy, he gives you a great smile and often a laugh.

He loves his family so much and lights up when one of us walks in the room and especially when daddy gets home from work.

He is scooting EVERYWHERE and he's fast. He can get to the other side of the room in a second and grabs whatever he finds along the way. He isn't crawling with his tummy off the ground, it's an army crawl.

He still loves loves food. Because I didn't have a good eater the first time, I'm always amazed and pleasantly suprised at what and how much Andrew eats.

He loves to give mommy kisses-nice wet slobbery ones followed by a huge grin.

He is now going from lying down to sitting up.

He has 3 teeth and a fourth that has almost broken through.

He is a tough kid-which is good because Hunter loves to wrestle with him.

He is loving water. He tries to dive into the bathtub and now loves the lake and the pool!

boys and trucks

Because I am a mom of boys, I...

get excited to drive by construction sites so we can see excavators & bulldozers

get excited to see car carriers

get excited for Tuesdays when the garbage and recycle trucks come by

got ultra excited when last Tuesday, both trucks were in front of our house at the same time

get sad when the trashman changed-we were becoming friends with the last trashman

was tremendously excited to make pancakes with train, plane and fire truck molds.

the lake

We went to the lake on Friday since the weather was {finally} cooperating. It was a perfect day to be there and we basically had the beach part of the lake to ourselves. Hunter was a bit nervous at first because it required him walking on sand to get to the water, and the boy doesn't like sand. Tragic!! I don't know where he gets it from, but we are working on getting over it. (He just hates having his hands dirty.) He loved being in the water and stayed there the entire time. Andrew also loved loved the water-which I figured he would, since he loves his bathtime. Thank goodness these 2 love the water!