Friends

Tonight we had dinner with friends...Russ, April, Hudson, Jana, Brent, Justin, Emma, Luke, and yours truly! We also had some surprise visitors...Jennifer and Jessica! It was a "mini-class-reunion" of sorts (five of us finished high school together). It was great to be able to get together and visit and let our babies play. I love that our kids are close to the same age, and I love that we are raising them "together"! :)

As you can see Emma plays "mother hen" to the boys!

Every time I see these boys with their boys it puts a

smile on my face! I think Hudson and Luke are well on

their way to becoming as close as their daddies are! :) 

E put on her jammies and sat at the big table.

She REALLY wanted to spend the night! ;)

She LOVES her Uncle Brent...I think he likes her pretty well too! :)

Uncle Brent and Aunt Jana have played a

significant role in the spoiling of my babies! :)

Jen finally got to meet Luke Man! We really

need her to move closer to home (hint, hint;)!!

Emma found a new partner in crime...Jess! :)

Fridays

I love Fridays...especially when I come home to a clean house and nothing "pressing" to do! Justin said he was taking care of supper...so Emma picked Mexico. ;) Then we went to MawMaw Ann's and PawPaw Gwen's for a visit. Uncle Terry and Aunt Tanya were in town, so we got to see them too!

Movin' on Up!

When I got to daycare the other day to pick up the kids I walked right past my sweet baby...without a second glance...because I was expecting him to be in the swing, bouncy seat, bed...something of that sort. I did a double-take when I stopped to talk to Hudson and realized Luke was in the high chair next to him. Yes...I said HIGH CHAIR! He was grinning from ear-to-ear!

Emma has still been using the high chair at home...not because she's not big enough to sit at the table but because of its convenience. So, she called her Papa and asked him to bring her a booster seat from Partners. Thanks Papa!

We decided to give the high chair a try at home. I think it's a go! :)

He loves the high chair, and his

favorite thing to eat there is his hands!

In other news...Luke likes to try to hold his bottle.

So cute! Of course, he can't hold it up straight...which

leads to a lot of gnawing on the nipple. Is this boy going to

actually get a tooth, or is he just going to "teethe" forever?

Disclaimer: I don't let him lay around in the swing
gnawing on bottles...I had just laid him in there
after feeding him, and he would not let it go! :)

Heart's Desire

Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalm 37:4

These are the words that inspired the name of a business that puts joy in my heart every time I enter the door. I have never left Shauna's without a blessing. Not only do her portaits cover my walls, telling the story of my children's lives...she and "her girls" are always so positive and encouraging. They love and dote on my babies as if they were their own!

I ran over there around Christmastime to pick up some pictures. As I was pulling out of the driveway it hit me...every time I leave there I have a huge smile on my face, and my heart is truly filled with joy. Justin says we are "picture poor", but I see it as just the opposite...we are "picture rich". I can NEVER get these days back. It's sad to think about how quickly life passes by, but I can always look around the room, see pictures of my sweet babies, and be flooded with memories! Thank you, Shauna, for making that possible! :)

Here are a few of her "works of heart" that adorn my walls.

The last...but certainly not least...thing that makes my
baby girl LOVE going to Mrs. Shauna's is that she is
friends with THE REAL SANTA CLAUS! :)

I considered taking snapshots of her other portraits that

hang around my house (pre-share-on-facebook days), but

there is no way they would be done justice. I guess you'll

just have to come visit, and take a look for yourself! :)

A Delightful Friday & Busy Weekend

My Friday started off rather delightful...by delightful I mean Luke threw up all over me during the 5AM hour. There's nothing quite like throw up dripping down your shirt and in your hair when it's still dark outside. The good news is that I don't think he's sick. I think he's still trying to cough up "yuck" from his bouts of recent sickness...and when he got to coughing he lost his breakfast in addition to the "yuck" in his throat.

Our weekend was full of parties and family get-togethers. On Saturday Justin and Chris ventured off to Thomaston, GA to take Emma and Cheyenne to Ella Kate's birthday party. It was at a pony ranch...and E had SO MUCH FUN! Now her daddy will have to figure out how to turn Clay County Livestock into a pony ranch before September! ;) Thanks, Nichole, for sending me all of these great pictures...and Happy Birthday Ella Kate! 

Luke and I stayed home since it was

cold and he's been sick so much lately. 

My Great-Aunt Hilda and her daughters Wendy and Risa came to Mama's for the day. They thought I went to the party in GA, so I was able to surprise them with a quick visit. Of course, Luke was the center of attention. It was so great to see them, and I'm glad they got to meet Luke Man!

Maz is showing off Baby Luke!

He thinks Maz is funny!

Sisters-in-Law...Aunt Hilda is/was Big Daddy's sister.

Aunt Hilda, Maz & Luke

Group shot...minus me, of course. I'm always behind the camera!

Risa, Aunt Hilda, Maz, Luke, Wendy & Mama

Saturday night we went to the in-laws' for supper. We were planning a surprise 80th birthday party for MawMaw Nell. Her sister and her family came from north Alabama to "spend the night", so we all got together for a visit. Little did she know five of her other brothers and sisters would be surprising her on Sunday. Here are a few group pictures from the party today.

MawMaw Nell with six of her brothers and sisters.

Here's my attempt at a picture of MawMaw and all the 'little ones'.

Counter-Clockwise: MawMaw Nell, Cheyenne, Sean, Austin,
Emma, Luke, Alexis, Andrew & Rylee

MawMaw with the 'big ones'! =)

Lisa, Wanda, MawMaw Nell, Greg & Roger

MawMaw and her grandchildren. L to R: Lauren, Stephanie,
Alexis, Chris, MawMaw, Justin, Andrew, Amelia, Josh & Chad

Snapshots, Shots & Squash

My beautiful baby girl will be "getting married" for the second time on June 18, 2011. Actually, she's going to toss flowers down the aisle...but that's not how she sees it! Today she and her Nana went to Birmingham to get fitted for the dress. They, of course, ventured on for a complete girl's day out. She came home with piles of new things...toys, clothes, hair bows...and leftovers from Olive Garden. I should have tagged along...oh yeah, I'm out of leave!!

No worries Anna...the dress won't be green when it arrives! ;)

All night long she has asked, "Mommy, are we going to Anna's wedding yet?" Try explaining to a three-year-old that she tried on a dress today that she won't actually wear for five more months. As silly as it may sound the picture above made me a little sad. Time passes by so quickly, and I can SO see her standing there trying on wedding dresses in two blinks of the eye. I pray each day for the boy that will one day become my baby girl's partner in life. I also pray he doesn't take her from me too soon!

I took Luke for his four month well-check this afternoon. Dr. Ray said he is in the 75th percentile or both height and weight and just perfect! That didn't stop him from "ordering" Luke three...YES, THREE...shots, plus one vaccination by mouth! Luke is such a trooper though. My favorite girl at Dr. Ray's office gave him the shots. He cried for a minute and then perked right back up!

Dr. Ray also said to go ahead and start him on some baby food (if I was comfortable with that, of course:). So when we got home Luke got his first taste of baby food squash. He ate about half of a number one container. He made the funniest faces. I guess we'll have to give it some time before I can say whether he actually likes it or not!