back in the saddle...

the kids and i ventured out to the beach yesterday to meet up with one of my dear college friends, ashley. her family is spending the week together not too too far from us, so i jumped at the invitation to head her way for the day. after spending the last 6 weeks mostly inside, i was excited to get some sun and fresh air... and to see one of my very favorite people!!

(the picture above is from last summer... ashley and i didn't get a picture together at the beach yesterday.)

our kids quickly warmed up to each other, and in no time, they were frolicking in the wave together. here are ethan, caroline, and noah. caroline and noah especially hit it off and were by each other's side the entire day. (i hate that i failed to get a close up picture of noah... he was busy in these waves most of the day!)


watching this girl giggle in the waves all day just made me giggle!


amelia stayed away from the waves, but she was completely content to play in this little puddle area.


is it just me, or is she looking so much older these days?


ethan spent much of the day searching for fish... and he caught SIX little minnows! he was so thrilled with every poor little fish that ended up in his net. here is the big fisherman after his first catch. (i don't think you can really see the fish in the bucket...)


isn't ashley's little girl, eden, so sweet? she was a busy little thing!


and how about our littlest beach bum?


this was hallie's first trip to the beach, and she did great! the continual breeze off the water and the sound of the waves just lulled my baby to sleep in the shade...


eden was constantly curious about hallie... i love these two shots of her peeking in at the baby.


ahhh, this is the life, hallie girl...


i enjoyed visiting with my sweet friend and watching our kids play together. her family is so encouraging and wonderful to be around, and they were so helpful with the kids! they surely made my first venture to the beach with 4 kids an easy one!!

happy father's day!

our first family picture since hallie came home from the hospital! (i think...)

happy father's day to brian, my love! our children adore you, and you amaze me with your patience toward them. i am thankful that you desire to raise our children as children of the King!

also, a very happy father's day to my dad (papa) and brian's dad (pappy). i love the way that my children get so excited to see both of you! they love every minute that they spend with you, as you both keep them laughing and laughing! thank you for loving our children so much.

we are also thinking of brian's granddaddy today, who we were blessed to spend the day with yesterday. i love that at 98 years old, he was able to hold his newest great-grandchild! today is the one year anniversary of grandmommy going to be with Jesus, so i know this is a bittersweet father's day for him. here is granddaddy with our kiddos...


as you can see, my kids love granddaddy. ethan wants him to come to ride go carts for his birthday, and caroline draws him a picture at least once a week. he is constantly the subject of their prayers and conversations. the kids know that it will not be too long before granddaddy goes to Heaven, so i was thankful that we were able to see him this weekend.

how blessed my children are to be surrounded with godly men who are consistently pointing them to their heavenly Father. praise God, and happy father's day!

hallie is one month old!

wednesday marked hallie's one month birthday!



in a way, this month has flown by... and then again, it feels like it's been a really really long month. we are so glad june is here because with it has come more sleep and more of a routine for sweet little hallie. you just forget how hard those first few weeks are with very little sleep and figuring out this new little person who is trying to figure out life as well! :) there was one night where she just wouldn't go to sleep, and i looked at brian and said, "i feel like a completely clueless first-time parent!" (no offense to first-time parents!!)

indeed, every baby is different. sure, they have their similarities-- they all eat, cry, sleep, pee, and poop-- but they each have their little quirks and things about them that you have to figure out. hallie spits up more and needs to be burped more than our other babies did... and just when you think she is fast asleep after eating or rocking, she will perk up with the most alert look on her face. granted, it's a cute little expression, but it was not so cute at 2 am in those first few weeks. we finally got her to sleep in the swing, and while i really wanted her to get used to sleeping in her bed early on, i was happy just to have her sleeping! we should've bought stock in duracell... those swings sure do suck down some batteries!

now that we have closed the book on "those first few weeks", i am happy to say that hallie is mostly sleeping in her bed. i still put her in the swing at night if she is having trouble going back to sleep right away-- she is sleeping no more than 5 feet away from me, and i need as much sleep as i can get these days! she usually only wakes up one time in the middle of the night (after we night-owls have gone to sleep, that is), and she is taking pretty good naps during the day, so i'd say we've come a long way since mid-may!

here is a visual for the term "sleeping like a baby".


this picture may not seem like that big of a deal to you, but it surely is to us! :) (and of course, as i am writing about how great she is sleeping now... she is having a hard time falling asleep right now!)

the big kids are just itching to play with hallie. they love rubbing her head and watching her get her diaper changed. ethan and caroline would hold her all day if i would let them! (hallie was just 2 wks. old in this picture.)


we bought this little play gym for hallie the other day, and the girls just think it is the best toy ever. they can't wait for her to start reaching for the toys...


we had finished taking hallie's one-month pictures (which was a family affair, of course), and ethan disappointedly said, "but i want to be in one with her!" so this might be a new addition to the monthly tradition... the kids piling on the couch with hallie, the sign, and the monkey. you can see that hallie is really loving this idea.


we did catch a smile from little miss hallie earlier that evening... which will surely make up for her crankiness in the picture above. :)


sleep or no sleep, we love this little girl and are so thankful for her! i am also thankful that may was a very empty month, and we had very few places to be. the older kids have been so patient with my need to rest and recover, and we are looking forward to the rest of the summer!