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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Doing Dewberry!

Last year in our "Doing Dewberry" post, there wasn't a whole lot of "doing" to share exactly!  We rode the hayride, took cute pumpkin patch photos, got sand blown in our eyes, came, saw, and went.  Of course, the babies (Sophia and Julian, that is) were just that ~ babies.  Not yet old enough to enjoy most of Dewberry Farms, BUT...this year...So-So had an absolute BLAST!!!  Just see for yourself :)

Welcome to Dewberry Farms!

We jumped on a big orange pillow/bouncy/something or other.  
Yes, that is of course a very technical description. It went a little something like this :)

Sliding with her Daddy and Uncle James!
Talk about fun :)

 Barrel Swinging with her Dada
      
                                       

The Girls

Love this pic and of course this sweet family of FOUR!
Next year this photo will include two adorable almost one-year olds!!! CRAZY!!!
 

Pumpkin Patch
(And I thought photos would get easier as she got older...pssshhh...who was I kidding?!)

Practicing for her trip to the Farmlet and 
her first tractor ride with Papa John!

Playing in the kiddie area!

AND...last but not least...
HER FIRST PONY RIDE!!!
And that my friends, is how you "do Dewberry"!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Faith, Hope and Love...

...but the greatest of these is love.  And truly, my heart overfloweth for this sweet family.  They are not only our best friends, but our family.  We have walked the journey of life with them for years.  We have endured the happy times and the heartbreaking times, the joys of life and the trials of life.  We have watched each other finish college, get engaged, walk down the aisle, say goodbye to loved ones and hello to new ones.

I think it's safe to say, that despite the roads we had previously traveled together, none of us truly knew the journey that was facing our best friends.  It is a journey that I had never really witnessed anyone go through.  The journey of fertility is one that is wrought with pain, hope, love, fear, uncertainty, strength, and faith ~ and that's just from someone walking along side their friends and not truly experiencing it themselves.

What I can say about our sweet friends, with absolute certainty, is that they walked this journey with the most amazing strength, love and faith that I have ever seen.  Not only did they draw closer to one another, but more importantly closer to the Lord.  And when the timing was right in His perfect plan, the Lord granted them the desires of their heart ~ times two!

I have never been happier for two people in my whole life to welcome babIES into this world.  The girls and I always said that one day we would be throwing Jaime the best baby shower ever one day!  And I sure hope we accomplished that much for you, sweet friend.  It was truly an honor to help plan this big day for you.  I hope you and James know how much you are loved and cherished...not just by our family, but by so many.  You both have an incredible heart for the Lord and have offered strength to so many by sharing your journey openly and honestly.  Most importantly, you never fail to give the glory to God.  These girls are so blessed to have you as their parents, and I know the Lord has amazing plans for your family.

Thank you for letting us share in this journey with you!  It is an honor to be a part of your lives.  I can't wait to meet these precious baby girls...my heart overfloweth!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

To Our Precious Baby Bean

I always prayed, hoped, wondered when I would be able to start this process again...writing letters to the precious blessing growing inside of me.  You see, some people don't see you as life yet, but your Daddy and I do.  You are our baby.  We love you unconditionally, care for you more than you could ever know and have prayed for you from the moment we found out you had been given to us.

To be honest, the morning I found out (October 7, 2011), it had been a crazy week at work.  It was a Friday morning and Mommy was TIRED!  I was one day late.  No reason to be concerned given the stress of the week and the fact that I had started working out again recently.  But for some reason, I felt the urging to take the test anyway.  And so...I did.  And then I did it again.  And then, sweet baby, please take no offense to this, Mommy had a bit of a panic attack!

I couldn't even bring myself to tell your Daddy after the first test, and he had left for work before I took the second one.  But you see, this is why the Lord surrounds you with best friends who love the Lord, who encourage you, and who know you better than you know yourself.  And that is where your Aunt Jaja comes in.  So technically, yes, she knew about you before your Daddy did!  No worries...Daddy doesn't mind :)  You will soon grow up to know what a special bond you will share with Aunt Jaja and Uncle James...and of course, Emeri and Avari too.

So once I had calmed down a bit and Aunt Jaja had assured me I could handle TWO kids, I went on about my morning getting Sissy to school.  Side Note:  Sophie is a big sissy!!!  AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!    Some time shortly after dropping her off, I was listening to KSBJ and one of my favorite songs was playing, Strong Enough by Matthew West.  The end of the song says this and it happens to be all I caught that morning...

"I can do all things 
Through Christ who gives me strength.
And I don't have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be 

Strong enough
Strong enough

I know I'm not strong enough to be 
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not strong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be 
Strong enough
Strong enough
Strong enough
For the both of us."

It was then that I realized I was fearful of all the wrong things.  I am not super woman.  I can't do everything perfectly.  There will be times when I don't have the energy to have a spotless house, to have folded laundry, to have the appearance of having everything together.  But I stand on a Solid Rock and He has it all together for us.  He knows you ~ He MADE you!  He loves you THAT much!  One day when you realize your Mommy and Daddy aren't perfect, remember you have a perfect Father in Heaven that loves you so much He died for you.  Our prayer for you, even now sweet baby, is to know that love at an early age because it is ultimately all that matters in this world.

So yes, Mommy and Daddy are a bit unsure how the next nineish months is going to go down.  There will be a lot of changes I'm sure.  But all changes that are getting us one step closer to you and to our new family of FOUR!  Five, counting George of course.  And ultimately, the fears that are present in our lives are not about you, but life in general.  Knowing that, I am focused now where my heart needs to be...on glorifying the One who gave you to us.  To honoring him and caring for the sweet life He has entrusted us with.  Believe me, I have no idea why the Lord has seen fit to bless us with two wonderful children, but we will praise Him for it everyday!  We are all unworthy and yet, He loves us so much He blesses us and brings us the joys and desires of our hearts.  His plan for us is good, and yes, sometimes surprising even :)  So despite our initial state of shock, we know the timing is indeed, perfect!  Perfect to welcome you into our hearts, our lives, our world.  

It is an honor sweet Bean to be your Mommy!  I will care for you the best I can while you are growing inside of me, when you take your first breath in this crazy world, and every moment after that.  I can't promise perfection...but I can promise unconditional love, precious prayers, sweet hugs, multitudes of kisses, and a lap and arms that you will never be able to outgrow!

Praying for you always and loving you forever!

Keep growing sweet Bean, keep growing!

All my love,
Mommy


Friday, October 7, 2011

Silly Songs and Semantics with Sophie!

Just what you wanted ~ an entire post of videos :)  Enjoy!!!

Raising her up right!  Gig 'Em Ags!


So You Think You Can Dance...Sophia Style!


Ok...not too much dancing in this one, but at least she has the quack part down :)  Of course, it is the chicken dance and not the duck dance, so I'm not really sure if "quack" is really the right animal sound???


Practicing Our Words - Part 1


Practicing Our Words - Part II


Oh, the things that entertain toddlers :)  I love cheap entertainment!


Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes!


My little baby is growing up so fast!  She manages to amaze us every day, not to mention the fact that she is absolutely ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!  We love you, Peanut ~ always and forever!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Sunday Smiles and Tuesday Toilet Paper!

Yes, I did just name a blog post "Sunday Smiles and Tuesday Toilet Paper" and soon enough you will understand why :)

"Sunday Smiles"
Sunday, August 13, 2011

"Tuesday Toilet Paper"
Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Action in August

Some random photos of our sweet girl back in August...

Her Favorite Place = "Owsigh"

 Pigtails and Pacis

Creating her first official painting (aka cheap wall art)!
Blank slate...
 Art project in progress...
 The finished project!

Daycare forgot to tell us that So-So was out of clothes to change into.
And apparently a 5-6 t-shirt is all that was available :)  Love it!

A princess in her pjs

 A lazy morning with bubbles!
Sophia and George both LOVE bubbles :)

A wagon ride with Bubba :)

All random moments captured in photos, but random moments that are memories I will cherish for the rest of my life!  I love my family!

A Picture...

Of our breakfast routine nearly every day in August...


I like bananas just fine, but seriously, every day kiddo?!  Even with your quirky fixations, we love you little monkey!