It's that time of year again!

Before I begin my post below I'd like to take a moment to wish my Dad a very Happy Birthday!!! - and Dad, you can thank Jamie for the fabulous photo editing! :) Seriously though, my Dad truly is a super-hero. He is the most honest, hard-working man I know. He was my first example of a Prince Charming and was the first man to steal my heart. He may love quietly, but he loves fiercely. He is loyal and true. He showed me what a good husband ought to look like, and sure enough, many of my favorite traits of Jamie are traits my Dad demonstrates in his own marriage.

Some memories of past years...

As a kid, no one could trim my hair better than Dad.

When I was little, growing up in Africa, Dad was a pilot. If he had to take someone somewhere but would have no passengers on the way home, he'd take me along. When it was just the two of us he'd do some fun tricks in the plane to make me lose my stomach - I loved it!

Dad demanded honesty at all cost. Once, in high school, my cross-country team stopped at a Mc.D's after a meet. We all decided it'd be funny to take a little "souvenir" from the play area in the form of one of the balls from the ball pit. I don't know why I didn't really see it as stealing or wrong, but when I was relating the funny "prank" to my parents they were none pleased! I was so embarrassed and learned an important lesson that day about character. Stealing is stealing. Dishonesty is dishonesty. You can wrap it up in a pretty package or call it a prank, but it's still wrong. It is often the little things that mark the character of a person. I carry that lesson with me, still today.

Speaking of high school sports... my Dad (and Mom for that matter) was at every sporting event possible for him to attend and he was one of my biggest fans. That meant something then, and it means something now.

My Dad walked me down an aisle almost seven years ago. He gave me away. He danced with me. I cherish the memory of those moments.

My Dad is not perfect, but he's the perfect Dad for me and I love him (I love you!) so much.

I am so blessed.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

***

This was two summers ago. My baby girl was 3 1/2, my boy was still cooking in the oven, and Haddie, well, she was just a dream and a hope away! Our community pool and local Red Cross team up each summer and offer swimming lessons for the kiddos of our town. The lessons run every morning for two weeks and it only costs $20! Two summers ago was our first time participating and we joined the "Mommy and Me" class. Last summer we didn't participate, but this summer we are! Monday classes were canceled due to weather, so Tuesday was Soph's first class... by herself... as in, without me. UG! That was a big step for me because I get so nervous with her in the water!!! I'm so excited that she's in the preschool class and will learn some more water skills - thus will be safer when swimming... but, not being in the water with her, you know, so I could save her from certain and impending death... well, that was hard! :) But, she I managed to make it through unscathed. :)

(Sophia is in the black suit with pink straps)

She kicked.
She listened to instructions.

Played Simon Says.

Got to splash one of the helpers!

Practiced floating on her back...

Kicked some more.

And just had a great time!

She did go under a few times - by accident, and though she came up sputtering and coughing, she didn't die. :) She also kept her towel close by and came out of the water to dry her face off almost every time it got wet. :) She hates getting her face wet. I can hear my Mom and sister laughing right now, because they may or may not know someone who used to do the same thing!

So, as long as weather cooperates we've got quite a few lessons left. I can't wait to see what she learns the rest of the time!

Won't you be my neighbor?

I would like to introduce you to one of the dearest men our family has the privilege of knowing. Wilbur is our across-the-street neighbor. He has lived on our street since it's inception, and his house, along with ours and two others, were the original four homes built on our road. He is a WWII vet and just one of the kindest people. He's been around a long time so he knows pretty much everything about the workings of our neighborhood, both past and present! Ever since we moved into our house, three years ago, he has been a friend to Sophia. He reminds me so much of my Grandpa, who is gone now, so I just love that Soph can be his buddy! He's always bringing over little things he finds in his garage. He is always ready to have a conversation if any of us take the time to chat. One thing you have to know about Wilbur, his yard is his baby! Over the years he has removed all trees from his property and even dug ditches around his perimeter so that he doesn't have to deal with leaves in the Fall or weeds creeping over from the other yards! :) He mows almost daily and we've witnessed him a time or two blowing his grass clippings down the street drain and I've even witnessed him vacuuming clippings off his driveway with his shop-vac! We get a kick out of all of that for sure, but really, he is such a special man and we're so thankful he's our neighbor!!! (even if his carpet-like lawn makes our yard look like a weed factory!!! :) )

At any rate, a week or so ago Wilbur had Sophia ask me if he could take her for a ride around his yard in the trailer he bought for the lawn mower. I said yes and they both had a great time! Jamie told me later one of the main reasons Wilbur bought the trailer was so that he could give Sophia a ride! Wilbur is old and we've already witnessed him being picked up by ambulance twice. I dread the day he passes away as I know it will not only devastate us - especially Sophia, but our whole neighborhood will be at a loss without him! So, here's praying the Lord keeps Wilbur around for a long time!

A First

Last night Sophia had her first sleepover! We invited her friend, Feibi over for the night. I think they had a lot of fun! Jamie picked up Feibi on the way to Soph's ballet class. Then, they came home and we all ate dinner. After dinner I took the girls to the library and along with some books and videos for the week, Soph and Feibi chose a video together to watch later that night. When we returned from the library two neighborhood girls were riding by on their bikes so they all went in our back yard and played till almost nightfall! I love watching girls this age play, it takes me back to when I was that age and a time in my life that is so precious to me. Sophia is the youngest here, at five and a half. The other three girls are all almost ten, but Sophia gets along famously with them!

Enthralled in their movie, Tinkerbell. :) Somewhere during the movie we paused it to eat some s'mores made in the microwave. Then, they finished the movie and we read a book. They then got into their beds and read until they fell asleep.

Sound asleep! :)

This morning, before Feibi left, the girls were practicing their dance moves! :)

I'd say it was a successful first sleepover! If Soph is anything like me, this will be just the first of many...

Blue-eyed beauties

Four of the ladies on my side of the family have blue eyes. Last week we got to see my sister and co. and I was able to capture three of the four (my mom is the 4th and was not with us) blue-eyed beauties!

Cora was so sweet, wanting to hug and kiss Hadassah.

Auntie Jeni and Haddie!

Birthday buddies! These girls are one year and a day apart in age. I think they shall be grand friends!

All About a Baby

Words aren't really necessary to describe this scrumptious baby, so I'll just shut up and let her do all the talking! What do you think she's saying?

All About a Boy

My boy.

I could take a swim in his big deep brown eyes.

Kiss the top of his head forever and again.

I love that when he got a new plate from Grammy, that had a car on it...

... he proceeded to take all his food off of the plate so he could admire the car!

But, maybe, most of all, the thing I love most about this boy right now is that, as of last week, he has finally starting calling me Mama!!!

All About a Girl

About a year and a half ago this sweet, barley four-year-old girl started her first ballet class. Can't you just feel the enthusiasm? ;)

After just four months of class she celebrated with her first ballet recital! What a fun night!

Then, just one year after that she is getting closer to six than five and got to participate in her second recital!

My sweet little girl, who was still a toddler/preschooler when she started this ballet adventure, is now a full-fledge school girl! When did that happen? On June 12, Sophia had her second ballet recital. She did so well and it was so fun to see all the skills she has developed in her year and a half of classes. Due to some technical difficulties with our memory card reader, I've just now gotten all of these pictures off of our camera...

My poised sweetie pie.

Her adoring fans; Part I...

... II...

... and III!

I love my girl!

Praise Jesus!

My friend came through her procedure great today! Praise the Lord! Please continue praying as she has to stay in the hospital at least ten more days and she's got four kids at home. Thankfully she has a fabulous husband and lots of family and friends to be of help.

Happy 4th of July!

Please Pray

Please pray for a dear friend of mine. She has a brain hemmorage and was life flighted to a major hospital for a procedure called coiling. This will take place tomorrow. She's expected to stay in the hospital for at least ten days. She has four kids, a six year old, two year old twins and a baby. Please lift her, her kids, her hubby and the rest of her family up to the Lord. Thank you!

Kiddo Update

Hadassah is three months old today! She is such a special baby. Of course all of my babies are special, but it is so thrilling to find out more and more each day what it is that makes Haddie special. She is an exceptionally content and happy baby. She hands out smiles like it is her job. If you know my son, Riley, you may know that he is very stingy with his "requested on demand smiles..." :) Not Haddie though! All she needs is some eye contact and a smile or cheerful word and she's smiling from ear to ear! She's also giggling, chattering and full belly laughing.

Had has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now, which is such a blessing! I feed her one last time before I go to sleep, than most nights she will sleep through to anywhere between 6:30 and 8. I am very thankful for this!!! I have been working on getting us on a more regular routine, as in, feeding her and putting her down for naps around the same time each day. She consistently takes three good naps each day and for the two earlier ones will let me lay her down in her bed totally awake and will just fall asleep on her own without a peep! Her brother and sister were good nappers too, but at this age they still either needed to fuss/cry a bit or would need a bit of rocking before they'd fall asleep. Lest you think I have the perfect baby, :) Haddie does tend to have a fussy period each evening. This is usually resolved with some mylanta and a tight swaddle in the Miracle Blanket.

Though Hadassah looks so much like her siblings and cousin when they were infants, she also has a look all her own. She is more petite. I don't know if that's really the right word because she's got some adorable chub, but she's definitely smaller at this age than her sister was. Her hair is very red/strawberry blond. It is like peach fuzz and stands on end! It is SO cute. She still has her blue eyes so we'll see if they stay blue or turn green later on. Her skin is fair and I think she'll look the most "Irish" (my heritage) out of all our kids. She reminds me of my Grandma (my Mom's mom) so much, and I just love that!

Riley is 22 months today. I can't believe in two weeks we'll be celebrating his 2nd birthday! He is talking more and more each day. Even when he's not able to use words, he is able to communicate either what he wants (with gestures), or that he understands (with uh uh, or uh huh!). Just yesterday he walks out with Sophia's stuffed Charlie Brown. He's holding it excitedly saying, "Dada, Dada!" I ask, "Riley, is that Dada?" And he replies, "Uh-huh!!!" We laughed and laughed.

Sophia was excited when Daddy said he would take her to ballet and then the library tonight. After thinking for a second she says, "Dad, since you're not bringing Haddie or Riley too, you'll really be able to enjoy me!" :)

Well, that's the kiddo update for now. Have a great week!

Really?

Pieces of foam carpet pad

Stickers

Battery cover for flashlight

Hand soap

What do all these things have in common?

Why, these are all things I either caught my son eating, or trying to eat today.

Really?

I mean, we do feed the boy.

Will they grow?

A few weeks ago my sister Jeni got all these little potted plant kits for Soph. They decorated the pots but ran out of time to plant. So, we brought the pots home and finally got around to planting them today! We'll see if they grow... :)

In preparation for planting, we had to soak the little peat pellets in water than fluff them up with a fork. After the planting was done Sophia continued to play with the fork and one of the plastic containers we'd used. Mud, of course, was her medium of fun. A few hours later we were outside and I asked her where my fork was.

"In my [rain] boot."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's in there drying out. I didn't want your kitchen to get all muddy."

"Well... thank you. That was very thoughtful."

:)

Just a regular Tuesday

"Take it from the top!" - what Sophia said to me this morning when she wanted me to start the game we were playing over.

"Apparently." - ever since the first day of VBS last week, Sophia has been using this word. It's a new word for her vocabulary and for the most part she uses it appropriately.

Riley is talking more and more each day. Every day I hear him saying new words. His speech is still rather difficult to understand, but being with him all day, every day, helps me recognize when he says a new word.

Haddie is 12 weeks old as of this past Sunday. That is incredible to me. She's starting to go about 7 hours between feedings at night most days of the week. She is also rolling from her back to her stomach. She continues to smile, coo, laugh and chatter all the time. She's very free with her smiles and will pass one out to most anyone!

Jamie and I carted the family about this past weekend. We spent Saturday and Saturday night with his parents to celebrate Father's Day. Sunday we were able to go to our old church (where we met) and see some folks there. After church we, along with my parents, headed a couple hours south to have a cookout with my sister and co. I'm so glad we were able to spend time with our Dads and hopefully they know how much we love them!

Jamie was the recipient of handmade cards from his two eldest kids and Sophia made him a nail apron at Home Dep0t. Once a month Home Dep0t offers a free activity for kids. Since Jamie works there and knows the ladies running it, he was able to leave Soph to make the apron while doing some shopping - that way he was surprised on Father's Day with her creation! Riley loves to color, especially himself... but, some marker made it onto Jamie's card, but I'd say more made it onto his face, arms and in his ears! :)

I'm so thankful for such wonderful men in my life. They are all powerful examples to what being a man is all about. Thank you Dad, Tony, Jamie, Uncle Bob and Uncle Kerry! Love to you all! Also thankful for the part my Grandpa played in my life. He got to celebrate Father's Day with our Heavenly Father this year, that must be pretty amazing!

Let's make sure we're honoring and expressing our love towards our men all year, not just one Sunday in June.

Have a fabulous day!

Remembering

One year ago, today, a really wonderful man died. My Grandpa. He died on June 22 of last year, but last year June 22 was the Monday after Father's Day, and today, though it's just the 21st, is the Monday after Father's Day, and so, this is the day I remember him dying... I was across the country, in Colorado, when I got the call that early morn. I was so devastated, so broken, but I wasn't surprised and I had hope. Hope that my dear Grandpa was with Jesus. Hope that my dear Grandpa was reunited with Grandma. Hope that my dear Grandpa was meeting all my babies I've never met... Hope. It is a powerful word. It is a powerful Truth. And so, though I am still sad over my Grandpa's death, and still miss him intensely, I do not despair, but I do hope!

I must say though, even with hope, I still grieve. Grief is a funny thing. It's like a winding path that you're not sure where the turns will lead and what will be around the next bend. Sometimes joy, sometimes sorrow, but as long as you keep walking the road of grief, joy is bound to find you.

Not long before my Grandpa died I received the last email I'd ever get from him. Now, there is something you must know, after my Grandpa's second wife died the summer before he did, Grandpa got a computer and learned how to use the internet and check our blogs and email. The thing is, I don't think he really understood The Email, because I never once got a personal email from him, only forwards. I would see his name in my inbox and smile, knowing he'd sent on some silly forward. I'd delete the forward and smile again. Well, the last email, the last forward, that Grandpa sent my way, for the life of me I cannot delete it. It is the last thing I have that his life touched. He put my address on the email and hit send. I've never even opened it, but I cannot delete it. Every time I log in and see that I have one new message, I know it's his and I think of him and smile. Maybe someday I can let go of that, but not today. And, if your curious, the subject line of this forward reads, "FW: How to tell the sex of a fly." :) If that doesn't make you smile I don't know what will!!!

I wrote this post to commemorate my Grandpa, Riley Russell, last year. Please take a chance to click over and read it today.

So, one year has passed. My Mom and aunts have no parents left on this earth. The house my Grandpa built and all the girls grew up in, has been sold. We've celebrated the Holidays without him. Life has marched on. But, the memory of Grandpa and Grandma, for that matter, remains. I still can smell his smell, feel her touch, hear their voices, see their house. These are treasures that are safely tucked away in my heart and mind, and they will remain until the day I see my Grandparents again. For this I am thankful.

Love you Grandpa!