Water Baby #2

And now.... Isaac!

These pictures are proof; Isaac loved tubing with his Daddy....

Oh dear, when the boat was a bit too tame for their liking, this is what happened next: SUPERMAN! Crazy boys!

And he always LOVED hopping on the wave runner....

And really got the hang of the zip sled....

And decided to try out skiing for the first time!
(next time, we need to remind him to let go of the rope if he falls! Oops!)

He even fearlessly jumped off of a friend's 2 story pontoon in the middle of the lake....

And took his Daddy on a kayak ride....

And yes, our little Coppertone baby loved our pool this summer, too! His big accomplishment: swimming without his floatie suit all summer!!! HOORAH! (pictured here with Aaron and cousin, Zach)

What a great summer in the water! So, so blessed!

(We get asked ALL the time if our kids have taken oodles of swim lessons. The answer is no, not even one. For kids and water, my recommendation is always: exposure, exposure, exposure! The more they are in it, the more comfortable they will become!)

Water Baby #1

So, this summer proved, yet again, that we have a bunch of water babies around this place. Thought I would have a few photo posts to share some of the fun....

First in line.... Aaron!

He started the summer on skis....

Then, enjoyed showing off on the zip sled....

And getting crazy on the tube with the boys of the house....

But really, really wanted to conquer the wakeboard! He did just that!

Oh.... and he did have a lot of fun at home in our pool, too!

This kiddo started swimming without floaties when he was three (even jumping off the high dive) and he hasn't slowed down since!

Sweet boys....

Our boys have had an incredible summer on the lake this year. Aaron is pretty excited that he has been able to start wakeboarding, and Isaac keeps getting more and more confident on the zip sled.

I love that I was able to capture these pictures. Sweet glimpses of my sweet boys, flashing the "I love you" sign to their daddy and me in the boat.

Priceless.

Precious.

Thankful Thursday....

Today, I am thankful....

1) For good health on most days. I got nailed with a horrible head/chest cold yesterday and am feeling really crummy today. It makes me even more thankful that most days, I feel great.
2) For all of the projects that Scott has tackled around the house. We had a pretty significant issue in our laundry room over the past week, and I am thankful that he was able to take care of it without the need to hire someone else.
3) That Aaron has had a couple of great days in 3rd grade! I'm also thankful that his new teacher goes to our church, so we have a little outside connection.
4) For 5 year olds.... ours, specifically. I think that 5 year olds are SO clever and funny.... Isaac has been saying the most funny things lately, and he makes us laugh all the time.
5) That my dear sweet baby sister has been on summer break. We have ALL been so spoiled by extra time with Aunt Debby over break.... and Scott and I have been spoiled with a couple of dates because she has been willing to babysit frequently. She's back to school now.... sigh.... but did even bless us with a date night for our anniversary this week.

Have a blessed day! Much love!

Our 3 month old...

This sweet little darlin' has taken after her brothers and sister and is growing up much TOO fast! It's hard to believe that three months have passed already!

At 3 months, Audrey....

* Is such a little sweetie! She is so content (well, most of the time....)
* Has just started to have a fussy time in the evenings, but can most generally be soothed by rocking with mommy or taking a walk with daddy outside.
* Is sleeping through the night (can you hear the Hallelujah Chorus playing from my house?!) We usually rock in the evening and snuggle, then, I wake her to feed her around 10 or 11 and she sleeps until 7:30 or 8 in the morning. It is SO wonderful. Occasionally, we have to give her the pacifier around 4:30 or 5ish in the morning, but sometimes, she just sails right through until daylight. YIPPE!
* Is still in her bassinet in our room.
* Is nursing like a champ. Usually every 3-4 hours during the day.
* Loves her swing. Often, takes a 2-3 hour nap in the swing during the late morning hours.
* Hates tummy time. And, since her negligent parents often forget that we are supposed to do tummy time with her, we may all get scolded at her 4 month appointment next month! HA!
* Has smiles and coos that absolutely warm her momma's heart.
* Still has a knot on her thigh from her shots that were three weeks ago. :(
* Has beautiful and bright and blue eyes.
* Is such a blessing to our family!!!

Dear Audrey, your mommy loves you. I'm so thankful that God chose me to be your mommy.... it is one of the greatest privileges of my life. Always and forever!

First day!

We have a third grader at our house!!! The first day of school is always so bittersweet for me.... I know that he'll do great.... I know that he is ready.... I know that he is excited.... but I do miss him while he is gone. One of my friends once told me that she learned what it means to "pray without ceasing" when she started sending her kiddos to school.... I can relate! :)

In other news.... we've graduated to a new stage this year. Aaron informed me that he didn't need for me to walk in with him and take him to his classroom (sniff.... sniff....) Wow, they DO grow up SO fast....

With some buddies from our street before we walked to school!

A REAL glimpse into our lives....

We ordered pizza tonight for dinner. I ran with Ellie to pick it up and returned home to everyone else scurrying around to put plates and drinks and napkins on the table.... that was a welcome sight, as always!

When we all sat down, I volunteered to pray. While I was aware that the TV was on in the other room (which is a rare occurrence during dinnertime at our house), I didn't care and just moved forward with my heartfelt prayer.... praying that God would heal bee sting ouchies (Isaac's) and that God would use this pizza to give Aaron energy for his first day of school tomorrow.... ahem.... quite unaware of what was happening around me.

AS SOON AS I had said "Amen", Scott said something along the lines of, "Now boys, when we pray, we really need to try to focus on talking with God" (yes, there had been a WHOLE lot going on during that prayer time.... I was ONLY aware of Isaac trying to reach the marinara sauce for dipping on the opposite side of my plate, since he nearly knocked my plate into my lap in the process).

And AARON said, "But Dad, you were turning around to watch GOLF!"

BUSTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott looked at me with a little "Oh stink, I've just been busted my 8 year old" kind of expression and said, "Um, well, um, um....(sigh).... yes, I just watched one putt, but then, I prayed!"

Yep, this is the life of my family. I may be married to a "pastor", but we still sometimes BOTH lose our focus and "watch a little golf."

So often in the blogosphere, I think that everyone paints a beautiful little picture of a beautiful little life.

While I DO have a beautiful little life and I do want to paint a beautiful little picture, I think that the BIGGEST beauty comes in the fact that we really are all messed up people who are still loved unconditionally by our extraordinary God (a friend of mine recently shared that we are ALL just "dumb sheep"! I like that!) Sometimes, we get it right in this journey. And sometimes, we ALL get a little distracted. And our extraordinary God teaches us amazing lessons in the midst of this beautiful little life.

Ahem.... and sometimes, OUR 8 year old teaches BOTH of us some things, too! ;)

The tale of two nose pickers....

On the way home from my mom and dad's house, Aaron started giving Isaac a hard time (imagine that.....) and yelling at him to stop picking his nose.

Scott interrupted him and said, "YOU pick YOUR nose. Why does he need to stop?"

To which Aaron replied, "I quit."

Scott: "Really?! When??"

Aaron: "Yesterday."

Nice. Very nice.

Just today....

3 out of 4 of my children are at Grandma and Grandpa's house (YAHOO! A big thanks to the Grandmas and Grandpas in our lives!) Scott has been in Chicago at a conference, and Audrey and I have been having some girl time! Today, we went to get her three month pictures taken (GASP!) and I had a couple of coupons to use, so we went shopping for a bit.

As I weaved out of a tiny dressing room with the stroller, I witnessed something that took my breath away momentarily. A stunning teenager stepped out of one of the rooms in an absolutely stunning dress. Her mom was waiting to see her. As the daughter started talking about accessories that she could add to the ensemble, I saw the sweet momma pause, thinking. And then, she very gently said, "I think it's a little too short" (I would have to agree.... I didn't know that legs were made that long. She was very tall). I didn't stick around to hear the rest of the dialogue.

But yes, it took my breath away momentarily.

Odd? But this is why: right on the heels of overhearing that conversation, I looked down in the stroller at my darling, sleeping 3 month old daughter who was very content, gnawing on her little pacifier.

And I realized.

Yep, I realized that I am going to blink and be facing different battles as a momma, and in that moment, I felt overcome with emotion.

For today, I am challenged with spit up and skinned knees. And in just a few tomorrows, I will be having all kinds of conversations with my darling daughters about modesty and temptation. My brain tried to tackle all of it in a moment's time today, and I was overwhelmed.

But then, I was reminded of this truth, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). How sweet of our Creator to give us sweet and simple reminders.

Pause.

Breathe.

And focus on the spit up and skinned knees of today.

"...tomorrow will worry about itself..."

National S'mores Day!

Did you know that Wednesday was National S'mores Day?! Well, it was.... and of course, we all sometimes need an excuse for a great, sweet treat!

(Ellie missed out on the celebration this year. We often wait until she is asleep to enjoy a campfire!)