Olivia's First Day of School

Olivia had her first day of fourth grade today. It's hard to believe she's only two years from middle school...YIKES! Our first baby is growing up so fast, it's hard to believe that she'll be in college in nine short years. Olivia is really excited about her teacher this year and even said tonight that she wished it was Sunday so she could go back to school tomorrow. I think it's going to be a great year for our fourth grader!

I Will Rise

I've heard Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise" many times. I know the words, I've sang the song. But I never really listened to the words, until today. And the words came alive to me. I MUST see Chris in concert. I've always been a fan of his, but WOW!

Beautiful, don't you think?

Maxwell's First Day of First Grade

It's hard to believe our little guy is in the first grade now. He loves school and was so excited to be starting back. I pray that he will always be so enthusiastic about it!


Here he is at his desk, I'm sure a lot of work will get done here!


All ready to go!

Olivia starts school a week from today and is very excited and eager to get started (she's bored out of her mind!). :)

She's on the go.....

Abigail has taken off! It's amazing how far she's come in the last two weeks. She is walking more than crawling now and VERY proud of herself. It's so sweet to see her do her wobbly walk around the house but also kinda sad, our little baby is becoming a toddler very fast! It's hard to believe she's our last one, though if it were up to her daddy, we'd have a couple more!

Abigail had a check up on Friday and weighed in at an even 19lbs and is 28 inches long. Huge, I know. She was even cooperative enough to show off her walking skills for the doctor.

Here's a short video of her walking (she was in a very silly mood at the time, such a happy girl).

If you feel lead, please pray for my brother in law's sister, Katie. She and her husband, Jason had a beautiful baby girl (Reese) on Tuesday. Their sweet girl passed away Thursday. Katie is an amazing woman with a strong faith but of course this has been devastating for them. Please pray that God will comfort them and carry them through this storm. A link to their blog: http://therowefam.blogspot.com/

Abigail's First Birthday

On July 4th, we celebrated Abigail's first birthday. Abigail has been such a sweet blessing to our family and we are so thankful to God for her. It was a long journey to get our sweet girl here but she was more than worth the wait. She's a happy, busy and funny baby girl...and we wouldn't have it any other way!

We were in Arkansas for her birthday so she had a little family party at Nana and Papoo's house. I don't think she had a clue what was going on but she looooved her smash cake!

A Video Slideshow of Abigail's First Year.

Busy days...

Wow, I'm so far behind. Obviously summertime has been pretty busy around here, either that or I just haven't felt like updating my blog. Hmm, where to begin? Hudson took off for an extended fishing trip the second week of June. He was gone an entire week, but came back with a lot of fish. Hopefully that trip won't be as long if he goes next year. Hudson's mom volunteered to come and keep me company. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of eating and shopping! Unfortunately Abigail came down with a bad ear infection, only the second time she's ever been sick, it was nice to have Margaret here to help with Miss Abigail's needy self.

The day after Hudson got home, we celebrated Maxwell's 6th Birthday! Hard to believe it's been 6 years since our sweet boy was born, it feels like at least 10. I kid. Maxwell is a tender-hearted, compassionate, outgoing, Star-Wars loving sugarcube. He's a protective and loving older brother and has perfected his role as a pesky little brother :) Now for some pictures of his big day!

How great is it that shooting water into the air is so entertaining?


Must have braces to join club. Fortunately for Olivia, 2 of Maxwell's best pals have older sisters who are Olivia's best friends.



Who could have guessed? A Star Wars cake!


Happy Birthday to the sweetest boy ever!

A couple of weeks after our little guy's birthday, we made the loooong trek to Arkansas, yeehaw! We spent several days in Hot Springs, soaking up the rays, eating a lot of food and boating around the lake. Hudson's parents were able to meet us there and provided a wonderful place to stay.


Hanging with Nana after a burger at Jason's.


There she is wrinkling that nose again.




Poor Abigail, she never gets any attention.


Nana spoiling Abigail with a slushie.


Olivia caught, reeled in and even posed with this bream.


Olivia sporting her patriotic braces.


Abigail's favorite pastime? Crackers on the deck with Papoo (or anyone else who will give her one!).


Silly girl.


Abigail watching her daddy, big sister and brother on the tube.




Check out that cool kid skiing!

Pigtails Anyone?

When there is a need to brush a baby's hair after a bath, it's time for pigtails.

And yes. I did.