Bella and her Daddy

If there is one thing that I count my blessings for daily it is my sweet hubby! My kids ADORE him! The moment he walks in the door they are yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!" They love their one-on-one time with Daddy...

Cooper got an idea from a friend to paint a birdhouse with Bella and she had a blast! Here are a few crafty pics. :)

Off to the beach tomorrow with all the cousins! 9 kids and 4 adults in a 3 bedroom condo! whew! here we come! can't wait to record the memories.

So fun...

Our kids are a trip! They just make us laugh all the time! It is amazing how fast time is flying by! Here are some updated pics...

Andrew is like his daddy... he loves music, loves to sing and play the piano. He totally got busted for getting into Coopers set-up! haha

Awesome series at church!

Awesome series at church ended today... It was called "Ironman". It was geared toward men but also was so encouraging to women. Mark Henry, our lead pastor, spoke of the challenges we face in our relationships:marriage, friendships and children. If you are looking for something to encourage you in the challenges of parenting, today was awesome! Here is the link to our church...http://www.northmetro.org/home.aspx?pid=145

more later with the kiddos! :)

Our Community Group

We go to an awesome church, North Metro Church in Marietta, GA. We started going a few years ago and can truly say it has been such a blessing to our family. We went out on a limb and joined a community group 3 and 1/2 years ago. We were scared of the commitment at first... We met on Sunday nights every other week, joining a group of people that we did not know at all, and most of us had young children. Well, I can honestly say 3 and 1/2 years later that God's hand was over our group from the beginning. How cool for 8 random couples to come together and seek the Lord together and encourage one another along the way. We were also extremely blessed to have our leaders, Rick and Emily Everswick. He is on staff at our church with the missions. Those two hearts have the be purest and most non-assuming I have come across in my 30 years of life. And their children!!!! Oh my goodness, if you could bottle them and feed them to your kids you would!
Anyways, ( I know I am SO long winded!) all this to say we had our last meeting this past Sunday. It was incredible. We joined together to break bread and remember what Christ did for us and how much He has done IN us. We spent time talking and Rick read The Last Supper. We then we went around and said how everyone could pray for each other. At the end as we were taking communion and praying it started to pour down rain... it was as if God's mercy, grace, and presence was among us and it was AWESOME! I am so thankful for the commitment of each family in our group. It has blessed our lives being a part of theirs. We are excited about the next path that God will lead is down within our church. But I will be forever grateful for the foundation that was built and upon which the rock I stand!

Hilton Head

Silly Girls...

Andrew, Bella, Ashton and Reid

I know I am bias, but does it get cuter than this?????

Bella, the twirling princess!

Andrew not sure of ALL his floatation devises!

Our dearest friends, Mark and Sloane Frazer, took our family to the Hilton Head beach last week and it was a hoot! You can imagine four kids, two girls that are almost 4 and 5, and two boys that are 21 months old...it made for lots of laughs. Ashton is their oldest and Reid is their little boy. They are all big buds... the boys are way more aggressive and the girls WAY more dramatic!

What a blessing to have close friends that you can share so much with: the love of our Lord, awesome husbands, parenting, laughter, hard times, and still at the end of the day are so blessed by their friendship. If there is ONE thing I have learned about parenting...it is WAY more fun going through it with close friends!

Just thinking...

With all the strep last week we had a lot of home playtime... these are a few updated pics of that. Andrew is so into "balls" and Bella her babies. This is "Emily" and she happens to be the CHEAPEST doll we own. When Bella was sick last year we were in Walgreens waiting for her antibiotics and we got her a treat...Emily. She loves this doll! The doll is falling apart and loosing stuffing, but bless Bella's heart she can't part with this doll. So forget American Girl dolls... we love the stuffed Emily.

Cooper and I love music. I would listen to the same thing all the time but he is good to keep me updated on what's new. The CD I am wearing out right now is Chris Rice- Peace Like a River: The Hymns Project. http://www.chrisrice.com/music.php?id=4 It is incredible! It is all the good old hymns updated a bit, but wonderful.

So as I was baking cookies tonight I was thinking about "How Great Thou Art". I have to say that the hardest thing that I have ever done is what my current role is now: MOM. I am a bit shocked at how hard physically, emotionally, and mentally draining it has been. But then I think of how great Thou art... His power throughout the universe... and He was the one that gave me my two kids. WOW! What an incredible responsibility. My job is to raise two children in the ways of the Lord. And then I am overwhelmed by the verse that God did not even spare HIS own Son to save me from who I am at the core... could I even imagine that??? No way... I was at the redneck circus last night and held Bella so close in fear that something would happen to her, yet God allowed His only Son to die for me. If nothing else brings you to your knees that should!!!

All this to say, whatever your lot right now God is there, smack dab in the middle. My challenge is raising Godly children, being a Godly mother/wife, and getting on my knees daily in order for that to happen.