Date Night with Joe

Sometimes the simplest of dates are the most memorable.


I adore this picture.

Carnival Night

Big night! Went to a school carnival that Andy volunteered at.
Came home complete with face painting, tattoos, and sand art necklaces.

Forgive the glare, but how adorable is that face!?

Andy was upstairs putting Annabelle to bed and called me up to take
this picture. So precious that he thought to document this.
He adores his little girl.

Dirty and Loving It

Cowgirls

Annabelle adores her Miss Rachie.

Learning to Share

When I first got my camera I wouldn't let Andy so much as touch it. It was my baby and I wasn't going to let anyone mess with it. I have slowly come around to letting him touch it and even take some pictures with it. But, when I went to upload my newest batch of pictures and found some of the boys wrestling that I most certainly did not take, my heart took a leap. I have lightened up and realized that he will take good care of it when he's using it even if I'm not there to supervise.

Joe's having a blast.

Look how serious Sam is!

A big feat for this only child!

The Quiet Days

As fun as museums, play dates, parks and the library are, the days we stay home together and have no major plans are always our favorites.

Look -A- Likes

I'm not one who has the gift of being able to tell who in a family really looks like each other or who doesn't. But, when I saw these two pictures I certainly could not deny that Samuel looks like his Daddy!

They are so handsome!

Strawberry Picking in a Flash

Our first strawberry picking experience of the season ended up only being about 12 minutes long. We desperately wanted to fit in a trip, but also didn't want to sacrifice naps that day either. So, we went right after the kids woke up and only had 12 minutes to pick. So, no cute picking shots this time because it was all about the picking. I did however snap this one before jumping in the car. I love this color combination. We picked about 3 pounds in 12 minutes. Pretty impressive, I thought. Hopefully there will be many more visits this season.

Her vs. Them

In case you may wonder why there are dozens more pictures of Annabelle on the blog than the boys these days, it's because of this simple fact... While Annabelle is doing cute adorable things like learning to blown on a dandelion, the boys are doing things like putting silly putty on their playmobil's heads and launching canons. Fun and creative? Yes. Blog worthy? Probably not as much :)

No Shortage of Snuggling Here

I can honestly say that I rarely have to tell the boys to be nice to their sister. I have to tell them to be nice to each other more, but their sister is a different story. Their love for her seems to multiply by the hour.

A night of snuggling listening to the Bible on DVD and sparkling water.
We're nerds, I'm well aware!

Anniversary #8

It would be quite typical to say that "I can't believe we've already been married 8 years." But, honestly, it sure feels like it's been more. Not because the years are dragging and I am not happy, completely the opposite! We have had 8 amazingly full years of marriage. They've most certainly have had rough patches along the way, but undoubtedly they have been filled with blessing after blessing.

We had a fantastic time this year celebrating what God has done over these past 8 years. Andy's mom was able to come down for the night to watch the kids while we went away to an Ethiopian restaurant in Richmond. It was our first Ethiopian food experience, and we loved it. She brought us a basket full of yummy foods, too. Nuts, maple syrup, fairly traded chocolate and honey! She sure knows us well.

Amazing flowers we got from Andy's dad and step mom.

Each year we like to get a gift for ourselves that represents that year's traditional gift. This year the gift was pottery. For awhile we have wanted to start taking communion as a family at home and when we saw this set at the farmer's market, we couldn't pass it up.

He Is Risen!

We had a lovely, simple day celebrating our risen KING. We went to worship and then to a friend's for brunch. A beautiful day in every way.

Pretty girl all dressed up for Easter.

Digging into their surprise at the end of their scavenger hunt.

Good Friday

We were able to spend the whole day together as a family since Andy had the day off. It was wonderful. The weather was beautiful so were were able to hike a new trail on the Blue Ridge.

Excited for a new adventure.

Each year as the children get older we are able to dig deeper into Jesus' death and resurrection story. We are always amazed at what these children soak up as we watch their understanding deepen. We shared a feast together on Thursday night, and then on Friday, as we went through the day, Andy would share what would have been happening to Jesus at that time. For the first time with the kids, we limited our food intake to just the basics, no special treats or fun snacks for the day. We thought it might end up being a disaster, especially going on a long hike, but it shockingly seemed to have made an impact on the boys. It was a great experience to finally have as a family.

Hiking Dripping Rock

As these treasures grow and their love for the truth deepens, we are daily reminded that we cannot lead these children to the streams of living water, if we ourselves do not know the way. We cannot teach something to our children that we first do not know intimately ourselves.

My first encounter with a Columbine flower. Gorgeous!

Leading by example has never been so challenging. Whether we are trying to teach them to love deeply, to submit to authority, to think selflessly; whatever it is, we need to first have experienced some level of success in that area ourselves to bring wisdom to the situation and to gain their trust and respect.

It is such an honor to be a key factor is these children's futures.

Belle is becoming quite the hiker.

After our hike, we came home to prepare our resurrection garden.

Searching for those perfect sticks and stone.

Joseph was the name of the man in the Bible that buried Jesus.
He was a very bold man of faith. None of the 11 disciples were bold enough
to ask for his body. So, it was fitting that we had our Joseph bury him.

Sadness entered the room as the stone was rolled over the tomb.
Praise the LORD we know the end of the story!

Waiting patiently for Sunday to come.

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

A Day in the Life of Super Belle

Gearing up for the day!

Even superheros need to pause and eat.

Snuggling before bed and getting some tips from the pro.

Fast asleep. It's tough being a superhero!

Grandpa and Grandpa Bug*

My grandparents are so gracious. They know how difficult it is for us to head up to New York to visit all our family. So, when they head South for the winters and North for the summers, they most often reroute their trips to come see us for a visit. This was a particually special visit, because we got to spend more time that usual with them and the weather was gorgeous. So thankful for our times together!

Those are some pretty happy faces!

*When Joseph was little he used to call them "Grandpa and Grandpa Bug" because their last name is Bubb. They still say it as a joke and think it's hilarious. Poor grandma!