Happy Birthday America and Adalyn!

Adalyn is 3!

We enjoyed a weekend on Oak Island, NC with a day trip to Bald Head Island. Adalyn's first trip in a golfcart--the only vehicles allowed on the island.

Celebrated the 4th and her birthday with a great parade and festival at Southport and ending the night with waterfront Fireworks!

Disney!!!

We surprised Adalyn with a day at Magic Kingdom, it was so much fun! She told us that her wish and her dreams came true as she watched the show in front of Cinderella's castle while everyone chanted "Dreams Come True!"--it was all so sweet!

Here are a few pictures of Adalyn's (and our) favorite moments! She is showing Cinderella the Cinderella accessory on her crocs!

Playing Mom

Adalyn-isms

First of all my daughter has an unbelievable memory and will bring up things from over a year ago! We can drive by a place and she will go into detail about the events that took place a certain time we were there. It is quite amusing!

Well today I was swinging Adalyn underneath the deck and she looks at the big wooden beams and asks me to tell her a story about Jesus. On Good Friday I told her the story of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection in the most kid-friendly language I could think of. I told her that He had to carry a big wooden beam up a big hill and that the beams used to make the cross were like the beams holding up our deck. She wanted to pretend like she was going into the tomb and would "roll the stone away" and disappear up into Heaven. That night we had made a dessert in which a big marshmallow (Jesus) was rolled up into a crescent roll and then baked in a tomb (the oven) and after 3 days (or 10-12 minutes) Jesus had disappeared! (marshmallow had melted into the crust) Today while telling her the story about Jesus again, she listened intently and even had her fill in some of the blanks like "Jesus' body was placed inside of a ____" She finished the story by adding "And then we ate him...'member?" Toddlers, gotta love em!

Adalyn also wanted me to make up a story about her being a princess so i tried my best. I told the story sort of like a mad-lib just for fun and it went something like this with Adalyn's words in purple..you could see I dominated this story but the ending was cute

"Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a beautiful princess named Adalyn. Adalyn's favorite color was Purple. Her castle was purple, her carriage was purple and even her dog was purple. One day while Adalyn went out to pick some purple flowers she came across a handsome prince named Daddy. Prince Daddy had a green castle and drove a green carriage. Princess Adalyn did not want to live in his green castle so she invited he and Queen Mommy to live in her purple castle. And they all lived happily ever after in a Big, Purple ..PUMPKIN. The end." Then we both laughed for a good 30 seconds :) I think we may have to record more of these "Mommy mad-lib stories" as they are quite entertaining!

Bunny, Where are you?

Video clip from last month. There were baby bunnies burrowed beneath the mint and shrubs, this is a video of Adalyn calling for them and distraught from not finding them.

HopSkoch!

This always cracks us up!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!!

Easter!

What a gorgeous Easter day it was this year!

After church we headed to the Biltmore Estate for an Easter egg hunt with friends Anna, Jeff and Sara followed by a feast at the Deerpark Restaurant on the Biltmore grounds.

Here are a few pictures from the afternoon at the hunt and in the gardens, check out the beautiful tulips!

Spring is Here!

We have been enjoying a few warm days that our first weekend of Spring has brought along! Adalyn and I met up for a hike and picnic with friends Shelly and Tina and their children.

The girls enjoyed walking hand in hand and Nicholas was a great leader!

We are anxious to have a successful vegetable garden this year (we'll see since we are so new at this!) For now I am trying to just keep some herbs and lettuce plants alive in the window---see what comes or doesn't come of the banana pepper and squash seeds!

What a January it has been

Peace Out!!

Playing "Fancy Nancy" with mommy and daddy

Little Cinderella--January 17th videos

November and December videos

Kauai 2008

January 17th videos

God beams

As I spend time posting pictures and videos of my family I cannot help but to think of my sweet friend Bonnie back in Arkansas who is now learning to cope with the sudden loss of her husband Thomas in a car accident. I encourage anyone who is having a hard time finding strength to make it through a day to read her recent posts---I promise you will see God working in her life and find your own strength through her. I keep asking myself how does one pick themselves up each day and find the energy to take care of an almost 2 year old daughter and push through the exhaustion she must be feeling as she goes through her first trimester with new baby And is mourning her loss. I am deeply touched by her positive attitude, her strength and her sharing. About 8 years ago I went for a hike up Pinnacle Mountain, Bible in tow, searching for a verse that would help me in my own situation of disappointment and sadness--which by the way now seems microscopic in comparison to Bonnie's river of emotions--I literally flipped through my Bible and let the wind turn the pages. I know that sounds a bit idealistic to many, but that is how I like to roll :) To my surprise I looked down and read this :
"As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things." Ecclesiastes 11:5

I love that. I had never read it before, it may have meant nothing to me before. But to me, when reading that passage, I heard "There is no way I can try to make sense of all things. Isn't it amazing that a baby can be formed inside a woman's body..and how unpredictable the wind patterns can be at any given moment? So don't try to look for 'reasons' or try to define what is 'meant to be' or in God's plan. He made everything...the details are too many...don't try to understand why things aren't working out because we Never will" and at that moment--that is what I needed to hear and it clicked for me. We need to live in each moment and I believe Bonnie and Thomas did just that as a couple, as a family and I pray for her continued strength.

Baby of Mine

Adalyn's Year in Review 2008!

Adalyn Faces

SILLY face. GRINCH face. PRINCESS face.