Family Update

One of my goals it to update the blog weekly - is that really even possible?!  In order to update, I would love to do a little back tracking.  There's been a good bit of crazy going on around here.

Caroline is getting so big and she cracks us up with all of the things that she tells us!  Yesterday she was telling me about how she hit her head and "suddenly, I started crying!"  Tonight she was having a hard time going to sleep and she was talking, singing and praying up a storm...everything from "Happy Birthday Santa" to the "Lord's Prayer" to "Kelsey don't worry I'm going to share with you" to the song "Call Me Maybe".  Oh my!  She keeps us smiling and laughing.  She has the sweetest little heart.  Anytime I ask her if she wants to bake cookies she replies, "for our neighbors or our friends with no beds?"

Libby is also growing up too quickly...although I must admit it is always easier to see her as the baby!  She has learned all the "important" signs and communicates with us using these signs all the time.  She is a little snuggler!  She is always willing to give out hugs and kisses when we ask...although sometimes not as many as Gigi would like!  I still haven't quite figured out her little personality though.  She's super sweet and laid back one minute and really feisty the next.  She also has had a much tougher time with teething than Caroline ever did so she is crabby a bit more.  Of course we still love her to pieces.  She seems to love all the activity around the house and always wants to be in the midst of whatever is going on.

Mark has been traveling more with his job this year.  In April he was transfered from sales in the commercial division to technical work in the   division.  He is really enjoying his job and the people with whom he is working.  He is also getting to use the gifts and talents that God has given to him so it's been a blessing for him.  We wish he was home more often but are extremely grateful for all the ways that God has provided for our family.

I'm just mama most of the time.  I'm thankful to still be working at East Cobb UMC as the daycare bookkeeper for just a few hours a week.  Other than that I started attending Bible Study Fellowship in the fall.  We are studying Genesis this year and that has been a huge blessing.  I also try to squeeze in gym trips throughout the week.  Other than that I'm household manager.  There's a lot to be done around here.  :-)

One of the biggest changes since I've last really blogged is that we had some family move in with us.  My cousin, Samantha, who is 18 and her little boy Logan who is 1 (6 weeks younger than Libby) have moved in with us.  I can't even begin to describe all the things that we have learned over the past 3 months about ourselves, about God and about our desperate need for a Savior!  It's been a real blessing to have someone else at home with me as Mark travels and the girls have enjoyed having a couple extra playmates.  :-)  Logan and Libby have become especially close in the last month.  They love each other so much.  I don't know what twins are like but I imagine that they are pretty close.  It's adorable to see them laugh, play and "talk" with one another.  Of course, there is also the hitting and not sharing of toys too!

I think that is all of the exciting news here.  We are looking forward to a new year and all kinds of new adventures that God has in store for us.

Fall Pictures

Just some pictures from this fall of our sweet girls!  

I love the black patent leather shoes and white socks...always makes me think of sweet girls! 

2013 Goals

Last year Mark and I wrote out a list of goals and we worked on them throughout the year.  It was a real treat to look back at them and realize that we had accomplished almost everything on the list.  There were only a couple that needed some more work!  We wrote out some goals for 2013 tonight in hopes that we can stay on track this year.  Of course, these aren't all the things we hope to do but just a few that we wanted to highlight.  


 Goals

• Family Goals
  
  • Create blog (or rebuild current blog) to allow weekly updates or more frequently.  -Mark
  • Update family blog weekly or more frequently.  -Nicole
  • Build, plant and eat from our own garden. 
  • Take girls to the beach, either with Vern/Cindy or on our own. 
  • One weekend trip away without little ones (no matter how much we miss them). 
  • Host or plan community-building events once each month. 

• Spiritual Goals
  • Read Bible daily to complete Bible in 2013. 
  • Attend BSF. -Nicole
  • Memorize selected Psalms together. 
  • Two verses memorized each month. -Caroline
  • Read commentary on book of the Bible each quarter.  -Mark

• Service Goals
  • Serve on church committees. (Missions, women's committee, etc)
  • Take girls to nursing home once a month.
  • Foster care ministry. 
  • Go "under the bridges" with the church. 

• Physical Goals
  • Running four miles twice per week on treadmill with long run on weekend. -Mark
  • Workout four times per week alternating run, swim, weights. -Nicole
  • Swim in a three-mile swim event. -Nicole
  • Participate in sprint triathlon. -Nicole
  • Swim 1/4 mile non-stop. -Mark
  • Run two races as a family. 

One Year Old!

Libby is such a little girl now! She turned 1 on August 3rd. I will admit that I have forgotten how much I LOVE THIS AGE!!!  She is such a sweet, fiesty, funny little girl and I forgot how smart they are at this point.  It's easy to take their smarts for granted because they can't talk but she can follow all kinds of directions and not talk back.  I love it!

 

Here are a few pictures from her first birthday party!

 

 





What could be better than little ones running around the front yard in their undies?!  The kids all had a great time playing in the new water table!

Libby, we love you with all our hearts!  You keep us laughing and busy!  You are such a funny girl and we think you are going to be a real stinker!  I thought for sure that you were going to be walking by now but you are still just cruising along and being really stubborn.  You are quite the little eater and will try anything we put in front of you!  You are a good sleeper and now share a room with your big sister which I think you enjoy!  We can't wait to see what this next year will bring for you.  We thank God for you every day sweet girl!

Half Ironman

Mark and I both participated in a Half Ironman this past weekend in Augusta...but we only did a 1/3 of the half!  Does anyone know the math on that?  I did the swimming, Ki did the biking and Mark did the run.  We created another team at the last minute...Noelle did the swim and the run and David did the bike. 

We had a fantastic time getting to hang out with two of our favorite families.  These two families love the Lord and aren't afraid to walk the talk and challenge us in the process!  They also love their families and are some of the most giving and gracious folks that we know!  It was a joy to spend the weekend with them and their children and get to compete!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

 

David being a good daddy reading the kids a bed time story.  :-)

Hello early morning!

 

My first wet suit...I felt like a whale (in the most fit way - of course)!  :-)

There are no words to describe the athlete that Ki is!!  She is not only in really great physical shape but mentally she cannot be matched!  She "trained" at a 16-18mile/hour pace and then raced at a 20.2 mile/hour pace.  She is amazing!  I think that is another reason that I love Ki and Noelle so much - they are super competitive!

 

Our runners patiently waiting their turn!

 

The cutest cheerleaders of all! 

We had a great time!  I can't wait to do another one soon...sadly it will probably be next season.  :-)

Hilton Head

This past week we spent some time in Hilton Head on vacation.  Mark and I both love Hilton Head so it was a real joy to take the girls there for the first time.  We enjoyed lots of play time on the beach and lots of great seafood.  We also enjoyed walking/running everywhere we went.  I no longer regret purchasing our second jogging stroller.  :-)

This is how we started the week on the beach...a pep talk with Daddy about how the sand really isn't that bad.






This is how we finished the week.  :-)

 

Libby also took a little bit of time to get used to the sand but she enjoyed it as well.  She is getting to be such a big girl!




When she wasn't playing in the sand, she was snoozing in the shade.

 

Libby also learned a silly trick.  We gave her half an oreo to eat which she thoroughly enjoyed.  I said, "Libby, show me your face." so that I could get a picture and this is what I got.  Anytime afterwards that we would say, "show me your face" she would turn wide mouthed!  She's a hoot!

 After a few days by ourselves, Lindsay, Brad and Kelsey came to join us.  It was fun to be able to hang out with them for a bit and see the girls play together.

 

Sweet Dad's!

Our celebrity, wind blown pose.  :-)

 



 

Caroline Update

Can it be that once again it has been over a month since I have blogged?  When I look back at the reasons that I have not blogged I find one huge reason....Caroline!  We are going through an interesting season in our home.  In mid-April, Mark and I went on a cruise.  When we got back Caroline was not going to sleep as well as she used to.  Then around the first of May we had a small thunderstorm come through.  Caroline was hysterical (see my post from earlier).  The problems have continued for the last 4 months.  Every night is a battle to get her into bed and every morning she is up with the roosters or maybe even before the roosters!  We have gone through a few periods where things have gotten better and then many nights where things have been just horrible.  :-/  We've tried everything and asked advice from everyone that we could think of.  All of that to say, we are learning lots about parenting, patience and 3 year olds.  My nights of blogging have disppeared along with our sleep!

Caroline's hair and Libby's expression resemble my feelings over the last couple of months - uh oh this is crazy!  :-)



In other news, Caroline started 3 year old preschool a couple of weeks ago.  I have major mommy guilt all the time about school, work, working out, etc, etc.  The list never ends.  Even though school will remain on the list, I should officially cross it off  because she loves it!  She was so happy to go on the first day and didn't show the least bit of hesitancy as you can see!




Although Caroline has been a handful around bedtime, she is still as sweet and funny most of the time.  Here are a few of our favorite things that she has been saying over recent months...

"My brains are coming out."  She always says this when she is hungry because she once heard me say, "I'm starving my brains out."  She also likes to say, "My knees (or insert other body part) are hungry."

Along with the fear of thunder, she is not too fond of loud noises in general.  We went to see a friends volleyball team play a couple of weeks ago and she held her ears for an entire hour.  When we left she said, "My elbows hurt from holding my ears up!" 

A few of the sweet things that she likes to say are "How I can help you?" and "I will share with you." 

I also think it's great when she says, "I really love it!"  She says it with such enthusiasm and will say it about the funniest things.

We love her dearly!

 

Happy Birthday!

Today is a special day.  Three years ago today was Caroline's due date.  Little did we know she would choose to come a week early.  Last year at this time we were expecting Libby to arrive any moment.  Of course, she hung out inside a whole week past her due date.  However, being that my two favorite girls have stolen the last couple weeks of summer, my other favorite girl in the whole world has been overshadowed (how many favorites am I allowed?).  My mom's birthday is today!

I've been wanting to write a blog post for my mom for awhile but it's so hard to put everything into words.  I tried to say thank you once before but it's so hard!  I've heard people say that you become much more thankful for your parents once you become a parent.  When I think about it, this may be true.  My mom used to change my diapers?!  What-you mean I wasn't born potty trained?!  It certainly does put a new perspective on all that my Mom has done for me. 

Even if I haven't been able to understand all that my mom has done for me, I really don't recall a time that I haven't been incredibly grateful for my mom (even if I didn't show it).  She was the "soccer mom" that drove me to all my sports practices and the classroom mom too.   As an elementary school student I remember her packing my lunches and putting sweet notes in them.  I also remember her fixing my hair every day.  My parents divorced when I was in the ninth grade.  Mom balanced a lot trying to keep Lindsay and I in our activities and working a job to keep things going.  She was always putting us first!  I clearly remember her making sacrifices so that we could have what we needed or even wanted.  As I became as adult, my mom became my friend.  In college I think I called every day just to say hi and chat!  Truthfully, that still continues today because I need all the parenting advice I can get! :-)

My very favorite thing about my Mom is that she works hard to make everyone feel special and loved.  She is always thinking of others before herself!! I can't even begin to count the number of times this past year that she has dropped everything to be here for our family.  She has helped with the girls, planned parties, painted our home, cared for us when we were sick and so much more!  She has made sure that she is present and active in our lives.  I could not be more thankful!

The last few years I have learned more and more about my Mom's family and the life she had growing up.  This has made me appreciate her so much more.  She had a rough family life to say the least!  You always hear about how families are likely to continue destructive cycles.  However, that is not the case with my Mom.  With God's guidance she has cast out the rotten and replaced it with so many blessings and traditions that I can carry on with my family. 

Mom taught me so much growing up.  Early on the most important thing she taught me was how to have confidence in myself.  She taught me how to be disciplined and determined.  She also taught me how to love others by thinking of their needs.  Mark has told me before that I got a brain from my Dad but a heart from my Mom. 

Thank you for my heart Mom!!  I can't imagine living any other way and I definitely would never choose another mom!  Your heart makes you the most precious mom of all!  I hope you have the happiest of birthdays!  We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Missouri

This post is a little overdue!  We went to see Mark's parents, July 6-9th.  We had a great time catching up with them and the rest of the family in Missouri.  I really wish that we could spend more time with them.  I'm all about the girls getting some grandparent love!!  They did get a ton of it while we were there.  :-)  Mark and I also got some love...we were able to run together twice while we were there and we had a date night too!  Woohoo!

Grandma and Grandpa were full of lots of hugs,



and made sure to do lots of silly playing!  Grandpa is such a hoot and is always willing to goof around with the grandkids!

Caroline also had her pick of readers...Grandma















and cousin Roman too.

Grandpa took us to Smallin cave where he gives tours on a weekly basis.  It was very different from any other cave I had been in because it had such a large opening and was wide open inside where we toured.  We were able to walk in with Libby in a stroller.  It was really neat to hear the history and stories from the cave!

Caroline fed some chickens outside of the cave.  She kept her distance just to make sure they didn't eat her legs.  :-)

After feeding chickens, we went to eat some chicken. 

Caroline with her curly head doll, practicing her newest silly face.















Libby was a climbing monster and made herself at home in a rocking chair that Grandma had when she was a little girl!

Aunt Anita is a baby lover!  I wish we lived closer.  She loves to snuggle the girls and play with them.

Uncle Phillip also joined in on the girl action.  He was super with Caroline and I was glad to see that Caroline was thrilled to play with him too.

Libby on a rocking horse that Grandpa made.  For some reason her little expression in this picture reminds me of Mark and the Taylor family!

Mark and Phillip had a friendly arm wrestling match.  It was fun to see them being together.

We also got to visit Grams (Mark's maternal grandmother). She had a "little" family gathering at her home one night where the girls got lots of attention.





























Grandpa, Grandma and the girls...we hope to have another picture again soon.  Come to Georgia!!