Mother's Day... My Thoughts

Mother's Day always brings up mixed emotions for me because of the death of my own mother just over 5 years ago. Emily was only 5 months old when she died so it's hard to not have her here when there is so much for me to yet experience and so much I want to share with her and partake in her wisdom. She was (and still is) a wonderful woman whom I love and miss very much.

After a wonderful dinner of Lamb Kabobs on the grill, cooked by my fabulous grill-master husband, we honored her by visiting her grave and sharing some quiet moments together as a family. There are not enough words in the English language to express the effect a mother has on her children. I can only hope to be as wonderful and effective for my kids as she was for me. I love you Mom.

Just Hangin' Around

So Emily said she has something to show me so she leads me in to her room and I see this....














His feet are actually touching the floor so he's not in any danger (just for those worry warts out there!) Kinda' funny, eh!

Friends

These are my great friends Shauna and Stephanie! Occasionally the girls in our ward get together for a girl's night. Usually it's over at Shauna's house. This particular night it was just the three of us that showed up so we did a fun thing called the Tim Tam Slam which is a tradition from Australia. I have a video we made of us doing it but for some reason it won't post to Blogger!! If you know how to remedy this situation PLEASE contact me! Anywho, here's a fun link to see how it's done "Down Under." Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJsEMKX3dXI&feature=related

Sleep-gee Guy

That's how Avery used to say "sleepy guy" when he was tired. I thought it was cute so we didn't correct him and just let him figure out how to say it on his own. So in honor of this thought I thought I'd post some pictures of the random places and ways that he's fallen asleep. I wish I could sleep anywhere. I put a little one in there of Emily who fell asleep at the kitchen table not too long after we moved into the house.

Chicken Feet

Avery put on my gardening gloves. I'm so glad he has 10 toes and not this as a replacement. Finding shoes would be a bear.

Camera Update

So... we haven't found the camera but A found one for me to use in the mean-time! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Where Oh Where Is My Camera?

I felt it was time for a new post but my camera has been misplaced and I'm going through withdrawals! So can everyone say a little prayer for us? I'm sure that it's cold and lonely and crying on it's big "pilla" every night because it's one purpose in life is not being fulfilled! Thanks for reading my plea and I really wasn't kidding about saying a prayer. Talk about stressful! That thing isn't cheap!

Good times & Cake

We hosted an open house for Dad and Lynne. Kami was able to come for it so we enjoyed goofing around with Lonnie too.







After the party we had so much cake left over that we needed to find a new use for it versus eating it all! We call it "Calorie Free Cake."

Some"bunny" loves you

Easter was great this year. For play group that week we had an egg hunt over at my friend Shauna's house. Emily and Avery had a great time with friends.





Emily, Fiona and Avery

On Easter we got together over at Paka and Mimi's house for a family dinner and another egg hunt in the back yard. We made bunny cupcakes for dessert(thank you Betty Crocker!) and had a wonderful time. We especially enjoyed our time with Paka and Mimi since they had come home the previous weekend.



Cousins! Pierce, Avery and Emily







On a more spiritual note... I think next year we might need to do more focusing on the meaning rather than the pomp and circumstance. Isn't that the goal of every day?

"Pine-ing" Away

Living in GA makes it nearly impossible to get away from the fact that pretty much the whole state is inundated with trees-- as was the case with our back yard. We decided that if we ever want to get some grass back there that we better get some of them taken down. A few weeks ago we had 10 trees taken out and thus got rid of all the pines!! Yes!! We still have trees back there but at least they won't drop all the junk that pine trees do.

It was fun watching the crew work. We have a gi-normous mulch pile! And now we will start saving for the next phase of the project. Manure! Gotta get that good fertilizer in there so grass can have a chance of growing.

Enjoy the pix!

From Russia with Love

Paka and Mimi returned from a two year mission in Novosibirsk, Russia on March 20th! Mimi was wearing her mink coat and Paka his heavy coat since it was freezing temperatures when they left! They were so happy to be home and we were so happy to have them home. They were excited to see the new babies that had been born since they left.

It took them 22 hrs of flying time to arrive in the US so they were pretty tired but so excited to see everyone. There were hugs to be had by all!

"Painting"

Avery decided to "paint" our windows for us today in celebration of St. Patrick's day (not really but it's a nice thought). Any guesses as to what it is? Look below the picture for the answer.


Cream Cheese!

Whistle While You Work

Emily actually ASKED if she could help me clean so I had to capture this moment for sure! Who know how many more there will be? I'm already having visions of teenage-hood where there will not be any hint whatsoever of a desire to clean so I shall memorialize this moment! She was excited to wash her first cookie sheet and mop the floor!

The Playroom

On Fridays we have a group of friends that get together for a playgroup. This day we went to a place called The Playroom where there are lots of physical activities for the kids to do including a foam pit, trampolines, balance beams, blown-up jumping activities and fun to be had all around. Here are a few pix of the kids having fun with friends. Avery wasn't too excited to leave.

Oreo

The Oreo eating process for a 3 year-old is quite the feet and can be an exhausting experience for all those involved.

Step 1- Taste the cookie



Step 2- Complain that you only started with one cookie



Step 3- Pause to recognize photo op (no smiling of course, this is serious business)



Step 4- Choose to continue eating first cookie




Step 5- Give mom the "eye" because you think that she wants your cookie (you're right about that)



Step 6- Have a refreshing drink of milk




Step 7- Revel in the experience

Little Helpers

The kids wanted to help Andrew in the garage so he got them all set up. They were so excited to wear safety goggles and Emily in her cooking apron. (I have no idea what he was planning on having them do that would entail a cooking apron! I certainly hope it doesn't involve preparing food!)

Just playin' around

Emily convinced Avery to put a dress-up dress on and do a play with her. It didn't take much convincing because he loves to do everything she does. I just hope he doesn't hold it against me later for posting these photos!

Love.... exciting and new (at least 7 years ago)

On March 3rd Andrew and I celebrated our 7-year anniversary! I can't believe that it's been that long already. We had agreed that we wouldn't get each other anything but when he came home from work he surprised me with one dozen long stem roses! I was totally taken back for two reasons...

(1 ) If you know Andrew, buying flowers is typically NOT a first purchase because they are one of the most impractical things you can get.

(2) He didn't get them from a store (no he didn't cut them off somebody's bush!) He works close to the intersection of West Paces Ferry and Northside Pkwy and there is a guy that is out there every day selling roses. For years we have seen this guy and wondered how on earth he's able to make a good living doing that day in and day out. It seemed like hard work for little pay so Andrew decided to buy the roses from him. When he was telling me about this guy he said that he was one of the happiest people he's ever met. He was so excited to be able to be out there just to sell roses and he was anxious to tell him how to care for them so they would last longer. For me, that was sweet experience that made our anniversary so memorable.

In seven years we have had 2 kids, moved 5 times, lived in 2 states, owned 6 cars, made a million memories and learned from every moment. I hope the next seven are just as memorable. I love you, honey!

Weekend in Clemson

I took Emily and Avery up to Clemson this weekend so Andrew could have a much needed break to work on his thesis! Two years later he is still working on it. There will definitely be partying going on when it's completed!!

We had such a great time visiting friends and I wished I could have gotten pictures of everyone we saw! We miss you guys!! Thanks for a great weekend!

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