Picture Perfect

 
Here is another picture Aunt Andrea took of Julie twirling in the yard. I've been playing around with the photos, using Picasa. I really love this "free" photo program, you can download through Google.

Photo Shoot

 

While I was home visiting family, my sister-in-law, Andrea, did a "photo shoot" with Julie & Alayna. The pictures were taken in my parents yard. Here is one of the photos. I'll try and post a few more soon.

Visiting

The trip was a success, and the girls traveled well. HALLELUJAH! We've been having a wonderful time with my family. The first couple of days my mom was not feeling well. She had a lot of back pain, and her red blood cell count was low, from chemo. But, by Wednesday she was feeling well again. Monday the girls and I head for home again. My sister-in-law asked me yesterday if I'd be interested in having a portable DVD played for the car, when we travel....Uhhhh....let me think about that....YES YES YES YES YES!!!! All these 8 hour trips to visit my family singing kids songs, handing gold fish, animal crackers, & cheerios in to the back seat to keep them quiet, and talking in high pitched tones trying to keep "everyone" happy...this could all be resolved with a DVD player. Yippee! She said they may buy us one for Christmas, and all I have to say to that is, "Bless You!!" :)

Packing

The girls and I are leaving tomorrow to spend a week, or so, with my parents. They live 8 hours away. We've made this trip so many times, and yet each time I face this 8 hour trec in the car, with two adorable children, who become less adorable each hour spent in the car, I get anxious. I'm not anxious about being gone, I'm not anxious about whether Dave will remember to feed our two cats, and water the plants (by the way, Dave...feed the cats, and water the plants!)...I think the anxiety always comes from whether I remembered to pack everything we'll need. I remembered a dress for Sunday, but do I have pantyhose??..."for crying out loud, do I have pantyhose??!!" I packed socks...but did I remember shirts...I packed clothes for warm weather, but what if it's cold the entire time??? But, I can honestly say, that in all these trips, I have never forgotten to pack my make-up or blow dryer! And we are all thankful. ha!! As I sit here and type this, my mind is going over the list of things I need to bring. Snacks for the car, toys for the car, music for the car, underwear, socks, shoes, sanity???...I NEVER seem to bring enough sanity with me for the car ride. Well, the little bit of sanity I do have, will have to suffice for now. It's going to be a great ride tomorrow...I can just feel it.

Choo Choo

 
This is the train, that is still attached to our rider lawn mower, in my front yard. Yes, this goes with VBS, and the Western theme. Dave built the entire train. The kids loved it. He gave rides in the "rail jail" each night. We're still trying to figure out where to put it, so it doesn't have to be torn apart.

Western Town

 
Here is a close-up of the western town, that is still in my front yard. This year our VBS theme was "Holy Hoedown." Since we have a small church, the VBS is held in our front yard. I really don't mind, but I sometimes wonder what our neighbors must think. ha! So far, they seem okay with it....We had 45 kids attend VBS. That's 20 more kids than we had last year, and 2 kids got saved! It was a great week!

Julie Marie

 
Julie is 4 years old. She will be starting pre-school in a couple of weeks. Wow, that is so hard for me to believe! The decision to send her to pre-school has been a long, thought out, prayed over, process. We are excited for this new step, and anxious at the same time. We know that God is in control, and each new step we take, He is there with us. What a comfort that is.

Alayna Sue

 
Alayna is not shy of the camera. She is a happy, and content (most of the time),baby. She'll be one in September.

How Cute Is This

 
I just had to share this picture of my husband, when he was little. I just love it! Alayna looks a lot like her daddy, especially those chubby cheeks.

Dave & Me

 

Dave & I have been married for 7 years, this past August. Dave is a full-time Pastor. I stay at home with our two girls. This picture was taken a couple years ago at Dave's brothers wedding...but trust me, we haven't changed much.

Julie in Jail

 
This picture of Julie was taken at VBS. Dave built a western town in our front yard, for this year's western theme. The jail was part of the town.

Our Girls

 
Julie is 4 years old, and Alayna is 10 months, in this picture. I took this in our backyard, while they wore their matching outfits, from Grandma Carol.

New at this

Okay, so almost everyone I know is setting up these blogs. It's a lot of fun to read their postings, and view their pictures. So, like I always say, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Okay, I don't always say that, but it seemed like a good idea to try this out, for myself. With most of my family living far from me, this hopefully will be a fun way to keep them up-to-date on the happenings in our life. Not that the "happenings" are all that exciting, but at least my mom will enjoy the pictures of her grandkids.