Photo Contest...

Summer First Splash...

I saw on another blog this morning that a photography fun website is holding a contest this week and the topic of it is "blue."

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?...

The girls were all dressed for some football spirit this morning. They are ready to start cheering this weekend for their favorite teams...GO CANES and GO DAWGS! Nothing is more fun to me that FALL! With it comes many wonderful memories from my past...like days spent wearing red and black while dancing and cheering on my Bulldawg in Sanford Stadium!

To find out where to get your little monkey some adorable ribbon leggings like the girls are wearing, click here! http://www.themonogrammonkey.etsy.com/

We started decorating the house for Fall this week. I hope to add a few shots of how Fall is popping up around here soon!

12 Months...Here comes Sassy!

Well, this is the last photo sitting by the rabbit! Look how big you have gotten since that same shot just one short year ago. You are so much fun now! You started walking 2 weeks before your birthday and now you can clear a room in no time (you look a little like Frankenstein trying to walk but so cute!) You love to make silly faces and clasp your hands over your ears and say "oh!" You started blowing kissing this month too. It is precious and melts my heart. And...like your sisters mixed together, you have this adorable, sweet and innocent side combined with a fun, sassy and rotten side. Can you guess which sister is like what side of you? Your big blue eyes have now turned to a gorgeous green, gray, blue color. Pretty much change with what you are wearing. Daddy was a little sad they changed from his blue color but they make you special. This year has been so full of love and wonderful memories. Now, off to the adventure of bringing up three sassy girls! Your new faces!
Just 12 short months ago! One week old Sept 2008
As we begin decorating our house for FALL...my favorite season, the girls and I say "Goodbye!" to the lazy days of Summer!

Look at the face on the little one below...what are we in for?

Until next summer...

hope your summer was like "roses!"

Wrapping it Up...

Here you are beginning to find out the fun in opening presents! You seemed to get the hang of it really quick!

What a sweet accessory for your Halloween attire!

You absolutely loved your rocking horse popa made for you to match your chair!

Your favorite thing to do of all was hang out in the floor with your big sisters and let them show you all about your new toys.

Thanks again so much to the amazing ladies and little princesses who made this day even more special! We love you all! Thanks for joining us for tea!

Grammy, Aunt Courtney, Ms Andrea, Aunt Lynn, Danielle, Aunt Beth, Mimi

Ms Deana, Ms Mandi, Ms Brandi, Ms Leanne

Your sisters, Ailee and Anna Grace, and Cousins, Campbell and Cybil

More Birthday Fun!...

Adelynn, another very special gift you opened before your party started was your cake serving set. Aunt Beth and I have enjoyed giving each of our nieces a special serving set engraved with the full name and birthday on the knife. The girls will use them each year to serve their birthday cakes with. When they have chosen that special man to marry, we will represent them with the set with the knife engraved with their new full name and wedding date so that may serve the wedding cake.

And...you loved the cake! What fun you had enjoy the whole top layer to yourself!

Here you are in your adorable first birthday outfit mimi created for you to wear for your real birthday (thanks for making it reversible too so we can wear it for more occasions! You rock, Mimi!

Tomorrow we will finish out the week with the rest of your adorable gifts and the fun you had opening them! Wait to you see Popa's handmade rocking horse...

A Birthday Fit for an Angel...

I love 1st birthday's and this one for fun to decorate for. Adelynn is such a sweet and snuggly little angel that is was not hard to pick a theme for her party. Below you can see how excited and in awe of it all she really was. She was just clapping and proud that it was all about her for a change! (no way sisters could steal the show!)

"Yeah! I am one today!"

Here you are opening your very special first birthday present from Mimi and Granddaddy. Each 1st birthday celebration, Mimi and Granddaddy give their granddaughters a special handpainted cake plate with a personal message under the rim. You will use it each year at your birthdays and then for your wedding bridal luncheon you will be served a special cake one last time on your plate. I will wrap it up and send it off with you to your new home for you to use as you choose! Hopefully, each of you will have a precious angel of your own to serve sweet treats on it for one day!

What a gorgeous cake Grammy made for you! Just perfect for your special day! Come back tomorrow to see how Adelynn loved digging into such a beautiful, sweet treat!

An Angel's Wings...1st Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADELYNN!!!!

(Check back each day this week for fun snapshots of our angels 1st birthday!)

An invitation went out a couple of weeks ago to some very special women in your live. They each mean the world to Mommy and Daddy and as you grow you will love them more and more. They are constant faces who act as sources of love and warmth to you. As each birthday passes by in the years ahead, I know these ladies will strand strong and fill in the gap for you by praying protection and goodness for your life. I wanted them to share in the memories of your very special 1st birthday!
The invitation read as follows...


'Twas the day before her birth, when in the Lord's lap,
An infant was stirring, curling up for a nap.
On Earth a Mommy and Daddy joined hearts in prayer,
In hopes their sweet baby soon would be there.
The child nestled snugly against Jesus' breast,
And angels sang lullabies to coax her to rest.
With fluttering eyelids, breaths yielding and deep,
The child settled in for a long blissful sleep.
Suddenly the flutter of angel wings caused such a flurry,
She opened her eyes to see what was the hurry.
Jesus caressed her cheek softly, His gaze turning toward Earth.
"Precious child," the Lord whispered, "It is time for your birth."
~
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a heaven sent cherub so precious and dear.
Sunlight on the face of the newly-born girl
Gave the luster of heaven to our spot in the world.
We marveled at skin soft and rosy on small body parts;
She took her place in our arms as the angel of our hearts.
Her eyes -- how they twinkled! Her heart couldn’t be merrier!
Her cheeks were like roses, just kissed by her Savior!
Her sweet little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
Her life stretching before us pure white as the snow.
She was lovely and pink, a delicate pearl;
We thanked God when we saw her, our sweet little girl.
As we held her we cried, hearts overflowing with love,
"We thank God for Adelynn, our Angel from above!"

Because you are a
beautiful model
of love and support who will
constantly flood our "angel" with
encouragement, direction and
faith...

Please gather with us for a
Ladies Tea
as we honor

Adelynn McCall
on her 1st Birthday!

Sunday, September 13th
3 o'clock
The England Home

(A white feather sprinkled with shining dust lay upon the inside of the invitation)

As a party favor, each lady recieved a bottle sealed with wax containing a single feather from your angel wings and shining sprinkles of dust.

For each birthday, Mommy paints you girls a special birthday plate that represents the theme of your party. On your 12th birthday (once you have a place setting), we will celebrate your bday with a special tea party by serving your guest with one of the plates from your past. Adelynn, if you look closely, Mommy hid your footprint in the gown of the angel!

A Weekend of Celebrations...One Year Already!

Can I get a moment in time, please? I knew with her being the 3rd child that I would have to work at savoring every minute because in the midst of a full house things would fly by. However, I had no idea that even though I hung on to each memory with the tightest grip possible, time still raced by at warped speed! But when I put aside the sadness and mourning of the loss of my last "baby" slipping through my fingers... Adelynn, your first year has been a blast!!!! You are such a precious baby full of adorable expressions and busting with gladness! I couldn't have imagined a more perfect fit for our family. This weekend we will kick off the celebrating of your birthday week. I hope the new and exciting things you experience on your first birthday will bring you half as much joy as you have brought us already!

You definitely love the idea of balloons!

And...it was so fun for the girls and I to watch you tear into your cake for the first time. You seemed so amazed and you kept looking at me as to say, "Mom, are you sure this is okay? You never let me do stuff like this. It is a dream!"

Here is when you really had fun with it! Your sisters were worried to death that you were making such a mess and rubbing it all over your tummy! I had to pull out photos to remind them that mom sat and snapped photos of them doing the very same thing!

The Climb...All Girls Hiking Trip

On this holiday, the girls and I decided that the water was too cold for the swim party at the club and we wanted to venture out to do something different. Daddy has been recovering from surgery and also the stomach virus he got from all of us. It was up to us to find something fun to do together today just us girls. So, for some reason, we decided to go hiking. Not such a great idea, after all ,but we did make it to the top with help from one another and back down again all together with only a few scuffed knees. Anna Grace enjoyed herself and all God's unique creations around us. Ailee moaned and complained most of the trip and finally declared when we reached the top..."Next time, Mommy, I am staying home with Daddy and you can do this by yourself!" Adelynn, strapped to my chest, pointed at everything with her adorable and tiny index finger while ohhing and ahhing so sweetly until she pasted out on the way back down. Probably not something the girls will be up for anytime soon but it was a fun day in a different sort of way!

The girls have been singing to the top of their lungs in the car to the hit song by Miley Cyrus...The Climb. Today, they got to experience just that and I loved witnessing how the big sis was ready to reach out a hand for her little buddy!

And...you made it by teamwork and look how proud!

Ailee, you were covered in heat and exhaustion but you still forced a smile for the top of the climb. Way to reach your goal, little sunshine. You always keep Mommy in stitches!

Ahhhh! Rest...and some Fun too!

Jon and I were so blessed to be able to enjoy 5 days at the beach with some of our dearest couple friends. Because Jon was recovering from surgery and couldn't do much but rest, we decided what better place to do it than the BEACH! Mimi came and did an awesome job caring for the girls...school, ballet, awana and more made it a little stressful I am sure but she did great! It was so wonderful to just let my mind rest for a few days. I felt lost at first only having to make one lunch, bath myself, carry only a small bag of stuff to the beach, etc. Wow, the difference it makes to only worry about one for a change. I actually read a book...No, not a "how to be a better mom, more loving wife, or even a more devoted believer book, just a "dig your toes in the sand, sit back and relax" kind of book. I read two mystery novels that were for no other reason but enjoyment! It's been a long time since I have taken the time to read material that was not "beneficial" necessarily. The guys had a blast fishing while we had fun just basking in the cool breeze off the water and working on tan lines.

Thanks, Heltons, we couldn't have asked for a better break in our everyday lives. And, spending it with you guys sure made it even more enjoyable. We love you!