Girls Beach Trip July 2010

Our precious friends, Whitley and Ms. Deena, invited us on an all girls trip to the beach the last week before school started. What an incredible "Last Hooray" at the end of summer! It was a ton of fun and I know you girls will remember it for a very long time!

(We made a huge impression every where we went! It was like we were taking over the beach with sweet little girls.) Ailee, I religiously put sunscreen on you but your skin tone will always amaze me!)

(this under the water camera lacks great photo quality but I thought it capture a true sense of what fun girl time we all had!)

Adelynn, you finally liked the ocean/beach a little bit this time. You actually didn't cry when you heard the sound of the waves and even let the waves hit your legs a few times! I was so impressed. I cannot wait until the GA/Fla game in October for one more little taste of the beach!

Remembering Paradise...

The below shot is only one step out those back doors! Oh how I miss that private pool!

I will start by saying how very difficult it is to revisit these photos of complete freedom now that life has hit us full swing this week! It is so surreal to think that less than a month ago we were smack in the middle of all these beautiful landscapes. I am soooo grateful for the opportunity we were given to take this trip together. Without my parents keeping you sweet girls, we would not have had the peace to go so far away without you. Although thoughts of you all were always in our minds, we know that we truly needed this time to spend together without distractions. God used this time to show us some areas we needed to give attention to in our marriage, as well as what a blast the past ten years have really been. Taking time out from the motions of life in general revealed some changes that have taken place since we said "I do" ten years ago. We are not the same young couple we were back then and we were so blessed to be given special time to map out this relationship and where we are headed. (Girls, promise me that you will take the time to nurture your marriages one day. I even vow to babysit if the need be!!!)

Now, onto the pics. The fabulous couple in the photos with us have quickly grown into part of our family. They are nothing short of a perfect gift from God and He placed them right in our backdoor (literally, they live behind us in our neighborhood!) and we became such great friends so fast. The guys have so much in common and Leanne and I could not be a better match in supporting one another through out this hectic stage of motherhood. And, we share the same anniversary so who better to celebrate 10 years with than these precious friends!

(To answer two of your questions...yes, we had way too much fun and, yes, the water was really that color!)

The resort made sure we had a wonderful anniversary full of special treat!

Goodbye, Maroma Beach! We will definitely be back soon~~~

Ready, Set....GO!!!! Back to School and Stepping Up

As bad as I dislike this time of year, it is here already! I have dreaded it for a couple of weeks now but today I had to send you back to school, Anna Grace. As you can see in the photos, you were thrilled to move on to First Grade! You met your teacher and you loved her. She is sweet and you have a great class of little boys and girls. I prayed over you, the school, the teachers and staff, packed a few verses in your bookbag and let it all go into my Father's hands. The only true protection for you is found in Him and I can fret over what school you go to, who your teacher is, who your friends are, etc and at the end of the day, you are still His child FIRST! And because I know He loves you more than I do (even though in my human mind I have a hard time understanding how that is possible), I believe He is preparing your sweet heart for your purpose here and I am to follow His lead. So with that all said...It is all in full swing again! Ailee, you looked out your window as we drove away from AG's school this morning and said, "Mommy, it's not summer anymore!" That statement was harded for me to swallow than walking away from that big building without your sister. You are right my sweet girl...no more late morning sleep ins, all day playdates with your sisters and the freedom to go and do as we please. Bring on the carpool lines, room mom responsibilities, PTC board, Service League, Awana, Ballet, UGA football games, Sewing for TMM full force and on and on. As much as a planner and organizer as I am, you would think I love the schedules and routines that come with the school year. But nothing to me is worth taking my hands off of my precious angels! I did like your perspective though, Ailee. Immediately following your summer's over comment came..."How long is Christmas?" It's on to the next thing; what can we look forward to now? At this moment, I am asking~~~Is it 2:00 yet? I am ready for pick up time!!!

(I love these two shots because Adelynn was in fully aware that something big was happening for Anna Grace. She could not get enough of her. She wanted right beside her in every picture and could keep her hands off of her. She may possibly miss you more than I do, Anna Grace!)

Oh, and you can noticably see something missing since the last post of the girls...AG lost her front tooth!!! Of course, it was while you all were gone to cousin's camp and it broke my heart. But there is something so adorably cute about your new smile! I LOVE it!!! Hopefully, I will find a chance to post some fun photos from our last couple of vacations soon!

STEPPING UP! Okay, I had to come back and add these shots to this post. As I was writing, I let the girls go upstairs to play in AG's room while I typed. In this house, we have always had the yours, mine and ours policy so do not be alarmed that they were playing in her room while she was gone. They are super great at sharing almost everything! Anyway, I saw the below when I opened up the door! They were having so much fun together and I could see the roles changing and new shoes being filled, literally!

With Anna Grace being gone for a few hours, Ailee was all ready to jump right in and be the big sister. She was dressing Adelynn up and taking care of her just as sweetly as Anna Grace always does. Wow, Adelynn, you really have it made. For now anyway, but poor, poor you when you get older and have three mommies offering tons of advice!!!