Flashback Friday: SuMmEr FuN 2009

Last summer was lots of fun with Lily Kate! It was crazy busy but Lily Kate was such a good baby and just went along with whatever we were doing. We traveled alot and she did great! This was on one of our shopping trips to Raleigh with Lalee - Lily Kate was like a little princess sitting back in her stroller being pushed around!
This is a wig that Stephen wore during the skits during VBS ... everyone got a big laugh out of Lily Kate putting it on!

Sweet cheeks! :)

We went to Cincinatti for the National Convention of FWBs ... this is the night that Dad preached - LOVE my family!

Such a good baby ... even in hotels!

This is one of my FaVoRiTe outfits from last summer - she was so adorable in it!

Precious!!

LOVE that big smile!

Enjoying time at the church office!

High chair time!!

We enjoyed a quick visit with Grandaddy & Nonna on our way back from Flordia after Stephen had preached at a camp down there.

Matching Uncle Nathan ...

LOVE that smile!

What great memories ... can't believe how much Lily Kate has changed -glad she finally has some hair! :)

This past week ...

Well .... It's been too long since I posted last - I've missed it! I could do different posts about our events but I've decided just to do one big one. Last Thursday night we went with some friends down to Mike's Farm. We left a little later than expected and it took over an hour to get there. So, by the time we got there, got some pictures, fed the goats, and ate it was dark and we didn't get to go on the hayride. I was SO disapointed. But, we still had a great night with some of our very best friends! And ... got a few cute pics of the kids too! :) I know that she's mine but .... She is SSSOOO beautiful!! :)

Lily Kate and her "Doah" ... she LOVES her some Noah!

~Sweet~

Look at my little pumpkin :)

Friday morning we went to the library with Jenny & David and Rosa & Sophie. Since Stephen was home I got him to take a picture of me & Lily Kate. It seems like all of the pictures of her throughout her life are her either by herself or with some one besides me ... I really want to try to start taking pictures of us together!

Me & My precious daughter - I just LOVE her!




On Monday afternoon, Lily Kate & I loaded up and went to Raleigh for a couple of days with Papa & Gran. Stephen was going to be out of town for staff retreat so I thought it would be a perfect time for us to go on a little trip. Papa had been talking about going up there since the summer but they really aren't able to drive that far by themselves so I was happy to get to take them. Papa & Gran moved down here from Raleigh about 8 years ago after living up there their whole lives. They still have so many friends that they wanted to see and visit with. And of course, we just happened to do a little bit of shopping while we were on our trip. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures because, well, honestly I felt like I was taking care of 3 kids at a time. It's not that Papa & Gran can't do for themselves but I was the one scheduling things and doing all the driving and decision making, etc. And, not to mention Lily Kate was SO bad on this trip ... I'll get to that in a minute. So, I just didn't get many pictures because I had other things to tend to.

Papa & Lily Kate resting while we were shopping in Crazy8 ... has anyone shopped there before because I LoVe it! :)

Papa & Gran with some of their friends (and yes, Lily Kate has her pacifier in her mouth in the middle of the day - I'll get to that in a minute too!)

Papa & Gran with Papa's best friend- Mr. Dwight (and yes, Lily Kate's shirt says sweet which it a TOTAL oxymoron of how she acted on this trip ...)

I was so thankful to get to share this trip with my Grandparents. It truly meant so much to them and I know that it is something that we all will cherish. I drove their car and Papa sat in the front with me and so Gran was in the back with Lily Kate ... I laughed so many times at Gran trying to keep Lily Kate content and happy - she was reading to her and singing to her. It was just too cute ... and Lily Kate was loving every minute of it. Both mornings when Lily Kate woke up in the hotel room she was asking for Papa & Gran first thing! Such sweet memories!

Now ... on to Lily Kate's little attitude. Maybe some of you 3 moms out there reading my blog can help me. :) First of all, Lily Kate has basically been living off cheerios, fruit snacks, and raisins since Monday because she doesn't want to eat - ANYTHING!! Why?? Yes, yes, I know, it's a phase - she'll eat when she gets hungry ... and all of that yes, I know. BUT - WHY? haha! It's driving me crazy because all I can think about it her waking up in the middle of the night because her stomach is growling and she's hungry (even though she has still been sleeping fine) ... It really just drives me crazy! Also, she was asking for her pacifier this whole trip all the time - normally when we are at home it stays in her crib AT ALL TIMES and she only gets it at bedtime & naptime. But, of course, I just give in basically the whole trip because who wants to deal with a fussy, whiny baby while driving all over Raleigh/Durham visiting the elderly?! By Tuesday night when I talked to Stephen & then my mom I was declaring Lily Kate an only child for life and I was ready to stay at home until she turned 7! I guess I just get really stressed out by her sometimes and I need to learn how to handle things better. Now that I'm typing all of this out it sounds silly but at the time I felt like the worst Mom who had never disciplined her child and let them do whatever they wanted to 24/7. Does anyone else ever feel like this? I honestly pray everyday for wisdom in raising Lily Kate but sometimes I just feel like I'm not doing too good. Anyway ... hopefully I'm not the only one out there who can get frustrated with their children and maybe one day I'll be brave enough to start thinking about adding to our little family - maybe. :)

Flashback Friday: Some of my favorite newborn pictures

I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures of Lily Kate during her "newborn" stage. I remember how amazed I was at how quickly she changed. She was 17 1/2 inches when she was born so she was in premie clothes her whole first month because of her length, not weight. I remember being SO excited when I could put newborn clothes on her and they fit. But, I also remember the first time I cleaned out her drawers & closet of all the clothes that she couldn't fit into ... I sat in the floor and cried as I folded them up and put them in a container. I still have a hard time packing up her clothes she can't fit into-I think it's because I know that I will never get to see her in that outfit again and for some reason that is so sad to me!
Lily Kate was such a good baby. I remember just a few nights when she was a newborn that were "rough." Most of those were right after we came home from the hospital. She began sleeping through the night at 9 weeks. Stephen was always such a big help for those middle of the night feedings. He would get her out of the bassinet and change her and then give her to me for me to feed her. Most of the time while I was feeding her I would watch whatever I had DVRed so I could try to stay awake. It truly is amazing how quickly time passes by ... I feel like I was just seeing this sweet little face for the first time!

Lily Kate is 21 Months!!!

One year ago ....

my little brown-eyed ...

two-teethed ....


non-crawler ...

turned nine months.

And today ...

the same little girl ...

still knows how ...

to make me laugh ...

and bring joy to my life and the lives of others....

I can't believe Lily Kate is 21 months!

LilyKate is starting to wear size 6 shoe ... she weighs 25 pounds ... is so petite that I'm having a hard time finding 18/24 month clothes to fit her properly ... and is talking SO much!!

She has started saying her words so much more clearly this past month. Alot of the words up until this month she would say the first syllable but now she is saying the 2 syllable words so well! She also has learned to turn the door knobs so she can open the door this past month. Not cool!!! She wants to open & close the doors 1001 times a day and tell me "bye" like she's leaving. She loves playing in the sunroom and asks to go in there all day. Once she gets in the sunroom she wants to play the piano or sit on the couch and look outside at the dogs & birds. We sing all the time ... especially songs with motions and she will imitate whatever I do. But, the past few days whenever I start singing with her she will say "Momma, Momma" and try to say "Zaccheaus" because that is the only song she wants to sing right now. I've tried SO many other songs for her to like but right now she is stuck on "Zaccheaus." The past several days when she gets up from her nap she will ask for her daddy, then Pops, and then "Maymie" (Amy) and "Doah" (Noah). Pops, Amy, & Noah are her favorite people right now. I can't believe how much she is changing ...

Lily Kate - It seems like you have grown up so much over this past month. It's just a reminder to me of how quickly time goes and that I need to make each day count. I truly want to raise you the way the Lord would have me to and I pray that you will grow up to love God & serve others. I love you! Momma

i.love.skype

I don't know who invented skype but I love them !! Stephen's family lives in Alabama and we don't get to see them that often. We try to skype with them often so they can see Lily Kate and see the new things she is doing. Stephen's Granny has been in the hospital the past several days and so Saturday night we got to skype with Granny & "Nonna" - Stephen's mom. It was so sweet! It was hard keeping Lily Kate's hands off of the keyboard. Lily Kate kept on kissing the screen when we tell her to love Granny. I'm so thankful for the opportunity we had to bring a smile to Granny's face ... we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Alabama for Thanksgiving!!!

Missions Conference at Southeastern

On Thursday morning we left to go up to Southeastern for its annual Missions Conference. We always try to attend the conferences at the college and plus my Dad was preaching Thursday night and Friday. We only were able to be up there for services on Thursday because we had a youth activity on Friday that we needed to be back for. I know I may be biased but my Dad is such my favorite preacher (besides my husband ;) ) and I always look forward to hearing him. He did such a great job on Thursday night. It was such a good reminder for me to remember that I am a missionary where I live and I need to be trying to reach people for Christ daily. I was also reminded to support the missionaries not just financially but prayerfully as well. Stephen & I were home missionaries right after we got married and went through some very difficult times - we needed the prayers of our supporters so much! I was reminded of that last night - the fact that, when I am praying for the missionaries I don't know what they are facing or what they are going through at that time. I'm thankful the Lord brought that to my attention and really convicted my heart in this area.

After the service Thursday night, we went to Chili's with my parents, my brother & his fiancee, the kids from our youth group, and my brother-in-law & his girlfriend. We had such a great time. First of all, I LOVE Chili's and it was great getting to spend time with people that I love SO much!!

Lily Kate coloring with Uncle Josh (my brother)

Lily Kate took over Juli's water :)



My brother, Josh, and his fiancee, Juli - they are getting married in July 2011
** I can't believe my brother is old enough to get married!!! **

Me with my wonderful parents - I love them and thank the Lord for the godly parents He has blessed me with!!

And of course ... Lily Kate was our entertainment for the night!! Whenever it is late & past her bedtime she gets SO hyper!! She is loving sitting beside Charles, a guy from our youth group ... she LOVES him and didn't have any problem remembering his name after not seeing him for a couple months!

Yes, that is my daughter flashing the world ... we were going through all the body parts and got to "belly" and this is what she did - she was LOVING the attention!

Acting silly with a straw in her mouth!

Me, Stephen, & Lily Kate with our kids & Nathan & Haley

I'm thankful for the little bit of time we got to spend with such special people in our lives. We are so blessed and I never want to take times like this for granted!!!