Wordless Wednesday

Home

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same."

Home. Family. Friends. Love.

We were blessed to be able to spend several days with our dear friends who now live in the Volunteer State (we don't hold that against them) in December. They crashed at our house on their way to visit family in Virginia, and then again on their way back to TN. 

When we met the S family, we lived in Wake Forest. They were leaders of our small group at North Wake Church. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to do life together. Our family dynamics were a lot different back then! During their stay, we had four adults, four children under 5, and one crazy pup in our house. It was great! They were greatly missed when they left. Every day Sophie talks about this dear family. Every. Day. Although miles separate us, every time we get together, those miles just melt away. We just pick up where we left off. It feels like home.

 Froggie Friends

 Eli's Best Bud

 Ornament Making Day

 Keeping their little hands busy

 Love it!

Playing the Piano 

Saying Goodbye :(

We love you, S family!

Thanksgiving: A Weekend Trip

The weekend before Thanksgiving we hopped in the car, dropped off the pup, and headed to Wake Forest. It's never long enough. I don't know that one week would be long enough though. We were so blessed to be able to do life with these dear friends. Oh how I miss them! Of course I didn't take enough pictures. But here are some of the ones I did take.

Having tea with the Princesses

Oh, T. I miss you! I'm so glad I got to meet C!! 

 Would you like a cup?

Sophie loved playing with M 

Lots of hugs 

Sophie needed to get in on the action 

Dear friends 

The out-take :) 

K let Sophie bring home this baby doll 

She loves this baby! 

She has slept with the baby every night since we got back.

Trick or Treat

For the first time EVER, Daddy was able to join us for Trick-or-Treating!! I was very excited. Taking out two littles just seemed way too overwhelming for me. We had a repeat Bumblebee and a Baby Giraffe this year. Super S barely fit into her outfit but we made it work. Little E was the cutest little giraffe I've ever seen!

How long do you think these will last? 

 Not so sure.

 That didn't last long!

Literally running to the house.

Our Little Bumblebee and Jack.

Getting candy all by herself.

Such a big girl.

Daddy, Baby Giraffe, Little Bumblebee, and Mommy

"You talkin' ta me?"

Kure Beach

Hubby decided we needed a mini-vacation before our little man arrived. He had several free nights in a hotel that he earned from his other hotel stays with work. He didn't have to twist my arm. The debate was whether we go to the mountains or to the beach. While I longed for the cool of the mountains, I LOVE the ocean. After weighing our options we decided to head to Wilmington. 

Once we were there, we decided we needed to stay a little bit longer. Hubby had his cell phone and laptop, so technically he was still working (and believe me, we got the phone calls!). Once our free nights were up, we moved on. 

We found a great little town and you can bring your pup with you on the beach! We knew the Sophster would enjoy our time on the beach. She ran to the water and of course ate sand.

Walking with Daddy 

Playing in the Sand 

Then we went to the Aquarium at Fort Fisher. She loved seeing the fish and alligators. 

 She wanted to get into the water.

 And was brave enough to touch the crab. Once.

 Posing with Daddy

 Ellie enjoying the beach for the first time.

She loved it!

The Drive-In

We had tried to have a date night while my Mom was in town, but it didn't work out. On the days that Ron got home from work at a decent time, Sophie was super fussy. Of course that was partly my fault. I just couldn't resist the chicken enchiladas my Mom made for us while she was here. They were very yummy! Since we couldn't make that happen, we decided we would go to the drive-in. You can't beat the price and you get to see two movies! We got to see "Night at the Museum II" and "Wolverine". Both were great movies! I especially enjoyed seeing the back story of Wolverine. It made parts of the X-Men movies make more sense to me. Probably because I've never read the comic books. 

We weren't quite as prepared while at the Drive-In as I thought we were. I should have brought an extra pair of pants since Sophie's diaper leaked on me, and we should have brought blankets so she could lay on the backseat. Instead, I held her through the first movie (should have brought a pillow for my arm!) and we tried to get her to sleep in her car seat for the second movie. She hates her car seat! Next time, we'll be more prepared. And I think I'll wear my pj's, or at least comfy pants. If you've never been a drive-in, I highly suggest going. It was a lot of fun! Oh, but beware of smoke inhalation. I totally didn't think about the fact that since we were outside people would feel the freedom to smoke even though they knew they were parked near a car with a baby. Thankfully they weren't right next to us!

The ticket booth. One guy was running both sides.

Although we were parked behind the concession stand, we still had a great view. The bathrooms were a little scary. I'm glad I wasn't pregnant!

Family picture at the Drive-In.

Look at those chubby cheeks! She's so sweet!!

She took a cat nap before the movie. It was past her bed time!

Visiting with the Joyce's

The weekend of May 16th was quite busy for us. We went to pick up my Mom at the airport and then were blessed to get to visit with the Joyce's. They had spent the day at the race track in Concord, letting M get her first taste of what Race Day at the track was like. We were excited that they thought to come visit us since they were so close! Although I knew that I missed our family back in WF, this visit made me realize how much I miss them. Thank you for blessing us with your visit, Joyce's. We needed it. We love you guys and miss you dearly! Hopefully we'll get to visit sometime soon.

Mr. Chris couldn't wait to hold Sophie. She is irresistible. Just look at those thighs!

Ms. Stephnie holding Sophie while she slept.

M enjoyed having Sophie lay next to her in the grass.

The girls :).

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Since before we moved to the area we had wanted to visit the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. I had wanted to visit on Mother's Day, but Ron had to work, so we didn't go. To make it up to me, he took a day "off" so we could visit the Garden. (It's never really a day off because the phone is always on and someone always calls.) We started the day eating lunch at Jersey Mike's. I am so glad I can eat lunchmeat again. It was very yummy (but it tastes better in WF - I think their bread is more fresh). When we reached our car I saw that I had been flipped (see picture below)! It's a little game that the Mommy Forum I belong to plays. When you spot someone sporting their Lake Norman Mommies Magnet, you flip it upside-down, or flip and move it. It's pretty exciting to go to your car and see that your magnet was flipped. It's the little things :). 

I was flipped while we were eating at Jersey Mike's off Gilead Road. Still don't know who flipped me.

The Botanical Gardens were beautiful! I'm so glad that we went. It was even better because we had a coupon for a buy one admission get one admission free! I love those deals. We decided that next time we would bring a picnic lunch. It's not too far away, but I wish we lived closer. It was so peaceful. I would love to go out there with my Bible and just sit, read, and marvel at God's goodness.

I just loved this picture!

Sophie loved smelling the flowers.

Beautiful roses.

This water feature was so fun and very refreshing. It was quite warm that day.

I love pink flowers!

Our attempt at a family photo :).

Sophie's first trip out of the beautiful state of NC and into SC. If course we went to walk around the outlet mall in Gaffney. What else is there to do in Gaffney? Although I saw lots that I wanted to buy, we only bought lotion for Granny because they sell it at the stores anymore. But, shhh. It's a surprise for when she and Papa come visit again. It was a long day, but a wonderful day to spend together as a family.