Even if they ARE Cowboys fans....

Here are the girls - Rebekah, Callie, and Bailey. They had SO much fun together. Callie LOVES these girls!!!

And here are the boys - they had a blast!!! (Joshua was woken up early from his nap, and wasn't super happy about that fact). They had a blast together though!

A LOT of time was spent playing trains together - all 5 of the big kids crawling around this track. Hilarious!

Rebekah and Josiah - our BIG kids - working hard on some masterpieces for the parents during rest time.

All of our precious children - Jacob, Josiah, Joshua, Rebekah (holding Callie), Bailey. I am so thankful for these friends!

Even if they are Cowboys fans...we still LOVE the Cassada family!!! One of my dearest friends from high school, Courtney Cassada, came with her family to visit us on Saturday night and Sunday. They were on their way to Nags Head for vacation (and thankful that Gabrielle turned out to be not a big deal!), so they broke up their trip by stopping at our house. The kids had a blast - she has 3 also - and had so much fun playing together!!! I usually am able to see Courtney & the kids when I'm up in Northern VA seeing my mom, but it has been FOREVER since the 4 of us adults got to catch up with each other!!! The time went by WAY too quickly, but we look forward to the next visit as always.


Oh -and picking up 6 kids from Sunday School was exhausting! :) And the Titans AND Cowboys won on Saturday! :)

Carrots!!

On Saturday, Callie's food world was expanded! After doing well with her cereal for several weeks and working up to 3x a day with it, she was able to have veggies introduced to her diet! I had some carrots, so that ended up being her first food! I made a batch of baby food in the afternoon and Callie ate it all up! She didn't make any weird faces or anything - just ate the whole bowlful!!! When I was washing out the orange-colored ice cube tray after I made a batch of food, it brought back such fun memories of feeding the boys (mainly Josiah - Jacob went straight to table food). Just wait until she gets to try mac & cheese! :)

I can see much better now!

After weeks of attempting to free herself from bouncy seats, swings, and Bumbo seats, we finally got the high chair down from the attic for Miss Callie. She was very happy to finally be able to see what was happening at the dinner table last night!! She has still been quite enjoying her cereal, and we will start her on carrots this weekend. I'm bracing myself for some extra laundry!!! :)

It's a Slip & Slide, Mom!

Remember how I said our neighborhood had a water cookout this weekend? And the big hit with my boys was their first experience on a slip & slide? Well, this morning, after getting back from my run, the boys created their own slip & slide with the couch pillows. I was sitting at the table eating my breakfast and Josiah came in the kitchen to fill up a cup with water. Luckily, I was clued in and asked what it was for. He said it was for their slip & slide and went running into the family room. Thankfully, I caught him before it was too late!!! They had a ball on their pretend slip & slide though!

Service with a Smile!

So my free camera battery arrived yesterday! Hooray - it's charged and ready to go!!! And the funniest thing is that they (Canon) included a peppermint candy in the package with the battery!! Talk about nice! :)

When I was finished running this morning, I was logging it in the FitLinx system, and the screen started flashing this "congratulations" note to me - apparently I hit the 15,000 point mark (they assign points for cardio minutes, weight lifted, etc). I think this means I get free socks or something like that! :) I was a bit embarrassed, I will admit!

It's on it's way....

I got word yesterday from Canon that they have sent my free replacement battery via FedEx!! Hopefully it should arrive today and we should be back in the picture taking business!! I have missed so many picture taking opportunities in the last two weeks because of all this....

Big morning already and hoping for a slightly easier afternoon. Gearing up for a big weekend with some dear friends coming in town on Saturday!!! Yahoo!

A Mom's Prayer on the First Day of School

A Mom's Prayer On the First Day of School

Here we are again, Lord. Their backpacks are loaded and their faces are scrubbed and their lunch accounts are full.And I know you'll walk with them, Lord. You always do. But a mom still has to ask.Will You walk with them? Will You whisper to them what they need to hear, when I'm not there to whisper it?Will You please, oh please, cover their school with the protection only You can give, and will You keep harm far away?Will You make their minds strong and ready to learn? Will You help them understand that hard work honors the One who created them?Will You guide their teachers, giving them patience and wisdom and creativity and more patience? Will You bless them for their efforts?Will You love all those children there, the ones whose lunch accounts aren't full, the ones who feel alone? Will You teach my children to be kind and unselfish and to love those who are different from them? Will You point them back toward home just as soon as you can?Lord, I give them to You today and everyday, trusting them to Your care. Amen.

(taken from another mom's blog)

Happy (???) Back to School!

So I don't even have any kids GOING to school this year, and yet I still felt it today!!! There was a crowd of kids waiting for the bus at our corner, traffic on the way to the gym, a TON of people in the cardio area (thankfully I was already into my 3 miles before they came), and people were waiting for the FitLinxx strength machines!!! I had to stop by Target on my way home from the gym (I was SO embarrassed - all nasty and sweaty) because I had NO diapers in the house for Callie. As I was walking in and getting the 3 kids situated, a lady passed me and said "Don't worry - in a few years, you'll be like me - dropping off all your kids to school and then shopping at Target in peace by yourself!!!" Pretty funny. I'm excited about this year at home with all 3 kids - although shopping at Target by myself is pretty appealing too! One day!!

To all you 1st day of school-ers - can't wait to hear how it goes today!!!

Happy Labor Day! (Glad I'm not in labor!!!)

Don't you always think about the poor women in labor on Labor Day? I always do! One of my friends actually was several years ago!! Anyways, hopefully everyone (else) has been enjoying their day off from work!!!

We very much enjoyed our Sunday afternoon yesterday. David, Callie, and Jacob enjoyed a big nap after church, and Josiah and I enjoyed some time together & at the Y. I went ahead and got my run in, knowing that I probably wouldn't want to get up early today!! Then we headed to one of our city parks up the street for a picnic dinner. The Virginia Symphony played a concert, and upon arrival, we learned that they would be doing fireworks afterwards!!! It was quite a wonderful evening - nice and relaxing (thanks to David who took the boys every now and then to go run while the girls sat and listened to the beautiful music!). We all really enjoyed the peaceful family time. And the fireworks were GREAT!! It was a pleasant surprise to have those!!

Today, our cul-de-sac had a neighborhood cookout to celebrate the holiday and say goodbye to one of our neighbors that is moving to CA. It was great fun to get together with everyone (who doesn't love a Cookout!), and the kids (there are about 20 of them - literally - on our court) had a blast!!! They played a bunch of water games, and REALLY loved the Spiderman slip & slide!! That was Josiah's VERY favorite!! Tonight, we headed down to the oceanfront to hear David's band play at 31st street. The weather was beautiful, the kids enjoyed playing down at the water & in the sand for a while, and I always love to see my husband performing! A fabulous weekend for sure!!

Tomorrow is a big day for several friends of mine - their children start school tomorrow or Wednesday. Know that I am praying for each of you and your precious children too!!!!

Can you believe it's September? Really?

Other than the fact that David has started back to school, I can't believe it's September!!! Christmas will be here before we know it!!! Anyways, the weather has been beautiful, and it looks like it should stay that way all this next week. I'm getting excited about the fall weather!!! The boys have been talking non-stop about their birthdays that are approaching, so it's making me realize that fall is almost here!!! Crazy!

Yesterday afternoon was a long afternoon - David had to go straight to William & Mary after school to perform with his band, so we didn't get to see him at all. Just made for a long afternoon/evening. Today was a great family day though. We got some yard work done in the morning, which felt VERY good. (Counts as some kind of a workout, right? I didn't run this AM) Then after Callie woke up from her morning nap, we headed to Botanical Gardens. They were having a "birthday party" to celebrate their 1st birthday after building the Children's WOW gardens. It was so much fun! The boys loved getting to go back (we went on Tuesday with the Judd's) and show David everything they had seen. The staff had lots of different crafts and activities set up for the kids in honor of the "birthday", and even had birthday cake & juice!!! We spent most all of the day there - got to explore some new paths, walk around the "grownup garden" as Jacob called it, and just loved being outside together! David's getting very excited to take them camping - they just love being outside!! So it was quite fun.

We came home and all the kids were worn out! David headed down to the Oceanfront to sing again tonight, and the kids got baths and in bed early. 7 pm - all 3 kids completely asleep after our big adventure! Aaahhhhh. Nice and quiet for me tonight!!!