'best friends'

friendship is such a precious gift!!!

andy and i have been so richly blessed with amazing friendships.

each season of life so far. . . God has brought vital frienships across our path. daily we are thankful for the friends we share life with!!

To watch the genuine love and friendship between two 3yr old girls is such a treat to have a front seat to!!

Elle and Lilli. .

'the bean' and 'the bug'. . i can't imagine two little girls having more fun together.

they have spent almost every day together this week. . . yesterday and today sharon {elle's mom} has picked up lilli at 930 for a 'free' movie at a local movie theatre. .. i packed popcorn and juice boxes.. . they disappear until noon. . .

sharon got the mommy award and took the girls to the pool for 4 hours this afternoon!!!!. . . while i was at home with liam boy. . who was napping MOST of that time!!

the bean was here tonight .. . sharon and i were laughing. . . wondering if they'd pass out in their dinner. . but they were more concerned about who was which princess. . .. than sleeping!

I watched as they layed on the couch. . each with silky in hand. . singing wonder pets. . .and giggling playing footsie. . . completely amazed at the amount of engery they still had. .

oh to be 3 and play all day with your best friend in the whole wide world!!

'dog days' of summer

The last couple of weeks it has been SO hot in charlotte. . .

we've been doing our best to be creative indoors

. . . .our lillibug LOVES to paint!!! several times a week when i get out my stuff to paint. . she insists on joining me!! mostly its been watercolors. . . but she's recently gotten into 'princess stencils'! its so fun to see her concentrate and watch her little creative mind at work. she sits with paintbrush in hand and tells me stories about disney world and how she can't wait to go back when our new baby gets to be her age! there are some priceless moments that she and i have shared that this mommy won't ever forget!

...our living room has also become a 'jungle gym'. much cooler than the neighborhood playground. its become a part of the evening routine. . dinner, play the pick up game and then fill the living room with any available pillow we can find! Liam laughs hysterically. . climbing to the top of the 'pillow pile' and steam rolling down!!

he is officially walking. . from one of the house to the other. . . has recently figured out how to open doors {oh boy}

Heat

My car is cruel. The thermometer reads 104 and it offers no respite aside from the air blowing through the windows. Thanks, Oscar (my car's name-family name by the way). I pour with sweat, clothes are soaked. I must be deranged to be outside voluntarily. As I park and step outside my heartbeat intensifies. It is not the heat that is responsible for my quickened pulse and trembling body. I open my back door and pull out an exhibit of mechanical perfection. It is a new road bike, a symbol of my wife's love, a tangible reminder of God's rich blessing (as if I needed another). I have become gradually more obsessed with cycling since the year Lance Armstrong won his first Tour on the US Postal Team. I have dreamed of my own bike, of racing. This month both come true. First this bike. Two and a half weeks from now I ride in a 100 mile race with 13,000+ feet of climbing in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The very mountains that inspired Lance to return to the world of cycling after his bout with cancer. Feeling the heat radiating from the blacktop and filling my lungs, I throw my right leg over the top tube and clip my right foot in the pedal. 'This is my bike,' i say to the rest of me currently enjoying the experience out of body. I grasp the handle bars and roll forward, clipping in my left foot. No doubt I resemble the kid who grew up riding his red BMX bike around Solar Hills in Knoxville; eyes wide as sausers, smile ear to ear.

10 WEEKS to go

10 weeks to go.

its starting to seem a bit surreal that we're getting ready to welcome our 3rd addition. we have a dr appointment this coming thursday. . . there is talk that my due date might move up!! {not something this expectant mother likes to hear. . . gives false hope. . those last several weeks the waiting is hard enough}

our last 4 appointments I've measured 2-3 weeks ahead; and the baby measured ahead at our last ultrasound. . .meaning several different things.

3 pregnancies close together; the way i'm carrying; or my least fav....a big baby...!

. . .we have an ultrasound in 2 weeks. . . we'll be 2 months out. . and have real conversations about whether or not the due date stays at the 3rd week of august!

andy and i said tonight that we might want to actually start thinking about names seriously and getting liam's room ready so we can think about the nursery again!!!

'you might be a redneck if'

liam got a pool for his birthday from my parents. yes we have a neighborhood pool and yes its open, but this preggers mama can't handle more than an hour in the sun....with juggling act of 2 kiddos alone at the pool.. . so 'our' pool has been a fantastic 'addition' to our 'back area'. . . {not quite big enough to be called a yard}

well, if you've ever been to our house you know how 'cozy' we are with our neighbors. . its a traditional neighborhood with alleyways in the back for a garage.....we don't have a garage; we have a 'parking pad'.

so, sunday was a beautiful day. . the kiddos were restless, andy was on a bike ride...and i thought hey, lets fill up the pool. so i hooked up the hose and and begun filling.....on the parking pad of course. . . the little bit of grass we do have back there is quite sacred.....

about 10 minutes into my kids romping in the pool i had this funny thought...THIS IS SO REDNECK!!! here i am standing here in a strapless dress {tent}, pasty white, too pregnant to paint the toenails on my barefeet....with a pool on my 'parking pad'. . . lilli then asks if she can pee in the grass....i contemplate it....looking around . . . can i really be THAT mom. . i had to laugh and found the humor in the moment....

SIR Liam

Today we had a dedication and birthday party for 'the boy'! a house full of precious friends and family. it was a rich blessing for us to have our son celebrated . .
Andy and I renewed our vows as a part of Liam's dedication. . promising to raise our son in such a way that God would be honored; committing to love one another and honor God with our marriage and friendship as we navigate parenting!
A friend of ours; Chris Payne did the dedication; and told us after we prayed for Liam that he wrote 2 words down this morning as he was preparing for today. . Strength and Courage.
We spend so much time as God is knitting our babies together in the womb praying for our babies, praying for health and protection, but also praying about their name.. . truly believing that a name is to speak blessing over the child.
Liam means 'unwavering protector'. So it is no mistake that today as we prayed for our son that God has made him Strong {'it is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect' psalm 18:32} and is making him Courageous {Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." deuteronomy 31:6}

{thanks to my sweet friend sharon for catching these moments today. . .while we enjoyed our baby boy!}

Liam Boy is 1!!!!

Liam boy turned 1 today!...officially at 3:55pm this afternoon! we celebrated by eating cupcakes in the front yard! there was absolutely NO question whether or not he'd eat it.....he and lillibug laughed at each other COVERED in blue and green icing....{promptly followed by bathtime}!!!!