Springtime is coming!

Our first daffodils are blooming and make such a bright spot in the otherwise dreary days here at the end of winter. Abigail and Elijah posed for me one chilly day, so we could document and remind ourselve that springtime really is coming!

Recently we have had some crazy rainy weather, but a few days of sunshine mixed in, which have helped keep us sane. We're so thankful for that! Last week we had a playdate with our school group, and Elijah taught himself to ride a scooter there at the park. It was amazingly simple looking for our sweet two year old. We were so proud and impressed! We also went to Aldridge Gardens as a family that weekend to soak up some sun and enjoy the beautiful hiking trail. Here are a few photos of our biggest kids. Owen stayed snuggled inside the Moby wrap the whole time, but he enjoyed it too. :-)


Yesterday we experienced a true March weather day in Alabama. We were at the farm belonging to a friend's family, and had sunshine, clouds, rain, drizzle, and wind, but thankfully no snow. It was a fun day despite the mud (or maybe because of the mud!) and the kids especially enjoyed riding the fun vehicles around the pasture. We cooked out over the fire, and generally just enjoyed awesome fellowship. We love the outdoors and spending it with friends and family make it even better!

Birthday Week

I've had a wonderful, several days-long celebration for my birthday, courtesy of family and sweet friends who spoil me rotten. We went to see my parents on my actual birthday, and enjoyed my first meal at a Japanese restaurant. It was fun, and the food was great. The next day included a trip to a far that is open to the public only once a year, and we were able to see lots of historic farm equipment in action, a museum of antique appliances, vehicles, and collections of materials used on a daily basis back 100 years ago. It was very reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie with blacksmiths, a working sawmill, dairy farm, weavers and quilters...we felt like we were in Walnut Grove. After the farm, we met up with Jacob and Caroline at Hurricane Creek and hiked several miles. It was a gorgeous cool fall day, and I was able to backpack Elijah the whole time! I was so proud of crossing some rough terrain with my almost 25 pound baby on my back. I felt like Sacajawea! He loved the jostling around too.

That night, my sweet girlfriends took me to dinner and we had a wonderfully fun time together. We're so blessed to have such deep, enduring friendships. God has really put us together and our faith is the common thread throughout our lives, so we have a precious bond. They had contributed notes to a scrapbook sweet Amy put together. It's a treasured gift.

The weekend ended with our church fall festival, which was a blast. We then had a dinner with another couple Monday night, so have partied hearty for days now. I am so thankful for your many sweet words of encouragement, phone calls, and emails to wish me a happy birthday. It truly was!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fun photos from the weekend

Well, the rain caused our planned participation in the St. Patrick's Day parade to be canceled on Friday, but we still enjoyed the weekend. I had a lovely respite with sweet friends overnight Friday at R's parents' lake house, and then drove on over to my parents' Saturday, where Isaac and Abigail had already spent one night. We all stayed another night, and came home this evening. We enjoyed time at the Mundys' farm, and met their newest miniature donkey foal, and visited the H'ville gardens again, and had fun at Gramma and Granddaddy's house playing. It was a pleasant, special time, though Elijah's hysterical screaming in the van makes the traveling a little difficult. As sweet as he is all the rest of the time, I can hardly complain. But, I will gratefully wear the ear plugs my Mom lovingly gave me this evening. :-)

Kids, Chickens, and Gardens

We had a nice trip to visit with my parents this weekend, partly to enjoy time with them as it was my Dad's b'day this past week. It was also partly because I know the trips will get farther between for a while as my due date approaches and Elijah arrives, so I wanted to squeeze another one in while we still could with just the 2 big kids. We did our typical outdoorsy fun things, and enjoyed some bike riding, baseball, playing at a park, visited Mrs. Martha and Mr. Bill's farm, and took a visit to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, to see their fun scarecrow exhibit. These scarecrows were very impressive, and were designed and created by different individuals and businesses in the area. We loved the Target-shopping family, Elvis, Jack Sparrow, and the Munchkins especially.

If you remember the story of Abigail the chicken-catcher, from last month, you'll possibly recognize Teeny, whom again pleasantly cooperated with my animal-adoring girl. Abigail easily caught and carried this little hen around for most of the afternoon while we were there at the farm. She would put Teeny down for a bit, and the silly chicken wouldn't scoot away, so of course, Abi assumed she wanted to be held more. That is one long-suffering bird, but thankfully, the kids are pretty gentle with them, so I guess that she didn't feel too threatened. Isaac loves being around the animals, but is slightly more reserved about capturing them, but he even got in on the action right at the end. There was also a mama hen with a tiny chick that we just loved hearing "peep peep" for its mama. We were blessed with nice weather again, and the fall breeze was so relaxing and enjoyable. Auburn's win over Florida really added to the enjoyment of the weekend, too! War Eagle!!