New Year, Fresh Start?

After a recent email from my husband reminding me of this relic and noting how much he missed it, I took a trip down memory lane that was so sentimental and emotional as I read and re-read old posts and looked at pictures of my darling little girls.  The interesting thing is that as I sat there looking at the blog on my iPhone among the craziness of those same little girls, not a whole lot had changed... I sat at the table after lunch had been finished while they were flitting and jumping and asking for Rolos (one of our favorite Christmas candies this year) just engrossed in the past.  Needless to say, it (and Lover) encouraged me to get back to it, that I do enjoy writing, just not the pressure of writing for an audience. I know that these sweet years are slipping by and this is a great way to look back on them in our age of technology.... especially because I detest am horrible at scrapbooking and have no desire.

So let's skip 3 years and see how this all goes down.  Want to get a quick post out to see how "easy" it is now that I'm not using a faulty laptop and have a beautiful iMac.  Sidenote:  iMac is beautiful but I don't really know how to maximize use of it.  The real sidenote is that oftentimes beauty is more important than function too much in life for ML.  I Sam 16:7 "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Gonna start by mentioning that sweet little baby who had just turned 1 back in 2010.  Hard to believe the person she is now, but suffice it to say that I am truly grateful to God that she is alive and well after all of her risky adventures (think crossing the street and ringing the neighbors doorbell at a young 2, scaling slippery rocks on waterfalls in North Georgia, climbing to the top of the Eiffel [read and pronounced "awful"] tower on the school playground, among others).  I was calling her MM which stood for Mary Mac, a combo of her first and middle names.  Doesn't seem like her now so will be thinking of a new and improved nickname.  This pic of her is very "her" as she was especially cooperative and smiley for our talented friend and photographer Tiffany (www.tiffanygodfrey.com).

This little 4-year-old is full of life and independence and fortitude.  She has a rather strong will that contributes to said fortitude for which I am often troubled and simultaneously grateful. We watched her determination this summer while she was still 3 trying to get down to the bottom of the 5 foot pool to collect diving sticks.  She  would throw them in and jump in trying to plummet herself down.  If she failed, she'd climb back out and jump back in 5 or 6 times until she finally recovered the stick.  Repeat process for other sticks.

Here is who we called Bruiser.  Not a lot has changed in that arena.  This person loves to wear holey jeans and T-shirts so captured here in this bow and cute clothes is a rare occasion that did not come easily.  She is a kindergartener who is enjoying school thanks to her amazing teacher who pursues her heart above all else and continually points her to Jesus.

Weezie is very lovable and sweet-spirited, often kissing and hugging us.  She can be a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with her emotions but I'm chalking that up to estrogen.  I might be chalking it up too much to estrogen because she can get really angry.  Thankfully, she is genuinely repentant when faced with her sin and has a true apology when needed.  My favorite thing about this girl is her ability to laugh at herself.  This quality will take her far in life and cause others to enjoy her as well... a lot like her Daddy!

The first shall be last and the last shall be first!  Here is our beloved firstborn Nucky.  Soon to be 8 and growing into her personality more and more, this pretty one is a drawing fanatic and quite talented.  I will hopefully post some of her work as it's a great way to capture it without having to save piles of paper.  She is always handing me drawings that are signed to me from her, that, admittedly, don't always make the fridge, bulletin board or even file folder.  I'm not the sentimental one unfortunately.  Nucky loves her home and family, cherishing time at home for family game night and home video watching.  She often chooses family over sleepover opportunities and invitations with friends.  There is a large part of me that cannot fathom such but I need to appreciate those qualities in her and be grateful that she has an affection for us in spite of our failures.  Maybe my fear is her recent questions about how she can go to a college that is closeby so she can live at home.

This is where I will stop for January 5, 2014... stay tuned to see if I post in 2017!

Dear blog followers

Hello to my 3 blog followers... I am sorry I've failed you.  I know you've been waiting desperately to hear how our Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Valentines and Presidents Day have been and I've not kept you abreast.  Well, our little family is plugging along in all its cuteness and I haven't documented.... this all b/c my "new" laptop isn't very helpful to me in downloading photos, etc.  So, alas, I will get back to it.

Wish I had a great teaser, but I don't. 

Halloween

I'll come back to Weezie's bday after this post, but wanted to get halloween out there while it's easy to download on the laptop.

Trick or treating has become one Lover's favorite experiences with the girls over the last 2 years.  It's such a fun time to be enjoying the fun they're having alongside of you.  He told me that he wants to make the night be just our family b/c, before long, they're gonna be too cool to run along with us and be excited and it'll be all about their friends.  So, what's better than Mommy and Daddy, a sack full of candy and running aimlessly in the streets???

And now for the most important part... the unicorn fairy, the chicken and the ladybug.

Dividing the spoils.

Tribute to the one year old

I was remiss after posting the last post that I didn't give any comments about our darling little baby.  I have to say that she has been the most delightful addition to our family over the past year.  Our hearts are so smitten with her, all 4 of us, that I cannot imagine enjoying a baby more.  I want her to stay little and cute just like she is right now and not change. 

Lately, we've especially loved hearing her babble... sounds like "cully, cully, cully." Also love when she tries to jump (just her feet staying firmly planted but her body doing jumping motions).  Her smile is precious especially when she does the extra cheesy version and shows all 6 teeth.  She's cute when she claps along to the music in the car and even gets giggly excited when she hears one particular song on the Sesame Street cd that we play a lot (letter H). 

We love you Meredith -- don't go changin'!

Photo with Gogo... she'll learn how important a person Gogo is in her life as soon as she's able to chew gum, drink Coke and eat honey buns... should be any day now.

Baby turns 1

We better get with the program and move onto the fall, eh?  Before we do, I gotta catch up on some important events from the summer... like Baby Girl's birthday.

We took our second annual lake trip with the Wolthuis family over her birthday -- oh, I mean, we went to the lake FOR her birthday!

Here are all the other kiddos riding in a car that Perry made.  Notice the blocks she built to form the outside, the circle toy as the steering wheel and the cardboard box as the baby doll's car seat. 

We had a wonderful time at the lake... thanks Wolthuis' for letting us come!

More summertime fun

One way to beat the heat... play dough!

Cute cousins at the beach house... don't know why she's topless.

Getting neglected but happy nonetheless.

She feels like such a big girl when she's allowed to do this.  She actually does great!

This has been the summer of swimming for her.  Took swim lessons for the first time ever and they helped tremendously... mainly with just getting her to be comfortable putting her head under water.  From there (where she plateau-ed with her teacher), she has gotten braver and braver on her own.  Wouldn't say she's competently swimming yet, but definitely making excellent progress.  She's encouraged when she sees her friends doing it... competitive nature just like her parents.

A visit to the trailer park.  Oh, wait, this is in our yard.  We have on our "yard suits" complete with safety pins and such.  Some of us don't even have a yard suit.

Perry throws a luncheon

Hopefully the first of many to come! P asked and asked if she could have her teachers over for lunch.  I was thrilled at her initiative and desire to serve them, so encouraged the idea.  We had a lovely lunch with her teachers from her 3-year-old class.  I let her select the "china" (Elmo), make the place cards and help with the cupcakes and flower arrangement among other things.  She was so very proud and very much in her element!

Thank you, Mrs. Ashley and Mrs. Leslie for all your hard work, patience and wonderfully creative ideas!  She had a wonderful year and felt so comfortable with both of these kind-hearted women.