Sooo... I have this new hobby.....

I have always LOVED taking pictures....BUT, now that I have the right equipment I am having the time of my life capturing my kids! I took these photos in about 10 minutes in Ginny's room!! Cannot wait to take more!!!

Window Watcher

Reese gets soooo bored when it is just me and him at home. Moms with one child....I dont know how you do it! It is sooo much easier with TWO especially when they are at the ages of 4 and 1...they play so well together. SO...when Ginny is at school and Reese is home with me he does a lot of window watching. Lets face it...the kid is bored with just Mama! When Ginny is home they play STORE...he rides in his Cozy Coupe and Ginny pushes him around the house...you can hear laughing all throughout the house....I hate when Ginny is at school....Reese and I are so bored without you sweet girl! So...Reese looks out the window calling for DADA and we pretend DADA is coming home. We miss Daddy and Ginny during the day, that is for sure!

Give him cake!

Happy First Birthday Reese!!

Thank you Jesus!

Rainy days keep me indoors and they allow me to reflect on things once the kids are down for a nap and once laundry is folded and put away.

I cannot get out of my head a horrible tragedy....we have mutual friends. While I dont know them personally, we have the same friends and I have viewed their blog from time to time. Samantha and Bryan Kirby reside in Georgia. They went to put their sweet 2 year old boys, Asa and Elijah to sleep one night and once the sun rose in the morning those little voices could not be heard. They rushed upstairs to wake them up and found them both unconcious. You see, they had a heating malfunction in their home and well...the boys went to be with the Lord over a silly malfunction. Since they were downstairs they werent aware of this and slept soundly thinking everything was OK and well...it wasnt. So now after all the funerals and all the memorials what do they do next? How do they move on? What drives them? Where do they turn? So for this...I wanted to write them a letter. They will never recieve this, never know my thoughts and concerns but since I have been praying for them I thought I would get this off my chest.

Asa and Elijah Kirby

Dear Bryan and Samantha Kirby-

You do not know me...we have mutual friends. Hearing what happened brought a halt to my crazy world and every night I hug my little ones tighter and kiss them more slowly. There are no words and of course I am sorry for your loss. This week I have slowed down to enjoy the small moments with my little ones. I have learned that life cannot be promised and that tomorrow might not come. From you...I have learned to STOP and enjoy the little things. The little things that you probably miss that we totally take for granted. I think about you often and cannot imagine going through what you have gone through. God has called your family to be a witness to what is true and real in this crazy world. You have taught me to give thanks and to trust in Him.

Lindsay





So today....I stop to give thanks....

I am thankful that I get to wake up to a sweet smiling girl everyday and that I have a little boy that keeps me on my toes. I am thankful for the rain, the pitter patter of little feet, a loving husband, family and friends. I am thankful that although I am not perfect, Jesus you love and forgive me. You know my imperfections yet you still love me. You trust me with you children to teach them and guide them to love and follow you. I might not be doing the best job of it...BUT, I am reminded everyday that YOU trust ME! Who would have thought you would have trusted me when I was newly married, young, unemployed to adopt an angel like Ginny and then turn around 3 days later to find out I am pregnant with Reese? Now that is a sourveign God! Thank you for the little things....the little laughs, the little firsts, the little hugs and kisses. And thank you for trusting me with your gifts from above.

a year ago.....

I LOOKED LIKE THIS!!

I gained 24 pounds with Reese and he weighed 7lbs 11 ounces?!?! I dont get it!!!

"They are FOND of each other"...WHAT???

So, Thursday I am in the carpool line at Ginny's school, Sonshine Academy. A teacher stopped me and asked if I knew about Ginny and this other boy in her school being FOND of each other?!?! WHAT?? My little girl??
So I asked what she meant. She goes on to say that they were holding hands in the hallway, he was laying on her lap, they play together etc etc. MY HEART DROPPED!!!!!! I almost DIED! I called my mom, Allen, said a prayer asking God to PLEASE help me find the right words. I asked Ginny about this...she said that she and this boy LIKE each other, play together...She is the princess he is the PRINCE!!! WHAT?!?! My little girl?!?!
Every conversation this week has been about being friends with GIRLS, how BOYS DROOL and Girls RULE...how BOYS are smelly and GIRLS smell GREAT...how Girls are NICE, Boys are MEAN..You get the picture RIGHT?!?! Clearly, my daughter likes hanging out with the boys...they are fun, adventurous and well...HER PRINCE in her FAIRY TALE story. See....Ginny clearly lives in a fairy tale and LOVES being a princess and well every girl needs a prince, so she thinks.
I seriously felt like a parent of a high schooler. Thoughts of...HOW ARE WE GOING TO BREAK UP THIS RELATIONSHIP?? OR HOW DARE THIS BOY TOUCH MY DAUGHTER?? OR HOLDING HANDS?? WHAT IS NEXT?? THAT IS FIRST BASE, YOU KNOW?!?! I am frustrated with this situation as you can tell....BUT, I have to keep telling myself that they are kids and she might not be like me wanting to play with the girls in her class. I cannot even imagine when she turns 16!!

More on this later...I wrote her teacher a big long letter so we will see how today goes!! PRAY FOR ME...

WHAT?!?! MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL!!!! :)
I LOVE YOU GINNY!!

WARNING!!!

So my new camera arrives today....


I have been without my Nikon for a WHOLE YEAR!!! Yes, I missed out on my baby...I didnt have a SLR for his whole first year...WHY?!?! Simply because I was too lazy to take mine back and let them fix it! CRAZY, I know!!! Do you understand?!! With two...I have time to brush my teeth, get Ginny off to school, make dinner and anything in between that...like stand in line at Wolf Camera for two hours is completely ridiculous and well, just not happening. Yes, you might think that Reese is a sweet baby and all BUT, when it comes to trips to a grocery store, shopping mall etc. he is a devil child. He hates to be restrained and it just wasnt going to happen. PLUS, with Daddy being so busy these days and Mommy being sooo tired....I put it off, and put it off!

BUT....to celebrate a wonderful FIRST year with REESE....I am rewarding myself with this!!

And you thought I took a lot of pictures NOW...Just you wait, my friends!!! I have the book, the video, the classes....I am now a photography MOMMA and will be snap snap snapping away!!!

Dear Reese

Dear Reese,

Today, October 6, 2008 I was packing my bags, cleaning the house, preparing food for back at home, calling Ginny's school to inform them I would not be taking Gin to school and praying real hard that you wanted to come out and would not cause a fuss. I was induced with you....Daddy and I checked in at 8pm on Oct. 6th, 2008. I can remember looking at all the babies in the window thinking, "WOW, sooo small!!" I was scared, excited, nervous....overall, ready to meet you. Everything went PERFECT, just as planned...no pain! I had a great labor....only 6 hours and there you were!! The pushing was the worst part and you did cause Mommy some major pain "down there"...but when you were born...nothing else mattered! Gigi and Daddy watched as they cleaned you up and I cried tears of joy, amazement and SHOCK! Although I had some post pardum things going on with me I have NEVER experienced a LOVE like that. Your sisters adoption day and your birth were the most amazing days of my life.
You slept with Mommy and Daddy for 5 months...you loved to wake us up and play! I didnt mind as I knew that soon those moments would pass and you would soon be a big boy sleeping in your crib. You love FOOD! You love anything I give you...even tomatoes! Your favorites are Fig Newtons, Avacado, Chicken, Banana and Pasta. You can say words like, "Dada, Momma, Ja (Jax), OHHH WOOKK (OH, Look), HI, and you make the scariest Roaring sound ever! You walked at 10 months, you crawled at 9 months, you love your sister more than anything! You adore books...you walk over to me with a book in hand, sit your cute bottom in my lap and we read away! You LOVE WONDER PETS and you LOVE BABY EINSTEIN!
Lets face it Reese...you are ADORABLE! You have the sweetest heart, the biggest blue eyes and the perfect smile. You have a personality like your Daddy...calm, sweet, caring and you LOVE me! Your hugs are so warming, your kisses, well, slobbery...BUT, I would not trade those slobbers for the world. Your feet are chunky, your legs are stocky and you have a belly that hangs over your pants! :) You LOVE walking and being independent, you love remote controls and iPhones! You even know how to work Mommy's and play games on it! You love nursing at night...that is our time to slow down the world and reconnect...this bond is amazing to me and is hard to give up.
Reese.....Daddy, Mommy and Ginny love you very much! You take on the name TODDLER tomorrow...You become a big boy! I pray that you LOVE JESUS and want to be more like him. I pray that you follow His Word and understand and KNOW that He loves you! I could be selfish and say that I want you to be a baby forever...BUT, I know that God has a plan for you! You are on this Earth to do great things, to spread your joy and to experience His LOVE!!
This year has been amazing and I cannot wait to watch you grow this next year. I love you more than life itself.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET REESERS!!!
Love, Mommy

What will you be for Halloween???

Maybe an angelic FAIRY PRINCESS???

OR

Maybe a MEAN MAD PIRATE???

THANK YOU POTTERY BARN KIDS FOR MAKING THE CUTEST KIDS COSTUMES EVER!!!