Ella's 1st bday professional shots

Ella's 1st bday

Happy 1st Birthday, Ella Claire!

Pics to come...

Josiah

I got to spend some time alone with Josiah today <3 I hardly ever get time for just me and him so we took a little walk around the neighborhood. Here are some new fave pics...









and for good measure...Ella's always in the mood for pics hahaha

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Hey, where did my extra hour go?! Ella's been waking up at 630 am thanks to daylight savings/torture parents day! ZZZzzzz. I have so much to do but seriously need a LONG nap.

My family comes in this weekend from VA beach. I am sooooooo excited!!! I love when family comes to visit! We are going to have a mini birthday party for Ella (how is she about to turn ONE already?) and I am going to convince them to move here!

I started my Christmas shopping already and I LOVE it! Its so fun to pick stuff out, especially for kids! I am just so cheery...apparently its an NC thing cause the radio stations here are already playing non stop Christmas music, even though its still hot enough for short sleeves (insert thumbs down smiley here)

Soooo, off to clean!

Ella Claire's dedication day

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my father in law Joe! He turns 60 today! I wish we could be there but I hope he has a great day!

Ella got dedicated today and it was a beautiful service. In our old church, they dedicated each baby one at a time, which was nice. Here, they do a few families at once. However, they have all the elders and their wives come and pray for each baby and their respective families. Then the whole church does a declaration of various Bible verses over the babies. It was really nice! Of course, I was about to die because Ella was sleeping and 30 lbs of dead weight in 3 inch heels is NO fun!

After the service, we just went out to eat and then enjoyed the 75 degree weather (I love to rub it in!)

Anyway here are the photos!

Halloween

Here are some photos of the kids on Ella's frst halloween. We didn't go trick or treating and Josiah didnt want to wear a costume...so we just went out to eat and Ella got lots of attention, which she loved hahaha.

They look so grown in the pics! Can someone tell me where my babies are?!

The day to day...

Nothing new and exciting to report...we are just doing our thing out here. Steven has been in a LOT of pain with his rheumatoid arthritis so keep him in your prayers. We celebrated our 5th anniversary on 10/4! We're still decorating the house, little by little.

Autumn is slowly but surely making its way down south. Its still in the 70s but the leaves are falling and the foliage is amazing! Here is a pic of the leaves on the tree outside our house...


And our little harvest decor...


The kids are doing great! Josiah has been working on writing his letters and can write most of them. He knows how to write his own name too. He loves to color and he is really into pretending...so he pretends he's at the drive thru, or at the atm, or getting us something to eat. He plays with his stuffed animals as if they are his friends, and never gets tired of harassing Ella (I think big brothers have that wired in their DNA haha). He cracks us up with the things he says like the other day I was getting him a drink...I passed it to him and he responds with "Thank you, my love." hahaha lover boy in the making!

Ella is just as crazy as ever. This little girl is the sweetest thing and loves to makes friends with total strangers. I can just picture her introducing Josiah to all of her friends, since he is so shy. SHe has a temper as well and if you cross her, watch out! I guess its that spanish blood...yikes! Her new favorite word is "stop!" and she says it all the time! Her new tricks are climbing up the stairs (we only knew when she escaped one day and in a matter of 30 seconds was on the 3rd floor!) and attempting to eat with a spoon. Her hair is starting to get long enough for me to play with and I gave her her first pair of pigtails the other day! This is going to be so much fun!

Pumpkin Picking!

We went pumpkin picking on Saturday, Oct 17 and had a great time! The weather finally got out of the 80s and it felt like fall!

Check out the slideshow!

FALL IS HERE!!!!!

At last, the first day of fall is finally here! I am so excited! Apple picking, pumpkin picking, chill in the air, leaves on the ground, blankets, jackets, hot apple cider and the excitement of the upcoming holidays!

I LOVE fall!

Here's Ella, celebrating ;)

Myrtle Beach Pics

Sorry it took so long to post them...here are some pics of our vacation to Myrtle Beach :)

Caca the fish

SERIOUSLY. Arent cats the ones with nine lives?? This darn fish has had so many near-death experiences...yet he never dies. I alwys find myself rescuing this thing. I mean, I love animals...but fish and birds dont tickle my fancy AT ALL.

So todayI catch josiah standing on the chair by the kitchen bar area where Caca the fish resides. He has the guilty face all over him. The stupid mini tank is filled with red flakes and a spoon is in the fishs food jar. UGH. I see the fish struggling to swim through it all.

So I made another rescue today...and Caca is alive and well :) Good times, good times.

VACATION!

off to myrtle beach for sun, food and fun!!!! Until next week, folks...!

In my arms...

I heard this song on the radio and had a good ugly cry. Any song directed toward my children brings tears to me eyes but this one was especialy full of wisdom. Of course, I pray life brings all the best things it can offer to my children. I hope they never hurt. I hope they never have their heart broken, never feel grief, never are disappointed, never are lied to, never neglected, never thought less of...but these things, unfortunately are imminent. I wish to God I could protect them from the cruelty of this life. I wish I could shield them from pain I have gone through, times I have had my heart broken in pieces...but even if and when those times come, I want them to know that I will always be there for them. I will always be there to hold them, to have them cry on my shoulder, to rub their heads and pat their backs. And most importantly, if I am there...how much more will there heavenly father be there for them?! I want them to know that even if I am not there because of the unfairness and cruelty of this life (only death can take me from them, but death took my mom from me as a child)...that Jesus will ALWAYS be there for them to run to. He is an ever present help in trouble.

The most important thing I can ever pray for them is that they would know the love and safety held in their Savior's arms, that they would have an undying intimacy with him...that NOTHING and NO ONE would ever be able to separate them from.

Romans 8:38-39
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here is the song:
Artist: Plumb
Song: In My Arms

Your baby blues
So full of wonder
Your Curly Que's
Your contagious smil
eAnd as I watchYou start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight
Knowing
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms

Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Story books
Are full of fairy-tales
Of kings and queens
And the bluest skies

My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see
The truth for lies

Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all aroundBut you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumbleDreams may not come true
Cause you are never all alone
Cause I will always
Always love you
Hey I
Hey I
Will love
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
In my arms

YIPPPEEEEEEE

My parents are finally moving here next month!! Let the babysitting and Sunday evening dinners commence!!!

3/4 of a year!

Sweet baby Ella is 9 mos today!!! I cant believe it :(

Here is a video of her starting to crawl 2 weeks ago, and a video of Josiah playing "drive thru" (uhh, you think we eat out too much?)

Swearing off road trips

Road trips are fun, or so I used to think! We have been on way too many in one year and I am OVER them! Although next time I see the price of a plane ticket and all the extra fees, I will once again opt for the road trip.



Soooo, this past weekend we went to Florida. Steven's favorite uncle and his family were vacationing there and we joined them on the last 2 days. It was a 8 hr drive which wasnt bad on the way down, but the way back always seems much much longer! All in all, we had a good time though. Josiah and Ella got to meet their cousins and we got to relax a bit!



Here are some pics :)

Ella and her cousin, Alexis

Ella and her cousin, Naldi


By the pool

Here we go again...

For issues I wont get into cause I'll be here for a year typing, I had to change my URL...so here is my new bloggy blog...hopefully I can update it more. These kids keep me going!