Nana & Papa Love

Last weekend Nana and Papa came to town! Ava in particular was counting down the days until they arrived. Each night at bed time she would ask how many more sleeps until Nana and Papa came! The one BIG bummer of the weekend was Coop got a viral infection that is contagious the day before they were leaving to come so Aidan, Renia and cousin Jack weren't able to join us! Matt and I were extremely sad and disappointed! Hopefully they will visit in a week or so and we will pray no one gets sick:)

We didn't do too much other than take them over to our new house (it is officially ours, we closed this morning). Nana came loaded with books for the kids. Ava LOVED her new sticker book! Thanks to Nana this saved us at the AIA baseball game on Friday night in which Ava had no interest in being there until Nana pulled out the sticker book!

And of course the kids loved time with Papa...lots of laughs and giggling! Here Ava and Cooper are pretending to paint their nails with Papa. The kids gave him lots of haircuts with their fake knives and forks, wrestled on the floor and had fun galore in the basement riding their bikes.

I absloutely love seeing the kids spend time with their grandparents and they have a ball!

SOLD!

That's right......oh so many mixed emotions for me, but our home sold and we have officially moved!! We moved out almost two weeks ago now and God has led through this whole process and provided in great ways. We are living in a temporary situation that is perfect. We will move into our new place mid August...I know, we have to move TWICE!!! Matt assures me this next time will be much easier because most of the boxes are still packed.

The kid's had a rough few nights at first in the transition but they bounced back quickly. Here they are enjoying eating breakfast at their little table...we don't have a small kitchen table so we thought this space was perfect for them. Below this is a picture of Cooper....a boy with white dress up shoes and a flashlight who's on a mission:)

Here is the place we are hoping to call home. I say "hoping" because we know it's not a done deal till closing which is at the end of July. Change can be hard for me...ending one chapter and beginning another.

Breaking the Rules

The Fourth of July this year came so quickly! We've been busy with the X-project and with packing up our place (for those who haven't heard, our house sold! and yes, we are still staying in Xenia). So, we decided to go all out and by that I mean keep our kids up for fireworks!! That to me felt like breaking the rules:) We hardly ever keep our kids up past bedtime....for lots of reasons but one is just to have somewhat of an evening still before our bedtime:)

Before the fireworks though, we hit the Beavercreek parade! I love parades! Mostly because of the bands, music, dancing....I know kind of weird! So...no bands, no music, no dancing...at this parade!!! Let's say we may not make this parade an annual one on our list. Although, Ava and Cooper LOVED it! Ava especially loved it from afar...she didn't want to get too close so she'd run behind our chairs in the grass and wave from where it was safe:) Coop ooohed and aaahed at every thing that came by....even the cars that carry people who are running for political offices:)

So, again, I'm not sure we'd make the Beavercreek fireworks an annual event either...let's just say we waited for an hour and got to see about 8 minutes of fireworks! But, in spite of that we really had lots of fun...we took bubbles for the kids to have fun with to help with the wait and loved hanging out with fun friends!It was really worth it to break the rules when it comes to bedtime...the kids did great...I was worried they'd hate the loud noise but they again LOVED it! Afterwards, Ava did say, "Mommy, I didn't like the loud boom part." But during it, she did fine. Who knows, maybe we will break the rules a little more often this summer and have some more summer fun:)

Our Little Artist

Okay....so we are proud parents:) This is a first for Ava. Of course, she has been scribbling for a while and loves to color BUT this is not just a scribble! She often asks after drawing something, "what do you think this is?" Ummmmm.... is often how I begin my answer. BUT, not there!! It's a face....with two eyes, two ears, two slits for nostrils, a mouth, hair!!! I asked her who it was a picture of and she said, "Papaw." There you have it....a proud artist and proud parents:)

May = Vacation

Last year we decided to take an annual May vacation with my parents. Last year we headed to Edisto Island, South Carolina! This year we landed on Lake Lure, North Carolina! Have to say I had never heard of it! We decided on it because of my parents timeshare availability but as well it was just one day of driving...8 hours.

We did lots of things and really had great weather! We were way up in the mountains and the one bummer was that it took about 20-30 minutes to get "anywhere" and let's just say if you are prone to getting car sick this would not be for you!!

These are a few pics of us on a boat ride taking a tour of Lake Lure....a man-made lake in which it was named Lure in the hopes that it would Lure millions to come and visit.
One day it was kind of chilly but we headed to Chimney Rock State Park. We packed a lunch and ate on these huge flat rocks over the river! I always love the idea of a picnic but it always seems it is never perfect:) You may not be able to tell from the picture but we are swatting all the gnats that joined our picnic:)

One of our favorite things of the week was playing at the beach! The kids LOVED it...who knew you could dig in the sand for soooo many hours. It was so relaxing because we were usually the only ones on the beach, the kids played so well on their own and there was a playground right on the sand.

Okay, I just put this pic on because look at me....I've got a hold of Cooper by the hood making sure he doesn't fall in and I'm trying to protect my dad's head from being smashed by the rock Ava is getting ready to wail into what she hopes will be the water but what I fear may be my dad's noggin:)

Clowns, Elephants and Jugglers

Last weekend our staff team went to the circus together! That's right:) I can't even remember the last time I went to the circus! I honestly wasn't sure how our kids would react...okay, really I wasn't sure about Ava. I knew Cooper's eyes would be glued to whatever was happening.

The first few minutes Ava had a hard time (even before it started) but really as soon as her friend Olivia arrived to sit next to her things were good! I love that! It was more fun to me watching our kids and our friend's kids than watching the tigers walk on two feet! I don't think Coop was always sure what was going on but he was sure to clap loudly and laugh when the crowd clapped.

Lately, I have been reminded to take the time just to enjoy the kids and the things they delight in! I somehow want to bottle up the pure joy they have in moments like these where they are enthralled with what they see!

A Few Pics from Easter

Happy Easter! We pray you had a wonderful time celebrating LIFE in Christ! We had a great visit from Nana and Papa last weekend! We were so thankful they came to spend time with us! This weekend we headed to Mamaw and Papaw's for a family get-together and then came back to celebrate Easter at our church on Sunday!

Thought I'd throw in this last picture...don't know if you can tell but Coop took a face plant on an outdoor track last week:) He had scrapes and swelling above and around his one eye but thankfully it is looking much better. I'm sure there's more where that comes from now that the weather is getting nicer and we are outside more! Happy Spring!