almost 1

we are 1 week and 2 days away from elin's first birthday. as i go back and look at the last 12 months in pictures i am overwhelmed by a bittersweet feeling of happiness and sadness at the same time. everyone says how quickly the first year goes by and i think the more kids you have, the quicker it goes. i'm so thankful for every second of this baby girl's life and feel blessed to tears that God brought her into our lives. she is my heart and the affect she has on my heart brings me closer to Jesus every day. she has the same affect on Ben and watching him interact with her may be the most precious thing i've ever seen. the devotion in our "The Love Dare" book last night talked about how a family is not only a blessing from God, but honors him as well.

here is an excerpt that really spoke to me:

"Our oneness and companionship reflect His union in the Trinity. Our purity honors His holiness. Our procreation reflects Him as Creator of life. Our love is founded in the truth that God is love. And our love provides a living portrait of the gospel -Christ's unconditional love for His people, His church, His bride (revelation 21:9).

i highly recommend this book, by the way.

now here are some pics of our sweet ones.

watching daddy and buxton mow the grass:

walking old man zion before bed:

i love that my children have gotten to know this dog that has been with me for 12 years, even if they don't remember him later on.

hangin outside before dinner with papa on our usual wednesday night dinner with him:

elin loves her papa:

had to use the bobcat and camera lens to get them in a picture together:

4 years, potty time and an 11 month muffin

friday marked 4 years of marriage for ben and i. we went to dinner and a movie to mark this special occasion. it's hard to believe that it's been 4 years and we are so grateful for how full life has been. we are continually learning about life, love, parenthood, and our faith. i feel so blessed that ben is my partner to walk through life with and God made him so perfectly for me. ben and i have accepted the challenge to read "the love dare day by day". this daily devotional for couples is said to do wonders for your walk with God as a couple. it's a big deal for us to pursue something like this and i'm really excited about what's in store for us.

a little pool time this weekend:

and a little potty time. buxton is starting to get the hang of using the potty, but his favorite place to "go" is outside:

(sorry for the butt shot, but what a cute butt it is!)

elin is 11 months old!

she's in 18 month clothing. with those thighs, you can see why:

cruising the furniture...maybe walking in a month?

and with her 5 tooth coming in, she does a lot of this on this pine trunk:

here is elin giving buxton one of her many open mouth kisses of the day. kissing is one of her favorite things to do!

heavy equals heavenly

Lots of loved ones are grieving this week due to the passing of a wonderful woman yesterday. My heart has been very heavy knowing that many of my close friends are hurting right now. I've been praying a lot for them and being aware of how I'm so much more in touch with the fragility of life due to Sydney's passing, in hopes that I will hold on to that feeling a long time. It's amazing what tragedy does to us. We really take a look at living life to the fullest and where we are on our path with Jesus.

When Sydney's husband, Todd, updated her Caring Bridge site, the Lord spoke through him, which in turn spoke to the hearts of his readers. I've witnessed this with 2 other friends that also wrote so perfectly and so in tune with God's walk with them during their suffering, when experiencing major tragedy. Those 2 friends did not lose their loved ones and it was undoubtedly the power of prayer that saved them. Thousands of people praying, reading the most perfect and eloquent words of the authors that undoubtedly had the Holy Spirit running through their veins. So I feel blessed to have a heavy heart and live in a world with suffering, because it makes me focus on Jesus. And therefore I'm able to pass that love for Jesus to my children.

Last night at the dinner table we asked Buxton to bless our food, hoping we would recite the "Johnny Apple seed" blessing we always sing. Oh how we were surprised when he started singing a different blessing, which he obviously knew very well, and was very proud to share with us. After a sad day this was my silver lining.

And as I listen to Buxton talk himself to sleep right now, he is naming all the people in his life that "Jesus loves". Most nights we sing "Jesus Loves Me" and then name everyone that Jesus loves. Usually everyone in our family and all our friends are named. Some people are named twice cause he forgets he said them. Tonight he listed Grace, Aunt Carla, Uncle Ed, Hunter, Wynnie and Bobby....and then he started talking about trucks or something. But witnessing him grasp the concept of love and attach Jesus to the same thought is more heart warming than I could ever describe.

I like to think that 2.5 years of reading Todd's CB updates impacted my personal path with Jesus, which has impacted Buxton in a positive way. My dear Amy affects my path with Jesus in the same positive way. She too is an amazing writer and a strong woman of faith. I've told Amy many times that her battle with cancer has already affected so many people in their walk with the Lord.

These are the words to Buxton's blessing, which we got on video tonight before bed:

God our Father
God our Father
We thank Thee
We thank Thee
For our many blessings
For our many blessings
Amen
Amen

wedding weekend

mom and bill are married! we had a great weekend in blowing rock celebrating their marriage.

they each had their closest friend and spouse stand with them.

this is bill's son, andy with his wife, jenny and their son, emmett. they live in denver, co. andy is one of my 3 new step-brothers!

sharing a laugh from a toast:

we are really happy for my mom and welcome bill into our family with open arms!

and for good measure, a shot of our almost 11 month old baby girl...who is saying "uh oh", giving kisses (open mouth of course), cruising the furniture and getting into everything, eating everything, and who is still the sweetest little muffin ever (ok big muffin).

a 10 month muffin, friends and a big boy bed

elin is 10 months today! if i could bottle this time in a jar i would for any price. she is so very sweet, cuddly and always happy. eating and sleep (except at daycare) come really easy for her too and she's grown partial to table food over baby food. she has 2 teeth on the top coming in to join the 2 on the bottom. and i'll bet that there will be 2 more on the top soon. i made my first trip to purchase hair clips the other day and loved every minute. her hair is long enough to hang in her eyes in the front and i'm hoping that starting the hair clips early will get her used to them so she won't pull them all out down the road.

this is elin in her partial down dog. just had to post it so everyone could check out those thighs!

here are buxton, vivan, wynnie and elin after some recent time in the pool. vivan is seriously almost as big as elin! it's so fun to have them all together.

since getting buxton to eat is an everyday challenge i had to post this picture of one night that he actually cleaned his plate. he had whole wheat noodles covered in a butternut squash puree, topped with cheese, and some chicken. i've been using the Deceptively Delicious cookbook to hide veggies in his food and i promise you he acts so much better when he eats balanced meals. one thing he loves is applesauce. so i add pureed beets, cinnamon and a little stevia and he eats it like crazy. homemade pizza with spinach is always a sure thing too.

it takes a lot of time and energy to focus on Buxton's eating, but it pays off when he cleans his plate and i know that everything he ate was good for him. another thing i've learned is that eating before 6pm usually leads to more food being eaten and less tantrums. no i don't have a personal chef that gets dinner on the table before 6 when i work until 5. but i would love one!

here is a quick shot of buxton's new big boy room. he's done so well in his new bed and seems very proud of it.

July!

Well what used to be my weekly blog posts are now apparently monthly, but that just means we are busy having fun and enjoying the summer.

We kicked off July with a super duper 2 week visit from the Gosline's (minus Uncle Ed who is in Afghanistan). God Bless you Edward!

We did some fun family things like a day on the lake with a rental pontoon and 6 cousins all 6 and under, a trip to Carowinds, and Cooper's 1st bday party.

We had a great group of friends and family over to celebrate Cooper. Everyone enjoyed being together and having Carla, Grace and Coop in NC.

Ed's Mom, Nancy (Cooper's Grandma) even drove all the way from VA Beach. Now that's an awesome Grandma! And look how proud Mama Carla is of her baby boy.

Carla's bestest friend ever, Angie, never misses a family function and we are so lucky to have her and her family in our lives. They are so fun and just like family to all of us.

Angie's son, Matthew (AKA Ben's lil bro) is a natural with Buxton:

We made a quick trip to the mountains for our usual July 4th celebration. This was the first time it rained that I can remember in the many years I've gone there for the 4th. The golf course picnic was moved to the clubhouse in Hound Ears but we still got to do the duck race and of course see the awesome fire works!

Grace picked out this matching dress for Elin and brought it as a gift when they came to NC. How sweet are these 2 girls! I think they are going to have quite a bond as they grow up.

Family pic time:

Check out Buxton's face. And Mom looking at Buxton like he's being ridiculous (which he was):

Now Mom is looking at Bill with a smile....maybe she's thinking "we better marry soon or else Bill may decide this family of mine is too much". They are getting married on August 20!

Oh how I already miss my sweet sweet niece!

Serious:

Happy...now that's more like it!

lately

elin started daycare last week and besides not napping, she's done really well. seems like she really likes all the new toys and kids to "play" with. all the excitement is probably why she's not really sleeping there but we are hoping that she will adjust and start to get more rest there during the day.

elin and buxton are both at first pres of belmont and their rooms are right next door to each for now. buxton loves knowing that his lil sis is at his school and is so proud when he goes in her room.

the wagon has been fun for the kids. elin is in a bumbo but her "bum" is almost too big for it.

had to post these funny faces:

2 big milestones recently for baby girl: 1. saying "dada" 2. almost crawling, not quite but almost

and a few of my recent favorites of my little muffin: