Happy Mother's Day

I do not get to spend many Mother's Day with my mom, but I sure soak it up when I have the opportunity. She has always been such a servant to her family and to others. She loves us all unconditionally and would drop everything to be there for us. I pray I will love my family well as she has loved her family.

I just love this pic of her.

And oh how my heart is so full of love for these three. They are the ones who made me a momma. Life would be empty without them!

After church, we came home and grilled out. Then these two did the dishes.

That afternoon we got some face time with my brother.

 While JD and I were out of town the kids (with Mimi and Pop's help) decorated my front porch. It makes me happy!

Baby Dedication

As we did with the other two kids, we brought Tres before the church body and presented him to the Lord, committing to raise him in the ways of the Lord. The church body was also challenged to come alongside of us as we raise him. 

The verse we chose for Tres is Psalm 22:30-31 (TLB). It reads "Our children too shall serve him, for they shall hear from us about the wonders of the Lord; generations yet unborn shall hear of all the miracles he did for us."

Our babies are miracles. All of them stemming for circumstances we would never have dreamed of. For those reasons, we want generations to come to know of the work the Lord has done in our lives. We pray Tres will grow up to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. We also want him to share with others all that the Lord has done. 

After losing a baby so late in my pregnancy, I remind myself that the Lord's ways are higher. And if we had not lost that baby, we would not have our precious Tres. I KNOW the Lord will use him!

Lily took some pics for us on our camera. She got pretty artsy. 

They Stuck Around

I am so thankful that Mimi and Pop were able to come and stay with the kids this year while we were away. And even more thankful they were able to stay through the weekend so we could catch up, celebrate mother's day, and they could be apart of Tres' baby dedication.

Books galore

 Snuggle time

Everyone loves an iPad

Saturday we headed out to a vintage market downtown. We had a picnic lunch in the rain.

After lunch and wandering in the booths, we played a bit at the park.

Max enjoyed the puddles.

JD stayed back home. This pretty much sums up his whole week. Walking is not on his fun list.

We also made time for cheesecake! Pecan Praline.

Great time with the grands!!

Staff Retreat

After I got home from a weekend away with friends, I washed mine (well mostly my spitter Tres') clothes and turned around and packed bags again for staff retreat.

Each spring, the staff gets away for a time of team building, renewal, and rest. We cherish this time with fellow ministers of the gospel and as a couple.  This year, with Tres being so young, we had some family time, although it was a bit hard for JD to get around on crutches.

We rode down with the Hodges. We were able to see this awesomeness on the drive down. Happy Cinco deMayo.

Sweet Baby had his first trip to the beach.

And lots of good naps.

While we were away, the big kids were in great hands. A friend kept them on Monday and Tuesday until Mimi and Pop arrived to stay the rest of the week.

Max had this thing where he loves to sleep in "sock gloves". It makes me laugh every time I see him like this.

Mimi and Pop also kept us updated each day with how things were going. Kids were loving life!

Mrs. Lisa and Mimi were so so great to help out with school! It was a much needed break for me!

Great time away! We are now ready for time with the big kids and time with Mimi and Pop!

GWA

...Girls Weekend Away

One of my besties has said yes to packing up her house and heading to Boston to share Jesus. I am so so excited for her family, but sad on the inside because we will not be able to share day to day life together anymore. As I have said over and over, so thankful for technology to keep us connected!

Each year, we are able to get away and enjoy each other's company for a weekend (don't we have the greatest husbands?!?!). This year, with LCR's move date an unknown, we headed out early to make sure we had one last hurrah before the big move.

Because it was early in the season and we only had 2 nights away, we opted to head to the mountains near Asheville. We got a great deal on a house, which was just about perfect.

On the way there, we stopped in the little town of Flat Rock. It has a yummy little restaurant next to a cute little shop.

That night we stayed up and watched a movie (Pitch Perfect) in the media room. It was awesome.

The next day we headed to downtown Asheville to shop, eat, and people watch. And we succeeded. We followed up downtown time with pedicures, dinner, and more shopping.

We even were able to write on a van. We made our mark in Asheville.

Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted all afternoon. Got word from home that JD had broken his toe. And boy did he break it! I will spare you the picture. With two kids at home alone, he was trying to clean the house (I told you he was great!) and got it caught on the door frame. We are all thankful that friends were there to help out with the kids and to take him to the ER (urgent care could not reset it). And even more thankful that he did not need surgery.

Even with all the drama at home, it was a great little getaway with a couple of my besties!

Easter Weekend

We started the weekend with an egg hunt with some friends. Lots of candy and games.

Sat night I got the kids' baskets all ready.

Sunday we headed to worship. This year I had an "a-ha" moment and decided to make an Easter playlist. We always play Christmas music, so why not musically celebrate Easter too?!? We worshipped the couple of weeks prior to the holiday every time we got in the car. It was awesome to celebrate for more than the hour at church. That is what we are to do, right? Our lives should be continually worshipping God. Amen.

Family pics.
I tried to get one before church. That did not work. Gotta love having a spitter.

Reinforcements came to the rescue.

Before adding the baby, I wanted to make sure I had all the settings right on the camera...and this one turned out so good.

Added the baby.

Each year we spend the Easter afternoon with our "lunch bunch". Love love these families God has allowed us to do life with.

 All the kiddos.

All the Mommas.

You can never have too many egg hunts with candy or time with friends. We are blessed.