Blueberry Picking Time

Mary Scott sitting at the same spot a year ago - she's grown so much!

We enjoyed having Aunt Katie Beth here to go pickin' with us

Catherine loved hunting for the big fat blueberries at the top of the bushes then would point them out to Daddy to pick them for her

   Mary Scott and Aunt KB off in the distance picking

Brian became the ladder for the kids to be able to reach the tops of the bushes

                  Plump...Ripe...Sweet...Juicy

We made our first trip to the blueberry patch this past Friday morning.  We visited the same patch last year when Anna was about 3 weeks old so it warmed my heart to think back to that sweet time when we were adjusting to life with our precious new addition.  Brian was off from work so he joined us along with Aunt Katie Beth.  We had a great time and brought home a big bowl full of fresh sweet blueberries - so delicious and so good for us.

Chef Benjamin cooking up some yummies

Benjamin seems to really enjoy cooking.  And that makes this mama so proud!  So one morning last week, he asked me before I even pulled myself out of the bed if he could make some eggs.  So I began explaining to him how to go about making scrambled eggs.  Low and behold, a few minutes later when I got downstairs, he was whipping out omelets!  He already had one made for Catherine, Mary Scott and Anna and was asking me if I wanted cheese and onions in mine.  Wow!  I was certainly impressed.  And the omelets tasted oh so yummy.  Later in the week, while Aunt Katie Beth was visiting, he made omelets for us again.  Keep polishing those skills, buddy, and you and mommy could be quite the team!

CELEBRATING CATHERINE ON HER 7TH BIRTHDAY

We had a wonderful time celebrating Catherine's 7th birthday.  Goodness, 7th... just doesn't seem possible that she is already seven.  But she is, as of June 27th.  So we celebrated by taking a little weekend trip down to Atlanta.  We took Catherine and two of her good friends, Halle and Lydia, to the American Girl Store and Cafe.  They enjoyed lunch with their dolls and then spent a while shopping in the store.  Thankfully, Nana was able to join us for lunch.  After finishing at the American Girl Store, we did some more shopping around the mall.  It seemed one of the highlights for the girls during our time at the mall was getting their hair curled at a little kiosk - they loved it!  It was a treat for me that my good friend and room mate from nursing school, Sarah, and her daughter, Lillian, joined us to shop and then headed over to our hotel with us.  Mark, Heather, Anderson and Carter also came over to the hotel for a little swimming and pizza and birthday cake by the pool.  We all had a good time.  Once we got all the children tucked into bed that night, they enjoyed watching the American Girl movie, Chrissa Stands Strong.  It was a very full day but a whole lot of fun!

We enjoyed a yummy breakfast at our hotel Sunday morning and stopped by Mark and Heather's new house before getting on the road back to Rock Hill.  Thankfully, Halle nor Lydia seemed to missing their parents too badly, but I loved how excited they were to get home and tell their parents about our trip.  It was definitely a fun way to celebrate Catherine turning 7.

Precious Catherine... you are a delight to have as a daughter.  Your love for the Lord inspires me, and I'm so thankful that even at the young age of 7, you know that Christ is the source of your strength.  How I pray that you will always long after Him and seek Him in every situation... that you will desire to follow Jesus all the days of your life.  You have a very tender heart and such a sensitive spirit - may the Lord always protect you from the hardness of this world.  You are a good friend and a good sister (most of the time!, ha ha), and the way you love others and give generously delights the Lord and Mommy and Daddy, too.  We are so proud of you and love you deeply, beautiful girl.  Happy Birthday!

Flag football... Let the games begin

            Hold onto that ball and run Benjamin!

                                      TOUCHDOWN!!!

Benjamin had his first flag football game of the season on June 19th.  He and his team played a good game overall.  Having had only 2 practices leading up to their first game, they realized some areas that needed work and showed improvement at their next game the following Friday night.  I have to confess... I'm one of those moms who really gets into the game.  I can feel my competitive juices start flowing and love cheering for Benjamin and his team.  Even when I have a chair to sit in, I can hardly sit down when he's out there playing.  I found myself wondering what I will be like if and when he plays football.  One thing's for sure, I always want him to know without a doubt that Brian and I are his biggest cheerleaders.

A new experience

            Why is playing in the mud so much fun?

    Could Carter's hands and feet be any dirtier?

Not sure if Anderson's crocs will ever be the same... wait, that's the beauty of crocs!

                 a good hose off before coming inside

... then I look out and you guessed it... Benjamin and Anderson were "skinny dippin" in the baby pool - those boys, they spent almost the whole time running around the house in their underwear - they must think clothes are way over-rated!

                                   a tea party, baby style - precious

A couple weeks ago, I experienced 3 days of managing life with 6 children... and thankfully it went really well.  We got the chance to keep our nephews, Anderson (4 1/2) and Carter (2), while Mark and Heather finalized the sale of their Virginia Beach house and moved all of their stuff back down to Alpharetta to their new home.  We had a great 3 days together and enjoyed having them.  I was glad to have the chance to help them out.  All the children where very well behaved and a couple days, we all had naps, including myself.  I'm still not sure how I swung that one... don't even seem to make that happen with my normal 4 kids.  We went for a couple swims at our neighborhood splash park and went to Benjamin's gymnastics class but otherwise just played at home.  I wasn't too sure about managing the gang while out and about so I saved all my errands for once they left on Friday.  I truly couldn't have asked the week to go any better.  And amazingly, we kept the house tidy all week and all the laundry stayed caught up... I think by staying home and being laser beam focused on not getting behind... I did it!  Now I just need to apply those principals every week.

ICE CREAM TREAT FOR ANNA

A couple weeks before Anna turned one, she enjoyed her first ice cream - actually the remains of Mary Scott's ice cream which she was so kind to share with Anna.  One thing's for sure, Anna knew just what to do with it and seemed to enjoy every bite of it.  There's nothing like the refreshment of cold, smooth, sweet ice cream on a hot summer day - Anna sure found it refreshing!