Sweet Time in Sumter

We had a great visit to Sumter this past week and felt so blessed to be able to spend some time with our most dear and special Grandy! Turner had her telling stories of when she was a little girl, and Grandy delighted her with a beautiful Sleeping Beauty dress-up dress and heels!

It was also a joy to see Aunt Niki, Uncle Clete and -- of course -- Cousin Ryan. We had a ball with you guys! Thanks for being such gracious hosts of the "silly zoo." :)

Funny story from the week:

On Friday night, I made supper at Grandy's apartment. Turner was REALLY acting like a three-year old (think brushing her hair with a fork, sitting on Parker, etc.). So much so, that she had to have a time-out during supper. I was completely exasperated and frustrated with her behavior by the time we left to go back to Nicole's for bedtime. On the way home, I called Thomas to check in and "vent" about our evening. He asked to speak to Turner about it. Here is the conversation:

"Turner, Mommy told me you were misbehaving tonight and disobeying her. Is that true?"

"Yes, Daddy...I guess I left my manners in Atlanta." (said in the most coy little voice EVER).

So, we got back to Aunt Niki's, and Turner immediately jumped in Uncle Clete's lap, as sweet an angel as could ever be. I finally corralled her and got her to bed. When it was time for prayers, she said, "Dear God, please forgive me for all the things Mommy told Daddy I did tonight. Amen."

Are Thomas and I in trouble, OR WHAT????!!!!

Golf Cart Sightseeing Tour

We had a wonderful weekend. Our sweet neighbors loaned us their golf cart, and we had a ball exploring the many paths of Peachtree City! We have 90 miles of paths that connect the entire city, and there are lots of hidden playgrounds and lakes to enjoy along the way.


The highlight of the weekend was definitely taking the golf cart to get Slurpies at the local gas station. (Parker REALLY wanted his own but settled for a sip of ours)!

Bath Twins

I ran out of the bathroom the other night to get pjs (I know that this is not totally safe, so don't panic -- I do not make a habit of leaving my children unattended during bath time!). Anyway, when I returned, this is what I found!

I made Thomas run and get the camera, because it was a really funny sight! I am sad to report that Noah's ark did not fare so well and does have a few teeth marks in it!

A Real Peach!

Turner took this photo of me! :)

We are officially "Georgians" : We picked peaches today in the "Peach" state! It was so nice to get outside in the orchard and quite a challenge to search for the reddest ones. Turner was a great helper -- always trying to find the best, most ripe peaches for our bucket! Parker seemed to love being out in the country and taking it all in.

The reward tonight for our hard labor was making some delicious peach cobbler, complete with vanilla ice cream on top! YUM!

Zoo Time

We were meeting friends at the zoo this morning, and 75/85 North was a parking lot. Those who know me, know very well that I am terrible with directions and have no sense of direction...especially in the city. Anyway, I had one chance to get off the highway before we'd be stuck, and I took it. I had absolutely no idea which way to go to get to the zoo, and I was preparing Turner for the disappointment that I was quite certain lay ahead: no zoo today.

There was no where safe to stop, and I wasn't about to relive my Mother's Day adventure in the worst part of town. After I explained to Turner that I was lost and did not know how to find the zoo, she said, "Mom, all we have to do is pray and ask God to help us get there. He will." I shrugged to myself in the front seat, thinking it would take a lot more than a small miracle to get us to the zoo from where we were, but I agreed (doubting all the time) to say a prayer. She and I said one, asking God to lead us safely to the zoo. And would you believe it (yes, if you had any faith bigger than my mustard seed of a faith)...we got to the zoo without ONE wrong turn and FASTER than I've ever made it on the interstate! How cool is God?!? And my three year old?!!

We had an awesome morning, and Parker even rode on his first carousel! He loved it!

6 Months!

Parker is six months old and doing great. We feel like a light switch went off this month, and he is feeling so much better -- most likely a combination of sitting up, eating solids and increasing the Prevacid for his reflux. He's got his two bottom teeth, a stamp in his passport and is in full rocking position to crawl in the next few weeks!

We fall more and more in love each passing month, and we're ever thankful for our healthy little guy!

Viva Mexico

Parker eating his bolillo

Turner and Lucia doing art projects
My sweet Nino

My precious Nina

Big Buddies

Turner's Mexican pet!

We had the awesome privilege again this year to travel to San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico. People thought we were beyond crazy, but we packed up our suitcases (complete with booster highchair and pack and play) and two little ones and hit the tarmac. The kids did FANTASTIC, and we had a ball.

Some of the highlights of the trip were:

• Seeing and spending time with our special friend, Miss Erin.
• Parker getting his two bottom teeth and trying them out on some locally baked bread rolls, "bolillos,"which he loved!
• Turner making a new friend, Lucia. They enjoyed each other's company every afternoon, doing crafts and playing. It was an ideal situation for Turner, because she could order Lucia around, and Lucia could only smile and nod. :) (Sorry, Lucia!)
• Watching Turner give out her mission bags. It is hard to visit San Miguel and ignore the vast poverty everywhere, so each year, we do a "mission project." This was the first year that Turner was old enough to pick what she wanted to do and plan it. Her idea was to give the elderly and children lemonade and M&Ms. So, we bought lemonade juice boxes, M&Ms, granola bars, bananas, peanut butter crackers and Twix and filled gallon plastic bags. Turner also colored some cross ornaments to go in the bags. She LOVED giving them out -- we did a few each day. She often cited that as her "favorite thing" of the day.
• Enjoying the playground in Park Juarez, complete with all things outlawed in the US, due to more lax safety standards and less lawsuits.
• The ride to and from the airport with Martin, who taught us all about cooking and eating armadillos...which led to great bedtime tales of armadillos all week.
• Dancing to the mariachi bands and taking in the colors and sounds of the Jardin.
• Hearing Turner use her Spanish and seeing her in her local dress, complete with gold and silver glitzy flip flops and pink purse from the locals market!

Thanks, Gammy and Pops, for hosting us and for a wonderful opportunity for our children to see how others live and approach life. What a gift!