Forever Friends

God has given us some amazing friends in our lives, and we have the privilege of spending time with them when we are in SC. Here are some photos of our recent visits with Abram and Alden and Madeline and Bryce!

We also were able to meet Owen and Tatum at the beach, but I forgot my camera.

Thank you for being such special little people. We love you guys!

July 4th Fun!

Pops and his little helpers

Parker and Grandad on the beach
Turner and her super star, Theresa

Parker and Charles Patrick looking at the DAWG


Turner and Kendall Gail


Sister and Cousin Love


BUDS!!!

My two l'il INDEPENDENT sweets! :)

Happy 4th!

Our Grandy -- all decked out as usual!

What a wonderful July 4th week we enjoyed in SC. It was so full of good times with Gammy and Pops, Nana and Grandad, Grandy, Aunt Niki and many great aunts, uncles and cousins!

I was reminded of how blessed we are to live in such a wonderful country, to be able to enjoy such a beautiful beach and to have such an amazing family, friends and extended family. Our cups runneth over!

We celebrated the 4th with lots of beach time, a parade on Ocean Blvd. (where Turner got more candy than Halloween!), a special beach fly over to remember the troops, fireworks, homemade ice cream, watermelon and sparklers! A good time was had by all!

Sunday Snafu...

So, I am willing to bet that those of you out there with boys have NEVER experienced this next little story before...

We were turning into the church parking lot the other Sunday. Both kids were so cute in the back seat in their church clothes and Turner's pretty bow. When all of a sudden, Turner said, "Mommy, you know...I don't have any panties on!"

Thomas looked at me with a look that said, "This is your domain, woman! Why doesn't our daughter have panties on????" :)

Anyway, after a 30 second pause during which I seriously considered whether or not I could get away with sending her to Sunday school sans underwear, we decided to turn around and retrieve the panties. I think God approved, because we -- miraculously -- made it back in time for the service to start!

New Tricks!

We had the opportunity to go to a really neat party two weeks ago at Bubby Cathy's house. His son, Mark, was a wonderful host, and we made a lot of fun memories.

Most exciting, was that Turner had a day FULL of firsts: She dove off this diving board (literally!), she went tubing behind a motorboat AND she went on her first jet ski ride with Thomas. It was all so exciting!

Lemonade Entrepreneur!

Turner had her very first lemonade stand last Thursday evening. Our neighborhood had a home swim meet, so we thought she might gets lots of traffic, and she DID!

It was so much fun, and we sold every drop of our lemonade supply! She earned a whopping $18 -- half of which she decided to donate and half she'll put in her piggy bank. Now, she just keeps asking when we can do it again! (Selling lemonade is certainly more lucrative than when I was little!).

Pony Party!

Turner's friend, Jenna, from school had a fun birthday party this past weekend! She rides horses, so she had all the girls out to the barn. They rode this sweet pony, did spoon races, tossed beanbags and enjoyed a cowgirl pinata.

Sooo Proud of Pop-Pop

On Wednesday after Memorial Day, we surprised Pops and stayed to celebrate his retirement from 18 years in the school system! It was a super special day, and we are so proud of him. He has not only sacrificed a lot for his country, state and students...but he's always been an awesome Dad and Pops to us.

He's also stepped out on faith several times in his career, and in doing so, has shown me how to trust God in my own life and how to let Him lead...even when it seems counter-intuitive. What better gift can we give our children than to show them -- through our own actions -- WHO governs our lives and WHOSE leading we seek to follow?

Pops, you inspire me! Love you sooo much! xox