LOVE, Unscripted...

Below are some precious moments I've been able to capture lately. It is so neat to see Turner and Parker's relationship blossom! And to think I worried about how a sibling might affect my firstborn!!! There's no greater blessing...

Family movie night -- Parker climbed up next to Sissy on his own, and they even held hands! SOOOO cute. I snuck and took the next photo, so you could see their hands.

My Little Conductor...

The World's Longest Train

The two Sweetest Engineers!

Team Victory!

Turner started soccer last weekend! It was so much fun. Thomas is coaching, which is really a treat for all of us. She loves it so far and had a blast at her first game on Saturday! Victory team did great! I think all the girls scored, and Thomas was most proud because none of them scored on their own goal! :)

Viva Mexico!

Airport snackin'!
Turner and her Mexican Amiga, Lucia

Sweet Boys!
Within MINUTES of arriving at our Casa, Parker had put this hose in his mouth and had a nice, long drink. I was honestly terrified that would be IT for him, as I am pretty sure sucking the garden hose in Mexico is not on the list of "things to do to ensure a happy stomach." Thankfully, his tummy must be made of steel, because he did not get sick!

More playing...

Can you spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E?

Ahhhh....the fountain. Also a favorite for Parker. Much to Turner's dismay, he gave several of her Barbies baths in this very fountain. Later, he would give himself a bath in it!

Silly boy!

The contents of our Mexico Mission bags (more on that later)

Turner outside of her favorite "blue door" bakery. We came here each morning and bought a huge assortment of sugary, bad-for-you items to take home for breakfast! This would definitely make her highlights list of the best things to do in San Miguel.

The Paroccia -- a beautiful church in the center of town.

Another shot...

One of the side streets. Notice all the decorations hanging to commemorate the bicentennial of Mexican independence! All the streets were full of flags, streamers, lights, etc.

Daddy and the kids in the square at night.

The crowning of Miss San Miguel -- Turner was in heaven watching all the fancy gowns, etc.!

Turner and Pops and Gammy watching the reenactment of the Mexican Revolution in the square.

Daddy -- The transportation of choice! He got good workouts on the cobblestone streets, with a backpack weighing over 30 lbs. and a girl who wanted an occasional ride, too!

A typical San Miguel wedding, complete with Mariachis, Burros and shot glasses of tequila...

Happy Boy!

My girl!

Sweet Chicka!

This is hilarious! I was trying to get a shot of both kids, but Parker ended up IN the fountain shortly after I pressed the button for this one! :) I think he realized how un-fun Barbie felt when she was dunked!

Ready for supper

Ole, Ole -- one of our favorite restaurants, where there is a huge collection of bullfighting memorabilia.

Ole, Ole!

Mmmmmm...care for some salad? Here is how lettuce arrives at the Mercado. Fun to look at, but not fun to eat for the Gringos!

Turner and me in the square

We had the huge privilege of taking the kids -- once again -- to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. They did so well and are becoming quite the world travelers! I think all those long car trips to South Carolina have really paid off, because Turner and Parker could not have behaved any better or been any more flexible!

Parker was completely taken by the planes, trains and automobiles...not to mention all the TRUCKS that work on the planes. Turner was just excited to be "going and doing."

This trip is so special to us on so many levels.

First, it is great family time -- and what an awesome privilege to be with family and have the opportunity to share in such a rich cultural experience. I started traveling to San Miguel the summer before Thomas and I were married, and this was my sixth year, so it holds quite a special place in my heart!

Second, it is such a wonderful chance to teach our children that everyone doesn't drive around on a golf cart and live the way we do. It is our deep desire and prayer for Turner and Parker to understand how truly blessed they are, to learn that there are many different (equally valuable) ways of doing things and to see the world/have compassion for the people of the world, who may be suffering, hungry, cold, weary, etc. And, praise God, San Miguel is a perfect "classroom" for them. There were several conversations we had with Turner that warmed our hearts...just knowing she is "getting" it.

One such conversation started like this: "Mom, have you noticed that the people here have dark brown skin? That no one has skin like ours?" Yes, child. God created us all differently -- using all the colors of the world! We are ALL "fearfully and wonderfully made!"

Another: "Mom, did you see that lady? We have to give her some Pesos! She might need them. She might be hungry." (One such incident weighed so heavily on her, that we turned around and walked a full block back to give one of the street women some extra Pesos.) Praise God, because when we do it for the "least of these," we do it for HIM!

We also did our "Mexico Mission" again this year. Turner planned it out and decided to give away crosses, fruit snacks, lollipops, silly bands, peanut butter crackers, lemonade, granola bars, soap, wipes and mints to the widows, women and children begging on the streets. We gave away 25 bags during our week there. It was awesome. One widow literally chased Turner down in the artisans market (long after receiving her bag) to bless Turner and give her a rag doll she had sewn together as a thank you. It brought tears to our eyes to see. "Feed my lambs..."

Another highlight, was that Turner got to play with her Mexican friend, Lucia. We met Lucia last year, and we managed to find her phone number and have her over to play two different times. It was precious to see the two girls. They didn't say much, but they didn't really need words -- they just played together and smiled at each other. At the end of the day, we humans all want to connect, don't we? And most of the time, our children know how to do it better than we do.

One funny story I don't want to forget: We were in the town square one night (the Jardin), and I was holding Turner. She looked up at me with HUGE saucer eyes and said, "MOM! You HAVE to see this." She turned my head around with both hands and showed me a street woman with her baby suckling her breast. It was not at all discrete, and my Dr. Brown's bottle fed child could not believe it. "Do you SEE what that baby is sucking on, Mom?! Do you see that???!!" Guess she and I need to have a discussion! :)

Finally, September of this year is particularly special, because it marks the bicentennial of Mexico's independence. San Miguel de Allende sits at the heart of the Mexican Revolution which led to Mexico's independence from the Spaniards in 1810. The town is named after Ignacio Allende, one of the two key leaders of this movement. So...needless to say, in a country that knows how to throw a Fiesta, there were lots of fireworks, light shows, reenactments, flags and fun!

Thank you, Gammy and Pops, for allowing us to visit you in such an amazing and beautiful place! We are blessed beyond any words and we just pray that we will continue to pour out our blessings on others and that they might see Christ in us.

Mary Evelyn

We had a very special afternoon on Sunday. We had the opportunity to take Turner to "Cuts for a Cure" at Glamorama, a fun beauty shop in Fayetteville. What was super special about this adventure, was that Turner had the wonderful pleasure of meeting a little girl for whom she's been praying for 8 months!

Mary Evelyn is 7 years old and has neuroblastoma. She had been in remission and relapsed in January of this year. Turner's choir teacher at the time, Mrs. Collins, was Mary Evelyn's first grade teacher. She asked Turner to pray for Mary Evelyn to be healed, and Turner really took it seriously. Every night, she has prayed diligently for this little girl and has never missed...and had never even met or seen her. UNTIL SUNDAY!

Sunday, Mary Evelyn's family hosted an awesome fundraiser, and we made Turner an appointment to get her hair trimmed, so we could participate. It was lots of fun and a true joy and honor to meet such an amazing and inspiring family.

We will continue to lift them up in our prayers and are reminded that every day is a gift from God!

Turner's new "do!"

Back to School!

Well, school has officially begun around here, and it is as if Turner and Parker grew up overnight! They are both really excited about their classes.

Turner was dressed, had all her chores done, shoes on and backpack in hand by 7am on Monday! She was ready! As for her brother...I asked Parker if he was ready for school, and he said, "TRUCKS! BACKPACK!" So, things are off to a great start!

Turner under her new chore chart, with 4 stars! She has to get up, get dressed, brush her teeth, straighten her room, feed the cat, set the table and take her plate to the sink after supper each day. Each activity earns her a star. She gets $1 a week for 30 stars and is working to open a bank account for her 5th birthday! She LOVES this!

And, it has residual benefits, too, because Parker fussed when I took his plate at breakfast today. I thought he wanted more food, but he wanted to take it to the sink, like Sissy! :)

Ready for Pre-K!

Excited and ready to learn and play!

Parker has two wonderful teachers, Ms. Amy and Ms. Sandy. He LOVES it, because there are TRUCKS everywhere! I had to drag him out of there kicking and screaming from the Open House! :) He finally relented and said, "Bye, Truck!" to each truck in the room.

BIG BOY!

Manners, Schmanners!

Turner has a game she plays quite often: She'll look at a piece of food, fruit or cheese on her plate, and then she'll tell you what it looks like (think the cloud game you used to play on long car trips). So, for example, she might say, "Mom, this piece of ham looks like a wand!" or "Mom, look, this apple is in the shape of a sailboat!"

You get the picture...

Well, her 20 month old brother apparently was paying more attention to this game than I had realized. So much so, that today at breakfast we were eating muffins, and he held up a piece, looked at it, and excitedly exclaimed, "MA-MA! ACK-HOE!!!" (translated: "Mama, backhoe!").

So much for not playing with our food! Play on, sweet dreamers! I love to hear how your precious minds work!

First Movie!

Thomas and I took Turner to her very first movie in the theater last Sunday! It was such a joy to see the pure wonderment on her face when we walked into the theater and to share this rite of passage with her.

She chose to order a slurpee as her treat and spent half of the movie snuggling in each of our laps! We loved every minute of it! The movie was great, too. (Her favorite part, she said, was the silly monkey who was really loud!)