our community. . .

this morning some of our community group kids came to share some fun playtime. our community group is the greatest. they are our dearest friends and have been with us through the good and not so good. ladies, (and men too!) i could never express how much you mean to me and our family. i love you each and everyone.
here is our most recent pictures of our small group family (minus carson and tyler). when we started small group, gabe was the only kid. as you can see, there has been alot of babymaking since then...

and here is all the new babies born just this year...

bald heads 'n bubbles

today we are enjoying a day of NOTHING!!! we are staying home all day. nowhere to go. . .nothing to do. so, to fill some of our "home" time, i gave the boys haircuts. after a quick rinse in the shower they had a bubble bath in "mom and dad's bathtub". that is a special treat that only happens on special occasions. glad you had fun little boys.

abracadabra. . .

this was the scene of today's magic show starring. . .

GABRIEL THE GREAT



AND HIS AMAZING ASSISTANT, CHRISTIAN

a moth

tonight when we got home from listening to music in downtown greer, a moth got into the house. without a second thought i tracked it down, took of my shoe, and killed it. it stayed all in one piece, so i asked christian if he would like to see it before i threw it away. his response. . ."yes. . .let me see the poor little guy".

daddy is awesome

the past two weeks rick has been in and out and back in and back out of town. it makes me realize just how much pressure he takes off of me in the evening with the boys. by bedtime, i've just about reached crazy.
tonight was no exception. rick was suppose to get into the airport by 9:30 this evening. in preparation for the trip to airport to pick him up, the boys took an extra long and extra late nap.
in the meantime, rick's flight got cancelled which wouldn't put him in until almost midnight. at the point, it seemed like the best idea just to drop a car at the airport for him. all good. . .no problem. . .except that because of my genius nap idea, bedtime for the boys came really late. it's 10:02 and i can still hear them whispering upstairs. i'm pretending like i don't hear it because crazy was about an hour ago.
rick, we missed you while you were away. you're a special daddy.

take me out to the ballgame

we took the boys to the greenville drive game (greenville's minor league team) this weekend. it was interesting. we chose to sit on the "lawn" which is actually a pretty steep hill off the left field side of the stadium. it was a little uncomfortable, but still better than shoving two rowdy little boys into the middle of the bleachers. it gave them some wiggle room. we actually made it through all nine innings and a pretty incredible fireworks show at the end. thanks for the summertime fun, fellas. click on the collage to make it larger.

it's back. . .

just in case you were wondering, christian's moon is back just the way it should be. he noticed the full moon when we were outside this evening and said, "somebody picked up my moon and put it back." when i asked him how they got the moon to stay in place, he said, "glue". of course, why didn't i think of that?? christian, you're so funny!

my gabe. . .

here are a few things i love about my gabe. . .
1. his freckles. definitely my favorite part of him. we call them angel kisses, and they are sprinkled all over his little cheeks.
2. his heart. gabe has such a good heart. he loves to help people, he's kind and patient with his little shadow, christian (most of the time). he is sensitive in a way that i don't always understand, but appreciate.
3. his "funnies". he gets just about all of that from his daddy. it's bizarre the "little rick" that comes out in his sense of humor. you make me laugh, gabe.
4. his talents. gabe loves to draw and is actually getting quite good at it. it's fun to watch their little hands learn to shape what has been in their mind all along. he enjoys playing soccer. he was quite the defender this year. he enjoys defense more, but he scored quite a bit, too. he's a quick learner. he picks concepts up quickly, and he loves school and learning.
5. his sensitivity to Jesus. it's been fun to watch gabe learn to be sensitive to Jesus as he grows older. i listened to him explain to his brother today that when he feels like he's going to do wrong that he tells satan, "there is no room for you in my heart, Jesus already filled it up." sometimes i wish he would say that to satan a little more often, but he's learning and it's fun to watch him experiencing God's grace in his little life.

gabe, you are such a miracle. there was a day when we weren't sure if we would be able to have little miracles like you and your brother. you make me smile, cry, laugh, and love. sometimes all at the same time. thank you for being you, for loving your mom even when she messes up, and for showing me how much Jesus loves me. i just can't get enough of you. i love you.

christian's moon

christian regularly talks about how the moon is "his moon". he thinks it belongs to him. when it's cloudy outside, he asks where his moon is and tells me that he misses him. tonight when he saw the moon he said, "mom, what happened to my moon? part of it broke off." i tried to explain, but it didn't satisfy him. he wants his moon back. if anyone finds the part that "broke off", please let us know ASAP!!!

july 4th

here are a few pics from the fourth of july in ohio. thank you aunt debbie, great grandma, and great grandpa for a wonderful time. we love you.

hanging with mimi and grandpa @ the canfield parade


watching fireworks with daddy in niles

a happy day. . .

today represents one of the best days of my life. eight years ago today rick and i were married. it seems unbelievable that it has really been that length of time. it has all gone by so quickly.
rick, i love you with all my heart. when i married you eight years ago, i saw only a glimpse of the amazing man that you are. thank you for the laughs, the tears, the leadership, the prayers, the babies, and the love that completes me. i love you. . .lissa

an unusually cool day

for some strange reason it was only in the mid 80's today. for those of you who live in or have visited sc in the summer this is highly unusual. so, the boys and i took full advantage and took their bikes out to furman university to ride around the lake. i was surprised at how well they did. we certainly made lots of detours to throw rocks, and sticks, and more rocks into the lake, but we made it all the way around without much whining. note to self--next time bring the razor scooter so i can keep up.
we are headed to ohio for the fourth of july, so no postings for a few days. great grandpa and great grandma, here we come!!!