to catch you up

To catch you up with pictures:


Ted is in a wedding this weekend as the ring bearer. He's thrilled to have new shoes. Although you would think he's wearing 20 pound weights on his legs by the way he tromps around the house in them.


Waiting for Uncle Andy & Aunt Courtney while lunch is on the grill.




Sophie is learning to regulate herself a little. She will actually lay down on the floor or the couch if she just needs to rest for a few minutes. It's a beautiful thing!


Ted had his last day of preschool at the YMCA. He got the "best behaved" award in his class. That's an awesome award. We had ice cream to celebrate! Way to go, Ted!


Sophie entertaining herself at the church office.


Eating a snack after bath. Oh to be 2 again!


This picture makes me laugh. The ragamuffin hair. Ruby slippers. And apron on. Watching "eintein" (Baby Einstein).


Ted and Hannah looking at the turtle they found in the yard at church.


At Maggie Moo's




They were sitting together watching the Baby Einstein with all the animals. Ted was teaching her their names. He said, "Mom, I'm teaching Sophie all the animals so we can go to the zoo!" So sweet. He would tell her what they were and she would repeat him. Her favorite is the "zeba."


Playing video games with Daddy.


Relaxin'

soapie's 2!

No, I didn't misspell Sophie's name. That's what she calls herself - Soapie! She turned 2 on Friday. We had her birthday party in New Martinsville a week before.

To preface the cake pictures, please note the red shoes on her feet. We got them in a bag of hand-me-downs and she absolutely loves them.


The shoes are too big, too tight and make her feet stink. I have to hide them if we're going somewhere like the park. She says "ooooooooooo" and cries when I take them from her.

So, we had her party in NM last Friday. Doh made a wonderful cake as usual.






Sophie's personal assistant helping her unwrap gifts.

What do you do when you're done opening gifts?


Put the bag on your head! That's what everyone does.


I got her new Mary Jane crocs. She's trying to wear them with the shoe hanger thing still in them. They rubbed a huge blister on her foot. Everytime we get in the car she points out her "boo boo" - then picks her nose and says "booga, booga, booga" until I give her a wipe. You should ride with her - I can't make this stuff up.

She's 2. Hard to believe! Her vocabulary continues to grow. She loves to pick out her dress in the mornings. And is learning how to climb out of her crib. Excellent!

sold!

Life is fairly overwhelming at the moment. We took today (Memorial Day) to rest and be a family. Uncle Andy & Aunt Courtney came for lunch. The girls went for a pedicure during naptime and the boys hung out. There's so much to share. For now, I'll start with the house.

We closed on our house on Thursday. Selling it has been one of the biggest blessings of this whole entire move. We sold it to a friend who has been looking for a house for a year or so. We didn't have to put it on the market, show it or anything. We did have to fix the foundation. Huge bummer. But it was an easy fix and we were thankful to have some great friends do the engineering and contracting work. It started with a hole in the yard. Then a hole in the foundation, some concrete and, wala! Good as new.

The Lord has provided in a great way for us in this way. We are so very, very, very thankful! Congrutlations on your new house, Katrina!













Signing all the papers on Thursday!

We move all our stuff to storage on Saturday. Then we move in with some friends in Charleston on Monday. That's right. VERY GOOD friends for letting us drag our family of 4 to their home. We will stay there until around July 4th when we leave for Rockbridge. We'll be at Rockbridge until August 9th. We'll come back to Charleston, load up the UHaul and head to Morgantown. It's going to be here before we know it. . .

hair & words

If you've ever done a Beth Moore bible study and watched the videos that go with it, you know about "Beth Moore hair." No matter what decade, it's got some "umph" to it. Everyday after her nap, Sophie has her Beth Moore hair. Makes me laugh everytime I think about it.



We've been having an on-going "discussion" at our house about what to do with Sophie's hair. I've got an itch to cut it into a cute like bob with bangs. And I'm known to not let hair ideas die until they're done - my hair would be case in point. She looks like a rag-a-muffin all the time. And the food and snot and sweat that can collect in it is quite amazing. Honestly, I'm really just tired of fixing it. But I've been voted down.



This little lady keeps us laughing. Her vocabulary has absolutely EXPLODED and it's delightful. She can communicate quite a bit. I was wondering if she was behind. But WOW! She started using words and hasn't stopped. I LOVE IT! I really do. We've had guys working on the house all week (pictures to come later) and she'll stand at the window and say, "I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you." (She's slightly repetitive!) We can have a conversation. I need to video her. I'll do that on Sunday when Ben gets back with the camera. . .



And Ted is very much enjoying teaching her new words. It's very sweet. The other day they sat in the glider together watching a Baby Einstein video about animals (Sophie calls them Eintein shows). Ted was teaching her the names of the animals so that we can take her to the zoo. That's what he said. It made me smile.

open fer lunch

No, the title isn't a typo. I pass this place everyday on my way to the church. Thought you might get a kick out of it. Makes me laugh everytime I drive by!

happy mother's day!

I got these pictures in a frame for my Mother's Day! LOVE, love, love it!









To our mom's:

We are not the best, or good at all actually, about sending cards and giving gifts and expressing our appreciation and thanks. We pretty much suck at that. But where would we be without you? Your unconditional love, unending patience and encouragment and support mean more to us than we can say. We're thankful for your faithfulness, for who you are in Christ, for what you've taught us about life, marriage and parenting. I'm thankful for two completely different women who teach me about being a wife, mom, friend and woman of God. You are both rock solid women who have sacrificed for your children. Thank you for loving us in every stage of life that I'm sure, at times, was a little (or a lot) more than you wanted to. We love and appreciate you and we're so thankful to call you our mom's.

the last of our trip!

Just a quick tour of our room . . . .






the bathroom was gigantic! you gotta love a great bathroom!

We had a great time together. We arrived on Thursday after a day of travel. It was our 10 year anniversary. That's right - 10 years. We ate at this great local pizza bistro called Oregano's. It came highly recommended and was so delicious!

Friday we shopped at some local outlets. Ben cleaned up there on some new clothes which we could barely fit in our suitcases. We napped, hung out by the pool and had our first meal at PF Chang's (loved it!).

Saturday, I had a massage, we laid by the pool, napped, and had a wonderful dinner out. We played putt -putt golf and we TIED! Unbelievable. It was truly the hardest course I'd ever played. I think the 6-stroke limit per hole really helped me - and my hole in one! We had cheesecake factory cheesecake for dessert. Although we wanted to sleep in, we were up at 6:30 every morning (5:30 is our usual wake-up time - the kids get up at 7am). At least we weren't waking up to wet diapers, fixing breakfast, and hurrying off to work and school!


Me with the score card proving that Ben didn't clober me like he usually does in any sort of sport.






I'm pretty sure this is one of Ben's favorite places ever!


Talking to Ted on the phone at breakfast!

We had a great trip! It was perfect time in so very many ways! Here's to another 10 years! =)

fairmont scottsdale

We were going to stay in Flagstaff and sight see for a couple of days, but with the cold weather and all, we decided to go with plan B. We got on Hotwire and found a 4 1/2 star resort in Scottsdale for CHEAP - The Fairmont Scottsdale! Now, Ben and I aren't known to be high class. Actually, quite the opposite. But it was so fun and wonderful! The usual 90 degree temp was only 70. It was a little breezy by the pool but that was ok. We still had a great time! I'm sure they hate the riff-raff like us that gets good deals on the internet.





one of the three pools is in there where the umbrellas are. our door stepped right out to this pool.


lots of things in scottsdale are outside. this was an outdoor bar.


one of many outdoor gather areas.


the shaded sandbox at the pool with fans. there were also cabanas w/ couches, mini-fridges and flat screen tvs that you could rent. one of the pools had two waterslides


the 5th hole of the pga golf course right beside the resort


we were on the first floor. this is what our "balcony" looked like. except there was more shubbery in front of ours.




the view from our front door



It was beautiful and oh-so-fun! Thanks to our friends, the Sweats, for giving us such a great idea. It was totally worth it!