Mrs.

Eight years ago today I became a Mrs.

June 23, 2001 was, quite literally, the best day of my entire life. If I had a time travel machine, my wedding day would be on the short list of times I would travel back to.

Last night we spent our pre-anniversary evening in a way we didn't plan. (Don't worry I'm not going to get scandalous on you.) Elijah got the flu, and every couple of hours there was more fermented dinner to clean up. My wonderful husband got up with me every time to help out. And at the 1:15 a.m. cleaning, he sweetly turned to me.

"Happy Anniversary, baby."

I was overwhelmed with gratefulness. Sure there was nothing glamorous about the situation, but here we were doing life together...the good and the bad. And my husband was not only serving us, but being sweet to me in the middle of it.

God's grace is the reason our marriage is what it is. Without Him, we wouldn't have a marriage. What a gift!!

5 months

If you're like me, you can get enough of the chubby-faced cuteness that is my nephew. I took some "5 month" photos the other day: http://alyssaannephotography.blogspot.com/2009/06/c-at-5-months.html

Isaiah's Seventh Birthday

This year, Isaiah asked that a couple of his buddies join us at the pool on his birthday. We did this, and I had fun watching how much fun he was having. That night, we had a family party (though Grammy and Papa were out of town and sorely missed) with some very tired children! Isaiah got some serious big boy gifts that included a new bike (no training wheels!) and a pair of roller blades. We're hoping to work tonight on getting him to ride his bike with no help, but he's already zipping around on the blades. When did I become old enough to be the mother of a seven year old?!

The other member of the party:

Seven Years of Pictures

My Isaiah's birthday is next week. I put together a bunch of photos to celebrate the past seven years, and making the choice of a song to put it to was easy.  This one by Celine Dion came out shortly before he was born. When he was a baby, I used to dance with him to this almost every night before putting him to bed.  We still call it "our song"; and at times, he'll still request it and grab me for a spin.  So listening to it brings a flood of memories of seven years of dancing around the living room with my first baby.

Another Reason Summer Is The Best- PARKS!

Saturday we went to Lake Accotink Park where the boys had their first paddle boat ride. Afterward Daddy and his aching legs agreed that they would not be attempting such a thing again without someone else whose feet could actually reach the pedals.

Another highlight for the kids was building sand castles on the little beach.