Around the house...

What have we been doing around the house?

A bit of reading with Papa

And a bit of reading with Mama (in the backyard)

Lots of smooching

and dressing up all fancy-like

Beading

Making muffins from Joy the Baker (link to recipe). Only thing I changed was added a bit of rice syrup and reduced the sugar; then soy milk instead of buttermilk. Esther said they are the best muffins she's ever had. They are pretty good.

And a new favorite picture of E from the reunion. Ben's cousin(in-law), Mary, took this.

Mississippi Family Reunion

We just returned from a fun-filled week of family reunion in Mississippi. It was a reunion of family members on Ben's (maternal) grandmother's side. It was wonderful seeing all the babies that have been born and family members that we have not seen in a while. We started out with immediate family fish fry, then the larger reunion the next day. We have a ton of pictures, but I have filtered through...enjoy!

Silly Sisters

Tractor with great-Uncle Steven

Climbing the magnolia and playing in the water hose

Grandmother and Angela and all the girl grandbabies

Ben and E playing pool

The big surprise...we celebrated Ben's grandmother and Aunt Linda's (twins) birthday early since all the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids were all together

Group Shots


Kids playing sweet at the house in between festivities

Uncle Boo Boo (Ben's brother) and Peyton; Courtney (sister-in-law) and Colt

At the reunion - E and Maggie in the dirt (her dress was ruined by the end of the night)

Esther entertaining the crowd with 'Kum Bah Yah'. We have many more videos of her singing various songs. Pardon my cackling in the background :)

After the reunion festivities, we headed to Gulfport to visit Ben's other (paternal) grandparents. Esther enjoyed reading with PawPaw and playing with her cousins some more.

We also visited the beach for a bit before we got rained out. Esther and Colt both loved the water

Quote

In my frustration of trying to work during naptime, with a wee one who has decided she no longer wants to take a nap, I was visiting the beloved Soule Mama blog (http://www.soulemama.com)
Soule Papa posts every so often and his words are just beautiful. Here is a quote from his post that struck me. A sweet little reminder to count your blessings and live life to the fullest...

"Since last we met, the trail has been mud and we've all taken turns falling down. But it sure feels better than sitting at home waiting for sun to dry ground. "
- Soule Papa

Settling in

We are settling in to our new life in Decatur. We took a visit to Fernbank last week with a friend. A lot of it was too old for E, but she really enjoyed the discovery rooms. I think she had the most fun playing in the entrance of the museum - staring at the BIG dinosaurs, running along stepping stones, and just being stinkin' cute!

Planting veggies in the discovery room

We are also enjoying the new house. It is still small, but a good bit bigger than the Athens place. Esther loves being able to make laps in the house and hang out in the backyard. She's gotten a few fingerpainting sessions in so far. What a mess - but what fun!
And then to naptime in her new big-girl bed. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Man, I love this girl!

As part of the move, I am still on the job hunt. Please pray for direction along my path and the perfect position to open up for me. Thank you!

Last weekend in Athens - sniff, sniff

We have officially moved and are now Decatur-folks (but still hold true to our Athenian roots). We are settling in to the new house and community. We had a world-wind, but wonderful last week in Athens. We packed a lot, threw a little going away/Birthday gathering, and went to Athfest (free music and fun). Not a shabby way to end up our time in Athens.
Intro pic is from the party - not too many more from that night. Enjoy Athfest pics and a few of the moving transition. Thanks for all the friends and family that helped us move - we couldn't have done it alone. Sorry for those Athenians we weren't able to say goodbye to - we miss you already!

Tired-grumpy, no nap face

She brightened up once the music started

...but tuckered out quickly on the way home - even fairy princesses need a nap

Packin' up and movin' out

Ben was playing with the camera settings - I like how this one turned out

Must rehydrate

Hey, Hey!

Moving day - Esther and Amara were excited to help, but the picture caption I've come up with: "You better give me more than water and blueberries if you expect us to move all this stuff!"
Ben taking a rest on the steps of the new house

Then NEW crib in Decatur! Love it already!!!

The back - there's a large, fenced backyard. Ridiculous, invasive english ivy problem that leads to horrible mosquito problem, but will be remedied soon enough.