Vacation with the Smiths

After visiting my family, we went to Holden Beach with the Smith family. Despite a stomach bug mid-week, we all had a wonderful time together.

Time spent on the beach...napping...



Playing in the sand...




And in the water...

Kicking in the baby pool...


Riding some waves...






And just hanging out...

Vacation with the Foys

We have been in NC on vacation with my family. I think the pictures below say enough!!!!

Carson caught his first fish!


Cousin Bobby giving Jade some love.


Carson jumping the waves



Jon going surfing


The only shot I got of Jade...the picture does not show how much she LOVED the water...she could not get enough!



Mr. Bobby Long


A Family Shot


Cutie Pie Jade!


Cutie Pie Jade with Mimmi


Papa with his boys


We had a dance party tonight...everyone joined in on the fun!

My favorite girl in the whole wide world!

Happy Day!

Care Group Picnic

We had a family cookout at the Lees tonight for care group. Esther had everything set up beautifully and right as we began to eat it started to rain. Children cried, we rushed everything inside, only for it to stop raining in a matter of minutes!

Despite the rain, it was a wonderful time of fellowship, food and outdoor fun! Roasting marsh mellows over the fire pit was a great way to end the night.

Eric and Lisa with their youngest Emery


Goofy, but oh so handsome Jon!


Joe and Jet the lacrosse star in the making!


Emery and Dada time


The big boys playing some football


And the little ones in the hammock


Time for the fire!

Father's Day in OC

I took Jon to Ocean City for Father's Day so that he could could get his new surf board. In the past year, Jon has sold his mountain bike (which he LOVES) so that he could buy a new board. I thought, what a great gift to receive on Father's Day...his new surf board. Little did I know that the Lord had great plans for us...we stayed free of charge at a friends apartment and Jon was able to get the surf board that he has been wanting/researching for over a year now for FREE!!! Yes, FREE!! We have an amazingly generous friend who lives in OC that is an avid surfer. He called Jon a few days prior to our trip just to say hi. When Jon told him he was coming to buy a board the following weekend, he offered Jon to borrow his board and take it if he liked it. It happened to be the same exact board Jon wanted. We were humbled and amazed at his generosity and the Lord's goodness to us all weekend.

Happy Father's Day Jonny!




We had a wonderful weekend away as a family even though the weather was not that great. Here are a few pictures from our time away:


Jade has Jon wrapped around his little finger!!!

Carson loves his sister....

SO MUCH!

Little Princess

Carson insisted on dressing Jade this morning. He was determined to make her a princess. First, he picked out her princess outfit. He undressed her and even attempted to change her diaper. He then declared that she had to have princess shoes and I had to put her hair up like a princess...'you know mama, the two points on top of her head like a crown.'

The Finished product:



The proud big brother:



I just love her eyes:

Chase's Garden

Tears came to my eyes as I opened an e-mail from my sister this morning. She had sent me photos of a garden that my parents have been working on the past few weeks. They told me that they were making a rose garden near the tree that we planted in Chase's memory, but they did not tell me that they made a plaque and dedicated the garden to him. Thank you mom and dad for keeping the memory of Chase alive and working so hard to make his garden so beautiful....full of color and life (just as I imagine his life now in Heaven)!!! Love you guys.




Jon, Carson and I planting the tree a few weeks after Chase went home to the Father.