Visiting

Seth had so much fun with Ella and Olivia, pretending to be teenagers, making beach volcanos, and playing in the lake.

Baby Birds

Seth and Mark found a nest of Carolina Wrens in teh garage and have been enjoying checking on them every day.

Family Dinners

Just about every week, we have a family dinner. It started out as Tuesdays with Carlee. Then Miles and PPR joined in. We usually eat, play games and catch up. It's nice to have that one day a week to see everyone.

Baby Fuller

We loved meeting Baby Fuller and cannot wait to see him again.

Danny Boy

A while back my brother, Dan, was going to a church leadership retreat and his family was asked to write letters of encouragement for him to read at the end of the conference. I just recently came across the file and thought this might be a good place to keep track of it.

Gosh, I sure am sweet. ;)

Dear Daniel,

Life sometimes gets hectic and I don't often tell you how much you mean to me. Even if I don't always say it, I want you to know how much you are loved. I loved you before you were even born. I remember after Mom and Dad told me that I was getting a new sibling, going down to the lower level on Glencoe and kneeling down by my swing set to pray for a baby brother. (No offense to my baby sister.) I also remember the night you were born. I had gone to stay with Grandma and Papa at the farm. Grandma and I were laying in bed together in our pajamas when the phone rang. When Grandma got off the phone she told me that you had been born and that I had a baby brother named Daniel Ryan. All I could do was laugh and laugh.

God more than answered my prayers when he sent our family you. From the very beginning you were such a sweet boy, eager to please and, although you could be a little feisty at times, you have always had a heart of gold. As a child you were loyal, trustworthy, honest, caring and hard working - to name a few traits. These are attributes that have carried over into your adult life, because they are at the core of who you are as a person.

This passed year, our family went through the hardest period in our lives when we lost Dad. Your strength and courage during that time was tremendous. I know Dad is looking down, so proud of the job you are doing as the man of the family. In so many ways you remind me of him.

For a long time I only thought of you in the context of being a brother, but as we have grown I am aware of all of the hats that you wear. Devoted son. Loving husband. Caring friend. Hard working company man. Dedicated father. Faithful disciple. In all of your roles you excel. I watch you with Molly and Chase and see how blessed they are to have you. You are an awesome Dad! I also admire your love of God and your abiding faith. You make me want to be a better Christian.

Basically what I'm getting at is, I like you. You're good enough. You're smart enough. And doggone it, people like you.

Thanks for always being a great brother and friend.

Love,
Amy

Sad Day

Our thoughts and prayers are with our dear friend Marshall today as he mourns the loss of his mom.

Doomsday Preppers?

Mark ordered these creepy masks from ebay. He says he found them while looking for camping gear, but they came in along with some emergency whistles, flint fire starters and hiking lights. I'm pretty sure he's been watching Doomsday Preppers again. As creepy as the camouflage masks are, we couldn't resist taking a family photo in them.

Silly Goose

VBS

Seth had a great time at vacation bible school. These are a few pictures from crazy hair day.

It's Back!! Ebay Item of the Week

Five Vintage Little People Train Cars and Clowns

Paid - $4

Sold For - $58

Father's Day

Somehow, I only took a couple of pictures on Father's Day. Seth and I woke up early and let Mark sleep in a bit. We went to pick up breakfast and Mark was up. We gave him his (unwrapped) gifts that included new pants, two polos and some corn cob handles. Later we took Mark's dad out for lunch with Stacy, Bobby and Trey and then spent a quiet afternoon at home.

Bird Sitting

We are bird sitting for Carlee while she is at the beach and Seth has gone bird crazy. He now refers to him as "our bird" and cannot leave him alone. He loves to change his water and bath and make sure his food is full. The dove formerly known as Bird has been renamed Hiccup. The other day Seth accidentally left the cage opened while Mark was at work and I had to capture the bird - not fun. (But not as bad as I thought it was going to be.) Seth was on 24 hour bird restriction and wasn't a bit happy about it.

Panda Pride Birki's

It Won't Be Long Now

Someone isn't feeling too photogenic these days, but I couldn't resist just a hint of the baby bump. Only two more weeks and Pressley will be here! Seth is super excited to meet his new cousin and we all feel the same way! 

Weekend Fun

Over the weekend we went up to Charlotte to celebrate Dana's birthday. We all went to Kristopher's for lunch and then went back to Mom's for presents, cake and ice cream. Dana requested cheesecake and it was yummy! We gave her mommy and me aprons that I ordered off Etsy and they were quite adorable...if I do say so myself! We went up to Dana & Domingo's that evening because we were watching Fifi the next day. Mingo grilled chicken kabobs and it's now Seth's new obsession. He loved them! The next day was super rainy and the kiddos were tired from the day before, but we still had fun. Home again, home again, jiggity jig.