Andy's 1st Birthday

So catching up a little....last weekend we attended Andy's first birthday! It was a bittersweet day at the Lovell's. It was a great day to celebrate...but also the last "first" birthday in their house. But they went out in style! The kids had a blast with a huge water slide & water activities....Cole of course thinks Brody's house is as much fun as Alabama Adventure:) I think Cole, Brody & Andy will all be great friends one day....lots of trouble I am sure...but great friends.

I feel blessed to have the Lovells in my life. Andrea has been a good friend...a friend who has taught me about being agood mother because she loves her kids more than life.....she has to...the 4 of them took over her life:)

Andy is stinking cute! I just loves those curls. He is gonna be a heartbreaker! I am so glad we got to celebrate his special day!

Happy Father's Day

Well....today is a special day...its father's day! we are at home b/c Cole got a fever virus during bible school & it has taken its toll. Just when u think its gone...it comes back! If we can make it until 2...we will pass the fever free 24 hours...maybe we'll get there & maybe it will be officially OVER!


Anyway... Iam so thankful first for my heavenly father who sent his son to save me....this is the only reason I am here in this life and I strive to be his servant. I fail DAILY.....but I am so thankful for his mercy and grace. I cannot imagine the sacrifice of sending your own son down and watch him be crucified. I am just so thankful that my Father could love me that much...me a dirty rotten sinner...we are so blessed for that unconditional love.

Second.... I am thankful for my father. He taught me so much about the person I am today. He is the hardest worker I know. Heis honest & when he says something he always keeps his word. He worked hard & put all of us through college so that we would not start our lives paying off student loans. I am forever grateful for his sacrifices. I cannot remember a time when our family did not have everything we needed. We may not have had the fanciest things in life...but we had enough and he always made sure of that. Now...he has taken on the role of Pappy....Pappy is so different from the dad I knew:) Pappy thinks everything is cute & no one needs to get in trouble. He has those grandkids rotten:) I am so thankful for my Dad. He's one of the good guys left.

Third- I am honored to be married to a fantastic Daddy. Blayne is an awesome daddy to Cole. He has never once passed off responsibilities on me. Lately with photo shoots & gymnastics...he has been #1 in childcare. He has done great with Cole since the day he was born. I love to watch Cole follow him...I love to see them play "hut-hut" in the living room...they are so much alike:) We are very blessed to have such a great leader in our home and I am so thankful he chose me as his wife & that God chose us to parent such a sweet little boy. Cole is very lucky to have such a great daddy!

UPDATES

Well....we are under contract. We are awaiting the whole process of inspectors & appraisals ...but we are officially under contract! YAY! We just pray everything goes as planned. If so...we will close July 12th & be out July 15th. I'll keep u updated.

Tess- she is engaged!!!!!! Can you believe it...seems like she is too young...but she'll be the same age as me when I got married & older than Blayne. Time flies by. They are hoping for March 26th. We are so excited! We went & looked at wedding dresses & it was fun:)

We have been attacked by sickness....I have had the WORST virus last week....Cole is still battling a fever virus now....its been rough around here. Hopefully we can get over it all!

Papaw- is doing GREAT ! He's a tough ol' bird:) They even took him off insulin...said he didn't need it anymore!

Mamaw- going in for a stress test...having more trouble. Please keep her in your prayers.

Grandmaw Kitty- back is doing better, but battling knee pain. Pray they can find a good solution to help her. She has an appointment this week.

Lucy- brace is supposed to come off at the end of July...counting down the days now:)

Cole- growing ...finally adding a little weight...I think he is 26.5lbs now...thats an improvement. Eats everything...HATES sleep now. Its a nightmare around here on sleep routines. My baby who has sleepy since he was born no longer likes his bed. He wakes up at midnight wanting us. After vacation we'll have sleep boot camp around here & get this boy sleeping again...hopefully.

Beach- we leave for the beach on Wednesday with Blayne's family...can't wait....

Happy Birthday Charlea

Happy Birthday Charlea! She turned two and we celebrated at the splash pad in Ashville this afternoon! Isn't she beautiful! We had a great time and feel blessed to have such sweet friends.

Its funny to have friends & then all your friends have kids & then they are friends:)

Makes life fun!

We went to the Gardendale splash pad on Thursday. i t was a little drive...but lots of free fun. Cole also got his very first popsicle from the ice cream truck. He loved it:)

On the way home they called to say they were showing the house again. We still haven't heard any feedback though. Please continue to pray that it sells. We have now given it over to Laurie Burgess at Webb & Co. They have shown it twice in one week. We are praying someone will love our sweet little house:)

On Friday we went to Mrs. Sharon's house to celebrate Gina's birthday. She didn't want to turn 30 & tried to get out of celebrating...but we finally talked her into a pool get together a little late. I didn't get any pictures, but we had a great lunch and afternoon together! It was a lot f fun just chilling with the girls and celebrating friends. Cole loved swimming too! I guess we are both going to survive 30. I feel blessed to have a good friend. We started being inseperable around 4th grade & we have reamined wonderful friends. I can't imagine my life without her. We have some GREAT memories. Thats been about 20 years. Wow...

The Zoo

Today we enjoyed at day at the zoo with Courtney & Shelby. They have a pass and graciously invited us to join! The kids enjoyed a quick stroll around the non-construction area and then we settled in at the water. They had fun. Shelby really liked the Foam Zone...Cole however did not...it seemed to bother his eyes. I do think Shelby is going to be more of a sun-bather though. I guess she doesn't like to get her hair wet:) Cole on the other hand will have raw knees as he pretended it was a slip-n-slide. We will also be lucky to avoid any poisoning as he was drinking the nasty water...oh BOYS! Its fun to watch the difference between a boy & girl:)

Oh yeah....Shelby did drink a capri-sun for the first time & loved it!!! I thought I'd post that just for you Nina! Get her some for your house:)

Some things never change....

Well...the next few summer activities are the same things we enjoyed as a child. When I was a kid...blue plastic pools were all that existed when it came to pools unless you were at a motel at the beach. I thought they were awesome.....well...kids still do! They provide hours of entertainment. So do hose pipes & slip -n-slides! For the total value amount of $24 ...we are set for summer fun around here:) That in addtion to the occasional trip to Mrs. Sharon's pool, the Splash Pad, The Zoo & Alabama Adventure :)! What else could a kid ask for? I mean....doesn't he look spoiled already!

Isn't summer fun! I just love the smell of hose pipe water! :)

Rodeo

On Saturday night weattending the Rodeo at the high School. It was pouring 30 min before start time...but went anyway and even though it was a MUDDY MESS...we had a great time. I was covered in mud up to my shins! Its been a long time since this girl has been that dirty....

Cole seemed to enjoy it though & we were supporting a great Booster Club that will continue to work to build a football field that my baby can play on one day:) So it was money well spent!