Papa's creamed corn

sweet goodness.

the royal wedding

I did not follow all the hype leading up to the royal wedding in April... until the week of the wedding that is!  And yes, I will admit waking up at 6 am to watch the ceremony in its entirety and being captivated by it all.  I remember watching Charles and Diana's wedding as  a little girl and there's just something majestic about the whole thing.  And since it's not every day you get to watch a real royal wedding, I got all into it!  Arden was the first to wake up at 6:45 and she watched along with me.  When the newly married couple got into the carriage, I decided it was time to wake up Esther.  Of the three, she is the most into princesses right now and she loves Cinderella's carriage and so I did not want her to miss out!  I think the look on her face sums up how she felt about the wedding-sheer bliss!

I just so happened to click the camera as they kissed the first time... I was watching Esther and so I actually missed it-ha!

Needless to say, I couldn't get enough.  I think Esther felt the same way.  Toward the end, Arden just kept asking if she could go to school!

In the days that followed, the girls dressed up and took turns being "Princess Kate" and having a wedding.  And a few weeks after everything, we were in the check out line at Publix when Esther yelled, "Look, Mama!  It's Prince William!"  This completely caught me off guard because our girls have never mentioned anything or anyone (especially by name) on a magazine.  What have I done! ;)

soccer star

Arden began playing soccer in April with Upward Sports and just finished up at the beginning of June.  We had never introduced her to this sport before evaluations, poor thing, but I must say she picked things up quick.... that is, after evaluations and the first couple of practices.  At evaluations, she was asked to run a 10 yd sprint, then 20 yds.  There were guys at each end and cones to know where to turn around.  Well our sweet little runner just kept on running.  Past the cones.  Past the guy with the timer.  And through at least two other stations with several of us trying to get her to stop running and come back!  She has always loved to run, so we thought soccer might be a good fit, but when this happened, I thought, maybe track and field??!  

Anyway, it didn't take her long to get the hang of things and she actually turned out to be quite the little defensive player.  There were even a few games where you would hear her yell, "Hey, I need to get that ball!"  She had a great little team, the Lil Eagles, (yes, we were a lot smaller than most teams we played!) and an awesome coach to encourage her.  She loved going to practice each week and would always get excited about her Saturday morning games.  All in all, it was a really fun experience for her and our whole family.  Arden's coach also coaches the other Upward sports, so he and Woody have her interested in basketball and soccer again for next year!  And yes, we did invest in a soccer ball, so now Arden has Esther dribbling around the backyard whenever there's a free moment and I think they'll both be awesome soccer stars next year!

You may not be able to tell, but this pic was taken when Arden only had one front tooth left!

The Lil Eagles

And this pic is from the last game a couple of weeks ago, with her two new front teeth coming in.

Awards night... each player got a soccer medal and a nice backpack. 

Arden with Coach Andy.  He gave Arden a special gift for being the only one on her team to memorize the Scripture verse every week.

Way to go Arden!  We are so proud of you!!

girls' weekend!

I got to spend the first weekend in April with these three lovely ladies in Greenville, South Carolina.  I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for each of them in my life and how long it had been since all of us were able to get together.  Two of us have known each other since we were four years old and the rest of us are going on almost fifteen years of dear friendship.  We've rejoiced together, mourned together and seen everything in between... from being college roommates at SU to mommies (10 kids altogether!) living in four different states.  

The weekend was such a refreshing time of sharing life, encouraging one another and laughing a ton all while enjoying the beautiful city of Greenville and all its diversions.  

I love each of you and thank the Lord for your constant and loving friendship!

miss snaggle tooth

From the end of March to the end of May, Arden lost FOUR more teeth, including her two front teeth!  This brings the grand total of teeth she's lost to SIX and she's still FIVE!

planting

We're keeping it simple and easy this year.

Sunflowers and zinnias.

 Oh and Arden's bean plant she brought home from school. 

We planted these back at the end of March.  

I'll try and post some some "growing" pictures soon.

Easter celebration

The weekend before Easter, the girls and I attended one of my favorite events since moving to our city, a celebration of Easter for mothers, daughters, sisters and friends hosted each year by our friend, Judith.  We get all dressed up for a great time of fellowship and make Easter crafts, decorate cookies, eat yummy snacks and all the little ones hunt Easter eggs.  It's all very "girly" and so much fun!  

I'm very thankful for the following pictures taken by Brittany who very graciously took pictures for me upon the realization that although I had brought my camera, I left the battery charging in the wall of my kitchen at home.  Yes, sadly, this is the state of my mind lately-ha!  So thank you Brittany!

One of the girls...this sweet little girl was coming to our home twice a week for a couple of months, but now just occasionally, and the girls just love her so (and me too)!