BB's New Adventure

Our super sweet Brea Brea is moving to Cape in a few week to attend Southeast Missouri State. We celebrated this new adventure with a family dinner.

Caleb's birth mother went into preterm labor at 23 weeks and 4 days, and there were many false alarms over the next 16 weeks. Breanna was on constant stand-by during that time. She rushed to our home to care for Jax and the oldies multiple times with absolute joy. She will never know how much her willingness to serve our family meant to us. She is an absolute delight and blessing to this Auntie, and her cousins seriously think she hung the moon and maybe even the Big Dipper.

We L-O-V-E you BB! I can not wait to watch God continue to unfold His plan for you.

I managed to snap a few photos after everyone spent the afternoon swimming.  *smile

Mother's Day Weekend

We had an incredibly busy weekend making beautiful memories with our family and celebrating our favorite mothers.  

Friday evening we all matched so Scott snapped a few photos of me with the ones who call me mom.

Andrew and Olivia's Spring Concert was also on Friday evening.  The students performed an original work titled "He Is".  It was perfectly lovely.  Olivia even recited scripture that she had spent weeks memorizing.  She was amazing despite being incredibly nervous.

We spent Saturday at mom and dad's house.  Scott and Michael spent hours and hours fishing, and the kiddos were quite interested in being in the boat.  Of course, Andrew managed to pass the day driving the Gator around and around the pond.  Grandpa also had the train handy for spur of the moment train rides.  I think that it would be fair to say that Skipper enjoyed the day the most.  He loves to swim and be near his people.  My camera battery died really early in the day so the photos are few but the memories are many.

Sunday afternoon was spent at Dale and Jill's house.  The day was cut a little short when Andrew started to have an allergic reaction, but we did manage to celebrate the day together.

Elisha is home!  Woo hoo!  He did come home with a little extra facial hair, but we will take him anyway he comes.

I can't think of a better way to spend a busy May weekend.

A Month of Thankfulness- Day 1

I am thankful for the opportunity to be Aunt Michelle to four amazing people.  The older three were definitely a bonus for marrying My Sweet Scotty.  The younger one was the perfect answer to many of my prayers.

Elisha, Hannah, and Breanna have confirmed my belief that it is possible to raise children who love and fear the Lord at every age even in this crazy world.  They have taken their roles as older cousins to an entirely new level.  They are not only friends but mentors to my babies.  I can not adequately convey my thankfulness for the hours that they have spent playing, snuggling, and just plain loving on my Andrew, Olivia, and Jaxson.  I am so proud of the people that they have always been.  I am eagerly anticipating watching them enter the work force, fall in love, get married, have precious babies, and continue to glorify their Savior in all that they do.  They have helped me accomplish what I thought was an impossible task....I have loved teenagers!

Princess Abigail turned 3 today.  She has been the perfect addition to our family.  Her sweet, spit-fire personality has brought this auntie so much joy.  I have loved watching her explore and tackle life.  The very thought of her makes my heart smile.  She also provides the perfect opportunity for Andrew and Olivia to put into practice the actions that their older cousins have modeled.  I love watching them love Abigail.

The cousin love is coming full circle.

Today, I am so thankful to be called Aunt Michelle by one amazing man and two breathtakingly beautiful woman.  I am also thankful to be called Aunt Chelle by the cutest three year old that I know.

Happy 3rd Birthday Abigail Jane!

Afternoon with Elisha

Last Sunday, we hosted H family dinner.  Elisha was quite disappointed that he was stuck at college and didn't get to snuggle with his younger cousins.  Needless to say, we had another family dinner this week.

 Dale and Jill have an insane number of hummingbird friends.  If you stand perfectly still, they will fly all around you.  I have never been this close to a hummingbird.

I think that Elisha filled up his cousin lovin' tank.

Grandma/Cousin Trip to the Zoo

Every summer Grandma H. puts together a fun day trip before school starts.  This year, she decided that a morning at the zoo was in order.  I didn't take many photos of the animals on this unseasonably cool August morning, but I did take several photos of my favorite critters.  Don't be fooled by the photos...they are all rotten!

Yes.  Grandma is whacking sweet Olivia upside the head with her zoo map.  I am sure that she did nothing to deserve this kind of treatment.

I hope that they never stop dancing.

Yep...we have a few shotguns.

Elisha spent a considerable amount of time loving on our Jaxson Man.  I spotted this scene from many feet away.  It made my heart smile.

It was a memorable day for the H cousins, their grandma, and their mommas.

We spent Mother's Day at Six Flags with a few of our favorite people. Andrew and Olivia was super excited about our special guests (Uncle Dale, Aunt Jill, Elisha, and Breanna). Andrew, Dale, and Scott rode Superman for the very first time. Let's just say....Andrew loved it and proved Elisha wrong.