A whole lot of visiting

This summer has been sprinkled with many wonderful visits from family!

To kick it off was (and always is) my most favorite visitor of all: Julie!

I posted weeks ago of her and Alathea splashing in puddles and dancing in the rain (in PJ's). She's simply the best sister and auntie. 

We did lots of other fun stuff together...our traditional trips to Birkdale for Brixx, splashing in the fountains and Cold Stone (somehow I never get tired of Birkdale :)

We went to the pool, saw movies, ate & laughed. Ahhh, nothing like a sister...

...or an Auntie! 

Julie & I also drove down to spend a lovely day with my Grandma Bowers. 

She lived in Maryland until two years ago when she moved to Columbia, SC to live near my Aunt & Uncle. We used to see her almost every day growing up. I'm grateful she lives close by again.

Then... Mere came in town!

We love her annual two week summer visits.

Alathea was particularly smitten with Mere, saying "Mere is my most best friend, Mommy!"

During Mere's visit we spent LOTS of sweet time at Jon & Heather's new beautiful pool in their backyard. Alathea loved swimming with Grammy and Cousin Andrew, but Abi & Caleb like chillin' by the gravel rocks instead :)

I LOVE that my girls BOTH have cousins the exact same age!

Heather is now half way through pregnancy with baby boy #3 due in November.

I must admit when she got pregnant I was concerned I'd be getting pregnant too! It seemed that we'd always be having babies together. Looks like she'll be flying solo for a little while this time :)

We also had a visit with Joe's other Grandma who lives in New Mexico. I have only met her once before, so it was  a treat to spend time with her again. 

We are very blessed to have such wonderful family who comes to see us! In August my Dad & Rachel will visit. We can't wait!

Lake House Birthday Trip

A few weeks ago it was Joe's birthday, followed by Fathers Day, so the girls & I surprised him good with a driver that he's been wanting! He was genuinely excited (I love that. It's hard to surprise Joe!).

We gave him his gift early that morning because Joe & I got to head out for a three day trip just the two of us!! It had been almost two years since we'd gone away alone (last year we did a number of trips with baby Abi in tow, but this was way better :) 

We were priveledged to stay in a lovely cottage on this beautiful lake Keaowee in South Carolina! (For free thanks to a good friends generous parents who own the place). 

The Cottage was right on the water and the lake was incredibly quiet and peaceful!

We wanted this trip be simpler than the fast paced other get-a-way's we've had. We love exploring and having fun, but wanted to take more time to read, relax, sleep and talk this time. And this place was just perfect for that. The first day we spent reading, taking walks around the lake, swimming in the pool and playing a few games of pool. It was simply lovely!

The second day was Joe's actual birthday! So we spent a good part of the day playing his very new hobby- golf. He finally caved in to all his friends about two months ago and played one tournament... now he's hooked. 

We found a gorgeous golf course at the foot hills of the mountains with beautiful views. It was so fun watching him play and driving along in the golf cart. Maybe one day I'll play too :)

We had an incredible birthday dinner that night, then enjoyed more swimming, finishing a John Adams movie series and more reading. It was sooooo nice to have no agenda! And sitting in these chairs by the window had an amazing view of the lake and a wonderful breeze.

This is the view from the house:

I love this boy SO much!

Little Cupcake

Abigail is known quite well for her passion for food :) Her favorite kind of food, of course, is the one with the most sugar! So after not eating much for a week, she really enjoyed this cupcake, made by her big sis just for her. She ate it down to the last drop!

We think she may be trying to "re-pack" on the pounds to keep up her "chubby baby" identity after loosing a good bit of weight last week :) Doesn't she look slimmer? (Hehe...I've never used the words "slim" and "Abigail" in the same sentence before!)

Happy Day

Today Abigail smiled and laughed and played all day! She was her normal-whirlwind-climbing onto things-into everything- happy self! Praise the Lord! She didn't throw-up all day (a few messy diapers- but that is a normal part of the virus the doctors say!). 

Alathea had a slight fever yesterday and this morning, and complained her tummy hurt most of the day. Uh-oh. But we prayed together many times that God would heal her, and I believe he answered her little prayer. After asking (no joke) to take a nap at 11am today, and sleeping over four hours solid, she woke up a happy and seemingly healthy little girl. Thank you, Lord!!

Keep Praying for Abigail

Sweet little girl woke up looking exhausted and lifeless again this morning. After doing well yesterday, I was quite surprised. She threw-up three times this morning, and I'm praying that is it! She's napping now, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes. She did eat a popsicle and drank some water and hasn't thrown that up yet, so that is good news. Pray for her if you think of it.

On the Mend

We just spent the past three days in the hospital with Abigail, who on Tuesday woke up throwing-up, and by the end of the day was severely dehydrated. I took her to the doctors Tuesday afternoon, after they wanted her to come in to get an IV since she hadn't kept any fluids down all day. But after 20 minutes in the office, the doctor seemed worried as Abigail became more and more lifeless. Our doctor wanted me to take Abigail to the hospital immediately (her preference was by ambulance, but I convinced her to allow me to drive her myself). 

To make a long story short, after just 8 hours of Abigail vomiting, we ended up at the Levine Children's Hospital. At that point she could barely keep her eyes open and couldn't lift her head up and her heart rate had doubled. Any needles or poking that should have been painful, she did not even seem to notice. She just laid there lifeless. It was quite scary for a little bit.

But in the end she was just severely dehydrated and had some stomach bug that the hospital staff said they were seeing a lot of this week. It took Abigail two full days of IV to return to normal. Finally this morning, she sat up, smiled and played with toys for the 1st time in  three days! Praise the Lord! We left the hospital today around lunch time and Abigail and Alathea were SO HAPPY to see each other! It was very sweet.

I am quite tired after two nights of no sleep :) And I'm praying no one else in the family gets "this bug". We have been amazingly fortunate that the girls have not ever thrown up even once before this episode. I never imagined it could get serious so fast!

If you think of it, pray that Abigail has a quick and full recovery. And for Joe who has to speak Sunday morning :) And thanks to everyone who pitched in last minute to keep Alathea for us! Being at the Children's Hospital gave me even greater compassion for families who have children who are sick or with terminal illness. I am so grateful that our children have been healthy thus far and more prompted to pray for those who aren't.

Joe's garden

This is a small sampling of the beautiful garden Joe created this year. He has always done a wonderful job, but I think each year it keeps getting better. I waited too long to take pictures of the early spring blooms (which were gorgeous), but I think the late spring flowers still look great. We love sitting on our back porch, which is surrounded by his flower garden. I think he's done a great job with a small space. I never imagined I'd be married to a man who loves flowers, but I certainly love it. And I thank his Mom who taught him all about plants when she worked at a nursery while he was young. 

Happy Birthday to My Boy

Thirty-one. That is so hard for me to believe! He certainly doesn't act old! (I must let everyone know that I am not 31, I am only 26, and will always feel young thanks to my love :) OK, back to honoring my boy. I never, ever imagined that there existed such an amazing husband, friend, leader and father all in one, as I have found in Joe. I also never, ever imagined that I could fall so deeply in love with a man as I have with him. Truly the Lord has done more than we asked or imagined and we are full of Joy! Thank you Lord for this amazing man that I love so much! And Happy Birthday to my love!!

Best Friends

.laughter.

.kisses.

.hugs.

.together.

It's no secret that going from one to two kids was a stretching season for me. But it was so worth it! These girls aren't just big sis and little sis any more, they are the best of friends. Alathea always wants Abigail with her....she tried to convince me before church that Abi should be in her class. And Alathea hates when Abi doesn't sleep in the same room with her. Abigail can't talk yet, but we have no doubt she adores her big sis. The first thing she does when she wakes up from a nap is scream "Yay-Yay!!" and run off to find her. 

I'm just trying to slow down and soak up all the sweetness...

Our Growing Girls

I thought it might be nice to post a little update on how each of our girls just keep growing up (despite all my pleas for them to stay little :)

Alathea has seemed to officially left toddlerhood and seems like a true little girl! I don't know when or how this happened, but she certainly acts so grown up compared to a year ago. The biggest "event" is that she is now wearing underwear 100% of the time while awake. This is huge for me! I took the very laid back approach of being in "no hurry" and waiting until she "was ready"...but once her third birthday came and went, I realized I was really hoping she would magically train herself, and that some effort on my part must be put forth :) Since I set my mind to it, she has done great. I guess it was more training needed on my part than hers!!

I've always thought of Alathea as my little buddy, but now she's like my little friend. We actually have conversations together. Sometimes she'll plop down beside me on the couch and say in the cutest voice, "Whatcha want to talk about, Mom?" She just loves to talk. Even when she is "napping" in her room we hear her talking to "her friends" (stuffed animals all given the names of her real friends) for 30-40 minutes straight! Ha ha! She keeps us laughing.

Alathea is also quite the little helper. She actually likes to clean (must be from her Dad's genes) and she is good at it (again, from her Dad's genes). She'll help me with anything- dusting, mopping, dishes, laundry. I guess I should count my blessings now....I'm sure this won't last! But for now we try and make cleaning fun by singing that Mary Poppins song "Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down..." (plus I have her watch the room cleaning scene from Mary Poppins during her movie time :) I'm sure that helps.

Alathea is our girly girl...into princesses, dress ups, necklaces, babies, tea parties. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would have a girly-girl. But I'm lovin' it. 

Alathea continues to be the most joyful and pleasant girl in the world except when that light switch is flipped and she suddenly has "toddler PMS". That is what we call it. We do address her sin when appropriate, we aren't trying to make light of it. But anyone who knows Alathea at all knows exactly what I am talking about. Julie & I joked that she doesn't have "the time of the month", its more like, "that time of the day". In other words, all that joy, vibrance, life & enthusiasm we just adore about her can sometimes be hit with a mood swing and she's just a heap of tears and we have a hard time knowing what caused the switch. It keeps us on our knee's, needing the Lords wisdom on how to help our sweet girl honor God even when her emotions don't feel like it. Like I said, she is SUCH a GIRL! Sometimes all she needs is a hug and she quickly resumes her joyful self.

Our Abbers, I can't even think of her without smiling. Maybe its just the cuteness and cubbiness of a toddleing one-year old trying to act grown up. She is our little firecracker. As happy & easy going as she has been and still is, this little girl knows what she wants and she will let you know now if she doesn't get it! It's fun seeing little parts of her personality grow...I feel like we are really getting to know Abi. Abigail is also a whirlwind, the kid just doesn't stop moving. She was such a quiet and calm baby. And there still is a quietness and calmness to her, but not a stillness! She loves to run and explore and climb. She gets into things that Alathea never would have even noticed at her age. Its been so fun seeing how different the girls personalities are! 

While I feel like Abigail is growing up so fast, I LOVE that she's in a Momma's Girl stage. I had to wait 12 months for this with her, so I am enjoying it all. She loves to cuddle, love holding my hand, follows me from room to room, wants me to hold her, cries when I leave...I finally feel special :) I know this will pass soon, so I'm trying to enjoy even the things that may be difficult (like doing the dishes with one hand :)

Like I said before, Abi is ACTIVE. And in all that activity, she doesn't talk much. Its that adorable stage where she understands everything, but says nothing. She does say a few words, "Mama", "Dada", "Yay-Yay", "Bye", "Ba-Be" (babie), "ball", "noooo"....and a few more (I'm ashamed I haven't been writing them down!). The past two weeks she's been trying to talk way more than ever, so I know she'll take off in speaking soon!

Abigail has some serious loves: her blankie, her sister, DA-DA (she always says his name so excitedly), being outside, babies (real or baby dolls), her beach ball, eating, sleeping (still two long naps a day!) and her Mama.  She adores Alathea, and try's to do everything she does. Its so fun watching them as sisters! This was a long post, so more on sisterhood later :)

Dancing in the Rain

My sister Julie was in town for a few days after Next. We LOVE when Julie comes to visit!!

We all adore her...but Alathea, she's close to obsessed! Its quite cute. No one compares to her "Ju-Ju". We did lots last week, but I thought these pictures would explain why my 3 year old thinks that Julie is the greatest.

 Around 7:30pm one night I had both girls bathed and in PJ's all ready for bed, and while I was laying Abigail down, I assumed Alathea was playing with Julie in the other room. Well, when I couldn't find them in the house, I discovered that they were outside, in the POURING rain, splashing in puddles, all while Alathea was in her PJ's! Oh, my!

 "Julie" means "Youthful". How appropriate her name is!

 Julie is really just a giant (well, I guess she's not a giant anything...short joke :) three year old herself! They had a great time. It took me a few minutes, but I finally got over it and joined them in the fun. There really is nothing like dancing in the rain and splashing in puddles. Oh the joys of my sister and daughter...they are kindred spirits :)