Birthday Bliss

Well I am officially in my thirties! With another baby on the way and our 10th anniversary on the horizon, Jeff took me to a charming old Bed and Breakfast built at the turn of last century. We enjoyed 3 days of rest and relaxation, while grandma and grandpa took care of the little ones. We often joked this weekend that we switched places with my parents, living their life of leisure while they enjoyed our organized chaos.

Jeff and I ate dinner out every night and, of course, had a gourmet breakfast every morning. We spent Saturday touring the grounds of Biltmore Estate, which was wonderful. We enjoyed every minute of strolling through the gardens and wandering the halls of the impressive home. Sunday morning we walked the streets of Asheville's Proximity Park, a neighborhood of homes built in the early 1900's. And then finally, Sunday afternoon, we headed home to return to reality. While our vacation was great and the kids had a fabulous time with grandma and grandpa, we are all happy to get back into our regular routine.

Me at 30.

The Albemarle Inn (B & B)

The skunk we saw on the driveway at Biltmore

Biltmore Estate

Enjoying the view

Another Baby, Another Blessing

At the risk of sounding redundant...we are expecting again. Jeff and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting a new bundle of joy this September. It is a bit ironic that I have jokingly referred to this fall as my break, since I will have two in school all day. My, what mysterious and often hilarious ways the Lord works, I guess I will have at least a month off with just two at home!

Project Complete

OK so I don't get to say that a lot. I am notorious for starting a project and never seeing it through. I have an entire closet full of my brilliant ideas such as, half sewn dresses, miles of ribbon that will never see a hair clip, purses waiting on a handle and handles waiting to be put on drawers. Sadly, this does extend to affect my children. Calla has a lovely scrapbook chronicling at least the first 8 months of her life (she is 6 years old), Noah has a baby book, less extravagant than the scrapbook but filled-in through the first year. Poor Bella has only scribbles in her baby book when I had the time to jot down the important stuff. Micah, baby book?? no I just have a drawer full of post-its with his accomplishments. Whoa to the next baby born in our household. Maybe this time around I will just get one of those handy calendars that you just put the preprinted sticker for rolling over on the date that baby does it. But I digress, we finished a project, finally. The playset is complete and has had quite a few visitors in the 3 days it has been fully together. But, it is done and that is a big enough accomplishment to get me through at least one year.

A Good Lesson in an Unlikely Place

I guess this week I really haven't found a whole lot of blogworthy things to write about. The weather certainly has been drastic even in the last 24 hours, but is that really news? The kids have been a bit more obnoxious than usual due to the indoor confinement. So far the highlight of our week was dressing up extra special for church and a trip to Lowe's. I will say that when we got home today and the freezing rain was steadily coming down, we looked out at the playset (that is still a work in progress no thanks to this weather) and two birds were perched on the fort. We have a ton of birds in our backyard and I never thought of where they would go when it rains and rains and rains and there are no leaves to offer any protection. But God did, and he led the birds to not only a birdhouse, but a bird mansion. We enjoyed watching the birds taking refuge in the fort and realized that no matter what our circumstance or how bad things may seem, God is always there watching over us as well. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)