Is that Jesus??

We talk often with the girls about how Jesus lives in our hearts. They will usually add that Jesus also lives in heaven. Our simple explanations have seemed to satisfy their curiosity until the other day. Gray saw a tendon on my neck sticking out and asked "Mommy, is that Jesus coming out of your heart?" I sat stunned. After realizing that she thought there was literally a person named Jesus living inside my body, I understood that she thought this tendon she saw on my neck must have been one of his extremities sticking out. Oh my, how do I even start to explain?? I went on to tell her that it is the Spirit of Jesus and not an actual person who lives inside of us. I went on to tell her that Jesus lives in heaven with God. She thought for a little while....I knew I was in the clear. Then, she pointed at her belly button and said, "well then is this heaven?" Speechless!

Play Date

To anyone who wants to know what living in the South is all about, come to Alabama in August! Since it't too hot to even breathe outside and school hasn't yet begun, we are planning activities that involve plenty of indoor/air-conditioning time. The girls have been begging to have their friends over, so we had a little play date Wed. morning. Thanks to all of our sweet friends for a fun morning.

My Greatest Memories

I can truly say that our "Beach Trip" trip has always been the highlight of each year for the past 32 years. This year was no exception! This trip started as 4 couples (my parents being one of them) began going to the beach together each summer. As children were born, they were added into the mix. Now, us "adult" children have children of our own to share this experience with. It was such a joy this year to see Ella and Gray making life-long friends with the children of my life-long friends. Although we only get together for a short time each year, we always pick up right where we left off. Thanks to all of you for your unconditional love and support...you know who you are. We are already counting down the days until next year. Oh, did I mention that Gray was totally boy crazy over Drew and Luke? Let's hope this passes before we really need to be concerned:)

Sewing Extravaganza

Mom (a.k.a. Lolly) came to visit last week. Among being HUGE help with the girls, she helped me make some outfits. Here are pictures of some of the completed and almost completed outfits we made. We have tons of fabric that we have been collecting since the girls were born that still needs to be used. I did all of the smocking inserts when I was pregnant and have yet to put them into any outfits....I need to get cracking before they are too old to wear all the "little girl" clothes. Thanks, mom, for a wonderful week. We miss you!!

If at first you don't succeed.......

As many of you know, my children despise having their pictures taken. Maybe I should rephrase that....they hate "other" people taking their pictures. I was determined to get a good shot of them together, mainly so I could give one to mom for her birthday. So, last Saturday morning, we dressed up and headed to the back yard for a photo shoot. While Allyn impersonated a monkey(sound effects and all), I got some great shots of them BOTH smiling at the same time. Now I know what to do...having daddy was the secret:)

July 4th

Thanks Rouse family for a wonderful day at the lake! I think the girls' favorite activity was getting to play with all of the dogs....wow, do they love animals. Gray decided not to nap and enjoyed being the "queen" for the afternoon. They got some practice "driving" the boat with Cooper, as you can see from the pictures. We are so thankful to have such sweet friends to share our crazy lives with !!

Summer Fun!

We went to Birmingham this weekend for Allyn's cousin's wedding, so Saturday we took the girls to the McWane center....so much fun! They got to "dig" for dinosaur bones, freeze their shadows, see a giant eel, and lots of other great things. I highly recommend taking your toddlers if you have the opportunity! I have posted the pictures of the girls climbing (me holding them up) inside the mushrooms....this was a favorite activity:) I also posted a few pictures I took of the girls this afternoon...they refused to take their school pictures today, so I though I could at least capture a few of my own while they were still dressed up.