mother's day

i'm not sure it gets pretty than my mom in that picture. she is beaming. her smile is so genuine. it kinda makes you want to live in 1981. not to mention...harper looked just like me at 1. i wish i had that dress for her...good choice mom!

mother's day this year i spent driving 8 hours back from the beach. it was a great week and a pretty good car ride all things considered. but at least i got to spend those 8 hours with my mom! 2 years and 2 kids later...i've learned a lot being a mom. it's hard. REAL hard. and i have a new appreciation for my mom. as i try to be a good mom. to teach and train. to love and laugh. and to point to jesus, i am humbled by the process. the ups and downs. but also humbled that the Lord entrusts me with these two little faces. what a sweet gift. it makes me think about all the things my mom taught me without even knowing. by just being and doing. hopefully i can pass these things down to my kiddos too. this list should and could be really long. but here are some highlights and some really important ones.

things my mom has taught me:
-give it away...she is selfless as it gets. she would give me her favorite new shoes that she just bought even before she ever wore 'em (and you know how us girls are with our shoes). all kidding aside...she would literally give me anything of hers and she would do whatever it takes to get me something i really wanted.
-you are enough...she has a sweet confidence about her. this confidence breeds independence. what a gift it has been in my life to know that i can do things, go places and just be. looking back at high school, i'm thankful that i was confidence enough to make my own decisions instead of going along with the crowd.
-loyalty...don't cross this lady. she is so loyal, pick a side and keep it no matter what. that is love!
-make friends...she doesn't know a stranger. she can talk to anyone. she is the queen of conversation. it reflects joy i think.
-be silly...she loves to sing and dance. and i think they are apart of her everyday life. silly = laughter. we laughed a lot. and we sang a lot (we sang 'coco mo' while cleaning the house on numerous occasions). i hope my kids remember stuff like this...singing, dancing, laughing. innocence is a gift.

thanks mom. thank you for you. you are a gift. hopefully i will pay those things forward!
much love.

little bean

a few more from camp

i just got some new pics from family camp and had to post them. mainly for 2 reasons...1 is that wig that harper loved. and 2 is for the first picture. my little girl loves the spotlight...so it could be that this might be worth something one day *wink*


gosh these 2 are cute!


the famous wig!



they did a fun photo booth with props for all the families that came.

nashville young life family camp weekend!

we packed up the fam on friday (yay for huck's first road trip!) and drove to young life's sharp top cove for nashville's family camp weekend. i was pumped for hear the speakers. david and kelli pritchard are amazing parents. they have 8 kids...yes, 8 kids. that in it's self is a huge feat...but they are all dreamy. the pritchards hold the market share in my opinion on doing things right with their kids. so i couldn't wait to hear more. david and i heard them last november at a young life marriage conference and i was hooked. i was ready for round 2...especially since we are in the throws of the "terrific two's". i wanted just to even sit next to kelli, in hopes that her joyful heart and amazing parenting powers would rub off on me. you better believe i got her phone number and i ain't scared to use it. kelli...i hope you are ready for me! i have hope that my house will be a place of joy for my kids!! anywho, it was a fun weekend. we got to hang with good friends. make some new friends. and even eat a couple meals in a row as a family...which recently is a crazy thought. ;-) one other thing...if you REALLY know my daughter, you know that she doesn't really like hats. she won't keep them on her head for more than 2 seconds. well, she found this beauty below and would NOT take it off.


dolly parton eat your heart out.

the smile

man, i really forgot how amazing it is to see those first smiles. roughly 7 weeks of total dependence...and then there it is in ALL it's glory.


i'll post some better pictures at some point...when i care more about getting a picture than staring and basking in all it's beautifulness.

harper turns 2!

2 weeks ago (oops, I'm a little late) we had a fun birthday party for harper! i can't believe that little thing is 2. wow. it was a fun day filled with family, friends, cupcakes, balloons...everything that makes for a fun birthday party.

yummy cupcakes

even little brother was partying hard

hanging with papaw

oh, ya know...

her beloved new dora guitar

opening presents with sweet lucy helping out!

nanna!

happy birthday to harper!

wassup b?

just having a little dinner. and sweet fake 'program laugh'.