Is it really almost September?  I can’t believe how fast this summer has gone. School is back in session, the days are getting shorter and as we turn the calendar over to another month tomorrow, I can’t help but get a little bit excited about fall.  However, summer isn’t officially over for me until our week at the beach is over at the end of September. Bradley and I took a trip to San Diego last week and had a wonderful time.  We were stationed there during Bradley’s first days in the Navy and loved living there.  We attended the wedding of a friend, one of Bradley’s buddies from his…

I opened up blogger the other day and noticed that it’s been almost one month since I posted anything.  That’s the longest I’ve gone in a while, and I apologize for the absence.  The last few weeks of my pregnancy were pretty tiring.  However, our little girl has arrived!  She’s two weeks old today! Introducing…. Most people who read this blog are women, and most women like to hear the birth story, so let me indulge you.  If you don’t care about the details, you can just scroll through the pictures. This is my fourth baby, and apparently I still don’t know what it’s really like to be in labor.…

source “Mama, I’m scared,” whispered softly from the steps for the umpteenth time one night. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.  Get back in bed,” I say, not so whispered, and not so softly, from my place on the couch.  I wish she would stop stalling and just go to sleep, I say to my husband. Then, I hear them, the muffled sobs of my precious girl as she tries to calm her fearful heart.  In frustration I walk up the steps, trying to muster up some type of compassionate mommy face to minister to my little girl.  I sit on the edge of her bed and gently ask her,…

This past weekend was the first weekend we had as a family, in a long time, without anything to do.  And by anything, I mean no commitments, no social activities, no responsibilities other than whatever we wanted to do with our time.  It was wonderful! I tried to capture some of our moments because I thoroughly enjoyed everything that we did.  The weather was gorgeous, the kids had fun playing together, and we even tackled some projects around the house. While perusing the garden, I discovered quite a few English peas that were ready.  It was fun to snap them and I’m hoping to use the few we got in…

Whew!  April was a whirlwind of a month, and I can’t believe we’re already into May!  Is this year going by quickly or what? The kids and I had a great {just shy of} two week trip to Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland for some visits with family and friends.  We planned our trip around two weddings, but ended up only being able to attend one due to the girls getting a stomach bug.  Mason turned one while we were gone, we saw both sets of grandparents, spent time with cousins, visited my grandparents in Baltimore, caught up with some of my old co-workers, visited Hershey’s Chocolate Factory, picked lots of…

We’ve had a few evenings of spring weather and we are loving it!  As soon as dinner is over, we run outside and catch as much of the remaining sunshine as we can.  The girls love it, Mason enjoys the breeze, and Bradley is able to get some work done in the garden.  I enjoyed snapping a few pictures of the kids the other night as they danced to the setting sun. “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”  Psalm 113:3

Last night we took the kids to get frozen yogurt {they think it’s ice cream, so we’ll just call it that}.  We don’t do this very often, but it was a special day and we wanted to surprise the girls with some news.  Usually they get to pick their own ice cream and toppings, but last night we were a bit more selective.  We wanted them to have a certain color. Any guesses as to what we wanted to share? You guessed it!  We’re having another little girl!  She’ll be joining us around July 7th, so I’m almost 24 weeks right now.  This pregnancy has been a little rougher than…