May Days

I've gotten a little behind on the blog since it's May and May always gets crazy busy for some reason.  So here's a little catch-up post, with a lot of daily life pictures...

Popsicles on the Davis' carport with their daughter Lana.

Rachael and Dan rent a house on an amazingly beautiful property, as you can see!  They have a stocked pond and took us down there for Kate to try fishing for the first time ever.

She got the hang of it really quickly, but I think the only thing she caught was a soggy leaf.  Oh well.  She looked cute doing it!

Carter giving Abby Lyon a ride on his firetruck.  Note her butterfly wings.  So cute.  She was taking a break from dressing up with the big girls to get this ride :)

Kate and Anna Kate Lyon.  Princesses, as always :)

Our small group had a fellowship a few weeks back at Tyler Run Park.  It was so fun and the kids had a blast running and digging in the dirt, swinging and sliding, etc.  Here's me and Hudson enjoying a wonderful, relaxing evening with great friends.

Josh and Kate on a daddy-date to The Border.  She gets so excited to go with her daddy, and it just melts our hearts.

Later that same day, we went to downtown WF to get gelato.  Such a quaint little place, and the seats at the counter are all old saddles.  So fun!

Our beautiful irises.  Glad I took this picture because they faded not too long after this was taken!

May 2 was WF's annual 'Meet in the Street', a super-fun festival they do every spring.  They close down the street through the main area of downtown and there are all kinds of vendors and food and crafts set up as far as you can see down the main street.  Here are the kids with the visors they made at one booth.  They're a little tired here, it was getting close to lunchtime and they'd been doing a good bit of walking.

Since she learned how to fish at Dan and Rachael's house, Kate figured she'd try out her new skill at the festival.  She 'caught' a prize!

Team Reed at Meet in the Street.  Can't you tell what a great time Hudson had?!

"Carry me Daddy."  Carter's little legs were SO done walking.  Hitched a ride home with Daddy instead.  Good plan considering we walked there from our house (and absolutely love that we live close enough to do that and still have it be totally convenient!!) What an answered prayer!

I met up with a group of friends to go strawberry pickin'.  The kids were super excited.  Here's Carter taking off towards the fields with his bucket.  He was on a mission and walking with purpose!

My precious babies all piled into the same grocery cart at Harris Teeter.  And if you look closely at Hudson's right eye, you can see where he got his first black eye a couple weeks ago :(  He pulled up on one of our dining room chairs, and wound up pulling it over on himself.  Hudson fell straight back and then the chair landed on top of his face.  One of those moments where Josh and I were both in the room and it happened so quickly neither one of us could stop it!  

Fine Arts Day 2009

Kate's school had their annual Fine Arts Day a few weeks ago (I'm a little behind on the blogging!)  They worked so hard to get ready for it!  First they did a concert where they all sang several songs for us.  Then we got to walk around and see lots of special artwork that each class had on display.  Here's Kate and her class taking their places on stage (they're in the blue shirts)  She's the one waving :)  To her right is Kelsey, and to her left is Charlotte, Emma, Carson and Dylan and then Mrs. Rebekah, her lead teacher.  They have ten in their class but they weren't all up on the stage yet.

Carter spotted a ball on the floor about six seats down the row from where we were sitting.  He was cracking us up, trying to be so subtle, inching his way over towards it, one seat at a time.  Finally, he just got down on the floor right by it!  Loved watching that thought process...

How do they grow up so fast?

Team Reed

Here are all the special crafts her class made.  They decorated flowerpots...the bedazzled, handprinted dish that holds the pot is my favorite.

Her paper lantern.  She told me, "Mommy, mine is the rainbow one"

A picture they made about a story they had read in class

Footprint cactus.  I love the creativity of the teachers, and so appreciate all the hard work that went into such a production!  What a treat!

Goofing off after with Anna Kate Lyon.  Steph and I have been carpooling this year, and the girls have so enjoyed having that time together, as have us moms :)

Remembering Uncle Joe

Uncle Joe died April 13.  He was 95 years old.  He was my grandmother's brother, but really the only 'grandfather' I knew.  He had some health issues this spring and was in a rehab facility getting therapy to be able to go back to his house (where he has lived by himself since 1988 when his wife died).  He fell out on the way back from his therapy one morning, into the arms of his favorite blond therapist that he affectionately called 'Angie baby'.  For all who knew Uncle Joe, this could not have been a more appropriate way for him to go.  Turns out he had a brain bleed and thankfully did not appear to suffer.  Here is a picture of Uncle Joe from when he came down to Georgia for our wedding in 2002.  Sharp guy.  He was a joy to be around, and I miss him.

I got to go up to Pennsylvania for Uncle Joe's funeral.  It was such a blessing to get to spend that time with my mom, and to see family and friends I hadn't seen in years!

My dad's two sisters drove over for Uncle Joe's funeral.  It was great seeing them, and fun to hear some stories about my dad!  I hadn't seen Aunt Diane since my wedding, and Aunt Nancy since Kate's first birthday when she came down to see us in GA.  From l. to r. me, Mom, Aunt Diane, Aunt Nancy.

We also got to visit with Aunt Sissy (my grandmother's sister).  She has Alzheimer's and lives in assisted living with her husband, Uncle Vincent.  She was doing great when we saw her, although she was very sad about Uncle Joe.  Here we are in their suite.  Nice to see where they are living!

Easter 2009

We were back in Wake Forest for Easter Sunday.  Here is our lovely door-hanger, courtesy of Kate :)  We hung it on our front door, and it reminds me every time I see it that we have a hope that does not disappoint!

Kate and Carter had been waiting so patiently to go through their resurrection eggs that I had made for them.  They obliged me with a picture for the blog before we started opening them :)  These eggs a fun (and free!) way to teach them the easter story and what we are really celebrating.  It's a hands-on visual that walks them through Jesus' last days, his crucifixion, and his resurrection so that they can understand what we are celebrating this weekend!

After a phenomenal service at N. Wake Sunday morning, we went to the Knight's farm for a brunch with the Lyons, Robinsons, Crafts and our friend Brandi.  The Knight's are moving the end of this month so we're trying to see them as much as possible between now and then.  We try to make sure and get a family shot every year on Easter.  Carter wasn't feelin' it though, since it was naptime.  Here are the best ones we got!

Sweet Kate

Little man

Sweet baby boy.  Josh was not very excited about his outfit, particularly since Kate said it looked like he was wearing bloomers :)  He indulged me though.  And doesn't Hudson look sweet?  That baby stage goes by so fast...

Hudson's new thing is standing up.  He will definitely be our early walker.  That's all he wants to do these days!  He hasn't gotten steady enough to let go, but will pull up on anything that is stationary!

This is Nathan Knight, Josh with Carter on his shoulders, and Larry Lyon walking down the road to let Carter look at the cows.  We're sure going to miss all of this when the Knights go up to DC, but we are excited for Restoration Church!  And a new place to go visit them :)

Catherine had a huge black trash bag full of empty plastic eggs.  Kept the kids entertained for a good solid hour.  Who knew?!

I could just eat him up

I love all the seasons, but every year when spring rolls around, I'm always so excited!  It is such a time of renewal with all the beautiful colors of God's creation in bloom.  Here is our house with all the colors.

I've been waiting to see what we have in our yard here, and missing my yard back in Buford.  I spent many hours working in that yard, and am really looking forward to doing that here now!  The azaleas lining the side of the house need major help, so that will be a project for a while.  But each one has at least one flower blooming, so there is hope for them to live, with a little help.  Which is exactly why I love spring, and the fact that we celebrate our Risen Lord and Savior at this particular time of year.  Because through his resurrection, Jesus conquered death so that we could have life eternal if we will put our faith and trust in him. That is the only hope for us to live.  And we can't do it on our own.  Just like my pitiful azaleas, we need help too.  That's the beauty of the Gospel.  Jesus came to save us.  Hallelujah!

Easter in Norcross

We spent the second half of our time in Georgia down in Norcross with my family.  Here are all the kids showing off their best bunny-noses after breakfast one morning.

Kate and Carter playing on the sit-and-spin.  Things are always more fun when done together!

Kate baking cupcakes with Auntie Daria.  She loves helping in the kitchen.

Later, Kate was helping me decorate them after they had cooled.  She was also quality control...wanted to make sure the icing tasted ok! 

Mimi hides eggs around her house for the kids to find.  It's fun to watch the kids enjoy something I used to do as a child.

Hudson was a spectator this year.  Didn't seem to bother him a bit.  He enjoyed hanging out with Daddy.

Checking out their eggs

Daria and Jim

Me and Josh

Mimi and her "honey-bunny" as she affectionately calls Kate.

The kids have been really into Jim Henson's new show "Sid the Science Kid" so they were pretty excited to get magnifying glasses in their baskets.

We took a day to go down to the Atlanta Zoo, along with everyone else in Atlanta it seemed!  We had a great time though.  The weather was great and we all had fun seeing the different animals!

Here's Mommy Panda on the left and the brand-new baby panda on the right.  Definitely the highlight for the kids!

The otters were the highlight for us...love to watch them.

Daria and Jim have been on a Scrabble kick recently, and we got sucked right in.  Pretty much any free window of time, you'd find Josh and Jim playing.  Lots of fun!!  Good to be back in Georgia, as always.  We didn't get to do and see all that we wanted to, but that always leaves more for the next trip!