apple pickin'...

This is why we love where we live! We're 30 minutes from the Blue Ridge mountains and there's lots of neat places to pick fresh produce as a family. (Kinda takes you back to the olden days, I guess...) Here was our trip to the apple orchard before my camera battery died shortly after we got there.

the wedding...

(Last week we showed you guys a few pics from this, but here's some more of the highlights for ya...)


It was a picture perfect day a few weeks ago for my (Caroline) cousin, Follin, to get married at Aunt Sharon's lakefront home in South Carolina.


Daddy did part of the officiating.


Mommy provided the music.

And me?

Well, I played with grass, of course.

Here's a few more snapshots Mommy managed to get:







Here's all of our immediate family on Daddy's side (before I decided to bolt out of the photo)...


First dance.


Daddy/daughter dance.


Congrats, you guys! And welcome to this crazy family, Keith!!

flower girl...

at 3 and a half...

(We're taking a quick break from the wedding photos for this LONG overdue post!)

Last month I turned 3 and a half, and you'd better believe that's QUITE different from just being 3. I am growing up like a WEED and changing so much SO quickly it's crazy.

Today, for instance, I said, "Mommy & Daddy, you know who needs some exercise?" ("who?" we replied, a little afraid of who she might be referring to! ha!) I pointed to my chest. "Me." And then instead of Mommy & Daddy taking ME on a walk in a stroller, I took THEM on a fast run through the neighborhood!! Those pansies--- they could barely keep up with me! :) he he

Here's a snapshot of me at 3 & 1/2...

• I was a BEAUTIFUL flower girl a few weeks ago for Scott & Emily's (former students) wedding! Mommy & Daddy were so, SO proud... and a little misty-eyed, too.
  

• I'm now a green tea drinker. :) I just love it when Daddy will pour me a little teacup of the stuff to drink with him.
  

• I can read short sentences and words like those in this picture. (we've been told this is not normal at this age)
  
• I'm fascinated with books. I LOOOOVE being read to.
  

• I'm obsessed with telephones. The old-school kind. It's what I look for in any church's nursery that I visit. Mommy found this one for 50 cents at a garage sale and it made my day!
  

• Being 3 and 1/2 comes with responsibilities, you know. It's now my job to put the silverware away after the dishes have been cleaned. I also put the cups back into the cabinet, too.
• Being 3 and 1/2 also brings new worries and new fears as my imagination grows. Most recently, I've suddenly become afraid that there are snakes & monsters in my room when it's dark. :(
  

• Mommy wishes she could say THIS has become a regular job, (won't that be the day?) but unfortunately this was just a one-time "I want to vacuum!" adventure. Why the pink hat, you ask? Well, to muffle the loud, scary noise of the vacuum, of course. :)
  

• Any time, day or night, around our house you're SURE to hear the clanking of these things walking around our house. If it's not dress up shoes, it's Mommy's shoes. I am in LOOOVE with "high heels." And as you can see, matching is optional. :)

• I have just become VERY interested in knowing what day it is. Mommy drew out this calendar for me to know what days I do what. I keep counting down the days until it's Monday & Wednesday because I get to go to PRESCHOOL!!!

• Speaking of preschool, it's been great for me. I LOVE it. But to be honest, it's also rocking my only-child world, too. I just don't seem to understand why kids push or hit, and so Mommy has had to teach me what to say when that happens and when I want to push back. We're in the midst of major life lessons! Thankfully preschool is there to help me understand that 1) I'm NOT the center of the universe and 2) that life doesn't always go your way. (boy, if only we ALL could get those two learned, eh?)
  

• I just graduated into a booster car seat!! There are not words to describe how thrilled I am that I get to wear a real seat belt like Mommy & Daddy do. I am sooo eager to get in the car and go anywhere just so I can sit in my new seat.

• Mamie got me a set of finger paints and I seriously can't get enough of them!
  

(Here was one of my first masterpieces.)


There is nothing dull about 3 and a half.
It's either FABULOUS or TERRIBLE and not a lot of in between. :)
It's the constant schizophrenic nature between "Help me, Mommy!" and "No! Let me do it!"
It's the beginning of watching your child realize the world is not as its supposed to be.
It's the tightest neck squeezes and knock-you-over hugs you've ever gotten in your life, but it's also the toughest time of digging deep to find the patience and grace not to lose it.
It's the best of times. And it's the worst of times. :)

But we're ever so grateful to have 'em.

wedding scene...

Our youngest niece got married this past weekend at my sis-in-law's lake house in South Carolina. It was truly a family affair and Sharon (Marc's sister) blew me away as she went above and beyond to throw quite the shindig at her place! With an army of helpers at her side, she pulled off a picture-perfect wedding in her backyard! Before I post pics of the actual wedding, thought you might like to see a few snapshots of the beautiful details...












(the hostess herself)

would you like some tea with your hats...

The morning of my cousin Follin's wedding this past weekend, all the girls went to have tea.


And my cousin Madelyn & I were a little more interested in the fun hats than the tea.


(though the tea was pretty good, too)


Let's trade hats!


Oooo, look at these!


Even Jasmine got into the fun at one point.


We were having so much fun that we almost forgot about the bride!...


but can you blame us??

everybody's got something pt. 4...

(continued from part 1, 2, & 3... here's the grand finale! Hope you have enjoyed our little book.)


When someone you see looks different than you, you don't have to stare at them or be afraid of them, do you? No! You can give them a big friendly smile and that tells them that it's okay to be different because that's how God made us!


Lots of other people have alopecia, too, but not lots of people that live in Lynchburg. But that's okay because everybody's got something that makes them different and special, right? God uses all of our differences to grow us and teach us.

God made us all different and He loves us so much. And because God loves us, we want to love other people, too. Just the way they are.