building books.

what have we been up to?


a lot of hanging around, reading books.
that's what.
K prefers reading books from big stacks.
even while at Grammy's house,
K promptly removed the books from a basket to stack them.
she goes through about forty five books a day.
i only wish i were exaggerating.
that makes for a lot of books
that need to be put back at the end of each day.


we've also been using those books to build all sorts of things with blocks.


but mostly libraries.
seems only fitting.


we've also been putting weird toys on our heads.

111. K's desire to help me fold the laundry
112. a long soak in the bath
113. nothing on the schedule for tomorrow
114. planning for a trip
115. reading the Word and coming across the verse
that passed through your head earlier in the day.

putt putt.

yay for birthdays!

we just celebrated B's birthday.
and you know that i love a good birthday celebration.

my husband loves this country
and since we are nearly to the 4th of july,
i figured it would be fun if i made a red, white and blue cake.

this was the beginning of the ice cream cake that he requested

unfortunately, i don't have any gel food coloring, so my red turned out pink.

fortunately, it didn't matter because the cake was so delicious.

phew.

for part of his birthday wish, he wanted

the whole fam to go mini-golfing and then out to dinner.
we grabbed our clubs, we each picked a different color ball

and B grabbed a scorecard.
about ten seconds into the first hole, he recognized how silly that was.
all rules were thrown out before one of us even teed off.
at one point, i saw K accidentally kick her ball

and once she realized that it went a lot further using her foot,

she kicked it again.

even though the red club was the medium size,

K had to use it because it matched her hat and her ball.

even L got to go on the greens.

the kids were kind of spooked by this hole until B showed them how it worked.

then, they wanted to play it again and again.

back in 2001, i made my very first

hole

in

one

ever,

on hole #11.
that's probably when B fell madly in love with me.

i nearly made it happen again.

nearly.

and if any of you watch modern family, B experienced a very phil birthday.

same mini-golf course.

same batting cages.

and yes, it was awesome.

while we were eating dinner,

we realized that in the one year that L has been born,

that was the first time that we were all out to dinner...

without anyone else there (a.k.a. any grandparents) to help.

needless to say, we made it through the meal.

just barely.

today, K and i set up our inflatable pool in the backyard.

of course, it was one of the gloomiest days around here yet.

it even rained (barely) this morning.

but that didn't stop the kids for one instant.

since the water was fresh,

i declared it close enough to a real bath

and jammies were put on right after they exited.

i think they put in plenty of toys.

106. celebrating B's birthday

107. an understanding husband when i fall asleep while watching a movie.

even on his birthday

108. meeting another little one with the same diagnosis as L

109. being encouraged by that little one's progress

110. L getting approved for a couple extra weeks in our mommy-and-me

without even having to fight for it.

capture it.

these days are going by so quickly.
when my head hits the pillow each night i can't believe i'm there again.
once more.
it is such a daily reminder to capture motherhood.
capture it.
embrace it.
love it.
snatch it up.
soak it up.
drink it up.
so that at the end of each (sometimes long) day, you long for them.
the moments.
you yearn for those moments that mesh together to form a day to stay.
to linger just a bit longer.
to not leave
and not turn into the next day
and the next day
and the day after that.
but here we are.
firmly and completely in the next day already.



Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

101. finding lost photos
102. the humbleness that comes with knowing the photos were lost utterly and completely due to user error
103. a cleaned up house
104. a very early bedtime (for little L)
105. a delicious dessert waiting for me (thanks, Laura!)

one. year. ago. again.

it's {embrace} the camera day!

eating these delicious cupcakes we made for an early birthday celebration for B.


mu little K, stealing my heart at a mommy and K only
tea party and nail painting session.


the happy little man.

thanks to Auntie B's sweet momma for the reminder,
today marks the one year anniversary of bringing little L home from the nicu!
we were so excited to bring him home and begin
whatever this new life was going to be all about.
and boy has it been a new life.
for us all.
it was one year ago that i was able to start nursing L.
it was one year ago that we could hold L whenever we wanted
and for however long we wanted and
we didn't have to ask anyone for permission
or try to maneuver him around cords, wires, monitors, feeding tubes or ivs.
he was ours and ours to keep.
and boy are we grateful.

and this has been currently rocking my world.
Kat is so incredibly incredible.
she is hearing God speak to her and is sharing it.
if you are a mom, you must subscribe to her blog.
right.
this.
second.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
Psalm 67:1-2

96. transferring all of my photos onto a new drive and only losing all of june
(i just keep telling myself... it could be worse, it could be much, much worse.)
97. sweet prayers from D that i would find all of the missing photos
98. a good cry (over lost photos)
don't we all need a good cry every once in a while?
99. swinging in our front yard
100. receiving unbelievably encouraging words from a sweet friend. thanks, Britta!

those guys.

we had such a lovely father's day,
celebrating the two greatest guys in my life:


B with D

and


my dad, "Papa" with D and L.
we named D after my dad.
and they have this most incredible connection
that started the day D was born.
i'm not even lying.


and props to my hubby for putting up with the
not-so-enthusiastic viewers of the open on sunday.

both these guys love me and they love these kiddies


so darn much.

and i love them.
to pieces.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him
Psalm 103:13

sam i am.

it's {embrace} the camera day!

and this is what happens when i ask B to take our photo.
he must have just heard me ask if he could take L's photo.
oh well... he sure is cute (and yes, i'm talking about B).
and this is how sweet L looks at his daddy.


as you notice, i am wearing a most fashionable
colored-pasta-on-a-string necklace, compliments of D.


and this is to show you how close L likes to be to me.
we are touching.
and yes, all of his toys and a lovely blanket are ready and waiting for him.

i tried to get L's hearing checked yesterday with no avail.
he wouldn't let the sweet nurse put anything in his ear.
today, i headed there for our second attempt in which the nurse
came down to our car to do the test on a sleeping L.
(side note: we think he hears perfectly but some of his docs
want to verify that there isn't any sort of slight hearing issue
to combat any speech issues that he could experience down the road)
well, of course L woke up just as the nurse got to our car.
so while i was outside of the car with him, trying my best to distract him
through the test, D figured out how to unbuckle his carseat
which means that he figured out how to unbuckle K's carseat, too!
and then they found my stash of gummy bears!
i do not like that, sam i am.

after that, we headed off to the beach.
and by "we" i mean, D, K, L and me.
not one other soul came with us.
i sort of did it just to prove to myself that
a.) we could do something like that
and
b.) that we could maybe even possibly have fun
and you know what?
we had an absolute blast.
at just about any moment it could have all fallen apart.
but it didn't.
and get this... when we left, nobody was crying.
not even me.


and you can't really tell in this photo, but i am wearing my US Open visor.
bonus points.


don't you just love the tote bag view in this shot?


we had so much fun that we decided to all take naps on the beach.


hah. i wish.


the kids dug a couple of holes and made some new friends.


D was just about as happy as a clam.


maybe even this one.


i have never seen so many clams on the shore before.
every little white spot in this shot was an itty-bitty clam.


lucky for me, my more adventurous child, K, was deathly afraid of the waves.
phew.


D, on the other hand, was fearless.


we enjoyed the sunshine, we had fun, we learned things.
i for one, learned that there was something on the lens i took with me!
good.
to.
know.


there's something that happens to me when i take photos.
something incredible.
something quite lovely.


instead of just buzzing through moments, not really being exactly in them,
i am forced to stop and enjoy and love what i see.
it's great.
it's really, really great.

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.
Psalm 24:1-2

p.s. do you think it would be emasculating for me to teach D to
always sit while going to the bathroom? i'm just saying....

91. being able to hang onto that baby stage a bit longer
92. the fact that i was the only one who got sunburned
93. being able to share my faith with a stranger at the beach
94. sand, sand, everywhere
95. surprise dessert treats

there's nothing much better than.

i'm a bit tired.
i'm a bit cranky.
i'm a bit (okay... very) behind on my responsibilities in life.
but i just can't stop thinking about all the fun we've been having.
so today, i am going to show you some of those
memory making moments we've been enjoying.

while the children nap or are in rest time,
there is nothing much better than drinking this:


homemade (not by me!) pineapple coriander lemonade.
(isn't this ikea bottle just adorable?)
and yes, i really had to try hard to not show you
all of the stuff currently on my counter tops.

there is nothing much better than
feeling like the summer has begun
(more on that later)

there is nothing much better than
picking blueberries.
ahhh... one of my most favorite memories to date.


this shot is brought to you because of L
who needed to be nursed in the middle of the blueberry fields.


the blueberries were a lovely, deep, dark blue.


and the farm we visited allows you to
"sample but not make a meal out of your pickins."


we had to beg him to try just one.


whereas K ate like fifteen thousand times more than she put in any bucket.
(they are the complete opposite. i so love that.)


D wore this blue shirt because we were picking blueberries.


doesn't this shot look like we were out in the boonies?
we were.


and after a day of picking all of these,
it was only natural to want to do this:


even if the water was utterly filthy.


i know, i even shocked myself by allowing the kiddos to do that.


there's nothing much better than
getting completely
hot and
sticky and
dirty
at a farm.


and there's nothing much better than bringing back
a big bunch of oranges for B.
if you're a part of our family, you know that if you ever
let me repeat... ever go to a farm,
you must do this.

there's nothing much better.

Taste and see that the LORD is good
Psalm 34:8

86. berry picking
87. dreaming about what to do with those scrumptious picked berries
88. easy summer dinners
89. the beautiful views from this year's US Open coverage
(at least i can see things other than the golf coverage while B is watching)
90. thinking about vacations