First Braves Game

We took Joshua and Anna Bell to their very first Atlanta Braves game on Monday night. Some friends gave us 4 great tickets and we thought it was worth a try. And they LOVED it!!!! They loved stopping at Quick Trip for hot dogs and gigantic drinks on the way there, they loved playing in the kid zone area, they loved getting to pick out yummy snacks while there (cotton candy and birthday cake ice cream...talk about a sugar rush!)....the only part of the experience that they weren't too crazy about was actually watching the game! HA! Oh well, I guess that was to be expected...I mean, let's be honest, I go for the snacks and people watching:) All in all, it was a really fun experience. It made Fred and I realize that our kiddos are growing up really fast. We expected such an outing to be somewhat chaotic and stressful, but it was pretty relaxing. Thankfully, our friends Robby and Cort watched Caleb...otherwise I'm quite confident it would have been a little crazy.

sweet little zemma leigh

At the end of May, my family welcomed a precious new addition to our family. My niece, Zemma Leigh finally came home. We have been fervently praying and anticipating her arrival for what seems like forever. And her homecoming was sweet, beautiful, and something that I'll never forget...and will forever be grateful that I got to be a part of. It worked out that the kids and I were able to be in St. Louis when Luke, Laura and Zemma walked off of the airplane. It was so cool- we had a whole crowd of people there celebrating with Luke and Laura. I don't think that there was a dry eye in that terminal as we all stood around adoring this little girl. MiMi (Luke's mom) got to hold Zemma first (that was very gracious of you mom-- I know that it took everything in you to not scoop Zemma right up!:)) And then my mom held her, followed by us Aunts and then the Grandpas. She was so sweet and cuddly with all of us. (Except for when she popped Aunt Becca in the nose with a big smile on her face...and Luke quickly said "She's waking up!!!!") I got to spend a few days in Bolivar getting to know my little niece before I left the kids with mom and flew back to GA to go to our student camp. It was so fun-- Oh how I love that little girl!!!! And wow- adoption is such a beautiful and amazing thing. I've been reading a book by Russell D. Moore: Adopted For Life. It is a great read- one that has caused me to stop mid-sentence and just praise God for His adoptive redemption for me. Anyways- here is our Zemma- who has finally come home- who we all love so much- who is such a beautiful picture of what our loving Father does for those who confess Christ as Lord and Savior: He has placed us in a family and called us His own. AMEN!!!!!

Latest Craftiness

So...I don't know about anyone else- but I definitely go through stages of tackling projects. Here are some of my latest cheap creations:

Our house is around 25 years old- which is actually a pretty fun age for a house- because while things aren't in terrible shape, you really don't have that much to loose in taking risks on refinishing things. I decided to paint our master bath cabinets a couple of weekends ago- I went with blue because everything else in the room seemed kind of boring. It was a really easy and affordable project: around $10 for the paint and I found a package of knobs on clearance for under $8!!! Not bad for a completely new-looking vanity!

This is my first completely pattern-free sewing project. I made a patch-work skirt for both Maddie Grace and Zemma from this amazingly cute fabric that I found at a local fabric store. I actually bought what's called a charm pack of fabric- that's typically used for quilting. I had all of these coordinating fabrics in 6" by 6" squares. I like how it turned out, but it was a little too time consuming to make many more of them!

There's nothing that special about this next project...except for the cost. I found these frames for $1.50 at Michael's and used scrapbook paper and spray paint to make a pretty fun decoration that pulled some brighter colors into our living room. I like how they turned out. I'm going to do a couple for the kids' rooms as well.

I went through a fairly long stage where any furniture I refinished was done in black...and now I'm kind of bored with it. I used the same spray paint as the frames and redid this end table that was in Fred's house growing up. I like how it turned out. I need to redrill holes for a new pull, but other than that, it's done and probably only took a total of 30 minutes to complete.

Dinner Conversations

Joshua: "Mom, I think that Caleb needs to watch more Praise Baby."
Me: "Why's that, bud?"
Joshua: "Because that's what I watched when I was a baby and that's why I'm so smart."

(Yeah...lots of conversations about what it means to boast around here these days:))

Me: "Well, actually that's not what makes us smart...God made you and He is the One who made you smart."

Anna Bell: "And God is the One who made me so funny!"

....HA! So true, little Anna Bell, SO TRUE!!!!!

My Man is a Grillin' Champ

Check out what my man grilled up for dinner last night. YUM. He made his own rub, hickory smoke cooked these two birds on the grill and even made his own sauce to go with them. The meat was so tender, it just pulled right apart- we made chicken pulled BBQ sandwiches. Ooooohhh- it was so good! Nice work, babe!

Precious Zemma

For those of you who know my sister, Laura and her husband, Luke- they are in Ethiopia right now adopting their baby girl! They left on Thursday and just had their long-awaited "Gotcha Day." Here is part of an update email that we received this afternoon. (And had been checking for all morning!:)) It makes me cry...and SO VERY EXCITED to meet my little niece!

"Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know about our big day...We picked up Zemma this morning around 10, and I do mean we "picked" her up! Like, we met her and then took her away to our guesthouse! She has done fabulous so far! It took us about 3 hours to get a smile (Luke got the first one), and after that she warmed up really quickly. She has been playing, laughing, reaching for us, and we even got good night kisses a minute ago! She is absolutely beautiful, perfect! Just can't wait for you all to meet her! Tomorrow I will try and send a picture or two."

Swing Set And Sickness

Fred's dad came down over the weekend to add on to the swing set that he has built for the kids. He built the swing portion last year and has been working on the rest at home. He brought part of it already put together and set up the rest while he was here- check out how wonderful it is! I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but it has a climbing wall on the side and a ladder on the back. We will either put sand or a tire swing underneath. The kids are so excited- thanks, dad! We love you and are so thankful for our swing set!

Okay, does anyone else feel like this season of life= someone is always getting sick? (And then passing that sickness on to a brother or sister!!!) I think that we've had some sort of stomach bug 4 times in the past year...but this round is definitely the worst. Poor Caleb started throwing up sometime in the middle of Thursday night, Anna Bell started on Friday night, and Joshua on Monday night. ...And now my dear husband is down:( It has made them all so weak and tired. I know that this is probably something I shouldn't admit, but I've enjoyed it a little bit...not the vomiting, required additional cleaning, or pitifulness. And before you think that I'm a terrible person- I definitely do not like to see any of them hurting. However- they each have been so incredibly sweet and cuddly! Caleb and I sat for hours reading board books (which by the way-- I have not done hardly at all with him-- poor third child!) Anna Bell and I sat and did a puzzle for 30 minutes today. And I curled up next to Joshua in his bed last night and had great talks on what it means to be created in the image of God and what it means to love Jesus with all your heart. Those are the things that make me thankful for even things such as sickness:)

*We've also watched WAY TOO many hours of PBS kids and videos...

Next week: television detox!!!

*This was the only activity J and AB did yesterday- they "played in the sink" (Or rather, cleaned those nasty germs off of some toys!)

*Caleb didn't smile for 2 days straight. SO sad...he finally started smiling again on Sunday afternoon.

AB is not impressed...

...I think that it's a safe assumption that Anna Bell is growing weary of my sewing. This was the fourth time that she tried these pants on in the process. (I had to keep checking the length as I added ruffles.)

Randomness

...Let's see how random I can make this post:

1. Wedding: My sister Becca got married two weekends ago!!! Isn't she a beautiful bride?!? (I don't know why this picture is so small...I couldn't get it to download any larger.) It was a great, fun, crazy and exhausting weekend. Fred officiated the ceremony, (he did a great job!) I was in the wedding party, Joshua was ring bearer, and AB was a flower girl (with Madelynn). Joshua and Maddie Grace also recited I Corinthians 13:4-8 during the ceremony. They did a really good job and it was pretty much adorable- I hope to get a clip of it from my uncle to post on here. Congratulations, Aaron and Becca!!! We love you and had so much fun celebrating with y'all!

This picture was probably taken around 10 pm (11 our time!) Belly was pretty much exhausted at this point!:)

As you can see, Joshua was having too much fun gettin' down to feel tired!

2. Mother's Day: was absolutely wonderful. (Except for the fact that the kids and I had to stay home from church because Joshua was just getting over a stomach bug and I didn't want to risk getting the rest of the church sick.) After Fred got home we ate a quick lunch, went on a worm hunt, and headed out to a little pond that is next to some friends' house. Both J and AB caught a couple of brim each and had a blast! Then we stopped by sonic for the free mother's day slush (that Caleb dropped on the floor of the van...oh well) We ended up our great day eating Firehouse Subs (kids eat free on Sundays- so Fred and I split a combo and we get 2 kid's meals for free!) I am so thankful to be a mom. It really is the best job in the world. Thank You, God for allowing me to be the momma of Joshua, Anna Bell, and Caleb. They are a treasure. I am humbled by the fact that You've blessed us with these little babies. ...And thank You, God for my great mom. I am so thankful for a mom that loves You most of all and loves my children. Her wisdom is a continuous blessing as I learn to be a mommy myself. And thank You for a husband who constantly loves and encourages me. Oh, I am so blessed! Thank You, sweet Jesus!

3. Trip home: Check out what we drove through on our way back from St. Louis!!!! The news did not do justice to the crazy flooding all over Nashville! We only saw the devastation right off of I24, but that alone was wild!

4. More pics of the wedding weekend: This is the only picture that I took of the actual day. (I was a little busy!:)) Becca and Aaron had a great photographer, so I'm excited to see all of the pictures of their day. ...I'm really bummed because I don't think that anyone ever got a shot of the Broome family:(

I got to see my good friend, Shelly-- no surprise to those of you who know her, but she was a huge help with the wedding! Love you, Shell!

My lovely, wonderful, sweet sisters. I love them so much and miss them every day.

5. Sewing: I haven't done much sewing lately. But I did add these cute little flowers to AB's sandals to dress them up and match with her dress for the wedding. I just hot glued them on, so they were easy to pull off afterwards.

I made this little dress for my newest niece, Zemma. We can't wait for her to come home!!!!!

6. Strawberry patch: Yeah- I LOVE strawberry season! We've already gone twice this spring and will hopefully go at least one more time.

7. New Couch: I cannot even tell you how many times my sweet husband has couch-shopped with me! I finally found one that I really liked at a great price, so we have a new couch! I love it...now I just need to find the perfect and cheap chair to go with it:)

Wow-wee. I love random posts.