Lily's Birthday slideshow

Lori Mercer is such a wonderful photographer. She took the most amazing pictures of Lily's 5th birthday party. I am sharing them below in the slideshow she created. Please make sure your sound is up when you watch the slideshow.

Happy 5th Birthday Lily

Happy Birthday Lily

Lily at one

Sweet Lily has changed my life in so many ways. She has made being a mommy one of the most fulfilling things about my life. Her smile and laughter complete me. Her huge blue eyes melt me. She is funny, smart, happy, energetic and completely adorable. I am head over heels in love with my sweet little Lily - She is five today. I miss the way she sucked her two middle fingers. But, I love the new ways she can communicate with me. I miss snuggling and feeding her in the middle of the night. But, I LOVE that she pitter pats into my room and climbs into bed beside me. I miss dressing her in adorable little baby clothes. But, I love the way she chooses her own clothes now. - Change is bittersweet - though it brings many new joys! I can't wait to see the wonderful young woman she becomes -

Guess whos turning five???

My precious baby girl will be five in two days. It is bittersweet. Time goes by so fast and they grow up right before your eyes. I am so glad she is growing up strong and healthy but on the other hand, I miss her sweet baby face and cute toddle.

Yesterday we celebrated in grand style at the Party Palace with Cinderella, the Godmother and a surprise visit in the end by Belle. Lori Mercer photographed the event for us and my very talented friend Jennifer made this fabulous cake for her:

I can't wait to share all the wonderful pictures of the day with you. But for now, is not the prettiest cake fit for a princess???

My Pirate & Princess

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

We have been gone - to Disney World again!!!! It was awsome of course. The Christmas decor was up and everything was beautiful. We took it easy this year and just enjoyed each other. Instead of booking it in the parks everyday we took some time to do some relaxing things instead. This year we let Sean go on the Pirate cruise from our resort, the Grand Floridian. He really loved it. We also went to a snazzy hair salon where Buddy had his hair cut. The kids did Pirate and Princess makeovers and we did a little celebrating of our little princess Lily's 5th birthday.

I will post pictures soon but for now, you can go here, here and here to see them all.

ZOO DAY 2009

This post is a few weeks late. I just had to share it since it means so much to our family.

Each year the Frazer singles ministers to a very special group of people. We meet them at the Montgomery Zoo. They are the mentally and physically challenged children and adults of our city. A special day is set aside each year around this time to serve them and to just have fun with them. We gather early in the morning in anticipation of their arrival. Some of us come dressed as clowns (myself), some usher around a "special" friend, some serve in other areas such as serving food, handing out goodies and bags or taking pictures. There are many ways to volunteer. This was the ninth year for me and about the eleventh year or greater for Buddy. Zoo Day has become even more special to us each year because our children are now involved. They have come to love these "special" people and have very kind and sensitive hearts for them.


The reason Zoo Day is special to us:

My second Zoo Day was back in 2002. The day before Zoo Day I had learned that the baby inside of me had passed away. This was our third pregnancy and our third loss. I remember wanting to stay home. I was in no mood to go to the zoo dressed as a clown. To put on a happy face for the children when inside I was dying. However, as I laid in the bed feeling sorry for myself, I felt a special pulling in my heart to go in spite of the deep pain of loss I was feeling.


I put on my clown suit. I can remember so clearly being aware that my baby was still inside of me and I was to go have the procedure to terminate the lost pregnancy on the following Monday.


As I "played clown" for all of those "special" children a feeling of guilt kept growing inside of me. I suddenly realized that I had been praying and asking God for a "perfect" child. As Buddy and I got in the car to leave we both dissolved into tears in each other's arms. He had been feeling the same way. We prayed right there in the parking lot of the zoo for God to forgive us. We asked him that if he choose to bless us again with a pregnancy, we would take whatever he gave us. Yes, even a "special" child.


The rest of the story:

The little baby inside of me that day is my sweet 6 year old Sean Flynn. The same baby we were told had no heartbeat, an odd gestational sac, and other problems. We decided to follow the advice of a Fertility specialist in Birmingham and cancel the termination procedure at our local hospital. We drove to Birmingham expecting her to tell us the same news and do the procedure to terminate there. However, to our complete surprise, there was a heartbeat that day which shocked even the Doctors. No one can explain to us what happened. God is a miracle working God and he heard our prayers. I am sure some would say Medical Science could explain it all quite easily. I choose to believe that God brought my baby back to life.


The next year, Zoo Day had the youngest clown ever - 4 month old baby Sean came with his clown mommy dressed as a clown. This year, my precious Lily was a clown for the first time with me. Sean has now graduated to walking around the zoo with some very "special" friends.

Our special boy Sean with daddy - God has BIG plans for Sean...

My sweet Lily being a clown with me

Lily, doing some silly tricks for a very, very special friend, Katy

My favorite time of year...

I love this time of year. There is such anticipation. Fall festivals, school plays, Thanksgiving planning, Christmas wishing. We have had to miss a few things this year (the Fair, Holiday Market, school Fall festival and a few other things) because of my surgery. I was beginning to think we would have to miss our annual trip of visiting the pumpkin patch as well. However, on Sunday we surprised the kids and made a spontaneous trip to Dream Fields in Union Springs and had the best time. The weather was perfect. We took my neice, Sophia along with us.

H A P P Y

A U T U M N !!!!!!!

Once upon a time.....

There were four little girls in striped tights..........

They played, ran, giggled, and hugged - these four little girls!

Sophia GraceLily Christine

Abigail Elise

Arianna Rose


They were the best of cousins - these four little girls.

And they all lived "Happily ever after".....

"Life is Good"

Has it really been almost a month????

We have been quite busy lately. With both of us working, Lily in ballet, both kids in soccer, Frazer singles group on Tuesday, Church on Wednesday, volunteer work with "In Christ's Way", football season (ROLL TIDE by the way) and an endless stream of birthday parties, life never slows down.

The past few weeks have been pretty exciting. The biggest news is that we are planning our seventh Disney trip. I am almost embarrassed to say it though. Our spring break trip was a little rough because of my seizures. However, I am thrilled to say that I have been seizure free for months now and I am excited about getting a "second chance" at this years vacation. Going around the holidays is going to be exciting with all the Christmas decorations up at Disney. It is also Lily's birthday so we are looking forward to making it a special celebration time for her.

Last Friday we took the kids to ASF to see the wonderful ballet performance of "Gloria" and "Midsummer Nights Dream". It was simply amazing. Miss Lily, of course, fell asleep towards the end. On Saturday, Buddy took a VERY excited little "Bug" to a Daddy/Daughter dance. She is all about her daddy. I didn't go because I wanted it to be their special night. So, I got dressed up, got Sean dressed up and took my little man somewhere special. We had a "date" together at Chili's. He was beaming as I let him pay with the credit card and sign the receipt. We also had a great time with a wonderful photographer, Derrick Griffin, (link to come soon) as he set up studio in our home and took some wonderful portaits of the kids. I can hardly wait to share all the pictures.

Parties, parties and more parties... We have averaged about two birthday parties a weekend over the past month!

This weekend will keep pace with the previous ones. Buddy and I finally get another "Date night" tomorrow night. We have a sitter coming so we can go see a play at AUM, a local University where Buddy teaches.
On Saturday we will be going to something that is very special to us, Frazer Zoo Day! It is a wonderful ministry to Montgomery's handicapped and mentally challenged citizens. Lily and I will dress as clowns and Sean and Buddy will escort some very special people around the zoo.
There is a very personal story behind Zoo Day which I will share one day. We will wrap up the day with football, of course, (ROLL TIDE again) and a birthday party for a very special little girl who is turning one! Our niece Arianna Rose. And the weekend would not be complete without worshipping God. On Sunday, Jim Cavesil who portrayed Christ in the movie "The Passion of the Christ", will be speaking at our church.

Yes, I am looking forward to another busy yet deliriously wonderful weekend with the ones I love the most.

LIFE IS GOOD......

Lily meets Hello Kitty

Girls Day Out

Lily and I had a wonderful and much needed mommy & me time together yesterday. We started our day by painting our toes and getting Lily dressed in her favorite color. We headed out the the mall for a fun time with Hello Kitty and tea and cupcakes. Lily's friend Amy met us and eventually cousin Sophia and my sister Heather. They had so much fun coloring pictures and doing a puzzle of Hello Kitty. We enjoyed shopping and getting some cool Hello Kitty gear - all pink of course :-)

After we left the mall Heather and I took the girls to our favorite deli - Chappy's! After lunch we enjoyed ice cream and chocolate cheese cake. What a fabulous girls day out!

Frogbelliesandblossoms - Christmas Launch

Shhhhhhh - Sneak Peek

Miss Lily models another set for Mrs Julia!

click here to see the ebay link on this set

School Girl....

Lily loves being in K4 this year. I love, love, love her little uniforms. I got her a new ribbon for her to go with it so of course we had to model.

Time for soccer

Soccer Practice

The kids started practicing for the new fall soccer season. This is Lily's first year and she is so excited. She is really quite good and got right into it. They will have their first game next Saturday.

A sneak peek.......

Here are a few pics of my girl in Julia's latest creation. Please check back soon for her listing on this fun set.

Little Angels

Two sweet little brothers

My very dear friend Candace has been visiting from England for the summer. Sadly, she will be leaving on Sunday. I will miss her beyond words. Yesterday, however, I had the great pleasure of doing a fun photo shoot with her two precious little ones. These boys are a bundle of energy and sweetness and just light up the room whenever they visit.

I put together a little video slide show of some of my favorite shots. You will need to go to the bottom of my page and pause my music before you play the slide show.

Back to School

My babies went back to school today. They both love school so there were no tears from either of them. Sean jumped right up this morning, ran strait to his clothes and threw them on. He was so excited. Lily on the other hand had to get as much beauty rest as she could. She slept until the last possible minute and I had to pry her nightgown off of her to get her dressed. She was bouncy by the time she sat down to eat though. As you might see in the pictures, she had a barbie doll with a matching uniform. I just could not pass it up when I saw it in the uniform shop.

They had a great first day. Of course, you know we had to go out and celebrate so we all went to Chappy's for lunch.

What a great day!!!!

Back to School

Lily starts ballet

Lily's ballet class will be starting Monday. This year she has moved up from creative movement into pre-ballet. The ballet school she attends uses a certain color leotard for each level of ballet. She has been in pink for the last two years, so she is thrilled that she is now moving up to a big girl class and is wearing a red loetard. Although she was a little disappointed that she could not wear her FAVORITE color anymore.

Our trip to Massachusetts

I posted just a few of our Boston pics below. I have so much more to share about our trip.

The kids had so much fun and learned as well. The trip was indeed an adventure for them as they flew in an airplaine, took several "real" train rides, rode the underground/subway and took buses and shuttles around the big city. We kept them on the go the entire time and they were such troopers. They will make great world travelers with us one day :-)

We had a great time going into the city and also visited Plymouth and Concord Massachusets. In Plymouth we took the kids to see Plymouth Rock and the town was breathtaking. Concord was my favorite though. We ate at a darling cafe in the town square and took the kids to see the homes of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Walso Emmerson. The highlight of Concord was when we took the kids to visit the real Sleepy Hollow Cemetary (as in - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) There were graves of many famous authors. Don't ask me why, we just love cemetaries and this one was just so historical and beautiful. This was actaully Sean's second trip. We took him to all these places when he was around 8 weeks old.

The trip was not all about visiting Boston and the surrounding areas though. We actually flew there for a long anticipated family reunion and surprised my father who has been batteling with cancer. He was so excited to get to see his grandkids. We also got to see my grandmother and many other relatives we have not seen in years. Heather and Sophie came with us and this was especially exciting because our relatives had never even met little Sophie who is already six. It had been close to eight years since Heather had last visited. We had a great time with all of them and I have lots of pictures I will be posting of all that very soon.

In Boston

We ate lunch at the Cheers place

Lily eating ice cream at the train station

the kids in Beacon Hill. I loved that area, breathtaking!!!!

Waiting for a train to take us into Boston

Waiting for the subway

Heather in front of the John Hancock building

Walking down a street in Boston

A quick "catch up"...

I am SERIOUSLY behind on this blog thing..... many of you have emailed or called to check on me and I appreciate your concern. YES! I am ok.... I have not had any recent health problems and am doing great. I feel better than I have in months and am STILL seizure free.

It has been a very busy summer for us and my laptop is with a gentleman who is doing some recovery work on it after we reformatted it and lost a lot of pictures. I miss my laptop and even though we have several other computers, It is just not the same. I have missed blogging and facebooking but have to say that I have gotten more done in these last few weeks without my computer. Proof that I am a little more than addicted :-)

I have so much to post and so many new pictures to share. I will do it hopefully this week!

As I mentioned above, we have had a busy but tremendously exciting summer. After our beach trip I began working my new job (which I love) and also volunteering at the Clothes closet at Frazer. Between those two things, trying to spend time with the kids and the normal everyday "stuff", I have pretty much been on the run constantly. I helped with Vacation Bible school this year! That was a blast. Then, we spent some time in Boston, Concord, Plymouth and Halifax and really had a great time. I am going to save it all for the pictures to post details, but, it really was one of the highlights of our summer so far.

School starts next week and the kids are excited about that. I think I am more ready than they are. I will miss them, but, I am excited about things getting back to normal around here.

They are both playing fall soccer, Lily will be back in ballet and hopefully Sean will start piano lessons. I am really anxious about Lily starting, but, I think she is a bit young yet. Her fingers are still so tiny.

This week a very special young lady is staying as our house guest. She was my flower girl in my wedding over seven years ago. I have not seen her in a bit over four years and was so happy when we finally re-connected. I am looking forward to keeping her entertained this week and posting lots of pics of her as well. The kids are just crazy about her already as they are getting reacquainted. Lily was 6 months and Sean was about two last time she visited.

Well, I meant for this to be a short note and it is too long already so I will close. I will post again WITH PICTURES very soon!

Heidi

New! - Who knew?

This is a very exciting post for me. I have so much news to share and don't know where to begin.....

I am thrilled to say that I am feeling so much better and am now seizure free. I have been taken off all of the meds and can not begin to say how much better I feel. A "new" person would describe it well :-) Thanks for all of your prayers and concern. God is truely moving and working miracles for us.


After many prayers, I have been blessed with a new job. The new job was an absolute blessing and I know that I am going to be very happy where God has placed me. I will miss those sweet little faces at Montessori but I really feel that this move is exactly right..

I am working for a fantastic ministry. It is called Child Evangelism Fellowship. You can go here or here to read more about it. My official job title is: Office Manager. But, you know me, that sounds a little formal. HA! I am excited that I will in some way being doing just a small part of God's work through this. I am thrilled to be working in a christian environment and also back in an office which is what I love and have always done.


I will also be volunteering at Frazer (my church) in a way that is quite personal to me, food pantry and clothing ministry. I remember quite well how those ministries so helped us when I was growing up.


Another new thing I am doing is working - actually volunteering - in the kitchen on Tuesday nights at my church for the singles event TNT or "Tuesday night Together". It has been a wonderful and fun experience for me.



One side note: this Tuesday, June 30th is Spirit Night at Chick-fil-a. Proceeds from the sales from 5-9pm (as long as you let them know who you are there for) will go towards this wonderful ministry.

for more information, follow this link if you have a facebook account

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=116124565752&ref=nf

Fun at the beach....

Orange Beach

We took a much needed relaxing vacation to the beach last week. The weather was perfect and our moods were all great. We had a wonderful time enjoying the sand and the ocean (and doing a few other fun things). It was by far one of our best beach trips ever!

Where we stayed

I used a filter on a software program I have to create this sketch like picture of our condo!

Beach portraits 2009

We decided to wait until our second day to get out and do some beach pictures. After the shoot we went to a wonderful place to eat called Grazie. It was (in Lily's words) a Fancy place to eat. It was a wonderful evening.

Me and my boy

Me and my girl

Me & my sweet angels

Daddy and his boy..

Sean's hair is a bit long - time for a haircut

Daddy with his girl....

Daddy with his babies...

Gulf Shores

We took a break from the beach and took the kids to The Track in Gulf Shores. They had a blast. We rode bumper boats and did the go carts several times. The kids rode all the kid rides and Sean even got a chance to drive his own go cart. We drove to Foley another day for a little outlet mall shopping.

We were not late for THIS very important date!

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party

by The Party Palace

the Queen of Hearts

Lily with Alice and the Queen

Sean and Tyler: boys have fun too!

Sophia Grace

Sean


Sean and E.G.

Everyone had a blast!

thank you Party Palace!


We had so much fun on Saturday at the Mad Hatter's tea party! Alice was there to greet the children as they each took a seat around the table for a grand tea party. Later the children helped Alice find the white rabbit and even painted the white roses red. But this did not sit well with the Queen of Hearts as she came out screaming "off with their heads"! The kids were entertained by Alice and the Queen and each had an opportunity to take pictures with them. It was a day will not soon forget.

If you have not been to the Party Palace yet for an event you need to check them out

http://www.the-party-palace.net/

The next event is "To Infinity and Beyond" and we are definitely not going to miss that one! See ya there....

Double Trouble

Sean and Sophia

These two are absolutely inseparable. There is a wonderful story about our pregnancies with them which my sister and I love to share. Our due dates were two weeks apart so these two have been best pals since birth. I used to lay Sophie on my belly before Sean was born. She has always loved to "hug" her cousin. They truly have a special bond as do my sister and I.

Two sweet sisters visit the Murphys

Sean and Lily absolutely adore these two girls. They are my best friend's daughters and stayed two days with us. They are just the sweetest girls and are such a big help to me with the kids. I took all of the kids out for a fun photo shoot and snapped these and much more. We also went to the Art museum and out to lunch.

Lily is invited to her very first POOL PARTY on Saturday and she is beyond excited. Since school is now out, she has really been missing all her little friends. Her classmate, Drew, is having his birthday party at the YMCA so this will be the perfect opportunity for her to see them all again. Of course, we have to be "dressed to impress" for the occasion. Lately, all Lily talks about is being "fashionable". I just about fell over when she said that the other day. And, what is fashion for a little southern girl without attire involving either smocking or a monogram? I had a tough time deciding folks... (really tough)!

In fact, I held on to a smocked swimsuit and the Bailey Boys one I ended up with until the last possible minute. Oh yeah, I also had the most adorable Kate Mack suit that I just could not let go of. The thing is, I could only get one. Oh, by the way, I was at Stork land and "they ain't cheap"! LOL.... Luckily, I had a gift certificate and that helped out. I had gotten a flyer in the mail that had the Bailey Boys one advertised in several different colors and it was just too darn precious. I decided the blue would best match her eyes and of course had to have the matching bow :-)

I think she should be on the cover of the swimsuit edition (a little tykes version or course). How about you? HaHa

Learning can be fun!

I am learning some things that I have always wanted to learn about taking pictures. Blurring backgrounds is something I have really been dying to learn to do. Thanks to a favorite blog and my great friend Lori, I learned a little about something called aperture. I also learned that there is Oh so much I just do not know about taking the perfect picture..... But, I am having great fun learning!!!!!

Here are some practice shots:

One of my gardenias that is not quite as white anymore :-(

Sean's plant

A picture of Lily that I actually blurred (the background) myself in edit using her technique.

I like BIG bows and I cannot lie......

HA!

Really though, she sure was enjoying this ice cream cone..

It is always fun watching her eat ice cream. She loves it so much!

Our little Ballerina

Our sweet girl absolutely loves ballet.... Sadly, we had to take her out a few months ago since I was not able to drive her and Buddy was teaching evenings. Seeing all of her friends and her cousin do their recitals has been fun, but, I could not help feeling sorry for my sweet girl that she has missed out. Yesterday, Sean, Buddy & I had a great idea to let her have a recital for us. We made it very formal. We put music on and took our seats in the living room as she danced in front of us. She was so beautiful. We took pictures and gave her flowers (I happened to have some on hand) at the end. I could tell she was taking it very seriously. She had the "audience" all to herself and just captured our hearts as she usually does.

The sweetest sleep

Buddy snapped this shot of Me & Sean taking a nap yesterday. I love snuggling down with my kids for a nap. It is the most relaxing sleep!

Another milestone for our "Miracle Boy"!

Sean had his kindergarten graduation ceremony today.

As Buddy & I sat and watched him walk up to receive his diploma I could not help remembering the miracle of his being here with us to celebrate such a momentous little occasion.

Words echoed in my mind as he stood on the stage in front of me and time stood still for a brief moment. Words like: "no fetal pole", "odd gestational sac", "eight weeks and still no heartbeat" and "Mrs Murphy, with beta pregnancy numbers this high we both know the baby should have a heartbeat by now"! And the most painful words that will forever ring in my mind and remind me of the miracle of it all - "termination Heidi"! "There is just no heartbeat"!

I sat in stunned, but proud silence today as I watched my baby boy walk across the stage, remembering that I actually was on the hospital schedule to receive the ordered D & C to terminate the pregnancy of my precious child. But, how could anyone have known? Anyone but God that is. He knew the whole time.

I watched him with tears in my eyes as he shook the principals hand today and took his little diploma. Remembering all the prayers of faith, the canceled D & C and the second opinion. Remembering the Dr. telling me there was a heartbeat after all and me refusing to believe it. It was all a whirlwind of emotion today as our son achieved another milestone in his precious life. And, it always will be....

I never take for granted the miracle of my son, Sean!

My sweet Lily

I just had to post a closer look at this picture (previously included in a collage) of my baby girl...

A bundle of sweetness! And a little attitude. :-)

Busy week & Sean's birthday

Last week was a very busy week. Beginning with church choir programs for both kids, school programs & parties, and ending with Sean's birthday party. I have so many pictures to share. I don't really like sharing them in a collage, but there are just to many. If you click on the collage, you should be able to get a closer look at the pictures. I am working on some slide shows and maybe a video clip or two.

Sean's birthday party was a blast!

We had all the food catered in and hired Darth Vader to entertain the kids. I made the boys Jedi robes and the girls wore Princess Leia robes. The "Yoda Soda" that I made to drink was a big hit with the kids. We bought light sabers for each of the boys and they all "battled" it out in the back yard. After the party as the guests were leaving, I heard several boys saying "I want my party to be Star Wars too"!

I think I may be ready for another party in about 6 months. Ha! I really am glad that the Sean and Lily have birthdays so far apart. It does give me plenty of time to recuperate and plan :-)

Sean's 6th Birthday

STAR WARS PARTY

Birthday Boy

Guests

Decorations

The Girls

Fun with Darth Vader

Water Fun...

Our niece Sophie has a very special place in our hearts. She and Sean are practically inseparable and have been since they were babies. She was not going to be able to come to Sean's birthday party on Saturday because of her dance recital so we let her spend the night before the party with us and be a part of all the preparations. We took a break from all the cleaning and decorating for some fun in the water on Friday afternoon. I had the best time capturing all the fun they had.

Sean's end of year school party

Sean's kindergarten year is quickly coming to a close. Last Thursday, May 14th, we went with his class to Ace Bowling center for a party. He had such a fun time and we took plenty of pictures of it all. The kids bowled a few games and enjoyed a pizza party afterwards. It was such a joy to be able to share all the excitement with him and his freinds.

Lily's K3 Preschool program & end of year party

Lily had her end of year program and party on Friday May 15th

She was really cute performing, and at one point she even yelled out "Hi Daddy"!

It was priceless. After the program we went back to her class and she presented us with a big book of some very special "work" she had done for us.

The day was all about Lily since there was still more excitement to come. We all went to a park where the end of the year party was held. It was exciting watching her play with all of her Friends and capturing some very special moments of her. Sean was still at school so we really enjoyed getting to spend some time with just her.

After the party we headed over to Chappy's Deli where a few other parents and her friends were having lunch. It was a very special day!

Lily's program marked the end of K3 - now it's off K4 - Our baby girl is growing up!

Lily with a few of her friends and her teacher

Kid's spring program at church

Sean's choir K5 through 2nd grade

Lily's Cherub choir K3 & K4

Sean, Lily & Makenzie before the program:

Sean with some friends after the program (bottom right corner)

Cousins

I just love this shot I captured a few days ago of Sean with two of his cousins. Arianna is the little one, my brother's baby girl and the other is Sophia my sister's youngest child. Sean just adores babys and he and Sophia are inseparable. We had so much fun the other night when they all came over to visit.

Planning Sean's 6th Birthday party

We spent much of today preparing for Sean's 6th birthday party next Saturday. It was so much fun planning the details with him and deciding what to serve and what games to play. The biggest excitement of all was deciding to book Darth Vader as the surprise guest.

I am going to take it easy this year and have Chick-fil-a catered in. Icing Illusions will do the cake and I am also making cupcakes to line the middle of the table and made to look light a green light saber. I will make a "Yoda Soda" as I had originally planned and he is really excited about that. It will be a green punch of sorts....

I am planning to have little Jedi robes (capes) made for each of the boys and I will do some white ones for the girls (Princess Leia). I will ties them with some rope and silver ribbons.

One very important detail that I was a little late getting made were the invitations. I wanted them to be unique but was at a loss.

Thanks to the help of my great friend Jennifer this is what we came up with. Since these are a little late, I have already called many people and will send some e-vites out. This was an extra special touch I did not want to leave out. I think the boys will get a big kick out of these.

Thank you Jennifer!!! I love these!!!!

Newest creation by: Frogbelliesandblossoms

Take a look at this beautiful set by Julia -

And the lovely little Miss Sophia (my niece) modeling it!

A sweet moment

Although the frustration of sibling rivalry is often pretty common around here, this is how my children feel about each other much of the time.

Expressions of Spring

Learning from Mr. Bill

Our neighbor Mr. Bill knows almost everything about planting and growing things. He has the most beautiful landscaping with flowers and things around his house. The kids just adore him. Recently Sean brought a little plant home from school and wanted Mr. Bill to teach him all about how to take care of it. Here are pictures of their time together. It was so precious that I just had to capture the moment. My favorite picture is the one of their "hands"....

A day in the Park....

A few weeks ago a very dear friend of mine and her two daughters picked me and the kids up for a fun filled Saturday. We packed a picnic lunch and headed for the park. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the outdoors. After the park we headed to Marble Slab for some ice cream! YUM.....

LOOK at this cake.....

I have a friend who can do just about anything. She (I helped a little) did Sean's Toy Story cake last year. You may also know her as the lady Lily models for, "Mrs. Julia" a very multi talented and just all around sweet person.

Anyway, I think I may have finally found Julia's weekness. I am planning a Star Wars party for Sean's birthday and Sean has decided that he wants a Yoda cake. We found a picture of a cake and showed it to her.....she was not exactly sure about it. HA!

hmmmmm, I wonder about the talented Mrs Lester????

While I have some extra time on my hands here in the hospital and to get my mind off of missing my kiddos I will be working on some party details and designing his invitation. It is a little joke about the cake though. He really, really does want this cake. I think it looks creepy! Ha..

I was thinking of doing something a little easier like maybe cupcakes in a row (light saber) and making them grey and lime green. Tell me what ya'll think. Any ideas?

Smile

Cannon EOS 50D SLR -SWEET-

We decided it was time to do a little upgrade. Meanwhile, my sister got a great deal on our other camera, the cannon 20D, which is very close to this one. We will have so much fun taking pictures of our kiddos together. Now that makes me smile :-)

Mommy gets a PINK party ( well...sorta )

Buddy & I usually celebrate OUR birthdays for the kids. They insist on a party for us complete with a cake and all. So we oblige. This year we went pink for my birthday with some of the leftovers from Lily's Pinkalicious party. She was very pleased. Buddy took her & Sean to pick out a cake and they set up the table (with a tiny bit of help from mommy).

My sweet co-workers

I have been resting at home for the last few weeks after a little accident at work. Birthdays are always a big deal where I work. For the children, there is a special song we sing after the happy birthday song that says: "we're glad you were born". It is very sweet and never fails to bring tears to my eyes. In fact I still have Sean's "celebration of life" from his Montessori class on video. Anyway, we always get together for the teachers and try to do something special. A card goes around and each person signs it and we will be surprised in class with out favorite flowers and a gift card and usually a chocolate cake of some sort. AND of course the Birthday songs... I was feeling a little down that I would not be at work for my birthday so imagine my shock and surprise when several of my co-workers brightened my day by showing up on my front porch with "the works" from the school. My favorite Calla Lillies, a chocolate cake, a gift card from Kohls, the sweetest little card painted by my "kids" and one from my co-workers, personal gifts from some of them (thank you Carmen, Jen & Gert) and they stood in front of my house and very loudly sang the "happy birthday song" followed by "we're glad you were born"! How sweet is that?

Lily"rella's" slippers don't fit anymore

It was a sad, sad Sunday morning a few weeks ago when Lily insisted she wear her favorite little slip on ballerina flats to Sunday school and they did not fit. I knew they were getting much too tight on her and had tucked them away in her drawer wanting to have them shadow boxed with a favorite dress she had already outgrown. We went round and round and she shed many tears. However, she found them and jammed her little feet into them anyway. She ran into the great room and yelled "tada"! It was hilarious! I could not help but laugh at her. I wish I had taken a picture of her feet. She actually looked like the stepsisters in the Cinderella movie. Her foot was about to pop out and you could actually see under her arch and into the shoe.

These will forever be her favorite shoes I think, and mine.

Grandparents Day - a late post

I meant to post these pictures a few weeks ago but I have gotten really behind on my blogging lately. I really do have a good excuse :-)

Oh, I am planning yet another party! Sweet Sean will be turning 6 in a few weeks. This year he is all about everything Star Wars so I am running with that. I have discovered this is really popular for boys parties and have actually found many good ideas. Easy ones too which is good for me as I am having some health problems lately. I will not go into it at the time, But, I do ask for your prayers as I will be spending some time in the hospital this week at UAB for tests. If you want to know more you are welcome to email me at minnie7010@gmail.com and I will share some details with my close friends.

In the meantime enjoy these sweet pictures of Sean & Lily with my mom and Nell on Grandparent's Day at their school

Easter 2009

Stop and smell the flowers

We got dressed early Easter morning to have plenty of time to take pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes. They are crazy about flowers and so sweet about bringing some to me. I did not rush or pose them in this shoot and was glad I got some great candid shots especially this one of Sean....

What can I say? The girl likes PINK!!!!!!!!

In the words of a Facebook friend... Lily went monochromatic at the church Easter egg hunt this year. She has been a little stuck on pink ever since the Pinkalicious party. But this, well.... this was a little over the top. I think I may be getting a little worried about her now. She absolutely refused to pick up any eggs that were not pink. Oh well, she's just Lily I guess :-)

Co-Pilots..... Riding up front on the monorail

Getting to ride on the front of the monorail can be a bit tricky. We actually were not even trying this year. We came to the ramp empty one afternoon accept for one family standing in the front spot where you would board with the pilot. We actually rode once a few years back on Sean's birthday. He did not mention it this trip so we were not going to go out of our way to try for it. Believe me, it is really hard to get up there.... Anyway, we just got in line to get in on another seat and the lady approached us and asked us if we wanted to ride up front. She said we would have to wait for the monorail to cycle around once and then again if we wanted to do it but it was going to Epcot and that was the best ride since it circles all around the park. Of course we said yes!

The kids were so excited... again! They got flight wings and a co-pilot licence and here is some of what got to see from the front.

Our little Photographer

Last year we let Sean take a few pictures with our camera and he showed a real interest so this year we decided to let him have our old digital camera. He was completely on his own which meant we were a little slower in the parks. It was so cute though watching him. It also meant that he did not always want his pictures with the characters. He wanted to take pictures of them and some of Lily with them.

Here is some of his work: completely unedited or cropped

We captured him first doing his "thing"...

He wanted one of us in front of the castle

He posed us this way. I know..... we look way to serious!

Our Resort -

Jungle Cruise - from a moving boat

A nice lady taking photopass pictures at Chef Mickey's (he asked)

Time Out!

I don't really remember what was going on here! I saw this picture in the mix when we got home and I just thought it was funny. Buddy could not remember either. He was probably having one of his daily fits about wanting to go down to the resort arcade to play video games. This time came much to early but I think he actually would have preferred to swim and play video games all day then go to the parks :-)

(seriously, I thought boys are like 12 when they start this)

sigh.... he did have a blast though!

A Room With a View

This year we stayed at the Contemporary Resort. It was our 7th wedding anniversary and we wanted it to be special. Our first day there was also St. Patrick's Day. All the times I joke about "Murphy's Law" we sure did have the luck of the Irish on this day. You will see us below in a photo we took with the resort supervisor Ms. Judy (or as Lily affectionately called her, fairy Godmother). When we booked there were only two rooms left in all of Disney and let me tell you, they were not the best of rooms. Cheap? No way but when you are desperate you take what you can get.

Anyway, the lady in reservations assured us that even though we were out of luck getting a castle view room she would at least put us up high so we would not have to hear the monorail noise (that is the resort that the monorail passes strait through) and since it was our anniversary she would try really hard. We were very disappointed though when we got there and our room was not only on the lowest floor (5th, and monorail is on 4th) but also facing 24/7 construction. Buddy went down to see how he could sweet talk someone. He got lucky when he ran into:

"Fairy Godmother"!

We were only hoping for a room a little higher up. But, imagine our very pleasant surprise when we were given a room on the 10th floor with this fabulous view.....

The Castle at Magic Kingdom - Buddy took these from our balcony

Grand Floridian Resort and Spa -where we usually love to stay!

The Polynesian Resort

Monorail view - kids loved this..

We really enjoyed our room. The castle was so beautiful at night. I could hardly go to sleep from staring at it. It stayed lit up all night. I woke up a few times in the very early hours and would go look out at it just to see if it was still lit up. We were out late most nights but stayed in our room one night to see the fire works over the castle and it was wonderful. Lily sat on my lap on our balcony and told us it was the best night of her life. We could also see a nightly boat parade that came by in the Seven Seas Lagoon and that was pretty neat. We loved our room -Thank you again Fairy Godmother -AKA: Ms. Judy

I loved this.......

Power Rangers

We actually stood in the Power Ranger lines this year. I don't know how but we caught them pretty short. Everyone must have been over at the new Toy Story Mania ride. (more on that later) The kids were pumped. Sadly though we did not get blue ranger and the yellow one was a photopass and will be on our disk.

They were doing these hilarious and totally unprovoked poses in front of the car just before all the rangers got on and drove off. They had a blast here.....

Lily rides the "Tea Cups"

Lily was the only one who wanted to ride the "tea cup" ride. Sean though it was a baby ride and went on the Indy speedway with his daddy. I was stuck riding it with her and it was tough because things that spin tend to make me a little nauseous. I though I would take you back on the ride with her though because I did not realize I had gotten all these expressions as we rode. She loved it...

Please enjoy the Mad Tea Party with Lily

She's ready

getting started.......

lets go faster......

I'm getting a little dizzy.......

soooo much fun......

I'm done.........

Why I love Disney at Spring time - Epcot Flower and Garden Festival 2009

WHAT... Mommy has not made a single Disney post yet?

Listen y'all! I know you have been waiting to see and hear all about Disney world and I promise it is all coming very soon. In fact it will be tonight I think. At least some of it. We got home Sunday night and woke up Monday morning for the weekly rat race of work and school and with two nights of church so far this week and an emergency visit to the doctor with Lily due to an injury we have not had much time.

I just uploaded all the pics from our two cameras and we let Sean use our old digital so you will get to see some of his work (which is pretty good by the way). We also have the Disney PhotoPass pictures on disk coming in the mail soon. But I can't show those until they get here.

We had a good time considering the rather large spring break crowds. I will say that we had some very interesting and adventurous moments this trip. some funny and some not so funny moments.

The kids got much more out of this trip then ever before. They were a great age this time. Sean loves all the big rides and is tall enough for all of them. He is my little partner because Buddy surely will have no part of any of it. My little daredevil did the Tower of Terror two times and the biggest, newest and most intense roller coaster there: Expedition Everest. We did it at night which made it a little more intense and I have to admit I was a lot afraid on that thing. He was laughing..... little stinker!

Happy Anniversary My Love

Seven years ago today I married you, the most wonderful man on earth. Our love has endured some tests. It grew stronger. We faced some sorrow and loss together. It brought us closer. We patiently waited for the family we longed for and leaned on the faith of one another after each heartbreaking loss. We trusted in God and he gave us our desires. Two precious miracles, our children Sean and Lily. Thank you for loving me. You are a Godly man, loving husband and devoted father. Happy Anniversary. May the next seven years be even better..... I love you!

Look who's ready for Spring Break 2009

My Little Miss Sunshine....
We were busy all day packing and getting some last minute things done and ready to get away for our big spring break trip. We picked this cute little swim suit up last night at Sam's for Lily and of course she had to model it for us today. She actually thought she was modeling for Mrs. Julia of(Frogbelliesandblossoms), our fabulous children's clothing designer friend. She usually models for her and we had just finished doing a huge shoot for her a few days ago so I guess she was in that mode.
I thought this suit was precious though and could not resist taking a break today to snap her picture in it.

Yes, I still blog................

I'm back after hiding out for a bit. I've started an actual post several times. I've started a post in my head a million times.

We have had a crazy past few weeks. There are so many things I want to post about and I know I will never catch up. Cute things that I wanted to share but have forgotten now.

There are some things I would like to share but can't. I will just let you know that we are all fine. I have had a few med changes and have been trying to adjust. Buddy had a small procedure and is fine and Sean is recovering from his broken foot. He will finally get his cast off Friday.

We are taking a SPRING BREAK vacation to an undisclosed location. And although some of our closest friends do know I will let you in on the secret too. It's our seventh anniversary and we decided to go somewhere with the kids. We have hired a sitter where we are we will be for one of the evenings and have some pretty nice plans for just the two of us which we are both looking forward to.....

Here is a clue: A dream is a wish your heart makes! Figured it out yet?


And now this sweet story:


I had a lot on my mind yesterday. Way to much to stop and be bothered with my four year old. Her soft little voice nagged at me that she was worried about something. How could she be worried I though sarcastically. I selfishly though about all the important things I had on my mind and the things I had to get done.

And then I looked at her. I REALLY looked at her! She looked so worried. I was modeling her in some clothing for Julia. I set the camera down and we had a talk. It was the sweetest (and a little funny) conversation I have ever had with my daughter. I hope I can remember it all.

"Mommy, did God make the wind?" she asked me. I reminded her about the song she sings about the winds and the waves. "mommy, did he make the sunshine"? I told her yes! I was quite surprised when she told me she wished he had not. "Why"? I asked. She tells me it is shining in her eyes and that she can't see. I explained that God made the sun so that everything including her could grow. That was when she explained to me she was so worried. She was worried because she was not growing at all. "Sean's is growing mommy"! "He has been 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and now he is almost 6! I am sooooo tiny and just still 4". She was in tears and it was so real to her. There was just no amount of explaining I could do to her about birth order or the fact that she had a birthday and was 3 a few months ago that could make it all better. And then came her big plan.

"Mommy, I know! I could be God"!!! "No Lily"! I told her she could not be God.... "Yes I can, you can just make me a girl Jesus costume and I can be him" :-) She smiled and went along her sweet little way!

Soooo. I have one child who has such faith it God that he prays for the healing of any and everyone who walks through our front door and now our daughter wants wants to BE God. Lets just hope this is a theatrical thing. Maybe they are doing auditions in Sunday school for the Easter drama or something. :-)

Just like daddy.....

Today will be a very busy day for us. We had another Murphy Dog Hopeful interview this morning. This time it was with a Boston Terrier. I will have more on that later and we have an in-house visit this evening with "April". We have a party to attend in Ramer which we are super pumped about. But now for the reason for this post:

Out of the mouth of babes is truly fitting here:

Sean came into the den crying this morning. He was soaked on his pants and had gotten his cast and the boot wet. I asked what had happened and he told me it was from trying to get ice out of the fridge and water came out. What had happened was that like many times before, he puts water in the cup first and then adds ice..... The water all splashes out on him. I reminded him of how to do it. By this time he was a wreck and crying loudly while saying these words:

"Well I am just like my daddy, I can't remember anything you tell me"!
I am sorry but I just had to laugh. Even Buddy got a good laugh out of this one:-)

A kid "funny" worth sharing.....

I KNOW, I KNOW!!!! I have not been keeping up with my blog lately. I have so much to update you on and some really cute posts in the works. So many cute pictures to share....
However, I have been working extra hours and feeling a little tired lately. It may come a little later then sooner.

Now, this one is so cute.... Buddy was keeping the kids today and had to call me at work to share this with me. He heard the kids talking and thought it was so funny! It went a little something like this:

Lily comes in with a DVD that won't play and keeps skipping.

Sean looks at DVD and says "Oh my goodness, look at the fingerprints"! - (he shows it to daddy)

Daddy is saying at this point this is why the DVD will not play.

Sean: "My eyebrows are popping off! I might have to go to the hospital"!

Sean's first broken bone.....

I guess I should have included this under the weekend post as the "cherry on top" of our perfect weekend since it technically happened yesterday. Sean and buddy were playing around and wrestling on the floor like they always do and Sean flipped on his little foot. Anyway, he broke his foot!

We did not know it until today though. We though something was probably wrong and when he woke up this morning still crying out when he put pressure on it we made an appointment right away. He is getting used to the cast and is loving all the attention.

Daddy promised him a playstation game if it was broken and if he had to get a cast. I think he would have been heartbroken if the x-rays had come back clean. Needless to say, we went right away and got him the game he has been wanting. He will have to wear this cast for four weeks and then we will have some more x-rays.

"Where the vote people live"

We have not been out with the kids for a while. I mean just out somewhere for the fun of it. Saturday was a perfect opportunity. The weather was gorgeous and we were all rested and ready to go somewhere. We thought of the zoo but after we slept in a little to late and had our breakfast, we decided to try something the kids had never done before. We had a few things in mind, but first we went downtown to the Capitol.

First of all I think that the area around the Capitol is beautiful. There are so many nice places to take pictures. The kids wanted to eat at Chris's hot dogs but we decided to wait and see the capitol first . We had just gotten them out of the car when Sean announced that this was the place where the "vote" people lived. He said so sweetly, "Oh, I hope I get to see Obama". I thought that was to cute. I explained to him it was the State Capitol. We looked around and took some pictures....



After all that fun and tons of pictures we decided for some good ole fashioned BBQ for lunch instead of hot dogs. We had not been to Country's BBQ in a long time and it sounded perfect! We had a great lunch and talked about what to do next.

Everyone needed a haircut except me. So we we took a family trip to the salon. What fun. Listening to Sean talk to his stylist was the highlight of the day. He explained in great detail how we got to go to the "castle" (capitol)and that there were lots of statues there (Jefferson Davis) he took pictures with some of them. He told here that it was where the "vote people lived". He even had the had Lily's stylist cracking up.


It was what I would call a perfect day! Of course no day is perfect right? and we have something in this family called Murphy's Law. We got home and got everyone settled in for the evening and talked about what to do for dinner. But I was still feeling giddy from our wonderful day. I decided to go out one more time. I went to Movie Gallery to use the mailer certificate to Buy one get one free. Sean wanted to come with me to get a PlayStation game.

I am perfectly fine now and was only my pride and maybe poor Sean's that was hurt in the end. But, just before we entered the store, right in the parking lot, I fell! I mean I really fell hard. Busted, skinned knee and hand, twisted ankle, shoe flying off fell........Nice people came over. They helped me up. Sean rubbed my head and when they all walked away he sweetly said "mommy, I hope you're ok, but you embarrassed me a little". But even with my skinned up parts we still had a great day!!!!

Saturday Funnies

Here are some funny, cute and a few smart (ish) things the kids have been saying lately. They make me laugh so many times during the day. Many times I even mean to write things down in their baby books but then forget. These are some that stood out to me and I wanted to share.

Lily: Mommy what planet do we live on? Earth I say.

Lily: Do you think we could move to the planet Saturn since it has rings? Rings are so "fancy".


I was humming Fur Elise today when Sean walked in and heard me. He said: " Mommy, I love
Beethoven too"!


Lily: "Mommy, can you take me to China? They have rivers there and I want to see a river"!



Lily has been on an antibiotic. We usually don't have any problem getting her to take it since they are usually pink and taste like bubble gum. This one however is a different . It is thick, white and does not taste good. Twice a day we go through a pleading and begging then it ends by asking her if she is going to take it the hard way or the easy way. The hard meaning we hold her down and the easy way meaning she takes it on her own then drinks "good juice" real fast to make it better. She opted for the "easy way" each time after much pleading. That was working well until yesterday when she outsmarted me. I asked her the same question as she held her had over her mouth .

Me: "Lily, do you want to take this the hard way or the easy way"?

Lily: "I want to take it the none way"! - She thought she could outsmart us huh?

Not Me Monday

This blog carnival was created by mckmamma. It's fun and therapeutic so just join in the fun.
Go over to her site and to see how it's done.

My Not Me's were on time but I accidentally hit save instead of post before going to bed last night so they are a little late: Is that allowed? :-)

I did not forget my regular set of keys when I went out today thus locking me and the kids out of the house tonight.

I did not get dinner on the table after 8:30 pm and get so busy cleaning up afterward that I forgot to read the bedtime story I promised to my precious four year old daughter. Oh, and she did not fall asleep while waiting for me and end up sleeping with spaghetti on her face - what mother would ever let that happen?

I have not put off writing thank you cards another week. I would never do something like that. I would be such bad etiquette.

I did not bring a 5 pound bag of peanut m&ms to work and put my name on it.

I am not engaged in a silly and desperate attempt with my husband to gain more facebook friends therefore searching out and being accepted by people like Hota Kotb. - Not Me!

I did not forget to fold laundry.

I really, really did not fix lunch boxes for the kids for tomorrow! But that is because we are picking them up early and going to have lunch with dear friends whom we have not seen in a long time. Hopefully I will have pics to post. YAY!

What have you NOT ben doing this week?

Update on Arianna's RSV

Edit to earlier post:

The last I heard I think the baby is getting to go home. Thanks for prayers.... She will go home with neb. treatments and some antibiotics. This was tremendous improvement because I know how bad RSV can be especially when complicated with Pneumonia.

Posted earlier:

I have not been able to be around her still due to the kids and I being sick but I spoke with Sabrina (her mom) this morning. I forgot to mention that she has pneumonia. However, Sabrina said she had a better night last night and seems to be getting better. She was waiting for the Doctor to come in and talk to her.

Daddy's Birthday

I forgot to post this last week! Buddy had a birthday. I won't tell which one :-) The kids picked out everything so it was not fancy. But, everyone was happy and daddy loved that his kids picked him out a Spongebob cake. It made him feel quite youthful I am sure. I made him a very nice dinner. Of course, I don't have any pictures to share. It was a wonderful day.

Praying For Arianna

This is our sweet niece Arianna, my brother's newest daughter. She has been sick with RSV this week. Today she was at a hospital in Prattville, but has just been taken by ambulance to another hospital. Please pray for her. She is very sick and only 4 months old. I know RSV has really been ugly this season as some of my Friend's kids have already had it. A few other relatives have had it as well. We have had many on the prayer list. Please add sweet Arianna. Thank You!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not lay on the sofa the entire weekend in the same clothes and not
do one bit of laundry for myself even though I have nothing to wear once again at the start of a work week.

I am embarrassed to say that I did not do any dishes. But, I have been sick so does that count?

I did not put off going to the grocery store. We are out of milk and everything that matters. I did however scrape up some stuff to make up a nice casserole even though I felt bad and I got kudos from my husband.

I have not put off sending Christmas Thank You cards ....

I Did not fall asleep on the sofa early leaving my kids unattended and wake up in the AM hours finding my 5 year old playing on his playstation.

Well, I'm sure there are tons more I did not do today especially since I was not feeling well and laying on the sofa a good bit of the day. But, that will have to do for my very first

Not Me Monday!

Still here...

Checking in to say:
Just a little under the weather (or under the covers I should say). I just wanted to let you know that we are all fine and being lazy around the house. Getting absolutely nothing done and enjoying the extra long weekend off. I have literally been laying on the couch since Friday evening. Buddy had a small procedure done Friday morning and is fine. I just seemed to have a terrible head cold. It is getting better but now seems to be draining down into my lungs and I am a little nervous. So, to the Dr I will be headed this week to get myself on some meds.

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged by Kristi

Go to the 4th folder, pull up the 4th picture and post it, describing it.

Here I am on my wedding day with three very special little boys. My two nephews Spencer and Benjamin and my Great Nephew Everett. I remember the day so clearly and how funny they were. Each of them added their own little flair to the wedding and made everyone laugh. Spencer was so serious, Everett was swinging the pillow during the ceremony and Ben was instructing the Flower girl how to drop the petals in great detail. That was seven years ago and these boys are almost grown but I still laugh when I see this picture.

I'm tagging:

Heather

Teresa

Amy

Leigh

A saturday Full of Birthday Partys

a late post......

Saturday we had five birthday party invitations all for around the same time. Three of them were for 12:00 to 2:00 and the other two were 11:30 to 1:30 I knew there was no way to do them all. One was our niece Abby and that one we were absolutely going to. But there were two others that were very important to us and we wanted to use a little creative planning and try to make it to a little of each of them.

So I called a mommy (Lily's friend Ainslee was turning 4!)to see if we could come over before the party started and spend a little time and bring the gift by. I had called the night before and found out that she would be heartbroken that Lily could not come. And Lily would also be heartbroken if she found out about the party and could not go So I did not tell her. When I realized I could arrange it. I surprised her that morning when we went for a bit.

After that, we ran to the Zoo where Abby was having her party. We had fun riding the train and seeing all the animals. It looked like it was going to rain any minute and was pretty windy but the rain held off and it was nice enough for us to have a great time. When that party was over we called our good friends the Mann's who were celebrating the first birthday of their beautiful triplet daughters. We had also called them earlier and explained our dilemma and decided that we could just drop by late. It actually worked out better because everyone was gone by then and we all got to spend some time together and catch up after not seeing other for a while. In the end, It was an exhausting but very special and fun day!

Here is Sean , Lily, Amy & big brother Seth with the sweet birthday girls!

Triplets: Taylor (in Lily's lap), Dakota (in Amy's lap) & Piper (in Sean's lap)

Cousins: Sean & Sophie with their zoo faces

Lily, Sophie, Sean and Rowan.

Sean with the sweet birthday girl Abby 3 year old....