i feel like i've taken an unintentional break from blogging...and while i miss being around to share our life and catch up on all my bloggity friends's lives...i also must admit that it is the "right" thing for me to be absent. there is simply so much going on in life...so many moments to take in and savor. there are rough moments to work through...the need to stay focused on what i am supposed to be doing, to cling to my Savior and His Word. i am realizing more and more each day that these little moments of sitting on the floor playing peek-a-boo and reading stories won't last forever...so i want to simply soak them in and enjoy them, and that simply cannot happen while i'm on the computer. on top of that i've been busy sewing (with the help of my sweet friend jill) dresses for the girls, savoring the unofficial end of summer at the lake, and finalizing last minute details for MOPS...and all of that adds up to fill my days. however, here i am to share my smiles! you'll notice that most of the smiles and pictures are from our weekend at the lake...you might call this the "fourth annual lake extravaganza"...if you've been around my blog long enough for the prior installments. though our trip was pared down to just two couples, the addition of little ones made it just one person shy of the size of our first trip! and we had TONS of fun (as you will see!).
1. introducing "friendly dinosaur"...i pulled out some fabric scraps, printed clipart of a dinosaur off the internet, and elizabeth and i set off to create her own special stuffed dinosaur for "d" week. he's super soft and smooshy, and to elizabeth it was absolute love at first sight...in fact, he is snuggly tucked into bed with her as a type!
2. sewing, sewing, and more sewing...my friend jill and i are making a flower girl dress for elizabeth (for my friend lora's wedding in october). jill is working on elizabeth's while i make a matching dress for kate...kate isn't in the wedding, but i still love the idea of matching dresses...especially since they should be able to wear them again for christmas, etc. i have pictures, but i won't reveal them until after the wedding...BUT they are adorable...and jill and i had LOTS of fun spending a couple days together working on them! (funny how what might have happened in an afternoon before kiddos (well, not for me since i didn't learn to sew until my mommy days) is taking SO much longer with three little ones underfoot!).
3. dates. my parents were kind enough to watch the girls friday evening after we arrived at the lake so that mike and i could go on a date. nothing fancy...just grinders at a hole-in-the wall lake place and milkshakes for dessert...but nonetheless, it was fabulous to spend some time together talking, laughing, planning, organizing, and catching up. not only that, but elizabeth also got some date time with daddy on friday...they went on a doughnut date (remember, its "d" week!) friday morning while kate napped...meaning mommy was left to pack bags for the lake without any distraction...lovely!
4. swimming with my two favorite girlies!
5. boat rides. (kate was thrilled to discover the volume button on the boat radio...while elizabeth just loved driving...and learning about "water hills" from uncle nathan)
6. baby love. we had our share of loving on brennan (jill and nathan's little guy who is just over 2 months old). elizabeth and kate are already vying for his affection!
7. my dad's big catch...he snagged this one while chatting with nathan on the pier...a nice catch for some casual casting from the dock! gotta love using the baby as a size gauge!
8. games...and lots of them. i am a game junkie (my husband...not so much)...so i definitely enjoyed getting a "game fix"...jill and nathan introduced us to "farkel" and "five crowns"...LOTS of fun...and, of course, my mom and i taught jill how to play canasta.
9. tree swings. both of the girls had LOADS of fun on the swing poppy hung for them last time we were there. how fortunate are these two little sweethearts to have a tree swing that glides out over the lake!
10. the picture says it all...i mean seriously...what's not to smile about!?
i could go on and on...the tasty strawberry rhubarb pie jill brought...watching brennan take his first swim...tasty eats...but truly, it was just an all around blessing and smile to spend a long weekend with people we love....to enjoy the sun, water, and one another...togetherness is great! but i do leave you with one extra smile...
SISTERS! (i'm a wee bit biased, but i think they're pretty darned precious!)
and here we are....
1. introducing "friendly dinosaur"...i pulled out some fabric scraps, printed clipart of a dinosaur off the internet, and elizabeth and i set off to create her own special stuffed dinosaur for "d" week. he's super soft and smooshy, and to elizabeth it was absolute love at first sight...in fact, he is snuggly tucked into bed with her as a type!
2. sewing, sewing, and more sewing...my friend jill and i are making a flower girl dress for elizabeth (for my friend lora's wedding in october). jill is working on elizabeth's while i make a matching dress for kate...kate isn't in the wedding, but i still love the idea of matching dresses...especially since they should be able to wear them again for christmas, etc. i have pictures, but i won't reveal them until after the wedding...BUT they are adorable...and jill and i had LOTS of fun spending a couple days together working on them! (funny how what might have happened in an afternoon before kiddos (well, not for me since i didn't learn to sew until my mommy days) is taking SO much longer with three little ones underfoot!).
3. dates. my parents were kind enough to watch the girls friday evening after we arrived at the lake so that mike and i could go on a date. nothing fancy...just grinders at a hole-in-the wall lake place and milkshakes for dessert...but nonetheless, it was fabulous to spend some time together talking, laughing, planning, organizing, and catching up. not only that, but elizabeth also got some date time with daddy on friday...they went on a doughnut date (remember, its "d" week!) friday morning while kate napped...meaning mommy was left to pack bags for the lake without any distraction...lovely!
4. swimming with my two favorite girlies!
5. boat rides. (kate was thrilled to discover the volume button on the boat radio...while elizabeth just loved driving...and learning about "water hills" from uncle nathan)
6. baby love. we had our share of loving on brennan (jill and nathan's little guy who is just over 2 months old). elizabeth and kate are already vying for his affection!
7. my dad's big catch...he snagged this one while chatting with nathan on the pier...a nice catch for some casual casting from the dock! gotta love using the baby as a size gauge!
8. games...and lots of them. i am a game junkie (my husband...not so much)...so i definitely enjoyed getting a "game fix"...jill and nathan introduced us to "farkel" and "five crowns"...LOTS of fun...and, of course, my mom and i taught jill how to play canasta.
9. tree swings. both of the girls had LOADS of fun on the swing poppy hung for them last time we were there. how fortunate are these two little sweethearts to have a tree swing that glides out over the lake!
10. the picture says it all...i mean seriously...what's not to smile about!?
i could go on and on...the tasty strawberry rhubarb pie jill brought...watching brennan take his first swim...tasty eats...but truly, it was just an all around blessing and smile to spend a long weekend with people we love....to enjoy the sun, water, and one another...togetherness is great! but i do leave you with one extra smile...
SISTERS! (i'm a wee bit biased, but i think they're pretty darned precious!)
and here we are....
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6 comments:
Oh how I love tuesdays! Tuesdays are the day that I can come here and join your life for a few minutes.
I have to say, I wish I was your friend in this world (non-blog world), man the beni's would be great! Just kidding! Although I think we could have so much fun together!
Loves,
Aminta
I think sisters are pretty great too, defintely worth a bunch of smiles. And don't you love how hard it is to get them to both smile at once, oh kids!! :)
I'm glad you guys had fun at the lake again. Jill and Nathan look super proud of their new bundle of joy, too precious!
such wonderful smiles. so glad you're savoring the moments!! and i loved the pictures..as always! love the sister pictures...so very sweet! can't wait to see the dresses you've been working on!
I love all your smiles Amanda! The girls are getting so big and of course so adorable and how cute is that stuffed dino!?
I always look forward to smiling with you on Tuesdays
Much Loves
oh Amanda...
go read more books, tickle on the floor...
we all understand and come Tuesdays we will be here to see what your smiling about.
Love the glasses and the innertube...
Never feel bad for taking time for yourself to get your priorities in line. I'm finding that I've had to cut back a lot on blogging (both reading and posting) in order to fit everything in that I need to. It's a work in progress. Love all the pictures, your family is so precious.
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