Closing Day tomorrow

I should be gathering boxes from the local liquor stores and packing, but instead I am zooming in on this picture to see where I can add flowers to the flower beds for a splash of color.  I am thinking about not going with my normal purples (or pinks as I did last year).  I am going to do reds and whites, overflowing everywhere.  Tall urn type planters exploding with reds and whites.  Trying to pick up on a more Americana type theme since the brick is red and the mortar is white.  We will also be adding an American flag to the front of the house.  I don't know what the normal eye sees as room in this picture, but I clearly see at least 8 spots for these tall urns.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was extra sweet this year because of dedicating this little punkinpie to the Lord at church.

Baby Dedication

This weekend (on Mother's Day) is a Baby Dedication at our church.  Most of the time, babies are dedicated as infants (as Andrew was).  For various reasons, however, we have not had Abby dedicated yet.  We've been going to First Assembly of God for a few months now (the church where we got married) and wanted to have her dedicated here.  Andrew and Abby are also going to go to school at the church's school, First Assembly Christian School.

Since she is not a baby-baby, I decided against the more traditional eyelet dress and wanted to go more with a flower girl looking dress.  So, off to David's Bridal we went.  I hadn't been in there since before my wedding 5 1/2 years ago.

She went nuts, screaming "Mah Sobia!" (Translation:  "I'm Sophia the First"... a princess show on TV), spinning around wildly, entertaining the wedding dress shoppers, and like a true princess, throwing a knock down drag out fight when I made her take off the dress and put on the cotton everyday dress she wore there.

This is the dress we went with.  And, of course, we got the gloves, too.

Your fave song and mine...

C'mon, admit it - you know your family does The Hot Dog Dance, too.

The New Neighborhood

The entrance to The Cloisters (these are on both sides of the street):

First house on left as you're entering neighborhood:

Pond and walking trails on left as you're driving into the neighborhood (catty-corner from our house):

Bridge:

Our street:

Our house (showing our 3 trees in our front yard - all different kinds):

Angle shows the spires on top of roof:

Our next-door neighbor's house (our house in the center of 2 coves):

The house next to theirs - across the street in the cove:

The brick fence directly across the street from our house (the back of their house): 

Our next-door neighbors on the other side (in the other cove):

The house next to theirs:

Close, but not quite

Today after Andrew's gymnastics class, Abby, Andrew, and I stayed after for "Preschool Open Gym" where the preschool age kids can run around and play on any of the gymnastics stuff in the gym.  My college suite-mate (and one of my best friends), Cristen, stayed with her 2 little boys for Open Gym, too, after Andrew and Caden's gymnastics class together.

At the end of the Open Gym, there was a gymnastics class of 6 little girls (about 6-7 yrs old) that were just finishing up their class with their coach.  They were sitting on the low-to-the-ground balance beam recapping their gym experience today.

My 2 1/2 yr old Abby ran over and sat down next to the girl on the end.  I quickly ran over and apologized.  The sweet coach stopped me and said, "That's okay, she's fine here.  She can stay."

I walked away because I didn't know what was going to come next.

Cristen and I smirked as we looked back at Abby sitting with these older girls.

The coach asked the girls about their gymnastics class today, "What was your favorite thing you did today?"

One girl said, "Beam!"  Another said, "Rings!"  Still another said, "Jump in the foam pit!"

Abby raised her hand as she was standing up and yelled at the top of her excited lungs, "Watched Dora!"