grace.

Some things in life are easy to count as grace.  others only come with hindsight or the right perspective in the moment.  what blessing it is to be in a moment and see it for the unique grace it imparts.  a specific, original, frame for time.  and God's word a lens to see the world clearly.

"Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose." Psalm 18:21 http://bible.us/Prov18.21.MSG

"Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life." Proverbs 16:31 http://bible.us/Prov16.31.MSG

"A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life." Proverbs 13:7 http://bible.us/Prov13.7.MSG

New {old} friends

I'm so looking forward to my boys having some regular playmates again.  It feels like they should already know these precious little girls because I adore their mommy.  Definitely something I'm missing/looking forward to these days...

I love how sweet their little hugs are.  My boy, mr. shy hugger, then asks to give her a kiss but his mommy put a stop to that one... haha.  He was obviously sweet on her already.

How adorable is this new {old} friend?  I love his hair do- his mommy & I were pregnant together with these two boys, and I am indebted to them for giving me a place to stay in OP after we had already moved out of our house but I was still teaching for a couple weeks.  You guys were so generous & I love ya. ;-)

What a cutie!! 4 months apart & soon-to-be buddies.

Little bro wants to be in on all the action.  haha, he's not gonna let himself be left out!

Can't wait for more new {old} friends as we get settled in OP!

Neither here nor there

So far being neither here nor there hasn't been so bad.  We've had the chance to hang out at Grammy & Papa's on 'extended holiday'.  We're getting pretty spoiled having the pool to play in- Grammy's cooking & all the snacks she buys- lots of movies & snuggle time with all our rainy days- and mommy has splurged on getting some new trains since we didn't bring any with us

the combo of heat & rain has sent us to the indoor playgrounds more often than outdoor & the BN train table as well.  Little Hayden's favorite spot is climbing up the slide at CFA- even though mommy doesn't approve of this idea.  He waits for his moment... ;-)

Peek-a-boo!!

We did get a dinner date with Mimi & Grandpa & Uncle Mike, Aunt Natassja & Jack.  Sonny's is our new (old) favorite place.  My boys love their food.

Sharing a room as been a unique challenge: my sincere kudos to those of you who do it all the time!  I'm so looking forward to splitting them up just for sleep reasons, but as you see below, they have had quite the time.  Here James is standing on the outside of the crib and Hayden is touching his face I believe....

 Old Roosevelt has been living the life.  He's regaining some much needed affection in the family, and honestly, I've been really convinced that I haven't given him all the attention that he needs & deserves as a member of the family.  No more - he's not un-banned from the couch.  Grammy&Papa he thanks you.

 Looking forward to being 'here' or 'there' sometime soon...

August rain storms bring...?

I'm Singing in the rain.... Just singing in the rain...

What a GLORIOUS feeling... I'm happy again!

I walk down the lane... {driveway} with a happy refrain...

Just singing... singing... in the rain.

celebrate.

Aunt Natassja- you were so sweet to surprise my little Hayden (&me&james!) with a sweet hungry caterpillar party when we came for a play date.  You do love your little surprises... ;-)

Sometimes, birthdays can come with expectations. pressure. desire to impress.  But, this year, the Lord has blessed me with so much peace.

The birthday party wasn't about me- it was about celebrating. him.

Sometimes I'm surprised - how much I am distracted from the true reason to celebrate.  I thank God that I have my boy - that we can celebrate a year of his life.  because it might not be so.

What a precious face.

The sweetness of a simple gift, enjoyed.

The gift of time together.

The gift of laughter.  and little 'half moons' when my boys pants fall down... ;-)

The gift of help.  a hand reaching out to help carry the load. sometimes, literally.

The gift of family.  memories growing up together.

The gift of love for each other - the pure joy that shows so clearly in such a precious vessel.

The gift of fellowship.  Let's sit down together... and I'll show you the birds.

The gift.  three little Prose boys.  So grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate together.  Thank you Aunt (na)Tasha!!  Thankful for you & looking forward to many more play dates...

Check out my sis-in-law's other creations at Prose & CO... :-)

trying somethin' new

Tryin' something new... actually a lot of new things lately.  So many things change in life and thankfully, some things don't.   a picture is worth a thousand words.

life.is.sweet.

Havin' your 1st ice cream cone.  sweetness.

"do I stick my tongue out like this...?"

Walkin' with Daddy.  Getting some BBQ.  Holding hands.

Getting to meet Daddy's friends.  Making a new friend of his own.  This sweet face.

Re-connecting with an old friend.  Going through life together.

Loving the little Years.  Finding encouragement.  Sharing with a friend.  Feeling grace in my own struggle.

its a hard knock life for us. ;-)

We are now Floridians (again).  Have been spending our time: searching for a house - staying at my parents - Matt starting his new job - moving all our things into storage - doing some swimming - playing some music - building some train tracks - catching up on our sleep - enjoying some ice cream - feeding the horses - driving a race car - learning to jump - filling Noah's ark - singing - taking our dog for a walk - snuggles with Daddy

&

just making the most of our time right.where.we.are.  Hoping for a move-in to our new home at the end of the month... prayers appreciated. :-)

my birthday boy.

Can't leave off Hayden's birthday yet.  Found more pictures on my phone, and well, gotta share.  gotta get them in the family scrapbook. ;-)

My little birthday boy.  hilariously, I just started putting him in the 12-18 month sleepers, and he's almost out grown them already.  He's supposed to be 30% for height... but somehow that doesn't seem true.

love those eyes.

hungry caterpillar.

1st birthday cards.  so sweet.  ;-)

Just a few things about CLT...

Just thinking of our house in Charlotte as I upload pictures for the first time since our move...

I so loved seeing the sun set through the window from our bedroom - the huge, old trees - just the perfect light.  peaceful, beautiful.  counted as blessing.

My dish rack.  Happily, it has been thrown away.  I actually am a better person for having washed all our dishes for around 14 months of our life (including the whole first year of Hayden's!).  Oddly enough, counted as blessing.

Hayden's 1 year old appt.  He hit a major growth spurt - 23 lbs 14.5 oz! wow.  Couldn't believe it- although my arms being sore lately makes more sense...  James wanted to have a check up too.  So he sat up with little Hayden on the big table, when he wasn't racing back and forth across our little room.  "ready, set, GO!" or trying to measure himself with the yard stick - which isn't tall enough to measure him anymore!  Wow, again.  He's over 36 in - maybe 37, 37.5?

The views of the city from different places around town.  Such a cool thing to see the skyline and really come to love its beauty.  Who gives the talent to create things like this... definitely only the Lord's inspiration and gifting.  I mean seriously though, wow.  It is an amazing thing, and it does have its own unique majesty.

My boys holding hands.  James makes me laugh when he does this - as inconvenient as it always is - "I sit by Hayden Mommy"  Bummer to have to sit in your seat with the seat belt.  ;-)  But, again, taking a minute to enjoy their relationship, to notice it, counted as blessing.

This journey feels long - I think sometimes life feels that way.   very long road ahead to where we think we're going.  Funny how God's plans are always better than ours, isn't it?