Cherry Berry at Home!

The girls LOVE self-serve frozen yogurt...thanks to the fact that their Poppy and Mimi own Cherry Berry's around Texas (they just opened their 4th store in Tomball).  We have some other yogurt places here that of course do not compare with the best (Cherry Berry)...but we'll have to settle for what we have.  One night we had talked about going out for fro-yo but then realized it was too late, but we'd already promised the kids.  So, in my efforts to save the day (and save our kids from being super disappointed)...we had self-serve fro-yo at home.  It was a HUGE hit.  They got to serve themselves where at the store they have to let me do it.  We had sprinkles, choc chips, strawberries, oreos, and bananas.  (not quite the cherry berry selection but we did what we could!).  We will definitely have to make this a new tradition.  They loved it!

A Special Visitor

Alyssa.  She has saved the day more than once for us.  She has more energy with kids than anyone I know.  I believe she's a forerunner in children's ministry that extends beyond Boston and to the nations of the earth.  She makes a lasting impact on kids.  They love her and want to be around her all the time.  When E first saw her again when we visited Boston, she turned to Trav and said, "Why don't you go somewhere Daddy and we can stay with Alyssa."

My kids adore her.  She and E have had a special friendship from the beginning.  When people care for and love on your kids it creates a special place in your heart for them.  We have lots of people throughout Ellie's (and Gracie and Emily's) life who have loved her so well and it has communicated so much love to us.  Thank you, friends.

We had the opportunity to spend over a week with Alyssa here in Arizona.  What a blessing.  It was her vacation time and she used it to come and help with my kids.  Wow.  She flew back with us from Boston (a very long trip with some very tired, rowdy, and even cranky kids) and she still wanted to stay with us after she got here!

Mornings on the porch (usually with a "shake"--aka, smoothie!)

At SG's little birthday bash (more on that later)

E and A had so much fun together.  She even slept in Ellie's top bunk,

and helped her in the night if (when!) she woke up.  So we even got 

better sleep with her around.

At the splash pad...

She came up with the best ideas for the kids.  One day we all went to IKEA
and she took the kids while Trav and I found what we needed.  She walked them around
the store and taught them to find all the circles (wheels, dots on pillows, etc).
Best experience at IKEA we've ever had.  And we have had some BAD ones!
The kids didn't want to leave, crazy!  They loved it!  I'll definitely be using that idea again!

Chick-fil-a!!

I came back from running some errands or something one morning and
this is what they had done:  preschool!  She's going to be preschool teacher in 

Boston in the fall...the girls loved it!

I think the shape of the day was a star??

Rest time!

Playdough time

She's wonder woman.  She took all three kids,

ran an errand, fed them snacks, walked them around,
took them to the spray park.  Ahh.  All with a happy heart!

It allowed me to get some uninterrupted time with Trav and Sean (who was in town visiting
for a couple of days)

We played and played and played!

And, ate and ate and ate.  Yogurtland (red velvet cake batter...yumm!), more than once.  Maybe more than twice?  In and Out.  And of course lots of desserts around the Phillips' house.  Lyssa even went home with a little bit of a belly ache...so sorry!! 

It was precious time with her.  She served us so much.  We were able to have several dinner meetings, dates, errands, etc because she was so willing/wanting to keep the kids.  She not only loves my kids so well but she's such a life-giving friend to me, too.

Thanks for visiting us!  We love you.

A Tribute to Our Dear Friends...

Lisa, Danny, Mary and Luke Pierce.

In just five days they will leave to take a very long trip across the world to their new home in southeast Asia.

I always knew this day would come.  Lisa has wanted to live overseas and lay her life down for the Lord for as long as I've known her.

And now it's happening.  I can't believe it.

We've already said goodbye (twice actually).  They were supposed to have left before Lacey's wedding, but due to visa issues, they were delayed.  Not ideal for them, but a real treat for us!

We have walked through a lot together.  We've been friends for over 12 years.  And for most of those years we've lived in the same town, sharing the same community/group of friends.  We've both gone from single to married to married with kids! All the while living day to day life together.

I will (already do) miss her terribly.  She is such a loyal friend.  The kind that knows you well and all your faults and loves you anyway.  The kind that will do anything for you...at any time, at any cost.  The kind that is quick to repent and quick to forgive.  The kind that I have cried with and laughed with hundreds of times.

So the "day to day life" has come to an end.  Of course our friendship will continue it will just have to look different for this next season.

But--we did have one treasure of a day (weekend, well, week!) with all the kids playing together.  Here are our pics from our time with the Pierces in Boston.

They all really play so well together.

Mary (Lisa's oldest is 3 mo older than Gracie).

Fourth of July fun with Beth's water bottle.

Having a blast on the piano...they were too cute to be annoyed by all the noise!

We'll show this pic to them when we are making them practice piano in a few years
and remind them that they love it!  This really does totally capture the scene.
You would have thought it was Christmas.

 Well supervised sparklers to celebrate the 4th.

Sweet Mary.

Catching up on a little Consumer Reports with Mike.

(I think E is trying to get Mary to take it a little more seriously)

I love this one.  So pictures the kind of mom Lisa is...she's SO good
at sitting down with her kids (and mine) and playing/reading/spending
time with them.

And the babies.  Luke is almost exactly one month older than Emily.

Luke: 21 lbs. Emily: 13 lbs.

I had to make this one big...look at Luke's face!!  Mischief in those eyes!!

We love you, friends.  You'll be missed.  But we'll see you soon(ish).

(more fun pics of the kids on lisa's blog)

The Wedding!

 Getting ready with the bride...(Ellie was very hyper and super excited!)

E and Lala

We changed bows...

you can see from the above pics that the headband wasn't going to stay put!

E and Nana

Me and Sandra (and a little friend behind us!)

A pic with Ellie, Julie (the other flower girl), and Gracie (the honorary flower girl!)

Daddy putting band-aids on blisters that had already formed on E's
feet from the new shoes!  Wish we had waited to put them on until right before
the wedding started.

Look at her!  So big and so brave walking down that aisle.  She did perfect!
She walked right to me and sat down.  I was so proud of her!  She loved it!  So much so
in fact, that after we processed out she said, "ok, Mommy, now let's do it again!"

and notice...no shoes.  Neither girl wore them but they were precious barefoot.

SG did great, too, sitting in her seat and watching.

(except for calling out and waving "Hi Mommy, Hi Mommy" as I walked down the aisle!)
Trav rationed the fruit snacks which helped!

And thank you to Amy who held the baby and took her out when she got noisy.

The wedding was beautiful.  I love weddings because it's always a challenge and a charge afresh for Trav and I in our own marriage and I love that.  And I love it when two people come together who are so in love with Jesus and each other that you know they are going to make an impact in the kingdom. 

Some after wedding pics.

My sweet girls.

Ellie LOVED her little bouquet.  She loved holding it and was really careful with it!

Decent family pic?  So hard with these ages!

The reception place was beautiful and it was a perfect night. 
There were rolling green pastures and green trees as far as you could see.

 

Rob's brother and Julie, Rob and Ellie

E and our silly Sandra.

I love this picture!  Thank you Sarah Ladd!!
Ellie absolutely loved being around so many people that she knew so well.
(and so did her momma!)

The girls and Ellie.  She's been tagging along with me and the girls since she was an infant!
They've all helped take care of her in some way along the way.
What precious friends.

And back inside for the party!

Me, Lace, and Can
How I miss them living in our basement! 

We were crazy to take three kids three and under to a wedding,
but it was really fine and we had lots of help.
When they called all the couples to the floor, we made the best of it.
Family dance.  A sweet memory.

We go back all the way to Baylor...going on almost 15 years!
Sandra, Lisa, me (Emmy), and Dara.
Oh to see a pic of all of us 15 yrs ago...whoa.

Emily and me. A treasure to me.
Can not wait to meet that baby and love him/her as much as she has
love mine.

Seth is going to be a great daddy!  Look how happy baby Emmy is with him!

Colorado, Arizona, Indonesia.
So thankful I have friends that will follow God wherever he calls,
but I will miss them.

Yay!  The happy couple and the Phillips family!!

What an unforgettable weekend for us.