St. Paddy's Day @ the Farm

For St. Paddy's Day the family congregated at the farm for the girls' first cookout/camp-out!  Growing up, I have fond memories of nights out in the pastures, fire blazing, marshmallows roasting, and a little battery operated radio playing in the background.   I am thrilled that Kylie and Avery will have the same sort of memories to reflect on!

Our lovelies.

Wild weeds, roots and all.

The neighbor's dog joined the festivities.  She was suprisingly photogenic!

Although we didn't actually spend the night in the tent, the concept was introduced!  I think we realized we wouldn't be sleeping there when Kylie protested, "But there isn't a bath in this place!"

Thirsty after playing so hard!

Evidence of the hard play  =)

Uncle Stone making our roasting sticks

Pop building the fire

Kathleen & Gan 

Armed with the "smellows" whenever Dad is ready!

Aunt Kathleen the carnivore (Nick is still in Ranger School!)

A Month of Love

February has come and gone so quickly for us! It's hard to remember what we've been doing with our winter days...
but here are a few of this mama's recollections...

For Valentine's my parents came up for a visit and spoiled the girls with several cute outfits and a little chocolate! Then we all met up at the farm for a nice brunch and enjoyed mimosas with Aunt Mary and Gann :-)

Kylie with her goody bag from Aunt Mary

Sweet Valentine chairs made by Gann and Big Der - Thank you!

The following weekend Kylie, Avery, and I drove down south to attend my cousin Ty's wedding in Pt. Neches, TX. He married a beautiful Vietnamese girl named Christina, so the ceremony was held at a Vietnamese Catholic Church and the priests switched back and forth between English to Vietnamese. A first for me!

Waiting with KiKi & Pop for the ceremony to begin

Prayer for the couple

The lovely bride

The reception was GORGEOUS!

My mom and her cousin, Suzy.

My littles danced the night away...Kylie actually woke up with a cramp in her leg the next morning!

Other events, that didn't get their picture taken...
~ Kylie's preschool Valentine party - she had a blast and came home with way too much sugar.

~ Philip attended the National Religious Broadcasting (NRB) conference in Nashville for a week and had a lot of very productive meetings. We are still gearing up to film The Savior this coming spring/summer. You can watch the trailer by clicking here, if you're interested.

~ Somewhere in the middle of it all Philip swept me off to a lovely Valentine's dinner at a very romantic little French restaurant while KiKi and Pop kept the girlies :)

All in all it has been another blessed month. God is good and we thank him daily for each of you, our family and friends.

"Jimmy-nastics"

For Christmas my grandmother gave Kylie and Avery gymnastics lessons and we have been loving every minute of it! I don't have any pictures of Avery because hers is parent participation class and I can't very well wield a child and a camera simultaneously! And the pictures of Kylie aren't too fantastic because the lighting wasn't great - - but you'll get the idea.

Workin' the high beam with Miss Mona

About to take the big jump

Popping up from one of her perfect somersaults

Only her second time on the parallel bars and she is doing fantastic!

Pre-School

Today was Kylie's first day of pre-school.
**Sigh**

We found a great little place called Hand-In-Hand Pre-School and it happens to be affiliated with the church we're attending so it works out quite well. Kylie could not have been more excited! And I could not have been more nervous! I felt like I was the new kid. But Ky didn't miss a beat and barely acknowledged our departure as she started asking other kids, "What's your name? I'm Kylie!"

She'll be with the same kids and teacher two days a week from 9:00-1:00. I think it will be great for furthering the development her already-burgeoning social skills and making new little friends in Tyler!

Next stop: Lunchbox shopping this afternoon : )

Two Years

Seven hundred thirty one days. That's how long we've had the pleasure of Avery Noble. We are blessed beyond measure! Avery has an exceptionally sparkly personality for a child her age. Her sense of humor is delightful and comes so naturally. We haven't really schooled her in "please" and "thank you", yet she seems to use them all the time. And she very often spontaneously says,
"Hey, Mom?"
"Yes, Avery?"
"I love you too, Mom."
These are just a few of the things I adore about my sweet two year old.


Birthday giggles while waiting for lunch.










Many hands make light work


Instantly smitten


Needless to say, neither one of them have mastered the art of sharing. Maybe next year : )

Kentucky

It started with a long roadtrip...


and although everyone had a pretty good disposition...


we were all glad to get there.


Once we arrived we played in the woods...




watched old movies... (Kylie was feeling very Hollywood)


opened lots of presents...


and ate way too much delicious food!


Philip's sister, Debby gave him olive trees for Christmas! We are so excited to get a little Mediterranean vibe planted in the backyard!


LP taught us all the art of slack-lining...


And then the amateurs gave it a shot.




Avery was content with her tree.


Uncle James gave us a little tune up.


We said one last goodbye to the family cabin before it is sold.




We lived here for a year after returning from Israel so it will always hold special memories for us.