11 years

Today marks 11 years of marriage for Shawn and I. And we dated 8 years before marrying, so nearly 20 years together. As I sit and reminisce, it sure doesn't feel that long. I'm so thankful for him as a husband and a father to our children. Our marriage is not perfect by any means, but we can always be grounded upon the firm foundation of the Lord. He is our constant, and what we strive to be like. 

I'm happy to do life with you, Shawn. And our four little ones are getting so big. So blessed and thankful for them. 

Here's to many more years of wedded bliss! 

Pictures by Rachel Marquez. 

First Steps!

Our little Miss Maebry took her first steps yesterday. Shawn and I were standing in the kitchen and Mae was behind him. Next thing I know she took a step towards me and then another. Ahhh, I couldn't believe it. So so big!! Since then I have noticed her getting braver and braver. It is just a matter of time now.

And since I'm talking about s first, I'll share another. Her 1st ponytail was almost two weeks ago. It wasn't much, but hey, it qualified as a ponytail and I'll take it!

Her 9 month check-up was last week on August 19th and she weighed in at 15 lb and 15 oz {6th percentile}. She was 27 inches long {27th percentile} and her head circumference was 16.75 inches {11th percentile}. As you can tell she is a little one, but she is proportioned perfectly, just how God made her.

School is in session

Last week we finished up our first week of homeschool for the new school year. Once we got into our groove, it was nice to get back into the flow of things. Like many other families, we just function better on a routine. Everyone knows what to expect. Now, I will stop and say that things will differ from day to day {some days we have school in the living room, other days in the school room}, but the flow of day remains in a routine. It is nice.

Look at these big kiddos. 3rd grade, 1st grade, a busy 3 year old and an active 9 month old. My cup runneth over.

One of the things we learned this week for science are the classification of living things. I looked up hand motions online (thank you YouTube) and they were a hit with the kiddos. I don't think any of us will ever forget these 7 classifications.

This past week Finn also learned how to write an F. He has been able to verbally spell his name for a few months now, but he has been watching his older siblings and is jumping right in there. He is getting so big.

Time with Ally

Nearly two weeks ago, Ally and I spent some quality time together. We started the morning off with a workout. And I mean she did the entire thing with me. It is 30 minutes long and she was with me from the warm-up to the cool down. Super proud of her for sticking it out.

Next, we headed to the nail salon. She got her toes and fingernails painted. She loved it!! Ally is my girly girl and enjoys the *sparkles* in life. Hard to believe this sweet girl will be 6 years old in less than 2 weeks.

After our nails were dry, we stopped by the grocery store for a few things. I don't always get one-on-one time with the kids, but when I do, I really enjoy it. Love you, Sis.

Rockin' with Rhett

We were having table discussions in our Married Bible Fellowship class a few months ago and out of the blue one of the guys said "Ok, I have to say this, my kids love you. We love your songs. You're like a celebrity." He was talking to another guy at the table. Shawn and I had no idea what he was talking about, so we had to ask. One of the guys at our table writes and performs songs for a local ministry. And sure enough, we asked the kids if they knew who Rockin' with Rhett was and they got all excited. He has performed a song or two at Church. We told them that we sat at his table in MBF and they could not believe it.

I looked up his website to see where he was playing at next, but we were going to be out of town for July 4th. I went ahead and put a reminder in my phone for a performance in August. Sure enough a  two days before the event, the reminder popped up on my phone last week.

The kids had a blast watching and listening. They gave us a free CD and DVD for coming out, and these songs have been in my head since! Ha!

The skit they put on had a great message about being kind to one another, even when others are not nice to you. And Rhett was not able to mention God's name at the Library {I had no idea}, but his message was straight out of 1 Corinthians 13.

Here is a sampler of his songs. Enjoy!

This is funny. This past Monday, his family was at our home group for bible study. The kids were kind of caught off guard when they saw Rockin' with Rhett!

Fishing Time

Every night this week has been busy with church or sports, but we were able to take a breather tonight (Thursday) and enjoy some time outdoors. So thankful for my hubby and getting us outside.

Shawn's cousin, Jon, was in town this week from Ohio for work and he joined us this evening for dinner and a little fishing.

Jase got some exercise in tonight on his bike.

And so did Mae and I. We hit the trails on foot. Well, not Mae, she had it made!

Shawn loves to fish. Definitely one of the reasons we chose this neighborhood with such close access to water. We have a pretty big size lake on the property, but he enjoys the pond just as well.

We had a couple of catches this evening. Allyson reeled this bass in by herself!

Finn...he is a hoot. Always has a smile on his face. And Jase grabbed a rod and casted a few times before calling it a night.

It was nice to have him out and visit. It has been a five years since we have seen him. His wife's name is Jessica and they have a 2.5 year old daughter named Allison. Too funny.

New Homeschool Community

Our new school year is quickly approaching. I attended a training workshop last week for a new homeschool community we will be participating in this year. I'm super excited about it and the kids are too. We will only go to class on Mondays for 3 hours in the morning, but while we are there the kids will get introduced to the current week's memory work, give a presentation, complete an art project {or play the tin whistle later this fall}, and have a science experiment. Jase and Ally will both be participating in class and if we continue next year, Finn will be in the classroom as well. And I also signed up to be a tutor sub, when needed. As of now I am already needed the first two weeks. Excited and nervous about it. We start next week. Should be fun!

I bought the kids some maps and they could not wait to try them out when we got home. Jase loves geography and this new program will only fuel that passion. So neat!

Mae is 9 months!

Maebry turned 9 months old today! We are three-fourths our way to one year. So hard to imagine.

I take her next week for her 9 month check-up, but according to our scale at home she weighs 16 lbs. She still only has two bottom teeth. She is continuing to eat food that Mama makes and enjoys it. Within the last month she has started standing up on her own, without holding onto anything. Still waiting on that official first step, but it's only a matter of days. She has started drinking water out of a sippy cup and can also drink out of a straw. Throughout the day she will take a bottle and usually at night or nap time she will nurse.

Here is a short video clip of her today on the couch.

And this is clip of her feeding herself at the end of July. Her fine motor skills have been improving so much. If I was a betting woman, I would bet that she is going to be right-handed. It just seems like she favors it more.

Last week the kids put together a Mickey Mouse puzzle that Finn got for his birthday. Mae was loving the puzzle and decided to just stand up on it. The kids thought it was the neatest thing!

And here is a clip of Mae this past Friday standing up on her own. Her balance is getting better day by day.