More Beach Time

They could have sat here all day playing in the sand and watching the tide roll in and out.

The first few days at the beach Lucy Mills was cautious and would not walk into the water without holding my hand.  Eventually she warmed up and this was where she was happiest.

Lucy Mills and Anna Heath jumping the waves together.  Sweet girls!

While the girls were doing their thing, McClain was doing his...

flirtin' with pretty girls on the beach.
 Literally, he would go up to any girl on the beach, lift up her hat and plant a big wet kiss on her lips.  Apparently his charm worked because no one ever complained.  This happened everyday y'all.

I felt like his theme song for the week was I'm Sexy and I Know It. 

Heaven help me when this boy is a teenager!
Maybe Miss Rule Follower can help us straighten him out.

Every morning she would come get in bed with us and say Mama, I need to snuggle with you.  Followed with can we go to da ocean dis day? 

Sure.  We can go to the ocean this day.

Sweet Summertime

Can we just live here? Is the question I was asking myself during our 10 days at Litchfield.  

Having Daddy all to ourselves, no meal planning, bills to pay, errands to run, floors to clean, and the only decision I had to make was were we going to the ocean or the pool.  Yes, vacation is a wonderful thing.  

It's an added sweetness that I have the joy of seeing my children sink their toes into the same shore that I did as I child.  Lucy Mills and McClain are the third generation in the family to make summertime memories at this beautiful place. 

Travis and I enjoyed the children so much this trip.  They both really took to swimming and we couldn't tear our little fish away from the water at the end of the day.  

I loved our walks on the beach, watching McClain nose dive into the ocean waves, seeing Lucy Mills' confidence grow in the swimming pool, sipping wine on the balcony at night, getting mother/daughter pedicures, hearing little voices ask for more "sunscream," sleeping in until 10:30 one morning thanks to my loving husband, having sister time at the pool, seeing the F-16 fly over on the 4th, and many more memories. 

Time is flying by.  These are the moments I desperately want to bottle up and revisit over and over again.  

2012 Reads

This post may be completely boring but I want to start documenting the books I am reading.  I have been an avid reader since I was a child and am trying to be more diligent in this area.  {Translation: stop watching those addictive reality tv shows!}  I can remember telling people that I wanted to be a writer and a librarian when I grew up...nerd alert! 

The majority of my reads these days tend to be focused on marriage and motherhood, so maybe it will help others currently on the same path.  Plus there are a few photography and fiction novels sprinkled in the list just to keep the Self-Help category from being too daunting.  ;) Feel free to suggest books or blogs that are interesting - I am always looking for the next thing, even if it takes me a while to plow through it.  

Here is my 2012 list so far and I hope to add more and more. 

Praise Her In the Gates  Nancy Wilson

Loving the Little Years  Rachel Jankovic

Kisses From Katie  Katie Davis

A Mom After God's Own Heart  Elizabeth George

Folly Beach  Dorothea Benton Frank

The Best of Me  Nicholas Sparks

The Shaping of a Christian Family  Elisabeth Elliot

The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained  Lysa Terkheurst

Just Give Me Jesus  Ann Graham Lotz  

Max on Life  Max Lucado

Understanding Exposure  Bryan Peterson

The UnManual - Making Your Camera Work for You  Drew B

The Magician's Nephew  C.S. Lewis
Don't Make Me Count to Three!  Ginger Plowman
The Excellent Wife  Martha Peace


As my children get older I want to record their favorite books from year to year.  Please recommend any good children's books that are good read alouds and I will also pass on the ones I find to be encouraging.
Here's to a summer with our noses buried in page turners and not the fixated to the flat screen! 

A Week of Celebrations

{post written the week of June 5th}
Wow, I am exhausted.  Like I think I could fall asleep standing up, type of exhausted.  This week has been filled with a wide spectrum of emotions.

The week began celebrating the recent engagement of Travis' brother Daniel.  Daniel, and his bride-to-be Rachel, came into town all aglow with young love.
{picture taken the night they got engaged! }

  These two are a perfect match for one another and our family is so excited about their November wedding.
I noticed around this time that McClain was not acting like his usual self.  While he did flirt with and bat his eyes at Rachel, which is par for the course for him, he started waking several times during the night.  After a trip to the doctor we discovered a double ear infection.  Thankfully, he is well on the mend.

Later that same day we received a different kind of news.  My grandmother, for whom I am named for, went on to be with the Lord.  I will always remember her being the sweetest woman.  The lady who would laugh until tears streamed down her cheeks, the one who managed to be both a Clemson and USC fan, the one who was known for being a beauty queen during her days at Carolina, the one who passed on her love of reading to me, and the one who was called Ma` by her grandchildren.  In the midst of the sadness my sister posted this image that conveys the encouragement and truth that believers cling to in seasons of loss.

So we celebrate.  We celebrate her life and we celebrate the afterlife that awaits.
This is the last picture I have with my grandmother.  Here sits four of the six generations of Lucy and Lil's.  

Two days after my grandmother was buried, my cousin's wedding gave reason to celebrate.  I loved seeing how my family pulled together during this time.  Some relationships were mended, sensitivity ever-present, and the constant reminder to celebrate the good because life's brevity is upon us.

Kelly's wedding was the first one Lucy Mills and McClain have ever attended.
~Telling secrets with Aunt Marian right before the ceremony started. ~

~Tutu attempting to control my wild man at the wedding.~

~ My sweet boys ~

~ My cousin Donna and her beautiful family ~

~ Two of the prettiest girls I know. ~

~ Who can be totally silly too. ~

At the reception McClain started making eyes at the lady playing the harp.

And apparently his charm worked on her because soon enough she gave in and let him give it a whirl.

Lucy Mills gave it a try as well and she loved it.

All of Daddy's guitar lessons finally came in handy!

~ The lovely bride and groom during their first dance. ~

Suggie and McClain got to dance together as well.

McClain and Aunt Marian had a dance or two together that night.  It's amazing how it took five adults {my mom, sister, aunt, husband, and myself} to keep up with a 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 year old.  It takes a village I tell you. Or at least a family.

Once the partying started, my two were enthralled with the music.
~ Pump up the jam! ~

The dancing got a little crazy from this point on...

Between my cousins Donna and Mary Beth, they have six boys.  All of who could break it down on the dance floor like nobody's business.  My sweet girl was a little unsure about such shenanigans.

I don't think she had ever seen moves like this!

It wasn't long before McClain made his mark on the dance floor.

Pretty soon she let loose and I couldn't tear her away.

We had a fun time celebrating Kelly that night.  I think we were all aware who was with us in spirit.  Kelly reminded us by having my grandparents wedding photo proudly displayed.

Life is full of celebrations.  This was the week they came full circle for me. 

Iphone Unload {Catching up on life)

Warning: lots of pictures in this post.  I'm not sure if we have been that much busier or if I'm just taking more pictures, but here we go...

My trip to Ft. Lauderdale in a nutshell...

How big is McClain? Soooo big! 

Steve Spurrier prodigy in the making.

Snuggling and tickling with Mommy at the beach.

How we make it through meals in restaurants with two little, active people...
Don't judge.

Snoozin' at the beach.

All smiles by the ocean.

The fun parent.

Ready to hit the lake on a Sunday afternoon.

Captain McClain!

They had a blast on the boat, despite these expressions.  I assume it was the boat, but hey it could have been the snacks they loved the most!

My little helper cleaning the windows.  I wonder how long this will be fun for her?

Daniel and Tucker came for a visit last month and the children made a game out of feeding Tucker one morsel of food at a time.  Poor pup.

Birthday party bouncin'

My 17 month old is still obsessed with his "ba-ba." And his sweet Sissy likes to play mommy and feed it to him.

Like father, like daughter.

How random is this?
Travis' old roommate and his sweet family came in from the northwest for a visit.  Adam is a physical therapist and he turned our kitchen counter into his work space to perform his magic on Trav's ailing back.

Tutu also came by for a quick visit on Mother's Day and Lucy Mills enjoyed showing her how Mommy takes pictures with her iphone.

Happy Mother's Day to me.

My loves!

Trav went camping with some great guys and they had an absolute ball together.  It's been almost a month since the trip and I'm still hearing stories about their adventures.
I'm ready for a girls trip ladies!

My handsome outdoorsman.
{Thanks for the pictures Lucas!}

Lucy Mills' latest interest is anything ballet oriented.  She always wants to wear this tutu bathing suit from last summer.  She prances around the house with her arms up in the air whispering I'm a ballerin-a, I'm a ballerin-a!  I'm looking to get her involved in some sort of dance so she can unleash her twirls and curtsies  to the fullest.

Reading with her friend Ilona.

Cruisin' for chicks.

Doing arts and crafts at Mary Wallace's house.

Lucy Mills with her amazing CBS teacher Ms. Colleen.  Lucy Mills has thrived being in her class on Thursday mornings and we will miss her over the summer! She has been the perfect teacher for my sweet girl, teaching her bible verses and stories, the pledge of allegiance, songs, and cute crafts week after week.

Bathing beauty.

Doing side walk chalk with Mason.

McClain has become obsessed with VeggieTales. Tutu bought the children Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber along with a VeggieTales video.  I have to say that these are the cutest, bible-based videos.  Everyday he asks for "Tales."

Lucy Mills' favorite reading spot.  Behind all the pillows in Mommy and Daddy's bed.
Mama, I doin' my bible study, I so com-tble (comfortable). 

Anniversary dinner date night! Thank you for babysitting Suggie.

Heading to Pop Pop's on Memorial Day.

Reading together on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Enjoying a picnic together on the back deck.

Ok, I think that brings us up to date on all the pictures in my phone from the past 2 months.  Told you that was a lot.  These days are flying by!