MG's birthday

This post is from two months ago! We're so thankful for MG, and we keep pinching ourselves that she's already 6! She is a precious girl--growing in confidence, faith, and love. What a gift she is to our family! Here are some (probably too many!) shots from her birthday and her party.

Starting the day in celebration--

Dinner at Tenders per her request--



Her art party with friends--

We got new sunglasses today. . .

A month late. . . Happy Birthday, Little Guy!

It's been awhile, but Sam's birthday was tons of fun. Although a visit from Handy Manny was the highlight of the party, we don't have any great pictures of him. Manny did a great job leading the house painting, relay racing, and pinata festivities. I think Sam had a fantastic time and felt celebrated. What a privilege it is to parent this sweet, funny, thoughtful, and smart little boy!







We love you so much, Sam!

Finishing Something I Started

I often feel like most things I do I leave unfinished. Perhaps that has to do with the stage of life I'm in (or maybe I'm just telling myself that to make myself feel better). This weekend I finished a race--something that I'd been planning for and training for during the last few months. The River Run is a favorite of mine, and David and I got to share it with friends this year. We went to Jacksonville without kids and ran the 15K together with 15,000 other runners. I'm so thankful for the fun challenge of the race, relaxing time at home, and laughter with friends. Although the race was quite taxing to my (quickly aging) body, I feel rejuvenated by time away. Thanks Sellners for joining the adventure, Mom and Dad for hosting, and Sara and Chuck for loving my kids. I'm so grateful!

A Visit with Mims

I forgot to post these pictures of our time with Mims a few weeks ago. We had a great time at the last home basketball game and loved our hang out time. We love you, ML!

MG's Art Exhibition

On Friday, MG had an art exhibition in her classroom to celebrate the completion of their artist unit. It was really impressive to hear all that the kids had learned and to see their masterpieces. Here's a sample of some of MG's work:
Her study of Monet yielded a watercolor and a focus on lilypads-


During their study of Michelangelo, the kids painted lying on the floor underneath their tables and worked on their "frescos" like the one below.

A Kandinsky-inspired piece:

MG loved her study of Mary Cassatt and painted this piece with the following photograph as inspiration.


Ahhh--an artist's life. . . .

My Sweet Children