Soccer Season

Ive been busy... really busy... Sorry for the lack of updates.

Soccer season is among us..... here is Dylan's team, minus one player.

Hayden loves watching Dylan play... but he also likes to wander onto the field.. Michael had to chase him down today and get him off the field during the game!

Kindergarten

Today, Dylan started Kindergarten... You would be proud of me, not a single tear!

Dylan did great also...although he was annoyed with my persistent picture taking. Below you will see what he thought of my "just one more picture, buddy"....

Happy Birthday Dylan

I can't believe he is now FIVE years old now!

Nothing like a sick day...

...to slow you down... I got a call at work yesterday that Hayden was vomiting, so I had to leave work to go get him. He woke up this morning running I high temperature, so I stayed home with him...We have been home all together today, just being completely lazy...watching TV, napping, snacking... I hate my baby got sick, but its nice to have a lazy day..a day with no commitments.

My lil' sickly eating an apple...and mommy behind the camera praying it'll stay down!

Dylan getting in on the lazy action...

Been busy

Been busy with photo shoots lately, and it has been so much fun. Below are a couple of the pictures....

And, Dylan's soccer season has started back up....we had our first practice this last week. He has a blast and left soaking wet from sweat! Hard to believe he starts Kindergarten in a couple weeks!!!

The Boys Photo Shoot

Saturday Photos

I had a photo shoot this morning at Old Salem. We had a good time, regardless of the heat... and I think we got some good shots!

9 Years

Today is Michael and my 9 year anniversary. Wow!

Time sure has flown by. 9 years ago today I was an 18 year old girl who, nervously and excitedly, was about to make a commitment that would alter my life forever. Yup...you read that right...18! I remember thinking to myself that I was young, but that Michael was grown and older. But, he was only 23. And, to add to the shock factor we only knew each other 9 months before getting married! Looking back, I'm almost appalled that my parents were as calm as they were about their freshly-turned 18 year old daughter getting married. In fact, calm is not the word...more like encouraging. They say it's because they knew Michael was a good guy and he would take care of me, but still... 18 years old! I'm glad they didn't give me grief though.

Life with Michael is wonderful...interesting...funny... He keeps me on my toes, and inspires me at the same time. He has been my best friend, lover and caretaker. (I know caretaker is an odd word to use, but lets face it...getting married at 18 meant I still had some growing up to do.) The first two years were Horrible...and I do mean Horrible, with a capital H! We fought, we fussed, we cried... I dreaded coming home.. I dreaded waking up... A lot of it had to do with being so young and not knowing Michael very well... but I'm convinced most of it was because we weren't putting God first in our relationship.

Now, 9 years, 2 kids, a new home later we are doing great. God has blessed us tremendously and just like I told Michael this morning, I love him more now than the day we got married.

Photographic

I had a fun photo shoot with a beautiful little girl yesterday. I just have to share a few from the session. Aren't her eyes amazing?

After the shoot, my friend and I went into down town Winston Salem to find a spot for some photographs. I was wanting a picture of me to load to my website. After driving around we found a great mural that we took a few pictures in front of.

Aubreigh meets World

Today my best friend of 13 years gave birth to her second daughter. I was blessed and honored to get to be with her during the labor and delivery. Birth has always fascinated me... and when you get to be in on a birth that's not your own, you actually get to take in all the details. I can say that birth, itself, just reminds me of how amazing God is.

World. Meet Aubrey.

Summer

Tonight, we went for a ride on the Polaris...something we typically do 3 or 4 nights a week. We ride through the woods behind our home, up the hills, through the pastures. The boys enjoy seeing the cows, horses, donkeys and other random wildlife... Michael and I enjoy smelling the fresh air, and just taking in the beautiful scenery.

the horses, Ginger and Bo

One of the donkeys

After coming home the boys caught some lightning bugs. Dylan is better at catching, than Hayden...

Dylan 3 vs Hayden 1

About a week ago I talked with Dylan about something that has been on my heart lately. Dylan see's me cleaning the house, sitting on the computer, painting my nails, and just being lazy at times..but he very rarely seen me reading the Bible. I felt it was truly a disservice to him, considering the fact that he is so moldable right now...and his heart is pure and really wants to learn more about God. Both of my boys are gifts from God..I know it is Michael and my job to teach them about him, and there is no more perfect time than now. So, last week we started reading a chapter in Proverbs...with the goal being five chapters a week. (I will admit that we only managed to do it three nights, but I guess its better than zero.) But, I bought a book that I'm excited to start with tonight... Step into the Bible, by Ruth Graham. It is a book filled with 100 Devotionals for families. I think this will give me more of a guide, and help me to answer some of the questions he may have.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)

,

God may not have given me a girl....

But he sure did give me a boy with the most tender heart and giving soul I have ever seen. Dylan is a boys boy; loves getting dirty, running as fast as he can, crashing his toy cars...but he also loves all the details involved in making mommy "pretty". He frequently asks to "style" my hair, which for hims means brushing it.... I never hesitate on his request, because it feels so good to be pampered. But today when I sat down to paint my finger nails and he kept asking to help, I decided 'what the heck' and told him Id let him do my toe nails... I figured Id be left with an interesting "mess", but his precious little blue eyes won me over!

And the finished product:

I cant decide whether I should clean up his paint job after he is in bed tonight, or should I just leave it to admire for another couple days???

New site

So I guess I shouldnt techincally share this yet, since Im still working on it and its very plain and simple right now....but, what the heck.

Photos By Jol

On my back deck

I love summer evenings spent on our deck; listening to the rural quietness, smelling the country air, watching the boys play....ahhh, the simplicity.

Tonight Dylan enjoyed sitting on the bench with daddy, while Hayden spent his time splashing in the pool and sharing the water with Lightning, our dog.

Fathers Day is tomorrow...

I have been so busy with vacation Bible school this last week that I haven't had time to truly plan and prepare for Fathers Day...but I do have some ideas. For my wonderful husband, Michael, I have to really get my act together because he thew together a great Mothers Day for me a couple months ago. I know there will be breakfast in bed, cute handmade cards from the boys and lunch at his favorite restaurant-Texas Roadhouse. I also made a small gift for him--a collage of our recent beach trip, which Michael still talks about very frequently.

And I cant speak of Fathers Day without mentioning my dad. Out of all the people in my life, he is the one person who I can say has never let me down. He is the most humble, caring, selfless person I know...the most near to perfect man out there. I love my dad.

For Fathers Day he will also receive a collage. Hope he likes it!

One long post

Oh wow..I'm so behind. Ill try to catch you up in a brief as possible post. I threw a baby shower for my best friend Rachel recently. She is due with a baby girl (Aubreigh) in early July.

Then, as soon as the shower was over, we left for our vacation. We had a nice week long trip to Myrtle Beach.

And lastly, my total weight loss hit 14 lbs this morning!!! Shocking, especially after a week of pure indulgence at the beach.