Beautiful BOY!

I saw my angel baby today. What a miracle! For some reason, I've been so worried that something would be wrong and when I saw his sweet little face and hands moving around- it moved me to tears. My mom is in town and went to the ultrasound with Marc and I. Afterwards, we went and got the kids and took them straight to church to pray prayers of thanksgiving at the altar for our precious gift. Marky is thrilled to have a brother- and I'm sure Julia is happy to remain the princess.

Psalm 139:13-14: For You formed my inward parts;You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

Field Trip

Today we went on a little field trip with some homeschoolers to the Alabama Power Watercourse. It was so much fun! It's in Clanton- and you can go anytime Tues-Friday 9-4. Locals should definitely try it out!
This pic is from the website- but it's a game where they ask questions about water and if you win your face goes on the tv screen and the lights flash. Marky thought this was awesome and with help from mommy he got some answers right. They had a helicopter simulator that took you to Mobile and a golf cart thing that gave you a simulated tour of the Mitchell dam and explained hydroelectricity. They also had computer games and a movie about water. All in all- a great day! P.S. Alabama has more navigable water ways than any other state!

Yard Sale Day

So today we had a little yard sale with some of our friends. Above is our old kitchen island and purple slide and some toys. We sold all the big stuff- Marc sold his 6-disk car c.d. player thingy for like $30- less than the tax he paid when he bought it originally. I guess that's how yard sales go though- you have to sell things at bottom prices. I think when all was said and done we got around $60- and then spent $20 on pizza. We had a really fun day hanging out with friends and I'm glad people can use the stuff that was in our garage.
Marky spent the day with his buddy M.H. and they stayed so busy we almost never saw them- they played outside all morning "old school", i.e. without toys. They dug in the dirt for mud pies, filled cups with water, stacked firewood and "built" things with hammers.
Julia spent her time terrorizing chasing a neighboorhood cat and generally wandering around. Here she is chasing him into some bushes- come back "tit-tat".

No she didn't....

Today has been weird. You know our house is for sale, and today the people whose house we want to buy came and looked at our's. Their realtor completely nit picked the entire house- a house we have spent months, really years, fixing up. "There were a couple loose bricks on the landing at the top of the back stairs", "a few windows were dirty", etc. It REALLY got under my skin. First, the house we are thinking of buying is in no way ready to live in- we would have to paint inside and out, redo carpet, redo countertops, etc. I didn't go in there and tear it apart- I looked at the house and determined whether it was what I wanted- knowing I could change it in the future to fit our taste. Second, I cleaned all the back windows inside and out and the front windows on the inside- I can't reach the front windows on the outside without an extension ladder and that is ridiculous- it's 100 degrees and I'm pregnant. Third, I realize that my home is an extension of me- and while I am by no means a decorator, I have put thought and work into making it a cozy, happy place for my family and for someone to come in and say "loose bricks" are a deal breaker makes me feel like I myself have "loose bricks" and am a mess. Buying and selling homes is a personal business- there's no getting around it. I remember some Dobson book we read before we got married, he talked about how women's identities are closely tied to their homes. And now that I've had someone come and "disrespect" my home, and by extension myself, I almost want to take it off the market and stay here- at least I appreciate this place. Marc says this "violent" response is my hormones being all over the place. Maybe so- but I still say "oh no she didn't".

Quote of the Day....

Today we had an extra fun day. When we got home, I said, "Marky, what a special day full of treats we've had. We went to Children's Holy Hour to see Jesus at church, we went to the library and played on the computers, we went to the toy store and you got finger paint and Julia got a bouncy ball, we went to lunch with Aunt Shana and then she took you to the ice cream store and bought you and Julia a special ice cream treat with M&Ms! What a special day!"

And he said, "yes, it was a special day, but the best treat of all of that is Jesus."

The dog days of summer.....

... are a perfect time to share a snowcone with a girlfriend.

this is Ayda and Julia sharing a treat- you will see Julia's snowcone is actually sitting on the table, but she decided that Ayda probably wouldn't finish her's so she's "helping" her.

My camera's back!!!

Yay! My camera arrived in the mail Friday- so here are pictures from the weekend- like it or not! We have had two good couple friends of ours move to town this summer and we are so excited. The first couple had a 30th b'day party cookout to break in their new house and we went over. I was amazed how Marky stayed in the sandbox FOREVER- even though we have a sandbox- a different sandbox was cooler.

And even though we have a wagon and ball- their wagon and ball was MUCH more special to Juliabug.

The second couple moved in this weekend and we kept their kids Sunday afternoon so they could get some shopping and arranging done. We had so much fun in the backyard as you can see!

Their youngest baby girl is one and made me realize that Julia, being 2, really isn't a baby. I think she is- but she can talk and knows so much- it kind of breaks my heart- her babyhood just FLEW by!
Oh- and I can't leave without giving major props to the wacky sprinkler Aunt Shana gave the kids for their birthday= it was a BIG hit!