Emma's Home!

Emma finally came home last week from a long vacation at Noni and Justin's house. We were ALL ready for her to get back. It's very quiet around here when she's not here! As always, Ella was especially glad to see here sister. Emma is always on the go during summer. I always wonder what El is thinking when one day sister's here and the next she's gone! But things have finally gotten back to "normal". Em even lost another tooth while she was gone!

A few of my favorites ~

I love this camera! I'm still learning, but have obviously been practicing a lot! These are few that I really like. Emma will be home tomorrow so hopefully I can get some good ones of her too.....and maybe give El a little break!

Oh Ella...

Even Jeb couldn't resist picking up the camera for this one! While I was at Corks and Canvas last night he said that Ella spotted a cheerio under her excersaucer and was determined to get it! She just couldn't bare to let one escape.....remember, she doesn't like to waste! Jeb said it was a little easier for her to get under there than it was for her to get out. She got a little stuck but managed to wiggle herself out. I would have loved to have seen this take place!!

Corks n' Canvas!

This is the Auburn/Montgomery area's version of "Sips n Strokes"! Lena and I went tonight, along with several other friends, and had so much fun! Who knew I was such an artist....right? Well, at least I got a little practice in before I go to "Sips n Strokes" next weekend with my fabulous girlfriends! It was a ton of fun......I highly recommend it! Oh yeah.....those are supposed to be pears!

Beef Tips, Anyone??

Forget the baby food....El likes the good stuff! I fixed beef tips and gravy, rice, and peas last night for dinner (per Jeb's request) so I thought I'd try to feed a little to Ella just to see what she thought. As you can see, she thought it was great! She ate the entire bowl. If she dropped some on her highchair she'd try to recover as much as she could....she doesn't like to waste anything. I'm not sure why I was so surprised. We haven't found anything that she won't eat! I'm still trying to figure out how one eats something like beef tips with only 2 little teeth! I guess where there's a will, there's a way.....and she certainly had the "will"! I'm not sure if I'll be able to get her to eat baby food again!

New Camera!

I got a VERY early birthday/Christmas/anniversary (and every other holiday for the next year) present from Jeb and his mom the other day! I've been wanting a Nikon D40 camera for a while now and it just so happens that the fabulous photographer that has been taking pictures of the girls (http://www.youngphotographyandframing.com/) is offering a digital SLR class soon. So that's what I got!! I'm so excited about getting some really good pictures of the girls (and very grateful to my sweet husband and mother-in-law for getting me the camera!) I've only had it for a few days so since Ms.Em is out of town poor Ella has had to endure SEVERAL photo shoots! Just to give you an idea, I've taken 162 pictures in 3 days! I'm still trying to figure out how to use it, so I've just been snapping away on all of the different settings. I'm really looking forward to the class so I can see what this thing can really do! If anyone has one and can share some tips on how to use it, I'd really appreciate it! I've posted a few pictures of El that I've taken so far. There will surely be more to come.....I can promise!

Notice the drool!!

She LOVES Bernice!!

I love the way her eyes look in this picture!

Teen Moms ~

I have recently began working with a volunteer/mentor program called Teen Moms. It is a division of Youth for Christ and fairly new to our area. Teen Moms is an organization where pregnant or parenting teens can go for advice, help and support during this very scary time. Since it is a christian-based organization, we also have the privilege of sharing God's word and letting them know how much He loves them no matter what situation they are in. This is something that I've been wanting to do for a while. My plan was to wait until Jeb finished school and then find a place where I could give back a little of what was given to me 7 years ago. However, this was not God's plan! He placed this opportunity right in front of me. At first, I was very nervous about taking this on. I wasn't sure how I was going to balance my time between Teen Moms, Work, and Jeb and the girls; and I wasn't too sure that I was fully equipped to be a "mentor" to anyone! But I was soon reminded by a very good friend that God doesn't call the equipped, HE EQUIPS THE CALLED! After hearing that (and after a TON of praying) I had no choice but to dive right in! I'm so excited about what the future holds for this organization! Hopefully I will be able to give the love and support to one of these girls, that our parents continue to give to us. I also called on all of my wonderful friends and family for any donations they might have to give to our "Blessings for Baby" store. The girls can earn "baby bucks" by coming to meetings, meeting with their mentor, learning Bible verses, etc, to be used in the store. Not long after i sent the email I was reminded of just how awesome my friends and family are. I posted a few pictures below of everything that has been donated thus far! I am so blessed to be surrounded by such loving, generous people! Please continue to pray for these girls and the future of this organization! I know God will do great things with this!!

A new place for Ella to sit...

She's everywhere! Once she figured out how to crawl forwards instead of backwards (which was hilarious to watch, by the way) she took off! For some reason she loves the couch. I put her on the it last night and she kept trying to climb on to the back of the couch. So I finally put her up there and she loved it! Why, I do not know. I guess if you're used to seeing everything from the floor, it's probably nice to be at eye level for once. She also thought it was funny to lean forward like she was going to jump off and then laugh at Jeb and I when we would lunge toward her to catch her. Yeah...that was hilarious! I think we have our hands full!

Our New Yard ~

Since school is over, Jeb finally had a little time to do some yard work that we've been wanting to do for a while. He spent 2 days tilling, digging, and planting new shrubs. I know it was not easy in this horrible heat we've been having! I just wanted to show off his work. He did a great job (with no help from me, of course...i usually take care of the inside!)

More Vacation Pictures!

I finally got the rest of the pictures uploaded! I didn't realize how many I took! They all turned out great. But just a warning.....you might want to sit back and relax because it might take a while to watch the entire slide show! I hope you enjoy them!

A Day at the Park!

IT WAS HOT.......but both girls were troopers! El was prepared with her hat and shades! She didn't sleep as much as she should have because she just can't stand to miss anything. But every time we sat still for more than 5 minutes she was out! Emma did the ropes course at the park and, although she was very hesitant, she worked up enough courage to finish it on the zip line! Her face was priceless! We were very proud of her!

The World of Coke!

Once again, we had a great time. It was very interesting "taste testing" all of the different coke products from around the world. There were a few that weren't too bad, but most were terrible! I don't see how anyone could enjoy drinking some of those things!

The Georgia Aquarium!

Jeb and I have been wanting to take Emma to the aquarium for a while. She loved it! They had so many things to see and do. I don't think Em really had a favorite........she was amazed by it all ( although we couldn't convince her that there was no harm in petting the sting rays. She didn't want to get stung!) My favorite was the Beluga Whale! It was so pretty! It took a couple of hours to go through the whole thing. Of course, we had to stop and see and READ EVERYTHING!