It's Been a LONG Time!

Wow oh wow I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged. It makes me sad but unfortunately the blog is what go by the wayside if something has to! So let me do some catching up. LAST September 1 we had ANOTHER little girl! When we found out we were having a third child I didn't want to find out the gender just to make it even more fun boy oh boy was I SHOCKED! Larry DID know what it was but I didn't. So when I went in to have the baby in which I was 99.99999% sure it was a boy for many reasons, out came this little girl and I cried I was in complete shock. Her name is Edyn Elliott (Edyn after the Garden of Eden, and Elliott after Jim Elliot). She has been so much joy, Mariah loves being a big sister and is SO much help! 

So now she's 14 months old which I cannot believe! Mariah is 6 years old and Justus is turning 4 on Wednesday! We recently had our family photos done so I thought I would share a few of them! We are still living in Raphine, VA and my favorite time of year is here, Fall-Christmas!!

So here is our little Edyn! She was born at 39 weeks, I DID NOT have to go on bed rest with her which was a HUGE praise. I was SO thankful I did not have to. Larry gave me weekly progesterone injections and let me tell you they were way less painful than having to lay on the couch for

 12 weeks!

This past July we celebrated 11 years of marriage! Where did the time go?!

First BIG Snow of the Year

Last weekend we had our first big snow. Around 18-22 inches is my guess it was hard to tell with the drifts. Here's just a fun snow photo I took of Mariah. She was a trooper, it was really cold!

Merry Christmas 2015

Wow! I realized it's been forever since I blogged and goodness so much has happened! The kids have grown SO much! Mariah turned 4 in October and Justus turned 2 in November. We moved into our new house back in June and we are absolutely in love with it. We are so grateful for it. It's SO nice to have the space, especially when people come to stay! 

Mariah started K4 in September. We use A Beka video. She's really enjoying and has learned a lot! She can count to 50, has learned 11 verses and is writing in cursive. She has really matured a lot since school started. She's definitely not a toddler anymore! 

We are spending Christmas in Raleigh this year. It's been 3 years since being here for the holidays. I hope your Christmas is special! I will try and keep more updates this upcoming year! We are so thankful for how good God has been to us!! Here are a few pictures from the past few months!

Merry Christmas!

 We had our pictures taken in November and I couldn't be more thrilled with them! Here are just a few:

 Christmas 2015

Below are pictures from this past summer

Snow Lovin'

Wow goodness so much has happened since I last blogged!! But I'm just jumping on really quick to share this photo of my kids. We've had lots and lots of snow. It's been beautiful! A lot of it will melt this week as we are getting up in the 60's! Wow! 

Day 7: Pillows

Today was cleaning day and the kids LOVE playing with these pillows while I'm busy! She knows how to strike a pose:)

Day 6: Thumb Sucker

Whew I have missed a few days so I'm playing catch up! This past weekend Justus had strep. HORRIBLE, horrible for such a small one. In the middle of all of it, he stopped sucking his thumb. Naturally you would think that's a good thing, but not when he's sick!! It hurt his throat so bad to suck it he wouldn't touch it. So after he started getting better his sleep patterns were off and he wouldn't suck his thumb. Rough few days after he started getting better but today he started sucking it again and all is good! We'll worry about weaning him when it's the right time, LATER down the road. Like waaay later:)

Day 5: "Mom Are You Making it Rain?"

Today I was washing dishes and Mariah looked over and said "Mom are you making it rain?" A three year old's mind is like a sponge. Everything is new, she's learning so much and trying to make sense of everything around her. 

I know what she was thinking-we sing the song "The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock" a lot when she's in the tub and when we get to the part "the rains came down and the floods came up" she makes it rain with the tub water. So wouldn't' I make it rain with the dish water? :)

Day 4: Sleepy Head

Ever since I can remember Mariah has always "plugged in" (putting her finger in her belly button) around nap time and bed time. I joke and say that she's going to be on her honeymoon, drinking her milk and "plugged in". 

I love her crazy bed head:)

Day 3 "Proud"

 Today while I was out, Mariah watched a Curious George with Larry and George built a wagon. So Mariah built one too. I came home and she couldn't wait to show me. How hideously perfect is this???! One.proud.mom.

Day 2 "Beautiful"

Right in the middle of posting this last night, our internet went down, but here's day 2!

"Beautiful" is what her daddy calls her. Why? Since moving here we have realized how so many girls/women put their security in boys/men. We always want mariah to feel secure not only in us but most of all, in Christ. She is beautiful, no matter what. Today she wanted to put on her Elsa gown and I snapped this photo as she was twirling around and singing "I'm Beautiful" (a song randomly make up:)

Welcome 2015! Day 1

Last year I wanted to start the photo a day challenge but knew with Justus being so small and still getting use to having two kiddos it wouldn't happen. This year I am not promising there will be one every day but I would love the challenge! So here's the first one. Justus is SO close to walking. He'll take a step or two here and there but then that's it. His new thing is to walk on his knees and he LOVES it! He's so proud of himself and it cracks us up!

He Turned 1!

Whaaaat?? Totally can't believe he is a one year old! We had a small celebration on his birthday. He ended up running a fever and having a sore throat so we didn't do a whole lot but when we head to NC for Thanksgiving we will be having a mini birthday party for him! Happy FIRST birthday sweet, handsome miracle. We love you and are so so thankful for you sweet self!

Halloween 2014

Our Halloween this year was different from the past two. We didn't dress up this year! We have been so busy with the house and our church didn't do a trunk or treat, instead we planned a harvest party only to end up canceling it because of bad weather. So this is as dressed up as they got!

We started on the house a little over a month ago and things are going so well! We are really excited! We sold our townhouse in Northern Virginia back in August and then we broke ground in September. We are hoping to be moved in by March if everything goes as planned. The house should be under roof by next week. 

Justus turns 1 a week from today!!! whaaaaaaaat?? So hard to believe!! We are so in love with this big guy I just can't believe it was a year ago he joined our family! 

MawMaw's Visit

MawMaw flew in for two weeks and just left us this past Thursday to go back home to FL. We loved having her. She came and canned all of our green beans and we got around 50 pints! Not as much as last year as we waited to long to pick these with our crazy busy lives it just didn't work out to get them any sooner. But we're thankful for what we got! We also had our VBS while she was here and had such an awesome week!

9 Months Old!

You're 9 months old Big Boy and we sure do love you bunches!!

Justus' Room

Of course Justus room was not even painted when he arrived, we did have Mariah moved out but that was as far as we had gotten. So, here we are eight months later and it's finally finished! Granted, it's been finished for about a month but I'm just now getting around to taking pictures.

Bedding is from Pottery Barn kids. I love their line of bedding and always have!

Eight Months Already??

Justus turned 8 months on our anniversary! He's just what you see in these pictures. Fun, HAPPY oh my goodness he is so happy! He's an easy baby I'm afraid he's spoiled me. I'm hoping the next one is as easy as he is although the process of getting him here wasn't easy! 

I love you big boy! You bring so much fun into our family and I really don't remember what it was like not having your sweet smiling face around our house!

Another Year!

It's been eight years ago that Larry and I said "I do." This time he's all the way in Trinidad on a missions trip and I'm in NC at my parent's house! So we celebrated before we went our separate ways. I love him and every day am amazed that God gave such an incredible man to me. I can honestly say we don't fight, sure we disagree on things from time to time but he's so wise in handling disagreements and I know it comes from God, so I trust him and know that he always wants best for our family. I don't say that to brag, Larry's done a lot of work on me LOL!! God's done a incredible work on us!!

I pray that God blesses each of our children with a spouse like mine. I pray their love for Christ is like their dad's. May they see our love for one another and want a marriage like ours. 

Two and a half years ago when we were moving to Raphine, we put our house up for rent. It was on the market I believe no longer than a week (but I think it was 3 days). Larry left to go on a missions trip to Papua New Guinea and I was in NC. I got a call from Kent saying we had a renter! So I signed the paperwork and he's been the best renter you could ever ask for! Now just this past week, we put it on the market to sell and two days later, Larry leaves for Trinidad and we get a full price offer! I signed the contract and we close next month. I'm telling this because I believe both times God provided a renter/buyer for us because Larry has such a willing heart for missions. No I don't believe God is calling us to the field but Larry's love for foreign missions is HUGE. I know our Pastor from our previous church had a huge impact on us in that area and I'm so grateful for that. 

                                          Happy 8 years Larry!!! I love you more than ever!!

Happy 4th!

Blueberry Bushes & Garden

Last year we planted five blueberry bushes. Larry's uncle told him a specific kind to order so we did and they did absolutely squat! This year a few of them are producing and they were finally big enough and blue enough to pick. So yesterday Mariah and Larry got to do the first picking which Larry has been looking forward to this all week since he's leaving tonight for camp with the teens. Here's a picture of them!

Our garden is doing great this year. I will admit, I haven't had anything to do with it :P With two kids it's pretty hard to get out in the garden and work in it. Larry's done a great job though!

Having a little bed head while gardening never hurts! LOL