8 months

and as beautiful as the day she was born!

june 19

we waited, and we waited, and we counted down the days, and we woke up with excitement and eagerly arrived at the theater to be among the first to see.....

and while the smiles are less than genuine here, be assured that we all loved it!

.z.o.o.

one fine day at the zoo and i do not have many pictures to show for it. i do have one of a crew about to ride the skyfari. it was fantastic.

and i have one of a bright-eyed-brown-eyed girl.

the only one of those in this household!

good taste

one day, quite by accident, the boyz were wearing the same outfit. however, only one of them wore his bib at dinnertime. . .

PreSchool GrADuATe

libby lou successfully completed coursework and met the requirements to be considered a graduate .pre.school. a prodigy, she knows her alphabet, her numbers, and the words to a bazillion songs and poems. :)

look how grown up! my sweet baby. i love you elisabeth adeliade!

one minute you're just chillen...

mom? what is that thing?

i guess i don't mind it... sounds kinda funny...

oh xand.

Happy Mother's Day!

On the way home from the Springs, we stayed at mom & dad's and celebrated mother's day. Brian snapped a picture of grammy with her kiddos before we left. Sometime later, we misplaced Xander's hat. his faaaaaaaaaaaaaavorite hat. :(

...more of life in the springs

...a few more pictures telling a mini-story about our visit with wilson & mary and their girlies...

libby on the nose of a plane at the air force academy

just a day before mother's day, abby and libby planned a special mommy tea party for mary and me. they set up a table and chairs in abby's room, snuck (they were veerrrrrry sneaky) up some bread and water, a little tea set, and were pleased to give us the cards they had crafted in their spare time. it seems like there was some decorating done as well, i think there were paper decorations hanging from the light fixture. but i don't have them photographed. :) anyway, two blessed mommas are we!

phoebe sits, eagerly awaiting her FIRST tea party! how magnificent!!

abby in her hand-made crown

sophie in her finest gown

xander, who later asked, "aren't we going to a party?" i had to tell him, "babe, this IS the party!"

not EXACTLY what he had in mind. :)

libby in her hand-made crown, AND finest jewels

the decor libby made for the tea party

as mary and i prepped scones, chocolate strawberries, and tea, sophie entertained

abby with one of her paper flowers - the girls made a bouquet of flowers that we displayed in a vase on the table. they are both so crafty and had a great time with one another. party prep is right up their alley.

working working working

we hardly saw the girls the morning we had our mommy-daughter (and son) tea party. they were b.u.s.y. crafting and decorating and dressing for the party. so very sweet, they are.

xander did very little to prep for the tea party. :) he did stir the scone dough, and he did play with the only *boy toy* the brissetts have. nevermind that it's pink. he did the best he could in a world of girls!

phoebe pie showing her newish teeth. :)

Sweet Reunion

We had an opportunity to visit dear friends in Colorado Springs, hmmmm last month? It seems like ages ago! Almost immediately after leaving them we missed the Brissetts. Such sweet friendship grounded in Christ, I so enjoyed my late night conversations with Mary, and the days with our 5 kiddos and one on the way (Mary is due in just 4 weeks!), who were just Abby and Libby when we enjoyed Charlottesville together.

Here are some pictures of our trip to the Colorado Springs Zoo. When we wanted to see another animal, we hiked straight up! :) (omaha zoo girls, we have no business complaining about the hills back by the cat complex, or up to the elephants, or from the koi fish around to the giraffes, etc. etc. etc.) Also, we got to feed the giraffes. My kids were nervous, and it's no surprise really. I think there is wisdom in being hesitant to hand feed a creature whose head is the size of the better half of your whole person. Giraffes are big. Trust me. And their tongues are very very long, and they're blackish purple. It's ... different. Xander repeatedly told me, "no thanks" when I encouraged him to feed one, but Libby was convinced at the last moment. She didn't regret it, and though Xander watched from 5 feet back, strangely he is the one who most frequently mentions the giraffes in Colorado Springs. Back home, he now wants to feed the giraffes (not likely unless your name is Debbie I), and seems to have a general fascination with them whenever we go to Henry Doorly.

I'm tired and won't be posting any more tonight, but when I get back to it, I'll have fun pictures from our tea party with the Brissetts. you'll love them.

Kindergarten Round-Up

Oh it seems so long ago, and it was. . .

My baaaaaaaaaby went to kindergarten round-up in May. She was so excited and cheerfully teased daddy on the way to school. They talked on the phone and he told her he hoped she would have a really fun time. "Oh daddy, I'm SURE I will have a fun time. I mean, when was the last time I came home from school and said, 'Boy, that was not a fun day at school.'"

When we arrived she became a little hesitant to head down the hall without me, but she did so with brave face. I let her go with brave face as well. Xander's cheerful disposition and chatty nature kept me happily busy through the hours that she was gone, delighting in crafts and play and reading and snacks. Soon enough, Phoebe, Xander, and I picked her up and took her for a special treat - a lunch date with daddy in honor of her big day.

I took pictures of her in front of the school - in her little skirt with the harsh Nebraska wind whipping her hair, but my camera didn't have the memory card in. boo. Thankfully, I discovered it's absence before lunch, and was able to take this picture of her with daddy. Oh aren't they my sweets!

i love this age

i love this age. and that one. and that one. what sweet happenings happen when you're 6 months old. and 5 years old. but tonight, i'm home chatting with my 2 year old. and what a funny time.

Xander: who is that? who is that talking?

Me: you must be hearing my music. we're singing. (sovereign grace and i)

Xander: oh

Me: (singing) "glorious and mighty" (speaking) do you know who this song is about?

Xander: (giving it the old college try) ummmmmmmmmmmmmm. it's about.... walking.

Me: nope. it's about God. He is glorious and mighty! we sing it to him.

Xander: why?

Me: because we love him.

Xander: i don't.*

Me: you don't?

Xander: nope.

Me: oh. well maybe someday you will.

Xander: but YOU love him. you love God and daddy.

Me: yes, I do.

--incoming text from daddy--

Me: hey, Xander. we're going to a restaurant for dinner tonight.

Xander: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! why?

Me: because it's Uncle's Jon's graduation day.

Xander: (wildly excited) and jon will be there?!?!

Me: yes. he will.

Xander: and can i have CHIPS!?!?

.... and so it continues. wouldn't you love to be a fly on our wall?

*i was so glad to hear that, in a way. of course it would have been great for xander to launch into his gushing love for the Lord - if, in fact, he loved the Lord. but he doesn't. and i love that he realizes that he doesn't. how much easier to recognize a changed heart when we agree that he's starting from a place where he does not love the Lord!

praising the Lord

Libby: Can I have some of that grape flavored medicine?
Me: I don't think so.

Libby: No. Because I'm all the way better!

Me: Praise the Lord for That!

Xander: Praise the Lord for MEDICINE!

Me: Yes, praise the Lord for medicine.

Xander: Praise the Lord for CHERRY MEDICINE.

issanother traaaaaaain!

So, I did a little research. I found "Paxton is located near ... two very heavily traveled Union Pacific railroad tracks in southwestern Nebraska. In fact, one of those tracks is the 'busiest track in the world, with about nine trains passing by an hour.'"

CAN you imagine the glee, CAN you imagine the delight of a two-year-old city kid, when he hears the horns blaring, NINE TIMES PER HOUR for three days (and nights) straight? As dad, mom and Libby are my witnesses, Xander noticed almost every single one of those trains rolling through town just 3 blocks from mom and dad's, and he begged me to scamper out to the sidewalk with him almost every time. We did spend several minutes out on the sidewalk watching trains, trying to catch the engine and sticking around for the caboose, basically running from our seats when we heard the horns-ablaring. It was fun. :)

It's funny to think that were it not for Xander, I wouldn't have even heard most of them. :) And by "them", I mean the roughly 300 trains that rolled through town while we were visiting.

generations

One fine day in Paxton, spent on the deck at mom and dad's. ... We were visited by Libby, Xander, and Phoebe's Great-Grandpa Dwain, Great-Grandma Sharon, Great Grandma Dorothy, and Great-Aunt Jackie. We were thrilled to get to spend the afternoon with them and take a few pictures of four generations of our family.

and to think that it happened on mulberry street

or ... oak street.
week at grammy's - reading seuss and playing with Uncle Mason's and Aunt Brett's old toys.

rubadubdub

rubadubdub. phoebe.in.the.tub.

until recently, bath-taking was not such a smiley affair. and so, we have pictures. :)

mac-ween

MacWeen (McQueen), Mader, and Doc Hudson. Moviestars worth mentioning in this house. Until a couple of weeks ago, Xander did not know these adored characters were in such a movie. They were merely in books, or on undies, etc. One Wednesday evening, while daddy and Libby were at church, Xander and I had a movie date -- his smile was worth mentioning. Very excited was my little man.

Libby's Prayer

Revelation 21: 4

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Yesterday, I threw away some flowers that had died in the vase. One of them was Xander's and he asked me not to throw it away. I told him I needed to, and in true Xander form, he responded with "otay, mommy." But his sensitive big sister could tell he was disappointed and she did her best to lift his spirits.

"Xander, I really hope that you can love Jesus. Because if you can, if you can love Jesus, then when you die you can go to heaven to be with him. And in heaven, it's great! I won't be bothering you anymore, you won't be bothering me anymore, there will be no more sickness or sadness or tears, and flowers will live FOREVER."

I am daily impressed with the ways our God uses my kids to encourage and sanctify me. He is a great God! :)