Happy Father's Day!

Here is my sweet Stevie and his girls today (engrossed in the TV at my parents' after naptime). I hope that he, his father, and my father all know how much they mean to me and to the girls. We are so thankful for these wonderful fathers who show us God the Father's love every day!


(notice Ellie with the blankey, flip-flops were on too, and MC holds her new twin doll close)

I had to add this sweet picture of Ellie (with the other twin doll). It'll be fun to find out in a couple months whether we'll be holding a real pink or blue baby this Christmas!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, my confession. Today for Father's Day, I generously ;) cleaned out my own minivan "for Steven". Embarrassingly, these were the contents of the inside of my car:



I think I'll list the contents for the fun of it...several pairs of shoes, 2 strollers, some CDs, a few dolls, a giant stuffed bear, 2 kids' lawn chairs, a poncho, 2 aprons, some bug repellent and sunscreen, a life jacket, a beach ball, a deflated raft, a toilet paper roll, a paper towel roll, 4 umbrellas (one was my moms!), a newspaper, a church bulletin, a carseat manual (for the carseat not in my car!), a tub of hand cream, 2 blow-up baseball bats, a toy shovel and rake, a baseball cap, a tupperware bottom, a water bottle, a smelly plastic Easter egg, an old t-shirt, work gloves, an old play camera, a cardboard box (did come in handy when Steven had to change a tire in the rain!), a tool kit, a car-jack kit, a foam baseball with a bite out of it, and several items of trash! Wow.

I'm happy to report that the car is vacuumed and only about 5% of those items are still in the minivan (safety stuff and strollers). We'll see how long it stays that way. Probably not very long. Now if I can ask a silly prayer intention to whoever the patron of car repairs is...please request that Our Lord be merciful to Orpah the Odyssey (yeah, the Bible character Oprah was named after)...she's been to the repair shop about 4 times in the past two months and I think the transmission is going out again. Hopefully this repair shop, or one of the other shops in their chain, can find someone who can repair our transmission correctly and fix Orpah's other issues so the B girls can be safe on the road!

And I can't post without a little praise report and congratulations to my dear friend Marie who welcomed her first child, Clara Lucia, into the world yesterday!!! Baby and Mommy are doing great thanks to the many prayers, especially from her greatest prayer warrior in heaven, her dear father who left this world last weekend. We can't wait to meet little Clara Lucia, YAY!!!

Happy 45th Anniverary

To my in-laws! What a beautiful celebration we had today with the amazing family they have raised! Seven children and 16 grandkids (+ 1 in-utero) who all love each other and enjoy their time together. I am so blessed to be a part of your family and glad to celebrate the day it all started. Congratulations, Bop-Bop and Grampatti!!!

Headbands and Flip-Flops

My girls have several little "signatures"...They each have their blankeys (Ellie's is called her "ray-ray") and Mary Clare sucks her thumb with hers, while Ellie sucks her two first fingers. They frequently carry dolls around on our different adventures. They are usually in matching or color-coordinated outfits (I have a color thing. Still trying to figure out how to match us today!). But they each have a "signature" that has been making me laugh recently...

Mary Clare has wanted to wear a headband in her hair for as long as I can remember. Now this doesn't mean she wears only a headband, because in that case her hair gets tangled and sprinkled with food and it still ends up in her face. No, Mary Clare wears a headband with whatever hairdo she has, usually ponytails, pigtails, etc. When she awakens in the morning, and as soon as she leaves the bathtub, she must find a headband. It's her little signature! And no matter how many times I try to hide them or discreetly remove them from her head after fixing her hair in a nice 'do, she manages to find another to wear!

Ellie's current signature is her obsession with Mary Clare's turquoise Old Navy flip-flops ("wop-wops" as she calls them). They are a few sizes too big, but she insists on wearing them wherever we go. Right now she is laying on the floor with her blankey wearing only a diaper and the flip-flops! She wants to sleep in them and when she awakens in the morning she panics while trying to locate them around the house. She has thrown a fit the past several times we've gone to mass because I make her put on her regular sandals. And this week when my cousin was visiting, her 2 1/2 year old daughter kept trying on the flip-flops when she found them lying around, both Ellie's as well as Mary Clare's or my flip-flops. Ellie would fall to the floor sobbing, saying "Mer-Mer's wop-wops!!!" or "Mommy's wop-wops!!!" It was kind of funny watching her reaction. This week we also went to an art class for our homeschool group. Surprisingly, Ellie decided she wanted to wear her "tor-shoes" (tennis shoes). But not surprisingly, she carried the flip-flops around the whole time we were at the art class!

What "signatures" do your kids have?

Feast of the Sacred Heart

Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Our Lord. We will spend part of it at the funeral mass of my friend's father, a true servant of Christ, and wonderful husband and father.

I pray that God has mercy on the soul of Grant R. and that his family and friends all be filled with the peace and hope that only Christ can give! I also pray that the arrival of Marie's baby tomorrow is a true gift of hope and joy in the midst of sadness. God bless them all.

Minimalist Living

If you haven't yet, check out Kristen's post about storing treasures in heaven, having only a handful of outfits for each of her family members and keeping possessions to a minimum. I am awed and inspired by these minimalist ideals, but imagine that if I tried to purge my home to be like this, it would fill a dumpster and clothe a small village of young girls! Must work on this virtue of simplicity...

A Beachy Day!

The day at the beach was just what we needed! Watching the waves roll in, and feeling my stress and emotions roll out with the water...

My girls and my cousin's girls had such a fun time in the sand and sea. Only wish the day was longer...and that I would have remembered my camera! Oh well, hopefully there will be a few more days at the beach this summer.

From Death to Life

I am once again faced with the need to process all the life and death around me. With the loss of my dear friend's father, death becomes real again, and yet as she will deliver her first child the day after burying her father, life is real too. A day doesn't pass when my email inbox is filled with prayer requests from various groups asking for prayers for a young mother with brain cancer, a little boy diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a priest undergoing heart surgery, a childhood classmate who died, or a toddler in a near drowning incident...and all in my circles of friends and acquaintances. It is hard not to stay up late wondering just what this whole life, suffering and death is all about.

But I think our children, raised in the Faith, give us the best answer. In Mary Clare's simple questions and encouragement that "it's okay, he's happy in Heaven, he's with Mary Clare R., Agnes, and Augustine" make me so thankful to have a God who speaks to us through others, especially our own children. We all laid down together tonight and remembered some stories about Mr. Grant. And I thought about the beautiful example of a holy marriage and loving family example that Grant and Clara have taught me. Later, as I was whining to Steven about my eczema-attacked fingers and lack of needed sleep this week, little Mary Clare came from the bathroom with my tub of lotion. Such sweet relief to my hands and my heart!

Tomorrow, God-willing, we will be graced with a much-desired trip to the beach with my aunt, my visiting cousin and her two young daughters. I think it will be just what I need in the midst of this busy and emotional week (I've also just started a tutoring job). But my heart is with my friend and her family this week and I pray that the example of Mr. Grant's life will be an encouragement to me, to all the husbands and young men he encountered, and to all those close to them. May his soul rest in peace, and may God grant us the faith and the hope that through suffering we are united with Christ, and through death, we are united with him forever.

Mr. Grant, Rest in Peace!

My dear friend Marie's father Grant passed away on Saturday after a brief illness. I am so sad and shocked. Her parents are the dearest couple, always opening their home, generous, with a heart for Christ and for others. In the picture above, Marie sings with her dad at our house blessing Mass in February. Sadly, he will miss the arrival of Marie's first baby this weekend. May baby Clara Lucia's new life be a sign of the eternal hope we all have in the life to come and may Mr. Grant pray for our peace here on earth. He will be dearly missed...

TGIF!

Mary Clare requested she be video taped for the blog tonight. Here's what happens when the girls are up too late and get the giggles! And yes, she's saying TGI Fridays, since she asked me what word was on the cup she was drinking from. I thought it was kind of appropriate as we finish out the week...Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Growing Baby!

Apparently, although I still can't believe it, there is a growing 11 week-old baby inside me! I just read that nearly all organs are formed, fingers and toes have separated, kidneys are starting to function, and the little one should be about 1.6 inches!

I just heart the sweet heartbeat at the doctor office; music to my ears!

On a related note, a little prayer request for my friend Karyn...Her baby should be arriving tomorrow at 32 weeks. Please offer a prayer for them!

And two other prayer requests...for Deacon Michael, a good friend of ours who will be ordained to the Holy Priesthood on Saturday. And for Roxy and Gerardo, also friends of ours who will be married in Holy Matrimony on Saturday. Two beautiful sacraments in one day! Now to figure out if there's any way we can attend these beautiful ceremonies...

Bye Bye Bubba!

My little brother Brice just got orders TODAY that he leaves TOMORROW to head overseas with the Navy. He and his wife just moved to California two weeks ago and now he leaves again! Hopefully he'll be back for Christmas and Allison will get settled into her apartment there and get plugged in with all the Navy wives. If you could, please offer a little prayer for his safety and for their peace (and my parents') as he continues this Navy journey with lots of time away from family. We miss you already Bubba! Enjoy your first trip overseas!!!

4 New X 2 Meme

I still seem to have writer's block, but here's a meme to get something out of the recesses of the pregnant mind...

Four new things in the past 4 years:

1. 4 new souls. Since Mary Clare was born over 4 years ago, the blessings of the past 4 years include...Agnes, Elizabeth, Augustine, and NewestBabyInUtero (likely to be named Peter or Theresa)!

2. Our first house. This is our 5th home in ~6yrs of marriage and we are positively thrilled that our dear friends were gracious enough to sell us their beautiful home! We are already making such precious memories here and enjoying all the space, the backyard, the garage, and the neighborhood park and pool!

3. Regnum Christi. About 2 1/2 years ago I felt God's calling to this beautiful lay movement. Through Christ, the movement has helped me to grow in my faith, my prayer life, my apostolic life, and my life as a wife and mother in so many ways. I have been blessed to encounter so many friends, mentors, and families who each draw me closer to God through their own witness. I am forever grateful for this calling and pray that I will continue to live it out to the fullest, in service of Christ and the Church.

4. The information highway. When I think back to our wedding and to college, I often think "I wish we had Google back then!" It's amazing how much technology has improved our communication in the past few years, from email to blogs! And now we have a digital camera, Apple computer, and high-speed internet to connect us even better. Sometimes I'm not sure how good the internet is for me, but I really can't imagine life without it (especially since we have no TV)!

Four desires in the next 4 years:

1. A few more souls :) I pray we'll be cuddling the one growing inside me this Christmas, and hope that God might entrust one or two more precious little ones to our care in the coming years.

2. Security. My hardworking husband has spent the past 4 years completing his degree and working so hard to provide for our growing family, while allowing me to stay home with the girls. I know as he continues to succeed in the workforce, he will be rewarded financially for this hard work. God has always provided for all our needs, but we both still worry about all the financial stresses surrounding us. Hopefully in the next 4 years, we will have more financial security and the opportunity to travel a little more to visit friends (especially my "nun" friends), family, religious sites, and wonders of God's creation (although the girls are perfectly happy watching snails and "doodle" bugs in the backyard)!

3. Organization. I plan to start homeschooling Mary Clare in a more formal way this fall, which means I need to get started on better organizing my home and all my teaching supplies! We now have the space to be organized, I just need to do better at keeping things in their place and cleaning up after all of us!

4. Health. I pray that our family continues to have good health in the coming years, and hope that I can do better at keeping our family healthy, especially through eating better foods and doing more exercise. I was so blessed to have a sweet community of girlfriends in our last town who walked together at the park every weekday morning. I felt so healthy during that time! I need to find or create a similar group here, or get involved in some other activity like dance, which will always be my favorite means of exercise. Must pray about this more!

Well, I do hope that everyone has a beautiful weekend and hope that some more of you will share your "4 New X 2". If you haven't done it yet, I TAG YOU!

Memorial Day at the Zoo

Our zoo is free on certain holidays, so even though there was a rainy forecast, we decided to chance it and head over to visit with Steven's family afterwards. We were so thankful that the 2 hours of dry weather yesterday were the ones we were at the zoo!

Ellie and Daddy looking at giraffes (which she was most scared about before arriving at the zoo)!


Elephants with the famous Baby Mac that the girls like to talk about!


Okay, this orangutan did the strangest thing, which I didn't get on camera...He stood on his head and urinated into his mouth! Thankfully the girls didn't realize what he was doing. But my pregnancy nausea was a bit strong at that moment!


Daddy w/ his girls


The clouds are getting dark. We have just told Ellie she can have an Oreo cookie when we get to the car!


It's looking really black as we arrive at our car:


And as soon as we start to pull out of our parking space, the rain starts to pour! We were watching this the rest of the day...


I was so happy for our fun zoo morning though! And we had a great time visiting with family afterwards. I even got to play with those adorable triplets for awhile. So cute!

And a special prayer and remembrance for our friend who died in Iraq this year. May Sean's soul, and all those who have died protecting our country, rest in peace. And may those who mourn their passings be filled with the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

My Favorite Place to Be

On a lazy weekday afternoon...

(on my parents' couch watching all my favorite TV shows about having babies, decorating houses, and Fox News).

This is where I spent many a day while pregnant with Mary Clare, just resting my body and relaxing my mind with television (we don't choose to have TV at our home, so it's a special treat). My parents always feed us well and keep the girls occupied amidst their own busy work day. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving us a home away from home!

And here is why I could lay around watching TV...sleeping angels...


And Happy Pentecost to all! May the Holy Spirit fill your hearts and enkindle them with the flame of God's love!

Ellie talking

Here's Ellie talking at the breakfast table. She keeps mentioning an airplane, which I finally figured out was a little bag on the counter (from their clay) that looked kind of like an airplane shape. She had me stumped!

Colors All Around!

Mary Clare singing this song from Barney and including some signs she's been learning from the Signing Time DVDs:

My brain...

...is apparently lost during pregnancy. I can't seem to focus on anything for more than a few minutes and every time I try to write a post I don't finish it. Hence all the pictures! Our life has been rather scattered with the events of the past months, and a lot of little things (like our minivan and lawnmower) have been falling apart. Meanwhile my poor husband has been given a new territory for work which entails a commute of about an hour and a half, which means he gets home very late. So my afternoons of exhaustion and slight nausea seem to last forever!

I don't mean to whine; we've been very blessed. But there just seem to be those weeks where time stands still and not much accomplished. I can't believe that I am about 9 weeks along in this pregnancy. It's been a rather emotional few months, and I'm still having a hard time grasping that I'm actually pregnant and the baby appears to be alright. My clothes are getting tight so I went through my maternity clothing bin for a second time and actually found some clothes that I like! That was exciting! I spent Monday washing probably 6 loads of laundry and folding around 20! I have a problem with leaving a mountain of clean laundry for a week or two before I have a day of folding. It makes me feel so good when the mountain is gone though.

So the girls are enjoying their little backyard pool and keeping each other busy with little games around the house. Mary Clare talks about the new baby all throughout the day...she tells strangers, "You know last time my mom was at the doctor she had an ultrasound to see the new baby" and family, "You're going to have to tell my mommy gradulations because she's going to have a baby" and me, "You have to share your pregnancy with everyone. Let's write a letter." Today she made a card for my baby shower, "Baby Shower Blair" with a drawing of me and the baby. She likes to think of new names she likes for the baby, and asks me how big the baby is each day.

Ellie on the other hand is just happy to be able to communicate and order everyone around. She is very particular about what cup or plate you give her, and it's very evident that she's 2 years old when you see her little fits when she doesn't get her way or her dropping to the floor when she prefers not to hold your hand in a parking lot! She has her own little ways of saying things that are just so cute and make my heart melt. Wah-wer is water, ray-ray is blanket, Mer-Mer is Mary Clare and so on. Sometimes it's a little frustrating since her older sister had a very well pronounced vocabulary at a very young age, but it's also so sweet to have a little baby-talker!

I'm going to post a couple videos so you can see my cutie-pies in action :)

The New Pool

Fitting it in the minivan was a feat!


Posing with NeNe


Even late at night, the pool is a real novelty. More pics of real swimming should be coming soon...

Do you think...

they'll enjoy being big sisters, or what?

Welcome Home Brice!

We are so proud of my little brother! He just finished ~6 months of Navy training. We get to see him for about a week before he and his sweet wife Allison move across the country. We'll miss them so much, but hope to be able to visit sometime.

The girls made a poster and card to welcome him at the airport!


My mom, aunt, and Ellie watching for Brice


YAY! He's home!


Mary Clare insisted on wearing her ballet clothes and had fun dancing through the airport :)

A lovely Mother's Day weekend

My sweet family let me choose the activities of the weekend, which included 2 trips to our neighborhood pool (I have a feeling this will be my home-away-from-home this summer, being pregnant in the TX heat!), a walk along the waterway, a walk around the outdoor mall, a family grocery store trip (I know hubby detests this, but he did it with a smile!), "early" morning Mass, 3 roses from my girls and my belly-babe, out to eat lunch with my family and a family friend, and an evening fishing excursion to top it off! It was lovely :) Thanks to my sweet family; the only thing missing was a trip across town to see Steven's family and my grandmother miles away in a nursing home :( I hope she was blessed with peace and love by her Mother's Day visitors. And I hope each of you had a special weekend as well. Looks like it from the blog entries I see already...


Our new favorite place, the neighborhood pool!
MC jumping into the baby pool


Ellie doesn't quite like the "floaties"!


Close enough to walk in the wagon


An evening walk down the nearby waterway was beautiful, and the girls had fun running around! Usually we do this in the heat of the late morning with Mommy in fast walking mode, so they had fun this time.


And an evening fish with Daddy!


Sweet Sisters


MC has the hang of it, but has no interest in the actual fish!


Ellie tries the reel


Catch #1


Catch #2


No hopes at leaving a "park" without playing on the playground, even in the dark!


They sure make me a happy mommy!

The Arboretum

With the homeschool group last week







And Ellie on "Clifford" at the park afterwards :)

Laundry

at a girly house is even cute!

Sisters of Life on MTV!

As you may remember, one of my dearest friends is a Sister of Life (they do prolife work) in NYC. I just got this link that they have a little clip on MTV. Wow!

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?name=news&id=1559081&vid=147851

Also a Happy Mother's Day greeting to all of you beautiful mothers! May you feel the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the gifts of the Spirit as you continue to grow closer to them through your vocation as a mother. May Our Lady guide each of us to be holy mothers as she was.

Special prayers go out to those who have empty arms or wombs in one way or another this Mother's Day. And may the example of the holy Sisters of Life, working tirelessly to defend the life of the unborn and to love all suffering mothers be a source of inspiration for all of us. A Happy Mother's Day to all spiritual mothers as well!

Compassion

As the headlines read, "Pope in Brazil, God Will Punish Drug Dealers", the stories I read are showing not situations of punishment and "slamming" of drug traffickers, but the beautiful accounts of Pope Benedict's visit to a drug rehabilitation "Farm of Hope". Here he encourages those recovering addicts to be "recover the meaning of life", being "ambassadors of hope", to renew their faith and find that preferential love of the Father. Yes he asked them to reflect on the "grave harm" being inflicted through drug-dealing and reminded them that they will have to account for their deeds. But overall it is a message of compassion and love.

The last part of this article I found really touching:

Q: What are your expectations for the Pope's visit here in particular, and to Brazil in general?

Father Stapel: The great thing is that the Pope will leave his mark here. The Pope is essentially saying: I am going to visit those who are excluded, those who are not accepted by society but are instead labeled as thieves or unwanted. The Pope is coming to visit them and in this way is giving them a heightened sense of value. This is very important. This is the way he will leave his mark here.

The Church has always been on the side of the poor, this is her vocation. There is no faith without works. If I believe in God and I don't act concretely with acts of love then my faith is just theory.

Therefore my life and the lives of those around me will not change.

In coming here the Pope is giving this sign. He is saying to these young people: You are not prodigal sons! You are loved by the heavenly Father! He loves you and needs you. You have the opportunity to evangelize and to help others; you have the chance to start a new life because, with God, there is always a second chance.

What he is saying to them is what he wrote in his encyclical "Deus Caritas Est": "God is love." And that is fantastic!

~~~

This reminded me of a newsletter we received this week. We have some dear friends who work for a beautiful ministry and non-profit called Emmaus Ministries, whose mission it is to make Jesus known on the streets among men involved in sexual exploitation. They are currently based in Chicago and Houston.

What is so compassionate about this work is that the way they are ministering to the male prostitutes (who are usually drug addicts who live on the streets and grew up in broken, abusive homes) is through caring relationships with the men. They have a "House of Hospitality" where the men can come during the day for a healthy meal, clean shower and clothing, dignified conversations, and an opportunity to help around the house and further their feelings of self-worth.

Every time I read their newsletters I am brought to tears. The men have such utterly sad lives, your heart just aches for them and wishes there was a way that they could leap out of this cycle of poverty, addiction and exploitation. My prayer is that those experiences of love and dignity given by the staff and volunteers at Emmaus will help to give those men hope in Christ, just as the Pope's message in Brazil might give hope to those men trying to rehabilitate from a life of drug-addiction. Yes, they have dignity. Yes, they are so loved by the Father and by the Church. No, we must not forget them in our prayers, in our lives, and through our financial support.

~~~

A final article (I love mycatholic.com to find all of these) describes the recent ordination of the first married Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Fr. Lowe, like most of the other married Catholic priests, was previously an Episcopalian minister for almost 30 years, before retiring and then visiting various Catholic churches and being inspired by the Catholic life. He spent over 5 years studying Catholic theology and preparing to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood.

Cardinal Mahony discusses the various Christian traditions in a wonderful analogy:

"I know it is the fond prayer and hope of all of us in Christian communities that pretty soon all of these on-ramps might some day merge into one highway. We have a lot of parallel on-ramps at the moment that have not merged.… But today at least your on-ramp has merged with our on-ramp," said the cardinal.

"But we all look forward to the day when all of those on-ramps merge in the one uniting Christian Church throughout the world and continue to give forth testimony to the person and presence of Jesus in our lives and in our hearts. So I think your ordination today to the Catholic priesthood is a wonderful sign of that hope for the future."

And here the cardinal mentions the Church's compassion, rather than relaxation of the vow of celibacy, in ordaining married men:

“This is not a precedent that implies any diminishing of the value of celibacy in priestly ministry, but an instance in which the Church acts in an exceptional way to strengthen and ennoble the gifts brought by its newest members,” said Cardinal Mahony in a prepared statement released to the press.

“This practice is not so much an example of relaxing the discipline of priestly celibacy as it is an instance of an extraordinary act of compassion on the part of the Church in regard to someone whose whole life had been spent in both preparation for, and the exercise of, pastoral ministry.”

under construction

I too am trying to redo the layout of my blog after figuring out that I can add a picture, woohoo! I think I may change my blog name again. It's just too long and hmmm...I think I'm ready for something different. Ideas? How would you describe this blog in a couple words?

Okay, this is too much fun! I didn't realize I could change all the colors so easily! What do you think of the name? It's so close to Melissa's beautiful "Bountiful Blessings" blog, one of my favorites. Help me with some ideas!

A little beating heart

(bad picture of the sonogram, but baby is blotch in middle top and heartbeat shown at bottom)

We saw and heard the heartbeat of our newest blessing this afternoon! Little Augustine must have been praying hard since his little brother or sister was born into my womb just a couple weeks after he left. I am about 7 weeks along (due in December), and this has been the longest month of waiting to share until this ultrasound day!

We entrust this newest little one into God's hands and pray for his or her health as mommy here has been on all sorts of medicines to keep me healthy and to keep baby sticking inside. God's will be done! We thank you for your prayers and thank God for this gift of new life!

I will also be offering my prayers and little sufferings and anxieties for those who have recently lost babies and who are hoping for the blessing of new life.

Stuffed Puppy Dogs

eat well over here!

From Today's Gospel

"Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit..."

Please send a little prayer up for us today, thanks!

Hoping to update this blog with some good stories, reflections, and banner picture soon! God bless you all.

I forgot...

that we have a yard! The girls usually play in the backyard at some point during the day, but I rarely go out for very long. There's just so much to do inside! And I never go in the front yard during the weekdays. Well, today I used the style of a good friend and let them go wild with the water hose! It made things cooler for me too. We also watered in the front and met a wonderful neighbor next door. And a bonus...it made for some great naps!

Playing in the water


This one is too funny of Ellie sitting in our only "pool" for now!


Ellie takes a break with Timber


PaPa came over for a quick visit and a lunch treat!


Popsicles always make hot days feel much cooler :)


Watering the live oak in the front yard


Watching some snails, their favorite creature!