Happy 8th Anniversary!

I just can't believe it has been 8 years since my little bounce at the front of Longview Baptist Church when the pastor announced that Darrell and I are now husband and wife. (if you were there, you know what I am talking about!)  I was so excited to be married to the man of my dreams.  He is still in every way just the man intended for me.  His love and kindness have been a rock for me.  He is steady and constant.  He is a protector.  He is a provider.  He kills cockroaches in the middle of the night.  He puts my needs in front of his own.  With him, I now live with three more of my very favorite people.  He is, for all intents and purposes, everything the LORD intended a man, a husband, a father to be.  Our life together is not one of "happily ever after".  It is so much more than that.  We are a team.  We fight through the yucky parts of life - together.  The best thing Darrell has ever said to me was not I love you.  No.  The best thing Darrell ever said to me:  "I want to come HOME."  Home.  With me.  Crazy all over the place wackadoo me.  Home.  Where the dishes may not be done,  Where the laundry is everywhere.  Where I need to vacuum.  Again.   Where the noise level at times borderlines unbearable.  He wants to come home.  He wants to come home to ME.  Here's to you Darrell Ferguson, my husband and father of my sweet children.  I love you.

What's in a lady's purse?

Men have been asking this question for ages, yet actually learning the answer strikes fear in their hearts.  Gentleman, what is in a lady's purse? 

 

Pickle Slices and a peach wedge.

 

 

I had put the children to bed, and went to straighten up the house, when I came across my sweet daughter's purse.  The little moments of parenthood like this bless my heart beyond measure.  I love the treasures left behind by a little someone so busy shopping, fighting pirates, driving school buses, becoming cowboys, or princesses.  I ponder what was going through their little minds as they put things in their purses, or backpacks.  What were they pretending when they built their towers, stacked their blocks, or tied their toys together?  Choose to see the adventures, not the messes and you too will receive this blessing!

 

~Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  Matthew 19:14

And they were Swangin'

My sweet daughter LOVES to swing.  We love to push her and hear her squeals of delight.  Riley got to swing at the park for the first time this weekend, too.  He seemed to love the back and forth almost as much as his Sissy.  While the littles were swinging, Daddy and Max got to practice a little baseball!

7 months and all is well!

Another month is under little Riley's belt.  I cannot believe how fast time can fly.  I see little newbies and their newbie parents and have traveled far enough away from that to yet again feel nostalgic.  It is so funny how life works.  The newborn season is so difficult, so exhausting, so frustrating.  You don't sleep.  Showers are hard to take.  Houses don't get cleaned.  Laundry doesn't get folded.  And yet, once over it is dearly missed.  My sweet baby will never be that little again.  He is finally "too big" for something.  He has outgrown things.  He is no longer new.  While wistful for those first smiles and how dependent he used to be, I am ever so glad to see more of his personality emerge. Here's to you little Riley!  You bless our family and we are so glad you are here! 

He takes after his mommy...

As a child, I was always well behaved in school.  But I always talked in class.  Always.  Max apparently does the same thing.  He came home from school with an "orange" for his behavior chart.  (meaning he was not behaving very well).  As a consequence, I had him write the following apology to his teacher: