I found these in my files as I was searching for something the other day...Sadie (almost 4 at the time) and Blythe (2 1/2), on a hot August day in LA, waiting for their daddies to fill up enough water balloons to have a fight. We stopped to visit the Danquahs on the way home from visiting family up in northern California. And dominated at Chick-fil-A game night, among other things. (oh yes, we did! Get 4 adults from the 80s-2 mamas especially- and some Disney trivia, and we'll rule the resturant. Those little kids never stood a chance.)

 I think they're both pretty darn cute, personally...

...and between the two of them, there's enough fire and passion in this picture to move a mountian. Maybe two :)

Three Boys in a Tent.

Adam and I combined forces and made this (super simple but super cool) tent for Pax for Christmas. He's used it EVERY day since...including one Sunday afternoon when our friends came over impromptu after church, and these three buddies (Broden, Pax, and Baylor) did a little "camping" and movie watching......

     It just doesn't get much better 

than three buddies in a tent. 

Even if it IS inside.

tres.trois.THREE.

       Our Blythe-girl turned three yesterday. Which is just nuts to me because a) wasn't she just born?? and b) I very clearly remember MY third birthday (my mama made me an elephant cake-wish I  had that picture! My mushroom hair was amazing.) and it's a bit crazy to think my daughter is now that age. But she is....Adam brought her into bed yesterday morning about 6 (he got her up early for a daddy-daughter donut run) and she snuggled under the big comforter with me, and I sang her Happy Birthday (she sang herself Happy Birthday, too...), and then I told her again the story about the day she was born, and she was SO excited. And THEN....
"Mama, can I see my doll?"
I made her a doll cake this year per her request (anyone else remember those??) and the cake wasn't "dressed" last night when she went to bed. So I gathered her up and  we tiptoed down the dark, quiet hall so as not to wake up her brothers or Aunt C.C., who is staying with us this week. I didn't turn on any lights until we got to the kitchen. Then-
"Ready?" I whispered. A nod. I flipped the light on and pointed to were the doll now stood in her yellow-frosting-splendor in the middle of our island...and then just watched her face. She just looked and looked...and finally got the sweetest little smile on her face and sighed,
"Beautiful."
And all i could think was, "That's what your daddy and I think about you, little BB....beautiful. Inside and Out,"

After Adam and Blythe got back from their outing, we all got "fancy" (as Pax puts it), loaded up the cake and a few other things, and headed to the Lobmeyers to celebrate two special little buddies. Peyton is just 2 days older than B and although the two of them didn't ever really have a choice about being friends, they also happen to love each other and have such grand little girl adventures together that Nicole and I knew that they would love celebrating their birthdays together. And we were right! Between Nicole and I, we pulled off a pretty fun breakfast/birthday/princess party. And for two mamas that have never thrown a "theme"party before, I think we did pretty well!! We set up a little backdrop and had some fun with the camera.....well, Jade and Chloe and Peyton did anyways. Jade and Chloe were also my fabulous balloon-stringing assistants...

 

Peyton and her daddy, Jason....this is what our daughter was doing during the initial picture-wall time.

 Taking her baby for a drive in her princess dress. And yes, that's a bridesmaids dress I wore once-upon-a-time and retrofitted for her :)

Adam and Blaise enjoying the sunshine. It was 70 degrees! Perfect!! And Blaise loved crawling everywhere in the yard exploring.

 After cake, we had some fun with the birthday girls and the balloons (which by this time were disappearing quickly at the hands of the two brothers, a plastic bat, and a plastic golf club. I bet you can figure that one out on your own. They had fun, and they did it outside, so we didn't care! Although Blythe kept stopping her game with Peyton to pick up balloon pieces and put them neatly in a pile. I think she takes after her Daddy and Grandaddy on that one...it's for sure not her Mama!)

                                      

 I just have to say that this is what you get when you have Jason in the pictures. It's really almost a miracle their family session turned out as well as it did...

 LOVE her. And this next one is really just to prove that the boys were actually there. Although I know Pax is still MIA. They were busy! Wish I'd gotten a picture of the two of them in their vests, though...so cute!

Cake time!

This is actually the second go-around with the candles and singing...Peyton's a pro candle-blower-outer and had all six blown out before the song ended the first time :)

 I'm always thankful for the friendships that are in our lives. Today, though, I'm extra-thankful for these tiny girl friends...for the fun they have together as well as the mischief they make. I pray that, as the years go by, their friendship would only strengthen, and that they would strengthen and encourage each other to be the joyful, courageous, creative, beautiful women of God they were created to be-just as they are now. May they be blessed enough to celebrate many many more birthday parties together.

LA LA land

We have these fantastic friends, Megan and Benjie. Our families lived across the street from each other once upon a time in D-town. Now, they live in L.A. and we live in the Valley. BUT, since 6 1/2 hours is a whole lot closer than oh, at least 16...we decided one weekend in October to road trip out there for a three-day weekend.

 And we had so much fun! There's something so very refreshing about old friends-good friends-that you can laugh with, play with, and just pick right back up with where you left off (well, almost. There are a few more littles running around now...). The kids played, and played, and played, and had SO much fun together! Pax turned to Lily (almost5) at one point and told her, "You're my best friend.....(then, glancing over at another little girl from the base who was playing with them, he quickly added) and so are you,". Later that night Lily leaned over and gave Pax a little smooch on the cheek. Pax and Sadie (3) are both super busy, active kids; so if he felt the need to run he'd go up to her and say "Tag! you're it!" or, "Hey, come with me!" or something equally smooth before the two of them ran off.

 Blythe divided her time between trying to keep up with the bigger kiddos, and loving this little sweetie...Olivia is 4 months old, and such a mellow, sweet, kissable little dollie! By the end of the trip, B would tell me, "My baby cry!" When Megan put her down for a nap, or "my baby hungee!" when she was eating. Apparently she's adopted Olivia :)

 As for the adults? We took turns-the guys went out alone Friday morning, the ladies Saturday afternoon-and all 4 of us went out together Friday night. So.much.fun. We laughed until tears came, ate good food, drove down Sunset Boulevard, and went to a club in the Hollywood area that had a random girl in a window. Yes, she was alive...art, I guess? And there are no pictures of the adults-not really sure what happened there.

                                    Sadie, enjoying chocolate chip pancakes Saturday morning!

yummmm....

watching a show with their buddies. I asked them to all sit together so I could get a picture....

...and this is what I got. I should know better than to try to take a picture of a bunch of littles while they're watching t.v.! And this video just makes me laugh...

Megan and Benjie, it was SO fantastic to see you guys last month...and the girl in the window :) Hope we can do it again soon!!

Growing pains

I'm hurting inside today...nothing major, just a dull ache. Growing pains. I wonder how things got to this point-and then I remember that just because I'm 25 doesn't mean that friendship gets any easier. I just hope I've learned enough from my past experiences to salvage something this time. A buddy of ours blogged about scars a few weeks ago..how the outside scars we bear can be a metaphor for our inside pain. How, sometimes, we try to cover up the biggest ones because of the way they look to other people...when really, we should perhaps take a page out of a teenage boy's manuel and show them off, talk about them...maybe brag a little..."Man, look at this one! You should have seen me fly off that bike!! It was sweeeet..." We all have the scars. Nothing to be ashamed of-some of mine I'm actually quite proud of, now, because they are the evidence that not only did I go through pain, but God gave me the strength to survive it. Now if I can just remember in the moment to USE what I've learned.
Being real is one of the traits that I value most in people. It wasn't always this way, but I've discovered the gold that realness holds. Sometimes people who are real are misunderstood...seen as abrasive, or rude, or arrogant, or, one of the biggest offenders in "church" world....."not nice". But they are real!! And usually, they are right. Maybe their delivery could use a little polish...but give me someone who is real but a bit crusty any day over someone who is nice but not entirely truthful. If you're both..nice and real, that is..sweet!! However. I have my doubts that if Jesus was walking on earth today, we'd use the term "nice" to describe him. Kind, loving, brutally honest (always), passionate, articulate, wise, compassionate....I don't know about "nice". God, I don't want to be "nice". I want to be like Jesus. Give me the ability to be real with people. To not only show my scars, but to learn from them and use that learning in future situations. Compassion in my speech and actions, wisdom from on high in my head, and the ability to always see people as infinitely precious because you made them. They need no other reason to be loved by me; just as you love me unconditionally because you created me. Thank you, Lord. You are sovereign......