Our little girl

I think that Abby has officially graduated from babydome into little girlhood. Although she will always be my baby (and Jacob, too, for that matter), she has become quite the little lady. She's constantly mothering her baby dolls--feeding them, strolling them around the house, and snuggling them before putting them down for "nigh-nigh". Even though she can keep up with Jacob quite well in the backyard and doesn't mind digging in the garden for strawberries, she's always sure to show Mommy her dirty hands so they can be wiped off before she picks up her dollies. She is a little girl through and through and we are so glad that God gave us our Abby.

Garage Sale-ing!

So we held our first Relay for Life fundraiser and let me tell you, I love garage sales. I think I actually like having a garage sale more than going to them. Of course there is always the thrill of a good find while actually going garage sale-ing, but I've discovered that the people watching while hosting a sale is much more rewarding.

We recently asked our neighbors, family members, and friends to donate items for us to sell to raise money for the American Cancer Society. We had a garage full of treasures (and in some cases junk, but hey, one man's junk is another man's treasure, right?). It took a while to price everything, pull it out onto the driveway, and physically sell, but it was so worth it. Worth the money raised of course, but also worth the memories that we will have of the characters that came our way. Many people told me how they had personally been affected by cancer, shared their stories, and purchased their goodies. Others were memorable by their comments like, "Well, why isn't all of this for sale" when peering into our actual garage. "It's not a moving sale, sir. We have to keep some things."

All in all it was a great day, a great effort, and as my dad would say, "Hotter than blue blazes!" And a special thank-you to Grant and Jaime (0k, mostly Jaime) for their delicious cupcakes and to Rob and Danielle for bearing the heat with us and bringing in sales. Good friends are hard to come by and we sure are blessed with this batch! Thanks everyone!

Oh, and we raised $1,137.25!

Take me out to the ballgame!

So Jacob and Daddy had some much needed bonding time this past Sunday. Brad had been out of town the week before and Jacob was showing us that he needed some extra one-on-one. Though we didn't want to reward his crazy, attention grabbing behavior, we knew that some father / son time would do everyone a world of good so Jacob and Brad headed out to the Rivercats game.

Jacob has been to several games in the past, but being only nearly-three, he didn't remember too much. This day was different, though. He had his picture taken with Dinger, got a foam claw, and even ran on the bases with the big kids after the game. It is surely a day that he will not soon forget.

Family Fun

This past Sunday Brad and I decided to take a drive to visit the Nut Tree Family Park. They recently opened up the park again and it's really nice! I was pleasantly surprised by how clean it was and how friendly the staff was. It is really the perfect park for a three year old. Carousels, a train ride, bumper cars, and even a roller coaster! Jacob was convinced that he needed to try the roller coaster out. I, on the other hand, was not so eager so Abby and I watched Brad and Jacob from our comfy seat on the benches. Jacob did really well, although he kept saying, "I don't want to ride the roller coaster again" each time we asked what he wanted to do next.

I highly recommend this park for a day trip (and the Vacaville outlets are just across the street--an added bonus for Mommy). It was a perfect, much needed, day for our family. Nice to get our mind off of adult things for a day and focus 100% on our kids. What could be better?

How does your garden grow?

Abby and Jacob love our garden. In fact, whenever she's out there, Abby heads on over to the onions and pulls off the green part to eat. Recently our strawberries have started to take off, so they provide a wonderful afternoon snack. Jacob is also a big fan of the snap peas and will climb up into the raised planterbeds to pull them off the vine. Who would have thought that having a garden could be so fun!

Happy 6 Months!

Here's a new picture I took of my nephew, Wilson. Doesn't he just get cuter and cuter?

OLIVE you!

I am so grateful for my children.

With my dad's passing came so much emotion, tears, and quite honestly at times a sense of despair. I know that he is with the Lord. I believe this with every fiber of my being--but I still feel alone, hurt, and uncertain.

This is where my kids come in. I know that God has given them to me to raise up according to His purpose. I also know that He gave them to me to give me purpose, too. I used to not want to be defined by my role as a mother. However, we are defined by who we are in Christ, and my children are God's greatest gift to me. So I am proud to be a mom and am honored that God chose me to guide these two precious little ones through life.

And these two have given me so much joy--especially these past two weeks. They have helped me in the grieving process. Jacob asks me why I'm crying, I say, "I miss Papa". He says, "I miss Papa, too, Mommy." Then he asks if I want to go play in the playroom. His ability to continue on and find joy in the little things has helped me so much and I praise God for this wonderful little guy.

So here is one of those moments that helped me through the day. We were at the dinner table and Brad thought it would be fun to put olives on Jacob's fingers. Then Jacob proceeded to eat the olive--which he hated. So we gave it to Abby. That little girl will eat anything. I love this series of pictures--hope you enjoy them, too!