Our church made a fantastic float! I'm not sure what place we came in. Our George Washington got 3rd place for best costume in the parade.

Jade had a blue 4th of July cookie!

Joy is a great parade participant!

Joy's tricked out ride!

Jade being patriotic. She is wearing her medal for winning 2nd place in her age group for her decorated stroller.
It really was a fun day. This was the first year we walked in the parade, so we were pretty tired when we got to the end. Our cookout was great fun thanks to all of our family and friends that came. All in all, it was a great way to celebrate our wonderful God and the great country he has given us to live in.

Just lounging around!

Me and my sister.

We love our daddy!

Joy revving her engine or blowing bubbles. She is full on crawling and getting into everything! She is already pulling herself up to stand and is not yet 8 months! We definitely have our work cut out for us. She already hates to be told no, so we are in trouble. Jade is trying to be patient when Joy gets into her stuff, but she is starting to realize what it means to be a sister. Not only that but what it means to be the big sister and setting the example. I think she will do a fantastic job as she grows in wisdom and allows God's wisdom to penetrate her heart. Many times her kind heart puts me to shame and reminds me of how I should respond. I love my little "spicy girl".

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, this picture is way out of order. This is in Chicago on the way to the Arboretum with Aunt Melissa and the cousins. Little Joy was so wiped out from all the fun already (or lack of sleeping at night maybe?), that she fell asleep sitting up in daddy's arms while we were eating lunch.

Jade and her new scooter. She was so happy to get it, but sad that she only got to try it out for a few minutes before leaving for Chicago. At least there were scooters at Aunt Melissa's house.

The car ride home from Chicago. Isn't she beautiful?

Okay, I know these pictures are out of order, but at least I'm posting them! These are the cousins on Matt's side. Sierra is the oldest. She is on the left. Teagan is the one holding Joy. Isn't it a great picture? Why is getting a good picture with more than one child in it one of the most exasperating things? Anyway, this was at the Arboretum. The girls are sitting in front of a beaver house (obviously not a real one).

This was Jade getting up the courage to wade in the tadpole pool at the Arboretum. There were millions of tadpoles! I thought there was no way she was going to put her feet in there ( I definitely was not going to!), but she did. Actually, she did twice! It was so creepy because as soon as she stepped in a place that we both thought was kind of clear, hundreds of tadpoles were stirred up! Hopefully they all saw her foot coming and got out of the way or else she squished a bunch of future frogs. I'm all for taking care of the animals as a command from God, but I also think if a few didn't move out of the way fast enough it's probably okay. If all those tadpoles make it to adulthood that area of Chicago may think Moses is back calling down plagues on the people!

This is harder than I thought!

This is the most recent picture of the girls. We had just gotten done eating dinner and Joy, of course, got green beans on her clothes. Jade loves Joy so much and, as much as she can, Joy loves Jade. Jade sings to Joy when she is sad or crying and Joy usually calms down sometimes even laughs. Joy is constantly watching her big sister. Anyway, I am not going to guarantee that I will keep up with this again, I just felt like doing it tonight. Having Joy so quickly after getting Jade is a lot harder than I imagined it would be. They both need so much attention and I still have to take care of some of the office management stuff for Matt's practice. I am so thankful for them, but I just had nothing left at the end of the day for the longest time. Now that Joy is sleeping through most of the night and Jade is getting back to normal (kind of ) in regards to her sleep, Matt and I are beginning to feel a little more rested.

This is Jade with a ladybug painted on her cheek. We went to the Arts Festival this weekend and I actually talked her into doing this! She was afraid at first, but once she let the girl do it and saw it on herself, she was so excited to show everyone! I think I may have to buy some face paint and do this everyday now!

My two sweet babies in the backyard on Mother's Day.

Our 2nd Gotcha Day Anniversary
May 8 2009