Happy Anniversary (a little early)!

Almost 7 years ago (June 29, 2002), Nathan and I were married in a beautiful ceremony at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Conway, AR.
We met during my sophomore year in college at the Sig Ep house on campus. We were friends for a few months and started dating in January of 2000. Our relationship was pretty calm and loving with no dramatic fights or break-ups along the way. We were so happy to be together and it just felt right. Almost 2 years after we started dating, Nathan proposed to me in front of my whole sorority in what was a very sweet, surprise proposal. It was funny to see all of my friends, in the video my parents insisted he have someone make when he called to ask for their blessing (they lived in Atlanta, GA at the time), with tears streaming down their faces because of the amazing way he proposed. I knew they were so happy for me.
So, that following June, we were married. Neither of us were nervous as we felt so blessed by God to have found each other. Once again, it just felt right.

We ended up moving to Atlanta, GA six months after we got married, where I started my elementary teaching career and Nathan entered the corporate world with Home Depot. We bought our first house and quickly became pregnant with our first child, Madeline. Before she was born, we took a trip to Destin, FL for our 2nd anniversary.

My love for Nathan grew as I watched him become a father. He couldn't wait for Madeline to be born and I will never forget the look on his face when he finally got to meet her in September of 2004.

After she was born, we enjoyed adjusting to our life as new parents although it was definitely hard, at times. We missed our family back in Arkansas and Nathan was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with corporate life. He did not like the long hours working and commuting and wanted to find a career that had more meaning. So, in late November of 2005, we moved to Helena, AR to run a group home for teen girls. It was a challenging job but one that we felt was important. Unfortunately, the company we worked for made some decisions that we could not support and we felt our family life was being compromised. We had visited my parents in their new town in South Arkansas and decided to move there when Nathan found the ideal graduate program that would allow him to get his Masters and become a certified teacher. So, we settled into our 2nd home and in July 2007, we welcomed our 2nd child, William.Shortly after Will was born, Nathan started his 1st teaching job and proved that he had found his ideal career. I stayed at home for Will's first 6 months and then returned back to the classroom in January 2008. We have been enjoying being the parents of 2 while both being teachers and have learned a lot along the way.

So, for those who stuck it out, that is the short version of our last 7 years together. It has been an amazing ride full of joy, laughter, excitement, fear, frustration, and lots of love. I know that God truly blessed me when Nathan came into my life. I look forward to many wonderful years with him and all of the blessings that will come into the next years our lives together.

(Hey, before you know it, we will have a child who is old enough to take a picture of us without having to look up:)

Another Fun Snack and some Water Play

Last week's trip to Whole Foods also brought Will his first taste of yogurt today. I was really unsure of how this would go over because it is so different from anything he has had before.
Madeline had her Dora yogurt and was acting silly, wanting me to take her picture. Sorry about the darkness of this picture. My camera is really tempermental (or at least that is what I claim, it might just be user-related).

Will made a funny face after his first taste but ended up really liking it. I think he would have licked the bowl if I had let him:) By the way, all of a sudden, he has gotten really good with a spoon and insists on feeding himself at all times. This is a big step for a child who preferred to eat the fast way, shoving the food into his mouth with his hands!

This afternoon, Nathan went to buy a new wading pool for the kids. He set up our slide so that they could slide into the water and they played happily for over an hour before dinner. Here's Will showing off his farmer's tan. His lower arms and legs look so much darker than his chest:)

Madeline really loved the slide and did all sorts of tricks on it. This is her favorite bathing suit because it shows her belly. Her Daddy is not sure what to think of this:)

Will had the best time with this big bubble wand. But, I had to pry it out of his hands when he started flinging the soap everywhere:) Notice his most recent injury. He took a spill on his Granny's deck last weekend. He is a little clumsy (like his Mommy) and doesn't always pay attention to where he is going. Nathan said he was playing the guitar and Will was just dancing away when he fell (that he might get more from Nathan:).

Maddie kept trying to "wash" Will's hair and he was not into that! I does look like he's laughing here but I believe he was screaming at her and she just acted like she didn't even hear him!

I promised more pictures of Madeline's new haircut. I took this yesterday when she wanted a picture of the card she made. Good luck to the recipient of this card. I hope they are good at reading the fine print! The haircut is so cute on her, despite the pained look. She is always trying to pose and this one went wrong, I think:)

I'm really loving my break. I can't believe I actually posted 2 days in a row! June may be a record Blogging month for me:)

Summer Fun!

Well, we've been off of school for 2 weeks now and we are getting down to some summer fun! Nathan spent the first week demolishing our kitchen and the next week putting in the new stuff while I completely cleaned and reorganized our whole house. Now, we have more time to enjoy each other. Nathan is teaching summer school in the morning, so the kids and I are keeping busy. Today, we went to story time at the library and had some nice play time at home. One fun thing that happened involved this:


Madeline watched, feeling slightly like we were doing something wrong. . . .

. . . as Will ate pudding for the first time!!!

Last Tuesday, he went for his milk food trial but, sadly, did not pass. He got hives around his mouth and they stopped after only about 1 or 2 ounces. They say that he must be getting close because that was the only reaction and it cleared up quickly. So, feeling sorry for my little boy who misses out on some fun treats, my mom and I went to Whole Foods and found some good milk, egg, and peanut free foods for him to eat. He seemed a little weirded out by the texture at first, but loved it and actually cried when it was all gone.

We also had a little crafting time this morning. Will is not overly interested in this but did color for a little while.

Note: He is sitting on our new kitchen floor but I still don't plan to post any more pictures until everything is done:)

Maddie loves to craft. She sat at our table with paper, markers, scissors, and glue for a while. She said she was making cards for people.

Do you like her new haircut? We decided that her long hair was looking more and more rough the longer it got and we missed her with the cute bob style. I'll try to find some better shots of it another time.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!