Who knew....

that in FOUR short years, you would be

suffering from imaginary injuries requiring band-aids on an almost daily basis


sporting black eyes and head injuries from your wild antics (sometimes all in the same day like these!)







growing grape juice goatees at such a young age



checking for the first sign of "real" body hair because you are fascinated by Daddy's


working the tattoos for the ladies



running your own race track







(don't you love watching sweet little boy hands while they play with their trucks!)


putting on your own rock concerts with your "band"










and charming all the ladies in your life!



FOUR short years ago TODAY, we simply felt blessed to have you join our family!
















Your body may be bigger, but you will always be my baby!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY little man!

We love you!

Mommy

The future's so bright, she's gotta wear shades!

Seriously, I don't even know what to say about all this.

First, whatever I say will make me cry.

Alright, I know, I know. Anything and everything makes me cry these days!

Hmmm, might keep that into consideration should I get stopped by the blue anytime soon!

But this is my baby I am talking about. You know the one. The first one. My daughter. This little person that was cradled in my arms a few short years ago. I could go on, but I won't. I have pregnant people reading this! ;)

So here goes!

Isn't she a vision in white? I know I will say the same thing again in the years to come, but for now, she is simply beautiful in her daddy's white shirt and her white cap!








I was able to attend her graduation practice. It gave me a chance to video and take a few pics without competing with all the other parents. They sang 3 songs for graduation. A song about what they would be when they grow up, a song asking God to use them, and fun song (the one about wearing shades!). It took them singing about 1 second into the song called "Use Me" (i think that was the title) for me to tear up.










See that? Puffy eyes! Told ya!


This was the morning of her graduation. As you can see, her brother was not going to be left out!




Here she is 3 years ago on her first day of school. Ever. And three years later! I am so thankful to Little Sprouts, the director, and the teachers. They truly are about growing kids for God!




She is one cool chick!

I love her and I am so very proud of her!

Stacey

p.s. WHY are my pictures and text being crazy on me????

Theme Week 4-Back to the future!

Oh my, I have a lot of catching up to do!

And apparently, life does NOT slow down in the meantime, so you can do just that!

EVER!

I thought it might be fun to get myself organized here via theme week again. Although it might actually take me 2 weeks unless I can find time to post twice a day!

Right!

Here are a few glimpses into my life over the last month. With a little luck, the stories will follow soon!

We had a celebration for some really cool 6-year olds!



Splash day was just that...a big splash!


We enjoyed some great times with friends!

Young....


and young at heart!


There were...

tears


boxes


and

so much left behind.


There have been a few bumps and bruises along the way.



But we still managed to dance


and sing!


Stacey

Perspective

I meant to be here yesterday.

But time moved faster than I did!

I meant to post something light-hearted.

But sadness moved over me.

Awhile back, I mentioned Angie and Todd Smith here. The story of their daughter, their knowledge that they would likely lose her after she was born, and how they have handled everything since then have all been recorded by Angie and her beautiful thoughts. As I said before, I can't imagine what they are going through, nor do I want to experience it. It some ways, they were prepared. I guess. I mean, how can you ever really prepare for a lifetime without someone you love?

What no one was prepared for was the shocking and such very sad loss they have experienced recently. Todd's sister and her husband lost their 2-month old son, Luke. She found him not breathing in his crib. I was sad when I read what happened. I was even more moved when Angie's last post showed pictures of this beautiful child. If you go back to Angie's site, you can read about this family, their most recent loss, and find out how to encourage them.

And then of course, we were all saddened for the Smith family in their loss of Maria.

These are all stories that we hear about. There are others. But they are not just stories. They are someone's reality. Daily reality. Painful reality. Maybe it is your reality, I don't know.

What I do know, is that some days, I have to immerse myself in other people's lives. I have to. To remember how incredibly blessed my life is right now. To remember for those times. Those times when I am whining and lamenting about my own life. And while I realize that each of us do indeed have our own types of difficulties we are going through, for me, these things are important to keep remember.

Perspective.

Stacey

Change is good?

After being "away" for OVER.TWO.WEEKS, my coming back has been met by overload, panic, fear, and extreme writer's block! But like any other good immersion therapy, I am trusting in the theory of just jumping in with both feet. Or hands, if you will!

And I am doing A LOT of trusting in God, too! Although these days, I am sure He just looking at me and shaking His head at my lack of the aforementioned!

Oh man, do I have a lot to say! There have been activities, events, and life that has happened in the midst of my disappearance. I have a lot of catching up to do! The good things is that at least I am all caught up with your lives. It was a little scary even getting back on that train!

But I have a confession. I cheated a bit! I did check in to Google Reader every few days to read and manage Popsugar and Celebrity Baby. They only required quick scanning, no commenting, and allowed me to knock off a lot of posts without commitment!

Before I get back to business, I thought I would poke my toe in the water by doing a few housekeeping things! I will need your help!

1. Blogroll- I know there are lots of opinions, but for my site, do you care if it is there? Do you really click over to read anybody from it? Most of my favs are on my feed reader, so I only go over to read a few people that I can't get to feed to Google Reader. And besides, I have a LOT of people on my reader that are not on my blogroll simply b/c I have not had time to deal with it. I am trying to declutter "house" again and wanted to know. Before you answer, you might take into consideration this....

2. My new role- I am going to start contributing to another website. I am one of many, so don't think I am being all high and mighty. However, I do find it rather exciting and an honor! That being said, I might get an increase in traffic, which in turn means more people might want to click over to see who I like! Once the deal is done, I will give you all the details!

3. Prayer List- It is in desperate need of updating! Do you have any or do you see any changes I need to make?

4. Music- I got technical on y'all and finally added music to my sidebar! The funny thing is, I almost never get to listen to music on anyone else's site b/c I usually read blogs at night and keep the volume off for obvious reasons. I am going to try to listen more to your choices so I can add to mine! As you look at my music list, remember a few things. I am just getting started AND it reveals my varied taste in music! You have been warned! And lastly, please let me know if you start having trouble when you visit here. I hate it when I visit someone and my computer gets locked up b/c their site is too busy or who knows why! If that starts happening to you and we think it is b/c of the playlist, I want to take care of it. I want your visit here to be as easy as possible!

That is about all I can manage for now, but I will leave you with this.

THANK YOU!

For your kind and encouraging thoughts (whether here or by email), for your insight, for your support, and for your prayers. It has meant so much to me!

Be back soon!
Stacey

p.s. ok, i have to press the "publish post" button now. why is it so scary?