Seven Months!

If I could freeze time and keep Abigail at this age just a little longer, I would do it!  She just turned seven months old today and this is by far my favorite stage.  She is perfectly content to sit in my lap or on a blanket and look around or play with a little book.  I know it's only a matter of time before she realizes that she has places to go!  

Every morning, I grab a book and a few toys and as I sip my coffee, Abigail sits in my lap entertaining herself.  It is by far my favorite part of the day and I know before long she is going to want to get down and chase Miller!  I'm hoping I have a few more months to enjoy this sweet morning time with her before she is completely mobile. 

Sweet baby girl!

Things Abigail is doing at 7 months: 

* getting up on into quadruped and rocking
* combat crawling and pulling herself around the house
* sitting in her chair at the table like a big girl
* eating lots of veggies
* starting to try to talk.  So far " ba ba ba"
* learning to use a sippy cup 

Happy 7 months sweet girl!

A little Summer Picnic

With every passing year, I come to love the Fall more and more!  Pumpkin spice lattes, boots, and harvest candles are a few of my favorite things!  But I have really enjoyed this summer with our little one.  We were able to take a few beach trips this year, but some of my favorite moments have also been random days at the pool and small weekend adventures.  

We took a quick trip out to Arrington Vineyard this weekend with the Baileys and had a fun little picnic!  I'm trying to take advantage of this age with Abigail because right now she just sits quietly on a blanket.  I am aware this will not last much longer...

I am so happy Abigail will get to play with the Bailey girls now that they live here because they are so sweet!  Anya really liked getting her picture taken.  She would say " take my picture" and then gaze away from the camera.  Love!

Brian and Aimee actually introduced Mike and I so we are forever grateful to them! One of our fist trips as a couple was to visit Brian and Aimee in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Aimee was pregnant with Eden at the time and it's crazy to believe this little girl started Kindergarden this year.  Check out her beautiful curls!!

With Fall on the way, I am looking forward to spending more time outdoors and enjoying the beauty of Middle Tennessee!  Hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer too!

" A picture is worth a thousand words"

We moved into our first home two years ago. I knew I didn't want to quickly buy art just to have something on the walls so I took my time deciding what would fit our room best.  This month, I finally decided it was time to decorate the wall in our family room!  I am a very sentimental person, so I decided to piece together photos for a "wall collage" of our favorite memories. It turned out to be such a fun project for me and was kind of like taking a trip down memory lane! 

I collected pictures that are special to me that probably wouldn't mean much to most people.  In fact, the quality in a few of the photos is pretty poor, but oh the memory!  If you are like me, then certain pictures are framed in your heart and mind forever.  A picture that can take you back to a special day or a specific emotion are priceless.  I chose a few from my childhood that captured moments I will forever hold on to.  Here are two of my favorites. 

In this first one, my dad is playing with me at the park.  I don't have very many pictures of my dad and I at this age and I love how happy I am in my daddy's arms.  

This next picture is so precious to me.  I remember seeing it years ago as Dee Dee and I looked through old boxes of pictures.  I sat and stared at this one for a while because it brought back so many memories of joy for me.  There were a lot of hard times when I was this age, but Dee Dee made sure there were times I could just be a child.  She took me to throw the frisbee and blow bubbles as often as she could!

It's funny how it all started out as my little "project"!  But before long, Mike was pretty excited about our wall!  We sat up one night thumbing through old albums and I loved watching his eyes light up as he remembered his childhood in Bogota.  Here is my favorite that we found of Mike and his father.  I love the sweet smile on Mike's face as he smells the flowers and the way his father is beaming with JOY over his son! 

I also included a few photos from places we've traveled together that mean so much to us.  In this picture, Mike is standing in the main plaza of Villa de Leyva, Colombia. This quaint little town is special to Mike because he spent many years vacationing there with his family.   A few years ago, Mike took me to visit Villa de Leyva while we were in South America.  I love this little plaza because during the day it is filled with laughter as children eat ice cream and play soccer.  Families fly kites and sit on the steps without a care in the world.  At night, the scene takes on a more romantic ambiance as couples sit under verandas sipping their wine and listening to Colombian music.  Such a beautiful little town!

These last two pictures are probably my favorites on the wall!  My grandmother is one of the most special ladies in my life and as I planned our wedding a few years ago, I sat with my grandmother Shirley looking through boxes of her old hats.  She told me stories of all the hats she owned and we searched til we found the perfect one for my wedding day. With a little bit of dye and new russian veiling, my grandmother's old hat became a treasure to me!  Here is a picture of Dee Dee putting it on for me.  

I didn't realize that my grandmother had a similar picture from her wedding day until this year when I looked through an album at her house.  When I saw it, I knew immediately that it had to go on my wall!  This is my sweet great grandmother Mildred putting my grandmother's wedding hat on.  Priceless! 

So needless to say, I am really happy with how our wall collage turned out! I collected all the frames from Goodwill so I could get a good eclectic mix of shapes, colors, and styles.  I also included a few random pieces or art and sketches to mix it up a bit.  A good friend recommended that I cut out shapes of the frames and tape them up for a few days so I could try out the new look before I made my collage permanent.  Excellent advice since I moved them around each day for a week before making up my mind!! Miller, our golden retriever, of course was involved in each step of the process...    

Here is how it turned out!  Each picture has a sweet story behind it and now I am reminded of all the joy and provision the Lord has extended to our family throughout the years.  I hope I continue to stop and thank God for all the blessings in my life each day as I walk by my wall of pictures.