Precious Time

Nana and Papa came into town for the past week and we had a blast! I think that it was the first time that they have been around us in a long time when the girls stayed healthy the whole time! I feel so happy that although the girls don't get to see my parents as often as any of us would like, they have a connection to them that is just absolutely unique! They have traditions with them that they (the girls!) remember each time they're around, and I think it's so fun to sit back and watch. They left this morning, so the countdown is on until August, when we'll see them again. We love y'all and miss you already!

(My camera was broken until about 2 days ago, so these are the only pictures I have...)

Cooking dinner from new Sesame Street cookbook

Yee-haw!

This video is a little over a week old, but I thought it was just too cute!

Fear

I've felt this feeling building up inside of me everyday since February 2, 2006, and I'm suddenly just able to grasp what it is. It really started to come to a head this weekend, when Chad and I went to see the movie Taken. And I think that it's just capped off tonight. I have a small group with senior girls who just left; they spent the past hour talking about friends and relationships; the things that their friends do to defy their parents, how frustrated they get with their own mothers, friends intentionally dating boys to bother their parents, and the things that they feel their parents have done wrong. I know that none of this is new...it's the same talk that I experienced as a high-schooler, it's the same talk that every girl who's been in one of my senior small groups has had, but tonight it hit home...my girls are going to be this age and possibly these girls! I think that I live day to day assuming that the relationship our girls and I have now--knowing every scratch on the their bodies, and every funny thought that comes out of their mouths--will always be our relationship. I pray that it is, but I know that the reality is that they are going to go through spells (hopefully short ones!) when they may not want to talk to me or even like me! I think that I've always realized my fear that I won't always be able to protect them from being hurt by others', but I think that I'm just now realizing the truly scary (and somewhat selfish) fear that I won't always be able to protect myself from being hurt by them! I can take some comfort in the fact that despite the distance, I feel closer to my parents now more than ever. I also know that Chad and I weren't given the gift of children for our own enjoyment, but to nurture and show Christ to. We weren't promised a return of love just because we give it; that is certainly not why God shows love to any of us! I just know that I feel a strange sense of fear and sick tonight as I think back on the conversation I was just a part of. I think that it's just another dose of why it's so important to be a praying parent! After all, the end of the story is good! The Prodigal Son did return home!

Is it my Ballerina Birthday yet?

...this was the question of the week for us! Aly has been talking about her birthday party since about Halloween, and yesterday, the day finally arrived! We had a wonderful time! (please pardon all of the detailed pictures...they're more for my mom than anything else!) We had 4 little ballerinas and 2 princes as guests, and they were so sweet to watch! The girls got tutus, magic wands and tierras, and the boys got capes, swords, and crowns. Everything was wonderful, and Aly went to sleep last night saying, "I don't want my friends to go home!" Happy 3rd birthday, Aly Bug!

The Table

The Party Favors

The Cake

Getting Ready for the Party!

Aly and Lizzy...friends forever!

Some serious decorating

A little help from her friend...

Opening presents

Aly's first Barbie!

I WANT MORE CAKE!!

A room full of dancing ballerinas!

Stars Fell on Alabama

2 posts in one day! Wow!! My brother will be so proud! Tomorrow is Aly's ballerina birthday party, so I wanted to go ahead and "cleanse my camera"! Chad had a roadtrip to Alabama this weekend, so I packed up the girls and spent one night in Birmingham with his sister and our niece and nephew, and then met up with the team in Montgomery. The girls can't get enough of their cousins, William and Warner, and have come to LOVE hotels, so just that was enough to make the trip worth it! (there is nothing like ice machines and luggage carts to spell v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n!) I also took the girls to the Montgomery Zoo--it was awesome and a great size! We even got to ride a little train around the park! The best part, of course, was getting to see Daddy and the Basketball Boys!

Aly and Warner in Aunt Elizabeth's old dance costumes

William--one of the sweetest boys I know!

Caroline playing 'peek-a-boo' with the big kids

The girls looking at the tigers

Getting ready for the train ride

Happy Birthday, dear Aly!

3 years!! It's hard to believe that Aly has been a part of our lives for that long now. I'm a sentimental mess when it comes to birthdays anyway, so I will just post my pictures and be finished with it!

As is the case with all holidays it seems, Aly woke up under the weather with a cold, but was still able to enjoy a fun day. We had our traditional birthday breakfast at Panera Bread, which is a favorite among the Warner girls! Chad, Caroline, and I dropped by Aly's class and brought cupcakes--she spent the entire time on Daddy's lap listening to "Princess Aly" stories! Big D and Poppy came over after naps, and then we finished the day out with dinner at her and Daddy's favorite- Moe's.

I know that time won't stop just because I don't want these girls to get older, but I can only pray that our time will be just as sweet as it has been for the past 3 years!

Breakfast at Panera
Cupcakes at school

Microphone from Big D and Poppy

Paint! (had to wait until she was 3)

Balloon Crown from Kool-Aid the Clown

Always Daddy's Girl... (it's not even Chad's birthday, but you can see who is ALWAYS on Aly's mind!)