Dad's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads. You are so important. We are so blessed to have you. God knows what children need and dads who play and act goofy, lovingly disciple, and so much more are at the top of the list. Thank you to all the dads who teach us, make living room forts with us, cuddle with us, provide for us, grill our favorite foods, model our Heavenly Father...

Tim with the little girl who made him a Daddy, the day she was born.

And the second little girl, a Daddy's Girl, on the day she was born.

Fashionistas

Who knew a couple towels could be so entertaining? Miriam and Vivian, that's who! 

Vivian loved her head wrap...but it didn't last too long up there.

And the pouty-model-face that Miriam was giving us in her towel wrap skirt! We don't know that she's seen too many models...maybe it's just instinctual.

We are fancy!

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 23

Can we (should we?) talk about sweet treats again?? We went on a weekend camping trip and our girls (re)discovered the JOY of marshmallows. Mom toasted them while Dad kept the girls back from the fire. This is pretty ironic because Dad is probably the better toaster and Mom likes to set her's on fire before eating them.

The remnants of  a marshmallow on Vivian's face. Pretty clean, considering!

Miriam's hands were covered in goo afterwards. She realized that they would stick together...

...then she could "unglue" them by slooooowwwwwly pulling them apart. Over and over.

It was pure, sweet joy.

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 22

We really like dessert in this house. A lot. Is it actually a meal if you don't eat dessert? Perhaps that was just a big snack. Because no meal is complete without a bit of sweet. And Miriam and Vivian are their parents' daughters in this respect, too. 

Honestly, this is just a tribute to the greatness of dessert. And a little cookie monster.

Cookie obtained. 

Cookie shared.

Skip the cookie. Eat the icing.

Cookie coma.

Yum.

Flying

We spent Memorial Day at Tim's grandparents' pool. The girls love to swim, so we'll probably spend many warm afternoons paddling around this summer. But it was a special day because Vivian learned how to fly.

 What a smile!

And a couple of very loved cousins were in town, John Michael and Lydia. It made the girls practically giddy.

Our vacation

A few weeks back we drove (and drove and drove) south. First, a stop in Memphis. Where we saw Mommy's college friend Alexis and her family. Where we were greeted with hot coals and superb cuts of grilled meat. Where we spent hours playing with the hose in their backyard and watering every inch of lawn and landscaping.

We got a few pictures of the Mommies and the girls. You all met baby Avery here. She is just such a good little sweetheart...or Jellybean, as her Mamma calls her.

 In Memphis, we visited the Children's Museum when a thunderstorm changed our minds about going to the zoo. It was fabulous, plenty for even the littlest ones (like ours) to get into!

We also got to check out an old cabin and watch a train go by UP CLOSE. Miriam is pretty interested in trains right now, so this probably crossed something off her bucket list.

Then we made the drive to Huntsville to visit our friends Paula and Josh. Tim and Paula led youth ministry together a few years back. And Sarah and Paula have been able to bond over their mutual love for Hanson. (We were in 8th grade when Hanson appeared on the scene...the love just never died.)

We went to a children's science museum, a mountain lookout, some fabulous restaurants, and the "compound" where they put on Space Camp and have several space museums (Tim especially loved this!).

Paula also showed us a downtown park where the girls could "feed some animals." More like flocks and flocks of pigeons, ducks, and geese. Not to mention schools and schools of humongous fish. The girls loved it.

 

Someone spotted the paparazzi.

See the huge fish on the right? Kinda looks like a baby crocodile, no?

And then we ate some more tasty food (avocado olive oil gelato!) before driving back home. Thanks to our hosts. We loved our time in your beautiful cities.

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 21

Yesterday we witnessed the ordination of our dear friend Fr. Ben. (Father Ben!?!?! Still sounds funny.) It was an amazing day and we can only imagine how proud his family must be. That Fr. Ben has come a long way. And we're joyful. 

Fr. Ben looked pretty joyful opening this gift! A stoll Aunt Annette purchased for him during her trip to Rome earlier this month. She was able to have it blessed by the pope. Good work, Aunt Annette.

It was an extra hot day so our girls were more obsessed than normal with ice. At one point they came across a particularly huge chunk of ice that some gracious soul released into the wild for the children during the reception. Miriam had to show her bit of the iceburg off to the consecrated. They were impressed - probably wanted her to drop it down their backs. They had to be boiling in those long garments!

We also managed a family picture. As promised, here are the girls Easter dresses that Mommy made. See the dirt on Miriam's hem? She tried to escape into the field in the background. But we caught her. Good try, Gingerbread Girl.

 And a favorite picture, Fr. Ben offers a first blessing to a sister and sisters-to-be.

Our girls received a first blessing from Fr. Ben, too.

Fr. Ben is Vivian's godfather. We got a picture of them together about a year ago when he was ordained a deacon.

My, how they both have grown.

What a beautiful day.