July 20, 2012

Mmmm... chocolate milk, a "special treat" from Grammie! What a perfect morning for a walk and iced mochas in the park. Thanks for day #2 of fun and help Mom!

July 19, 2012

Thanks to my Mom for keeping me company and helping out with the girls! 

She is such a blessing in my life!

July 18, 2012

What started as a morning pool play date with Alena and Nora's cousin Jack and friends Jadyn and Hadley, turned into a whole day of fun, including pizza for dinner! What a great summer day!

July 17, 2012

Some days you just have to embrace the present chaos of your life.... or try hard to.

July 16, 2012

Today was my first day home alone all day with the two girls as Reuben had class all day. It was quite the long day. An evening family walk was a necessity for me. It only took us an hour to actually get out of the house- ha. But iced mochas by my barista husband were a perfect treat for the family stroll and I felt much more relaxed when we got back home. 

July 15, 2012

It was another great day at Sam & Katie's pool! Nora's cousins and Aunt Ashley and Uncle Ben met her today. Here are cousins Adeline and Evie watching her sleep poolside. :)

July 14, 2012

Fingerpainting! This enthralled Alena for quite some time... perfect for a relaxing Saturday morning.

July 13, 2012

Cousin Jack came to visit! Alena and Jack enjoying cookies together. Yum!

July 12, 2012

It was a perfect morning for a family outing to the Meijer Gardens. This great little wetland hike at the end of our visit was wonderful and Alena loved running down the boardwalk.

July 11, 2012

Alena hanging out with Nora on the play mat. She loves her sister... most of the time! :)

July 10, 2012

We had our first outing with Nora this afternoon to the Reeds Lake Waterfront Park and boardwalk, a favorite local spot of ours. It was nice to finally get outside to enjoy the beautiful weather! Alena loves running up and down the boardwalk and seeing all the wildlife! Nora slept the whole time. :)

July 9, 2012

It was a bit of a postpartum blues day for me today. Thanks to Reuben, I had some much-needed simply wonderful time to myself out on our deck this evening. The weather was such a reprieve too, with a perfect breeze that reminded me of God's goodness every time it kissed my face. 

Joy is in these moments.

July 8, 2012

Nothing like napping with a newborn on your chest (well Reuben wasn't actually asleep in this picture as you can tell by his grin- ha)! This was what happened immediately after church today. :) That being said, our church service was such a blessing and has been for the last number of weeks. I was going to take a picture of the bulletin for today's post, but then left it at church and found something better to take a picture of anyways. :) But the worship has just been amazing and the teachings from the Psalms have just been so relevant and straight to the heart. If you have any desire or need for anything to listen to, download sermons at http://www.madisonsquarechurch.org/resources/sermon_recordings.php. The ones that say "@ the Square" behind it are the ones I've heard. You will be blessed!

July 7, 2012

I love these two! My family went out for dinner tonight at Queen's Pub (yum!) to celebrate the summer birthdays of my brother Justin and his wife Shawnna. 

July 6, 2012

Mmmm.... ice cream at our great local shop, Sweet Mellisa's. A perfect treat when it's over 100 degrees outside!  We didn't brave the heat enough to walk there though. :)

July 5, 2012

Alena with her current memory verse! Thanks for the idea Kate and thanks to Katie at the following link for the cute print outs!
http://theterpblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/memory-verse-mania-praise.html

July 4, 2012

This hot 4th of July was spent hanging out at my parents' pool. Nora tried to keep cool with only a diaper on and Reuben started teaching Alena how to swim. :) We had to take many breaks in the air conditioning too though!

July 3, 2012

Alena helped my mom (Grammie) make fleece blankets today for herself, Nora, and her baby!

July 2, 2012

We packed up and made a big outing to my parents' pool today- ha! :) Reuben and Alena had a lot of fun in the pool together. A perfect relaxing summer day, especially with a one week old. 

July 1, 2012

My two precious girls... sisters! I still can hardly believe it. :)