I just took a long walk with Harley and was thinking the whole time how peaceful the neighborhood felt. I love that time of night where everyone is done with dinner, getting ready for bed and settling down. It is such a peaceful feeling. I couldn't help but think how nice it would feel to have that peace, all day every day. I think that's what God wants for us, but too many times we let worry, anger, fear, and a million other things get in the way. Of course, I speak from personal experience with this. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a worrier. I think having kids made this about 100 times worse! So, now I not only worry about myself, I worry about them constantly as well.

God is really working with me on this and I'm sure there are times where he just wants to give me a good pinch or maybe even a punch and tell me to stop worrying.

We found out that our church has a community group right in our neighborhood! I'm excited to meet other people nearby that go to our church. I hope we can make some new friends!

On Wednesday, Adam and I celebrate 9 years of marriage. What? 9 years already? Crazy! I can't believe it. I have a fun dinner planned for us! I'm going to surprise Adam with our plans. It's my turn since he put together the weekend at Lost Pines. I am so thankful to be married to someone that I am confident will be my other half forever. Hey, what is that? Is that peace I'm feeling? I think it is! Yeah! That's one step for today!

I almost forgot to mention my surprise weekend getaway to Lost Pines Resort! Adam planned a wonderful weekend for just the two of us and it was fantastic. We got to lay by the pool, float the lazy river, get a couples massage and eat great food. And... get lots of rest! I even got chocolate covered strawberries delivered to the room one night! It was such a sweet thing for him to do for me and I really appreciated it so much. He put a ton of effort into the weekend and it meant so much! What a great hubby!

Fun Times

It is officially summer!!! I realize how much I love summer every time it gets here. I love spending more time outside and playing with my kids outside. My "to-do" list always seems to be bigger in the summer. Maybe I'm more motivated!
Jackson celebrated his first birthday on May 29th. It is hard to believe it has been a year since he came into our lives. It has been such a joy to have him as part of our family. He didn't dive into his birthday cake like I had hoped, but we still had a fun time celebrating. He got some new fun toys (most of his toys were Kylie's). He loves the little playhouse/slide that Grandma Mary bought him and he figured out how to get up there and go down the slide all by himself. After he slides he always looks to make sure someone's watching and then claps and giggles for himself. He loves being outside more than anything these days. Any time he hears a door open he bolts that direction to try and get outside. He's content just walking around checking things out. He'll pick up some grass or a leaf now and then to try and eat, but other than that, he's just playing and exploring. I think I might have found his birthmark! Kylie's is very easy to spot. Hers is right on her collar bone and it's pretty big, maybe about inch long. I have never seen one on Jackson until now. I think his is actually a hyper-pigment birthmark. So, now that he has just a little color from the sun, I can see it. Here are some more things to know about Jackson and the things he can do now that he is a big boy one year old!
1. Clap his hands
2. Say Bye Bye and Dadda and Mama
3. Blow kisses (sort of... still working on this one)
4. Wave bye bye
5. Say Da for "done" and lift up his arms when he's done eating
6. Loves to eat little apple pieces, bananas, cheerios, green beans, and yogurt.
7. Weighs 24.9 lbs!
8. Has 7 teeth, soon to be 8 we think.
9. Uses his suckies at bedtime (we actually never really gave it to him out of bed)
10. Likes to put things in strange places - my shoes in the litter box or Kylie's shoes in her hamper. I always know it's him when I find things in really random places. He also put one of my books in the toilet today.
11. Take his diaper off - really love this one.
12. Blow bubbles in his bath water.
13. Play a recorder - not actually notes, but he can play it without using his fingers.
14. Loves to feed the dog from the highchair.

Kylie is done with school for now and is really loving being home for summer. I got to go to her Splash Day/End of Year party day and really enjoyed spending the day with her and the sweet kids she has been in class with. She starts VBS at Hyde Park on Tuesday with my mom and will go to another one this summer at Bannockburn. I've signed her up for a dance class on Saturdays to get her started with it and see how she likes it. I think she'll be a great dancer. She's obviously got the tippy-toes for being a ballerina! She's still doing Cheer Station which has shown to be pretty tough for her. The practices are twice a week for an hour and a half and it is hard work. She has a great time while she's there, but she's definitely getting a feel for what it's like to work hard for something. She is reading really well right now, actually beyond my hopes for her by Kindergarten. We are going to continue practicing with her this summer so that she goes to school ready to read like crazy! She's going to the swimming pool almost every day it seems and has already way surpassed what I could ever hope to have for a tan. She continues to be such a blessing in our lives. She makes us laugh every day. She is just amazing.
I'll post pictures from the Birthday Fiesta and more soon!!!