Little Miss Thang....

When pondering the deeper things of life, she can be quite profound....
Talking about God loving us and how Jesus will heal her boo boos.


And within seconds move into the downright silly....
She's got some pretty good knock-knock jokes!


And before you know it, she's lost in her own world...pretending to be Fancy Nancy, a Disney Princess, or a Fairy.

She is certainly not a shy, reserved little girl. She is loud, creative, full of energy.
She is girl that loves to laugh, and loves to make us laugh.
We love you girl!

Oh Baby, Oh Baby, don't treat me this way...

Oh sweet Henny Bug...
You are only 4 months old...But weigh almost 18lbs.
That is the size of an 8 month old in case you are wondering.

You are rolling over from tummy to back...
and back to tummy
Making sleep a little challenging when you flip yourself over and are "Stuck"


You want so bad to sit... you are one strong little 4 month old.


But you don't care much about eating cereal or babyfood...
Or taking a bottle...ever.
You are a baby who has a mind of her own.
And we love every little inch of you...
And your 3 chins.

Vacation with 5 children 4 and under...

Possible? Not really.
But it is what we do, every summer with our best friends the Thomas's
(how exactly do you write the plural of Thomas... Thomas's or Thomases?)

They live in Italy and we only see them a few times a summer, so to make the most of our time together, we have started a tradition of a joint family vacation.

Isabella (4), Elisabetta (15m), Carson (2 1/2), Helen (4m) Charlotte (3 1/2)
For some reason we NEVER get a pic of the adults....wonder why??


We had a great time swimming and playing in the lake and pool at Rumbling Bald at Lake Lure







(yep that would be Charlotte's typical camera pose)

Was' up??
Vacation is always a really great idea.
But our days our full of entertaining the kiddos, and working around naptime.
The real vacation happens after 8:30 when all kids are bathed and in bed and the parents can enjoy some much needed catching up.

We take turns each night sharing about our years, our joys and struggles, and pray for and with each other. It is a sweet time of fellowship with very special friends.

Want to know a fun fact??
For the past 4 years some one has been pregnant or nursing.
This summer it was my turn (to be nursing, not to be pregnant...THANK GOD!)

In 2006, I was pregnant with Carson.
In 2007, I was nursing carson and Kristin got pregnant with Elisabetta
In 2008, she was nursing an 8 week old and I was pregnant with Helen
In 2009, I was nursing Helen.
And Next year in 2010....
We have a few more months for K to get pregnant so we can have a nursling along, or maybe she'll get pregnant next summer.

Either way, we HAVE to carry on the tradition and I for sure am NOT getting pregnant anytime soon. It all rests on her shoulders.

Happy 16th of July!

Just kidding! Most of the faithful blog world had their July 4th posts up like right after the fireworks were over. Nope, not me. I just wanted to keep you in suspense. We had a great cookout with all of the Charlotte Family. Here are a few of our favorite pics.









We need an act of congress...

In order to take a decent family picture.
The more kids you have, the harder it is to get a good family picture...

So here is what you get.

Here is the DC Summer Project team

Our 2 girls...lobbying for more ice cream and later bedtimes




"We enjoyed life on the Hill but glad to be back home in Greensboro"



"What say you, Mr. President?"



We are back in Greensboro and settled in. Life in a 1 br apt for 4 weeks helps me appreciate all we have. We have missed our house and are SO glad to be home.

Hope you have a Happy 4th of July celebrating the freedom we have in this great nation of our's.