summer days

I do realize it's been two weeks since Sam's 1st birthday party and as far as this blog is concerned, it never happened! I do hope to post pictures and stories soon from his party but we have so many photos and video that I'm trying to pick out the best. I am fully aware of that saying "no one thinks your kids are as cute as you do" so I'm being mindful of the amount of birthday pictures I post! :) I will give you a sneak preview of my cutie...
Until I get around to that...

The dog days of summer are in full swing around here and we are enjoying a {slightly} more relaxed schedule and some {temporary} down time!

Sam is enjoying one of his favorite pastimes - completely unloading one of the kitchen cabinets...

While these silly girls
do what they do best - make me laugh! Today, they served me this for lunch!
We spent most of the morning outside and they decided to make me something yummy to eat. Hmmm...

While they were "cooking" and Sam was napping

(i love how he sleeps with his blanket in his mouth!)

I decided it was time to tackle my out-of-control basil plant. I've been doing a little research to figure out the best way to preserve my herbs once the beauty of summer has passed. I compiled the the most common suggestions for drying them (freezing is next!) and here's how it went down...
I cut leaves from the plant in bunches. Most articles I read said to do this early to mid morning - soon after the dew dries.

Next I rinsed the leaves really well in room temperature water and patted them dry with paper towels. Apparently basil can mold easily so getting the leaves dry was important.

Finally, I rigged up a string in our dining room (adds a nice touch!) to hang small bunches of basil on. I secured the stems with a twist tie and hung them upside down. Honestly, if you peek around my china cabinet, it looks like I'm dabbling in some illegal activity!

I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out in the end!

annual family trip

For the past 6 years (with the exception of last year) my hubby's family has taken a trip to Gatlinburg together during the summer! This {somewhat} annual trip took place a few weeks ago and I wanted to share some of the highlights of the weekend that always promises much laughter and chaos! After all, there were 19 of us under one roof...

*the kiddos!*



*at the creek enjoying a picnic. this has become a "must-do" while we're there! everyone loves playing in the water and climbing on the rocks...*

*we celebrated my precious niece's 2nd birthday!*




*taking a stroll through the streets...the kids in matching clothes, no less!*

watching taffy being made!


*on a drive through Cade's Cove, the perfect background for a photo-op was spotted! although the request to stop for family pictures was met with a few grumbles, the opposition was out-numbered and we did manage to get a snapshot or two! we also walked through some of the old buildings there...*





my amazing husband seizing every opportunity to teach our girls the truths found in scripture. here, an old yoke initiated the conversation. i love this man!

Well, it's safe to say: Good times were had by all!

Stay tuned for a glimpse into the celebration weekend we had for this little cutie...

happy birthday sam!!

He's ONE!

Happy Happy Birthday to this sweet little boy who has captured my heart! I am absolutely in love with my beautiful son and his contagious smile!

I laugh when people talk about how fortunate Sam is that we brought him into our family. The truth is this: we are the fortunate ones!! I am so thankful to the Lord for allowing Lee and I the privilege of being his parents.

My precious Sam...you are loved more than you will ever know!

sam's first haircut

One of the first things we noticed about our sweet Sam was his hair!! The pictures we got with all of our referral paperwork showed a sweet baby boy with crazy hair! Here are the first glimpses we had of our son. I don't know that we've ever shared these before...



Last week we decided the time had come to get Sam's hair cut! We took him to a "real" barber shop (the one his Daddy goes to!) with great anticipation - we had no idea how he would react!





He did good at first, but then decided he didn't like the strange man holding his head still. The necessity of finishing the haircut led to Sam's second "1st" of the day...his first sucker!! A blue sucker occupied Sam's attention long enough to complete the task...



Look at that handsome boy!
(This is a picture from our annual trip to Gatlinburg with Lee's family that took place this weekend. I'll post more pictures from that adventure soon!)