Panama City Beach is awesome!

We've spent time in the pool, on the sand, at the parks, on the golf course, and at many restaurants. We leave tomorrow. I think the boys might cry as we wave "bye" to the beach. Enjoy the photos!

Having fun in the sun

So far we've visited the pool, the ocean, the pool, and....the ocean! Imagine that! Right now, Hubby and all three kids are sleeping but all on different schedules so they should be waking soon, within 30 minutes of each other. Guess what we'll do after everyone's awake? You guessed it....go to the pool, the ocean, the pool, and possibly to the ocean! We're going to eat out tonight and then play some putt-putt golf. Race cars might be on the TO DO list, if we have time. The weather has been beautiful down here! More pictures to come!

Relaxing in the condo

Minimal blogging

We are on vacation for the next ten days so blogging will be light. I'll have my laptop with me and free WiFi at the condo so please email me if you'd like. I'll post mostly pictures of the children this week. Our oldest hasn't seen the ocean in two years (he's 3.5 now) and our middle has never laid eyes on it so it will be fun to watch them both explore. Our youngest, who is now 7 weeks old, probably couldn't care less about the water!

By the way, yes, it's 3:00 a.m. as I post this. I am still up packing the food, bags, and other necessities for our ten day journey. I'm glad the Hubby is driving tomorrow and not me. I'm gonna nap with the children in my "car seat"!

Our STICK family

Found this through a friend. It's cute. Click here to make your own (our names aren't usually posted....oh, well....)

Just precious.....

Two more precious pictures of our sweet baby girl.
(photographer, Holly Tye / http://www.hollytyephotography.com/)

Now look who's sleeping

Big brother came home from school and crashed on the couch like his little brother did this morning. It's been a quiet day....all three are sleeping right now. I've even had time to scrub the inside of the refrigerator!

I ate lunch in quiet

Today I got to eat lunch in complete silence. No one even begged to eat off my plate. Why? AB was sleeping in her bed and L fell asleep on the couch. See?

Sleeping through the night

Neither of my boys slept through the night (what I consider a five hour stretch) until they were between 8-12 months old. AB has been sleeping through the night for the past three days and it has been wonderful...for both me and her. She's only 6 weeks old and I know every day will bring change but this feels really good right now!

Sweet baby photo session

My friend, Holly, is an excellent photographer. Here's proof! She took some sweet pictures of AB today. I can't wait to share more with you and get the hard copies. Please visit her website to see her photo galleries and other information. Holly is truly using her talent to glorify the Lord. Thanks, Holly!

Today's events

Our middle child finger-painted and played with raw Rotini pasta.

Our oldest child counted down the hours until he could go to his cousin's birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese.

Our youngest child chilled out and slept all day. She's wide awake now at 1:00 a.m., which is why I'm posting this.

Our Three

Oh my gosh - we are blessed!

One red head, one brunette, and one blonde.

Thanks to Carolyn Mahaney

From Carolyn Mahaney at GirlTalk:

So much of our work as mothers is done in obscurity. It’s not seen. It goes unnoticed. It can even be overlooked.

Or so we may think….

Actually, may I remind all weary, discouraged moms today that there is One who notices.

He sees every diaper that you change, He pays attention each time you wipe a runny nose, and He smiles when you read Curious George for the fifty millionth time.

And your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you! (Mt. 6:4)

First Day of School

Our oldest started K3 today. He's only there for half a day, five days a week. He has talked about this day all week long and was glad to wake this morning to begin his new adventure. He loves his teacher and has almost memorized all the names of the children in his classroom. The school itself is very small and has an average of eight children per class, up to the fourth grade. I'm glad that it's a ministry of our church....it helps my heart knowing that Hubby is just down the hall!

A great MOM post

I am a fan of many different bloggers but here is one from a mother (of triplets!). She speaks with wise words, Scripture overflowing, straight from the heart - so authentic. I don't know her but I feel like I do. This post of hers reminds me of the thoughts I often have.

Another Canon in D

Erik has found and posted another hilarious (and true) video rendition of Canon in D. Fathers and mothers around the world can be heard singing in unison in the background.

Too Hot for the Zoo

We took the kids to the zoo yesterday....we had a good time but, man was it hot! I am ashamed to say that I took my kids out in triple digit temperatures but I made sure they kept their water soaked hats on their head, drank lots of water, covered them in sunscreen, and walked/sat in the shade as much as possible. Here are a few pictures, full of sweat!

Check out my Slide Show!

"No, you do it!"

It's the week before school starts and everyone is shopping for school supplies. Stores are crowded! We were in Wal-Mart yesterday evening (imagine that) and when it came our turn to check-out the cashier looked at me and asked that I turn around and tell the lady in the blue shirt (who was third in line) that she was "the last customer". There were several others behind her, too. I turned around hesitantly and said to myself, "Is this my job to do or hers? It's kind of scary." So, I turned back around and looked at the cashier with a smile on my face and said, "I think you should be the one to tell her that". The cashier looked at me and "Oh, no...I'm not gonna do it". I guess she's still on the clock right now scanning items....weird....

JP

One of our favorite authors, speakers, preachers, teachers is John Piper. We can't get enough of him. So much so that our oldest son has memorized and recognizes the name when we say it, etc. Tonight in the van, coming home from church and just having watched Piper preach through a video series, A started saying the man's name out loud. Mitch and I thought it was so funny! It prompted me to visit JP's blog and read more of his thoughts. I think this is interesting.

Pot

Possibly early potty training?

*YAWN*

H2O

We played in the rain puddles this afternoon. Yes, they are napping now (and I'm washing their clothes).