Baby Shower & Birthday Cake

What a great way to start the weekend!

First, I want to thank Annie for such a wonderful testimony by sharing her story with us..."Blessed Be Your Name," you and Jon have such a blessing and we can't wait to meet this precious gift! The Lord gives, and he takes away...and you have given us nothing but hope and faith, and we are so thankful!

We had such a special time at Annie's Baby Shower, and I was so grateful that Emily was able to be a part of it! {I just hope that she doesn't start asking questions about where the baby comes from or how it gets there! Of course, my answer would be God chose the baby for Annie and Jon, but...please no details, Emily!}

{This was not one of Dan's favorites! Y'know, Mr. IU - Bob Knight at heart!}

 {Look at that cute baby belly! Annie, you are beautiful!}

We had a great time...and look forward to Baby Brandt's arrival!

The only flaw with the party was the uninvited guest that wouldn't seem to leave...
...but, no worries, Aunt Marcia made her feel welcome and said she could come to the next party! Everyone's family!

Next...onto Emma's 5th Birthday Bash! Isn't she the sweetest?

The kids had a blast playing with the giant parachute and taking turns running underneath as fast as they could...sometimes all at the same time!




Then time for pizza...

...and cake, yum!



Happy Birthday, Emma! Enjoy your day and celebrate the Princess you are!

Dan and Alex are off to the races today...the Indy 500, that is. Dan took my baby camera, I'm sure he will capture some speedy fun!
...until next time, thank you all for blessing us with great company this weekend! We love you!

"You're Gonna Miss This...Moment" This Little Piggy

Time to join Pam and share the moments we're going to miss one day...because life is so short! Sometimes it's hard to find those moments among our busy schedules, but that's what I love about participating in this...it makes me stop and think about it and appreciate them so much more!

Wow, another week has come and gone already! Where is the time going? Please let me stop the clock for a few minutes!

With summer weather upon us, we are almost always without shoes around here! Don't get me wrong, I love my flip flops, though...we are dear friends! But what I love more are Alex's & Emily's little feet and toes! How sweet are baby feet? I know, the sweetest! Although Alex and Emily are no longer babies {always my babies at heart!}, I love their sweet little piggies...and I'll miss them when they're all grown up! I love their giggles & belly laughs when I tickle their feet, and wiggle their toes! Awww....pretty please...can we stop the clock for a few minutes?

Don't forget to join us with your moment at Pam's! Do it, now...you know you're going to miss it!

"Isn't She Lovely..."

I want to thank two lovely ladies for honoring this little, lovely blog {hey, I can't disagree with them, right?} with this lovely award!

Need some beautiful stationary, announcements or invites or want to see some adorable mutts? Then you need to go visit inkOBSESSIONdesigns! She has a super cute blog {I just love the little birdies!} and some humor to add a smile to your day! {who doesn't need that?}

And, Miss Entertaining Mom from The Entertaining House thinks this little blog is lovely, too {c'mon, I'm blushing now!} She is a mom of three children and who gives some great recipes on food and fun! And apparently keeps a tidy car like the rest of us!

Being lovely doesn't come easy...in order to call this my own I need to follow some rules.

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. {Easy...done!}

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. {Okay, not so easy...I only have 7...so I'm only feeling half as lovely...but these are the blogs that I've most recently discovered...and they help me feel the blog love!} Thanks friends!

Terri @ the Four Frugal Scarbarys

Kelli @ Outside My Kitchen Window

Kelli @ Random Thoughts of a Supermom

5 Moms & a Blog
Bobbi @ Casa Camacho
Tarah @ Eyeglasses & Endzones
Joye @ The Joyeful Journey
Please visit them and remind them just how lovely they are...and if you're reading this...I want you to know how lovely you are too!
And...since we're on the subject...
{Lovely to listen to!}


{Lovely Love...get it...tennis...love...I know, so clever, right!} {ahem...}



{Lovely laughter!}


Have a lovely day!

Wordless Wednesday {Work That Attitude!}

I ♥ Faces - Week 19 - "Blurb Photo Book" Contest

I ♥ Faces is a photography site focused on the art of capturing faces and their various emotions. Each week, people from across the world have the opportunity to enter their favorite face photos into two categories ~ kids and adults.

This is my first time ever participating in this contest, but have really enjoyed seeing all the photos my blog friends enter, and wanted to give it a try, too!

If you want to join us, please visit here to follow the guidelines and find out what you need to do to enter...if you didn't already know!

This is a photo of Alex playing in the snow this past January when we had a rare 12-inch snowfall! I love his expression and all the snow surrounding him! Brrrr!

"I am submitting this photo into the http://www.iheartfaces.com/Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."


{And if you want to see some sunny, warmer weather visit my "Not Me!" Monday post...I am so proud of Alex!}

"Not Me!" Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and so many others have not been doing this week!

Alex was not named MVP of his first baseball game of the season! {Go Alex! Go Alex! Go Alex!} There are not about 100 pictures to follow of him in action... {really, I did not take 149 pictures yesterday! Wow! I am not that crazy mom on the side capturing every single move her child makes...not me!}

{Alex was not so proud to receive a Player of the Game certificate and a wooden baseball bat. Great job!}


















Emily does not wish she was out there with her big brother with her pink ball glove...but does not love cheering him on from the sidelines!



I warned you there would not be 100 pictures! But I am not so proud of Alex's achievement on his first baseball game & that big grin on his face...and do not look forward to the rest of the season! Go Alex!