Smocked My Socks Off

Banner Giveaway!!

2012-11-23T15:09:00.001-06:00

Facebook page!!! www.facebook.com/LylaDeeDesigns

Etsy Store!!! www.etsy.com/shop/LylaDee

Banners options that you can win!

Pumpkin Patch

2012-10-29T13:12:00.001-05:00

Going to pick out a pumpkin is always fun! We are lucky that there are churches so close that have pumpkins so we didn't have to drive very far to go to a "real" pumpkin patch this year. We'll go eventually but the kids are still a little too young. This was exciting for them, too!

Lyla enjoyed the pumpkins way more than last year! One of our framed pictures at home is one where she is screaming in the middle of pumpkins! Too cute, (but glad she's not screaming very often anymore)

Cade has started "smiling" when we ask him to, unfortunately it is really forced and turns into a painful looking face.

Probably the best one!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Being Creative

2012-10-07T22:31:00.001-05:00

So, for those that don't know me, I LOVE to craft, create, sew, paint, etc. Whatever I can figure out I try! So, with a little more time on my hands with the kids in Mother's Day Out and me not tutoring, yet I've been spending my time "crafting".

Check out what I've been making...

Burlap Christmas Ornament

Boo Banner...I've sold 6 of these on Etsy!

Giraffe Baby Taggie for my sweet friend Tiff's little girl. Tiff loves giraffes (it's part of her proposal story) so I thought this was perfect!

Housewarming/Fall Gift for my friend Steph.

Random Candy Corn banner I made one day for no one in particular, then I sold one the next day on Etsy!

My favorite banner I've made!!!

Monster taggie for my friend Angela's new little boy!

Birthday Purses for 3 super cute little girls!

I can see clearly now...

2012-10-04T20:32:00.001-05:00

My friend let me borrow her Nikon lens. It's the one that I thought I had bought before my cruise, but I didn't read about it enough and ordered the wrong one. Now, this one is definetly on my Christmas list!

It is super clear and has such a blurry background!! Enjoy these candid shots of my kids!

Happy Fall Y'all!

2012-10-01T19:47:00.000-05:00

I LOVE DECORATING FOR SEASONS!!!! Fall and Christmas are about the only 2 that I decorate for, so I'm always so excited when fall comes around!

It means cooler weather, football, our anniversary, plus my favorite holiday (Thanksgiving).

Here's some of my decorations that we got out of the attic. I actually had Ryan pull them out of the attic on September 1, but I've been making some stuff for the past month, so here's my almost finished product.

Paint you can eat?!?!

2012-09-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

So, I was playing with the kids in the backyard the other night and started to look on Pinterest (which is super dangerous). I found a link to "Toddler Paint: safe if they eat it". It was just flour, water, and food coloring. I thought oh, this is easy. So, I ran inside and put together all the stuff and got some paint brushes and some white paper. I took the kids clothes off and let them at it. Well, Lyla definitely tried out how "safe" it was to eat. She was drinking it!! So, I grabbed my camera and took pictures rather than trying to clean them up!

Enjoy!

to the beach...TO THE BEACH!!!

2012-08-22T21:42:00.000-05:00

I had a pretty normal summer until the end of the summer. I went on 4 trips back to back and I had a blast! So, now for some fun catching up!! First, I went to Royse City to visit my family!

Then, I went with my family friends to Corpus Christi! This has been a tradition in my family to go almost every summer with the Westmorelands. We almost always stayed at a place called the Gulf Stream Condos. There's a lot of history there and really happy memories of my mom. Judith, Susan, and I used to talk about bringing our husbands and our kids and how much fun it would be. We also talked about buying our own condos so they would always be ours...that hasn't happened...yet! Ryan had already experienced the "beach experience" with this group, but this would be different since there were two more guys coming along as well as two kids that would be with us. We needed two condos to fit all of us, but boy did we have a great time!!

After being around constant "help", I'm not sure Ryan and I will ever vacation with just us and our kids, well until they are older. We really appreciated the added help!

We actually got there early, so our rooms weren't ready, but we found the gift shops!

Once our rooms were ready, we changed clothes and headed to the beach. Cade had been talking about the beach for past month but he didn't actually know what it was. This was Cade and Lyla's first time to see the beach.

First time on the beach!

Cade insisted on wearing his shoes, hat, and glasses..wonder why??

Setting up the cabana early in the morning. I took this picture from our balcony! Our poor cabana that has been in the family for so many years was stolen.

happy girl!!!

of course we went to Snoopy's. Our favorite seafood around. Cade and Lyla both tried the boiled shrimp, but took after Ryan and wanted the fried shrimp!


Here's our group! Susan, David, Cole, Ryan, Bob, Judith, Lyla, Johnny, Sharyn, Cade, and Jess

Next door to Snoopy's is Scoopy's Ice Cream. Cade got some sherbert but decided to drink Ryan's milk shake instead.

Lyla with her favorite person (probably had something to do with the fact he gave her her first ice cream!)

Corpus can be pretty!

After Snoopy's I wanted to get some pictures of us in clothes on the beach.

That's about as still as I could get them!

We usually play frisbee and toss the football or softball around. It's more fun when you have more people. We played a pretty mean game of frisbee one afternoon!

Here's a picture of Susan, Judith, and I on one of our summer trips to the beach! I love that I get to take my family to the same beach and create our own memories!

Ryan was only there for part of the time because he can't get time off from the Police Academy. Cade really took after Ryan and enjoyed sitting on the sand or in the water, but not actually swimming in the water. He built sand castles and then destroyed sand castles!

And, Lyla took after me!!! I love swimming in the ocean and so did Lyla!

Judith, Susan, and I swimming in the hotel pool!

Me and my family swimming in the same pool!!!

My dad loves frisbee!!!

Thanks Angela for the bikini!!!

brother hugs are the best!!!

One of my favorite pictures. Lyla and I then my dad and Cade in the background!

The "almost married" couple!

Two of the best friends anyone could have!!! I thank God for ya'll!

I hope to do this every year we go to the beach! I hope to take our kids every year while they are young. It's such a great adventure for them and an easy trip. I would totally be okay with going several times in the summer.

Lyla's 1st Birthday Party!!

2012-08-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

For Lyla's first birthday we had planned a swim party with ice cream!! The weather man kept saying it was going to rain on the party day, but seriously I never thought twice about it actually raining! It was AUGUST in Austin! You're supposed to be able to have a swim party!

BUT...It rained that morning and it was too much to risk getting rained on at the party. So, we moved the party to our house. If I had actually though ahead I would have come up with some activities for the kids to do, but again, I never thought it would rain! That means there were lots of kids and adults just hanging out at our house. I'm thankful for Cade's train table because that seemed to keep them entertained for a little while. Not sure what the kids did the whole time though...ha! Also, thankful for Ryan, Cole, and Judith who helped set up the party! yea, I will repay the favor when y'all have kids!

I really enjoyed making all of the fun decorations for Lyla's party!! It's fun having a girl. We had ice cream cupcakes and then ice cream sundaes with lots of toppings!

I made some "ice cream cone balloons" for decoration. They didn't turn out as cute as I thought but the kids loved them!! Cade's face is priceless here!

Ryan and Cole actually made the tutu skirt!

Lyla enjoyed it!

Then liked their picnic on the kitchen floor!

Happy birthday song!! not a fan of the hat!

At first Lyla didn't know what to think of her cake. Cade showed her how to eat it without getting messy!

Our family..plus Harper :) She fits right in!

she started to get the hang of the icing!

yup!!! That's my child!!

You have to watch the video of Lyla below...I can't believe how messy she got!

Presents!!

Birthday girl face!

She was overwhelmed and needed a hug from daddy!! Such a girl!! I love this picture!!

Lyla turns ONE!!!

2012-08-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

I know that every mom says..."I can't believe my child is one (or any age for that fact)", but honestly I sometimes still can't believe I have two kids! So, the fact that Lyla is ONE, just baffles me! I wonder if I cherished every moment and all the wonderful milestones that she reached in her last year. I also worry about the "second child syndrome". I had been using some of Cade's leftover labels for cups and bottles on Lyla's stuff and realized the deserved her own! There are many other hand me downs that she has used and will have to use the rest of her life, but at least her cups say her name on it and not Cade's. It's the little things right??

Ryan and I try to have traditions on birthdays that aren't elaborate, but something fun we can do every year. I'm sure we'll add or take away as they get older, but it's fun to start traditions. Ryan's mom always made him homemade breakfast on his birthday (which BTW I still carry on) then his dad would take him around Austin to do fun things (movies, golf, etc.). They try to still do that when time permits. Ryan has great memories because of this so I we are going to try to keep the same up for our kids!

Since Lyla was only turning one and Ryan had to work on her birthday we didn't do a lot, but I did make a fun breakfast.

Here's some traditions that we have started:

-The Birthday wreath got hung during the month of August. Cade somehow broke the wreath into 4 pieces a few weeks ago, so it will have to be fixed, but I have until February to figure it out!

-Both Ryan and I woke up Lyla and sang to her.

-We hung balloons outside her bedroom door.

-Special breakfast. As they kids get older I'll let them pick what they want! Can't wait for that.

Pumpkin Pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries!

Time for Presents!!!

I made her a little Owl Purse since she always wants to play with mine.

We gave her a little tea set that sings and makes tea noises. This is what my face looks like when I have a British accent.

Too much tea!

Cade asking Ryan if he'd like some tea!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!!! You have such a personality and I can't wait to see what you become. With your social skills it will be wonderful to see how many people's lives you touch.

Off the couch...

2012-08-01T21:52:00.000-05:00

I try to be intentional about providing "learning" opportunities for my kids. Not sit down lecture learning..but just different activities then our norm! Enjoy our photos below...

Trip to my Cousins

2012-07-28T00:14:00.000-05:00

Last week my dad I took a trip to my cousin, Julie's house. She lives in a little city north of Rockwall, TX. They live in the country and since Ryan and I hope to live in the country some day, this is a lot of fun! Julie and her husband, Kevin have 3 great kiddos! Jacob is 10, Shelbie is 7, and and Carlie is almost 3. Julie and I are far apart in age but ever since I got married then had kids, we have more in common. I love that we were pregnant at the same time even for a few months. (Me with my first, Julie with her last)

We had a great and exhausting time. It is just a lot of work keeping up with my kiddos or feeling guilty if I don't :) Oh well...

Here's a lot of pictures from our trip!

I never remember my dad jumping on a trampoline with me as a kid, but of course he'll do it for Cade.

This about sums up Julie's personality..if you can sum it up at all!! She is so full of life and I love that her kids are too!

Me and my sweet Shelbie

Perfect!!

Julie bought some 50 cent Frisbees...and we definitely got our money's worth and more! We had a great time with these! My dad went to Wal-mart the last night to try to get Jacob a "real Frisbee", but they were sold out?!?!

We also decorated flip-flops. There were some for Nana as well as Carlie, but they were both sleeping when we took this picture!

This is going in a frame! I love these two so much!

I wanted to try to get a group shot of the kids...super hard! (by the way, I wish Cammy had been here and we'd have the entire great grand kids) Anyway...I thought for sure Popsicles would do the trick, but I think a motorcycle or horse caught their attention here.

And Cade is done!

Julie's 3

Cade dripped Popsicle all over my back while I was taking pictures!

The horse across the street...he was so sweet. Cade was a little taken back

but not Lyla.

Cade's (and Lyla's) first fishing trip. We went to one of Julie's friends house. They have a pond they built and were so kind to let us come out there. Jacob was really sweet to Cade and was excited to show him. Cade was really excited until someone caught a fish and he saw that squirmy thing.

you mean, that's what all this is about?

sweet Carlie!

The family...(minus Granddad, Ryan, Nana, Eric, Amy, and Cammy)...other than that, there's my family!

Photo a Day July

2012-07-17T23:11:00.005-05:00

Fun day with my "childhood" friends

2012-07-17T00:03:00.000-05:00

For those friends and family that aren't on Facebook much (or ever) I wanted to give you the link to Becky's blog about or play date the other day!

http://awalkdownbaileylane.blogspot.com/2012/07/friday-fun-day.html

Thanks Becky for taking the pictures!!! These are priceless!

Butler Park Fun!!

2012-07-17T00:01:00.001-05:00

Here's a few pictures from our small group's outing at Butler Park!

Lyla and Stephanie sure are best buds! Steph is so generous and always helping me with Lyla! She was feeding Lyla some raspberries and she ended up getting raspberries on both of them!

Lyla in her "two-piece" from Aunt Angie

How could I not get a picture of this?? Ryan enjoyed this humor!

Cade and Bishop taking turns putting their feet (and bottoms) on the water!

My two sweets!

Cade loves him some watermelon!!

Messy Marvins

2012-07-08T22:06:00.003-05:00

My kids don't get a bath every night...I know shocking right? Sometimes I look at the clock and wonder how it's already 8:00 and neither kid is in pajamas! So, if I know they are due for a bath then I just let them have some fun playing and not worry about how messy they are. These are cute pictures of my kids even with their messy hair and faces!

I love it when Ryan looks at Lyla and says, "I thought girls weren't supposed to be messy". Why can't a girl get messy? I used to spill guacamole on my new outfits at school when I was younger. It's ok, Lyla...you can still be a lady and be messy sometimes!

I mean...look at this girl! :)

Cade loves his messy sister!

This is the face of a little girl who ate spaghetti and then had her brother poor flour in her hair!

There's a piece of spaghetti!

Independence Day Photos

2012-07-08T21:53:00.002-05:00

I love matching or coordinating outfits. With a boy and girl it's not always easy to come by (or at least within my budget). So, before I send the kids to my dad's house for the day I decided to snap some photos. It always sounds better in my head than what happens on the camera!

oh well...

Why aren't they looking at me....oh yea..Cade had a flag that he brought out there because it matched his shirt. That's all they cared about :)

That's my happy girl!


yup...that's the best one I got of both of them. I took about 50 in 10 minutes and this is what I got.

I kept taking a bunch of Lyla because she was some what cooperating. Then I realized I had the focus wrong and they all turned out blury. Then...I was wondering where Cade was. He was all excited we were going to "Baba's" house so I fugured he was trying to get in the car.

of course..he was in a box! Thanks daddy for all the fireworks boxes that are now covering our living room!

Hope you had a great Fourth of July!!

Boom Boom Boom!

2012-06-30T20:40:00.002-05:00

Ryan and his dad have been running a fireworks stand for years!!! Seriously. They have probably been doing it for about 10 years. When Ryan and I were dating I had always pictured how fun it would be to hang out there with our future kids and they would get to hang with their grandpa, etc. That it would be something fun that the kids' friends knew about and could always have some cool fireworks parties. Then life happened...being newlyweds I didn't understand why he'd want to go off and be away for 2 weeks (during holidays) for just "money". So, I would go help as way to spend time with him. I'm pretty sure I said more than once..."We aren't going to have kids until Ryan stops selling fireworks, it would be too hard and holidays are for family"...well, I've been proved a liar. Ha! Since I'm getting to stay home with our kids, the fireworks sales have been the biggest blessing we've had! Ryan goes to the Academy and then goes out there for a few hours to relieve his dad and then comes back home to get ready for the next day. I've never felt more "taken care" of before. Luckily it's a short two week job (with a lot of work) but it will help us for the whole year. Since we don't get to see Ryan often during these 2 weeks, we decided to visit him!! This was the second time Cade had been out there but the first time he was a baby (see photo below) and it was Lyla's first time, too!

Watching daddy sell fireworks from the trailer. He couldn't wait any longer so he went out there and helped sell. He just threw random fireworks in a bag. Loads of help!!

Cade wanted one of those flags so bad!

Selling Daddy and Lyla some fireworks!

He's quite the salesman if he can sell fireworks to a stand owner!

We picked out some fireworks for Cade's friend for his birthday party! Cade thought he could use some Roman Candles....um...Ryan vetoed that one!

Cade at 4 Months!

Random iPhone Pictures!

2012-06-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

My dad gave Cade this really cool flexible glow in the dark race track a few months ago. It's been quite the popular toy when kids come over! My dad bought another one on Ebay and so now we have more cars and a bigger track!! So fun!

We got to keep JJ for a few weeks!! This is how we got around! I think it'll be a while before we have another kid!

My sweet Cadertot in his PJs and rainboots!

My dad came over to fix our sink because it had been leaking. He put his headlamp on (because who doesn't always have their headlamp with them), and crawled under the sink with his tools to fix it. Cade went in the study and found Ryan's headlamp and then went upstairs and brought his toy screwdriver down. He went under the sink to "help Baba fix the sink".

Cade has been watching Ryan polish his boots for several weeks now, he decided his rain boots needed some work too. Ryan gave Cade some unused cotton balls and let Cade clean his rainboots!

Lyla's first time in a swimming pool!!! She loved it!

Who doesn't love breakfast outside in their PJs?

Cade and monkey in our bed watching Word World!

Cuddle time on the hammock!

Look at me go!!

I left him alone for 1 minute with his yogurt! Somehow it ended up everywhere, including his hair!!

Veggies from our garden!! We get that many tomatoes on a regular basis! Cade and Lyla both love the tomatoes.

JJ and Cade sitting inside the "new road".

2 boys, 2 sticks, and the woods!

First day of VBS!!!! They had a great time!! Cade loved it!

The Tots' first swimming lesson!

2012-06-24T15:32:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to signing the kids up for swim lessons!! I was excited but a little unsure how they would respond! My dad asked if he could come watch and so he was able to take some pictures! (And cheer them on from the sides when they were screaming) These lessons are just the basics to get them comfortable with the water and so they can eventually learn to swim by themselves.

Lyla was up first! She was so excited and happy. We started in the shallow end and let the kids walk (or in Lyla's case bear crawl) so they were comfortable in the water. Lyla loved being able to crawl in the water...she kept crawling out.

Then they place the kids further back so they had to lift their chin as they crawled. She did great! This really taught them to not freak out if their face got wet. It shows them that all they have to do is lift their head (or stand up) and they are fine!

They also taught them how to reach for the wall, then hang onto the wall, and eventually crawl out. I was amazed that Lyla could already hang on to the wall by herself. Her she let go and got her face under water, she'd just pull herself back up. Amazing how early they can learn this stuff!

We went to the deeper water next and let them lay on their backs and learn to kick!! She was doing great UNTIL...the instructor showed us how to dunk them under water. After she came up she was super mad. She clung to me like a cat and she decided the lesson was over. I was determined to end on a happy note so I kept trying to get her to enjoy other stuff. Eventually she crawled some more in the shallow end and played with the fountains.

Cade's class did basically the same stuff but expected more from them. Cade enjoyed it for the most part. After they taught him how to reach for the wall and hold on to the side, the instructor put Cade near the wall and let him go. Cade was under water for a little bit but finally found the wall and pulled himself up. He was really scared after that (I guess, who wouldn't be). But the important thing was that he could do it! He was a great kicker and could even swim with his arms already. I hope that his confidence increases over the next few weeks. He didn't really calm down after going under the water until my dad took him outside and swam with him.

Hoping for a better outcome next week!!

Southwestern Pizza!!

2012-06-22T21:24:00.000-05:00

I'm always looking for new recipes that don't appear to be too "weird" so that Ryan will eat them. I don't have to worry about Cade or especially Lyla not eating my meals, I just have to worry about Ryan. He's done a lot better venturing out with what he likes and lately he's been trying to eat less processed foods...So, that means more homemade cooking!

This is what we had tonight and it turned out great!! We had all the ingredients on hand which was even better!

Southwestern Pizza with black beans and corn!

Here's where it came from...The Kitchn

The only problem was our avocados weren't ripe enough so we didn't get to enjoy the guacamole topping :(. But the fresh tomatoes from our garden made up for that. Cade helped me roll out the dough and smoosh it down. He also poked holes in it..oops, the recipe didn't call for that!

Sea World

2012-06-22T20:50:00.001-05:00

I'm so thankful that Ryan had a free weekend a few weeks ago and we were able to take Cade to Sea World. Thankfully "Baba" agreed to watch Lyla. She would have been a little bit harder to keep happy the whole time since she couldn't enjoy it as much. We loved being able to give Cade some one on one time. Hopefully we will go back in the fall and Lyla will get to go!

We had actually planned on going a different weekend but that was the weekend that the kids took turns throwing up, so I'm glad we waited a week for Sea World...AND...that meant we got to go with our good friends, the Shouses! Bishop is Cade little friend and we think his parents are pretty cool too!

While we were waiting for a show to start, Cade just took off climbing up a huge rope net wall. Everyone just watched him climb up it. Then I realized I wasn't sure how he was going to get down, so I climbed up it too! Then the only way down was to go through the tunnels that are in the SKY! or try to come back down a steep wall. I just followed Cade who had no idea how far up he was. I'm not usually afraid of heights, but the thought of just these ropes holding me up was a little scary.

Flamingos!

Sesame Street Bay of Play!

Elmo 4D Movie! Cade kept the glasses on the whole time!

Waiting to see Shamu!

I love how interested they were in Shamu! Cade still talks about Shamu and Sea World.

Penguins

Watching the dolphins.

Cade loved the shark tank with all the different kinds of fish. He saw a clown fish and kept asking where Dory was?

He loved getting to ride a "horse"

Stayed awake the whole day until we got into the parking lot. Then he was out. He woke up in the car and talked to us the whole way home!

He got to pick out an animal and he got a penguin. He also got a little Shamu for Lyla! Can't wait to go again!!

Lyla 9 Months

2012-06-22T20:34:00.002-05:00

Lyla 9 Months!

You are such a joy! I love how excited you get over the simplest things.

You can sign the word "more" and you can clap your hands. You stand up by yourself without pulling up on anything and you've started to use a walker to walk around. Cade thinks that is so funny watching you walk around. He cheers you on! You also like to shake your "booty" when you hear music. You do alot of bear crawling around the house. You are so quick....sometimes too quick and fall on your face. Daddy likes to all you little bit and I call you squirmy wormy! You are so quick. Cade calls you Lyla (with his tongue handing out of his mouth)

You like to drink out of a sippy cup now..just like brother.

Such a big girl standing by yourself.

so pretty!!!

You can give your brother a run for his money when it comes to being messy!

Getting ready to swim!

Memorial day party!

I have got to get Ryan to take more pictures of me with my little ones! These are precious.

Cade at 9 months!!

Lyla at 9 months!

You keep your tongue out of your mouth just like Cade did and still does.

Every month it becomes more of a challenge to get them to sit still!! But I love these "mischievous" pictures too!

Lately...

2012-06-20T22:36:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy that I haven't been able to blog about what I've been doing the past few weeks...

Ryan and I have noticed in the past month that Lyla has turned over a new "leaf". She is now happy almost all the time and if she's upset there's a reason. So different than her first several months of life! Her blue eyes and eyelashes are just amazing!!! God is such an amazing creator.

Since, I'm an only child I was really nervous about having 2 kids. I always wanted a big family, but I pray for children that care for their siblings and want the best for them. Obviously there will be fights and tears, but overall I want to see love! It's amazing how Cade and Lyla already have such a bond. Since Lyla was born Cade has wanted to include her in everything. When he learns how to do something he also wants Lyla to learn. His latest accomplishment is teaching Lyla the sign for "more". She can do it now and it makes Cade giggle every time.

Brotherly hugs and kisses.

And we're done...

My boys!

Lyla can now stand on her own and stand up without pulling up on anything. I know it took Cade along time to learn that. He was walking on his own before he could actually get up in the middle of the floor. She is so strong. I've seen her stand up then squat then get back up. She will do that over and over again. She is just now starting to think about taking a few steps.

Cade's buddy, Bishop came over the other day and they were pretending to sleep. I love these two so much and can't wait to see them grow up together! Bishop already antagonizes Cade like they were brothers.

A few weeks ago I had to say good-bye to one of the closest friends I've ever had. Our pastor moved to a church in Waxahachie which unfortunately meant his wife went too. I mean, good that she followed him there but sad for us. Angela and I would see each other almost every day. Our boys played at each other's houses and we went on countless walks around the block and to the park. Every time we go on a walk now, Cade always asks to go to Angie's house. He doesn't understand that they have a new house (that isn't in walking distance). I'm excited to go see the Ritsema's in July and to see Angela's baby belly! Cade will be so happy to see them too, especially Toby (the dog).

May Birthday Parties

2012-06-07T21:59:00.002-05:00

We got to attend two wonderful birthday parties...they were so creative and fun I thought I'd share!

Bishop turned 2! He had a Cars Movie Birthday Party. What more could Cade have asked for. His parents made cars out of boxes that all the kids could play with. Cade didn't care for them much, but here's a picture of Bishop running around. He did that for his entire party!

Bishop's Grandpa had a bunch of antique metal cars and trucks that he brought. They made a road on the pavement and the kids pushed cars in circles all night!

Lyla made herself at home and climbed on the table and got some cake. I guess she didn't want to wait until she turned 1!


At the end of the night they projected the Cars 2 on a sheet in the backyard. I let Cade have his party favor early! Great party!!!

Blake turned 2 as well. Her and Bishop's birthdays are one day apart. This was the crazy water park/slide in their backyard.

The kids Sunday School teacher came and of course all the kids went and played with her the whole time. What an amazing Godly woman!

Cade knows how to relax...he gets this from his daddy!

Birthday girl!

Blake and her sister Dylan.

It takes a Godly village...

2012-05-21T20:42:00.001-05:00

Our church has usually held a dedication service for babies on Mother's Day. I've always loved this service even before I had my kids. There's nothing greater than looking at families who are making a commitment to raise their child in the church and to teach them about Jesus in their homes. We did this with Cade when he was just a few months old and we got the privilege of standing in front of our congregation again with Lyla.

Lyla had stomach bug the week before so it was my biggest fear that she'd just vomit on the stage. That would be a first!

Anyways. Enjoy the pictures and at the bottom I put what the commitment said.

Beautiful picture taken in front of new sanctuary. (Thanks Beck for taking these pictures)

Most of the families.

As each child was called up there was a picture collage of the family and child. Great idea!

Reading the vows.

Prayer by Pastor David.

We didn't get to go celebrate afterwards since Lyla was still sick. Y'all owe me a Mother's Day lunch!

Parent Commitment

Leader: Do you recognize your children as precious gifts of God and give heartfelt thanks for God’s blessing?

Parents: We do.

Leader: Do you now present your children to the Lord surrendering all worldly claims upon their lives in the hope that they will belong wholly to God?

Parents: We do.

Leader: Do you promise that with God’s help, you will bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, making every reasonable effort to build the Word of God, the character of Christ, and the joy of the Lord into their lives?

Parents: We do.

Leader: Parents, will you, to the best of your ability and with God’s help, provide a loving family environment in which your child can grow in love and obedience to God?

Parents: We will.

Congregational Response

Leader: These parents have expressed their commitment to God to raise their children in the nurture of the Lord. Will you pledge your support and presence in times of joy and sadness and in times of growth and frustration. And will you partner with them to love, teach, and pray for their children.

Congregation: We will.