Ava

Painting by Ron DiCianni
Sometimes there are no words but our Lord's "I saw a new heaven and a new earth...And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them...He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." Revelations 21:1,3-4

Baby Ava you touched all of our lives....you truly are a miracle and blessing to all.

You are very loved and missed...until we meet again precious one.

Getting in the Ocean for the First Time!

You hear a very nervous mom in the background. I get so nervous about the kids being pulled under the waves. The undertow is amazingly strong....you can see the pull of the sand under the kids feet. That being said it is so fun to splash and play in the waves :)!

Hope getting her hair braided...torture!!!

Let me just qualify this by saying that Hope wanted to get her hair braided! It is really sad to watch how miserable she is though! You hear me in the back ground bargaining out a price for her hair...I am still not sure I got a "good deal"!

More very sad tears!

Hope says "I love my hair" Mommy says "Really?" Was that really worth it???
Notice how drawn out her okie accent it!!!

Our Cancun Memories 2008

Cancun Vacation 2008
The view at the Royal Sands from my parents villa where we stayed.
I love the colors God created when he made the Caribbean Sea! Aren't those blues AMAZING!
The view from the other side of The Royal Sands in Cancun.


Sister Brother Hugs (okay perhaps squeezes) !
Emma working hard on her sand art. (Hopefully Elijah isn't around!)
Mommy and Elijah painting some pottery.
The Kool Kids hanging out in my sun glasses.

Carter loved to snorkle and see the fish and sea creatures! He has no fear and doesn't even seem to mind the taste of salt water!
The brothers chilling out....won't be too long before they are annoyed by matching outfits!
Two of my crew chilling out with mommy! Emma has the camera :)
Our little cheese making his happy face after swimming all day long!
What a way to spend the day...hanging out and playing with my sweet family! Okay dear friends...I put this in because I just wanted you all to notice my feet....covered in sand!!!

Carter works diligently to build a sand castle at the Hacienda's in Playa del Carmen.
Elijah loves building sand castles and then smashing everyone elses!
Emma chills out in the pool at the Royal Hacienda's
The girls loved sharing a strawberry daiquiri!
Tutti Fruity Girl!

Trying to keep Hope covered from the sun was always a challenge! She does look pretty cute!
The girls start to play in the sand the first day. Hope isn't sure she likes being "messy"
Emma and Carter LOVED the ocean....they spent hours playing in the waves and the sand!
Here is a shot I am going to have framed for my fire place mantle. They look so peaceful don't they! Below is a face shot....never quite got one with everyone smiling!!! Go adobe photoshop!
Life has been flying by at the speed of light!! The first week home I think I needed a vacation from the vacation and spent time just catching up on sleep, laundry, school, and house hold things. Last week we were back full force into the swing of activities. I loved having two weeks of family time. Jim and I were so grateful to get to spend time with each of the kids and learn even more about their personalities, likes, and dislikes. Each of them are such amazing treasures from God. Carter and I got to go snorkeling out in the coral reefs with my dad. What an amazing adventure it was. I loved having those memories built with Carter. We saw all kinds of beautiful fish including barracuda's!! Emma got to go to a dancing show at La Hacienda Sisal with my parents and LOVED the Mexican dancing. Hope and Elijah became quite the fish and lived in the pools. Elijah even graduated from his floaties by the end of the trip. Jim and I read, read, and read several books and had time to just relax, hang out, and talk! I learned a few new Spanish words and even accidentally told one of our friends at the Sands that my new favorite thing in Cancun was "shut-up"...I had meant to say cajete (which is a Carmel made from goat's milk) and instead I said callete....which as you guessed means "shut up".... and for now that is what I am going to do and head to bed.