Fathers Day Celebrations

Again I'm so humbled and thankful to be able to celebrate this day in many ways. I'm thankful for my dad, Marc's dad, stepdad and for especially for Marc getting to now appreciate this holiday.

Our original plan was to go to see Marc's father since we haven't been since Christmas. Unfortunately that did not work out due to Marc having to work all weekend long. So sad I know. Poor thing literally worked till 10 every night.
I decided to go to the lake and see my dad for the weekend since Marc was unavailable. It was so much fun spending time with my fam! The 4 of us always have a blast. It was also exciting to not only celebrate him as a father but also a pop-pop! I even found a card the said, "Pop-Pop"! He loved it.

Here he is doing what he does best. Being Boat captain (w/his new hat), surfing and loving on his girls!

When I got home from the lake, I showered Marc with gifts and then took him to Ruth's Chris for a delicious steak dinner. I also surprised him with a strawberry, coldstone cake. It said, "Happy 1st Fathers Day." Again, it feels so surreal being able to celebrate this Holiday. It has such a different feel and we are feeling so blessed and thankful for that. This baby girl has no idea how blessed she will be with him as her father. I can't even imagine all the fun times they will get to have together.


We missed getting to see Marc's dad and stepdad this weekend but are hoping to see them soon! They also mean the world to us and we are thankful for them both!

My heart goes out to those that have lost a father, child or are still waiting. I thought a lot about that yesterday and had several people on my mind. Praying for peace.

Baby update coming soon! I think we are getting closer on a name!

Happy birthday mom

Happy Birthday to my amazing mother! She is one of the most thoughtful, loving, sacrificing people I will ever know. She also looks absolutely incredible for her age. Although she would kill me for sharing her age, I promise you wold be surprised because she looks so much younger. I just hope I look as good as her when I'm her age or at least inherited the "young looking" gene.
Anyways, thanks for being there for me for my whole life, but most importantly the past 2 years. She is the one that would whisk me away on a fun trip when she saw I was sinking into a depression. She is the one that always said it would be ok no matter what happens. I hope one day I love my kids as well as she has loved me and my sister. 

A clairisonic face brush to keep that skin flawless....

Her own mini cake from ricks, her favorite.

Easter Sunday!

Thanks for everything! Looking forward to the next chapter with you as a grandmother!

No longer a teenager

My sweet, baby sis just turned 20 a few days ago...
Umm hello, what? Where has the time gone. I just had her bassinet beside my bed pretending like she was my very own baby doll. This just cannot be real. How did she turn into an adult? I take partial responsibility for her. As in I helped raise her, name her, taught her numbers, letters and taught her wonderful morals, and so on ;). Kidding, Kind of! Because we are 7.5 years apart, I did in some ways become a second mom to her. I loved every minute of it as I'm sure she did not enjoy one moment of it. So as she is finishing her second year of college and thinking about a career and all of that fun adult stuff, I hope she will enjoy the next fun years of when life is simple and fun! I know this is a "mom-ish" post, but I really am so proud of her. She has the kindest heart and would do anything for me or anyone else. I have loved every second of her being in Fayetteville with me and never want her to leave! Ever.

 

My grandmother even got to make a trip to NWA for her b-day! This was only the 2nd time she has ever been to my house. It was so special. 3 generations!

Happy 20th Meg!

You can look back at her birthday post from last year here:  http://www.theyounthappenings.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-birthday-meg.html

Family getaway

For the past several years, my fam and I have gone to Branson for as long as I can remember.
This time we stayed at big cedar which was absolutely wonderful and such a treat! Marc was gone off hunting with his dad and brother so we just went and had fun without him.
We went to a delicious restaurant called "Level 2" steakhouse. I had the best filet and greatest dessert ever.
We were actually all done shopping so we thankfully didn't have a ton of that to do! All in all we had a great, relaxing weekend. So thankful for them!

cuties!

ooh I think he found a letter from Santa!

this was an amazing gingerbrad house that took over 250hrs to bake and make!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I'm so grateful to be completely finished with shopping and wrapping gifts. Such a relief. I'm usually just starting.

Happy Birthday Meg!

Today is my sis' 19th birthday! I know this sounds cheesy, but it does just seem like yesterday that I was trying to figure what to name my real life "baby-doll." We are just about 8 years apart, so I felt like I waited forever for a sibling. I wanted one so bad I even had make-believe friends (don't judge me, I was a lonely, only child!) My parents really did let me name her... I have no clue why, but they did. I seriously treated her like my own child. She slept in my room until she got to "cool" for that. I was so happy to have a sibling, but because I was so much older, I also tried to be her boss, which did not work out so well. She did not appreciate having 2 moms (and probably still doesn't.) I feel so old now that she is in college, but oh so thankful to be living int he same city with her. She is amazing. She has a great heart and has such a love for others. I'm looking forward to these next few years of growing closer together.

So Happy 19th Birthday Meg!

 meg and her baby, Bruiser

A look back from this past year...

I love you Meg!

Love,
Sister

Happy Dads Day

Happy belated Fathers Day to all of our Dads!
I was able to see 2 out of our 3! I was at home again in Little Rock so I got to spend most of the day with my sweet dad on the lake!

First, I made him some breakfast brunch! The menu was: bacon, blackberries and yummy baked french toast!

best boat captain ever!

Thanks dad for being so great. I don't know where I would be without you. You are one amazing husband and father. Thanks for raising me in such a loving home. I promise to never take that for granted.

Marc went home to Northeast Arkansas to see his dad. His dad has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's so I think it was very special and important for him to be there with his dad. He was also able to help do some work on their farm, which I think was fun for him to get his hands dirty!

Their most favorite thing to do together is HUNT!!

We love you Nick! Stay strong and know that we are praying for you. You are such a wonderful dad and father-in-law.

This pic is from their hunting trip together this past November~

We were both able to see Bear, Marc's second dad! He helped raise Marc into the man he is today. He was the one to always take Marc things that he had forgotten such as his backpack, etc. Although, Marc still loses things, we both still love him! Ha! Bear and Brenda (Marc's mom) both live here in NWA at our old house. We are so thankful to have them close by. They mean so much to us, especially LOUIE! He loves them way better than Marc and I. They are the best dog grandparents ever. I can't imagine how spoiled our kids will be. Louie is smitten with Bear.

obviously!

We love you Dads!

Happy Graduation!

Well my little sis is all grown up. As you know last wednesday we threw her a fun graduation party/lunch with all of her friends. It was a blast. Here are a few pics from it in case you didn't see them on Katies blog.

Katie really did out do herself with helping us. It turned out amazing and the girls really loved all of it.

This was my mom and dad's favorite part-

SAWYER!!!

seriously- melt.my.heart.

Then on friday she had the actual graduation. She was the 14th graduating class from Little Rock Christian with 107 in her class, side note- I was the 6th at that school with 55. Needless to say I felt really old and had a flood of memories come back from mine.  It makes me realize how fast time flies by. I felt like I had just been there where she was sitting. I seriously can't wait for my 10 year reunion. My class was soo close and I miss all of them so much.

Ok I know I sound like her mother, but I did help raise her and I'm truly so proud of her for not only finishing school, but doing it with honors. She also has had to go through a whole bunch of crap this year, which I know can't be easy especially being a senior. She is so strong and grounded. I'm so thankful she will be coming up here next year and we can finally live in the same city again.

If you need a babysitter next year, she will be a great one!

CONGRATS MEGAN!

I love you tons and you are such a wonderful sister.

Pictures for Mom

So remember how I said my sis and I took some pics for my mom for mothers day? Well we had the lovely Kristin Hartness do a mini-session with us. We headed to the U of A at Old Main for some pics. I'm so glad we chose this location, because I graduated from there and my sis will be a freshmen there this year. I just can't even believe it. We are 8 years apart, so I have waited a long 8 years for her to come join me in Fayetteville, and I couldn't be happier she chose the U of A. I'm sure I had nothing to do with this decision! Ha. Sorry mom.

Anyways, here are some shots we chose from our session!

Thanks Kristin for a fun session and doing great job. My mom was so thrilled when she received these for her mothers day present! Check out Kristin's website: http://kristin-j.com/