A Day on the Lake

Rebecca, one of my stay at home mom buddies, invited us all out to her parents place on Lake Norman. What a BLAST we had. The weather was perfect… no chance of rain and no humidity today… can’t beat that!!

We only had a group of about 15, so we were all able to go out on the boat together. We suited up all the kiddos in life jackets… which took awhile… but here is Madeline sporting her borrowed Barbie lifejacket and little Benjamin’s hat… she was happy to munch popcorn while we got everything ready. Doesn’t she look like Panama Jack?!?

Audrey was less than excited about her life jacket. She is very short-waisted so it would choke her when you picked her up and held her, but we figured things out and she warmed up to it and discovered it wasn’t so bad after all.

Such patient waiters as we got settled on the boat…

It was a speed boat, not a slow pontoon boat so with 9 kids aboard—all under age 4 -- we fully expected to have one that freaked out or hated the ride once we got going. But they all loved it! (Okay, not entirely true. Kristin, one of our pontoon-loving moms… was not a fan of going fast while riding in the front of the boat. But she moved to the back without crying or whining, so all was good!! Love you, Kristin!!)

Madeline, Emily, and little Anna were the official greeters and loved to “go fast.”

We had a wonderful time on and off the lake, as they have a waterfront pool too! Needless to say the kids were worn out when we left.

We had a wonderful time and we’ll mark this down in the books as the girls’ first real boat ride. A BIG thank you to Rebecca and her family for having us ALL over today, we appreciate your great hospitality!

Proud

Today was Mark’s last day at work and the girls and I were in full celebratory mode all day! We worked hard making dinner plans and decorating for his “Congratulations and Good Luck” party.

They were great helpers at Harris Teeter:

Great assistants for decorating:

And just overall fabulous “daddy’s girls” when it came to a great celebration tonight!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this man?!? Really, we couldn’t be more proud of him!

Over the course of this past week I have been blessed to just watch as different people and groups have showed their overwhelming thanks and gratitude towards Mark for all he has done these past 6 years.

There are people who don’t get this much encouragement and thanks their ENTIRE career, much less for 6 years worth of work. But that is entirely because Mark is, well…. he’s just MARK! While he is not perfect, he gives 110% of himself ALL the time… not to just people that are nice and easy to work with but to EVERYONE. He loves people. I’ve never met anyone quite like him and his love for people shows in EVERYTHING he does. I mean really?!? This man can get people excited about dirt!! He truly is amazing to watch as he pours himself into the lives of others.

I had the joy of seeing him presented this plaque at the Southern Spring Show planning banquet in Charlotte last week. This was a BIG deal, because this is a BIG company that showcases the entire Charlotte Mecklenburg Region. His incredible work these past years with coordinating the Spring Show obviously did NOT go unnoticed!

Then there was the Chinese Pistache tree (yup, never heard of that one) that was planted yesterday in front of Mark’s office building in Dallas, the Citizens Resource Center. The Gastonia Farmers’ Market Board and Members bought and planted this tree in his honor! How many people do you know with trees planted in their honor??

Last night he had his final Beekeepers Association meeting and they presented him with this:

Mark has wanted one for YEARS and someone in the group handmade it for him. (They all also signed the bottom of it.) It is a 1 frame observatory beehive. Anytime he does presentations remotely having to do with bees or pollination, he’ll track down the ONE observatory hive that the association has in order to take a frame of LIVE bees with him for people to see. Needless to say, they had no trouble figuring out what to get him as he left and he was SO appreciative. He came home smiling ear to ear and with lots of other good honey gifts, too.

Can’t forget about his office staff. They threw him a surprise going away party yesterday and presented him with a nice plaque for his service too. This indeed was a fitting and more meaningful plaque for him that the traditional wood plaque, the featured tree is a Big Leaf Magnolia, said to be discovered here in Gaston County and still a very popular tree in the area.

The best part about all of this… Mark Blevins expects NOTHING for what he does everyday. He graciously gives and NEVER takes, he sees the good in everyone, and he is always trying to make himself better! I like to think that I am the most blessed girl on the planet and I pray that our girls will grow up to possess these amazing qualities that they get to witness in their dad every single day!!

We love you Mark and are proud to be traveling with you on this journey… wherever God sends you to love and garden with His people. You are going to be AMAZING at your new job!

New Trick

Much like her sister, Audrey loves to drink water. Her new trick occurs when she really isn't thirsty anymore but still wants to drink out of her straw. Please watch the video:

She seems to think she is quite funny and we do end up laughing with her quite often. How can you not with that sweet face?!

Roasting Marshmallows

Madeline loves to roast marshmallows. While she actually has never eaten one that she has roasted, it is still a favorite thing for her to do on summer nights.

I put Audrey to bed and Mark fired up our chimnea. Sadly, I’ve been cleaning out the pantry as we prepare to move and all the marshmallows were gone. BUT… we were in luck that we still had some purple bunny PEEPS left from Easter.

Here is my little roaster, she doesn’t like to look at the flames while she roasts, she says the flames are too hot on her face. Not really all that easy to tell when your marshmallow is done… but whatever!

In case you’ve never roasted PEEPS on a camfire, I’ll go ahead and tell you don’t bother trying. The sugar burns quickly, makes the marshmallow way to hot to eat, and doesn’t contort into shapes nearly as fun as when done in the microwave. Very disappointing. Madeline of course wouldn’t eat hers and Mark tried one and burned his mouth. They had fun roasting nonetheless!

Here’s the bunny…

The bunny as he gets warmer… Madeline said he looked like a mouse at this stage.

She quickly abandoned roasting—it was about 85 degrees out without the fire so we were all sweating—and ran around eating her non-roasted PEEPS.

I tried to get her to catch lightning bugs with me, but after eating all that sugar she had no ability to concentrate, not to mention she wouldn’t put down her PEEP and use both hands. Maybe another time!

Nothing like a great summer night outdoors!

My Favorite Faces

Just two pictures for you tonight. It’s been a wonderful weekend—a very emotional one—but in a good way. So I am exhausted.

Here is Madeline doing her fun paint pictures from Gramma… these are the BEST for doing painting at her age. And speaking of age... isn't she looking SO grown up? I can't believe she'll be 3 in August!!

And then there is this NUT! This is her new face now that her front teeth are in. She is doing it less today but I think her teeth must feel funny on her lips. So hilarious!

Hope all of you out there have had a great weekend!

Go Local

We’ve met a lot of great people through Mark’s job as a county horticulture agent. Jerry and Jenny Simpson (and their 3 little ones) rank right up there for us. They are the family behind Creekside Nursery in Dallas.

We’ve gotten to know them quite well over the last few years, more so Mark because he spends a good bit of time helping Jerry troubleshoot with their occasional plant issues.

Tonight they invited us out to their house for dinner and what a great time we had. Madeline always starts out a little bashful but had a great time with Emily and Megan!

Jenny prepared dinner for us all and in honor of Mark it was all local foods. And was it was delicious!

Although Madeline evidently left her table manners at home (we do apologize) these 3 ate their weight in watermelon and blueberries and still had some room for pink Tony’s ice cream for dessert.

Audrey had a big first tonight… eating corn on the cob. Not just any corn on the cob, but local grown Simpson corn on the cob.

She looked a little confused at first…

Then she went for it in this direction…

Then she got it in a death grip and she tried her best to gnaw on those kernels with her 4 half way in front teeth. I don’t think she ate much, but it sure kept her busy trying.

I'm not sure how their three did with bedtime but my two were asleep before their heads hit the pillow. Perhaps from all their games and running in the backyard after dinner.

Here is sweet Jackson, crawling around in the backyard being outnumbered by all the girls.

For all my Gaston County friends… hit up the Farmers’ Market in Gastonia… the Simpsons are there every week selling their amazing homegrown stuff along with so many others selling LOCAL foods. Try it… you’ll love it… and you’ll love them like we do!

I really think this city girl of 30 years could learn to love living out in the country with some room for a garden. Thanks Jenny and Jerry for a wonderful evening. We enjoyed it and look forward to a visit with you at the coast this fall.

A Parkwood Farewell

When we moved to Gastonia 6 years ago, we knew NO ONE! Zero, zilch, not a soul in the entire county knew of us or us of them. (I feel like I'm about to be back in that same boat again!!)

We quickly started looking for a church home and ended up at Parkwood. At that point we were pre-kid phase so we did a lot with the youth group and just tried to start finding friends our age. It took awhile, but God truly blessed us with amazing friends to share our lives with these past years and now we are serving in so many other places in the church.

Tonight these wonderful friends threw us a final farewell of sorts. I thought I had prepared myself well for the evening, but more and more familiar faces just kept walking through the door -- over 35 adults plus all their kiddos-- my heart began to ache. It was in that moment that I was reminded how AWESOME God's plan for us must be to call us to move so far away from these wonderful people.

Jeremiah 29:11... For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Psalm 118:8..It is better to take refuge in the LORD, than to trust in man.

As I struggle with wanting to take control of our situation, I have truly reflected on these verses this week. There are A LOT of unknowns ahead, but there have been before, and God always works them out in His perfect timing!! Please pray that I'll hold tight to that promise in the weeks ahead.

Back to the evening... I did good holding it together until they separated the girls inside and the guys outside so they could pray for us. Oh, how much this meant to me! These women have taught me what it means to serve and be served. They’ve become moms right along side of me and have shown me what I want to be when I grow up—a woman who loves God, her husband, her family, and EVERYONE she encounters. I am who I am, because God blessed me with these relationships to mold me over the past 5 years.

On top of farewell, we added a little birthday fun! We are about a week away from Audrey's 1st birthday but we will not be having a “friends” birthday party for Audrey just because of when we’ll be moving and because everyone is out of town for the 4th. HOWEVER, we were able to celebrate tonight with all her little friends.

Thank you Wal-Mart for the giant cupcake decorated like a ladybug for my sweet ladybug. Don’t you love the sideways glance she’s giving this cake as if to say it’s not to be trusted?!

Luckily she had a crowd to help her figure out what to do with this cake. Madeline, Lilly, and Emily ate almost all the frosting before Audrey figured out what was going on, although they tried quite hard to get her to eat the frosting of their fingers!

Once she finally got started, she was all in.

Here's a short video in case you wanted to see it in action:

Below is the precious gift we were presented with tonight as we left… a book with pictures of all these families and handwritten notes from most all of them. (There were a few that didn’t make it in there, but we hope they’ll sign it before we leave.) While we will try hard to find new friends where we go, these friends will NEVER be replaced! THANK YOU for sharing your lives with us. Each of you holds a dear place in our hearts!

Sweet Amanda and Brian—thank you for hosting our huge crowd and our bazillion kids in your brand new house-- the evening before you leave for the beach!! You are beyond hospitable and we were so blessed by this evening! Thank You!

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

G-town Fountain

After dinner with Paige and Mike at the new Carribean place in downtown Gastonia, Anntony’s, we walked down to the Rotary pavilion for the girls to play around for awhile.

There is a cool water fountain but I was pretty sure they would just stick their feet in it and play AROUND it on the other things. Ha… goes to show what I know. That is how it started off…

Then someone got brave and went for it…

Audrey still spent the majority of the time cruising around on the walls and “dry” things.

Then we were getting ready to leave, and she got brave... well, not as brave as Madeline... she managed to stay mostly dry.

Here are a few video clips of their silliness including when Mark hit Madeline in the head with her own shoe! Good times.

It actually was a little breezy tonight so we had two shivering little girls in no time. We walked back to the car soaking wet and stripped them down before throwing them in their car seats. It was a chilly ride home, but it was only a few blocks, and fun was indeed had by all.

148 Weeks Later

These are Madeline and Audrey’s journals. (Madeline the floral print, Audrey the owls… because Madeline picked it out.)

Since they both were born, Mark and I have taken turns writing in their journals EVERY week. I know it seems a little redundant as I do blog almost every day… but their journals are a lot more personal.

Not only do they have weekly entries from Mark or I, but they have served as a “guest book” for visitor’s at the hospital, birthdays, and relatives from far off places. We’ve documented travels in this book—Madeline has already been to 17 states, Audrey 9; it’s been a place to record gifts that they’ve been given. LOTS of memories have been recorded.

We had planned to do it for their first year only, but when we hit that milestone with Madeline we just kept writing and now, 148 weeks later, Madeline’s journal is full and it’s amazing that it came to an end at such a perfect time. It really is the end to her first “life chapter.”

Since they are so young they will have very few recollections of their time in Gastonia so I am so thankful that we have stuck with it and documented it all SO well. I hope they will treasure these as much as Mark and I do, because it really has been a growing up process for us all.

The Beginning of the End

Sunday after church Mark and I took a road trip to Brunswick County… our new home in less than 2 weeks.

Upon arrival on Sunday Mark and I enjoyed a late and leisurely dinner in Southport. Definitely a hole in the wall fish joint, but we LOVED it. Definitely our kind of place. I can barely remember what it’s like to eat slowly and have good adult conversation. We definitely should be doing this more often!

Great self photography off the dock at the restaurant... one thing I know for sure, this humidity and my curly hair are going to battle it out this summer. No telling what new hair-do I'll be sporting soon!

Mark needed to be down in Brunswick County on Monday afternoon to meet with his new staff, the interim county director, the district director, and the county commissioners associated with his new job. While he was busy with all of that, I was with our realtor checking out houses. I definitely saw some things I liked but we have to sell our house here in Gastonia before we move forward with anything. Praise the Lord we have a temporary place to live on Oak Island in the meantime. (BIG THANKS to the Raynor family—my BIL’s parents—for being SO extremely gracious to us!)

Did I mention we saw an alligator on the side of the road while we were there?!? Here I was worried about snakes biting George and Eleanor… now I have to watch out for alligators?!! Yes, I made Mark turn around and let me out of the car so I could follow it and take its picture.

Mark informed me at this moment that I’ll never be a “local” if I continue to carry my camera around and take pictures like I do! I hate to tell him, there are a lot more things about me that will clue people into that fact before they even notice the camera!! One thing is certain… I have A LOT to learn about living in eastern NC.

So where were the girls?? They were in Hickory with my parents. As most of you know, we NEVER leave the girls… they go everywhere with us… but house hunting and a commissioner meeting didn’t seem like a great idea to do with the girls. So I put on my big mommy britches and agreed to leave them. While I missed them terribly, I got the best few days of rest I’ve had in 3 years!!

I never worry about the girls, I worry more about the sanity of those who I leave them with. They are a handful and while my parents did sound exhausted when I talked to them tonight, I know Madeline and Audrey have been loved on and well taken care of the entire time we’ve been gone.

And not to worry about missing their sweet faces… we have gotten a steady stream of pictures via cell phone of their events.

Here they are enjoying water fun in the driveway:

Bubble heaven at shower time!! Don’t get any ideas Madeline… you only get to use that much soap at Oma and Opa’s house!!

Sweet little Audrey getting ready for breakfast…

Sitting outside at the patio with fresh picked radishes from the garden…

And they even did pretty good keeping their nap schedule… albeit in odd places. Yes, Madeline is asleep but in her “cage.” (What she calls the giant table in my parents sunroom that she likes to crawl in and out of while “roaring” at Audrey.)

I know they have had a wonderful time, but their momma has missed them!! I can hardly wait to hug their necks in the morning when I go to pick them up.

Only two more weeks here in Gastonia. Slow down time, I’m not sure I’m ready for this!!