Dear Ants,

I really don’t know how to say this nicely but, you are not welcome at my home.  You weren’t invited.  Your surprise visits are not appreciated.  I don’t want you here.

When I see you walking up my bathroom wall, or meandering across my sink or floor, I question why you have come.  Is it that one crumb that my son left behind?  To be honest, I have lots of crumbs on my floor that you have yet to find.  And I understand it’s hot outside, but isn’t that why you are supposed to find rest in a large clump of dirt underground?  As far as you possibly searching for water, in case you haven’t heard, my state is in a drought, and we are trying to conserve that commodity, so my apologies.

You seem to “hang out” in the most random places, and I can’t seem to figure out where you have made your front door.  Your entrances and exits are never consistent and I just don’t know where to greet you.  I want to be a good hostess, so if you could let me know where I could welcome you best, it’d be very helpful for me.  Or, you could just find somewhere that would be a little more accommodating, and we’d all be happier.

Good luck and good riddance.

Sincerely,

Courtney

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Disney

“Come celebrate with us…”  the commercials say – and they lured us to Disneyland on Abigail’s birthday.  “Why?”, you ask.  Well it certainly wasn’t so that we could celebrate with 500,000 other Disneyland go-ers that day.  You can get in for free on your birthday.  “But don’t you already have passes?”, you ask again.  Why yes we do, which means that Disney generously gives you $72.00 on a gift card – the value of your free entrance, and you get to spend it on any merchandise you want!  Just think of when you were a kid and could go to Disneyland.  You want a stuffed toy, you want a balloon, you want one of those super big lollipops, maybe a hat or mickey ears…  However, with passes and the opportunity to go when we want to, our kids don’t get “souvenirs” from Disneyland – ever.  It’s amazing how children can stretch $72 when it’s solely theirs and theirs alone.  🙂

We knew we’d only be staying for part of the day, since our church’s VBS started up Monday night.  Already assuming that it’d be crowded, we were met with signs as we pulled up to the parking structure affirming our assumption.  YIKES!  I have never seen it so crowded before!  EVER!  Amazingly, Disney is very efficient when it comes to crowds.  We didn’t wait for a tram, every boat was floatin’ on Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World, and every car was driving through Autopia, which allows for quickly moving lines.  The hardest part was getting from one place to the next.  It was shoulder to shoulder in many areas, and there were some power outage issues which were causing rides to close.  We’ve never experienced that either.  But the birthday girl got to ride the rides she had set out to ride that day, and she spent all but 97cents of her free gift card.  What did she get?  A Mickey tank top, Tinkerbell shirt, silver sequined Minnie ears, and a bead bracelet that she got to make herself.  I’d say she did pretty darn well.  🙂

The best part?  When she told me while we were walking through Disneyland, “I’m not sad that we have to leave Disneyland, because we get to go to VBS and learn about God on my birthday.”  What a great kid!

Abigail’s Birthday

10 Years Ago…

I became a momma.

For the first time.

To this little baby girl.

Who stole my heart the minute I saw her.

And now she’s 10.

And starting the 5th grade in less than a month.

Tell me… how can 10 years feel like forever and a minute all at the same time?

Partay

That’s what we did today.  We celebrated my eldest’s 10th birthday, which is officially on Monday.  And sticking with tradition, we celebrated with a swimming party at my in-law’s house.  Within Abigail’s 10 years, this is the third house/pool we’ve partied at, and this pool (I think) was by far the best.  The mood was great, the company was great, and a great time was had by all.

See?

Abigail’s 10th Birthday Party

A Buzz and A Bump

We’ve been swimming.

In Papa and Nonnie’s new swimming pool.

It’s been wonderful.

And with summer half-way over, but swimming season just beginning for us, we decided to give Judah his long awaited buzz cut.

He decided to add to his new look by tripping and falling flat on his forehead.

See?

He also enjoys wearing this splendid visor in his own unique way.

SPECTACULAR!

Now excuse me for the week as I plan a party for my “almost” ten year old.  Wait, what?  Oh, yeah.  I’m getting old.

Just Can’t Get Enough

If you can’t either, here is an indepth look at our time in Sacramento with Mallory Joy.  🙂

Mallory Joy – cliff notes

This, of course, is the smaller album.  If you’d like the unabridged version, let me  know, because like a proud auntie should, I took TONS of pictures so that I could capture every crease, crevice, wince, and grin of my new niece before I had to leave.  Not sure when I’ll get to see her again.

All Because Two People Fell In Love

She’s here.

Mallory Joy.

Just shy of two weeks overdue, but she finally made her debut.

Momma and baby got to come home yesterday.

And today, my parents celebrate 35 years of marriage…

…Which got me thinking…

There is a decorative sign that I’ve seen often, and I really love it.  It makes me smile every time I see it.  The thought of it’s meaning, the fullness of my own home, and the legacy that follows…

Everything that we anticipated and experienced this last week with Mallory’s arrival was all because two people fell in love.

My parents.

My parents fell in love and married 35 years ago today, resulting in the birth of twin girls, Amanda and Courtney, and Stefanie to follow three years later.  Resulting in the raising in and marrying off of ‘said’ three girls.  Resulting in the births of Abigial, Esther, Sarah, D.J., Judah, and now Mallory.

All because two people fell in love.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD!  You have been abundantly blessed by God.  (6 times over ;-))