a perfect Saturday.

It's reached the time of year where my camera comes out of the bag only for photo sessions. I realized, while looking for some pictures of my kiddos, that I hadn't taken a single one of them (excluding the iphone) in weeks. I rectified that this weekend. :) We had the most perfect Saturday... a day away, no cell phone service, with family and friends that we love. We (they) jumped off the high dock, swam, boated, tubed, fished, hot tubbed, etc. etc. etc. It was a glorious mini-getaway and left us feeling ready for the week. I'm so grateful that we said yes to a day of rest instead of the day of ceiling painting we had planned. :) (The ceilings remain unpainted, however...)

I think I want to frame every single one of these! It's refreshing to break out my camera and just shoot for me, just capture our babies just being themselves. I don't know why I don't do more of it! Anyway, here's a few pics of just my precious kiddos:

first day!

First Day of School, 2013

 Caters, first day of Pre-K

 Corban, first day of kindergarten

They had an amazing first day and were so excited about going.
That bottom picture of the two of them is one I imagine will be on a slide show at their weddings... I pray that they always love each other like they do now, you know? They were in the same class last year (it happens when you're only 17 months apart!), but Corban moved up to Kindergarten this year and Cate is in Pre-K. Cate's teacher told me that he ran up and gave her a big hug when he saw her on the playground at recess. Truly, they are the best of friends and I am so thankful for their relationship. We had an amazing day of back-to-school shopping on Monday and were out literally all day. It was one of those 'my heart is bursting' type of days and I couldn't believe the ease with which we tackled our to-do lists and laughed and enjoyed doing so. We've come a long way, friends. Three babies in three years is no joke, but I praise God for his perfect timing and choosing us to bless us like He did, when He did. There were a couple of years when doing anything without another set of hands AND a stroller seemed impossible, but Monday was proof again that we are in a sweet, sweet new season.
I had two different moms stop me and ask the age of my kids (including the one in utero) who went on to tell me about their four children close in age. One mama said her children are now ages 8-14 and she's 'blown away every day by how fun it is'. I love that; I love the mom's who take the time to encourage us who are earlier on in this sweet journey of motherhood.
I guess I am just feeling nostalgic and emotional at this quick new beginning that will soon lead to another new beginning. I am so thankful that they (the kiddos) will have the constancy of each other as we transition to all of the new that's coming, you know? I'm thankful that they get the excitement of first day of school, of new school supplies, of walking down the halls of Horizon for a few more months, and then I'm thankful that they'll have each other as peers and classmates in the next. All around- just feeling thankful.

us!

Last week, my dear friend Lexi (of Lexi Russell Photography) snapped a few pictures of us after dinner. We needed an updated family photo for our missions website/prayer magnets/etc., as our last family pictures were taken when Nora was just over a year old, so we stopped by our church and had a real quick session. It was practically dark and super cloudy, but I love how 'us' these are. Funny how it works out... the very first picture we took ended up being the one where everyone is looking and smiling. The rest are just fun. :)

(I only watermarked them because there's been some issues with my images being stolen! Like I said, I didn't take these, just edited them.)

It's so crazy to me that these photos, too, will so quickly be outdated. We are just a few short months from our fourth baby joining us! I can't wrap my mind around being 25 weeks already! I have a lot to say about that- this new life, the months spent waiting and praying for this little one, the many emotions after having lost a baby and then carrying another one... I am just so thankful, so overwhelmed with gratitude for this sweet life growing inside of me. A whole post on the subject to come!

We are currently designing and ordering our prayer support cards, business cards, magnets, etc... It's all becoming so real. Have I said that already?! This week also marks the start of school for the kiddos- Corban to Kindergarten (still half day, praise the Lord!), and Caters to pre-school half-day everyday as well. I'm looking forward to settling into a new routine, though so sad that summer has passed so quickly. We have a lot to do in the next five months (!!!!) and the time with them in school should be helpful. They are really excited about returning, and I'm really grateful for that. Come January, we will begin homeschooling, so this time with them in school will allow me some time to research and prepare for that transition as well. So much change soon to be coming! As I've said in every post as of late, we really would love and appreciate prayer. For a list of things you could pray through, visit here: mcgmissions.com/prayer. Also, feel free to look around the website if you haven't already- lots of info there! We had a few people ask about being able to subscribe via email, so we just added that to the site as well. It's so crazy to be in this season, to be just months away from this move... to be in a position where we know that only God can make all of this happen. It's going to be (amongst many other things) so sweet...

Have a great day!