Growing Up Friends

I walked around the corner and I just happened to find the princesses cuddled in close together and laughing. Juliana was reading Ella a book and it was such a precious moment. I managed to grab my camera and get some of the sweetest pictures without them knowing. It is moments like this that I am so thankful God blessed us with two beautiful girls. Hopefully they will continue to be friends as they grow in life.







Oh I love these princesses so much! I don't think it gets any more sweeter than this.

Ella Bella Grace :)

So after posting pictures of Juliana, I was asked to put up some of Ella. We went out this morning and made an attempt at some pictures. This child however, is not a fan of the camera. She looks everywhere, but at the camera and the forced smile is just horrible. I say this both as her mother and a photographer. LOL! Anyway, here are a few that we did get. Enjoy!

First Day of Kindergarten

Have you ever seen the movie Finding Nemo? Near the beginning there is a scene where Nemo is going to school and the dad is all afraid and nervous about losing his son, I could so relate to this father right now. I dropped my baby girl off at school today. She was thrilled to be there, all decked out in her new back to school gear. When she was getting dressed she asked me if I was going to cry. I laughed with a glimmer of a tear in my eye, looking at the little girl who no longer needed me to brush her teeth, or help her wash her hands. She has grown and is now setting out on a new adventure of life. As I tucked her in last night, I thought about all the things I had been able to shelter her from and how now, all it will take is one kid to break down that gates I put up around her. With that being said, I find comfort in the fact that her better parent will be by her side, watching over the little girl of which He loves and has entrusted to Eric and I. There is no greater job I have ever had than being a mother. And all though today marks a change in Juliana and our family's lives, we will continue to grow together in God's love and know that today is just another day for God to teach us and mold us into the children he wants us to be.







A friend of mine shared this with me and it is so fitting. I cried (I know, not very shocking) as I read this and could barely make it through reading it to Eric.


DEAR WORLD. . . I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL



Dear World:I bequeath to you today one little girl in a crispy dress. . . with two blue eyes. . .And a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.I trust you'll treat her well.She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to her first day of school.And never again will she be completely mine. . .Prim and proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye and walk with little-lady steps to the nearby schoolhouse. . .Gone will be the chattering little girl who lived only for play, and gone will be the delightful little girl who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a care in her little world.Now, she will learn to stand in lines. . . and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. . .She will learn to tune her little-girl ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines. . .She will learn to giggle and gossip. . .And to look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.Now she will learn to be jealous. . . and now she will learn how it is to feel hurt inside. . . and now she will learn how not to cry. . .No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant scurries across a crack in the sidewalk. . .Or will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew. . .Now she will worry about important things. . . like grades. . . and what dresses to wear. . . and whose best friend is whose. . .Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls her hair at recess time. . . and staying after school. . . and which little girls like which little boys. . .And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.And she will find new heroes. . .For five full years I've been her sage and Santa Claus. . . her pal and playmate. . . her mother and her friend. . .Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship and adoration with her teachers (which is only right). . .And no longer will I be the smartest, greatest woman in the world. . .Today, when the first school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group. . . with all its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.She will learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud. . . or kiss dogs. . . or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms. . . or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer sidewalk. . .Today, she will begin to learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. . . That "the group" can be a demanding mistress. . .And I'll stand on the porch and watch her start out on the long, long journey to becoming a woman. . .So World, I bequeath to you today one little girls in a crispy dress and two blue eyes. . .And a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.I trust you'll treat her well.~DAN VALENTINE~

My New Wall

I had taken this picture down in Sanibel and am in love with it. Once I got it framed, I found this quote to go above it. I love the way the it turned out.

Beach Fun!

The Howard family was down in Florida and we had a great time hanging out with them and sharing life together. We headed down to the beach one evening and the princesses had a blast playing in the sand and in the water.