Two Years Ago Today...

Remember that sappy post I promised? Here you go. :)

"I was never alive until the day I was blessed with you..." -Richard Marx

"From the first breath she breathed, when she first smiled at me...

Someday you might know what I'm going through, when a miracle smiles up at you..." -Heartland

"With all that I've done wrong, I must have donesomething right to deserve her love every morning and butterfly kisses at night." - Bob Carlisle



"And now he's wrapped around her finger, she's the center of his whole world. And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl." - Carrie Underwood



"I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm. You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born." -Tim McGraw



"In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days...I'll always feel the same way. Whatever road you may be on, know you're never too far gone... my love is there wherever you may be...just remember that you'll always be my baby." -Sara Evans



"It won’t be like this for long. One day soon we'll look back laughing at the week we brought her home. This phase is gonna fly by, so baby just hold on. It won't be like this for long." - Darius Rucker



"She is somebody's hero - the hero to her baby with a skinned up knee, a little kiss is all she needs. The keeper of the cheerios, the voice that brings Snow White to life, bedtime stories every night..." - Jamie O'Neal

"You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times, so take a good look around. You may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this..." -Trace Adkins

"So tell me how to stop the years from racing...is there a secret someone knows? I’ll never catch all the memories I’m chasing...I’ll never be ready to let go." -Richard Marx

News Flash!

News flash!

Did we tell you that Aunt Becca moved to Virginia to live with Mimi and Grandad?! We're so excited to have her here! And Savannah is a very big fan of "Aunt Bubba."



And... in other news...

I need to introduce you all to...

Savannah Beckner, Young Miss New River Valley Supreme Queen
Winner, Most Beautiful Hair
Winner, Most Beautiful Smile
Winner, Best Dressed
Winner, Schoolwear
Winner, Evening gown

[Wow, I think she grew two feet taller in the past month. Look how short her gown has gotten! Ooops!]

[Can I just say that she is adorable in this outfit?!]

This afternoon, she competed in the Tiny Miss New River Valley Pageant. It was her first time in the "baby" age division (2-4 year olds)...she's graduated from Wee Baby! She competed in photo, schoolwear, and evening gown. It was a lot of work for a little girl and we were just trying it to see how she would do... and she surprised us all once again by winning the high point title (she had the single highest combined scores of any contestant in any age division, 0-18 years old). We are so proud of our little highpoint queen!

Savannah also started Puggles, which is the Awana club for two-year-olds. I meant to take a picture of her in her little uniform, and I forgot. I'll have to work on that. Puggles has been such a blessing! For the first quarter, they work on one concept: "God made everything." Each week, they review what they've learned and talk about things that God has made. This week, she came home with a cute little craft... blue paper with cotton balls glued on it. It took me a minute (or... maybe an hour) to figure it out, but it was blue sky and clouds! (Because, of course, if God made everything, that includes the sky and clouds!) She also has started to sing her own version of Jesus loves me. Its very cute and goes about like this:

"Jesus love me. I know. Bible say so. Yaaaay!"

At the end of the year, the kids will have an awards ceremony where they will sing songs and recite the Bible verses they've learned. I can't believe she is this big!

I sure do love this little girl. I can't believe she will be two tomorrow! You should probably prepare yourself. I'm sure there will sappy, sentimental posts with tons of pictures.

Like you'd have it any other way.

Praying for Winter

Will you join us in prayer for a little girl named Winter? She is the seven-year-old niece of a fellow alum from Lauren's high school. She was diagnosed this week with leukemia, and began an aggressive chemotherapy regimen. Over the next 28 weeks, she will undergo several painful procedures and lots and lots of chemo. Please pray for her...that is a lot for any little one to deal with, and she will have to be very strong and fight the cancer.

We appreciate your prayers, and we know Winter and her family does too!

Look!

Look! No diaper!

Don't freak out yet. I'm still peeing all over tarnation. My mom is just trying to make the consequences worse by making me wear panties. But really, all its getting her is a bigger pile of laundry to wash. Ha.

Not My Child! Monday

My child did NOT leave a trail of smoothie all over TJ Maxx today while I was trying to buy a baby shower present. She did NOT refuse to leave the straw in the smoothie and pitch a fit when I put it in the cup, or when I tried to take the cup away, to the point where I just said... forget it... drip smoothie if you want. Not my child!

My child does NOT have perfect potty training days and other days where she pees all over tarnation. I'm not cluless as to how to handle this. Not my child!

My child didn't climb on my desk and jump off of it last week when I was in the other room. I did not assume that she could handle playing alone for a minute and then hear a loud crash, only to find that she had rolled the desk chair over and used it as a stepping stool. This jumping obsession is NOT going to leave her with a broken bone soon. Not my child!

My child is NOT obsessed with chocolate milk to the point where she hates "vanilla milk." When I give her white milk, she never cries and says "no-no, not vanilla. chocolate!" Not my child!

I did NOT allow my child to play with toilet paper in a public restroom today while baby Beckner made me puke. She did not leave a huge pile of shredded TP on the floor when I was finished. I did not decide that I didn't have the strength to care or that the public restroom floor was far too dirty for me to scoop it up. Not my child!

My child does NOT refuse to hold my hand in a parking lot no matter how many times I enforce that rule. She does not throw a fit in every single parking lot. Not my child.

I do NOT take so many pictures that my child has resorted to making faces like this to avoid having a picture taken. Not my child!






My child did NOT get startled over the weekend and yell "Oh my gosh!" Not my child!

My child is NOT obsessed with praying to the point where quite a few times during every meal she makes everyone stop eating, hold hands, and pray. Not my child!

Today (also in TJ Maxx, we made quite an impression), my child did not spot a teenage girl shopping with ipod headphones blaring loud music in her ears and yell repeatedly, "I can HEAR YOU!" to the point where I couldn't hardly stop laughing. Not my child!

What did your child NOT do today? I'd love to know. :) You can check out Not My Child... potty training style... on my friend Meagan's blog here.

Once Upon A Camping Trip...

Once upon a time, some friends went camping.

There was wood to be chopped...





Trails to be hiked (where in the world ARE we?!)...

Waterfalls to be discovered and posed by...

Deep water to be stayed out of. Danger to be heeded...

Lakes to be fished in (do you see the boys in the fishing boat on the horizon?)...

Boat rides to be experienced....

Once upon a camping trip, it rained a good deal.

There was a huge tent to be kept dry in...

And there were friends to be silly with...

And laughter to be had by all.

There were meals to cook over a fire...

And smores to be made. Once upon a camping trip, there was a girl who liked to char her marshmallows and eat them...

And there was another girl who liked hers slightly brown and crispy. Mmm!

No matter how you like your smores, they were enjoyed by all...

There were teeth to be brushed outside... (my dentist should be proud!)...

(

And card games to be played...

And there were games to be dominated. All of them.

Once upon a camping trip, there were memories made, laughter shared, and fun had by all. :)