wagon, oh wagon.

How do I miss thee.

Gosh, P has been needing some good ole' fashioned wagon time. They have been apart for far too long. Ahhhh....their reunion was so sweet.


Pure bliss. Content and wagon happy.


P sure does love his wagon.

old.

I love old stuff. I'm not much of a collector of old stuff, but I love to peruse antique shops, thrift stores, and flea markets. And I especially love old buildings. Buildings with hundreds of years of history. Structures with stories to tell. Barns and churches are my favorites. The more derelict and dilapidated, the better.

I have been eying this particular church for at least five years. It stands on a lonesome corner property at the fork of a backwoods highway and a red dirt road, somewhere between Jackson and Monticello, Georgia. Every time I round the bend and the church comes into view, its beauty grabs my attention and begs me to stop. For five years, I've just kept on driving. But last Sunday, something made me stop. And I'm glad that I did.


With no steeple or stained glass, I wasn't even certain that it was a church. Until I found this sign. It's a little too rusted to read, but it says something about "meets 4th Sunday". According to my father-in-law, churches back in the day would only gather once a month for service.


I think P liked the church as much as I did. He loved the steep, concrete steps that led to one of the four church doors. Two in the front of the congregation, two in the back. We didn't dare try to enter, though. We were already trespassing.


It is delightfully plain, with its rusted tin roof and weathered clapboard siding. But it is simply beautiful. And old. Which makes it that much more exquisite. Our stop was cut short due to the setting sun and a drained camera battery, but I will definitely be revisiting this place sometime very soon.

narcoleptic.

I feel like I stole a patio table and six chairs from Target last week. They were practically giving them away at 75% off, and being the discount diva that I am, I could not resist. And my sweet, darling husband had the pleasure of assembling the table and six chairs this past weekend. He must really love me. Of course, P had to be right in the middle of the work zone.

Or more like right on top of the work zone.


"P, what in the world are you doing?"


Turns out, he was lying down to take a nap. He has become quite fond of the cat nap. He reminds me a little of the narcoleptic guy in the movie Rat Race. P will be in the middle of some hard core playing. He stops, lies down wherever he is, says "night night", and closes his eyes. Just for a couple of seconds. Then opens his eyes, stands up, and immediately kicks back into high gear. Hilarious! Any surface will do. The concrete driveway, a patio table, his wagon. He's not picky. Just sleepy.

And here are the two boys taking a break.


Oh, and I better not forget this next picture. Taylor really wants me to include him on the blog. Here's the little monster that tears up our yard at the lake.

Meet Andy the armadillo.


At least this time, we caught him in the neighbor's yard. He's a funky lookin' thing, huh? Beware, Andy. My husband's a little obsessive about our thick, green grass. Search for your grubs elsewhere and no one will get hurt.

mini driver.

He gets a hold of my keys, and that little heart starts fluttering. His imagination runs wild.


He feels sixteen behind the wheel.


In control and worry-free. With the key in the ignition, he can already feel the wind in his hair.


His biggest decision, whether to turn right or left.


If only he can find the right key....


The joyride is over. He's been caught.


By his biggest fan.


There will be other days for driving, my little one. And imagining.

uh-oh.

Do you see that fence?


Our vicious harmless dogs live behind that fence. Phoenix absolutely loves our dogs. But only when they are outside and he is inside. (I don't blame him. They are three times his size.) P knows that the dogs live in the backyard. The back door leads to the backyard. And the backyard is where the dogs stay. He was incredibly unaware, until today, that this fence gate


also leads to the backyard. The same backyard where the dogs stay.

Today, P's curiosity got the best of him. He just had to check out the fence.


"Mama, what is that noise?" Uh-oh. This can't be good.


Uh-oh. Uh-oh. (He really does say this a lot these days.)


Ruuuuuunnnnnn!


Poor little dude. Those dogs scared him half to death. I think he'll stay out of the side yard from here on out.

visit with rachel.

A bunch of the family headed to Marietta today to visit my cousin, Rachel. She is in need of some major spirit-lifting, and our crazy family sure gave it a whirl. We brought Panera Bread for lunch. Yum-my. And the kids all had fun playing with the mountains of toys that little Allie has stashed in her gated toy yard.

Here's Rachel's precious daughter, Allie. (Gosh, she looks like her daddy here.)


And here's mama and daughter.


Rachel continues to battle for her life. Please continue to pray for her and her family. She needs all of the love and support she can get. And feel free to follow her blog as she documents her fight against this terrible cancer. Rachel, we love you very much. Stay strong and trust in the Lord.

bubbles.

P is just now old enough to care anything about bubbles. He completely understands the bubble-blowing process: 1) Pour the bubble solution into the pan, 2) Dip the wand, 3) Wave the wand to make lots of bubbles.


But he adds another step: 4) Drink the bubbles.


He looks perplexed. I guess the bubbles didn't taste that great.


Or, maybe they did.


He is at the "busy" stage of toddlerhood. He never slows down. Even in his sleep. He tosses and turns the entire night, and we usually find him lying in the opposite direction in his crib the next morning, with his blanket and George on the floor. He's a restless little man.

This chair was not unlike every other chair that P encounters these days. He climbs in, stands up, turns around, sits down, climbs out, then does it all again.


"P, what are you playing with over there in the grass? Show mommy what you found!"


"Just mushrooms, mom. Don't worry." We quickly washed his hands. Twice.

He actually sat down a few times for me to snap these few pictures. (But it didn't last long. He ran up and down the length of the rock stairs at least a hundred times, squealing the entire time.)




He sure keeps us on our toes. You would think I'd be as skinny as a rail with the way he keeps me running. Fifteen months is a great age.

Disclaimer: No bubbles were actually consumed by the subject in these photographs, although I am quite certain he would have enjoyed a taste. The bottle was empty.

tender-hearted.

Meet Uga. He's our front porch guard dog. (We have two other way-too-nice dogs guarding the back, so don't mess with us. Our dogs will attack.)


P has become quite fond of Uga. He hangs out with him. Talks to him. Plays with him.


He pets Uga.


And gives Uga hugs.


And more hugs.


He is such a sweet boy. He loves all animals. And people. And Uga is his new best friend. He treats him as his pet. And he looks forward to seeing him everyday. I just love seeing my son develop his relationships, real or make-believe. He has such a big heart. A tender heart. And I love this about him.

fourth festivities.

We had a blast with our friends and family that came down to the lake for the fourth of July weekend. We hit a few speed bumps (boat malfunction and a teething baby) that may very well have dampened our spirits, but we kept on celebrating and enjoyed every minute of our holiday weekend. I am including quite a hodgepodge of pictures from our festivities.

Shane, Blakely, their two kids, D and R, my sister and brother-in-law, and Mike and Cat all came down Friday. We loved watching the kids play. We floated. We ate a lot. We did sparklers. And we did some much needed catching up with our very dear friends that we see far too infrequently.

Aunt Jenny and Uncle Zac


My sassy sister watching us float. Isn't she beautiful?


D absolutely loved the sparklers. She is such a beautiful and sweet little girl. She is a seven year old trapped in a three year old's body. She says the smartest things. Her daddy better start preparing for her teenage years. The boys will all be chasing her.


My mom, dad, Granny, Taylor's mom, dad, aunt, and uncle joined us on Saturday for a big Fourth of July lunch on Saturday, complete with all of the fixin's. Hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, macaroni salad, and chips. Mmmmmm.

My mom and sister


My granny and Rita at the food table.


And don't forget about dessert. Is your stomach still growling?


Here are a few pictures that I took of P in which he is actually content. Most of the pictures of him either caught him crying or with his tongue sticking out. Poor buddy. Those teeth are mean.



And here's Reilly, Jen and Zac's dog. He's so smart and behaved, unlike another black lab I know. Maybe he can give lessons.


My always festive sister reminding me what day it was. She even coordinated her towel with her outfit. Gosh, she is stylish.


And here's P with his daddy. They are best, best buds. Really, they are.


Saturday night we took the boat over to Crooked Creek to watch the fireworks show. It was an incredible show. Our neighbor said probably $30,000 worth of fireworks. Besides the malfunctioning anchor and the boat brawl with a neighboring pontoon, it was a blast. Literally.

I have tons and tons more pictures and even more memories from our great Fourth of July weekend. I look forward to the next 4th when baby K can join in on the festivities. Can't wait to meet the new baby, Mike and Cat! The Fourth is one of my favorite holidays. The friends, family, fellowship, and food are priceless. But I did not forget our reason for the celebration. We celebrate our independence as a nation.


"It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism."
J. Horace McFarland

exhausted.

Our fourth of July weekend was awesome. So awesome that it may take me a full week to recover. I went to sleep last night at 7pm. And I'm still beat. Stay tuned until tomorrow for a full recap. For now, listen to your belly growl as you stare at this picture of a delicious patriotic cupcake and homemade peach ice cream. Yum-my.