Early Birthday Celebration

My youngest sister's birthday is on July 3rd, Madelyn's birthday is July 25th, and my mom's birthday is July 30th. We had a birthday bash at my sister's house on her birthday. We had to celebrate Madelyn and Mom's a little early because Libby (my sis) has to travel to Cleveland with her husband. He has to have surgery, so they wouldn't be able to make it to Madelyn's big birthday party.

Madelyn had a big time. She has been excited about her birthday this year. I think she understands that she gets a party and presents.

We grilled out, and we went on paddle boat rides on the lake. We played with the puppies, and we opened presents.




A new sprinkler!!! Yay!!!

A new ride!

Can we get it out of the box? It will be way more fun!!!

All ready to ride.

Please, somebody pull me in my new wagon!

The birthday girls, Libby and Madelyn. Madelyn told Libby she could ride in the wagon with her since she didn't get one for her birthday.

Madelyn enjoying her ride. She didn't want to get out of the wagon to go home, but she was so tired from all the fun she had that she fell asleep before we got to the end of Libby's road.

Daddy pulling Madelyn. She was telling him which way to go. She loves her new wagon.

Thanks Nana, Aunt Libby, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Carrie for the cool birthday presents.

God bless!

Pony Rides and birthdays

Madelyn was invited to Elizabeth's cowgirl birthday party. At the party, the kids got to ride ponies. Madelyn loves horses, but she has never had the opportunity to get this close to them. She thought they were really cute, and she took a small ride around the house.




Here she is petting the baby pony. It was so cute.

Taking a ride. Giddy up, horsie.

We had a really great time at the party. Happy 4th birthday, Elizabeth!

Cincinnati trip

On Memorial Day weekend, we went to the Cincinnati area for a little getaway. We have friends that live on the Kentucky side of Cincy, and they invited us to stay with them. We had so much fun hanging out with the Buckmans, Steve, Stacie, Haley, and Cameron.


While we were there, we went to the Creation Museum. It is a museum dedicated to proving that we were created by God. I thought it was an awesome place to visit. Parts may have been a little boring for the kids, but they handled it very well. Madelyn fell asleep half way through the museum.

At the very beginning of the museum, Madelyn was playing and running. She fell and busted both of her knees. Poor baby. She was a trooper though. We got bandaids from first aid and finished our tour of the museum.


Haley, Madelyn, and me sitting by the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

Haley and Madelyn with a dinosaur. Madelyn called them dragons.

Madelyn touching a fossil of a dinosaur leg.

Haley, Cameron, and Madelyn standing by the fish tanks in the museum. There are also dinosaurs in the background.

The kids standing by the gigantic dinosaur outside of the museum.

While in town, we also caught a Reds game. The stadium was right on the river. We had an awesome view. We could see all the boats passing by on the water. And the Reds didn't disappoint by giving us 6 homeruns.

Haley and Jerry at the Reds game.

Madelyn looking cute in her Reds hat.

Madelyn and Haley.

Madelyn had such a great time with Cameron and Haley. She has been asking, "Where's my friends?" Hope we get to visit again soon.

Madelyn playing with Cadbury

Cadbury and Oreo

A few weeks ago, Jerry surprised us by bringing home 2 baby bunnies. A man he works with has bunnies for his girls. Those bunnies had babies, and he asked if Jerry would want a bunny for Madelyn. One bunny turned into two. I was not very excited about having a pet to take care of, but Madelyn loves her bunnies.

She helps feed them, water them, and clean their cage. She loves to see them hop around the back porch when Jerry lets one out. They are very fast, but she can catch them.

We named the solid white one Cadbury because he reminds me of the Cadbury bunny you see at Easter. Also, because Madelyn called them Easter bunnies. The black and white one is named Oreo because he is black and white, obviously.

I'm just hoping that we don't end up with little baby bunnies any time soon...

Kids say the darndest things

I wanted to share a few of the cute things that Madelyn has been saying lately. We think she is very smart the way she communicates and remembers everything she hears and sees.

Madelyn has been a nail biter for a while now, and I have been trying to get her to stop this habit. This is a bad habit that my husband also has, and it is probably why she bites her nails. Someone told me to try painting her nails, so I painted her nails pink. While I was painting her nails, I told her if she wanted her nails to stay pretty she couldn't bite them. Madelyn looked at me and said, "Mommy, you need to paint Daddy's nails, too."

Jerry and Madelyn were outside feeding her pet rabbits (which I will share pics of soon, I promise). He was trying to teach her that we couldn't overfeed them or they would get really fat. She looked at Jerry and said, "Daddy, you eat too much."

My dad is a farmer, and Madelyn likes to ride the tractor with him. It had been a while since she had gotten to ride because we had had a lot of rain. We were driving down the road when she saw a tractor. This was our conversation:

Madelyn: Pappy gonna call me and let me ride the tractor?

Me: Yes, Pappy will call you whenever you can ride again.

Madelyn: When is Pappy gonna call me to ride?

Me: I don't know sweetie. He will call you whenever it is dry enough for you to ride.

Madelyn: But Mommy....I left my cell phone at home.

Me: Well, Pappy will call Mommy's phone when you can ride.

Madelyn: NO! He only knows my phone number.

And last, but not least.

We were driving to church, and Madelyn had her little pink Bible. She was in the back seat really preaching away. She had the Bible open and was waving her hands. We kept hearing her say "God says" or "Jesus says" followed by words we couldn't understand. Then I heard her say, "God says no more monkeys jumping on the bed. "

Ashley's baby shower

Ashley's shower was held at her friend Mary Beth's house. I was excited to get to meet her because we had been praying for her little girl for a very long time. She had some very serious heart conditions, but she seems to be a very normal little girl now. I was thrilled to see Ann Louise running around and playing. She truly is a miracle from God.

Madelyn had a very good time playing with Ann Louise and her brothers, Graham and Reed.

Madelyn and Ann Louise. I happened to catch them during a "break". They had been chasing each other around the house.

At the shower, we each made a scrapbook page for Ashley's memory book. I thought this was the neatest idea. It was a fun activity, and it saves the new mommy a lot of work. Just add pictures and your scrapbook is complete.

Ashley opening the gifts from the Simpson family.
Love the little monkey outfit.
Ashley and Josh have chosen not to find out the gender of their baby until it is born ( notice the ? mark on the box). This has absolutely driven some of her friends and family nuts. haha I think it is a great idea in theory, but I would never make it.
Ashley and I together. I told her to stick her belly out and I would suck in. ha!
It was nice to finally visit Asheville. We were only there for a short time, but I thought we had a really nice visit. We will have to plan another trip when we can stay longer. Of course, next time, there will be a new baby.