A big deal....

Seriously....

.... she LOVES these sunglasses! She looks so grown up in them... which makes me NOT like them so much...haha!!

But the BIG deal... the BIG BIG deal... is that someone lost one of her front teeth last night!! It has been loose for a while but seemed like it was a ways from coming out. About 20 minutes after we tucked her into bed last night, she came downstairs with a bloody mouth.. but the tooth was still in. She had irritated it so much that she made it bleed. Doug tried to pull it but it was still in there pretty good. We cleaned her up and sent her back to bed, but she couldn't stop messing with it and came downstairs again 10 minutes later, REALLY wanting her tooth out. Doug said he could pull it out but that it might not feel too good. She emphatically replied "PULL IT!" So... he did. And it truly surprised her how much it DID hurt. After a few tears and lots of hugs, she became super excited that the tooth was gone and went to sleep a happy, happy girl!

Another "first" for my sweet girl... who is growing up before my eyes.

Memorial Day Traditions

We headed down to Dallas yesterday to go with Doug's family to clean and spruce up family grave sites at the cemetery there. It was a fun day with family and remembering those who have gone before us and those who fought for our freedom.

Sweet Lillian... SO hard to get a smily shot of her but I succeeded...woohoo!! 

My swinger!

Lilly and Zach... he is such a good big brother!

Love my boy!

Getting flowers ready.. the kids were excited to help this year more than any other year!

The kids did a great job helping clean and help put flowers on the graves.

The kids each get their own watering can thanks to my sis-in-law! 

Cousins!

Lilly would chase after the "big kids" and shout "I gonna get wooo!!!"" It was hilarious!

It took her a LONG time to tire out from chasing! :)

We ended our time together with a  backyard picnic at my in-laws. It was, as usual, a special day.

Evelyn's Music Concert

Evelyn's school has a new music teacher this year who is really committed to getting kids exposed to music and the arts in general. EVERY class had a music concert this year, all of them well attended and all of them thoroughly planned, practiced and performed.

Evelyn did her concert with the morning kindergarten class and the 2nd and 4th graders. Her class did a great job and Evelyn, although a bit nervous, did really great!

This I think is my favorite photo. Ellie.. one of Evelyn best friends, is telling her something silly. I love these two girls!!

All the first graders up on stage...

My pretty girl!

Evelyn and her buddy Josh.. their friendship is pretty aweseome!

Thankful for Evelyn's school and for a fun night hearing her perform!

Matthew and Attie Mae

Matthew LOVES dogs... all animals really. Since Evelyn has allergies to many dogs, we will not be getting one for our family. However, we do see plenty of dogs out and about that he gets to pet and talk to, and we have plenty of friends who have dogs as well.  My BFF Jody's dog Atlas Mae is one of his favorite furry pals, and he LOVES LOVES LOVES spending time with her.

Jody and Atlas came over the other day and she and Matthew had SO much fun running around the back yard. Matthew would throw a tennis ball, then try to race Atlas to it. It was so cute to see them playing together, both of them having a great time!

The joy on his face in these photos is true and genuine. He loves that dog! :) 

Evelyn's AWANA Award Night!

Tonight was Evelyn's AWANA Award night, with her finishing up her fourth year of being in club. We had a nice night celebrating her accomplishments!

Evelyn and one of her besties, Heidi.. they've been in club together from the beginning!

Commander Stone opening things up... he has been involved in AWANA for over 35 years!

The girls singing... one of Evelyn's favorite parts of club!

Doug got his 4 year leader pin as well (he leads an older elementary group)... I am so thankful for his servant's heart!

Their awards!

Matthew taking it all in.

Friends enjoying their treats after the ceremony.

We are proud of Evelyn for working hard to memorize God's word. Among other verses, she has focused on memorizing all the books of the Bible and if you ask her.. she can recite them for you in a flash! We are thankful for this organization that really promoted hiding God's word in kids' hearts!