More pictures

No, it's not your imagination...I am actually posting 2 times in the same day. I know, I didn't write for 2 months, and then I go and do this...just trying to keep you on your toes. : )
So, here are a few more pics from the last couple of months...

Ella "helping" to pick strawberries.

Ra and Lil showing off their baskets full of berries.

Ra and Lil being silly with their scarf and hat...on a 100 degree day!!!

Gymnastics portion of "Big Show" Performance at the Little Gym.
Our little dancer. This year, Rachel's class danced ballet to the "Nutcracker Suite" and tapped to "Rockin' Robin".
Lily - being a ham - just before her big performance.
Lily's class did a routine to "Oh Where, oh where has my little dog gone?"...here she is showing her "ears cut short" and wagging her "tail cut long".
Flowers from Grandmommy and Grandaddy!!





In addition 3 trips in June to my mom's to work on her house (to get it ready to sell), we did a little home project ourselves. Here are some pics of our new tile in the downstairs kids' room and half bath. We had someone lay the tile, but we pulled up carpet, painted baseboards, etc. ourselves.




new faucet, too!! Now the water won't spray when you turn it on. yay!!

Rach and Lils greeting Gramma at the train station on a recent visit. They were so excited to see her!!

Alrighty, folks, well I have procrasinated enough on my work for now...gotta wrap this up. By the way, Ella turns one in just 2 days!! So, I will have to put some pics up of her soon. Hopefully, I won't be 2 months late, next time.

Thanks for checking in with us.

Blessing to you, friends!

Lots of Pictures...

Okay, so I have been a horrible blogger lately...or, really, just a non-blogger. So, rather than list everything we've been up to in the last few months, I'll just let you see.


First of all, we went to Disney World in May. SOOO much fun, but a bit crazy trying to fit everything in in such a short time; we've already decided we'll have to stay longer next time. Rob's parents, and his sister Jane went along with us.

Lily and Rachel with Ariel (this was the longest we waited to see a character...over an hour...but she is the girls' favorite!!)

Storytime with Belle in the Garden next to the Castle. Belle pulls kids up on stage to help act out her story. VERY fun!!

Rachel and Lily create their own ears...they chose the style, the ears (well, they were out of the pink fluffy ears), and a patch. You can't tell from this pic, but Rachel's has pink fur around the edges, and Lily's reminds me of a disco ball since it's a bit irridescent.

On the ferry from Fort Wilderness (we stayed in the cabins there) to Magic Kingdom.

Breakfast with Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. Mary Poppins and Tigger and Pooh were also there. YUMMY food too!!

The famous picture of the family in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom. Too bad Ella wasn't looking.

Ella, hangin' out in the Ergo on my back, with her new ears.

Me, Ella, Jane, Lily, Sally (hiding behind Lily), and Rachel at DinoLand in Animal Kingdom.

Rachel was just barely tall enough for some of the rides, but did all the big roller coasters we did - Splash Mtn., Space Mtn., Expedition Everest, and Thunder Mt. Railroad (her favorite). Lily loved the Magic Carpet Ride (or "Jasmine" as she called it) and Small World. She was disappointed that Cinderella's Carousel was closed but is looking forward to riding it, along with the "big people" rides next time we go.

More pics coming....stay tuned!!

Anticipation

There have been many conversations in our house recently about an upcoming birthday party for Lily's friend from dance class, Leah. The thing is, the party will be held at Little Gym, so Rachel has an interest in going for that reason, not that she wants to hang out with a bunch of 3 year olds (although she may not even mind that so much.)

So, here's our conversation at dinner the other night:

Rachel: "Can I go to Leah's party, too?"

Me: "No, this is just for Lily."

Rachel: "BUT I don't have anything going on...I don't have any plans!"

Me: "Yes, but you were not invited. Besides, you don't even know Leah."

Rachel: "Yes, I do. She's in Lily's dance class."

Me: "But you only met her quickly one time at Lily's dance show."

Rachel: "Ohhhh! I was thinking of Erin!! What does Leah look like?"

Lily: " E-ah wear a blue leotard."

It is also important to note that Leah gave Lily a new leotard for her birthday (she just got it from her last week as Leah was unable to make Lily's party.) Lily immediately put it on and said she wants to wear it to Leah's party. I didn't realize she meant until it was time for Leah's party. Since the party was still 9 days away, of course, this was not an option. Some days, Lily tries to trick me, and puts it on, then says, "Today is Leah's party?!?"

Some days they really make me laugh!!

Lily turns 3!!

On Saturday, April 19, we celebrated Lily's 3rd birthday...Curious George style! (her acutal birthday is April 16). Here are a few pictures from the fun day!

I thought I could get away with making monkey cupcakes, but Lily wouldn't let me. She wanted a cake of George & the yellow hat. I found a picture online and made this one. It was fun to do.

Lily with her 2 "Best Buddies", William (or Yil-yam as Lily says) and Caroline. Lily loves to smother them with hugs. (Nice tattoos...daddy went a little overboard.)

Jack and Lily are having fun finger painting on the wall...just like George. No worries...it's washable!!

Daddy, er, I mean the Man in the Yellow Hat, made an appearance to read a George story. Elijah is very eager to hear every word (he had a George party in Sept., so he must know all the stories by now.)

Lily shares some of her banana split with little sister Ella.

True to her style, Lily's party was a little more low-key than Rachel's seem to be. It is interesting to note the differences in their personalities already. While Rachel has many friends (we once had 25 kids at one of her parties...not including some of their siblings), Lily has fewer but closer friends. Rachel is the social butterfly and makes friends easily. Lily, on the other hand, takes a little while to warm up to people and make close friends. But once you've gained her affections, you'll have them for life.

When we were making the list of who to invite to Lily's party, she wanted to include her Sunday school teacher. Ms. Sally. Ms. Sally could not come the morning of the party, but came by later that afternoon to give her a special gift. Lily was so excited for this special friend to come. We also missed Mallory Pond at the party, but her mommy had just given birth to baby Kiley that morning...in the front seat of their minivan. (As it turns out, Mallory was born on the morning of Rachel's 2nd birthday party...seems those Ponds are competing for our birthday party dates!!)

I am so proud of and blessed by Lily. She makes my heart smile with her expressions and caring words. She has such a gentle, sweet spirit. Happy Birthday, Lily!!!

The cat with the dirty mouth

Throughout the month of March, when we'd visit my parents on the weekends, we stayed with family friends, Julie and Gary Fuselier. The first weekend, we arrived at the Fuseliers while they were out, and were told where the spare key was hidden and to come on in.

So, while Rob and I were unloading the car, the girls went on in and were checking out the house. On one of our trips back into the house, we found Rachel sobbing and looking quite upset. We quickly noticed that the girls had found the Fuseliers' cat, Snickers. Snickers looked equally frightened, so I wondered if she had scratched Rachel. Then Rachel says, through her tears, "That cat said a bad word!!" I couldn't help but giggle. Just then, Snickers hissed at us, and showed her teeth. I asked "Like that? Was that the bad word?" Rachel just nodded.

To add to it, the next morning, as we were coming downstairs for breakfast, Lily announced, "I not like that cat Snickers! She said a bad word to my sister!" I guess I should be proud that Lily is so defensive of her big sister.

After many weekends there, Snickers got used to us, and never said a bad word again.

Playing "Catch Up"

Yes, I know, I know...I am SOOO overdue for a post. We've been a bit busy for the last 6 weeks, and have been playing catch up for the last week or so. I have to admit I have not completly unpacked our suitcases from a week ago. The day of my last post, my Dad went under the care of hospice. We spent every weekend in March, and some of the days in between, with my Dad in his final days. He went home to be with the Lord on March 30. It was a good last month...we took a family trip to Boone for 3 days, with all of my sisters, all 9 of the grand kids, and my parents. We were able to visit with lots of old friends who came to visit my Dad, and celebrated Easter together (the last time all 17 of us were together). Here are a few pictures from March.

Ella and Papa on Easter Sunday

Lily gives Papa a big kiss!!

Me and Dad

My cousin Jonathan (visiting from CA) bought ice cream/ popsicles for everyone when the ice cream truck drove by Papa and Gramma's house. Here, he's joined by neighbor Jenna, Rachel and Lily.





Dad's memorial service was truly a Celebration of his life. Even I was struck by the impact he had made on so many people. It was very touching to see so many and hear their stories about my Dad. He truly did live his life to point others to Christ. In his death, it was the same. He would've loved the service!! There was a lot of laughter as well as tears, along with songs of worshipping God and remembering an incredible man of God. Many of the stories about my Dad had to do with his driving...most people hang onto the door handle while riding with him...or had to do with his love of ice cream. This picture was on the front of the program for the service:


For more information about the service, you can go to the CaringBridge site. My sister Melanie (with help from her husband) wrote a recap of the celebration we had, in the journal entry dated April 3.

There have been several articles (and even a blog post by journalist David Poole) written about my dad. Here is one of the better ones. Also, in their local Huntersville paper, there were some good articles years ago about my dad. One of my favorites tells about my dad's adventures with the Olympic Torch Relay around the world in 2004. Another well-written one by the same journalist, chronicles my Dad's 40 years in ministry.

Rachel and Lily (although more so Rachel) do have some questions about their Papa. Rachel has been sad at times, and even started crying really hard at the memorial service. Rob and I could not stop our own tears, seeing her so broken up about Papa and missing him. All along, she has had questions about Papa and how he got cancer. I think she's worried about Rob or I getting cancer, as we also know about (and have been praying for) two little girls with cancer...So, in her reasoning, anyone can get cancer. One night, in a very serious and grown up tone, Rachel said "Mommy, try not to get sick." On the positive side, we've had opportunity to discuss with both girls the concepts of heaven and being with Jesus. Already having accepted Jesus as her Savior, Rachel is glad that she will get to see Papa again in heaven. Both girls have said they are happy that Papa is better, no longer sick, in heaven. It is amazing to me how much their little minds can grasp...these are such big concepts that even adults struggle to realize, and yet, they are so simple, in many ways, to the minds of children.

The next few weekends will continue to be busy for us. Next Wednesday, April 16, Lily will turn 3!! We're celebrating with a Curious George birthday party on April 19. The following weekend, April 26, we'll participate in the Angels Among Us walk to support Brain Cancer Research at Duke. (check out our team products at www.cafepress.com/HeltonsHOPE where proceeds are donated to Duke). The following weekend (May 2-7), we'll be heading to Florida...we'll see some relatives and then go to Disney World!!!

In short, the girls are doing great. Rachel is becoming a whiz on the computer, and loves typing her own journal entries (perhaps I will let her blog sometime) :) and playing games from different kids' websites. Lily is Lily...so silly and entertaining to watch. She is so excited about turning 3 and feels more like a "big girl." Lily is also becoming more and more affectionate with her sisters, particularly Ella. She has always loved her sisters, but just seems to have more of a tenderness with impromptu hugs and big smiles and kisses for Ella. It is so sweet to watch. Ella is growing so quickly and is so strong. She does not have much interest in crawling, and may just skip it all together. She is much more interested in being upright, holding fingers and walking...and she is not even 9 months yet!!! She has figured how to lean and reach, and roll and stretch, and scoot to get what she wants. She's definitely creative.

Blessings to you all, friends!!

I've Been Tagged!!

Okay, so I was tagged over a week ago by my friend from college, Emily (Southern Belle Displaced), but I am just now getting around to posting this. I will tell you the rules:

1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.

2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name.)

3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.

4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)

L - Laughter. We have a lot of laughter in our house. Even if it is corny, Rob is a funny guy. He and my dad compete with each other to come up with the funniest and corniest jokes. Rachel and Lily have also come up with some of their own "Knock! Knock!" jokes. I love to laugh...it is contagious.

Y - Years...they pass quickly. I still cannot believe that Rob and I have been married 10 years, and that our oldest daughter is 5 years old!! Where does the time go??? Although my waistline and eye wrinkles tell me otherwise, I still think of myself as being 20...maybe 22. : ) Here's to many more years to come!!

N - Need more sleep. I never feel like I get enough sleep. Especially with multiple kids that end up in our bed nightly. I have resigned myself to the fact that I may not get a good night's sleep for at least 10 more years. So, how do I cope? See the next one...

N - Need coffee daily. I could drink coffee all day. But, since I am still nursing, I try to limit it to just 2 cups in the morning. Even my girls know the importance of mommy having her coffee, and they can tell Rob how to make it for me (he is not a coffee drinker.) I still remember Rachel being about 18 mo. old and noticing that I had finished my first mug of the morning...she held it up and said "Mo' poffee, mommy?" Too cute!! It is also fitting that Lily's favorite part of the Nutcracker is "Coffee" (the dancer); she would drink coffee, too, if I let her.

E - Excited about preparing parents for childbirth. I became a doula (labor assistant) last year, and am passionate about helping women have the births they want. I believe in the strength of women to birth their babies themselves (along with the amazing ways God has created us to do so), and encourage women to be confident in their births, as well as in mothering their children. At some point, I will also get my certification as a Childbirth Educator, and I plan to volunteer as a doula for pregnant teens.

Okay, now, Robin Ann, Heather, Courtney, Kristen, and Melissa...tag! you're it!!