Saturday, December 22, 2012

Christmas Pics

Christmas pictures of my little brood of boys...they were surprisingly cooperative this year.  And when I got home and downloaded the pictures I flipped out at how BIG they look.  Handsome little men, if I say so myself! 

We wish you a Merry Christmas from our brood to yours.  We pray the season brings great joy as you celebrate the birth of a Savior!

Ben was the only one who cooperated with a prop. =)


 Alex.  He looks like such a big boy.  I can hardly get over it.

 Angel face Ben.

Sweet Henry Hubs.

 This is a classic Henry face.  It was my favorite photo of him from the shoot but Jason insisted we couldn't use it for the Christmas card.  I think he secretly doesn't want people to know that pediatricians bribe their kids with lollipops in order to ensure full cooperation. =)  Secret's out now!

My favorite group shot.  Benjamin ADORES these older brothers.  It is truly so sweet.
 This picture speaks for itself, right?

 We bribe Ben, too.

 They banded together to run AWAY from Mommy.  I got the best of them, though.  This is another one of my favorites.

Man, my kid is such a little man!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Dining Room - Before & After

We are making some real progress on our house.  When we moved in last year, we decided to use the dining room as an additional playroom because, well, we had plenty of toys and no dining room table.

This Fall, we have found a new home for the toys in the family room and created a lovely place to sit and eat this holiday season.  We are grateful that this room now has a purpose to house great conversation and good food.  Yay for the beginnings of a "grown up" house!

Y'all can come over for dinner now. =)


Saturday, December 08, 2012

Wales Photos

Finally, here are more pictures from my trip to Wales with my BFFs.  There are tons of them, so I won't feel bad if you close the post before you read it all.  Mostly they are for my memory of a great trip with great friends.

The Fall leaves in London.  I loved being a part of a TRUE fall this year, even if I had to go to the UK to do it.

We (Amy, Callie, & I) met in London, where Rebecca lives with her family.  We enjoyed a day there in Rebecca's neighborhood and left for a road trip the next day.  We found a great seaside town called Tenby in Wales and planted there for a few days.  We loved the drive (4 hours) across the countryside and talking til we were blue in the face.  Isn't that what a time with girlfriends is for?!

This plaque was hanging on our building in Tenby.  You gotta love richness of the history that you find when you are across the ocean.
This was the view from our flat, the Tenby marina.  This photo is at high tide.

This one is at low tide.  Amazing to see the tide come and go each day.

This dozer was working down the street from our flat.  I took this picture entirely for my little boys...this would have been the highlight of their trip had they gone with me.

Our quaint little street in Tenby.

Another view of the marina.  Our flat was right on the water, about the middle right of this photo.  There is a skinny light blue rectangle - that's our building.


We set out from Tenby one day to explore a bit of the Wales coast and visit the town of St. David's.  St. David is the patron saint of Wales and his mother is St. Non.  Historically, this area of St. David's was a site of pilgrimage for early Christians. 

This is me and the girls at St. David's.  Nice photo taken by a random stranger.

This looked like a lovely place to sit and think inside the cathedral.

The altar.

The view of the cathedral from the ground.  It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies.

Rebecca & Amy.

Another view.  This was a stunningly beautiful church.  I love the details they included in those days...every detail has a reason for being there. 

I've never seen a more intricate ceiling.

...with a matching equally detailed crucifix in the center.

Another stunning view looking up in the cathedral.  Great inspiration for people to turn their heads up, don't you think?

English Ivy in the cathedral garden.

Our tour guide, Ray.  Ray was a historian and volunteered to us a detailed tour of the cathedral.  He kept asking us if he was boring us.  We assured him that he had chosen four girls with a love for Church history.  Impossible to bore us with details!

Amy & Callie.  Seriously, don't I have the most stylish and beautiful friends?

This was meant to be one of those cool trendy jumping photos we see everywhere these days.  Not bad for using a timer and and old brick wall to prop the camera on.

The cathedral garden gate.

A view of the entire cathedral and grounds.

 This is St. Non's chapel, dating back to about 500 AD.  It sat on a hillside along the rocky Wales coastline where early Christians would make their entrance to Wales.  Breathtaking...  

This is the coastline just below the chapel.


A statue of St. Non.

More ancient ruins of the chapel.

Another view of the hillside chapel.

This is the Wales Coast Path.  Just this year, Wales completed a coastal path that extends for hundreds of miles.  It is used for sightseeing, running, and walking.  Since it is so vast, there is plenty of room to take in the natural beauty of Wales.

Can you imagine making this the site of your morning run...?!  Awesome!

And, last, a great reminder of the rich Christian history in that area.