The House of Bethel- Renovations & Additions

Fourth of July at The Rauschenbergs

Upon re-reading my title to this post, it sounds like we went to some elite vacation spot like, "The Hamptons." Cathy & Glenn's house may not be an elite vacation spot but it is definitely one of our favorite places to hang out even if the pool isn't open, although they  do have a pretty awesome pool. But on July 4 weekend it wasn't just the pool that was the draw for my girls. It was the people in the pool.

The girls with cousins Hannah and Cabray:

Andy had Leola jumping off of the side of the pool within minutes of arriving. Doesn't it look like Ella is cheering her on?

He even had her jumping off of the rock wall.

Ella & Cabray-- two patriotic girls!

Ella loves the water and Hannah!

Jeb and Leola. Two very fun cousins!!

 

Ella at the Beach

Leola at the Beach

Loved the water!

Loved time with cousins!

Loved the sand!

Loved to run and play!

Loved the raw oysters!

Love those Bethel girls!

Miami!

We recently drove down to Miami. Yes, drove! Okay, so we have a new and totally pimpin' mini van and, yes, it is totally unnatural to use the term "pimpin'" (not in my Webster!) to describe a minivan. But, if you have two children ages 2 and 6 months and, well, you're driving a minivan, then it doesn't take much to feel like you're too cool for school. Especially when you arrive at the Hilton Downtown Miami in said vehicle.

But, as usual, I digress.

The girls did great on the drive down. I cannot stress how well they did. I have driven Dalton to Miami BY MYSELF several times and this drive actually went faster. And, no, they weren't heavily sedated.

We had such a good time! We just wish we could have visited longer!

When Bob and I lived in Miami we didn't get to see the city through a child's eyes so this was our first visit to do just that.

Our first stop was Parrot Jungle:

 
We never actually paid for bird food. Leola, who is just like her daddy, would check the bird feeder machines for any extras that other people had left behind and was usually successful!

Ella, who is a typical second child (just like her mommy), just went with the flow:

We had to take a picture in front of this banion tree. Another thing I miss about Miami!!!

This is the view from our hotel room...sigh...

We also visited the Miami Seaquarium. Leola loved seeing the sea lions, turtles, dolphins, and Lolita the killer whale but for some reason thought she would be able to get in the water with them. This is the closest we  got:

 More on the trip in a later post...

 

Milestones

Ella must have known that she is exactly 7 months old today because she chose today to sit up on her own, although we're still a little wobbly.

Leola wasn't so much excited about her sister's accomplishment as she was about getting in on the camera action!

 

But it does look like Leola is already listening - and giving careful consideration to- Ella's thoughts:

I included this picture simply because the cheeks (on both girls) are too cute to deny!

Easter

This was Leola's 3rd Easter but probably the first one she will (maybe) remember. Although the true meaning of our celebration still evades her, she enjoyed the secular aspects of it. Having said that, we haven't promoted the Easter Bunny yet, and perhaps never will.

Easter Egg hunt at church:

Prayer before Easter party at preschool: (sooo cute!)

At Rocky Rill with the Bethel cousins.

Love these silly kids!!

Leola loves Kate! Her greatest wish right now would be to go to "farm" every day... as long as Kate & Margaret are there!

Ella had a great time too:

Easter Sunday after church in front of the flower cross that the children put together during Sunday School:

He is risen indeed!!

This and that...

Before Ella was born our friend Jose gave this to us:

He made it with the help of a female friend, but I was still so impressed! He said he saw one at a baby shower and then figured out how to make one for us.

The day Ella was born, Leola brought this home from school...

You can't see the names on the hand prints, but they belong to each of her classmates. And the bumblebees, sun and dragonflies are thumbprints and belong to the teachers and kids. So clever! What a fun way to help the kids welcome a new baby sister!

Snow!

You can expect my next few posts to be retrospective. Here is a look back at the "big snow" we had in January. This post is mainly for my friends who aren't on Facebook (you know who you are) because if you are on FB you have seen everyone in the world's snow pictures and they all begin to look the same. 

Bob was out of town and my friend Lisa stayed with the girls and me. We got a kick out of the "meteorologists" (read: were annoyed) when they covered different areas and would say "here is snow on a car." "Here is snow on a tree." "Here is snow on a dog." etc etc.  So, in the same spirit, here is snow on our house, yard, mailbox and pagoda:

And here is a Leola in the snow (she was having a great time!):

And here is a Myles in the snow: (in our front circle. Amazing that you can't even see where the yard ends and the driveway begins!)

This one is my favorite. Definitely a strong contender for this year's Christmas card!

It was so beautiful but we weren't sad to see it go. It has snowed several times since but I think I can speak for most of us when I say that we are so glad the groundhog did not see his shadow!

Birthday... last year's that is!

Okay, so I'm more than a little behind but I couldn't write about anything else or post any extremely adorable pictures of Ella until I told you all about how special my birthday was... almost 3 months ago.  Since it was #38 (ahem) I'd rather look back than forward anyway and at least I'm only 1/4 of the way to the next one. 

I turned 33 (just making sure you're paying attention) just a few days after Ella was born and I was still walking around the house in pajamas. My parents were still here (thank goodness or I'd have gone insane). Bob had already planned to take the day off and even though he was still sleep deprived he made a wonderful gourmet breakfast AND dinner for me. I don't have time to go into too much detail (obviously I don't have much time to blog seeing as how my last post was in November!) but here are some pictures...

Breakfast:

Yes, that is a mimosa and it was delicious! I would say that Ella slept very soundly after that but she slept all the time those first few weeks so I couldn't really see a difference. The french toast was amazing and the strawberries were coated with nutela... yum!!

Dinner:

Isn't the presentation beautiful? The mahi mahi is infused with a mango bbq sauce that he made from scratch. Actually, I don't know what "infused" means but all the good chefs use the term and if it means "yummy to my tummy," which is currently Leola's favorite phrase, then it totally applies.

It was definitely my favorite birthday so far. A new sweet little daughter, Leola's "happy dirtday mommy," my parents here to celebrate with us, and a great husband who loves me even on my worst days. Even with all the craziness, stress, and sleep depravity that having a newborn brings and then having to deal with the antics of a "terrible (but also terrific!) two" I am so thankful. I spent many a birthday in my 20s and almost half of my 30s wanting this life so badly that it hurt and I wouldn't trade it for anything. God is so good and has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.

Ella Margaret

We our so thankful for the safe birth and health of our second child, Ella. 

Here are some pictures.

 
Welcome to the world baby Peg!

 
 

Meeting her grandparents for the first time.  She has 4 of the best grandparents in the world!


 

After months of anticipation, Leola finally gets to meet "Baby Ella":

 Sister love:

Hugs from big sister...

With Aunt Lynsey (or "Dee" as Leola calls her) and Uncle Charlie:

First photo as a family of 4!  Love my post-surgery drugged look?!

Headed home.  I always get emotional putting the baby in the carrier for the first time.  The adventure begins...