Monday, December 14, 2015

Lily's 9th painting party!

Lily's most favorite thing to do is draw and create, so it seemed fitting that she wanted an art party! 
She invited a few close friends over and they spent a couple of hours painting canvases, sun catchers, chatting, and eating sweets.
I had another mom friend stay to help me assist the girls and we commented how quiet it was while they were focused on creating!
That all changed though after the canvases were complete and the girls ran wild downstairs, ate cookie cake & ice cream, and opened presents.
What a fun day for Lily!
























 L-R: Mattie, Lainee, Chloe, Georgia, Autumn, and Bailey (had to leave early)

Friday, December 4, 2015

Lily is 9!


It is hard to believe that a year has passed and we now have a 9-year-old in the house! Lily has earned every bit of the "prestige" that comes with her age. She has always been our first-born, mature, responsible, can-handle-almost-anything child. And we could not be more proud of the young lady she is becoming!

Lily is an excellent student. A couple of her strongest traits are her handwriting (which she gets complimented on often), and her spelling (one that her Mama is very proud of! :). Although most subjects come fairly naturally to her, I noticed that reading was becoming a "chore" and not something she was excited about. Realizing we needed a solution, I contacted Grandma B. who graciously used her Reading Specialist technique and started a summer book club with Lily. I have been amazed with how she has taken off since school began! She is reading up a storm and we couldn't be more excited about her new passion. Often I will look back in the car and her head is in her book! She is also very good at math (although she doesn't enjoy it as much :) and is currently learning multiplication and division.

Lily loves to play soccer and enjoys the social aspect just as much as the sport itself :). She joined the school running club in September and trained weekly to run the KC Kids Marathon (1 mile) with her fellow 3rd-5th grade classmates. She had so much pride in crossing the finish line and receiving her medal. What an great goal she achieved!

Although Lily loves to be a social butterfly, she also loves to escape to her art table downstairs and spend time drawing and creating. She loves art and enjoys drawing pictures for us and her friends. In fact, she chose an art party this year! She invited some girl friends and they painted canvases and window suncatchers. She had a blast. (pictures to follow)

Of all the memories I have of Lily's 8th year, the one that will forever stand out in my heart was her baptism. It is evident that God is working in her life. We have had many discussions on what being a Christ-follower means and how to live out her faith in her school and with many others who don't know Christ. She is such a great example to others and we pray she continues to take pride in her faith and share it with others.

Lily, it has been a joy to watch you grow in so many ways these past 8 years! We are excited to see what God has for you in the years to come! We love you so much!

(Lily asked me when we were doing her "birthday interview", so this is all in her own words)

HEIGHT: 4' 3"

BEST FRIENDS: Chloe, Ivy, Autumn, Kayla, Ashleigh, Lainee, Georgia

AGE: 9

SCHOOL: Blackburn Elementary

PETS: Kelsey

HOBBIES: drawing, reading, writing

SPECIAL SKILLS: cartwheels, round-off's, backbends, jump roping

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP: Artist

FAV GROUPS OR SINGER: TobyMac, Jamie Grace

FAV SONG: Feel It

FAV COLOR: Turquoise

FAV FOOD: Hashbrown Casserole

FAV DRINK: Sprite

FAV SUBJECT: Reading

LEAST FAV SUBJECT: Math

FAV TOY: Beanie Boos

FAV BOOK: Grace

FAV MOVIE: Home

FAV ANIMAL: Bunnies

FAV HOLIDAY: Christmas

FAV WEATHER: Sunny days

FAV CANDY: Laffy Taffy

FAV T.V. SHOW: Good Luck Charlie

FAV SPORTS: Soccer, Baseball

FAV PHRASE: "Oh yeah, baby!"

SEVEN WORDS TO DESCRIBE MYSELF: Crazy, Pretty, Funny, Talented, Athletic, Loving, and Artistic

Monday, November 16, 2015

October 2015 highlights

Besides our annual camping trip, we had some other fun activities this month. Lily joined the "Running Club" at her elementary school. She trained weekly to run the "kids marathon" (1 mile) on October 17th. We were so proud of her and all her friends.
 

 
the cheering sign I made for her :)


And of course we had Halloween! School parties for both kids and trick-or-treating!

I had a great time helping out with Lily's 3rd grade Fall party

Jackson had a Preschool field trip to Deanna Rose Pumpkin Farm. He had a blast!

With friend, Gianna in their matching jack-o-lantern shirts!

with friend, Liam
Pumpkin carving...ick! I hate this job and am so thankful Daddy steps in on this one.


This year, Lily was a witch and Jackson was Batman. We trick-or-treated at our friends, the Gensler's neighborhood. The kids rode in the back of a trailer pulled by Travis' lawn mower! They had it made!







Roaring River 2015

This year's trip was a special one as Grandma & Grandpa L. were able to join us! It was a large group of family and friends and we really enjoyed spending time with everyone. The other moms and I commented that this was the first year it felt as though we didn't have toddlers to keep a consistent eye on. In fact, the kids popped in and out all weekend long but other than food, didn't really need us for "entertainment"! They made up names for certain areas of the creek bed and played lots of hide & seek, war games with marshmallow guns, and just great outdoor fun. Watching them reminds me so much of my childhood. Getting out of routine and into nature is great for all of us! What a fun weekend!

No sooner did we set up the trailer and the boys were gone!
Fun with the Davis girls
Lots of cousin fun!





Grandpa L. was a great photographer and fished with Daddy a bit too

We celebrated Christopher's 5th birthday too!
The crew!
Grandma and Grandpa L. came back to our house for a couple of days before heading home. No trip is complete without a dinner at Texas Roadhouse!



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