Some Recent Favorites

I doesn't matter if there are 5 empty chairs...they will sit right next to each other in the same chair. I happen to love it.

See?

Verification of the above:)

The BIG sister? Wow.

Another picture Gram, you gotta be kidding me.

Looking way older than she should!

Mission Accomplished!

I finished my first sewing project today. I have a friend here in Orlando that I've met with on two occasions for a "lesson." This is the outcome! Can't wait to see it on Journey.

Did I mention that our girl LOVES sunglasses?

Look closely and you can see a little non-verbal attitude. Like she's saying "excuse me Uncle Brian but I was checking my email first."

Playing at Chickfila.

Getting acquainted with her new Dora doll.

"I do love sunglasses. Beats this silly straw hat."

And way better for you than squinting in the sun.

The RTS Senior Banquet

You may be asking yourself why I would put this picture up under the "banquet" post BUT it is very significant of my time here at RTS (and it was taken the night of the banquet). This precious little spot has basically been mine for the past two years. Came here pregnant...had two babies 16mths and under and now here I am again feeling the freedom to be a consumer of this sweet little parking space. Thank you RTS!

Here we are at the banquet for the seniors. It was a nice sit down dinner with a few different speakers. WE ARE SO PROUD OF DEMETRIUS!!!

Mom came for the graduation festivities...and she has a lot of great pictures from her camera that I hope to put on here in a few days. My mom is the best!

And my other mama is also the BEST! D's mom, sister and brother all made it here for the banquet. His dad came the next day for graduation. Thanks everyone for making the trip and for making our graduation "week" even more fun! We love you.

Baby Names

For whatever reason we think we are having a girl. But, until this little one is born we will not know for sure. If we are having a girl her name will be Hope Elyse Summerville. The middle name is a variant of Elizabeth, and the Hebrew meaning is God's Promise. I love the combination...the hope we have in God's promise of ultimate redemption when this life fades (future hope) and God's promise of hope for today (despite circumstances). Along the way we've come to believe that our greatest joy will come while loving, serving and helping bring about restoration of hope in our city.

The boy name we've chosen...in case we are wrong in our prediction:) Josiah Amari Summerville. The Hebrew meaning of Josiah is "the Lord saves." No special meaning for the middle name but we've liked it since we were pregnant with Jayden. When I picture another little Summerville boy my heart rejoices...

3 1/2 more months and we will meet our sweet baby!

Journey's Favorite Sunglasses~Everyone takes a turn...

Enjoying God's Creation.

He even loved the sand this time! Mind you just a month ago he was unhappy about getting sand on his hands and feet at the beach. He loved running and jumping into this sand hole.

They love playing on the bunk beds. The first day Journey climbed up to the top bunk by herself but Jayden wanted help:)

"Look Mommy, I'm bein' brave at the beach!"

Sweet.

Fun in the Sun

Beauty.

One...Two...Three...WHEEEEEEEEE!

This is FUN!

This is our first beach trip where the kids actually liked it!

Always time for a little affection.

1st day at New Smyrna Beach

Excited about watching the last space shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center! Atlantis launched at 2:21pm on Friday. Jayden loves rocket ships (aka "imagination" ships).

Daddy's girl.

Everyone came out onto the beach to watch the historical event.

Getting acquainted with the Atlantic Ocean! What a great first day of our graduation/anniversary/summer vacation...

Hi...

Hi. We are at the beach this weekend. Our Mommy and Daddy are so happy. Our families are coming to see us and our Daddy graduates on Friday. Doesn't get any better than that.

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!

We celebrated our 5th anniversary on Friday. Thanks to our sweet friend we were able to take some time during the day to have a date. We had lunch together then we went to the mall to find a gift that represented our last 5 years as a married couple (Demetrius' creative idea).

As we talked in the car we agreed on two words that signify our time together thus far: Redemption and Beauty. We wanted to find something that looked tattered but restored. Something that represented new life; something that was beautiful.

So, here it is. It's a candle box. An old cross on the front, a beautiful verse on the back. Pretty (but faded) green paint. A treasure box...a tiny, tanglible reminder of what the Lord has done in our lives as he has so purposefully brought us together.

Happy Mother's Day

I want to give a shout-out to my amazing mom (who is also one of my great friends) and my best-ever mother in law....who is like my own mom in so many ways. I love you two and am thankful that I have two incredible mom's in my life!

As my sweet friend Leslie so perfectly put it...

"Happy mother's day to all the moms..young, old, new, 'to-be', of the heart..... but a special wish to the mom's whose babies aren't here to celebrate and to those who are waiting for their turn."

I am so thankful that one of my names is "mommy." Having worked in the adoption world I have sat with many women who have longed to have "mommy" as one of their names. I am thankful that God has allowed me to experience the gift of children and I pray that all those mommies and daddies waiting for their babies will soon have an answer to their fervent prayers.

***Picture 1: Me at 22.5 weeks

***Picture 2: Our new gift at 19 wks

A Visit to Georgia to See Mom and Nanny

Thanks for the easter egg hunt Gram!

Journey (wearing Jayden's pirate undies) "helping" Nanny do dishes. I LOVE this picture!

Ummm...isn't this supposed to taste good?

Nice rain boots.

Caught posing.

The sweetest face on the sweetest girl I know.

Jayden loved to climb the wall all by himself...and a little glimpse of the growing baby bump (this was about a month ago and lets just say "we've" grown).

Jayden and Gram (who happened to not have a voice at all and somehow managed to read books to the kids).

Thankful Thursday

I'm jumping on the "thankful thursday" bandwagon. No, it's not going to happen every week but I love the concept. I also know I'm supposed to put lots of different fun things that I'm thankful for but this week I am putting some recent pics of the kids because my heart is overflowing with gratitude because they are in my life.

I'm thankful for my beautiful kids. Not because they look beautiful but because I see the beauty in the way God created them. They are unique from each other but have great adoration for one another. Their relationship continues to blossom and they truly are best friends.

My heart swells at random times when I look at them during the day. I honestly adore them and love to watch them grow into little people. It's an amazing gift.

She will copy his every move. And he is always aware of where she is and what she's doing. If you ask Jayden who Journey's best friend is...he confidently says, "Jayden."

Isn't it amazing that your kids can drive you crazy but your love for them remains strong and grows with every passing minute? I love everything about them....flaws and all! And you know what? They love me...flaws and all.