Balloons make memories

Yesterday I decided to brave Harris Teeter to do my first trip ever.... shopping with coupons. It was surprisingly really easy.
Each boy pushed his own cart as we donned the isles looking for the best bargains. Since I was new at the whole coupon thing, the trip took a tad longer. I concentrated on things like 12" pizzas, 5oz cans of tuna....ect. I've never paid attention to detail in that way, so again the trip took longer than usual. The kids however were great. A very pleasant first experience. One I will do again. So as we were checking out, our cashier asked the boys if they had earned and would like a balloon. Indeed they would. We walked out with smiles on our faces and balloons in our hands. Fun, fun, fun. When we got home, the boys played happily with their balloons, as I unpacked the groceries. Georgy however, discovered pretty quickly that when you squeeze a balloon as hard as you can, it pops. And pops loud. He cried. I consoled and explained. Knowing that Joshua had a phobia of popped balloons, I noticed that he was quiet during the whole ordeal. Turned out he was in his room silently crying. Not about the popped balloon either, but about Georges' reaction to the balloon. It dawned on me instantly that brotherly empathy he was feeling. As we sat in the hall comforting one another I'd recall the many times my sister and I shared eachothers experiences and the feelings that went along with them. The memories we made out of just living life together. When things started to settle, Joshua looked at George and started to laugh. If for no other reason than to take his mind off of the balloon and let him know things were okay. In that moment I remembered the countless times I thought only my sister had that special way of being silly to make everything okay. I'm guessing now as a mom watching her sons, that it is just an older siblings way of creating magical memories simply from a popped balloon. A store trip turned into a memory. A way of saying I love you without words. Corny, but true to me. I am so happy that the boys have each other to enjoy that bond I still share with my sister. Unshakable.

Camp Creation

Today was a big day in George's life. Today marked the first day that George would go to camp. Hosted at Josh's preschool, both boys were registered to attend Camp Creation. For three days, they would focus in on a wide variety of ways illustrating how God created the world, how He wants us to listen and obey, and how God wants us to love others. We prepped Georgy a bit before hand knowing he tends to have a hard time initially separating from us to go out on his own. ** After all he is with either Jamie, Joshua or I 99% of the time.** So he was pumped. We arrived at the activity center to sign in, dropped Joshy Joe off at his "beach ball" room and headed down the hall to drop George off. Although a bit apprehensive, we were surprised to see that Joshua's teacher from the previous year was volunteering in George's class. This calmed his nerves and made for a really great "first" experience. He came home with a new t-shirt that I can't peel off of him, a book he made as well as a snow globe with a few of God's (pretend) creatures inside; a sea horse, snail, fish ect.

I am so proud of George. His growing up goes unnoticed sometimes. Although this makes me sad, it only pushes me to strive to be better for him. He gets my comfort and understanding as a second time mom. The respect of eye contact and "really" listening, the ease of loving touch and kind words that spill out of the pride in my heart for him.

Great job today George. God has wonderful things planned for you.

Riley Clair

Today is Riley's first birthday, and I can't describe first birthdays any other way than the saddest, most thrilling day. Such an oxymoron I know. Jamie brought our little birthday girl into our bathroom this morning and we both just beamed, knowing today was such a special day. We sang Happy Birthday to her in unison, as she arched her back and whined...almost begging us to stop the horror. This is a huge birthday for Jamie and I. It marks our final "planned" first birthday. We are high fiving every month that goes by where we aren't pregnant. Both of us are fully settled in our family of five. I have such high hopes for all of my children, but today is Riley's special day and so as I reflect on her past year I can make a few distinct observations...................

She LOVES her daddy. She loves his special way of holding her, and demands him as soon as he walks into view. Of course there is never any objection on his part either. Who knew I'd be competing with the cutest, softest other woman in my house. She loves to nurse. Both boys weaned themselves at 9 and 11 months. Not Ry. She loves the closeness and routine of being with mommy. She adores her brothers, each in very different ways. Joshua looks out for her and takes the true role of big brother. Making sure she is yelled at when she dips her fingers in Kidd's water bowl, pulls her away from the TV when she is attempting to push buttons, makes silly faces at her to distract her from rolling away during a dipaer change, seriously enjoys watching her laugh, which in turn makes him laugh, is excited when she accomplishes a milestone, and the list goes on. Whereas with George, she loves how he actually plays with her. Get down on the ground and play, type of play. He will keep her company playing cars or pulling books off of the bookshelf. George can make Riley belly laugh which is big family fun in our house. He does something silly to set her off, and then they both repeat the game over and over again. Riley loves to eat. She can pile off three scrambled eggs easily. She love watermelon, cheese, blackeyed peas, frozen peas, sausage, burgers, chicken, fish, shrimp, cottage cheese, applesauce, pasta, casseroles, yogurt, crackers...Im writing this list out so in 8 months when she wont eat a thing, at least I can look back and know she got off to a great start eating. Ry loves her bath, swinging on the swing in our backyard, watching her brothers push trucks, and just recently going to the beach. She is very at home along the shoreline. The waves rolling in and out covering her legs with bubbly salt water. She splashes in the tide pools licking her salty fingers and then looks up at me to make sure its okay. She plays with sand toys attmepting to dig. She is everything I imagined a little girl to be like. I can't wait for all of the memories we will make, and relish in the ones already made. I am so proud of her without her even doing anything yet. I just know God has wonderful moments planned for her. I'm honored to be a part of that. I'm crying thinking of how sad I am that my baby is growing up, but so thrilled to have witnessed this first year. Which takes me back to how sad yet thrilling this birthday is. I love you Riley Clair!

Im just sick

I can't stand this. I feel sick. Sick at the thought of my best girl leaving Wilmington. I'm tired too. I can't seem to shake the weariness of it all. My thoughts are so up and down I cant make sense of anything. I'm only writing this down in hopes that my mind will clear and I'll gain a few hours of relief. It really feels that bad.

Our Daily Trek

I love this time of year. Beach season. Each morning is the same. We wake up, sip coffee, juice and/ or milk, eat breakfast, pack our cooler, and head to the beach. The trek is also the same each day. The boys walk side by side up the hill and over the sand. Conversation sounding something similar to "George, can you see the water yet? I think the tide is going to be out." "Not yet Josh." "Can you see it now George?" "Not yet Josh." "I see it now. Lets go!" This year will be so exciting watching Riley become a beach babe. She already seems very at home along the shore. Not scared, no complaints about the sand, just content. Although my beach partner will be sitting alongside a different shoreline, I'm hopeful this season will be just as fulfilling as the last. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. Thank you Jesus!

Staying engaged

Downloading pictures to my computer can seem like "just something else I hafta do." Point being, my brother emails me asking for a family update and my reply was "nothing big has gone on, just the day to day. Nothing exciting." ( What an ungrateful thought, I know) This virtual conversation led me to download pictures to my laptop, only to find how many precious, once in a lifetime opportunities I'd been blessed with, and thankfully captured on camera. .......Riley crawling for the first time, my neices and nephew visiting for spring break, and Damaws visit in March, just to name a few.

All of a sudden it hit me (again) how easy it is to take life's precious moments for granted. I'm ashamed to admit how TRULY easy this is for me. I'm really present in life's moments, but I'm easily distracted by the world. Anyway, blah, blah blah...... I'm gonna take this opportunity to remember fondly all of March and April's precious blessings.


There is nothing better than watching your baby figure out a milestone. For Riley it was crawling. She teetered back and forth for some time, her brothers retrieving anything she desired, until one Saturday she just got it. It looked a bit like her legs were dragging, but after about a week, she had mastered the skill. I got it all on video. It's one of those things you never forget, but are so glad you were able to capture. Unfortunatley I can't post the video b/c my first born enjoys being naked so much and happens to be in the video. Just as adorable though is the first time you walk in your baby's room to find her pulled up on her knees smiling at you.

Secondly, my sister and her beautiful family came to visit for Spring break. All the cousins got to play. Riley and Kourtney, (6 weeks apart) although snotty, were happy to discover one another. Pulling out passies, smiling, cooing, (Kourt..yah yah yahing) and playing in the sand. Josh, George and David got to build forts, play bakugons (whatever those are...apparently a first grade boy thing) and ride bikes and scooters. Kyra occasionally joined in on the little kid fun, but spent most of her time chatting with friends via text. Watching her grow from little girl to beautiful preteen is another blessing I am so thankful for. Meeme, Papa, and Uncle Dave came for Easter participating in an awesome church service at PC3, lots of good food and drink, easter egg hunts, and of course some beach time. Between Lisa and I we have 6 kids, so you can imagine how vibrant the house was. I cried for a hour or so when everyone left, my once seemingly loud world quieted without the other half. Nonetheless, looking forward to the next visit. What a blessing to be able to host your family under one roof sharing laughs and spending time just chillin' out.


Damaw's visit was as usual calm, cool, and comfortable. She loves coming to simply watch the kids "do what they do." No agendas, just go with the flow type of fun. Can a daughter- in- law ask for any better. We relaxed in the sun, ate dinner and enjoyed a glass of wine at Dockside, walked along the beach, and our famous tradition.... a trip to Costco.



It feels good to have just relived a glimpse of life's precious moments. ( PS. as I'm writing this... Josh and George are killing ants with really big sticks. Is that bad?)

There you go brother, thanks for unknowingly keeping me engaged. I needed that.

Lots and lots of pictures

This blog is dedicated to Grandpa and Grandma Robertson. I've attached a lot of pics so they can see how the kids are growing. The boys and I were able to chat with them for an extended amount of time this morning. It had been a while since we had caught up, so Joshua had a bunch to say. We enjoyed the morning.


Look at those beautiful smiles

I love this determined look

Eager for spring to bring warm weather, we've made a few trips to the beach. It should be interesting this year watching three kids next to the ocean. Especially when each season Joshua and George become more brave.

Riley's beach hat. She looks like a Florida tourist. I love it!

Josh and George's friend Grace- if only the arrow was pointing down.

Josh's school trip to the Fort Fisher Aquarium

He adores the little girl, Abby, with the pink bow. Unfortunately, so does Ethan.

I was able to take the whole gang. We made it a family field trip. George loved hanging with the big kids.