The Suits Sisters

1. The birthday girl (tomorrow) pictured above 2. Audrey didn't cry when I dropped her off or picked her up from class today 3. Caris' odd class presentation, "This is my one legged barbie. And I named her Gertie. And we got her from a yard sale. I like to play with her and make her hop around" (And the parental sanctification that comes from hearing that and refraining from saying, "Pretty sure we didn't get it from a yard sale!!!") 4. A breeze today 5. Linen pants that feel suspiciously like pajama pants 6. New friends 7. A husband that will cook dinner while I run errands 8. Sausage, egg and cheese sandwich on a white hamburger bun toasted with a layer of butter. My waistline says no but my heart says yes 9. Chocolate creme Oreos (Get the heart cath ready) 10. Clean sheets

1. A husband, in between morning meetings, that is willing to deliver carpet cleaner and children's Tylenol 2. The 4 for $4 deal at Wendy's and the freedom to finally bite the bullet and splurge on a fast food lunch  3. Lego Story Time at the library and kids that are slowly getting into Legos 4. Peet's coffee 5. A new to me cell phone (thanks, Ben!) 6. Summer afternoon thunderstorms  7. A teething baby who's willing to stay still and snuggle (for once!) 8. Episodes of either The Great British Baking Show and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee at night 9. Big girls that can play a card game. Without me.  10. Friends that bring chocolate chip cookie bars to our playdate 

Our drive home from Thanksgiving in the mountains had me singing "All I want for Christmas is a minivan, a minivan..." but until that wish comes true, here's my THANKFUL THURSDAY list 1. Mutual peace for Kent and me after we closed a ministry/job door  2. FUDGE {Using the easiest recipe ever. Stay tuned} 3. A baby that's old enough to hang in the stroller while I peruse the library, zoo, etc. 4. A hard working husband 5. Christmas cards from Florida friends...they remember us! Not on the list, but an honorable mention: Patch is THE best travel dog (see above) We forget he's even in the car until he opens his mouth. And then we open the windows. 

Baby Shower In mid-June a handful of ladies from our former church threw a baby shower for us. I brought Caris along (which felt SURREAL) She watched a muted version of Alice in Wonderland (the cute theme of the shower) and ate too many sweets. Each person gave us a picture book and we took home a small fortune in gift cards. Like...so much money. They blessed our socks off and it was humbling and overwhelming. Diapers for life! Disney Passes Our passes include black out dates (around major holidays and then most of the summer). Our black out time was set to end on August 14, but we got an email telling us that it was bumped up to August 1st because two rides were closing forever. Kent and the girls are at Epcot today and it's a much needed distraction for all of us. The only rule is Kent has to keep his phone on him and turned up at all times. We're close to my due date and the drive home from Disney is almost an hour. Living on the edge, baby. winkyface Funds Money ...

1. The guilt free relief of donating a car load of stuff to Goodwill 2. A German chocolate candy bar from Ilse 3. My daughters, in all their watermelon eating cuteness  4. Two watermelons in one week 5. An active baby  6. A cup of coffee. Half in the morning, half in the afternoon 7. A quiet post-library car ride home while the girls look at new books 8. Rest time. 2-3PM woot! 9. The beginning of swim season- endless afternoon entertainment  10. So many great local playgrounds  with clean bathrooms(!)

Before I delve into a Thanksgiving recap, I pause to recognize that some of my readers are going through some pretty sad/hard/intense/scary times right now. If my blog provides a mindless distraction, read on. But if you need to leave for a while, I understand and I welcome you back at any time. End pause. We celebrated Thanksgiving all together for the first time in about six years, if my calculations are correct. We had two special visitors, Karen (Karan? Karin?) and Robin. Robin, please forgive me as your group picture is lost somewhere between my email account and desktop folder entitled "blog, despite multiple attempts to find it.   Let's zoom in on the lovable wacknuts with whom I share a home. Prayers appreciated. ha ha  Pre-meal baseball with Pops A turkey tutu shirt?! Stop it. The concentration and zeal that Ben put into peeling the potatoes was not lost on us. This was PAB. Pre Ant Bite. A small army of fire ants attacked Cruz. Bless him. Stor...

We have been in our new {rental} home for a little over six months and wow, isn't it easy to go from, "Thank you Lord, this place is perfect for us!" to "It's nice...but I really wish the washer/dryer were inside. I wish there was better lighting in the main living area" Ugh! I repent! Here are a few pictures, taken back in March. It looks a good bit different now, but this should give you a good idea of the main areas!  Standing by the front door. Hallway to the right (3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms) Garage door to the left.  Looking left is the living room and play room Playroom Back porch lanai (the entire area is screened)  + Pool security fence to the right Pool + backyard  10 things I love about our house 1. It's one level   2 + story homes will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope to possibly own one in the future, but having kids in a one level house? I hit the JACK POT of Laziness! I am also prob...

Disclaimer: while the following list is all warm and fuzzies, know that yesterday I was capital C cranky and today confirmed the fact that my kids are subpar at hosting/attending play dates.  Carry on. 1. The thunderstorm happening right now as I type 2. A screened porch and open doors to hear it 3. A large dog to protect me in case someone wanders into said open door 4. Dinner dishes washed tonight by Kent 5. Finding needed items (2T shorts) while Thrift Hunting at Goodwill 6. Slowly adding decor to our empty walls 7. Warm sugar cookies tonight for dessert 8. Funny text exchanges with friends, friend's moms, my mom, my sister, the list goes on 9. A "successful" small group gathering last Friday night 10. Matching bathing suits (girl squeal!!)

I'm thankful  That unlike this time last year, we're all sleeping through the night and 2/4 of us are sleeping 12 hours. For a beautiful, healthy, laid back, energetic, curious one year old. For pictures and videos to help my memory because how did a whole year go by so fast? and for the expectation of exciting things to come for Little Lie in her next year. 

I am thankful for -My Bubba mug that Santa Ben gave me -Tank tops -Fall decorations -A handy husband -Thoughtful friends -A good report from the doctor -A growing baby bump -The chaos that surrounds me as we try to take a Bump Picture the toys, the dirty socks on the church pew, the dog and my daughter wearing the dog's collar 

I'm thankful that tomorrow will be FIVE YEARS since my college graduation. I'm thankful that five years + 1 day later, I'll be watching Ben walk across the same stage (GO BEN) Things I've gained in the past 5 years... A husband A {four year} teaching career A daughter Pounds 

I'm thankful for  comparisons & growth March 2013/March 2014

It took ONE LARGE PACKAGE (thanks BJJL!) to remind me that I had dropped Thankful Thursday . I am thankful for surprise packages filled with fun things and familiar handwriting For finding notes that are 2 (or more?) years old in our South Carolina house  For my keen fashion sense and for comfy clothes (Also known as, The Clothes I Want to Be Buried In)   And I'm thankful for my squirt tail goober girl who has kept me on my toes lately.  I could eat her up with her a small spoon.

Today I'm thankful that I weigh less than I did in this picture I'm thankful that my feet don't look like this anymore   And I'm thankful for a fun filled, action packed year of parenting! 

I'm thankful that I can get out of my shoes (that I hate)  For my first birthday present...a bubble maker!  (Thanks MBFT!) And for my first (of many)  naked pizza dinner!  *(Hands unintentionally strategically placed for modesty)

I'm thankful for my brother's son, Cruz For cousins And for the {expanded} ParkerII Family

I'm thankful for... Fuzzy leopard pajama pants and someone to watch the Olympics with Clean water (shout out to the fam in South Sudan) and straws That my first Thursday morning bible study went well A husband to do this parenting adventure with  (You should read, "We had a rough morning and could hardly get out of the house, so when I got to church I threw Caris at Kent and ran for the hills") And for air conditioning (In February)

By doing Thankful Thursday, it not only helps me to give thanks, but also to KNOW WHAT DAY OF THE WEEK IT IS.  I'm thankful for belated birthday presents that are wrapped oh so fancy For a big, old desktop computer to serve as a backup after my laptop falls and possibly dies For unexpected phone calls from friends and words of encouragement For heavy care packages from mommy friends For spontaneous lunch dates with Kent & Caris at 4 Rivers And for funny emails from my sister that contain quotes from While You Were Sleeping

I'm thankful for pictures and mirrors that hang on the walls  For a healthy & active baby {even if it means spending my entire day making sure she doesn't lick the bottom of our shoes, dump the dog's water bowl over or suck on a screw driver} For a church bathroom located near the sanctuary...it comes in handy when I start to cry before Sunday School  For funny emails from my brother and movies that make me laugh out loud And for a husband that doesn't complain about Mount ShoesaLot that erupted in our closet and still sits dormant even weeks later