Phase 2 of 3...the attack of the green thumb

OK...well Brian got his way and we started on the right side of the house this weekend! It rained all day Saturday which made the 22 holes that Brian dug a lot easier than the other side! We highly recommend waiting until it rains to do yard work! On this side we planted daylillies, acuba, abelia, hostas, azaleas, firepower nandina, coral bells, ferns, and some ornamental grass. It was hard work, but we have learned some quicker ways to plant for sure. And for all of you who look at this and think it looks like a child planted it....try it yourself, it is really hard!!
The planting is almost done, and part of the weed control is down....
Ta da! We worked all evening Sunday and after the rain it was a perfect cool night to finish up!

This garden is one that will grow with our family. We planted all small plants in hope that with tender care, love, and nourishment, the can flourish just like us!
Well...I couldn't post pictures of our garden without putting one of Payton! She was helping me cook some bread and she just loved sitting in this chair that attaches to the counter! Thanks Shanon for this wonderful hand me down! She is a part of the action and can't get into any trouble up there! We love it!

Playing with our friend Ava Kate

On Friday, our neighbor Ava Kate came over to play with Payton. They had a great time playing together. Payton was in awe of her hair and couldn't keep her hands off it....much to Ava's displeasure :) She was just jealous I think....


Yea! I have a friend to play with!
The girls were at perfect length from each other....they could look but not touch!



The blocks were a huge hit. Soon they will be sorting and calling them by name...but at the moment, they just taste so good!

Ava had a great time....see Jessie....she didn't cry the whole time....we will work on Payton's manners for the next playdate!

Oh to be a kid again

How precious is it to watch the exploration of something new, something unseen or someone in wonder. I love these pictures because they show how intranced one can be by something as simple as bubbles! Isn't that the best! As Payton is getting bigger, it is so fun because she is remembering people, and things, and gets excited when she sees you. She has taken the first step or two, and we are just waiting for the rest to follow suit in place of the nose dive she does now!

This past week

We have had a busy week. On Wednesday we went to my friend Sarah's and had a great time hanging out on her deck. We lathered the kids with sunscreen and neglected ourselves...sweet. And then on Thursday Payton woke up with a fever of 101! She had never had a fever like that before. My mom was in town for the day so she took care of her while I worked for a little bit. We spend the rest of the day snuggling on the couch. It is not that often that we can get her to sit still for long lengths of time. So it was kinda nice even though I know she didn't feel good :( Below are just some pics from the past week. She is growing up so fast!

Payton at the park swinging..she loves it! We are going to have to figure out how to get one in our backyard!

Does this picture look scary to anyone but me? They look so grown up. I can just see Presley and Payton now swinging on the swings at school....stop me!
Payton helping dad with the laundry...this is the only way that we can get daddy to help! Not really, he is a big help. I couldn't do it without him...our house would be one big clutter.

Saturday night we went to the Stam's house to eat dinner....we ate outside and the girls played together so nicely. Really- they passed toys back and forth and shared and "talked" to each other and let us enjoy a nice dinner.....but....

...when one started crying...the other started crying and we were just laughing so hard because it was so funny! They even cried a little in harmony...maybe they will help us retire one day with their singing careers!

Mary Mary quite contrary...how does your garden grow?

Since the weather was nice this weekend, we decided to do some hard work...I mean yard work. Granted I am not the hugest fan of manual labor, it was so nice to have a finished product look so good, and we were very proud of our efforts. I must say that we were a little stiff this morning after Brian dug around 20 holes (in which we found brick, tile, and other challenging things that broke our shovel) and I proceeded to plant the plants. I carried 11, 40 pound bags of potting soil from the truck to the garden...which adds up to 440 pounds! Here are the plants all laid out, we have feather reed grass in the back, day lillys in the front, firepower nandina, hydrangea, and a crate myrtle tree.
I laid out the covering and then placed an X where the plants go and planted them!
Here is our little gardener. She helped us so much by taking good long naps and playing in her pack and play while we worked.
Here is the finished project! Yes! Brian said that we were going to try and knock out the other side of the house next weekend.....I am not so sure!
Payton has loved crawling over to our hog by the front door and pulling up on him. It is perfect because he is just the right size for her! She loves looking out the window to see what is happening in the outside world!

For this child we have prayed....

Happy Mother's Day! What a special day for me to get to celebrate my 1st Mother's Day! We dedicated Payton at church today and it was so wonderful! She was a complete ham on stage waving to everyone and looking all over the place. It was so precious. We have picked out a verse to pray over her and it is Colossians 1 9:10, " For since the day we have heard about you, we have not ceased to pray for you and ask that you, Payton, may be filled with the knowledge of God, and His will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, and that you will desire to please Him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." What a powerful verse that is such a good representation of what we pray for her. Payton wore a dress that was bought by Brian's Grandma Porbeck for his cousins Carol and Kelly. It was great to be able to wear something so pretty and vintage!

We celebrated with an awesome breakfast at Copelands with the Wood's and really got to bask in the wonderful day! There will be more pics to come, with 3 cameras that day, I only got a couple on mine.

Have you ever seen such beautiful toes??? Brian surprised me on Friday, he kept telling me I have to be home by 2- something is going to be delivered....well it was my friend Alesha! Her husband Corbin, and Brian had scheduled us pedicures at a day spa in Fayetteville for Mother's Day! It was such a huge surprise, and my heart and my feet were so grateful! (That is not my tatoo...although I will probably get one one day....this was is Alesha's cute foot! )

Ohhh the messyness!

Well...here is my sweet baby girl. She is in the cutest outfit from our friend Allison, it even has her name on the bloomers! You can see her little teeth and it is precious! We had to get in some ware because like the green dress, this girl is growing up before our very eyes. I can hardly believe that on Friday she will be 9 months old! Wow how time has flown by. It has been the best 9 months of my life...or should I say our lives...sorry honey! Payton has started eating whole foods which is great! She eats carrots and squash, zucchini, lima beans, green beans, black beans, chicken, turkey, and soon just about everything that we do. I thought that we were over the messy stage.....until the biter biscuit episode tonight! Here she is so clean.....

Oh...and so very dirty! She was loving it though! She got it everywhere! It was all over her, the highchair...nothing was safe!

This pic is for our Grand Jenny...it was meant to be a bath toy finger puppet...but it stayed in our mouth all day today! We even went into Office Depot and it stayed in the whole time...hey, whatever works!