My Ocean Princesses

I've been meaning to post a few of the pictures we took during our last morning at the beach. I love the way these pictures turned out and many of them are going to be displayed in our new home! I'll make a slideshow of some of the others (we took an entire memory stick), but here are a few of my favorites:

My New Toy

I'm so excited about my new Kitchenaid Mixer--yes--it's RED! Eric keeps laughing at my excitement, but I think it's like a power tool for women--so I don't know what the laughter is all about! He's also laughing at me for making instant chocolate pudding in it =)! SO...I'm looking for more ideas! Post an (easy, yummy, kid-friendly) recipe for me to try!!

Here's one of our favorites to get us started: it's for Jam Muffins and since my husband loves anything raspberry and my kids love anything...well, food...they're always a big hit!

Jam Muffins

1/2 c. seedless raspberry jam
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
confectioner's sugar

~mix dry ingredients.
~mix yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla
~stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until blended
~fill greased muffin cups half way with batter, top with jam, then cover the jam with batter
~bake 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven
~top with confectioner's sugar

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, to my Mom!

Until I had kids, I had no idea what a great mom I have! I know my mom probably had bad days, but I don't remember them (here's hoping my kids won't remember mine either)! We have great memories of our childhood and I love the fact that she's helping to make my girl's memorable too!

Thanks, Mom, for teaching me to love and obey my husband, love my children, be sensible, kind and a worker at home (see Titus 2:4-5). I love you!

Daddy is...

In my previous post, I mentioned that one of the great things about having all girls is that they adore their daddy!

As Annabelle was getting out of the car this afternoon after church, she looked adoringly at Eric who was standing in the garage and said: "Momma, Daddy is such a princess!"

The Problem With All Girls...

...is that I have to take everyone to the potty. We went out to dinner tonight, and I actually feel like I saw more of the bathroom than the restaurant. Here's the breakdown:

1. Took Ella Grace before dinner
2. Took Annabelle before dinner
3. Changed Katie's diaper halfway through dinner
4. Went and rinsed Katie's pacifier which had fallen on the restaurant floor
5. Took Ella Grace after dinner (decided I might as well go too)
6. Took Annabelle after dinner

We actually had a great evening that ended with ice cream from Hilton Head Ice Cream.



This face says it all...it was yummy! As has been our week...we put two teary eyed girls to bed tonight who "don't want to go home." We promised to get them up early for shell hunting and one last jaunt in the ocean before loading the car and heading out!

Oh...despite the bathroom trips, one of the best things about having all girls: they adore their daddy!

Beach Babies

July 16, 2008: Sunrise over the Atlantic

From the rising of the sun to its setting; The name of the LORD is to be praised. Ps. 131:3

Harbor Town

A few pictures from today:

The girls and the Harbor Town Lighthouse

Katie hangin' out in the stroller

Annabelle at the Harbor Town Treehouse

Swingin' at the Harbor Town Playground

Sadly, of the six pictures taken this was the best shot...at least everyone is looking in the same general direction!

Another Baby Welcome!

A few months ago Ella Grace wished "she had more girl cousins!" Don't get her wrong--she LOVES her boy cousins and it's so good for the girls to hang out with the boys! But, her wish has come true...

Hailey Nicole was born yesterday, July 14, to Dan and Jen! She weighed in at 7 lbs. 9 oz and joins proud big brother Jordan and big sister Alyssa!!

Welcome to the world baby Hailey! We can't wait to meet you, squeeze you, and kiss your sweet cheeks! Jordan and Alyssa, take care of her until we get there!! We love you all!

The Sandbox

We are spending the week at one of our favorite places on earth: Hilton Head Island! This morning we visited The Sandbox, a children's museum. The girls loved it!! Here are a few highlights:

Pirate Annabelle sailing her ship!

Doctor Ella Grace checking out her baby sister!

They had one room dedicated to arts and crafts. Those who know our girls, know that this is where the majority of our time was spent. Here are their creations:


And one more......cute group shot!

Third Child Syndrome

Katie is five months old today. As usual, it's hard to believe how quickly time has past. A lot changes when you add a third to the mix! Katie is our curveball baby--so far she's done nothing the same way that her sisters did! It logically follows, then, that we've done things a bit differently. For example:

We often rock her to sleep. (I have no pictures like this of our other girls!)






~Though she's rolled over several times, we have yet to witness it! The other girls were caught on video!

~Speaking of video: I think the last video we have of Katie is from the hospital!

~She'll have no cute scrapbook marking her first year of life (Neither does Annabelle, by the way); hey, to my credit she has a blog, though!

~So far she's slept in three places of residence (see previous post about our moving experiences).

~Even though we really try hard, I'm sure there are significantly less pictures of her than of Annabelle and even fewer than of Ella Grace. To our credit, we did lose our camera for a few weeks in the move.

~It's much easier for me to tune out her cries than it was for me to tune out Ella Grace's at this age. We were at a birthday party a few weeks ago and she was crying. I didn't even realize until a stranger said, "Whose baby is that?"

~I'm caught without wipes, diapers, a change of clothes, etc. way more often than I'm willing to admit! I always had everything before!

~She sleeps better during the day in her carseat than in her bed...could it be that she spends more time there?

~She is loved by two more people than her sisters were at this age. Her big sisters adore her and love snuggling with her!


Katie Loren is our baby, our youngest, our last born...there are things we do differently because they are the last time we'll do them. There is no doubt, that despite fewer pictures, less video, and a first few CRAZY months of life, she is loved more than we ever imagined we'd love this little curveball!

For Your Listening Pleasure...

Eric and I have gotten into the habit of listening to our IPOD on long trips. Here are some of our favorites from our trip to Michigan:

God's Mercy in My Marriage By the author of When Sinners Say I Do.

Mother's & Daughters A series of three sermons: all worth a listen even if you're raising sons!

According to Plan

The 4 Month Quiz

Pictures of the girls at 4 months old...can you guess who's who??

Michigan/Summer 2008