Baptism Day

Lucy was baptized the Saturday after her birthday.  Having so much family in attendance made it a very special day.

I made her a simple dress to wear after the baptism.  The hem is trimmed with crocheted lace that was made by Lucy's great-great-grandmother.  I wish I knew more about the lace and the grandmother who made it, but I suspect it must have been special because it has been preserved in hope chests for who knows how many decades.  

I embroidered little white birds and flowers along the sleeves and hem and memorialized Lucy's special day by embroidering her name and baptism date along the hem.  I hope this little dress can be passed on to Lucy's babies some day, and their names and dates added next to her's.

Afterward, we had family and close friends dine with us at Larry's.  It was important to initiate the out of towners to our favorite Little Rock pizza spot. 

Thanks to everyone who came to support Lucy on her big day!

The Party Continues...

WARNING!  Photo over load in this post!

lucy's 8th birthday

Lucy's birthday celebrating continued for two fun weeks with a visit from my family:  My brother Nathan and his family from Kentucky, Mom, Dad, and babiest recent high school graduate brother Isaac from Washington.

lucy's ice cream cake

  

alex, blake, and henry

We showed them the best Little Rock has to offer.

henry and grandpa j

First stop was the King Fisher Trail at Pinnacle Mountain and the visitor's center look-out.

isaac

cypress knees... i think they are so cool!

nathan and dad looking at the river

The visitor's center offered seasoned grubs and crickets for sale.  

Of course we were game!

dad

My favorite is Blake's expression!

me, eating a grub

Billy's parents had us over for some of the best food of the trip.  

Low Country Boil and BBQ Ribs!  OH MY!  It was sooo good.

Why don't we have any pictures with the Griffins?  I guess we were too busy stuffing our faces.

Thank you, Griffins!

We saw Central High School, the ghetto, Mike Bebee's residence, drove past the Clinton Library, sweltered at the River Market, and made a stop at the Big Dam Bridge. 

(Little Rockers voted on that name... democracy may have failed in this case).

me, henry, nathan, alex, lucy, blake, jenny, savanah

My sister-in-law, Jenny, wins the "enduring to the end" award for putting up with the high temps, high humidity, and various attempts to do something outdoors all while being eight months pregnant.

jenny and blake

lucy, my nature girl

me and hen (as he now prefers to be called)

mom

Lucy and Henry had so much fun with their cousins, it left us really wishing we lived closer.

henry, lucy, alex, blake

hen, alex, mac, blake

Lucy's Eighth

When Lucy asked for a "craft" party to celebrate her eighth birthday, the thought crossed my mind that maybe she was just suggesting an idea she knew would please me, instead of one she wanted.  But, then I thought that maybe she does enjoy crafting as a way to feel close to me and I should consider it a blessing that she likes to do what I like to do because surely these days for us are numbered as she get closer and closer to teenagerdom.

So, we invited a couple of friends to come for an evening of craft.  I made a gathered half apron for each girl and set them up with prepared fabric and scissors.  They went to work embellishing their aprons with homemade appliques.  There were also Perler bead creations and lots of silliness.

We had cake and cupcakes Lucy had picked from Sam's Club.  That's right, no homemade cake.  I was too busy making aprons.   Then, present time!  Lucy was delighted with her gifts.

The night ended with the girls snuggled up together watching  singing "Tangled".

Happy birthday, Lucy Girl!

Absentee Blogger

Posts have been sparse around here lately, but for a good reason.  We've been living it up in Arkansas with a semi-family reunion for the past two weeks.  

I'll try to post some of the highlights over the next few days.

Swim Team: GO Gators!

Swim team season has started again.  We are members of a little neighborhood pool with a low key swim team and great coaches.  

Henry was really on the fence about swim team.  At first, he couldn't wait to join up for his first year.  Then, practicing became a little daunting and he wanted to quit.  But, I convinced him to race today in their first meet (because I KNEW he would throw a fit when everyone got t-shirts and ribbons if he was left out).   It took some persuasion, but he raced... at his own leisurely pace, but he did it!  

 Lucy was really excited to swim tonight.  No first meet jitters here.

 She did a great job and came in first in each of her rounds.  She ended up with a 2nd and 3rd place ribbon for free-style and breast stroke!  I am super proud of her, but she was a little disappointed because she thought she had won 1st place.  Even though we went over how the judges time lots of rounds to determine the winner, I'm still not sure she understood.  Last year, the coaches gave out ribbons to everyone, but today they ran out after the 3rd places were handed out.  So, Henry was sad he didn't get a ribbon and has decided, once again, swim meets are dumb.  We are now focusing more on beating personal bests and less on the ribbons and hoping for a happier ending to next week's meet.