As Promised. . .Our surprise guest

When David comes home from work on Thursday, Carter and Summer greet him like two eager puppies ready to play! I overhear him say, "Guess who is going with us to supper tonight?" I am thinking, the sweet couple in our church we asked to dinner, but much to my delight I hear him say, "Gigi!" What! David's mom, BKA Gigi, has been quite the world traveler lately. We liken her job to Chandler on Friends, no one really knows what she actually does, but it seems very important! So, she began her week in Sacramento, CA, then she flew to Atlanta and drove to Augusta, GA (which happens to be her birthplace) and then drove back to Atlanta on Thursday night in hopes of catching a flight to LR. Lucky for us, she got to ATL much earlier than she thought and we were able to spend a few hours with Gigi! It was such a treat, especially since it has been almost 2 months since we have seen her. You know how little people are too, they change every day, so she loved seeing Carter, Summer, and Tilly! I was able to capture a couple of pictures of Gigi with the little people. We are so thankful we were able to spend some time with her!

It is so clear that they adore her!

Gigi even got to feed Tilly her nighttime bottle. Look at those sweet legs! Yes, I kiss them all the time!

Check Out These Stats

Today, David and I took Carter and Summer for their yearly checkups with Dr. G. David, because I knew Summer at least was getting shots and I don't do needles, even though I have birthed 3 babies and have been stuck many times. The first time Carter had to have shots at 2 months old was traumatic. Keep in mind, he was our first, so we knew nothing, but I was devastated first by the number of shots that he was given in one sitting and second by having to hold him down! None of the books I read before he was born told me about that! It was terrible; I cried more and harder than he did. That being said, Daddy is usually along for the shots and boy am I thankful!

So, I will start with Summer for two reasons. One, we are teaching Carter that ladies are first at our house, especially since he and Daddy are out-numbered and two because my girl is a rock star! Summer weighed 32 pounds putting her in the 100% for her age. She is 37 1/2 inches tall putting her once again in the 100%. Wow! She has been off the chart since she was born and we are happy to report that she is staying very nicely with her curve. Now for the rock star moment. As I shared Summer had to get a shot, HIB. I was prepared for several shots, remember we brought Daddy along, but she only had to have the one. Let me interject and say that I am receiving this knowledge secondhand because I did not stick around to see. The nurse pulled up Summer's shorts to give her the shot in the leg. My girl did not flinch nor did she utter a sound. In fact, the pulled up her shorts on the other leg to help the nurse out! Mommy and Daddy were so proud!

Carter did great too. He had to have his blood pressure taken for the first time, so he went out of the room with the nurse all by himself. She brought him back and reported that he was awesome! We already knew that though; he is ours! Carter weighs 35 pounds putting him in the 75% for his age. He is a whopping 40 inches tall putting him in the 95% for his age. As Dr. G. was examining Carter we likened this visit to the Curious George episode when George and the man with the yellow hat go to the doctor. Everything Dr. G did to Carter today, he would say, "like George!" It was really cute! As if today was not exciting enough, we had a surprise visitor. I will post more about that tomorrow with pictures, since I have none from our doctor's visit today. We are so thankful that we have growing and healthy babies!

Blog Hop Favorite Kid(s) Photo

These are two of my all time favorite photos of my favorite people in the whole world. The one of top is David with Carter and Summer on the day after baby Tilly was born. They all wore pink in honor of our sweet baby girl. David is the best daddy EVER and Carter and Summer could not love their little sister more! The adoration on their faces is precious!

The second photo (much more recent) is of all my favorites from our summer beach trip to Destin. It is rare to capture these 3 all together; they are such busy little people! I am so thankful for my sweet family. Happy blog hopping!

Cousin Emily

Our cousin, Emily, came to Atlanta this weekend to see some of her college friends. We were blessed to be on her list of people to see. Emily's mother, Grace, and David's father, Phillip are brother and sister just so you have the family connection! Anyway, Emily and her friend, Dee Dee, (whom we know already because she came with Emily to our wedding over 7 years ago), came to our church Sunday morning for worship. It was such a treat to have them in our church and to be able to introduce them to our church family. After church, we treated them to Five Guys Burgers and Fries! It is one of our favorite eats and I don't think Emily had ever been to one. If you love hamburgers, it is a must have! Dee Dee snapped a quick picture of us before we all hit the road to go our separate ways: Emily back to her husband in Nashville (Aaron we were sorry not to see you this time), Dee Dee back home, and our party of five home for our Sunday afternoon ritual of naps! Thank you, Emily and Dee Dee for coming to visit! We hope to see y'all soon!

We took two pictures because Carter was not looking in this picture, but in the second one Tilly was not looking at all, so I opted for the profile shot of Carter! He was trying to look for the Pigeon, named Compass, after the pigeon on Curious George!

What's on your nightstand

Reading is a PASSION of mine, always has been as long as I can remember. One of the things I love about teaching is passing along that love of reading to my students. Even better about being a mommy is reading every night with my children! In honor of my love for a good book, I am playing along in a game called "What's on your nightstand." I found this game on a blog I follow. Because I love to read so much, I find myself reading more than one book at a time, especially non-fiction. I usually stick to one fiction book at a time though because the characters start to run together and that can be weird. Ha! That being said, I just finished reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It was awesome. Mostly, the book is set in 18th century Scotland. It is a beautiful tale of love and courage. There are 8 in the series, so this should keep me busy for a while, especially since school is starting in 21 days, but who's counting!

Also, on my nightstand is this book by Jill Rigby. It was recommended to me by Carter's teacher this past year and I have taken the time to read it this summer. In fact, I am going to be teaching through this book as part of our church's discipleship class series this fall! I can't wait to hear the point of view from other mothers as they too seek to raise godly children.

Also on my nightstand is this book by John Rosemond. He is a psychologist who found Jesus later in life, and Jesus being God rocked his world! Now, he writes and teaches from a biblical perspective, not that you cannot do both, but you know what I mean. This fall John Rosemond is actually leading a parenting seminar at my school, so I am hoping that David and I can participate. Parenting by the Book helps parents to understand parenting from a godly and biblical perspective as opposed to a worldly one. Fabulous and a recommended read to all!

Every year I read this book, The Jesus Storybook Bible, with my third grade class as part of our devotion time in the mornings. The fine print on the cover says, every story whispers His name! LOVE this book. It is one of the sweetest children's Bibles I have ever seen. David and I have also begun reading it to Carter and Summer.

Lastly, on my nightstand is a book of word searches. David bought this book for me when we went into the hospital to have Summer and I have been working through it ever since! I love the challenge of finding the words and finishing a page. It was fun to participate in this game! Happy reading!

Sweet Southern Comfort

When we moved to New Orleans for David to attend seminary, I quit listening to country music. Stopped. Cold turkey. It made me miss home way too much and it made me too sad. I remember driving through the lower ninth ward on my way to work and crying because some country crooner was singing about something that made me think of home. I think it was about that time the song, "Sweet Southern Comfort," came out. After being in Atlanta for going on five years and being close enough to home that we can drive in a day if need be (no small feat with three little ones I might add), I have just begun to listen to country music again, mostly because David loves it.
This past weekend we went "home" to spend a few days with Mama, pronounced mawmaw as opposed to momma. Being at home seemed like the perfect place to listen to a few country ballads, and listen we did. I grew up in Bulloch County, which at one time boasted more dirt roads than any other county in Georgia. Our home was nestled between 250 acres of planted pines, grown with love by my papa. I love going back to where I grew up with my family.
Mama was the perfect host to our party of five. She was most gracious when the children acted their ages, much to the chagrin of their mommy and, she fed us the best food I have had probably since the last time I was there! David particularly loves her sweet tea. We declare you could stand a spoon up in it for the sweetness! Thank you, Mama, for reminding me of all the things I love about being at home. We treasure our time with you! Hope to see you soon!

Sadly, I did not get any pictures of the children with Mama, but I did manage to capture a few with Cousin Keri. Keri is going to be in the 5th grade this year and I cannot believe how fast she is growing up. I remember going to my aunt and uncle's house after she was born and being afraid to hold her because she was so little; a lot has changed since then! Keri did a wonderful job of helping me to entertain the children. Carter, Summer, and Tilly loved playing with her!

Keri and little Tilly - she turned 11 months old while we were gone! Won't be long until we are celebrating her first birthday!

Keri with Carter and Tilly
Keri and Summer. I love this picture of both pretty girls!

Summer's Day of Fun

Today, we celebrated Summer's big day! We are still in denial that our little girl is two, shouldn't Carter still be two? The time is going by way too fast and we feel the need to capture every moment. Carter has been at Camp Heiskell all week, so David took him to camp this morning. That left just us girls at home. Summer and I did our usual morning routine: wake up Tilly, eat breakfast, play, put Tilly down for a nap, shred, play some more, wake up Tilly, and play. Not to mention that all this time we are making constant trips to the potty in a valiant effort to potty train! My girl is doing great too; I should add! SO proud! David picked us up and we all went to get Carter from camp. Today was "water day," so he had a blast! CFA for lunch and then down for naps! I must interject that I heart nap times. Somehow, by the sheer grace of God I am sure, our babies all nap at the same time and I mean they nap - for 3 hours! After naps we are off for Summer's birthday supper at Willy's! Until the children are old enough to pick where they eat, Mommy and Daddy will gladly choose! We love Willy's! After supper, we celebrated with cookie cake, ice cream, and presents! What a fun day! Happy birthday, sweet Summer! We love you so much!

Mommy with the birthday girl; once again Daddy was the stellar photographer!

Summer's new stool with her monogram.

Opening cards from Papa & Gigi and T & Hart.
Our girl LOVES some cake and ice cream!

Carter enjoying the birthday sweets too. Little Tilly had to miss out on the festivities as it was past her bedtime!

LOVE this face!

Summer Journey O'Dell

Happy Birthday Summer! You are TWO today! We cannot believe how fast the years are going by. This slide show contains some of our favorite pictures of you over the last two years. Daddy, Carter, Tilly and I love you so very much!
Summer Journey O'Dell was born on July 17, 2007, at 9:40 A.M. at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. She weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces 21 inches. Summer has brought so much joy and love into our home. In honor of her second birthday, here are 10 things I adore about Summer.

1. She has NO fear. She will try anything and do anything. It is amazing. Last weekend we were swimming at a neighbor's pool and she jumped off the diving board! We were shocked! (Daddy was in the deep end to catch her)
2. She loves Carter and Tilly so much. Summer wants to do everything Carter does and she loves to take care of Tilly.
3. Summer could not look more like her daddy if she tried. It is uncanny! I love that when I look at her I see so much of him! She has nothing of me save a freckle on her hip!
4. She has no concept of personal space. She likes to get right up in your face when she is talking to you so that you can give her your undivided attention. She loves to give full on the mouth kisses too; those are the best!
5. She has the sweetest smile you have ever seen. When she does something wrong, she will smile and say, "Hey Mommy!" and give me a big hug! Uh-oh!
6. I love her big brown eyes! They are so dark brown you cannot even see her pupils. She has eyelashes that most girls pay for!
7. She is going to be such a great mommy one day. Summer loves to cook in her kitchen and she loves to feed and take care of her babies.
8. Summer will eat ANYTHING! I am so thankful for this trait. I never have to worry about pleasing her with food.
9. At night when I tuck her in, she gives the best hugs. She puts her little arms around my neck and presses her cheek right up next to mine and holds on SO tight. I love it!
10. She is ours! I am SO thankful that the Lord saw fit to give us baby Summer two years ago today.

My Sister's Blog

My sister, Noelle, is graduating from Piedmont with her master's degree a week from Saturday. I wanted to do something special for her big day that I thought she might enjoy! I am so proud of her and I just love her sweet little family! Happy Graduation Noelle! Click here to see your gift! Love you!

Weekend at Shelter Cove

It sounds like the title of a novel, doesn't it? I am sure I have read a book with a similar title! This past weekend we went to visit my sister and her family at their new house. My sister and brother just bought their first home! It is awesome and suits their family perfectly! We are so excited for them. We took our party of five up this past weekend to check it out! Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the house. I guess we were just having too much fun! My sister has two girls, Haleigh and Zoie. Haleigh will be 6 in September and Zoie will be 3 in November. Carter, Summer, and Tilly had so much fun with their cousins. Friday we hung out all day and played. That night we grilled out together. Saturday morning Scott and David went trout fishing. They caught seven! We left after lunch to head home. Thank you, Holland family, for being such great hosts! We love your new home and we loved spending time with you! Come to see us soon!
Summer on the stairs, they were quite the temptation all weekend as we have none in our home!
Zoie, Haleigh, and Summer

Haleigh was so sweet to Tilly all weekend. She was a big helper too!

To be continued. . .The Varsity

As promised here are the pictures from our trip to The Varsity with our friends from Arkansas! Here are Summer and Noah waiting on their naked dogs!

Little Miss Tilly! She and Summer have on their matching 4th of July dresses from T!
Carter cheesing! He got a little sunburned during our swims at the pool - guess we missed a spot with the sunscreen, now he has some freckles on his shoulders like Mommy and Daddy!

Nia Guest. Look at those big blue eyes!
I love this picture of Summer. It is rare to get her to smile at the camera!
Carter and Nia with Noah in the background.

Out of Town "Guests"

Last Thursday, our sweet friends, the Guests (Brad, Beth, Nia, & Noah), cruised into town. Cruised would be the appropriate word too, as they rented a RED Dodge Charger for their journey from Jonesboro, Arkansas to Atlanta, Georgia! We had SO much fun with this precious family. David went to college with Brad and Beth at Arkansas State University. David and Brad roomed together for 3 of those years. They are friends with me by marriage! Ha! Thursday night we grilled out under the tutelage of David 'Bobby Flay' O'Dell! Friday and Saturday we spent our mornings at the pool. The children had so much fun playing in the water together. Carter, Summer, and Tilly were so excited to have their friends over! Every morning Carter would ask, "When are our friends coming over today?" Sunday we worshiped together in the chapel at FBC Austell and enjoyed our BOGO lunch at Stevie B's. (Did you know that if you show your church bulletin on Sundays at Stevie B's that you BOGO free?) The O'Dell party of five goes almost every Sunday for lunch! That night we introduced our Guests to the sweet words, "What'll ya have?" after shopping at one of my favorite stores in all of Atlanta, IKEA. Who can come to ATL for vacation and not eat at The Varsity or go to IKEA? I have pictures from our time at the Varsity that I still need to download from my camera, so this segment is to be continued. . .Monday, our families went to the aquarium. David took Carter while I stayed home with Summer and Tilly. Carter LOVED it! I can't wait to go again and see the aquarium through the eyes of a 3 year old. Precious! Here are some more pictures of our long weekend with our friends! The Guests left early this morning headed back to Jonesboro. Happy early birthday, Beth! She will be celebrating a BIG one on Saturday! We hope they will come back real soon!

My two handsome boys at the aquarium!

The Guest Family!

Carter, Nia, and Noah

Carter, Nia, and Noah

Sweet Summer - she has a birthday coming up in 10 days! Hopefully, Aunt Latrelle and Keri will see this picture. This outfit is one Keri wore when she was a little girl! Keri is now an upcoming 5th grader - yikes!
Little Miss Tilly. She missed out on a lot of the action because she goes to bed so early! Thankfully, she does not seem to mind!

My First Ever Blog Hop

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. We were in Northside Hospital the day after Summer was born 07/17/2007. Her daddy was holding her and she was snuggling up under his chin. In honor of her birthday coming up next week, I chose this picture of baby Summer. Hard to believe she was ever that tiny; hard to believe she will be 2 next week! We love you Summer!