Tilly's baptism.

Tilly was baptized this past Sunday at our church in Arkansas.  

I loved seeing this sign this morning.  All of Tilly's church friends came down during worship to see her baptism.  So special.  

I have to be honest.  One of my favorite parts of this day was having Story and Summer in the back with me all helping Tilly get to ready for her baptism.  

It was so special, and it made me think of how their wedding days will be.  Swoon.  

Me and my girl just before she went into the water.  

And a selfie with all of the girls.  Love!

Then a picture with Daddy, too.  I know his heart must have been so full today to baptize our third child.  

Tilly with Mommy and Daddy.  

And there she goes.  

The water was SO cold, and her expression was so funny when she first got in.  

How sweet is this! 

David prayed over Tilly before he baptized her.  I love how she is looking up at him.  

And then it was time!

One of my favorite pictures.  

I couldn't decide if I wanted to video or take pictures, so I opted for pictures.  I'm so glad I did because our church made a video from the sound booth, yay! 

Buried with Christ.  

in the likeness of His death. 

And raised to walk in newness with Him.  

She did it! 

Tilly, we are so proud of you! We want you to know that this is the most important decision you will ever make in your whole life! 

Getting some more love from Daddy.  

So, we had lots of special family members with us today.  Aunt Karen is standing beside David.  Papa and Gigi were of course there.  And the Calhouns.  Then, Gigi's and Aunt Karen's other sister, Susan, was also there with her daughter Jordan.  We are so thankful to live in a place where we can see so many sweet family members!

And we were thrilled to have Mr. Landon and Miss Katie at church with us, too.  So special! What a great weekend! Monday is going to be lonely now that our house is so empty, ha! 

Summer's 8th birthday!

I'm pretty sure we celebrated Summer's birthday for several days, ha! The Calhouns came into town and spent a couple of nights with us.  It was such a treat to have them with us.  The cousins have the most fun together! We have officially had all of our cousins in our home this summer.  I'm not sure it gets better than that! 

Friday morning, keeping our party of six tradition, we celebrated the birthday girl with doughnuts for breakfast! 

And then, we spent the day at the pool.  As we have been doing most days this summer.  Sigh.  It's been so great! 

We let the birthday girl choose where to eat supper, and she chose the Purple Cow.  We, along with the Calhouns, met up with Papa and Gigi for a yummy birthday supper.  The whole staff sang the birthday song to Summer, and she got a delicious purple malt for her birthday treat! 

She asked me if we could take our picture together.  So sweet! 

And then it was Daddy's turn.  

After supper, the Calhouns went home with Papa and Gigi for the night, and we headed back to our house to let the birthday girl open the rest of her presents.  

She got several books.  

And then, her big present that she had been begging for was a pair of Chacos.  We just so happened to find them on Amazon prime on super sale, so it worked out really well to surprise her!  Now, the rest of the crew wants some! Eeek! 

Saturday, we had Summer's birthday party at our house.  She wanted a Jamberry nail party, so we asked Aunt Cari sweetly if she would come do it for us.  

And Aunt Cari worked tirelessly on lots of little nails.

While she did the Jamberry wraps, Miss Katie (who came to visit all the way from Hattiesburg!) and I polished fingers and toes.  

It was such a fun party, and we were so thankful to Aunt Cari for her hard work and to all of our friends and family who came to help us celebrate.  

The girls enjoyed cookie cake, ice cream, and cheese balls! 

Summer and one of her favorite classmates from school.  

Story and Miss Katie.  We were so thankful and excited that they got to spend some time with us this weekend.  

Pretty jamberry nails!

Happy 8th birthday, Summer! We hope you enjoyed your super special day!

Summer is turning 8!

Happy 8th birthday to our Summer girl!

It doesn't seem possible that just after 9 AM tomorrow, you will be 8 years old! The time is just flying by too quickly.  We are so proud of the young lady that you are growing up to be.  For the sake of memories, here is your birthday interview of your favorite things! We love you, big, Summer Journey! 

1. What is your favorite color? Light Green. 

2. What is your favorite toy? Leona, Beanie Baby. 

3. What is your favorite fruit? All fruit.  Mangoes.  

4. What is your favorite tv show? KC Undercover

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

 6. What is your favorite outfit?  Shorts and a tshirt. 

7. What is your favorite game?  basketball

8. What is your favorite snack? Not candy.  Chex mix.  

9. What is your favorite animal?  A dolphin. 

10. What is your favorite song?  Oceans. 

  11. What is your favorite book?  The Stolen Jewel. 

12. Who is your best friend?  Miss Sarah and Sydney. 

13. What is your favorite cereal?  Lucky Charms.  

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Ride my bike and climb trees. 

15. What is your favorite drink?   Root beer. 

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. 

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  My lucky pillow.  

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Toast. 

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Go to Purple Cow. 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Either a teacher or a foster mom.  

Happy 8th birthday, Summer! We couldn't love you more if we tried! 

#odellsummerfun2014, part 4!

Our summer fun has continued over this past week, too.  

Friday night, we watched Episode I of Star Wars, Phantom Menace, and the children loved it! We are hoping to watch Episode II this Friday.  They've talked about Star Wars all week! The nerd in me is kind of geeking out ;)

We've enjoyed some birthday parties, too.  Sunday, we helped the Kelly family celebrate Colt! He's one of our favorite 6 year olds! We love being able to do life with this sweet family now that we are in Arkansas!

We also got to celebrate little Larsey with some other friends from church.  She has one of the cutest personalities I've ever seen.  And she just adores Story! It's pretty mutual :)

Summer and I got in a late evening walk.  It has been so hot here during the day, too hot to walk.  It wasn't so bad later in the day, but we were still pouring in sweat! She told me while we were walking : Momma, when I grow up, I want to do this with my girl, too! Be still my heart.  

And Tilly got to help one of her very favorite friends celebrate her birthday this week, too! Minion style! She had the best time! This weekend, we will be celebrating our Summer girl! We can't wait! 

Tilly's profession of faith!

On and off for the last many months, Tilly has asked many pointed questions about salvation and Jesus being her Savior.  We have talked with her extensively over the last month in our feeble attempts to see if her knowledge was just head knowledge or also heart knowledge.  She's known all the right answers for a while, but we wanted it to be so much more than that! 

This past Sunday, Tilly bravely walked down the aisle and prayed with her daddy.  She made a public profession of faith in Jesus as her Lord, and we could not be more thankful or happy! 

Even though we've known this day was coming for a while, nothing really prepares you for the moment.  

It was the sweetest! 

She took the moment so seriously, and we were so proud of her being so big for such a little girl! 

David definitely got emotional, ha! After this picture was taken, she hugged him tight and started patting his back, so sweet! Apparently, Carter and Summer (in their preparedness of Tilly's big day) had told Tilly that David would pat her on the back three times: once for the Father, once for the Son, and once for the Holy Spirit! What! I was rolling when she told me this! 

Tilly and Daddy after her big moment.  

The three of us.  

I love this picture! So much joy on our faces! Tilly will be baptized this coming Sunday at our church, and we are all so excited for the big event!