It is very bittersweet to report that we have experienced our last "first tooth pulling" in this household. 😭😭
Claira has had a wiggly tooth for a few weeks, and on August 20th, right before church, I helped get that thing outta' there!!! She was a bit traumatized at first, but then realized how cute she looked:
Two days later (on school picture day), while eating a bagel for breakfast, she had one fall out in the kitchen sink and go down the drain!! We didn't even know it was loose!!! Thankfully, Grandmama was able to get it out of the drain while we were at school so that Claira could put it under her pillow:
Claira telling the story of her "lost tooth:"
The tooth fairy brought her $5 per tooth, so of course, she took that ten bucks to her favorite store in the whole wide world, the Dollar General, and bought herself some new food for her kitchen. It's been REAL FUN picking these up everyday!!
And there you have it - our last first tooth. So glad that her school pictures featured her sweet snaggly smile!!
July 30, 2017 was a very precious day - our Nora and Ella made the decision to be baptized! They have become so involved in church lately by serving on the dance and singing teams, and they've had a lot of interest and questions about Jesus. After attending VBS......
....and after Nora attended her first church camp in Shocco Springs (so wonderful for her - we missed her sooooooo much)....
.....they each made the decision to welcome God into their hearts, and asked to be baptized!!
It couldn't have been a more beautiful day!!
Our Pastor, Todd Wright. We love him!
Ella's turn:
Nora's turn:
Look at that smile coming out of the water:
Just so beautiful - I still cry looking at these pictures:
Little ones looking on the whole time - their time is coming!!
What freedom looks like:
Love my family. Love my church. Love my God. What a perfect day!!!
We are beyond excited that our girls have made the decision to love and follow Jesus - at the end of the day, that's all that really matters!!
Back in June, we took a much-needed family vacation to our favorite beach, Cape San Blas!! Nothing like being steps from the ocean for a whole week!!
Someone was a little too excited about her "press-on" nails. 😐
Obligatory cartwheel on the beach:
Our sweet, little home for the week:
Catching crabs!!
Henboy loves a good vacation, too!!
Grandmama learning that her house went under contract within 16 hours!! (we've since closed on her house and moved her up here to Villa Rica - blog to come!!) 💗
Sunsets on the porch:
Hammocks on the beach.....the stuff Heaven is made of!!
Bretty-Boy and Clairy digging a hole to bury Grandmama:
There she goes!!
Sweet Bobby 💗
It's all fun and games until Mama busts out the surfboard.
#instantwipeout
At least I wasn't the only one to have an instant wipeout:
Enjoying the sand and the waves:
Getting all dolled-up for some family photos at the beach (*sidenote - after Lea spend 45 minutes fixing Claira's hair, Claira cried and screamed and wanted it straight again 😑)
Note that her hair went into a bun because she HATED it. Oh well, her Bretty-Boy made her feel all better.
Ralph thought he'd be invited to the family photo session, but no such luck.
All "purdied-up" and ready!
My beautiful family - I am one blessed gal:
Here's how a picture looks when a gnat flies up your nose right when the camera snaps :)
My sweet, beautiful Bobby:
Gettin' a little fishing in after the 1 million family-photos:
The next morning, we knew we needed to get out and enjoy because we had a HURRICANE heading right towards us.....appropriately named "Hurricane Brett." :)
Here come the birds!!!
This picture cracks me up a little too much!!
Here comes the hurricane, and of course, my goofy family is right in the middle of it:
Brett.....attempting to show "Hurricane Brett" who's boss.
Finally, the winds and waves got to be too much, so we hung out indoors for over 24 hours. Lots of snacks and games to keep us entertained:
And of course, a little singin' and dancin' is always the best entertainment:
We also got to celebrate both Daddy's birthday and Father's Day at the beach. Love celebrating my favorite man in his favorite place:
Yummy food to celebrate Daddy!!
Finally, that hurricane cleared, and we were able to get back out in the sun water!!
These girls were soooooooo excited!!
*caption this*
Not only did we get to celebrate Father's Day and Josh's birthday, but we also got to celebrate our Clairy's 5th birthday!!! She was so very excited to wake up and be a 5-year-old. I just can't believe it!!
Opening her presents before breakfast!!
Ella reading her cards to her:
Grandmommie & Paw singing their infamous rendition of "Happy Birthday"
Partying ALL DAY as a 5-year-old:
Even Henry celebrated with some "party glasses." :)
My baby:
Celebrating into the night by building a bonfire on the beach:
A family affair of digging the pit:
All "hard" with those tattoos. #littlepirate
Taking a break from digging to turn a cartwheel. Duh.
Almost there!!
Another family affair: to get the pit lit. It only took 3.5 hours.
Finally: SUCCESS!!!
Such a fun night for our precious 5-year-old!!!
Our last night on the beach included some bubbles.......
....a little more fishing.....
....and a little afternoon siesta.
All in all, it was one of the best trips ever, even the little hurricane that we had to weather through!! Ironically, as I type this, we are out of school and work weathering through another hurricane, Hurricane Irma!!
If wealth was dependent on love and laughter, we'd be the richest family ever:
