Pause for Applause

We are finally home. Suitcases are unpacked. Kids are sleeping. I feel like I was hit by a truck.

I will definitely be taking time over the next week to record all the fun details of our vacation. We had a blast. Drove over 2000 miles. Gained a few pounds. Spent time with great friends. And got a major tan!

But given that today is Father's Day, I must begin by telling you about the end of our trip.

The week before we left, my husband received a call from the Virginia State Bar notifying him that he had been named

Virginia's Young Lawyer of the Year.

This is a great honor and one that is well-deserved.

This was the good news. The bad news was that the award was being presented at a conference on Friday in Virginia Beach. Since we were not scheduled to leave our vacation destination until Saturday, things had to be rearranged. Thankfully, we were able to begin vacation a few days early and then head to the conference on our way home.

(These pictures aren't great, but they were the best I could get without looking like a crazy woman!)

The conference was fun, but the beach was more fun! We were able to spend the entire afternoon in the ocean and enjoyed beautiful weather.

I admire so many things about my husband, but I especially love that he is very ambitious and driven. He is not content with the status quo and is constantly striving to better himself. He would admit that this is a blessing and a curse. Potentially, it could have caused him to be a disconnected work horse. But from the moment he became a father and little Robbie came into our family, he has been committed to his roles as husband and father. He leads our family in the ways of the Lord and gives his children a wonderful picture of the love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace of Jesus.

Congratulations, honey!

Stop #3

So many stories to share but we are still on vacation (going on day #10) and blogging time is minimal. Be back soon.

Stop #2

We were too close to not drop by and visit the place where dreams come true. My little princess can't stop smiling, and Caleb can't stop whining.

Precious memories ....

Stop #1

A little hint...

Even little Caleb is having a fun vacation!

Au Revoir

6 suitcases
50 swim diapers
4 new DVDs
1 tiara


The next 10 days are going to be filled with tons of sun, fun, and kids!

I'll fill you in with several hints over the next few days.

The Last Box

One of the worst "chores" that we moms have, in my opinion, is definitely the task of switching clothes in and out each season. There's no use having a "winter" and "summer" closet like us adults. At this young age, it seems they stay in a certain size of clothes for 6 months if you're lucky...not to mention the shoes.

Having a boy and girl means that I do this project twice every 3 months or so. It is overwhelming and feels endless.

But since Caleb was born, one of the fun parts of this chore was pulling out the corresponding box of Robbie's clothes to sort through. As you moms know, each outfit brings back tons of smiles and memories.

Caleb was born in December, while Robbie was a May baby. So Caleb hasn't been able to wear everything of Robbie's. But I have still enjoyed going through the boxes nonetheless.

Caleb will be 18 months on Tuesday. Last week, I trudged through the basement closet to pull out the large bin marked "Robbie: 18m to 2T"

This was a hard box to go through. I expected it. Kinda.

This is the last box. And opening this box brought back all kinds of memories -- happy and sad. There were his snuggly pajamas, Christmas sweater, boots, tobogans, winter coat, and his little tennis shoes. I think those were the hardest.

I handled every piece of clothing as if it were an antique and even pressed them into my face hoping to find a familiar smell. But I did not wrestle with whether to pass them on to Caleb. It's not like I can display those little tennis shoes in my china cabinet.....or can I???

I enjoy seeing Caleb wearing some of his big brother's outfits. I laugh as I realize their differences and similarities. And I cry when I am hit by the harsh reality that there will be no more boxes to go through.

~~~~~~~~~~

This is Robbie running around showing off his big belly! I remember this evening vividly and it ended in a group hug! (my sister was there to get the photo)

A lot has changed in 4 years. (My dining room sure looks better.) And Caleb is just as proud of his big belly. He was running around chasing -- or being chased by -- his big sis.

Beautiful boys.

Safari Party

We have a difficult time deciding what is the "best" way to celebrate Robbie's birthday. I make a cake (to make me smile) and then we just try to do something that allows us to joyfully remember him. In the past, we have taken balloons to the cemetery or gone to the park.

The one conclusion I have come to in this whole grief journey is that there are no rules. We will do what is best or what feels best on that day. Some years may include the cemetery; others may not. As I've said before, this isn't something they teach you in school so we are just winging it.

Yesterday, we wanted to be together as a family and make fun memories. Eveley knew it was Robbie's birthday and helped make the cake. Around lunchtime, we loaded the car and took a surprise day trip. The kids had no idea where we were going.

Being the awesome planner that I am, I had the juice boxes, sunglasses, hats, change of clothes,..... but when the big moment came, I realized I had left my camera's memory card in my laptop. So I was stuck with only one option -- my beloved iPhone. And it didn't disappoint! (The quality isn't the same as my macDaddy camera and there is not a zoom. So you can see our day just as we saw it.)

This place was crazy. We just opened the van's side doors and drove through the wildlife. I was a little freaked out but tried to hold it together for the kids.

We let Caleb wave but couldn't let him hold the bucket of food. You can guess why.

I took Eveley inside the small gift shop to use the restroom. She stopped to rummage through a large rack of advertisement cards/brochures. When I tried to get her to leave, she told me she was picking out a birthday card for Robbie. (you can see it beside her.) Sweet.

Bob kept yelling, "Your mama is a llama." I'm sure they haven't heard that before.

It was a nice day.