Brooke and Jade have given Avery the nickname.... "Meatball Head" (its cute they have a nickname for her, but the name itself isn't so cute) ... poor Ave
Brooke and Jade adore their little sister, but poor Avery gets pulled around and yanked every which way
I am a coffee addict... I like it anyway... flavored up, plain, hot, cold, fancy, not so fancy... I just like coffee. When its warm out however, I especially like a nice iced coffee... Jeff and I have been hitting up the McDonalds drive thru a lot as of lately, because their iced coffee is cheap and suprisingly not so bad... then... International Delight did this:
This is no good... the convenience of Iced Coffee readily available in my fridge. Luckily for me I have only seen this at Walmart, and I try not to go there very much... I have to say this taste like a dessert, and Jeff and I have sucked down two of these half gallon containers in the past week... I will enjoy this last cup right now and will try not to buy another one for awhile....
Yesterday after church we had lunch at Miller's Grocery in Christiana, TN, a small, quaint town outside of Murfreesboro. The place was awesome, real southern homecooking food! The atmosphere is heartwarming and comfortable and their desserts were to die for!
Here is a little history on the place (from their Web site): Miller's
Grocery was in continuous operation as a country store for over 75 years in the
once bustling whistle-stop community of Christiana, TN that included a 3-story
hotel, a bank, a telephone office and some 15 other businesses. In 1995, the
building was restored as an antique filled, country cafe featuring home-style
Southern cooking and award winning "from scratch" desserts. The name "Miller's
Grocery" remains in memory of long-time proprietor Mr. Stanley Miller and as a
tribute to a by-gone era.
Inside of the restaurant (Photo taken from their Web site)
Brooke picking rocks, flowers, and weeds.... very typical
Teeny Tiny post office across the road
Avery crawling...
End of year teacher gift I made for Brooke's teacher... very preschoolish, don't you think? We are also going to give her a small gift card to Kohl's, since I know she enjoys shopping there...
At dance class today they invited us in to watch their recital dance. The video is blurry because I took it on my phone, but I'm proud of Brooke... she does pretty good :-)
I went to get Jade up from her nap this afternoon, so we could get Brooke from school... She was sleeping so peacefully, that I just had the urge to grab my camera and take a picture of her.
With three little girls in the house, our days are pretty chaotic, and there is a lot of crying and whining, and often times yelling and screaming. So I guess to some, reality is what happens when the camera isn't on, those not so pretty moments... But when I look at the pictures I've taken, I don't really remember those moments where Jeff and I look at each other wide eyed and frustrated. Instead I look at the pictures and I am reminded of what really happened... our kids were having fun and we are making memories together as a family, even if there is commotion in almost everything we do.
No matter how many photos I take, or blog posts I write, I can never experience these moments again. My heart breaks knowing that Avery is hardly a baby anymore, and I'll be planning her first birthday before I know it. Jade is now a toddler, expanding her language, and will be starting activities and preschool within a year. By next year, Brooke will start kindergarden. I need to remind myself that when I'm having days that feel like they will never end, that, one day, probably sooner than I want, I will be begging for those days back.
So thats it for now... just a little reflecting...Life is beautiful.
Yesterday, we went to Chattanooga after Brooke's soccer game to visit Jacky, Scott, and baby Madelyn! Brooke and Jade took a nap on our trip down there (since it was their usual naptime for them)...but Avery cried most of the way :-( She is typically not a fan of the car... but we made it in one piece and were super excited to see the newest baby girl in the family!
Brooke playing at Jacky's house
Pretty mommy with her baby
Uh oh... Nicole is holding a newborn... had baby fever for a minute, but it passed later in the day when all 3 kids were screaming!
Jeff even held Madelyn
Brooke checking out Maddy's beautiful nursery
After our visit... we stopped at the Chattanooga Choo Choo...
We can go NOWHERE, literally nowhere, without finding rocks! These kids would play in the rocks for hours if I let them...
We went for a walk across the bridge in Chattanooga and stopped at the water fountains at Coolidge Park.
