our week in pictures

1. this round of "our week..." actually starts a couple of weeks ago at VBS.  our friends, the cobbs, invited abby to join the cobblets for a week of fun and learning.  i couldn't resist carrying my camera along for the water day blowout at the end of the week where all the kids got to play.  apparently we've deprived our kids since not a one of them had a clue what a slip-'n-slide was.  abby had it down in no time...

but izzy was perfectly convinced that it was a runway of some sort.

she got a little one-on-one instruction on proper slip-'n-sliding...

but they left out one very critical rule -- slide and MOVE!

jack took one look at spills like this...

and decided not to get so much as one of his toes wet.  (i have no idea who that kid is, but that was way too funny not to post.)

2.  we met up with some friends for storytime at the library. 

ok, i'll go ahead and state the obvious.  mr. mac totally looks like hannibal lecter...

but he's really a delightful little man who holds the attention of a roomful of preschoolers -- plus he plays a mean banjo for the kids' dancing time.

3.  we made funny faces for breakfast one morning...

4.  and josh tickled jack silly.

5.  josh taught izzy how to fly...

...in more ways than one.

6.  but my very favorite part of the week came a few days ago.  my friend, anna, wrote last week and asked if she could drive up to bham for the day.  we were having a really tough time around here, and she was just the face i needed to see (not to mention that i was dying to hold these sweet munchkins again).  i wish there was a way to describe to you how much anna and her family mean to us.  the four grown-ups have all known one another since we started at samford 14 years ago, anna and i stood beside each other as we each married our precious husbands, and it has been an honor to not only learn from paul and anna's dedication to giving but to be on the receiving end of the blessings they love to bestow on others.

they are truly, truly amazing people (and i promise you anna is reading this right now either 1. rolling her eyes or 2. typing out an email to me to remind me that everything we have is from the lord and that it's a blessing to bless others). 

to give you an example of what i'm talking about, anna packed up her two-year-old and her six-week-old twins and drove to bham to visit with us and to encourage us.  but more than that, when she walked in the door (on her third trip in, i believe), she drug behind her a huge cooler full of six or seven meals for our freezer.  homemade meals at that.

who is this woman?!?  ;-)

oh, and did i mention that she packed up her two-year-old and her six-week-old twins to come up here?  yeah, i know i did.  but it bears repeating.

here are the fruits of my monkey-like behavior behind the camera...

anne perry was in no way amused (one guess which twin that is).  but addie and izzy found me a little funnier.

it's been a challenging couple of weeks around here, but they've been two weeks full of laughter, fun, and blessings nonetheless.  and to our sweet, sweet, family who has been so wonderful to us -- thank you.  we love you dearly and appreciate you so much.