The Flowers Family

Just Me and My Cousin

2011-11-07T02:50:00.000-05:00

My 3 children have 8 cousins and counting! There are 3 cousins on the Flowers' side and 5+ on the Beahm's side (can't wait to meet Lucy's sister in December)! This past weekend, our newest member of the Beahm/Flowers, Caleb, met the other most recent member of the Beahms, Cooper! I love that the cousins are all so close in age, some even by just a few months... Wendy & Josiah, Josiah & Adalai, Vera & Rachel, Lucy & Geneva, and now Cooper & Caleb!

Here are pictures of Caleb and Cooper's first get-together...

These boys will hopefully remain fast friends as they grow up together!

It was so much fun having the Charleston Beahms visit the Raleigh area and get to meet Caleb! Amazingly enough, while they were here for the weekend, Lynn's sister, Jenny, had her first baby! It's definitely the year of the baby!!!

One last cute picture of Cooper...

The Lion, The Care Bear, and The Spiderman!

2011-11-02T18:25:00.000-04:00

Just a couple years ago, I blogged about Halloween with a pirate and a princess! Last year, while taking a hiatus from blogging, we enjoyed Halloween fun with Buzz Lightyear, some sweet fairy princesses, and an adorable ladybug (Jenny was home with her girls). This year, on the rainy Halloween night, the kids (yes, all 3: dressed as... you guessed it, a lion, a care bear, and Spiderman) and I went trick-or-treating with our sweet friends, the Jacksons! Their daughter, Madison, is in Josiah's class at school and the kids love playing with her and her younger sister, Ella (who is only a month younger than Geneva).

Side note... The Jackson family has really been there for me with Scott out of town for 2 weeks at Firearms Instructor School! Scott gets to learn about and shoot just about every type of gun, from handguns to fully automatic rifles, while I try to survive two weeks without being overrun by 3 children, despite the fact that Caleb doesn't like for me to sleep very long! Less than one week left and I get my wonderful husband back! Not quite sure how Mom did it with 4 of us all the time... And you did such an amazing job, Mom! :)

So back to Halloween...
Josiah summed it up: "It would have been more fun if it hadn't rained!" But the kids were adorable walking down the sidewalk single file each with their own umbrellas! It reminded me of what it must have been like for Jenny and I trick-or-treating in our water-proof Big Bird costumes in the rain in Canada when we were little! Madison lives up the street from another best friend of Josiah's from his class, Elijah, so we stopped to pick up him, his brother, and his mom. Other than us 3 moms and the 6 kids with umbrellas (and Caleb in my arms), no one else was out! I guess everyone else had the right idea, to stay in and dry! But the kids had fun and got some candy... And with fewer trick-or-treaters out, we had more candy leftover for us to enjoy (I guess that's the reason we buy candy we like!). Caleb did not really seem to care too much for Halloween and especially the costume! It took a lot for me to finally get a picture of him in his little lion costume when he wasn't crying!

Caleb is 8 weeks old now and very much making it known how much he is his own person and nothing like how his older siblings were as babies! He is getting better about the carseat just this week, whereas before he cried throughout entire cartrips almost everywhere we went. But he still prefers to be held (and lets us know pretty quickly), so I am learning to do quite a bit while wearing him, thanks to Jenny and her wonderful slings! They have made shopping, cooking, cleaning, and so many other things possible... including a field trip to the farm with Rachel (my first time ever going on a field trip as a parent, not a teacher!) where she got to pick out a "silly" pumpkin (the picture above), Halloween, and the JDRF Walk for Diabetes we participated in with the Jacksons on Saturday! It actually rained that day too so the Jacksons turned it into a "Jump for Diabetes" at Jumping Beans (inflatable funhouse) instead! The Jacksons have helped me get more involved with JDRF last year (Madison has Type 1 diabetes like Scott and was in my kindergarten class last year), but this year Josiah felt more involved as he said he wanted to walk for his daddy too (as well as for his friend, Madison)! It's such a joy to see my children taking ownership in such an important cause! Another joy we have experienced recently is Rachel joining Josiah in learning Bible verses each week for Awanas at our church, and also having deeper conversations with us about his understanding of his faith in Jesus. I am so blessed to have children who love God and desire to know Him more, and to have a husband who helps me guide our children deeper in their faith!

Now We Are Six

2011-10-10T22:34:00.003-04:00

This title has a few meanings behind it... It comes from one of my beloved authors (A. A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh); This is the year our oldest son turned 6 (the age that A. A. Milne's poem was about); And our family has now grown to one more, making us a family of 6 (according to Josiah who always makes sure to include our dog, Bailey... And sometimes he remembers to include the hamster, Little Jessie). It has definitely been a big year for the Flowers family and we have all grown in so many ways! Since it's been over a year since the last time I've blogged, I'll start with some stories that go with some pictures from the year!

Josiah and I had our ups and downs of going to school together and being next door to each other in Kindergarten, but overall we both really enjoyed our time together! Josiah especially loved playing in my classroom after school and I especially loved getting to ride on the bus with him on field trips! Even though I couldn't chaperone for his class because I had to chaperone my own, we still got to ride together on the bus! Josiah is now in first grade and down the hall farther from me. He has definitely grown up more and doesn't even want me to give him kisses anymore when he leaves my room, but I still love seeing his arms outstretched to give me a hug when we pass in the hallway at school! I can't believe he's 6 already! We celebrated Josiah's birthday with another favorite character: Buzz Lightyear and the Toy Story theme. We had a birthday first - a piñata (a horse representing Woody's horse Bullseye from the movie)! Josiah had picked it out and was all excited... Until it was too hard to break. He decided he didn't want to have a piñata ever again! Josiah may forget things easily, but he doesn't quickly forget decisions like these! He still reminds us of his piñata decision!

This was the second year ever going strawberry picking, which Rachel adored (picking and eating)! But it was a big summer of firsts! We took the kids to their first baseball game... A huge thing for me, as I have so many fond memories of family trips to see major league baseball games! We saw the Carolina Mudcats and the Durham Bulls! We also took the kids bowling for the first time, which they also really enjoyed! Josiah went on his first father/son camping trip where Scott took him fishing. Rachel was pretty jealous (as was I!); even though she loves being the princess (and went to her first daddy/daughter dance earlier this year), she still likes to get out and rough it with the boys! So we had our own special girls' weekend while the boys camped! Rachel took a gymnastics class this summer, showing off her fearlessness there as well as at the pool and ocean (she loved the waves!); while Josiah finally seemed to overcome some of fears of the water and really took to swimming! The kids also got to meet their first boy cousin on the Beahm side of the family... Josiah was thrilled! More boys! And one more still to come!!!

With the Fall, came more firsts: Josiah starting to play soccer, the addition of a hamster, and Rachel's first haircut (yes, she made the first cut, so she got to go to a real hair dresser for the rest to get trimmed). Rachel also turned 4, which we celebrated with her favorite character, Princess Tiana from Disney's Princess and the Frog!

Of course our biggest family news the year has been the birth of our youngest son, Caleb James, who is now 1 month old! It is amazing how such a tiny little boy can turn our world upside down (but in so many good ways). We all absolutely adore Caleb and the older 2 have proven to be the best older brother and sister ever! I am amazed, thankful, and blessed daily to see how much love Josiah and Rachel show to their younger brother! God has truly blessed us so far this year and helped us to grow in so many ways as a family and individually! Hopefully the next blog will be sooner, rather than later, and can be more about Caleb and the intricacies of having this family of 5 (or 6 or 7, depending on who you're asking and how the pets are valued as family members!)!

P. S. I wrote this blog and added pictures completely from my iPhone, since I have a lot less time where I can sit in front of the computer. I did need to make a few picture formatting changes from my laptop, but I just have to say... I love my iPhone!

Now We Are Six
By A.A. Milne

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.

Look Out, Kindergarten, Here I Come!

2010-08-02T00:59:00.000-04:00

Josiah started Kindergarten just a couple weeks ago! It's amazing watching him walk down the hallways of the school where I've been teaching since he was born. He and Rachel have run down the hallways and played in my classroom, but this time he is actually there as a student! The transition has definitely been a bit difficult but overall he has had a great first couple weeks of Kindergarten! The first week, he came for "staggered entry" where he came for a day of assessments and adjustment with a smaller group of kids. He had a good time, but since there were two of us Track 1 teachers working together, his teacher and myself, he had a little difficulty separating from me. He wanted "Mommy" quite a bit. All in all, he made some friends and had a great time! He even had a blast playing in my classroom that afternoon by himself (while I was working around the classroom), which is what he's been used to at my school and had probably been looking forward to all day!

Reading a story with Mrs. Julie Arellano on staggered entry day (in my classroom)!

Coloring with friends!

Mrs. Kerri Sauer making Josiah smile for a picture! :)

Lunchtime!!! The cafeteria looks empty because it was staggered entry day. It's actually pretty full on a regular school day now.

Centers (math center)

A favorite past time after school in my classroom - drawing on the white board!

That Friday was Josiah's first "real" day of Kindergarten in Ms. Lisa Wilson's class! He was definitely nervous that morning (he was hungry, then not hungry, then his tummy hurt, and he did NOT want to be in any pictures as you can probably tell by his picture above with Rachel and Peyton). Rachel, on the other hand, couldn't wait to go to Kindergarten! She was definitely sad when she realized that I was taking her to preschool instead of to "Mommy's class", as she puts it. Her teacher, Ms. Joanna, is amazing, though, and made her feel better. And it helped that she had "Tumblebus" (what her shirt is for), her gymnastics/tumbling class at school, that day. Josiah finally did eat his breakfast in my classroom, which has become a preferred place for breakfast for him. I think he likes the peace of my classroom with just him and me... he also enjoys it when Hannah Arellano (first grader, daughter of Julie Arellano, the TA in my class) shows up and they can play before the day starts! His day got better when I took him in Ms. Wilson's room. He remembered some of the kids that had been in his staggered entry group and he liked being able to see Mommy every so often. Josiah would get a little sad occasionally when seeing me because he wanted to come to me and knew he couldn't get out of line or leave his seat, but it was nothing that a hug couldn't fix!

Josiah enjoyed sitting with a friend he made at staggered entry. It made the transition easier for me to leave the room without him being sad (although I was still sad).

Josiah and his teachers, Ms. Wilson (right) and Mrs. Sauer (left)... right before Ms. Wilson, my dear friend, kicked me out and told me to get back to work teaching my own class!!! ;) She knew that Josiah would be much better without me hanging around! I did have to keep myself in check because I wanted to peek in on him and see how he was doing throughout the day. My class did keep me busy, so I didn't have too much time to go next door. That will be a good thing for me this year (to stay busy)! It still seems so surreal, and makes me sentimental, sometimes to watch him with the other Kindergartners and know that he's really here!

Josiah loves his teacher, Ms. Wilson! All smiles by the end of the day!

So with Josiah making big steps in his life, Rachel is wanting to take big steps too! She copies everything Josiah does (hence the backpack in the earlier picture) and despite still being a month and a half away from being 3, she has moved up to the 3-year-old class at school! She's fully potty-trained and wants to do everything herself... including painting her toenails!!! As a treat one day, I painted her nails with some little girl glitter nail polish I found and she loved it! Of course, she wanted to do that by herself too and got quite a bit on her fingers and toes (more so than the actual nails), but we had some great girl time!

Oh, The Places You'll Go... To Infinity & Beyond!

2010-06-19T15:20:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how quickly time flies! Josiah will be starting Kindergarten in just a few short weeks! To commemorate his last day of preschool, the school celebrated a "Preschool Graduation" for him and the others who will be moving up to Kindergarten. Now to be quite honest, it was really interesting, and a little foreign to me, to have such a big ordeal for "graduating" from preschool. There wasn't anything like that when we grew up and whenever I had a Kindergarten student bring in their "Preschool Graduation" pictures for share time, I always laughed with other teachers about how I couldn't believe they made such a big deal of that with caps and gowns and everything! However, when the time came for Josiah to "graduate" from preschool, I did get pretty into it and enjoyed the celebration of moving from one stage of his life to the next! The transition into Kindergarten, starting his academic career, is a big one and the "graduation ceremony" that his preschool put on was just one way to celebrate that! The more we have talked about Kindergarten coming up, the more questions Josiah has about school. Recently he asked how many grades he was going to have to be in (after asking what came after Kindergarten and I told him it was 1st grade, then 2nd, and so on). Of course being the honest one, told him that it would be at least 13 grades/years and then college! Not the best thing to tell a 5 year old who thinks that 13 is a big number! He responded that he did not want to go to college... not because it was a lot of grades/years, but because he didn't want to leave us, his Mommy and Daddy!!! I was touched, but responded that he might change his mind later! :) He quickly informed me that he would not change his mind, so I said that if he really still did not want to leave us, he could always stay at home and go to college (though I may change my mind later too... we've got plenty of time to think about that one!). After some of the excitement at the "Preschool Graduation", I have to wonder how much bigger the celebration at the High School Graduation will have to be to top this; however, it was really sweet how the preschool made a big deal of celebrating each child's strengths, friendships, and lives for this short time they have had with our children... though Josiah was with them the longest!!! Josiah has been with Harvest Church Preschool for almost 4 years! He was 15 months old in August of '06 when he started about the time that the preschool opened! And now he's moving up and out into the big wide world of public school! We have been so blessed with the wonderful Christian influences through Harvest Church Preschool and have loved the women who have loved and cared for our children! I am so glad that Rachel is continuing on there with some amazing people! We are also blessed to have Josiah coming to MY school! He will be in Kindergarten in the very next room to me with a great teacher, Ms. Lisa Wilson! Lisa and I have worked together since Josiah was born, so he has known her since then as Miss Lisa! So our recent experience has been for him to get used to calling her Ms. Wilson! I have also been able to bring him with me to my classroom while I get some end of the year work done (now that school is out, THANKFULLY!!!), which has helped him get used to doing things in the classroom as a KINDERGARTNER! The kids have spent many days in my classroom, but have just played and had fun. It was interesting watching him play in the classroom and seeing him go to the bathroom in the there by himself, wash his hands by himself, clean up by himself, and so on (all stuff he does at home, but doesn't always want to do by himself because he has Mommy and Daddy to do stuff for him or argue with that he doesn't want to do it at all)! Josiah and Rachel are always transitioning and growing in new ways each day, but the big transition from preschool to Kindergarten has made me really look at the little ways they are changing too! Rachel is going to be so sad to not be able to come to my school and go to Kindergarten with Josiah! She is constantly copying him (good and bad), but is actually more of a risk taker than he is and probably ever was. She desperately wants to ride HIS bike, play HIS games, do HIS puzzles, say the same things as him, and do everything by herself (even if she can't)! Rachel is definitely enjoying being 2!!! And she will tell you that! It is a busy time with both of them, but lots of fun! Praise God for all that He has blessed us with!

Josiah said a verse during their performance! He did a great job!

They sang a few really cute songs about friendship and God... I am so glad Dad recorded it! It sounds adorable! Sorry I don't have a short video to post here!

Josiah getting his "diploma"! He couldn't figure out why he was being called up on stage because he'd already been up there once to get his "Best Writer" award! They had to call his name twice! The projector to the right of the stage showed a slideshow later in the "ceremony" of pictures of the kids as babies, then throughout their preschool years at Harvest Church along with an inspirational message about following God throughout the rest of their lives as well! Bring on the tears! Very sweet!

Lucy, Uncle Chris, and Aunt Melissa came to celebrate the graduation with us, as did Mimi and Opa, Grandma Lynn, and Grandma and Dida! So much fun! Josiah had a blast with Lucy! He even fed her cantaloupe! Mostly because he just wanted the watermelon, so he was asking me to cut up what he didn't want so he could feed her. But he did a good job!

Peyton and Josiah, the preschool graduates, loving on their Rachel! :)

Rachel on Josiah's bike with Josiah's helmet!

Rachel even wanted to try on Josiah's cap and gown!

Josiah celebrated his 5th birthday with a Lightning McQueen/Cars theme (his choice), but Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story gifts (also his choice)! Here is he with his Buzz Lightyear pajamas, wings, and gloves... also sporting his Lighning McQueen knee pads that came with his roller skates that fit on the bottom of his shoes (those brought back memories!).

Rachel, of course, had to try on the same wings, gloves, and kneepads!

At the kids' party, we played "Pin the Wheel on McQueen"...

and "Musical Parking Spaces" (the blue tape on the floor were the parking spaces)!

The Lightning McQueen cake was a hit!

(The crafts at the back of the table were foam stickers and shapes to make road signs, another party activity.)

Another new activity for us this year... strawberry picking with friends! Josiah picked a few (or actually held the bucket while I picked), then gave up and said it was too hot). He ended up sitting in the shade with his friend, Emily, eating some of the strawberries from her basket.

Rachel, on the other hand, could have gone on for hours! Her friend, Nina, showed her the ropes! They looked for good red strawberries, picked them, and then sometimes put them in the bucket and sometimes ate them! :)

Good Night Moon!

2010-03-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

Josiah and Rachel got a nice surprise on Tuesday... they got bunk beds! It was a fun way to transition the kids into sharing a room. It was also a great trip down memory lane for me as well as a childhood desire fulfilled for Scott! Josiah and Rachel absolutely love their new beds!

Scott picked up the bed Tuesday morning and they never got out of their pajamas because they couldn't wait to crawl in their new beds (even though it took awhile to put together... it was the afternoon by the time the beds were ready for the kids).

They were too cute getting ready for bed! They couldn't decide which stuffed animals they wanted to sleep with and kept changing their minds depending on what the other decided! :)

Story time was especially fun... but then again, we always love story time! Now with their book collections all combined into one room (our collection of kids books at home is almost bigger than my one at school now), they have been wanting to pick out several books each to read before bedtime. Last night, they did get a chance for some "quiet" reading time in bed, where they each looked at their own 3-4 books they had chosen, before we picked out one to read.

Of course bedtime took quite a bit longer since they enjoyed having each other in the same room. They have shared a room whenever we visit family and always take forever to go to sleep because they want to play or fight over the blankets. But having their own beds and spaces, what kept them up was the fact that they could talk to each other and sing together. It was fun to listen to! Rachel was actually able to fall asleep with Josiah still talking and singing! Reminded me of when I was young, how Jenny would always fall asleep and I would still be up and sometimes still be talking to her (she eventually wouldn't answer, so sometimes if I was really wanting to talk to her, I would kick the top bunk to try to wake her up! :) Sorry, Jenny!)! So far they have enjoyed the bunk beds and sharing the room together (it's definitely a treat to them)... we're just hoping the excitement lasts as long as possible! :)

One of the reasons the kids are sharing a room is that my best friend, Allison, and her daughter (Josiah's best friend), Peyton, will be moving in with us for a few months! They will be in Rachel's old room and we will be able to carpool together, share meals together, and enjoy each other's company! We are all very excited (yes, Scott included) as Allison and Peyton are already very much a part of our lives and family!

The Snowy Day

2010-01-31T01:02:00.001-05:00

During the "winter storm of 2010" (the typical snow fall that turns to ice that our Piedmont area of NC generally sees every few years), we were without heat due to our furnace breaking down shortly before the storm was set to hit. So Scott, who had to work Friday through Sunday and would be sorely needed, was put up by the PD in a hotel for the weekend and I took the kids to stay warm with our friends Allison & Peyton (after, of course, doing our best to "winterize" our pipes with no heat and asking our sweet neighbors to go in and run the water every so often). God has truly blessed us with good friends and neighbors to help us out when in need (and to even help fix our heat as soon as the roads are clearer)! He provides in more ways than we can imagine! To God be all the glory!

So, needless to say, the kids had a great time in the snow! It was nice for them to have a friend to play with and it kept them occupied throughout the weekend (both inside & outside)! I know they missed playing in the snow with their daddy and I missed him dearly too, so it was nice for all of us to have wonderful friends as good company through this "winter storm"! :)

Both kids were pretty excited about the snow when they saw it this morning. Rachel's immediate reaction (still with pajamas on) was to grab her hat and say "build a 'no'man"! We tried, but the snow wouldn't really pack too well, so it was more like a very small "snow-blob" (pictures of it are on Facebook)! Rachel liked it though because it had a face (complete with a carrot nose) and arms! It actually looked a lot like one of Josiah's drawings, if you've ever received one of his famous "alien" pictures! :)

Josiah seemed to be on a mission to make snowballs and hit all of us as many times as he could. He did pretty well helping with the "snow-blob", but he was definitely more focused on his snowballs than with trying to sled or do anything else. The brave snowball fighter that he was, even when he got hit in the face with a snow/ice-ball, through his tears and cries, he yelled out "I don't want to go inside! I'm okay!!!"

Peyton has a toy lawnmower much like Josiah's and the kids got a kick out of trying to "mow" the snow! I mean, really... we live in North Carolina... a snow shovel? What's that? Why not try mowing it?

Rachel really did enjoy the snow, though she had her moments (I had a few pictures where she was crying or looked mad that I didn't put up here) as many 2-year-olds in snow do! We were really impressed at how well she did overall, since Josiah didn't like the snow very much in past years. This was his first year that he really seemed to enjoy snow (not sure he's seen more than 2 other snows, though). Another distinct difference between my two children is that Rachel is our little dare-devil and Josiah has never been one to take risks outside of our home. So from the last blog, where Rachel went roller skating and was practically pushing me away, to now, where you see her sledding down a hill, we are even more aware of how much we will have to watch her! :) Josiah didn't seem to care much whether he went sledding or not, but he did try once (a great step for him, much like roller skating by himself was too, as shown in the previous blog)! Both he and Peyton were a little too big to be able to sled on top of the snow, that was not really packed down. It was pretty much fluffy, powdery snow with a layer of icy snow on top. So the plastic lid "sled" would keep sinking in the ground for J & P, but not for Rachel! She just glided down the hill on top of the ice! :)

A Brave New World

2010-01-18T10:51:00.000-05:00

Tonight, my children showed me that they are braver than I could have ever imagined!

They went roller skating for the first time!

Josiah's AWANAs group at our church had a skate night at the local skating rink tonight. It definitely sent me down memory lane, reminiscing about all the skating parties and events we went to growing up. And now, tonight, I was watching my own children roller skating (and trying to do the hokey-pokey with skates on) like we used to! I do remember being sore sometimes (more from falling rather than from using muscles in my legs or back that I'm not used to using), but I don't remember it being this exhausting!

Josiah, who is usually pretty fearful of anything new and who never tries anything by himself, went off and skated by himself almost immediately. He didn't even want to hold my hand hardly at all the whole evening! Rachel also ended up skating by herself quite a bit!

Rachel liked the music, but Josiah occasionally said it was too loud!

The smallest skate size was a child's 8 and Rachel wears a 6, but she still managed (very well, in fact)!
She even tried dancing while she was skating!

Peyton has always been the one to encourage Josiah through his fears and try to make him do something that he's scared of, so it probably helped that she was there. They would call out to each other in the skating rink and try to keep up with each other! Whenever he saw Peyton fall, Josiah would fall too (on purpose usually)... how chivalrous! :) It's good to have a best friend to do things with! Thanks, Alli! ;)

It's definitely been a week of growing up... we registered Josiah for Kindergarten just this past Thursday. And now he's roller skating by himself and overcoming fears! Rachel wants very much to, as many younger siblings do, try everything her older brother does... and she has the lack of fear/restraint and the determined "I do it" independent attitude that many 2-year-olds have. So here I am learning to stand back a bit and let my children be independent... because I know that in just a few minutes they'll come running back wanting me for something... whether it's to wipe a tear after falling on his bottom one too many times or to hold her hand while she tries to dance to the music with skates on!

A "Peaceful" Nativity

2009-12-24T06:59:00.000-05:00

Josiah and Rachel had the opportunity to participate together in this year's Christmas play at their preschool! Josiah and Peyton were cows with a joint speaking part (Peyton spoke very well, while Josiah just watched and listened) and Rachel came in at the end as a "Caroler", or a Jingle Bell girl as Josiah called her. Rachel did a great job trying to sing and ring her jingle bells to the song, but got a little distracted by her brother who realized that she was right in front of him! He told us later that he was tapping her on the head to tell her that he was right there (getting her attention), but as you might be able to tell, it definitely looked like he was hitting her on the head or pushing her head forward to play with her on stage (second picture below - I will try to post a video soon)! :) Josiah definitely enjoyed being "center-stage", though very much doing his own thing! And once Rachel spotted us in the crowd, it was all over for her (we were trying to hide off to the side so she wouldn't see us, but Josiah pointed us out to her). Needless to say, our children were entertaining! :) They were fun to watch and we were proud of them for doing the best they could through the play! It was cute!

To the Ends of the Earth

2009-12-20T03:23:00.000-05:00

About 5 weeks ago, Jenny gave birth to the beautiful Geneva Lynne Swem, and I was blessed with the opportunity to meet her (and spend time with her wonderful parents and sisters) about the time she turned a month old! It still amazes me that my twin sister lives on the other side of the globe... especially when it feels like no time has passed when we see other about once every year to year and a half. Skype, webcam, email, China phonecards, and texting do help, but it is always so much better to spend time together on the same side of the world! :) It was even better being on Jenny's turf, since it's been 7 years since I've been to China (before I was even married) and even then I never got to spend time where she lived. It was also really nice to be there for Jenny and the family with Geneva still being so little... I definitely enjoyed holding Geneva as much as possible or playing with Wendy & Vera when they needed it!

I had the absolute best time being there with the Swem family!!! Thanks for hosting me! :) Jenny and I got to catch up on sisterly stuff while I got to be the fun aunt playing with my nieces. I'll post a few pictures on here to help tell about my trip and I'll put more in my Picasa album (can click on the link on the right to view them). I also put more on Facebook (including some of the general China pictures that our family has seen/taken often... I took a lot less of those on this trip!). I took a lot of pictures so if you want to see more, just ask when I see you at Christmas or whenever we get together! I do also want to thank again my amazing husband for encouraging me to go and supporting me through the whole time! He did a great job while I was gone and I was glad to get back to him and my own children!

The first day I was there, Jenny and I took the girls to the mall play area with some friends of theirs and they played for hours while we chatted and started catching up.

Geneva hated baths, but was so adorable afterwards! There's a cute picture in my Picasa album of Wendy giving her baby doll a bath in the tub right after Geneva's. Jenny said that Wendy's been copying everything she does with Geneva with her baby doll!

We made a gingerbread house together! The girls had a great time eating the sprinkles and decorations almost more than making the house!

Wendy and Vera love their new sister!

On the first day that it wasn't completely raining (at the end of the week), we took the girls out on their bikes to the courtyard of the apartment complex.

Wendy takes ballet at the mall and I got to see her at her class! She was adorable! She is very flexible and I got some more really cute pictures (on Picasa) of her doing some of her ballet exercises with her teacher. This was at the end when they were practicing a dance. After that they did a bumblebee dance and it reminded me of Jenny and I doing our Swan dance when we were that age!

We really had a good time together and can't wait to get together again! I miss the girls already and told Josiah we'd visit China again (he was really wanting to go with me on this trip)!

The Pirate & The Princess

2009-11-07T14:19:00.000-05:00

Josiah and Rachel had their very first "trick or treating" experience this year! We spent a little bit of time at a Fall Festival that afternoon at my school (sponsored by a local church), but then went to my friend, Julie's house for a little "trick or treating" and to spend time together (her husband was home on leave from Iraq for 2 weeks). I haven't wanted to take the kids out alone since Scott always works Franklin Street and Julie really wanted us to come over and said she'd help watch the kids with me (her youngest is Hannah, who is in my Kindergarten class and is good friends with Josiah, and then she has 2 middle schoolers). We had a great time! Josiah and Rachel LOVED getting candy (hmmm... maybe I should have re-thought this one) and were really good about saying "thank you"! ;) Josiah got tired of his pirate costume and would take off bits and pieces of it every so often (we almost lost one of the boots in someone's yard, but saw it on our way back). So I ended up carrying his costume and he carried his candy! Julie, our friend Kerri, and I took turns holding Rachel when she got tired of walking. My kids got tired pretty quick (which was fine with me), so they crashed in Julie's living room and dumped out their candy to find the good stuff! Once Hannah got back with her mom (she kept up with her older brother and sister a little better than my kids could), the kids were of course wired from the candy and they had a blast until almost 11pm! Not a typical night for the kids, but they enjoyed it! :) Rachel absolutely loved being a princess in the dress we got from the Swems and she loved it even more that Hannah was a princess too (wish I'd gotten a picture of them all together)! So Josiah got to be a pirate with 2 princesses for the evening! Bailey enjoyed the princess too!

Rachel is 2!

2009-10-25T18:48:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that Rachel is actually 2 years old! After a celebration with a few family members that were able to make it to Pawleys' Island while we were on vacation, we planned a great Elmo party for family and friends in the Raleigh area. Unfortunately we had to postpone it a few weeks due to some illnesses in the family. But we finally had our party! The party had a lot of little pieces that all had to do with one of Rachel's favorite characters: Elmo. The Elmo cake was a little tedious, but turned out great! All the guests (kids and adults) got to make their own pizza (crust, sauce, cheese were provided and friends were invited to bring toppings if they wanted to), which is supposedly Elmo's favorite food (as he says on his part of Sesame Street, "Elmo's World"). We even added one more guest to the party... a goldfish named "Dorothy" (Elmo has a pet who another main character on his show that is a goldfish named "Dorothy")! Rachel wore her outfit with Elmo on it and there was a sign on the door as everyone left that said "This party was brought to you by the letter R and by the number 2" (for those of you who grew up watching Sesame Street may appreciate that)! :) Rachel seemed to have a great time, as did Josiah (although, at times he seemed a little upset that he was not the center of attention and that it was not his party). Most of the guests were closer to being around Josiah's age and were more his friends than Rachel's, but I've found at her age, her friends are just about anyone our family knows (if I say hi to someone, she is immediately their friend!). She is definitely becoming more of a "social butterfly" as she gets older and is communicating to others more (not always more clearly though)... even speaking her mind more! I guess that can be good in many ways and that's part of being 2!

Rachel was so happy to spend time with her baby cousin, Lucy, again! Rachel had just given her a kiss and Lucy looked like she was trying to kiss Rachel back! It's going to be fun for the kids to have a cousin so close by!

We also got a chance to visit family in Virginia and celebrate Rachel's birthday there as well! The kids loved playing with their cousins, Adalai, Jude, and Isabella! They also enjoyed spending time with their Aunt Stacy, Uncle Scott, Grandma, and Dida! Josiah's shirt, in the picture of the kids with Scott's dad, if you can't read it, says "My Grandpa is a Deputy Sheriff!" He has one just like it that says "My Dad is a Police Officer!"

Rachel has slowly been letting me do her hair more often! Below, she let me put her hair in a pony tail... I couldn't believe it was long enough! She looks so much older with her hair pulled back!

Catwoman... maybe???

2009-10-11T00:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I thought that my next blog would be about Rachel's Elmo party that I have planned in a few days, but that changed with our trip to Stuart, VA to visit Scott's family last weekend! We had planned this trip a while ago, but had certainly not planned to come home with a kitten! Scott's sister, Stacy, had rescued a cat who ended up having 5 kittens. She offered us one as soon as we got there and we joked about it at first (I assumed we wouldn't end up with one considering Scott's constant joking about what cats are best for and his allergies to them), but I left the final decision up to Scott. Who knew that Scott's continual dialogue about his hatred for cats was really hiding a cat-lover? Okay, so Scott might actually ask me to remove that statement, and whenever I mention it, he says that "it's not a cat, it's a kitten!". But he does say that he takes allergy medicine daily for seasonal allergies anyway and we'll watch the kids closely for allergies (we've been concerned before about their allergies before). And he has really taken to the kitten, Rudy (yes, named after the Notre Dame football player... the other name we considered was Frodo)!

As for me... the kitten is cute, but I'm still not really feeling like much of a "cat-person". I feel like I am still much more of a "dog-person". I love my Bailey and she may be frustrating at times, but I'm so much more used to dealing with dog stuff and prefer it! Granted, much of what we've dealt with is just training (after the first night, I found a "gift" in the bed next to me... of course that was the last night the kitten slept in our bed, which I'm sure will change once Rudy gets older), but the whole "kitty litter" experience has been interesting for me. Rudy was an outdoor cat until we brought him home... he's only about 6-7 weeks old and spent the first few weeks of his life outdoors with the mommy cat in the country! And he is pretty much litter box trained now after a week of staying in our bathroom with food, water, & litter box while we were at work & school. But it would be so much easier to just take the kitten outside and not have to worry about scooping every time he does his business. It's also really hard to get dressed around the kitten because he loves playing with everything that moves (including my feet and the clothes I'm trying to put on)... cute, but frustrating when I'm in a hurry! We had an interesting evening one night this week, as well, when we couldn't find Rudy for several hours. Scott reassured me that he was fine and that's what cats do, but I had a really hard time with that! Not knowing where and what it was doing was hard for someone who tries to have complete control of my house. Plus, Bailey constantly follows me from room to room and sits wherever I end up staying. That may be annoying when I'm tripping over her carrying laundry to the rooms, but I do enjoy her company and I like knowing where she is! It's going to be hard getting used to a cat not caring where I am or what I'm doing unless it wants to! :) I guess I will be giving this little bundle of cuteness a little more time before I decide if I'm a "cat-person" or not. Not to worry, Bailey, I'm still a "dog-person"!

Josiah has definitely become a "cat-person" like his daddy! The kitten loved the 3-hour drive home from VA on Josiah's lap! He's become really attached to Rudy and has learned how to pick him up and take care of him. Rachel, on the other hand, also loves the kitten and runs around chasing him around saying "kitty", but definitely is not allowed to pick Rudy up (despite how much she tries) because she's a little too rough!

Bailey's still not sure what to think of Rudy! She also chases the kitten around just sniffing at him and trying to figure out if he's a new friend to play with or if he's competition. Hopefully they'll figure each other out soon! The constant chasing around the living room is getting annoying (if you've been at the Fox Hollow house for holidays and get togethers, just think both Baileys when they're playing!)!

Another year past

2009-09-27T17:34:00.001-04:00

I was looking back through the past blogs and it's been a year since I've been blogging about our family! The very first blog included pictures of Rachel's first birthday party at Pawleys' last year (her "destination birthday")! And here we are again having her 2nd birthday party at Pawleys' with family! I can't believe how much she has grown since then (I know that all moms say that, but when the saying fits...)! And Josiah too! He is such a great big brother! I'm only going to post a few pictures here, but please remember to click on the picture under "Our Photo Albums" on the right hand side to see more beach pictures on our Picasa picture site. Also, those of you who are Facebookers (all of my family now), they are posted on FB now too!

We really had a great time at the beach! It was nice to have some days where it was just Scott and I and the kids hanging around the house, going to the beach and pool when we want, relaxing and playing on the back porch, cooking on the fun new gas stove, and having no time constraints! The kids were pretty relaxed and flexible as well (for the most part... though Rachel still needed a nap here and there). We did still enjoy having family in for Rachel's party... thanks for joining us, Mom, Dad, Michael, and Lynn! We all loved having you there! You all really helped Josiah overcome his fear of the pool as well. He's finally ready for swimming lessons (as we move out of summer... but that will just mean he'll be that much more ready next summer)! We definitely missed having the rest of the family there, but you were there in our thoughts and conversations! :)

Remembering the Summer

2009-09-14T12:48:00.009-04:00

Can anyone guess what this picture is reminiscent of???

As the seasons change and we prepare for Fall, I am able to sit back and reminisce on the summer that is passing. Even though I am on a year-round schedule and have to work most of the summer, we are still able to enjoy some of the basic summer past times! My difficulty has been to find the time to share these moments with family and friends through our blog as they happen. So here I am on another break from school (my Fall "track-out"), finally sharing pictures and events from the past 3 months! Sorry for the delay, everyone! The great thing that I just realized this morning is that our entire family is on Facebook now! Mom, Dad, all my siblings and their spouses... I can't believe that we've all finally caught up on FB! It's great that we can keep up with each other there, especially since we sometimes have to go months without seeing each other and even years without being all together. Most of the pictures have shown up on FB as well, but with blogging, you can get the full story behind them! :)

We love living close to Chris, Melissa, and Lucy! Josiah and Rachel absolutely love doting on their new baby cousin!

We celebrated the 4th of July with Peyton and Allison! The kids showed their patriotism!
Rachel enjoyed the fireworks display that our neighbors provided in our cul-de-sac on July 4th, but wasn't quite sure about all of them!
Josiah has enjoyed his time with friends (of course all of his friends are girls, which he enjoys so much more!). He loves being the "Prince" and his girlfriends be the "Princesses"! Now that Rachel is getting older and playing with him more (rather than beside him or copying him), she is getting to play the role of "Princess" sometimes too! Josiah loved dancing with his friend, Emily, (believe it or not, that was his idea) and it gave him a chance to practice for "Uncle" James and "Aunt" Randi's wedding! Scott's best friend, James Wilde, finally got married to his best friend and co-police officer, the beautiful Randi Mason. We were all very excited for them!

The kids completely took over the dance floor at the reception! Josiah danced with the 3-year-old flower girl, Zoe Gambino (Randi's neice)!Even Rachel loved dancing and could have danced all night! She enjoyed dancing with her Daddy!Rachel liked playing with Josiah's ringbearer pillow that he carried down the aisle (yes, he did actually make it down the aisle without covering his eyes or running and sliding like he did at the rehearsal... he did cover his mouth and laugh most of the way down though)! We didn't make it through the rest of the wedding though, because after Randi made it down the aisle after Josiah, Rachel all of a sudden realized that her Daddy was up at the front and she wanted to be with him! She screamed when she couldn't stay with him! Josiah did enjoy the "spoils" of being the ringbearer - a lollipop! I will end the wedding pictures with my favorite wedding topper ever!
Next blog -- Rachel turns 2!!!

Tae Kwon Do

2009-06-28T01:51:00.009-04:00

Josiah spent last week at a morning Tae Kwon Do camp at Open Door Baptist Church. Being that he's hit a shy and somewhat fearful stage at 4 years old, we weren't sure if he was ready for a sports-type camp or class, but he did incredibly well! We are so proud of him! The camp was Monday through Friday mornings and then Saturday night was a Tae Kwon Do showcase that included the kids showing off their new skills, the older kids (including the black belts) demonstrating their abilities, and all of the kids having the opportunity to "break a board".

Josiah did actually break a board with his fist!! He wasn't quite sure afterwards if it was okay that he had done it... he kept looking at the broken board as if to say "did I really do this? am I going to get in trouble for this?" I finally convinced him that he had done a great job and it helped that he saw the other kids getting excited about their broken boards. He is still so proud of himself that he asks to see it every so often and talks about it a lot!

By Wednesday, Josiah was coming home showing off his blocks!

Josiah was pretty good at his kicks... this one is just too cute!!!

Josiah was getting good at his punches too... we'll just remind him not to practice on his sister!

Rachel loved cheering Josiah on at the Tae Kwon Do showcase! Every so often she would yell out "Ai-ya" (her way of saying Josiah) so loud that everyone would turn to look at her! :) The best part about it, though, was that Josiah could hear her and would look at her and smile! He knew his sister was proud of him!!!

It is amazing to watch the different stages of our children's lives and see what they learn and how they grow through them! In just one week, Josiah has grown into a 4 year old becoming more independent, more thoughtful and caring towards his sister (wanting to help her more), and proud of his accomplishments! Not that he hasn't been those before, but he just seems to be growing exponentially recently!

At the same time, Rachel has moved to a toddler bed! She showed off her skill of being able to climb out of the crib (actually lowering herself down, while she was crying and screaming mad about being in the crib, without falling or hurting herself), so we decided to see if she was ready to be in a bed of her own. After that first night, Rachel has done well! She doesn't want her crib anymore! We have had to work on adjusting the bedtime routine again, but we're continually adapting to our kids' changing needs and stages. God is teaching us so much through parenthood!

Peering into our lives...

2009-06-22T10:56:00.008-04:00

We got to wish a Happy Father's Day in Chapel Hill to our Daddy, who had to work that day, and to our Opa in person (we also got to wish our Mimi an early Happy Birthday)! The kids were able to explore at the really fun Kidzu Museum on Franklin Street (free admission on Sundays!) and we even got to see what it would be like for them to be on campus! Thank goodness it will be awhile before we even consider them being there! It was fun, but a little strange, to take pictures of them around the Old Well, 10 years after standing in front of it having my picture taken in my blue cap and gown with Jenny on graduation! It was fun to make new memories with my own children on a campus full of old memories!

It is really cool to see the kids starting to play well together! They love each other!

We were really proud of Josiah at his Tumblebus recital this year! He had a blast showing off with his friend, Christen! He will go to a week of Tae Kwon Do soon and we'll update pictures of that too!

Josiah is growing up so quickly! He is finally 4 years old and loves all that he can do now that he is 4! We celebrated in a few different ways with family and friends. His grandma make a cool Bugs Bunny cake for a party in Stuart, VA. Then I made a fun pirate ship cake for his pirate party with friends. He definitely enjoyed the attention!

Josiah was not too thrilled that he had to share the cake with Rachel, especially when she started digging into it on her own! Gotta love siblings!!!

Something's been bugging us...

2009-05-07T16:18:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to show you the moth that visited us the other night! It was huge (I thought it was a bat at first glance)!!! Scott was supposed to take the trash out (our can is just off our back porch), but he didn't want to risk being carried off by the thing! ;)

On a much less scary note... we've also been enjoying the warm weather in the evenings with the kids (not just the moths)! Rachel really loved the ice cream we got her and Josiah! Josiah isn't a huge fan of ice cream, but has had a good time adding to his sticks and rock collection!

Look at all my teeth!

Happy Birthday, Josiah! He's 4 years old now! Post with pictures coming soon!

Honoring Those Who Serve Our Country

2009-04-24T12:13:00.002-04:00

While I am on my very short lunch break at school, I just wanted to post a quick blog to honor those men and women to risk their lives to serve our country in the military and para-military (law enforcement, etc.). My students and the other students and staff at my school just had a visit (scheduled visit, just for fun) from the National Guard helicopters! We were able to see them land, we got to climb in (yes, I climbed in and my principal got a picture of it! One of the soldiers asked me to get in to see if one of my students who was scared would get in with me!), and we saw it take off! It is just amazing to me to see and hear how much these men and women do for us! They deserve so much honor and respect and they don't always get it. My TA's husband just deployed last week for his second year overseas. The families of those in military also deserve the honor and respect. It just amazes me how strong they can be to let them go! Watching the helicopters this morning made my heart go out to Julie (my TA), her husband, and her kids. It also made me miss PopPop as I remembered the pictures and stories of him from the war. I also thought of my wonderful husband who risks his life everyday in his role of serving our community! Thanks!!!

(I had to crop the picture because I can't post pictures of my students.) If you haven't seen updated pictures of my own kids, be sure to check out my previous post with Easter pictures!

Flowers Blooming

2009-04-21T11:51:00.018-04:00

Look how my flowers have bloomed! ;) Okay, so Peyton is in there, too, and Josiah isn't as thrilled about getting his picture taken as the girls, but we enjoyed our Easter together! Josiah and Rachel loved the Easter egg hunts and the fun with family and friends, but Josiah reminded us several times what Easter was really about! He liked seeing crosses around and would tell us that "that's where Jesus died for our sins and that He came alive again and we get to be with Him in heaven!"

Contemplating the egg hunt

The kids did not want a picture taken... they just wanted the candy from the eggs!

Showing off their playground skills!

She's becoming a little lady!

Sisterly and Brotherly Love

2009-03-21T16:14:00.010-04:00

Just wanted to share a few of the things that Josiah and Rachel do to show how much they love each other! Rachel wants so badly to be like her big brother and even though they have their moments of disagreement (usually over toys, TV, and attention), they adore one another! Don't worry, they're not wrestling or anything in the first video. Josiah originally would run into Scott's open arms and hug him while trying to knock him over when he was saying "good night". Not too long ago, Rachel started copying Josiah, running into Daddy's arms and giggling wildly while he pretended to be knocked over! Then Josiah wanted to be "Daddy" and let Rachel run to him! It's become part of our bedtime routine now! Oh, and you can tell in the last video that Josiah generally does the talking for Rachel!

Don't they look cute in their matching pajamas from Mimi? :)

Both of the kids are now old enough to truly enjoy art projects, so we've been doing lots of coloring and drawing with mixed media (crayons, markers, pencils, pens). We usually break out the paint while Rachel is napping, but since I've been home more during my track out, we've had more opportunities to be creative while Rachel is awake. So when Rachel saw Josiah with a paintbrush, she became an artist as well!

Rachel's showing school spirit for her JiuJiu (sporting her Gordon Conwell t-shirt)!

This wonderful North Carolina late winter/early spring has allowed for a few days here and there where the weather is warm enough and dry enough to play outside. Rachel loves the red car and the tricycle (thanks, Allison and Peyton!)! Funny story about the wagon in the background... Scott warned me that a screw was loose underneath, so I tightened it before taking the kids to the park in it. We made it all the way to the playground and back, but as soon as we took the kids out and lifted it up to put on the porch, the whole front axle fell off! Guess I hadn't screwed it on tight enough! Don't worry, I let Scott fix it before I took the kids out in it again! :)

Pictures On Our Mantle

2009-03-14T14:15:00.011-04:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging, those of you who have been waiting! We have had a lot going on in the past several months! It is amazing as I look at the pictures we have up around our house. I recently updated the pictures in our frames and was just in awe of how richly God has blessed us!

Rachel is definitely a Daddy's girl!

Josiah got a bike for Christmas! Rachel got a doll! Sounds like a cliche American family, doesn't it?

Josiah's preschool put on a Nativity Christmas play and Josiah was a shepherd! Instead of singing during the program, he talked to his friend beside him and tried to talk to us in the audience!

Rachel and her cousin, Wendy, dressed up as Princesses and got to see Disney Princesses on Ice this past December!

Looking back: Ten years ago, I was student teaching and trying to figure out what I was going to do after graduating from UNC (and wondering if I could handle my sister being overseas since that was what she had planned for after graduating). Five years ago, I still couldn't believe that I was married to such a wonderful man (I have trouble believing it even now sometimes) . Scott and I had been married for over a year and were enjoying our time together, hardly thinking about having kids yet (especially since I was still working on getting my masters degree). Now we have two beautiful children who have cousins on both sides who are similar ages! It is so much fun to watch the cousins all play together (both in Virgina and in Greensboro when my sister's family is visiting from China) and remember what it was like to play with my cousins in the summers when they visited from Colorado! I can't believe how much Jenny's and my family are growing and changing and how similar it is to our family when we were kids. And my little brothers are all grown up too! Josiah and Rachel are looking forward to meeting their new cousin to arrive in June, as am I! My "big" little brother is having a baby!!! I am excited that I will actually be on vacation from school around that time too (so I'll be available if you need anything, Chris and Melissa)! And the cousins were all able to be a part of my "baby" (sorry, Mike) brother's beautiful wedding! We were all definitely sad to see Jenny and her family go back to China, as well as Michael and Lynn go back to Boston, but I know we'll be together again soon. Emailing, calling, blogging, Skyping, and "Facebooking" keep us closer than the distance between us!

Josiah was the ringbearer at the wedding!

Looking ahead: Josiah and Rachel have grown up so much lately, it seems. Josiah will be 4 soon and Rachel is already a year and a half, but tries to act almost 4! I am so excited about what God has planned for our family over the next 5, 10, 15 years, and more!

Josiah and Rachel danced at the wedding - they definitely have their sibling moments, but they usually get along so well and love each other very much!

Batman and... Piglet!

2008-11-16T22:42:00.009-05:00

Batman has a new sidekick! Wouldn't that make for a great new Batman movie?! Anyway, the kids got to do something much more fun than trick-or-treating on Halloween... they got to play with their cousins, Wendy and Vera (the princesses)!!! It's been too long since they've been together and it is absolutely wonderful having them (and their parents, Jenny & Alex) home for a while! Josiah and Wendy picked up as if no time had passed and were best friends the entire weekend. Josiah was very sad to leave on Sunday, but at least it won't be but a few weeks before we're back in Greensboro (or they're in Raleigh), instead of the many months that it takes to see each other when they are overseas. I am so excited having my sister and her family so close!!! It it also really nice to be able to call Jenny using only 10 numbers to dial (area code and number), rather than the 21 numbers or so that it takes to call Asia (calling card number + PIN + country code and number). We're looking forward to Thanksgiving as a whole family again (the 4 Beahm kids, the 4 spouses - yes, Lynn is considered a spouse with less than 2 months until the wedding, and the 4 grandkids, for now)! We love our family!!!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Josiah Charles!

2008-10-18T16:24:00.011-04:00

Our next family adventure was a trip to the pumpkin patch! Well, actually, it was a glorified farm/pumpkin patch that was more like a miniature State Fair than anything else... but the kids enjoyed it! Scott, who grew up pretty much on a farm, wasn't as impressed, but had fun watching the kids enjoy themselves. Allison and Peyton joined us again and, as you can see in the pictures, Josiah and Peyton have such a good time together! They saw and imitated some farm animals, took a train ride around the farm, played in the corn house (Scott said it was just like playing in the corn silo when he was younger), went down a huge tunnel slide (Josiah didn't like that too much), ran through a big fort and a maze, took a hayride, and "picked" a pumpkin. The pumpkin picking was really just choosing one from a big field of already picked pumpkins, but it saved us from having to take a knife to cut one off of a vine! The kids still enjoyed it, even Rachel! She loves walking!!!

Josiah & Peyton pretending to be goats

Riding the train

We had to check the kids' clothes (and Rachel's mouth) for stray corn kernels! Josiah made a "corn angel"!

Josiah got to help carve his own pumpkin! He didn't like the "yucky" stuff inside, so he let us do that part!

The Many Adventures of the Flowers

2008-09-28T16:33:00.016-04:00

I have finally had the opportunity to sit down and post my first blog on the Flowers Family site! We recently returned from Pawleys' Island where we spent several days relaxing during my last week of "Track Out" (I had two and a half weeks off of school... I track back in tomorrow with my wonderful class of Kindergartners). While we were at Pawleys' we celebrated Rachel's first birthday! As a 1-year-old, Rachel is walking, climbing stairs, eating regular food (just cut up in small pieces because she still has no teeth), trying to talk (saying "DaDa" very well, definitely a Daddy's girl), clapping, pointing, and trying to copy almost everything her brother does! Josiah is an awesome big brother! He loves his little sister and enjoys teaching her to do all kinds of things like running, coloring, reading, writing (he's beginning to write all of the letters of his name), throwing a ball, singing, praying, and "steam-rolling" (rolling around on the floor... that gets a little dangerous sometimes because Josiah likes to "steam-roll" on top of Rachel)! The kids loved the beach and didn't want to leave (especially with Ms. Allison and Peyton there too)! Josiah's favorite thing was jumping and splashing in the water. He even stood at the edge of water and called the waves to come to him! Rachel was a little more hesitant, but was happy as long as she was in Mommy's arms (as usual). We're taking a break on traveling for a while now... not just because of gas prices, but life is busy enough in our household even without driving across NC, SC, and VA! Two children now walking, talking (somewhat), and everything!!! Amazing! God has truly blessed us!

We learned the first day that jeans are not the best thing for Josiah to wear at the beach (as much as he loves puddle-jumping)!

Rachel has had about 1 month of experience walking now.
She's doing really well!

Our "beach baby" had a "Destination Birthday" at Pawleys' Island!

Welcome to our Redesigned Site!

2008-07-20T17:54:00.003-04:00

The Flowers are taking root on the web with our newly designed Family Site and Blog. Enjoy the family news, as well as our photos (You can click on the album to view and subscribe to our photos).

Have a great day!