The Truth Of It Is...

I love blogging. It may not seem that way since it's been awhile, but it's true. I originally created this blog to share pictures with our family so they wouldn't miss out on all the craziness of the kids. What I'm realizing is that this blog is truly a break from the craziness and it's really for me. It's a quiet moment of reflection. It's a picture of what our life looks like aside from the daily chaos. It's a celebration of who we are, where we've been, and who we are becoming. I love that. I love watching God at work in and through our lives. I love having the opportunity to sit down at the computer every once in awhile and "pen" our story.

So here's where we are: Justin is still living with us and continues to recover at an encouraging pace. He uses a crutch or a cane to walk and continues strengthening his leg during therapy. He is back to work full time and juggles his schedule like a pro. He never complains and I am truly proud of his progress. He loves our kids and is so patient when they are loud and crazy. Addie & Myles love having him around and it's kinda sad that he's back to work and not home as much as he used to be.

Brandon turns 32 tomorrow. There is no way to say just how blessed I am that God saw fit to bring the two of us together. My mom always told me that I read too many fairy tales and my expectations in a man needed to be more realistic. Let me tell you...this man is Prince Charming in even more ways than I could have ever imagined. He is such an amazing man of character who loves with all of his heart. Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I love you.

The kiddos are growing like weeds. Addie has outgrown the 4T pants that I bought her only months ago. She is so tall and so "grown up". Today she was cleaning up her toys and asked if she could put her toys in the dump truck and then dump them into their box. She looked at me and said, "Does that make sense?" Brandon and I just looked at each other like "Did she really just say that??" She is a very grown up three year old.


Myles is teething. Still. That one stinking molar just doesn't want to come in. I've been seeing the top of it for at least a month and it still won't pop all the way out! Myles is generally a happy boy, but teething tends to knock him off his game. (Thank you, again, Uncle Justin, for being patient with the kids!)

My life is a bit crazy and hectic (when is it not?), but I love it. I believe in what I do. Whether I'm at home with the kids or working at the church, I feel like what I do is bigger than me. The "big picture" is so amazing and humbling. I'm grateful God has entrusted me with the huge responsibility of raising children and being the greatest human source of love my husband receives. I'm so excited to see where He takes us as a family. I'm excited about my church family too. We've got a lot going on right now with going multi-site and I really feel like God is at work among us. I am hearing amazing stories every week and I can't help but be excited to be a part of it. God is amazing. I can't wait to see what He's capable of!

All in all, I am blessed.

Update on Justin

Brandon and I have been at the hospital since yesterday staying with Justin. It is hard to watch him in pain and frustrating to know that we can't really do a whole lot to help him. He is handling the pain well and is scheduled for surgery in the next day or so. Please keep him in your prayers and feel free to hop on over to his blog to get the updates and leave a comment. www.justinrlacey.blogspot.com

Justin

Brandon's brother Justin was hit by a car yesterday while he was biking.  Go to www.justinrlacey.blogspot.com to see the details and leave a comment for Justin.  Keep him in your prayers!!!

Milestones

Addison started preschool yesterday!

Addie has been talking about going to preschool since May of this past year at least. I mean, every day she asked if it was time for preschool yet. So Brandon and I dropped her off yesterday and she seems distracted and not really aware of the fact that the long awaited day has finally arrived. Kinda like No big deal, mom. We walked her into her class, kissed her goodbye, and headed out the door. She seemed a little hesitant, but I knew she would warm up quickly. I picked her up a few hours later expecting to hear her gush about how much fun she had. I got nothing. Her teacher said she had a great time, but it was like pulling teeth to find out exactly what she did at preschool. She did tell me that she had sand in her toes, so I'm assuming she played in the sandbox. She also told me she washed her hands. Great, honey. I took her to McDonald's playland for lunch and the girl narrated her every move to me from the play area. Figures.

It's a Big Day!

Talking to Grandma on the way

Making Sure She Knows She's Loved!

Hanging Up Her Backpack...Ready to Go!

Myles Turned A Year Old Today!

He's walking all over the place, getting a few words like no, uh oh, and hi, and has the cutest curls EVER. He laughs all the time and still finds a few moments to cuddle with mom. Love it. We're celebrating his birthday a few times this month, so lots more pics to come!

Thinning Out...So Sad!

Mama's Boy

Contemplating His First Year

Curls!

Myles is Walking!!!

My little man has taken many "first steps", but on Sunday he took two steps. This morning he took four toward his daddy (whose back was toward him so he missed it) and this afternoon he rocked 15 steps toward Elmo on the tv. Figures, doesn't it? He was so cute. He has made many more attempts since then and even put a little speed behind some of them. : ) I wanted a close-up video, so it's sideways...you get the idea, right?

Summer Highlights

I had a few moments to myself this evening and came up with a few pictures that describe our summer so far. Here are the highlights of our lives right now:

Myles is almost 11 months old and has just taken his first step. He'll be walking soon!

Addison turned three in May and is having fun dressing up, using her imagination, and practicing her potty-training. Yay!

Brandon and I are still working on remodeling our house. We are getting close! We have a little bit of painting to do and then we can lay the new floors. The end is in sight for this phase and I am really looking forward to enjoying the result of all our hard work.

Enjoy the pics!


Myles eating his first finger foods

It doesn't get any better than this!

Can't get enough of his smile

Myles at the lake in Alabama

Myles & Grandpa Lacey

Me & the kiddies on Mother's Day

So serious

Not so serious fun at the lake house with Kyleigh & Cole

Addison the Southern Belle

She loves shoes!

A picture is worth a thousand words

An unintentional pose in her "Cinderella Dress"

This is what happened when I told her to pose. So funny.

It's About Time!!

It's embarrassing how long it's taken me to get some pictures on here. Addison turns three years old tomorrow and I figured I should post some before she turns four. : )

Myles is mobile. He's been crawling for quite some time and is pulling up. Won't be long before we have a little walker on our hands! He has four teeth right now with two more trying to make their appearance. We love teething!!! : )



Myles met Mamaw in Georgia in April...



...and the rest of the Georgia family too!



Myles and Cousin Brenna (wouldn't she make a great big sister?!)



Apparently Aunt Jenny is the baby whisperer : )



Addison & Brenna were so cute with each other...only two months apart



We remodeled our kitchen (now you know why I haven't posted recently!!)



Can you tell they love each other?



He's thinning out but still eating tons!


He loves to cuddle with his mom!