12 Years Ago...

Geoff and I celebrated our 12th Anniversary yesterday. We’re sure getting old! In some ways these past 12 years have flown by, but in other ways, the years have been so full with life-changing events like children and moves here and there, that it’s hard to believe that it has only been 12 years!

Just a couple of KIDS getting married on May 25, 1996.

And, here we are 12 years later. We haven’t changed a bit, right? (Other than my bangs...Yikes! Those were screaming 1990's...or maybe even 1980's!)

I am humbled that God chose to bless me with such an amazing man to be my husband and head of our home. Geoff is truly my rock and soul-mate. And, Micah and Emma couldn’t ask for a more loving or fun dad.

I love you, honey! I can’t wait to see what the next 12 or 25 or 50 years bring!

First Grade Picnic...Fun, Fun, Fun!

Micah's keeping track...3 1/2 day of school and counting...But, today the kids had a taste of summer with a class picnic held at at classmate's home. It was great, because the whole family was invited. The only requirement for today was to have fun...and Micah can handle that!


The kids kept the bounce house full at all times!


There were horses to see and feed. The kids had hoped to ride them, too, but it turned out that wasn't an option today. :-)


Emma in her element being licked by the the animals...


...talking to the animals...And, in case you're wondering, yes, she did find a frog today too! :-)


Geoff and the kids on the dock, getting ready to fish. It worked out great for Geoff to take an extended lunch break from work with us at the picnic.

Emma's Blessing

Appleseeds Preschool ended their 3-year old program year last night with a service called "The Blessing of the Children." It was a special time for the kids to sing for their parents, receive their official "certificates", and be prayed for by the teachers.

Just about 45 minutes before we were to leave for school, it began hailing outside (golfball size). I was on the phone at the time, and Geoff came in to tell me that we were under a tornado warning...So, we all huddled in our 1/2 bathroom downstairs with sofa cushions to put over our heads if need be (we like to be prepared). :-) We weren't sure if they would end up having the "Blessing" service, but the weather cleared up...at least the hail and tornado parts just in time for the "show to go on."


We wanted to celebrate Emma's special day with a little gift from our family. Just a little background information, Emma and I love visiting the little shops in downtown Fuquay. There is a little booth she likes to visit in a craft-type mall where a lady named Juanita sews beautiful custom-ordered purses. Emma always admires them and wonders why we can't buy any of the samples in the store (But they are embroidered with someone else's name on them). Anyway, I stopped by yesterday, and ordered a purse fully expecting to wait a week for it. Juanita knew the occasion, and told me that she would like to make it that afternoon so that Emma could have it in time for the service at school. I was so surprised by her kindness...it's not very often that you find good customer service like that anymore...except in Fuquay-Varina, that is. :-) So, here Emma is, posing with her "Emma" purse...just the right size to carry around a Webkinz!


Here's Emma with her classmates, getting ready to sing!


Emma and I after the service...and before digging into the refreshments...and Emma's meltdown because she didn't get the juicebox she wanted so desparately (can we say "Hasty Exit"?)


Emma and her wonderful teacher, Ms. Beth. She has just been such a blessing to Emma! We are very thankful that Emma will have another year with her. Although Ms. Beth may not be her "homeroom" teacher for her 4-year old year, she will still see her for math/science once a day.

First Day and Last Day

Could an entire school year have passed already? Emma's last year of preschool (3-year old preschool, that is) was yesterday.


Here is Emma back in September on her first day of school. It looked like her backpack was about to swallow her up...it was so big on her!


And, here she is "posing" for the camera yesterday morning...Confident and ready to take on the world!

Awana Wrap-Up

This past Sunday evening Wake Chapel held its Awana Awards Night. We had a couple surprise appearances from Cubbie Bear and Sparky, too! The kids enjoyed that (although I had been a bit worried about how a couple of the Cubbies might do with the giant costumed characters!) Who were our brave volunteers who wore the costumes, you ask? I'll never tell... :-) Here are the kids and I with the Rev. Cubbie Bear (ok, I couldn't resist giving you a hint!)

Carefree Pre-Days of Summer

Ahh...The weather the last few weeks has been great. We've been enjoying nice Spring temps, rather than going immediately from winter into summer, as was the case last year. We've also been blessed with LOTS of rain, which has replenished our lakes, ending the drought conditions that we have been under for almost a year now. The kids can hardly wait for their official summer vacation to start. But, that doesn't stop them from enjoying some fun outdoor activities in the meantime.


Emma and Megan swinging away at the park.


Micah honing his sand castle building skills for the beach!

Micah's "Bonus" Day Off

Micah earned a "bonus" day off by completing a workbook, reading log, and Scripture memory program Wake Christian had sent home over the summer...last summer. Of course, we've had all year to cash in his coupon for the day off, but had failed to do so until today. It turned out that buddies, Noah and Joy could come over, so it was a great way to spend his day off from school. They all had a fun time together. Of course, the boys squeezed in some time on their DS's...trading hints about their favorite game...Mario Bros!

Having Micah home today made me look forward even more to having the kids home ALL summer! Just one more day of school for Emma...and 7 1/2 for Micah. Yeah!



When Joy arrived this morning, Emma immediately noticed Joy's heart shirt and knew that she had the same one. The next thing we knew, Emma ran downstairs dressed just like Joy...right down to the white socks. So, here's Joy and her "Mini Me." Cute, cute!

Emma's Last Dance...For Now

Although Emma's recital was this past weekend, Ms. Wendy wanted to have one more class with the girls this week. Here is a picture I took of Emma after her class yesterday...still wearing the same leotard and skirt she wore on the first day of class back in August. (Although, it's starting to get a bit snug!) She's officially signed up to start a ballet/tap combo class in the Fall, and is absolutely excited about the possibility of making lots of noise with her "clickety clack" shoes!

Fear of Frogs - A Rhett & Link Masterpiece

A fear of frogs is definitely not what Emma has, and you will know this if you read my previous post about Emma and her "frog prince."

For those of you who have never been introduced to Rhett & Link, below is a taste of their comic genius, the "Fear of Frogs" song. Rhett & Link are two local boys who actually live in the next county over, Harnett County. They are web comedians extraordinaire, and interestingly enough, they were once on staff with Campus Crusade. You'll see their website listed in the sidebar of my blog under my favorites. Check it out...You're guaranteed to find something to make you laugh...out loud! I'll try to post some of their creations occasionally on this blog.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy, "Fear of Frogs..."

"Across the Pond" in April

Geoff has had the opportunity to travel with Caterpillar to Peterborough, England a couple of times this year for 2-week stints. First in January and then in April. During his April trip, I had the opportunity to travel out there for 5 days. Nana (Geoff's mom) and Grandma (my mom) graciously offered to come and take care of Micah and Emma while I was traveling. :-)

I left Raleigh on Wednesday evening, April 2 and arrived in London early Thursday morning. Since he was already in Peterborough, Geoff gave me very detailed instructions on how to get from Heathrow to Peterborough...This involved me taking a train, the "underground", and then another train. It was quite an adventure, but I arrived safe and sound! (Although my hands were a bit blistered from hauling my suitcase the whole way...including up and down many flights of stairs!)

Since Geoff had to work during the day on Thursday and Friday, I found things to do on my own both days. On Thursday, I explored Peterborough and spent a few hours at the indoor shopping mall directly across the street from our hotel. Then, on Friday, I took the train about an hour away to Cambridge and spent a few hours walking past many colleges and universities there.

Here's a few pictures from our trip that you might enjoy:

This picture is for all you Jane Austen fans. Here I am in front of "The Burghley House" which is the home used in the 2005 production of "Pride and Prejudice" as Lady Catherine De Bourgh's residence. My "glazed" expression is due to the fact that I was feeling a bit carsick after my dear hubby's "English" driving on our way up to Stamford. Unfortunately, we ended up arriving too late that evening for a tour of the inside, but just seeing the exterior was breathtaking. Although, for all of you North Carolinians, it has nothing on the Biltmore Estate!

When we arrived in London on Saturday morning, we checked into our hotel "The Darlington" and then headed out on foot for the rest of the day.

As a side note, you will notice that I'm sporting a lovely, very thick scarf in the remainder of these pictures. Despite Geoff warning me that it would be cold, I arrived in England without a very warm coat, scarf, or gloves. Fortunately, I located a great thrift shop in Cambridge where I spotted this great scarf. It was a lifesaver...and now whenever I wear it, I will feel very English!

Also, I must give credit where credit is due. Geoff did a great job as our trip photographer...taking all the pictures, including the ones of both of us. No, we never used a tripod or asked someone passing by to take our picture...Geoff's long arms came in handy to fit us both in the frame!

In front of Buckingham Palace on Saturday. We were disappointed to find that the guards were not wearing their black fuzzy hats, but more of a "plain" uniform. No royalty sightings by the palace either. On our first day in London, we also walked through Hyde Park, saw Kensington Palace, and ate some great chips at a pub called "The Kings Arms."

On Sunday morning, we woke up and it was snowing! This picture was taken by the street running in front of our hotel. We didn't let the snow or wind deter us...We still had lots of London to see! Our day included seeing Big Ben, attending a morning church service at Westminster Abbey, visiting the Tower of London and seeing London Bridge, some (window) shopping at Harrod's, and more chip eating.

Here we are at Trafalger Square. If you look very closely, you can see Big Ben (looking very small) on top of my head. It was by Trafalger Square that earlier that morning we spotted a runner with the Olympic Torch! It turns out that on that very Sunday, the torch was traveling through London. What great timing, but we wished we could've gotten a photo of it. It happened so fast, though, that we couldn't get the camera out of the backpack fast enough!

Monday morning, Geoff drove back up to Peterborough for one more week of work, while I took the underground back to Heathrow to catch my flight to Raleigh.

Mother's Day Wishes from Micah & Emma

We've been celebrating a low-key mother's day with Emma (and myself) feeling a bit under the weather. But, having a day where we can just relax the day away has been priceless!

This morning, Micah was the first to wish me a "Happy Mother's Day." Apparently, he had gone downstairs to eat his breakfast, when he suddenly said to Geoff, "I forgot something!" I heard his feet pounding up the stairs. He ran to the bedroom, jumped on the bed, and "woke" me with a sweet, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" greeting!

This afternoon, Emma and I took a little snooze. As I was laying there, she played with my hair and whispered in my ear, "I love you, Mom...Happy Mother's Day..." I looked at her and asked, "Emma, are you an angel?" Her reply, "No, Mom. I'm just a princess."

Got Dance?

Geoff and I certainly cannot take any credit with the moves that Emma comes up with. She’s definitely got rhythm (all her own)! And, she has used her love of movin' and groovin' to her advantage this year in ballet class.

Yesterday was her recital. She and 11 other cutie pies performed on the “BIG stage” at Campbell University. Here she is in her “fro fro” recital dress.

Our sweet girl loves all things girly. Anything having to do with dressing up, princesses, fairies, and the like are high on her “fun” list. What we love about our little Emma, though, is although she loves to be girly, she has a deep love for all animals. Here she is trying to persuade Bailey that she can dress up like a princess too.

Her love for animals extends to include slimy creatures, even those most would consider “yucky." A moment occurred last week when I WISHED I had a camera at the ready. Picture this, Emma was running around in the backyard with her lavender fairy ensemble, complete with wings, magic wand, and fancy shoes. All of a sudden she yells, “I found a FROG!” And there she is, holding a large TOAD above her head. This wasn’t one of those cutsey little frogs…No, it was a good-size toad…warts, buggy eyes, and all. She carried that guy all around the yard, holding it close to her face, whispering sweet nothings in his “ears,” and stroking his belly and underneath his chin. She didn’t flinch when he decided to relieve himself a few times either! What a picture this would’ve been. I surely would’ve captioned it, “The Princess and Her Frog Prince.” I’ll be sure to have my camera close at hand next time...

First Grade is Wrapping Up - Already

Micah and I counted, and he has a total of 10 1/2 days left of first grade. Wow...Where has this year gone?

The end of the school year brings lots of fun activities. Micah just completed his second semester of bowling club. He and buddy, Carter, were bowling partners on their team which they named, "Mario Party."

Micah and his Spring Bowling Trophy.

Just last week, Wake Christian's Art Department held their annual Art Museum. Each student selected their favorite work of art to display. Here Micah poses by his selection, "Rainbow Giraffe."

Each class also works together to create a "unified" piece of art. Micah's contribution to this picture was painting a portion of the face. This painting was up for auction, but unfortunately, we were outbid!

Emma loved being creative on the huge canvas in the "hands on" display of the museum. She is very proud of her purple smiley face!

Welcome to "The Erb Garden"

I have been so blessed to be called "mommy" for almost 7 years now. WOW...Our children are growing up so quickly! There have been so many times that I wished I had jotted down that funny or profound thing our kids have said or done...Or taken the time to send out a cute picture. But, alas, life gets so hectic, doesn't it? I haven't followed through on the many journals that I have intended to start...Or even kept our family photo albums up to date.

Beginning this blog is a challenge to me. And, one that I'm excited about. My hope is that it will keep me accountable to record these days of mommyhood that are passing by so quickly. Somedays blogging will allow me to express a few of those 16,000 words that I hear us women need to say each day. (I know Geoff will appreciate me sparing him a few of these words!) And, other days, this blog might be a place where I can post something that will just bring a smile to your face!

So, here I go...