The World Race- Pray for Jeff!

Our very good friend Jeff has just arrived in Manilla, Phillipines to begin his year long mission trip with the WORLD RACE. He will travel to a different country each month to help those who are lost spiritually and in need physically. We could not be more proud of Jeff and know with confidence that the Lord has sent him on this year long journey. Please make a note somewhere to remember Jeff daily in your prayers as he needs strength to endure such a change of lifestyle and the knowledge to help reach out to those who need to know Christ through him. You can click below to read more about his journey (which has just begun this week) and to keep in contact with him. Also I will have a link for him on my sidebar of my blog!

www.jeffmitchell.theworldrace.org

Hanging with my Grandmothers

Sending a big kiss to you today:
 

Lydia spent some quality time with her grandmothers this week-
Her and Grandmommie stayed in a hotel (with Mommy) in Louisville where Grandmommie had a conference to attend. We loved the pool and breakfast buffet! The mall was a fun getaway too!
 
Nana showed Lydia a fun time on the mall carousel- she had to ride it again and again!!
 
 

Play Date!

Top: Lydia & Zoe Zoe
Bottom: Bray Bray and Audrey (she really wanted to continue playing)

Lydia mastering the steps to the slide!

Brayden ready for some action!

Audrey getting tickled!

Zoe getting ready to slide down the big slide.

Lydia resting on Tonya!

Miles and Lydia playing a debut!

Audrey and Lydia- Two sweet ladybugs!

Just a Rockin' in the nursery.

At Grandmommie and Granddaddy's, playdates are always fun with her five cousins.

Since I haven't blogged in awhile, I am posting some fairly new pics of Lydia and her best buds! Most of these pictures are copied from other friends. I have such talented photographer friends, that I just had to blog some of their pics! Also, my camera's battery died today as I began taking pictures at the park. (Thanks to Heather for some great action photos of our angels)

Lydia just loves playing with her buddies. They are so sweet. Today I even caught her and a buddy holding hands. Her friend helped pick her up and they walked through the playground hand and hand. I, too, am extremely fortunate to have friends that help me up and are always at hand reach if I need them! As cheesy as that may sound, I am really thankful for my friends and today I have seemed to reflect on my blessings more than usual! I am thankful for my 16 1/2 month old who always makes me smile with her sweet smile and funny chuckles. She is continuing to grow so fast and become more and more independent. Also, I am thankful for my hard working husband who works two jobs so I can stay at home with our little sweetheart.

Maybe this weather makes me sappy today, but whatever it is, I know it is important to take time and count your blessings each day! And by the way, I am so ready for fall! I have loved this cool weather day!

Enjoying Spring-like Temps in August

There is nothing like a day at the park with the grandparents. Lydia has gone to two parks this week with both sets of grandparents. Since cool days/nights in August are hard to come by, we took advantage of this weekend and did some swinging, sliding and running around at the parks.


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Below are some quick pics of how you might find Lydia right now hanging out around the house.

1. Reading books in her room


2. Playing Piano in the kitchen

3. Finding a comfortable spot under the small table in the living room

Taking Time to Smell The Flowers

Lydia loves to be outside. She likes riding her Pooh Ride on the driveway and loves to smell the flowers and touch the trees. Whenever she is getting cranky, one trip outside will do the fix! I think that is true for all of us- taking time to smell the flowers and appreciate nature can always put people in a good mood. So enjoy these summer days and try to stay cool!

 
 
 
 

Beach and Magic Kingdom

We have had a very busy past 2 days here in Florida. On Friday we went to New Samirna Beach and Daytona Beach. Yesterday, (Saturday) we went to Magic Kingdom.
There is no reason for any child growing up in the Orlando region to ever say the worlds, "I am bored." Our family of 3 is officially zonked, wore out, and pooped! Today Josh and Todd ventured to Tampa to see a Tampa Bay baseball game, Lyd and I decided to stay back and rest and do some local shopping.

The beach was very nice and not too busy. Lydia loved the water and got excited when a wave came our way. She liked rolling in the sand and getting her hands all in it. The water was beautiful and warm! We collected a few seashells and had a nice family time.

WDW is crazy....so crowded and strollers everywhere. We arrived very early at Magic Kingdom and waited first in line at the rope. It was really neat and special how they opened the park with a big character greeting. Once we were in the park, we ran (yes ran) to Cinderella's Castle to get to Fantasy Land and be the first group on Dumbo. We rode all the major rides in Fantasyland before 10:00am and then went to meet the Princesses. They were so beautiful and very friendly- Lydia had to touch and talk to all of them. We then went to Frontierland and Adventureland and did some shows and more rides. After lunch, Lydia fell asleep so Josh and I took turns on Splash Mountain. Talk about a drop- it was nuts! Josh loved it, but I thought I was going to have a heart attack! After surviving Splash Mountain, we went on more rides and back to Fantasyland to re-ride some favorites. I could ride "It's a Small World" a hundred times. Lydia kept saying, "Babydolls, Babydolls, ride, ride, ride"

She loved all the dolls dancing and playing! It was my favorite too! We had dinner with the Winnie the Pooh characters. Lydia about jumped over the table (in fear) everytime they came by our table to talk to her. Finally, we had to just motion them on to other tables. She was so terrified of their costumes. She watched them like a hawk and wouldn't eat if they were anywhere in sight. We stayed for the parade and the fireworks. It was such a special time! I am sure Lydia will enjoy us telling her all about it and showing her the pictures and video for years to come!

Here are some pictures of the beach and Magic Kingdom. It is almost impossible for my distracted 15 month old to look at the camera these days, not to mention the sun grins. Nonetheless, she sure is a cutie pie!

Nashville, Sea World and Todd's Place

We are here in sunny & humid Florida. Orlando is great, Todd's place is so nice and the area he lives in is just like out of a movie set. I would think we were in Hollywood if I didn't know better. He lives in Orlando but not in the tourist area, he lives on Baldwin Park Lake area and it is really cool. Lots of neat shops: like a place you can go to make your own fudge and a cute children's boutique and brick laid streets everywhere.


Lydia is enjoying everything, she loves to investigate Todd's many things. We are teaching him the ways of childproofing a home. Thursday she loved Sea World more than we could have ever imagined. We were there for 12 hours and she was a major champ. She took a couple of short naps, clapped at all the shows, squeeled with glee and waved to all the animals. The shows were incredible. Lydia loved Shamu and the dolphins and especially Seasme Street Live. We took her to meet Elmo before the show and she loved him from afar, but close up was another story. It was a great day, espeically as a practice run for WDW on Saturday.


We started our trip on Tuesday by staying the night in Nashville. We swam at the hotel pool and then we visited with our good pals David and Maggie. They haven't changed a bit. Maggie is still sweet as pie and David, well David is David-hillarious! Lydia has enjoyed seeing our buddies. She loved hanging with them Tuesday night and loves following Todd around everywhere with her arms up for him to hold her.


Here are some pics from visiting with David, Maggie in Nashville and Tood in Orlando, and of course Sea World. We are off to the beach today so check back for beach pics!