insta - september

{us in front of our new house!}

we are moved in! yipee! and we absolutely LOVE our new home. i think i say it out loud 15 times a day how much i love it. we are so so so thankful for such an incredible gift. 

we had lots of help moving in last saturday. i still have many boxes to unpack and many many things to continue to give away :) we are much more moved in than i thought we would be at this point so i am very grateful for that! 

the house we rented for the summer just so happened to be right next door to our dear friends. we spent so many nights playing games and laughing together. we also had lots of real talk and precious moments with them. the boys absolutely adore mr. terry and mrs. angela. they helped us move some of our things in on friday evening. they had a popcorn party on the floor before we camped out here for our first night in our house. 

here are the men putting up a ceiling fan in the dark. grey and tuck were definitely helping.

we have loved being so close to school. we all walked together on friday! 

we also love living right around the corner from dear friends. we are really getting to share life together at a whole new level now that we are so close. we know it is purely a gift from the Lord to be so close to one another. 

grey is doing so great at school. i got to go have lunch with him on friday and meet all of his friends. it was such a treat. gavin is his very best friend in his class. those two are a hoot. they have quite the social circle. i so enjoyed sharing a little time with them and being in grey's world if only for a short time.

papa and gigi came up on saturday to visit for the day. we got to watch grey play soccer and hang out for the afternoon. we ate chinese (with chopsticks!) before they left. 

my mom and dad came up to bring my table my dad made me for my birthday and gosh is it awesome. now to find chairs to go around it. we enjoyed a beautiful sunday with them! 

i found these photos on my phone from earlier this month. we went to the greenway and walked down to the creek. the boys ran, splashed, explored. it was such a fun time together. i'm hoping to have many more of these adventures together in the coming fall weeks!

a snippet: tuck man

i just needed to document this little story i received about tucker and his best buddy jude. his two year old mmo teacher sent it to me and jennifer and really just made our day! their personalities are so hard to capture in words and i want so desperately to try. this little snippet will be good to remember one day. 

"I love your sweet knights in training!

Last week after Jude caught and released the gecko in our room your boys were together in the hall and called me over. With serious looks they vowed they would come and capture any lizards, frogs, or snakes in my room. Then with a complete switch, Tucker asked if I had a new hairdo, and both boys told me I looked pretty. (My hair was in a pony tail.) I left chuckling! You are both doing a great job with your children. Somewhere there are 2 little girls who are going to be very thankful for their mothers-in-law."

school for the little ones

tuck is in a 4 day a week pre-k program at church and will is in a 2 day mothers morning out this year. 

they were both thrilled for their first day of school. i think the novelty has quickly worn off for tuck but will acts like he's been going to school every day for 2 years straight. 

this is the first time in 6 years i've had a few hours to myself a couple of times a week. it's weird. but good. it's not too long but also not too short. i have found myself simply thinking clearly in those few hours and that has been really nice. it makes my time with them even sweeter.

insta-summer 2013

i think i have come to terms that i am unable to keep up on a regular basis. so another massive picture dump it is. all from my phone from mid-summer on. this may have to be multiple installments. 

tuck feeding the beloved monkey. i absolutely love the imaginations these boys have and their favorite stuffed animals are always a part. i always had a baby doll as a child that did EVERYTHING with me. i guess with boys its whatever stuffed animal they take a special liking to. 

we visited papa and gigi in columbia for the 4th of july this year. we swam and ate and relaxed with family for a few days. the boys of course had a blast.

after we came home from columbia we went to garrett's 6th birthday party and got to see all of our cousins on my side of the family. that was a treat! 

little william is such a snuggle bug. he loves to put me to sleep. he covers me up, sings to me in that sweet little voice, and gives me his lamby and elephant to snuggle with.

grey loves to help in the kitchen. i love teaching him and having him alongside me.

so tired. 

one morning i gave the boys popsicles for breakfast and tuck was super cool eating his. 

these two. they are always coming up with something creative. they built a breakfast table for their animals out of tool bench and served tea. 

this boy loves being a pirate.

two peas in a pod. always.

i love to watch them work togther. without fighting i might add! 

a treasured picture from our cavin family beach trip this summer. 

since we've been living in our rental, i have been running at sunrise. it is by far my most favorite thing about living here. 

matthew and i celebrated 8 years of marriage in august. 

while grey was at 6 year old camp, these two played and played and played their hearts out. it was awesome to see them bond.

oh my. he constantly charms my socks off.

end of the summer swim with all sorts of friends.

i had to get a shot of these three squeezing in the sliding door in our new house. before long they won't fit there together.

we had a family fun day the friday before grey started school. matthew and i cracked up because these kids wanted to wear their tie and bowties to get donuts, coffee, and see a movie. they sure did attract a lot of attention! 

we've enjoyed exploring this neighborhood after dinner on cooler evenings. 

tuck has no shame.

i had to take this picture to remember william and the way he snuggles so very close to read a book. and the way his little hand half way holds mine the entire time we read about bugs.

meet the teacher night at grey's new school. he was trying to wrangle both his brothers for a picture.

grey bear read so much this summer! i could always find him curled up somewhere with his nose in a book. makes my heart pitter patter.

last day of summer ice cream treat.

following in grey's footsteps. he is a book worm himself. 

matthew and i took will and tuck on a hike at the greenway one friday afternoon. it was perfect. they hunted for bugs and quacked at the ducks and we enjoyed them. 

these three love the riverwalk. we make frequent trips as a family. they get to explore and we get to exercise so it's great for all of us! 

awesome show. awesomer date. 

poppie and marmie visited for a day! 

grey started up soccer and i got to hang with the littles on the sidelines. 

this year is full of transition for everyone. there are some really wonderful things coming from that like will and i getting some one on one time together two mornings a week. i absolutely adore this boy and am really enjoying hearing and watching his little mind at work. 

pelicans snoballs are the jam. 

there are so many things i wish i had time to sit and write about. but the picture dump will do for now!