The Beach

While I plan on sharing pictures and other thoughts from my time here in Destin, I thought I would post these pictures of the beach as it is beautiful! I am having a wonderful time.


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Destin 2012

After a year plus off of 'official volunteering' with a youth ministry I have decided to re enter and begin to plug in at our new church. My first adventure: a trip to Florida with 70+ high school students. To be honest, I am having a blast! The students are great, the leadership team is amazing and I have all ready been able to serve in many ways. I am thankful. Here are a few pics from our first day in Florida.


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A wonderful family wedding

The Dalbey family is back home from our quick trip to KC for a family wedding. We had a wonderful time and want to say congrats to Andrew and Chelsea.

Here is a pic of Peyton enjoying the wedding cake.


What a beautiful cake.


The happy couple :)


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We are in Kansas City

The Dalbey family is in Kansas City for a wedding. While I will be sure to post photos later I am most excited to just now figure out how to blog and add photos to my blog via my IPad. I know, this may not be as exciting as a photo of our kids but I am so happy to figure this out!

Here is a picture of the kids in the car. Peyton slept for 2.5 hours - you go girl!


Here is my luggage. I think I like Vera Bradley!


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The best time to go to the zoo

I think it is safe to say that the best time to go to the St. Louis Zoo is 9am on a Tuesday morning.  Because Tuesday is my day off I took the kids there yesterday morning.  Man, did we have a great tome and everything was FREE.  Yes, that's right - FREE.  Children's Zoo, Carousel, Caribbean Cove (Everything starts with the letter C...) and it was a blast!  Oh yes, we were also the ONLY people inside the Penguin exhibit.  This alone made the zoo visit completely worth my time.  I have never had such a pleasant experience at the zoo and plan on taking full advantage of this in the future.  I may also head to the River's Edge at 9am in the morning.  Perhaps I will be able to get a better and quiet view of the Elephants, Cheetah's, Hippos and Rhino's.  I'll keep you updated.  

Here is Preston on the Carousel.  He rode the Cheetah and told me that he wanted to go super fast.  

Peyton on the Carousel. She did well for what was, I think, her first time.  

Here is Preston at Caribbean Cove checking out the Sting Rays.  

He just wanted to look at them and no touch them.  OK.  

 Here is the Penguin exhibit - beautiful.  

 Last but not least are the Cheetah's.  We only saw them for a minute but they were beautiful nonetheless.  

Weekend Update

Wow! What a busy but exciting weekend.  Here is our weekend update:

Friday night: Nothing much took place.  Steven and I took the kids to the mall so that I could get a new pair of shoes with a Birthday gift card.  Random thought - the Galleria mall is very pleasant on Friday evenings now that their is a curfew in place.  Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.  This made our excursion very enjoyable. 

Saturday: This day was super busy.  We loaded up the kids in the car and went out looking to find Steven a car.  Good news to report.  We found Steven another VW Diesel Jetta.  This is the same year as Steven's original Jetta (2006) but it only has $33,000 miles on it versus the 110,000 + miles on his 'old' car.  We also received a decent settlement from our insurance company and were able to put a good amount down on the car.  We are so thankful.  

After all the paperwork and the 4+ hours at the car dealership we headed off to a graduation party.  Steven's cousin, Ben Perrin, just graduated with his MAC from Covenant Seminary.  Praise the Lord.  Here is a picture of the MAC boys :)

Here is a picture of me with Abby.  Abby is Ben's sister in law.  Our girls are only 2 weeks apart.  It was so sweet to see them and visit for a short while. 

After the party I headed west to celebrate a graduation for a dear friend and former youth group student.  Maggie just graduated high school and will be heading to Samford University in the fall. I have known Maggie and her family for about 7 years and am so thankful for all our time together.

 

Sunday morning, the kids were exhausted and slept in till 7:45am.  Little did they know that Sunday would be another busy but fun day.  Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Saturday was my Birthday.  I turned 32 - yikes. Don't worry, I'm not at all bummed that we didn't do anything extra special for my Birthday. I am thankful to have my husband, children, family, friends and much more.  I felt loved.  Here is Peyton before she woke up on Sunday morning.  I don't know about you but I certanily don't find this position comfortable while I am sleeping.  I guess it works for our little girl. 

Here is a picture of Preston on Sunday morning.  This child almost never uses a blanket - whatever. 

 On Sunday was our annual all Church family picnic.  It was a BLAST!!!  There was yummy food, games for kids, water slides, snow cones, etc... What a blessing.  We feel very much at home here and are deeply thankful.  Here is Preston man and the bubble station. 

Here is Preston with his buddy, Caleb.  They are only 4 months apart. 

Here is Preston going down the huge water slip n slide. 

Ok, this picture is from Preston performance with Peeps this morning.  Peeps is the mom's day out program that our kids go to during the week while I go to work.  It was super sweet to hear Preston sing songs with his friends.  While I am excited for Preston to start preschool in the fall, we will miss our Peeps friends. 

  Oh yes, here is the finshed look in our reading room.  The alphabet is back on the wall and the books are back on the shelf.  The room feels SO MUCH BETTER!  It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to a room. 

 Here is the view of the bookshelf.  I added some frames/pictures to the wall. 

 Finally, I took the kids to Forest Park this afternoon to play.  We explored the Muny area and the kids had a blast running around on the grass.  They are so sweet and I can tell that they love each other very much. 

Painting

Many of you know that I love to do home projects.  This may include re organizing a closet, paining a room, cleaning out drawers, etc...  This week it was time for another paining project.  The verdict : the reading room.  Ok, so this isn't really a 'room'.  It is the closet up in the kids room that I have turned into the reading room.  I love this space. I love the soft carpet on the floor and the stars on the ceiling that light up when we turn off the light.  Here is a look the room pre project.  It is clean, but in need of a fresh coat of paint. 

Here we are at the start of the project. I had to patch up a few spots on the wall and sand things down.  I decided to pain the side walls a yellow cream and the end wall/ceiling a light sky blue.  

 Here is another pictures of the work. 

 After the walls were painting it was time for the floor and trim.  Since the wood flooring had allready been painted it was easy to cover with a nice fresh coat.  (Sorry about the lighting) 

 Here is the floor just as I was starting to paint. 

 Here is the room while the paint is drying. I let it dry all night and was able to move the carpet and books back in the room this morning. 

I post a picture this weekend. 

Here is my next project.  This is the space/landing area in the reading room that leads up to the attic.  I am thinking about clearning out all this stuff (mostly baby stuff) and turning it into a cool hang out space for Preston :) 

So, does this count as a before and after project :)

Car Accident

I am sad to report that Steven was in a car accident this morning.  Let me first say that he is ok.  Shaken, but doing ok.  He most likely will be sore tomorrow and will be a bit timid on the road for a while but we are so thankful that he was not physically injured.  Now, what about the car?  While we haven't received the official word from our insurance company, we strongly believe that the car will be totaled.  Here is a picture of the damage. 

To say that Steven is bummed wouldn't quite be the word.  He is really sad, frustrated and almost devastated.  This Jetta is more than a regular Jetta.  This was Steven's favorite car.  This car is a diesel which got EXCELLENT gas mileage.  He also recently installed some pretty cool headlights and a stereo.  He spent a lot of time working on his car and to have it taken away is a big bummer.  Sure, insurance is wonderful, but when your car is worth more to you than the monetary value it just stinks to let it go.  We are looking for a 'new' car and unfortunately a diesel may no longer in our price range due to our 'job transition'.  Bummer.  I guess these are the moments we just have to be thankful for what we have which is our lives, our family and our friends.  We will continue to move forward and keep you updated. 

I am thankful to be a mom

Today was a beautiful day here in STL and I couldn't of asked for anything more on this Mother's Day.  Our family celebrated with Steven's mom and dad at their house and we had a lovely time.  We played outside, grilled some burgers and just did a lot of hanging out.  I think we all need days like this.  Today, I am most thankful for these two littles ones who make me a happy mommy. 

I am thankful for Peyton's sweet personality, curiosity and big hugs.  

I am thankful for Preston's energy, creativity and love for trains. 

 I am thankful for my family who loves me well.  I think I have the best husband in the whole wide world. 

 I am also thankful for my mom and Steven's mom who have sacrified so much to care for us and love us throughout our lives. 

 Ok, I just had to post this picture b/c it is so darn cute :)

 Just a sweet picture of Papa with our little Peyton.

Finally, a picture of my boys. I love them and all their wierd faces they make for the camera. 

Time With Friends

Our dear friends, Drew and Lindsey, came to the STL this week.  They are busy raising support to work with GYFM/MTW but still snuck in some time with us and other dear friends.  Thank you!!

First, sweet Lindsey loving our little Peyton. 

Second, Peyton giving Drew a sweet look and then running away :)

Here we have Drew and Preston being silly on the slide. 

Finally, a sweet picture of one of the Horses we saw at Longview Farm Park this evening.  Preston loved seeing the horses and it was so sweet listening to his questions about what the horse eats, where the horse sleeps and who takes care of them. 

Loving the Swimming Pool

Yesterday we had success with Peyton and the swimming pool.  First, I filled the pool with water early in the morning so that it could warm up with the sun.  Next, I left the hose off and away from the pool. Finally, I got in the pool myself.  Take a look at these pictures.  Peyton not only liked the pool, but she loved the pool.  She also loved the slide going into the pool.  I think we will be spending a good amount of time in the water this summer :)

Even though Peyton is being tackled by her big brother she is having a great time. 

 She was also brave enough to go down the slide all by herself. 

 She probobly studying her big brother. 

 I wonder what she is thinking about in this moment.  Perhaps she is just enjoying the warm sun. 

Tons of Trucks

 On Saturday morning the Richmond Heights Community Center held a 'Tons of Trucks' event in their parking lot.  Preston was so excited to see the huge vehicles, sit inside and explore.  Here are a few pictures.  

First, the boy has to check out all the controls.  

Next, I think he is ready to go.  

He is not coming down.  He is hard at work here.  

Here he is checking out the garbage truck.  

He doesn't want to leave :) 

Here is Preston inside the firetruck asking the fireman about all the different controls and equipment.  He was really interested in the mask the firefighters have to wear so they can breath.  

Just a little Mommy and Preston time.  

Peyton wasn't that interested in the big trucks. Poor girl. It was so hot outside.