Family Picnic at Chewacla

Well we figured we would begin to make the most of our time together here in Auburn on the weekends! This was our 2nd weekend in town as a family and we loved the new memories we made with our precious girls! It's definitely a chore and a challenge to get everyone out the door during the windows of not napping/mealtime but we sure do love to be out and about! On Friday night, we ventured into Opelika and stumbled upon Niffer's at the Tracks-a restaurant we loved in college but in a new location. We have a feeling this might be a usual spot of ours after we realized they have trains inside for the girls to play in...:) That meant Kendall and I enjoyed our meal and our girls enjoyed playing! Win win!

On Saturday, we packed ourselves a little picnic and headed to Chewacla for a little hike down to the waterfall and then a family lunch! The girls loved the waterfall and although they were anxious to get to the "picnic" tables, once we were up and away from the waterfall, they immediately wished they were back. Life with toddlers, right? We splurged and let the girls have watermelon and multiple popsicles and their faces showed their delight! All was well and we had the best time until the fire ants made an appearance on our picnic blanket. The fun was now over...but that was ok because it was already past nap time! I'm sure we will be back! The weather was perfect and as long as their daddy can carry them both back up the hill, we'll do it again! =0)

Moving Back to the Plains...

The time has come to pack up the final boxes and furniture from 2115 Ross Park Avenue. Our home for the past five years. And to be honest, it's been a little bit strange to say goodbye in stages. With Kendall taking the new job right outside of Auburn, he left first to begin work. That left the girls and myself behind in Birmingham for 8 weeks. With first trimester sickness in full swing and two toddlers in tow, we spent a good portion of our time rotating between grandparents house to have a little extra help & support. The rest of our time was spent back in Birmingham, but without daddy! :( So with us being in and out of town and being semi-nomadic, we've said our goodbyes in waves, not sure when we would "officially" move. We are thrilled that the Lord has provided this job which will continue to allow me to stay home and raise our soon to be 3 little girls. However, there is obvious sadness about leaving anywhere, especially the city where we settled after just getting married, the city we found out we were pregnant with twins, and then of course bringing our two daughters home from the hospital and spending the first two years of their lives in our town home. So while we're really excited about what God has ahead for our family, it is so bittersweet to be leaving behind a church that has changed our hearts, perspectives, lives, and walk with the Lord forever, wonderful friends and small groups, and a neighborhood like no other. We trust the Lord has led us to Auburn and are confident in due time this will indeed feel like our new home. And let's be honest, if we were going to have to pack up our family and move, Auburn isn't too shabby of a place to settle down and raise a family. So back to the Plains we go...just this time as a family of four (almost five!) rather than two young college kids. Thank you Lord for your provision and for bringing us this far. Your faithfulness continues to amaze us on a daily basis...

This move has been done in multiple shifts...starting with Kendall leaving March 17th to begin his new job on the 18th and living with a friend for 8 weeks. Then the rest of the family joined him Memorial Day weekend as we got settled into our new apartment. This weekend marks the real end to this moving journey. We'll be leaving the girls behind with grandparents for one last weekend to get the last of our remaining things in the house packed up and stored in Auburn until we find our new & more permanent house. We hope to close on our house in Birmingham in about a week and close that chapter of our lives for now. Excited about this new adventure and what the Lord has for our family here in Auburn! Although between the two of us, leaving our home for the last time on Sunday, there were quite a few tears shed. So many memories wrapped up in a three-story townhome! Ones we will hold dear to us for years to come...

More Memories in Destin

We love this place. It holds such dear memories for just Kendall and I before kids and now even more memories with the addition of two precious girls and one more on the way! From college trips down here to the perfect proposal, to trips with friends & with Kendall's family, we have piled up quite a few fond memories and now that we are even closer to the beach I have a feeling we might make a few more trips to the sandy white beaches in the future! 

 This particular trip came at a really fun time for us. Two weekends after packing up our belongings and moving to Auburn, we were able to meet in Destin to reunite with our bestest friends from Birmingham and their children. It's hard to imagine living life more than 5 minutes down the road from them. Couldn't even begin to count the number of dinners on our patio or dinners at their place in addition to park, pool, and hang outs just about any free chance we had available. :) We are so grateful for their friendship, for the way they have loved us and served us over the years, but especially the last few months of our crazy lives with moving, pregnancy, dr's appts, & a husband who had to leave his pregnant wife & twins behind in Bham for 2 months to start his new job! We will forever be thankful for them and cherish the 5 years of knowing them. We know this isn't the end so that's why we kicked off our time apart with a weekend at the beach!

We had the best time! From making our usual stop at the Donut Hole for breakfast to  jumping waves & playing on the beach with the kiddos, to updating our wardrobes at the outlets and dinners out at the Back Porch & McGuire's, it was a full, full weekend. Apart from the littles waking up at the crack of dawn as the sun came shining through the window, the weekend felt complete! Sad to part ways after such a fun time, but     just a good excuse to begin the plans of another family getaway with the Edwards! 

All Pink for our Family!!

Today's the BIG DAY! One that is ridiculously hard for me to wait for...the day we, Lord willing, find out if this third miracle is a boy or a girl. We are anxious to know, but more than knowing gender, our prayer has been the Lord's will and we so pray that involves a healthy baby above all. We know the Lord will gives us grace each step of the way, but if we were honest we would feel in over our heads on our own strength to deal with complications at this point in our life...but truly this and so many other things make us ask ourselves, "Do we really trust in His sovereignty over our lives and the lives of our children?" We pray that He grants grace to us to say yes, again and again. So without further ado, the results are in!

We didn't want to do anything elaborate, but thought it would be fun to let the girls discover the answer for us! We bought Gigi's cupcakes and they were kind enough on a moment's notice to fill them with blue or pink icing for us that we brought back in an envelope from the dr's appointment! So here we are, the much anticipated moment getting the girls strapped in for the biggest cupcakes they will have ever had the joy of eating! =)

We handed them to the girls and they immediately toppled over from being so "heavy" as the girls said! :) We asked the girls if they saw pink or blue inside...

Makenzie was more concerned with licking the icing off her fingers!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!! Maddie Grace is sporting the evidence on her nose for the world to see...

Three girls it is for this family! From the looks of it, Maddie Grace is pretty excited to have a little sister!

We love these two girls so much and can't wait to add another precious pink bundle to the mix!

Bring on the PINK says Daddy! I know how to do girls...apparently :)

Daddy's real words were, "Strike 3..." =) Maybe we'll be blessed with a splash of blue at some point in our lives, whether it's through adoption or biological children. He might need a little boy to balance out all the women in the house!

We are beyond thrilled to meet this little girl and can hardly believe we're halfway there! It goes a lot faster when you're tending to two busy toddlers! (once you pass the first trimester nauseousness part!) Thank you Lord for what appears to be a healthy, thriving little princess who is already kicking with excitement to get out! What a miracle! We praise God for your life already and pray you and your two sisters come to know Him at an early age. We will, by His grace alone, strive to point you to Him each day you're alive! We love you so much already Miss Ashton Kate! And your sisters are pretty excited about you too!!!!

What a Blur of a Month-26 Months Already!

26th MONTH STATS:

Mak-26lbs; MG-29lbs; roughly 32inches tall (MG still a tad taller)

Diapers: both in size 4 still

Clothes: Mak- 18mo MG- 24mo/2T

Shoes: Mak: size 4; MG: size 5

Teeth count: Mak: 12 with 1 on the way; MG: 16 

What new things you girls have done this month!? (from 25-26mo)

-talking in full sentences now! –mommy fix it, mommy you eat it, Kenzie, help me

-favorite new phrases: “I do it, k mommy?” “I go first mommy” “Nana silly, Mommy silly” “I walk, k?”

-Have now started asking questions such as where mommy go, where are the balls, etc. with intonation at the end of it

-say “Mon, mommy” for COME ON!

-Becoming quite independent in the last couple weeks-want to do everything ALL BY THEMSELVES-which poses a problem since they can’t quite get their shoes on and get dressed yet, but they have mastered getting into their highchairs and buckling them

-they moved into their new apartment in Auburn on May 27^th and they seem confused as to the fact that we will all be living here-very insistent that this is daddy’s house! J

-counting 1, 2, 3, GO!

-love the pool so far and the freedom of not being in a baby float! MG much more timid/cautious getting in and jumping, etc. Makenzie didn’t take long to warm up and start jumping off the side of the pool!

-still love all cleaning supplies-clorox wipes, diaper wipes, rags, etc

-started saying “Bless You” when someone sneezes J

-love being wild together and wrestling

-still confused about where they live-think the apartment is daddy’s house

-Makenzie regularly climbs out of her crib and now into Maddie Grace’s to play! First time was 6/1

-Makenzie also has been climbing out of her crib for some time but never at night-she has now made her first appearance after bedtime and in the middle of the night! 6/4

-Favorite songs: Mak-Whole World in His Hands; MG-Jesus Loves Me & Twinkle Twinkle

-walk around singing happy birthday to themselves and holding the tray of cupcakes from their kitchen J

-they do everything together-say sissy play or sissy come or sissy help all day long J

-Love to play in nooks and crannies

-still little mommies all day while they play with their babies-like baby to go everywhere and do everything with them!