Zeke, Adalynn, and Lily Faith: Lily Faith turns ONE + May fun!!

Lily Faith's 1st birthday party

What an exciting and busy month we've had! Lily Faith turned ONE on May 23, 2017. It's hard to believe a year has passed already. Gregg was/is traveling for 18 days in a row this month. The children and I drove up to Johns Creek to visit with family and friends and celebrate Lily Faith's birthday.

I don't have her weight and height statistics yet, but more importantly, as I was praying for her, God gave me a verse, Isaiah 62:3 (see below). Before He gave me this verse, as I planned her party, I chose to order her a flower crown to match her outfit and go along with the flower theme. She is a "Lily" and I thought it would be fitting! As I prayed this verse for her, God showed me how precious she is to Him. This chapter in Isaiah talks about Zion's coming salvation. I prayed for Lily Faith's coming salvation. Verse 4 talks about Zion getting a new name, Hephzibah ("my delight is in her"). This has such special meaning because our dear friend, Sheeba, is Hephzibah by birth. Sheeba is her nickname. As Lily Faith grows, I pray she will always be a crown in the hand of God, His delight, and that her salvation will be in Him alone!

"The LORD will hold you in his hand for all to see--a splendid crown in the hand of God." ~ Isaiah 62:3

Collage of pregnancy through one year old!

My mom did a beautiful job helping me decorate and host her party. I found an artist on Etsy to design some decorations centered around the floral theme. Below you'll see the banner we made of Lily Faith from newborn through 12 months!

Mom and Dad's mantle was a perfect backdrop!

Newborn - 3 months

4 - 7 months

8 - 12 months

With her personalized birthday sign

She gained one more tooth and started standing independently after we had this printed, but before her birthday!! She also says "Uh-oh" frequently!

Singing to the birthday girl

Opening her gifts

Big brother enjoying the yummy food

Harper, Ellie, and Adalynn

Sweet siblings

My friend, Lindsay, came to celebrate!

Zeke watching baseball with Uncle Jared

Notes written for her to read when she turns 18!

Trying out her fun gift from Jared, Jami, and the girls!

Singing to Kariss because her 10th birthday was soon after!

Kariss opening her gifts

With Wynna after the party!

Helping Wynna in the kitchen

Helping by licking the spoon!

Big kids watching TV at Wynna and Granddaddy's house

Sweet girl with Granddaddy

Lunch at the club after church

My sweet friend, Kristen was visiting with her kids from Denmark. Atlas and Lily Faith hit it off!

Only God could have orchestrated this! Gregg and Morten (Kristen's husband) were sight seeing in Denmark together while Kristen and I were together with the children in the states!!

Her actual birthday!

One year photos with Shannon Campbell

This was a tough session. It was hot and the gnats were out in full force! Shannon managed to get some really cute pictures, but we ended up going back to her house this week to get a few more. You'll see those as the first two images. Zeke came as my helper, so she took a picture of him too!

Why are we doing this, Mommy?

Wynna visits

My mom came down to help me with the girls while Zeke and I went to Albany for a Classical Conversations practicum and camp. We always enjoy our time with Wynna!

Watching Adalynn play with her (Lily Faith's) birthday gift!

Swimming...fun!!!

Ready to jump in!

An indoor lunch picnic with Wynna

So sweet!

Add caption

Her Mother's Day gift (a little early) from Jared and his family and us

Last day of school

We have decided we will declare our homeschool year as a "year round" schedule from this point on. When I submit our intent to homeschool with the state of Georgia, I'll list June 1 of one year to May 31 of the next year. We are constantly schooling, so this makes more sense for us. However, I'll continue doing first/last day pictures when we begin CC in the fall and when we end it in the spring. Here are our comparisons from the 2016-2017 school year!

Mother's Day

Our friend, Nicole, surprised me with one too!

Piano recital

He played, "Ode to Joy"

He chose his shoes and I didn't realize it until we were at the church! Oops!

Our friends, the Almeidas, came to watch!

Memorial Day

We thank God for those who gave their lives for our freedom! There is no way to express our gratitude properly. We pray for all of you who have loved ones serving or who have served in the past. We pray for the safety of all men and women in the military. God bless!

Quotes and Conclusion

I'm going to stick a few random photos here that finish up our month! I also have started creating little picture images of quotes the kids say that I want to remember. Enjoy!