Abigail and her alter-ego

There's Abigail the girlie-girl, who loves to wear pretty dresses...

 ...and then there's Abigail the Spy.

Look out, world!

Abigail's second 7th birthday celebration :)

My dad- and mom-in-law had planned to be here to celebrate Abigail's birthday with us, but they got hit with a nasty cold virus and had to postpone their visit so they didn't share more with Abigail than just her gifts!  Abigail thought it was fun that she got two birthday celebrations this year!  She opened her presents from Grandpa and Grandma McKee (see some of them on the table by her?!) and then got another birthday dessert and serenade!

My mom-in-law and I took the kids and went to the Margaret Mitchell house (the apartment where she lived and wrote Gone With The Wind).  It was full of history and quite fascinating.

This is the the front door of Tara from the movie set.

Margaret Mitchell and her husband lived in the apartment on the bottom left.  That's where she wrote her famous book.

I realize in retrospect that I didn't take any pictures of both kids with both grandparents -- grrr!  While we were gone on our field trip, my dad-in-law did some puttering around the house for us.  By the end of the day, I had under-cabinet lights on my coffeepot counter!  Doesn't it look nice?!  We love using it every morning.

 We had a wonderful time together and Abigail thoroughly enjoyed both of her birthday celebrations!

Abigail's 7th birthday celebration

We had a wonderful time celebrating Abigail's seventh birthday with her.  We have a tradition of a birthday gift  at breakfast, so she opened the new sundress I had made for her.

Mid-morning, she got her main gift from us so that she could use it the rest of the day!  She was completely surprised by it -- we had noticed that she was too big for her old bike but we had mentioned it to her -- it was a great birthday surprise!

 

How did she get so big?!

  She also got some bug-hunting equipment from her brother.  They even caught a butterfly that afternoon!

Karen and Noah came over to share the evening's birthday festivities.  We had Abigail's request for her birthday supper...ravioli, salad, asparagus, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower (she has always been our vegetable queen!).

Her birthday cake this year was a Cinderella doll cake.  Although she had a purple princess in this style a few years ago, she really wanted this and so she got it!

After dinner was birthday gift time.  She was thrilled with a beautiful new dress (in her latest favorite color to wear) and a craft kit from her great-Grandpa and -Grandma O'Gorman.

There was a loud yell of excitement when she got birthday money from Uncle Chuck, Aunt Connie, Amanda, and Alicia!

New ballet slippers from Grandpa and Grandma Minota earned an "oooooh!" and an immediate performance.

 We had a wonderful celebration to mark a wonderful milestone!  To be continued...

Happy 7th birthday, Abigail!

Happy birthday to the sweet princess whom we love and adore beyond our ability to express it with words.

Abigail Rose, you fill our lives with joy while you fill our days with your

~twirly~

~sparkly~

 ~dancey-prancey~

~giggly~

  ~adorable~

~adventurous~

~sunshiny zest for life.

 We love you so very much and are so very glad that God gave you to us!

Happy 7th birthday, Abigail!

With much, much love from Daddy and Mommy (and David, too!)

Savoring six...

Today I am savoring all day long the fact that my baby girl is six years old...because tomorrow she turns seven and the celebration has already begun!  This past Sunday she took cupcakes to church to share with her friends in children's church.

 She specifically requested princess cupcake liners for her pink cupcakes with white frosting and pale pink roses on top (she is a girl who knows her mind).  I was pleased to be able to comply!  We also added edible pink glitter (you can't tell in the pictures, but that's what is sprinkled over the frosting).  Karen came over this past Friday to help me make the 24 Royal Frosting roses, which was much appreciated!  Abigail was thrilled to pieces with the results. :)

Abigail can hardly wait for tomorrow to arrive, but I am hoping today goes by very slowly, while I savor every minute...

Christmas Quilt Conquest

My Christmas quilt is all done and tucked away awaiting its Christmas debut (which will be here before we know it!).  Technically, it was done late (I had planned to have it ready for this past Christmas), but I prefer to think of it now as being done early for this coming Christmas. :)  What a traveler this quilt was...the fabric was purchased, cut and partially sewn in New York (the wallhanging is what my grandma made while we were together)...

...the piecing finished in Georgia, then borders added and short-arm quilting done in Florida...

 ...the binding partially sewn on in Florida and then finished on the way home to Georgia...

...and now washed and tucked away here at home!

Also finished is this quilt that my mom and I sewed together as a "mystery quilt-along" on New Year's Day.  We got more clues/instructions each hour without knowing what our end goal was -- it was very fun!  My mom took it home to back/quilt/bind it and now it's living at my house.

It is so wonderful to have finished projects to share instead of more UFOs!!!

March Madness

March has been just as busy as always, but we've managed to squeeze some recreation into the madness!  Early in the month we were excited to hit the 3/4 mark in our school year.  Last week we enjoyed a field trip to the Atlanta History Center's homeschool day, the theme of which was "Everyday Heroes."  We especially enjoyed the military emphasis and all of the respect paid to our soldiers.  We also enjoyed the lovely spring day and a walk in the Quarry Garden to see all of the plants coming back to life.

 We also got to enjoy a whole-family field trip (it's always special when Daddy gets to come, too) to the Center for Puppetry Arts to watch a puppet show.  Their shows -- and their Create-a-Puppet workshop afterwards -- are always stellar and this one was no exception!

We've also had some adventures in the tooth department.  David had to have a primary tooth pulled, but the permanent one is still nowhere near ready to take its place, so we had to find an orthodontist to have a space maintainer put into his mouth.  The orthodontist did a great job making it a friendly experience for David and he even bought David a Starbucks Frappucino to celebrate his new appliance!

We also taught the kids how to fill out a March Madness bracket.  This is a big deal in our house and we have all really enjoyed having our whole family be part of the fun!

 March has been going by at more of a gallop than a march!!!

Spring has Sprung

Spring has been in nearly-full swing for a few weeks now here in Georgia, but now that the calendar says it's official, I figure I'd better post my pictures.  Please ignore the poor photo quality (and the as-yet-untended landscaping/lawn) and just enjoy the spring flowers with me!

I read about planting crocus bulbs in the middle of the yard for a fun surprise, and I thought it was a great idea, so I did that with both crocus and daffodils.  I love the pretty effect.

 

Our mailbox area

 

 Phlox tumbling over the edge of the driveway

Bleeding Heart in its first bloom of the season

Lovely bulbs along the driveway wall

And, of course, springtime means outside time can be enjoyed without layers and layers of clothing.  My kids enjoy being outside regardless of the weather, but this time of year is especially nice!

 Happy spring!