Our camping adventure...

This post is LONG overdue ... I found our pictures from camping and realized that I had wanted to blog about our adventure but then life got busy and I forgot. Sorry for the 6 week delay...

For the second year in a row, we have gone camping over Labor Day weekend with friends at Davidson River campground in Pisgah National Forest. We discovered last year that we LOVED camping as a family and wanted to make it an annual event. So this year we got a bigger campsite and camped with some of our best friends for four days and nights. We had 10 adults and 7 kiddies (all age 4 and under) on our campsite. Each day was FULL of excitement, laughter, good food, and just a little bit of crying...I mean with 7 kiddies, one of them is bound to be unhappy right?!?

We slept in a tent, roasted marshmellows by the fire, and even enjoyed a little adult time playing games at night once all of the kiddies went to sleep. We also went to SLIDING ROCK and both of my brave and daring kiddies went down the cold, wet rock with daddy! Leah liked it so much that she went down at least a dozen times with Todd before he was worn out! On another day, we went hiking and saw a beautiful waterfall! Jay Tyler absolutely LOVED the whole camping experience. He was right by daddy's side while Todd was building camp fires, cooking, or exploring nature. We are already looking forward to our camping adventure next year...with more kiddies in tow:)

Leah Bear turns 4!

I really can't believe that I have a four year old today...I can honestly remember almost every moment and little detail of the day that Leah was born in the hospital four years ago. I remember holding her for the first time and being amazed at the beauty God had created through Todd and myself. Leah is our first born child and our only daughter. She holds a special place in my heart because she was the first to teach me about unconditional love, grace, and sacrifice as a mother. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with the ability to stay home with Leah and Jay Tyler over the last two years and watch them learn and grow on a daily basis.

I love how Leah laughs and giggles at the smallest things in life. I love the way she cares for Jay Tyler and helps him do "big boy" things on a daily basis. I love to hear her pray for her friends and family. I love to watch her play with her babies and pretend to be their teacher or mother. I love that I get to watch first hand when she learns something new or has a new experience. I love when she wants me to hold her and play with her hair. The past four years have been full of love, laughter, and great memories. I look forward to watching Leah grow into the beautiful young woman God has designed her to be!