Creation Station

Ok. So it has been a LONG time since I have done a posting on the who, what, when where, and why of our little family, or anything for that matter! But here we are again!
Long story short, about 6 months ago Our family received a HUGE blessing when I was able to take a part-time position at work, allowing me to keep working at a place that I love with people I cherish, and also be at home with Caroline more! Once we became accustomed to the adjustment and the holidays came and went with even more blessings along the way, I thought about how my time would be spent on my extra days at home. House work has always been a priority for me because as any hardworking mother knows if you don't stay on top of it you won't be able to get out from under it. While I didn't plan to totally abandon this concept, I didn't want those duties and chores to consume my time and energy. After all, making the decision to work less days was not so that I could keep a spotless house. the decision was made to allow me the opportunity to spend more time with Caroline and make our family closer and stronger. I decided that in order to maintain this overall goal, Caroline and I needed to have a little bit of structured time together throughout the day that really wouldn't seem any different than playing together.  I did some research on different activities that we could do together that weren't only fun, but provided opportunities for learning as well.
We love telling Bible stories in our house, so naturally, that is the direction we took for one of our first activities.  We decided to learn about creation for a few days in between playing with play-doh, drawing, playing with babies, playing kitchen, puzzles, flash card games, and loads of other stuff.  Below, you will see Caroline working on one of her first creation pictures when God created the water and the sky!  This was her first try with glue as well.  Now as much as I wanted to, I thought it would be wise to resist my desire to turn her loose with an entire bottle of glue.  Instead, I gave her a little puddle of glue and taught her another way we can use Q-Tips!  We had a blast...and what an awesome picture she did!

What a fun activity!  We were actually at Mimi and Papi's house when we did this, and I think we squeezed in some special finger paintings for them as well!  

A "Babies" Shower!

The last weekend in July, we packed up the car and made the trip to Radford, Virginia to celebrate the future arrival of the Bona Babies! We got to stay with Aunt Pam and Uncle Erv...one of our favorite places to go! We had pizza Friday night and made prepartions for the shower. Some of us stayed up until 1 or 2 in the morning to make sure everyone got in safely...and they did.
The shower was wonderful...Suzanne and Jeff received so many wonderful presents for two little blessings...and Suzanne could not look more beautiful! Jeff was super excited to get the "Space Shuttle Stroller"--a two seater of course. He put it all together and showed us all how it worked and all of its parts that popped in and out of place.
After the shower, we all just hung out and enjoyed eachother's company. We played cornhole, sat in the big swings and hammocks, and went on wagon rides! It was a packed house for the weekend...the Stauss', Andrades, Bonas, Mullens, Priddys, Priddys, and Mishoes...and we had a blast!

Caroline was so excited to spend some time and share some smiles with her cousin Kristen!

"The boys" congregated while they deep- fried our dinner...turkey!

Aunt Pam took all three girls on a wagon ride, and they loved it! Quite the lovely load!

We even got a suprise visitor! Cousin Kevin! The little girls loved playing with Kevin, and had such a great time with him!










Aunt "Wizzy" was trying to get Caroline to master going down the steps. She definitely made some progress!

Once again, we had such a fantastic weekend with our family. Nobody throws a party like we do! Can't wait for the next one!

Big Red Backyard Building

Over the last year or so, as Caroline has been growing more and more out of her clothes, we discovered that we were running out of storage room! After watching stack after stack of baby clothes approach the ceiling in the office, we decided to take action and get a bigger outbuilding to accommodate us. At first, we thought about building an outbuilding ourselves. However, with work and our other responsibilities, time was just not on our side...and we needed a building now not in five years. After a lot of browing and praying, we finally decided to buy an Amish-made out building, and it was the greatest decision ever! It gives us plenty of room to store baby items, tools, 4-wheeler, and more! We are so proud of it, and definitely blessed to have been able to get it. So this is our big project for summer 2011, and the newest addition to our home!

I thought it would be neat to take a picture of the new building next to the old building...which after it is cleaned out...will be given to Grandma and Grandpa Mullen. Craig and Papi worked really hard last month putting insulation and plywood in the building, and it has made a world of difference. It was so hot in the building at first and not really conducive for storage...especially in the loft shelves where temps were registering at 120 degrees! Craig is still working on putting up a few other shelves, and eventually his work bench in the building. He is having a great time, and we are enjoying watching him!

The Mullens Take Nashville!

We always try and squeeze in a few trips to Nashville every year, and in June we decided to make a trip! Boy, was it fun. Caroline was in for a long weekend of adventures with her cousins, Audrey and Madeline, and we were just along for the ride...and to take pictures of these absolutely beautiful girls! Maddie and Audrey have a fantastic playroom in their house, so that was Caroline's first stop when we arrived in Nashville...and who can leave Nashville without going horseback riding? With Audrey's help, Caroline took a ride she'd never forget!

After horseback riding, Aunt "Wizzy" put a huge piece of paper on the floor, and Maddie decided to help Caroline embrace her artistic side. Caroline hasn't had too much experience using crayons yet, mainly because she likes to eat them. Luckily, Maddie showed Caroline that there is more to crayons than just taste...and she speaks from experience, being a former connoisseur of crayons herself.

After we put the horses in their barns and the crayons in their box, we decided to enjoy God's gift of sunshine! Audrey and Maddie's Gram and Grandad bought them an inflatable slide for them to play on outside. Caroline hasn't played much in the water, and had never been on a water slide before....but boy did she have a blast! She loved going down the slide and prancing around in the pool of water below. It was wonderful watching her and all of the girls together. Except for Maddie and her bug fear, the girls ran and danced and splashed like there was no tomorrow...and when they were done, they crashed like a ton of bricks!

Friday, we went on a field trip to Cheekwood to see the train display and beautiful botanical gardens. It was great! The train display was wonderful with several sets of trains going up and down and in and out in all different directions. Thomas the Train and his friends were even there! The girls enjoyed running through the middle of the display and waiting and watching for the trains to come.

After watching the trains for awhile, we went on a walk through the botanical gardens, and it was beautiful. Tons and tons of bright colorful plants gathered on either side of the sidewalk. We even found a quiet pavilion to rest and have a picnic! It was a lot of fun. Audrey took a few minutes with herself to dance in circles and sing songs in the gardens. It was quite a show! And we got to see just how many grapes Maddie could fit into her mouth...eight!

Father's Day was just around the corner and we had to think of something great to do because we have such wonderful Daddies!

Audrey helped decorate cards for her daddy and Uncle Craig. She worked really hard on her project. Maddie worked on a card too. Caroline colored a card and a photo mat for her daddy, and put three great Caroline and Daddy pictures in the mat! What a great present! The girls made a special breakfast for their daddies, decorated the dining room with lots and lots of pictures! It was a Father's Day to remember!

Caroline was so proud of herself when she hopped up in a big-girl rocking chair on her own!



The weekend in Nashville was fantastic, as always, and we can't wait to go back. It's always such a blessing to be with our family, and celebrate eachother's company. We can't wait for the beach!

Fun In the Sun!

Well summer isn't officially here yet. But Caroline has gotten her swimsuit out and is ready to go! Today, after the parade and nap time, we decided to take Caroline outside so we could take advantage of this insanely hot muggy weather. She did so many things! She took a dip in her pool, she ran through her whale sprinkler, and she got to swing! She even got to hang out with her daddy while he cooked the ribs for our Memorial Day Feast--which included BBQ ribs, mashed "tatoes" as Caroline calls them, peas and corn, and biscuits! Caroline's favorite was the biscuits with lots of butter. Yes...she has a new love in her life...butter or "bubu" as she calls it.

Caroline's Day at the Parade

We love love love holidays around here. It's an extra day we get to spend with Caroline! What could be better! Today, Craig decided to put Caroline in her first parade. The Memorial Day Parade was taking place in Cairo, and we decided to make it a family affair. But we couldn't just stand along the side and watch...we had to be in it! So we piled into the fire truck for Caroline's first parade!

Caroline and her daddy driving full speed ahead in the fire truck.













Caroline and Daddy standing on the fire truck.











Now they've jumped over to the ambulance!









As you can see, Caroline had a fantastic day at the parade. We are so proud of Craig for being a fireman. He makes huge sacrifices constantly for the well being of others. Though we do miss him terribly and say our prayers every time he gets called out, we are so proud of the job he does. When a home is saved from a fire, or when someone's life is saved, we are so proud and blessed to say "Hey! That's our daddy!"

THE FIREMAN'S PRAYER
When I am called to duty, God,
Wherever flames may rage,
Give me the strength
to save some life,
What ever be its age.
Help me to embrace a little child,
Before it is too late
or some older person
from the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert
and hear the weakest shout
and quickly and efficiently,
To put the fire out.
And if according to your will,
I have to lose my life,
Please bless
with your protecting hand,
My children and my wife.
© A.W. "Smokey" Linn 1959

Wonderful Wedding Day

Saturday, May 21, 2011, we got to celebrate the marriage of two of our best friends...Aunt Stephanie (or "sheshe" to Caroline) and Uncle Rob. It was such a beautiful and blessed occasion for celebration. The flowers at the reception hall were one of my favorite decorations...yellow and purple flowers gathered together and place in watering cans. The perfect touch to the perfect country wedding. The food was great too! Caroline really enjoyed her ox roast sandwich and scalloped potatoes...and we know Aunt Sheshe enjoyed her pile of green beans LOL It was such a blessing to be able to celebrate with our friends and family on this fantastic day that we have been waiting for! It was such a gift to be able to see two of our best friends begin their lives together and we look forward to what blessings God has in store for all of us!








This is our friend "Dr. Mandy" and her
daughter, Abbagayle.










Our beautiful little cousin, Adelyn, came to town for the big event, too! We were so excited to get to play with Addy and Aunt "Hee Hee" (Aunt Jill).



"And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." -Luke 12:19