Miller Manis Wedding

I have to admit that I am terribly late getting these out. Thank you so much Mollie for your patience as I worked through major software issues:) Both Mark and Mollie are so expressive. It made my job easier than ever. Mollie is a farm girl from non other than Farmville, VA. No kidding. Mark is a football-playing VMI grad. Their personal touches were all over this event. It was super fun puting the photos together to tell the story of their day. Enjoy!

Can it get any sweeter?

Reece Christian, 5 months old

Lazy Mom

This is what a lazy night looks like. Cereal and a movie...for dinner. I know, ridiculous. But, hey, the cereal had bananas in it.

New Blog

Check it out... www.downstreamfarm.wordpress.com We will use this new blog for all info about the farm. It will act as a business site for the eggs and such that we will sell. More info to come. Check it out.

Chocloate Peanut Butter Cake

This was so good my Dad thought I bought it. When I told him I made it he thought I was lying. I am still not sure he believes me. I got the recipe from my friend Julie. Here you go:

Cake:

a devils food cake mix, easy.

Icing:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups peanut butter

3 TBSP heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Tips:

I would use two boxes of cake mix and cook it in three pans, using a total of 3/4 cake mix. Maybe use the leftover mix for cupcakes. This way you can have three manageable layers to work with. Double the icing recipe. Make and ice cake in time to leave in the refrigerator overnight. This makes it extra moist and the cold cake helps cut the sweetness. Enjoy!

A Hot Husband

I know, you wish you had one, too :)

Avery beach style

Why would you wear a bathing suit at the beach? Avery doesn't

Well, she doesn't wear anything.

Oak Island, NC Part II

Annalee is off and running... A sweet father-daughter moment

Shelby getting her hugs in for the day

Aunt Liz takes the girls in the water

Sand

How did I get sand there? And there?

Ugg, sand!

Everywhere!

Oak Island, NC Part I

We went to the beach for a little family time. Oh, so fun. Actually, my parents and my sister Liz and her husband Tommy took the big girls for the whole week. Shane and I brought Avery down and stayed on Thursday and Friday. Annalee played with my Dad's new puppy all week long. I am not sure who enjoyed it more. More pictures to come...

Impostor

Shane likes to tease Shelby calling her an, "impostor!" He says, " Are you the real Shelby?"

"What's your middle name?"

She says all giggles, "Lynn-he-he-he-he!"

He says, "Ok, real Shelby Lynn, I love you."

Babysitting on the Farm

I like to have friend's over. I like it when they leave their kids to play, but, just so you know... You may return to childern that are very dirty, may or may not still be wearing all of their clothes, and probably will be ready for a really, really long night of sleep. That is what happens at the farm. Bring 'em on!!

Four months, and loving it

Meet Mr. Personality. Reece is such a blessing to our family. His dimpled smile lights up a room. We can be with friends and he will smile and everyone stops talking and takes a moment to share the joy. This really happens. All the time. He has been rolling over for a while, but he recently is strong enough to play in the exersaucer by himself. He still likes to be held, a lot. That is ok, because the days are getting cooler, which means wearing him in a sling is not so miserable. I love to use slings, but when you have lots of space to cool in the hot, humid Summer, it gets a little pricey. So we kept the windows open a lot and that means it gets very hot and humid inside. Therefore, holding a baby close to you all day gets a pretty hot and stinky to be quite honest. We like having a boy around and I spend lots of time daydreaming about his future years running around, helping Avery catch frogs and bugs. We love our Reece Man.

My Favorite Spot

This is my favorite spot in my house. It is in my kitchen and I can keep an eye on everything. There is lots of light in the daytime, but even at night, I love the lamp. The couch, was my grandmothers, and the hand-painted table was my mom's. It reminds me of my house growing up. I love color, I love memories and I love light. So of course, it would make perfect sense that this would be my favorite spot.

Chicken coop coming soon!

Shane and the girls spent the weekend working on the chicken coop. Oh, and taking breaks to ride the dirt bikes. Thanks Steven for the ride!

Messy

Yes, I let my kids eat cake batter and get messy. Of course, only after they have stripped down to their undies and stay "outside please!" p.s. sorry for the blurry picture

Really Dancing in the Rain

"Mommy, Can we go dance in the rain."

"Of Course you can."

I am fairly certain this conversation would have ended differently if it were not for an incredibly inspiring story a friend shared from stage about an experience with her children dancing in the rain. She ended the story with tears in her eyes and a crack in her voice saying, " I would not have traded a thousand sunny days for that one dance in the rain."

Thank you Friend.