Rex & Jessa

A few weeks ago, our whole family (even finn!) headed out to meet some new friends.

the girls were SO excited! our friend beth lives out in the country along with three of her own four legged babies and at least two additional four legged german shorthaired pointer foster babies. the girls ran and played...

with gammon, beth's 14 year old golden.

sweet gentle boy.

and then it was time...to let the dogs out!

Rex was first. you'd never know he is a 7-8 year old boy...because he is wide open!

but oh so sweet! check out those looks he was giving me! but what i loved the most about rex is how sweet he is. and loyal. and obedient!

and i'm pretty sure handsome would describe him as well!while i took pictures, the girls managed to sneak into the dog proofed area with tomato plants and crawl through a cobwebbed tunnel...but they had a blast!
and while finn might have needed a breather, he had no idea what was about to be let out!

 

jessa girl...this pretty much sums her up!

i knew this was a very active breed, but i learned the true meaning of tracking and shooting like there was no tomorrow just to capture any image of this girl!this puppy was wide open! and finn was not interested in her getting anywhere near our girls. we were amazed as we watched him herd her away from our girls. he made sure he was between jessa and our girls anytime jessa was anywhere near them!

but look at this face! she may be wide open...

but she is a doll! finn still made sure to stay between us and sweet jessa! we're pretty sure she has some hound in her, but she sure is a pretty girl!and after all of that, our Finnster came home and slept for three days! 
if you're looking for a specific breed of dog and can't seem to find it at your local shelter, make sure to search for breed rescues in your state and surrounding states. i've heard of rescues transporting dogs practically cross country using a half dozen people just to get them to their forever home!

make sure to check out the Southeast German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue if you're looking for an addition to your family! our friend beth regularly fosters dogs from this rescue; and both Rex and Jessa are on their site!

beth, thanks for giving us the opportunity to get to know these sweet guys! i can't wait to see them both find their forever homes!

Silly Dressup Girls!

Some of you may have seen an iphone picture of these little sillies: the 50's skating ballerina, a prissy flower girl superhero, & a gardening cowgirl wearing butterfly wings around her waist! and what i love about this: 1.) they put it all together themselves. 2.) the sunhat is from nana, the butterfly headband (around the waist) is from gramma, the pink cowboy boots, sparkly slippers, & ballerina leotard are from didi/ellie, the flower is from ms. gail, the sundress is from mrs. mandy's mom/mrs. mandy/cady, and the superhero cape is from kelly/hollis' 1st bday. 3.) they're all 3 smiling!

and miss addie took this picture!!!
she wanted to bring her camera out with us, and i agreed as long as i got a picture of all 3 of them...happy! she was so serious about taking her pictures, and i think she did quite well! anne perry was willing and ready; you can see audrey kate's cape flying out of the picture! and then she turned to take a picture of me taking a picture of her! we're working on holding the camera steady, listening for the beep before shooting the picture, AND holding the camera to her face long enough for the shutter to click! ;0) i found this pretty picture on her camera as i was pulling some of these off.  and i was quite impressed!

let's face it, most any tuesday is better than last tuesday! happy thursday from our happy tuesday!

Coach Daddy

He started out on the sidelines; and by the next game, he was on the field coaching. It was one part selfish and one part necessity. The selfish part: Addie was melting down because her coach wasn't on the field with them, just the other teams coach. She needed that. The necessity part: they're 4 and 5. They need a coach on the field! They need the guidance and encouragement! So he did it. He hadn't originally volunteered to coach because I was going to miss 5 of the 8 games, which meant there was no one to watch the little girls. It's looking more like i'll miss only 3, maybe less, now because of timing. We can figure that out. So it's worked so far. And i'm so thankful. So very thankful on so many levels.  He has fun. The kids have fun. Addie and even our little girls think he's the greatest! And i love seeing two of my favorite people on the field enjoying themselves, encouraging others, and making memories!  It's only confirmed what an amazing, loving, devoted father he is. And it only makes me love him more!

Soccer So Far

It started out well. Paul was helping at practices, but being a daddy at the games. That is until there was no coach on the field for the first game! 

and this little girl was so happy to have her daddy coaching! The little girls have enjoyed hanging out with their sister when she isn't playing.
There's not much more fun than getting to kick the ball in...
...except when you kick it in with 2 feet?!?!? Her second game didn't start well. I woke up to many tears from a little girl. Tears of fear. Tears of the unknown. Tears of sadness. Tears of unmet expectations. And a little girl, who absolutely did not want to play soccer. We sat and talked and dug. It all went back to who was or wasn't on the field with them. She needs a coach out there, her coach. And i can understand that. So when daddy decided he'd step in and do it, it was an answer to prayer. She played and played her best. She was a different kid.

The ball was near their goal and she had the shot and took it... ...and scored. And turned and jumped high into her daddy's arms, clinging to him in excitement. It might have been considered excessive celebration, but not for a 4 year old. I honestly had tears in my eyes. It was a visible answer to prayer. A visible shift in her demeanor. A confidence. A blessing from God.  She was still clinging to him and grinning even after the next play started. But when it came time to line back up, I caught this little skip and hop dance she did...still excited about her goal!  and there is no doubt in my mind that it's changed her.

she's having even more fun now!

and getting in there to kick the ball!

except for when she sees a bug, kneels down to look at it, hops back up because it startles her, and kneels right back down to get a closer look.
i am so thankful she's enjoying this more!
because that means we all are!

Sticker Girls

It was threatening rain, but we headed to Addie's soccer game Saturday morning anyway. Mainly because the coach was out of town, and Paul was the official stand in. He actually coached last week and has coached several of the practices. Addie has loved it! And I've loved watching them. Post to come on Coach Daddy soon!

I found stickers in the car last week and the girls had a blast covering themselves and me and the nice grandmother sitting next to us in stickers, so this week i came prepared...with a note card for stickers!

And they had so much fun...
stickers anyone? (and check out Anne Perry's bow!) But it didn't last quite as long as i'd hoped when someone practically plopped their chair down on top of them (?!?), so they decided they had to go to school and took off behind me with their lunch bag. with stickers in tow! serious about their playtime. oh my! and cute? yup. i think so too! see ya later little big girlies!
♥