My Daddy taught me well!

This year Mike and I decided that we would plant a garden. It has been so fun to watch it grow. Those of you who don't know me well should know that I grew up on a farm in South Carolina. My dad was a tobacco farmer but since has sold his tobacco shares and now raises chickens for Perdue. "On the side" he also plants wheat, corn, and any fruit or vegetable that you could possibly imagine. They grow enough produce to feed all of Dillon County. What I have seen as we have started our own garden is how little respect I have given my dad. It takes a lot of work to plant, weed, water, not to mention harvest and freeze. We are having so much fun though. We walk outside daily to admire our new tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, cantaloupe and basil. It has been great to introduce Avery to farming on a very small scale. I can't wait for her to go home and see my dad's garden!

A few just for fun!

And I just might cry...

This week brings with it two milestones in the life of the Bolands. Our sweet baby girl is turning four on the 26th and our precious little boy turned 10 months on the 21st!!! I looked at their sweet faces this morning and desired to relish every moment. Mike and I were talking last night about the chaos in the world right now and it struck me how I continuously make urgent things that can wait. My kids and their beauty should be one of the urgents right now!

Avery you have grown so much over this past year. You have a passion for life and people that I envy. Your sweet little belly laugh can win the room. We have seen your heart begin to question the beauty and work of Christ. You are constantly asking us questions about what God is doing, where He is and what He has made. It is such a joy to be a part of the process. You love, love, love people. You wake up in the morning asking who we will see. You tenderly love your brother throughout the day with gentle kisses and sometimes not so gentle pats on the back : ) You are a great big sister. You are a delight!

Keller your tender demeanor wins our hearts. You are constantly on the move but never so far that you can't come back for a warm snuggle. You nuzzle your sweet little head into our chest and give what feels like a bear hug. Over the past month, you have taken off. You are crawling everywhere, cruising around furniture, waving bye-bye and clapping. We can't get enough of your beautiful smile. Your tender personality and desire to sit and snuggle is helping to change my hurried, worried personality. We are blessed to have you!

What an amazing journey these four years and ten months have been!

It's been a long time...

Well it has been forever since I have written. It isn't because I don't want to; I sit down at least once a week and think about it but I just can't seem to get started. I think it is partly due to the season of life that we are in right now. Mike is in the midst of mid-terms at school and we are also in the middle of house hunting or roommate hunting. When we moved here almost a year ago our housing situation was a gift from God. We found a place on the last day we were in town looking and then God provided two roommates to live with us and help with the bills. Sadly enough we are losing a roommate and now need to either find another or find a new house that we can afford alone. It has honestly been a way for me to see how little I trust the Lord. I saw his goodness and provision a year ago and yet I fight daily to trust that He will provide again. My God is good and yet I doubt His goodness daily.

One place where I am sure of his goodness daily is in the eyes of my two beautiful children.

Avery turns 4 in May. Where has time gone. In the blink of an eye she has become a little girl. Just last night I was laying in bed with her while she said her prayers. With hands lifted high in the air she shouts out praises to Jesus so uninhibited, so trusting. She is the life of the Boland house. I can't even begin to share how passionate she is about life. She keeps us on our toes.

Keller will be 1 in July. He started crawling last week and pulling up. Today I went in to get him and he was standing up in his crib looking at me. He always has a grin on his face and his two sweet dimples will melt your heart. He is one chill little man : ) He brings a sense of calm and peace to our little world.

Well at least that was a start! Here a few pictures just to enjoy.

Consignment Sale!

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a great consignment sale coming up in Winter Garden. Visit www.botiqueforaweek.net for more information!

Pictures are worth a thousand words!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am so behind on blogging that I think I will just include a bunch of pictures to catch you up.

One of our friends took some pictures for us. She did a great job and you can view them at her website.

http://kendrajonesmorris.zenfolio.com/boland

Leave it up to Ave and her amazing imagination to create her very on baby carrier ;) She also has an older brother that lives in China and when he comes to visit she cleans her room! Glorious.
My latest adventure! As Avery says, "Keller's booty diaper." I have decided to cloth diaper. So far I really like it and they work really well. Keller has had a hard time putting on weight the past few months so these at least make him look a little more bulky. Hopefully, he is on the up swing.
Avery sang a few songs in our Christmas service at church. She did a great job. It was so fun to see her singing her heart out. She is still singing Christmas songs.
My mom convinced Avery to leave a snack out for Santa. She chose her favorite foods. Cereal, chocolate and of course, skittles. She was terrified that Santa would come into her room that night so we went ahead and broke the news that Santa is just part of your imagination.
Avery with a few of her cousins.
Keller with Aunt May.
I can hardly believe that five and a half months have gone by so quickly. Keller is such a joy. He has the best personality. So cuddly and full of smiles and giggles. He started sitting up a few days ago. Where does time go? I also a have feeling this maybe one of the last of the toothless grins. He is showing all of the signs of teething.

Winter in Florida has been unusually cold so far. Today was one of the first days in almost two weeks we have been able to go outside. Still with our warm weather gear but it was great to get out. We are having a great time in Orlando. Mike is taking Hebrew right now and doing a great job. He has also had the opportunity to preach two times at City Church. The Lord is providing a lot of opportunities for growth.

Tis the Season

I have been terrible about taking pictures this month but I wanted to share a few and give a brief update. This month has flown by. Keller and I flew to South Carolina the first weekend of the month to spend time with a few of my dear college friends. It was so much fun to catch up. My parents came in town for a quick visit and then it was off to Mike's parents for Thanksgiving. We drove eight hours to Athens, GA and Keller cried five of those eight. We have decided that he may be the happiest baby around, UNLESS he is riding in the car. It was great to be around family and watch Avery have so much fun with cousins.

Mike celebrated his 30th birthday over Thanksgiving. Notice there are so many candles he couldn't blow them all out at one time : ) I just like to tease him since he is older than I am! We also celebrated our sixth anniversary this month. I think that November is one of my favorite months of the year. It is a month when I get to rejoice over all that God has done in our lives and our marriage. It is amazing to look back over the past six years and see God's gracious hand.
Keller enjoyed his time with Daniel in South Carolina.My sweet little Kell Man. Mike says that we will celebrate his birthday and the day he started sucking his thumb. These past four months have flown by. He is reaching for his feet, rolling over, cooing, and giggling. Slow down little buddy, I am not ready for you to grow!
Can you tell that he loves his sister. Avery does such a great job with Keller. She kisses him a million times a day. I can't wait to see their relationship grow and develop.
Avery...Need I say more! She started taking Ballet lessons on Fridays. She looks so beautiful and so grown up in her ballet clothes. I couldn't resist putting in a picture of her at four months old.

Mike is out of town tonight at a staff retreat so I got to put Avery down to bed. Mike usually puts Avery down so it was a sweet time with her. She has growing pains in her legs at night so I was sitting there rubbing her legs and began to ponder how quickly she is growing up. She wanted to call her daddy, and as soon as she heard his voice tears formed in her eyes. I think it made me realize how I so often try to rush the bedtime routine, and move to the next thing on my agenda. I am missing out on something wonderful. Avery knows without a doubt that her daddy delights in her. She feels safe and comforted when he is around. She knows she is loved! That moment was a gentle reminder to me of how much we are loved by God and how safe we are in His arms and His care. He delights in us and would sit there for hours to comfort us. I am thankful that God has given me my children to slow me down and bring reminders of how much He loves and delights in His children!