May 24

My baby boy's last day of school in Ms. Kristi and Ms. Tracy's three year old class! With his buddies - Garrison Cathey and CJ Scott.

May 23

Mike is out of town this week and both kids ended up in my bed at some point throughout the night. There were bad thunderstorms, so I half expected it. What I didn't expect was how much I loved it! I don't want to share a bed with two little space heaters every night, but it was simply wonderful waking up to their smiling faces. They both always wake up happy. And in turn, it certainly makes me happy waking up next to them.

May 22

I was putting Hannah to bed and when she lifted up her pillow, there was a sealed envelope with her name on it. Inside was a drawing of a bug and a sticker that said "creepy."
Oddly enough, Hannah and I both knew it was a term of endearment from her brother. He is constantly drawing pictures these days - SEVERAL a day -and randomly taping them to various walls, doors and light switches throughout the house. I LOVE that he made one especially for his sister and hid it under her pillow for her to find!

May 20

Last night Mike and I celebrated our anniversary with a fabulous dinner and stroll in Davidson. We know that is where we want to move. It feels good to finally know.

Coincidentally, we stumbled upon a new place called Davidson Beverage Company. Needless to say, this solidified the deal for Mike - a grocery store for just beer? Oh yea!

May 19

We made play dough and homemade bubble makers. Good times!

May 21

Austin: "I have to practice drawing EVERY. SINGLE. DAY, Mom"
Me: "Oh yeah? Why is that?"
Austin (rather dumbfounded with me): "Because I am going to be an artist when I grow up."

May 18

We went to uptown Charlotte last night and this is how the conversation went...

Austin: "Wow! It looks like we are going into the future!"
Me: (laughing) "How do you know what the future looks like if you've never been there, buddy?"
Austin: "Because I am smart."

May 17

Today is our 9 year anniversary. We are going to go out in a few days to celebrate - just the two of us. But tonight we are going to the NASCAR Pit Crew challenge. Mike got free tickets and the kids will love it!

May 16

I was watching one of my many guilty pleasure shows on Bravo today. Austin was playing in the floor. He stops, looks up, rolls his eyes and says "Man! That girl NEVER stops talking!!". Daddy would agree - he is not a big fan of my Bravo TV shows either!

May 15

Nothing funny happened today. Nothing extremely sentimental happened today. Nothing really noteworthy happened today. But today, I am still oh so very grateful to live the life I do. I love my husband and I love my kids. And I love the life we live together.

May 14

My baby girl has been going on runs with her daddy lately! I am so proud that we are teaching our kids how important it is to live a healthy, active lifestyle. Tonight they got caught in the rain!! Before and after...

May 13

Today has been a fabulous Mother's Day.  I was greeted this morning in bed by my two beautiful babies.  They brought me a pre-brunch snack of bananas and peanut butter.  They have been working on cards for me for days and I finally got to see the fruits of their labor this morning.  They were so wonderfully made and so heartfelt.  I love them!

On our way to brunch, we stopped in the neighborhood at one of my favorite photo spots and did an impromptu photo shoot of me and the kids.  I will cherish these pics for a LONG time.

Then, we went to brunch at Big Daddy's Burger Bar (Hannah is still having a hard time understanding why we went to a place named after Daddy when it is MOTHER's DAY!) and I finally got my Eggs Benedict fix.  Yum.

Then we went to see our land and talked to the kids about where we would build the house and how they can have a treehouse, ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac and play in what will be our big yard.  We also drove over to their new school.

Next we went to the park in Davidson and the kids played for a bit while I took some more pictures.  Then we came home and the kids played for a while and I read my book.  Hannah and I even did manis and pedis too.    Now, Mike is at the grocery store for me (doing the shopping for the week!) and he has even gotten two loads of laundry done. 

They have made it truly feel like 'my day' and I love each of them so much for it.  I couldn't ask for anything more.

May 12

Today was Austin's first day of real soccer. He was SO excited to be on his own team, like Hannah is.  He could hardly contain his excitement!  And quite frankly, so could I!  I wasn't ever sure that Austin would be willing to play soccer, with some of his sensory challenges... but he so proved me wrong! 

He played the entire time. He raised his hand when Coach Carrie asked who wanted to go back in the game next.  He smiled the ENTIRE time.  He ran his little heart out. 

May 10

I asked Austin if he knew his middle name and he said "Yep. It's Austin Grace Johnson." I could do nothing but laugh.

May 11

Mike and I are going to be the proud new owners of 2 acres of land in Davidson! I am nervous, excited, anxious and thrilled all at the same time. What a huge step this is for our family. I can't believe that in a year (we hope) we will begin building our dream home.

What a lucky girl I am. Now we are off to celebrate at Dairy Queen!

On a side note - today at lunch, I noticed my total came to exactly $11.11. And thought to myself - must be my lucky day. What with 11 being my birthday and all - it felt like a good sign. And now, when dating the title of this post, I noticed that it is also the 11th of May. Definitely a sign worth taking to heart that this HAS to be the right next step for our family :)

May 9

Austin says to me this morning "Momma, did you know that God is our rock? You can pray to him. I prayed for Hannah at school today so her finger would get better."

May 8

I was playing "go fish" with the kids tonight and every time I took one of their cards, I notice they each would get the same expression. I love how hey have the same looks!!

May 7

We took a walk to the park as a family tonight. On the way back, Hannah and I took another path while the boys went home. We walked, we talked, we ate honeysuckle, we spent time together, just me and my girl. It dawned on me just how rare that is for us. I LOVE spending time with just her. Seeing the amazing little girl she has become. She genuinely is fun to be around. We have do it more often.

May 6

We had movie night tonight. I love how our kids want to snuggle up next to us on the couch. Hannah grabbed my hand in the middle of the movie and said "I love you, mommy."

I know they love these nights just as much as we do.

May 1

My poor baby girl. She has had her fair share of bad luck lately with injuries. Today's boo boo: getting her hand smashed by a brick. Ouch.

May 5

S'mores night with our babies out in the new garden. Love nights like this!

May 3

Went in to volunteer at Austin's school today. How cute are his little classmates?!

May 4

Spent the day shopping with aunt Jill. Austin was getting a bit tired by the end of the day... But we had fun anyway!

May 2

Went to the Wells Fargo Championship today with my mom. Mike surprised us with tickets to thank my mom for all she has done for us. We had a great time. I would do anything to spend a day with just my momma!!

April 31

He's just soooooo cool.

April 30

Went to Winston-Salem today to meet with the hip specialist. Hopeful that he can help me with my hip and back pain. I am grateful that my min was here to handle my kids for me so I could take care of my appointment.