Semper Fi

Semper Fidelis:  "Always Faithful"

Saturday night Aaron and I went with some Marine friends and their wives to attend a fellow Marine's(Keith Pigg) wedding reception.  I have known these men for approximately 14 years.  If you have ever spent any time with a group of Marines, you may have witnessed certain traits and communication styles that can be viewed as abrasive.  However, I've been told these are the same characteristics that allow them to be decisive and communicate deliberately when in the heat of battle.  This group is no different.  Those in this group that embody those traits; I say grow on you like fungus, and they tend to agree.  That is what I love about them though, they are what they are; they don't try to pretend to be something that they are not. 

What I've learned is that this group fully lives by the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis".  You know that each one of them would have your back at any time with the snap of a finger.  As an example, many of them never knew Aaron's dad, but when he passed away in 2004, they drove hours to attend his visitation.   Most people that attend visitations pay their respects and leave.  One of these Marines, in particular, had to drive 2+ hours one-way.  He paid his respects and then sat quietly in the back row by himself until the visitation came to an end (3+ hours), in order to just be there for us.  That spoke volumes to me, and I could tear up just thinking about it.  (For those in this picture that couldn't attend the visitation because your were fighting for our freedom - Thank you for risking your lives for us.)  For all they've done over the years, each one of them will always have a special place in my heart.
 I ran across this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, and I just have to share it.

“The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!” 

Here are some fun pics from Keith and Loren Pigg's wedding.  Unfortunately we didn't get a pic of Lauren and Pigg together & the only pic of Loren I got was too fuzzy. = (   These pics were taken with my point and shoot camera, so the quality isn't great, and the red eye frustrates me.  Oh well.

CONGRATULATIONS KEITH & LOREN!!!

 

These are the marines (the groom, Pigg is the one second from the left), and the bottom pic are the wives

Here are the couple pics, minus the bride and groom

Funny stories are always told at a Marine get together, I was so glad to have caught Rob's expression on his face while telling the story.  As you can see the guys were really into the story.

Here are some group shots.  There is a story behind one of them, but that's for another time

As always it was a great time just catching up and hanging out with everyone.  Love you all, and so glad you all are a part of our lives.

Semper Fidelis

Love,

Sarah

Luke and Amelia

My photog friend Ryan and I got together today to practice setting up poses for newborns.  Since we didn't have a newborn, we used a babydoll instead.  We thought since 4 out of the 6 children were in school it would be easy just having 2 (Luke and Amelia).  Well, we should have thought again!  They were crawling into and out of our props, stealing our props, eating them, and climbing over them, just look for yourself.  That's the beauty of kids though there is never a dull moment!

Out at the Land

I've been trying to come up with a new place to take pics, and decided to go back out to our land and give it a shot.  It's a very open area and doesn't provide much shaded areas, but there are a few, and so I just tried to make due with what I had.  

This was their reaction when I told them to get out of the car so I could take their picture

I don't like the angle of the next pic, it kind of makes my neck hurt trying to look at it, plus she is in the harsh sunlight, but I love the scenery.  This really is a peaceful area.

As you can probably tell Avery was much more cooperative than Deacon with the pictures, and so I have to put this one last pic of her on here, because it is her favorite.

Thank you Avery for being my model!

Saying Good-Bye

Yesterday we had to say good-bye to some very dear friends of ours.  I desperately didn't want to see them go, but God had other plans, and their move is definitely a God thing!  But that is for another story.

Not only have the adults become very close friends, but the children also.  We have seen each others children grow, and babies being born (well, not literally).  They are friends who have been there, and will continue to be there through the ups and the downs (even if they will be a few states away).  You know that song "Friends are Friends Forever if the Lord's the Lord of them?"  Well, that would describe the Skow's to a tee.  And boy am I going to miss them.  They are unreplaceable period!  Their daughter Hannah, and Avery have been the best of buds since they met when they were 18 months old.  I don't think Avery gets the whole thing about Hannah moving away yet.  She asked me if Hannah was just going away for a little while like she (Avery) does when she visits Ghee and Pop.  And I had to tell her "no, she will be gone for a lot longer than that."  And then she just said, "oh."  I am thankful for the fact that kids are so resilient, so when Avery actually does realize Hannah isn't coming back, I pray she will be able to accept it and handle it way better than her mother is ;).  I have been a wreck, anytime I look at the Skow's I start crying.  What is the matter with me?  Oh well, for now, I will continue to be a wreck, here are a few pics for you to look at while I go grab some more kleenex.

Here's Caleb their oldest

I didn't grab a pic of just Hannah last night, so I put one of my favorites of Hannah and Avery

Here's Abby their baby

This is everyone's children.  WOW!

Here's a goofy one of the women, minus Ryan

and here is the one with Ryan

Good luck Skow's we will miss you more than you will ever know!  Love you guys!

She's all grown-up

Avery, our first born started kindergarten today, I still can't believe it.  How did my baby get to be so big, so quick? I guess that's part of life, nothing stays the same forever, does it?  When I was getting ready to leave her today I thought back to her being this little baby, and all of a sudden I was flooded with emotions both of sadness and joy to see her all grown-up.  As I gave her one last hug, she noticed the tears coming down my face, and gave me a look like "you're crazy mom, what are you crying for?"  So, I snapped out of it, and realized she's ready for this, and that's that! 

Here she is at a week old, all cuddly and small

and here she is on her first day of kindergarten, all grown up (tear, tear).

Aaron was gone on a business trip, and so he sent her flowers for her first day.  He's such a good daddy!

 This is a picture of her as we first walked in, just taking everything in

 Here she is with her good buddy Josh, they are in the same class.  Thank you Lord.

 

 and here they are getting ready to leave all the parents and go on to their classes, (tear tear)yes, she is growing up and there is nothing I can do about it!

 

 *look at Josh yawning 3 of my pics had him yawning, guess he was tired!  The lady in the red shirt is Mrs. Parres, Avery's teacher, she is so sweet.  We thank God that Avery has such a great teacher.

Amelia

The 19th of this month Amelia will be 10 months.  I can't hardly believe it, time just seems to do nothing but fly, and fly fast! Below are a few things that she has been doing.

How big is Amelia?

so BIG!

She has taken such a liking to Max, too bad Max doesn't always feel the same :(

She really enjoys playing PEEK-A-

BOO

I can't keep any windows within her reach clean, can you see why?

Everything she picks up goes straight to her mouth

I can't help it, I am completely in love with this little girl, can't you see why?  Look at that little face.

And then just like that she was done playing for the camera, and on to the next thing.

Hope you are having a great weekend, we are excited to get Avery back today.  She has spent the last few days with my parents, and cousin Brandon camping. 

Random Summer Fun

Sharing with you some pics from this weekend.  Amelia had her first sprinkler experience, and enjoyed it from afar, but did NOT like being in the sprinkler.  Avery and Deacon continue to enjoy playing on the playset, thankfully.  We also had some fun in the pool, but I didn't get any pics of that.  Hope you all had a great weekend also.