More Great Times with Dear Friends 08/05/11

We met Coral and Tom Voorhees just after Quintin's birth, while Coral was still pregnant with Holden (our boys are nine months apart). I can still remember the pride on Tom's face when he announced to me, at church, that they were expecting their first child -- they were seated behind Quintin and I, and were playing with baby Q. I remember Coral's sweet smile while she rubbed her abdomen after Tom's announcement -- they'd waited so long! We ran into them at Walmart a few months later, with sweet baby Holden tucked inside of his carrier, while Quintin sat up in the fold-out seat of our buggy -- they gave Quintin a little monkey toy to play with while we chatted (he hated being confined and was complaining loudly about it, lol!). They were our first real friends in Zephyrhills, and have been such a blessing to us! Our boys are growing together, and are changing so quickly -- in just a couple of months, Holden will begin VPK and Quintin will begin Kindergarten. In these photos, the Voorhees had just purchased and put together a new swingset for Holden, along with a new, protective fence. The boys were so excited to play with one another in the great, new play space!

A few of our favorite things... (08/02/11)

Around the beginning of 2011, Quintin became obsessed with How to Train Your Dragon -- watching it over-and-over, imagining that he was a dragon, imagining that he was Hiccup (a viking underachiever who learns to appreciate dragons, rather than fight them). MJ Price found the great How to Train Your Dragon shirt that Quintin is wearing in the photographs -- he was VERY excited to get it, and wore it as often as we would let him (even to school a few times, in spite of its very large size). Our sweet Caity is so patient with him -- she's definitely another of his (and our) favorites! This blog is, for me, about capturing the day-to-day moments that make our family life so special. Our life seems to fly by at a break-neck speed -- so quickly, in fact, that I'm adding and describing photos a full two years after they were taken! There are many things that have changed since these photographs were taken -- dear friends and family have been lost to us, houses have been redecorated, children have grown quite a bit. This particular set of photographs is unique in that it demonstrates how little some things have changed. Quintin is still crazy about How to Train Your Dragon! He still loves watching it. His favorite imaginary play still involves acting like a dragon (he'll ask Kevin and I to imagine that we're seeing him -- a dragon -- for the very first time; he'll ask us to imagine that we want him to be OUR dragon; and then, he'll ask us to be amazed by his dragon tricks...)! Quintin still adores sweet, patient Caity, the long-suffering stray that made her way into our home and hearts just after our wedding day. And, he still dislikes bedtime enough that photographs of him sleeping hold a special appeal to me -- it's so rare to see him looking so relaxed, peaceful, quiet. We love our sweet boy, and I'm especially grateful, tonight, for those parts of our life that are not changing at such a rapid pace!

Adventure Island with the Johnsons -- 07/30/13

Kevin's best friend has been at his side through midnight truck washes, 2 a.m. water pump outages, afternoon deluges, and any number of dating/marriage ups-and-downs. It was a lot of fun to kick-back and enjoy some Florida fun together at Adventure Island! Because of the abundance of water, and the water-sensitive nature of my cell phone camera, we don't have many photos to document the afternoon together -- I can let you know, however, that it was a blast :-) The big boys did a ton of water slides, while Quintin and I (mostly) enjoyed the lazy river and children's splash areas (in the last photo, he was letting us know how disappointed he was not to be able to go on any of the rides with the big boys!). We love you, David and Bailey!

Sunday Afternoons with the Price Family 07/24/11

We feel very blessed by the amazing friendships we enjoy -- we have so many great people in our lives! One particularly special friendship is with the Prices; they've become like family :) We love spending Sunday afternoons playing together -- it's such a wonderful chance to put the rest of life on hold, for a bit, to simply focus on one another (It helps that their new house, outside of city limits, has no cell phone coverage!). We are incredibly thankful to the Price family for many long afternoons of pool time, family hiking, and fun!

VBC Show

Each year, the children who've participated in Vacation Bible Camp put on a show for the church the Sunday following Camp's conclusion. We were very excited that this year, Quintin would be a part of the show! It was such a joy to see all of the children filling up the front pews of the church -- they were all so excited to share their music with the rest of the congregation :-) We waited (sort of) patiently for the big moment and then... well, Q made it through about 45 seconds, lol! Quintin was just not ready to stand up in front of everyone and sing (he wasn't the following year, either!). Anyway, we loved snuggling with our boy and watching the other kids sing ;-)

Vacation Bible Camp: FUMC Zephyrhills, July 21, 2011

2011 was Quintin's first year of Vacation Bible Camp :-D We were very excited to take part in it! While he wasn't officially old enough, he was ALMOST old enough, and that turned out to be enough this time! God bless the sweet youth volunteers who were in charge of that particular group of youngsters -- the very youngest of VBC, those little ones were NOT able to sit at any one activity for very long! I was very glad to be assigned to kitchen help with one of my favorite FUMC members, Becky Hernandez -- on the night that these photos were taken, our little guy decided that the frosting-covered pretzels were just too tasty to take only one of; he ditched his group completely in order to come back to the kitchen and get another! Thankfully, we were able to get him back to his group with only minor difficulty -- goodness, what a scare! We love First United Methodist Church of Zephyrhills and we love Vacation Bible Camp!

Precious moments in Publix -- July 18th, 2011

I'm not sure, exactly, why I snapped this shot. It's subjects are two of my favorite people in the whole world, but it's not even a good shot of either of them! We spent many hours in this supermarket (the same supermarket, incidentally, that I'd shopped in my entire life). Every Monday for years, Quintin and I took Grandmother grocery shopping here. In spite of the fact that Grandmother was quickly losing mobility, she insisted on pushing Quintin in the cart when he asked for it. It'd dear, I guess, because of the memories it brings of those afternoons together -- and of the love she demonstrated so freely with us.

"Planting trees" July 8, 2011

I can still hear our little love-bug's voice calling to me excitedly, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! COME LOOK! I'm planting trees!" He'd found a bunch of sticks and was taking great delight in planting them -- so confident that they'd grow into big, climbing trees; so proud that he'd figured out the mystery of growing things! His daddy and I were trying to rush him inside, intent on getting him out of the dirt and into the bed. How fortunate we are to have this little guy to remind us of all of the wonder and joy life has to offer :-)

Our little cowboy -- July 4th, 2011

I love our little boy so much! Love his wild hair; love his independent nature; love his dress-up loving, intensely imaginative, silly, playing, cuddling, snuggling, enthusiastic, energetic, little body! This kid is a keeper ;-)

Drum Lessons with Brent

For many years, Quintin came to band practice with Kevin and I -- with more success some days than others ;-) Quintin's favorite activity, by far, during those practices, was to play the drums, with either of the band's two regular drummers (Josh, the band leader's son, and Brent Dunlap). Brent was an amazingly talented guy. So talented, in fact, that he was able to play well throughout multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and crippling pain from the brain tumor that eventually took his life. It was a testament to Brent's incredible character that he took the time and energy to share his passion for drumming with Quintin. Brent never failed to greet Q with a smile and was always encouraging, patient, and kind to him. Whether Quintin was acting wild, shy, or silly, Brent's response was the same -- pure love. We love you, Brent, and miss you dearly!

A Birthday Trip to Tarpon Springs -- June 24, 2011

A perfect 30th birthday: lunch with my Grandmother; time with my husband and son; girl-time with my best friend, Teresa (made possible by Mom, who watched Quintin); fun in Tarpon Springs with Mom and Quintin -- what a blessed life I lead! Walking through Tarpon Springs was a lot of fun with Quintin -- he was fascinated by the sponges and sea shells, and took such pleasure in the all of the sights :-)

A Visit to the Dade City Health Department - June 15, 2011

I took this photograph of Quintin outside of the Dade City Health Department to remind me of the special role that place played in his birth :-) It was here that Kevin and I enrolled in our Birth Preparation classes -- a six week long program that played an integral part in my later insistence on an all-natural birth and, on breastfeeding. Thank you, Olga, our amazing birth instructor!

June 13, 2011 -- A Visit to the St. Pete Pier

I feel very fortunate to be able to share, with Quintin, so many special memories of my own childhood. I lived my entire life in a beautiful home in St. Petersburg's Old Northeast. When I moved to Zephyrhills with Kevin, I learned to appreciate its own special beauty -- mainly, its many green spaces and plentiful wildlife. I still feel a deep connection with St. Petersburg, however, and am blessed to be able to enjoy both cities! These photos were taken on a day when I brought my wonderful grandmother to a women's group meeting at the St. Pete Pier. While she enjoyed lunch at The Columbia, Quintin and I fed the pelicans -- an activity Grandmother had introduced me to as a young child. (As a side note: Grandmother hated the thought of me touching raw fish, and was not really a fan of the pooping, crowding birds at all -- it was, rather, a testament to her indulgent love for her grandchildren that we ever fed those pelicans!). There are some other things from that day that I remember -- that I spent most of the time on the phone working to get our private insurance arranged and started, so that my attention was divided between a health agent asking invasive questions and my precious son, who was trying to get me to watch him "play" (minus quarters) the arcade games at the Pier; that my grandmother was getting quite frail, and that despite this, she insisted on walking from the front of the Pier to the rear, because Quintin was begging for ice cream and because she wanted to get my husband some special fudge that he'd expressed a love of. Again, I'm reminded of how quickly things change: The Pier just closed its doors, two weeks ago, for a final time while city officials argue over its fate; and, we buried my grandmother's precious body at the start of this year. How glad I am for these shining photos -- for the joy of those captured moments with my beautiful boy!