Don't Forget Big Brother!

With all the excitement and anticipation of Baby #6's arrival, I temporarily forgot my "baby" was having a birthday soon.  Sully turned 2 on January 5.  I knew having a newborn would make Sully seem huge soon enough so I tried to enjoy my little 2 year old all day long on his birthday.  Here's a recap of how Sully spent his birthday.

Chocolate candy before breakfast is the way to start a birthday!

Reminiscing back to his first few days.

Trying out our new double stroller he will share with baby brother Ezra.

Helping Mommy with laundry.

Playing with his Christmas toys.

Watching some Disney Junior.  We love The Lion Guard.

More candy!

Lunch with one of his favorite buddies.

Giving me those silly eyes.

Skip ahead a few hours because Sully napped and Mommy forgot to take photos at dinner.  He was still the "baby" that day so got all his big sisters' attention.

Our super happy Sully jumping in the crib.

With the snow storm blowing in the next day, Sully's family party was postponed until Sunday when Grandma and Nana could both be there.  Nana spent the weekend with us just in case the baby came, but Grandma was snowed in at her house. Daddy knocked it out of the park with an awesome Minion cake.  Sully loves those minions and has even learned to say, 

"Ba-na-naaaa!"

What is all that white stuff?

Nana played in the snow with Braewyn and Rylan.

Sully wasn't sure he wanted to play.  This is where he stood until I took him inside 10 minutes later.

Super cute none the less!

Super yummy Minion.

Happy Birthday to Sully!

And Minion sheets to celebrate sharing Rylan's bed in a few months once Ezra moves into the crib and Sully moves out.

Sullivan James, you are definitely a gift from Jesus and you bring such joy to our lives!!

Baby Ezra Has Arrived!

After what seemed like a never ending pregnancy, I delivered a beautiful baby boy yesterday at 8:12 pm. Our sweet Ezra Hastings is just perfectly formed and enjoying life as best as I can tell. He weighs 7 lbs., 3 oz. and is 20" long. So very tiny compared to his big brothers and sisters. I will post again soon with all the special thoughts that have been floating around in my head these last few weeks.  Thank you for praying for us as we get to know and care for Ezra and for him to get to know us. He is most definitely a blessing from Jesus and a clear example of His ability to create great and amazing things.

Winter Family Field Trips

Thankfully Matthew is blessed with a great job which provides him with a lot of paid time off.  He decided to use a few of his vacation days so we could go on some family field trips last month.  Fun school days for all of us!

First stop, the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC.

A drizzly day but it didn't spoil our fun.

The actual house Billy grew up in.

Billy's mother's favorite verses were Proverbs 3:5-6.  Those are my life verses also!

Inside the museum.  A replica of the Billy and Ruth Graham's living room.

Our little evangelists.

Sully at the "Berlin Wall".

An original Thomas Kinkade painting.

Visiting at Christmas time included a live nativity.

Billy's father was a cow farmer.  The barn theme was a nice touch!

We had a wonderful visit.  The museum really does inspire one to realize that if God can use the small-town son of a cow farmer to change the world for His glory, He can use anyone!!

Next up a little closer to home with two museums in Greenville, SC. We spent a day split between the Museum & Library of Confederate History and the Museum & Gallery at Heritage Green (a satellite facility of Bob Jones University).

Our confederate soldiers trying out the gift shop guns.

Can we say bull in a china shop?

My little soldiers are ready for a fight!  We'll have to go back next year when we study the Civil War and they actually know what all of this means.

This art gallery was actually very kid friendly.  The main level had a quiz for the children to examine works of art from the Renaissance period.  However there was no photography allowed.

The second floor included a children's room focusing on being a detective!  Juliet, Rylan and Sully just played with all the hands on activities.

Philip and Braewyn worked on solving cases based on clues around the room.

We had a great day of family time and learning about various things.