Carter is Three!

Someone please pinch me and tell me it's not true that my baby boy (above) Carter Jackson is not really three! Well okay, I guess for two more days he technically is not, but say it isn't so! It seems just yesterday that he was born, and now he is a preschooler? How is it possible for time to fly that quickly?!

We had a great party today. There were 16 kids in our little house, but we had a blast! For those of you concerned that my child will miss out on socialization because he is homeschooled, here is the proof that we won't have any problems in that area! We are blessed to go to a large church and have many friends!

We started off with lunch: soft tacos, hot dogs, chips and salsa, pumpkin dip with apples and gingersnaps (yummy!) and cheetos.

Gramma and Grampa Westdyk were there as always! I'm sure Mama and Papa Blackburn were there in spirit... Mama sent presents earlier in the week! I know they wish they could be there.

There was ONE thing that Carter asked for his birthday: an ice cream cake. I wish I had taken a picture of the awful creation that I attempted in making my own ice cream cake, because it would've been a hoot to post it on here. Since it was the one and only thing Carter had asked for, Daddy went off two hours before the party in search for an ice cream cake. It was pricey, but worth it for our little guy. And it was yummy too!

After food, we made little pumpkins that I had gotten from Michael's. If you notice, Carter's little green stem that is supposed to be on top of the pumpkin is actually sticking out of the pumpkin's mouth! My little creative guy he is!! I think his pumpkin is missing a nose too...

Then we went outside to our "pumpkin patch" and the kids all picked out their own pumpkin to take home with them. They played outside for awhile then too. The weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny and 70 degrees with a nice breeze!

At the end of a fun day, Carter opened his gifts. He got lots of fun things!

At the end of the day, we were exhausted, but it was tons of funs! So thankful for wonderful family and friends! Love my precious little boy...

4th of July weekend

This was the first of three BBQ's we had over the weekend to celebrate the 4th of July. This was at our friends the Murray's house. We swam, had a Bible study and had dinner together.

Carter and his best pal Alex Murray in their matching bathing suits. Alex is 2 1/2 years older, but they have great fun together!

The kids: Aaron Gish, Chloe Gish, Carter and Alex Murray. Missing from picture: Adam Gish and Audrey van Eck.

Alex and Sydney absolutely adore each other!

On Saturday night we went to Steve's family's house. This is Cooper who is only 3 weeks older than Sydney. They are pretty much the same exact size in height and weight!

Cousin Emma, three years old.

The kids playing with each other.

Sydney is adorable even with spit up and slobber all over her dress!

On Sunday my dear friend Nicole came in town. We hadn't seen her since Carter was 6 months old, so it was a treat to see her! Sydney's middle name is named after Nicole, since Nicole was very instrumental in getting Steve and I together. We had a great time hanging out with her on Sunday night with a visit from our friend Kristin Higginbotham and her boyfriend Mark. On Monday morning, Katie came by to visit Nicole and then Nicole was off to Mississippi again! Hopefully it won't be another 2 years before we see her again.

Steve and his friend Vincent Luttrell. On Monday night we had the Luttrells over for dinner before Vincent heads off to be a chaplain in the Army. He just graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and will be moving to Tennessee where he and his family will be living. Steve is going to miss his Seminary pal. They had many a Theological discussion over the past few years! And speaking of Seminary... Steve is considering going to Seminary, something he has thought and prayed about a lot over the years. He is hoping to start this Fall. Please pray for the Lord's leading with this!