Women of Joy Girls' Weekend

I am so spoiled. I got to go to Branson with my girlfriends for 2 nights and 3 days. It was wonderful. We went to a womens conference that was really great, but the best part was just being carefree with the girls all weekend. They make me laugh SO much.

Eating girly food to kick off the weekend.

Trying to get my picture with Candace Cameron Bure. She was a great speaker and apparently DJ Tanner has turned out to be a pretty great Christian as well.

Two of my favorite Chappell kids. These two were the cause of much of my laughter.

Just trying things on.

Introducing ALL of these girls to Hot Doughnuts Now at Krispy Kreme. Of course, I am always happy to oblige.

More of the Singing

In this edition of Natalie Sings, she will be singing God is so good.

If I could video every single song she sings, I would. And I would post them all on the blog for you to see. Pretty sure I will never tire of her sweet little singing voice.

we can only hope

Natalie sings ALL the time. It's wonderful really.

Take a Peek at this New Do!

Aunt Jennie did the snips and Peppa Pig kept her attention.

Mommy loves her new locks.

The closer you get, the prettier she gets. :)

The BEFORE shots.

I have to admit, I kind of miss the long flowing hair, but the short summer cut is adorable too. Plus, it only took her about 18 months to grow all that hair anyways, so it shouldn't be long till that hair is back.

Luckily, her face never changes, and it's one of the 2 cutest I've ever seen!

Sutton's Stash

I was just about to break out into the missing paci song (think Where have all the cowboys gone and insert paci for cowboy), when I pulled out the crib to let the mattress down (all the way down because Sutton is a grown-up). I no longer had to wonder where all the pacis had gone. They were hanging out in Missing Sock and Paci Land.

Yippee yo, yippee yeah.

My Cup Overfloweth

Warm weather, a breeze, Natalie making you a special cup of lemonade (aka dirty, recycled water) while she enjoys a popsicle of her own and Sutton playing peek-a-boo while opening and shutting the playhouse door over and over.

Note those sweet little feet crossed at the ankles. Such a little lady.

Taller and taller.

Always happy (almost).

I came inside to finish putting the dishes away from breakfast and the smile on my face was as evident to me as the heat in my cheeks from the warm spring sun. I looked at the imaginary play and exploration going on outside. I listened as Natalie interrupted her own stories to tend to Sutton and make sure he was okay. I felt the breeze blow through the screen door and I was content. I thanked God for these children and my home and wondered, "Are these the good ole days? They MUST be." Then I remembered how I've thought this before, a year or 2 years or 7 years and 10 months ago. I think my smile got bigger as I realized that the good ole days are just getting better and better. Can it truly be that the best is yet to come? I'll just bask in the days I'm given and hope for the best for the future. I guess you could say, for today at least, my glass of dirty, make-believe lemonade is half full. I have a feeling this is why:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Little Sipper

Before this guy entered the world, you never could've convinced me just how much I could ADORE another child. Now, I find myself squeezing the stuffin out of him at least a few times a day. The milestones with him are every bit as exciting as they were with Natalie. When he claps, I go crazy. Hearing those little hands nearly silently tapping each other from the backseat makes me smile so big. Now he's starting to really get the hang of the sippy cup and it is, once again, amazing! Sutton Paul, you are a wonder child.

Surely you see how cute this is?!

The Village

I just love how the body of Christ works. We had a fun afternoon of playing, eating, toddler tantrums, owies, giggling, chatting, calling out each other's kids etc. I really love all the girlfriends God has given me. And I love their babies too! Looks like a wild time, huh? It was actually pretty tame. Thank goodness for warm weather and the ability to play outside.

Boss number one and boss number two. And somehow they get along...most of the time.

Including baby brother.

WHEEEEEEE!

You can't bottle this excitement.

again (pronounced by Natalie in true southern form: uh-gee-yun).

Do you see what I see?

I found some old photos of Nate and myself. It is uncanny just how much I think Sutton looks like BOTH of us as babies. See if you can guess who is who? Answers at the end (Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to type them upside down).

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Answers:

1. Nate 2. Sutton 3. Becky 4. Sutton 5. Becky 6. Sutton 7. Sutton 8.Becky 9. Nate 10. Natalie

There's definitely a resemblance.

Uncle Scotty and THE Cottage

Once upon a time, while the children were napping, Mommy Cook continued her world-wide search for the perfect playhouse for her little Cooks. She stumbled through a thicket of Ebay berries and found the perfect little home lying behind it. There was too much time ticking before this perfect little cottage could be claimed, so Mommy continued her search and found that the exact cottage was also hiding on Old Man Craig's special list. She quickly dialed the number she found on the list, sent word and money to the owners and the home was theirs.

(story continues below)

As these stories usually go, the plot thickened. The special cottage Mommy had obtained was a whole other world away, 3 hours to be exact, but very close to Uncle Scotty's house. Now, Uncle Scotty was a noble and brave man, a hero indeed. He returned the message he'd received from Mommy and agreed to pick up this cottage. It also just so happened (this IS a fairy tale after all) that Uncle Scotty was already headed in the direction of the Cook house in far off Kansas City the very next day to give a grand speech to the townspeople of the town of farmasee. He saddled his grand sequoia, rode into the night and secured the little cottage for the long ride ahead. He awoke the next morning, made his grand entrance into Missoura and delivered this special home. Meanwhile, Mommy Cook and her two little ones were out visiting their animal friends with their Auntie. When they returned to their home, they were overjoyed to find Daddy Cook in the backyard putting the finishing touches on their new cottage. Sister Cook was especially happy to hospitably answer the ringing of the doorbell on her own little cottage. She welcomed visitors into her new home for the rest of the day and they all lived happily ever after...

until the sun went down and they had to come inside to go to bed.

Spider Monkey

I think I'm starting to be too interested in the animals at the zoo. I'm neglecting the camera. This was the only shot I took at the zoo today. The spider monkey was running back and forth and back and forth like crazy. Sutton wasn't too sure about it, but Mommy thought it was a really cute little monkey. Too bad all you can see is his tail end as he zoommmed by.