New addition...

We have added a new member to the McPherson circus! This one is a girl (surprise, surprise!), furry, lovable, playful, black and slightly smelly;). We are now a dog family…though I am still coming to terms with that. The younger two girls have had an extreme fear of dogs over the past 2 years, so what better way to solve that? Invite your fear to come live with you…duh!;) 

she looks very ferocious to y'all, right?!

 I told Andy that if we were going to get a dog, it had to be over 3 years of age. I am not doing any puppy training! We found sweet Bailey at a shelter up in Greenville and immediately new she was the one. She is such a sweet, laid-back dog. We definitely lucked out! The first two weeks the girls wanted to take Bailey out on walks CONSTANTLY. Poor Bailey probably went on at least 4 walks a day…at least we all got some good exercise:) She is fantastic on walks and will just walk right next to you. Even MC can walk her without any trouble. Whew!

Here they all are on Bailey's first night home.

MC has a new friend and dogs are her new loves

Alley taking Bailey on one of our multiple walk days…we haven't even left the driveway and Bailey already looks like she's ready to go to sleep!

Kendall, who previously would scream bloody murder every single time she saw a dog, has loved having Bailey around. Here she is just staring at Bailey…poor Bailey;)

Best buds

Best buds

Bailey definitely loves Alley…I took this sweet shot while we were on our way to take Kendall to preschool. 

Even Bailey is getting in on our family devotional time at night;)

Who, you ask, is Bailey's absolute favorite human? This picture says it all...

Andy came home from work and laid down on the ground and Bailey just climbed up on him and started licking him…she thinks she's a lap dog;)

All in all, I think we made the right decision. Granted I have to clean A LOT more now (if you know me, then you know I absolutely hate cleaning), but it's worth it when I see how the girls respond to Bailey. She has definitely become a wonderful addition to our family!

Kendall is 5!

Kendall is now 5…how can that be? She is growing so fast! Her loves are princesses, books, playing house, riding her scooter, playing outside, and recently she has developed a love for the avengers…specifically Incredible Hulk. She is pretty tall for her age and the doctor has said she will probably be 5'11"…WHAT?!?!? Um, that's taller than Andy…sorry babe. Kendall has such a sweet heart and is quite the snuggled. She loves to hug, kiss (she insists on kissing on the lips) and just be touching soft things (ex: rubbing your arm, shirt, blanket, neck, cheek, etc.). She is a very touchy-feely child;) She also is quite dramatic, looooves to sing, is sensitive and needs to have her alone time to regroup herself. I love this girl that God gave us and I pray she develops into a true servant of God! 

She has been doing a little bit of school at home and has been catching on fast. We did make the decision to enroll her into Fort Hill's preschool program, for the remainder of the year, so she could have some time away from her sisters. Her first day was on her actual birthday:) She thought it was a pretty cool present. 

Our traditional birthday breakfast! DONUTS!

Our sweet and sassy middle child

Her expressions while opening presents…theatrical;)

This year Kendall changed up her birthday plan. Ever since frozen came out, she has been saying she wants a Frozen party. One day at the grocery store we saw some super hero cupcakes and she suddenly decided she wanted an Avengers party. It wasn't too much of a surprise, since she's been reading about the Avengers and talking about them a lot. I'll be honest though, I didn't buy ANYTHING for the party until a few days before it. I was concerned she'd change her mind! She didn't…

The birthday girl with her Avengers shirt (she wanted an Incredible Hulk shirt, but we couldn't find any).

Friends making their Captain America shields

everyone protecting themselves from the bad guys…or me...

Ready to blow out her birthday candle

oh Kendall, the faces you make...

 Happy Birthday sweet girl!! We are blessed to have you as part of our family! May this year be filled with joy, love and God!

Friends

The girls and I traveled back up to VA two weeks after Christmas. Andy was going to be done for about a week so we thought it was a perfect time to leave too:) A good friend of mine (who has girls the same age as K and A) planned a play date for us at central location. I always love getting together with the Weigard family! They are so fun and we all get along great. It was too short of an afternoon for all the catching up we needed to do!

Yeah, did I mention how crazy they are when they are together?!!! Love them all:)

Alley and Elliot, picking up where they left off in the friendship from last visit!

The grandmas and their grandkids. Mom and Pat (and our family growing up) have been close friends since I was in elementary school. We love getting to see them, which isn't nearly enough! The great thing about this friendship is that no matter how much time lapses between visits, we pick up like we haven't been apart. I cherish these families:)

Until next visit!