wyatt's dedication

this past weekend grannie, pop-pop, mom, dad, emmy and myself all went down to raleigh for wyatt's dedication on saturday night. it was such a joy to see: all of my family (i wish we could see grannie and pop-pop more than we do!), baby wyatt being dedicated to the lord and just to be in raleigh! matt and ali live in fuquay-varina, about 30 mins from cary,nc. i love it down there- their neighbors across the street have roosters, peacocks and other farm animals in their backyard! okay so they are in the country, so it's a little more acceptable. :) as much as i love the beach, i really think that i'm a country girl at heart. [i've got my john deere shirts to prove it!] i love being in the country amidst open fields and beautiful acres of crops and cattle; i feel very blessed to be a part of this disappearing lifestyle, even if just for a little bit.

dad, matt and pop-pop in 1 of matt's 3 gardens


garden #2


#2, continued


and garden #3!


baby blue eyes


lucy


emmy


lucers and emmers playing in the backyard :)


when we arrived on saturday, wyatt was sound asleep


pop-pop wyatt and baby wyatt :)


wyatt squared


delaware came to visit you, baby wyatt!


matt, ali, wyatt & baby oliver, carmen & ben


and again!


the whole family at the church, after the dedication


such a sweet lil family


laughing, with grannie and pop-pop


and again


all the boys in the fam


farmer wyatt

harborfest 2006

wow! it's been awhile since i have posted anything! i'm staying super busy (10-12 hour days) with my nanny job and now i will have a 16-month-old in addition to the two-year-old and three-year-old i currently nanny for. i just agreed to this third child today and know that it is going to be more fun, more moolah! but also a lot more tiring. needless to say, i usually come home too pooped to even check the computer. however the few times i do check my favorite blogs, i realize how much i miss the blogging world! (is that sad?!) anyways, here is just a little entry...

this past weekend i attended the 30th annual harborfest here in norfolk,va with some girlfriends. harborfest is a weekend-long festival filled with food, drink, music and various fleets of boats. those with private boats can dock right in waterside, while other larger ships (navy, coast guard, etc.) come and dock for festival-attendees to view and take pictures of. there were even pirate ships! (you can see in my pictures) the local vendors come as well, with lots of facepainting for the kiddies and even more cheap junk for anyone looking for an extra t-shirt to add to their closet!
i had a great time catching up with old friends and hanging out without little ones for once!

jess and i on the dock

pirate ships!

the best part was seeing the "pirates" climb up these ropes during the fireworks- "rrrrrr matey!"

does anyone out there know what this thing is? we're pretty sure that's water it's spraying up behind the boat

this will be my "Scary Teacher Face" one day. think it'll work?!

self-shot

!!!fireworks!!!

my man, wyatt

here are a few (well, a lot!) more pictures of wyatt from his birth weekend. my camera has been doing funky things, but i think i finally got it to work! enjoy! :)

wyatt, just a few hours old

the most precious baby in the world

bonding with his beautiful mommmy, ali

the leading man in my life, wyatt daniel
like his aunt ash, he's not a fan of pictures evidenced by the hands in front of his face :)
**can you tell i was an emotional rollercoaster that night? i have never cried so much (but happy tears of course!) in my entire life!

wyatt sleeping sweetly in his lovely plastic bassinet at wakemed ;)

wyatt with his other aunt, aka auntie re, aka ali's sister, aka andrea


bonding with mommy


the new daddy, two-hours-old wyatt, and the new mommy on lots and lots of pain meds. she was such a trooper, especially to let us take all these pictures only a few hours after her c-section! we love you ali :)


beautiful

he has arrived!

that's right everyone, the baby is finally here! my sister-in-law gave birth to my new nephew, wyatt daniel renfrow, on friday, may 12, 2006. he is absolutely gorgeous [well, handsome] and nothing short of amazing!

ali went into the hospital friday after a long week of waiting and anxious anticipation. the baby was originally due on the previous thursday, but lil wyatt decided he wanted to wait a little longer to see us. ;) the doctors scheduled to induce ali friday, but again the potoson [have NO idea how that is spelled] did not seem to phase our little renfrow. at 8:00pm friday night, after some scary heartbeat levels of wyatts, the doctor and matt & ali agreed to have a cesarian section. at 8:59, wyatt daniel was born!

recap...
name: wyatt daniel renfrow
weight: 9 lbs, 10 ozs [he's a big boy!]
length: 21.5 inches
hair: brown
eyes: deep blue
and he's got his auntie ashwee's olive skin tone too! :)

more pictures to come soon. unfortunately, my camera is being troublesome. these are just a few, so enjoy!

wyatt and daddy (my bro- matt!)


wyatt and his trooper of a mommy, ali!

minimalistic

i have a new-found love for black and white photography. i don't know what it is, but something about black and white just shows more emotion than color photos do. this minimalistic form of photography sheds light on emotion. it gets to the core of the subject and reveals it's true form. i was watching tv the other day and there was a special on the arts channel of a man who photographs in x-ray format. so neat! the images you see here are from www.wineandjam.com i was going to nanny for the woman who owns this studio but she decided to stay in california instead of coming to the beach. (plus i got a better family to work for anyways!) :) take a look around- i bet you'll love it.

home sweet home

thursday evening i came home for the summer! i am so very excited to be back in chesapeake, with my amazing parents and sweet pups. just a thought on family...

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.
~Erma Bombeck

(myself and my cousin, andrea, at the fair in rehoboth, delaware!)

home truly is where the heart is.

sidenote: still no baby! ali was due on thursday, but it seems that lil baby renfrow (they're not finding out the sex until he/she wants to come out and tell us all!) isn't quite ready! here's a little pic of the ultrasound a long while back. keep praying for ali's health and the little baby's health! we're all a little anxious now!!!

CYNTHIA'S ENGAGED!

ahhh i never thought that the day would come, but it finally has! my best friend from high school called me last night and told me that her beau popped the big question! CONGRATULATIONS to you both, sweet cyndie and john michael!!! :)



cyndie and i met in elementary school, and continued to go to the same schools up through high school. however it wasn't until our tenth grade of high school that our friendship really blossomed. cynthia and i were leaving the parking lot one afternoon in our respective cars when BANG - i got a little lovetap on the back of the trooper.:) well anyone who knows the trooper knows that nothing short of a meteor could destroy that thing. so needless to say, my car was fine. cyndie's on the other hand had a few more problems. though she was only going mayyyyyyybe 4mph, the hood of her car was bent in half along with quite a few other problems. we ran into the school to call her dad from a payphone (i think we both got cell phones after this) and our friendship took off from there. since then we were inseparable, until cynthia went to liberty university and i came to vt. however we're lucky enough to be less than two hours from each other and love to visit when we can.

cyndie, your friendship has meant the world to me and i don't think i would have made it through western branch without you! all those nights at 4REAL, orchestra trips (bus hair!) and countless phonecalls have shaped me into the person i am and i thank you for that. you're such an amazing friend, who has a heart for the lord and a compassion like no other. john michael is a lucky man for sure! i am sooo excited for you and wish you both all the best. now i know what we'll be doing on the beach all summer- reading wedding magazines! i love you girl!!! :)

simplicity

so i have a new favorite magazine. granted, i'm only 22 and only wish i needed to read articles about "organizing my basement" but still, i love reading this periodical for the new tips and great quotes interspursed throughout. what is it?
REAL SIMPLE.
I LOVE IT. go buy an issue and i know you'll agree with me. in fact, if you go onto their website you can request a free trial issue (i actually got two!) instead of paying full price. buy it. enjoy it. and get excited about organizing your basement. :)

"each morning the day lies like a fresh shirt on our bed; this incomparably fine, incomparably tightly woven tissue of pure prediction fits us perfectly."
-walter benjamin, one-way street

captivating

as previously mentioned, i'm reading captivating: unveiling the mystery of a woman's soul with my bible study this semester. just the first few pages of the book excite me and have me wanting to curl up in bed with some tea and read from cover to cover. sadly, we have this whole "chapter a week" thing to do, so that we can actually get something out of our readings. :p (note the sarcasm here. i love you girls!) i thought i would share this quote that just resonated within me and might for other women as well,
"sometime between the dreams of your youth and yesterday, something precious has been lost. and that treasure is your heart, your priceless feminine heart. God has set within you a femininity that is powerful and tender, fierce and alluring. no doubt it has been misunderstood. surely it has been assaulted. but it is there, your true heart, and it is worth recovering. you ARE captivating."
pretty awesome, huh? that's just page x of the introduction. i'm telling you. go get this book. it's amazing and i know you'll agree with me. :)

for Ali

Wow. Nothing short of amazing, eigh? Most people think it's a marvel of modern photoshop; however, I like to believe it's a burst of energy anxious to grace us with his/her presence. :) With my sister-in-law expecting in early May, the arrival of a new Renfrow floors me. How amazing is childbirth? A little something I just wrote...

A mother's stomach
the fetus' cocoon
housing a beauty
to brush the canvas of life

a life paramount
remains as one
in the hands of her Creator

the growth lines
these "stretch marks"
are anything but...

they are
remarkable beauty
evidence of a love
with endless domains


how lucky she is
how amazing she will be

a mother

We love you Ali. I can't wait to be Aunt Ashley. :)

simple joys

"Don't sweat the small stuff."

Today I woke up dreading the work load ahead of me. I walked outside to the 16 degree chill of a Blacksburg January, knowing the day would only grow colder. On days like today I have to remind myself of the simple joys. This Wednesday I have class from 9-5 and mountains of homework awaiting me aftewards, so it's imperative to find pleasure in the small things. We have the most adorable, primative coat rack in our apartment that says in big, bronze letters "simplify." Take a deep breath. Read a good book. Remind youself of the simple joys today.

Some simple joys that I love:

-twinkle lights
-mittens
-The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
-ribbon bows
-emmy kisses
-giggling
-the smell of freshly-baked cookies
-french braids
-Starbucks cinnamon dolce latte
-crayola markers (my personal favorite? macaroni and cheese)
-holding hands
- :)

tis the season...

...for engagements!!! wow, i never thought that i would hear of so many people i know about to tie the knot! and so soon!!!first of all, let me say CONGRATULATIONS to all of you beautiful girls. as is expected, a girls-only major is certainly conducive to multiple engagements in a short period of time. with that said, i must explain how when we see some new "ice," we all take the first ten minutes of class learning about the ring, the man, the future wedding plans, how he proposed, if she cried...you get the idea. the engagement spark has hit my heart as well and the wedding magazine section is one of my favorite areas now at barnes and noble. future wedding planner rather than first-grade teacher? not really in the stars for me, but certainly a current fascination that brings perpetual joy. :)