Father's Day

So the kids had a blast yesterday showering Donnie with surprise gifts throughout the day after breakfast in bed.  But I think this was his favorite.  He recently moved into a new office so we thought this would be a great addition (seeing as how he had one picure of me and Joshua when he was two, one picture of the boys when Caleb was 8 months, and ZERO pictures of the girls...I take complete responsibility). And with this he can change the pictures out whenever he wants!

And here's a little video of their Father's Day card presentation.  We had fun making this one as well.

Summer kick off

Well the Nuzum family kicked off the summer with a couple of amazing trips!  We've known for awhile that Donnie would be doing some traveling for work this summer, but the kids and I were not planning to tag along.  Until, however, I got plane tickets for Mother's Day, for myself and the kids, to go with Donnie to Denver. (My husband rocks!)  Woo hoo!!  I can't believe it's been 7 years since we left there for NC!   It's just as beautiful as I remembered and we had a blast!  We were so blessed to be able to stay with our dear friends, the Morrises.  Joshua and Nathaniel obviously don't remember crawling around in diapers together (they are only 25 days apart in age), but they acted as though they had known each other forever.  This picture pretty much sums up the entire week with these two.

The boys were very sad to leave their friends at the end of the week. Ella had a blast with their 6 year old, Alia.  And both girls played "Mommy" all week to Erin and their precious new addition, Malachi.



Here's the entire crew.  Ella was exerting her independence in this shot...

Their oldest, McKenna was 5 when we left Denver, and she's grown into a beautiful 12 year old.  I held it together until I had to hug her and say bye.  Love that girl!!! I was able to do a little catching up over coffee with Christy, which we've been dreaming of doing for the last 7 years.  But I definitely left wishing we had more time.  Thank you, Morris family, for an amazing week and for opening up your home to us!  We love you!!

After the trip to Denver, Donnie had 2 days to pack up and leave for West Palm Beach, FL for another speaking engagement.  The day after he left, Wendy, Gerald, and Jake showed up on my doorstep from Texas!  What?! (my husband rocks!)  We haven't seen them since Christmas so I was so excited to get to spend the week with them while Donnie was out of town.  Now Donnie was "supposed" to be arriving back home Friday, but my sister hands me an envelope when she gets in the door that says "Happy Birthday".  Inside is (ONE) plane ticket to West Palm Beach, FL from Friday until Monday.  What?!  (Did I mention my husband rocks?)  So my AMAZING sister, brother in law, and sister in law (Donnie's sister is here for the summer) took care of all our four children (which includes a baby still getting up twice to eat at night, people!) plus their 18 month old so that Donnie and I could have a weekend alone in West Palm Beach.  Of course I didn't take my camera which almost makes me start to wonder if I dreamt it all.  But it really did happen, folks, and it was wonderful!  We shopped, dined, and walked the beach for three magnificent days!  You would have really thought we were in love the way we were holding hands the whole time, but honestly I'm so used to holding onto at least two hands, while juggling a diaper bag, lugging an infant carrier, and being pulled in 4 different directions, that Donnie had to hold my hand just to help me to walk straight.  So a BIG thank you to Wendy, Gerald, and Nicole for holding down the fort and loving our kiddos while we were gone, and to my amazing husband for planning an unforgettable two weeks!!  I love you!

I'll end with some photos we got today.  I mentioned before that Donnie's sister Nicole is living with us for the summer and it's been SO much fun having her with us!  She is majoring in broadcast communication and is spending most of her days volunteering at Elevation in hopes of learning the ins and outs of production.  She had some time off today, though, and the kids had a blast with Aunt Koko and the new slip-n-slide!

Our songwriter

So the boys had a hard time getting to bed last night. There was whining, arguing over sleeping arrangements, lots of stalling, and there may or may not have been some parental threats. So when Joshua, finally in bed, asked if he could tell me his song he wrote, I very curtly responded, "Tomorrow!" This obviously was another attempt to delay bedtime.

Then morning came and his first question to me was, "Now can I tell you my song, Mom?"
"Sure, honey"

This is what followed out of my eight year old's mouth...completely unedited.

"When sin is upon me I find my God right next to me. When the war has ended I find the Lord very strong in me. He is faithful, He is strong, He is good, He is peace to the Earth and everyone."

"Where did you hear that?"
"Nowhere. I just thought of it in my head"

Do not put out the Spirit's fire. 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Please Lord, never let my words, actions, frustration, or neglect ever quench the fire you are starting in our children's hearts.

PS. This has been posted with Joshua's permission. :)