These Days

Our church Easter Egg hunt is always a fun event!  

They had fun putting these puzzles together again! 

Claire got to have a Mimi and Papa weekend in April and enjoyed some special play time with Ress Bess! 

We had a sweet group of kids with Play-and-Praise kids choir this year! 

Turned around and caught these three (Abby, Hunter and Katelyn) holding hands one night on our way down to Play-and-Praise.  Sweet kids! 

Sisters swinging!  

Hannah had birthday parties 3 weekends in a row in April and this skating party was one of them! 

Emily got to go cheer Bella on in her school play!  

Bert had a conference in Columbia and we took the kids out of school and got to go with him.  Hannah and Claire had a hard time falling asleep so they got to snuggle with Daddy!  He's the best! 

The girls and I got to visit with my friend, Sara, while we were in Columbia and while Bert was in meetings.  It was soooo great to see her!  

We had a Mommy - Claire date to Sno Hut 

Katherine, Jacob and Ressie came over for a playdate one day during our matching spring breaks!  It was so fun to spend the day with them! 

Cousins! 

Claire was so proud of her picture and I love this smile!  

That Abby is a stinker and soooo funny!! 

Someone gave us a fish.  The girls were soooo excited and named her Fiona.  She lived for a whopping 5 days and the we had 4 brokenhearted little girls!  

Hannah was working on her shooting! 

I love this picture of Abby and her beautiful smile!  

Bert and I got to go on a 24 hour date trip to Atlanta!  We had so much fun!  We enjoyed a fun Braves game and the stadium was within walking distance of our hotel.  

So thankful for that time and for my parents for watching our girls!  

Thankful for these days!  

Emily - 9 years old

It's hard to believe that Emily is 9 - that's so close to 10!!  We're so proud of the beautiful, smart little girl she is! 

Here are a few things that we treasure about our 9 year old:

-She's been taking piano lessons for a year now and is doing such a great job!  We're so proud of her hard work and I think she's got some natural talent mixed in there!  

-She still loves to sing and has a beautiful voice.  Abby likes to make up songs and sing all the time and it reminds me of Emily when she was her age.  

-She's a great student.  She made straight A's this year and did a great job in her first year of the Challenge program at Paris (gifted program).  I really don't have to work with her too much on homework or even studying for tests.  I usually call her test material out a time or two but she mostly has it before we even start.  

-She loves hanging out with her friends.  I think she would say Samantha and Bella are her best friends. 

-She loves to listen to adult conversations and doesn't miss much of what is being talked about.  This can be challenging sometimes for Bert and me depending on the nature of the conversation, but I can remember doing the same thing.  

-She loves to help cook and has helped our friend Denise make cupcakes a few times this year.  Denise said she's getting to be a great little baker.  

-She loves to ride her bike, dance, sing, swim and play with her sisters.  

-So many adults tell us how much they enjoy talking to her.  She's very mature for her age and can carry on a conversation with an adult easily.  

-This was her 5th year taking dance and we're thinking she'll try some sports next year instead of doing dance again. 

-She shares a room with Hannah and sleeps on the top bunk. 

-She's a great big sister and helps us keep an eye on her sisters often  

-She got braces last November and it makes her look older.   

-She joined the swim team this year and has done such a great job learning her strokes.  We're so proud of what a great swimmer she has become this summer.  (Editor's note: We did this blog post a couple months after her birthday!! That's life with 4 young daughters!)

Interview with our 9 year old:

What is your name? Emily Jean Watts

How old are you? 9

Where do you live? 5 Oak Brook Way, Taylors, SC 29687 

What is your favorite color? Teal

What is your favorite toy? Computer

What is your favorite food? Chocolate Mud Cake

What is your favorite drink? Whole-30 Juice

What is your favorite thing to do? Read

What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher

Who is your teacher? Mrs. Smith

Who is your best friend? Samantha and Bella

What is your favorite song?  Saved by the Bell 

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter

What is your favorite movie?  Paddington

Who is the funniest person you know? Abby

Where is your favorite place to go? To the pool

What does your Mommy always say to you? Be respectful and You'll Always Be My Baby

What does your Daddy always say to you?  I love you, I'm proud of you and I'll always be your Daddy.  

We love you Emmy Lou!!  

Easter 2019

My parents and my mom's sister and brother and their spouses all joined us in Greenville to celebrate Easter this year.  They all 6 drove over together and met us at church that morning and then came back to our house for Easter lunch! 

The girls were excited about their Easter baskets! 

Aunt Kathy took this picture of Bert while we was preaching that morning and I realized I don't think I've ever taken one.  He's such a gifted preacher and pastor and I'm so proud to be his wife! 

Mom, Aunt Ann, Aunt Kathy, Dad, Uncle Bud, and Uncle Jimmy

Our girls!  They all four helped pick out their dresses this year and I thought they did a great job! 

Family Easter picture! 

Time for Easter lunch! 

We had a great Easter with our family and our church family! 

Family Beach Trip

A family in our church offered for us to stay in their house near the beach over Spring Break.  The house was about 30-45 minutes from the beach and we stayed Wednesday through Saturday.  It was a very relaxing trip and just what we needed to rest up before finishing out the school year! 

The first night we drove to Myrtle Beach for dinner just to check everything out!  

I love this picture of Hannah enjoying the breeze!  

Snaggle tooth girl! 

Emily, Hannah and Abby were loving life and enjoying the water, even though it was a little on the chilly side.  

Our Claire was scared and didn't want to go anywhere near the water, so I stayed back with her.  

For Day 2 we went to Myrtle Beach State Park and spent the day there.  It was beautiful and the absolute perfect place for us to spend the day!  

Bert and Emily attempted to fly a kite, but it didn't really work out.

Claire warmed up (as she always does) and had so much fun playing in the water on the second day!  

My babies!! 

We had a sandcastle building contest and Claire insisted on being her Daddy's partner.  She made a good pick.  

Abby and I were partners and we didn't get a picture of it before she knocked it down, but it honestly didn't look very different than what it it looked like after it was knocked down....it was sad! 

Emily and Hannah's finished product! 

We walked out on the pier just before we left for the day! 

Day 3 it was rainy and stormy most of the day, so it was an inside day mostly.  We played games and took a few walks around their neighborhood.  It was actually very relaxing and ended up being just what we needed to finish our our short trip!  

There was this fun tree in their backyard that the girls loved climbing on.!  

We had such a great trip and were so thankful to be able to spend the special family time!