Visit from the Hogies

Emma Claire, Ruby, Henry, and Grayson

Rubes, with blue chalk on her face :)

sweet EC

Sanders doing her granddaddy's signature move, the dying cockroach

The kiddos dancing to Ben's music---so cute!!

dancing in the kitchen

watching Jungle Book (one of the eighty times they watched it)

matching Lightning McQueen pajamas

Tyler, Grayson, Sanders, and Henry---I love this picture :)

Ruby sleeping on the boat

Emma Claire not too happy in her lifejacket

Grayson, Tyler, and Sanders

Is this not the sweetest picture? Best buds!

BFF's

For my 300th post, I'm going to post 300 pictures! :) Just kidding, but I took just about that many in the entire week that Gretchen, Ben, Henry and Ruby were visiting. Here are some of the highlights of their trip, which included a boat ride on a beautiful December day with 6 adults and 7 children, lots of pajama time, playing outside, playing inside, dancing, hugging, and being silly together. We had such a great time, and it was the perfect way to ring in the new year. Ben (Gretchen's Ben, not mine--it gets confusing sometimes with two Bens) leaves on Monday for a 9 month deployment to Africa, so please keep their family in your prayers. We were honored that Ben wanted to spend his last few days in the States down here visiting us! :) 

Gretchen and Ben are such amazing friends--we met by chance as neighbors in our old neighborhood and now even though they live in MD and we live in SC, we get together several times a year and the children are the best of friends. Gretchie and Ben even stayed up very late one night helping clean up Emma Claire's vomit---multiple times---the night that she came down with a nasty stomach virus, and then didn't even complain a few days later when they came down with the same bug. If that isn't friendship, I don't know what is! :) 

Gretchie and Ben, thank you for being such fabulous friends! We love and miss you dearly!