Yesterday marked an event that I will cherish for the rest of my life: the birth of Brooklyn Reese Floyd! Seems like the earth should have made a bigger deal than it did...things just went on as normal. But at our house, we treated her extra special and let her open the presents that had arrived. We are postponing a real party until next week. Last night, it was just us and Uncle Josh and Uncle Mikey. (the following captions are meant to coincide with the following pictures)

Is this shoe for me???

Brooklyn gently holds the February Piggy Bank from DD!

Testing out the crazy straw from Uncle Josh...

Thanks for my tea set, Grandma!!! I love hot tea!

I love my markers and coloring book, Aunt Kara! And you, too!

Brooklyn modeled a hat which looked hideous on me, and somehow adorable on her. Then she snuggled with her daddy and distracted him as he read.

For Valentine's Day (yes, this is a late post), I invited the Dennis couples over for dessert. This means Chad & Melissa, Zach & Anna, Josh & Lauren and me & Kyle. Kyle and I served them Melted Chocolate Babycakes and just enjoyed having them around. After everyone ate, Chad and Brooklyn settled into the couch for some reading time.

When Brooklyn realizes Daddy is filming, she's more than happy to perform so long as she can immediately review the footage.

While I worked a puzzle upstairs at the Farm, Kyle chased Brooklyn (at her insistence). He was often just on her heels, but she had no idea. Love these videos.

It's been awhile since the Floyd family went to the Farm, so we decided to go at the last minute this past weekend. I've been in sort of a funk (still am, actually) and just needed to get away. Some time by myself. Which really means time with Kyle and Brooklyn. Every now and then I go through these extremely antisocial spells and find myself in one now.

To our great pleasure it rained all day Saturday. And to me and Kyle, this is the best thing that could happen. We love rain, solitude, the stillness of the world when it's just busy receiving a shower. The birds are quieter or at least occupied searching for worms...the air is crisp and cool...the colors are muted and somehow more beautiful...there's no better feeling than snuggling up on a couch with my two favorite people, reading books, drinking hot coffee or tea and just disappearing from the world except on that one little couch.

On this particular trip to the farm, something prompted me to grab Brooklyn's raincoat and galoshes on our way out the door. So glad I did. It allowed the three of us to traipse through the puddles and experience the rain firsthand. Brooklyn doesn't get to do that very often and she really took it seriously, making me think we should definitely get out there more often! Kyle and I raided the Farm Wardrobe and donned the most hilarious of outfits. Mine, in particular, could NOT have been less flattering. I found an old pair of overalls and struggled about 10 minutes to get them on and secured. I also found the most hilarious hat. I can't help but think anyone wearing that hat would bear a strong resemblance to Mr. Tumnus (the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) which, again, is so unflattering. But I stayed dry, thank you very much, and mostly warm. Kyle somehow managed to look rugged and sexy, which he denies. Brooklyn just looked darn cute.

On our walk, we meandered down to the original farmhouse, the one that is only occupied by wasps in the summer. We found an open door and tentatively explored. I used to spend summers there as a child when we would go to my Grandmother's church's Bible School. It's beyond habitation now. But still holds lots of memories.

This is a game Brooklyn very much likes to play. Tucking her hand into her sleeve, she'll ask, "Where hand go?" Then pop it out and yell, "There it is!" Today, she performed this trick with her head!


Where Brooklyn go?
There she is!

The warmth of the sun pulled us outside today into our enormous backyard which does not get enough of our attention. While I gave Bailey a long-overdue grooming session, Kyle and Brooklyn explored every nook and cranny of our backyard. Darby joined them when she wasn't checking on me to make sure I wasn't harming Bailey. Actually, our Bailey has had quite a rough few weeks. Turns out she had a pyometra (infection in her uterus) and had an emergency hysterectomy the week of Josh's wedding. Spent a week at the vet's (yeah, that was a fun bill) And is now recovering nicely. But what gal doesn't feel more alive and refreshed after some pampering and a haircut?! Bailey is no exception. I had actually forgotten that she could look so good!

Brooklyn is just now to the point where she'll sit still for me to paint her nails. And she was still enough for me to get her nails AND her toes. They were cute while they lasted. She's like me- hard on her fingernails.

To give Mommy some alone time, Daddy took Brooklyn to our attic playroom where she methodically opened each of the Easter Story Eggs over and over, then played kitchen with daddy! Look at her crazy posed smile.

No, it's just Brooklyn covered in grape jelly after attacking her piece of toast. She was oblivious to her extended smile, so I took advantage of it. The girl loves her some breakfast. How 'bout some eggs?! How 'bout some toast?! And of course, How 'bout some CHEERIOS!?

Time definitely moves faster when you're not just thinking every second about being pregnant. Keeping busy as a mom helps considerably! And now that I'm not nauseous all the time, I feel perfectly normal! Still working out every day, lifting weights and running and trying to stay in shape, despite the fact that I feel so unfit. But at least I'm starting to look genuinely pregnant, instead of just too full.

Here's the 16 week belly shot.

Sharing their first dance...
and on the way to Memphis to catch a plane that would whisk them away to Mexico for the week.

They are such a beautiful couple!

One of the neatest things my dad does with my brothers is a Saturday morning ritual called "Doughnuts with Dad." This ritual evolved from when we were kids and my dad would either haul us all to Shipley's for the world's best fresh doughnuts, or we would awaken and find a box on the counter for us. As the boys have gotten older, my Dad began taking all of them to Daylight Donuts which is a little closer for some early Saturday morning quality time with his sons. A ritual I think is just fantastic. I was particularly delighted to find that the morning of Josh's wedding was no exception. And in addition to my brothers, one of Josh's groomsmen, John Ray, also tagged along.





Me and Josh on the Big Day!












The bridesmaids gearing up for our prance down the aisle.










Mom and Josh - doesn't she look great? He doesn't look bad, either.


















Mother of the Groom and Mother of the Bride





I was a bit concerned that my bridesmaid dress would not fit due to my growing belly, but it fit perfectly! I'm not sure that you could even tell I was pregnant. I probably just looked like I'd been putting on weight. Oh well. I have, just in one particular area...Hopefully my bouquet hid the rest.

We have reached the miraculous point where a MAJORITY of the Dennis children are now married. I remember wondering who in the world my brothers would marry. What women out there would appreciate their individual quirks and charms as much as their parents and siblings. Or their oddities and bad habits. And somehow in the meantime, my brothers have grown into men and become quite prime marriage material. Handsome, tall, self-sufficient (for the most part), godly, devoted family guys. And in response to decades of faithful prayers by my mom and dad that God would lead each of their children to the perfect mate for them, God is doing just that. Kyle and I will celebrate our 8th anniversary this year. Zach and Anna will celebrate their 2nd or 3rd anniversary this year (see how fast time moves, I can't even keep track!) Chad and Melissa celebrate their 1 year anniversary in April. And my darling brother Josh just married Lauren Orr this past Saturday. A date which was shared not only by Groundhog Day, but also my dad's 55th birthday!

I was so proud of Josh. As one of his best friends, I have had the privilege of counseling him so many times over recent years, encouraging and admonishing him (in much love) to earnestly seek the Lord's will for his life. To stop fighting God on so many different things and abandon his will to the Lord's. And Josh has done that. And I believe the Lord honored those decisions by bringing Lauren into Josh's life at just the right moment.

As usual, a Dennis wedding is not possible without major fanfare and tons of bodies. But it wouldn't be appropriate any other way. It was so much fun!

One of my favorite things about this wedding was that our lifelong friend and adopted older sister, Alice Baden, from Nebraska drove down to spend the time with us. She had never met Brooklyn, but upon first sight of her, Brooklyn immediately opened her arms to Alice and fell in love. Alice just has that way about her. We were so blessed to have her here.




Mom hugs our adopted sister, Alice.





At the rehearsal, Brooklyn made herself at home in the center of everything - on the kneeling bench before the altar. A better view of the proceedings.






Some of the bridesmaids holding our places and following orders.