these smiles

We are loving summer!  And, I love these smiles.  I can assure you that we definitely have our moments of tears, not sharing, not getting our way, and arguing at our house, but these smiles more than make up for those times.

One of Isaac's favorite things to do each morning is open Emma's door and wake her up.  Yesterday morning, he opened her door and then straight to find me in my bathroom.  Isaac said, "Mom, you have to come see.  Emma is doing the kindest thing.  She is sitting in her chair reading calmly."  He was so impressed!  (Ha!)  I was able to capture Emma looking Isaac so excitedly as he went into her room.  This is honestly how excited she is to see him every morning.

And, Isaac was all smiles earlier this week when Dave had a rain day!  (So was I!!)  Dave told Isaac that he could go on "workerman errands"with him in the truck.  Isaac raced upstairs to get dressed.  When he came downstairs he said, "Mom, I look like a worker man.  I have a striped shirt and dirty pants on."  

Emma's favorite thing to do at the pool is jump in!  She is getting braver every day.  

I checked on the kids after breakfast one morning, and they were both in Emma's crib.  Emma said, "Mommy, we guggle" (snuggle).

Dave's jobsite is near where the kids have swimming lessons twice a week, and we love visiting him.  Last week, we had Chick-Fil-A for lunch together.

And, this morning we stopped after swimming lesson with donuts and Starbucks.  Yum!  

I think Emma would be content to keep her head on Daddy's shoulder all day long.  

I'd say this very accurately reflects David (always smiling), Isaac (always trying to get a laugh with his "crazy faces"), and Emma (eyes always on her brother).  

Our upstairs air conditioning unit was out for 10 days while we waited for a part to be ordered and then installed, so we all camped out on our first level for 10 loooong nights.  After a few mornings of the kids--particularly Emma--waking up with the sun, we wised up and put Emma in the laundry room.  Of course, Isaac asked right away to have a sleepover with her.  They were both SO excited.  

I posted this picture on Instagram on their first night having a sleepover, and my friend Candace wrote, "Perfectly clean laundry room and both kids laying on their beds - not fussing! Dream home!"  I was tempted to make excuses that my laundry room isn't perfectly clean (after all, you can't see the countertops) and that the only reason the kids are laying perfectly still is that they knew they'd be separated if either moved an inch.  But, in a moment I realized that YES---this is my dream home.  I have a husband that loves me and two children whose smiles make my heart sing.  They are my dream come true.