Long time, no see!

Hey! Finally I'm gonna let ya'll in on what's been going on in the lives of the Cavni this summer! I just haven't felt like taking the time to post all of these pictures lately, but someday I'll learn that it's easier to do a few at a time than to wait until I have an epic post to make! Anyway, here's a few from Charlie's 3rd birthday (in May) to get us started:

As you can see, he was a happy boy!

He loaded up on plenty of new toys and clothes - thank goodness, because this boy is growing fast!!

This year was fun, because he had lots of little friends to come to his party and not just adults!
So cute!!
But we had plenty of adults that love Charlie there too!!

Momma's big boy!!

How sweet is this? I love it when I can capture a moment of love between these two because sometimes it seems that they spend more time picking at each other than they do loving on each other!

Here's another one. Piper just came up and plopped her little self in Charlie's lap all on her own!

We love to read around here! We discovered the public library this summer and we love it! Charlie and Piper have so much fun and we always bring MANY fun books home!! (And read them MANY times!)

Even Piper loves to read on her own
!

Also, check out the pig-tails Piper's been rockin'! I've just been waiting and waiting for this...I love it!!

Charlie and Piper loved vacation Bible school this summer! Here's a shot of Charlie and his class leaving refreshment time. I've got an absolutely hilarious video on my phone that I'll try to find some way to post later, but I'll just let you wait and see that to find out what happened (for those of you who don't already know)!

At the end of VBS, Charlie's teacher sent them home with a bag of goodies - the theme was Sonquest rainforest!

I love this picture of Charlie taking a flying leap onto our couch cushions! (This is a favorite activity of my kids - to stack up pillows and jump on them.)

My smiling kiddos!


We're never lacking in wrestling matches in the Cavness household...and to tell you the truth, it's usually Piper who starts them! She's a tough little cookie!


Charlie has been getting into some arts and crafts lately, we've painted, glued cereal and noodles, all kinds of stuff! Including...

a surprise craft for me...my cutting boards ended up being "decorated" one day when I wasn't looking! Oh well, just makes meal prep more colorful!

Charlie got a workbench and tools for his birthday and now he "fixes" everything! This day, he was fixing my closet door. (The picture is blurry because I was trying to catch him in action without him seeing me!)

This is just a cute shot of my sweet girl in the adorable outfit she got from her Aunt Kimmie!


Some nights, Charlie and his daddy go do "boy stuff", which usually includes going to "W&X" (Charlie's interpretation of "A&W") to get root beer!

Charlie got invited to his first birthday party this summer! It was for his friend, Kennedy, from church who is just a few days older than Charlie. She had a princess-themed party and Charlie got to dress up like a prince!

This was just a ride in the car, but I had to post that cute face!

Whew! That was a long one! Thanks for all of you who stuck it out for the whole post :) There's more, but I'll leave it for now and post more later! Hope everyone is having a great summer and living the blessing like we are!!

Piper's 1 year pictures

These are the 1 year pictures we had made of Piper.
Sorry they are so little, but I'm not savvy enough with this blogger thing to make them bigger! At least you can see how cute she is!

Piper's a little spit-fire of a one-year-old and keeps me on my toes! She is walking/running/climbing everywhere like she's been doing it all of her life. She loves attention (lots of it) and if you don't give it to her freely, she definitely demands it! We sometimes shorten her name to "Pipes" and it fits her perfectly! The girl could shatter glass!

Piper says a few words - Momma, Dadda, baby, hi, bye-bye, and uh-oh, and she signs "more", "please", "all done" and "up". It's not many words, but she understands everything and can communicate very clearly what she wants and needs.

What a joy she is to us and the perfect little girl in our eyes!!

PS - I haven't forgotten about Charlie! I know I've been posting a lot of Piper lately, but in a couple of weeks it will be Charlie's birthday and you'll see much more of him too!

Piper is one...and what a year it's been!

Here's a look at our little girl's 1st birthday party and a few pics since she's been one year old.

This is the cake I bought for us to eat at Piper's party...yummy! (You can tell I bought it because it's solid chocolate!)

This is the cake I made for Piper to destroy. I wasn't too concerned about perfection because I had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen to it!

We had the party in the "Sonshine House" at our church - it's the little building where the children and youth meet and have activities. Perfect for a party!

Here's me and my sweet girl...she was hammin' it up all day long!

Don't worry, even though this was Piper's day, Charlie definitely wasn't left out and he got plenty of attention (and presents) too!

She was loaded down with presents and her Aunts Katie and Kimmy made the cute sign behind her!

Piper got plenty of new toys and LOTS of new clothes that she really needed for summer! Yay!

We had to sing happy birthday, but she was ready to dig in!

This is not even the end result...it actually got much worse! She required a bath immediately afterwards!

And now, a little fashion show in some of Piper's precious new clothes...





Some QT with big brother...nothing like a snack (Cheerios from the floor) while watching TV!


All smiles!


This one's after a bath...check out those curls!

Small Town Life

It's rare to get both smiling and looking at me for a picture so, I got Charlie smiling in one and Piper smiling in the other (check out those teeth)!

How 'bout these curls?!

Charlie enjoys his cereal with milk like a big boy these days...and in big boy pants!

We live in a small town now. Not Georgetown small, not LaGrange small...I'm talking a real small town! Before, I never really imagined what it could be like not to live very near a city like I always have. I knew I would most likely be moving someday when I married a man on the road to career ministry, but I never thought about it being in such a different environment from where I was used to.

I miss Louisville sometimes. Things were so convenient there. There was much more to do. The zoo is there for heaven's sake and we LOVE the zoo! My family is there too, and many times I miss them dearly. But I'm finding that I'm gaining something here that I found myself lacking more often before...contentment.

I went to visit in Louisville last week and while we passed some time on those (rainy) days in the mall, Target, etc., I kinda felt yucky inside. I kept finding myself thinking, "Oh, I wish I could have this or that" or, "Ugh, I don't have any money and I want that!"
What is that about?!?! I have all that I need and even more! That was the world luring out the evil in my heart and pulling it to the forefront. I did NOT like it!

So, even though I still miss my family terribly, I'll praise God that the drive is only an hour and a half. I'll cherish my new life here in this small town, at home with my little ones, with not too many places to go, because I'm learning that God is using this place at this time to mold me little by little into the image of His Son. I DO like that!

Things that I love

I love that my children dance whenever they hear music.
I love that my husband has a sense of humor that sometimes only I can appreciate.
I love that God gave me a little boy and a little girl to raise in my home.
I love that my children have great namesakes to learn from and be inspired by.
I love ice cream.
I love that my son has an imagination that lets him be Buzz Lightyear or an Imagination Mover who is friends with Curious George and Mickey Mouse and have a hundred and one pet dogs that sleep with him and chase him around the house.
I love baths.
I love wedding rings.
I love that Piper has learned to say "hi" and waves her little hand at anyone who'll look.
I love that I get to listen to my husband preach God's word with confidence and conviction every Sunday morning.
I love that we have a great big yard, front and back.
I love that we have a "big room" that is scattered with toys and books and pillows when the kids are up, and is straight and comfy for me and Stephen when the kids go to bed at night.
I love Mexican food.
I love the sky.
I love reading in bed before I fall asleep.
I love coffee in the morning...or anytime.
I love that when I look out the window these days, I see birds.
I love that spring is coming and that we have birthdays and celebrations on the way.
I love that I'm in my 30's.
I love that my husband never mentions the bit of baby weight that's still hanging around.
I love that Charlie sometimes puts his arms around me and says, "wuv you momma" without being told to.
I love friends...old, new, my age, younger, older...they bless my life.
I love that God hears my prayers no matter how I feel about them.
I love that there are 2 Cracker Barrel rocking chairs on our back porch.
I love that my children feel so loved and at home when we're at church.
I love when my kitchen is clean.
I love that Piper is almost walking, almost eating all table food, and almost ready to drink milk.
I love that Stephen chose me.
I love that my parents/sisters/grandparents come to visit and lend a hand...and love it.
I love that my family loves me even though I'm not the greatest homemaker in the world.
I love that sometimes there are dinosaurs in our living room.
I love Tulips.
I love that I can pray that God will save the souls of my children.
I love that Jesus saves anyone who will sincerely ask Him.
I love that God is real.