Bro. O'Malley and the life of sisters

Bro. John O'Malley preached revival services at TBC and since James had his two days off at a good time, we had Bro. O'Malley over for lunch. 

He read Winnie the Pooh to Lily and did a great job. After lunch, while the girls napped, we talked about WWNTBM changes, FFW, Apple computers (I found that my laptop is five operating systems behind), photo books, and recent family news. 

Just a random picture of Anna. 

Sister love (or smothering)

Anna's first pigtails

Lily's first french twist hairdo

One day at lunch Lily said, "Take a picture of me!" So I did. 

The girls enjoyed a blueberry snack sitting on the counter. 

Lily gave Daddy the big ones. 

So Anna did too. 

New Baby Cousin John

One random morning I took pictures of the girls while James worked on creating more blocks for his next huge embroidered tile scene. 

Baby John Bryan was born to John and Vanessa on July 9th at 7:23pm weighing 8lbs 15.6 oz. Vanessa did a great job with a successful VBAC. It was an answer to prayer that she didn't need another C-section and can now have normal births with almost no risk. We got to go see them in the hospital after church services that night. 

Carlie got to meet her baby brother, but she was more interested in playing with the camera. :-)

July 4th

James had to work the evening of July 4th, so we had steaks and corn on the cob for lunch before he had to leave. It was yummy!

That afternoon I took the girls to Bear Lake where Dad and Mom Bryan were camping. Almost all of the Bryan family ate supper together and went to the Jay fireworks afterwards. 

Right after this was taken, Anna burned Jason's leg by bringing the sparkler too close. Thankfully it wasn't bad, but no more sparklers for her!

I expected to be holding both girls during the noisy fireworks, but instead Anna stayed with Gramdma Bryan and watched quite peacefully from her lap. Lily sat on the blanket with the cousins, but she hid underneath a blanket the entire time!

A good time was had by all. Happy Birthday, America!

Atlanta Vacation Part 6 of 6

On Saturday morning we walked to the covered bridge and waded in the river. That afternoon we returned to the North Point Mall.

This was James' favorite doll outfit. The girls might be getting Bitty Baby and Bitty Twin dolls for Christmas and I can sew outfits for them!

Becca found the Build-A-Bear store and caved in to the overwhelming need to get one. She picked out the bear body and they used a really cool machine to stuff it super fast. They had a pipe that shot out stuffing to fill the bear in a couple of minutes. Becca brushed the lint off under a blast of air as you see pictured.

The turning point in her desire to get a bear was finding the "Brave" outfit.  She simply couldn't resist.

The Pottery Barn sold a loft bed that seems perfect for our needs. James took a picture to try to build one. The loft bed fits a twin mattress which we already have, and the lower area should easily hold the toddler bed that we already have. Later when Anna is ready for a twin bed it can be added below easily. The stairs are safer for a three-year-old to navigate than a classic ladder bunkbed.

On Sunday we attended Calvary Baptist Church in Smyrna, GA then Becca, James and I went to the Kennesaw National Battlefield's 150th anniversary. It was the site of a civil war battle fought with Sherman on his way to Atlanta.

The view from the top of Kennesaw Mountain

We got to watch a cannon firing demonstration

Mom and Dad Joyner and Becca left Sunday afternoon, but James and I stayed one more night. We packed up Monday morning and left Atlanta. We had one more CityPass ticket to use that day on our way out of town - the Zoo!

We met Tori Troester and her two boys there. They were able to use Becca's extra ticket. Here is a picture of Samuel Troester as he fed the birds at the zoo.

Anna enjoyed watching the birds and trying to get closer to them.

We got rained out at 1:30pm. It started to pour and all of the train rides and children's activities closed, so we decided to head out of town.

We got home at 6pm and unpacked and had Steve and Emily over to work on his resume.

Tuesday we went to Bear Lake to see Dad and Mom Bryan's campsite. We got there at about 10am and left at 9:30pm, but no pictures were taken. :-)

Atlanta Vacation Part 5

On Friday of our vacation we took the Atlanta train - the Marta - to the Aquarium.

James and Dad were impressed by the long staircase and escalator from the train up to the street downtown.

The Aquarium was amazing and we all enjoyed it a lot.

Rebecca took some pretty awesome pictures of the fish.

A Beluga Whale

The tunnel under one of the hugest fish tanks in the world was amazing

One of my favorites was the enormous window into the tank.

Lily was impressed too!

After Anna looked for awhile, I made her sit still and nap on my lap so I got a good long time to look at the fish.

We went to a dolphin show but weren't allowed to take pictures. On our way into the arena we passed the dolphin tank.

As we waited for the return train in the Marta station, Anna put her glasses on her head as she had seen Aunt Becca do.

After the aquarium, before the walk back to the train station, Becca got a coke and had one last photo opp with the Coke building.

Back to the house and it's gravel driveway that Anna enjoyed