The boys had a few things they REALLY wanted to do this summer.

Taking a trip to Noah’s ARK was one of those things!

I mentioned it to Missy and she said – OH OH OH! We want to come too!

Our boys LOVE spending the night in hotels! We drove ALL DAY to Kentucky – and those boys – they were awesome!

When this guy is up for a quick photoshoot – we do a quick photoshoot!

We are up early in the morning anyway – so we got an early start!

Imagine what you MIGHT think the ARK will look like – the massive size – the biggest you can ever imagine.

THEN MAKE IT EVEN BIGGER!!

That GIANT leaf!!

When you drive over 8 hours – you get the cheesy pictures!

I will say this – the ARK isn’t really for the little guys. Enoch is GO GO GO anyway – it was rough reminding him to wait and stay. And read. And wait. And read. Be patient.

It’s so crazy to SEE the ARK! Think about all the things that you don’t realize when you read the Bible.

They were on the ARK for 5 months – if I remember right. Where were the animals? In pens? Crates? What did they eat? Where did ALL the waste go? Did they fight? Did they reproduce while on the ARK? What did Noah and his family eat? The constant noise! The constant SMELL! How LONG it took to build the ark. Cut down the wood – transport the wood – put it together – seal it. BUILD ALL THE THINGS. PREPARE ALL THE FOOD!

And satan – I bet he wasn’t in the form of just a regular old garden snake. ALSO – ANIMALS SPOKE? Was Eve like – WHOA! WHAT! YOU SPEAK? Or did all the animals talk to them? Did she tell Adam that the serpent spoke to her and he was all – EVE! You CANNOT just tell people you can understand serpents! They’ll think you’re a PARSELTONGUE! ARE YOU A PARSELTONGUE!? (For those of you that don’t get that – it’s Harry Potter!) And he forgot to leave out that you will not surely die a physical death RIGHT NOW. But being removed from God’s paradise – that’s still a death.

And Cody’s shadow was PERFECT at that moment!

Have you seen Night at the Museum? The models and miniatures reminded us so much of that movie!

This one – we might not be building golden snake statues – BUT – what are we worshipping? (Speaking to myself here too!)

The company that built the ARK replica took advantage of the unmentioned parts in the Bible – giving names to the nameless – giving the characters a little backstory. Creative freedoms. They had a little movie about Noah and an interview with a tabloid newspaper – cus Noah was CRAZY! And people LOVE to hear all about the CRAZIES!

This is also interesting to me – the flood happened. It’s fact. I believe it. And I realize that not EVERYONE believes the Bible as truth – but it didn’t REALLY hit me until walking through the ARK. Would you go there and pay the price to tour if you didn’t believe? If you didn’t think it was truth? A part of history?

That serpent – there he is again.

THAT’S A DOOR! THE DOOR!!

Jared & Enoch are on that wall!

Mining for FOSSILS!!

MOM! I don’t think these goats are real – they MUST be fake! They don’t even MOVE!!

This yak – he heard Cody coming – and CLIMBED up his fence to see him!

Not just SEE him – KISS HIM!!

Tune in tomorrow to see our trip to the CREATION MUSEUM!!

The boys LOVE G & Pa – and they REALLY love it when Jack can be there too!

That last week in JULY was heavenly for them!

That picture on top – PURE JOY!

LOOK AT THAT BIG GUY! These babies – they need to SLOW IT DOWN!

G was NOT home when she said she would be – so we had to call her. And I love that my sister has our mom in her phone as MY MOM!

BABY KITTENS!!

DO YOU SEE HIS FACE!! He wants a kitty or a puppy SO VERY BAD!

I mean – LOOK AT THAT FACE!

SO SAD!

Enoch was WORKING OUT HARD!!

My sister was here for the last week in July – the boys ADORE their cousin Jack! They like Aunt Sammy too!

Enoch & Jack are 13 months apart but that Jack guy is a tall one!!

Fitzy and Pa were talking about school and Gettysburg and books – and it was ADORABLE!

This is my cousin’s little girl – and this was the FIRST time I met her!

That’s my mom in the back – she’s gotten close with my cousin Heather recently and that little girl LOVES her!

Enoch guy and Pa! Two peas in a pod!

A grandmother has ONE job – FEED all the kids ALL the sweets!

I just noticed Jack’s tooth! It’s longe than the others – and it makes me laugh every time he laughs! I LOVE IT!

Hey Fitzy – you can’t fit in that tub!

CRAZY CRAZY BOYS!!

I say WE because I feel like it’s “my” baby a little bit too! Actually – I know a few others that might say WE too!

I’m sure you’ve read about my best friend Missy! I met her because of this little page RIGHT HERE! She saw a blog I posted from someone on FACEBOOK and realized we both had great dane puppies!

We got together for a few puppy dates and grew closer through our shared struggle – infertility.

I took their family photos and we talked about how hard it was to be happy for other people that were expecting. Other people that got to hold their babies.

How SO VERY HARD it was to hope.

She would read my blog and call me and SOB! WHY DO I ALWAYS SOB WHEN I READ THIS!

That’s how we became friends. Because I was open and honest and raw and vulnerable.

Missy & Cody needed to use the amazing technical miracle of IVF to conceive. The day after Fitzy was born – Missy stopped in to see me on her way back from the fertility clinic. They were pregnant!

They had several embryos fertilized in the early months of 2011 – and while more than one was implanted – only Aiden stayed. I was ending my miracle pregnancy and she was starting hers!

About 4 years ago they had more embryos implanted – but those babies didn’t stay here on this earth.

Missy & Cody have BEEN THROUGH IT. Not just with infertility and multiple losses but the “normal” stuff life throws at you and even some of the “not-so-normal” stuff.

Missy prayed. I prayed. We prayed. So many people prayed. For their family – for their marriage – for their journey.

Did you know that Jesus is RIGHT THERE? WITH YOU RIGHT NOW? You only have to reach out your hand and your heart and say – YES! PLEASE! HELP ME!

Cody discovered that truth recently – and it TRANSFORMED HIS ENTIRE LIFE!!

I have very rarely been able to WATCH someone be completely transformed because of asking Jesus into their life – AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

Grace. Upon grace. UPON SO MUCH GRACE.

Missy & Cody had their last set of embryos in storage and they prayed. Was the time was right – do you stop freezing them? While they are only TINY TEENY little embryos – they are indeed very alive.

So – no. They didn’t stop. They had three implanted earlier this spring.

Missy traveled to Syracuse several times over the course of a few months – and she asked me to come along on one of those trips!

SEVEN WEEKS PREGNANT – and you CAN SEE A HEARTBEAT! YOU CAN HEAR A HEARTBEAT!!

Grabbing a snack via IV! IVF is no walk in the park! Shots. Hormones. SO MANY SHOTS!! Hopes. Disappointment. More shots. Hormones. Exhaustion. Tears. Miles.

Three little babies were implanted and ONE stayed.

This time – Missy has been SO VERY SICK!

And she went and got herself a full-time job and we don’t get to spend nearly as much time together as we used to – but being involved in the details of this baby – MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!

SO VERY VERY SICK – ending up in the ER for fluids. A little bit of a scare in losing this baby. It’s been a dramatic few months!

YESTERDAY “we” found out whether this AMAZING little soul was a boy or a girl!

I went with them to the ultrasound yesterday morning to take some photos!

It’s hard to make out – but that is a profile! 20 weeks old – not even a pound yet. And you can see the 4 chambers of the heart. You can see the arms. The fingers. The legs. The eyes. The little mouth yawning. ALL THE THINGS!

Aiden got his very own picture of his new baby! AND had to keep a secret – ALL DAY!!

LOOK AT THAT FACE! THAT SMILE!

THEY KNOW!! WE KNOW!!

CAN YOU TELL? DO YOU KNOW?

We stopped for brunch on the way home and Aiden helped me in a cute little picture of what his new baby will be!

BUT – the four of us were sworn to secrecy until last night – WHEN EVERYONE WOULD FIND OUT!

SHHHHH!! AIDEN – you can’t tell anyone!! YOU ARE ALMOST DONE KEEPING YOUR SECRET!

IT’S A GIRL!!!

They MIGHT be a little excited!

Missy’s mom might be a little excited!

We ALL might be a little excited!

And we all know that this sweet little girl NEEDS a girl-friend in this group of boys!

SUCH A CELEBRATION OF LIFE & LOVE & SO MUCH GRACE!!

Find your tribe. Keep them close.

Jared snapped that one of Jose – SURPRISED MUCH!?

MISSY – I LOVE YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH! Thank you for asking me to come along on this journey with you! EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!

GRACE UPON GRACE. SO MUCH GRACE UPON GRACE!

Rosemarie messaged me on FB to take advantage of a special I was running!

Have you NEVER been in front of my camera? NOW IS THE TIME!!

These are their first professional photos since their oldest was a baby!

We spent an hour at Hills Creek on a BEAUTIFUL Saturday morning!

ISN’T SHE ADORABLE!?!?

This guy – he loves Jurassic Park too!

I LOVE those shots – SO SWEET!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS!! I feel like they describe childhood PERFECTLY!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

Ending the session at the playground!? ALWAYS SAY YES!!

Those shots – they are my FAVORITE! If I could only show you ONE image from this session – it would be that one right above this sentence!

Dad is waiting in case she needs him – but she’s climbing and conquering. A picture speaks volumes – and this one – VOLUMES!!

She was debating if the top of the slide looked like a shark’s mouth!

He might be too big to go down the slide WITH his mom – but when that sweet boy that made you a momma asks – YOU GO DOWN THE SLIDE!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

Ending the session with some good old-fashioned playgroup licking! WHY NOT!

Rosemarie – thank you SO MUCH for asking me to spend an hour in the life of your family!

I hope to see you guys again SOON!

We spent Friday night with Matt & Johna – getting ready for the boat regatta (that rhymes!) and then we spent Saturday racing and hanging out in the rain rain rain!

On Sunday we went to REPTILAND for their DINOSAUR DAYS!

SPITTING DINOSAURS!!

Enoch KNOWS that there’s a person in there but it’s still a little creepy!

A GIANT SNAPPING TURTLE!!

Those birds – getting them to sit on a stick was QUITE THE ORDEAL!

Macy got TWO on her stick!

I love his I’M SO EXCITED BUT I CAN’T REALLY SMILE face!

THE HAPPIEST BOY!!

We had a FUN-FILLED weekend with our dear friends! We can’t WAIT to go back to the campground this fall!!

We painted the boat. We went to the movies. We went back to camp to get READY FOR THE RACES!!

Enoch and his little friend raced together in their blue race-car!

THE MACY FITZGERALD!!

Macy & Fitzy were the ONLY kiddos in their age group to have TWO in the boat!

Those kiddos – they paddled their hearts out. They knew they wouldn’t be first – but they didn’t cheat the course. They did it exactly how they should have.

THEY FINISHED! TOGETHER! With burning thighs and smiles and laughs – they FINISHED! AND – NO WATER IN THE MACY FITZGERALD!

I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE PROUD!!

IT RAINED. It rained all morning and cleared up JUST IN TIME to race – and then the rain rain rain came down down down!

Kids with shoes on the wrong feet – I LOVE IT!

LOOK AT THE DRIPPY JUICE! WATERMELON MIGHT BE THE BEST THING ABOUT SUMMER!

This girl – she’s a DEAR ONE!!

THANK YOU Matt & Johna for a FANTASTIC WEEKEND! We can’t WAIT to spend some time at the camp ground this fall!!

Our school is expanding! And as you know – expansion costs a pretty penny!

We are trying some new and fun ways to raise money for the school – including a DRIVE IN MOVIE!!

In July we watched HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!

Enoch didn’t hang for the whole movie but Fitzy made it to the end!

My friend Johna LOVES camping! Their campground holds a cardboard boat regatta and they invited us to come along!

Fitzy LOVES Macy – they get along so well! They decided to race together in a boat!

Which means that Matt made the boat!

Fitzy LOVED hanging out with Macy and her friends and going around the campground – like a big giant kid!

They decided to name their boat The Macy Fitzgerald – which sounds like a VERY fancy boat name!

Fitzy had said that naming a boat the Titanic would NOT be the best idea!

We called it a night – but you’ll see the BOAT RACE in a few days!

We visit my parents quite often and I rarely take pictures with my REAL camera!

BUT – I decided to take an INSTAGRAM BREAK for the month of July and it’s forced me to actually take REAL pictures of our lives!

I am an artist with a camera in my hands. THAT IS IT!

BUT – Enoch thought my chick was pretty good – mine is on the left! His is on the right – with a little help from me!

And some fruit – again – NOT AN ARTIST WITHOUT A CAMERA!!

This view looks toward the East – sometimes the sunset reflections are just as pretty as the sunset itself!

We had a small fire – we used to have BIG fires – with a few friends!

My parents live in the house that my dad grew up in – we moved here when I was nine.

This picture window holds SO MANY memories!

LOOKING IN & LOOKING OUT!