must.have.coffee.

This morning, I'm surviving with the help of caffeine.  Lots and lots of coffee is nothing short of a gift from God.  We had such a fun weekend filled with graduations and my first Mother's Day, and all of those activities are good to wipe a baby out!  Unfortunately, last night Lucas hit his sleepy breaking point and had a weird night.  Like an "I'm overly tired and am going to wake up every 3 hours and want to nurse again" night.  (Which he hasn't done in weeks...more on that later.)  

So we're surviving.  We might be a little cracked out from caffeine, but we're surviving.  

mother's day.

Mother's Day...It's a holiday I've always loved, because let's be honest, I have an amazing mom.  But this year, Mother's Day was extra special because I got to participate as a mom myself!  It was pretty wild, being 'celebrated' on this day, but it was awesome. 

 The day started out with Brandon making pancakes before church, and giving me my gift of Wicked tickets at the DPAC!  I'm so excited to see the musical and enjoy a date night with Brandon.  

 

After church, we met Jon, Kelsey, and both sets of parents for lunch after Kelsey's graduation.  We gave Nana her Mother's Day gift from Lucas, a coffee mug we painted with his footprints.  His cute little feet make up the "V" in LOVE.

 Then we came home and napped.  My kind of afternoon :)

Lucas, I love you so much and I am so thankful to be your mommy.  Thank you for making this Mother's Day so special!

a graduation divided

We had such a fun and busy weekend getting to celebrate Jon and Kelsey's graduation!  It was a time filled with the rivalry of red vs. blue, Wolfpack vs. Tarheels.  But we are so proud of both of them!  Here is a recap in pictures: 

Jon walking across the stage at his departmental graduation
 ceremony for Electrical Engineering

Lucas and Poppy watching Jon's ECE graduation

YAY Uncle Jon!  Lucas was clearly very excited for Jon to graduate!

 

After dinner at the Angus Barn

Congrats Jon, Ryan, and Ross!

This board is in Jon's house...see Kelsey's name written in the middle?
She wrote that the first night her and Jon met, and he never erased it :)

Jon scanning the blue for Kelsey

What a good looking group of Tarheel graduates!

Kelsey walking at the School of Journalism graduation

Love CAN exist despite the red and blue rivalry!

Sacrificial love?

CONGRATULATIONS Jon and Kelsey!  We are so proud of you!

strawberry picking

There are so many strawberry patches around here and I have always wanted to go and pick some of their beautiful red delicious berries.  We finally did it!  We met the Runkles at Waller Farms and picked tons of strawberries.  I didn't get any pictures of the big boys (Brandon and Daniel) because they were actually the ones doing all of the picking :)  They worked so hard while the kiddos played and the mamas talked.  Sounds like a deal to me!

sweet Katelyn and Jackson playing in the strawberry patch

mamas and babies!

the fruits of our labor

We had such a great time catching up with friends and hanging out in the sunshine.  We definitely will be visiting the strawberry patch again in the near future, yummmm!

a future NBA star...and tyler zeller.

There are 2 future NBA stars in this picture...and Brandon is not one of them.  Lucas got to meet Tyler Zeller last Sunday at church.  Tyler is a member of the Summit and came to speak to the students.  Towering at 7 feet tall, he makes Brandon look like a little kid, doesn't he?    

Tyler has a promising NBA career ahead of him but took the time to come and talk to our students about Jesus.  Pretty awesome.  And Lucas seems to be pretty happy hanging out with such a great Tarheel alum!

backyard BBQ shower for j+k

On Saturday, we had a backyard BBQ bash for Jon and Kelsey!  It was a really fun time filled with gingham, burlap, and all other things BBQ-y.  We had our back deck and backyard all set up with tables, chairs, corn hole, ladder ball, citronella candles, summer flowers, and homemade icecream makers. However, as everyone was arriving, big black storm clouds rolled in...but a fun time was still had by all. Here is a sneak peek at the shower:

Invitations made by two of Kelsey's friends who helped me throw the shower, Caitlin and Olivia

Any BBQ bash has to have mason jars and striped straws!

The food included BBQ sliders, corn on the cob, pigs in the blanket, cupcakes, apple pie, veggies and dip, watermelon, and vanilla and oreo homemade ice cream (which I'm sad I didn't get a picture of).  Delicious!

Adorable watermelon themed cupcakes by Caitlin

Individual veggies and dip

What's a BBQ without lemonade and sweet tea?

The "backyard" BBQ bash turned into a "living room" BBQ bash...thanks,  rain.

Because of the rain, I found out that my house can indeed hold 30 people inside...yikes.

Jon's new BBQ tool set

I made this towel cake for them, complete with 4 dish towels, cute bird salt and pepper shakers on top, and 4 serving utensils.  Thanks, pinterest :)

they are so cute together.

Kelsey with some of her girls

Jon with some of his boys

with Kelsey's parents

with our parents
 

Our lovely bride and groom!  We love you guys!

Lucas clearly partied too hard.

date night.

This is an overdue post, but last Friday we went on a date!  It was the first time we left Lucas, and it was a success.  We used our date night gift certificates of Fandango movie tickets and a free night of babysitting, courtesy of Jon and Kelsey.  Then we went to dinner and used another gift card.  So we didn't spend a penny.  It was great! We survived, I didn't cry, and only texted to check in once.  Aren't you proud?!  And Lucas was a good baby for his Uncle J and Aunt K while we were gone too!  

I have to admit, we were a little lame and went to a 4:00 movie (we saw the Hunger Games, like the parents' night out certificate says...great movie!) and then to dinner afterwards so we could be home in time to put Lucas to bed.  So I guess technically it was a date afternoon, not so much a date night.  But hey, you have to start somewhere, right?  While we were waiting for our table at dinner, there were 2 babies in carseats that looked about the same age as Lucas.  I got a little sappy and told Brandon that I missed him.  Brandon said that seeing those babies made him appreciate the date night even more.  I guess that's one of the differences between men and women.

Again, sorry for the delayed post.  It's been busy around here planning an upcoming wedding shower for Jon and Kelsey that will take place here tomorrow.  Be on the lookout for a post about it later!

Jon and Kelsey, THANK YOU!  We were totally at ease leaving Lucas with you two because you are so wonderful.  We love you!