Happy 1st Birthday Emily & Katherine!

Happy 1st Birthday Emily & Katherine!  The girls turned one on January 3rd!

Emily:  "How's yours?"  Katherine:  "What is this?!"  The birthday girls did not care for their cupcakes...

...but loved their balloons!

Our happy family...completed by two sweet sisters!

my side of the family

Daniel's side of the family

Rivers and Jackson enjoyed "helping" unwrap the girls' gifts.  The girls were content to chew on bows & wrapping paper...much like Christmas!

My sweet girls!  What a blessed year it has been!  The worries I had being pregnant with twins and wondering what life would be like were tucked away in the past as soon as you got home from the hospital.  You have been such little joys!  You both have such sweet dispositions!  It has been such a treat to see the two of you growing together, sleeping in a crib together, eating side by side, bathing...separately...together is a shower for mommy!  I love seeing your sweet baby teeth come in (4 each) and looking for the differences and similarities in your personalities and your actions.  I hope that you always love each other dearly as we love you!

Jackson's 4th Birthday!

Our sweet buddy, Jackson, turned four on October 12th.  Daniel and I just cannot believe that four years have come and gone with a son in our lives!  Time flies!  This year, Jackson became a big brother.  He has been a WONDERFUL big brother!  He is my little helper when it comes to taking care of the babies.  Jackson adores his daddy!  They say,"We're the same boys," all of the time!  He loves DUPLO blocks, building with his train set, drawing, puzzles, playing with cars, trucks, and firemen...anything BOY!  Gone are the days of wearing my heels around the house and toting around Rivers' purses.

Jackson has a pretend group of friends that came to live with us shortly after the babies were born:  Mr. Mark, Mr. Johncy, and Mr. Ricky.  They go to and work at "Mango Church" and they are all pastors.  I'm thinking that they are really music ministers because they sing and play air guitar a lot.  Jackson constantly keeps us guessing!

Jackson also moved into a big boy bed for his 4th birthday!  He has been so excited, and we have enjoyed getting to climb into bed with him to read and sing at night.

Happy 6th Birthday Rivers!

I honestly cannot believe that our baby girl turned 6 years old today!  I could blink and be back in the summer of 2005, living at Palmetto Richland Hospital, praying that the sweet little baby inside of me would make it out alive.  Praise God for directing us to the right doctors, and praise God that He gave us the conviction of being PRO LIFE because I cannot imagine my life without Rivers in it!  God made her the answer to my heart's cry for a child.  How I longed to be a mother!  And then, Rivers was born, and my first time looking at her, I thought, "God, how am I going to take care of this baby?"  Well, you know what?  The easy part was loving Rivers and that made all of the hard parts so worth it.

Baby girl, your smile lights up a place in my heart that only you have the key to!  I am thankful that God made me your Mama (even though last week you told me you wanted to start calling me "Mom").  I'll never forget what we have gone through together, and I look forward to the years to come!  "You make me want to be brave!"

Happy Birthday Uncle Eric!

Happy Birthday Uncle E! We had a great time celebrating with you! We can always count on you for a good meal out at Yamato's and a YUMMY German chocolate cake!
Rivers helped Uncle Eric make his wish and blow out his candles!

Every birthday as long as I can remember, we have taken posed pictures after the candles were blown out. It is such a blessing to look back through the years at how everyone has changed and grown up. Happy birthday Eric! We all love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson!

Today was Jackson's 2nd birthday! It is so hard to believe that my youngest child is now 2! We started the day by going into his room and singing "Happy Birthday," which he wasn't the least bit interested in. He only wanted to drink his milk, so off we went. The grandparents, aunts, and uncles came over for a hamburger supper and cake later in the day.

We picked a Blues Clues birthday cake for Jackson simply because it was age appropriate based on the others cakes we had to choose from at Publix. I toyed with the idea of just getting a big number "2" cake and setting a cell phone and keys on top. He's not into television shows at all, except for his Praise Baby DVD, and his favorite "toys" are Daniel's keys and his cell phone. He has very simple tastes! Buddy needed a little bit of help from his big sister to blow out the candles!
the Jackson side of the family

the Crowson side of the family

As if I don't know this already: a "Boys Will Be Boys" t-shirt from Mimi. Isn't that the truth?!
Is this a ride-on toy? Now it is!

I get to do Uncle Eric's shopping for the kids since he LOVES shopping so much. So, among a few other gifts, he gave Jackson the book The ABCs of Carolina. Coming from a huge Clemson fan, all he could do was laugh! Thanks Uncle E!Jackson took a break in between gift opening to fuel up on some birthday cake! Yum!

I love my football Aunt Hannah and Uncle Owen!My first tricycle! Daniel, Rivers, and I gave Jackson his present at the end of the night. He was so adorable! He hopped right on and began to push off with his feet. Next purchase: a helmet!
Rivers trying to make a get away...

My sweet little son! Sweet meaning of course: affectionate, crazy, loving, and loud. You are all rough-and-tumble boy (except when you wear my heels around the house and carry Rivers' pocketbooks). Daddy and I have been amazed at how much you've changed this past year. From a sweet little baby, into a little ball of fire! God has been so faithful to give us a daughter and then a son: one of each to learn and to grow to appreciate the differences and similarities between the two. We love you and are praying for you as you enter your third year of life. Daddy and I are always on your side, so just remember that when you're in time out for the fifth time in one afternoon on the other side of your bedroom door! We'll get through this little stage and will grow closer through it! I'm counting on that! We love you Buddy Bo!

Rivers' 4th Birthday

Sarah Dippity Party

What a magical and fun 4th birthday! Sarah Dippity, Rivers' "fairy godmother," flew in just for her party to entertain all of her friends with magic and face painting. The children were mesmerized by Sarah's magic and the parents were awed by her ability to transform their child's face into something beautiful or heroic in a matter of minutes.

Yeah, Sarah! Please do some more tricks for us!

What a special birthday for Rivers! We're so thankful that everyone was able to come out to celebrate her special day with us!