this weekend

if you have been following my blog for a good amount of time, you know that our family LOVES scottish festivals, games, concerts, food and drink. if you are new here, you are about to learn. our men wear kilts, our boys carry swords, we dance in grassy fields to drum beats, and tear up when we hear the sounds of pipes. we will travel to neighboring states for a good scottish day.

this saturday we loaded up and headed down to maryland for the fair hill scottish games. the weather was brisk and the sky was blue. i'll let my pictures do the rest of the talking.

 (my mom and my babes)

it was a great day! have a happy Monday friends!

how i wear...

 C A R E F U L L Y!!
seriously, this was a brave decision. kids and white never really mix,  but by some small miracle, the dress remained intact throughout the course of the day - mother's day to be exact.

details:
dress - thrifted (goodwill), NEW with tags from H&M.
sweater - thrifted (salvation army)
necklace - thrifted & vintage (goodwill)
sandals that you can't see - you guessed it - thrifted! (salvation army)
earrings - gift (and made) from my cousin
bracelet - my mother's day gift!! the real deal, vintage and everything. yes. my husband picks the perfect jewelry.

happy birthday to our girl

my dear baby girl,
today you are two.
i can hardly believe that it has been
two years since you came into this world, our world.

you bring light and energy to this family.
you make us laugh hysterically, every day.
you make are the busiest child i've ever encountered.
you think your brother is wonderful and you love everything he loves.

last night at bedtime, as i prayed, all i could get out was,
"dear lord, thank you for gemma, thank you, thank you, thank you..."
tears were streaming down my face, and in your sweet kindness,
you held me tight and just let me cry and pray for you.

i pray that the Lord blesses your precious life.
that he gives you strength to be a strong woman,
that he gives you love and compassion for the hurting in the world,
that he gives you courage to stand for what you believe in
and makes the right choice even when others don't,
and that i would have the strength to be the mother that you deserve and need.

sweet girl, two will be fun for us all. so many new things to learn and experience.
and i know that you will embrace them all with passion and joy. we love you so much gemma ruth.