family pictures

Yeah for family pictures!! We picked a rainy day in a beautiful park and many thanks go to our wonderful friend and photographer, Liz. This was taken about 10 days before Darin left and it'll be our last family picture for 2 years. It's strange to think that Delainey will be 4 and Sallie will be 2 when Darin comes home and we get to have the entire family together again...Some one would rather dance than take pictures....


I LOVE this baby!!
(and check out the rained-on hair!!)

July 24, 2010

On Saturday, July 24, 2010, Jamie went to the temple in Raleigh for the first time. Just like Darin, this is a special occasion in our religion and this time was especially sweet because everyone in the family was in the same place at the same time. With Darin leaving a few days later, we knew this was a time to treasure... We are a forever family!!

Chick-Fil-A

On Friday, Chick-Fil-A had a promotional deal. If you dressed up like a cow, you got a combo meal of your choice for free! They even had spots, ears, a nose and a tail that you could print off, cut out and apply. We decided to go for it. Darin wasn't too excited--but finally gave in. He did say, "No pictures, please...." but I had to sneak one in to show that he did dress up.....

Jenna, Erik and Donald were more willing to pose for a picture....

Donald and Erik don't have their "ears" on in this picture and Donald still needs to add his nose, but you get the idea. Thanks for a free meal, Chick-Fil-A!!

Devin's Birthday/Fourth of July

It's the age-old question: Is it Devin's birthday or is it the Fourth of July? When Devin was little, his birthday definitely took precedence over the Fourth of July, but as soon as he realized we could do our own fireworks, the Fourth of July definitely became a bigger part of his day.

I didn't take many pictures this year because we were all too busy playing with Delainey and holding baby Sallie. We LOVE those two girls to pieces!! :-)

Devin opening presents, balancing on a ball, and letting Delainey help....
He has definitely become a multi-tasker!

Blowing out the candles while holding Sallie
(You know you're old when they don't put on all the candles you should have....)

After dinner and dessert, as it got dark, we headed out to Devin's driveway to do some fireworks. We haven't gone to the big fireworks display in years, but we'll have to do it again one year so Delainey and Sallie can enjoy. I don't know if Delainey would have enjoyed the big ones, this was her reaction to the little ones....

Devin has been a great example to his younger brother and sisters throughout his life. He's a great son, brother, husband and father. He works hard and is always willing to help out others. He plays hard too--and is always willing to play a little Wii or Xbox with Darin! :-) I've loved watching him be such a good dad over the past almost two years. Delainey and Sallie definitely have him wrapped around their fingers--and that's the way it should be! It's an amazing thing to watch your child that you have loved and cared for so many years become a parent. You remember so many things that you did with them and that you loved doing with them and for them when they were little and suddenly they are doing the same things with and for their children. You miss the little one that you used to have, but you are so grateful that you were able to be a part of their becoming who they are now and it's an incredible process to see it start all over again. I am SO thankful that Devin and Sarah live so close and that I've been able to enjoy watching Devin grow into such an incredible father these pat two years.

We really did all get to hold Sallie that evening, but the only picture I took was of Darin. It's sweet to see him hold a tiny baby, but it's also a little heartbreaking as I realize that he'll not get to see this little one grown from baby to two just as we'll miss "seeing" him grow over the next two years. Don't worry, Darin, we won't let Delainey forget you and we'll keep showing Sallie pictures so she'll know who you are when you come back!

Welcome!!

Welcome to the world....Sallie Elisabeth Gilreath!!

(The really pretty black and white pictures I got from Sarah's blog--not only is the photographer better--but so is the camera!!)

Sallie was born on June 28, 2010 at 4:28pm. She weighed in at 6 pounds 2 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. She is absolutely adorable and we've all fallen in love with her.
Monday was a nerve-wracking day as we waited for word on how things were going. We finally headed to the hospital around 3:30 and we were rewarded for waiting just an hour later.

I got to go into see Sallie first with Delainey and Ginger (Sarah's mom). Ginger and I kept telling Delainey we were going to see Sallie and then when we got outside her door, we could hear Sallie crying. We told Delainey that was Sallie crying and she just started grinning and giggling! How fun it was to see her reaction to her little sister! She really didn't want anything to do with the rest of us--she wanted to see Sallie. She wanted to know why her "toes were hiding". (They were wrapped in the blanket.) She wanted to see her fingers. She laughed when Sallie cried. She wanted to hold her. There was joy in the room!!

We all got a chance to hold Sallie and we took a picture of Devin, Jamie, Jenna and Darin with Sallie just like we did when Delainey was born. (I'm hoping that everyone will always live close and I can continue to get a picture like this with each new baby.)

Donald and I snuck up to the hospital this afternoon to hold her again. Ahhhh, the joys of a new baby: the smell, the feel, the awe-inspiring feeling as you hold them. I LOVE every bit of it!

Devin and his girls

Devin and Sallie

Darin and Sallie
(Darin leaves in one month--when he comes back Sallie will be two!)



Devin, Sarah, Delainey and Sallie

One step closer...

Last night Darin went to the temple for the first time. If you're not LDS, then you may wonder what the significance is. Temples are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants or promises with God. These promises help you to become closer to God and to feel His spirit more readily in your life if you do your best to keep them. It is a big step to go to the temple and to make those covenants.

It's hard to believe that he begins his mission in 35 days. I'm going to miss him!!

Memorial Day Weekend

The entire Gilreath clan headed to the Atlantic Beach area for Memorial Day. We found a great condo to rent for our family and it was so much fun being all together for several days. One of my favorite memories was Delainey seeing us in the living room the first morning she woke up. She looked around like "you guys are still here??" and then broke into a big grin! We felt the same way!! It's SO fun to be all together!!

nothing like football on the beach or...

boccie on the beach

and you've GOTTA play in the water...

Delainey loved the water and the waves. She would come and get one of us, take us by the finger and say, "huwee, huwee" (hurry, hurry) as she led us down to the water.

Darin's turn to go to the water with Delainey

Kelly and George and Ann and Terry came down too so we got to spend some time with extended family as well. Their place down there is on an little inlet off the sound and they have a dock that sits right on the sound. It's SO much fun to just sit on the dock and enjoy the sun, watch the boats passing by and chat. We were a little worried about Delainey on the dock though, but Kelly found a great life jacket in pink that made all of us feel better about Delainey and the water.

Darin keeping track of Delainey

Kelly and George have a boat and that's always so much fun for our family--to go on a boat!! :-) so happy to be on a boat!

George and Kelly always make sure we have an adventure while we're there and this year was no exception! Unbeknown to us, during low tide, there are sand bars right in the middle of the sound. George took us out to a couple--so not only did we get to ride in a boat but we also got to "explore". :-)

running around on the sandbar

Darin doing handstands on the sandbar

It was a wonderful weekend with family, sun, sand, and good times. It was probably our last family beach trip before Darin leaves for El Salvador so I'm especially grateful that it was so much fun and that we have such great memories from it.